Last week brought a range of experiences including two days at the ATI’s Clean Energy Venture Summit.  This event was rich in content and included the expected array of science-based projects but also a surprising amount of discussion about connected devices and their role in energy conservation.  Others more focused on energy than I Tweeted a running transcript of the event (#CEVS2011), and I direct your attention there for more information.  It was good to see Ben Hill (and his wife Sharon) in town from Atlanta for that occasion.  Ben is Georgia Tech’s Venture Lab Principal who pursues energy related opportunities, and there were plenty to pursue at this meeting.

Of more relevance to my general readership was a class presentation at 1 Semester Startup by John Price, CEO of Vast and one of the Trilogy veterans who made such an impact on the Austin tech scene.   He reminded the students that one can make a list of all the steps in building a company and easily begin each one with the word “sell.”  You may have the $Billion idea in your head, but you‘ll go nowhere unless you can sell the idea to others who will join your team, your vendors from whom you need support, financiers who will provide you capital, your significant other who will be sacrificing family time and money while you chase your dream, and obviously those who will eventually become your customers.

Of particular interest to me was his Top Ten list for the sales process in a tech company, one that he originally produced more than ten years ago and is still on the mark, paraphrased and annotated a bit here:

10.  Know your product.  You may have to have some sales support from your uber-techs for some types of products, but make sure either you or you and your sales team thoroughly understand the capabilities, and shortcomings, or your product line.  To many “I’ll get back to you on that” statements will not instill confidence and certainly won’t keep the deal moving at the pace you and your pocketbook desire.

9. Dress appropriately.  It has been said that overdressing never hurts, but Price recommended trying to match the dress code of your audience.  I’ve found that in Austin, even in church, it’s hard to underdress, particular during this hottest of summers, but my take on this is that you don’t want dress to distract from your mission.  Blending in with a tendency to err on the high side is probably the best guide.

8. Know how to do a great demo.  In the early Peachtree days when all the underlying hardware and software was inherently unreliable, our marketing genius Julian Puckett created a cardboard microcomputer which could be unfolded from a briefcase, screen shots inserted, and which worked flawlessly and at maximum speed every time.  This was the greatest demo I have ever had the pleasure to use.  Your demo needs to be technologically ready for prime time, with no start-up glitches, and polished enough to leave nothing to the imagination.

7. Know how to do a great presentation.  It’s one thing to show a product, yet quite another to put that product in context and prove its merit to your listener.  Skip the fancy effects, make every word count, build to a climax, and hold the attention of your viewer. 

6. Sell value.  You may or may not have the lowest price, but you want to sell on the notion that you create the highest value for a customer, and you want to have all the numbers and facts at your command to back that up.

5. Be a lounge lizard evangelist.  Whether you realize it our not, you’re always selling.  You never know who will appear in the next seat at any meeting or event or a bar and be a ripe candidate to hear your enthusiasm for your company and product.   If you’re constantly on your message in any appropriate setting, good things will surprise you.

4. Know everything about your customer.  In the age of Google, there’s no excuse on this one; it’s easy to do the homework and not waste your valuable face time asking things you should already know.

3. Position your case correctly.  Make sure your audience knows in what box your company and your product belong so a buyer can tap the right budgets, square you up against the right problems and alternative solutions, and put you in a frame of reference that gives you the best chance of making the sale.

2. Be an expert listener.  If you are good at this, customers will always tell you how best to sell them.  Know when to talk and when not, and you’ll find the most direct path to success.

1. Ask great questions.  When it’s your turn to talk, ask the direct questions that tell you where the customer’s pain is and how it can best be treated.  Try to ask opened ended questions that get the customer talking, rather than anything that can be answered with a simple yes or no.  Great questioning is a great way to engage the customer and move him or her along the path you are seeking to accomplish.

Several of my recent posts have touched on the sales topic, and there are millions of resources online and offline that you can tap on this subject.  But, it never hurts to be reminded again of some of the basics.  Thanks to John Price for that.

<Image of John Price from Vast website>