In this episode of Nothing Ventured, host Aarish Shah interviews Zoltan Vardy, a seasoned B2B sales advisor and author of "The Launch Code." With nearly four decades of experience and over $2 billion in sales closed for major companies like CBS and NBCUniversal, Zoltan shares invaluable insights on mastering founder-led sales. The discussion focuses on transforming chaos into structure, overcoming the fear of selling, and understanding that sales is about solving problems rather than pushing products. Zoltan emphasises the importance of benefits over features, the iterative nature of sales, and how the journey from 0 to 1 differs significantly from scaling to 100. He also advocates for the significance of formal education in developing critical thinking skills. Tune in to discover how to accelerate your startup's revenue growth through effective sales strategies.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Zoltan Vardy and His Achievements

00:00:30 - Overview of Today's Episode Topics

00:01:35 - Call to Action: Rate, Subscribe, and Connect

00:02:22 - Zoltan's Journey to Writing "The Launch Code"

00:03:09 - The Impact of Zoltan's Work on Founders

00:03:38 - Zoltan's Family Background and Influence

00:06:10 - Transitioning from Corporate Sales to Startup Sales

00:07:41 - Zoltan's Entrepreneurial Experience During the Dot-Com Era

00:09:54 - Combining Corporate Structure with Startup Dynamism

00:11:04 - Founders' Fear of Sales and How to Overcome It

00:13:42 - The Importance of Problem-Solution Connection in Sales

00:15:36 - The Pain of Sales and Iterative Process

00:17:02 - Founder-Led Sales and the Importance of Direct Feedback

00:19:15 - Hiring the Right Salesperson at the Right Time

00:21:21 - Difference Between Business Development and Sales

00:22:29 - Selling Solutions, Not Products

00:24:04 - Case Study: Aleksander Niemczyk and Action Audit

00:26:32 - The Need to Have vs. Nice to Have Products

00:28:11 - Communicating Solutions in Simple Terms

00:30:15 - Creating a Clear Value Proposition

00:32:19 - The Role of Procurement in Sales

00:33:56 - Scaling Sales and Letting Go as a Founder

00:35:10 - Structure Enables Innovation

00:36:04 - Setting Clear Goals and Tracking Performance

00:37:07 - Case Study: Dexery's Growth Journey

00:39:18 - Building the Book vs. Building the Business

00:42:21 - The Risk of Founders Resisting Growth

Find Zoltan Vardy online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoltanvardy/

Twitter: https://x.com/zvardy

The Launch Code: http://www.thelaunchcode.net/

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

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