Notes - Founding Sales

September 19, 2024

Chapter 1: Mindset Changes in First-time Sales Professionals

This chapter addresses the counterintuitive shifts in mindset that founders and others new to sales must embrace to succeed, especially those coming from backgrounds like engineering, product management, or finance.

Embrace Plenty, Not Scarcity

• Explanation: Typically, people are taught to conserve resources and avoid waste. However, in sales, a scarcity mindset (hoarding opportunities, clinging to stalled deals) is detrimental.
• Insight: The most valuable resource in sales is time. Spending time on marginal opportunities clutters the pipeline and hides golden opportunities.
• Action: Ruthlessly truncate unproductive conversations with marginal prospects. Believe that even if one deal doesn't work out, there are thousands of others.
• Example: A founder spends weeks trying to close a small deal with a difficult customer who constantly demands discounts and special treatment. Meanwhile, several promising leads go cold because the founder is too focused on the low-value opportunity. A "plenty" mindset would involve qualifying the difficult customer out quickly and focusing on the more promising leads.
• Key takeaway: A scarcity mindset breeds inefficiency and prevents salespeople from focusing on high-potential deals.

Put Activity Above All Else

• Explanation: In the knowledge-worker economy, there's an emphasis on working "smarter, not harder." However, sales, like recruiting, is about activity and leverage.
• Insight: Activity in = value out. More phone calls, more demos, more proposals sent, more emails – all drive progress. Focus on productivity over perfection.
• Action: Don't overthink every interaction or communication. Jump first, prepare mid-air. Template communications to drive activity. If you aren't actively calling or emailing, ask yourself why not.
• Example: A founder spends hours crafting the perfect email to a single prospect, rereading it multiple times. Meanwhile, they could have sent out dozens of less-polished emails and generated several new leads.
• Key takeaway: Prioritize action and output. Focus on the volume of your sales-related activities, as this will lead to more opportunities and closed deals.

Be Direct and Get Down to Business

• Explanation: Polite obfuscation and indirection are common in everyday social interactions. However, sales require directness.
• Insight: Efficiently attack the account by asking direct questions: Does the prospect have the problem you're solving? Are they prepared to spend money to solve it?
• Action: Be direct in asking questions and stating that your solution and their problem are an excellent fit. Asking for the sale is not optional.
• Example: Instead of beating around the bush, ask a prospect directly: "Based on what we've discussed, it seems like our solution could significantly improve your team's efficiency. Are you open to discussing pricing and implementation?"
• Key takeaway: Respect your prospect’s time (and your own) by being direct and getting to the core of the matter quickly.

Build Many Shallow Relationships

• Explanation: For first-time sales professionals, the sheer scale of person-to-person interaction can be a massive adjustment.
• Insight: Sales involve dozens of new interactions per week. Salespeople must quickly build and maintain rapport while juggling key deal information.
• Action: Quickly establish rapport and maintain readily accessible details about individuals, their organizations, and their pain points. CRM excellence is paramount.
• Example: A salesperson needs to remember details about dozens of prospects: their company size, industry, specific pain points, and personal interests. This requires a structured approach to note-taking and CRM management.
• Key takeaway: Quickly build rapport with new contacts while maintaining a pipeline of numerous concurrent conversations. This requires a different way of interacting with professionals than you're likely used to.

Assume the Sale is Inevitable, and It Just Might Be

• Explanation: Approach sales conversations with the assumption that the prospect will inevitably become a customer.
• Insight: When you've qualified an account as a good fit, the mindset should be: "This is going to happen."
• Action: Frame the conversation as "when" instead of "if." Focus on business needs and how the solution will be implemented. This boosts confidence and sets the groundwork for an ongoing relationship.
• Example: Instead of thinking, "I hope they buy," think, "This solution makes sense for their business. It's just a matter of figuring out the best way to implement it."
• Key takeaway: Certainty and inevitability in your approach will drive success in your conversations.

Expect to Win, but Be Unfazed by Rejection

• Explanation: You'll get shot down most of the time.
• Insight: Hold two seemingly opposed ideas: Have full confidence that you're going to win the deal while also being unfazed when you don't.
• Action: Record the reason for the loss, share it with others, put it aside, and move on. Expect to win the next one.
• Example: A salesperson loses a deal due to a competitor offering a lower price. After analyzing the loss, they identify areas where they could have better emphasized the unique value of their product. They use this knowledge to improve their pitch for future prospects.
• Key takeaway: Being able to maintain composure and confidence even after rejection helps to maintain momentum and prevent discouragement.

Record Everything—But Efficiently

• Explanation: You're going to "close lost" most of your opportunities.
• Insight: A mindset of constant record-keeping is paramount for success. "Set 'future you' up for success" by capturing key information while it's available.
• Action: Admit that you can't retain everything and need to record key pieces of information. Use a CRM as the primary repository and consider a lab notebook for initial note-taking.
• Example: A salesperson meticulously records the reasons why a deal was lost, including the prospect's budget constraints, specific concerns about the product, and the competitor they ultimately chose. This information will be valuable when revisiting the account in the future.
• Key takeaway: Detailed record-keeping is crucial for learning from past experiences and improving future sales efforts.

Be Expert & Authoritative. It Begets Fearlessness.

• Explanation: Modern sales is not about selling snake oil.
• Insight: Sales professionals are the "grease of the market." They seek out inefficiencies and propose solutions to fix them.
• Action: Become an expert in the vertical in which you are selling. Absorb information about the field, business processes, organizational players, and other solutions.
• Example: A salesperson selling marketing automation software is deeply knowledgeable about the challenges faced by marketing teams, the latest trends in digital marketing, and the competitive landscape of marketing automation platforms.
• Key takeaway: Expertise makes you fearless in your interactions, helps you to act quickly, and enables you to be direct and build rapport.

Make Yourself at Home in a Glass House

• Explanation: The level of transparency in a well-instrumented sales organization is a massive change for most people.
• Insight: From win/loss notes to closing ratios, everything is available for everyone to see.
• Action: Get comfortable with teammates jumping into your records and asking questions. Instrument and record all customer-facing interactions.
• Example: A salesperson shares their call recordings with their team for feedback and openly discusses their sales strategies and challenges.
• Key takeaway: Transparency creates accountability and a shared learning environment.

Remember, Sales IS about Math

• Explanation: People jump to "right brain" activities for sales success (storytelling, persuasion).
• Insight: Sales involves lots of metrics, math, and reporting. You can't escape it, especially at scale.
• Action: All the instrumentation and recording needs monitoring and analysis.
• Example: A sales manager uses data to identify trends, understand conversion rates, and optimize the sales process.
• Key takeaway: Sales is underpinned by a healthy helping of metrical excellence.

Mindsets that Build on Each Other

• Insight: The mindset shifts have a complementary, multiplicative impact on each other. Success begets success.
• Example: If you record everything, you can be direct and “non-scarcity-minded,” quickly identifying opportunities to spend your time on now.
• Key takeaway: The universe of enterprise sales has its own "physics"—and you’re subject to those rules now.

Chapter 2: Baking Your Narrative & Product Marketing Basics

This chapter focuses on the crucial process of crafting your sales narrative, which is essentially the story you'll tell prospective customers. It provides a framework and guidelines for creating a persuasive and compelling narrative that resonates with your target audience.

What is the Right Formation?

• Explanation: The most effective way to structure your customer-facing narrative for early-stage, new-technology sales organizations is the "problem-solution-specifics" framework.
• Insight: This approach involves identifying the problem, who has it, how it's currently solved (or not), and why that's unsatisfactory. Then, you explain what has changed to make the problem newly solvable, how your solution works, and provide qualitative and quantitative proof points.
• Why it Works: This framework allows for a clear and logical flow of information, building a compelling case for your solution.
• Example: A company selling a new cybersecurity solution might start by explaining the growing threat of ransomware attacks, the challenges businesses face in protecting themselves, and the limitations of traditional security software.
• Relationship to Fundraising Pitch: A sales narrative shares similarities with a fundraising pitch, covering similar ground but with different objectives. A fundraising pitch includes a market-sizing exercise ("How many people have the proposed problem and what are they willing to pay to solve it"), which isn't relevant to a customer-facing sales pitch.
• Benefit of Narrative Structure: Each part builds on the part before. This way, if the person you’re talking to disagrees with your framing of the problem, great, it’s the first thing you’ve discussed; you can focus on that (or end the interaction), rather than rehearsing other parts of your pitch that are not relevant.
• Key takeaway: A well-structured narrative allows for efficient communication, focusing on the most relevant information for each prospect.

Building a Cohesive Narrative

This section details the key components of your sales narrative, providing guidance on how to craft each element effectively.

• What is the Problem?
  • Explanation: Identify the business pain you're seeking to solve as clearly and concisely as possible.
  • Insight: This allows your audience to quickly determine if your solution is relevant to them.
  • Examples:
    • TalentBin: "Technical recruiting is hard. It's hard to find software engineering talent with the relevant skills, and getting in contact with them is tough."
    • Groupon: "Finding new customers for your local business is hard. Who has time to figure out how to drive new business through the door?"
    • Salesforce: "B2B sales is hard. It's easy to lose track of deals and let things fall through the cracks, hurting your ability to reach your quota."
  • Test: Pose the problem statement to someone in the industry and see if they resonate with it.
• Who Has the Problem?
  • Explanation: Identify the specific person or group of people whose job it is to solve the problem you're addressing.
  • Insight: This ensures you're targeting the right stakeholders with your message.
  • Examples:
    • TalentBin: Recruiters responsible for filling technical requisitions and recruiting managers.
    • Zendesk: Head of Support or Customer Success and individual customer service people.
    • CRM Solution: Manager, Director, or VP of Sales Operations, or the sales leader concerned about sales efficiency.
  • Rule of Thumb: Target the person who controls the budgetary resources or spends significant time resolving the pain point.
• What are the Costs Associated with this Problem?
  • Explanation: Understand the costs associated with the problem to justify the investment in your solution.
  • Types of Costs:
    • Hard ROI: Direct costs that can be easily quantified (e.g., reduced storage costs).
    • Soft ROI: Opportunity costs or indirect benefits that are more difficult to quantify (e.g., increased sales efficiency).
  • Action: Understand unit costs and scale them up or down based on the size of potential customers.
• How Do People Currently Solve This Problem? Why Do Current Solutions Fail?
  • Explanation: Know the current solution paths and their shortcomings to persuade customers that your solution is superior.
  • Common Solution Paths:
    • No Solution: Customers don't actively address the problem.
    • Solution via Process: Customers use manual processes to solve the problem.
    • Solution via Service Providers: Customers outsource the problem to service providers.
    • Solution via Product: Customers use existing products to solve the problem.
  • Action: Understand the limitations of each approach and how your solution addresses them.
• What Has Changed that Enables a New Solution?
  • Explanation: Identify the underlying change that makes your new solution possible.
  • Insight: This provides a credible narrative and points to future market trends.
  • Examples:
    • Salesforce: Ubiquitous web access and browser technology.
    • TalentBin: Rise of "implicit professional activity" online.
  • Action: Pay attention to trends and how they impact your sales narrative.
• How Does the New Solution Work?
  • Explanation: Explain how your solution addresses the change and solves the problem.
  • Action: Compare your product to existing solutions that prospects understand.
  • Example: "It's like your traditional CRMs, but it takes advantage of the browser and the web to let you access your CRM whenever you want."

Qualitative/Quantitative Proof of a Better Solution

• Explanation: Demonstrate why your solution is better than existing solutions using both qualitative and quantitative evidence.
• Action:
  • Use the same metrics as existing solutions to compare performance.
  • Provide qualitative differences supported by metrical backing.
  • Leverage third-party validation (customer counts, testimonials, case studies, press coverage).
• Example: A sales automation tool might highlight a 30% increase in lead conversion rates compared to traditional methods.

Pricing

• Explanation: Determine a pricing strategy that aligns with the value you provide and the market's expectations.
• Key Considerations:
  • Always Charge: Even at the outset, charging demonstrates value and encourages engagement.
  • Iterative Approach: Adjust pricing over time based on market feedback.
  • Value-Based Pricing: Align pricing with the value provided to the customer.
• Pricing Approaches:
  • Existing Solutions Comparison: Price your solution relative to existing products in the market.
  • ROI & Value Pricing: Determine the value you provide and set your price to capture some of that value.
  • Value Alignment and Thresholding: Align pricing with the value provided and set thresholds to ease entry into accounts.
• Pitfalls to Avoid:
  • Pricing to Perfection: Avoid setting a price so high that it's difficult for customers to realize the value.
  • Over-Segmentation: Focus on your ideal customer profile and avoid complex pricing tiers early on.

