Startup Selling: Talking Sales with Scott Sambucci
SalesCast #5: Setting Up Pilot Programs
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In this episode, Scott and Robert discuss how to use pilot projects to sell to big companies as a startup by getting your foot in the door and setting yourself up to understand the logistics of selling to the big boys. Key areas we cover are:
We hope you enjoy the podcast and would greatly appreciate feedback! Any suggestions on future topics you would like to hear covered and/or podcast guests you’d like to hear would be great! Enjoy!
Podcast Notes
2:00 – Controlling the success of pilot projects by defining the metrics.
4:20 – Using pilot projects on smaller companies.
5:20 – How pilot projects establish you as a vendor at a large company.
6:20 – Pilot projects as a customer evaluation tool.
9:40 – Pilot projects versus selling the whole suite of features your product offers.
11:40 – Phased rollout of product from the pilot stage to aid with a smoother implementation.
13:00 – Avoiding the pitfalls of selling the entirety of an early stage product.
14:00 – Things to beware when piloting a project within a single department at a company.
15:45 – The benefits of a pilot project putting your company through the Master Services Agreement (MSA) process at a large company.
19:20 – How pilot projects help you understand all the necessary back office processes your company must go through to sell to a large company.
22:20 – The positives and negatives of running a pilot program.
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