Conference Presentation, Keynote, Lecture
How to Sell by Tyler Bosmeny
- Startup School feedback forms are scheduled for distribution shortly after the talk, with organizers intending to run the event annually and improve it each year.
- Founders should anticipate spending significant time identifying the "innovators" segment, which comprises only 2.5% of potential customers, often requiring outreach to approximately 100 companies to secure two and a half potential buyers.
- Early sales processes are expected to be high-touch and time-consuming, involving short personalized emails, 70% listening time during calls, and numerous back-and-forth steps including redlining agreements that can take roughly two months to close.
- Founders are advised to fill conference days with 30-minute prospect meetings, frequently hear "no," and treat rejection as a signal to move quickly, noting that "no" responses often mask polite refusals rather than true product-market fit issues.
- Specific contract strategies include offering annual agreements with 30-day opt-out clauses instead of free trials, customizing Y Combinator templates before legal review, and avoiding quibbling over minor terms for early customers to prevent deal delays.
- Pricing and team strategy depend on product cost: high-price items (e.g., $100,000) support high-touch, low-volume sales, while low-price items (e.g., $10–$100) require scalable marketing rather than high-touch teams, with pricing itself needing iteration based on market feedback.
- Sales skills development is expected to occur primarily through repeated practice and A/B testing rather than theoretical reading, with hiring of sales reps delayed until founders have mastered the process themselves for at least 3 to 12 months.
- First sales hires are anticipated to be "renaissance reps" capable of working without extensive playbooks, and successful closing is heavily dependent on the salesperson's persistence and willingness to follow up without being rude.
- Product-market fit is expected to be confirmed only through customer "yes" responses, necessitating a priority on speed and quick initial pilots over securing big-name logos, though requests for specific custom features often signal a likelihood of rejection.