Derek Rahn has spent his entire career in sales, doing all jobs from an intro level SDR to, currently, the VP of Sales at LeadGenius. Derek has led some major deals, including getting LeadGenius into Google. He thinks a lot about what it takes to train young SDRs, how to move a company's sales strategy upmarket, and what AI means for the future of sales.

 

My favorite part of the conversation is our discussion about how a startup needs to prepare itself for selling larger clients. I'm obsessed with the value of selling to small companies and getting everything possible out of the fast sales cycles and fast feedback loops before moving to larger clients. Derek has been through that multiple times and knows that crossing the chasm from small client to large takes many startup lives. We talk a lot about how to survive that crossing.

 

I learned a lot from Derek and took quite a few notes, including the quote: startups selling to startups is like drunk people selling each other beer at a bar. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Derek Rahn.

 

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