So the cold call.

How do you deal with the fact that it's so difficult to call

someone cold and how do you steel yourself and get ready to do that?

>> I think the first thing was realizing that, okay I'm not

a great sales guy, but even the worst sales guy in the world.

Theoretically is still going to to close some deals.

In other words, you know, sales is a function

of the number of calls you make and your conversion rate, if you will.

And even the worst sales guy in the world, if he

knocks on a million doors is going to close some deals.

And I'm probably better than the worst sales guy in the world.

And so I just need to get it in my head that I'm going to knock on a lot of doors.

But the second thing is that, try to avoid cold calls.

I think one of the basic

tenets of salesmanship is getting warm introductions.

Getting someone

in your network to open that door,

maybe one of your investors or venture capitalists.

If you've already got a few customers, the best

kind of warm introduction is a referral from them.

And, and then, you're not really doing cold calls.

>> So, you go into a meeting with a customer,

you've done an awful lot of that over your career.

Is there one or two questions that come to mind that usually start

a conversation, that are a great way to get going, and that often

result in a, a lot of information that's important to you?

>> That's a great question, Buck, and I think the key, when

you're talking to a customer, is

understanding what is their biggest problem?

And sometimes, it's not necessarily that the

problem of the person that's sitting in

the chair that you're trying to convince, but it's their boss, or their boss' boss.

Ultimately, you're trying to understand what is the,

the fundamental problem that they're trying to solve.

So that you can frame your solution in a way that, that, that addresses that.

That helps them overcome that obstacle.

Jud Bowman: Cold-calling and Listening for a Customer's Problem