Mike Taber: “How to Sell Anything to Anyone” – MicroConf 2013

The MicroConf Europe 2013 Hub Page with all the information can be found here

Speaker: Mike Taber (@singlefounder)

A few Caveats

• Sales is a Learned Skill
• Sales is a Process
• Sales can be used for Good… or Evil
• It’s NEVER too late to iterate on your sales pitch

Emotional Triggers

• Greed
• Altruism (Red Cross & other NGOs)
• Pride
• Fear (AuditShark – fear of being hacked)
• Envy (People will think I am stupid, if I don’t buy)
• Shame (People will think I’m a douche if I don’t buy)

The Power of First Impressions

• First 0.2 seconds -> First impression
• First 2.6 seconds –> most influential time
• Make sure your copy is great – good first impression
• Website speed matters: +100 milliseconds load-time results in 0.2% lower conversion rate
• “First impressions last forever”
• To overcome first impression, you need to overcome it in multiple contexts

Stop Selling Software

• People don’t buy software, they buy solutions to their problems
  • They buy ways to overcome pain
  • They are outsourcing processes
  • They choose to allow other people to build things they need
  • They don’t prescirbe to the “Not Invented Here” syndrome
• Feature – Benefit – Valued End State (example: buying ski helmet with bluetooth)
  • Billy the kid: Bluetooth – Music/Phone Calls – Self-Esteem
  • Billy’s Mom: Bluetooth – Music/Phone Calls – Peace of Mind (call Billy at any time)
• 2 people you need to pay attention to
  • the ones who just bought your software
  • the ones who just CANCELLED your software

Why are People moving towards your Product?

• Ask new customers:
  • What other things have you tried?
  • Why didn’t those things work?

Iterate on your Startup Pitch

• First Pitch is often aweful
• “Buy a kazoo for a dollar and help Camp Good Days” – problems:
  • What the hell is Camp Good Days
  • Sales pitch is too long
  • People are conditioned to say “No Thanks”
  • Kazoos are worthless!
  • Kazoos in the hands of children are annoying
  • No relationship with the customer (==> you have to be upfront, tell about perks)
• Revised sales pitch: “Would you like to help little kids with cancer? (Just buy a kazoo for a dollar)”
  • No one says “No Thanks” to this anymore
• Bonus: Be a sexist. When approaching couples, talk to the woman (She’ll look at the man and he’ll be under pressure)
• Use Remarketing & Google Adwords
• Talk to people (They love to tell you how much their job sucks)
• Use A/B Testing

Does Website Speed really Matter?

• Yes, but it’s Google’s fault
• It’s a perception issue, NOT a speed issue (Google is fast, so your site should be fast too)
• Reframe Perceptions (“Do you want to search the deep web?” + 1 minute delay makes people value search engine MORE)
• Flight search engines are delayed, because people think that the algorithm works harder for them & value results more
• Sometimes lack of insight into what is going on, makes people angry & leave
• Don’t tell customers how hard you’re working. Show them!
• Change the basis of comparison (Don’t get compared to Google!)

-Christoph