B2B sales strategies and practical tips for startup business development :: with Ken Lundin

10/26/21 • 42 min

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Ken Lundin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kglundin/) and I discuss a wide variety of strategies and tactics for improving sales traction and business development processes in a growing startup. We talk about Ken's journey into sales, how founders should reach out to (and land) early customers, how tangible goods companies should think about retail sales strategies, and how to run experiments and make sales decisions with data.

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-68 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.

You can watch this episode via video here.

1:29 - Tee-up for the episode and motivation to talk about sales growth

2:00 - Ken general intro

3:01 - What got Ken into the world of sales?

4:50 - What is Ken's advice for the new entrepreneur (selling into enterprises) building a company from the ground up?

8:23 - How, as a founder, do you figure out what your client's strategic priorities are in order to sell most effectively. Survey strategy and "I'm going to give you the results" as a way of learning about your industry.

10:40 - If you are talking to the ideal customer profile (ICP) after a survey result conversation - then it becomes easy to give them the value proposition

11:28 - What is the process of identifying ideal decision-makers?

12:55 - Effective sales decision makers write checks all year long - not just in Q3.

14:26 - Why is $20k the magic number that differentiates small/quick deals vs. larger deals?

16:46 - What are the most common mistakes founders make when they are building their sales game?

19:00 - Helping early stage founders get traction to attract great talent.

19:45 - Driving sales through data

20:01 - Assuming coachable founders, how do they scale after a bit of traction? (Test everything)

22:04 - Consumer businesses / B2B sales principles

24:15 - D2C brands that need to sell into retailers (tips/recommendations)

26:42 - Does Ken's group assist with sales or just help them set up the processes?

28:05 - How has the pandemic changed the sales game? What have we collectively learned?

32:56 - Sensitivity & empathy to what the world has gone through in the pandemic

33:50 - How does Ken advise founders who may be running toward burnout?

36:56 - What is Ken's ICP? When should a founder reach out to Ken?

38:50 - Final thoughts. How Ken can help drive sales for your company / your portfolio companies. Massive respect for the entrepreneurs out there.

40:39 - KenLendin.com // RevHeat.com // Ken on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kglundin/)

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-68 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.

You can watch this episode via video here.

1:29 - Tee-up for the episode and motivation to talk about sales growth

2:00 - Ken general intro

3:01 - What got Ken into the world of sales?

4:50 - What is Ken's advice for the new entrepreneur (selling into enterprises) building a company from the ground up?

10:40 - If you are talking to the ideal customer profile (ICP) after a survey result conversation - then it becomes easy to give them the value proposition

11:28 - What is the process of identifying ideal decision-makers?

12:55 - Effective sales decision makers write checks all year long - not just in Q3.

14:26 - Why is $20k the magic number that differentiates small/quick deals vs. larger deals?

16:46 - What are the most common mistakes founders make when they are building their sales game?

19:00 - Helping early stage founders get traction to attract great talent.

19:45 - Driving sales through data

20:01 - Assuming coachable founders, how do they scale after a bit of traction? (Test everything)

22:04 - Consumer businesses / B2B sales principles

24:15 - D2C brands that need to sell into retailers (tips/recommendations)

26:42 - Does Ken's group assist with sales or just help them set up the processes?

28:05 - How has the pandemic changed the sales game? What have we collectively learned?

32:56 - Sensitivity & empathy to what the world has gone through in the pandemic

33:50 - How does Ken advise founders who may be running toward burnout?

36:56 - What is Ken's ICP? When should a founder reach out to Ken?

38:50 - Final thoughts. How Ken can help drive sales for your company / your portfolio companies. Massive respect for the entrepreneurs out there.

40:39 - KenLendin.com // RevHeat.com // Ken on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kglundin/)

Previous Episode

Want to learn how to be a Web 3 product manager? Let’s talk.

In this episode of Ventures, I (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wclittle/) recorded a short monologue that describes why my partners and I at Prota Ventures are gathering a cohort of Web 3 product-managers-in-training to rapidly get up to speed on Web 3 patterns, tools, technologies, and networks. For more information and background listening/reading about the vision and mission of the training, visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/blockchains.

To apply, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected]. Thanks!

You can also visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-67 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.

You can watch this episode via video here.

Next Episode

The SUPLMNT story: a vision for urban wellness :: with Jairus Morris

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Jairus Morris (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jairus-morris-41a85355/) and I discuss his entrepreneurial journey starting and growing SUPLMNT (https://suplmnt.com/, ← if you are looking for a beautifully designed water bottle, check these out). We discuss his background, early validation experiments, team recruitment strategy, fundraising tactics, vision for his company, and advice for fellow entrepreneurs.

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-69 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.

You can watch this episode via video here.

1:27 - Jairus intro, background, motivation for starting SUPLMNT

6:53 - Showing the basic bottle (check it out on video)

8:24 - How did Jairus initially start the journey into his product/growth strategy.

10:08 - How many different types of bottles are available to buy?

11:52 - What is the broader vision of the SUPLMNT brand?

13:49 - What is Jairus’ personal strategy for staying healthy?

14:58 - Custom SUPLMNT bottles for Warby Parker

17:22 - Given the vision (wellness), where is SUPLMNT heading? What can Jairus tell us about the next things on the horizon for the business.

18:37 - What has the process been like for Jairus to navigate the "impossible job" of an early stage entrepreneur, juggling all the balls / wearing all the hats?

22:32 - D2C Brands like SUPLMNT are a marketing game...what is SUPLMNT's marketing strategy?

26:40 - How has Jairus experienced bias in his entrepreneurial journey?

29:58 - What's Jairus’ advice for the VC/Angel community to be more empathetic to under-represented people groups?

32:10 - Not all VCs have gone through the entrepreneurial journey.

33:01 - What are the next steps - in Jairus’ opinion - for scaling SUPLMNT?

35:00 - Final words to the founders/investors listening in. (Keep going!)

36:01 - Where can people follow Jairus/SUPLMNT online? https://www.instagram.com/suplmnt // https://www.linkedin.com/in/jairus-morris-41a85355/ // https://www.instagram.com/jairusmorris/ // https://suplmnt.com/