Ask HN: How Do You Sell? - julienreszka
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mindcrime
Do ya think maybe you could find a way to put a little less information in
this post? I mean, it's pretty bloated at a whopping _FOUR_ words. How is
anybody supposed to parse all that information in order to extract the
meaningful bits that would be used to construct any kind of useful answer to
the question?

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ddingus
Sell what? Sell to who?

Given the lack of context, only the most general information makes sense, so
here you go.

I do not sell products that suck. I believe in what I sell, and the sales
process is one where the prospective buyer and I both validate the benefit of
the product makes sense.

I do not sell by talking my competition down. They are hard at work trying to
succeed, making what they believe are good products, and they get to do that.

Selling down, "buy from me because those other peeps and their product suck",
means the basis for the business relationship is fundementally toxic and not
honest. Karma is a bitch. Just be warned, go down that road eyes wide open.

I ask them for the business once the work has been done to prove out that ask
makes good sense. I ask them, because selling is hard and those people who do
the work, in the fashion I put here, have earned the business and there will
be mutual benefit.

I qualify my prospects early and as accurately as I can. There is not
unlimited time. At any given time, the sales work you do should be aligned
with these things:

Finding and approaching new prospects.

Qualifying prospects:

Some enter the sales process

Some are not really prospects

Some need more time

Some need more information.

The others are advancing to close. Recognizing when your efforts move toward a
close and when more time must pass is vital.

I sell at list, unless there is a clear reason to do otherwise. Get
consideration, give consideration. Have great answer to, "why are we selling
at discount?"

Prospects may put unreasonable terms or presales requirements into a deal.
When cost of sale exceeds margin and value of customer, and the deal does not
present as some strategic investment, I will walk. Making a high maintenance
sale is more like an expensive loan. Avoid these.

All of that should all be well understood, but in my experience so far, one or
more are missing. The biggest ones, and the most expensive when not well
understood, are:

Failure to ask for the business. Asking is OK to do, and asking for money
sucks. It sucks less when one does the other work well, but let us be honest.
It sucks. That is why commission is paid.

Failure to qualify. Cost of sales goes way up, close rates go down.

Failure to assign finding new prospects a sufficient priority to maintain and
grow the pipeline means fast or famine type sales numbers, generally.

There you go. Technical B2B sales 101.

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gaspoweredcat
I stand on the street corner in a PVC skirt and fishnet stockings and ask
anyone if they want "business"

seriously this question is too lacking in information to get any sort of
proper answer

