Hey Founder, be an insane salesman!

To be honest, one of the most interesting and important jobs of a founder is to sell. No matter what stage your business is at, the founder has to be an insane salesman.

Hey Founder, Be An Insane Salesman!

To be honest, one of the most interesting and important jobs of a founder is to sell.
No matter what stage your business is at, the founder has to be an insane salesman.

🙋🏻 Picture me eight years back when I was first showing off our first product - an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to the market, helping companies hire better.

Remember the first time demo, I was super nervous during my presentation.

I had no clue about selling, just walked into that room full of excitement for what we built, even though half of it was just screenshots of propotype.

I hold my hands tightly. My sweat kept falling. And my heart pounded like a drum in an EDM track

And then, yes, I totally flopped. The customer said "No".

And I kept getting nos for three more months, even though I tried to learn as much as I could about selling in books and blogs.

I faced self-doubt. As an introverted person, learning how to sell was a significant challenge. Yet, with all the dedication we poured into building our first product - our brainchild, I swore to master sales in my own unique way and with all my heart.

🚵 🚵 🚵 I did only one thing: Insanely practicing. Day by day, with everyone I met. Or even myself in dreams.

Does it sound easy? It's not. The reason is simple: many founders fear hearing "No". They're afraid of failures that prevents them from practicing. Instead, they wait for their products to reach a state of perfection, which never arrives.

To become fearless, here is what I've learned through my own experience:

1️⃣ Turn Fear into Insanity: The more you are afraid of, the more you insanely pratice. Practice telling your product hundreds of times to yourself. Be honest, ask yourself: Is it enough? If you were the customer or partner, would you be interested? If you can't solve the customer's expectations right away, at least demonstrate your passion.

2️⃣ Turn Insanity into Curiousity: Simply realize that: The more you’re passonate, the more you’re humble to understand your customer. Want customers to listen? Do the same things first. Believe me, sh*t up and listen!

3️⃣ Turn Curiousity into Deals: The only last thing you have to do is to map, solve, and ask them for a chance to make partnership. No sleazy sales tactics. No buzzwords. Just show up, be genuine, and let your passion do the talking. Then, do it all over and over again.

🌈 Years later, after tons of presentations and learning from every no, we're leading the regional market. We have 50 products and hundreds of great salesman on our team. Remarkably, I trained hundreds of our salespeople to do the same. And it worked!

Selling as a founder? It’s terrifying, exhilarating, and the most honest work you’ll ever do. So gear up, get obsessed, and get out there. Your ‘baby’ is counting on you.

Got any more tough bits about being a founder to share?