MicroConf 2015: How to build a solo SaaS sales machine
Steli Efti (Close.io)
The person with the highest level of clarity always wins.
Sale based on value.
Don’t fizzle around based on features, pricing, and costs. Refocus the conversation on the values you can provide.
Truly qualify people.
Ask questions until you reach an understanding that needs the minimal amount of interpretation as possible.
You can be an amazing salesperson if you ask a lot of questions and qualify people correctly.
Content is not just for marketing. Content is also for sales. If you do content right it can be your invisible salesperson in the cloud.
You can do a lot of hacks to make a person open your email but then you need to deliver on it. Start off on the right foot.
If a certain amount of people do not think you are spamming them then you are not sending enough emails.
Send more email.
Book: Predictable Revenue
Go two levels above the buyer in the organization and ask for referrals down (to the buyer). (“Hey CEO of the business, I’m doing this in one sentence thing that is really valuable. Can you point me to the right person in your organization to chat with about this.”)
Much better process is top down than bottom up if you are doing enterprise sales and cold emails.
Never, ever, ever stop following up until you get a response.
Magic happens when you follow up.
Demos need to be 7-9 minutes and then you leave some time for questions. People will not remember anything more than ten minutes.
Everybody and anyone you know is part of your sales team.
Every person that buys from you can be part of your sales family. Ask for referrals.
Sales at the end of the day is you being the most decisive person in the room.
Once you are really truly convinced you can help them it is your responsibility, your duty, your religion to sell them.
Sales is a performance art.
It takes three months to know if somebody is going to be really good at sales.
The difference between somebody being good and truly great at sales is consistency.
(Download my notes from another great talk on sales Steli did at Y Combinator’s Summer Sales School.)