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Engineers tend to have this conception of all salespeople (and, to the point of the GP, marketers) as con-artists: "how can I convince this rube to buy my crap?
by ketzo 5y ago
Engineers tend to have this conception of all salespeople (and, to the point of the GP, marketers) as con-artists: "how can I convince this rube to buy my crap?"
When in reality, as you discovered, the best salespeople are the ones who are able to really, truly understand the problems of their customer base and help them find solutions. That is an incredibly special skill, and one that should never be underrated.
- Nextgrid 5y agoI guess the problem is that for every good salesman there's 10 conmen masquerading as good salesmen.
- BeFlatXIII 5y ago…and since there's so much overlap in the skillset between a conman and a good salesman, a technical co-founder looking to hire them can't tell the difference. The safest path to avoid hiring a fraud is to create a culture that has disdain for the entire profession.
- Sophistifunk 5y agoI'd say a thousand rather than ten, but yeah.
- Nextgrid 5y agoPart of the problem is that a lot of products are just shit that can't be sold legitimately, only mis-sold based on false promises. If you're a salesperson in a company peddling such products, your option is to mis-sell and become a conman, or be replaced by a conman.