Selling 101 for technical founders

By Amy

I’m a developer and a tech founder. I’ve had a strong interest in business since my teenage years. I like to read about sales and business in general.

I’d like to introduce the good type of selling to my technical peers, because there are unhelpful stereotypes and misconceptions about selling.

We technical people like to believe that a product sells because it’s good. We like to believe it because we put a lot of effort into building the product, and it’s natural to think that people get rewarded for their effort.

Many good products don’t sell unless humans sell it. People like to buy from people they like and trust. Without establishing the trust, it is hard to convince people that your product is actually good. 

Selling is about building a trusting relationship, and then showing the customer that they will receive more value than the price you ask for.

Building trust

Trust isn’t easy to obtain, otherwise everyone would be fooled by scammers. It may take time, but you can build it.

I think the following actions can help.

  • Introduce yourself or your brand to your customers. What’s your background? Why should they trust you?
  • Always try very hard to deliver your promises. When you can’t, acknowledge them and try to make amendment as soon as possible.
  • Tell your existing customers’ success stories.
  • Quote independent reviews.
  • Regularly offer your customer information that they care about.

Showing value

The value of your product is obvious to you, but your customer will be seeing it for the first time. This makes it extra hard for you to explain it. On top of that, you need to explain the value of your product using your customer’s language. 

Using the customer’s language means focusing on the benefits rather than technical details. When you mention the features of your product, are you relating the feature to their impacts on your customer’s lives?

The better you know your customer, the better you can communicate with them. What do they want? As professor Theodore Levitt famously put it, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!” A good seller would even go further and say that people don’t want a quarter-inch hole. They want the feeling of accomplishment when they complete their DIY projects. 

Silver Bullet Selling by G.A. Bartick and Paul Bartick

Silver Bullet Selling is about sales processes. Just like how we have processes in software development, there are people who studies the sales processes too. I recommend learning from the professionals.

The Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar

The Secrets of Closing is a classic by one of the most influential seller. I recommend the audio version for Zig Ziglar’s energetic voice.