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SaleInvaders: Rent-a-sales organization

salesinvaders.com

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Re: SaleInvaders: Rent-a-sales organization

#11

Post by salesinvaders »

swalsh wrote: post #9
salesinvaders wrote: post #5

I am a developer, several years back, a couple friends and I wrote a loyalty app/saas. The site, allowed a restaurant/shop/bar owner setup a couple types of deals ie "Buy X get Y Free" among others. Each restaurant had a QR code, and when someone would purchase something, the customer would scan it and get a "punch". The owners could track everything via the web. Due to all of us having a 9-5, and this being our firs…

I think its a really great idea, my only concern is that the sales staff you hire won't be as dedicated, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable about my product as I am. Sales is a core aspect to a company, and while it may be possible to outsource sales in an existing company after you've established processes, a young start up won't have that yet. Its a job the founders SHOULD be doing because you're still trying to get a…

I agree. If you haven't sat down with your potential customers yet, we probably aren't for you. If you have visited 5-10 places, can list the questions that get asked over and over, and have your pitch down, but just don't have the resources to hire a staff, then we can help. If you aren't sure what your customers want yet (ie haven't cold-called), we do provide the feedback relevant to a startups needs, but that is not the core offering.

Re: SaleInvaders: Rent-a-sales organization

#12

Post by RobAley »

salesinvaders wrote: post #7
pkfrank wrote: post #6

Is this for cold-calling, or an actual salesperson that is on the ground? It's a little unclear.

Both. Cold-calling to me, as I am using it on the site, is contacting a business who is not expecting it. Rather than use the phone, or email etc, we are sending someone into the restaurant/bar/dog groomer etc for an in-person interaction, pitching your product/service/app etc.

I think most people consider the phrase "cold-calling" to be calling on the telephone, so that might be confusing some people.

Re: SaleInvaders: Rent-a-sales organization

#14

Post by mrfusion »

I have ideas for products for small businesses and I'm looking for ways to test the waters. Is that something your service would be useful for? Or do you think I already need something built?

By the way, I'm feeling like using your service would be "cheating" since I'm terrified of making cold calls or showing up places myself :-(

Re: SaleInvaders: Rent-a-sales organization

#16

Post by cordie »

salesinvaders wrote: post #7
pkfrank wrote: post #6

Is this for cold-calling, or an actual salesperson that is on the ground? It's a little unclear.

Both. Cold-calling to me, as I am using it on the site, is contacting a business who is not expecting it. Rather than use the phone, or email etc, we are sending someone into the restaurant/bar/dog groomer etc for an in-person interaction, pitching your product/service/app etc.

You might want to add this bit into your copy. I wasn't following it from what you currently have.

Love the idea. Definitely will work for some industries.

Re: SaleInvaders: Rent-a-sales organization

#18

Post by gk1 »

salesinvaders wrote: post #7
pkfrank wrote: post #6

Is this for cold-calling, or an actual salesperson that is on the ground? It's a little unclear.

Both. Cold-calling to me, as I am using it on the site, is contacting a business who is not expecting it. Rather than use the phone, or email etc, we are sending someone into the restaurant/bar/dog groomer etc for an in-person interaction, pitching your product/service/app etc.

To add to the feedback of others, this was confusing to me as well. I saw repeated use of "call" and "calling," and understood that to mean using the phone, which was inconsistent with "feet on the ground."

Doesn't matter what you think it means - if it confuses everyone, just change it.

Re: SaleInvaders: Rent-a-sales organization

#20

Post by rcarrigan87 »

This service definitely has merit and I love you guys just putting it up right away rather than building out a full-site.

A lot of founders underestimate the importance of sales people early on. Suster has a couple of good pieces about start-up sales people vs corporate sales people (they are very different skill sets). My biggest concern would be outsourcing the feedback loop that is created by those initial sales calls. The salesperson is your window to customers and your compass to finding product-market fit. It's so critical you often see founders taking on the sales task first-hand. Obviously that doesn't scale and I believe that's where you guys come in!

I would really need to see how you're providing me sales call data and feedback. A screenshot of a dashboard, spreadsheet or something. Allotted phone time with the sales people to discuss what they encountered in the field. Anyway to formalize sales feedback would be of great value. Good luck!

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