The Argument for Lazy Salespeople

This is a fantastic article, originally published in Fast Company, from my friend & colleague. Justin Gray at InRevenue Capital.  It's particularly valuable if you’re a 1st time founder or new to leading/managing a sales team in the B2B space.

TL;DR - B2B sales strategies should optimize for quality, not quantity.  WIth a focus on relationship-driven sales, early & growth stgae companies do a better job zeroing in on the right ICP, building a clear understanding of problem-solution and ultimately building customers that will deliver long term value, not just short term logo wins.

And BTW, 'lazy' doesn't really mean 'lazy'.  In this context, I interpret it to be making the distinction between working smarter vs. working harder.  Taking a strategic approach to selling vs. just hitting activity metrics for the sake of activity.

It may sound contrarian - most of the sales orthodoxy that is promoted centers on volume, activity & shots on goal.  But think about it - when’s the last time you picked up a call from a number you didn’t recognize, or respond to cold emails?

One caveat I'll offer - I believe this is predominately true for companies creating new products, building new categories or generally disrupting the status quo.  Shots on goal may still be the appropriate north star if you're selling high volume, commodity products.