Sales Training For Startups

[Czech]

Good morning future fastlaners,

I am seeking your constructive criticism in a potential area of opportunity. Comments, feedback and questions are welcome as this solution might directly impact you.

Background Story:

I was having coffee with a local startup entrepreneur for networking purposes. We asked what each other did. He is a professional IT consultant, I am a professional sales consultant. After about 45 minutes of chatting and sipping our coffee, the question that I hear so often came up.

"I need a sales guy like yourself to sell for me."

If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that I would be rich. And it's not just me. Every sales person I know who is successful at what they do is constantly in high demand. And the companies that sales people work for are the ones that offer the most money. Good, professional sales people earn $60,000 to $100,000. Yes, it's slowlane money but sales jobs offer flexibility of time. You work as autonomously as you want. The problem with startup founders is that they need salespeople to grow their business but can't afford to pay anything except peanuts. A straight commission plan or very small base salary in an undeveloped market simply won't attract great sales talent.

Problems In The Marketplace

Startups are already around us. Everyone has a product they want to build, an app they want to code, a business they want to found. Yet, according to a startup incubator I spoke to, only about 3% of startups succeed. Why? Lack of sales.

You can blame not having enough starting capital all you want. If you can't convince others to buy your product or service, you will eventually go out of business. Sales cures all ills. No matter what problems your company is facing whether that is unexpected growth, not having the right staff, or trying to reach new markets, having healthy sales and profits will give you the funds to solve any problems.

This is where so many startups go wrong:

• They lack a direct sales strategy. You can't bring your product to the marketplace, send out a few tweets and expect it to sell. Trade shows are great, social media is great, Google AdWords is great. Directly approaching companies and people is great too. Many opportunities are missed by not having the skills necessary to pick up the phone and dial.
• Startups cannot afford good sales people. Talented sales people do not want to work for employers that can go out of business tomorrow or cannot afford to pay them what they are worth. Many startups spend MORE money hiring amateurs because amateurs can't generate enough sales to pay their salary.
• Sales training cannot be learned in a day. If you are an entrepreneur, you have to develop new skills quickly. Sales is one of them. However, watching a few videos on YouTube and reading a sales blog will not make you effective over night. It takes consistent training and practice to get good at your craft.
• They lack capital. Sales knowledge will help you get in front of the right people who can fund your project. Having sales will give you fire power for why your startup is a good investment opportunity.

The Fastlane Idea:

"Stop digging for gold, and start selling shovels."

Anyone can visit a library and read a hundred books on sales. Fortunately, people are lazy.

The fastlane idea I have is a sales training website specifically catered to startups and offers industry-targeted advice on how to generate sales taught through a 4 to 8 week video program. Think of it like Bluefire Poker, except without celebrity poker players. Topics would include:

• Identifying prospects in your target market
  
• Researching prospects before contacting them
• Telephone prospecting: Getting past the gatekeeper and having your elevator pitch ready
• Email prospecting: What emails have the greatest success rate for receiving replies
• Social media prospecting: Using social tools to reach your intended prospects
• Networking: how to do it and why you should do it
• Funnel Management and CRM: Staying organized with a consistent flow of leads
• Time Management: Scheduling your prospecting daily using the 80/20 rule for efficiency purposes
• Finding investors and how to pitch them
  
• Creating your sales cycle
• Developing problems and establishing needs within an appointment
• Advancing the sale

The website would run on a yearly subscription basis. Something like $99. Affordability is key here as I am targeting businesses with small capital.

Law of Effection - Is it met?
Need? Yes, there is a need because it solves a problem. Startups cannot survive if they don't know how to sell.
Entry? Barrier to entry is low, but neither is it very high. The website will require a combination of coding, video editing and most importantly sales expertise.
Control? I am in sole control of the business. It's small enough to be operated by a small team.
Scale? This is an internet-based business for a very large market so the scale is global.
Time? Because the business runs on a subscription model, it is passive.

The questions for you future fastlaners:

• Is sales a real challenge for you in your business?
• Have you wasted time and money trying to hire sales people on your limited budget?
• Do you have a need to develop your sales skills in order to develop business opportunities with people you thought were outside of your reach?
• How can I further differentiate this idea from other sales training programs you might have seen or used?

Thanks all.

Sincerely,

Czech

 

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[jockinbox]

Hsepv Desfupi ot vji jiewz jovvis op uas opfatvsz, djidl uav jot tvagg

 

[Get Right]

Podi vjsief, liiq ov huoph epf vjeplt!

 

[Czech]

Raodl aqfevi:

O'wi dsievif e mepfoph qehi et e movnat vitv vu tii og vji ofie ot wemof. Dassipvmz sappoph Gedicuul eft xovj e mogivoni cafhiv ug $100 vu epemzbi vseggod dupwistoupt.

Qmieti dunnipv us dsovorai up vji ofie. Dmodl gus vji mopl

 

[jazb]

Tu nadj tvagg temit vseopoph dupvipv uav vjisi nep. emm O dep tez ot, huuf madl.