Tips for Noobs: How to go from startup to $100M in sales in six ‘easy’ steps
Like every other company, we began our tech startup Datastream at zero in 1996. The company was doing $100 million in revenue in 2006 and was the largest software company in South Carolina at the time we sold it. I’m often asked how we did it. Well, here it goes! This month I’m sharing my six top sales tips for skyrocketing your startup.
1. Find your focus with a niche market.
When we started Datastream, we had almost no sales — but we had three products. At the time we sold, we generated $100 million a year in sales with just one product. Our sales soared when we found our focus and homed in on our most promising product. It’s a BIG world out there! Focusing on the narrowest part of a market makes it easier than trying to sell too much to too many markets. The preeminent book on this subject is “Focus” by Al Ries. Ries himself is who helped us finally focus on one thing.
2. Lean into your leads.
This step is tough because it takes time and money — and you generally don’t get a return for six months to a year. Start with a budget you can stomach. Next, choose a person or company that can help you place some ads or PR. Split your budget between the three best sources and see what sticks — you can always test and adjust. Just don’t start and stop or try too many things at once. Advertising has a way of gathering steam over time, so starting and stopping is wasting money. Do your homework, pick three and roll with it for a year — and don’t forget to make sure your reps talk to every lead; most give up too quickly.
3. Profile what the ideal sales rep looks like.
This is often skipped — don’t skip it! When I visit a new customer to help sales, I often hear things like, “Some of the reps won’t prospect, some of them don’t seem motivated, some have bad attitudes, etc.” In every case after I test the team with some of my tools, I see the ones who are not cooperating are not a good fit to be on that sales team. The key is to find the profiles that do best on your selling team and hire to that profile. I can help you figure this out for your team.
4. Perfect your process.
Manage your sales team with a process that leads to consistent quota-based outcomes. Pick your top-three metrics and be sure to enforce them. For example, for your salespeople to be successful (and keep their jobs), they must meet specific requirements. Have 10 conversations a day with prospects, invest two hours of time learning every week, etc. Keep your metrics simple, but stay consistent. Soon, your polished process will yield consistent results that lead to success.
5. Venture into verticals.
Divide your sales team into verticals so they can focus on larger opportunities with better expertise. When Datastream added verticals for oil and gas, then state and local government, we doubled our growth. As we ventured into the international space, we found some excellent smaller companies that we purchased in order to help expand our reach. This approach helps you to find new business and makes it easier and more efficient to divide sales areas and add salespeople.
6. Raise your prices — every year!
Companies are change sensitive, not price sensitive. It’s not easy to get a company to take on a new product and change the way they’ve always done business. But, if you can get them to agree to make that change, price is not the problem! They’re looking for a solution. At least once a year, adjust your prices. If you charge $175 per hour today and announce you’ll be charging $195 next quarter, no one will notice (except your CFO!). If your reps are telling you price is the problem, they need some sales training.
There you have it. Our Datastream team did a ton of hustling along the way and used these tried-and-true tactics to go from zero to $100 million. These tips made a huge difference in helping us move the revenue up the ladder. If you give these suggestions a shot, let me know what you think (and thank me later).
John Sterling is the Amazon bestselling author of “Sales for Noobs” and CEO of NOOB School, an online resource for new salespeople. Previously, John helped build and sell Datastream for over $200 million. He has trained and hired hundreds of sales reps globally. Subscribe to his YouTube channel for new sales content every week. https://noobschool.org
