Partners in Excellence

MARCH 30, 2022

They seem to be challenged by learning and figuring out what it takes to be a top performer. It’s not just the money, it’s the professional challenge. In the first place they are too casual about hiring, believing if the person doesn’t work out, they can always hire a replacement.

Up-sell 105

Up-sell Sell Follow-up Growth 105

SaaStr

JANUARY 5, 2024

In the latest episode of CRO Confidential, host Sam Blond, partner at Founders Fund and former CRO at Brex, sits down with Ashley Kelly, VP of Global Sales Development at Rippling. For context – Ashley had previously helped Sam scale Brex’s outbound sales from $2M to over $300M in ARR as Senior Director of SDR.

Quota 99

Quota Commission Networking Drivers/motivators 99

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

And “We don’t know what we don’t know about sales” is a true statement in most companies. As a result, they can’t anticipate when in a sales cycle or sales process they will be impacted, and don’t have the awareness to take steps to work around it and improve.

Legal 85

Legal Sales Contract Outside Sales 85

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about how to hire a Great VP of Sales. And we’ll keep talking about it — so long as 70% of first-time VPs of Sales don’t make it 1 year. I’ve seen so many fail, and almost always, for avoidable reasons. Not hiring people better than you. Do not do this.

Quota 138

Quota Sales Drivers/motivators Up-sell 138

STAR Results

JUNE 20, 2019

Second line sales managers (SLM) don’t coach their FLMs on their coaching. The role of the frontline manager (FLM) is to recruit, develop, and retain top sales performers. By doing these basics well you will consistently crush your sales objectives. By doing these basics well you will consistently crush your sales objectives.

Appointment 248

Appointment Follow-up Meeting Conversion 248

Partners in Excellence

JUNE 26, 2023

A sales person is struggling–we can replace that person with another. We need to scale our 15% win rate–so we hire more sales people, teaching them how to achieve 15% win rates. We struggle to close deals–discounts/concessions are the answer. We don’t take the time to understand the root causes.

Hospitality 83

Hospitality Pipeline Quota Up-sell 83

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

“I don’t know about you, but I fail a lot,” Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight, says as his opener at SaaStr Annual 2023. This is a common mistake founders make — getting a new Head of X when you get to a certain point in business, missing a sales number, the product isn’t what you want, there’s too much churn, etc. This list goes on.

X-functional 94

X-functional Contract Growth Quota 94

Partners in Excellence

MARCH 10, 2023

” These executives struggled to hire and onboard quickly enough to address the opportunity. “Is there a more cost effective way to reach customers than through a direct sales organization?” ” “How do we more quickly expand into new markets, where our sales people have no experience?”

Manufacturing 62

Manufacturing Retail Growth Sell 62

Anthony Cole Training

JANUARY 13, 2015

The Free Dictionary: fail. (f?l) failed , fail·ing , fails v.intr. To prove deficient or lacking; perform ineffectively or inadequately: failed to fulfill their promises; failed in their attempt to reach the summit. Did the new hire accept the expectations? Those that know how to sell.

Sell 193

Sell Sales Up-sell Meeting 193

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

There’s a slide I see again and again from start-ups: 2 of the early sales reps are at 100% of quota, sometimes 150%-200%. So why so often, do only 2 of the first 8-10 sales reps perform? The first 2 scaled reps you hire that hit plan (some may churn before then) get special training. And they fail. And 8 others?

Quota 135

Quota Contract Prospecting Pipeline 135

SaaStr

JULY 27, 2021

Q: What are the most common challenges of a VP of marketing transitioning into a Chief Revenue officer CRO role? But here’s what happens: They don’t know how to recruit an A+ sales team. But here’s what happens: They don’t know how to recruit an A+ sales team. That alone should discourage any CEO from hiring a VPM as CRO.

Closing 121

Closing Growth Promote Service 121

Salesforce

MARCH 28, 2023

The backstory you might need Enterprise AI use has already doubled since 2017, but few companies are seeing significant return on their upfront costs , and a majority have failed to scale AI beyond the pilot stage. Each business function “spoke” (marketing, sales, service, etc.) For many business leaders, it’s still a challenge.

Electricity 96

Electricity Objectives and Key Results Appointment Technology 96

Partners in Excellence

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

This data originally appeared in much of the research around Challenger, led by Brent Adamson, Matt Dixon, and Nick Toman. We shouldn’t be surprised, research by Morten Hansen and others show high failure rates of internal projects, so it shouldn’t be surprising that so many buying efforts fail, ending in no decision made.

