STARTUP SALES 101a general framework forearly stage sales

Miles J. Varghese

CREDIBILITY

● From “finance guy”

● To “startup sales guy”

● Proud LiveNinja Alum

● Current: Cetus Labs

“SALES IS AN

_______ art.”X

“SALES IS A

____________________ process.”(That’s tightly tied to Product + Marketing)

YOUR FIRST SALES HIRE:

P.M.F

.

PRODUCT MARKET FIT

MARC ANDREESSENa16z, Netscape

MIKE MAPLES, JR.Floodgate Capital

ANDY RACHLEFFBenchmark Cap,

Wealthfront

HOW DO YOU GET TO P.M.F ?● Prove your product’s Hypothesis

○ Great Idea ≠ Great Product

● Build, Deploy, Sell. (Iterate)

CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT

MUST READ:

SO WHO DO YOU HIRE?● 2009 CEB Inc study● 6,000+ interviews.● 5 Different Profiles:

○ The Relationship Builder○ The Challenger○ The Problem Solver○ The Lone Wolf○ The Hard Worker

● Which of these would you hire?

THE CHALLENGER :💪🏾

53% of customer loyalty is driven by the sales experience - not brand, price, or even the product.

MUST READ:

SO HOW DO YOU HIRE?“Employees, managers, and employees need a new relationship framework where they make promises to each other that they can keep.”

-REID HOFFMAN LinkedIn

THE HIRING FRAMEWORK● Lifetime Employment = 💀● Employment is an Alliance (NOT a “family”)● Alliance Agreement

○ “Tours of Duty” ● Measure for intellectual curiosity● Sales role play

○ Ex. live sales cold call

MUST READ:

MODERN CANDIDATE PROFILE:

“ABL”

“ALWAYS BE LEARNING”

1. TechCrunch2. TechMeme3. ReCode4. Marketplace Tech

(APM)5. WSJ Tech News

1. Bowery Capital2. SaaStr3. SalesHacker4. First Round Ca

pital5. Founding Sales

1. Lean Startup 2. Predictable Rev

enue

3. Hacking Sales4. Fanatical Prosp

ecting

1. SalesStack (Slack)

2. #MiaTech (Slack)

3. Closing Call4. Rainmaker

(Conf)

SO HOW DO YOU SELL?

● strategy● process ● methodology

SALES STRATEGY:strategy = revenue generation model

= inbound vs. outbound vs. hybrid

inbound = content to capture prospects = to produce qualified leads (MQLs)

outbound = proactive sales activity= to produce qualified leads

(SQLs)hybrid = Account Based Marketing (ABM)

SALES PROCESS

SALES METHODOLOGY:

methodology = the “approach” you use= challenger selling= solution selling= consultative selling= SPIN selling= trigger-based selling= social selling= agile selling= ….hit your KPI’s + close.

EXAMPLE:

1. AUTHORITY2. NEED3. URGENCY4. MONEY

1. Money2. Economic Buyer3. Decision Process4. Decision Criteria5. Identifying Pain6. Champion7. Competition

MUST READ:

SALES STACK:sales stack = the tools, vendors, and processes that support sales activities

= at scale= internal (SLA) = prospecting = to CRM= to signature

EXAMPLE:

CUSTOMER SUCCESS:

● Account Management● Quota carrying● “Farming”

Q+A:

thx!