3 reasons why and the pitfall to avoid
Digital has changed the way customers buy. Therefore offering Technical Founders a different way to reach customers but does that mean that startups now can avoid the need to sell and just rely on clever digital campaigns to attract in-bound leads? Has sales become a redundant skill that Technical Founders no longer need to have?
Here’s a few reasons why Technical Founders should still sell for at least a short period of time during the course of their startup journey:
When it is a complex product
- If you are introducing a technological breakthrough, a product for early market users such as Innovators there is no better person than a technical person to do the sale
- The reason being, innovators are keen enthusiast for new technology and will have a lot of questions about the innovation
- A Technical Founder is the best person to articulate the technological advantage innovators can gain by being early movers
To create a dependable sales model
- One of the biggest challenges for startups is creating a dependable sales model that can be repeated over time
- In order to do this, it’s paramount that Technical Founders understand the buying journey of the target market. Some may be tech savvy while others rely on intermediaries to make their decisions
- Time in the field will force Technical Founders to refine their pitch and understand how to craft the best marketing message and decide on what sales channel to use
Product and process is changing
- Up until it’s time to scale, product and especially processes are constantly changing and being refined.
- As an early founder it’s important to be across all these learnings that come with gaining traction of a MVP, so that the business is on the best possible foot to succeed
- Bringing in dedicated sales resources any earlier that the scaling stage can be detrimental. This is because, sales people are hardwired to sell and expect systems and resources to be in place
The biggest pitfall to avoid when selling is avoiding the mistake of being too product centric and getting stuck to the point that the conversation doesn’t move forward. All of a sudden Technical Founders will find themselves in an unwanted situation where they are providing “free consulting” with no reciprocal value.
While sales may polarise views, the best salespeople are the ones that employ a craft like approach and know how to strategically and tactfully move the conversation forward. Based on the customer segment they are dealing with.
Every Technical Founders journey is different and they need a tailored approach. Hence the reason we created Startup Sales Bootcamp. Feel free to get a copy of the brochure from our website