Founder's Guide to Startup Sales: How to Build, Operate & Scale a ...

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1. At the beginning of your early startup sales process, 80 percent of your lead generation should be playing the short game. In most cases, this means using outbound sales, directly reaching out to new leads that fit your ideal customer profile. The other 20 percent of your lead generation should be investing in the long term, providing evergreen value to your audience. “As you grow, this will gradually change to 50 percent outbound, 50 percent inbound.” And eventually, you’ll flip the numbers—80 percent inbound, 20 percent outbound.

   In Stage-based channel mix

2. As you grow, this will gradually change to 50 percent outbound, 50 percent inbound. “And eventually, you’ll flip the numbers—80 percent inbound, 20 percent outbound.” The key here is to play to your strengths. This will allow you to focus your efforts on what can drive the best results.

   In Stage-based channel mix

3. It’s harder than ever to raise capital:Your new startup needs cash, now. And the best form of investment you can receive is through your customers. It’s what we did here at Close, and more than a decade later, we’re thriving without raising a single cent of capital. “Sales helps you find your ideal customers really quickly:When you’re in the nitty-gritty of talking to leads and finding the right customers for your business, you’ll quickly identify which customers get the most value from your products or services.” Sales helps you find product-market fit:You’ll quickly size up a specific profile for customers that make sense for your business, build customer retention, and improve NPS scores—all of which will help you build a pitch for investment if you decide to go that route.

   In Founder sales playbook

4. Sales helps you find your ideal customers really quickly:When you’re in the nitty-gritty of talking to leads and finding the right customers for your business, you’ll quickly identify which customers get the most value from your products or services. “Sales helps you find product-market fit:You’ll quickly size up a specific profile for customers that make sense for your business, build customer retention, and improve NPS scores—all of which will help you build a pitch for investment if you decide to go that route.” Sales brings clarity:Nobody said it was easy. But when you go out there, close deals, get customers, and (perhaps more importantly) lose customers, you’ll gain clarity of purpose for your business much faster.

   In Founder sales playbook

5. I’ve been there. As a former founder (Smart Host, 2014-2017) and longtime member of the Close team, I know firsthand what it takes to scale a business from zero and can attest that there are no shortcuts. “make sure you (or at least one co-founder) ruthlessly prioritizes sales.” Investing in sales as your number one priority will help you shut out the noise and open doors much faster. This guide will help you put together a sales process for running sales without a product and small amount of resources that will help you achieve the results you need to move the business forward.

   In Founder sales time allocation

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