Predictable Revenue

What people are saying about “Predictable Revenue”...

"Reading Predictable Revenue is like having a delicious conversation with a sales guru who generously shares his sales process, results and lessons learned. I’m so impressed, energized and refreshed to hear such relevance mixed with humor and unabashed logic. This book is honest, relevant and logical and it’s rated A++ because it’s guaranteed to make you think and convinces you to change things up….fast. Now, please excuse me as I’m running out to a funeral for my phone. After reading my favorite chapter on RIP Cold Calling there’s no doubt its dead and gone and Aaron tells us why." -Josiane Feigon, CEO of TeleSmart and author of Smart Selling on the Phone and Online ´,MXVWÀQLVKHGUHDGLQJ\RXUERRN8QEHOLHYDEOH,QRZNQRZZKDW VZURQJ with our sales process…” – Pat Shah, CEO, SurchSquad ´,KDYHUHDG3UHGLFWDEOH5HYHQXHDQGLW V(QWUHSUHQHXULDO&UDFNµ – Damien Stevens, CEO, Servosity ´:RUNLQJZLWK$DURQ5RVVKDVEHHQQRWKLQJVKRUWRI DPD]LQJ+LVPHWKRGV DSSOLHG WR RXU VDOHV RUJDQL]DWLRQ KHOSHG XV SURGXFH D SURÀWDEOH DQG scalable new stream of predictable revenue. We saw at least 40+% new EXVLQHVVJURZWK7KHEHVWSDUWLVZHKDGDEODVWZKLOHGRLQJLWµ – Michael Stone, VP Sales and Strategy, WPromote (#1 ranked Search Marketing Firm on the Inc. 500) “The concept of the sales machine is brilliant. Aaron has done a great job distilling a complex concept into a simple-to-read, consummate bible for entrepreneurs and executives.” – Promise Phelon, CEO, UpMo “Aaron has created a work that is useful to established companies and entrepreneurs. The material is easily digested and applicable to businesses large and small.” – Brent Mellow, CEO, akaCRM

“The companies I’ve seen that have followed Aaron’s advice have outperformed. What more can I say?” – Tim Connors, General Partner, US Venture Partners “Aaron’s one of the leading thinkers of the Sales 2.0 movement. I am inspired by Aaron’s vision, amazed by his creativity, and thankful for his counsel.” – Daniel Zamudio, CEO, Playboox ´$DURQKDVEHHQDJUHDWDGYLVRUIRU$GDSW$GV+LV¶FDXWLRXVO\EXWVXUHO\· DSSURDFKPDWFKHVWKDWRI $GDSW$GV+HEULQJVLQYDOXDEOHOHDUQLQJH[SHULHQFHV LQ WHUPV RI EXLOGLQJ D VDOHV WHDP +H·V DFFHVVLEOH ZLWK WKH PRVW astute of perspectives.” – Yogesh Sharma, CEO, AdaptAds “Aaron is the quintessential example of how great leaders can be if they set aside their egos, create a clear and bold vision, and empower their people to H[HFXWHOLNHPLQL&(2V,WRRNRYHUWKHWHDPWKDW$DURQFUHDWHGDW6DOHVforce.com and I’ve been amazed by his leadership in building a solid foundation set for explosive and sustainable success. Thanks Aaron. You’ve PDGHPHORRNPLJKW\JRRGDURXQGKHUHµ – Ryan Martin, Director of New Business, Salesforce.com “Aaron is really unique—on the one hand he is a savvy and experienced businessman, and on the other hand he is a grounded and balanced person ZKRWUXO\HQMR\VKHOSLQJRWKHUVEHFRPHVXFFHVVIXO+H·VDEOHWRWKLQNOLNHD ERRWVWUDSSLQJHQWUHSUHQHXUDQGFRUSRUDWHFKLHI DWWKHVDPHWLPH+HNQRZV WKDW\HVWHUGD\·VPHWKRGVDUHQ WHQRXJKWRFUHDWHVXVWDLQDEOHDQGSUHGLFWDEOH growth in the new economy. It is a real pleasure to know and work with him.” – Eliot Burdett, Founder and Managing Partner, Peak Sales Recruiting ´$DURQKDVDQDPD]LQJDELOLW\WRDVVHVVJXLGHDQGWHDFK&(2VKRZWRVKLIW their approach to business to help them create more predictable revenue, a sales staff that runs itself as a sales machine, and to reduce stress and LQFUHDVHIUHHGRPLQWKHLUOLYHV,W VEHHQP\KRQRUWRZRUNZLWKKLPDQG witness the changes he helps others bring forth.” – Onna Young, LifeAfterDebt.us ´$IWHU DWWHQGLQJ P\ ÀUVW &(2)ORZ 6DOHV 0DFKLQH JDWKHULQJ , UHDOL]HG PDQ\RI XV&(2VIDFHUHPDUNDEO\VLPLODUFRUHLVVXHV%HWWHU\HWWKHH[SHrience and advice from one entrepreneur is incredibly timely and relevant to another. There’s nothing better than having a conversation with a group of bright, motivated leaders to focus on what makes a company great.” – Andrei Stoica, Founder, ConnectAndSell

“There is something extraordinary that happens when smart business leaders sit down to talk about their ideas for transforming business, and Aaron 5RVVLVDPDVWHUDWJXLGLQJWKHVHFRQYHUVDWLRQVWRKHOSÀQGWKHUHDOJHPV I think a best-selling business book could come out of every one of these events—wish I had the time to write one of them.” – John Girard, Founder, Clickability “Aaron Ross quickly grasped the issues and provided extremely helpful and FUHDWLYHLGHDVÀUPO\URRWHGLQKLVH[SHUWLVHDERXWEXVLQHVVJURZWK0RVW impressively, he did this with sensitivity to my personal motivations and comfort level. Thanks to Aaron, I now feel at ease moving my business to the national level.” – Klia Bassing, CEO, VisitYourself.net “Aaron is insightful, intelligent, and highly dedicated to the missions he designs for his life. The focus, drive, and determination Aaron demonstrates are admirable qualities that inspire. I would recommend Aaron to any company that is looking for a good person, who is also a strong and formidable leader.” – Kim Santy, Founder, Soul Shui “Aaron has always looked out for and fought for the best interests of people ZKRZRUNIRUKLP%H\RQGWKDWKHLVVPDUWVWUDWHJLFDQGFDQJRMXVWDERXW DQ\ZKHUHKHZDQWVWRJRLQWKLVLQGXVWU\+H·VDTXDOLW\JX\ZKR,ZRXOG jump to work with in the future.” – Brendon Cassidy, VP Sales, EchoSign “You are doing good helping people Aaron–your work will not go unnoticed. Sharing and helping others is a true talent of yours.” – Ryan Born, CEO, AudioMicro $VXVXDO$DURQ VLQVSLULQJDQGKLVLQQRYDWLYH&ROG&DOOLQJWDFWLFVDUH refreshing. I love that Aaron makes sure to include helpful advice on how to hire and compensate the best talent for maximum success. You can have great sales tactics and tools, but it will all be wasted if you put the wrong EXWWVLQWKHVHDWVDQGQHJOHFWWKDWWDOHQW)ROORZ$DURQ VKLULQJDGYLFHDQG \RX OOVHHJUHDWUHVXOWVOLNH,GLG Kevin Gaither, Founder and CEO, InsideSalesRecruiting.com

Predictable Revenue: 7XUQ
Aaron Ross and

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,6%1 Copyright © 2012 Aaron Ross. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying, without written permission of the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission from the publisher. Aaron Ross PebbleStorm, Inc. 6DQWD0RQLFD%OYG :HVW+ROO\ZRRG&$ &RQWDFWLQIR#SHEEOHVWRUPFRP www.PredictableRevenue.com ZZZ8QLTXH*HQLXVFRP www.PebbleStorm.com ZZZ&(2)ORZFRP Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty The author and publisher shall not be liable for your misuse of this material. This book is strictly for informational and educational purposes. Warning – Disclaimer The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author and/or publisher do not guarantee that anyone following these techniques, suggestions, tips, ideas, or strategies will become successful. The author and/or publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to anyone with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

Dedication 7KDQN \RX 5RE $FNHU 6KHOO\ 'DYHQSRUW &DU\ )XOEULJKW )UDQN 9DQ 9HHQHQGDDO5\DQ0DUWLQ0DUF%HQLRII-LP6WHHOH%UHWW4XHHQHU57/ -RKQ6RPRUMDL(U\WKHDQ0DUWLQDOOWKHSDVWSUHVHQWDQGIXWXUHPHPEHUV RI WKH (QWHUSULVH %XVLQHVV 5HSUHVHQWDWLYH VDOHV WHDPV DURXQG WKH ZRUOG and my many other Salesforce.com friends and supporters. 7KDQN\RX7LP&RQQRUV5REHUWR$QJXORDQG-RKQ*LUDUGIRUJHWWLQJPH started on the sales consulting path after Salesforce.com. 7KDQN\RX-RQ0LOOHU 0DULD3HUJROLQRIRU\RXUVXSSRUWZLWKWKHPredictable Revenue book and message. 7KDQN \RX 2QQD
Foreword ,W VSRSXODUQRZWREHOLHYH\RXFDQJURZDEXVLQHVVWKURXJKYDOXHVOLNHpurpose, happy employees and customers, vision andIXOÀOOPHQWThey work, as proven by FRPSDQLHVOLNH=DSSRV %XWSXUSRVHLVQ WHQRXJKDQGLI \RXUVDOHVDUHVXFNLQJZLQGLW VUHDOO\ hard to be happy. ,W VDOOZHOODQGJRRGWRZDQWWRPDNHDELJGLIIHUHQFHPDNHPRQH\FUHDWHD IXOÀOOHGKDSS\ZRUNIRUFHDQGFKDQJHWKHZRUOGEXWKRZDUH\RXJRLQJWR do all that if you are living month-to-month, paycheck-to-paycheck, strugJOLQJFRQVWDQWO\ZLWK\RXUÀQDQFLDOJRDOV" In order to make a difference that sticks, you also need solid, simple and sustainable sales practices. What if you could implement an enjoyable sales process that can generate a SUHGLFWDEOHÁRZRI KLJKO\TXDOLÀHGVDOHVRSSRUWXQLWLHVPRQWKDIWHUPRQWK" What would your company’s revenue and growth look like if you could grow QHZEXVLQHVVVDOHVE\²ZLWKRXWKDYLQJWRPDNHDQRWKHUXQSURductive cold call ever again? I wrote this book to help executives and sales organizations feel the success, freedom and peace of mind that come with having predictable revenue.

