How To Sell To Businesses: actionable insights from years in the trenches.
Sales Advice for Startups.
B2C vs. B2B
SME vs. Enterprise
How to differentiate yourself
How to get the first 10 clients
Presentation on 30th July 2015 in London to early stage startups, part of @WayraUK, Telefonica's startup accelerator.
How To Sell To Businesses - Sales Advice for Startups
1. How
to
sell
to
businesses
actionable
insights
from
years
in
the
trenches
Sales
Advice
for
Startups
Nicolas
Deville
Wayra
UK,
London
30th
July
2015
slideshare@TheSalesStack.com
@ndeville
2. Today
B2C
vs.
B2B
SME
vs.
Enterprise
How
to
differentiate
yourself
How
to
get
the
first
10
clients
4. "Poor
Sales
rather
than
bad
product
is
the
most
common
cause
of
failure”
Peter
Thiel
(Paypal
CEO
&
Co-‐Founder,
Palantir
Co-‐Founder,
1st
Facebook
investor)
in
“Zero
to
One”
5. Sales
Done
well,
more
complex
than
most
think
Changed
a
lot
in
last
10
years
(Internet)
Some
core
aspects
always
the
same
but
all
the
rest
different,
depending
on:
-‐ Product/service
-‐ Industry
sold
to
-‐ B2C
or
B2B
-‐ SME
or
Enterprise
-‐ ACV
-‐ etc..
11. SME
vs.
Enterprise
SME
Enterprise
Contact
Business
User
Dedicated
Finding
Vendor
Web
search
Analysts
&
Referrals
Budget
Use
Growth
Pains
Budget
Size
Small
Big
Budget-‐conscious
High
Low
Decision-‐Making
1-‐3
people
3-‐20+
Access
Decision
Maker
Easier
More
difficult
Sales
Cycle
Short
Long
Values
Brand
Less
More
=
Different
Sales
Approach
17. Sell
solutions,
not
products
Sales
is
about
creating
value
in
the
prospect’s
mind.
A
solution
has
value
only
if
a
problem
is
identified,
acknowledged.
To
sell,
one
needs
to
identify
the
problem,
and
get
client
to
acknowledge
it.
20. COI
vs.
ROI
COI
=
Cost
Of
Inaction
ROI
=
Return
On
Investment
COI
more
powerful
than
ROI
Qualify
&
quantify
what
prospect
is
losing
by
not
moving
to
your
solution.
Creates
a
sense
of
urgency
32. Be
Extremely
Focused
Define
Ideal
Customer
Profile
/
Find
your
niche
As
“niche”
as
possible
to
begin
with
Who
has
the
pain
I
solve
most?
Where
are
they?
How
to
reach
them?
34. Intro:
Use
Your
(Linkedin)
Network
Send
Direct
Message
to
ALL
your
contacts
Ask
for
intro
to
ICP.
Be
specific.
1st,
2nd
or
3rd
degree
Get
intro
then..
35. Qualify
&
Learn
“We
have
developed
a
product
that
solves
[y].
Do
you
have
this
problem?
How
do
you
currently
do
this?”
Start
with
questions
to
learn
(Customer
Discovery
/
Steve
Blank
&
Eric
Ries)
to
qualify
36. Cold
Send
Email
/
InMail
first
(use
list
builders
&
tools)
SMYKM
(Show
Me
You
Know
Me)
Follow
up..
Calls
&
Emails
3-‐12
touchpoints
(emails
&
calls)
–
be
consistent
&
persistent
37. Cold
If
you
need
to
find
a
contact
in
company..
Go
high
(CEO/VPs)
Short
email
“We
do
[x],
who
do
I
need
to
speak
to
about
[x]
in
your
org?”
(~10%
answer
rate
vs.
<1%
for
traditional
cold
emails)
38. 1st
Cold
Contact:
Ask
For
Help
“You
are
an
expert
in
[x].
We
have
developed/are
working
on
a
product
that
solves
[y].
