U
D

Conversation

the

08/30/12 | Uncategorized

My Brush With Sales

Early-stage founder shares how she went about getting her very first clients.

By Chitra Rakesh (Founder, Chitsie)

I’m shy. Sometimes being social is hard. I have to confess I did not have the guts to start a company until I started meeting startup founders for work. Then the energy gets to you. And before you know it, you want to do it too!

So here I was at the crossroads looking for my beta customers to run an online contest on my brand new website, Chitsie, and sponsor $1000 in user prizes. I kept tailoring the offering and reworking my pitch as I went along. I’m happy to share some of the things that have worked well for me:

  • Know that selling is tough. Get creative. Think beyond.
  • Be prepared for a lot of No’s along the way. It depends on how hard you want it.
  • Knock on doors. I was able to meet the VP of Marketing of a pretty smart firm this way. I gave him a demo and the meeting lasted an hour!
  • If you’re up for cold calling, timing is important. You need to get past the front desk. Afternoon breaks are a good time to catch executives.
  • Get LinkedIn. Leverage your existing network. Make new connections. You’ll be surprised to find out that most of your prospects live here.
  • Explore. Ask. Network.
  • Offer value. Give specials. Make it easy for your clients.
  • Walk up to people. Start a conversation. Get them interested. Follow up.
  • Did you know that Facebook company pages let you “Message” the page admins? I found a client on Facebook just like that.
  • Know where to stop. Don’t be a pain in the neck. Or sound like the telemarketer you always want to hang up on.
  • A lot of times people will leave you with: “I’ll get back to you.” Sometimes they will but most times they will not. They don’t have to. It is alright. Go to next.
  • If a meeting goes really well, don’t think it’s a done deal till you actually close it. Keep looking. Have a back-up plan.
  • Be on the look-out for an opportunity. I found my newest client at a birthday party!
  • Once you sign-up, don’t disappear. Be there for your clients at all times.
  • Be genuine. Don’t fake it. Smile, and smile often.

While you’re at it, do check out my website, Chitsie, and hopefully win a prize. The current set of brand contests end on Friday, August 31, 2012. So get your entries in.

Happy selling!

Editor’s note: Got a question for our guest blogger? Leave a message in the comments below.
About the guest blogger: Chitra Rakesh is Founder of Chitsie, offering a cool marketing solution to startups to promote their brands and build user traction in a super fun way via contests and games. Users get rewarded for smartly engaging with brands. She is a marketing and brand professional. She has worked in the software, financial services and e-learning space. Chitra also writes for Patch, an AOL online news resource. She has written for Hindustan Times and Times of India.

Editor

Editor

The Switch Editorial Team.

Straight to your inbox.

The best content on the future faces of tech and startups.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

SHARE THIS STORY

NEW COHORT STARTS JANUARY 2024

Join the Angel Sessions

Develop strategic relationships, build skills, and increase your deal flow through our global angel group and investing course.

RELATED ARTICLES
[yarpp]