#9 Culture Clash: Selling for a VC-backed Startup

ABOUT THE GUEST: MARC BODNER, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, SITESTAFF CHAT 

From Marc’s LinkedIn profile: 

“I have dedicated my career in executing key initiatives that have resulted in multimillion-dollar deliverables, savings, and operational improvements. I consider it a privilege to elevate the standard of excellence at my companies and I remain deeply committed to raising leaders through professional development, training, and mentorship.” 

Learn more about Marc and enjoy his sales-focused content at: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbodner/
 

ABOUT THE EPISODE:  

Marc has held a number of high-level sales positions at a variety of VC-backed startups, and in this episode, he goes deep into exploring some of the frictions and disconnects between some established sales best practices and the velocity model so popular among many VC-backed ventures.  


1:00 - Marc offers his best piece of sales advice - and it’s not at all what you would guess.  

3:35 - Marc and David address the need to focus on the fundamentals and being present with active listening in a sales context.  

5:45 - Marc offers the worst piece of sales advice he’s ever heard, and it’s a LOT more common than you would expect - hear him articulate why it’s not OK to think this way.  

7:34 - Marc addresses how the perception of sales in a VC-backed startup matches up to the reality, and why the reality is often so disconnected from effective sales common best practices.  

10:00 - The clash of quality over quantity in a sales context and the realities of the rush to scale, VC-backed startup mission.  

13:49 - What should a salesperson or a sales manager who comes from a non-VC-backed startup expect in a VC-backed startup that’s going to be a surprise and quite possibly an uncomfortable one.  

16:50 - Is this kind of warped VC-backed startup approach to sales something that can be changed somehow?  

18:45 - Marc talks about his current gig at SiteStaff Chat and why he’s excited about helping to bring the company to the next level with a refreshed approach to sales strategy.  

27:02 - I ambush Marc with the old “what would you have asked me that I didn’t” question, and he steps up with a great answer about the idea of whether everything in sales has changed or not, why it matters, and what reps should do with all of that.  

31:05 - How to find Marc and his fantastic content.