I spoke with 23 IndieHackers / ProductHunters / Redditors about their sales efforts, here's a common pattern (and how to fix it)

As we're getting ready to ship makesales.io, I consulted with 23 members of these communities about their sales objectives/challenges.

Most common pattern I established so far:

• they got some traction from communities like IH, PH & Reddit but it eventually dried out
• they "sent emails to some folks but it didn't work"
• when reaching out to potential clients, they think that quantity is better than quality
• they aim too high
• they don't use tools
• they don't have a sales process
• they want to generate sales but want to spend too much time on sales-related activities
• they have a romanticized POV on what a successful salesperson is

If one of these resonates and you're looking for new customers, here's how to fix these:

• Inbound is awesome. But the traction you receive from a post eventually wears off. SEO and Paid media work wonders, but consider opening an "outbound" channel. It only costs time.
• when reaching out to someone cold, give yourself (and data) a chance. Be mindful of best practices and your sample size before drawing conclusions. ("outbound doesn't work in our space, we're in a very special industry" isn't an excuse)
• If you have 30 minutes per day to dedicate to your sales efforts, our data show that you're better off sending a personalized message to 6 different people than emailing 50 people with a generic message.
• Everyone wants to talk to the Decision Maker. Everyone wants to sell to Enterprise level firms. But consider hitting your low-hanging fruits first. Smaller firms, and someone lower in the chain of command. Turn them into a champion a work your way up.
• Excel & Trello are good for anything but it doesn't scale. Consider using tools that will help you stay organized and focused.
• You booked a meeting with someone? Awesome. Let the fun begin by remembering the 3P rules: Prepare, Prepare & Prepare. Make sure you work on your introduction (it's the first 4 seconds that count!). Start with the end in mind. Frame the call. Learn the power of asking thought-provoking questions. What happens after your call? And after? And after? Trim it down. Make it easy for them to buy.
• Sales is tough. It's the number one reason why a firm eventually shuts down. Once your product is up & running, it should be your main area of focus. Also, it's better to be consistent than doing "a blast" here and there
• Good salespeople aren't magicians. They don't know more than you do. They're just extremely organized, focused and human. They're also fired up by crazy ambition and a will to succeed.