Putting it all Together

• Explanation: Integrate all the narrative components into a cohesive story.
• Action:
  • Develop an elevator pitch to explain your solution concisely.
  • Write down the narrative to ensure all pieces are incorporated.
• Examples:
  • TalentBin Narrative: Highlights the difficulty of technical recruiting, the limitations of existing solutions, the rise of online professional activity, and how TalentBin leverages this to provide better search results and contact information.
  • Salesforce Narrative: Focuses on the challenges of B2B sales, the inefficiencies of traditional CRM systems, the benefits of web-based access, and the resulting improvements in rep productivity and forecast accuracy.

Bake That Narrative, and then Get Ready to Make Some Collateral

• Explanation: Once your narrative is solid, you can create marketing collateral to communicate your message effectively.
• Key takeaway: The narrative is the foundation for all your marketing efforts, guiding the creation of slides, videos, and other materials.

Chapter 3: Sales Materials Basics—What You Need to Sell & How to Build It

This chapter focuses on the essential sales materials that are crucial for effectively communicating your value proposition and closing deals. It outlines what you need to sell and how to build it.

A Note on Production Value and Speed

• Importance of Speed: For an early-stage sales organization, speed in creating and iterating on sales materials is paramount. The shorter the feedback loop between customer objections and new materials, the better.
• Good Enough vs. Perfect: When there's a trade-off between "perfect" and "good enough to persuade the customer," opt for speed.
• Examples:
  • Having 10 five-minute screencasts explaining major features is more impactful than one pristine explainer video.
  • Quickly updating a slide to document a new feature or mention in a prestigious publication maximizes its impact.
• Key Takeaway: Don't let the pursuit of perfection block your ability to create content. Focus on communication of business meaning, which can be achieved with minimal flash. Flash without a valid narrative is worse than nothing.

Sales Presentations

• Slides are Key: Slides are visual, allow mixing in images and charts, and can be spoken over, sent to those who missed the presentation, used in prospecting, and recorded.
• Customer Expectation: Slides are the expected means of consuming commercially oriented product information.
• Technical Founders & Demos: While demos are important, they are a sub-chapter. A good presentation sets up a great demo.
• Structuring Your Deck for Extensibility:
  • Structure the deck to correspond to the steps in your sales narrative: problem, who has it, costs, existing solutions and shortfalls, change enabling a new solution, how it works, proof, and pricing.
  • Start with a minimal viable product: one slide per step with bullet points.
  • As the deck evolves, break sections into "sub-chapters" by adding individual slides on each value proposition.
• Example: A SaaS company selling a CRM solution might have a series of slides:
  1. Problem: "Sales teams are struggling to manage leads and track deals."
  2. Who Has It: "Sales managers and reps are losing deals due to disorganization."
  3. Solution: "Our CRM provides a centralized platform for managing leads and tracking deals."
  4. Value Proposition 1: Lead Management: "Capture and qualify leads efficiently with our automated system."
  5. Value Proposition 2: Deal Tracking: "Track progress of deals in real time and identify potential roadblocks."
• Key Takeaway: The "minimum viable product" is a slide on each narrative step. Think about your deck and materials in an extensible fashion. As you build now, think about how you will build on top of this later.
• Production Value of Your Slides:
  • The most important thing is to never let some notion of "but it's not flashy enough" block your ability to create content. The goal is communication of business meaning, and that can be done with a minimal amount of flash.
  • However, some basics can help boost production value: slide templates with background coloring, font themes, and logo.
  • Create title slides to define sections of the presentation.
  • As you progress, have a "templating" mindset. Clone new types of slides as you make new versions for other value props.
  • Use a designer from Upwork to polish your slides and templates.
• Example: A slide template includes a headline, sub-headline, screenshots, subtitles, and value prop callouts.
• Key Takeaway: Aim for good enough to persuade the customer. Nail the sales story first.

Content Management and Deployment

• Bootstrap Content Management: Use a single large slide deck on the creator's computer (or in a shared folder) to manage content.
• Versioning: Every time you make edits, fork off a copy and save it to a content-sharing mechanism.
• Separation of Master & Production: Separate the master deck from versions pushed out to the sales team to prevent accidental changes.

Customization Mindset

• Customization: A sales presentation is focused on identifying customer pain points (via discovery questions and pre-call planning) and presenting your offering as the solution.
• Customer-Specific Information: Use specific customer information to show the prospect what your solution can do for them.
• Example: A company can create a customized sales presentation. The sales material includes the prospect's website or third-party data.
• Key Takeaway: Template and use screenshots to communicate value clearly to a prospect.

Section-Specific Slide Deck Notes

• The Problem & Who Has It:
  • Use this section to document not just the problem, but also validators of the problem and its importance (industry stats, press clippings).
• The Cost of the Problem:
  • Use this section to highlight validated metrics from studies, analysts, and the press.
  • Document those soft cost like an example of the problem case that e-commerce providers face in the poor conversion rates of mobile shopping
• Existing Solutions & Their Shortfalls:
  • Clearly outline the limitations of current solutions and how your solution overcomes them.
  • An an example for a product to get rid of time tracking sheet, time theft, low morale, noncompliance
• What Has Changed?
  • This narrative is all about change: this one needs to have an emphasis on now. Talk to how things will be in the feature that they never imagined.
  • Use an exmaple that talk about how an AI-Powered marketing has changed the game for them: Precision Targeting, Personalized Customer Journey and Real-Time Otimization
• How It Works:
  • Go granular and visual so they will not only look, but want to hear. In one slide you can cover how different aspects of the product make different.

Outreach Materials

• Explanation: Outreach materials are used to "fill the top of the funnel" via prospecting, appointment setting, lead follow-up, and general marketing.
• Types of Outreach Materials:
  1. Snippets: Short text blocks used for emails, InMails, and even live sales conversations.
  2. Email Templates: Pre-written email messages used for various outreach scenarios.
  3. Calling Scripts: Scripts that are used to set an agenda for the sales team.
  4. Example: A company can write a clear and concise, 3-5 point agenda
• Underlying Goal: Sales!: Remember that the goal of all outreach materials is sales. Stay customer oriented.

Snippets

• Definition: Snippets are short blocks of pre-written text (3-5 sentences) for various messaging purposes.
• Benefits: Improve messaging cohesion, speed communication, and allow for easy A/B testing.
• Creating Good Snippets:
  • Document all of your frequently-used lines, whether from a product marketer, or a sale rep.
  • Include the following, problem statement, quick value prop, quick call-to-action.
  • Key take away is just say what you mean and save time.
• Examples:
  • Elevator Pitch: A quick overview of your product and its value proposition.
  • Value Prop: Highlight the unique benefits of your product.
  • Customer Story: Share a brief success story from a satisfied customer.
  • Feature Highlight: Showcase a specific feature and its benefits.
  • Call to Action: Encourage the prospect to take a specific action (e.g., schedule a demo).

Email Templates

• Explanation: Email templates are used in numerous circumstances, including initial contact, demo follow-up, and to re-engage with lost opportunities.
• Benefits: They are re-usable, measurable, easily tested, and "canned" for re-use.
• Constructing Great Email Templates:
  • Define the Trigger: Clearly identify when the email should be sent.
  • Personalize: Customize the email with the prospect's name and other relevant details.
  • Target Audience: Understand what they want, and what they fear.
  • Have a Specific Goal: What should come next? (schedule time, answer an email, etc.)
  • Keep It Short: Focus. Be sensitive to your time, their time, and the opportunity cost of engaging
• Email Template Examples:
  • Initial Contact: A brief introduction and value proposition.
    • Example: A short paragraph about a new way for businesses to connect with customers
  • Demo Follow-Up: Thank the prospect for their time and recap the key points.
    • Example: An email that ask to do a demo.
  • Follow Up:" Example: You can follow up every x days (3-5 day suggested)
• Content Tips:
  • Get to the Point.
  • Be Brief.
  • Personalize.
  • Be Useful.
  • Test.
• Key takeaway: An email should get to the point. Remember that most email will be looked at via a phone.
• Testing for Iteration: If the data that you were receiving via email campaigns is not doing well, then it's time to call the email campagin dead.

Calling Scripts

• Goal: A calling script provides an agenda for your telesales staff.
• Why Script? It has an easily implemented checklist that can be followed.
• Example of Agenda:
  • Reason for the call (1 sentence).
  • Have you heard of us/the problem we are trying to solve? (qualification).
  • Can I ask you a quick question? (the most important thing on the call) (qualification).
  • Demo set or "kill."
• Explanation: Each step of the sales engagement is focused on qualification.

Video Materials

• Explanation: Video content for your sales organization and prospects, including product demos, "explainer" videos, and training.
• Types of Video Content:
  • "Why We Matter" Video: Explains the problem your solution addresses.
    • Great sales technique, talk to people like you're talking to yourself
  • “Demos in a Can” or Product-Overview Video: Highlights key features of your product.
    • A walk through.
  • Customer Testimonials: Can never have enough
  • Customer Onboarding & Enablement: Used for customer on-boarding processes.

Chapter 4: Early Prospecting - Finding Your First Customers

This chapter focuses on how to identify and target your first customers. It emphasizes the importance of having a clear ideal customer profile (ICP) and leveraging that profile to identify promising leads.

Ideal Customer Profile: What Does Your Prospect Look Like?

• Explanation: The Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the type of company that will derive the most value from your product and be the easiest to acquire and retain. This is not a persona of an individual, but a specific description of a company (size, revenue, industry, etc.) that is most likely to become a successful and profitable customer.
• Insight: An ICP is critical because it helps focus your prospecting efforts, improving efficiency and reducing wasted time. It also provides a foundation for messaging and sales strategy.
• Key Characteristics of an ICP:
  • Solves a High-Value Problem: The ICP experiences the problem your product solves acutely and is willing to pay to address it.
  • Easy to Acquire: The ICP is easily reachable through your chosen marketing and sales channels.
  • High Retention: The ICP is likely to remain a customer for a long time, maximizing customer lifetime value.
  • Potential for Upselling/Cross-selling: The ICP has the potential to expand their usage of your product over time.
  • Advocate Potential: The ICP is likely to become an advocate for your product, providing referrals and testimonials.
• Factors to Consider When Defining Your ICP:
  • Industry: Which industries are most likely to experience the problem you solve?
  • Company Size: What size company (employees, revenue) is most likely to have the resources and the need for your solution?
  • Revenue: What is the minimum revenue a company needs to generate to justify the investment in your product?
  • Geography: Are there specific geographic regions where your product is most relevant?
  • Technology Stack: Does your product integrate with specific technologies that your ICP is likely to use?
  • Business Model: What kind of business model do your best customers have? (eCommerce, SaaS, Retail, etc.)
  • Organizational Structure: Are there particular departments or roles that are more likely to champion your product?
• Example:
  • Company: A SaaS company selling marketing automation software might define its ICP as B2B companies in the technology industry with 50-200 employees and annual revenue between $5 million and $20 million. These companies are likely to have a dedicated marketing team and a need to generate leads and nurture relationships with prospects. They also would probably already be using Salesforce or Hubspot.
• Insight: In the earliest stages of the organization, it's likely that the ICP will be very specific. Try to resist the urge to "boil the ocean".
• Key takeaway: A well-defined ICP serves as a compass, guiding your prospecting efforts and increasing your chances of finding the right customers.

So Who Does Have My Pain Point?

