​Microclass Startup Sales

​​Mastering B2B SW/AI Sales

​​For emerging early-stage B2B SW/AI startups, the ability to engage with clients and prospects is as essential as having good tech and a problem to address. A huge majority of the startups we have worked with at the SW/AI Venture Lab face this issue heads-on.

​​ While selling is not easy to do, the good thing is that it can be formalized and taught.

​​The goal of these Microclasses is therefore to pass on some best practices for managing the Sales and Marketing effort, and also understand how to scale the sales effort as your startup progresses.

​​Content and Structure

1. ​​Class: Learning the “Technology Adoption Life Cycle” concept. We will draw on the concepts articulated in the fundamental book Crossing the Chasm which formalized and popularized the notion of  “Early adopters”, bowling alley. Guest Speaker: Michael Eckhardt, Chairman of the Chasm Institute and co-writer of Crossing the Chasm.

2. ​​Class: Focusing on different methods to sell: preparing a sales call, learning to close, reading the situation. Guest Speaker: Martin Giese, former director of UTUM’s program Xpreneurs and writer of “Fast Forward: Accelerating Sales for Startups”.

3. ​​Class: Getting started: We will explore the perspective of early-stage startups. We will go into topics such as the use of Inbound Marketing and PR. Guest Speaker: Daniel Garnitz, CEO of FAAREN whose startup is around 5 years old and just completed a very significant capital raise.

4. ​​Class: Discuss ramping and formalizing the sales structure, and explore the role of third parties. Guest speaker:Vanessa Theel, VP of Sales and Marketing of SUMM-AI.

5. ​and final Class: We discuss how to approach and talk to VCs: a key learning all startups need to acquire in order to succeed in their entrepreneurial journey. Guest speaker: Said Alib Haschemi, from HV Capital