My Purpose: To Help You Make Money Through Enjoyment 0\ SXUSRVH ZKLFK P\ VDOHV WHDFKLQJV DUH D SDUW RI LV WR KHOS \RX PDNH PRQH\WKURXJKHQMR\PHQW\RXUSXUSRVHDQGSDVVLRQV VRWKDW\RXFDQOLYH DIUHHIXQDQGIXOÀOOHGOLIHWKDWFRPELQHVPRQH\DQGKDSSLQHVV An important part of enjoying work in a company, whether you’re an executive or an employee, comes from creating predictable income and sales, and freeing yourself and your team from the day-to-day slog of constantly wondering where each new customer will come from.

You Can Make As Much Money As You Want, Doing What You Love In addition to Predictable Revenue, I have two other bodies of work. Unique Genius helps you discover your purpose and turn it into a business you love. CEOFlowKHOSV\RXWXUQ\RXUHPSOR\HHVLQWRPLQL&(2V Through mentoring hundreds of people, and from my own experience, I KDYHOHDUQHGWKHVHWUXWKV 1. You can make as much money as you want. 2. You can do anything you love.
Contents CHAPTER 1: Where The $100 Million Came From............................ 1 6WDUW+HUH 2 7KH³+RW&RDOV´6NHWFK 4 7KH3DLQIXO3ODQQLQJ0LVWDNH%RDUGVDQG6DOHV93V 0DNH(YHU\
CHAPTER 2: Cold Calling 2.0 – Ramp Sales Fast Without Cold Calls ............................................................................... 17 7KH)LUVW%UHDNWKURXJKV 7HUPVDQG$EEUHYLDWLRQV 22 5,3&ROG&DOOLQJ 23 6DOHVIRUFHFRP¶V&ROG&DOOLQJ6WRU\ 25 &ROG&DOOLQJYV&ROG&DOOLQJ 28 &RXOG&ROG&DOOLQJ:RUNIRU0\&RPSDQ\" 30 :K\$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV6KRXOG1RW0DNH&ROG&DOOV 31 &DVH6WXG\+\SHU4XDOLW\7ULSOHV5HVXOWV,Q'D\V 32

CHAPTER 3: Executing Cold Calling 2.0 .......................................... 35 *HWWLQJ6WDUWHGZLWK&ROG&DOOLQJ 36 7KH0RVW,PSRUWDQW)LUVW6WHS 37 :K\6DOHV'HYHORSPHQWDQG0DUNHW5HVSRQVH6KRXOG%H6HSDUDWHG &KRRVLQJD6DOHV)RUFH$XWRPDWLRQ6\VWHP 40 +RZ&ROG&DOOLQJ:RUNV±7KH3URFHVV 44 *HW&OHDURQ
,PSURYH&DOO(IIHFWLYHQHVVZLWKRXW6FULSWV 68 0RYH3URVSHFWVWKURXJK³$FFRXQW6WDWXV´$VVHPEO\/LQH6WDJHV 71 6'5&RPSHQVDWLRQ 74 6'5V$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV$UH
CHAPTER 4: Prospecting Best Practices ........................................ 77 $³'D\LQ7KH/LIH´6'5([DPSOH 78 7KH7RS3URVSHFWLQJ0LVWDNHV5HSV0DNH 80 0\)DYRULWH3URVSHFWLQJ4XHVWLRQV 81 4XLFN3URVSHFWLQJ7ULFNV 82 7LPH0DQDJHPHQWDQG)RFXV7LS³*RDOVIRUWKH'D\´ 84 ([DPSOH'DVKERDUGVLQ6DOHVIRUFHFRP 85

CHAPTER 5: Sales Best Practices .................................................... 87 6HOOWR6XFFHVV 88 :D\V
CHAPTER 6: Lead Generation and “Seeds, Nets and Spears” ..105 'LVWLQJXLVKLQJ/HDGV³6HHGV1HWVDQG6SHDUV´106 ([DPSOHRI³1HWV´0DUNHWLQJ)XQQHO107 ([DPSOHRI³6SHDUV´3URVSHFWLQJ)XQQHO107 'H¿QLQJ3URVSHFWV/HDGV2SSRUWXQLWLHV&OLHQWVDQG&KDPSLRQV108 8VH³/D\HUVRIWKH2QLRQ´WR6HOOIRU
CHAPTER 7: Seven Fatal Mistakes CEOs and Sales VPs Make ....................................................................................131 1RW7DNLQJ5HVSRQVLELOLW\IRU8QGHUVWDQGLQJ6DOHV /HDG*HQHUDWLRQ132 7KLQNLQJ$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV6KRXOG3URVSHFW 133 $VVXPLQJ&KDQQHOV:LOO6HOOIRU
CHAPTER 8: Sales Machine Fundamentals ....................................139 ³+DSS\&XVWRPHUV&UHDWH([WUDRUGLQDU\*URZWK´6NHWFK 140 :KDW:RUNVLQ6DOHV+DV&KDQJHG 142 3ULQFLSOHVRI%XLOGLQJD6DOHV0DFKLQH 143 6HSDUDWHWKH)RXU&RUH6DOHV)XQFWLRQV 145 ,I
CHAPTER 9: Cultivating Your Talent.................................................151 +DSS\(PSOR\HHV'HYHORS+DSS\&XVWRPHUV 152 :KHUH'R,+LUH*UHDW6DOHVSHRSOH" 153 7KH9HU\%HVW6DOHVSHRSOH 155 6KRXOG
CHAPTER 10: Leadership And Management ..................................162 5HVSRQVLELOLWLHV2ID0DQDJHU 164 5HWDLQLQJ6WDU(PSOR\HHV 167 +RZ:H&UHDWHG6DOHV0DFKLQH$OLJQPHQWWKURXJK6DOHVIRUFHFRP¶V 90203ODQQLQJ3URFHVV 168 :D\VWR,QVSLUHDQG,PSURYHWKH6DOHV2UJDQL]DWLRQ 171 :K\'R6DOHVSHRSOH5HVLVW)ROORZLQJ'LUHFWLRQV" 172 +RZWR'HVLJQ6HOI0DQDJLQJ7HDPVDQG3URFHVVHV 176 (QJDJHWKH:KROH7HDPLQ'HVLJQLQJ7KHLU&RPSHQVDWLRQ 184 :D\VWR,PSURYH6DOHV)RUFH$XWRPDWLRQ$GRSWLRQ 187

CHAPTER 11: Next Steps and Resources........................................191 :KHUH:LOO
Where The $100 Million Came From -

Predictable Revenue

1 Where the $100 Million Came From I’d never done business-to-business sales in my life before I joined Salesforce.com, which actually helped me create the breakthroughs I did…

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Predictable Revenue - Where The $100 Million Came From

Start Here , PJRLQJWRVWDUWE\DGGUHVVLQJKHDGRQRQHRI WKHELJJHVWPLVFRQFHSWLRQV LQPRGHUQHIIHFWLYHVDOHVWKDWDGGLQJVDOHVSHRSOHLVZKDWJURZVUHYHQXH Do you want the peace of mind that comes with knowing your own sales RUJDQL]DWLRQZLOOEHD´6DOHV0DFKLQHµFUDQNLQJRXWSUHGLFWDEOHUHYHQXH JHQHUDWLQJQHZOHDGVRQGHPDQGDQGPHHWLQJ\RXUÀQDQFLDOJRDOVZLWKRXW your constant focus and attention? I created a sales lead generation process and team at Salesforce.com that KHOSHGLQFUHDVHUHYHQXHVE\PRUHWKDQPLOOLRQLQWKHÀUVWIHZ\HDUV Partners and I then taught the same process to other companies, helping WKHPGRXEOHDQGWULSOHWKHLUQHZUHYHQXHJURZWKOLNH5HVSRQV\VWKH 6DDV 0DUNHWLQJ 3ODWIRUP :3URPRWH WKH VHDUFK HQJLQH LQ WKH ,QF DQG+\SHU4XDOLW\WULSOHGWKHLUUHVXOWVLQMXVWGD\V ,W·VFRPPRQ IRURI RXUFOLHQWV·VDOHVSLSHOLQHWRFRPHIURPWKLVRXWERXQGSURFHVVGULYLQJWKHEXONRUDOO RI WKHLUJURZWK

Of course you want more revenue, but what good is it if it isn’t predictable?

2I FRXUVH \RX ZDQW PRUH UHYHQXH EXW ZKDW JRRG LV LW LI LW LVQ·W SUHGLFWDEOH" 2QHWLPH UHYHQXH VSLNHV WKDW aren’t repeatable won’t help you achieve consistent yearafter-year growth. You want growth that doesn’t require guessing, hope and frantic last minute deal hustling every quarter- and year-end.

The book is based on more than eight years of experience at Salesforce.com and consulting and advising dozens of other technolRJ\DQGEXVLQHVVVHUYLFHVFRPSDQLHVLQFOXGLQJ6XFFHVV)DFWRUV5HVSRQV\V 6HUYRVLW\ &OLFNDELOLW\ $IWHU&ROOHJH ,1)2 &LWUXV%\WH 6DYYLRQ 7UXOLD :3URPRWH;%ULJKW(GJH1(2*29%RYLW]5HVHDUFK*URXSDQGRWKers.

Three Keys To Predictable Revenue %XLOGLQJD6DOHV0DFKLQHWKDWFUHDWHVRQJRLQJSUHGLFWDEOHUHYHQXHWDNHV 3UHGLFWDEOH/HDG*HQHUDWLRQWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWWKLQJIRU creating predictable revenue. 2. A Sales Development Team that bridges the chasm between

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Predictable Revenue

marketing and sales. &RQVLVWHQW 6DOHV 6\VWHPV EHFDXVH ZLWKRXW FRQVLVWHQF\ \RX have no predictability. %RWKDW6DOHVIRUFHFRPDQGLQFRQVXOWLQJZLWKFRPSDQLHV, YHIRXQGWLPH and again that the biggest impact on predictable revenue, the lowest hanging fruit, is made by creating an outbound sales development team that focuses 100% on prospecting (that means no closing deals and no working LQERXQGOHDGV
Bite-Sized Chunks Sometimes all it takes is one good idea, one right practice, to get things moving again. I write this book as a series of bite-sized chunks of ideas that you can scan and try out. 0\LQWHQWLRQLVSURYLGH\RXDUHVRXUFHJXLGHRUPDQXDOWKDW\RXFDQRSHQ WRDQ\SDJHDQGÀQGVRPHWKLQJXVHIXOWROHDUQDQGDSSO\

Are You New To Sales, Or A New CEO I wrote the book primarily for people who have some sales experience, so ZHMXPSULJKWLQWRWRSLFVHDUO\LQWKHERRNOLNH)DWDO3ODQQLQJ0LVWDNHV and "Cold Calling 2.0." ,I \RX UHQHZWRVDOHVVDOHVPDQDJHPHQWRUEHLQJD&(2, GUHFRPPHQG \RXÀUVWUHDG&KDSWHU/HDG*HQHUDWLRQ 6HHGV1HWV 6SHDUVDQG &KDSWHU6HYHQ)DWDO6DOHV0LVWDNHV&(2VDQG6DOHV93V0DNH Those two chapters will help give you more of a "Sales 101" foundation before getting into the rest of the book.