• Explanation: This section focuses on moving from a theoretical ICP to practical ways to identify specific companies that match your ideal profile.
• Leveraging Existing Knowledge:
  • Your Network: Start by leveraging your existing network of contacts. Who do you know who works at a company that fits your ICP?
  • Past Experiences: Reflect on your past experiences and identify companies where you encountered the problem your product solves.
  • Industry Research: Conduct thorough industry research to identify key players and trends.
• Online Resources:
  • LinkedIn: Use LinkedIn to search for companies that match your ICP based on industry, company size, and other criteria.
  • Industry Directories: Explore online directories specific to your industry to identify potential customers.
  • Review Sites: Read reviews of competitors' products to identify companies that are dissatisfied with existing solutions.
  • Example: If you're targeting SaaS companies in the marketing automation space, you might search LinkedIn for "marketing manager" or "VP of Marketing" at companies with 50-200 employees.
• Competitive Analysis:
  • Identify Competitors: Who are your main competitors, and what types of companies are they targeting?
  • Analyze Customer Base: Examine your competitors' websites, case studies, and customer lists to identify potential leads.
  • Follow Social Media: Monitor your competitors' social media accounts to see who is engaging with their content.
  • Example: Analyze the customer lists of companies like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign and try to identify potential upgrade customers.
• Content Marketing:
  • Create Valuable Content: Develop content that addresses the pain points of your ICP and attracts them to your website.
  • Track Engagement: Monitor website traffic, lead generation, and content downloads to identify companies that are interested in your product.
  • Example: Write a blog post titled "5 Challenges Faced by Marketing Teams in the Technology Industry" and track which companies are downloading the accompanying ebook.
• Industry Events:
  • Attend Trade Shows: Participate in industry trade shows and conferences to meet potential customers and network with industry professionals.
  • Sponsor Events: Consider sponsoring relevant events to increase your visibility and generate leads.
  • Example: Attend a marketing technology conference and network with marketing professionals from companies in your target industry.
• Example ICP Criteria in Detail: The chapter further exemplifies these points with a breakdown on what these ICP criteria look like for TalentBin.
  • Type of Employer - Startup (or BigCo Innovation team): The logic being that, in the startup environment, the lack of process would make a new tool like TalentBin have a bigger impact, while in the BigCo, the pressure on the innovation team means faster action.
  • What’s the product under construction? The ideal client must have a high volume and velocity of hiring in software, big data, or dev ops.
  • What scale do these organizations operate at? They are looking to hire 10-100 people, otherwise, they would not have high enough volume to benefit from TalentBin.
  • Where are they located? TalentBin was initially focused on the Bay Area, due to the high concentration of VC-backed startups.
  • Who has it? Recruiting Managers or direct sourcers and recruiters, ideally with some experience in in-house recruiting experience or agency recruiting experience to quickly grasp the concept.
  • What’s his/her story? They have hit the limits of Linked in Recruiter, are not afraid to be in the weeds and tinker, are technologically sophisticated, and embrace analytics and measurement.
• Key Takeaway: The goal is to generate a list of specific companies that you can target with your sales efforts.

Account Sourcing: Putting It into Practice

• Explanation: This section describes how to take your ICP and identified traits, and turn it into a systematic process for finding leads.

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator:

  • Advanced Search: Utilize LinkedIn Sales Navigator's advanced search filters to identify companies and individuals that match your ICP.
  • Lead Recommendations: Leverage LinkedIn's lead recommendations feature to discover new prospects.
  • Account Lists: Create and manage account lists to track your progress and organize your leads.
  • Example: Use Sales Navigator to search for companies in the "SaaS" industry with 50-200 employees, located in the United States, and that have "marketing automation" listed as a skill on their employees' profiles.

• ZoomInfo:

  • Comprehensive Database: Leverage ZoomInfo's comprehensive database of company and contact information to identify potential leads.
  • Advanced Filters: Use ZoomInfo's advanced filters to narrow down your search based on industry, company size, location, and other criteria.
  • Intent Data: Utilize ZoomInfo's intent data to identify companies that are actively researching solutions like yours.

• Crunchbase:

  • Startup Information: Use Crunchbase to identify early-stage companies that may be a good fit for your product.
  • Funding Data: Track funding rounds to identify companies that have recently raised capital and may be looking to invest in new solutions.
  • Example: Search Crunchbase for "seed stage" or "Series A" companies in the SaaS industry that have recently received funding.

• BuiltWith: This tool lets you input a website and it will tell you a bunch of information about what they built their product with or how they do business.

• Google:

  • Targeted Searches: Use targeted Google searches to find companies that are actively seeking solutions like yours.
  • Example: Search for "marketing automation software for small business" or "best CRM for SaaS companies."

• Example: TalentBin: The chapter gives specific examples of finding prospects for TalentBin. This includes how to identify “Ruby shops” to find their targets:

  • BuiltWith: Enter a seed list of confirmed Ruby and Rails employers.
  • Then import into Followerwonk: This tells you who they follow.
  • Analyze: Now analyze those keywords to get more focused.
  • Google: Then turn that into “who is hiring X in the Y area?”.

• Key takeaway: Account sourcing is an ongoing process that requires a systematic and data-driven approach.

Point(s)-of-Contact Discovery: Who Will Be Excited about Your Solution?

• Explanation: Once you've identified target accounts, the next step is to find the right individuals within those organizations to contact.
• LinkedIn:
  • Advanced Search: Use LinkedIn's advanced search filters to identify individuals who hold relevant roles at your target companies.
  • Profile Review: Carefully review LinkedIn profiles to understand individuals' responsibilities, experience, and interests.
  • Example: Search for "marketing manager" or "VP of Sales" at your target companies and review their profiles to see if they are a good fit.
• Company Website:
  • "About Us" Page: Visit the company's website and review the "About Us" or "Team" page to identify key personnel.
  • Contact Forms: Submit inquiries through the website's contact forms to gather information and potentially connect with the right individuals.
• Industry Events:
  • Attendee Lists: Obtain attendee lists from relevant industry events to identify potential contacts.
  • Speaker Information: Research speakers at industry events to identify thought leaders and potential advocates.
• Networking:
  • Leverage Connections: Ask your network for introductions to individuals at your target companies.
  • Attend Events: Attend industry events to meet potential contacts in person.
• Common Titles to Target:
  • Director or VP of Sales
  • Director or VP of Marketing
  • Director or VP of Customer Success
  • Director or VP of Engineering
  • Director or VP of Product
• Key takeaway: Finding the right point of contact is crucial for getting your foot in the door and starting a meaningful conversation.

Chapter 5: Prospect Outreach and Demo Appointment Setting

This chapter focuses on the techniques and strategies for effectively reaching out to prospects and securing demo appointments.

Stages of the Sales Cycle

• Explanation: Before diving into prospecting, it's crucial to understand the different stages of the sales cycle, as outreach and appointment setting are just the first steps. The typical sales cycle includes:
  • Prospecting: Identifying and researching potential customers.
  • Outreach/Appointment Setting: Contacting prospects and scheduling demos.
  • Discovery: Gathering information about the prospect's needs and challenges.
  • Pitch/Demo: Presenting your solution and demonstrating its value.
  • Negotiation/Closing: Discussing pricing and terms, and finalizing the deal.
  • Implementation/Customer Success: Onboarding the customer and ensuring their success.
• Insight: Understanding the entire sales cycle helps to frame the role of prospecting and appointment setting within the bigger picture.
• Focus: It is important to prospect and "get someone on the phone", a.k.a. "Get someone on a demo".
• Key takeaway: Prospect outreach and appointment setting are not isolated activities; they are integral parts of a larger sales process.

Setting Yourself up for Success

• Explanation: Setting yourself up for success involves several key steps: defining your target audience, creating compelling messaging, and choosing the right channels for outreach.
• Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):
  • Clearly define your ICP based on industry, company size, revenue, and other relevant criteria.
  • This ensures you're targeting the right prospects with your outreach efforts.
• Craft a Compelling Value Proposition:
  • Develop a clear and concise value proposition that highlights the benefits of your solution and how it addresses the prospect's pain points.
  • Tailor your messaging to resonate with your target audience and differentiate your product from competitors.
• Choose the Right Channels:
  • Select the most effective channels for reaching your target audience, such as email, phone, social media, or networking events.
  • Consider the preferences of your ICP and their online behavior.
• Email and Calling Automation:
  • The most important sales activities, in terms of the number of accounts you want to access, is email and phone, because these will likely be the best way to fill meetings on your calendar.
• Example:
  • A SaaS company targeting marketing agencies might create a value proposition that emphasizes the ability to streamline marketing campaigns, improve lead generation, and increase ROI for their clients. They might then focus their outreach efforts on email and LinkedIn, as these are channels that are commonly used by marketing professionals.
• Key takeaway: A well-defined ICP, a compelling value proposition, and the right channels are essential for effective prospecting and appointment setting.

Emailing

• Explanation: Emailing is a key channel for prospecting and appointment setting, allowing you to reach a large number of prospects efficiently. However, it's important to craft compelling emails that stand out from the crowd and generate interest.
• Best Practices:
  • Personalize Your Emails: Customize your emails with the prospect's name, company, and other relevant details.
  • Craft a Compelling Subject Line: Create a subject line that grabs the prospect's attention and entices them to open the email.
  • Keep it Concise: Get to the point quickly and avoid lengthy paragraphs.
  • Highlight Value: Focus on the benefits of your solution and how it can solve the prospect's problems.
  • Include a Clear Call to Action: Tell the prospect what you want them to do next (e.g., schedule a demo, visit your website).
  • Example:
    • Subject: "Streamline Your Marketing Campaigns and Increase ROI"
    • Body:
      • "Hi [Prospect Name],
      • I came across [Company Name] and was impressed with your work in [Industry].
      • I'm reaching out because we help marketing agencies like yours streamline their campaigns, generate more leads, and increase ROI for their clients.
      • Would you be open to a quick chat to discuss how we can help you achieve your goals?
      • Best,
      • [Your Name]"
• Key takeaway: Personalized, concise, and value-driven emails are more likely to capture the prospect's attention and generate a response.

Calling

• Explanation: Calling can be a powerful channel for prospecting and appointment setting, allowing you to connect with prospects directly and build rapport. However, it's important to be prepared, professional, and persistent.
• Best Practices:
  • Research Your Prospects: Before making a call, research the prospect's company, role, and recent activities.
  • Prepare a Script: Develop a script that outlines your key talking points and value proposition.
  • Be Professional: Speak clearly and confidently, and avoid using jargon or technical terms.
  • Listen Actively: Pay attention to the prospect's responses and tailor your message accordingly.
  • Handle Objections: Be prepared to address common objections and concerns.
  • Persistence: Following up is essential for building the relationship and it makes them "feel special".
  • Example:
    • Introduction: "Hi [Prospect Name], this is [Your Name] from [Your Company]. I hope you're having a great day."
    • Value Proposition: "I'm calling because we help marketing agencies like yours streamline their campaigns, generate more leads, and increase ROI for their clients."
    • Question: "Would you be open to a quick chat to discuss how we can help you achieve your goals?"
    • Objection: "We're already using a marketing automation platform."
    • Response: "I understand. However, our platform offers unique features that can help you [Specific Benefit]. Would you be open to a quick demo to see if it's a good fit?"
• Key takeaway: Preparation, professionalism, and active listening are essential for successful prospecting calls.

Setting up the Appointment

• Explanation: The ultimate goal of prospecting and outreach is to secure a demo appointment with the prospect. This section outlines how to effectively transition from initial contact to scheduling a meeting.
• Best Practices:
  • Offer Specific Dates and Times: Provide the prospect with a few specific dates and times to choose from, making it easier for them to schedule a meeting.
  • Use a Scheduling Tool: Use a scheduling tool like Calendly or ScheduleOnce to automate the appointment setting process.
  • Confirm the Appointment: Send a confirmation email with the date, time, and agenda for the meeting.
  • Prepare for the Meeting: Before the meeting, research the prospect's company and prepare relevant talking points and materials.
  • Example:
    • "Would you be available for a 30-minute demo sometime next week? I have availability on Tuesday at 2 PM or Wednesday at 10 AM. If neither of those times work, you can also schedule a meeting directly on my calendar: [Calendly Link]."
• Key takeaway: Make it easy for the prospect to schedule a meeting by offering specific options, using a scheduling tool, and confirming the appointment.

Cadencing: Putting it all Together

• Explanation: Cadencing involves creating a sequence of outreach attempts using different channels to maximize your chances of connecting with a prospect.
• Best Practices:
  • Define Your Cadence: Determine the number of outreach attempts, the channels you'll use, and the timing of each attempt.
  • Mix Channels: Use a combination of email, phone, and social media to reach your prospects.
  • Vary Your Messaging: Change your messaging with each outreach attempt to keep it fresh and engaging.
  • Track Your Results: Monitor your cadence performance to identify what's working and what's not.
  • Example:
    • Day 1: Send an initial email introducing your company and value proposition.
    • Day 3: Follow up with a phone call to discuss their needs and challenges.
    • Day 5: Send a LinkedIn message sharing relevant content or resources.
    • Day 7: Send a final email offering a demo or consultation.
• Key takeaway: A well-designed cadence can significantly improve your prospecting results by maximizing your chances of connecting with prospects.

