For most founders, selling it yourself is where it all begins. Before there's a team, a process, or a playbook, there's just you — figuring out what resonates, who buys, and why. That early period of selling is one of the most valuable things you'll do for your company.
“This whole [beginning] period is just about building and selling. That's all that matters. You need to build a thing and sell it.”
Aaron Cannon
CEO & Co-Founder, Outset
What to Build at This Stage
- 01
A Well-Defined ICP
Review your early customers and look for the patterns that repeat: company size, industry, buyer title, business problem, and what triggered them to start looking for a solution. The strongest patterns become your ICP — a simple definition of who your team should spend time selling to.
- 02
One Source of Truth
A CRM gives you one place to track every opportunity: who the buyer is, what problem they're trying to solve, where the deal stands, the next step, and the outcome. Over time, this gives you the sales history your first reps will need to understand what works.
- 03
A Repeatable Playbook
Document the parts of your sales conversations that keep showing up in successful deals: how you open, the questions you ask, the pains you uncover, the objections you hear, the proof points that resonate, and how you move to the next step. That becomes the first version of your sales playbook.
Readiness assessment
Are You Ready to Move On?
- 01
I have closed at least ten deals personally.
- 02
I can describe my ideal customer in one sentence based on who has bought and stayed.
- 03
I know the three most common objections I hear and how I handle each one.
- 04
I have a pitch that has closed at least five deals and I can write it down word for word.
- 05
Every deal I have closed is logged in a CRM with notes on who bought, why, and what almost stopped them.
- 06
I am spending more than 20% of my time on sales and it is starting to feel like a constraint.
Answer all 6 questions to see your result.