SaaStr Workshop Wednesday with Jason Lemkin

7 Things The Best Sales Reps Get Right. And 10 Ways The Rest Make Things Worse
Jason Lemkin, Founder & CEO @ SaaStr

1. Jason Lemkin
Founder & CEO
SaaStr
@jasonlk
7 Things The Best Sales Reps Get
Right. And 10 Ways The Rest Make
Things Worse.

3. The best sales reps solve my problems

4. #1. They listen to my actual problems and
show me the best solution using their
product — and other products.

They learn my business fast, and show me exactly how their product solves my
problems.

5. #2. They help me demo, pilot or try the
product

in whatever fashion makes me the most comfortable.

6. #3. They are fluent in, and honest
about, the competition.
This saves me time in my research. No, if your competition also has tons of
customers, then they are not terrible at everything. Be honest about where you are
strong, where you are equal, and where you are — for now — a bit behind.

7. #4. They are honest about product gaps
and weaknesses.
This saves me a lot of time and headaches. There is nothing worse than having to
discover an important product gap after you’ve bought and deployed an app. But if I
know up front, I can plan around it.

8. #5. They don’t play games with pricing.
I know the price is and will be fair from the start.
This saves me a lot of time.

9. #6. They are there for you after the deal
Yes, I know you are handing me off to customer success or whomever. But
sometimes, they aren’t great and I need help. The best reps make you feel like they
are always there for you, after the sale. Even if secretly, they’d rather be working on
their top opportunities.

10. #7. They’ve done research on me before
the first call.
They know what I do, who I am, how many employees we have, what we care about
and need. This isn’t that hard. But boy it really helps. And works.

11. The ways the rest make things worse

12. Play (endless) games with price.
I don’t have time. I know this may be all you care about, but I have a lot of other
needs.

13. Fake and pressure-filled urgency to buy
now.
Yes, this is an art. Practice it poorly and you are adding to my headaches. I’ll buy this
month if you’ve treated me well and addressed all my needs. But no games about
your generic product getting so much more expensive next month. It’s not even
true.

14. Pushing me to buy the wrong / too
expensive of an edition.
This can blow a deal, or undermine trust. If the simpler edition is fine for now, just
sell me that.

15. Lies about the competition.
This just makes my job of discovery and learning harder.

16. Not understanding my budget and
situation.
Don’t treat an SMB like a F500 company. Understand their budget and work to it —
as a partner.

17. Too few check-ins. I need help.

18. Too many check-ins. Leave me be.

19. Break-up emails.
Seriously? That doesn’t help me. You should be there when I’m ready. Even if that’s
6 months from now.

20. Playing games on renewals.
Ripping me off when we start is bad enough. Ripping me off once I depend on you
is even worse.

21. Turning off free trials with drama.
Not cool. If I need more time, just give it to me. Not everything is life has to be so
transactional.

22. Thank You