# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending April 17, 2020

Published: 17 April 2020
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-april-17-2020

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

ESOP: Not yet figured out your employee stock ownership plan? Well it’s [a great incentive mechanism](https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/esop-plan-excel-template-step-step-guide-retain-attract-top-staff/) to retain and motivate top staff. Check [this cheat sheet](https://www.google.com/search?q=esop+meaning&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS814US814&oq=ESOP+&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l4j69i60l3.4950j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) or [here’s a video version](https://youtu.be/Ue0S22NKoHo) if you prefer to watch it. Obviously working out the dilution factor of an ESOP is an important metric to know - so [check this page](https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/how-does-startup-dilution-for-founders-work-with-esops-and-investment/) for more on that.

Link: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/esop-plan-excel-template-step-step-guide-retain-attract-top-staff/

## 2. MOTIVATION

In our newly minted WFH environments, motivation/distractions are evident and abundant. Good habits are a key component to WFH productivity - PWC (via their snazzy Medium page) [have some great insights on how to develop good habits](https://medium.com/pwc-uk/what-motivates-people-to-develop-good-habits-4e827da7c4ea). If you are a CEO/Exec also [check this article](https://medium.com/@dhassell/ceos-and-leaders-heres-how-to-prepare-for-an-extended-period-of-remote-work-14968f3d668e) built from your perspective.

Link: https://medium.com/pwc-uk/what-motivates-people-to-develop-good-habits-4e827da7c4ea

## 3. MARKETING

So in this uncertain environment, where people are actively wondering if they are just the band playing on the Titanic, SparkToro admits that [marketing is #$%\*ing hard right now](https://sparktoro.com/blog/marketing-right-now-is-hard/) and [CXL take a look back at the financial crisis of the 2000’s](https://cxl.com/blog/marketing-growth-uncertain-times/) as a comparison. Google also have some [online courses to elevate your digital marketing skills](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/organizational-culture/free-business-marketing-courses-during-coronavirus/) and Business Insider have a deep report on [AI in Content Marketing](https://www.dropbox.com/s/qs7naz08nc26yxz/ai-in-content-marketing-march-2020.pdf?dl=0)

Link: https://sparktoro.com/blog/marketing-right-now-is-hard/

## 4. ONBOARDING

Just like pricing, product onboarding is never perfect and is always a bunch of hypothesis competing to be the most successful. [User Pilot have 3 product experiments to try that can reduce churn](https://userpilot.com/blog/product-experiments-saas-onboarding/)

Link: https://userpilot.com/blog/product-experiments-saas-onboarding/

## 5. WFH ETIQUETTE

Do everyone a favor and read these articles: The Information on [Zoom Etiquette](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/etiquette-in-the-age-of-zoom) (TL;DR - please, wear pants) and here is a run down of [how to onboard WFH SDR’s and AE's](https://predictablerevenue.com/blog/a-tough-new-skill-we-all-need-now-onboarding-sdrs-and-aes-virtually)

Link: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/etiquette-in-the-age-of-zoom

## 6. DOWN ROUND

As the possibility of a 2020 down-round grows for startups and tech companies, this becomes an important clause to understand in your term sheets. [Read this](https://medium.com/@taw/the-most-important-clause-to-look-out-for-in-a-dreaded-down-round-cac2b70e8fc8) for a full understanding of how a ratchet mechanism can work.

Link: https://medium.com/@taw/the-most-important-clause-to-look-out-for-in-a-dreaded-down-round-cac2b70e8fc8

## 7. EMAIL MARKETING

From Salesforce is actually [a pretty darn helpful best-practices guide to all things email marketing related](https://www.dropbox.com/s/ut63vpeth71d63e/50-email-marketer-best-practices.pdf?dl=0) (focusing on getting your data ducks in a row) - PDF for your downloading pleasure.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ut63vpeth71d63e/50-email-marketer-best-practices.pdf?dl=0

## 8. CONTACT TRACING

We’re all going to hear this phrase a LOT in the upcoming months. The technique has been around for a while, but Apple and Google are launching a joint venture to deploy contract tracing functionality across Android and iOS devices globally - so [here is a really helpful primer on Contact Tracing](https://nshipster.com/contact-tracing) and the solution being implemented by Gapple/Appoogle.

Link: https://nshipster.com/contact-tracing

## 9. VENTURE

The [new Venture Monitor report for Q1 2020 from Silicon Valley Bank](https://www.svb.com/globalassets/library/managedassets/pdfs/q1_2020_pitchbook_nvca_venture_monitor.pdf) is out. It was a strong start to US VC in Q1 2020 but, in a big surprise to no-one, there will likely be a significant slowdown of venture activity for the rest of 2020.

Link: https://www.svb.com/globalassets/library/managedassets/pdfs/q1_2020_pitchbook_nvca_venture_monitor.pdf

## 10. REMOTE SELLING

Hopefully after #5 above, you are fully prepped for onboarding remote AE’s and SDR’s ;-). But how do they sell remotely both tactically and strategically? [Hunt Club has some suggestions](https://www.huntclub.com/blog/remote-selling-covid19).

Link: https://www.huntclub.com/blog/remote-selling-covid19

## POD OF THE WEEK

To compliment #10 above, [here is the webinar replay of the Remote Selling presentation](https://www.huntclub.com/resources/thank-you/how-to-sell-in-a-virtual-environment-during-covid-19-webinar) (with Aaron Ross of Predictable revenue)

Link: https://www.huntclub.com/resources/thank-you/how-to-sell-in-a-virtual-environment-during-covid-19-webinar