Sales Hacks For Startup Hustlers

http://blog.close.io/c-level-sales-for-startups In the early days of your startup, the ultimate validation is money. I’ve talked about this before, but it’s worth repeating: people need to vote with their time and money. That’s how you know there’s a real market for your product. End-users might think your technology is cool, but they don’t often make financial decisions. Many times, the people you need to convince are C-level executives. But here’s the problem: executives get pitched every day. They’re always asked for cash. So how do you stand apart? Ask for their expert advice Cold-calling executives doesn’t work if you don’t know about the market. To sell anything effectively, you need to understand their needs and how they buy. When you reach out to them, say: “We’re building a new technology and I could use your input. You’re an industry leader and I really value your expertise. I’d love to jump on a quick 15-minute call so that we can build this technology in a better way.” Here’s why this st

http://blog.close.io/sales-leaders-deliver-bad-news another Monday morning: The sun’s shining, the investors are happy, and the entire office seems to be in an exceptionally good mood. You can just tell it’s gonna be a great week. Or so you thought, until you got that call. You know, the one from your most profitable customer saying, “Yeah, we’re not gonna be renewing our contract at the end of the month. Thanks for the last five years, though. Peace.” The news hits like a bombshell, and your head’s still reeling when you come to a terrible realization: As a leader, you actually have to do something about this. Moreover, you have to be the one that breaks the bad news to your team. There’s nothing worse than having to drop bad news on the people you’re responsible for. But here’s a wake-up call: As a leader, navigating bad news is your job, your responsibility, and your privilege. Your team chose you as much as you chose them, and this is your opportunity to prove to them they made a good decision. If yo

Want more advice + templates that help you negotiate with prospects → http://blog.close.io/price-negotiations-underbidding-competitor He likes you and he likes what you’re selling. You estimate that there’s a 90% chance you’ll close the sale during your next conversation. But then, the (not so) unthinkable happens. You get a call from the prospect and he tells you he’s been talking to your competitor for weeks now, and they’ve just offered him an outrageously low price on their own product. He puts you on the spot and asks you straight up, “Can you beat that price?” If you’ve been in sales for any reasonable amount of time you’ve probably encountered this scenario. If you haven’t, or were unsure about how to proceed, the answer is pretty simple. That’s because there’s one surefire way to win a price war. Get out of it.

Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/sell-high-tech-products-to-low-tech-buyers?utm_campaign=yt_description&utm_medium=video&utm_source=youtube You did it. You developed the next great tech product. The features are endless, the benefits innumerable. It’s a game-changer. So you meet with prospect— traditional buyers— and recite all the ways your solution changes everything. You provide diagrams and data. You discuss industry trends and the future. But that’s when you see them. The blank stares. You realize that your traditional buyers just aren’t comfortable with innovative technology. They don’t like change. They don’t get why your product is such a big deal. (It's a common scenario when selling high-tech products, and we cover more on this topic in our free Startup Sales Success course.) So where’d you lose them? The answer is pretty simple. You never discussed the cost of ignoring such an opportunity. Remember this formula: The Past + FOMO In these situations, my advice is always the same:

Level up: https://close.io/free-sales-course/ You've worked hard to set up that sales meeting or demo—but your prospect never shows up. No-shows suck but there are 9 things you can do to reduce them. | Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/sales-no-shows Monday morning, 10:00 a.m. Meeting time. You’ve got an appointment with a major prospect who seems really interested in your product. You take a deep breath, lean back in your chair, and stare at the phone in eager anticipation. Any time now. 10:05 a.m.: Nothing. But they’re probably just late, right? These things happen. 10:10 a.m.: That’s odd. But they’re probably on their way to the phone right now. 10:15 a.m.: Still nothing. You decide to take the initiative and call, but get no answer. 10:30 a.m.: No call. No text. No email. No doubt: You’ve got yourself another no-show. Maybe they just forgot, or perhaps they lost interest. Either way, it doesn’t make the situation any less frustrating, especially when they’re the ninth no-show this month (and

In this episode Steli talks about how to deal with not meeting your sales quota and how to manage the stress that it causes. We all have stress in life, and that’s not a negative thing as it shows that we care. Steli shares practical advice about how to manage your stress. He also delves into what you can do as a salesperson to deal with missing your quota. He refers to The 5 Why Methodology that helps you identify the root causes of why you’re missing that quota and the RIGHT way to address these root causes for your future success. Time Stamped Show Notes: ●00:03 – Today’s episode is about how to deal with the stress of missing your sales quota and how to turn it into an opportunity ●00:20 – Sales is results driven and this can be a source of stress, but it is also beautiful because you have to take action for it to be successful ●01:12 – Sales people suffer from a tremendous amount of stress because the company depends on their work as it can affect their income and family ●02:11 – Steli shares a stat

