A Simple B2B Sales Process for Founders
By CodexierPublished 5 min read
Most founders sell by instinct: a promising conversation, an enthusiastic proposal, then weeks of silence. The problem is rarely effort. It is the lack of a repeatable process that tells you who is worth a proposal, what to ask, what to send and when to follow up. This guide gives a founder-sized version in four steps, plus the handful of CRM fields that make it stick.
Qualify before you pitch
Qualification is not about rejecting people; it is about protecting your time. A founder who writes detailed proposals for everyone who asks spends most of the week on deals that were never going to close. A short first call answers four questions.
| Question | What you are checking | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| What problem are you trying to solve? | A real, specific problem | 'Just exploring options' |
| What happens if you do nothing? | Urgency and cost of the problem | Nothing in particular |
| Who else is involved in the decision? | Access to the decision-maker | 'I have to check with someone' without a name |
| When do you need this in place? | A timeline | 'Sometime next year' |
Discovery questions
Discovery is the meeting where you understand the customer's situation well enough to propose the right thing. Aim to talk for a third of the time at most. The customer's own words about their problem will become the first paragraph of your proposal.
- How do you handle this today, and what does it cost you in time or money?
- What have you tried before, and why did it not work?
- What would a good result look like in six months?
- How do you usually buy something like this: who signs, what does procurement need?
- Is there a budget set aside, or does this need to be justified first?
- What would stop this from happening?
Write the answers into the CRM during or straight after the call. Memory is the first thing to fail when you run several deals at once.
Proposals that are easy to say yes to
A good proposal is short and specific. It proves you listened, removes doubt and makes the next step obvious. Swedish B2B buyers in particular value clarity on price, VAT, payment terms and what is not included.
- Start with their problem in their words, not with your company history
- Offer two or three options with clear scope and price, excluding VAT stated plainly
- List what is included and what is not
- State the timeline and what you need from them
- Name one next step: sign, book a start meeting or ask questions by a date
- Make it easy to sign; an e-signature beats printing and scanning
Our guide on e-signatures in Sweden covers the legal side of signing digitally.
Follow-up and decision dates
Before the meeting ends, agree when the customer will decide and when you will talk next. 'We decide at the board meeting on the 14th; call me on the 15th' is a plan. 'Let me know' is a hope. Put the date in the CRM as the next activity.
- Follow up on the agreed date, referring to what they said
- If there is silence, follow up two or three times at widening intervals
- Each follow-up should add something: an answer to a question, a relevant example, a simplified option
- After the last attempt, close the deal as lost with a reason, and move on
- Ask lost prospects for the real reason; it is the most useful feedback you get
The few CRM fields you need
A founder does not need a complex CRM setup. A handful of fields, filled in every time, beats fifty fields filled in rarely. Our guide to CRM systems for Swedish small businesses compares the tools.
| Field | Why |
|---|---|
| Stage: qualified, discovery done, proposal sent, won, lost | Shows where every deal stands |
| Value | So you can see the pipeline in kronor |
| Decision date | The most important field for follow-up |
| Next activity with a date | No deal without a next step |
| Decision-maker | Who actually signs |
| Lost reason | Patterns tell you what to change |
Review the pipeline once a week: every deal without a next activity gets one, or gets closed.
Tools, and when you do not need them
With a handful of active deals, a spreadsheet with these columns works fine. A CRM earns its place when you have more deals than you can hold in your head, several people selling, or leads arriving from the website that must be followed up fast. Our CRM implementation sets up HubSpot or a similar system around this process, not around the tool's defaults. Prices are on our pricing page, or book a short call to talk through your current sales flow.
Frequently asked questions
How many follow-ups are too many?
Two or three after the agreed decision date, with increasing intervals and something useful in each. After that, close it politely and leave the door open.
Should I send a proposal after the first call?
Only if you have enough information to propose the right thing. Often a short discovery meeting first leads to a better proposal and a higher win rate.
Should I show prices early?
Giving a price range early helps qualify: people who cannot afford the range drop out before you have invested in a proposal. Many buyers appreciate it.
When should a founder hand sales to someone else?
When the process is repeatable and written down. Hiring a seller before you know what works usually means paying someone to find out.
Deals stalling after the proposal?
Walk us through your last few deals on a short call. We will point out where the process leaks and whether a CRM would help.
Book a free 15-minute call