The “Hot Coals” Sketch :KDW &(2 RU 93 6DOHV GRHVQ·W UHODWH WR WKLV LPDJH"
8VXDOO\ WKH FDXVH RI WKH ´KRW FRDOVµ LV D VKLIW IURP RUJDQLF JURZWK ´$µ (based on getting customers through founders relationships and hustling RURUJDQLFLQWHUQHWPDUNHWLQJ WRSURDFWLYHJURZWK´&µZKLFKLVEDVHGRQ investing in programs that generate predictable growth. Shifting from organic growth to proactive growth requires new habits, practices and systems, causing a lot of delays and frustrations. Appreciate that the shift is a process which does not happen overnight. 6WD\FRPPLWWHGSHUVLVWHQWDQGSDWLHQWDV\RXJHWWKURXJKWKH´+RW&RDOVµ whether it takes months or--in many cases--years. 0\JRDOIRUWKLVERRNLVWRKHOS\RXJHWWKURXJKWKHKRWFRDOVDVTXLFNO\ HDVLO\DQGSURÀWDEO\DVSRVVLEOH That will only happen if the management team and board understand the same fundamental principles around what creates predictable revenue (and LW·VQRWDERXWKLULQJPRUHVDOHVSHRSOH

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The Painful Planning Mistake Boards & Sales VPs Make Every Year Reminder: if you are brand new to selling, I'd recommend starting by reading Chapters 6 and 7. , PJRLQJWRVWDUWE\DGGUHVVLQJKHDGRQRQHRI WKHELJJHVWPLVFRQFHSWLRQVLQPRGHUQHIIHFWLYHVDOHVWKDWDGGLQJVDOHVSHRSOHDQGZRUNLQJWKHP harder is what grows revenue. )RUFRPSDQLHVVHOOLQJSURGXFWVZRUWKOHVVWKDQWKHROG school strategy of hiring more “feet on the street” to drive revenue growth is failing more often than not. /HW VWDNHFRPSDQLHVZKRZDQWWRJURZIDVWPRVWO\WKURXJKDGGLQJQHZ customers (rather than more mature companies who drive much of their JURZWKWKURXJKWKHLUFXVWRPHUEDVH The problem they face is that the old bedrock sales principles that worked before the Internet do not work anymore. "I need to double revenue growth, and I need to double my sales force to drive it, or make my current team work twice as hard." Wrong. In high-productivity sales organizations, salespeople do not cause FXVWRPHUDFTXLVLWLRQJURZWKWKH\IXOÀOOLW 7KLV LV D KXJH VKLIW LQ WUDGLWLRQDO VDOHV WKLQNLQJ , P WDONLQJ DERXW URRW FDXVH GULYHUV QRW FRUUHODWLRQV 2I FRXUVH \RX QHHG PRUH VDOHVSHRSOH LI \RX UHJHWWLQJELJJHUEXWWKH\DUHQ WZKDWLVFDXVLQJWKHEXONRI QHZFXVtomer growth. $OVR ZKLOH WKH\ DUH TXLWH SRSXODU DQG VLPSOH VDOHV VWUDWHJLHV RI &(2V sales executives and salespeople, "work harder" and "make more calls" GRQ WVFDOH 0RVWVDOHVSHRSOHDOUHDG\ZRUNHQRXJKKRXUVDQGWU\LQJWRJHWWKHPWRZRUN harder is like trying to solve a problem by going faster in the wrong direction. ,W VEDLOLQJZDWHURXWRI WKHERDWIDVWHUUDWKHUWKDQÀ[LQJWKHOHDN ,Q RWKHU ZRUGV ZRUNLQJ KDUGHU WUDQVODWHG XVXDOO\ PHDQV ZKDW ZH DUH GRLQJLVQ WZRUNLQJVRGRPRUHRI LW


Lead Generation Causes New Customer Acquisition I see a future in which sales is more and more like account management, and the focus of new customer acquisition responsibility growth falls more VTXDUHO\RQOHDGJHQHUDWLRQH[HFXWLYHVZLWKWLWOHVOLNH93'HPDQG*HQHUDWLRQ933LSHOLQH*URZWK93/HDG*HQHUDWLRQ936DOHV'HYHORSPHQW 2ND\ VRPH RI \RX DUH VD\LQJ :H·OO JHW WR ZKDW WKHVH WHUPV mean later in the book.] 7KHLUVDOHVSHUVRQUDPSWLPHLVPRQWKVEHFDXVHWKH\FUHDWH pipeline for the rep to “walk into.” Competitor B: 7U\LQJWRGRXEOHIURPPLOOLRQin revenue to $20 million. VDOHVSHRSOHWRGD\JURZLQJWR &RPSHWLWRU%VSHQGVPRQH\RQPDUNHWLQJDQGVDOHVSHRSOH FROGFDOOEXWQRRQHUHDOO\WUDFNVSLSHOLQHPHWULFV%XWWKH 93 6DOHV DQG WKH VDOHVSHRSOH KDYH KDG D NQDFN IRU KLWWLQJ WKHLUQXPEHUVHDFKPRQWKVRIDUZLWKVRPHVFUDPEOLQJ 7KH\WKLQNWKHLUQHZVDOHVSHUVRQUDPSWLPHLVPRQWKV EXW WKH\ UHDOO\ ZLOO HQG XS DW PRQWKV LI WKHLU salespHRSOHUDPSDWDOO


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Which competitor would you bet will hit their goals? +HUH VWKHVFHQDULR,SHUVRQDOO\VHHSOD\LQJRXWIRUWRRPDQ\FRPSDQLHV LQWKHQH[WPRQWKVDVWKH\SODQQH[W\HDU·VRSHUDWLRQDOJRDOVDQGSODQ 7KHERDUGDQGRU&(2VHWDQDJJUHVVLYHUHYHQXHWDUJHWIRU WKHFRPLQJ\HDUPRVWO\EDVHGRQQHZFXVWRPHUDFTXLVLWLRQ 7KH6DOHV93DQGRU&(2GLYLGHVWKHUHYHQXHWDUJHWE\WKH expected quota of each salesperson to determine the number of salespeople needed to hit the target. ,WWDNHVORQJHUWKDQH[SHFWHGWRKLUHWKHQHZVDOHVSHRSOHDQG VDOHVSHRSOH PLVV WKHLU WDUJHWV DIWHU UDPSLQJ 08&+ PRUH slowly than planned. 4. As the end of the year approaches with a big results gap to make up, everyone has an extra helping of frustration with a side of stress for Thanksgiving.

A Fatal Mistake 7KH URRW DVVXPSWLRQ WKDW JHWV 6DOHV 93V ÀUHG DOWKRXJK WKH %RDUG DQG &(2DUHHTXDOO\UHVSRQVLEOH LVWKHIDOVHDVVXPSWLRQWKDWVDOHVSHRSOHZLOO ÀQGQHZEXVLQHVVRQWKHLURZQIURPSDVW5RORGH[HVRUORWVRI FROGFDOOV with a minimum of help or investment from the company. 7KH\ZRQ WJHQHUDWHHQRXJKOHDGVRQWKHLURZQ«DWOHDVWQRWHQRXJKWR IHHG WKHPVHOYHV 2ND\ VRPHWLPHV VRPH VDOHVSHRSOH ZLOO 6RPH SHRSOH ZLQWKHORWWHU\WRR +HUH VZK\ ([SHULHQFHGVDOHVSHRSOHDUHWHUULEOHDWSURVSHFWLQJ ([SHULHQFHGVDOHVSHRSOHKDWHWRSURVSHFW (YHQLI DVDOHVSHUVRQGRHVGRVRPHSURVSHFWLQJVXFFHVVIXOO\ as soon as they generate some pipeline, they become too EXV\WRSURVSHFW,W VQRWVXVWDLQDEOH 8QOHVVDOO, PVHOOLQJLVELJGHDOV!N RU,·PLQDQLQGXVWU\WKDWWUXO\ LVUHODWLRQVKLSEDVHGOLNHWKHDGDJHQF\ZRUOG WKHUHLVQRZD\LQKHOO, P rolling the dice on my company based on the old-school idea, “hire some H[SHULHQFHGVDOHVSHRSOHVLFN¶HPRQWHUULWRULHVDQGOHWWKHPVLQNRUVZLPµ


How Boards and CEOs Exacerbate The Problem As soon as a product is ready for market and there is some initial customer WUDFWLRQWKHERDUGDQG&(2WHQGWRUXVKWRVHWJURZWKWDUJHWV 7KH\DUELWUDULO\SLFNJRDOVVLQFHWKHUH VQRGDWDWREDVHSUHGLFWLRQVRQ DQGWXUQWKHVFUHZVRQWKH936DOHV7KH936DOHVVXFNVLWXSHVSHFLDOO\ ZKHQKHKDGQRYRLFHLQWKHJRDOV DQGJHWVEXV\KLULQJVDOHVSHRSOHZKR PLVVSODQ&RPSDQ\PLVVHVWDUJHWV([HFXWLYHWHDPLVUHIUHVKHG :K\ LV LW HDVLHU IRU SHRSOH DQG FRPSDQLHV WR GR PRUH RI ZKDW GRHVQ W ZRUNWKDQWRWDNHVRPHWLPHWRÀJXUHRXWZKDWGRHV"%\4ZKHQWKH VDOHVSHRSOHDUHQ WPDNLQJWKHLUQXPEHUVWKHUHZLOOEHWKHSXVKIURP WKHERDUG&(2RU936DOHVWKHPVHOYHV WRKLUHPRUH:H UHEHKLQGRQ RXUJRDOVZHQHHGWRKLUHPRUHVDOHVSHRSOH+RZGRHVWKDWPDNHVHQVH" :K\GR&(2VDQGERDUGVNHHSPDNLQJWKLVVDPHGXPEPLVWDNH"3HRSOH when under pressure or stress, tend to retreat to the safe place of what they know rather than taking the risk of trying new things. People tend to do more of what is not working rather than stepping back, taking a breather, DQGWU\LQJWRÀJXUHRXWDQHZDSSURDFK

