
Entrepreneurial Sales Lessons - swombat
http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/65497/3-Quick-Entrepreneurial-Sales-Lessons.aspx
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GeneTraylor
I think that the hardest lesson to internalize over here is, "every no gets
you closer to a yes". Most hackers thrive on finding, solving problems and
getting the solution just right. Intractable problems are apparent at the
surface and they can get shrugged upon, at least for a while. The trouble wit
people is that it isn't obvious when they are intractable, so there isn't a
way to know if it's your failure, or if it's a fact about the client.
Sometimes the person just doesn't want/need your goods, and no amount of
persuasion will budge their mind, but it isn't possible for the seller to know
that, so it's easy to chalk it up as a failure.

I think that if one doesn't recognize this subtlety, it's easy to fall spiral
into negativity and lose hope. Since we're social animals, this comes across
to the customer and it further reduces the chances of closing a deal, thus
creating a vicious cycle that's difficult to recover from.

So, if you're a startup founder, do yourself a favor. Get some chart paper and
magic markers, and paste a giant sign saying "Fail. Learn. Iterate."

(BTW, to be clear the learn doesn't imply that it's your fault, it simply
means extracting lessons from the experience)

