Presentation deck from SaaStock 2019

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Most Common Sales Mistakes by
Early Stage Startups
Patricia Duchene
VP of Sales and GM of EMEA and APAC, Wrike

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My background
● Raised in California
● Decade of experience in
technology sales
● Moved to Dublin in 2015 to open
Wrike’s Dublin office
● Has grown Wrike Dublin to 130+ Sales and
customer success professionals

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The hockey
stick myth

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What you’re told it looks like:
$
Time

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What it really looks like:
$
Time
Build sales team
Increase Ad
Spend
Optimize sales
process
Release new
product

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Common Mistakes

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Giving too much away
● Puts pressure on product team to
differentiate your premium product
with your low cost product
● Puts pressure on marketing and sales
to sell those differences
● Burns bridges with customers when
you raise prices
● Makes you compete with your own
products

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Fast and Loose Discounting
● Undercuts your product’s value in
the eyes of your buyers
● Discounts will continue forward with
future renewals
● Increases time-to-profit for each
customer

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Wrong culture, wrong
time
● View early adopters as partners in
development
● “Closing” culture can put off early
customers
● Reps with high earning expectations
won’t stick around without product
market fit

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Failing to recognize
cultural differences
● Business communications vary:
Casual vs. Formal
● Words have different connotations
● Expectations during sales process
vary culturally

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Not mixing up outreach
methods
● Multi-touch sales processes will
improve your odds of contact
● Mix phone, email, and social
(linkedin, other) when necessary
● Don’t assume emails alone will get
you a response - diversify outreach

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In conclusion
Don’t give too much away
Don’t rely heavily on discounting
Don’t invest in sales too early
Respect cultural differences
Diversify outreach

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Any questions?