Article · article series

The Close Sales Blog (Steli Efti on cold email & founder sales)

Steli Efti · Close Free Beginner

Steli Efti (YC alum, co-founder of Close CRM) is one of the most trusted voices on startup outbound and cold email, practical, battle-tested, and free.

  • A great cold email answers the right question with a single clear call to action.
  • The subject line must spark curiosity and promise what the body delivers.
  • Follow up persistently, most replies come after the first email.
  • Objections are buying signals; welcome and dig into them.
Open on close.com ↗

It answers 8 questions

  1. I'm a technical founder and I hate selling, do I really have to do sales myself?
  2. How do I run a sales call without sounding like a pushy salesperson?
  3. How do I handle objections and prospects who go silent on me?
  4. What sales process should I follow if I've never sold anything before?
  5. How do I sell to enterprises and large companies as a tiny unknown startup they have never heard of?
  6. How do I sell in India where buyers negotiate hard on price and payments come in late?
  7. How do I keep a clean sales pipeline and track deals when I am the only salesperson?
  8. How do I sell confidently when I am the founder and also the youngest or least experienced person in the room?

Read with it

  1. The authoritative handbook on founder-led sales, written for technical/first-time sellers building B2B SaaS. Readable free... foundingsales.com Book · book (~400 pages) Founding Sales: The Early Stage Go-to-Market Handbook Peter Kazanjy
  2. Jen Abel has coached over 300 early-stage founders through their first sales, so this is grounded in what actually happens when... Lenny's Podcast Podcast · About 1 hour 16 minutes The ultimate guide to founder-led sales | Jen Abel (JJELLYFISH) Lenny Rachitsky with Jen Abel
  3. When your first ten will come from cold outreach, this guide gives you the full mechanics: building a target list, qualifying,... Close Article · Multi-chapter guide The Ultimate Startup Guide to Outbound Sales Steli Efti
  4. Written by a former FBI hostage negotiator, not a sales trainer, which is exactly why it works for founders who recoil at... Chris Voss Book Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It Chris Voss
  5. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  6. The research-backed classic on consultative selling, the antidote to 'pushy salesperson' instincts. Its... McGraw-Hill Book · book (~200 pages) SPIN Selling Neil Rackham
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →