EP3 Mark Tanner – Kickstarting sales, costly lessons & scaling teams

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EP3 Mark Tanner – Kickstarting sales, costly lessons & scaling teams

Mark Tanner, the founder of ⁠Qwilr⁠ & Ex-Google employee, joins us to talk about Founder-Led Sales – sharing his lessons, frameworks, and best practices.

Timothy James

and

Mark Tanner

Feb 22, 2024

Transcript

G’day, fellow founders!

I’ve been a bit quiet the last couple of weeks. I’m currently restructuring the podcast and newsletter, so stay tuned for some big upcoming changes. I promise they’ll help you get more out of this channel.

In this episode, Mark joins me to talk through all founder-led sales – the process of selling what you’ve built, as a founder. Regardless of whether you’re a “sales guy” or not.

Secretly, Mark’s one of my favorite founders. I’ve been a huge fan of him and his company since 2017. Why? Because Mark is a first-time founder who has achieved enormous success in a market that’s both difficult and competitive. After leaving Google, Mark went on to found Qwilr, raising over $15,000,000, serving over 5,000 B2B customers in 70+ countries. That’s no small feat. So what does it all boil down to? Sales, sales, sales. Creating a great sales-led organisation, and leading from the front.

This episode includes many stories, frameworks, lessons, and tips. All of which he shares throughout the episode.

Dive right in.

Listen on Spotify 🎧

🚀 The Art of Founder-Led Sales

In our latest episode, Mark peels back the curtain on why founders should roll up their sleeves and dive headfirst into sales. It's not just about pushing your product; it's about tuning into the rhythm of your customers' needs and hitting that sweet spot of product-market fit. And guess what? It's not as daunting as it sounds!

🔍 Listening vs. Solving

One golden nugget from our conversation: Listen to your customers for themes and problems, not solutions. This mindset shift can be a game-changer for how you approach product development and customer satisfaction.

💡 From Zero to Hero

Mark and I get real about the journey from a big idea to a thriving startup. We discuss the gears of growth, from finding that initial traction to scaling up and shifting into higher gears. It's all about finding that repeatable engine of success.

🤝 The Human Touch

We also tackle the misconception that sales is a grimy game. Spoiler alert: It's not! Founder-led sales is about authenticity, connection, and understanding your customer on a human level. It's about you being the face and voice of your creation.

🎯 Niche Know-How

Starting small and targeting niche markets can lead to big wins. Mark shares his experiences and encourages you to embrace the low-hanging fruit. Real customer feedback is the secret sauce to achieving that elusive product-market fit.

👥 Customer Centricity

Lastly, we delve into the importance of spending time with your customers and the transformative power of direct feedback. Remember, your customers remind you why you started in the first place!