Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

The ultimate guide to founder-led sales | Jen Abel (co-founder of JJELLYFISH)

Nov 24, 2024

Jen Abel, co-founder of JJELLYFISH, shares her expertise in guiding early-stage founders through sales challenges. She emphasizes the critical role of founder-led sales in driving initial success and discusses effective outreach strategies. Jen breaks down the sales process, from crafting compelling messages to nailing the first call. She sheds light on the importance of maintaining momentum, navigating procurement, and avoiding common pitfalls. Lastly, she highlights the value of customer feedback in refining sales tactics.

01:16:05

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Episode guests

Jen Abel

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Founder-led sales are vital for aligning product vision with market needs, enabling founders to refine offerings based on direct customer feedback.

Crafting thoughtful and relevant outreach messages can effectively capture attention in a saturated market, facilitating deeper conversations with potential leads.

Navigating the procurement process with detailed insights and strong relationships can significantly streamline negotiations, increasing the chances of closing successful deals.

Deep dives

The Importance of Founder-Led Sales

Founder-led sales is essential for early-stage startups as the founder embodies the knowledge and vision behind the product. Unlike hiring external sales teams, founders offer unique insights into the product that resonates with potential customers. This approach helps align the founder's vision with market realities, allowing them to refine their offering based on direct customer feedback. Engaging in founder-led sales fosters deeper customer relationships and enhances the ability to pivot and adapt based on the insights gathered during the sales process.

Intro

2min

Exploring Founder-Led Sales: Strategies for Early Success

3min

The Competitive Edge of Founder-Led Sales

3min

Founder's Role in Sales Success

11min

Navigating Product-Market Fit and Sales Strategies

14min

Navigating Founder-Led Sales: Early vs. Late-Stage Strategies

2min

Mastering Founder-Led Sales

8min

Engaging Customers in Product Development

15min

Navigating Sales Procurement and Strategy

18min

Jen Abel is the co-founder of JJELLYFISH, where she and her team have worked with over 300 early-stage founders to learn how to sell, do early customer discovery, and set up a repeatable sales motion on the way to their first $1M ARR. In our conversation, Jen shares:

• Why founder-led sales is so crucial early on

• The sales process, step by step

• How to craft effective outreach messages

• Where to find leads

• What three channels work best for outreach

• What to say on your first call

• How to maintain momentum

• Strategies for navigating procurement and closing deals

• Common pitfalls in the sales process and how to avoid them

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-founder-led-sales-jen-abel

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Where to find Jen Abel:

• X: https://x.com/jjen_abel

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/earlystagesale

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Jen’s background

(02:20) The importance of founder-led sales

(08:24) The steps of a sales cycle

(12:01) Tactics for effective cold outreach

(16:47) Conversion rate vs. win rate

(20:20) The time it takes to find product-market fit

(23:06) Identifying and engaging prospects

(30:58) Nailing the first phone call

(34:14) Buying vs. selling

(38:08) Testing the questions to ask

(41:57) Avoiding common sales questions and securing the second call

(43:08) Co-authoring with customers

(45:06) Time-boxing service contracts

(49:20) Why you should avoid demos on the first call

(51:05) Dealing with procurement

(54:22) The power of enterprise sales

(58:14) Getting a signature

(01:00:15) Choosing a focus and overcoming sales challenges

(01:02:19) General timelines

(01:04:27) Final thoughts and advice

(01:13:32) Working with Jen

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Referenced:

• Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/

• JJELLYFISH: https://www.jjellyfish.com/

• Clay: https://www.clay.com/

• A guide for finding product-market fit in B2B: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-product-market-fit

• Airtable: https://www.airtable.com/

• Figma: https://www.figma.com/

• GitHub: https://github.com/

• Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/

• Christine Cacioppo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ccacioppo/

• Glengarry Glen Ross: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/

• A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting

• Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win: https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Pitch-Craft-Story-Stand-ebook/dp/B0CHY6BNDN

• Sprig: https://sprig.com/

• Zip: https://zip.co/

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

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