Some Answers 8QIRUWXQDWHO\WKHUHDUHQ WDQ\TXLFNUHSHDWDEOHÀ[HVWRWKLVOHDGJHQHUDWLRQSUREOHPWRGD\,QIDFWLI \RXGRQ WKDYHDQ\UHSHDWDEOHOHDGJHQHUDWLRQSURJUDPV\HW\RX UHDOUHDG\EHKLQGLQJHWWLQJUHDG\IRU\RXUJRDOVLQ WKHFRPLQJPRQWKV 'HVSLWH\RXULQYHVWRUV GHPDQGVLWFDQWDNHPRQWKVWRJHWOHDGJHQeration cranking and generating predictable revenue. The time-to-results DGGVXSIDVW WKHUHLVWKHWLPHVSHQWRQZKHWKHUWRVWDUWDQHZSURJUDP DQGZKDWLWLVWKHQ LPSOHPHQWLQJLWDQGKRSHIXOO\ JHQHUDWLQJOHDGV DQGÀQDOO\ DGGLQJLQ\RXUVDOHVF\FOHOHQJWKRI WLPHMXVWWRJHW\RXU ÀUVWLQFUHPHQWDOGHDOFORVHG :KDWZRUNVWRJHQHUDWHÁRZVRI QHZOHDGV 7ULDODQGHUURU LQ OHDG JHQHUDWLRQ UHTXLUHV SDWLHQFH H[SHULPHQWDWLRQPRQH\ ´0DUNHWLQJ WKURXJK WHDFKLQJµ YLD UHJXODU ZHELQDUV ZKLWH papers, email newsletters and live events, to establish yourself


Predictable Revenue

as the trusted expert in your space (takes lots of time to build SUHGLFWDEOHPRPHQWXP 3DWLHQFHLQEXLOGLQJJUHDWZRUGRIPRXWKWKHKLJKHVWYDOXH OHDGJHQHUDWLRQVRXUFHEXWKDUGHVWWRLQÁXHQFH &ROG&DOOLQJ%\IDUWKHPRVWSUHGLFWDEOHDQGFRQWUROODEOH source of creating new pipeline, but it takes focus and expertise to do it well. Luckily, you are holding the guide to the process in your hands right now. %XLOGLQJDQH[FLWHGSDUWQHUHFRV\VWHPYHU\KLJKYDOXHYHU\ ORQJWLPHWRUHVXOWV 35,W·VJUHDWZKHQRQFHLQDZKLOHLWJHQHUDWHVDFWXDOUHVXOWV The time-to-results adds up fast. There is the time spent on whether to start a new program and what it is, then implementing it, generating leads KRSHIXOO\ WKHQDGGLQJLQ\RXUVDOHVF\FOHOHQJWKRI WLPHMXVWWRJHW\RXU YHU\ÀUVWUHYHQXHGHDOFORVHG

Start With More Awareness 6WDUWZLWKPRUHDZDUHQHVVRQKRZPXFKSLSHOLQH\RX UHJHQHUDWLQJ 'R \RXU H[HFXWLYH WHDP DQG ERDUG NQRZ KRZ PXFK QHZ TXDOLÀHG SLSHOLQH WKH FRPSDQ\ QHHGV WR JHQHUDWH SHU PRQWK"7KLVLVWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWPHWULFWRWUDFNULJKW DIWHUFORVHGEXVLQHVV ,VWKH´QHZSLSHOLQHJHQHUDWHGSHUPRQWKµQXPEHUWUDFNHG at the board level? ,V WKHUH D FRPPRQ ODQJXDJH FRPPRQ GHÀQLWLRQV IRU SURVSHFWV OHDGV DQG RSSRUWXQLWLHV" 2QH RI WKH biggest problems is usually mis-communication and misunderstanding of terms and metrics between executives and directors. At least if your executive team and board are aware of the pipeline gap – the amount of pipeline required to hit your results, and likely places it will come from – you can begin to be more realistic in both your goals and plans to execute on those goals. You will also be less likely to break trust with your team and investors by missing your goals as a surprise, i.e., without really knowing why.


Have You Ever Felt Like An Utter Failure? (YHU\OHVVRQLQWKLVERRNKDVEHHQOHDUQHGWKHhard way. (Yes, I used to be RQHRI WKRVH&(2VPDNLQJWKHIDWDOSODQQLQJPLVWDNHLQWKHSULRUVHFWLRQ What frustrations, challenges or failures are you facing right now, in life or work? Do you understand that from these challenges can come your biggest successes? You’ve read on the cover of this book or on my blog that my sales process helped create $100 million in recurring revenue for Salesforce.com. The VHHGIRUWKDWVXFFHVVDQGWKHZKROHLGHDRI ´3UHGLFWDEOH5HYHQXHµ ZDV planted in an incredibly painful failure of my own. %DFNLQ,ZDVWKHIRXQGHUDQG&(2RI /HDVH([FKDQJHFRPDSHUson Internet company. I learned the hard way what works and doesn’t work in management and sales (basically by screwing up a lot and not asking for HQRXJK KHOS IURP RWKHUV $IWHU UDLVLQJ PLOOLRQ LQ YHQWXUH FDSLWDO DQG working through it for a couple of years, we shut down the business in 2001. The dream died. +DYH\RXHYHUKDGDGUHDPGLH", YHEHHQGLYRUFHGWRRZKLFKZDVHYHQ PRUHSDLQIXO%XWGRQ WKROG\RXUEUHDWKIRUDERRNRQ3UHGLFWDEOH/RYH +DYH\RXHYHUEHHQVRH[FLWHGDERXWVRPHWKLQJLQ\RXUOLIH²PRUHH[FLWHG than about anything else, ever – only to have it crash and burn? It was ugly. And as a founder and leader, I felt responsible for killing the dreams of my people at the company. During the “death march” while the company died, I spent too much time alone outside of work. I became a hermit--exactly the wrong thing to do when I needed community the most. 0\HVFDSHGXULQJWKHFORVLQJRI WKHFRPSDQ\ZDVGULQNLQJYRGNDZKLOH SOD\LQJ FRPSXWHU JDPHV RQ )ULGD\ QLJKWV MXVW WR QXPE RXW DQG GLVWUDFW myself from what was going on. $QG\HVRQFHWKHGRRUVRQWKHFRPSDQ\ÀQDOO\FORVHG,DWOHDVWIHOWDOLWWOH relief because the death march was over. /RRNLQJEDFN,FDQEHJUDWHIXOIRUDOOWKHPLVWDNHV,PDGHDVD&(2DQG IRXQGHU)UDQNO\,ZDVDterrible manager. As painful as it was, the experiHQFHRI WKRVH\HDUVZLWK/HDVH([FKDQJHSUHSDUHGPHIRUVXFFHVVDW6DOHVforce.com and with my current business, PebbleStorm.

10


Predictable Revenue

When I joined Salesforce.com, I checked my ego at the door and took the most junior sales roleWKHUHZKLFKSDLGDWRWDORI SHU\HDUDQG ZLWKYHU\OLWWOHVWRFNOLNH I would like to say I almost didn’t go to Salesforce.com, but I was determined to join them no matter what. ,ZHQWIURPEHLQJ&(2RI P\RZQFRPSDQ\WRDQVZHULQJWKHVDOHV OLQHDW6DOHVIRUFHFRP+DVSULGHHYHUVWRSSHG\RXIURPGRLQJVRPHWKLQJ LPSRUWDQWIRU\RXUKDSSLQHVVRUIXWXUH" In fact, if you registered on Salesforce.com’s website in late 2002, it’s likely ,ZDVWKHSHUVRQWKDWFDOOHGDQGHPDLOHG\RXWRÀQGRXWLI \RXZHUHDSRVsible lead. I took the job because I strongly believed that before starting another comSDQ\,QHHGHGDQ0%$LQEXLOGLQJZRUOGFODVVVDOHVRUJDQL]DWLRQV,GLGQ·W want to learn how to create random revenue; I wanted to create predictable revenue. $QGQRZ,NQRZLW·VHYHQ025(LPSRUWDQWWKDQ,WKRXJKWZKLFKLVZK\ ,HQGHGXSZULWLQJWKLVERRN6RPDQ\&(2VDQG6DOHV93VPDNHPLVWDNHV in building sales teams, wasting millions of dollars and years of time. I ended up creating an entirely new sales process and inside sales team that helped Salesforce.com add $100 million in incremental recurring revenue over just a few short years. The team and process were sustainable, and is still going strong all these years later. It was my failures that helped me see why it was worth it to me to start at the very bottom again. Now I can be grateful for my failures. What are your biggest or most recent failures? What about them can you EHJUDWHIXOIRU"&DQ\RXDQWLFLSDWHKRZ\RXZLOOEHQHÀWE\JHWWLQJWKURXJK your current challenges? ´)DLOXUHµLVMXVW\RXUMXGJPHQWRQDQH[SHULHQFHEHFDXVHWKHUHDUHQRIDLOures, just learning opportunities.

11


The $100 Million Sales Process ,Q6DOHVIRUFHFRPKDGDSUREOHPLWKDGKLUHGDEXQFKRI KLJKSULFHG ÀHOGVDOHVSHRSOHWREULQJLQDQGFORVHQHZEXVLQHVVEXWWKH\ZHUHVWDUYing for pipeline and leads. Their Rolodexes turned out to be, with very few exceptions, unhelpful. We had lots of expensive salespeople with thin pipelines. Although Salesforce.com’s marketing and PR machines were generating lots of leads, the leads were mostly from small businesses, not enterprises. ([FHSWIRUNQRFNLQJRQGRRUVZKHQ,KDGDSDLQWLQJEXVLQHVVLQFROOHJH,·G never done sales or lead generation before joining Salesforce.com. Knowing nothing about lead generation and sales ended up helping me because I brought a fresh perspective to selling. After trying a few cold calls, I realized what a waste of time that kind of work was and immeGLDWHO\JDYHLWXS1RWRQO\GLG,+$7(FROGFDOOLQJPRVWO\EHFDXVHWKH SHRSOH,FDOOHGKDWHGLW LWZDVMXVWWRWDOO\LQHIIHFWLYH,NQHZWKHUHKDGWR be a better way, something more enjoyable, interesting and productive. I also read a bunch of sales books about selling and prospecting, and then WKUHZWKHPDZD\0RVWVDLGWKHVDPHWKLQJVLQGLIIHUHQWZD\VDQGZHUHQ·W KHOSIXODWDOO7KRXJKWKH\ZRXOGKDYHEHHQJUHDWLI ZHZHUHLQWKH·V $WÀUVW,IHOWUHDOO\IUXVWUDWHGEHFDXVH,IHOWOLNH,KDGWRVWDUWIURPVFUDWFK I ended up creating a sales prospecting process and inside sales team that FRQVLVWHQWO\JHQHUDWHGQHZTXDOLÀHGVDOHVRSSRUWXQLWLHVIRUWKHTXRWDFDUrying salespeople. Nearly everything changed. The team no longer had to qualify website leads. The team didn’t handle sales order paperwork. The team didn’t close small deals. The team didn’t help out marketing. The team wasn’t distracted. Instead, the team had a single missionWRJHQHUDWHEXWQRWE\FROGFDOOLQJVHH&KDSWHU QHZTXDOLÀHGVDOHVRSSRUWXQLWLHVIURPFROGFRPSDQLHV RQHVDWZKLFKZHKDGQRDFWLYLW\RULQWHUHVW DQGSDVVLQJWKHVHTXDOLÀHG opportunities to quota-carrying salespeople to close.

