In this episode of Ventures, my guest Ken Lundin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kglundin/) and I discuss a wide variety of strategies and tactics for improving sales traction and business development processes in a growing startup. We talk about Ken's journey into sales, how founders should reach out to (and land) early customers, how tangible goods companies should think about retail sales strategies, and how to run experiments and make sales decisions with data.

You can watch this episode below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts (search for “Ventures”).

1:29 - Tee-up for the episode and motivation to talk about sales growth

2:00 - Ken general intro

3:01 - What got Ken into the world of sales?

4:50 - What is Ken's advice for the new entrepreneur (selling into enterprises) building a company from the ground up?

8:23 - How, as a founder, do you figure out what your client's strategic priorities are in order to sell most effectively. Survey strategy and "I'm going to give you the results" as a way of learning about your industry.

10:40 - If you are talking to the ideal customer profile (ICP) after a survey result conversation - then it becomes easy to give them the value proposition

11:28 - What is the process of identifying ideal decision-makers?  

12:55 - Effective sales decision makers write checks all year long - not just in Q3.

14:26 - Why is $20k the magic number that differentiates small/quick deals vs. larger deals?

16:46 - What are the most common mistakes founders make when they are building their sales game?

19:00 - Helping early stage founders get traction to attract great talent.

19:45 - Driving sales through data

20:01 - Assuming coachable founders, how do they scale after a bit of traction? (Test everything)

22:04 - Consumer businesses / B2B sales principles

24:15 - D2C brands that need to sell into retailers (tips/recommendations)

26:42 - Does Ken's group assist with sales or just help them set up the processes?

28:05 - How has the pandemic changed the sales game? What have we collectively learned?

32:56 - Sensitivity & empathy to what the world has gone through in the pandemic

33:50 - How does Ken advise founders who may be running toward burnout?

36:56 - What is Ken's ICP? When should a founder reach out to Ken?

38:50 - Final thoughts. How Ken can help drive sales for your company / your portfolio companies. Massive respect for the entrepreneurs out there.

40:39 - KenLendin.com // RevHeat.com // Ken on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kglundin/)