by wjgilmore on 1/20/2025, 2:17:57 PM with 3 comments
Hello HN,
I spent my career writing software until about 7 years ago in which practically by accident I wound up in a technical sales role. Through determination and a lot of practice (2,000+ technical sales calls and counting) I managed to get pretty good at it, and along the way played a critical role in closing deals with Fortune 10 companies, Ivy league universities, non-profits, Federal government agencies, and many other organizations.
At some point along the way I started compiling various notes and observations regarding what it takes to create a truly great technical sales presentation. There is so much more to this process than "showing a demo"; you need to be able to deeply understand the potential customer's perspective and concerns, present yourself and your organization in a professional and reassuring manner, and yes create, rehearse, and deliver a relevant and practical demo. You also need to "do what you say" and consistently deliver everything you promise, no matter how small.
A few months ago I started turning these notes into a book titled "SaaS Demos That Sell":
The target audience is first-time technical founders, as well as anybody who is considering or has recently accepted a role on a software company's sales team.
It's available for just $15 on Amazon (Kindle format), Gumroad (PDF and epub), and Leanpub. If you're unable to afford the book please DM me on X/Twitter @wjgilmore and I'll send it to you for free.
I spent my career writing software until about 7 years ago in which practically by accident I wound up in a technical sales role. Through determination and a lot of practice (2,000+ technical sales calls and counting) I managed to get pretty good at it, and along the way played a critical role in closing deals with Fortune 10 companies, Ivy league universities, non-profits, Federal government agencies, and many other organizations.
At some point along the way I started compiling various notes and observations regarding what it takes to create a truly great technical sales presentation. There is so much more to this process than "showing a demo"; you need to be able to deeply understand the potential customer's perspective and concerns, present yourself and your organization in a professional and reassuring manner, and yes create, rehearse, and deliver a relevant and practical demo. You also need to "do what you say" and consistently deliver everything you promise, no matter how small.
A few months ago I started turning these notes into a book titled "SaaS Demos That Sell":
https://saasdemosthatsell.com
The target audience is first-time technical founders, as well as anybody who is considering or has recently accepted a role on a software company's sales team.
It's available for just $15 on Amazon (Kindle format), Gumroad (PDF and epub), and Leanpub. If you're unable to afford the book please DM me on X/Twitter @wjgilmore and I'll send it to you for free.
Jason