Until recently, Applifting had successfully operated without a traditional sales department, which differentiated us from our competitors. But this situation has proven to no longer be sustainable and after some reconsideration, we have started building our own sales team. And because we are a free company built on transparency, honesty, and a no-bullshit culture, we are sharing the reasons that led us to make such a big change.
How did we do things before? Our gurus--the most experienced developers and solution architects, who understand the craft and speak the client's language without business jargon--had been negotiating with clients. But from the moment we stepped up our marketing game and started working on lead generation campaigns, it became clear that we couldn't continue without sales anymore. We consulted with the gurus, which resulted in us deciding to rethink our approach to sales.
When we asked the gurus what their least favourite task in the entire customer acquisition process was, lead generation came out on top. They’d always naturally focused on the later stages of working with clients, when trust was established and clients already knew what they wanted. It is at this point that gurus can fully impart their deep expertise when tackling a particular project. They much prefer to design solutions rather than write contracts or deal with the hassles of administration. And because they are often strapped for time, potential clients--whose contact details were laboriously acquired through webinars or other events--were left hanging.