2/ 2. Sales is a numbers game. Outreach * p(contact) * p(close) = win Maximize outreach and keep iterating product and pitch to improve probability.

3/ 3. Don’t sell, solve a problem. Transactional sales are awful for both sides. Much more fun to talk about why you built something (bonus: founder can do this particularly well) and what prospects problems are.

4/ 4. Make a time bounded ask. Don’t let the meeting just end. Ask whether they will buy or what the next step is. “If I send you a contract are you ready to get started this week” If it’s a no at least you can ask why and learn.

5/ 5. Make it a competition. More fun if you think of it as a game and set targets for yourself that you try to beat.

6/ discussed this topic further with @rajatsuri and @davidruigu in our recent podcast (link on profile)

@immad Some tips from engineers - don’t think you can control them when they’ve built something from scratch and eventually hired you. You’re a replaceable bolt-on: them, not so much.

@immad If any of you are in New York City, we are organizing a role playing event in early October, you will read through real sales events that happened and you will try to close the sale, and then experienced sales leaders will give you feedback about what you could have done better.

@immad or just automate it. engineers build machines to avoid repetitive tasks. sales shouldn’t be an exception. @ElevateSells does the heavy lifting while you build.

@immad every startup role is at some degree a sales job

@immad Curious, why did u invested in Rappi?

@immad As a technical founder, I enjoy the sales process. It means that money is on the way.

@immad Sales. Fill in the problem gap with value and offer it as solution

@immad Exactly engineering talent often underestimates the multiplier effect of strong sales skills on growth. Deep question: how do you balance dedicating time to sales versus continuing to ship product improvements, especially in early-stage startups where both are critical?