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As a hacker-turned-seller, it's a really eye-opening experience getting out from behind the screen and talking with enterprise customers. This post hits the nai

As a hacker-turned-seller, it's a really eye-opening experience getting out from behind the screen and talking with enterprise customers. This post hits the nail right on the head - the sales cycles at large companies are loooong. You speak in July and it sounds like they'll buy from you tomorrow and then next you know, your follow-up emails go unanswered and you think they've lost interest, only to be surprised they want to meet in person again in September because now Person X wants in. And this goes on & on. Two tips I've learned: 1) Don't discuss price up front if you can avoid it, especially if you're in the 6-7 figure price range. Try to get as much info as possible about their problem. Get them invested in you at a personal level. 2) If your emails go unanswered, instead of sending emails like "Hey wondering if you're still interested" send update emails about your product like "Hey Bob, just wanted to let you know we updated X so now you can do Y. Here's a video explaining more." I've had lots of success with this tactic.

AndyNemmity 13y ago
As a hacker-turned-buyer, these are good tips. Especially #2. I have a couple guys emailing me like crazy right now. I'm not responding. Why? Nothing has changed. I don't need to respond every day to tell you nothing has changed. I start to get frustrated, and it turns me from an advocate into someone who just wants you to go away. It's not that I mind talking about the issues, it's just.. if I say I don't have budget now, you asking me every week is not going to change that. If instead you're telling me about what's updated, if something you've updated increases my business case, then that's actually actionable information I can do something about.
- lifeisstillgood 13y ago
  Thanks - a great tip from a different viewpoint.
- larrys 13y ago
  "if I say I don't have budget now, you asking me every week is not going to change that." That's exactly the reason #2 is such a good idea (I do a version of the same in some cases). You keep your name in front of the prospect w/o being annoying and requiring them to do anything. Along those lines though any contact if excessive can be annoying.
rfnslyr 13y ago
100% about #1. I don't even mention price or anything until we're at the stage of "So, you ready to start?" I want to hear absolutely everything first. When they are ready to start, then you discuss price. I used to start off with my rate and found that it makes customers uneasy as they try to tailor their game plan to your rate. It's a looming overhead for them.
aidos 13y ago
Really interesting tip (#2). We've just entered into the B2B world and it's been every bit the eye opening experience you've described. Neither of us counted on how long it would take to close deals. We've figured out a few of these things along the way (trying to make sure we have an advocate and a buyer) but there's a lot of other good advice in this article that we'd never considered. It can be very hard to read what a company might be thinking/discussing internally about your product. We actually do a bit of free work up front to show people what we can do and even then it can be quite hard to get useful feedback. Oftentimes we've come to the conclusion that they're just not interested only to find that on the next phone call they're ready to start paying. Having come from a consumer world it's quite demoralising starting off in B2B. You often feel like you're never going to get anywhere but with enough persistence we're managing to make things happen. Comments like yours (and articles like this) are very good for lifting the spirits :)
pinaceae 13y ago
Do not email. Or, to put it more bluntly - fuck email. You want the sale? Pick up the damn phone. It is sooo easy to be an asshole over email. Brush it off, never reply. You want a follow up? Get the person on the phone. Lots of nerds hate the phone - the great sales people work it like nothing else. Always smile during the call, it shapes your voice.
- eitally 13y ago
  Wrong. Email first and second, and only call after receiving contact back. I get so many cold calls from vendors I don't answer my phone anymore unless the number comes from one of three area codes or is someone already in my contact list. And god help you if you block caller ID.
  - pinaceae 13y ago
    this was about following up. if you ignore his calls, you'll never read his emails anyway.

AndyNemmity 13y ago

As a hacker-turned-buyer, these are good tips. Especially #2. I have a couple guys emailing me like crazy right now. I'm not responding. Why? Nothing has changed. I don't need to respond every day to tell you nothing has changed. I start to get frustrated, and it turns me from an advocate into someone who just wants you to go away. It's not that I mind talking about the issues, it's just.. if I say I don't have budget now, you asking me every week is not going to change that. If instead you're telling me about what's updated, if something you've updated increases my business case, then that's actually actionable information I can do something about.

lifeisstillgood 13y ago
Thanks - a great tip from a different viewpoint.
larrys 13y ago
"if I say I don't have budget now, you asking me every week is not going to change that." That's exactly the reason #2 is such a good idea (I do a version of the same in some cases). You keep your name in front of the prospect w/o being annoying and requiring them to do anything. Along those lines though any contact if excessive can be annoying.

rfnslyr 13y ago

100% about #1. I don't even mention price or anything until we're at the stage of "So, you ready to start?" I want to hear absolutely everything first. When they are ready to start, then you discuss price. I used to start off with my rate and found that it makes customers uneasy as they try to tailor their game plan to your rate. It's a looming overhead for them.

aidos 13y ago

Really interesting tip (#2). We've just entered into the B2B world and it's been every bit the eye opening experience you've described. Neither of us counted on how long it would take to close deals. We've figured out a few of these things along the way (trying to make sure we have an advocate and a buyer) but there's a lot of other good advice in this article that we'd never considered. It can be very hard to read what a company might be thinking/discussing internally about your product. We actually do a bit of free work up front to show people what we can do and even then it can be quite hard to get useful feedback. Oftentimes we've come to the conclusion that they're just not interested only to find that on the next phone call they're ready to start paying. Having come from a consumer world it's quite demoralising starting off in B2B. You often feel like you're never going to get anywhere but with enough persistence we're managing to make things happen. Comments like yours (and articles like this) are very good for lifting the spirits :)

pinaceae 13y ago

Do not email. Or, to put it more bluntly - fuck email. You want the sale? Pick up the damn phone. It is sooo easy to be an asshole over email. Brush it off, never reply. You want a follow up? Get the person on the phone. Lots of nerds hate the phone - the great sales people work it like nothing else. Always smile during the call, it shapes your voice.

eitally 13y ago
Wrong. Email first and second, and only call after receiving contact back. I get so many cold calls from vendors I don't answer my phone anymore unless the number comes from one of three area codes or is someone already in my contact list. And god help you if you block caller ID.
- pinaceae 13y ago
  this was about following up. if you ignore his calls, you'll never read his emails anyway.