Our guest is Peter Kazanjy, co-founder of Atrium and author of “Founding Sales: The Early Stage Go-to-Market Handbook.”As an early-stage founder, there’s something comforting about the build stage. You’re tinkering with the nascent product, honing your MVP and dreaming up the possibilities of how much folks are going to love what you create. But once you get out of that comfort zone of quietly building and start trying to sell, things tend to get infinitely more complicated.In today’s conversation, Pete lays out the roadmap for getting founder-led sales right in the early days. From small exercises to build up your selling muscles, like his “turbo rapport” challenge to thornier topics like self-diagnosing if your selling narrative is working, he’s got tons of advice for breaking down the art of a sales call. Pete also shares tailored guidance for folks who are facing the additional hurdle of creating a new category (and trying to create a new budget), with the playbooks he used building Atrium.You can follow Peter on Twitter @Kazanjy. Check out his articles for First Round Review, including his lessons on building a customer advisory board.You can email us questions directly at review@firstround.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/firstround and twitter.com/brettberson

Peter Kazanjy, renowned in sales, shares insights on founder-led sales, challenges faced by founders, and his book addressing this gap. He discusses navigating the journey to product-market fit, sales management evolution, and data translation for sales success. Emphasizing founder-led sales, setting sales benchmarks, and recognizing exceptional talent in scaling a sales organization.

Peter Kazanjy, the founder of Atrium and an expert in founder-led sales, shares invaluable insights for startups. He emphasizes the importance of getting your first customers directly involved as pilot clients. Kazanjy advises against steering sales conversations and highlights the significance of candid feedback. He discusses the role of customer advisory boards in refining products and suggests offering equity to early advisors. Personalization in outreach and understanding customer needs are key strategies he endorses for effective sales.

Peter Kazanjy, a serial founder and SaaS executive, shares his insights on sales performance management. He discusses the effects of zero interest rates on buyer behavior and emphasizes the need for accountability in sales management. Kazanjy highlights the risks of over-reliance on AI, warning against skills atrophy among sales teams. He advocates for a 'back to basics' approach, focusing on pipeline generation and rigorous performance management to adapt to current economic challenges. His expertise offers valuable strategies for navigating today’s sales landscape.

Peter Kazanjy, co-founder of Atrium and author of Founding Sales, shares sales advice for startup founders. They discuss pivoting startups, democratizing sales metrics, datafication of sales, and building a sales community. The conversation also covers the evolution of sales processes, community marketing, navigating product development for revenue teams, and the consolidation of sales tech.