The Startup Sales -Podcast Show Notes- Episode 002 Summary: Accelerator programs, such as Y Combinator, can help start-ups reach their goals—but it all depends on the start-up. In this episode, Steli shares specific examples of how they were able to maximize YC for the growth of their company. Steli provides useful advice on how to be proactive at these programs in asking for what you need and how this attitude can take your company to where you want it to be. Do NOT walk away with regrets at your next accelerator program. Time Stamped Show Notes: ●00:04 – Steli answers the question: Should we try to get into Y Combinator? ●00:25 – The answer depends on the accelerator and on you ●00:41 – For Steli, it was valuable for them and it made a significant difference in the success of their company ●01:04 – Steli shares the attitude they had going into YC that made it useful to them: Take whatever you want and take as much as possible of anything and everything ●01:49 – There were two attitudes of start-up

In this episode of The Startup Sales Podcast, Steli discusses his journey hiring Phil Freo and Nick Persicoby following up and following through. He was rejected over and over again, but very determined to pursue these two candidates. They eventually joined Steli and have become very instrumental players that have and continue to contribute to the growth and success of Close.io. Tune in to find out why it’s important to follow up and follow through UNTIL you have those stand out candidates become part of your team. Time Stamped Show Notes: ●00:04 – Today’s episode is about the power of the follow up to hire the unrecruitable ●00:24 – Steli’s formula for hiring people ●01:55 –͞If you don’t want to work for somebody for a decade, don’t work with him for a day͟ ●02:55 – Transformational people can make all the difference ●03:20 – Keep following up and investing in the relationship with a 10 year plan in mind ●04:09 – When you meet someone who is truly amazing, keep investing in the relationship and checkin

"Your sales pipeline is bone dry. The flood of leads and opportunities has turned into a trickle, leaving you scrambling to find new opportunities. The dream of having the best quarter ever has turned into a nightmare of missing your quota. What should you do?" http://blog.close.io/dry-sales-pipeline

Level up: https://close.io/free-sales-course/ As a founder, you often have to make a difficult decision between two equally bad options. This is how you make the best choice under the worst circumstances. | Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/making-difficult-decisions

Level up: https://close.io/free-sales-course/ The startup recruiting advice you've never heard until now: Convince new hires not to work with you. Here's why the anti-pitch works and how to apply it to find great employees. | Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/startup-recruiting-game-of-weakness?utm_campaign=yt_description&utm_medium=video&utm_source=youtube

Selling chemical development services to large organizations by Steli Efti from Close

Level up: http://close.io/free-sales-course | [1-2 sentence blurb about this video.] | Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/[insert_URL] Want more videos? Subscribe ►http://bit.ly/subcloseio CONNECT WITH US Blog: http://blog.close.io Twitter: https://twitter.com/closeio Facebook: https://facebook.com/closeio Instagram: http://instagram.com/close.io Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/elastic-... ABOUT CLOSE.IO The sales CRM sales people love - no more manual data entry. Customer management with built-in calling and email synchronization. Make and receive calls while taking notes tied to each address book contact -- all without leaving the application. On this channel we share startup sales advice and Close.io tutorials.

Get the full video + transcript http://blog.close.io/microconf2015

Level up: http://close.io/free-sales-course | Salespeople who sell to the wrong customers can seriously harm your startup. Get them selling to the right customers with these three steps! | Related blog post here: http://blog.close.io/sales-management-salespeople-closing-bad-deals

http://close.io/free-sales-course/ ◄Free Sales Course Read the full blog post ► http://blog.close.io/sales-management-new-managers-guide-to-building-a-sales-team

http://close.io/free-sales-course/ ◄Free Sales Course Read the full blog post ► http://blog.close.io/how-to-onboard-new-sales-hires You've hired new sales reps—but what's the best way to get them up and running? Here are 4 steps to onboard reps in minimum time for maximum results

► http://close.io/free-sales-course/ ◄ Where to find a letter of intent (LOI) or contract that you can send to a prospect willing to buy? If you just send them an LOI or contract it will get stuck in their legal & procurement department and slow down your sales process. Here's a quick sales hack to accelerate the sale and close the deal faster. For more startup sales advice check out

► http://close.io/free-sales-course/ ◄Free Sales Course Read the full blog post ► http://blog.close.io/sales-lessons-success-failure

► http://close.io/free-sales-course ← FREE STARTUP SALES COURSE.