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The Pocket Guide of Essential Early-Stage Sales Advice
From the archive. This post was published January 2, 2024 and is kept here as written, so parts of it may no longer reflect how we work today.
The post was 100% inspired by Michael Seibel's post re: The Pocket Guide of Essential YC Advice. Here’s link.
20 bite-size learnings I’ve collected from my sales experience.
0-1 sales talent does not exist. Founders, this is you.
Product/market fit is almost always found in adjacent markets. Don’t handcuff yourself to Day 1 market vision.
The demo should never be focused on the product.
You need to understand their buying process before you build your GTM.
Unlocking product/market fit is a process of elimination (like science), NOT a hedge.
If the problem is not currently being measured or managed, it’s likely not a priority.
Specificity is fastest way to build market trust. “Wow, I feel like this was built just for me.”
The quality of your questions is critical for discovery; the quality of their questions is critical for intent.
Your niche is not a random starting point. It’s a GTM strategy to prove the experiment.
Building a working GTM will take longer than building a working product.
Give yourself 18-24 months in the market to be invalidated, rejected, and redirected.
Consistency is the only way to unlock repeatable themes. Controlled conversations (i.e., experiments) are critical.
80% of early sales is getting them excited by YOU, the Founder — how you see the world and how you uniquely solve their specific problem. The product is the other 20%.
A seed-stage startup should never have a VP of Sales.
Channel partnerships are a colossal waste of time.
Some of the best wedge strategies target an uneconomical use case for incumbents.
If the primary need is being over-served, focus on the secondary need.
Someone asking for more features is never an early adopter.
Never join a startup where the sales team leads the product roadmap.
Speed to respond to a prospect/customer is critical — be attentive.