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July 20, 2007

FRI

JUL

2007

Being a Startup CEO is all About Selling

By Janis Machala

Many founders of technology companies are technologists and not sales or
marketing people. If this is you then you should take a course or a program
on strategic sales. Why? Because pretty much everything you do in running
a company is about selling. And most of you are not naturally good at this.

First, you raise money for your company. What’s this? It’s about selling equity in your dream. You have to talk to a LOT of people to get one person to invest. You have to actually ask for the order. This means closing someone by asking them to write you a check. This is really hard to do. Most founders forget to ask people to write the check-they have to be asked, they don’t naturally do it. At first it might not seem that hard because you talk to people you know. But once you start meeting with angels and VCs it becomes a lot harder and you hear NO a lot, or worse you hearing nothing back after the meeting.

Once you have money you will hire people. What’s this about? It’s about selling potential employees on your dream. It’s about making your company more compelling than Amazon or Google or Microsoft (name any big company that’s going to pay people more than you can afford to pay them). It’s also a marketing event as how potential employees view your company creates buzz in town about how good (or bad) you are.

Then you have press and analysts to sell so they write good things about you. Then you have to get initial customers and who better to get those customers than the founder who has unwavering belief in what their company’s about. Once you start selling then you raise more money and then you do more press and then you hire more people and meet with bigger and more customers.

See, most everything you as the founder do is about selling. Get good at it!

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Janis Machala is the Founder and Managing Partner of Paladin Partners.

3:11 PM | Permalink | 3 comments

Comments (3) for "Being a Startup CEO is all A...

As a fairly recent founder of a Consulting firm, I have to second the opinion that it's all about selling. For those of you who are brand new to being that person, check out Selling the Invisible (http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Invisible-Field-Modern-Marketing/dp/1587990660/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5306281-2536814?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184980729&sr=8-1), by Harry Beckwith. This is a great guide to the basics of how to do marketing and sales, and it's full of great ways to *think* about your company. It will give you a great place to start.

By Adam Jacob - Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:23:35 GMT

Pushing your ideas onto people all day, begging for money, and promising you'll be the next big ruthless, monopolizing corporation are not always noble endeavors, and they feel awkward for a reason.

Startup CEOs make the mistake of trying to wear too many hats, instead of focusing on their strengths. If selling isn't your bag, I'd advise you not to "get good at it", but rather to partner early with someone who is.

By Joshua Schnell - Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:35:06 GMT

Well, when you put it that way. ;)

Joshua, you set up a dichotomy between the noble entrepreneur, high on a pedestal with the purity of his ideas, and the ignoble sales people out begging for money and promising to shred the competition to pieces. I think that dichotomy is a false one, and here is why.

If you are an engineer who comes up with the next great idea, the reality is that you are the one who needs to have the fire to "sell" that product. You can replace the word "sell" here with "believe in". It's not that you need to transform yourself into a marketing person, wearing blue button up shirts and yellow ties all day. It's that you need to be the one who can show people how your vision gets turned into a business reality. For investors that means a return. For employees that means a steady paycheck, and the eventual promise of a payout on their sweat.

If you don't have that, or you don't understand that you can't just build a great product and expect people (or money, or clients, or partners,) to instantly realize the potential, the odds you can partner with someone who does is pretty low.

Because really, would you partner with that guy? :)

Most of the time, entrepreneurs don't have a problem with fire. But they don't know how to turn that fire into words that will motivate people, inspire investors, and turn their (probably great) idea into a business reality. Nothing slimy or unnatural about it, it's just a skill you don't need to hone most of the time. You can learn it, and it's absolutely worth doing.

Now, that doesn't mean the team isn't important. Or that you (as an entrepreneur) shouldn't recognize your own skills, and find partners (perhaps business partners) who can take you where you want to go. But it all starts with you, and if you can't sell yourself, and your product, you won't be able to find that team.

By Adam Jacob - Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:57:59 GMT