Forging Ahead

I first saw Allin present when he was moderating a Startup Week event in 2019. He was super impressive and this episode did not disappoint. This is a man who started in marketing, launched the BDR/SDR program at Intuit, and is now a player coach smashing it selling to the enterprise. Allin is a perfect example of a practitioner. There is real shit in here that you can take into work tomorrow to close more deals or become a better sales leader.

This episode is with my brother, Jeff! Jeff's been grinding away in inside sales for a decade now and shares some thoughts from the front lines.  He gives us a framework for how to identify a hypergrowth company to sell for. Jeff just celebrated 3 years at Drift.  Enjoy. 

This episode features JR Butler. JR is the CRO of Pillir.io. In past conversations, JR has casually talked about W2-ing a million bucks and I wasn't sure if this was hyperbole or actually attainable. So I circled back and asked. Turns out, you can W2 a million bucks as a salesperson. Listen to this episode to learn how.

https://audiencefirst.link/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/arvidkahl

Louis runs Sparkloop.app, a SaaS referral tool for newsletters that is growing 20-30% every month. He runs a course called Sales for Founders, which is why I wanted to chat with him.  Louis intends to help founders get good enough at sales to close their first 100 customers. Getting to around 10k MRR allows you to take a breath, regroup, and make a plan for what to do next. This often includes shifting gears to a different customer acquisition strategy or bringing someone else in to run sales.  I'd pay special attention to how Louis talks about audience and targeting people to reach out to.  His success plan is gold as well.  You can find the course at https://salesforfounders.com/

The biggest question you should ask yourself during fundraising? Who's your lead?  It's all about a lead investor. They are putting the price on the round of funding. They de-risk the round for fellow investors. "Once you have a lead, that's everything." Blog post that Chris mentions: https://blog.bolt.io/find-a-lead/ Traction can be a substitute for track record. If you've never gotten to the pay window, you can improve your situation with traction. Can you show up to investors meetings with some revenue generated, some customers, some cash raised in scrappy ways? Show progress. Dipjar can be found here: https://www.dipjar.com/

Had a fun chat with Patrick Campbell.  https://www.profitwell.com/

Quick 5 minute ramble. Want to get back into the habit of hitting publish! 

This one feels like it could be helpful in these scary times. Tara has moved her business online. You can find her at https://www.taraatwood.com/. Her story is incredible. I think you will enjoy this chat.

I was worried about getting over my skis in this discussion. I am definitely not in ProdPerfect's target buyer cohort:)  We talk about: - Plans for Covid19 - Making your first sale as a founder*** Erik goes deep here. Super helpful. He has a strong opinion on who should do the early selling. - Presentation chops - Values. Erik goes DEEP here also.  - Breaking the rules, being different. Founders must be somewhat crazy. We could have gone for hours and Erik has committed to a part 2. Thanks, Erik! Things we mentioned: Erik's books: https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Fogg/e/B00GC0FE3A?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1584551538&sr=8-3 Erik's older blog: http://foggofwar.blogspot.com/ Erik's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikfogg/ ProdPerfect: https://prodperfect.com/ GitLab Remote Resources: https://about.gitlab.com/company/culture/all-remote/guide/