Jen Abel is the co-founder of JJELLYFISH, where she and her team have worked with over 300 early-stage founders to learn how to sell, do early customer discovery, and set up a repeatable sales motion on the way to their first $1M ARR. In our conversation, Jen shares:
• Why founder-led sales is so crucial early on
• The sales process, step by step
• How to craft effective outreach messages
• Where to find leads
• What three channels work best for outreach
• What to say on your first call
• How to maintain momentum
• Strategies for navigating procurement and closing deals
• Common pitfalls in the sales process and how to avoid them
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-founder-led-sales-jen-abel
Where to find Jen Abel:
• X: https://x.com/jjen_abel
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/earlystagesale
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Jen’s background
(02:20) The importance of founder-led sales
(08:24) The steps of a sales cycle
(12:01) Tactics for effective cold outreach
(16:47) Conversion rate vs. win rate
(20:20) The time it takes to find product-market fit
(23:06) Identifying and engaging prospects
(30:58) Nailing the first phone call
(34:14) Buying vs. selling
(38:08) Testing the questions to ask
(41:57) Avoiding common sales questions and securing the second call
(43:08) Co-authoring with customers
(45:06) Time-boxing service contracts
(49:20) Why you should avoid demos on the first call
(51:05) Dealing with procurement
(54:22) The power of enterprise sales
(58:14) Getting a signature
(01:00:15) Choosing a focus and overcoming sales challenges
(01:02:19) General timelines
(01:04:27) Final thoughts and advice
(01:13:32) Working with Jen
Referenced:
• Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/
• JJELLYFISH: https://www.jjellyfish.com/
• Clay: https://www.clay.com/
• A guide for finding product-market fit in B2B: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-product-market-fit
• Airtable: https://www.airtable.com/
• Figma: https://www.figma.com/
• GitHub: https://github.com/
• Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/
• Christine Cacioppo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ccacioppo/
• Glengarry Glen Ross: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/
• A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting
• Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win: https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Pitch-Craft-Story-Stand-ebook/dp/B0CHY6BNDN
• Sprig: https://sprig.com/
• Zip: https://zip.co/
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
