From Call to Close: Three Strategies to Uplevel Your Entire Sales Process

Editor's Notes

• #4: Speaker Note: What we’re talking about here isn’t limited to this COVID era, things have changed forever. New reality - not covid only
• #5: Data: Lengthening of Payment Terms MoM (pre- and during COVID) First meetings → Follow up conversion cliff (need to conduct specific disco early) Messaging: Question Posed: How to adapt to a new climate of uncertainty? Anecdote: Make rules where you don’t necessarily give terms, dependent upon segment [Ryan] Tactical Advice: Conduct Term Discovery: Asking the right questions Question from Scott : Can you clarify what does that mean, what is changing in deal structure / why?
• #6: DB data Meeting volume up 4% Less risk language on calls Gradual return to net-30 payment terms Team shave learned to be flexible with payment terms and it will continue
• #7: Question: Your prospects are more uncertain than ever now. There’s a higher risk in bringing on new products. How do you overcome that and address the uncertainty that they’re feeling? (Scott to ask question and queue Ryan) Ryan Notes: Impact Analysis -Flexibility: It’s not 1 size fits all. The best salespeople are the most adaptable. -Trials: I wouldn’t offer trials for the sake of offering trials. I’d offer trials if that is the next logical step to get closer to closed won. Before giving trials, I’d ask your prospect if the trial will actually help advance the deal. If so, why? How are they going to measure? What happens after the trial? -Transparent Pricing: Have an MVP mentality when it comes to pricing. The simpler, the better. In the past, confusion oftentimes led to bigger deals. Not it will lead to lost deals.
• #8: Dans Notes Ask uncomfortable questions - timing, budget freeze, competing priorities Get to No FAST so you can flush "imaginary" deals from your pipe and work deals we know we can win Deeply understand the NEW purchase process - from eval through signature to implementation planning Go deep to engage as many stakeholders (influencers) as possible so you're not single-threaded so you can deeply understand how decisions are now getting made and assume you will need to present business case to CFO/CRO RYAN NOTES: Salespeople have 2 jobs: 1. Helping people evaluate your product/service 2. Helping people buy your product/service. Right now, it’s critical that you define your job to the prospect and allow them to opt--in to the correct bucket. This will help you avoid offering discounts to non-buyers. Instead, you should customize your discount based on the specific need of the buyer, if and only if they’ve confirmed that they are in the buying bucket. Scott - what do you mean by conducting term discovery?
• #9: Leadership in Meetings Data: Buying-side Leadership Meeting Participation Selling-side Leadership Meeting Participation Messaging: Question Posed: How is COVID changing purchasing decisions? Anecdote: Champions changing: COOs Tactical Advice: Change your conversations: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Make essential Scott : to transition , multi threading in the new climate
• #10: Dan: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Make your solution essential and aligned with c-level problems you solve Deals are not getting approved without C-Level involvement (CFO, CRO, COO) - Get leadership involved and connected early and often
• #11: Dan: Change your conversations: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Make your solution essential and aligned with c-level problems you solve Deals are not getting approved without C-Level involvement (CFO, CRO, COO) - Get leadership involved and connected early and often Dan to ask Ryan : what are you seeing on the buyer side? Ryan Notes: Executives are involved with your deal whether they are on the call or not CFOs likely have a list of non-negotiables and it’s your job to find out what’s on that list and then decide if you’d like to comply or pass
• #12: RYAN NOTES: Salespeople need to get acquainted with the concept of “Going Concern”. Going concern is an accounting term for a company that has the resources needed to continue operating indefinitely until it provides evidence to the contrary. ... If a business is not a going concern, it means it's gone bankrupt and its assets were liquidated. It’s a fact that many companies will not make it through COVID and finance leaders want to have certainty that if they buy your product, you’ll be around in a year. If not, they’ll be left holding the bag. Advice: Talk to your finance team about cash liquidity Offer up your finance team to talk to high value prospects Bring up these concepts proactively
• #13: Dan: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Go high and attach yourself to the biggest business problems your solution can solve to unlock "dry-powder funds" Dry powder is committed, but unallocated capital i.e. unspent cash that is waiting to be spent i.e. safety net in tough times It’s a commonly used term in the VC and startup world. This is because all VC’s and Leadership at companies want/need adequate cash on hand to quickly invest in a new opportunity or provide additional funding to fuel growth initiatives. Proactively prepare and show 5-10x ROI. Leave nothing to chance in terms of the value and ROI that you will deliver to the organization bringing on your new product/service RYAN NOTES: ROI Noise. Yes, selling with a tangible ROI is more important than ever. But, it has created a lot of noise. Now, everyone is claiming that they save money or generate a positive ROI. What does this mean? Finance teams will prioritize the projects with the best return. 1-3x ROI is likely not going to warrant an investment, now. Most CFOs are looking for a guarantee of 5x with the hopes of accomplishing 10x. Above 10x? You’re likely underpriced.
• #14: Sales Team Productivity - yes world changed. Changed position don’t change behavior Data Cold Call Dials → Connect Rates First Meeting → Follow Up Meeting Cliff AEs → CS Data about market likely to come back Messaging: Question Posed: People are still buying. Why is that? How does that change how you approach them? New use cases, new situations, new markets Tactical Advice: Prospecting with Confidence: Outbound team must believe that people should buy software rn OB down, but why Prioritize Resources: Activate entire sales motion: Turn closers into hunters Time and energy on the companies that are more likely. Reallocating to new biz vs acct mgmt) Anecdote: Vendr pull data re: how many deals they’re closing for people
• #15: Dan - Chorus stats Ryan - to talk about Vendr Stats (faster decisions / why / world has paused, but we are seeing 75% of activity back) Faster decisions: right now, sales is binary. They are going to buy or not. People are still buying
• #16: Why is that? How does that change the way you approach them? Dan T: We need to be relevant, personalized, and demonstrate the contrast between status quo and a world with your solution in place i.e. no delta, no deal Share insights - Tell me something I didn't know about my business or market Tighten your messaging to align your story to mission-critical, business priorities by persona(s) you sell to Scott to queue this up - People are still buying, how has it changed from buying / selling side to adjust that approach
• #17: Dan: Prospecting with Confidence: Outbound team must truly believe that people can’t wait to see how things shake out and need to communicate with confidence why waiting will negatively impact the business Dan T: Do the research to be relevant and leverage connections - So much information out there and it blows me away how infrequently people take advantage of this, especially if selling into the enterprise (10Q/10K, LI, Crunchbase, etc.) Be credible and know their priorities and align your solution, specifically, to how you force-multiply their active initiatives. If your solution doesn’t align with those priorities, put them back in nurture and don’t waste your time/resources Ryan: The importance of Belief. As a salesperson, do you actually believe that your prospect should buy? If so, it’s your job to convey that story with authenticity.