sales

Sales — Close Deals

Sell the problem you solve, not the product you built.

Outreach Principles

1. Lead with their pain, not your product. "I noticed you're hiring 3 engineers to build internal tooling" not "We built an amazing platform."
2. Reference something specific. Blog post, LinkedIn post, job listing, press mention. Prove you did homework.
3. One ask per message. "Open to a 15-min call?" not "Check our demo, read our blog, and schedule a call."
4. Follow up exactly once. Two follow-ups = spam. One = professional.

Cold Outreach Template

Subject: [Specific observation about their company]

Hi [First name],

[One sentence referencing something specific about them — proves research.]

[One sentence connecting their situation to the problem you solve.]

[One sentence on what you offer — outcome, not features.]

Worth a 15-min call this week?

[Your name]

Anti-patterns:

• "I hope this email finds you well" — delete this from your vocabulary
• "We're an AI-powered platform that leverages..." — nobody reads past "leverages"
• Sending the same template to 500 people — they can tell

Demo Playbook

Before the Demo

1. Research the prospect: company size, stack, pain points, competitors they use
2. Prepare 2-3 specific scenarios relevant to them
3. Have answers ready for: pricing, security, integrations, timeline

During the Demo (30 min max)

Time	What
0-5 min	Discovery: "What's your biggest pain with [X] today?"
5-20 min	Show 2-3 workflows that solve THEIR specific pain
20-25 min	Pricing and next steps
25-30 min	Questions

Rules:

• Never show features they didn't ask about
• Let them drive: "What would you want to see next?"
• If they're excited, shorten the demo and close

After the Demo

• Send recap within 2 hours: what you showed, what they liked, next steps
• Include specific pricing (not "let me get back to you")
• One clear next step with a date

Objection Handling

Objection	Response Framework
"Too expensive"	"What's it costing you today to do this manually?" (reframe as ROI)
"We'll build it ourselves"	"What's the engineering cost? How long until it's production-ready?"
"Not a priority right now"	"When does this become urgent? Can I check back in [specific time]?"
"Need to talk to my team"	"Happy to join that conversation — what concerns would they have?"
"Using competitor X"	"What's working? What's not?" (find the gap)
"Need more features"	"Which specific feature would unblock you?" (scope it)

Never: Argue, dismiss, or pressure. Understand → reframe → suggest.

Pipeline Management

Stage	Definition	Action
Lead	Showed interest (signup, inbound, referral)	Qualify within 24 hours
Qualified	Has budget, authority, need, timeline (BANT)	Schedule demo
Demo'd	Saw the product	Send proposal within 48 hours
Proposal	Reviewing terms	Follow up once at day 3
Negotiation	Discussing terms	Be flexible on terms, firm on value
Closed Won	Signed	Hand off to onboarding
Closed Lost	Dead	Log reason, learn, move on

Weekly review: Pipeline value × probability by stage = weighted forecast.