Today’s conversation has Anthony really scared simply because it’s with a startup founder who has a technology product - not exactly Anthony’s strong suit. But he’s daring to jump into the conversation and actually does a great job chatting with Steli Efti, founder of Close.io - a software solution that enables sales people to work with their prospects, leads, and customers in a way that is intuitive for the salesperson and easy to use. You’ll hear Steli tell a bit about his own journey and the how he’s navigated the entrepreneurial path to where he’s at now. It’s a great conversation, even though Anthony was a bit scared at first.
When a startup gets going they typically make some fundamental mistakes when it comes to sales.
Founding and running a successful startup is hard, no question. But many times the networking and reliance upon connections cause startup founders and leaders to miss some of the more important parts of how sales work and how the sales process should be integrated into every aspect of the brand and its promotions. On this episode Steli Efti shares the problems of that nature that he saw in the startup community of Silicon Valley and how it led him to create a software solution for sales teams that is entirely different than what’s out there.
Why you NEED to make mistakes as a startup founder or entrepreneur.
Steli Efti’s path to being the founder of a successful startup was not a bed of roses. He’s had his share of failed ventures and lessons learned from mistakes. He believes that every entrepreneur not only will make mistakes but needs to make mistakes so that they can learn things on a deeper level that will serve them later on. Anthony and Steli chat about the importance of learning from mistakes and why you can’t allow your mistakes to define you, on this episode of In The Arena.
Just because it CAN be done, doesn’t mean it will be a successful product
Much of what passes for email marketing is nothing more than SPAM - lampe attempts at prospecting through form emails and repeated systems. Steli Efti says that many entrepreneurs are taking that approach simply because it’s what has always been done - but it neglects to notice that methods of that kind aren’t working anymore. Steli and Anthony both share insights into what works better and how and why marketers and salespeople need to sit across the table from real people in order to do sales the right way. It’s a transition that could change the way you do sales, on this episode.
Sales software that works intuitively for the salesperson.
For far too long sales, prospecting, and CRM software has been too cumbersome and clunky, causing the salesperson to have to call the software engineer to get the software to do what they need it to do. But Steli Efti’s company, Close.io has changed all that with it’s new software solution. Its ease of use is based on the salesperson’s needs and allows all kinds of variations and filters to be integrated into the workflow so that the data that is needed is easily found. It also integrates directly into communication solutions so there’s less time wasted and more time spent dealing directly with prospects. Hear about the software and learn what it can do for you, mon this episode.
Outline of this great episode
[0:50] Why Anthony is scared about bringing Steli onto the show today.
[2:06] Who is Steli Efti?
[4:32] The challenges Steli saw regarding sales and startups.
[6:43] The first thing Steli worked on that didn’t work out.
[8:00] Mistakes startups were making regarding sales.
[11:40] Why it’s not a product unless you can create a customer.
[16:30] The problem Steli was trying to solve with his software solution.
[19:08] Eliminating data entry and increasing communication for salespeople.
[23:11] How you can
Resources & Links mentioned in this episode
www.SalesForce.