Lessons from Peter Kazanjy

On the Founder's Role in Sales

"Your first customers should come from the founder." This is a core tenet of Kazanjy's philosophy, emphasizing that founders are best positioned to understand the initial market reaction and refine the sales process. [1]
"You can't outsource that behavior. The founders got to do that stuff." Early customer interactions and sales efforts are a critical feedback loop for the product and company direction that cannot be delegated. [2]
"Founders who lean into this and get good at selling will have a key advantage." Selling is a learnable skill that gives founders a significant edge in the early stages of their company. [3]
"I think one of the things that makes founders powerful is their generalism." This adaptability is a key asset in the early days of a company, especially in sales. [4]
"It's going to be way easier for you to get good or like minimally viable good at selling...than it is for you to hire some magical sales unicorn who's going to come in and just like solve this for you." Founders should focus on becoming competent in sales themselves rather than searching for an outside savior. [2]
"Early-stage sales are an extension of product management ('weaponized product management')." Founders, who deeply understand the product vision, are best suited to debug the initial sales motion. [5]
"If you're not in charge of that product management thing, and that product is already baked, then you have to get into the shoes of the prospect." Empathy for the customer's problems is paramount for effective selling. [6]
"The founder is the only one who can do it." In the earliest stages, only the founder has the context and passion to effectively sell the product and learn from those interactions. [5]
"Don't be afraid of sales. There's a lot of people out there who would love to tell you a story that it's magical or like oh you got to be a born seller. It's really not." Sales is a demystified, learnable skill. [2]
"I like to say that founding sales is like the sequel to like the Lean Startup." It's the next practical step after identifying a market need and building a minimum viable product. [7]

On Sales Mindset and Skills

"Sales is a skill, not a personality type. Anyone can learn it if you put in the reps." This is a recurring theme in Kazanjy's work, encouraging those without a traditional sales background. [8]
"It's just a muscle that you can learn and it just gets built over time if you do the push-ups." Consistent effort and practice are the keys to developing sales proficiency. [7]
"A lot of times, founders screw up by simply showing up and throwing up. 'Here is this feature, here is this feature! I have this really exciting thing – and I want to show it to you!'" This is a common pitfall; the focus should be on the customer's problem, not just the product's features. [6][9]
"You're not thinking about the problem it solves." Always lead with the problem you are solving for the customer. [6][9]
"Don't back yourself into a corner and start negotiating against yourself at the start...Just state the pricing and the rationale that backs it, shut the hell up, and see what the reaction is." Be confident in your pricing and allow the customer to react first. [10][11]
"To be awesome at sales, you have to break certain social rules." This involves creating new habits to effectively engage and persuade potential customers. [12]
"As a seller what you should be doing...is that you're a consultant that has a particular predilection for a given solution. Your solution." Frame your role as a problem-solver, not just a vendor. [2]
"You have to get over it. It's just something that comes with practice." On the fear of asking for money, Kazanjy advises that it's a hurdle that can be overcome with repetition. [13]
"Avoid steering the discovery conversation in a preferred direction, let the conversation flow naturally and meet the customer where they are." Genuine discovery is about listening, not leading the witness. [1]

On Building a Sales Process

"Nail your 'sales recipe' first. Achieve a 15–25% win rate and 10–20 referenceable customers, then bring in reps." Before scaling the team, ensure you have a proven, repeatable sales process. [8]
"Document everything: Your demo flow, your deck, your talking points. Future reps will need it to succeed." A well-documented playbook is essential for scaling the sales team. [8]
"The first step on the road to a repeatable, scalable sales process is to build your narrative." Your story is the foundation of your entire sales motion. [3]
"A good rule of thumb for targeting the right stakeholders is to look for the person who has control of the budgetary resources allotted to resolve the pain point you solve." This ensures you're talking to someone who can actually make a purchasing decision. [10][11]
"You want to have a deck that guides the conversation." A visual aid can help structure the conversation and keep it on track. [1]
"The first thing you want to start out with is do you have this problem that we are thinking about solving." Validate the problem before you even begin to discuss your solution. [1]
"You have to prove a statistically significant amount of people will pay." Early sales to your network aren't enough to validate a scalable business. [6]
"This is a critical juncture. You want to get it right before you pour on the gas. Make sure the cylinders are firing properly. If not, you'll burn cash." A warning against scaling the sales team prematurely. [6]
"When it runs on your local...now it's time to like see if it reproduces over here." A software development metaphor for knowing when to hire your first salesperson. [2]
"The way that you scale up is by just adding more salespeople." Once the process is proven, scaling becomes a matter of adding more people to execute the playbook. [2]

On Sales Narrative and Messaging

"To Build An Amazing Sales Team, Start Here First." This refers to the importance of a strong sales narrative as the foundation. [12]
"Tailor your message to each buyer. One-size-fits-all pitches don't work when you're selling to a committee." Different stakeholders have different priorities and need to be addressed accordingly. [8]
"You just need an argument that will then hit their brain such that they say 'You know what i agree...'" The goal of your narrative is to create a moment of realization and agreement in the customer's mind. [5]
"If you don't have the narrative right you don't have anything you actually don't have a strategy." The narrative is not just marketing fluff; it's the core of your business strategy. [5]
"All of the answers are baked into the product. But, those problems and solutions often haven't been written down in text, or turned into pictures." The sales narrative makes the implicit value of the product explicit. [6]
"You want people who have really the big problems." Focus your efforts on prospects who are experiencing significant pain. [1]
"The story or the narrative is about marketing. and it's not it's actually the strategy." A crucial distinction for founders to understand. [5]
"You need to ensure that there's consistency in your messaging throughout your organization." Everyone from marketing to sales should be telling the same story. [15]
"I'm doing research on this problem that I think you may have unless I'm crazy." A humble and effective way to open a conversation with a potential customer. [1]
"You're not in a place where you can sell yeah i mean you you just need an an argument that will then hit their brain..." Without a compelling narrative, you're not ready to sell. [5]

On Data and Metrics

"Sales data doesn't need to be perfect. You just need enough signal to spot patterns and coach effectively." Don't let the pursuit of perfect data paralyze you from using what you have. [8]
"I'm still very metrics driven across everything that I do, just cause it's interesting. I like data, and looking at it..." A personal insight into his data-centric approach. [8]
"As those conversions get better...your message is not landing...you're targeting the wrong people...you need a better pickup line." Use conversion metrics at each stage of the funnel to diagnose problems in your sales motion. [2]
"Managers who value activity versus metrics that actually matter wake up and smell the change." A critique of vanity metrics in sales. [17]
"Sales activity doesn't matter well that's actually wrong that's like super false." A counterpoint, emphasizing that the right activities are crucial for success. [17]
"Start by nailing your sales recipe." This is the foundational learning from which all other sales success is built. [8]

Learn more:

Lessons from Peter Kazanjy

On the Founder's Role in Sales

On Sales Mindset and Skills

On Building a Sales Process

On Sales Narrative and Messaging

On Data and Metrics

Written by Antoine Buteau

Lessons from Praveer Melwani, Figma CFO

Lessons from Byrne Hobart