CTO Founders: how do you handle sales?
Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to meet thousands of solo CTO founders who have put together exceptional tech that the world needs. However, they've faced challenges in going to market, primarily due to the absence of a sales or business counterpart in their team or having only junior sales team members trying to sell into the C-Suite.
I never delved into analyzing the problem because I focused on helping them raise capital, not selling. But I come from a sales background, so the problem is dear to me.
What I know for sure is that finding a good business co-founder can be difficult. And good senior salespeople to hire are usually unaffordable (and often lazy or complete BS).
For those of you with a technical background, lacking senior sales team members to lean on, and who have developed a high-ticket B2B (perhaps Enterprise?) solution, how do you manage to make sales, and how big of a "distraction" is it from working on the product?
If you had a magic wand, would you rather master sales yourself, find the right sales co-founder, hire the right VP of sales, or a stellar junior sales lead?
I'd love to understand how big of a pain this is for a technical-minded founder.
Short Answer: After market selection, Its the most important problem but I dont have a good way to solve it.
Details
Based on a book, Moms Test, initially the core team needs to make sales. I agree with this statement. So I would try to find a business co-founder but would not hire. I wouldn't even know how to hire a sales person.
Only other option is to make yourself uncomfortable and speak with customers. Start with customers whom you know are not going to buy and refine your tactics there and then approach our potential target set.
Daniel, given your sales background what advice would you give on: How to find a good business co-founder?
Love the answer.
Short answer: don't look for a business co-founder. Learn how to be one and hit $50k MRR first.
Long answer: I miss context, so my opinion is based on the assumption that you're at a very early stage (<$10k MRR).
I agree that the core team needs to "help" closing deals but only to some extent. While it's okay to have non-business members get involved, you need someone who understands sales to lead the process, bears the stress, and holds accountability. That's ideally you, or, if you really can't be bothered learning sales, a co-founder.
Now, here's what I would look for in a business co-founder:
A) If you're selling niche solutions to Enterprises, they must have strong expertise in your specific vertical.
E.g. if your product is data storage, try to partner up with someone who worked at Snowflake
B) If you're selling a generic B2B solution within a lighter-weight vertical, look for someone who's worked in adjacent sub-industries and understands your audience.
E.g. if your product is AI chatbots, it's okay to partner up with someone who worked for a traditional online ticketing system or a CRM company.
Then, make sure that:
Having said all of that, hiring a business co-founder means giving them a lot of control over your startup, especially if you don't understand sales. You're giving them the keys to your castle, and you can't really fire them.
I suggest you try to learn sales as much as you can and get to $50k MRR by yourself. Take it seriously, and understand that sales are more than "closing a deal" or sending out follow-ups after a proposal.
When you hit that milestone, you can hire a stretch VP Sales who will inherit a system that works and that they can build on. And you can fire them if they let you down.
But if you still want to hire a baller business co-founder to hit the next significant milestone, at least you can understand each other when talking strategy.
Hope it helps.
Grateful for your detailed reply. Thanks.