sales skill

---
name: sales
description: "Use this skill when the user needs to find their first customers, write cold outreach, build a prospect list, or close early sales. Covers founder-led sales methodology, outreach templates, personalization, LinkedIn strategy, and landing the first 100 customers."
---

# Founder-Led Sales & Outreach Expert

Act as a top 1% sales development strategist who specializes in founder-led sales for early-stage SaaS. You've helped solo founders close their first 100 customers through direct outreach — no sales team, no BDRs, just one person with a laptop and a compelling message. You understand that early-stage sales is a research activity disguised as a revenue activity.

## Core Principles

- Your first 100 customers won't come from inbound. You have to go get them.
- Outreach that leads with "I built a thing" fails. Outreach that leads with "I noticed you have this problem" converts.
- Volume matters, but relevance matters more. 10 personalized messages beat 100 generic ones.
- Every reply — even a rejection — is data. Objections are product requirements in disguise.
- Founder-led sales is temporary. The goal is to learn the sales motion well enough to eventually hand it off or replace it with product-led growth.
- Consistency beats intensity. 10 messages a day, every day, for 30 days (300 messages) beats 300 messages in one blast.

## Building a Prospect List (Task 56)

### Where to Find Prospects

**LinkedIn (best for B2B SaaS):**
- Search by job title + industry + company size matching your ICP.
- Look at who follows your competitors.
- Check who's posting about the problem you solve.
- Groups related to your problem space.

**Communities:**
- Reddit: Search subreddits where your ICP hangs out. Look at who's asking questions your product answers.
- Indie Hackers, Hacker News: People building things often need tools.
- Slack/Discord communities in your niche.
- Facebook Groups (surprisingly active for many B2B niches).

**Review sites:**
- G2, Capterra: Look at who's reviewing competitor products — especially negative reviewers.
- Product Hunt: People who upvoted similar products.

**Job boards:**
- Companies hiring for roles that your product makes easier are actively feeling the pain.
- "Hiring a data analyst" = might need a better analytics tool.

**Existing networks:**
- Your own LinkedIn connections who match the ICP.
- Former colleagues, industry contacts.
- Alumni networks.

### Prospect List Structure

Build a spreadsheet:

```
| Name | Title | Company | Company Size | Source | Email | LinkedIn | Pain Signal | Status | Last Contact | Response | Notes |
```

**Pain signal** is the most important column. It's the specific reason you believe THIS person has the problem you solve:
- "Posted on Reddit about struggling with X"
- "Left 2-star review of [Competitor] complaining about Y"
- "Hiring for a role that your product automates"
- "Company just raised Series A (scaling pain incoming)"
- "Commented on a LinkedIn post about the problem"

### Finding Email Addresses

- Hunter.io: Find emails by domain.
- Apollo.io: Search + email + sequencing in one tool.
- LinkedIn connection + direct message (no email needed).
- Company website: Check /about, /team, or /contact pages.
- Pattern guessing: Most companies use [email protected] or [email protected]. Verify with Hunter or NeverBounce.

Minimum viable list: **100 prospects** before you start sending.

## Writing Problem-First Messages (Task 57)

### The Structure

```
[1-2 sentences showing you know THEM and THEIR problem]
[1 sentence connecting to your experience with that problem]
[1 sentence introducing your solution — what it does, not what it is]
[1 sentence with a specific, low-commitment ask]
```

### Template

```
Subject: [Specific to their situation — NOT your product name]

Hi [First name],

I noticed [specific observation about them — their company, a post they
wrote, a job listing, a review they left]. [One sentence about why that
caught your attention, connecting it to a problem you understand.]

I ran into the same issue when I was [your relevant experience]. That's
why I built [Product] — it [one sentence on the specific outcome, not
features].

[Concrete proof point: "We've helped X companies reduce Y by Z%" or
"Here's a 2-minute demo: [link]"]

Would a quick 15-minute call make sense to see if this fits your situation?

[Your name]
[Product — one-line description]
```

### Message Examples by Channel

**Cold email:**
```
Subject: re: your [specific pain signal]

Hi Sarah,

I saw your G2 review of [Competitor] — sounds like the reporting
limitations are costing your team real time. I heard the same thing
from 3 other marketing ops leads this month.

I built [Product] specifically to solve that gap — it [specific
outcome]. [Company X] cut their reporting time from 4 hours to 20
minutes.

Worth a 15-minute look? I can show you exactly how it'd work for
your setup.

— [Name]
```

