Kris Beevers has raised over $40M in VC, sold to the most important companies in tech, and is sharing four key lessons!
Four years ago, Kris Beevers founded NS1 to deliver superior DNS and internet traffic management solutions. His previous work as a principal software architect and chief scientist equipped him to handle the technical challenges, but as a first-time CEO, he had to master the dark art of sales. In the two years since we’ve invested, NS1 has collected an amazing customer list that includes Riot Games, Dropbox, Linkedin, Yelp, Salesforce, Imgur, and The Guardian, among many others. He’s also just raised a $20M Series B1 less than a year after raising a $23M Series B based on the outstanding early success of the business, and he was willing to share some tips on how he got there.
Differentiate Yourself
Let’s be honest, DNS is kind of invisible — most people don’t have any idea how typing http://cuteoverload.com/ brings them to a treasure trove of tiny animals — it just happens. But that doesn’t mean companies built around it have to be. When Beevers was building the brand for NS1, he knew he could shine a light on this overlooked technology, and stand out from competitors, by taking calculated risks with design. He avoided the cliche network diagrams and dull color palettes preferred by his competitors and built a corporate identity that looks more like throwback Nike streetwear and $2,000 Saint Laurent silk blouses worn by Kardashians than B2B software.
This is not your typical DevOps aesthetic!
The eye-popping color and minimal graphics even filtered down to the logo. “We looked at three versions of the logo with techie swoops,” he says. “But it never felt quite right until we stripped it down to a simple logo with a pink dot.”
An early version of the logo that looks like a standard B2B trademark.
NS1’s hot pink became a trademark, even influencing the T-shirts the team wears at trade shows. “Companies spend a lot to figure out how to brand themselves,” says Beevers. “The answer can be as obvious as walking around a conference in bright pink T-shirts.”
T-shirts are an undervalued B2B marketing resource.
Hunt Logos
According to Beevers, the secret to high dollar B2B sales is simple. It’s also slow, grinding work that requires huge amounts of preparation, planning, and execution. The primary goal is to win high-profile customers, earn their loyalty and advocacy so that they will allow you to display their logos on your homepage, and use those trust marks to continue to earn new customers. Repeat until the IPO.
Win customers, show their logos, repeat until IPO. This is a small sample of NS1’s customers.
It’s simple advice to give, but incredibly challenging to implement. In the early days, founders have to tap investors, friends, and former colleagues for intros. Beevers does offer one growth hack. “At the start of a process, ask for multiple introductions to a sales target,” he says. “It’s easy to ignore one intro, even a warm one, but if they hear about your from several people they’ll feel like you’re someone they have to know.”
Always Be Closing is BS
“Always Be Closing” is a great mantra for a salesperson with a quota, but not customer service agent tasked with managing a high-dollar value customer. Beevers advises startups to skip upsales on customer service calls, a surprisingly prevalent B2B tactic that leads to an uptick in short-term revenue while tending to turn off customers. Used car dealer’s pressure tactics are a bad match with technically-focused clients who expect a highly consultative sales process. Customer service teams should focus on customer satisfaction and advocacy. If the customer service team learns of a need that can be filled by their organization, they refer that to a sales team, but sales should remain responsible for the revenue relationship.
Nice praise to receive from a customer like Pinterest!
Beevers best sales tip is to listen—with a goal to understand the potential customer’s business environment and unique technical challenges. Often, the best long-term move is helping to solve the client’s problem, even if that means introducing them to a service provider in another product category. For instance, if improved DNS or traffic management solutions aren’t the client’s most urgent problem, Beevers is happy to make an introduction to another company that can solve the customer’s pressing needs. Acts like this generate no revenue in the short term but build the foundation of a long-term relationship.
How a $200 Conference Pass Led to Signing LinkedIn
Signing up customers is hard, yet sometimes you get lucky. According to Beevers, the highest ROI marketing spend in NS1 history was a $200 exhibit hall pass to an O’Reilly conference. While walking the thinly-carpeted floors of this tradeshow, Beevers met a decision maker at Linkedin and laid the groundwork for what would become a company defining sale.
NS1 didn’t have a team of sales reps working the floor, and there was no wining and dining of key accounts. However, Beevers was armed with a strong product and had perfected a pitch that was powerful enough to pique the interest of someone who was previously peeking at a competitor’s booth. The lesson: Kris was lucky to meet the right person at LinkedIn, like the saying goes, luck comes when opportunity meets preparation, so spare no expense when it comes to developing a compelling product and a narrative around it.
If you found these tips valuable, follow us on Twitter, clap(👏), and subscribe to our newsletter for more information. Need a DNS or traffic management solution? Check out NS1’s website and Twitter and this video explaining how Yelp benefits from superior DNS solutions. Seriously, if it’s good enough for Yelp, it’s probably good enough for you!