Sales after 4 years

February 8, 2026

This is my current map. I’m putting it here so in another 4 years I can see what I got right and what I’d rewrite.

Actually, this list is inspired by a comment on a YC thread on Hacker News. I remember reading it and having several AHA moments, so I decided to save it. Some things come from that thread, others from different sources, and others are my own ideas (for example, point 3 is a famous quote from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits).

• **Sales is a lot like running.**You can make it so complicated as to be impossible (cadence, shoes, zones, splits) or you can lace up and run. My advice: lace up and run.

• **Sales is about people and problem-solving. **Not solutions. Not technology, ROI, lines of code, Salesforce, the forecast or your playbooks. People, and the problems you help them solve.

• **People buy four things. **Ever. Time, money, sex, and approval (or peace of mind). If you’re selling something other than those four, you will fail. (James Clear, Atomic Habits)

• People buy aspirin. They buy vitamins only occasionally and at unpredictable times. Sell aspirin.

• I’ve heard this in many talks; I agree: “All things being equal, people buy from their friends. So make everything else equal, then go make a lot of friends.”

• Being valuable and useful is all you need to do to sell. Help people out. Send interesting posts. Write birthday cards. Record videos with ideas for growing their business. Introduce people who would benefit from knowing each other, then get out of the way expecting nothing in return. Do it consistently and authentically, and people will find ways to give you money.

• No one cares about your quota, payroll, opex, or burn rate. No one. They care about the problem you’re solving for them.

There’s over 100 trillion dollars in the global economy, waiting to be breathed in. Good luck.

Bruno