Building A Pipeline And Moving Through the Sales Funnel

As a former senior sales leader at Coinbase and now Portal, I’ve managed end-to-end business development with major financial institutions, enterprises, and decentralized applications, focusing on selling infrastructure (nodes, validators, onramps, and wallets.) Beyond my sales acumen, I’ve also invested in over 20 blockchain startups, advised innovative ventures, and successfully scaled tech startups to exit.

I recently shared my expertise and presented a workshop to startups in the Yardhub Accelerator on how to build a pipeline and move leads through the sales funnel. If you’re looking to scale in Web3, here are key takeaways that could refine your sales process as well as transform your perspective:

Test your ICP assumptions: Start broad, analyze responses, and refine your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on real traction, not guesswork.

Inbound vs. outbound strategy: Combine inbound leads from content and campaigns with targeted outreach via LinkedIn, Twitter, and industry events.

Make sales outreach personal: Avoid generic pitches—engage prospects casually, reference their work, and create meaningful connections before selling.

Time kills all deals: Keep momentum by setting the next meeting before ending a call and maintaining urgency in the sales process.

Build trust before the pitch: Sell based on client pain points, not features. Help them see the value before talking about pricing.

Use proof of value, not just proof of concept: A demo is good, but prospects need to understand how your product drives real business impact.

Leverage personal branding: People buy from people—founders should actively share their vision and insights to build credibility and trust.

Think enterprise-wide: Focus on entire client potential, not just immediate opportunities. Build solutions spanning multiple products/integrations. Create emotional connection to the bigger vision

Pipeline strategy: Operate on 90-day cycles with larger businesses. Quality over rushed decisions. Focus on client success stories, not feature lists

The key to a successful sales approach lies in prioritizing strategy over features, fostering multi-product agreements, leveraging co-marketing opportunities, and ultimately driving client transformation. By focusing on these core principles, businesses can create long-term value, build stronger partnerships, and achieve sustainable growth.