Most tech founders think sales is a dark art. Something manipulative. Something for "those people" who sold double glazing in the 90s.
I get it. That's the stereotype. The pushy guy who won't take no for an answer. The cold caller with a script and zero empathy.
But that perception is killing startups.
The Reality Nobody Talks About
I come from a sales background. Before I got deep into tech and started building BetSquad, I spent years in actual sales roles. And I learned something most technical founders don't realize.
You're already doing sales. You're probably just better at it than most "salespeople" because you actually understand the problems you're solving.
Think about it. When a user reports a bug, what do you do? You dig deeper. "What were you trying to do? Walk me through your workflow." You're finding the underlying problem, not just the surface issue.
That's literally what good sales is. Finding the real need behind what someone's asking for.
When you scope a new feature, you interrogate the requirements. "Why do we need this? What problem does it solve? What's the priority?" You're qualifying before you invest resources.
That's discovery. That's consultative selling.
When someone says "we need X" and you realize they actually need Y, you guide them to the right solution based on patterns you've seen before.
That's exactly what good salespeople do.
What Founders Get Wrong About Sales
The problem isn't that you can't sell. The problem is you're missing the boring operational stuff.
You don't diarize follow-ups. Someone says "looks interesting, let me think about it" and you wait. Maybe you follow up two weeks later with "just checking in, any thoughts?"
By then they've forgotten half your conversation and been pitched by three competitors.
Better approach: "Great, how about we regroup next Tuesday at 3pm after you've reviewed everything? I'll send a calendar invite now."
You let people off the hook too easily. They say "I need to speak to my co-founder first" and you say "sure, let me know when you've chatted."
They're not calling back.
Try this: "Makes sense. Would it be helpful if I joined that conversation? Or I could send you a one-pager summarizing what we discussed that you could forward? When are you planning to discuss this with them?"
You don't ask for the business. After a great demo or a successful POC, you say something like "let me know if you have questions or want to move forward."
That's not asking. That's hoping.
Instead: "Based on what we've discussed, this solves your problem with [specific pain point]. What would you need to see to make a decision this week?"
You don't suggest next steps. Without structure, prospects will string you along forever. Not maliciously. They're just busy.
Try: "Here's what I suggest. We do a 30-day pilot with your team. Checkpoint call in two weeks, final review at day 28. If it's working, we scale. If not, we part as friends. Does that timeline work?"
Now there's a plan. Commitments. A framework for making decisions.
The Skills Gap
What you're naturally good at:
- Listening deeply and understanding problems
- Asking the right questions
- Pattern recognition and problem-solving
- Building credibility through expertise
- Genuine enthusiasm for your solution
What you probably suck at:
- Systematic follow-up
- Creating urgency without being pushy
- Actually asking for commitments
- Qualifying out bad fits quickly
- Establishing clear timelines and next steps
The hard part (being genuine, understanding problems, building trust) comes naturally. The easy part (process and discipline) is just mechanics you need to learn.
What You Need to Do
Build a simple system. Even a spreadsheet works. Three columns: Name, Last Contact Date, Next Action & Date. After every conversation, log what you discussed, what they need, when you're following up, and what happens next.
Always book the next step during the call. Never leave it open-ended. "Let's book 20 minutes next Thursday for the demo. Does 2pm work?" Get the commitment while you have them.
Stop letting prospects ghost you. When someone says "I'll think about it," respond with: "Take the time you need. Usually people either have concerns they want to discuss, or they're not sure about timing. Which is it for you?"
This forces honesty without being pushy.
Create natural urgency. Don't fake scarcity. But do create real deadlines. "Our next onboarding cohort starts on the 15th. If you want to join that group, we'd need to finalize by the 10th." Or "The longer we wait, the longer this problem costs you [X]. What if we start with a pilot next month?"
Build a basic pipeline. Five stages: Lead, Discovery, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed. Move prospects through these systematically. If someone's stuck in Discovery for three weeks, either push forward or qualify them out.
The Real Dark Art
You know what's actually a dark art? Convincing yourself that sales is someone else's job.
You can build the best product in the world. If nobody knows about it or understands its value, you've built an expensive hobby, not a business.
The founders who tell themselves "if we build it, they will come" or "our product speaks for itself" are practicing actual magic thinking. Even the most viral products had founders hustling to get the first users.
Modern B2B sales isn't about manipulation. It's about finding people with real problems and showing them you have the solution. If your product genuinely helps them, staying quiet isn't noble. It's a disservice.
You already have the hard skills. Listening. Problem-solving. Building trust. You just need to add the discipline around follow-ups, asking for commitments, and moving deals forward.
That's not a dark art. That's just process.