An article by yours truly, on the OnStartups blog, outlining three lessons from sales and dealmaking in startups:
One of the hardest things for me to get used to, as a geek/artist/writer in business, is the constant disappointment of sales. The harsh reality, however, is that many leads will not turn into clients, no matter how exciting they might seem at first. And yet each lead must be given attention, enthusiasm, dedication, and so on, if it is to have any chance at all of turning into a sale.
Some of these will be obvious to experienced entrepreneurs, but it's amazing how many new (and not so new) founders think "it doesn't apply to me, my startup is different."