6. Sales
A VP of Sales in one of my portfolio companies used to say, “I’m simply a pie salesman.”
After hearing him say it a few times, I finally asked, “What do you mean?”
He said, “I drive the truck in the morning. I pull over. I open up the back of the truck and I look at what pies I have in the truck. If I have blueberry pies, then that day I’m selling blueberry pies. If I have apple pies, then that day I’m selling apple pies. I don’t try to sell what I don’t have, because if I try to sell what I don’t have, I’m going to be in trouble. People are going to be unhappy with me, so I’ve simply got to sell what’s in the truck.”
I’ve always liked that metaphor because it’s so simple and honest. Software can be so complicated, so full of features ...
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