Referral Prospecting

• Explanation: Referral prospecting involves leveraging your existing network to identify and connect with potential customers.
• Best Practices:
  • Ask for Referrals: Ask your existing customers, partners, and contacts for introductions to potential clients.
  • Provide Value: Offer something of value to the person making the referral, such as a discount or a thank-you gift.
  • Make it Easy: Provide a template email or LinkedIn message that they can use to make the introduction.
  • Follow Up: Promptly follow up with the referral and thank the person who made the introduction.
  • Example:
    • "Hi [Customer Name], I hope you're enjoying our product. I'm reaching out because we're looking to expand our customer base in the [Industry] sector. Do you know anyone who might benefit from our solution? If you can introduce me to someone, I'd be happy to offer you a [Discount or Gift] as a thank you."
• Key takeaway: Referrals can be a highly effective way to generate qualified leads and build trust with potential customers.

Inbound Lead Capture and Response Preview

• Explanation: This section previews the next chapter, which focuses on capturing and responding to inbound leads generated through your website, content marketing, and other channels.
• Key takeaway: Capturing and responding to inbound leads is an important part of the overall sales process. This will be the focus of the next chapter.

Chapter 6: Early Inbound Lead Capture & Response

This chapter focuses on how to effectively capture and respond to inbound leads, which are potential customers who have expressed interest in your product or service through your website, content marketing, or other channels.

Inbound Lead Qualification

• Explanation: Inbound leads are valuable because they represent individuals who have already shown some level of interest in your product or service. However, not all inbound leads are created equal. It's crucial to qualify these leads to determine which ones are most likely to become customers.
• Insight: Qualifying inbound leads helps to prioritize your sales efforts, ensuring that you focus on the most promising opportunities.
• Key Qualification Criteria:
  • Fit: Does the lead's company match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?
  • Interest: Does the lead express a genuine interest in your product or service?
  • Authority: Does the lead have the authority to make purchasing decisions?
  • Need: Does the lead have a clear need for your product or service?
  • Timeline: What is the lead's timeline for making a purchase?
  • Budget: Does the lead have a budget allocated for a solution like yours?
• Example:
  • A lead fills out a form on your website to download a white paper about "Marketing Automation for SaaS Companies." This lead matches your ICP (SaaS companies) and expresses interest in your product (marketing automation). If you can also determine that the lead is a marketing manager (authority), has a clear need for marketing automation (need), is planning to implement a solution in the next quarter (timeline), and has a budget allocated for marketing technology (budget), then this lead would be considered highly qualified.
• Key takeaway: Qualifying inbound leads is essential for maximizing your sales efficiency and focusing on the most promising opportunities.

Inbound Lead Capture Forms

• Explanation: Inbound lead capture forms are a key tool for collecting information about potential customers who visit your website. These forms typically ask for contact information, company details, and other relevant data.
• Insight: The design and placement of your lead capture forms can significantly impact the number and quality of leads you generate.
• Best Practices:
  • Keep it Short: Only ask for essential information to avoid deterring visitors.
  • Offer Value: Provide something of value in exchange for the lead's information, such as a white paper, ebook, or webinar.
  • Use Clear and Compelling Copy: Clearly communicate the benefits of providing their information.
  • Optimize Placement: Place your lead capture forms strategically on your website, such as on your homepage, blog posts, and landing pages.
  • A/B Test: Continuously test different form designs, fields, and offers to optimize your conversion rates.
• Examples:
  • Homepage: A lead capture form on your homepage offering a free trial of your product.
  • Blog Post: A lead capture form at the end of a blog post offering a downloadable checklist or template.
  • Landing Page: A dedicated landing page with a lead capture form offering a webinar or ebook.
• Key Fields to Include:
  • Name: First and last name.
  • Email: Business email address.
  • Company: Company name.
  • Job Title: Job title.
  • Company Size: Number of employees.
  • Industry: Industry.
• Tools for Creating Lead Capture Forms:
  • HubSpot Forms: A free and easy-to-use form builder that integrates seamlessly with HubSpot CRM.
  • Gravity Forms: A powerful form builder for WordPress websites.
  • Typeform: A visually appealing form builder that provides a conversational user experience.
• Example: A company creates a lead capture form on its website offering a free ebook titled "The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Automation." The form asks for the visitor's name, email address, company, and job title.
• Key takeaway: Well-designed and strategically placed lead capture forms are essential for generating a steady stream of inbound leads.

Inbound Lead Response

• Explanation: Responding promptly and effectively to inbound leads is crucial for converting them into customers.
• Insight: The sooner you respond to a lead, the more likely you are to engage them and move them through the sales cycle.
• Best Practices:
  • Respond Quickly: Aim to respond to inbound leads within minutes or hours, not days.
  • Personalize Your Response: Customize your response based on the lead's information and the content they interacted with.
  • Provide Value: Offer helpful information, resources, or a free consultation.
  • Include a Clear Call to Action: Tell the lead what you want them to do next (e.g., schedule a demo, visit your website).
  • Automate When Possible: Use marketing automation tools to send automated responses and nurture leads.
• Example:
  • A lead downloads your ebook about "Marketing Automation for SaaS Companies." You automatically send them a personalized email thanking them for downloading the ebook and offering a free consultation to discuss their specific marketing automation needs. The email includes a link to schedule a call with a sales representative.
• Tools for Automating Lead Response:
  • HubSpot Marketing Hub: A comprehensive marketing automation platform that allows you to create automated email sequences, workflows, and lead nurturing campaigns.
  • Marketo: A powerful marketing automation platform for enterprise businesses.
  • Pardot: A marketing automation platform designed for B2B companies.
• Key takeaway: Prompt, personalized, and valuable responses are essential for converting inbound leads into customers.

Lightweight Discovery

• Explanation: Before jumping into a full-fledged sales pitch, it's important to conduct some lightweight discovery to understand the lead's specific needs and challenges.
• Insight: This helps you tailor your pitch to resonate with the lead and demonstrate that you understand their business.
• Questions to Ask:
  • What are your biggest marketing challenges right now?
  • What are you currently using for marketing automation?
  • What are your goals for the next quarter?
  • What is your budget for marketing technology?
• Example:
  • During your initial call with the lead who downloaded your ebook, you ask them about their biggest marketing challenges. They mention that they are struggling to generate enough qualified leads and nurture them through the sales cycle. This information helps you tailor your pitch to focus on how your marketing automation platform can help them generate more leads and automate their lead nurturing efforts.
• Key takeaway: Conducting lightweight discovery helps you personalize your sales pitch and demonstrate that you understand the lead's specific needs.

Follow-up on Inbound Leads

• Explanation: Not all inbound leads will be ready to buy immediately. It's important to follow up with these leads over time to nurture them and keep them engaged.
• Insight: Consistent follow-up can significantly increase your chances of converting leads into customers.
• Best Practices:
  • Create a Follow-up Schedule: Define a schedule for following up with leads over a period of weeks or months.
  • Vary Your Messaging: Use different types of content and messaging to keep your follow-up emails fresh and engaging.
  • Provide Value: Offer helpful resources, insights, or invitations to webinars and events.
  • Track Engagement: Monitor lead engagement with your follow-up emails and adjust your strategy accordingly.
  • Example:
    • Week 1: Send a follow-up email with a case study about a company in their industry that achieved success with your product.
    • Week 3: Send an email with an invitation to a webinar about "Best Practices for Marketing Automation."
    • Week 5: Send an email offering a free consultation to discuss their specific needs.
• Tools for Managing Follow-up:
  • CRM Systems: Use your CRM system to track lead interactions and schedule follow-up tasks.
  • Marketing Automation Platforms: Leverage marketing automation platforms to automate follow-up emails and lead nurturing campaigns.
• Key takeaway: Consistent and valuable follow-up is essential for nurturing inbound leads and converting them into customers over time.

Chapter 7: Pitching—Preparation, Presentation, Demos, & Objections

This chapter focuses on the core of the sales process: the pitch. It covers everything from pre-call planning and presentation skills to demo techniques and objection handling.

The Goal of Pitching

• Explanation: The goal of pitching is to persuasively demonstrate how your solution addresses the prospect's needs and provides value.
• Key takeaway: At this point, the hard work is done and the sales person should have confidence to walk into the demo.

New-Technology Sales Persuasion Formula

• Explanation: Persuasion in new-technology sales must account for two areas:
  • Problem Discovery, Market Validation and “why you” = 70%
  • Technology Proof = 30%
• Key Takeaway: It is more important to learn about the prospect rather than present what the product does.

Inside or Outside Sales?

• Explanation: Delineates the differences between the different types of sales and the advantages.
• Inside Sales: Often called remote sales and the biggest advantages include being cheaper than travelling, more organized in the work and ability to measure them to scale faster.
• Outside Sales: Traditional sales model and biggest advantage is relationship, especially with an immature sales cycle and high price tag.
• Key takeaway: Both provide their own values that will help and should be selected at the company level.

Pre-Call Planning

• Explanation: Thorough preparation is essential for a successful sales pitch. This involves researching the prospect, understanding their needs, and tailoring your presentation accordingly.
• Insight: Effective pre-call planning demonstrates professionalism and increases your chances of connecting with the prospect and building rapport.
• Steps for Pre-Call Planning:
  1. Review Prospect Information: Review all available information about the prospect, including their website, LinkedIn profile, company details, and past interactions.
  2. Identify Key Stakeholders: Determine who the key stakeholders are within the organization and their roles in the decision-making process.
  3. Understand Their Needs: Research the prospect's industry, competitors, and potential challenges to understand their specific needs and pain points.
  4. Tailor Your Presentation: Customize your presentation to address the prospect's specific needs and demonstrate how your solution can solve their problems.
  5. Prepare Questions: Develop a list of questions to ask the prospect to gather more information and uncover their underlying needs.
  6. Set Objectives: Define clear objectives for the call, such as scheduling a follow-up meeting or securing a commitment to a trial.
• Example:
  • Before calling a marketing manager at a SaaS company, you might research their recent blog posts, social media activity, and website to understand their current marketing strategies and challenges. You might then tailor your presentation to focus on how your marketing automation platform can help them generate more leads, nurture relationships with prospects, and improve their overall marketing ROI.
• Account-Specific Insight:
  • Previous Conversations: Have they been pitched to before? If so, by whom?
  • Connections: Any connections that might help build a relationship and ask for insight
  • Value Proposition: Use the value to focus and not waste anyone's time
  • Pain Points: Use any information about the potential prospects so the prospect knows that you are listening.
  • Relationship Focus: Empathize with the prospect, showing your listening skill before going for the sale.
• Insight: The importance of taking notes about key information and "setting up future self".
• Tools for Pre-Call Planning:
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator: For researching prospects and companies.
  • Crunchbase: For gathering information about companies, funding rounds, and key personnel.
  • Company Website: For understanding the company's products, services, and mission.
  • CRM System: For reviewing past interactions and relevant data.
• Key takeaway: Thorough pre-call planning demonstrates professionalism, builds rapport, and increases your chances of a successful sales pitch.

Pitch Materials & Concepts

• Explanation: This section outlines the key materials and concepts that are essential for a compelling sales pitch.
• Key Materials:
  • Sales Presentation: A visually appealing and informative presentation that highlights the benefits of your solution.
  • Product Demo: A live demonstration of your product's key features and capabilities.
  • Case Studies: Real-world examples of how your product has helped other customers achieve success.
  • Testimonials: Quotes from satisfied customers that highlight the value of your product.
  • Pricing Information: Clear and concise pricing information that outlines the different options and packages available.
  • Proposal Template: A customizable proposal template that can be used to outline the terms of the agreement.
• Key Concepts:
  • Value Proposition: A clear and concise statement that highlights the benefits of your solution and how it addresses the prospect's pain points.
  • Differentiation: What makes your product different.
  • Elevator Pitch: A brief and compelling overview of your product that can be delivered in a short amount of time.
  • Storytelling: Weaving together stories that will connect with the prospect
  • Call to Action: A clear and specific request for the prospect to take the next step, such as scheduling a follow-up meeting or signing up for a trial.
• Insight: A clear understanding of these materials and concepts is essential for delivering a persuasive sales pitch.
• Key takeaway: Have the above with you. Don't go for a pitch without being prepared.