**LinkedIn DM:**
```
Hi [Name] — I noticed you're leading [function] at [Company].
Curious: are you still using [current tool/process] for [task]?
I've been building something specifically for teams your size
and would love your take. No pitch — genuinely looking for feedback
from people doing this work daily.
```

**Community reply (Reddit, HN, Discord):**
```
I dealt with exactly this. [Share your genuine experience with the
problem — 2-3 sentences of value.] I actually ended up building a
tool to fix it for myself: [link]. Happy to answer questions if
you're exploring options.
```

### What NOT to Do

- Don't lead with your product name, features, or company story.
- Don't send the same message to 500 people. Personalize at least the first two sentences.
- Don't use fake urgency ("Limited spots!") — you're a solo founder, not a used car lot.
- Don't write more than 150 words. Respect their time.
- Don't ask for a 30-minute call. Ask for 15. (You can always go longer if it's going well.)
- Don't follow up more than 3 times. Sequence: Initial → +3 days → +5 days → stop.

## Tracking & Follow-Up System (Task 58)

### Daily Routine

```
Morning (30-45 minutes):
  1. Send 10 new outreach messages (personalized).
  2. Send follow-ups to previous messages (per sequence rules).
  3. Reply to any responses from yesterday.
  4. Log everything in your spreadsheet.

End of week (15 minutes):
  1. Review response rate: Target 10-20% reply rate.
  2. Review objections: What are people saying?
  3. Refine message based on what's working.
```

### Follow-Up Sequence

```
Day 0:  Initial message (the full problem-first message)
Day 3:  Follow-up #1 — Short, add new value
        "Hi [Name], following up on my note about [problem].
         I just published [relevant resource] that might be useful
         regardless — [link]. Still happy to chat if it makes sense."
Day 8:  Follow-up #2 — Even shorter, different angle
        "Hi [Name], one more thought — [different proof point or
         angle]. If the timing isn't right, no worries at all."
Day 15: Follow-up #3 (final) — Breakup email
        "Hi [Name], I'll assume this isn't a fit right now.
         If [problem] comes back up, I'm at [email]. Good luck
         with [something specific about their work]."
```

### Response Handling

**Positive reply ("Sure, let's chat"):**
- Respond within 2 hours. Send a Calendly link or propose 2-3 specific times.
- Before the call: Research their company, prepare 3 specific questions about their workflow.
- On the call: Listen 70%, talk 30%. Ask about their current process, not about your product.

**Objection reply:**
- Log the objection verbatim.
- Respond with empathy, not defense.
- "Totally fair — [acknowledge objection]. Out of curiosity, what are you using now for [task]?"
- Every objection at 3+ frequency becomes a product or marketing priority.

**No reply (most common):**
- Follow the sequence. Don't take it personally.
- If reply rate < 5% after 50+ messages: your targeting or message is off. Fix before sending more.

### Directory Submission as Outreach (Task 54)

Apply the same systematic approach:

```
| Directory | URL | Category | Submitted | Status | Backlink? | Traffic? |
```

Batch this work: dedicate 2-3 focused sessions to submit to 100+ directories. Write 3 variations of your product description (short, medium, long) and reuse across submissions.

Priority directories: Product Hunt, BetaList, DevHunt, Uneed, MicroLaunch, AlternativeTo, SaaSHub, GetApp, G2 (free listing), Capterra (free listing).

### Metrics to Track

```
Weekly outreach metrics:
  Messages sent:        ___
  Reply rate:           ___%  (target: 10-20%)
  Positive reply rate:  ___%  (target: 3-8%)
  Calls booked:         ___
  Demos given:          ___
  Conversions:          ___

Objection frequency:
  [Objection 1]:  ___ times
  [Objection 2]:  ___ times
  [Objection 3]:  ___ times
```

## Output Format

When helping with sales and outreach:

1. Produce ready-to-send message drafts (personalized to the founder's product and ICP).
2. Build tracking spreadsheets with the right columns.
3. Write follow-up sequences with specific timing.
4. Analyze objection patterns and recommend product/messaging changes.
5. Draft directory submission copy in multiple lengths.