Growth 77

Growth Represent Gaming Customers 77

Veloxy

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

While it checks a lot of boxes for Sales Managers, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done to unlock Salesforce’s potential to accelerate sales at your company. Start here: Speed up your selling activities in a few clicks If you’re using another sales acceleration software, most of the principles will still apply.

Sales 290

Sales Quota Up-sell B2B 290

Anthony Cole Training

MARCH 28, 2012

Surprisingly, one of the reasons that Dowling cites for NS-LIJ’s success is the fact that traditional “experience” is not a pre-condition for hiring new managers. They don’t challenge everything and ask tough questions. They don’t challenge everything and ask tough questions. ’” Wow!

Hospitality 195

Hospitality Sales Consult Sell 195

SaaStr

APRIL 20, 2022

This famous quote from self-help author Robert Collier applies to every sales organization because excellent results come through repeatable activities, not one-off wins. Repetition and consistency in the small wins, however, are not possible when organizations fail to retain their talent. Implement systems to attract great talent.

Cross-sell 84

Cross-sell Networking Sales Drivers/motivators 84

Partners in Excellence

AUGUST 15, 2022

A reader wrote me, “Dave do you think sales enablement professionals need selling experience?” ” It’s a follow on to many of the discussions about “Do sales managers need sales experience?” Or if our customers were manufacturers, I tried to hire and train manufacturing managers.

Sell 100

Sell Manufacturing Finance Trust 100

Anthony Cole Training

MARCH 31, 2014

I started this series - 5 Keys To Building Successful Sales Teams with this post: 5 Keys to Building a Successful Sales Team/Career. How about hiring? How do you go about hiring people that are already motivated, who already have a burning desire to succeed IN SELLING? When you fail to achieve a goal, how do you feel?

Drivers/motivators 200

Drivers/motivators Sales Meeting Sell 200

Heinz Marketing

MAY 26, 2022

At work, we are hired to do what we do best and oftentimes will continue to only operate in ways that have proven to lead to success. . This is only one of many examples of brands that challenged what was likely the status quo and leaned into creativity. . Here are a few ideas from this course that stuck with me most. .

Gaming 114

Gaming Consult Product Service 114

SaaStr

AUGUST 11, 2021

A ways back at SaaStr, we did a post “If Your VP Sales Isn’t Going to Work Out — You’ll Know in 30 Days” At first, so many VPs of Sales I know hated the post. But I challenged them to re-read the post, and think about it. A great VP can’t always double sales in a month or two. They can’t hire.

Meeting 110

Meeting Presentation Promote Trust 110

Anthony Cole Training

OCTOBER 31, 2013

How do you go about finding sales talent? What challenges have you had trying to hire better sales people? At Anthony Cole Training Group, we spend a lot of time helping presidents of organizations answer the burning platform question: How do I drive consistent sales growth?

Sales 193

Sales Growth Process Closing 193

Anthony Cole Training

JANUARY 12, 2015

Some of your sales people are selling as expected… and some of them are not. Occasionally, someone (me) writes about this principal as it applies to selling and sales teams. My purpose over the next several blog posts will be to answer the question: Why Are Your Sales People Not Selling As Expected. Can be a top producer.

Sell 189

Sell Territory Sales Up-sell 189

Partners in Excellence

MAY 19, 2023

CROs must start charging their Sales Enablement organizations with Foreign Language Training for all sellers. They understand the business challenges and issues the customer faces. We make it their responsibility to hire a translator, or we struggle to connect. It takes a lot more time, and too often we fail.

Trust 76

Trust Conversion Customers Product 76

SaaStr

DECEMBER 16, 2020

We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about how to make that critical hire: the VP Sales. But when you make a mis-hire, it’s about the worst mis-hire you can make. You’ll end up with a crummy sales team under a mis-hire. We’ve posted a script to use when interviewing a VP Sales.

Pipeline 118

Pipeline Sales Contract Engineering 118

SaaStr

MARCH 29, 2023

The challenges businesses face at each growth stage, from a $1M company through $100M and beyond, are quite different. Obsess how you bring on talent Hiring processes are loose and inconsistent in even the biggest businesses. Get conscious about who you are trying to hire and the process you want to take them through.

