most jobs are sales jobs. really good salespeople take on different forms, here are a few things i’ve noticed good salespeople do:
lean into their personality when selling. i used to think there was one archetype of salesperson, the stereotypical sleazy salesperson where you know you’re being sold to (and you’re probably not going to buy the product). i have since seen tons of flavors of salespeople, who all go about sales slightly differently depending on their personality. some are still sleazy, but others are genuinely likable and try to be your friend, others are manipulative, others cultivate an air of trustworthiness, others demand respect in various ways. whatever comes naturally and is authentic to your personality, would probably work as a sales strategy
be selling constantly. every new person is seen as a potential opportunity, not just the narrow icp that you’re targeting. if you present well to an investor, they might introduce you to their portfolio companies. if you come across as sharp and respectable to other founders, they might recommend their friends to go work with you as early hires. there’s lots of value that can come out of seemingly random interactions
play the long game. even if screwing people over results in your game, it’s a short-term strategy; long-term gain involves creating value for everyone. connecting people that you think would have a great conversation, sometimes with no particular goal in mind. avoiding being seen as transactional at all costs. building relationships with people that might not be your icp / target audience. “what goes around, comes around” / being genuine, kind, and helpful to people goes a long way in a transactional world
stand out. doing everything they can to avoid being forgotten. being radical in certain ways (radically honest, extremely casual, piercing lines of questioning, being over-prepared, etc) helps here. if you talk to 20 people in a week, they’d be one of the first people you would remember. everyone is trying to sell you something, but good salespeople seem to remain top-of-mind
surround themselves with great people. good salespeople seem very good at time management, and figuring out the most efficient uses of their time. force multipliers are being on a great team, exposing yourself to excellence, and associating yourself with others that people think highly of. while sales seems to often be a independent sport, it makes it a lot easier when there is a very strong team close by that you can rely on
sell great products. selling a shitty product is hard, why not sell the best-in-class product? a lot of great salespeople seem to have worked at plaid when fintech was hot, zoom during covid, openai now, etc. if you can find a product that is already flying off the shelves, why not sell that, versus trying to fight the uphill battle of swaying opinions and public consensus.
understand humans well. some salespeople study how to manipulate people, other (probably better) salespeople seem to intuitively understand how people work. they don’t overcomplicate things, they rely on basic human principles that they have learned through experience. they understand the concepts above, and seem to have good instincts for what makes people tick