Startup Hackers, it's the Sales skills that you need to learn next | Hacker News Reader

Startup Hackers, it's the Sales skills that you need to learn next

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I don't think it's neccessary for every guy who wants to start a business to be a salesman. If your main skill is technology, you should know enough about sales to get you so large that you can hire people who specialize in sales. Then focus on your core competency, which is technology.

Sales is not what creates the real value of a company - it's the product. If your main skill lies in creating an excellent product, then don't distract yourself by focusing too much on sales. If you do so, you'll always see your product through the prism of 'sales' and this will change your product.

Every company has to be pulled by two forces - the force that wants a kickass product, and the other that wants to sell it.

So the product guy should say:

* Let's make this tool where one can download and play any song in the world for absolutely free

The sales guy should say:

* We can't make any money that way. Let's put Ads every 10 seconds in each song

The middle ground would be:

* Let's put DRM in the songs.

Something like that. If everyone in the company is just thinking about sales, there is no counter-balance in the company.

By salseman, I mean you need to learn the art of selling. You need not think of money only. Even convincing your technology to internal/upper management, or explaining your idea (let's say a Free service) to a single user and enticing him to signup to your service can be also considered as Sales act.

I've worked in a situation, where we were 2 co-founders, coming from technology background. It wasn't a Consumer Internet startup. So we couldn't wait to code in the room and then let "virality" spread out. We had to make new introductions, go to customers' site, present them what we are doing, understand what exactly they want, and then re-define spec based on majority of customer feedback. We were small tech team, in the process of building something. So we didn't have sales team. So we had to roll our sleeves, and pitch the customers. We couldn't wait until we hire sales guys. Once the startup grows, we'll hire sales team.

But my point was, we need to have that selling attitude - always.

Where I work, one of my bosses motto's is to always have everyone do sales in some small way, atleast a bit each week.

I am the lone programmer at the company, so essentially I am the CTO (It's what my business card says, shrug) ... Apart from my day-to-day programming and online marketing tasks (seo, google adwords, etc etc) I pick up the phone at least a few times a day.

Not only that, but when your boss gives you all the info behind what we're buying, how we're doing it, and why it's good for us, you begin to learn a lot.

I totally disagree 100% on anyone who thinks all they should be good at is hacking away. You may be damn good at that, but diversity helps so much.

sales is important

But it's not everything. There are other aspects of marketing that hackers are usually pretty good at (for instance, giving the impression that your company is honest and hires smart, competent people.)

Many companies skip the "buy a suit, meet the client, buy them expensive dinners" kind of sales. Selling to consumers is much easier (well, for me) you still have to market your company (like I said, can be as simple as giving the impression you are smart, competent and honest, depending on your target market.) but the actual sales consists of posting the prices and setting up an automated system to take money. No fast-talking is required.

Some people say you need sales skills to attract investors and partners. Personally, I wouldn't take an investment from someone I wouldn't want as a partner, because they will act as a partner. And I don't want a partner who is willing to give more money to a smooth talking salesguy than to a smart, honest hacker.

Granted, I do want a good salesperson on my team, but I don't want to put anyone who is vulnerable to sales anywhere they can make decisions that effect my company. It is critical that small companies buy products and solutions that provide the best value, not products or solutions that are sold by the best salesperson.

My current plan is to get the technical side of my house in order (and I have no trouble selling to technical consumers, so far I haven't had any trouble selling faster than I can put up new capacity) and get a customer base under me. After that, it should not be difficult to get a sales person to do corporate sales or the like, if I choose to go that direction.

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