Founder Friday is a weekly guest post written by a founder who is based in or hails from the Silicon Prairie. Each month, a topic relevant to startups is presented and founders share lessons learned or best practices utilized on that topic. February’s topic is sales.
About the author: Collin Caneva is the co-founder of GearFiveStudio.
GearFiveStudio sells AMPT, a cloud-based application that encourages employee engagement.
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I just completed testing for a new fitness boot camp. I’m not sharing this with you to brag, but because sales and this experience go hand-in-hand.
To many people, “selling” is a dirty word. Of course every business needs sales, but the sales process is where the negative tone sometimes comes to mind. Who hasn’t had an experience with a pushy, know-it-all salesman that seems numb to the word “no”? You say “no,” but it seems like he/she hears “yeah, maybe” and keeps pushing. Yuck. Whenever someone cold calls me and wants to meet, I instantly build a wall that’s mortared by resistance. I think that’s human nature – we simply don’t want to be “sold” anything.
Yesterday, I had absolutely no intention of starting a boot camp. I committed to this journey only because a friend reached out to me and asked me to do this with him and some others. I committed to this because of one thing: My relationship with these friends. That’s what it should be about: building relationships, NOT simply making sales.
“Qualifying your sales lead is the first and most important step in getting new business you’ll be able to retain.” – Blake Lawrence, founder and CEO, Hurrdat/Opendorse, Lincoln, Neb.
Sales don’t just happen. Before you even talk to a potential client, a well-planned strategy needs to be in place and a pipeline needs to be established. It’s been said that in order to make a sale, there may be 5-7 touch points with potential clients. That being said, you must be prepared. Your sales cycle and pipeline building should follow processes. Depending on the product, sales cycles can be lengthy. It may take weeks, months, or even years to complete a cycle with a potential client. Plan your cycle based on the industry that you’re in, and use the time in the cycle to really get to know your potential client in order to build a lasting, quality relationship that benefits both parties.
People buy you, not just your product. This doesn’t mean that you can be the coolest lady in the world, and automatically sell ice to Eskimos, this means that you have to prepare, build, and maintain relationships. Listen to your potential client and really delve into their concerns. Can your product effectively solve the issue at hand? Next, determine if you want to do business with the client. Whatever your product, hopefully you plan to have a client use it for quite some time. Can you stand to be involved with this person for the long haul?
“Listen, listen, listen. That’s all a great sales-person needs to know. The rest is elementary.” – Jay Wilkinson, founder and CEO, Firespring, Cornerstone Printing, Lincoln, Neb.
Matt, the boot camp instructor, made a sale for his business this morning. He didn’t reach out to me with a mass email, he didn’t message me with promises and he certainly didn’t start our engagement by listing off the features of his product and why he’s better than the other’s in the fitness market. He made a relationship with Ben, and Ben has a relationship with me. Based on those relationships, the next thing you know, I’m up and out of bed when it’s still darker outside than the inside of a cow, and jumping around a room sweating it out with my buds. After all, remember the last guy that jumped you at a social event and immediately started telling you how cool his product is, and all it’s one-of-a-kind features? Yeah, me too! (In fact, that used to be me!) Learning to listen takes a lot of time and practice, but it certainly will pay off. Soon, people will look forward to seeing you and conversing with you about what you’re up to, and your chances of establishing lasting business relationships will increase tremendously.
“Sales is about providing for a want or a need that someone has at that moment in time. People only buy from you if they determine the value of what they’re getting is equal to the cost at what you are providing it at.” – Mike Anderson, CEO, Anderson Ford, Lincoln, Neb.
Making sales can be easy, you simply have to master your sales process and build your marketing around that. Keep a sales journal. After a presentation, jot down what worked, what went wrong, what went better, and even ask your client for input. (It might help to bring a colleague with you when presenting for critiquing.) Whatever you decide, make sure that you’re always improving your chances. A consultant/friend of mine once told me: “Right now you’re talking to 10 people and getting 2-3 yeses. You’ll get to where you talk to 5 people and get the same results.”
“Marketing and sales should feed each other. Otherwise, sales is a numbers game. Tracking the activity that leads to a sale should be a key driver for any small business.” – Eric Dinger, founder and CEO, Thought District, Lincoln, Neb.
Approach sales not as sales, but more as an opportunity to help a client buy. Sell like you don’t need the sale. Listen to your audience, educate your audience, work with your audience, then live up to their expectations. Whether your selling pieces of your company to potential investors, or selling widgets to those reading this article – be prepared, listen intently, and solve problems. Then, do NOT be afraid to ask for referrals. If you’ve done your job effectively, the client will have no problem sharing his or her network with you.
”Sales is all about solving a real problem for my clients. If I can help them to identify the problem and assemble the right solution, then “the sale” is just a natural outcome.” – Clint Carlos, chief fun officer, GearFiveStudio, Lincoln, Neb.
Like an investor says to me: Go, be prepared, and make the sale.
Credits: Photos courtesy of Collin Caneva.
About the Author: Collin Caneva is the co-founder and CEO of GearFiveStudio. He’s also an adventurer, husband, dad, dog-lover and motorcycle fanatic. All that with one request: When making a turn (and in life we all make turns), please signal.
Find Caneva on Twitter, @CCaneva.
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Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) is dedicated to supporting innovation by connecting entrepreneurs with resources and development opportunities in Iowa. It salutes the founders of today and tomorrow; encouraging ideas that will invigorate a new economy. Please visit iowaeconomicdevelopment.com for more information on how IEDA can help your business ideas come to life.
