MVP B2B Sales Process: From First Call to Closed Deal

B2B sales for MVPs is different from established companies. You're selling vision as much as product. This guide shows you how to build a repeatable sales process that closes deals while gathering valuable feedback.

B2B Sales Fundamentals for MVPs

Why B2B Sales is Different for MVPs

MVP Sales Reality:

Traditional B2B Sales        MVP B2B Sales
─────────────────────       ─────────────────
Established product    →    Evolving solution
Fixed features        →    Flexible roadmap
Proven ROI           →    Projected value
Large sales team     →    Founder-led
Complex process      →    Agile approach

The Founder-Led Sales Advantage

Why Founders Should Sell First:

1. Direct feedback - Shape product roadmap
2. Credibility - Vision from the source
3. Flexibility - Make decisions instantly
4. Relationships - Build long-term champions
5. Learning - Understand sales process

Founder Sales Superpowers:

"I built this because..."  → Authentic story
"We can add that feature"  → Immediate commitment
"Let me fix that now"      → Instant response
"Here's our vision"        → Compelling future

MVP Sales Mindset

Shift Your Perspective:

❌ "Buy my product"
✅ "Let's solve your problem together"

❌ "Here are all our features"
✅ "What outcomes do you need?"

❌ "Our product does X"
✅ "Customers achieve Y with us"

❌ "Sign this contract"
✅ "Let's start with a pilot"

The Economics of MVP B2B Sales

Unit Economics Framework:

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC):
- Sales salary: $10K/month
- Closes 2 deals/month
- CAC = $5K per customer

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV):
- Average contract: $2K/month
- Average retention: 18 months
- LTV = $36K

LTV:CAC Ratio = 7.2:1 ✅
(Target: 3:1 or better)

Designing Your Sales Process

The MVP Sales Funnel

Stage-by-Stage Breakdown:

1000 Prospects (LinkedIn, Email lists)
     ↓ 10% response rate
100 Conversations (Email, calls)
     ↓ 30% qualified
30 Qualified Leads (Discovery calls)
     ↓ 50% to demo
15 Demonstrations (Product demos)
     ↓ 40% to proposal
6 Proposals (Pricing, terms)
     ↓ 50% close rate
3 New Customers 🎉

Overall: 0.3% prospect → customer

Sales Process Stages

1. Prospecting (Week 1)

Activities:
- Research target accounts
- Find decision makers
- Craft personalized outreach
- Multi-channel approach

Tools:
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Hunter.io for emails
- CRM for tracking
- Calendly for booking

2. Qualification (Week 2)

Activities:
- Initial discovery call
- Understand pain points
- Confirm budget authority
- Set next steps

Framework: BANT
- Budget: Can they afford it?
- Authority: Can they buy?
- Need: Is pain urgent?
- Timeline: When will they buy?

3. Demo/Presentation (Week 3-4)

Activities:
- Customized demo
- ROI discussion
- Technical deep dive
- Stakeholder alignment

Success Factors:
- Focus on outcomes
- Use their data
- Handle objections
- Get verbal commitment

4. Negotiation/Close (Week 5-6)

Activities:
- Proposal presentation
- Terms negotiation
- Legal review
- Contract signing

Common Issues:
- Procurement process
- Security review
- Feature requests
- Payment terms

Building Your Sales Playbook

Document Everything:

# MVP Sales Playbook

## Ideal Customer Profile
- Company size: 50-500 employees
- Industry: SaaS, Tech
- Pain point: Manual processes
- Budget: $20-50K/year
- Decision maker: VP Operations

## Messaging Framework
### Email Templates
- Cold outreach (5 variants)
- Follow-up sequences
- Meeting booking
- Proposal follow-up

### Call Scripts
- Discovery questions
- Objection handling
- Pricing discussion
- Close techniques

## Process Steps
1. Day 1: Research & list building
2. Day 2-3: Outreach campaign
3. Day 4-7: Follow-ups
4. Week 2: Discovery calls
5. Week 3: Demos
6. Week 4+: Close