12


Predictable Revenue

The team only contacted cold new business accounts at which we didn’t have a relationship or current interest, and past accounts which had gone cold for at least six months. The team didn’t receive any new inbound leads generated by word-of-mouth or by marketing (these leads went VSHFLÀFDOO\ WR D VHSDUDWH 0DUNHW 5HVSRQVH WHDP WR TXDOLI\ DQG SDVV WR $FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV This sales lead generation process involved no cold calling, which I regarded as a waste of time after experimenting with making cold calls myself. In addition to hiring great people and creating a proven, repeatable process, there were two other very important keys to the team’s track record RI \HDUDIWHU\HDUDIWHU\HDURI VXFFHVV 1. Predictable Results/ROI: We had a simple sales prospecting process that was highly effective, repeatable, DQGYHU\SUHGLFWDEOH2XUSURFHVVDQGWUDLQLQJV\VWHPPDGH LWHDV\IRUVDOHVUHSVWRVXFFHHGDQGRI WKHPEHDWWKHLU numbers while ramping up. After about 12 months of results and data, we could predict WKHIXWXUHUHVXOWVRI QHZKLUHVRQP\WHDP)RUH[DPSOH, knew that if we hired someone costing $100,000 per year LQFOXGLQJ DOO WKHLU RYHUKHDG WKDW SHUVRQ ZRXOG JHQHUDWH SHU \HDU DV PXFK DV LQ WRWDO FRQWUDFWV , FRXOG also predict how long it would take for that person to ramp XSDQGEHFRPHFDVKÁRZSRVLWLYHWRWKHFRPSDQ\ 2. Self-Managing Systems:(YHU\WKLQJZDVDV\VWHP,GLGQ·W want myself or any single person to be a bottleneck to the success of the team. What if I was hit by a bus? The team had to be self-managing so that it could grow and succeed.


Make Your Lack Of Money An Advantage , GHÀQLWHO\ ZDQW \RX WR XVH WKH WHFKQLTXHV Ln this book to make more PRQH\PRUHSUHGLFWDEO\%XWGRQ·WMXVWIROORZWKHSURFHVVEOLQGO\EHFUHative. You need to control your own destiny and not let “reasons” get in the way of results. What’s holding you back from generating more leads and more predictable revenue? Do you think it’s the market conditions or economy, a lack of money, not having the right people, technology hurdles? 2QHH[FXVH,KHDUDOOWKHWLPHLV´:HGRQ·WKDYHWKHPDUNHWLQJEXGJHWµRU “We don’t have the sales budget”; even “If we just had more money….” You GRQ·WQHHGDORWRI PRQH\WRFUHDWHWKHUHVXOWVDQGFRPSDQ\RUHYHQWKHOLIH you want. Lack of money is a common excuse for not being creative.
There is ALWAYS a way to move forward, even without money.

None of these are real obstacles to moving forward to get what you want, whether it’s more growth, predictable sales revenue, starting your own company, or turnLQJ\RXUHPSOR\HHVLQWRPLQL&(2V7KHUHLV$/:$<6 a way to move forward, even without money. %DFNWRPRQH\DQGPDUNHWLQJEXGJHWV0RQH\FDQKHOS but you don’t need a lot of marketing money in order to ramp up sales.

At Salesforce.com we spent zero dollars in marketing to create the outbound sales team and produce $100 million in results. The initial investPHQW"2QHSHUVRQ·VVDODU\ ,QFDVH\RX·UHWKLQNLQJ´(DV\IRU\RXWRVD\5HVXOWVFDPHHDV\IRU\RX You were a part of Salesforce.com. Your company was famous. You didn’t need budget, you had branding. You had all kinds of support. What if I want to increase sales but don’t have a big brand or big budget?” 7UXH6DOHVIRUFHFRPZDVDOZD\VYHU\ZHOONQRZQLQWKH%D\$UHDDQGLQ WKHVWDUWXSZRUOG%XWZKHQZHEHJDQEXLOGLQJWKHRXWERXQGVDOHVWHDP DQGWDUJHWLQJWKH´)RUWXQHµLQYHU\IHZODUJHFRPSDQLHVRXW-

14


Predictable Revenue

side of California had heard of Salesforce.com. Nine out of ten times when we called a prospect, they asked something along the lines of, “Do \RXGRRXWVRXUFHGVDOHVIRUFXVWRPHUV"2UGRVDOHVUHFUXLWLQJ"µ Shelly Davenport, my manager at the time, and I had an interesting design FKDOOHQJHWRFUHDWHDQRXWERXQGVDOHVSURFHVVWKDWZRXOGVXFFHHGZLWKRXW any money or marketing support and at a company that was pretty much XQNQRZQLQWKH)RUWXQHPDUNHWZHZHUHJURZLQJLQWRDWWKHWLPH This was also just after the dot-com bust, and trust of anything “.com” was at an all-time low. $OVRVRIWZDUHDVDVHUYLFHZDV127\HWDFFHSWHGE\ODUJHFRPSDQLHVDVD YLDEOHRSWLRQ*DUWQHUDIDPRXVWHFKQRORJ\UHVHDUFKÀUPZDVVWLOOZULWLQJ ELJUHSRUWVDERXWKRZ6DOHVIRUFHFRPZDVDJUHDWÀWIRUVPDOOEXVLQHVVHV but not for larger companies. While Salesforce.com spent millions on general marketing, most of it only reached small business decision makers. In starting our outbound sales team, we didn’t get a budget for my project beyond my own compensation. In fact, looking back, if I had had a big budget or a bunch of people to tell what to do, I wouldn’t have been forced to get so creative in solving the problem of how to predictably generate new pipeline for the sales organization.

What We Did Have: 1. A wholly committed personPH ZKRFRXOGGHGLFDWHWKHLU IXOODWWHQWLRQWRWKHFKDOOHQJHUDWKHUWKDQJLYLQJLWRQO\ RI P\WLPH 2. Two core tools: the Salesforce.com application and an online source for lists of companies and contacts called 2QH6RXUFHVLPLODUWR+RRYHUV 3. Freedom to experiment for three months as an internal HQWUHSUHQHXURU´PLQL&(2µ 4. An optimistic attitude that saw this as an interesting challenge, and it could be fun solving it; 5. A commitment to create something meaningful (in terms RI VDOHV WR6DOHVIRUFHFRP

Predictable Revenue - Where The $100 Million Came From The point here is that when you’re low on resources, by having a clear objective and looking at it as an interesting challenge, you can force yourVHOI DQG\RXUHPSOR\HHV WR*(7&5($7,9( Constraints often lead to more creativity from both yourself and your peoSOH'RQ·WOHWVRFDOOHG´UHDOLW\µVWRS\RX

Cold Calling -

P r e d i c t a b l e Re ve nu e

2 Cold Calling 2.0 – Ramp Sales Fast Without Cold Calls Cold calling sucks! Isn’t there a better way? Yep, and here it is.

P r e d i c t a b l e Re ve nu e - Cold Calling

The First Breakthroughs I’ve gone back and forth a lot about the term “Cold Calling 2.0,” mostly because it doesn’t involve any cold calling. In fact, if you’re making cold calls, you are doing everything wrong. Cold Calling 2.0 means prospecting into cold accounts to generate new EXVLQHVV ZLWKRXW XVLQJ DQ\ ´FROG FDOOVµ , GHÀQH D FROG FDOO DV ´FDOOLQJ someone who doesn’t know you and who isn’t expecting your call.” No one enjoys this – neither the caller nor the person being called, right? Cold Calling 2.0 also means you have processes and a system in place to generate new pipeline and leads predictably – that is, an organization knows how “x effort” will lead to “y results”. In fact, it can be the most predictable source of pipeline at a company, done right – as with companies like Salesforce.com, WPromote or Responsys. While Cold Calling 2.0 is a system with many steps, there was one original breakthrough that started the snowball rolling.

,Q HDUO\ , ZDV H[SHULPHQWLQJ ZLWK UHJXODU FROG FDOOLQJ EDQJLQJ WKH phones, to see if it worked. Cold calling worked a little bit, and far too VORZO\ WKURXJK FROG FDOOLQJ , IRXQG , FRXOG JHQHUDWH WZR KLJKO\ TXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLWLHVSHUPRQWK,·PHPSKDVL]LQJKLJKTXDOLW\EHFDXVHIUHquently outbound sales teams pump up their results by throwing over lots

Cold Calling -


RI SRRUO\TXDOLÀHGGHPRVDQGDSSRLQWPHQWVWRWKHLU$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV So when I say “high quality,” I mean it. %DFNWR0DUFK«P\JRDOZDVWRJHQHUDWHDWOHDVWHLJKWKLJKO\TXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLWLHVSHUPRQWK,ZDVGRLQJWZRSHUPRQWKWKURXJKFROG FDOOLQJ28&++RZZDV,JRLQJWRTXDGUXSOHP\UHVXOWV"

Breakthrough #1: The biggest bottleneck in prospecting into companies that have more than a few executivesLVQ·WJHWWLQJWRWKHGHFLVLRQPDNHULQÁXHQFHUSRLQWSHUVRQ«LW·VÀQGLQJWKHPLQWKHÀUVWSODFH 2IWHQWLPHVWKHXOWLPDWHGHFLVLRQPDNHU²VXFKDVWKH&(2RU936DOHVLQ WKHFDVHRI 6DOHVIRUFHFRPLVQRWWKHEHVWSHUVRQIRU\RXUÀUVWFRQYHUVDtions. And in larger companies, there can be so many people with the word “sales” or “marketing” in their title, it’s impossible from the outside to tell who does what. I learned this through hard work – cold calling, cold emailing, plugging away. I realized I spent most of my time hunting for the right person – not trying to sell or qualify them. ,I ,FRXOGÀQGWKHULJKWSHUVRQ,FRXOGXVXDOO\KDYHDSURGXFWLYHEXVLQHVV FRQYHUVDWLRQZLWKWKHP%XWLWWRRND/27RI WLPHWRÀQGWKHPHVSHFLDOO\ LQWKRVHE\]DQWLQH)RUWXQHFRPSDQLHV

