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Ask HN: How to learn to sell?

355 points rasulkireev | 2 comments | 16 Oct 22 15:19 UTC | HN request time: 0.481s | source

Hey HN,

I am a solo founder that just finished writing code for my project (MVP) and am ready to find clients.

- for the sake of the question, my clients will be small physical businesses. Think, Family Doctor's Office, Local Cafe, Small barber, etc.

I will be developing a blog for SEO purposes and doing other things to promote my business online. However, I believe the key to success here will be "Cold Sales". I have never done that before. So, if you could recommend a book, a blog post, other online resources, or you just have a random advice that I could learn from, I would be very thankful.

Suffice it to say I will be starting out ASAP, even though I don't know anything. I believe practice is the best teacher. However, if there are any resources that could help me get up and running quicker that would be awesome. Thanks a ton in advance.

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treis ◴[16 Oct 22 18:01 UTC] No.33225710[source]▶
To be frank you've already committed the classic blunder of developer initiated startups. You built before you sold. Now there's no telling if what you built is what anyone wants.

IMHO, and extrapolating a lot here it's very unlikely you will get any sale based off your MVP. It's unlikely that you've hit the right market fit without first having found customer #1.

So I'd back up a step and find someone with the problem you're trying to solve. Offer the deal of a custom built solution to meet their need. Once that's built and validated that it actually solves the problem then start selling to others.

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1. tootie ◴[16 Oct 22 19:35 UTC] No.33226529[source]▶
It's not entirely a blunder but OP should consider the MVP as almost a straw man. Don't be precious about how you've designed it and don't be shocked when customers say this is not at all what they need. Having a prototype could still be invaluable for eliciting feedback.
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2. CamperBob2 ◴[17 Oct 22 00:02 UTC] No.33228381[source]▶
In fact, I'd open with a pitch along those lines. "I'm looking for feedback on a work in progress... gathering requirements, tweaking the workflow, that sort of thing. It's not something that you'd find useful right now, but if I could get some input based on your specific business needs/business model, I think we'd both find it valuable."

Without some kind of MP to show, whether it's V or not, all you're offering is hot air and wasted time. If they speak to you at all, the decisionmaker will want to know what makes you think you're qualified to develop the product. If you don't have an awesome answer for that, you're done.

Much better to have something that serves as a conversation piece, even if it's just a mockup.