On May 18, we had a special guest for our Startup Classes. Eoin, Head of Startups for CEE & MEA at HubSpot for Startups. Eoin is also an entrepreneur & angel investor, who built a company on his own at 17.

Here are 9 lessons we learnt from the super-class with Eoin on how to build a successful sales process:

1. Today it is not about what you sell, but how you sell it. It matters that you sell emotions with emotion.
2. There are many scenarios in which the match buyer-seller is not good, so do not be afraid to say NO to a buyer.
3. Find and match the way the buyer likes to buy. Match your sale process to the buyer’s needs. Buyers have gotten better at blocking out interruptive sales techniques, so do not use those. Adjust and match the way the buyer buys.
4. Constantly analyze the top cases you lost, why you lost them and what could be done differently.
5. Make sure your team is enabled to spend more time selling. And less time spent on things which can be automated or spent on auxiliary activities. Your time as a seller is as important as the buyer’s time.
6. Post-sale is an important sale channel. Happy customers matter, as well as the reviews you get from them.
7. Buyers can find the information before they ever engage with a salesperson of almost any business. Do not forget that your image in the media and online matters.
8. Sometimes the prospective buyer might return after months to actually buy a product or service. Do not measure the sale from a short perspective only. Some people might be genuinely interested, but not be ready to go for the purchase.
9. And last, but not least, the GPCT – the secret sauce: define GOALS, have PLANS, understand your CHALLENGES and follow your TIMELINE.