

Ask HN: Are tenacious salespeople/marketers here? - jeromec

I think a team which includes a great hacker, web designer, and marketer is a killer combo. A reason power is shifting from investors to founders is because such a team can go far enough to gain traction and profitability without requiring a cent of investment, especially if they refuse to quit and keep iterating on ideas. It seems pretty easy to connect with great hackers and designers, probably looking no further than right here at HN. However, I wonder if finding great marketers is as easy. I don't mean marketers that focus on online tactics like SEO, SEM, social media etc. Anyone involved with Internet startups will likely be okay with picking up slack in those areas. I'm talking about a different personality type. I'm talking about traditional sales -- picking up the phone and cold-calling, or pounding the pavement, just doing whatever it takes to get the sale. There is a whole world that still doesn't know any more than what they need to know, or may have heard casually, about what's happening on the Internet. To reach these people ideally you will have a tenacious marketer. Paul Graham says his company Viaweb had such a person, someone they could call "an animal". My question is where do you find such people?
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tnorthcutt
Great salespeople never lack for a job, so you'll find them already employed,
making good money. As for where online you'd find them, I'm not sure. I'm not
a great salesperson, but my wife is, and she frankly doesn't spend a lot of
time in online communities. I'm sure there are some who do, but that's my data
point.

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jeromec
Yeah, it makes sense that they would never lack for a job! I guess that could
make them an even more valuable commodity than an awesome hacker. Hmm, perhaps
it would be smart to look for them at a younger age, before they get into an
established sales position.

~~~
tnorthcutt
Indeed. The problem, I've found, is identifying people who will truly succeed
in sales, rather than people who are desperate for a job and willing to take a
position that doesn't suit them.

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byoung2
_picking up the phone and cold-calling, or pounding the pavement, just doing
whatever it takes to get the sale_

People who are good at this are the same people who are good at landing great
jobs and constantly getting promoted. In the rare event that they are without
a job, they are likely on the phone nonstop or pounding the pavement to find
one. Probably the best way to find a great marketer is to steal one from
another company. You'll have to offer something attractive enough to warrant
leaving a good job to come work for your startup, though.

~~~
jeromec
That makes sense. I guess they would need to be convinced their income
potential could benefit greatly with the move.

