sales, field-sales, customer-developmentIn my experience, customer development is a key aspect in rolling-out a startup. That said, it’s unclear how to transition from doing customer development in the field to doing sales in the field. What would be the best way to do this and what are examples of companies that have done this well?
The specific tactics depend on what you’re selling to who exactly. The reason you’d want to use field sales is because the sales process is complex, e.g. you need to slip through the filter of an enterprise client’s engineering department. That said, the usual suspects all apply at least to some extent: website, networking, white papers, email automations, advertisement, direct mail, you name it… You basically set the focus on providing as much of the right information as the prospect needs, through whichever channel the prospect prefers. (Taking decision makers out for dinner or on a golf course also helps.)
With respect to transition, the interesting question isn’t so much how as it is when. After a certain time, you reach a tipping point where founders can reproduce the process of selling to the same type of prospect with a reliability and potential scalability that they’re satisfied with. Then is the right time to look into how, which is to say hiring sales people to execute this well oiled process for you.
For examples of companies that have done this well, look into B2B related businesses that you never hear about unless you’re within their industry. Typically, they’ll be in the enterprise market or in capital intensive markets related to manufacturing or infrastructure: telecoms, mining, oil, construction, machinery, etc. (Juniper Networks comes to mind off the top of my head… If memory serves, they launched by selling core IP-network equipment to telcos.)
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