Ellory Monks

Here are some of my favorite startup sales learnings over the years ... 1. 0-1 sales talent does not exist. Founders, this is you. 2. Product/market fit is (almost) always found in adjacent markets. Don’t handcuff yourself to Day 1 market vision. 3. The demo should never be focused on the product. 4. You need to understand their buying process before you build/define your GTM. 5. Unlocking product/market fit is a process of elimination (like science), NOT a hedge. 6. If the problem is not currently being measured or managed, it’s likely not a priority for the prospect, today. 7. Specificity is fastest way to build market trust — “Wow, I feel like you understand this better than I do.” 8. The quality of your questions is critical for discovery; the quality of their questions is critical for intent. 9. Your niche is not a random starting point. It’s a GTM strategy to prove the experiment with Act 1. 10. Building a working GTM will take longer than building a working product. 11. Give yourself 18-24 months in the market to be invalidated, rejected, and redirected. Founders will also be "Head of Sales" for this period. 12. Consistency is the only way to unlock repeatable themes. Controlled conversations (i.e., experiments) are critical. 13. 80% of early sales is getting them excited by YOU, the Founder — how you see the world (vision) and how you uniquely solve their specific problem today. Hint: the founder is the 'product.' 14. A seed-stage startup should never have a VP of Sales. 15. Channel partnerships are a colossal waste of time. If you haven’t sorted it by going direct, don’t expect another party to. 16. Traction/success abroad seldom puts you further ahead in the U.S.; in fact, it often requires unwinding. 17. If the primary need is being over-served, focus on the secondary need. This is for ‘red ocean’ markets. 18. Someone asking for more features is (almost) never an early adopter. Easy and lightweight is how to test unproven partners ;) 19. The sales team should never lead the product roadmap. 20. SMB is not easier than enterprise. And, there is no such thing as mid-market; it's 'upper-end small business' or 'lower-end enterprise'. 21. Never expect the user to sell to the buyer on your behalf — go direct to the buyer -- in many cases, users can be a blocker. 22. If you did not co-write the RFP, you are likely just a checkbox in their buying process. 23. Enterprise deals are all about expansion opportunity -- if you’re not expanding by a multiple YoY, someone is not doing their job 24. In the enterprise, sales get 'closed' via text. 25. A startup should never wait on the product to go to market.