As part of Galileo support, we give founders access to subject matter experts with experience to support founders get through the roadblocks early-stage companies face.

We recently invited leading sales expert and Galileo coach Austin Nichols to discuss tackling sales bottlenecks to close customers. 

Austin has Sold over $1 billion worth of products in more than 90 countries and headed up sales at ING Direct (acquired by Capital One), LinkedIn (acquired by Microsoft), Meraki (acquired by Cisco), Dedrone, and Samsara.

This session was too useful not to share with other early-stage founders with similar challenges, here are our key takeaways from the session:

In every startup journey, landing that first customer is a huge deal. But let's be real, it's not always smooth sailing. 

There are hurdles and challenges along the way that can slow things down and cause founders to feel helpless or need to pivot.

If the following common scenarios hit too close to home, keep reading.

• Top of the funnel - not enough leads
• “Ghosting” after a conversation or two
• No follow-up / through by customer
• Customers want to test drive, goalposts keep changing
• Test drive with no buy
• Everyone is on board but keeps delaying for some reason
• The customer has no budget to buy your product 
• Your product isn't getting to the decision-maker

Understand Your Product Vs Sales Issues

To address bottlenecks effectively, it's important to understand the differences between product and sales issues to figure out which areas to focus attention on and resolve. Here are some common issues to look out for and examples of it playing out. 

Product Issues

Product issues are related to the quality, features, or functionality of your product. They can arise due to:

Lack of product-market fit: 

• Your product may not align with the needs and preferences of your intended customer personas
• If your product isn’t getting people excited (the “aha” moment) after a single call - that’s a red flag

Usability challenges: 

• Complicated interfaces or design flaws can hinder customer adoption.
• Non-sales founders tend to over-rotate on product development. But how can you build a product without customer feedback?
• Complex installation
• Too much friction when using the product 

Pricing concerns: If your pricing is too high or low, it can impact customer interest and sales. That being said the right customers, customers with a burning need, will purchase an MVP.

“99% of the time - even when you lose a deal “late” in the cycle it’s because you didn’t do something early in the process”

Sales Issues

Sales issues involve challenges within your sales, such as:‍

Ineffective sales process: You either don't have a process in place or it's not an effective one. Signs of this include: 

• Unclear goals for testing
• Too much friction to adopt
• Post-sales process unclear (implementation, support, etc)

Insufficient lead generation: Inadequate leads can limit your sales opportunities. Signs of this include:

• Top of the funnel issues i.e. not enough leads.

Inconsistent messaging or poor comms: If your sales team doesn't effectively communicate your product's value- it can confuse potential customers. Signs of this include:

• “Ghosting” after a conversation or two
• Unclear ROI

Not the right customer: Sometimes it's just not the right fit. Not everyone should be your customer Signs of this include:

• Bad early customers first, for example just want to test drive the product without ever adopting 
• Unclear needs: goalposts keep changing

Strategies To Tackle Sales Bottlenecks

Work with your customer to gather effective feedback

Gathering customer feedback can provide valuable insights into potential product or sales issues. Use surveys, interviews, and reviews to understand customer perceptions and identify areas for improvement.

Tips & Tricks:

• Make it easy to give you feedback. E.g.: “Tell me one thing you didn’t like” or “If you could wave a magic wand and fix one thing about the product what would it be?”
• Vet information. Use common sense here, sometimes buyers don’t know what they want. The customer is always right” is BS,  It’s a partnership, treat it accordingly. 
• Understand what journey your customer is on:
  • Do their pain points hurt enough that they have to change
  • Have they seen enough they are inspired to buy
  • Have they learned enough they want to change
  • Have they received enough information they can confidently buy

Refine your value proposition

A clear and compelling value proposition helps differentiate your product in the market. Make sure your messaging effectively communicates the benefits of your product and how it addresses customer needs.

• Urgency - “Why now?” has to be clear to the customer

Optimise your sales process

Review your sales process to identify inefficiencies. Streamline your sales funnel, set clear goals, and establish a consistent sales strategy that aligns with your target market.

• Friction (perceived or actual) is a deal killer - simply wins the day!

Remember, you (the founder) is the lead salesperson

As a founder, you are the salesperson. You know the product inside out, what your vision is to sell. Hiring a sales team before you know how to sell your own product won’t solve your sales issues. It has to first come from you. 

Test Pricing Strategies

Pricing plays a crucial role in sales. Ensure your pricing is competitive and aligns with the perceived value of your product. Test different pricing models to see which one resonates best with your audience. Show them the vision and execute it while in trial. 

By honing in on what makes your product valuable, smoothing out sales processes, and listening closely to customer feedback, founders can not only land that crucial first customer but also set themselves up a repeatable sales process helping them to discover product-market fit. 

If you’re a first-time founder and would like to see more about how we support our founders, email us  at team@galileo.ventures