The Problem with Safety Nets I was watching David Rubenstein interview Noubar Afeyan, the co-founder of Moderna, when David asked Noubar why so many start-ups were founded by immigrants. Noubar replied that if you were uprooted from your home, especially forcibly as he was from his native Lebanon, you have no sense of entitlement. He said that a sense of entitlement is only possible if … Read more
The Problem of Pressure Software sales can be described as a pressure cooker. Wall Street and private equity firms put pressure on the company CEO, who in turn puts pressure on the CRO. The CRO then pressures the sales team, which forces them to pressure customers. Pressure is often applied in order to accelerate revenue, but this approach can lead to dysfunction. Ultimately, pressure will … Read more
The Role of Email in Sales Prospecting We call it cold calling for a reason, as salespeople understand the importance of a live conversation. However, email does play a role in sales prospecting and can support your efforts to have a prospect engaged in a sales conversation. Here is an example of a good use of email in prospecting. Email #1 – follow up to … Read more
A Proactive Sales Leader Knows How to Increase Sales This tip provides a series of sales leadership activities, recommended by sales leaders who know how to increase sales. The sequence starts with suggested actions when you first take over a new sales team. Following these initial actions is a cadence of annual, quarterly, monthly and weekly activities to drive a high level of sales performance. … Read more
Zombie Sales Deals: Dead & Still on Your Forecast Zombies are terrifying because they can’t die, they don’t know they’re a problem, and they can take you down with them. A zombie sales deal might not be quite as scary, but having too many of them on your forecast and on your mind can hurt both you and your company. What do I mean by a … Read more
Activity: A Recipe for Success Activity Matters Activity is really just about how a person spends time. A recipe for optimizing sales activity is: Set a clear goal – For example $1M in revenue in the next 90 days. Identify the four top high payoff activities required to achieve the goal. Examples include, prospecting calls that lead to discovery meetings that lead to Mutual Action … Read more
Motivation for Sales Prospecting Sales prospecting, the way most salespeople do it, damages their self-esteem. The psychological cost is clear, immediate and certain. The pain outweighs the potential, uncertain, long-term benefit of this dial. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs The best explanation of human motivation is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow said humans need certain things – food, security, shelter, social interaction, self-esteem. Motivation comes from … Read more
Sales Motivation: Quantity vs. Quality For many software and SaaS sales teams, increasing sales means increasing demand generation. So, we try to motivate salespeople to prospect to fill the front end of the sales funnel. Quality vs. Quantity Organizations try to motivate salespeople by “holding them accountable.” Sales Managers push for MORE: more contact time, more outbound calls, more quotes, more demos, and more proposals. … Read more