sales for startups - crash course

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Sales for Startups Crash Course ——————————————————- www.thrive.email

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Page 1: Sales for Startups - Crash course

Sales for StartupsCrash Course

——————————————————-

www.thrive.email

Page 2: Sales for Startups - Crash course

www.thrive.email

——————————————————————————-What do I know about sales?

• 10+ years of sales and startups • What I sold: gaming hardware, telesales center,

f inancial services, recruitment services, price comparison, discount coupons, marketing reporting, sales software

• Closed deal sizes: from a few Euro to double digit millions • Countries: 30 countries on all continents except Antartica • Currently: Founder of sales automation company Thrive for Email

Page 3: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Course contents

• The basics • Starting principles • Your hit list • Point of entrance • Reaching out • When to start • Follow up endlessly

} includes

assignment

Page 4: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-A typical example

Product Development

• 6 don’t answer • 3 not interested • 1 willing to talk

Startup contacts 10 potential customers

Startup concludes the product is not

ready

Back into the comfort zone

>— > —

>— >—(

:Feeling rejected

We’re ready! And now we wait…..

Page 5: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-The basics

• Understand your customerWhat does (s)he want? How can you help him/her achieve this?

• Have a professional appearance Company email, signature, voicemail, dress code.

• Be conf ident and be yourselfProfessional ≠ uptight. Be comfortable in your role.

• Always follow up No answer ≠ no interest. Stay polite but never EVER give up.

Page 6: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Starting principles

• Focus on early-adopters>85% of your target group will probably not buy when you start.

• Don’t talk - Listen! Make sure you understand the problem your customer has.

• Get your name out there Build brand awareness so the next timeyou are not the new kid on the block.

Page 7: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Your hit list

• Test specif ic target groups (Industry, Geo, Size, etc)>10 companies per group and at least 100 total.

• Look at other companies in your marketReviews, testimonials, showcases, etc.

• Some ways to f ind more companies:Google, SimilarSites, AlternativeTo, LinkedIn (People also viewed), events (speakers, participants, sponsors)

• Consider multiple distribution methodsDirect sales, partner distribution (BizDev), resellers

Page 8: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Your hit list

• An early-adopter….. …..has the problem,…..knows he has the problem…..and is trying to solve it!

• ASSIGNMENT: What behaviour of your target group could help you identify your early-adopters?

Page 9: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Point of entrance

• Your customer is ALWAYS a person, not a companyIdentify relevant roles. Who uses it? Who pays? Who else benef its?

• Understand the (personal) incentives your counterpart hasCan you increase his bonus? Reduce workload? Save money? Solve a problem?

• Experiment which entry point works best (per group!)In the beginning, content experts can be better than decision makers.

• Figure out the name of the personDo your homework. Sources: LinkedIn, Xing, Team on website, Press releases.

Page 10: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Point of entrance

• A good point of entrance….. …..has a role and name,…..f its the early-adopter prof ile …..and has a personal interest in talking with you.

• ASSIGNMENT: Find the names, roles and incentives of at least 3 people you could contact immediately.

Page 11: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Reaching out

• Repeat the same sequence multiple timesLearn from sample sets, not from one-time experiences.

• Get in touch with your contact directlyA “not interested” from a secretary does not tell you anything.

• Don’t start by just asking for feedbackThis communicates that you are not ready yet. You are trying to sell!

• Always ask for the sale! If you don’t ask, they can’t say “yes” :)

Page 12: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Reaching out

• Personal recommendation: contact by email to get a call • Easier to reach out to the person directly. • Easier to f igure out what messaging triggers interest. • Possibility to visually show your brand. • They can look up the email if there is interest later on. • You can always call afterwards.

• Use the call(s) to learn and close the saleDon’t try to sell by email. You will learn a lot from the conversation.

Page 13: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Reaching out

• Find the email address by f iguring out the formatSome sources: Press section, Slideshare, YouTube, www.email-format.com, www.voilanorbert.com, ask someone. Else just guess! (Appendix A)

• Use online services to test if you are correct:- https://tools.verifyemailaddress.io/- http://verify-email.org/- http://www.verifyemailaddress.org/

• ASSIGNMENT: Figure out the email address of the 3 people you just identif ied as a point of entrance.

Page 14: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-When to start

• The simple answer: NOWConvince yourself that what you have is enough to go out there.

• Use One-Pagers to assess market potentialTry to sell your product before you build it.

• Sales can be the best form of customer developmentKnowing if someone wants to buy and why (not) is extremely valuable.

• NB. Doing sales doesn’t mean stop product dev!

Page 15: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Follow up endlessly

• Following up consistently is the key to successful salesFollowing up ≠ spam. It means never EVER let go.

• Always assume the best reason why someone didn’t answerNo answer ≠ no interest. Don’t let your ego get in your way.

• The bigger the company, the more follow ups will be requiredMore decision makers will slow increase the time of your sales cycle

• A follow up should be brief. Max 3 sentences!Mind trick: short emails require little effort to answer.

• If you get a “No”, make sure you understand whyLearn about decision drivers and know when to contact again.

Page 16: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Get started and keep going

Product Development

• 40 don’t answer • 30 not now • 30 willing to talk

Startup contacts 100 early-adopters at right point of

entrance

Connect further and try to sell / learn

>— > —

>— >—

Engage with those who answered

We’re ready! Consistent follow up process

REVENUE

Share learnings

> —— —

— — —— — —

—— ——

Success

Page 17: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Now its your turn…..

Vincent Jong [email protected]

Go out and

be

AMAZING!

Page 18: Sales for Startups - Crash course

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——————————————————————————-Appendix A - Email FormatsSome examples for Vincent Jong at Thrive: • [email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected]* • [email protected]*

* at = Austria. Often for large multinationals like e.g. coca cola

N.B. If you are looking at someone from a subsidiary, sometimes the email address is from the mother f irm.