Lessons from developer who embraced sales
12 lessons I learned scaling a business by embracing sales
I originally posted this on Twitter on January 24th 2022.
I started my SaaS business as a developer with zero sales experience. Today we’ve done over $6 million in revenue.
Here’s 12 lessons I learned scaling our business by embracing sales.
1/ Unlock your founder superpower
You may not know it yet, but you have a superpower no hired sales person will ever have.
Talking to customers creates affinity.
*Those early customers were able to look past the warts in my product. I was given more latitude to fix flaws.
2/ Sales is essential
Sorry, your early product won't be good enough to sell itself.
You'll WANT to talk to customers to understand their problem.
Don't shy away and think... "if you build it, they will come".
*Embracing this took me from 1K to 3K MRR in 2 months.
3/ Pain is temporary
If you don't like doing sales, just remember you don't have to do it forever.
Get good enough to nail it, then hire to scale.
*I did sales calls for about 8 hours per week for 6 months before I able to hire. During that period it revenue really took off.
4/ Learn to live by your calendar
You probably started this journey to own your time.
As you grow, your time will become a challenge to manage.
Schedule everything. *Even time to think
5/ Get comfortable doing many jobs at once
When it gets hard, dedicate certain days for certain jobs.
Don't try to multitask.
*Bonus - Once you've done the job (even for a week), your ability to recruit the right person just went up 10x.
6/ Your product doesn't have to be perfect
Everyone talks about having a great product.
Be good enough for YOUR customer.
No one else matters.
*I'm still surprised how many people bought the V1 of our product.
7/ Don't solely depend on product trials
Many potential customers want fast answers to burning questions.
Clicking around your product requires a high mental load.
Make it easy for them, not just what is convenient for you.
*Live demos 5X'd my conversions.
8/ Selling to customers is not a bad thing
Good sales is pretty simple.
Be helpful and connect the dots for prospects.
You don't have to be pushy.
*I never "asked for a close" and was too busy to follow up. People still bought.
9/ Don't be afraid of process
Processes are like an operating system for you and your team.
The rules make everything predictable so everything runs without thinking about it.
Process will set you free.
10/ Don't get too hung up on the outliers
The one-person business making 10 million a year is great for inspiration.
Plenty of companies creating lifechanging businesses that grind out sales and don't talk as much in public.
Find your own way.
11/ Build a company that's authentic to you
You still have to sleep at night and like what you do.
Just be aware of the trade-offs you're making. Pain is temporary. (sorry had to say it again)
12/ Find the enjoyment of building a team
Your company and people are now your product.
It's a new building challenge.
?Challenge accepted?