Building Your Sales Process

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Every founder you talk to will have an idea for the solution they want to build. They might even have a good understanding of the problem. But most of the time, when you ask founders, "How are you actually going to sell this thing?" They have no idea.

Sales can be extremely scary, especially if you haven't done it before. However, it is the most impactful thing a founder can do, as it combines customer discovery with getting people to buy your product.

Last week, I thought back to everything I've learned about selling Chezie in the three years we've been doing it. Let's dive in!

What Makes Sales So Difficult

Nothing quite prepares you for the actual experience: prospects ghosting you after seeming interested, potential customers saying they'll buy but never following through, or people showing up to demos with completely different expectations because they still need to read your website.

When we first started selling Chezie, I thought our product was so good it would sell itself. And in some ways, it did – our champion (the ERG owner who manages employee resource groups) almost always sees Chezie's value immediately.

We struggled (and still sometimes struggle) with what happens after that initial excitement. While we're having more success as we move upmarket to larger enterprises, those early days taught me not to underestimate two things:

1. The gap between "this is great" and "here's a signed contract"

2. The complexity of B2B sales – the layers of approval, the number of stakeholders, the various objections you need to address

These realizations led us to rethink our sales process completely. But before I share what's working now, let me walk you through what we tried first...

What We've Tried

When we first started selling, we experimented with different sales approaches. There were dozens of iterations, but I can summarize them into three approaches.

First Approach: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Our first attempt was the classic 30-minute call where we tried to pack everything in:

• Discovery questions to understand their needs (10 mins)

• FULL product demo (15 mins)

• Pricing and proposal discussion (5 mins)

This approach failed spectacularly. It was too much information for prospects to process in a short time. We threw features, pricing, and implementation details at them before genuinely understanding their problems. It's like trying to sell someone a house by speed-running them through every room without letting them ask questions.

We also needed a written proposal, so customers had nothing to return to their managers; they just had to share the price outright with nothing to support the business case.

Second Approach: Split Calls

Next, we tried breaking it into two separate calls:

• Call 1: Discovery (30 mins)

• Call 2: Follow up (45 mins)

  • FULL demo (30 mins)

  • Proposal (15 mins)

  

  A screenshot of one of our old pricing proposals for Lime.

  While this seemed more organized on paper, it killed momentum.

  When people book a demo, they hope to solve their problem immediately. Making them wait for another call doesn't build anticipation – it gives them time to lose interest or find another solution.

  What We Do Today

  After experimenting with different approaches, we've landed on a structured 45-minute process consistently delivering results. Let me break it down minute by minute:

  The 45-Minute Framework

  1. Building Rapport (5 mins)

     We internally call this "shooting the shit" – it's crucial for establishing a human connection before diving into business.

  2. Discovery (10 mins)

     After 250+ customer conversations, we know exactly what people struggle with when managing ERGs. This isn't guesswork anymore – we're repeatedly validating patterns we've seen.

  3. Case Study Presentation (5 mins)

     This is where we leverage the "case study method" we learned from Rob Snyder. Instead of generic pitching, we present specific examples of how similar customers solved their problems using Chezie.

  4. Targeted Demo (15 mins)

     This isn't a full product tour. We focus exclusively on the features that address their prioritized pain points, leaving some breathing room for questions.

  5. Proposal Review (5 mins)

     Quick, focused review of pricing and terms.

  6. Next Steps (5 mins)

     We always book the next meeting while still on the call. This maintains momentum and gives us a clear path forward.

  The Case Study Method

This deserves special attention because it's been game-changing for our sales process. The core concept we learned from Rob Snyder is simple but powerful: as an early-stage startup, you want to find customers with nearly identical problems and sell to them based on the same solution every time.

P.S. - If you're a B2B founder, you should be following Rob on LinkedIn.

This approach means:

• Every customer should go through the same sales, customer success, and renewal processes

• Every customer should get the same value from Chezie

• Every customer should have the same positive things to say about the product

What We've Learned

250+ interactions with prospects later, we've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't.

1. Get to the point

   When people visit your website and schedule a demo, they do so because they have a problem they hope your solution can solve. While they're open to discussing their problem during your discovery, they're much more interested in how your solution can address it.

2. Keep your demo tight

   Your demo can and should be short. Since you built this great product, you think your customers will want every feature you offer.

   Wrong. Very wrong.

   Most of the time, people have 1-3 burning problems that must be resolved. Your goal is to demonstrate that your product addresses those problems. The more you show, the more you distract from the 2-3 problems and the more you open yourself up to showing something the customer might actually object to.

3. 45 minutes is all you need

   One 45-minute meeting is ideal. This is enough time for you to do discovery and understand how the customer thinks about their problem, go into the demo and focus on the 2-3 most high-priority features, and go through a proposal while also confirming the next steps. Any shorter, and it's not enough time; any longer, and you're over-showing.

4. Use existing customers to secure new customers

   Prospects are always interested in how your existing customers leverage your solution. The more you can prove to them that your existing customers had the same problems and challenges that they had, the easier it is to convince them that your solution is THE solution to their challenges.

Sales is all about iteration. Do something 5 times, see how customers react, keep what works, drop what doesn't, repeat.

Don't get discouraged if you're selling your product for the first time and getting no's. For every ten no's we get, one yes makes up for them 100x over.

Catch you next week! Happy holidays.

Toby