Software Engineering: It's Sales All the Way Down

UPDATED: JAN 30, 2024 | PUBLISHED: APR 25, 2022 | 158 words, 1 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

“Turtles all the way down”

As an engineer, I always thought sales was this distant land of people with slicked-back hair, and that I’d never have to concern myself with it - but I’ve misled myself. It’s sales all the way down.

Stack of turtles with sales written on them, with a confused developer turtle at the bottom wondering why they’re labeled “sales”

Engineering can’t be sales!! 🔗︎

  • Getting funding for a startup is selling your idea and yourself to VCs, or Kickstarters, or whoever will give you the money to work on it.
  • Hiring is selling the idea + the quality of your company to convince people to join.
  • Marketing is sales.
  • Engineering is just delayed sales, since everything you do should be driving business value - engineering creates the features which are the sales pitch.
  • Promotions within a company are selling yourself.
  • Getting people internally to work on your idea is, you guessed it, selling your idea.

Ok… now what? 🔗︎

Now lambaste me and tell me all the ways I’m wrong so I can sleep peacefully at night.


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