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The Power of Sales
Founders and startup leaders, never lose sight of the power of commercial sales (a.k.a. revenue) to solve many of your problems. There are good reasons why investors are eager to jump on board a scaling commercial startup while moving cautiously on those still pre-revenue. Let’s explore why by unpacking the magic of sales.
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The Feel Good Conference Mirage
Early-stage startups build exciting new products and then seek to launch them into the marketplace successfully. This commercialization process often involves attending conferences to raise awareness of the innovation. The energy and enthusiasm of conference attendees are intoxicating until follow-up time.
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CEO = Chief Salesperson
Because a successful entrepreneur ultimately must build a business that profitably sells a product to meet a sufficiently sized group of customers’ unmet needs, selling is one of the keys to success.
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Pricing Strategy
One of a startup’s most significant decisions is pricing strategy. This decision is critical because it sits at the nexus of so many different dimensions in the startup’s strategic positioning, and coming up with a good, balanced solution for all these dimensions is so strategic. Failure to solve this well can cripple or kill a startup.
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Running the Hurdles
My father was a track and field hurdler in college. Just thinking about the challenge of trying to go fast while staying in stride to cleanly clear each hurdle in sequence reminds me of the challenges of complex, multi-party sales situations like hospital sales and venture capital fundraising.
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Answer the Question
When someone asks you the time, in general, answer the question directly rather than explaining how the watch is made. This principle can be applied broadly to sales and fundraising activities in a startup.
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Each is Unique
Each and every organization is unique, with its own culture, objectives, processes, and history. Remembering that matters because effectively engaging with an organization and its people requires holding all your assumptions loosely so you can listen and jointly problem-solve.
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The Real Competition
What is the actual competition that an innovating startup faces? It is probably not the product that most closely resembles what you are offering to the market!
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Free Is Not Inexpensive
Innovative startups, by definition, are introducing a change into the world. And change is never easy. While each startup’s market is unique, all will be seeking to induce potential customers to take a risk, and consider making a change from their current status quo. Yet while the trial may be “free” in terms of paying for the product, remember that…
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Individual Customers are the Key to Successful Selling
Just like recognizing that you must design products for people, you also need to realize that purchase decisions are made by people as well. That means the core of your sales strategy needs to revolve around learning about and building relationships with the specific people you serve best within your customers' organizations.
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Starting Sales in a Startup
High-potential startups are businesses – and businesses thrive on revenue. That means that figuring out how to successfully start selling your product is at the heart of building a successful startup.
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Inviting a Yes
Making progress often depends on someone else's 'Yes' to unblock what you are trying to accomplish. Check out the ideas in this post for inspiration on how to be intentional and creative to increase the probability of the 'Yes' you need.
