Culturally, ‘Sales’ is a dirty word in New Zealand. Kiwi salespeople often refuse to admit they are in sales as if there is terrible shame in the profession. Companies add to this stigma by disguising sales roles under ridiculous psuedonems like ‘Business Development Professional’, ‘Customer Solution Specialist’ or a ‘Marketing Representative’.  One of the most ridiculous titles I had prior to starting my consultancy was ‘Brand Development Partner’. This attitude is particularly pervasive in the startup community with many Kiwi Startups treating sales as an unpleasant afterthought, instead focusing 99% of their efforts on tinkering and tweaking their product.

As a result of this aversion to selling, many startups put-off thinking about revenue generation for as long as possible, whilst focusing on product development. They are then left very unprepared, with no sales strategy for when their product is ready for market...