Peter R Kazanjy

You need to have and project full confidence that you’re going to win the deal, but at the same time be unfazed when you do not.

If your demo is non-contextual and not tied directly to the business realities of the prospect, it will always smell like you’re running the demo to make the product perform at its peak attractiveness.

Objections are great. They mean that your prospect is engaged, and at least thinking about the problem you’re addressing.

Understanding the costs associated with the problem you’re addressing will help you frame an argument for why would-be customers should expend budget on your solution.

If you traditionally charge $9,000 up front for a seat of your solution, for a twelve-month contract, but the customer states they don’t have the budget to swing that, you can offer monthly pricing of $999 for a twelve-month contract.

To help win customers at this stage, your job is to maximize each customer interaction—and effectively transform your customers into fans.

Start with the minimum viable coverage of each piece of the narrative, and then build out as appropriate.

Once you know what you want your culture to be, you need to document it for distribution and reference.

For instance, if you are selling to the recruiting market, then it’s important to know all the things that will be important to your client: number of inbound candidates, quality of candidate, response rate of candidates, cost per hire, time to hire, quality of hire, and hiring funnel drop-off.

There’s very little chance that your solution operates in a vacuum, so it’s important for your staff to understand the market.

Use Metrics to Monitor Sales Performance

Embed metric tracking in daily routines using CRM tools. Regularly review these metrics to monitor sales activities and identify performance issues early, ensuring timely interventions and continuous improvement.

Develop a Consistent Sales Cadence

Establish a routine that alternates between emails, calls, and voicemails. Tools like Outreach and SalesLoft can streamline this process and ensure persistent engagement with prospects.

Offer Flexible Payment Options

If a client can't afford a lump sum, provide them with monthly payment terms. This increases the chances of closing the deal and securing steady revenue.

Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews

Schedule and conduct QBRs with key stakeholders to document and present how your solution delivers value. This helps identify upsell opportunities and ensures customer satisfaction.

Hire for Intellectual Acumen and Resourcefulness

Focus on candidates who demonstrate high intellectual capability and resourcefulness. This ensures they can effectively understand and sell complex solutions, adapt, and thrive in dynamic environments.

The most important thing to remember is that you’re not selling the product on this call. You’re selling the opportunity to spend a limited amount of time to understand the prospect’s pains better.

This is largely an exercise in information gathering, and as such, is an investment exercise, as much as a revenue-generating exercise.

Sales professionals are in the business of taking a known-good solution, and taking it to market, in a repeatable scalable way. They’re good at finding prospects that match a known-good persona.

Reject a mindset of scarcity—and, hence, hoarding—and embrace a mindset of plenty.

Quantity has a quality all its own.

Founder's Early Sales Role

In the initial stages of a startup, founders must embrace what Kazanjy calls 'evangelical sales.' This involves engaging directly with early customers to understand their pain points and using this feedback to iterate the product. Kazanjy emphasizes, 'This is largely an exercise in information gathering, and as such, is an investment exercise, as much as a revenue-generating exercise.' Successful founders immerse themselves in these activities to achieve product-market fit and lay a solid foundation for future sales efforts.

Importance of a Structured Sales Cadence

A structured sales cadence is critical for effective outreach. This involves a systematic sequence of actions—emails, calls, and voicemails—spaced out over time to increase the likelihood of making contact with prospects. According to Kazanjy, 'Multiple touch points, and a system that requires you to work through them, are core to being successful here.' Implementing a well-defined cadence helps salespeople stay organized and persistently engaged with prospects until an appointment is set.

Avoid Premature Professionalization of Sales

Introducing professional sales staff too early can be detrimental. Founders need to first develop a deep understanding of customer needs and refine their sales narrative. Kazanjy warns, 'Sales professionals are in the business of taking a known-good solution, and taking it to market, in a repeatable scalable way.' Founders should delay hiring sales professionals until they have established a robust sales narrative and an understanding of their market.

Tailored Sales Demos

Effective sales demos must be highly customized to the prospect’s context. A generic demo can come off as inauthentic, while a tailored one resonates more deeply. Kazanjy advises, 'If your demo is non-contextual and not tied directly to the business realities of the prospect, it will always smell like you’re running the demo to make the product perform at its peak attractiveness.' Using the prospect’s actual data or workflows in the demo can demonstrate real-world application and immediate value.

Scaling Sales Teams Through Pods

For scalable growth, Kazanjy introduces the concept of 'Sales Pods.' Each pod is a small, self-sufficient unit replicating the success of initial effective sales teams. 'This is the point at which you can really start to see the power of 'scale out' via replicability,' he explains. By cloning successful sales pods, companies can increase throughput while maintaining consistency and quality across teams.

Documenting Organizational Culture

To build a cohesive and strong organizational culture, it's essential to document and articulate it. 'Once you know what you want your culture to be, you need to document it for distribution and reference,' states Kazanjy. This documentation helps ensure consistency and reinforces cultural values across the organization, aiding in both recruiting and internal alignment.

Utilize Metrics for Sales Management

Modern sales management increasingly relies on metrics to track performance and make informed decisions. 'Thanks to better instrumentation, with the rise of modern CRMs, the model has flipped to where sales managers use metrics to continuously monitor the quantity and quality of reps’ selling activities,' notes Kazanjy. By embedding metrical review into daily routines and leveraging CRM tools, managers can effectively oversee sales activities and identify areas for improvement early on.

You need to have and project full confidence that you’re going to win the deal, but at the same time be unfazed when you do not.

If your demo is non-contextual and not tied directly to the business realities of the prospect, it will always smell like you’re running the demo to make the product perform at its peak attractiveness.

Objections are great. They mean that your prospect is engaged, and at least thinking about the problem you’re addressing.

Understanding the costs associated with the problem you’re addressing will help you frame an argument for why would-be customers should expend budget on your solution.

If you traditionally charge $9,000 up front for a seat of your solution, for a twelve-month contract, but the customer states they don’t have the budget to swing that, you can offer monthly pricing of $999 for a twelve-month contract.

To help win customers at this stage, your job is to maximize each customer interaction—and effectively transform your customers into fans.

Start with the minimum viable coverage of each piece of the narrative, and then build out as appropriate.

Once you know what you want your culture to be, you need to document it for distribution and reference.

For instance, if you are selling to the recruiting market, then it’s important to know all the things that will be important to your client: number of inbound candidates, quality of candidate, response rate of candidates, cost per hire, time to hire, quality of hire, and hiring funnel drop-off.

There’s very little chance that your solution operates in a vacuum, so it’s important for your staff to understand the market.

The most important thing to remember is that you’re not selling the product on this call. You’re selling the opportunity to spend a limited amount of time to understand the prospect’s pains better.

This is largely an exercise in information gathering, and as such, is an investment exercise, as much as a revenue-generating exercise.

Sales professionals are in the business of taking a known-good solution, and taking it to market, in a repeatable scalable way. They’re good at finding prospects that match a known-good persona.

Reject a mindset of scarcity—and, hence, hoarding—and embrace a mindset of plenty.

Quantity has a quality all its own.