Close Call: Real-world sales strategies for startups and SMBs

http://blog.close.io/c-level-sales-for-startups

In the early days of your startup, the ultimate validation is money.

I’ve talked about this before, but it’s worth repeating: people need to vote with their time and money. That’s how you know there’s a real market for your product.

End-users might think your technology is cool, but they don’t often make financial decisions. Many times, the people you need to convince are C-level executives.

But here’s the problem: executives get pitched every day. They’re always asked for cash. So how do you stand apart?

Ask for their expert advice

Cold-calling executives doesn’t work if you don’t know about the market. To sell anything effectively, you need to understand their needs and how they buy.

When you reach out to them, say:

“We’re building a new technology and I could use your input. You’re an industry leader and I really value your expertise. I’d love to jump on a quick 15-minute call so that we can build this technology in a better way.”

Here’s why this strategy is effective:

You’re appealing to their ego. People like to be experts. They like to give advice.

You’re showing them that their advice might directly influence the end product. They’ll get exactly what they’re looking for with this new technology.

This isn’t a bait and switch, though

You should truly want their advice. You need to learn more about them. They could be future customers, so you want to make sure that they’re happy with your solution.

On the call, ask questions so that you understand:

Who they are

How they think

How they buy

How they would describe your product

How they would use your product

What they’ve identified as positives and negatives about your product

If they’re not ready to buy, don’t jump into your pitch

When you ask for money too early, they’ll likely get defensive and the relationship won’t go anywhere.

Instead, ask to stay in touch:

“Can I keep you updated on our progress? In a few months, once we’ve checked off some of the things we discussed today, should we schedule another 15 minutes?”

Most executives will say yes.

When they do, it’s your responsibility to keep them in the loop. The more they hear from you, the more invested they’ll feel, especially if you can deliver on their feedback.

If the call goes better than expected and they’re excited about the future, go for the virtual close

Ask questions like:

If you were me, how would you try to market this?

How would you try to sell to people?

How would you raise money?

What would it take for you to buy our product?

Push them out of their role and into yours.

If the fit is great, say, “I get the sense that you want to buy this product. Would you like to be an early customer?”

There’s a right time for this, but if the opportunity is there, go for the close.

In the early days of your startup, you need to build strong relationships, create a product with market fit, and generate cash. Reaching out to C-level executives isn’t always easy, so make the best out of every opportunity.

Just remember this simple framework and you’ll be ahead of the game: Ask for money and you’ll get advice. Ask for advice and you’ll get money.

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http://blog.close.io/sales-leaders-deliver-bad-news

another Monday morning: The sun’s shining, the investors are happy, and the entire office seems to be in an exceptionally good mood. You can just tell it’s gonna be a great week. Or so you thought, until you got that call.

You know, the one from your most profitable customer saying, “Yeah, we’re not gonna be renewing our contract at the end of the month. Thanks for the last five years, though. Peace.”

The news hits like a bombshell, and your head’s still reeling when you come to a terrible realization: As a leader, you actually have to do something about this. Moreover, you have to be the one that breaks the bad news to your team.

There’s nothing worse than having to drop bad news on the people you’re responsible for. But here’s a wake-up call: As a leader, navigating bad news is your job, your responsibility, and your privilege.

Your team chose you as much as you chose them, and this is your opportunity to prove to them they made a good decision. If you don’t mess it up.

Startups are hard. Make it easier by claiming your free copy of From 0 to 1,000+ customers & beyond.

Seriously, don’t mess it up

There’s only one thing worse than bad news: Bad news, delivered badly.

I see it all the time in inexperienced leaders: They get the news and immediately think, “Okay, how can I make sure nobody knows about this?”

It’s a symptom of imposter syndrome. Suddenly, all of your time and energy goes into hiding the problem rather than solving it, but guess what? Your team always finds out sooner or later, and in the worst possible way: By uncovering something you were trying to hide.

And just like that, your credibility as a leader is compromised. Now not only do you have a crisis to navigate, you have to navigate it without the trust and faith of your team. And spoiler alert: It’s probably not gonna work. Your team’s too divided to survive.

How to break bad news to your team

Alright, that’s the wrong way to break bad news. Thankfully there’s a better way. It just takes a bit of finesse and patience. I recommend breaking the process down into three days:

On the first day, keep the news to yourself and focus on managing your emotional response.

On the second day, do research around the problem, gather data, and ask for help from advisors.

On the third day, call a meeting and break the news to your team.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the three days.

Day I: Getting perspective

First things first: When you get bad news, it’s probably gonna sound like the end of the world. It’s not, unless you treat it that way.