In Desperation, I Tried An Experiment I’d always assumed that mass emailing executives wouldn’t work. Don’t I need to carefully craft each email to them to make it personal? ,ZURWHRQHHPDLOWKDWZDVDFODVVLFFROGFDOOLQJOHWWHU´'R\RXKDYHWKHVH challenges? X, Y Z…” I also wrote a totally “short and sweet” different email – in plain text, with QR+70/VLPSO\DVNLQJIRUDUHIHUUDOWRWKHULJKWSHUVRQDWWKHFRPSDQ\ (I don’t share the actual email templates in this book for two reasons, which ,ZLOOVKDUHLQWKHVHFWLRQDERXWHPDLO +HUHZDVDOHVVRQOHDUQHGLQWKHYDOXHRI D QRWDVVXPLQJDQ\WKLQJDQGE H[SHULPHQWLQJ


2QD)ULGD\DIWHUQRRQ,VHQWWZRPDVVHPDLOVIURP6DOHVIRUFHFRP RI WKH´FODVVLFVDOHVµHPDLOVWR)RUWXQHH[HFXWLYHVDQG 100 of the “short and sweet” emails to the same kind of list. 2XWRI HPDLOV,VHQWWKHQH[WPRUQLQJZKHQ,FKHFNHGHPDLO,KDG UHVSRQVHVVLWWLQJLQP\LQER[$JDLQWKHVHZHUHIURP&OHYHODQG93OHYHO executives at large companies – just the people with whom I wanted to talk. 5HVSRQVHUDWHIRUWKH´VDOHV\µHPDLO 5HVSRQVHUDWHIRUWKH´VKRUWDQGVZHHWµHPDLOUHVSRQVHVRXWRI WKHVKRUWDQGVZHHWHPDLOV $QGDWOHDVWÀYHRI WKHHPDLOV,UHFHLYHGIURPWKHVKRUWDQGVZHHWFDPpaign were positive, referring me to other people in the organization as the best person for a conversation about sales force automation.

Breakthrough #2: 0DVV HPDLOLQJ &OHYHO )RUWXQH H[HFXWLYHV ZLWK VSHFLÀF NLQGV RI HPDLOVFDQJHQHUDWHUHVSRQVHUDWHV 7KRVHKLJKUHVSRQVHUDWHVRUPRUH IURPKLJKOHYHOH[HFXWLYHVKDYH held true year after year, even with my current clients in 2011, seven years later.

A 500% Increase In Results ,QWKHQH[WPRQWK$SULO,LQFUHDVHGP\UHVXOWVE\DQGJHQHUDWHGKLJKO\TXDOLÀHGVDOHVRSSRUWXQLWLHVWKDWFRQWLQXHGRQLQOLYHVDOHV cycles. (And this increase in opportunities did later lead to an equal increase LQUHYHQXH 7KHWLSSLQJSRLQWRI WKH&ROG&DOOLQJSURFHVVZDVERUQVHQGLQJPDVV emails to high level executives to ask for referrals to the best person in their RUJDQL]DWLRQIRUDÀUVWFRQYHUVDWLRQ

20

Cold Calling -


The Complexities Of High-Volume And Growth It’s one thing for a single person to send out emails and generate responses in a week or a month. It’s another to create a regular stream of opportunities that come in from that person and a whole team year after year.
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Terms And Abbreviations (YHU\RQH XVHV DOO NLQGV RI GLIIHUHQW WHUPV LQ VDOHV +HUH DUH WKH PDLQ WHUPV,XVHLQWKLVERRNDQGZKDWWKH\PHDQ %Sales Development Representative (or “SDR”)7KLVLV a Cold Calling 2.0 or “outbound” sales rep. Ideally they are specialized, just generating outbound leads. They neither close deals nor qualify inbound website leads. %Outbound Sales Rep: Another term for an “SDR.” %Account Executive (or “AE”) $ TXRWDFDUU\LQJ salesperson, whether they are an inside sales rep or in the ÀHOG %Market Response Rep (or “MRR”) $Q LQVLGH VDOHVSHUVRQ ZKR RQO\ TXDOLÀHV OHDGV FRPLQJ LQ IURP D website. %Sales Force Automation (or “SFA”) 6RIWZDUH RU internet-based services that sales teams use to manage all of their contacts and accounts, automate sales processes, and report on sales results. %Customer Relationship Management (or “CRM”) Software- or internet-based services that typically include 6DOHV )RUFH $XWRPDWLRQ IXQFWLRQV SOXV IHDWXUHV IRU marketing and customer service, so that all of the main ways a company interacts with customers is managed through a single system. Within a company, misunderstanding of terms and roles is a common VRXUFHRI FRQIXVLRQLQH[HFXWLYHWHDPV(QVXUH\RXUSHRSOHKDYHDVHWRI terms that are agreed upon and everybody understands.

22

Cold Calling -


RIP Cold Calling

Why Aren’t Old Techniques Effective Anymore? Although once in awhile a cold call or classic new business letter might work, it’s becoming rarer. There are three dynamics in the market that have FKDQJHGWKHQDWXUHRI SURVSHFWLQJDQGZKDWZRUNV 1. Buyers are sick of being sold to, and become more resistant every year to classic sales and marketing methods, such as pushy cold calls or generic marketing materials. 2. Sales 2.0 technologiesERWKRI &50V\VWHPVDQG6DOHV applications, make it easier than ever to take the guesswork RXWRI LPSOHPHQWLQJH[HFXWLQJDQGDXGLWLQJWKH52,RI D prospecting methodology. More accountability on marketing budgets. There is ever-increasing pressure for lead generation and marketing EXGJHWVWRVKRZGRFXPHQWHGSURRI RI UHYHQXHUHVXOWV(YHU\ SURMHFWLVVFUXWLQL]HG´:KDW·VWKH52,"+RZGR\RXNQRZ"µ ([HFXWLYHVZDQWSURRI RI UHYHQXHJHQHUDWHG+DYH\RXHYHU done a careful measurement of your cold calling programs? Chances are they are much more productive in terms of DPRXQWRI DFWLYLW\WKDQUHYHQXH([HFXWLYHVDUHWDNLQJFORVHU looks at these programs, and not liking what they see.


How Is Cold Calling 2.0 Different? ,GHÀQHDFROGFDOOLV´FDOOLQJVRPHRQHZKRGRHVQ·WNQRZ\RXDQGZKRLVQ·W expecting your call.” Cold Calling 2.0 means prospecting into cold accounts without ever makLQJ DQ\ FROG FDOOV 0RUH LPSRUWDQWO\ WKRXJK H[HFXWHG V\VWHPDWLFDOO\ LQ high-volume, an inside Sales Development team devoted exclusively to Cold Calling 2.0 can become the most predictable and sustainable pipeline HQJLQHDQGWKXVUHYHQXH IRUWKHFRPSDQ\ Three key principles to developing a team successfully include: 1. No cold calling! Prospect into cold accounts with new methods, other than surprising people on the phone or WU\LQJ WR QHJRWLDWH DURXQG JDWHNHHSHUV )RU H[DPSOH XVH simple emails to generate referrals to the right people, who WKHQH[SHFWDQGRIWHQZHOFRPH \RXUFDOO 2. A focus on results, not activities! That means that dials and calls per day, or even appointments set, are much less interesting or even important. Rather, track metrics such as TXDOLÀFDWLRQFDOOVSHUGD\RUZHHNDQGTXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLWLHV per month. Calls per day and dials are usually only tracked during training periods, for coaching purposes while reps ramp up their pipelines. 3. Everything is systematically process-driven! This includes management practices, hiring, training, and of course, the DFWXDO SURVSHFWLQJ SURFHVV %\ HPSKDVL]LQJ UHSHDWDELOLW\ and consistency, the pipeline and revenue ramps generated by a new Sales Development Rep become very predictable, and the entire team’s results become highly sustainable. You must carve out time to work on these "important but not urgent" priorities. As with eating well and staying away from junk food, it takes discipline and commitment to follow these principles. If you fall into the trap RI EHLQJVREXV\\RXFDQ WJHWDQ\WKLQJGRQH\RXZLOOKDYHLQFUHGLEOH challenges in building a foundation of success for your future.

24

Cold Calling -


Salesforce.com’s Cold Calling 2.0 Story ,Q6DOHIRUFHFRPKDGEHJXQEXLOGLQJDÀHOGVDOHVRUJDQL]DWLRQGHGLcated to larger companies. To supplement the inbound leads they received JHQHUDWHG PRVWO\ WKURXJK ZRUGRIPRXWK WKH ÀHOG VDOHV IRUFH ZDV H[SHFWHGWRSURVSHFWWREULQJLQWKHLURZQODUJHGHDOV+RZHYHUOLWWOHZDV happening in the way of prospecting. 6DOHVIRUFHFRPUHDOL]HGWKDWLQDGGLWLRQWRWKHÀHOGSHRSOHQRWPDNLQJPDQ\ calls because of their understandable dislike for cold calls, the ones who were trying to generate their own business were simply ineffective at it. The environment had changed, and the traditional prospecting techniques RI WKH ·V ZHUHQ·W ZRUNLQJ 1RW RQO\ ZHUH FROG FDOOV LQHIIHFWLYH EXW also targeted marketing programs offering high value items (such as busiQHVVERRNV SURGXFHGGLVDSSRLQWLQJUHVXOWV 0DNLQJWKHÀHOGVDOHVSHRSOHGRFROGFDOOVPHDQVKDYLQJ\RXUKLJKHVWFRVW SHUKRXU VDOHVUHVRXUFHSHUIRUPWKHORZHVWYDOXHSHUKRXU DFWLYLW\ Salesforce.com decided it needed a new approach to create its own controllable, predictable source of new pipeline. :HEHJDQWKH&ROG&DOOLQJSURMHFWLQHDUO\DQGVSHQWD\HDUWHVWing and perfecting the methodology and system to prove its ability to add LQFUHPHQWDOUHYHQXHDWDKLJK52,EHIRUHKHDYLO\LQYHVWLQJLQEXLOGLQJD team around it.