Sales Tech Stack for MVPs

Essential Tools:

CRM: HubSpot (free tier)
- Track all interactions
- Pipeline management
- Email integration
- Basic automation

Outreach: Apollo.io
- Find contacts
- Email sequences
- Track opens/clicks
- A/B testing

Demos: Zoom + Loom
- Live demos (Zoom)
- Recorded demos (Loom)
- Screen annotation
- Call recording

Proposals: PandaDoc
- Template library
- E-signatures
- Payment collection
- Analytics

Prospecting & Outreach

Identifying Ideal Customers

ICP Definition Framework:

Demographics:
- Industry verticals
- Company size
- Geographic location
- Tech stack

Firmographics:
- Revenue range
- Growth rate
- Funding stage
- Employee count

Psychographics:
- Early adopters
- Innovation culture
- Problem awareness
- Budget availability

Multi-Channel Outreach

Channel Mix Strategy:

Email (40%):
- Personalized subject
- Value in first line
- Clear CTA
- Follow-up sequence

LinkedIn (30%):
- Connect with context
- Share valuable content
- Direct messages
- Social selling

Cold Calling (20%):
- Research first
- Pattern interrupts
- Value prop in 30s
- Book meeting

Referrals (10%):
- Customer introductions
- Investor network
- Partner referrals
- Industry connections

Cold Email That Works

High-Converting Template:

Subject: Question about [specific thing they do]

Hi [Name],

I noticed [specific observation about their company]. 

[Relevant problem statement/question]

We're helping companies like [similar company] 
[achieve specific result].

Worth a quick call to discuss how this might 
help [their company]?

[Your name]
[Title] at [Company]

P.S. [Personalized detail]

Follow-Up Sequence:

Email 1 (Day 1): Initial outreach
Email 2 (Day 4): Add value (case study)
Email 3 (Day 8): Different angle
Email 4 (Day 15): Break-up email

LinkedIn Outreach Strategy

Connection Request:

"Hi [Name], I've been following [Company]'s 
growth in [specific area]. Would love to 
connect and share some insights on [topic]. 
-[Your name]"

Accept rate: 60-70%

First Message After Connection:

"Thanks for connecting, [Name]! 

I mentioned I had some insights on [topic]. 
We recently helped [Similar Company] 
[achieve result].

Would you be open to a 15-min call to see 
if this could help [Their Company]?"

Response rate: 25-30%

Scaling Outbound

Weekly Outreach Metrics:

Activities:
- 50 cold emails sent
- 30 LinkedIn connections
- 20 cold calls made
- 10 follow-ups sent

Results:
- 10 responses (10%)
- 5 meetings booked
- 2 qualified opportunities
- 1 demo scheduled

Time: 10 hours/week
Cost: $0 (founder time)

Qualification & Discovery

The Discovery Call Framework

SPIN Selling for MVPs:

Situation Questions:
"Tell me about your current process for X"
"How many people are involved?"
"What tools do you use today?"

Problem Questions:
"What challenges do you face with this?"
"How much time does this take?"
"What happens when it goes wrong?"

Implication Questions:
"What's the cost of these delays?"
"How does this impact your team?"
"What if this continues?"

Need-Payoff Questions:
"How would solving this help?"
"What would the ideal solution do?"
"What's this worth to your business?"

Qualifying Framework

MEDDICC for MVP Sales:

Metrics: What KPIs matter?
Economic Buyer: Who signs?
Decision Criteria: How do they evaluate?
Decision Process: What are the steps?
Identify Pain: What's the urgent problem?
Champion: Who's your internal advocate?
Competition: What alternatives exist?

Discovery Call Script

Opening (2 minutes):

"Thanks for taking the time, [Name]. I know 
you're busy so I want to be respectful of 
your time.

I'd love to learn about [specific area] at 
[Company] and share how we might be able 
to help. 

Does that work for you?"

Discovery (15 minutes):

Current State:
- "Walk me through your current process"
- "What's working well?"
- "Where are the friction points?"