Pitch Introduction

• Explanation: The first few minutes of your sales pitch are crucial for capturing the prospect's attention and setting the stage for a successful conversation.
• Insight: A strong introduction can help you build rapport, establish credibility, and pique the prospect's interest.
• Elements of a Strong Introduction:
  1. Build Rapport: Start by building rapport with the prospect through small talk or a personal connection.
  2. State Your Purpose: Clearly state the purpose of the call and what you hope to accomplish.
  3. Highlight Value: Briefly highlight the benefits of your solution and how it can address the prospect's needs.
  4. Set an Agenda: Outline the agenda for the call and confirm that it aligns with the prospect's expectations.
• Example:
  • "Hi [Prospect Name], thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. I'm [Your Name] from [Your Company]. We help marketing agencies like yours streamline their campaigns, generate more leads, and increase ROI for their clients. I'd like to spend the next 30 minutes discussing your current marketing challenges and showing you how our platform can help you achieve your goals. Does that sound good?"
• Why the Initial Minutes Matter: As stated in the introduction, you need to show in the beginning that you are aware of the pain point and have the power to make the change.
• Key takeaway: A strong introduction can help you build rapport, establish credibility, and pique the prospect's interest.

Presentation, Demo, and Asking for the Sale

• Explanation: This section focuses on the core of the sales pitch: the presentation, the demo, and the all-important "ask."
• Presentation Best Practices:
  1. Keep it Concise: Focus on the key benefits of your solution and avoid overwhelming the prospect with too much information.
  2. Use Visuals: Use visuals, such as charts, graphs, and screenshots, to illustrate your points and make your presentation more engaging.
  3. Tell a Story: Weave together stories and examples to connect with the prospect on an emotional level and make your presentation more memorable.
  4. Engage the Prospect: Ask questions, encourage participation, and make the presentation interactive.
• Demo Best Practices:
  1. Focus on Key Features: Demonstrate the key features that are most relevant to the prospect's needs.
  2. Tailor the Demo: Customize the demo to showcase how your solution can solve the prospect's specific problems.
  3. Keep it Simple: Avoid overwhelming the prospect with too much technical detail.
  4. Highlight Value: Emphasize the value of each feature and how it benefits the prospect.
  5. Encourage Interaction: Encourage the prospect to ask questions and interact with the demo.
• Different Demo Styles:
  • The "Choose Your Own Adventure" Demo: Ask the prospect where to go in order to better understand.
  • The "Product Tour" Demo: Guided tour and focus on what the product does.
• "Ask" Best Practices:
  1. Be Direct: Clearly state what you want the prospect to do next, such as scheduling a follow-up meeting or signing up for a trial.
  2. Be Confident: Express confidence in your solution and its ability to solve the prospect's problems.
  3. Provide Options: Offer the prospect a range of options to choose from, such as different pricing packages or trial periods.
  4. Address Concerns: Be prepared to address any concerns or objections the prospect may have.
• Example:
  • After demonstrating the key features of your marketing automation platform, you might say, "Based on what we've discussed, I believe our platform can significantly improve your lead generation and nurturing efforts. Would you be open to signing up for a free trial to see the results for yourself?"
• Key takeaway: A well-crafted presentation, a compelling demo, and a confident "ask" are essential for closing deals.

Objections

• Explanation: Objections are a natural part of the sales process. This section provides guidance on how to effectively handle common objections and turn them into opportunities.
• Insight: Handling objections effectively demonstrates your expertise, builds trust, and increases your chances of closing the deal.
• Common Objections:
  • "It's too expensive."
  • "We don't have the budget."
  • "We're already using a similar solution."
  • "We're not ready to make a decision."
  • "I need to talk to my team."
• Strategies for Handling Objections:
  1. Listen Actively: Pay attention to the prospect's concerns and try to understand their underlying needs.
  2. Acknowledge the Objection: Acknowledge the prospect's concerns and show that you understand their point of view.
  3. Ask Clarifying Questions: Ask clarifying questions to better understand the objection and identify the root cause.
  4. Provide Value: Address the objection by providing relevant information, case studies, or testimonials.
  5. Offer Solutions: Offer alternative solutions or options to address the prospect's concerns.
  6. Stay Positive: Maintain a positive attitude and avoid getting defensive.
• Example:
  • Prospect: "It's too expensive."
  • You: "I understand that cost is a concern. Can you tell me more about your budget and what you're looking to spend on a solution like this? (Ask Clarifying Questions)
  • "Okay, so with that being said, our product helps solve a lot of pain points as I have mentioned. You are spending money in other places. Can you talk to me about why you think our product is more expensive, and what exactly are you comparing us to?"
• The Importance of Understanding why prospects are saying no: Ask them directly. It's better to not dance around the truth. Use that reason and incorporate that to your demo.
• Why the Prospect is Still Talking to You: Understand at what point is it no longer a good to spend time with, as previously mentioned, due to how scare time can be.
• Key takeaway: Effective objection handling demonstrates your expertise, builds trust, and increases your chances of closing the deal.

Demo Follow-up & Further Meetings

• Explanation: The sales process doesn't end with the demo. It's important to follow up with the prospect promptly and effectively to keep the conversation moving forward.
• Insight: Timely and personalized follow-up can significantly increase your chances of closing the deal.
• Best Practices:
  1. Send a Thank-You Note: Send a personalized thank-you email within 24 hours of the demo.
  2. Recap Key Points: Briefly recap the key points of the demo and reiterate the value of your solution.
  3. Address Concerns: Address any remaining concerns or objections the prospect may have.
  4. Propose Next Steps: Suggest clear next steps, such as scheduling a follow-up meeting or signing up for a trial.
  5. Provide Additional Resources: Offer additional resources, such as case studies, testimonials, or pricing information.
• Example:
  • "Hi [Prospect Name], thanks again for taking the time to see our product. As I mentioned, our AI powered system will help accelerate your business by helping you understand your customers better. I have attached our price list along with the demo. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."
• Key takeaway: Timely and personalized follow-up can keep the conversation moving forward and increase your chances of closing the deal.

Practice & Iteration

• Explanation: Sales skills are not innate; they are honed through practice and continuous improvement. This section emphasizes the importance of practicing your pitch, seeking feedback, and iterating on your approach.
• Insight: Continuous practice and iteration are essential for becoming a successful sales professional.
• Strategies for Practice and Iteration:
  1. Role-Playing: Practice your pitch with colleagues or mentors and solicit feedback.
  2. Record Yourself: Record yourself delivering your pitch and review the recording to identify areas for improvement.
  3. Seek Feedback: Ask for feedback from colleagues, mentors, and even customers.
  4. Track Results: Monitor your sales performance and identify patterns and trends.
  5. Adjust Your Approach: Continuously adjust your approach based on feedback and results.
• Key takeaway: Continuous practice and iteration are essential for honing your sales skills and maximizing your effectiveness.

Chapter 8: Down Funnel Selling—Negotiation, Closing, & Pipeline Management

This chapter focuses on the critical stages of the sales cycle that follow the initial pitch, including negotiation, closing, and pipeline management.

Negotiation

• Explanation: Negotiation is a key part of the sales cycle. Most B2B sales opportunities will involve negotiation.
• Insight: This skill increases and maximizes the value for your customer.
• Key Principles of Negotiation:
  1. Know Your Value: Have a clear understanding of the value you provide and the price you're willing to accept.
  2. Understand the Prospect's Needs: Listen actively and understand the prospect's priorities and constraints.
  3. Be Prepared to Walk Away: Be willing to walk away from the deal if the terms are not acceptable.
  4. Focus on Mutual Benefit: Aim for a win-win outcome that benefits both parties.
• Negotiation Tactics:
  • Anchoring: Set the initial price high to establish a favorable starting point.
  • Framing: Frame the offer in a way that highlights the benefits and minimizes the drawbacks.
  • Bundling: Offer multiple products or services as a package to increase value and justify the price.
  • Limited Time Offer: Create a sense of urgency by offering a discount or incentive for a limited time.
  • Example:
    • A prospect objects to the price of your product. You might respond by saying, "I understand that cost is a concern. However, when you consider the value you'll receive in terms of increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved revenue, the ROI is significant. In addition, if you sign up before the end of the month, we can offer you a 10% discount."
• Value Before Price: By emphasizing the benefits of the product to justify the price, is the most effective means of defending your price.
• Key takeaway: Effective negotiation requires a clear understanding of your value, the prospect's needs, and a willingness to walk away.

The Three Major Objections

• Explanation: Discusses key questions that must be tackled.
  • Product Deficits: Is your product good enough? If not, you won’t be able to persuade the customer to make the purchase.
  • Credibility Gap: Do they believe in what you’re saying? Focus on what makes the company better.
  • Value is Missing: How much time and money will your product save them? It may be cheaper to say no to buying the product.
• Key takeaway: Understanding what the questions that a prospect may ask, it is essential to identify where to improve.

"Hardships" & Other Discount Tricks

• Explanation: The "hardship" is a situation that sales professional will be faced, where some prospects will try to get the price to get lower, regardless of the price that has already been set.
• Key Principles:
  • Be Wary: Be skeptical of prospects who claim to have a hardship or budget constraint.
  • Qualify the Claim: Ask questions to understand the true nature of the hardship.
  • Offer Solutions: Offer alternative solutions, such as a payment plan or a lower-priced package.
  • Hold Your Ground: Be willing to hold your ground if the hardship is not genuine.
• Example:
  • A prospect claims that they cannot afford your product due to budget constraints. You might respond by saying, "I understand that budget is a concern. Can you tell me more about your budget and what you're looking to spend on a solution like this? (Ask Clarifying Questions). Then you can make a decision and offer solutions
• Key takeaway: Be cautious when considering hardship requests and ensure that you're not being taken advantage of.

Close Winning

• Explanation: Closing is the culmination of the sales process. A key point is that is doesn't have to be "hard sell".
• Insight: If you've effectively built rapport, understood the prospect's needs, and presented a compelling solution, closing should be a natural and organic process.
• Closing Techniques:
  • The Assumptive Close: Assume that the prospect is ready to buy and proceed with the paperwork.
  • The Summary Close: Summarize the key benefits of your solution and ask for the sale.
  • The Alternative Close: Offer the prospect a choice between two options, both of which lead to a sale.
  • The Urgency Close: Create a sense of urgency by highlighting a limited-time offer or impending price increase.
• Example:
  • After summarizing the key benefits of your product and addressing any remaining concerns, you might say, "So, [Prospect Name], are you ready to move forward and start seeing results?"
• Key takeaway: A combination of hard work plus confidence results in the sales.

Close Losting

• Explanation: Closing "Lost" is just as important as closing "Won".
• Insight: Understanding why you lost a deal can provide valuable insights for improving your sales process and product.
• Best Practices:
  • Debrief: After losing a deal, take the time to debrief with your team to understand what went wrong.
  • Gather Feedback: Reach out to the prospect to gather feedback on why they chose a competitor or decided not to move forward.
  • Document the Loss: Record the reasons for the loss in your CRM system.
  • Identify Patterns: Look for patterns in your losses to identify areas for improvement.
• Why document a loss?
  • Product Gaps
  • Prospect Disconnects
  • Competitor Actions
• Key takeaway: Losing deals is inevitable, but it's important to learn from those losses and use them to improve your sales effectiveness.

Pipeline Management

• Explanation: Pipeline management involves tracking and managing your sales opportunities to forecast revenue and identify potential problems.
• Insight: Effective pipeline management is essential for achieving your sales goals and making informed business decisions.
• Key Elements of Pipeline Management:
  • Define Stages: Clearly define the stages of your sales pipeline.
  • Track Opportunities: Track all sales opportunities in your CRM system.
  • Forecast Revenue: Forecast revenue based on the stage and probability of each opportunity.
  • Identify Bottlenecks: Identify bottlenecks in your pipeline and take corrective action.
  • Example:
    • A company defines the following stages for its sales pipeline: Lead, Qualified, Demo, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost. The company tracks all sales opportunities in its CRM system and forecasts revenue based on the stage and probability of each opportunity.
• Key takeaway: Effective pipeline management enables you to forecast revenue, identify problems, and make data-driven decisions to improve your sales performance.

Lead Scoring

• Explanation: Describes what it is.
• Insight: Lead scoring is a methodology that places a value on the quality and "action intent" of your customer.
• Common Attributes of Lead Scoring
  • Title or role
  • Years of experience
  • Company revenue
  • Website activity/form fills
• Key takeaway: Understanding where in the cycle prospect is, can help a team focus on what can be improved.

Data Hygiene

• Explanation: Highlighted as a tool to have in order to help and improve sales force automation or marketing automation, it allows sales team to focus on high score targets.
• Key takeaway: Help to automate the low hanging fruits in your sales channel.

Chapter 9: Customer Success Basics—Implementation, Ongoing Success, & Renewals

Why Customer Success Matters

This section underscores the critical importance of customer success, especially for early-stage companies and those selling SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions. It moves beyond the traditional view of sales as a purely transactional event and emphasizes the need to nurture customer relationships for long-term value.