Because here’s the thing: If you, as your team’s fearless leader, claim the sky is falling, people are gonna believe you. They’re gonna buy into your fear and helplessness, and that doesn’t help anyone.

So pause, take a minute, and breathe. Don’t jump to conclusions, solutions, or decisions; not yet. Your number one priority after getting bad news must be managing your own emotional household before you worry about anyone or anything else.

Before taking any further action, I recommend completing two exercises: The Worst Case Scenario Planner and The Five Why’s. Let’s take a quick look at each.

The Worst Case Scenario Planner

If the present crisis feels like the end of the world, you lack perspective. The truth is, even the worst case scenario probably isn’t really all that bad.....

Want more advice + templates that help you negotiate with prospects → http://blog.close.io/price-negotiations-underbidding-competitor

He likes you and he likes what you’re selling. You estimate that there’s a 90% chance you’ll close the sale during your next conversation.

But then, the (not so) unthinkable happens. You get a call from the prospect and he tells you he’s been talking to your competitor for weeks now, and they’ve just offered him an outrageously low price on their own product.

He puts you on the spot and asks you straight up, “Can you beat that price?”

If you’ve been in sales for any reasonable amount of time you’ve probably encountered this scenario. If you haven’t, or were unsure about how to proceed, the answer is pretty simple.

That’s because there’s one surefire way to win a price war. Get out of it.

Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/sell-high-tech-products-to-low-tech-buyers?utm_campaign=yt_description&utm_medium=video&utm_source=youtube

You did it. You developed the next great tech product. The features are endless, the benefits innumerable. It’s a game-changer. So you meet with prospect— traditional buyers— and recite all the ways your solution changes everything. You provide diagrams and data. You discuss industry trends and the future.

But that’s when you see them. The blank stares.

You realize that your traditional buyers just aren’t comfortable with innovative technology. They don’t like change. They don’t get why your product is such a big deal. (It's a common scenario when selling high-tech products, and we cover more on this topic in our free Startup Sales Success course.)

So where’d you lose them? The answer is pretty simple.

You never discussed the cost of ignoring such an opportunity.

Remember this formula:

The Past + FOMO

In these situations, my advice is always the same: relate your new technology to something that happened in the past, then connect it to one of the most powerful motivators in sales—the fear of missing out.

Let’s say you’ve developed a social media ad platform and you want to sell it to car dealers.

Dealers aren’t typically innovative and tech-savvy buyers, but they spend tons of money. If you start with next-generation features and the future of advertising, they’re going to think your pitch is bullshit.

You’ll get questions like, “How does this make any sense for us?” and “How’s this going to help us sell cars?”

When buyers feel overwhelmed, intimidated, or confused, the pitch gets difficult.

Ask yourself the following question:

What was the last technology to disrupt how dealerships do business?

A recent example is Google AdWords. Paid search advertising was something dealers ignored until they could no longer afford to do so. In the beginning, many of them still funneled their ad spends into newspapers, billboards, and TV. The few dealers who invested early in AdWords understood the way people would shop for cars in the future. They saw an opportunity to build expertise in a platform that would give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

With this in mind, let’s use AdWords to sell your high-tech product to low-tech buyers.

Step 1: Relate to the past

Remind low-tech buyers of a time when they came upon a new technology too late. Start with something like:

Remember the early days of Google AdWords? Dealers weren’t spending money on paid search. The whole thing seemed crazy, right? Who’s looking for cars on the internet? Most dealers had no clue what it meant for their business.

By recalling a time when technology felt confusing, even esoteric, you’re letting them admit to prior insecurities. They likely weren’t one of the first AdWords adopters, so they know how much it sucked, how much it hurt, when they missed out on a technology that could have provided a competitive advantage. By relating to the past, you’re handing them something tangible—a previous mistake.

Step 2: Pitch the present

This is when you discuss all the great things your new ad platform has to offer. Try this:

I’m going to share something that may seem weird or intimidating, but in the next five years, every one of your competitors will be using this platform. What I’m about to show you, most dealers would ignore. Most dealers would wait until it’s too late.

You’re telling them that this uneasy feeling is the same one their competitors have. It’s what they’ve all felt whenever they encounter new technology.

Explain that your social media ad platform already reaches 500 million people. Highlight major successes with your current run of advertisers. Talk about features, benefits, and your approach to advertising. Do all of this.

But do it after you’ve related your platform to a past technology that’s now become industry standard.

Step 3: Show them the future ....