Desired State:
- "In an ideal world, how would this work?"
- "What would success look like?"
- "What's preventing you from getting there?"

Priority & Timeline:
- "How important is solving this?"
- "What's your timeline?"
- "What's your budget range?"

Next Steps (3 minutes):

"Based on what you've shared, I think we 
can definitely help. Here's what I suggest:

1. I'll send you a summary of our discussion
2. Let's schedule a demo with your team
3. I'll include some relevant case studies

Does [date/time] work for the demo?"

Qualification Scorecard

Score Each Lead (1-5):

Pain Level: How urgent is their problem?
5 = Crisis mode
3 = Important but not urgent
1 = Nice to have

Budget Fit: Can they afford you?
5 = Budget allocated
3 = Budget possible
1 = No budget

Authority: Can they make decisions?
5 = Final decision maker
3 = Strong influencer
1 = End user only

Timeline: When will they buy?
5 = This month
3 = This quarter
1 = Someday

Total Score:
16-20: Hot lead (prioritize)
11-15: Warm lead (nurture)
6-10: Cool lead (long-term)
<6: Not qualified (pass)

Demo & Presentation

Demo Preparation

Pre-Demo Checklist:

Research:
□ Review discovery notes
□ Research attendees
□ Understand their process
□ Prepare relevant examples

Customize:
□ Use their terminology
□ Include their data/scenarios
□ Focus on their pain points
□ Prepare ROI calculations

Technical:
□ Test screen sharing
□ Clear desktop/browser
□ Close unnecessary apps
□ Have backup plan

The Perfect MVP Demo

Demo Structure (30 minutes):

Introduction (3 min):
- Agenda setting
- Attendee introductions
- Recap pain points

Problem Agitation (5 min):
- Current state pain
- Cost of status quo
- Failed alternatives

Solution Overview (15 min):
- "Let me show you..."
- Focus on outcomes
- Use their scenarios
- Handle questions

Business Case (5 min):
- ROI calculation
- Implementation timeline
- Success metrics
- Reference customers

Next Steps (2 min):
- Summarize value
- Address concerns
- Clear ask
- Book follow-up

Demo Best Practices

Do's and Don'ts:

DO:
✅ Tell a story
✅ Keep it simple
✅ Pause for questions
✅ Show, don't tell
✅ Focus on value

DON'T:
❌ Feature dump
❌ Talk non-stop
❌ Show everything
❌ Assume knowledge
❌ Rush through

Handling Objections

Common MVP Objections:

"You're too small/new"

"I understand the concern. That's exactly why 
we can move faster and provide better support 
than larger vendors. Plus, you'll have direct 
access to our founding team. Here are 3 
similar companies who chose us for that reason..."

"Missing features"

"You're right, we don't have [feature] yet. 
However, we do solve [core problem] really well. 
Plus, as an early customer, you'll shape our 
roadmap. We can commit to [feature] by [date]."

"Too expensive"

"I appreciate price is always a consideration. 
Let's look at the ROI: You mentioned spending 
[X hours] on this weekly. At [hourly rate], 
that's [cost]. We can reduce that by 80%, 
saving you [amount] monthly. The investment 
pays for itself in [timeframe]."

Closing & Negotiation

Trial Closing Techniques

Temperature Checks:

During Demo:
"How does this compare to what you're doing now?"
"Can you see your team using this?"
"What questions does this raise?"

After Demo:
"On a scale of 1-10, how well does this solve your problem?"
"What would need to happen to get to a 10?"
"What's your gut feeling?"

Creating Urgency

Ethical Urgency Tactics:

Limited Time Offers:
"As an early customer, you'll get our 
founder's price - 50% off list price. 
This offer expires [date]."

Capacity Constraints:
"We're onboarding 3 new customers per 
month to ensure quality. We have 1 spot 
left for [month]."

Problem Cost:
"You mentioned this costs you $X monthly. 
Every month you wait costs more than 
our entire annual fee."

Competition:
"[Competitor in their space] just started 
with us. They're already seeing results."

