To Build An Amazing Sales Team, Start Here First

TalentBin Co-Founder Peter Kazanjy offers his seasoned advice on how startups can accelerate sales with a strong narrative.

This article is by Peter Kazanjy , co-founder of Atrium . It's excerpted from the sales narrative and product marketing chapter in his book, Founding Sales , which tackles everything founders and first-time sales staff need to know about acquiring early customers, building and scaling winning sales teams.

When Pete Kazanjy and Jason Heidema first started selling their new recruiting product, TalentBin, they got the same question over and over: “Why should I pay for software to find good candidates when I can just use LinkedIn or post to job boards?” Naturally, the answer became a pillar of their sales pitch and highlighted a good pitch's necessary components: it must consider existing solutions and clearly indicate how the product is different and better.

TalentBin landed clients like Facebook, Microsoft, and UPS over three years, leading to its acquisition by Monster. Kazanjy learned valuable lessons about building effective sales strategies. The first step? Crafting a persuasive narrative that captures attention, prompts evaluation of existing solutions, and convinces potential customers of the cost of inaction.

A sales narrative is not a sales pitch; instead, it’s a core story adaptable for various mediums. It shouldn't just enumerate reasons why your company is great; it must incorporate counterpoints and be adaptable based on customer feedback.

Start with This Framework

Establish a sales process that is effective, repeatable, and scalable. A comprehensive narrative with various components enables the creation of sales materials such as slides, messaging, and videos.

The Problem - Solution - Specifics Framework:

• Identify your problem: Pinpoint the pain points, the audience impacted, and current solutions.
• Solution: Explain what has changed in the market that makes your solution viable.
• Specifics: Provide quantitative and qualitative proof points validating your argument.

These steps form your narrative's skeleton, allowing for tailored details based on clients or situations. Keeping the discussion efficient by confirming agreements regarding the identified problem helps drive the conversation forward.

What's Your Problem?

Quickly and simply identify the business pain point for your audience to assess relevance. For TalentBin, the issue was:“Technical recruiting is hard.” Additional examples include:

• Groupon: “Finding new customers for your local business is hard.”
• Salesforce: “B2B sales is hard.”
• HubSpot: “Being an online marketer is hard.”

Use clear, relatable language and ensure your problem statement invites productive conversation.

Who Has the Problem?

Identifying the audience is vital for targeting the right decision-maker in B2B sales. For TalentBin, the direct audience was recruiters and their managers. Knowing your audience aids in qualifying accounts and focusing on those responsible for resolving pain points.

What is the Problem Costing?

Demonstrating financial implications of the problem can facilitate a purchasing decision. Highlight both concrete costs and opportunity costs, such as improved efficiency potentially resulting in increased revenue.

Setting Up Your Solution

Knowledge of existing solutions is critical as it positions your product within the market. Understanding competitors and demonstrating advantages of your product over existing solutions can help close deals.

What Changed?

Your narrative should communicate technological advancements that have made your solution viable. Highlighting significant progress and innovations in the market can bolster your argument.

How Does Your New Solution Work?

Clearly explaining how your solution leverages recent changes is crucial. Use comparisons to established solutions to illustrate key benefits.

Getting into Specifics

As your narrative evolves into marketing materials, be selective with details that enhance your argument. Familiarize yourself with metrics related to performance and challenges, as these will resonate more effectively with potential customers.

Put It All Together

A cohesive narrative independent of the medium should empower sales staff to convey the message with agility. Practicing your pitch and obtaining feedback is crucial in refining the story for various contexts.