Comments on: Journeymen, Mavericks & Superstars: Understanding Salespeople at Startups

By: KarenBordner

KarenBordner — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:32:45 +0000

Sorry Kid, but most great sales people AREN't gregarious because they spend their time listening to the customer, and therefore matching the customers needs with the product they are selling. Some of the WORST sales people are the talkers. You don't earn trust by talking but by asking questions, listening and getting the job done, including “breaking a few eggs along the way.” Superstar sales people know when to break a few eggs, when to back off, and when to hold their accounts feet to the fire whether because of process, or to protect profit margin. You don't get this in any “sales academy” or blogging/blabbing about how great you are, but by experience, listening, and doing.

By: Amit Seshan

Amit Seshan — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 02:17:12 +0000

Excellent post – I saw this just after your VP Engg Vs CTO 2X2 matrix. The net-net across them together is the process orientation… if we look across both matrices, early stage startups (a) CAN WORK with both technology visionaries, and maverick salespeople, but not with their spark-devoid process-heavy versions (which you describe with “pejorative” metaphors) and (b) MUST GROW UP to transition out these sparky but unreliable “commando” types with more disciplined “brigadier general” types. I guess that is the point at which a VC pitches in to rewire the team.

I must say, though, that I feel your Engg matrix (the analogue of the above, with CTO Vs VP of engg) should probably invert its Y Axis, to put CTOs top right. You have not used these “metaphors” there (with their innate “status” pejorative and superlative attributes) – so the visual metaphor is more educative.

Keep 'em coming. Cheers!

By: Amit Seshan

Amit Seshan — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 02:17:12 +0000

Keep 'em coming. Cheers!

By: Zebedee Franklin

Zebedee Franklin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:18:49 +0000

Brilliant summary Brent – if your product has nor elevanve or value to the buyer, greatest salesman on earth isn't going to change that – neither is great saleman of any type going to expose his black book of contacts to shoddy product – the contacts you have painstakingly built up, come at a price – start-ups especially need to realise this – they ain't special and many are too lazy or cluless to even speak to customers in the first place, to find out if their product, service or idea is even valuable or relavant to the market -

By: Zebedee Franklin

Zebedee Franklin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:18:49 +0000

By: zebedeefranklin

zebedeefranklin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:08:10 +0000

Great post Mark. Speaking as someone who has worked at the coalface of sales first in bookselling retail (10 years) then corporate hospitality (4 years), followed by last 5 years in technolgy startups, I would consider myself a maverick and would add, that a maverick is not often appreciated or even understood – mavericks by their very nature do not like to be tied down by endless procedures – they use their intuition, experience, take risks to unearth the nuggets of intelligence that can provide the edge for their clients – the workings out are not always clear to see at the beginning, but they provide the essentail platform for others to build on – the journeyman and superstars – mavericks can give you the edge but you have to trust them

By: zebedeefranklin

zebedeefranklin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:08:10 +0000

By: Mike O'Horo

Mike O'Horo — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:56:25 +0000

I'm generally a fan of your blog and thinking, Mark, but, having trained senior lawyers and other sales-reluctant professionals how to facilitate multi-stakeholder, high-stakes decision processes for 20 years, I've gotta disagree strongly with your nature/nurture position. Ironically, it's your belief in process that undermines your argument that "most great sales people have an innate skill that can’t be taught." The skill resides not in the individual traits of the practitioners, but is baked into the integrity of the decision process and how well it aligns with, and evokes, buyers' self-interest.

Superstars are, by definition, scarce. Even pro sports teams, with their almost limitless money and with entire organizations focused solely on identifying and attracting stars, know they can't get them on demand but will, hopefully, get lucky and find one occasionally. I've heard them described as "super-experts," i.e., roughly 3% of the population. That kind of scarcity precludes your planning on hiring and keeping one, much less a few.

Reliable results depend on having a methodology that doesn't require good people to be great, but consistently good, and doesn't require your company to, in the words of the Gallup Organization, "fix people." IMO, the right process allows OK salespeople to become good, good ones to become great, and great ones to become artists.

If we can get dramatic results out of people who were not only not good at selling but affirmatively didn't want to have to do it, it would be fun to generate big revenue out of people who've actually chosen sales as how they make their living.

By: Mike O'Horo

Mike O'Horo — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:56:25 +0000

By: Prakash Gurumoorthy

Prakash Gurumoorthy — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:33:16 +0000

Well articulated Mark on the sales personalities! Mavericks are good at “hunting” and “journeymen” are good at “farming”. Typically start-ups have a feasibility issue hiring superstars and they have always balance between the two personalities and coach them. I also believe that mavericks have a high overhead by utility ratio.