Founders know that to have success, they need to sell — a lot. And quickly. Which is why their first hire is usually a salesperson. They want an expert to capitalize on any traction or buzz their early stage company has. Whitney Sales, General Partner at Forum Ventures Ventures and creator of The Sales Method, joined Helping Sells podcast this week to talk about early-stage companies and why founders must learn to love selling.
Before anything else, founders must learn to sell.
This is one of the fundamental mistakes many founders make today, according to Whitney. A founder must be able to sell the product they’re developing, but also:
Pitch investors for additional funding,
Convince “rock stars” to join the team,
Discover objections prospects and customers might have to their product,
Uncover pricing strategies, and
Learn how to market the product.
Getting founders involved in the selling process is critical, Whitney says, because they can see for themselves what tactics work and what don’t, enabling them to refine their process across all phases of the company. Before it becomes too large and change becomes difficult for the organization.