Proposal Best Practices

Winning Proposal Structure:

1. Executive Summary
   - Their problem (in their words)
   - Your solution
   - Expected outcomes
   - Investment required

2. Current State Analysis
   - Pain points documented
   - Cost of current approach
   - Risks of status quo

3. Proposed Solution
   - How you solve it
   - Implementation plan
   - Success metrics
   - Timeline

4. Investment & ROI
   - Pricing options
   - ROI calculation
   - Payment terms
   - Guarantees

5. Next Steps
   - Clear actions
   - Decision deadline
   - Onboarding preview

Negotiation Strategies

Common Negotiation Points:

Price:

Options to offer:
- Annual prepay discount (20%)
- Remove features/users
- Phased implementation
- Case study discount
- Referral incentives

Never:
- Discount without getting something
- Go below your floor price
- Negotiate against yourself

Contract Terms:

Flexible on:
- Payment terms (NET 30/60)
- Pilot period length
- Termination notice
- SLA levels

Firm on:
- Intellectual property
- Liability limits
- Auto-renewal
- Price increases

Closing the Deal

The Assumptive Close:

"Based on our discussions, it sounds like 
we're aligned on the solution and value. 
Let's talk about getting you started. 
Would you prefer to begin this month or next?"

The Summary Close:

"Let me summarize what we've discussed:
- You need [solution] to [achieve outcome]
- We'll provide [specifics] for [price]
- You'll see results within [timeframe]
- This will save/make you [amount]

Are you ready to move forward?"

Building Your B2B Sales Machine

Week 1: Foundation

• [ ] Define ICP
• [ ] Build prospect list
• [ ] Create email templates
• [ ] Set up CRM

Week 2: Outreach

• [ ] Send 50 cold emails
• [ ] Make 20 cold calls
• [ ] Connect on LinkedIn
• [ ] Book first meetings

Week 3: Discovery

• [ ] Conduct discovery calls
• [ ] Qualify opportunities
• [ ] Schedule demos
• [ ] Research accounts

Week 4: Close

• [ ] Deliver demos
• [ ] Send proposals
• [ ] Negotiate terms
• [ ] Close first deal

Sales Metrics & KPIs

Track These Metrics

Activity Metrics:

Daily:
- Calls made: 10
- Emails sent: 20
- LinkedIn connections: 10
- Meetings booked: 2

Weekly:
- Qualified leads: 5
- Demos delivered: 3
- Proposals sent: 2
- Deals closed: 1

Performance Metrics:

Conversion Rates:
- Email → Meeting: 10%
- Meeting → Qualified: 40%
- Qualified → Demo: 60%
- Demo → Proposal: 50%
- Proposal → Close: 40%

Sales Velocity:
- Average deal size: $25K
- Sales cycle: 45 days
- Close rate: 20%
- Monthly quota: $50K

Tools & Resources

Sales Tools

• CRM: HubSpot, Pipedrive
• Outreach: Apollo, Lemlist
• Intelligence: ZoomInfo, Clearbit
• Demos: Zoom, Loom, Demodesk

Templates & Downloads

• 📧 Cold Email Templates
• 📊 Sales Playbook Template
• 📈 Pipeline Tracker
• 💰 ROI Calculator

Key Takeaways

B2B Sales Success Factors

1. Founder-Led First - You can't outsource early sales
2. Process Over Talent - Build repeatable systems
3. Value Over Features - Sell outcomes, not tools
4. Qualify Ruthlessly - Time is your scarcest resource
5. Learn Constantly - Every "no" teaches something

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Your Sales Readiness Checklist

Foundation ✓
□ Clear value proposition
□ Ideal customer profile
□ Pricing strategy
□ Sales materials
□ CRM setup

Process ✓
□ Outreach templates
□ Discovery framework
□ Demo script
□ Proposal template
□ Follow-up sequences

Execution ✓
□ Daily activities
□ Weekly pipeline review
□ Monthly metrics
□ Quarterly strategy
□ Continuous improvement

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Great B2B sales is about solving problems, not pushing products. Lead with value, and deals will follow.