Large Company Sales Tips for Founders

Steve Blank has one message for startup founders - Get out of the building

So what happens when founders go out of the building and have to do sales with no previous experience? This is what happened to me. I had no experience of how large companies work.

Here are a few lessons I picked up from my experience of selling to large companies.

1. Network - There is only one way to break into large companies independently, that is via your contacts and network. Go back to your alumni association, your family, your school and college buddies. Start working on your networking skills. Networking is all about first finding a common interest (say Open Source or you went to the same school) with someone and then getting to personally know them - their family, interests, goals etc.

2. Find the right audience - If you are selling a business product, find business users who may benefit from the solution, if you are selling a technical product, go to the technical users. If you are not sure, go to the business users - they are likely to find a use for your product.

3. Be patient and consistent - Large companies are usually bureaucratic and paranoid about startups. But even within large enterprises there are early adopters. Once you get someone interested in your service, keep them in the loop. Remember if someone takes interest in you, they will give you a pilot or refer you to someone

4. Dress and present well - Large companies are used to smart (power) dressing and glitzy presentations. Make a good presentation, polish your shoes, wear neat formal clothes and talk confidently and clearly. Be prepared to flash a knowing smile as often as you can. Everyone likes people who look and behave like them. So try and mirror your contact.

5. Blend in the culture of the company - This may be difficult if you are not too experienced, but try and look for signs. Are your prospects specific or vague? Do they act important or humble? Are they paranoid or risk-taking? Are they formal or casual? Tailor your pitch accordingly and try to fit into their culture.

6. Communicate and be serious about commitments - Once your foot is in the door, keep your contact in loop. Startups usually fail to grasp or estimate the true costs of executing a project. So it is best to under-promise and over-deliver. If you think you are going to run over deadlines, keep communicating. By communicating, you will get valuable feedback about how your project / pilot is progressing and if you need to make any changes to your solution or approach.

If all this is not for you, then you do not have the temperament to do large company sales... like me :-) All of this is usually time consuming and expensive. This is why enterprise products are so expensive!