I guess that if the customer wants a feature further down the roadmap then it really isn't solving their problem yet so perhaps I should wait.","title":null,"type":"comment","url":null}],"created_at":"2021-06-28T03:55:04.000Z","created_at_i":1624852504,"id":27657990,"options":[],"parent_id":27657693,"points":null,"story_id":27653357,"text":"> How do you sell something when you yourself might have doubts about the product? not because it's not good, but because you know it can be improved?
I would say one of the strengths of the product is that there is a clear path to improving it. Maybe just present the "roadmap" to the customer.","title":null,"type":"comment","url":null},{"author":"redsymbol","children":[{"author":"saganus","children":[],"created_at":"2021-06-28T15:26:18.000Z","created_at_i":1624893978,"id":27663136,"options":[],"parent_id":27662166,"points":null,"story_id":27653357,"text":"Ah, that makes sense.
It seems obvious but I guess I've seen too many salespeople tell the customer whatever they want to hear and I loathe that as it's definitely dishonest, so I felt like I would need to do the same to be able to sell, but apparently that's just a misconception on my part.
Thanks for the advice!","title":null,"type":"comment","url":null}],"created_at":"2021-06-28T14:08:30.000Z","created_at_i":1624889310,"id":27662166,"options":[],"parent_id":27657693,"points":null,"story_id":27653357,"text":"First, don't assume something is a shortcoming in their mind unless they indicate it. Odds are HIGH you are being nitpicky about things that are just not a big deal to them.
Second, develop a more positive focus.
More specifically: get out of your head about some ideal that may never be real. Look at the product in terms of what it can actually do, NOW, and the benefits people will get from it, NOW.
Focus on how it will help them, in its current form, and communicate that.
When you do this, it is easy to be up front about what it will NOT do. In fact, in most of my sales calls, there is at least one point where the prospect expresses an expectation that it will do something for them that it doesn't. I immediately, directly, almost forcefully call that out. "Let me clarify, it will not do X. That is not what it is for. It will instead do Y for you, which lets you do Z." (This is just me being my normal, brutally-honest self, but from a sales-tactic perspective it builds credibility and trust.)
Focus on how the product can benefit them, in your thinking and your communication, and then it's easy to be up front about the rest. Otherwise you can never help people who need what you are selling more than they need that money.","title":null,"type":"comment","url":null}],"created_at":"2021-06-28T03:10:41.000Z","created_at_i":1624849841,"id":27657693,"options":[],"parent_id":27654903,"points":null,"story_id":27653357,"text":"As a software developer, one of the things that I feel that always holds me back when selling something I made (an MVP for example) is knowing all the things that the software can't do or is not super polished.
How do you sell something when you yourself might have doubts about the product? not because it's not good, but because you know it can be improved?
Obviously you can't wait until the product is "perfect" because that will never happen and there will always be things that are slightly broken or unpolished, etc. so how do you get those first sales that might give you the push you need to keep going (financially, emotionally, etc) with an "unfinishd" product?","title":null,"type":"comment","url":null}],"created_at":"2021-06-27T20:17:15.000Z","created_at_i":1624825035,"id":27654903,"options":[],"parent_id":27653357,"points":null,"story_id":27653357,"text":"I am a career software engineer who successfully learned how to sell. Specifically, high-ticket ($3k-5k) B2C sales. Starting from having absolutely no sales skills in December 2019, I managed to reach a close rate of close to near 50% for well-qualified leads by early this year.
There is a great deal of advice already in this thread. If you have any specific questions, ask and I will answer if I can.","title":null,"type":"comment","url":null}