Startup Tip: Avoid Being a Crocodile Salesman
I will first start by explaining what a ‘Crocodile Salesman’ exactly means – a person who doesn’t listen, only talks (sells). Big mouth and no ears, they’re people who are always (mostly) talking. Perhaps they have the best product/service to offer, but only pitching without listening won’t do them any good.
Mark Suster explains the ‘Crocodile Salesman’ in three scenarios in his recent post. Here is a brief outline of what he had to say:
1. When You are Selling
As a startup entrepreneur ‘selling’ starts coming to you naturally. Entrepreneurs are so engrossed in promoting their product/service that listening to others becomes practically impossible. Startup founders are in sales mode from the launch day.
A humble advice to all startup entrepreneurs here is to ‘listen’ and understand. Everyone understands you have something great to offer, but blatantly pitching without listening can be very harmful. Recognize a problem and offer a solution, don’t keep offering solutions to problems you don’t even know about. Crocodile sales are seldom productive. They just make you sound desperate.
2. When Hiring Sales People
It’s the time when your startup decides to hire a sales person. Beware of the crocodile salesmen in such a scenario. How to identify them? A most common trait among these people is that they keep talking about themselves and their achievements for what may seem like ages. More than wanting to know about their role, they will be busy bragging about how good they are. The interview remains one sided – such people can’t encourage discussions. They may be really good but not apt for a sales position in a startup.
3. When Pitching a VC
Raising money for your startup is definitely selling your idea. But also make sure you research your idea, build rapport and credibility and understand what the VC has to say. Avoid being a crocodile salesman.
I know because many entrepreneurs I spend time with I can tell are in their own brains when we’re meeting rather than trying to understand what my position is.
