Choosing the right go-to-market sales strategy for your Start -Up can be a make or break decision. What do you do when you are just starting a business and need to build a customer base? This is the situation thousands of new entrepreneurs find themselves in.

1. Sales Strategies for Start-ups Kishore is co-founder and CEO of PK4 Software. He has over 25 years of experience building technology product and service companies. As CEO of PK4 , he is deeply involved in strategy , sales and technology direction for Impel CRM our flagship product. He’s a regular speaker in the areas of Cloud Computing, SaaS, CRM and Emerging Businesses at various forums like NASSCOM and TiE. @nmandyam

2. Sales Strategies for Start-Ups Narasimhan (Kishore) Mandyam, 23 Feb. 2011

3. Agenda Assumptions! Start-ups vs. Later-stage – what’s different? Defining your sales model Focusing your Sales Efforts Building a Sales Team Building Partnerships

4. I assume… I’m talking to a “lean” start-up Lots of passion, very little money We’re talking India market – largely Some techniques may work elsewhere, but… You (think you) know what you’re good at And what you’re not! You want a scalable sales model Referrals work well, but only to a point

5. Start-ups vs. Later-stage Market-space somewhat clear Sales techniques unclear Very small team – 5 to 25 people Multi-skilled people Founders sell, few others do Market-space very clear Sales model clear and established Team has some specialization Focused teams Founders market, others sell

6. The sales model Product or service – differentiators What are you good at? What not? Customer demographics Who’s your ideal prospect? Who would never buy? Positioning What words work best to describe benefits? Lead generation Where will you get your Leads from? Pricing What’s the basis for your pricing?

7. Some sales techniques Build Lead-flow Market online, advertise, whatever Target decision-makers But talking to the CEO may NOT help! Build a series of interactions Call, email, SMS – all BEFORE you meet! Sell a Story, not a Reference References work well for bigger companies

8. Focus your sales efforts Analyze Figure out what went right or wrong in each Lead Role-play Develop reasoning to handle customer objections Replicate Prospects in areas you’ve sold in – will that work? Iterate Refine demo slides, pitch, product descriptions…

9. Grow your sales Research prospects before you target them Use non-evangelical market positions Pitch your product but sell a solution Talk the prospect’s language, not yours Leverage your first Customers unabashedly Track Leads all the way to closure or rejection Tweak pricing, but only to a degree Look around for Partners

10. Build a Sales Team Hire when sales are predictable or stable Today’s funnel should predict next month’s sales Build effective – but simple – comp model Be generous, be flexible Strengthen Lead generation Don’t look at Lead generation as a Sales function Hire for adaptability, not for brand Lots of experience may not be a good thing!

11. Build Partnerships Think about who can bring you sales Partners bring sales, not resources Write up a clear Partnership model Domains, areas, percentages… Toot your horn Success brings Partner queries Deliver Leads to Partners Partners love success – their own! Track Partners like you do your salespeople Make them part of your CRM model

12. Contact Info PK4 Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Website: www.impelcrm.in Email: info@impelcrm.in Phone: +91-80-3008-0000 Twitter: @impelcrm All the best!