Would
you
have
15mns
to
provide
us
insights?”
You
Expert
39. Champions
Your
goal:
Find
a
Champion
No
one
wants
to
be
guinea
pig:
Fake
it
til
you
make
it
(don’t
lie
though!)
“No
one
got
fired
buying
from
IBM”:
manage
risk
41. Current Solution?
Pains/Challenges?
"why are you on this call today with me?"
“what are you pulling your hairs out for?”
“what is NOT working with your current process?”
“could you be more efficient”?
Challenges / pain points / limitations of your
current solution?
Activity?
Number of xxx?
Average number of xxx?
Average number of xxx?
Improvements?
“what could you improve?”
“What are you dreaming your current product
could do?”
Are your results good enough?
Tell me about your ideal xxx?
(Get prospect to acknowledge/confirm
understanding of improvements you can bring)
Authority?
"what is the Decision Making process?"
“how do approvals for software decisions like this work within
your company?”
“have you had a chance to gauge how [Decision Maker] feels
about some of the potential value we have identified?”
“what would make this deal NOT happen?”
Budget?
"how much are you paying now?”
“have you calculated ROI on your current investment?”
"do you have budget for this?”
“what is your budget cycle/fiscal year?”
.. “I will send you a custom ROI calculation, based on your
inputs”
Time?
“when does your contract with [existing vendor] expire?”
"when are you planning to make the switch to a better
solution?”
“is there an upcoming xxx that could be a good event/topic to
upgrade to a better software?”
Qualification
Canvas
Competitors
looked at?
Other Platform? Other Platform?
Integration? Yes/No
Company?
What are they selling / who is target audience?
Company's current goals / challenges?
Average deal size
Average sales cycle
SUCCESS?
What are your KPIs?
What are you measuring?
What are you paid on?
What are you trying to improve/achieve?
Personal: "what would make you successful personally?"
Results?
Current process for dealing xxx?
Conversion ratios?
Results? Inline with quota/objectives?
Integration? Yes/No
Created by: Nicolas Deville
#1
#2
#3
42. Make
them
talk
Golden
rule:
You
should
talk
less
than
your
prospect
43. Again:
Help,
Don’t
Sell
Conversations,
not
sales
pitches
find
their
goals
&
pains
“how
can
I
help
you
achieve
this”
You’ll
be
less
nervous
Less
desperate
Less
“salesy”
Different
44. Win-‐Win
Business
is
all
about
creating
a
Win-‐Win
Focus
on
making
it
a
“Win”
for
your
prospect
If
she
becomes
a
client,
you’ll
have
your
“-‐Win”.
46. Create
Content,
Get
Leads
For
each
pushback
or
recurring
question,
create
a
blog
post
Helps
you
articulate
your
thoughts
clearly
How
to
do
it,
not
What
to
do
Needs
to
appeal
to
your
Niche/ICP
Gate
content
(registration
page)
&
JUMP
on
inbound
leads
MARKETING
48. Tools
&
Outsourcing
Be
organised
=
CRM
e.g.
Hubspot
CRM
(Free)
For
list
building
(finding
ICPs):
Linkedin
Sales
Navigator
Upwork
Toofr,
Rapportive,
VoilaNorbert,
etc..
For
prospecting:
Critical:
use
Email
automation/tracking
(e.g.
Toutapp)
Automate
/
ensure
consistency
+
see
if
emails
is
opened,
clicked,
forwarded
(=true
interest)
If
you
need/want
more:
www.thesalesstack.com
(coming
soon)
49. To
Recap..
Businesses
buy
what
they
need
Sales
is
about
creating
value
Be
extremely
focused
(ICP)
Leverage
your
network
Ask
for
Help
Have
conversations,
not
sales
pitches
Put
yourself
in
your
prospect’s
shoes
Find
the
pain,
sell
the
solution
(aspirin)
Focus
on
making
it
a
“Win”
for
your
prospect
50. THANK
YOU!
Nicolas
Deville
slideshare@TheSalesStack.com
@ndeville