:K\:H5HÀQHG$QG7HVWHG7KH3URFHVV)RU$


We ended the year with more than $1,000,000 in new bookings (at least LQ OLIHWLPH YDOXH ZKLFK FRVW OHVV WKDQ WR JHQHUDWH DERXWIXOO\ORDGHGVDODULHV No wonder that in early 2004 the Salesforce.com management team decided WRJURZWKH&ROG&DOOLQJHIIRUWIURPWZRSHRSOHWRWZHOYH A key advantage we had was the Salesforce.com application itself. We would never have produced the same level of results without using SalesIRUFHFRP·VVRIWZDUH7KHWUDGLWLRQDOVDOHVV\VWHPVVXFKDV$&7*ROGPLQH6LHEHO ZRXOGKDYHKHOGXVEDFNDVVORZXQLQWXLWLYHDQGODFNLQJWKH capabilities we needed around things like easy sharing of a common database, reporting and dashboards. They could have worked for a small team of one or two people, but they wouldn’t have been able to keep up with our team’s growth as we grew to six, twelve, twenty, etc. Despite some serious obstacles, which are detailed below, results quickly IROORZHG

Cold Calling -


Serious Cold Calling 2.0 Challenges At Salesforce.com You might assume that the prospecting was easy "just because it was Salesforce.com," now a well known brand, and those companies would take our calls. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although today Salesforce.com is a globally recognized brand company and the Software-as-a6HUYLFH6DD6 OLFHQVLQJPRGHOLVEURDGO\DFFHSWHGEDFNLQWKHHDUO\DQG PLG·VWKLQJVZHUHGLIIHUHQW Salesforce.com was unknown and misunderstood in most companies. If someone had heard of Salesforce.com, they typically thought, “Don’t you offer outsourced sales teams?” Salesforce.com was pioneering the concept of Software-as-a-Service, offering its products online and on-demand; SaaS had not yet become accepted by mainstream companies. )XUWKHUPRUHWUDGLWLRQDOSURVSHFWLQJWHFKQLTXHVMXVWGLGQ·WZRUN7KDW V why I decided to throw out all the books and legacy ideas and start from VFUDWFK%HFDXVH,KDG]HURVDOHVH[SHULHQFHSULRUWR6DOHVIRUFHFRP,KDG DIUHVKSHUVSHFWLYH All of these factors stood in our way – but we didn’t give up. The executive WHDPJDYHPHWKHWLPHIRXUPRQWKV ,QHHGHGWRNHHSH[SHULPHQWLQJXQWLO I could create a process that worked. $UH\RXPDNLQJH[FXVHVZKLFKPD\VRXQGOLNHH[WUHPHO\ORJLFDOUHDVRQV IRUQRWÀQGLQJZD\VWRJHWDURXQG\RXUFKDOOHQJHs?


Cold Calling 1.0 Vs. Cold Calling 2.0 +HUHDUHH[DPSOHVRI WKHGLIIHUHQWLQWHQWLRQVDQGSUDFWLFHVRI &ROG&DOOLQJ 1.0 versus Cold Calling 2.0, following many of the trends that have affected DOONLQGVRI VHOOLQJ

+HUHDUHVRPHIXUWKHUWKRXJKWVRQZKDWKDVFKDQJHG 1. Develop respected experts 7KH 6DOHV 'HYHORSPHQW UROH LV RIWHQ treated within a sales organization as a low-level job. If you treat it that way, you’ll get low-level results. It’s a challenging and often thankless role. Treat the team as, and expect them to be, experts. Don’t skimp on training, equipping or developing them. Set high expectations of their ongoing skills development. 2. Qualify accounts and contacts before calling &ROG &DOOLQJ LQYROYHVFDOOLQJRUHPDLOLQJLQWRXQÀOWHUHGLQGXVWU\EDVHGOLVWVRI WDUJHWV Prospecting into accounts of marginal potential is the most common waste of time by Sales Development Reps and companies. Spend serious time on LGHQWLI\LQJDQGFODULI\LQJ\RXU,GHDO&XVWRPHU3URÀOH'HÀQHZKDWFRP-

Cold Calling -


SDQLHVDUHWKHPRVWVLPLODUWR\RXUWRSRI \RXUFXVWRPHUVGHÀQHG as the ones likeliest to purchase for the most revenue, and develop focused target lists based on these tight criteria. 3. Research rather than sell :KHQ UHSV GR FDOO LQWR FROG DFFRXQWV rather than cold calls, make “research calls.” The intention is different – rather than trying to get the decision maker on the phone, a rep simply OHDUQVDERXWWKHFRPSDQ\DQGZKHWKHUWKHUHLVHYHQDSRWHQWLDOÀWRUQRW 4. Blackberry-sized emails$YRLGVHQGLQJORQJVDOHVHPDLOVWKDWQRRQH UHDGV6HQGHPDLOVWKDWDUHYHU\VKRUWUHDGDEOHRQDEODFNEHUU\ DQGWRWKH SRLQW%HKRQHVWDQGWRWKHSRLQW²ZKDWDUH\RXORRNLQJIRU" 5. Go beyond basic SFA/HYHUDJH\RXUVDOHVIRUFHDXWRPDWLRQ´6)$µ V\VWHPVLQHYHU\ZD\SRVVLEOH)RUH[DPSOH\RX0867XVHGDVKERDUGV What about applications for de-duplication and data cleansing, contact acquisition, or tools that tell you when prospects that you are in touch with visit your website? There is a wealth of options now to enhance every step of your process – in fact, there are so many options it can be confusLQJ'RQ·WOHWWKDWVWRS\RXIURPFRQVWDQWO\WHVWLQJQHZDSSOLFDWLRQVWRVHH what works for your company.


Could Cold Calling 2.0 Work For My Company? $UHSHRSOHLQYROYHGLQWKHSURFHVVRI ÀQGLQJQHZFOLHQWV" $UH \RXU FXVWRPHUV ZRUWK PRUH WKDQ WR \RX" ,W FDQ ZRUN IRU VPDOOHUDPRXQWVEXWLWZLOOEHKDUGHUIRU\RXWRPDNHLWSURÀWDEOH Then this can work for you, whether you’re selling products or services. 7KH UHVXOWV ZH FUHDWHG DUHQ·W XQLTXH WR 6DOHVIRUFHFRP )RU H[DPSOH 5HVSRQV\VZDVWKHYHU\ÀUVWFRPSDQ\(U\WKHDQ0DUWLQP\SDUWQHUDWWKH time, and I worked with to help implement the system. Within four months they increased the pipeline generated per Sales DevelRSPHQWSHUVRQE\DQG&ROG&DOOLQJEHFRPHWKHWRSDQGPRVW SUHGLFWDEOH VRXUFHRI QHZSLSHOLQHIRULQWKHFRPSDQ\ The Cold Calling 2.0 process works for consulting and services companies as well, though it is more challenging. Professional services companies tend to have developed their business based more on relationships and EUDQGWKDQRQVSHFLÀFEHQHÀWV6HUYLFHVFRPSDQLHVKDYHWRVSHQGH[WUD WLPH KRQLQJ LQ RQ WKHLU ,GHDO &XVWRPHU 3URÀOHV DQG WKHLU FKDOOHQJHV WR PDNHWKLVZRUWKZKLOH2I FRXUVHWKLVLVQHFHVVDU\IRUDQ\OHDGJHQHUDWLRQ project, not just Cold Calling 2.0. 8OWLPDWHO\ LI WKH ZLOO DQG FRPPLWPHQW H[LVWV LQ WKH &(2 DQG H[HFXWLYH team to make it happen, and they can let go of their past cold calling assumptions and follow this new process, it will work.

Cold Calling -


Why Account Executives Should Not Make Cold Calls 7KHUHDUHWKUHHSUREOHPVZLWKH[SHFWLQJ\RXU$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHVTXRWD FDUU\LQJVDOHVSHRSOH ZKHWKHUWKH\DUHLQVLGHRUÀHOGEDVHGWREHWKH RQHVWRGRDOOWKHZRUNGHYHORSLQJQHZDFFRXQWV 7KH\GRQ·WOLNHWRGRLW 7KH\XVXDOO\DUHQ·WDQ\JRRGDWLWRUDUHHYHQWHUULEOHDWLW ,W·V D SRRU XVH RI FRPSDQ\ UHVRXUFHV E\ XVLQJ WKH PRVW expensive sales role to do lower-value work.

Where And When Account Executives Should Prospect +HUH DUH WKH UXOHV RI WKXPE DERXW ZKHUH $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYHV VKRXOG VSHQGWKHLUSUHFLRXVWLPHSURVSHFWLQJ $ VKRUW WDUJHWHG ´7RS µ RU ´7RS µ OLVW RI VWUDWHJLF accounts to penetrate. 7KHLUFXUUHQWFXVWRPHUEDVH 'HYHORSLQJUHIHUUDORUFKDQQHOSDUWQHUV The point is to focus your highest value people on the low-volume but KLJKYDOXHDFWLYLWLHVEXLOGLQJUHODWLRQVKLSVDWNH\DFFRXQWV DQGVSHFLDOL]H other roles and sales reps to take over low-value yet high-volume activities SURVSHFWLQJLQWRXQWDUJHWHGFROGDFFRXQWV


Case Study

Cold Calling 2.0 Example: HyperQuality Triples Results In 90 Days Note from Aaron: My partner Marylou Tyler was a natural with the Cold Calling 2.0 RXWERXQGVDOHVSURFHVV+HUH·VKRZVKHKHOSHGKHUÀUVW&ROG&DOOLQJFOLHQWWULSOH their results in 90 days.

A Problem Of Inbound Inquiries +\SHU4XDOLW\,QFD6HDWWOHEDVHGFRQWDFWFHQWHUTXDOLW\DVVXUDQFHVROXWLRQSURYLGHUKDVEHHQDURXQGIRUVHYHQ\HDUVZLWKFXVWRPHUVVXFKDV%DUFOD\V 6LULXV )0 &DUOVRQ 7UDYHO $7 7 2UNLQ 9RQDJH DQG 7UDYHORFLW\ Customers subscribe to their service for $100,000 to $1+ million per year, so every high-quality lead matters, and they used to be hard to generate. 8QWLOWKH\PHW0DU\ORX+\SHU4XDOLW\JRWPRVWRI WKHLUOHDGVIURPLQERXQG LQTXLULHVIURPSHRSOHZKRHPDLOHGÀOOHGRXWIRUPVRQWKHLUZHEVLWHRU FDOOHGWKHLUQXPEHU:KLOHWKHÁRZRI LQERXQGLQTXLULHVZDVFRQVLVtent, thanks largely to the efforts they made in their search engine optiPL]DWLRQ´6(2µ DQGSD\SHUFOLFN´33&µ SURJUDPVWRRPDQ\RI WKH LQTXLULHVZHUHORZTXDOLW\OHDGVWKDWGLGQ·WÀW+\SHU4XDOLW\·VTXDOLÀFDWLRQ FULWHULD6RPHFRPPRQUHDVRQVLQFOXGHG %Budget:7KHUHZDVQRGHÀQHGEXGJHWRUWKHEXGJHWZDV far too small. %Authority: The decision maker had no idea that someone lower-level in their organization was doing research, and had no intention of becoming involved. %Need: The inbound lead didn’t have a recognized problem, they were just “looking around”. %Timing: The inquiry had no timeframe, or the timing was too far in the future to be serious. %Fit: The inquiry needed a service or product that +\SHU4XDOLW\·VGLGQ·WSURYLGH

Executing Cold Calling -


+\SHU4XDOLW\JHQHUDWHGLQERXQGOHDGVSHUPRQWKWKDWSDVVHGWKHLUULJRURXVTXDOLÀFDWLRQVWDQGDUGV7RPHHWWKHLUJURZWKWDUJHWVWKH\QHHGHGD GUDVWLFLQFUHDVHLQSLSHOLQH$OVRWKHTXRWDFDUU\LQJ$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV DOVRTXDOLÀHGOHDGVFRPLQJLQIURPWKHZHEVLWHZKLFKPHDQWWKH\VSHQGD lot of expensive time following up on inquiries that went nowhere.

