Everything is Sales - Sales is everything

Quote: “The fortune is in the follow-up”

Everything is Sales

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed again how many areas in the startup ecosystem follow the same mechanics as B2B sales.

Recruiting, for example, is essentially sales. You source candidates via inbound and outbound channels, build trust over multiple touchpoints, and try to close the right hire. Fundraising works the same way. Investors move through a funnel, from first contact to conviction, often across months and dozens of interactions. Even things like partnerships, customer success, or internal buy in for new initiatives follow a similar pattern.

That is why sales is a skill everyone in the startup ecosystem should understand at least at a fundamental level. This does not mean everyone needs to have done cold calls. It is enough to understand and apply the core principles that make these processes work. Three of those principles are outlined below.

1. Problem Before Solution

Always try to truly understand the problem before moving on to the solution. This is often harder than it sounds, because you usually come into the conversation with a potential solution already in mind: your own product. But when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.

That is exactly what should never happen in a sales conversation. If the other side does not feel understood, or feels that their problem isn’t fully grasped, a deal will never materialize. The primary focus should therefore always be on asking the right questions and, above all, listening.

2. People First

Sales should never be purely transactional, but should always take place on a personal level. Take the time to find common ground with the person on the other side and to build genuine rapport. People do not buy from companies, they buy from people they trust and feel understood by.

Don’t just talk about the company’s challenges, but also about the individual concerns and aspirations of the person you’re speaking with. Decisions are rarely driven by logic alone. If your product can credibly demonstrate that it addresses those personal motivations as well, it will almost sell itself.

3. Follow-Ups

It’s often said that in B2B sales it can take up to 16 touchpoints before a deal is closed. That means persistence is not optional, it is part of the process. Most deals do not fail because of a clear no, but because follow ups stop too early. This takes conviction in what you are offering and the grit to keep pushing. The best opportunities often arise precisely when you think a deal is long lost, but you still follow up one more time.

That was your cheatcode for this week. Now it’s up to you.

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