• Retention is Key: Retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. This is especially true in SaaS, where recurring revenue is the lifeblood of the business. Customer success efforts directly impact renewal rates and, consequently, the company's overall financial health.
• Happy Customers = Upsells & Referrals: Satisfied customers are more likely to expand their usage of your product (upsells) or recommend it to others (referrals). These organic growth channels are highly valuable and are fueled by positive customer experiences.
• Feedback Loop for Product Improvement: Customer success teams are on the front lines, gathering feedback from users about their experiences with the product. This feedback is invaluable for product development and helps shape the product roadmap to better meet customer needs.
• Example: Imagine a SaaS company selling project management software. If customers struggle to implement the software, don't understand its features, or don't see tangible benefits, they're unlikely to renew their subscriptions. In contrast, if the company actively helps customers onboard, provides ongoing support, and demonstrates how the software is improving their project management processes, those customers are far more likely to stay and recommend the software to others.

Mechanisms for Customer Success

This section dives into the practical mechanisms and strategies for delivering customer success. It covers a range of activities, from initial onboarding to ongoing support and engagement.

• Implementation and Onboarding:
  • Importance: The initial implementation and onboarding process sets the stage for the entire customer relationship. A smooth and effective onboarding experience increases the likelihood of product adoption and customer satisfaction.
  • Strategies:
    • Dedicated Onboarding Specialists: Assigning dedicated specialists to guide new customers through the implementation process ensures they receive personalized attention and support.
    • Structured Onboarding Programs: Developing structured onboarding programs with clear milestones and deliverables helps customers quickly understand the product and achieve their initial goals.
    • Training Materials: Providing comprehensive training materials, such as tutorials, videos, and documentation, empowers customers to learn the product at their own pace.
    • Example: Consider a marketing automation platform. The implementation process might involve integrating the platform with the customer's website, setting up email campaigns, and importing contact lists. An onboarding specialist could guide the customer through these steps, ensuring they're set up for success.
• Proactive Customer Support:
  • Importance: Proactive customer support anticipates customer needs and addresses potential issues before they escalate. This demonstrates a commitment to customer success and builds trust.
  • Strategies:
    • Regular Check-ins: Scheduling regular check-in calls with customers to discuss their progress, address any concerns, and offer guidance.
    • Monitoring Usage Data: Monitoring customer usage data to identify potential problems or areas where they might need assistance.
    • Knowledge Base: Creating a comprehensive knowledge base with articles, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides empowers customers to find answers to their questions independently.
    • Example: A cloud storage provider might proactively reach out to customers who are approaching their storage limits to offer upgrade options or provide tips on optimizing their storage usage.
• Community Building:
  • Importance: Building a community around your product fosters engagement, collaboration, and peer support. Customers can learn from each other, share best practices, and provide valuable feedback.
  • Strategies:
    • Online Forums: Creating online forums where customers can ask questions, share ideas, and connect with each other.
    • User Groups: Organizing local or virtual user groups where customers can meet, network, and learn from experts.
    • Events: Hosting conferences or webinars that bring customers together to learn about new product features, industry trends, and best practices.
    • Example: A software development tool vendor might create an online forum where developers can discuss coding challenges, share code snippets, and get help from other users and the vendor's support team.
• Executive Business Reviews:
  • Importance: Executive Business Reviews (EBRs) are strategic meetings between the customer success team and key stakeholders at the customer's organization. These reviews provide an opportunity to discuss the overall value being delivered, identify areas for improvement, and align on future goals.
  • Key Elements:
    • Data-Driven Insights: Presenting data-driven insights that demonstrate the impact of the product on the customer's business.
    • Strategic Alignment: Discussing how the product aligns with the customer's strategic objectives and identifying opportunities to expand the relationship.
    • Actionable Recommendations: Providing actionable recommendations for improving product usage, maximizing value, and achieving desired outcomes.
    • Example: A cybersecurity vendor might conduct an EBR with a customer's CIO to review the current threat landscape, discuss the effectiveness of the vendor's security solutions, and recommend strategies for improving the customer's overall security posture.

Success Outcome Capture

This section emphasizes the importance of documenting and tracking the specific outcomes that customers achieve as a result of using your product. This data is invaluable for demonstrating value, driving renewals, and informing product development.

• Defining Success Metrics:
  • Importance: Clearly defining the metrics that will be used to measure customer success is essential. These metrics should be aligned with the customer's business goals and should be quantifiable whenever possible.
  • Examples:
    • Increased Revenue: For a sales automation platform, a key success metric might be the increase in revenue generated by customers using the platform.
    • Reduced Costs: For a cloud computing provider, a key success metric might be the reduction in IT costs achieved by customers migrating to the cloud.
    • Improved Efficiency: For a project management software, a key success metric might be the improvement in project completion rates or the reduction in project delays.
• Tracking and Documenting Outcomes:
  • Importance: Establishing a system for tracking and documenting customer outcomes is critical. This data can be used to demonstrate value to customers, identify areas for improvement, and inform product development decisions.
  • Methods:
    • CRM Integration: Integrating the customer success platform with the CRM system to track customer interactions, milestones, and outcomes.
    • Customer Surveys: Conducting regular customer surveys to gather feedback on their experiences and measure their satisfaction levels.
    • Case Studies: Developing case studies that showcase the specific outcomes achieved by customers using the product.
    • Example: A marketing automation platform might track the number of leads generated, the conversion rates of email campaigns, and the overall ROI of marketing efforts for each customer.

Quarterly Business Reviews

This section provides guidance on how to conduct effective Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with customers. QBRs are a key mechanism for maintaining ongoing engagement, demonstrating value, and identifying opportunities to expand the relationship.

• Purpose of QBRs:
  • Review Progress: Reviewing the customer's progress towards their goals and identifying any challenges or roadblocks.
  • Demonstrate Value: Demonstrating the value that the customer has received from the product over the past quarter.
  • Align on Goals: Aligning on the customer's goals for the next quarter and identifying opportunities to expand the relationship.
• Key Elements of a QBR:
  • Data-Driven Insights: Presenting data-driven insights that demonstrate the impact of the product on the customer's business.
  • Actionable Recommendations: Providing actionable recommendations for improving product usage, maximizing value, and achieving desired outcomes.
  • Open Dialogue: Encouraging open dialogue and feedback from the customer to identify areas for improvement and address any concerns.
• Example: A cloud storage provider might conduct a QBR with a customer's IT manager to review their storage usage, discuss their data security posture, and recommend strategies for optimizing their cloud infrastructure.

Support Sites & Asynchronous Support Materials

This section emphasizes the importance of providing self-service support resources, such as support sites and asynchronous support materials. These resources empower customers to find answers to their questions independently and reduce the burden on the customer support team.

• Benefits of Self-Service Support:
  • Reduced Support Costs: Reducing the volume of support requests and freeing up the customer support team to focus on more complex issues.
  • Improved Customer Satisfaction: Empowering customers to find answers to their questions quickly and easily, improving their overall satisfaction.
  • Increased Product Adoption: Helping customers learn the product at their own pace and encouraging them to explore new features.
• Types of Asynchronous Support Materials:
  • Knowledge Base: A comprehensive knowledge base with articles, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides.
  • Tutorial Videos: Short, focused videos that demonstrate how to use specific product features.
  • Documentation: Detailed documentation that explains the product's functionality, configuration options, and best practices.
• Example: A software development tool vendor might create a support site with articles, FAQs, and tutorials that help developers troubleshoot coding errors, configure their development environment, and use the tool's advanced features.

New Release Communications/Ongoing Training

This section highlights the importance of keeping customers informed about new product releases and providing ongoing training to help them stay up-to-date on the latest features and best practices.

• Benefits of New Release Communications:
  • Increased Product Adoption: Encouraging customers to adopt new features and take advantage of the latest product improvements.
  • Improved Customer Engagement: Keeping customers engaged with the product and demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement.
  • Reduced Churn: Helping customers see the ongoing value of the product and reducing the likelihood of churn.
• Methods for Communicating New Releases:
  • Email Newsletters: Sending out regular email newsletters that highlight new product features, bug fixes, and upcoming events.
  • In-App Notifications: Displaying in-app notifications that alert customers to new features and provide links to training materials.
  • Webinars: Hosting webinars that demonstrate new product features and provide opportunities for customers to ask questions.
• Example: A marketing automation platform might send out an email newsletter that announces a new feature for A/B testing email campaigns, provides a link to a tutorial video, and invites customers to attend a webinar on the topic.

Renewals

This section focuses on the critical process of renewing customer subscriptions. It emphasizes the importance of proactive communication, demonstrating value, and addressing any concerns to secure renewals.

• Importance of Renewals:
  • Recurring Revenue: Renewals are the lifeblood of a SaaS business, providing a predictable stream of recurring revenue.
  • Customer Lifetime Value: Renewals significantly increase the customer lifetime value (CLTV), which is a key metric for measuring the long-term profitability of a customer relationship.
  • Reduced Acquisition Costs: Retaining existing customers is far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
• Strategies for Securing Renewals:
  • Proactive Communication: Reaching out to customers well in advance of their renewal date to discuss their satisfaction, address any concerns, and present renewal options.
  • Demonstrating Value: Showcasing the value that the customer has received from the product over the past year and highlighting the potential benefits of continuing their subscription.
  • Addressing Concerns: Addressing any concerns or objections that the customer may have about renewing their subscription.
  • Flexible Renewal Options: Offering flexible renewal options, such as multi-year contracts or customized pricing plans.
• Example: A cloud storage provider might reach out to a customer three months before their renewal date to discuss their storage usage, review their data security posture, and present a renewal proposal that includes a discount for a multi-year contract.

Learning From Your Customer Success Team

This section underscores the importance of leveraging the insights and experiences of the customer success team to improve the product, the sales process, and the overall customer experience.

• Feedback Loop:
  • Importance: Establishing a feedback loop between the customer success team and other departments, such as product development, sales, and marketing, is critical for continuous improvement.
  • Methods:
    • Regular Meetings: Holding regular meetings between the customer success team and other departments to share feedback, discuss challenges, and brainstorm solutions.
    • CRM Integration: Integrating the customer success platform with the CRM system to track customer interactions, feedback, and outcomes.
    • Customer Surveys: Conducting regular customer surveys to gather feedback on their experiences and share the results with other departments.
• Example: A sales automation platform might hold a monthly meeting between the customer success team and the product development team to discuss customer feedback on new features, identify areas for improvement, and prioritize future development efforts.

Customer Success Calendar Management & Specialization

This section provides guidance on how to effectively manage the customer success calendar and specialize the customer success team to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

• Calendar Management:
  • Importance: Implementing a well-defined customer success calendar helps ensure that all key activities, such as onboarding, check-ins, QBRs, and renewal discussions, are scheduled and executed in a timely manner.
  • Tools:
    • CRM System: Using the CRM system to track customer milestones, schedule activities, and send reminders.
    • Project Management Software: Using project management software to manage complex onboarding projects and track progress.
• Specialization:
  • Importance: Specializing the customer success team by assigning specific roles and responsibilities can improve efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Examples:
    • Onboarding Specialists: Focus on guiding new customers through the implementation process.
    • Account Managers: Focus on managing ongoing customer relationships, conducting QBRs, and securing renewals.
    • Technical Support Specialists: Focus on providing technical support and troubleshooting issues.
• Example: A software development tool vendor might have separate teams for onboarding new customers, managing existing customer relationships, and providing technical support.

Chapter 10: Early Sales Management & Scaling Concepts

Scaling Anti-Patterns and Knowing When to Hit the Gas

This section focuses on recognizing common pitfalls during the early stages of scaling a sales team and understanding the right time to accelerate growth.