Level up: https://close.io/free-sales-course/

You've worked hard to set up that sales meeting or demo—but your prospect never shows up. No-shows suck but there are 9 things you can do to reduce them. | Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/sales-no-shows

Monday morning, 10:00 a.m. Meeting time.

You’ve got an appointment with a major prospect who seems really interested in your product. You take a deep breath, lean back in your chair, and stare at the phone in eager anticipation. Any time now.

10:05 a.m.: Nothing. But they’re probably just late, right? These things happen.

10:10 a.m.: That’s odd. But they’re probably on their way to the phone right now.

10:15 a.m.: Still nothing. You decide to take the initiative and call, but get no answer.

10:30 a.m.: No call. No text. No email. No doubt: You’ve got yourself another no-show.

Maybe they just forgot, or perhaps they lost interest. Either way, it doesn’t make the situation any less frustrating, especially when they’re the ninth no-show this month (and you’re not even halfway through the month yet).

There’s nothing more infuriating than investing your time in a prospect only to have them go dark without warning.

Sure, you can argue that no-shows are just a part of the sales process. And you’d be right: Occasionally they are just a part of the job. But if they’re a regular occurrence, you’ve got a problem.

Let’s talk about the steps you can take to ensure that your prospects don’t just show up for meetings; they’re excited to be there and eager to move forward.

How many no-shows is too many?

Think you’ve got a no-show problem? Let’s confirm that. What’s your no-show rate?

Most people I ask have no idea. If that’s you, here’s a quick way to calculate it: Divide your total number of no-shows by the total number of scheduled meetings.

For example: If you had 50 meetings scheduled for the last month and 15 of them were no-shows, your no-show rate would be 15/50, or 30%.

So how many no-shows are too many? That depends on what stage of the sales funnel your no-shows happen.

Top-of-funnel no-shows

No-shows at the top of the funnel are prospects you’ve only just met.

If you do a lot of cold prospecting, no-shows are just a part of the deal; it’s almost impossible to entirely eliminate them. But, as a general rule, these no-show rates should never exceed 20%.

Bottom-of-funnel no-shows

No-shows at the bottom of the funnel are those you’ve already invested substantial time and energy into. You've pitched them, managed their objections, learned about their needs, and have done everything you can to schedule them for a meeting.

If you’re getting cancellations and no-shows at this stage of the sales process, something is wrong. As a general rule, your bottom-of-funnel no-show rates should never exceed 10%.

“Is it something I said?” Why prospects don’t show up

Before we talk about reducing no-show rates, let’s take a look at what’s causing them in the first place. Generally speaking, no-shows happen for one of two reasons: Emergencies or priorities.

Emergencies

Emergencies are the reason it’s impossible to have a “zero” no-show rate. Unexpected crises happen and, when they arise, they often make it inconvenient or impossible to meet.

This could be anything from a family emergency to a last-minute board meeting. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to eliminate external emergencies.

Priorities

More often than not, no-shows are the result of a prospect prioritizing another task over your appointment. Sometimes this is intentional, other times it’s accidental.

This could be anything from the prospect just forgetting your meeting to actively choosing another meeting over yours. Thankfully, you have almost full control over your level of priority with a prospect.

9 scheduling tips to get prospects to show the hell up

When a prospect no-shows, it’s tempting to place all the blame on them. How dare they, right?

In this episode Steli talks about how to deal with not meeting your sales quota and how to manage the stress that it causes. We all have stress in life, and that’s not a negative thing as it shows that we care. Steli shares practical advice about how to manage your stress. He also delves into what you can do as a salesperson to deal with missing your quota. He refers to The 5 Why Methodology that helps you identify the root causes of why you’re missing that quota and the RIGHT way to address these root causes for your future success.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

●00:03 – Today’s episode is about how to deal with the stress of missing your sales quota and how to turn it into an opportunity

●00:20 – Sales is results driven and this can be a source of stress, but it is also beautiful because you have to take action for it to be successful

●01:12 – Sales people suffer from a tremendous amount of stress because the company depends on their work as it can affect their income and family

●02:11 – Steli shares a statement shirt he saw saying stress means you care a lot about something

●03:09 – Managing stress is about managing your own emotions ●04:10 – The basic principles of managing stress:

o 04:22 – Sleep enough and make sure you are rested

o 04:59 – Eat healthy and eat well

o 05:31 – Make sure you are physically active

o 06:12 – Take breaks o 06:36 – Meditate

●07:22 – For salespeople, evaluate why you missed your quota

o 07:59 – Use the 5 Why Methodology

o 08:16 – One why is not enough because it will not get you to the root cause of the issue

o 08:47 – Steli shares a scenario using the 5 Why

o 10:11 – The root cause of not meeting the quota is setting an unrealistic goal or not doing the right things to reach the goal

