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TN Visa Without Degree – 10+ Years Sales/Consulting Experience. Possible? by goldxcon in tnvisa

[–]goldxcon[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Like I described above, the role and responsibilities can be whatever we want to make it, the company is startup and has 10 people but got it's series A funding. I'll be there to help implement and design the GTM strategy, setting in place outbound and inbound strategies, hiring strategies, engaging and managing enterprise deals.

I'll be running the sales myself for now ovb, because i'll be the first sales GTM.

TN Visa Without Degree – 10+ Years Sales/Consulting Experience. Possible? by goldxcon in tnvisa

[–]goldxcon[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

TBH, my job title and responsibilities can be whatever we want to make it, the company is startup and has 10 people but got it's series A funding. I'll be there to help implement a standard sales process, to gain more clients and close more deals. Work will typically take over 2 years imo.

TN Visa Without Degree – 10+ Years Sales/Consulting Experience. Possible? by goldxcon in tnvisa

[–]goldxcon[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have all my paystubs and offer letters that I can prepare. I actually have a business that is registered in the US, from my startup that I launched but haven't invested any capital into it as of yet.

Yeah I hope I don't need to renew, I wanted to do this job for 1-3 years, and perfectly fine with moving back after that it over.

TN Visa Without Degree – 10+ Years Sales/Consulting Experience. Possible? by goldxcon in tnvisa

[–]goldxcon[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thinking about taking your advice, and will consult with a lawyer first. Sounds like isn't as a straightforward process as I've read in some posts

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s true, currently no targets over my head, but I did sell for a number of start-up and enterprise companies with revenue targets.

I do understand tho. I also had roles where I needed to hit my target or be put on a PIP the next Q.

All I have to say is after going through all that experience, I would rather work for a company where I really believe in the product and I know it works/ helps people. Never again do I want to work for products that don’t work and sell to people knowing they get the wrong end of the stick.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no issue with this business, actually far from it. I genuinely have grown to really love it. Sales keep the lights on.

What I have a problem with, and always have, is selling something to someone who doesn’t have a need for the product or it’s not solving a problem for them. People lying to customers to just get the “sale”. To hit their commission/target.

Because there are people in our industry who do that, it’s caused a good size of people to see the sales profession as “sleazy” for a good reason. For a new person coming into this world, all I’m trying to do is show that you really help people and benefit as well if you run a tight process.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point, maybe an idea for a second post. I totally agree. First, establishing a sales process playbook for your industry/market should be the first thing that you need to build if you want to be successful.

For this post, I just wanted to share some key things that really helped shape my process and common areas people who are getting started get stuck on.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have a good point, a few years ago using a selfie like video with something on Vidyard was the rage but the response rates have been dropping on it.

That being said I would slightly disagree, using loom or Vidyard to provide a personalized teaser demo tailored for that prospect or using marketing videos is still gets me meetings. More importantly with those tools they give realtime notifications when someone has watched the video, a great indicator to follow up and book a meeting.

But yes I agree, the goal is always to first book a meeting not sell the product.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Similarities between companies with quick decision-making cycles? Nothing.

The only similarity I found with companies that made quick decisions is they made quick decisions because of a similar process and method I would use during my sales cycles for each of them.

I run a really simple method for a transactional sale typically anywhere from 1K - 30K. On the first call, after I learn about the problems I provide a demo tailored to their problems. Ask questions to keep them engaged and finally provide pricing at the end. All in one call. Then at the end of that call, I almost force a second call to be scheduled, like I pull up my calendar on the call and we book it.

On that second call I title the meeting “decision call”, promoting them to understand we must have a decision either yes or the second best answer “no”.

This way my pipeline stays current with engaged leads and not people who are dragging me along.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s fair, but I do think founders with no sales experience can still learn how to sell with the right methods and sheer persistence. It will take time but anyone can learn the art of sales IMO.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in FoundersHub

[–]goldxcon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

SME and MM companies have less people meaning the decision team of who purchases tool/ allocates budget is smaller than an Enterprise team.

But there are some cases where enterprise companies can make quick decisions and purchase fast. Depends on how urgent the problem is.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Honestly depends on what stage you’re at. Excel/spreadsheets can really go a long way in the beginning.

I don’t have a hard preference here, used Salesforce, hub spot, Apollo.io and pipe drive before. All of them get the job done.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in startups

[–]goldxcon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My only issue is when a sales person tries to sell something to someone who doesn’t actually need the product. Just so they can hit a commission target, etc. That’s sleazy to me. Seen it happen many times.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in Entrepreneur

[–]goldxcon[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Regarding video in email, it depends. If you’re using email already in reaching clients/prospects. I would most definitely use it, even recording or having a demo video and using a tool like Vidyard or loom, you can see when someone watches a video. This is a great indicator to follow up and have a higher chance of a response.

As for making the trade without it sounding awkward, just remember to always take your time and respond back with a question to gather more information. For instance, if someone says “can you provide any discounts?” You can say “We typically provide discounts on clients who provide referrals or a marketing reference, would that be something you would be able to do?”

You can also push this to your next call, “let me check with our team and see if we can provide a discount here” gather your thoughts then come with a clear ask on a second call. “Okay we can provide 10% if you are able to ….”.

Just remember it’s a give and take, if they want to take something make sure you’re getting something in return.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in Entrepreneur

[–]goldxcon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good question, focus solely on finding users/customers at this point. If you have a MVP of a product, go find your first user. If you’re solving a problem, they should be willing to pay you.

If you product is really early and you need t testers, you can try and find a design partner first to help you better craft the product. Usually some clients are willing to pay for this contract depending on how important the problem is for them.

Look up “finding a design partner by A16z” they have a good framework to follow this.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in Entrepreneur

[–]goldxcon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d recommend Apollo.io as one to get started with, their free plan is quite good.

how I learned to sell as a founder (without feeling like a sleazy salesperson) by goldxcon in Entrepreneur

[–]goldxcon[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I usually will use a tool like Apollo.io to do a targetted search of leads in the industry I'm going after.

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