• Scaling Before Product-Market Fit:
  • Explanation: The most critical anti-pattern is attempting to scale the sales team before achieving genuine product-market fit. This means scaling before you have a clear, repeatable sales process, a well-defined target customer, and a product that consistently solves their problems.
  • Insights: Premature scaling leads to wasted resources, high churn rates, and frustrated salespeople. It can also mask underlying product or market issues.
  • Example: Imagine a company that launches a new marketing automation platform. They hire a large sales team before fully understanding their ideal customer profile or refining their messaging. The salespeople struggle to close deals because the product doesn't quite meet the needs of the prospects they're targeting. The company burns through cash and eventually has to downsize the sales team.
• Hiring "Too Soon":
  • Explanation: Bringing on experienced sales managers or VPs of Sales too early, before the founder has a deep understanding of the sales process, can also be detrimental. These hires may try to impose established sales methodologies that don't fit the unique needs of the early-stage company.
  • Insights: The founder needs to lead the initial sales efforts to truly understand the nuances of the market and the product. Only then can they effectively manage and guide a sales team.
  • Example: A startup founder, eager to scale, hires a VP of Sales from a large enterprise software company. The VP implements a complex sales process with lengthy sales cycles, which proves ineffective for the startup's smaller deals and faster-moving market.
• Signs You're Ready to Scale:
  • Repeatable Sales Process: A clear, documented sales process that consistently leads to closed deals.
  • Defined Target Customer: A well-defined ideal customer profile that allows the sales team to focus on the most promising prospects.
  • Positive Customer Feedback: Evidence that the product is solving real problems for customers and generating positive results.
  • Strong Unit Economics: Confidence that the cost of acquiring a customer is significantly lower than the lifetime value of that customer.
  • Insights: These indicators suggest that the company has a solid foundation for growth and that scaling the sales team is likely to generate a positive return.
  • Example: A SaaS company has consistently closed deals with small to medium-sized businesses in the healthcare industry. They have a documented sales process that involves a demo, a trial period, and a personalized onboarding experience. Customers are reporting significant improvements in their workflow and increased revenue. Their customer acquisition cost is significantly lower than the average customer lifetime value. This company is likely ready to scale its sales team.

Abstraction and Specialization of Sales Roles

This section explains how to break down the sales process into specialized roles to improve efficiency and scalability.

• The Problem with Generalists:
  • Explanation: In the earliest stages, founders often handle all aspects of the sales process, from prospecting to closing. However, as the company grows, this approach becomes unsustainable.
  • Insights: Generalists are less efficient because they have to switch between different tasks and skill sets, leading to decreased productivity and burnout.
  • Example: A founder spends half their time prospecting and the other half closing deals. They struggle to keep up with both tasks and end up neglecting important follow-ups.
• Sales Development Representatives (SDRs):
  • Explanation: The first step in specialization is often to hire SDRs to focus solely on prospecting and lead generation.
  • Responsibilities:
    • Identifying and qualifying leads.
    • Setting up appointments for account executives.
    • Conducting initial research on prospects.
  • Benefits: SDRs free up account executives to focus on closing deals, increasing overall sales efficiency.
  • Example: A company hires two SDRs to generate leads for their account executives. The SDRs use targeted email campaigns and social media outreach to identify potential customers and schedule demos.
• Account Executives (AEs):
  • Explanation: AEs are responsible for managing the sales cycle from the initial demo to closing the deal.
  • Responsibilities:
    • Conducting product demos.
    • Negotiating contracts.
    • Building relationships with prospects.
  • Benefits: AEs can focus on their core competency of closing deals, leading to higher win rates and increased revenue.
  • Example: Account executives take over the qualified leads from the SDRs, conduct in-depth demos, and work closely with the prospects to tailor the solution to their needs, ultimately closing the deal.
• Customer Success Managers (CSMs):
  • Explanation: As the customer base grows, it's important to have dedicated CSMs to ensure customer satisfaction and retention.
  • Responsibilities:
    • Onboarding new customers.
    • Providing ongoing support and training.
    • Identifying opportunities for upsells and cross-sells.
  • Benefits: CSMs improve customer retention, increase customer lifetime value, and generate positive word-of-mouth referrals.
  • Example: CSMs work with newly acquired clients to ensure smooth onboarding, answer questions, and proactively address any issues, resulting in happier, long-term customers.
• Other Specialized Roles:
  • Sales Engineers: Provide technical expertise and support during the sales process.
  • Sales Operations: Manage sales tools, data, and processes.
  • Enablement: Equip the sales team with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to succeed.
  • Insights: As the company scales, additional specialized roles can be added to further optimize the sales process.
  • Example: As the product becomes more complex, sales engineers can assist with technical demos and integrations, while sales operations can streamline the sales process by implementing a CRM system.

Early Sales Management

This section provides guidance on how to manage a small, early-stage sales team.

• Founder as First Sales Manager:
  • Explanation: In the early stages, the founder typically serves as the first sales manager.
  • Responsibilities:
    • Hiring and training new salespeople.
    • Setting sales targets and quotas.
    • Coaching and mentoring the sales team.
    • Monitoring sales performance and providing feedback.
  • Insights: The founder's deep understanding of the product and the market makes them uniquely qualified to lead the initial sales efforts.
  • Example: The founder takes on the role of training new SDRs, sharing insights into effective prospecting techniques and providing feedback on their email outreach.
• Key Management Principles:
  • Lead by Example: Demonstrate the desired behaviors and work ethic.
  • Provide Clear Direction: Set clear goals and expectations.
  • Offer Regular Feedback: Provide constructive criticism and recognition.
  • Empower Your Team: Give them the autonomy to make decisions.
  • Foster a Positive Culture: Create a supportive and collaborative environment.
  • Insights: These principles are essential for building a high-performing sales team.
  • Example: The founder holds weekly one-on-one meetings with each salesperson, providing feedback on their performance and helping them develop strategies for closing deals.
• Coaching and Mentoring:
  • Explanation: Coaching involves providing specific guidance on how to improve performance, while mentoring focuses on long-term career development.
  • Techniques:
    • Active listening.
    • Asking open-ended questions.
    • Providing constructive feedback.
    • Sharing personal experiences.
  • Insights: Effective coaching and mentoring can significantly improve sales performance and employee retention.
  • Example: The founder listens to recordings of the salespeople's calls, providing specific feedback on their pitch and objection-handling techniques.
• Setting Goals and Quotas:
  • Explanation: Goals should be aligned with the company's overall objectives, while quotas should be challenging but achievable.
  • Considerations:
    • Market conditions.
    • Sales cycle length.
    • Average deal size.
  • Insights: Well-defined goals and quotas provide salespeople with a clear target and motivate them to perform at their best.
  • Example: The founder sets monthly sales quotas based on the average deal size and the number of qualified leads generated by the SDRs.
• Monitoring Performance:
  • Explanation: Tracking key metrics, such as lead conversion rates, deal closing rates, and customer acquisition costs, is essential for identifying areas for improvement.
  • Tools:
    • CRM systems.
    • Sales dashboards.
    • Reporting tools.
  • Insights: Regular monitoring allows sales managers to identify trends, address problems proactively, and make data-driven decisions.
  • Example: The founder uses a sales dashboard to track the number of deals in each stage of the pipeline and identify any bottlenecks.

Sales Performance Instrumentation

This section focuses on the importance of tracking and analyzing sales data to improve performance and make informed decisions.

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
  • Explanation: KPIs are quantifiable metrics that measure the effectiveness of the sales process.
  • Examples:
    • Number of leads generated.
    • Lead conversion rate.
    • Average deal size.
    • Sales cycle length.
    • Customer acquisition cost.
    • Customer lifetime value.
    • Win rate.
  • Insights: Tracking these KPIs provides valuable insights into the health of the sales organization.
  • Example: A company tracks the number of leads generated by each SDR to identify which outreach strategies are most effective.
• CRM as a Central Hub:
  • Explanation: A CRM system is essential for tracking customer interactions, managing the sales pipeline, and generating reports.
  • Benefits:
    • Improved data visibility.
    • Enhanced collaboration.
    • Streamlined sales processes.
    • More accurate forecasting.
  • Insights: A well-implemented CRM system is the foundation for effective sales performance instrumentation.
  • Example: A company uses its CRM system to track all customer interactions, from initial contact to closed deal, providing a complete view of the sales process.
• Sales Dashboards:
  • Explanation: Sales dashboards provide a visual representation of key sales metrics, allowing sales managers to quickly identify trends and address potential problems.
  • Customization: Dashboards should be customized to track the KPIs that are most relevant to the company's specific goals.
  • Insights: Sales dashboards provide a real-time view of sales performance, enabling data-driven decision-making.
  • Example: A sales manager uses a dashboard to track the number of deals in each stage of the pipeline, identify any deals that are stuck, and proactively intervene to help the salesperson move the deal forward.
• Reporting and Analysis:
  • Explanation: Regular reporting and analysis are essential for identifying areas for improvement and making informed decisions about sales strategy.
  • Techniques:
    • Trend analysis.
    • Cohort analysis.
    • Regression analysis.
  • Insights: In-depth analysis can reveal hidden patterns and insights that can be used to optimize the sales process.
  • Example: A company conducts a cohort analysis to compare the performance of different groups of salespeople who were hired at different times, identifying any training or onboarding improvements that can be made.

Chapter 11: High-Impact Sales Hiring

Starting to Scale & the Criticality of Quality Sales Hiring

This section emphasizes that as a company transitions from experimentation to scaling, hiring the right sales team becomes paramount. Mistakes in hiring can be costly and hinder growth.

• Experimentation vs. Scaling Mindset: Early on, the focus is on finding product-market fit. Hiring is less critical because the founder is often the primary salesperson. However, once a repeatable sales process is established, the focus shifts to scaling, and hiring quality salespeople becomes crucial.
• Cost of Bad Hires: Poor sales hires can negatively impact revenue, damage customer relationships, and demoralize the existing team. The cost extends beyond salary and includes wasted time, lost opportunities, and potential reputational damage.
• Example: A startup hires an experienced salesperson with a proven track record at a large company. However, the salesperson struggles to adapt to the fast-paced, resource-constrained environment of the startup and fails to meet expectations. The company wastes valuable time and money on salary, training, and lost sales opportunities.
• Quality over Quantity: It's better to have a small, highly effective sales team than a large team of mediocre performers. Focus on finding individuals who are a good fit for the company culture, have the necessary skills, and are motivated to succeed.
• Hiring as a Strategic Imperative: Sales hiring should be viewed as a strategic initiative that requires careful planning, a well-defined process, and a commitment to finding the best candidates.
• Insight: Neglecting the importance of quality sales hiring can lead to stagnation, missed opportunities, and ultimately, failure to scale effectively.

Scaling by Specialization

This section explains the benefits of scaling a sales team through specialization, where different roles focus on specific parts of the sales process.

• Generalists vs. Specialists: In the early stages, salespeople often handle all aspects of the sales process. However, as the company grows, specialization becomes more efficient.
• Sales Development Representatives (SDRs): SDRs focus on lead generation and qualification, freeing up account executives to focus on closing deals.
  • Responsibilities: Prospecting, cold calling, qualifying leads, setting appointments.
  • Benefits: Increased lead volume, improved lead quality, and higher account executive productivity.
  • Example: A company hires SDRs to identify and qualify potential customers through targeted email campaigns and phone calls. The SDRs then schedule demos for the account executives with the most promising leads.
• Account Executives (AEs): AEs focus on closing deals with qualified leads.
  • Responsibilities: Conducting demos, negotiating contracts, building relationships with prospects, closing deals.
  • Benefits: Higher win rates, increased revenue, and more efficient use of time.
  • Example: Account executives take over qualified leads from the SDRs, conduct in-depth demos, and work closely with the prospects to tailor the solution to their needs, ultimately closing the deal.
• Customer Success Managers (CSMs): CSMs focus on ensuring customer satisfaction and retention.
  • Responsibilities: Onboarding new customers, providing ongoing support and training, identifying opportunities for upsells and cross-sells.
  • Benefits: Reduced churn, increased customer lifetime value, and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
  • Example: CSMs work with newly acquired clients to ensure smooth onboarding, answer questions, and proactively address any issues, resulting in happier, long-term customers.
• Other Specialized Roles:
  • Sales Engineers: Provide technical expertise and support during the sales process.
  • Sales Operations: Manage sales tools, data, and processes.
  • Enablement: Equip the sales team with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to succeed.
• Insight: Specialization allows individuals to focus on their strengths, leading to increased efficiency, improved performance, and better overall results.
• Caution: It's important to carefully consider the company's specific needs and stage of growth when determining the appropriate level of specialization. Over-specialization can lead to communication silos and decreased collaboration.

Articulating and Documenting Your Hiring Profile

This section emphasizes the importance of defining the ideal candidate profile before starting the hiring process.

