Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rahul Khare, Founder of Stoic Selling, located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Stoicselling is an online academy for 'non-sales' founders and CEOs to master B2B sales. We have packaged consulting and coaching methodologies into self-service modules, including video courses, tools, and templates.
Tell us about yourself
B2B Growth strategist and Operator with over 17 years of expertise in B2B revenue growth with large corporations and VC-funded startups. I have built $300 million+ in a qualified pipeline, acquired over 10,000 app users, and established a 50-person revenue team in organizations I've worked with. In my early consulting work, I met some brilliant founders who were struggling with generating leads and winning clients. What broke my heart was the fact these brave souls had valuable solutions (both products and services) to offer their clients. Still, they were failing. I figured that these 'non-sales' entrepreneurs and CEOs were, in a way, aliens to sales. They perceived sales to be complex, even sleazy - something they'd never be good at. Most of them had burnt fingers and lost money with expensive (and complex) tools, consultants, or hiring sales teams.
I knew B2B selling was not complicated. You don't need a sales background or a pricey VP of sales, or a consultant to succeed. What you require is to understand a few critical dimensions of B2B selling, a well-functioning sales process, and execution skills to operate it. A combination of mindset, strategies, and practices. That's it! And StoicSelling approach supports 'non-sales' founders across all these three dimensions to help them build Predictable B2B Revenue Engines.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
In terms of business results, all Stoicselling clients have developed stable lead-generation programs and achieved their revenue targets. But what's deeply gratifying for me is to see the shift in belief in founders about sales. It's amazing to see someone who's like, "I'm not a sales type," transforming into "Heck! we're going to smash our biggest target this quarter". That's my kick.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Confession: I'm a bit of a perfectionist. My biggest challenge was to rely more on my team members and outsourcing partners with higher degrees of freedom in intellectual and creative decisions. Honestly, I'm not there yet! But I'm making progress!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Prepare yourself financially for two years before jumping in full-time. This will help you focus on building without panicking. Start before you think you're ready. You'll never feel fully prepared. Speed of learning and iterations is everything.
- Have the plan to get clients and build revenue streams. Stay focused on your plan. There're a ton of 'silver bullets' that don't work. Believe in yourself and do the work.
- Learn new skills in a structured and deliberate way via courses. Take help from experts (advice), freelancers (outsource work), and mentors (perspective). Building a business is romanticized for many wrong reasons. But it's gratifying if you do it for the right reasons and approach it with a long-term perspective.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.stoicselling.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStoicSeller
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StoicSeller
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulk1/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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