Ask HN: How to learn sales?
171–180 of 243 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#172As someone who wouldn't in a million years buy anything from anyone who was trying to sell me something, how do I learn sales?
I never thought I'd do sales. For B2B, read: - The Challenger Sale - Value Based Fees - Pitch Anything
+1 for The Challenger Sale https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Sale-Control-Customer-Conv....
It really made me better at handling customers, even as non-sales
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#173You have to do it.
Years ago, I only did software development and realized I was terrible at marketing. I tried reading and watching videos, etc. It didn't really change for me until I sold my consultancy and did developer evangelism at a little company. It was 25 people at the time but everyone was sharp and happy to teach and experiment.
Later when I realized I was terrible at sales, I tired reading and watching videos, etc. Again, it didn't change for me until I joined a company to do technical training to sales engineers & reps. After a year or so, via osmosis and following the best ones around, I picked up a ton and can now do the basics relatively well.
Yes, it takes times. Yes, it's frustrating. Yes, it's exhausting. But it works.
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#174By far the best and most concise information I've come across is from this podcast episode:
https://jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/127
In a text form:
https://jake-jorgovan.com/blog/the-lead-cookie-sales-playboo...
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#175The first book I read about sales emphasized inquiry before advocacy. Let's get real or let's not play by Mahan Khalsa.
I read it at a point in time for my startup when we had done as many Customer Discovery interviews as we could in our local market, and were trying to achieve a first sale or pilot project with customers in more innovative markets. The inquiry phase of solution selling connected with and reinforced the customer discovery process, but provided some indication of how to move forward, and cautions about moving forward too early with a proposal.
The key to sales is solving problems. You claim to have a product that addresses a large "potential" - what problem, and for who, does it solve? Can you measure the impact of the solution?
If you have a product that solves a problem, what is the least intrusive thing you can ask of a potential customer for you to identify if they perceive they have that problem, and if they recognize the impact of solving it?
If you cannot mutually identify the problem and impact of the solution, a prospect may only entertain your talkative nature to solve the problem of looking busy to their superiors.
Track the observable characteristics of your prospective customers that are the best indicators of if they have the problem you solve, or not.
Figure out how long it takes you to identify if they have the problem, or not.
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
My first job ever I befriended one of the senior sales guys at an after work drinking event. We built software that integrated into and with a range of embedded devices of which many were medical. He was one of the guys that worked closely with our EMEA customers who were notoriously slow to sign. Three years later he drove in to the office lot with a brand new Porsche 911 which was a portion of his commission for cl…
I’m two years into brokering a deal between a client and two blue-chip behemoths. It has been endless cycles of documentation, specification, certification, auditing, horse-trading, rescoping, consulting, wargaming, ratifying, and many of the faces have changed over the last two years. It’ll be a big deal for all of them, but just getting everything in place for them to all agree and sign is just insane - my longest…
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Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#177You need to separate sales from marketing. Sales is a conversation, marketing is a broadcast. Marketing gets the phone to ring, sales takes the call and closes the deal. For B2B sales resembles project management: the goal is not to convince everyone to buy your product or service but to diagnose their needs and only engage with firms that will benefit. For larger deals you "sell with your ears" as much as you talk.…
> diagnose their needs and only engage with firms that will benefit.
I have done technical sales-like engagements and this is the number one pattern I see from relationships that went well. The customer determined, for whatever reason (rightly so) that I could solve their problems. So they opened up and explained what the problems really are. If you can't get this, you can't help someone.
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
> You need to separate sales from marketing. Sales is a conversation, marketing is a broadcast. Close, but not quite. Marketing is the brand, the image, points of differentiation, etc. It's the message. Advertising is the broadcast. It's how the message is communicated. It's the medium. Marketing + advertising = prospects and leads. Sales is the last mile. It takes the results of marketing + advertising (i.e., leads…
> Contrary to myth, successful sales is about listening, not talking. I've been in pre-sales for about 8 years now. From the vendor and reseller side. Mostly on the technical side (SE) but I also know the process side of the account executive (AE) very well at this point. Yes, you need to listen. But you'll never sell anything if you can't articulate a destination, lay out the path and showcase to the customer how wh…
> Understanding your customer is often times more valuable than listening to them outright.
Listen is a big word, one has to take all meanings into account.
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
You’re welcome to dream up your own definitions, but then don’t patronize others: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising
Note the opening five words: "Advertising is a marketing communication..." Your tone is unnecessary and off-target. The above quote from line one is exactly what I said. You don't just wake up, roll out of bed, and advertise. Well, you can but waste a ton of money. In any case, that message needs to be crafted. That's marketing. Advertising is how you disseminate that "plan." Logo - marketing, not advertising. Style…
Folks are getting bound up in shallow semantics in this whole thread and are missing the nuance in your distinctions.
Re: Ask HN: How to learn sales?
#180[deleted]