●10:54 – It takes patience and getting over your own resistance to get through the 5 Why

●11:05 – The usual causes of not meeting the quota:

o 11:10 – Setting unrealistic goals

o 11:20 – You didn’t take enough action

o 11:27 – The quality of the action is lacking

o 12:04 – All of these things are in your control

●12:13 – The one thing that is out of your control is whether or not the market has shifted dramatically

●12:55 – The second thing out of your control is that the company did something wrong

●13:18 – Check and analyze if the reason is within your control or not

●13:51 – Staying in a clouded space WITHOUT resolution or clarity will only amplify your stress

●14:12 – Identifying the root cause will ease your stress because you know the problem and can find the solution

●14:50 – You can also ask for help

●15:37 – The number one thing you CANNOT do if you fail to meet your quota is hide from the world

●17:30 – The majority of those who lie believe that they can fix it in the future

●17:43 – Do NOT be that person

●18:09 – Taking shortcuts is setting yourself up for future problems and failure in the long term

●18:41 – Do not hide from the failed numbers and own up to it—plan to change what you did wrong

●19:32 – What defines your sales career is the way you deal with the bad situations

●20:09 – Everybody misses their numbers in sales

●20:56 – Find the root cause of the issue, own up to it, communicate and seek help, and look for mentors who can inspire you

●22:00 – You will feel stress in life, but what you do with that stress is what will define you

●22:11 – Leave your comments on how you have dealt with stress ●22:23 – Subscribe to the blog at Close.io

3 Key Points:

1.Do the 5 Why Methodology to get to the root cause of why you’re not hitting your quota.

2.If you do not meet your sales quota, evaluate if it was within your control or not.

3.Once you identify the mistake, OWN it and get help—what you do in these situations will be what defines you.

The Startup Sales -Podcast Show Notes-

Episode 002

Summary: Accelerator programs, such as Y Combinator, can help start-ups reach their goals—but it all depends on the start-up. In this episode, Steli shares specific examples of how they were able to maximize YC for the growth of their company. Steli provides useful advice on how to be proactive at these programs in asking for what you need and how this attitude can take your company to where you want it to be. Do NOT walk away with regrets at your next accelerator program.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

●00:04 – Steli answers the question: Should we try to get into Y Combinator?

●00:25 – The answer depends on the accelerator and on you

●00:41 – For Steli, it was valuable for them and it made a significant difference in the success of their company

●01:04 – Steli shares the attitude they had going into YC that made it useful to them: Take whatever you want and take as much as possible of anything and everything

●01:49 – There were two attitudes of start-ups who joined YC o 01:53 – Those who had a proactive attitude o 02:18 – Those who approached it academically and passively

●03:01 – Steli and his team showed up at YC even when they did not take classes—they’d hang out and find opportunities

●03:54 – Steli asked for a lot of office hours as opposed to those who’d wait for the leadership to give them time ●04:33 – They asked for feedback, data, information, connections to other people every single day and, because of that, got a lot of value from it

●05:08 –͞You want to ask for what you want in life and in a start-up͟

●05:53 – You are going to miss an opportunity, if you do not know how to ask

●06:02 – YC wants you to ask for what you want instead of sitting around and waiting for things to be given to you

●06:37 – Steli shares about start-ups who joined YC and wished they had more time with a certain partner

●06:53 – It is the start-up’s responsibility to ask for more time

●07:23 – During Steli’s fundraising, they wanted to meet with a partner within 2 weeks, but the closest they could get was one month

o 07:38 – They asked for a referral from PG to prioritize them

o 07:50 – Steli opened his laptop and asked PG to email them at that moment

o 08:13 – The same day, they got a reply from the partner and agreed to meet them within the week and they also became their investor

●08:31 – Steli asked PG for a recommendation letter to get a visa

o 08:38 – The draft letter Steli made did not quite fit PG’s standards

o 08:45 – An hour later, Steli came back with the printed letter and asked PG to just sign it

since PG had more important things to do and he did

●08:58 – Steli brought a target hire to meet PG to help them convince that person to join their company

o 09:10 – PG said they are one of the best start-ups because they make things happen

●09:47 – Steli and his company maximized YC and asked for their help in recruiting people, meeting partners and investors, for visas, design, product decisions, press and many more

●10:41 –͞Every single thing we took out of it, we took. We weren’t waiting around for things to be given to us͟

●10:47 – Steli’s number one advice for those who want to join YC or other accelerator programs is to have a shameless attitude in taking what you want

●11:20 – YC was absolutely worth it for Steli

●11:24 – Asking if the accelerator will be worth it for you depends on you!