Pipeline 69

Pipeline Pitch Start-ups Networking 69

Sales Hacker

MARCH 19, 2021

For every dozen sales professionals, there are only one or two who advance their career to the next level, growing into a sales leader. So what is the trend among the few who grow their careers from individual sales contributor to leader ? Traits of a successful sales leader. Work ethic. Consistency.

Drivers/motivators 130

Drivers/motivators Sales Promote Growth 130

Salesforce

JANUARY 3, 2024

According to the State of Sales report, cross-functional alignment is sales leaders’ #1 tactic for driving growth. With sales budgets expected to increase , sales teams have an exciting opportunity to work together to try new things and drive revenue for their companies, but this requires a strategic mindset.

Retail 64

Retail Objection handling Sales Cross-sell 64

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about the challenges in getting from nothing to that first $1m-$1.5m And a couple of sales folks, running in part, on commission. Every hire is just too expensive. But this thing you brought into the world, this start-up, it won’t fail if you don’t quit. One great sales rep.

Commission 122

Commission Engineering Start-ups Follow-up 122

ClickFunnels

AUGUST 2, 2021

Want Russell To Teach You How To Build Your First Sales Funnel? #1 Their reasoning goes like this: “More potential customers means more sales, right?”. This might sound counterintuitive, but the smaller your target audience is, the easier it will be for you to make sales. Marketing Sales. Show up there yourself.

Niche 290

Niche Follow-up Up-sell Start-ups 290

Search Engine Land

JULY 26, 2023

For example, your price point, landing pages and sales process. Your actions The “SEO results” clock starts ticking once you implement the program, not when you hire someone, and not during the time that strategies are being formulated. That is why I believe traffic is the best indicator that your SEO program is working.

User Experience 98

User Experience B2C Drivers/motivators Clients 98

Anthony Cole Training

JANUARY 13, 2015

Freedictionary.com: fail (f?l) failed , fail·ing , fails v.intr. To prove deficient or lacking; perform ineffectively or inadequately: failed to fulfill their promises; failed in their attempt to reach the summit. Did the new hire accept the expectations? can execute effectively.

Sell 120

Sell Up-sell Meeting Process 120

Anthony Cole Training

JULY 18, 2013

Regardless of where your sales people are on the bell curve, they can get better. Over the last 20 years at Anthony Cole Training Group, I''ve been privileged to work with thousands of sales people. Over the last 20 years at Anthony Cole Training Group, I''ve been privileged to work with thousands of sales people. Hire better.

Drivers/motivators 193

Drivers/motivators Quota Sales Closing 193

Martech

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

In any case, I think you’ll agree that in nearly every instance, the main reasons for any of those ventures failing were: No capital. And, of course, that’s part of the challenge — there’s way too much choice out there. Terrible execution. These mistakes also apply to my forays into entrepreneurship. dollars in 2021.

Technology 105

Technology Technology Appointment Launch 105

Sales Hacker

DECEMBER 19, 2022

As the president of Sales Xceleration, a firm specializing in assessing and implementing sales strategy , sales processes, and sales execution to drive growth, I’ve seen how job hopping can affect otherwise stable sales teams. Sales organizations experienced 58% higher voluntary turnover in 2021 than in 2020.

Represent 80

Represent Sales Consult Growth 80

Partners in Excellence

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Overlay on this, the fact that customers are averse to dealing with sales people. Not doing our research to make sure we understand as much as possible about the challenges the organization faces, or what the individual we are contacting cares about. But they get lost and fail—as do we. Today, it’s 72%.

Up-sell 68

Up-sell Prospecting Pitch Technique 68

SaaStr

AUGUST 29, 2022

10 Lessons Learned Scaling to $1B Valuation with Drift’s Co-founders : Reaching unicorn status is nice validation, but the luster fades when founders can’t navigate the hidden challenges that come with uncharted territory. How should marketing, sales, and product all work together? What is the role of a growth team?

GTM 97

GTM Growth B2B Territory 97

SaaStr

JULY 31, 2021

I haven’t failed yet, but boy every time, I’ve come close. Communicating with challenging teammates a little too little. Not hiring a head of partnerships / biz dev early enough. The real use case was sales. The debt consolidators bought us for their sales team because we were fast. We ended up at $200k in ARR.

Launch 119

Launch Niche Start-ups Strategize 119