TSM #46: Founder sell differently

This is a 1 week-delayed copy of the Sales Mastermind Newsletter.

If you'd like #47 it's published here - this week it's all about Game Tapes.

Ready to hire your first seller?

Or have you hired 1-2-3 sellers and are struggling to make them successful?

It's all about the basics.

• Founders sell differently
• Expectations and accountability
• The four processes before hiring sellers
• Where to focus.

Founders sell differently

What works for the Founder rarely works for other sellers.

Founders know the market, the product, the pain, and the opportunity better than almost anyone on the planet.

Founders earn a level of deference because they are in charge. A "Director of Whatever" will open up more quickly and allow Founders leeway regarding sales mistakes.

The same "Director of Whatever" will be harsher, more critical, and less forgiving of a seller. Many consider selling to be a dirty profession and sellers to be beneath them.

Therefore, the number one mistake Founders make when hiring sellers is to think, "This works for me; why doesn't it work for them."

Rule of thumb: Assume you get the below right; early sales hires should contribute at least 80% compared to a fully ramped and effective Founder.

Expectations and accountability

When you hire a seller, success starts with communication.

They need to know:

1. The goal (conversations, revenue, number of deals, etc.)
2. The expectations (reply to emails within 24 hours, generate 5/50/500 weekly conversations.)
3. The processes to do their job.

Only when you have all three can you hold sellers accountable.

Four processes to do a sales job

Every sales team needs four proven and documented processes:

1. How to Generate Leads
2. How to Engage with Prospects
3. How to Close Buyers
4. How to Onboard Customers

You can hire sellers without the above. However, when they succeed, you won't know why they succeed and can't replicate it.

And, you won't know how to reverse or rectify when they struggle and fail.

Generating leads

There are only three ways to generate leads - inbound(marketing), outbound (seller), or a hybrid (both).

Pick your structure, prove it as the Founder, and then teach, nurture, and support your sellers on the process you've proven.

I am a big fan of inbound "lead-rich environments" (as Jason Lemkin calls them), where the business provides enough inbound leads for the rep to sink or swim.

But your process could be a cold calling or cold LinkedIn messaging - as long as it is proven.

It serves no one to hire a seller (or 10) and tell them to find their leads their way.

Engaging with Prospects

Working a sales process comes down to how, how many, and what structure the seller provides to the buyer.

At the highest level, sellers are either in the office (or, these days, at home) or visit prospects in person. Pick one and document it.

Another example, especially for software sellers, is whether there is a trial or proof of concept and whether it is free or paid.

In essence, this is what many consider the "sales process:"

• An intro meeting/call to qualify the prospect
• A follow-up meeting to pitch all stakeholders
• Some form of documentation of the offer
• Negotiation
• Acceptance by the Prospect

The process might seem obvious to a Founder, but to a new seller, having this documented and mapped out will save everyone a lot of headaches.

Closing buyers

Nothing is weirder or more infuriating than when a buyer is ready to buy, and the seller makes it difficult.

To summarize the "Closing" process in one statement, what happens when a buyer is 100% ready to buy?

For example, do they pay with cash, card, wire transfer, or something else? What about payment terms? Are they annual upfront, monthly in arrears, or something else?

Documenting these steps is vital, as far too many deals are lost at the 11th hour because the seller is inexperienced in what it really takes to get buyers over the line.

Also, this is the process where all sellers need to enact TPSO. Just because a buyer hints at or even verbally says "yes," the deal is never done until it is done.

Onboarding Customers

More than any above, this process is the difference between a sales process and a buying journey. A sales process ends with the Close; a buying journey ends once the value is received.

Onboarding is a customer's first impression of what it is really like to work with your business.

Document it, get it right, and delight customers to see repeats, renewals, and referrals skyrocket.

If you struggle to crack onboarding, many customers will mentally check out well before they stop paying for your product or service.

Where to start

The above processes are in order.

If you can only focus on one process, pick generating leads. Then, the engagement, closing, onboarding, and finally, optimize the whole journey.