●11:48 – Leave comments, thoughts and feedback in the comments section

●11:52 – Check out the blog and subscribe

●11:59 – Email Steli at [email protected]

3 Key Points:

1.The worth and value of joining accelerator programs depends on you and your attitude.

2.Being proactive and aggressive will get you where you want to be.

3.Do not wait around for people to help you and give you what you are looking for; instead, actively seek help out.

Credits

●Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

In this episode of The Startup Sales Podcast, Steli discusses his journey hiring Phil Freo and Nick Persicoby following up and following through. He was rejected over and over again, but very determined to pursue these two candidates. They eventually joined Steli and have become very instrumental players that have and continue to contribute to the growth and success of Close.io. Tune in to find out why it’s important to follow up and follow through UNTIL you have those stand out candidates become part of your team.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

●00:04 – Today’s episode is about the power of the follow up to hire the unrecruitable

●00:24 – Steli’s formula for hiring people

●01:55 –͞If you don’t want to work for somebody for a decade, don’t work with him for a day͟

●02:55 – Transformational people can make all the difference

●03:20 – Keep following up and investing in the relationship with a 10 year plan in mind

●04:09 – When you meet someone who is truly amazing, keep investing in the relationship and checking in!

○04:15 – Keep sending emails and updates

○04:18 – Take an interest in their growth and career

○04:22 – Find ways to be useful to them

○04:26 – Collaborate on projects together, etc

●05:17 – First example: Steli shares the story of how he hired Phil Freo for Close.io

○05:19 – Phil is Head of Engineering and Product at Close.io and Close.io would not exist, today, without him

○05:59 – Phil was first a friend or social acquaintance

○06:27 – He was the head of engineering in an educational start-up

○06:40 – Steli expressed to Phil that he was impressed with him and wanted to work with him in the future; he made his intentions clear

○08:02 – Steli and Phil eventually worked together on a startup

○08:30 – Anthony and Steli’s first office was in Phil’s living room

○08:44 – He was the advisor and supporter, but still occupied with another startupproject

○09:14 – Steli pulled out all the stops to pursue Phil to come on board with their startup

○09:56 – Phil couldn’t leave the other company and join Steli because of his commitment to his other project

●10:23 – Typically when you get rejected from someone who is fantastic, and ͞breaks your heart͟, you don’t want to see them again

●11:03 –Another reaction is to retreat and cut ties

●11:30 – Steli was upset and did give Phil a hard time jokingly

●11:59 – Instead of getting angry, Steli was more committed to hiring Phil

●12:25 – As Steli was succeeding in their startup and proving themselves as a company, Phil’s situation at his other job was changing

●12:48 – Phil started flirting with the idea of coming back to Steli

●13:10 – Phil finally decided to join the company

●13:47 – Phil was instrumental in launching Close.io

●14:43 – Steli shares how a former hire, Nick Persico, left and came back

○15:25 – Nick was doing so well, he was offered an excellent job with one of Steli’s clients

○15:48 – We did everything we could think of to keep him, but we couldn’t keep him

○16:03 – It hurt, but as he left, we decided to be a resource to him and help him succeed

○16:25 – He became a big advocate and champion for our company

○16:36 – We maintained the relationship and he always knew we wanted him back ○16:44 – He became so successful, that he even started his own company

○18:31 – When Nick’s startup did not work out, he came back to work with Steli

○19:01 –He’s been with the team for a few weeks, but he’s already making a transformational change

○19:19 It doesn’t matter that it took 3 years to bring him back

●19:26 – When you find amazing people, you follow up and follow through FOREVER, until you work with them

●19:49 –͞The best companies in the world...they all have transformational hires͟ that will change the course of your company’s journey, success, and value

●20:23 – Steli wants to hear your feedback, questions, and your stories regarding your follow up experience

●20:36 – Subscribe to our Close.io Blog!

●20:23 – End of today’s episode!

"Your sales pipeline is bone dry. The flood of leads and opportunities has turned into a trickle, leaving you scrambling to find new opportunities. The dream of having the best quarter ever has turned into a nightmare of missing your quota. What should you do?" http://blog.close.io/dry-sales-pipeline

Level up: https://close.io/free-sales-course/ As a founder, you often have to make a difficult decision between two equally bad options. This is how you make the best choice under the worst circumstances. | Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/making-difficult-decisions