It’s a real shame that sales is viewed this like this by so many people because there are loads of good sales people out there who are not like this. And I count myself as one of them.
I never had “Salesman” written on my business card and my job title never mentioned anything about sales but as CEO of my company every time I went to meet a new prospect or an existing customer I was doing selling of some kind. And the main selling I was doing was selling myself, my people and my organization and what we stood for. I never once felt that I was sleazy doing that.
I know from my experience of working with hundreds of developers over many years that most developers share the negative connotations expressed above. The irony of it is that they wouldn’t have a job if somebody somewhere in their organization hadn’t sold something to a customer or prospect.
Here’s the rub though. If you’re going to start a software development business then you’ll need to reframe your view of sales and realize that it is essential part of any business. Without sales you’ll go bust very quickly. No ifs. No buts.
The good news is that I’m here to tell you that you can sell and you can do it without being sleazy, slimy, manipulative or aggressive. In fact, I’ll also tell you that if you do behave like that you will go out of business just as quickly as if you did no selling.
In the software development business, as in all service businesses, people buy from people. They don’t buy from businesses. So how you present yourself, your integrity, your knowledge and your empathy are your greatest assets when you sit in front of a prospect. The best thing you can do in those situations is to be yourself. As long as you do that then you will never have to be sleazy.