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Ask HN: How to do sales in 2022/2023?

18 points by pclmulqdq ↗ HN
I am not a natural salesperson, but I am doing a lot of sales work for my startup right now, and I'm curious how you all have felt about sales in general and how your sales process works these days.

So, for those who are selling things: How are you doing it? What has changed for you in the current environment? How is it going for you?

For those being sold: How do you wish people sold to you? Is there something they do that could be more convenient?

13 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 41.2 ms ] thread
nosmokewhereiam
Cold calling still works if you have a valuable business to business product.
PaulHoule
Yep, and that's talking as a super-introvert.

There is that legend about the salesman who could "sell ice to Eskimos", but I think that the strength of your product matters more than the skill of the salesperson.

fxtentacle
I disagree because I've worked with a sales guy who could sell an enterprise license for a product that didn't exist yet
malux85
You disagree with a genralization because you have observed a single data point?
PaulHoule
In that case it is the strength of the imagined product.

It's also living dangerously: if the realized product comes close to what's imagined that's a very good play. If it doesn't it can be a ticket to the courtroom.

Also it's not an unusual situation for a first sale (particularly in consulting services) to be not at all reproducible and for there to be a long road to go from that to a playbook that works consistently.

pclmulqdq
Like most people doing sales, I am cold calling and cold emailing like a fiend, and it's a little bit depressing, but it gets a response.
peplee
Sell software for a living, and have for 5+ years. Find people who you think might be interested in what you have to offer (from your network, linkedin, googling, etc.), message them, set up a meeting, ask them about their business, and listen to what they have to say. It will either continue from there or it won't. Rinse and repeat. Ultimately, selling is networking and solving other people's problems. If you can do those two things, you'll get sales.
freedomben
A lot of scraping data sources looking for possible leads and cold calling/emailing.

For example, I've had a ton of cold emails come from people scraping linked in and GitHub and assuming I need their product.

Honestly I hate it and it never works on me, but they probably do it because it works on other people.

Just please be honest in your email. My eyes hurt from rolling at the cold emails that pretend to be personalized to me but clearly are templated.

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nickfromseattle
Selling isn't just about the phone call, it's every interaction your prospects have with your brand.

You probably communicate a lot of the same information on each call. Package that up into blog posts, landing pages, and YouTube videos. Talk about it on podcasts. Recycle this content for social media.

Make sure prospects see your content on their journey before they hop on the phone with you to pre-sell and qualify, and after the call to solidify and reinforce your value prop.

joshxyz
i recommend @bowtiedsalesguy on twitter for b2b / enterprise sales calls
ExecutiveDre
1. Start with your network first. Be willing to go as far as 3rd-degree connections. 2. Write down your playbook. What is the end goal you are trying to achieve after you have made contact with the prospect? 3. Track feedback, and get quotes on what prospects are saying about the problem you are solving. This becomes great dialog for future prospects since you'll be "speaking their language" and "hitting the nail on the head" around their pain. 4. If you are successful with landing the prospect as the customer, DO NOT forget to ask them if they have peers who are looking to solve the same problem. Referrals are gold.