• Define Required Skills and Experience:
  • Technical Skills: Product knowledge, industry knowledge, sales techniques.
  • Soft Skills: Communication, interpersonal skills, problem-solving, resilience.
  • Experience: Years of experience, industry experience, specific achievements.
• Identify Personality Traits:
  • Drive: Motivation, ambition, work ethic.
  • Coachability: Willingness to learn and adapt.
  • Resilience: Ability to bounce back from rejection.
  • Empathy: Ability to understand and connect with customers.
• Align with Company Culture:
  • Values: Identify the company's core values and look for candidates who share those values.
  • Work Style: Consider the company's work environment and look for candidates who thrive in that environment.
• Create a Detailed Job Description:
  • Responsibilities: Clearly outline the responsibilities of the role.
  • Qualifications: Specify the required skills, experience, and personality traits.
  • Compensation: Provide a clear understanding of the compensation package.
• Document the Hiring Profile:
  • Formal Document: Create a formal document that outlines the ideal candidate profile.
  • Shared Resource: Share the document with the hiring team to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Insight: A well-defined hiring profile helps to focus the search, attract qualified candidates, and improve the chances of making a successful hire.
• Example: A company seeking to hire an account executive creates a detailed hiring profile that specifies the required skills, experience, personality traits, and alignment with company culture. The profile is shared with the hiring team to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Sources of Hire, or How to Find Your Profile

This section explores different sources for finding qualified sales candidates.

• Internal Referrals:
  • Benefits: Employees often refer candidates who are a good fit for the company culture and have the necessary skills.
  • Incentives: Offer incentives for successful referrals.
  • Example: A company implements an employee referral program that offers a bonus for successful hires.
• LinkedIn:
  • Benefits: LinkedIn is a vast professional network that can be used to identify and connect with potential candidates.
  • Search Filters: Use advanced search filters to narrow down the search based on skills, experience, and location.
  • Recruiter Tools: Utilize LinkedIn Recruiter to access a wider range of candidates and advanced search features.
• Job Boards:
  • Benefits: Job boards can be used to post job openings and attract candidates who are actively seeking employment.
  • Targeted Boards: Choose job boards that are relevant to the industry and target audience.
  • Example: A company posts a job opening on a niche job board that specializes in sales positions within the technology industry.
• Industry Events:
  • Benefits: Industry events provide an opportunity to network with potential candidates and learn about their skills and experience.
  • Networking: Attend industry conferences, trade shows, and meetups to connect with potential hires.
  • Example: A company sends representatives to an industry conference to network with potential candidates and promote their open positions.
• Recruiting Agencies:
  • Benefits: Recruiting agencies can help to identify and screen candidates, saving the company time and resources.
  • Specialized Agencies: Choose agencies that specialize in sales positions within the relevant industry.
  • Example: A company partners with a recruiting agency that specializes in placing sales professionals within the SaaS industry.
• Competitor Analysis:
  • Benefits: Identifying and recruiting successful salespeople from competitors can be a quick way to acquire talent.
  • Ethical Considerations: Be mindful of ethical considerations and avoid poaching candidates who are under contract.
• Insight: A multi-faceted approach to sourcing candidates is essential for finding the best talent. Combining different sources can increase the reach and improve the quality of the candidate pool.

Post-Interview

This section provides guidance on how to evaluate candidates after the interview process.

• Establish a Structured Interview Process:
  • Standardized Questions: Use a consistent set of questions for all candidates to ensure a fair and objective evaluation.
  • Scoring System: Implement a scoring system to rate candidates on specific skills and attributes.
  • Multiple Interviewers: Involve multiple interviewers to get different perspectives on the candidate.
• Behavioral Interviewing:
  • Focus on Past Behavior: Ask candidates about their past experiences and how they handled specific situations.
  • STAR Method: Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to elicit detailed and specific answers.
  • Example: "Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult sales challenge. What was the situation, what task were you trying to accomplish, what actions did you take, and what was the result?"
• Skills Assessment:
  • Sales Simulations: Conduct sales simulations to assess the candidate's sales skills in a realistic setting.
  • Role-Playing: Use role-playing exercises to evaluate the candidate's ability to handle objections and close deals.
  • Case Studies: Present candidates with case studies and ask them to develop a sales strategy.
• Reference Checks:
  • Contact References: Contact the candidate's references to verify their skills, experience, and work ethic.
  • Ask Open-Ended Questions: Ask open-ended questions to get a more detailed and honest assessment of the candidate.
• Culture Fit Assessment:
  • Team Meetings: Involve the team in the interview process to assess the candidate's fit with the company culture.
  • Social Events: Invite the candidate to social events to see how they interact with the team.
• Debrief and Evaluate:
  • Gather Feedback: Collect feedback from all interviewers.
  • Compare Scores: Compare scores and discuss any discrepancies.
  • Make a Decision: Make a data-driven decision based on the interview results and reference checks.
• Insight: A structured and objective interview process helps to minimize bias and improve the chances of making a successful hire.
• Example: After conducting interviews, the hiring team debriefs and evaluates each candidate based on the interview results, skills assessments, and reference checks. They compare scores and discuss any discrepancies before making a final decision.
• Negotiate and Extend Offer: The compensation package has to be competitive and has to align with the company's budget. Founders should clearly state expectations and provide a clear career path for growth.

Chapter 12: Sales Compensation Basics

Understanding how to design sales compensation plans is essential for motivating and retaining your sales team. This chapter lays the foundation for creating effective and scalable compensation structures, along with strategies to align incentives with your company’s goals.

The Role of Compensation in Sales

• Compensation as Motivation:
  • Salespeople are uniquely motivated by compensation, as their role directly ties to measurable performance metrics (like revenue or deal volume).
  • Unlike other functions in the company, sales outcomes can often be directly traced to individual efforts, making incentives an effective tool.
  • Insight: Compensation plans need to strike a balance between motivating behaviors that drive growth and ensuring fairness and sustainability for the company.
• Compensation and Culture Fit:
  • The structure of your compensation plan will influence the behaviors and culture within your sales team.
  • Example: A high-risk, high-reward compensation model (e.g., high commission with lower base pay) may attract aggressive, competitive individuals, whereas a more balanced model (e.g., equal base and commission) might create a more stable, collaborative culture.

Core Components of a Sales Compensation Plan

This section introduces the main elements of a sales compensation plan that must be tailored to your company’s goals and stage of growth.

1. Base Salary

• Definition: The fixed portion of a salesperson’s pay that provides financial stability.
• Purpose: Ensures salespeople have a steady income even during slow sales periods, making the role more attractive and reducing burnout.
• Considerations:
  • Base pay should reflect the expertise and effort required for the role.
  • Early-stage companies often offer lower base salaries, supplemented with higher variable compensation to attract risk-tolerant individuals.
• Example: An entry-level Sales Development Representative (SDR) might have a base salary of $50,000 in a tech startup, with the rest of their earnings tied to performance-based bonuses.

2. On-Target Earnings (OTE)

• Definition: The total compensation a salesperson can expect to earn if they achieve 100% of their quota.
• OTS Components:
  • Base Salary + Variable Pay (Commission or Bonuses).
• Industry Benchmarks: In SaaS and other tech-driven industries, it’s common for OTE to have a 50/50 split between base salary and commission.
• Example: A salesperson’s OTE might be $120,000, split as $60,000 in base salary and $60,000 through commissions.

3. Commission (Variable Pay)

• Definition: The performance-based portion of compensation tied to hitting specific measurable metrics, such as closed deals, revenue, or customer retention.
• Commission Structures:
  • Flat Commission Rates: A fixed percentage of revenue earned (e.g., 10% of every deal closed).
  • Tiered Commissions: Higher commission rates for exceeding quotas (e.g., 5% for deals up to quota, 10% for deals above quota).
  • Accelerators: Additional incentives to reward over-performance (e.g., 2x standard commission for revenue exceeding 120% of quota).
• Insights:
  • Commission plans should align with your company’s growth goals. For example:
    • If early-stage, prioritize signing new deals.
    • If scaling, ensure a focus on retention and upsells.
  • Avoid overly complex commission structures – they should motivate sales without confusion.
• Example: A SaaS AE might earn 10% commission on deals that meet their monthly quota, and a 15% commission on deals exceeding 120% of the quota.

Quotas: Setting Targets for Success

Quotas are central to sales compensation plans, forming the basis for earning commissions and bonuses.

• Definition: A quota is the sales target or benchmark that salespeople are expected to meet, typically defined as revenue, the number of deals closed, or specific milestones (e.g., onboarding enterprise customers).
• Designing Quotas:
  • Quotas should align with the company’s growth goals and be realistic yet challenging.
  • Use historical data, market conditions, and deal sizes to set achievable quotas.
  • Insight: Unachievable quotas lead to demotivation, high turnover, and resentment, while overly easy quotas negatively impact growth.
• Types of Quotas:
  • Revenue Quotas: Based on the total dollar value of closed deals (e.g., $100,000 per quarter).
  • Activity Quotas: Focused on behaviors like calls made, demos scheduled, or emails sent (used more for SDRs).
  • Market Segmentation Quotas: Different quotas by region, segment, or industry.
• Example: A mid-level SaaS account executive might have a monthly quota of $50,000 in new recurring revenue.

Designing Fair and Scalable Compensation Plans

This section outlines how to create compensation plans that work both for your sales team and your company’s long-term sustainability.

1. Define Clear Incentives

• Align incentives with the company’s current phase:
  • Early Stage: Focus heavily on acquiring new customers.
  • Scaling Growth Stage: Balance between new logos, upsells, and renewals.
• Ensure salespeople aren’t incentivized to prioritize one type of deal over others (e.g., closing high-volume low-quality deals just to meet quotas).

2. Protect Margins

• Compensation plans must ensure that sales efforts align with profitability.
• Consider offering higher commissions for selling higher-margin products or new features.
• Example: Offering a 15% commission for a premium product but only 10% for an entry-level product.

3. Minimize "Gaming the System"

• Pitfall to Avoid: Overly complex compensation models may lead to unintended behaviors (e.g., sandbagging deals to hit upcoming quotas).
• Solution:
  • Set clear, enforceable rules around timing, deal qualifications, and payout timelines.
  • Example: Ensure quotas are prorated for salespeople joining mid-quarter to avoid creating unfair competition.

4. Pay at Regular Intervals

• Salespeople thrive on immediate gratification, so frequent payouts (e.g., monthly, bi-weekly) keep them motivated.
• Avoid delays in paying commissions, as it can erode trust.

Long-Term Incentives: Retention and Motivation

Beyond base pay and commissions, companies can offer additional incentives to reward performance and retain top talent over the long term.

1. Bonuses

• Performance bonuses can be tied to specific milestones, like exceeding the annual sales target or signing a flagship customer.
• Example: Offering a $10,000 annual bonus to a top-performing AE for closing a certain volume of deals.

2. Equity

• For early-stage companies, offering equity can be a powerful incentive to attract entrepreneurial salespeople willing to take risks for long-term rewards.
• Example: A startup offers 0.25% equity for senior sales hires to align their success with the company’s growth.

3. Recognition and Non-Monetary Rewards

• Celebrate top performers with awards, contests, or other forms of recognition.
• Example: A sales team runs a quarterly competition where the highest-performing rep wins an all-expenses-paid trip.

Compensation Pitfalls to Avoid

• Overemphasis on Top Performers:
  • While it’s important to reward top performers, neglecting the mid-tier performers can result in missed opportunities for growth.
  • Insight: Invest in coaching and motivating mid-tier reps as they often represent a significant portion of your revenue.
• Misaligned Metrics:
  • Avoid incentivizing behaviors that don’t lead to long-term success (e.g., rewarding AEs for closing deals without considering customer retention).
  • Example: A rep might close a deal with a poorly qualified customer who later churns.
• Underpaying for Results:
  • Offering below-market compensation will make it difficult to hire and retain top talent.
  • Insight: Research industry benchmarks and ensure compensation is competitive.

Tailoring Compensation for Different Sales Roles

Different types of sales roles require unique compensation structures:

1. Sales Development Representatives (SDRs)

• Base-heavy pay to reflect their focus on lead generation rather than closing deals.
• High bonuses tied to appointments set or leads converted.

2. Account Executives (AEs)

• Balanced OTE split between base and commission (e.g., 50/50).
• Quota-driven with accelerators for exceeding targets.

3. Customer Success Managers (CSMs)

• Less emphasis on commission, with bonuses tied to retention rates, renewals, and upsells.

4. Sales Managers

• Compensation tied to team performance, with bonuses based on overall revenue targets.

Example of a SaaS Sales Compensation Plan

A SaaS company with an annual revenue goal of $2 million creates the following structure:

• SDRs: $50,000 base + $20 per qualified lead = $70,000 OTE.
• AEs: $60,000 base + 10% commission on closed deals = $120,000 OTE.
• CSMs: $60,000 base + $10,000 bonus for 95% retention = $70,000 OTE.