The CEO of any company is expected to sell at all times. The primary objective of any business is sales. You begin by selling to yourself, then you sell your co-founders. Later, you’ll sell your first client and you’ll continue until you retire. The job of any CEO is sales.
This primer will help you understand your role and sell better.
FIRST, SELL YOURSELF
The most effective sales technique out there is conviction and true belief. Nothing is more powerful than a person who has more confidence in his vision for the future than anyone else in the room. As a startup CEO, you must convince yourself of new ideas and a future vision. Current circumstances and the degree of difficulty it will take to make these idea a reality must not get in the way of selling yourself. The bottom line is, if you can’t sell yourself on your vision, you won’t be able to sell anyone else.
Learn to sell yourself first before going out to sell others.
THEN, SELL YOUR CO-FOUNDERS
There’s no way around it; startups are difficult. They require long hours, tight budgets, short deadlines and mountains of stress. Your chances of success are better if you find people who balance your weaknesses and who will help you build your company from day one. Even when you do find the right co-founder, you will probably have to sell them on your idea. For the most part, this is a two-step process.
- Step 1: Sell them on your vision
- Step 2: Manage all their objections
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