Include Sales in Your Strategy

We hear it a lot. Entrepreneurs tell us how their software is better than all their competitors. Sounds good enough right? Not for them. They are so driven by having the very best technology that they get obsessed and continue to add more and more features.

Meanwhile, their company is stuck with zero sales and when we ask about their sales strategy, they sometimes give blank stares back. Why? Because they haven't thought about it yet. Or they are scared to pick up the phone to start dialing for dollars. Usually, excuses start flowing.

A very passionate entrepreneur I spoke with the other day who is also at this stage said to me that he only wants his company to be order takers, not sales guys. One of my partners says order takers only exist at McDonalds.

We're trying to do our part to help when we see promise. We often work to connect great tech and business people together. In the example above, I offered to even help him find and interview sales candidates.

We really push the entrepreneurs we speak with to connect with their potential buyers early on. Get a strong dialogue going with a bunch of them. Ask them for their ideas and help. Where does it help your prospect most? What features does it lack? Can you build a relationship with them and get them to commit to using it when you are ready? Will they buy it? How much? Ask for feedback. I recommend picking some local potential customers too, since it is easy and cheap to just drive over and meet with them face-to-face. Introductions to those individuals can sometimes be easier too.

Comments

[Jason Caplain]

Daniel, good advice. Thanks for sharing.

[Daniel - TimeCenter Appointment Scheduling Software]

It's easy to get stuck in the feature loop. Especially if the entrepreneurs them selfs develop the product. The top reasons for this is:

1. If sales are low, it must mean we don't have all the features

2. Every feature suggestion is motivated by "Other people would love it!"

3. A feature usually leads to more features

The solution is to focus only on killer features that attract the most buying customers. Give customers what they need, not what a vocal but small group say they need. It's hard, but well worth the effort. And your customers will love you for it.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=2724852]

WOW. Any entrepreneur who has been burned in last decade can probably relate to this post and appreciate it.

Few years ago when I was in startup mode, I wanted to build something cool. In the past year I've shifted to "build something people pay for". I can see the same attitude change in countless Valley friends who are increasingly filtering new ideas through a different litmus test("can I sell and make revenue from this? how sustainable? how much?").

I think sales is not just a department--it's a perspective that can really influence your product, usually for good.