RL109: The Key Ingredients for Sales & Fundraising

When we think of the word “sales” in a business context, we typically think of bringing on new clients and customers.

The truth is that all of business is sales, and ‘non-sales’ selling accounts for a meaningful portion of our non-business interactions. Here are a few examples:

1. In business:

   1. Hiring - you’re ‘selling’ the opportunity to candidates

   2. Fundraising - you’re ‘selling’ the opportunity to make money by investing

   3. Partnerships - you’re ‘selling’ why another company should team up with yours

   4. Sales - duh

2. In life:

   1. Dating - you’re selling why you are the best match for someone

   2. Kid’s bed time - you’re ‘selling’ why it’s a good idea to get rest

Sales and non-sales selling are involved.

Today’s post is about the key ingredient in sales, and I hope that it helps you in aspects of your life/work beyond simply closing deals.

This post is broken into two parts -

1. Trust - how to build it

2. Price & Value - how to frame an opportunity in the right way to increase your win rate.

This post is packed with tangible, useful insight. I wish I’d read/internalized it far earlier in my startup journey - it would’ve saved me a LOT of time and headache.

The value you’ll receive by reading this edition is -

• You’ll learn how to build trust at scale and 1-to-1

• You’ll learn how to ask for a raise and/or negotiate a new salary

• You’ll support an author you like (me)

• You’ll have access to a backlog of 109 RL posts covering everything from equity to VC vs PE to starting a new business.

The price you’ll pay is the same cost as buying me a couple of coffees each month. Consider subscribing to unlock the full post!

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Trust - The Key Ingredient in Sales

Trust is the backbone of all sales.

Trust. noun; a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something

As a customer, if we’re making a purchase, we must believe in the product!

This is fairly obvious, so I won’t linger on why it’s important - without trust, there are no deals.

Instead, let’s deep dive into how to build trust -