What to expect when working in sales at a startup

[roblewis]

Wow, this is a loaded question. It varies from industry to industry and also upon the management in place. But here goes some that extend to every industry:

When you have been chosen to develop sales for a new startup, or are running sales for your own, there are many things you will encounter. I have taken a moment to list some of them, in no specific order:

1. Skepticism - There will be companies and individuals who will know nothing of your company and in some cases, you. Your job will be to persuade them to believe that you are there for the long run. If you have any background, this is a little easier, but by no means will be a walk in the park. They will want to know more about your company, but in far less time so you will need to be VERY prepared.

2. Doubt - Assuming you are in competition with existing companies, they will doubt your capabilities. You will have to demonstrate your competence and competitive ambitions. They will compare you to their existing vendor or service provider and criticize every little thing. You goal is to disarm them, then find something your company provides that the other does not. The key to this is that they must WANT this service, don't sell on NEED.

3. Value - There is a huge difference between value and price, get to know it well. How does your company stack up against the competition? Do you provide products or services that your competition doesn't? Is yours better? How? This is a no-brainer but we still do it, DO NOT SELL ON PRICE!!! No one wins. You get the order on price, you lose profit, you look bad, and you lose credibility! There is no deal worth looking bad and in my industry it takes about 2-4 years to bring the pricing back to previous levels in the event of a price war.

4. You - They are buying from you, not the company. Having worked with some amazing companies and an equal amount of horrible companies, I have still been successful. Why? They buy from me. I make them my friends, build relationships, and network. The result is just me doing business with my friends. That's how business should be.

5. Success - If you don't expect success, you won't get it! Sounds too easy right? People can sense when you are not confident enough to sell your own product. Think about it, they have dozens of people just like you visiting them on any given day, they get pretty good at determining who knows their product and believes in it, and who is just trying to pass time.

6. Fear - It is normal to have fear, but not normal to let it control you. Remember, they cannot come into your home and attack you mission impossible style and steal your family dog! They most likely do not have firearms next to their desk to assault those who come to the door (I have some stories of those that do, though!!) If you are selling something they WANT, they will most likely welcome  you with open doors.

7. Growing pains - Every startup has growing pains. Get used to it, and deal with them swiftly. I once worked for a company that did  not anticipate the growth to come so quickly. Very bad growing pains! We had to quickly adapt and figure out how to recover from our shortcomings in the operations side without losing sales and rentals. We had growing pains in our staffing. We had growing pains in our trucking. We even had growing pains in our service. The quicker you adapt to them without making a fuss or making excuses, the better you will look to your client!

I am intentionally leaving one out: Failure. You will come across failure. Whether it is a lost sale, lost employee, or substantial revenue losses, it will happen. You have to remember that every failure makes your successes that much better! Get up, wipe your blood, sweat and tears away, dust yourself off and go again. Resilience and drive are what make sales people the people they are!!!

[LamontWayne]

This is a good list.  I just want to add a little more truth about sales...

1. Skepticism - The best way to convince others to invest in you, whether you're recruiting salesmen or selling customers, is to establish a track record.  Go out and sell your product yourself first.  Get some satisfied customers under your belt.  Then you can make the case to others that you're "on to something here".

2. Doubt - It is absolutely about want.  People buy what they want.  People absolutely do NOT buy what they NEED.  Buying what you need is boring and without emotion.  If people bought just what they needed, then there would be no mansion sales, no Aston Martin or Ferrari or Corvette or Lamborghini sales, no Dolce and Gabbana or Prada sales.  Give your customer something they WANT, something that THEY DECIDED they wanted and is more VALUEable than their money (number 3 here) and they won't have a doubt.

3. Value - Selling on price is kinda stupid (but there are the few instances where the price point builds some of the value....  VERY FEW).  If you build enough VALUE in your product, it doesn't matter HOW much it is. 

What is VALUE, you may ask?  Value is when you fulfill one of your customer's WANTS, AND that WANT is worth having more than having the money in their pocket.   Your customer WANTS to look great.  Your customer WANTS to be healthy.  Your customer WANTS to feel happy.  Your customer WANTS to save money (but this is one of those very fews...) Focus on building VALUE based on your customers WANTS.  Make that product worth more to them than the money in their pocket.

4. You - They are buying "you", but I disagree with the statement about buying from friends.  People do buy from friends, but they also DON'T buy from friends, because "its okay if we don't buy anything from him.  He's our friend.  He'll understand."  That's crap.  Make friends only to the point where they'll tell you the truth when you ask them about their WANTS.

5. Success - If you don't have convictions behind your product, then your customer won't.  Period.

6. Fear - Well, in my experience...  when you're trying to sell something new or if you're new to sellling...  you want to try and avoid the thing you get the most of.  REJECTION.  Understand that you're going to get more rejection than sales.  It's just part of the numbers game that IS sales.  Don't be afraid of rejection.  Embrace it.  Anticipate it.  Learn from it.  Never, never give up because of it.  I don't like the word failure in the way that was used...  You're only a failure when you give up.  Well, that's not acceptable in any form.  It's just rejection you're running into, and that's just part of the deal.

The number 7 was pretty dead on, so I'll add my number 7.

7. Asking questions.  Lots of salesmen i've run into like to talk.  Blah blah blah, like those barkers at the county fairs.  The successful salesmen I know.... the millionaires?  They listen.  They ask questions and listen.  Look, your customer will tell you how to sell them if you just shut up and listen to what they're telling you.  So....  shut up!

Oh, especially after you ask for the sale.  SHUT UP!  Let the customer talk first.  I'll sit in total uncomfortable silence FOREVER before I talk after I ask for the order.  You talk first, you lose.  Period.