(This guest post was written by Ryan Bukoski, start-up enthusiast)

Like many people I’m sure, I was brought up and taught the ideologies that nothing comes easy and if you want something badly enough, you’ve got to go out and get it yourself through a combination of a strong work ethic and an even stronger desire to achieve the goal you’ve set for yourself.  The benefits/results are two-fold; first is the feeling of self-accomplishment in knowing that you gave your all and were successful with your endeavor.  The second isn’t necessarily as cut and dry, and it’s the impression you leave with those around you.  In other words, if you bust your hump, whether you realize it or not, it won’t go unnoticed to those around you.

Fast forward to my first job, starting at the bottom of the totem pole for a start-up.  In an office of less than twenty people, I knew everyone and everyone knew me by the end of my first week, mostly from hand delivering their lunches to each of their desks.  This intimate setting was perfect; everyone knew the roles of one another, and more importantly, everyone held each other accountable for their workload, and if you screwed up, you were sure to hear about it.  Conversely, if you did your job correctly, efficiently, and most of all, exceptionally, you would seldom hear your name.  This seems like no big deal, but it’s something that C-level executives within earshot surely notice in a start-up office, however subtle it may come across over the span of weeks and months to everyone else.

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One of the most important aspects of sales is the follow up. In my opinion, THE most important aspect of sales at a startup is the follow up.

Staying in touch with your prospects and building a foundation for a business partnership will show a great stream of revenue for the company (not to mention, it will definitely score you some referrals). How do you know when to follow up? When is it too much? When is it not enough? And how do you move the sale forward every single time that you speak to your prospect? Before I run through the answers to these questions, I’d like to point out that without follow up, you are letting the prospect come back to you when they are ready. This rarely happens, as competition will come in and snag the business 99% of the time.

How do you know when to follow up?

The best way to gauge the first follow up call, is to evaluate your success on the initial presentation. Was there legitimate interest? What work needs to be done on your end? What information do you now need from the prospect? You need to ask yourself these questions in order to figure out when a follow up call needs to be placed. When you decide it is time to follow up, I have found that a great way to ensure that a follow up call goes well is to have an E-mail waiting for them in their inbox when you reach out. Always give the prospect a way to follow along. Whether it’s sales collateral, case studies, or generic information about your product, the prospect will see the effort you are putting forth and is more likely to help you push the sale forward.

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(This guest post was written by Patrick Iselin, sales strategist)

That’s right, I said it.

Few would agree right off the bat – but I still maintain that it is the truth.  The more somebody is micromanaged, the less accountability they have, the less pressure to perform.  They also no longer need to think for themselves once their manager is making every  decision for them.  People are fundamentally lazy and thus they get comfortable, or even worse complacent.  So what starts off as an annoyance to the employee (while the manager is asserting himself), soon develops into a sort of Pavlovian response whereby when decisions are required they need not use their own initiative but instead simply wander into the manager’s office and ask what to do.

Micromanaging starts you on a vicious cycle resulting in a grinding halt to productivity, and here is why.

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Marketplace, from American Public Radio (heard on our own WHYY), ran the piece A gene for entrepreneurship? today.  At the heart of the issue of course is the question of nature versus nurture.  They interview one particular family of somewhat claimed entrepreneurial success discussing the parent’s endeavors and that of two of their three children.  They also go on to discuss the issue with Scott Shane, business professor at Case Western Reserve, specifically around his new book “Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders: How Your Genes Affect Your Worklife.” Shane goes so far as to say that “About a third to 40 percent of the tendency to be an entrepreneur is innate.”

This was right on time following a piece by Fred Wilson (of our 2nd favorite startup city), Nature vs Nurture and Entrepreneurship.  Wilson was having a discussion with Professor Raffi Amit who runs the Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs.  On the one side Fred asserted that “you can’t teach people to be entrepreneurs but you can teach entrepreneurs business.”  Professor Amit however disagreed stating that his research indicates “there are no unique and defining characteristics of entrepreneurs.”  In other words, you could teach entrepreneurial skills.

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What Max stated on his personal blog “Let Them Own It” is true in many ways. Not only does molding one of your soldiers into an MVP make the company money and add value to the overall team, but it truly leads that employee to victory and jump starts them into a successful career.

I would also like to comment on the “don’t micromanage” bullet point that Max included. Micromanaging does a whole lot of bad. It scares employees, and the last thing you want is to scare someone into doing their job. Working for a startup is stressful enough, and the added pressure from a neck breather is just not necessary. Giving an employee the tools to do his job is necessary, but if you feel the need to micromanage, then you need to re-evaluate your hiring process, as well as your own managerial skills, or lack thereof.

Please study these “Do’s” and “Dont’s”. If taken lightly, you simply will not succeed, but if you take note and apply these particular strategies into your overall business model, good things are to come. Scratch that, GREAT things are to come!

If you are lucky enough to work for a successful startup in your career, then you will learn one of the greatest skills someone can master.  This is of course, closing a deal.  Sure, any company out there can technically show you how to close.  However, until you’ve seen the heart, determination and will that it takes for someone heading up a startup to close a deal, then you have not seen anything worthwhile.  Closing deals for a startup is something special.  It’s different.

How?  It’s all about being part of something special and most importantly, making your client feel that they are extraordinary.

Walk into a popular fast food chain, and place your order.  Please take note to the lack of care put into getting you what you want.  The next day, go to the newest sandwich shop around you.  See how well they take care of you.  They’ll make whatever you want.  Doesn’t matter what the size, or what the topping.  See where I’m going with this?

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One of the greatest questions ever posed came from the movie “Pulp Fiction”.  “Do you listen or wait to talk?”  I think about this often.  Often enough to know that it’s time for everyone to start listening.  There are many ways for a successful startup to get off it’s feet and start flexing it’s muscles, however, the quickest way to sign new business, is by listening.  The best way to keep business, is to listen.  I want to quickly dissect the differences between “waiting to talk” and “listening” for those that may not see the clear distinction.  I want to talk about this from a sales perspective, but since everyone in a startup should be selling at all times, this 100% applies to you.

When one waits to talk, they are doing a number of things wrong.

1. Undermining the prospect.
2. Flexing their ego.
3. Not answering questions appropriately.
4. Not closing nearly enough business.

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