Sales – From Scary to Systematic – ft Doug Slotkin, Zillow’s former VP of Sales

At Founders Network, we aim to ensure that each of our members walks away with at least five concrete, actionable strategies that they can use in their own startup marketing. We understand that not every founder has a background in sales, yet the ability to sell to generate revenue and/or investment is critical to a company’s success. 

We recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Doug Slotkin, Zillow‘s former VP of sales. Doug was able to break down, step by step, how a professional salesperson performs his or her craft. Many non-sales folks are intimidated by sales because it’s foreign to them and because of the stigmas attached to bad sales techniques that we’ve all seen.  

That’s why, as a result of learning how to systematize your sales process into a rinse-and-repeat formula, you’ll learn: 

1. The best way to approach a sales meeting or call so that your prospect willingly shares valuable, actionable information with you.
2. How to change the way you look at the sales process to get your prospect to lower their guard in fear that they’ll be “sold to”. 
3. Course-correcting for modern times. How to use this technique even in a post COVID world where sales may be stagnant. 

“Commission Breath”

The fact is, we’ve all been on the receiving end of sales and we’ve all been the “victim” of a bad salesperson. 

Imagine that you’re having a somewhat slim month. You don’t have a lot of money to splurge on things that aren’t necessities, yet this salesperson keeps trying to push this $500/month “deal”on you. 

Doug calls that “commission breath”. 

From the salesperson’s perspective, they don’t want to hear “no”– no one does. In order to avoid that uncomfortable feeling, prospects walk into a sales meeting or get on a sales call and they brace themselves for the inevitable barrage of pushy sales tactics that are going to be hurled their way.

Not so fast. 

Depressurize and Systematize 

Before working with Zillow, Doug started HouseValues.com in 2001, selling to real estate agents over the phone. In the beginning, he did what any regular salesperson would do — close the deal at all costs, no matter what. He did close a lot of deals. But then a month or two later, he also got a lot of cancellations. 

What happened? 

He learned that, More than trying to sell to anyone and everyone, you should be trying to determine if there's a good fit between your product or service, and the person you're trying to sell it to. Share on X

When you fashion the sales meeting as more of an interview, the prospect on the other end automatically lowers their guard. In addition, they’ll be much more forthcoming about the things that you, the salesperson, need to know. They’ll talk about their struggles, their successes and their challenges.

Meanwhile, you should be making sure that your product or service is just as good of a match for them as they are for it. In short, it’s startup marketing with a focus on the  consumer. 

It’s a Dialogue, Not a Monologue

This “sales interview process” that Slotkin advocates for is a 50/50 process: equal parts give and take. You’re trying to learn about the customer’s needs rather than just throwing a bunch of features and benefits at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. 

One thing you’ll definitely learn right off the bat from employing a strategy like this in your own sales calls or meetings is that this is not a cookie-cutter approach. There must be a true exchange of ideas. It’s time to stop looking at prospects as just money.  It’s time to shift the startup marketing mindset. 

Slotkin notes that this advice might fly in the face of everything you think you know about sales. For decades and decades, the mantra has been “if they have a pulse and money to spend, they’re a customer.”

It’s Okay if You Don’t Make the Sale

“What?!” You’re probably thinking. This, too, flies in the face of traditional sales and marketing. By following this advice, you actually have a better chance to make the sale because you’ve taken pressure off of yourself. You’ll be more natural, you’ll have less tension, and in short, you’ll be yourself. 

Doug helped grow HouseValues to an $800 million dollar company. As a result of these methods, he had the lowest cancellation rate among his customers and helped to take the company public. There’s no better proof that these strategies worked to make that possible. 

Get Customers to Show You Why They Should Be Your Partner

As much as you want to be sure that your product is a good fit for your customer, so too do you want to be sure that they're a good fit for your product. Share on XDuring the presentation, a question was raised by a participant that was brutally honest…

What if the pilot product is terrible? Or at least not yet as good as it could be. What happens then? 

The important thing is to set clear expectations. Set modest expectations, then exceed them. Under promise, but over-deliver.  Objections and rebuttals are going to happen.

During this time it’s important to remain indifferent and unbiased. Surprisingly, the fact that you don’t care whether or not the person buys from you actually makes the product that much more desirable. If you react in a way that's clingy or desperate, prospects can smell that in your voice and in your tone and the words that you use Share on X

They’ll start to wonder, what’s so bad about this product that this person has to practically beg me to buy it?

How Is This Strategy Affected by the Coronavirus? 

This is a good point to address because coronavirus has affected a lot of businesses and salaries. The way to address this is to demonstrate to them that you want a long-term partner. Maybe they can’t do business with you right now. But in the meantime, you’re working to build equity with that person.

So that when they’re ready for you, you’ll be ready for them. 

Key Takeaways from this Startup Marketing Event

• Many prospects automatically put their guard up when they think they’re being sold to. You can diffuse this by approaching the process as more of an interview; a dialogue as opposed to a monologue. 
• Take some of the pressure off of yourself by realizing that it’s okay if you don’t make the sale. If it’s not a good product/market fit, there’s nothing you can do to change that. There will be other opportunities that are. 
• Even if what you’re selling isn’t the best-in-class in its industry, you can and should still set modest expectations. Under-promise and over-deliver. 

Many more insightful questions were asked at our event round-table. By becoming a member, you can get access to the entire event video as well as many more member-only benefits. Learn startup marketing from like-minded individuals who are, or have been, where you are. 

Request an invite to learn more about systematizing your sales process from Doug Slotkin and 600+ fellow tech founders through interactive webinars and forum conversations featuring over 9 years of archived knowledge.