Sales for Startups Crash Course ——————————————————- www.thrive.email
Sales for StartupsCrash Course
——————————————————-
www.thrive.email
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
www.thrive.email
——————————————————————————-Course contents
• The basics • Starting principles • Your hit list • Point of entrance • Reaching out • When to start • Follow up endlessly
} includes
assignment
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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…..
www.thrive.email
——————————————————————————-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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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” :)
www.thrive.email
——————————————————————————-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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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
www.thrive.email
——————————————————————————-Now its your turn…..
Vincent Jong [email protected]
Go out and
be
AMAZING!
www.thrive.email
——————————————————————————-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.