Make sales sexy again

The world’s oldest profession

Sales is the oldest profession in the history of our species. Whatever your philosophical or religious starting point, a sales event kicked it all off (Adam and Eve were sold on the benefits of the fruit by the Serpent).

I was lucky enough to host the inaugural Sales Jam back in February (hosted by Movac and Apprento, and covered here by Caffeine Daily). Two hundred sales professionals – and founders who wished they could be – were in the room.

Other than the great human stories told, my core reflection was that every startup is a sales company. It seems like an obvious thing to say, but we don’t say it out loud very often. Convincing a cofounder to join you on a mission to change the world is a sales pitch. Getting investment is a sales process. Getting customers to try your product requires sales skills. And repeatedly getting revenue from a market requires… you guessed it, being great at sales.

In every sector, tech domain, stage of business and geography, being good at sales vastly improves the prospects of your company.

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Kiwis and selling

For some reason, the word ‘sales’ carries weird and consequential connotations in New Zealand. It is seen as something secondhand car salesmen do, and leaves you with an ‘icky’ feeling. Or when cults try to get you engaged with their intriguing magazines of fiction at the vegetable markets.

My sense is that this is a cultural leftover from the British – selling is seen as crude, lowbrow and pedestrian. It is certainly not like that in the US, or small independent, modern economies like Singapore. This is not helpful if we Kiwis want to be a globally relevant country. Nor if you really want to change the world with your idea.

We must move beyond this tragic and toxic set of beliefs if we want our startups to flourish.

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Making sales sexy again

If you need some other more specific reasons for becoming great at sales, I offer you:

• Much or most of the energy coming into a company – and founders in particular – comes from the sales process; the collision point between your proposition and the customer. Prospects are interested in you and what you do.  They believe the same things you believe. They want to make things happen and give you feedback. Think of how excited you get when you are buying a product or service you are passionate about; that excitement drives energy into you and your team.
• Typically, the companies that take selling seriously build enduring cultural attributes. These typically include being customer-centric, responsive, urgent, commercially-minded and so on. Being a great listener is the most vital behavioural trait of a successful seller – no one ever failed by listening too much.
• If you want to ever exit your company, you can be sure that acquirers will value you for your sales focus, and its presence in your cultural habits (if and where they exist). Most big industry players have forgotten how to sell, or do so lazily – acquiring managers often use the ingestion of startups as a kickstarter to increase their market engagement and intensity.
• Being great at selling gives you more strategic options. If you are considering entering a new market, knowing you know how to sell makes it less intimidating. Ditto if you need to pivot your proposition. Better sales skills equals more options.
• Most of all, the more you sell, the more time you spend on understanding your market and customers. When your customer intimacy increases, so do your chances of winning your market.

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The world’s greatest profession

Selling is the greatest profession. Yes, it is.

In my first job, I graduated from delivering consulting services to selling them. I doubled my salary overnight (and bought my mum some golf clubs with my first commission check).

These days, founders want me in their tent because I know a bit about selling.

As for me personally, I don’t worry too much. You can get out of most challenging situations through a bit of salesmanship. Revenue problem?  Sell more stuff, and sell it for more. Talent problem? Sell the value of your mission to people with skills. Capital problems? Sell the value of your company to people with cash.

Most founders have a natural affinity for sales, even if they don’t know it. They understand the problem domain deeply, have unique insights, and ooze passion for a different world.  

Being great at sales is a superpower. Where you have it, use it. Where you don’t, work on it.

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