Stop Doing More Of What Doesn’t Work %RE.HOO\6HQLRU9LFH3UHVLGHQWRI 6DOHV 0DUNHWLQJDW+\SHU4XDOLW\NQHZ KHQHHGHGDEHWWHUZD\WRÀOOWKHSLSHOLQHIRUKLVVDOHVWHDP+HEURXJKWLQ 0DU\ORX7\OHUWRLPSOHPHQWWKH&ROG&DOOLQJRXWERXQGVDOHVSURFHVV 8QGHU %RE·V OHDGHUVKLS DQG FRPPLWPHQW WR WKH FKDQJH KLV VDOHV WHDPV FRPSOHWHO\HPEUDFHGWKLV´QHZµZD\RI SURVSHFWLQJLQFOXGLQJ %Creating a new, dedicated outbound sales development role focused 100% on outbound prospecting. %Never making another cold call again, and instead using the Cold Calling 2.0 email process to easily get referrals to decision makers at accounts. %The closers focused on their live pipeline, closing deals and only prospected to a small number of strategic accounts. Companies must make these kinds of changes in order to create a highly effective outbound sales team.

7HVWLQJ 5HÀQLQJ %REDQGWKHWHDPPHWZHHNO\ZLWK0arylou to review the progress of the QHZLQLWLDWLYH(DFKZHHNWKHÀUVWWRSLFGLVFXVVHGRQWKHFRPSDQ\ZLGH sales agenda was the new outbound sales process, reviewing metrics such DV %(PDLOUHVSRQVHUDWHVXVXDOO\ %What e-mails are companies responding to, and why %:KRLVUHVSRQGLQJWLWOHSRVLWLRQRI DXWKRULW\ %Number of Scoping Calls completed %:KREHFDPHDTXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLW\DQGZK\ %5HÀQHPHQWV WR WKH ,GHDO &XVWRPHU 3URÀOH ZKLch was UHYLVHGPDQ\PDQ\WLPHV

P r e d i c t a b l e Re ve nu e - Executing Cold Calling

With this consistent focus on making the new process work (and following WKHVWHSE\VWHSSURFHVVWRWKHOHWWHU WKHWHDPEHJDQWRJHWUHVSRQVHVIURP WDUJHWHGDFFRXQWVLQGD\VDQGDÁRZRI KLJKOHYHODSSRLQWPHQWVLQZHHNV

The Pipeline Tripled Like “Magic” :LWKLQGD\V+\SHU4XDOLW\ZHQWIURPJHQHUDWLQJWZROHDGVWRHLJKWSHU PRQWKWKDWÀW+\SHU4XDOLW\·VVWULFWFULWHULD«DQGWKLVZDVMXVWZLWKSDUW time prospecting work by one person. (Aaron note: once ramped up, a single full-time outbound rep can generate 10-20 excellent leads per month.) 7KHSURFHVVDQG0DU\ORX·VKHOSZDVFDOOHG´PDJLFµE\WKHVDOHVWHDP -XVWOLNH6DOHVIRUFHFRPDQG+\SHU4XDOLW\FRPSDQLHVWKDWLPSOHPHQWWKH Cold Calling 2.0 process can turn pipeline generation off-and-on like a faucet, by changing the number of dedicated outbound prospectors on the team and how much outreach they do, and create an ability to penetrate new industries or geographic markets at will (the process also works in Asia DQG(XURSH



Executing Cold Calling 2.0 OK – so how do you do it? This isn’t a true step-by-step manual (which would go beyond the scope of this book), but it will give you enough direction to get going on your own.


Getting Started With Cold Calling 2.0 7KHIROORZLQJVHFWLRQVFRQWDLQDORWRI VSHFLÀFGHWDLOVDQGVWHSVRQKRZ \RXFDQJHWVWDUWHGRQ\RXURZQZLWKWKLVSURFHVV0XFKPRUHGHWDLOHG how-to’s and training videos can be obtained through our products and coaching. 7REHJLQLPSOHPHQWLQJWKH&ROG&DOOLQJV\VWHP\RXVKRXOGKDYH $WOHDVWRQHSHUVRQGHGLFDWHGWRSURVSHFWLQJRU\RX LQWHQG WR KDYH WKLV SHUVRQ
Experiment To Make It Work For You (YHU\EXVLQHVVLVGLIIHUHQWDQGWKLQJVZRUNGLIIHUHQWO\IRUHDFKVDOHVSHUson. The idea here is to give you a set of tools, with some guidance, that you can experiment with and customize to make work for your own special situation. 5HPHPEHUTreat these tools with an attitude of experimentation. Play with them. )LQGRXWZKDWZRUNVEHVWIRU\RX



The Most Important First Step If you want to take an important step towards turning your sales organi]DWLRQLQWRDVDOHVPDFKLQHVWDUWE\OHWWLQJ\RXU$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHVWKH VDOHVUHSVFORVLQJEXVLQHVV IRFXVRQZKDWWKH\GREHVWZRUNDFWLYHVDOHV cycles and close. Let a different role, Sales Development Reps, focus on generating new TXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLWLHVIRU\RXU$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV $V D ÀUVW VWHS GHGLFDWH D UROH ZKHWKHU \RX EHJLQ ZLWK RQH SHUVRQ RU D ZKROHWHDP WR21/


1. Sales Development Reps prospect into cold or inactive companies who aren’t engaging with you already, to source new, incremental sales opportunities and pass them to quota-carrying salespeople. In the past this team would have been making cold calls, though today WKHUHDUHPXFKPRUHHIIHFWLYHZD\VWRSURVSHFW2UJDQL]H6DOHV'HYHORSPHQW5HSVE\WHUULWRULHVWKDWPDWFKWKHÀHOGDQGWHOHVDOHVUHSVEHFDXVHLW·V vital for them to build relationships with their sales teammates. 2QH 6DOHV 'HYHORSPHQW 5HS W\SLFDOO\ FDQ VXSSRUW D PD[LPXP RI TXRWDFDUU\LQJ$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV,I \RXVHOOYHU\ODUJHGHDOVLW·VSRVsible you could have even a 1-to-1 ratio or 2-to-1 Sales Development Reps SHU$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHDQGVWLOOEH9(5



Why Sales Development and Market Response Should Be Separated ,Q FRPSDQLHV ZKHUH LQFRPLQJ OHDG YROXPH MXVWLÀHV KDYLQJ D GHGLFDWHG PDUNHWUHVSRQVHIXQFWLRQVHSDUDWHWKH0DUNHW5HVSRQVHIURP6DOHV'HYHOopment to make both teams more focused and productive. The roles are very different (inbound reps receive leads to work to qualify, ZKLOHRXWERXQGUHSVLQLWLDWHFDOOVDQGHPDLOV DQGLW·VYHU\FKDOOHQJLQJIRU a rep to switch between the two mindsets throughout the day. 7KH 0DUNHW 5HVSRQVH 5HSV EHFRPH H[SHUWV DW HIÀFLHQWO\ TXDOLI\LQJ inbound and marketing-generated leads, and the Sales Development team only prospects for incremental business at accounts that need to be pursued, where there is no active or pre-existing interest.

How We Learned This The Hard Way At Salesforce.com Salesforce.com learned this the hard way in 2004, when we changed from having separate Sales Development teams doing inbound and outbound roles, to having the same team handle both inbound and outbound responsibilities. :LWKLQDZHHNSURGXFWLYLW\KDG GURSSHG E\ :LWKLQ WKUHHZHHNV LW was clear that the productivity drop was caused by the mixing of the responsibilities and was not going to improve with time. Salesforce.com quickly changed the structure back to separate teams doing Sales Development and 0DUNHW5HVSRQVHIXQFWLRQVDQGSURGXFWLYLW\URVHEDFNWRSULRUOHYHOV It was this kind of specialization that was important to helping achieve masVLYHEUHDNWKURXJKVLQUHVXOWV7KURXJKWKH&ROG&DOOLQJWHDPDW 6DOHVIRUFHFRPWKH´(QWHUSULVH%XVLQHVV5HSUHVHQWDWLYH7HDPµ KDGVRXUFHG about $100 million in recurring annual revenue for Salesforce.com. Year DIWHU\HDUUHWXUQRQLQYHVWPHQWRQHDFKSHUVRQLQWKHUROHZDVDERXW


Choosing A Sales Force Automation System Perhaps you’ve never known anything except Salesforce.com. Perhaps \RX·YHQHYHUKHDUGRI 6DOHVIRUFHFRP +DYLQJZRUNHGDW6DOHVIRUFHFRPIRUIRXU\HDUVDQGGRQHFRQVXOWLQJZLWK dozens of companies since then, I’ve talked with customers of every kind of system you can imagine. :KLOH LW LV IDU IURP SHUIHFW 6DOHVIRUFHFRP LV VWLOO DV RI WKH EHVW sales force automation system out there. There are good reasons why more WKDQD0,//,21SHRSOHXVHLWDQGZK\WKH\GRPRUHWKDQ%,//,21 in revenue per year. 0\VDOHVWHDPFRXOGQHYHUKDYHSURGXFHGWKHUHVXOWVDQGOHYHORI SURGXFtivity without Salesforce.com, which enabled us to do more and produce higher quality work. +DYLQJVDLGWKDWZKLFKHYHUV\VWHP\RXFKRRVHDQGXVHWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWWKLQJLVWKDW\RXXVHLW,I \RX·UHKDYLQJSUREOHPVEHQHÀWLQJIURPLW remember a system is just a tool – it’s more likely that the problems are coming from the users, not the tool itself. $QG&(2VUHPHPEHUSHRSOHIROORZ\RXUH[DPSOH7KHPRUH\RXOLYHLQ your system, the more your people will use it.

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The Source Of Predictability: Cold Calling 2.0 Funnel +HUH LV WKH VRXUFH \RXU 35(',&7$%/( 5(9(18( FRPHV IURP SUHdictable lead generation. )RUFRPSDQLHVVHOOLQJKLJKYDOXHSURGXFWVRUVHUYLFHVWKHPRVWSUHGLFWDEOH VRXUFH RI OHDGV ZKHWKHU RU QRW LW·V WKH ODUJHVW VRXUFH FDQ EH RXWbound sales prospecting. +HUHLVDVDPSOHIXQQHOWKDWEUHDNVRXWWKHSURVSHFWLQJVWDJHV

As you can see, if you experiment with your process, people and activities WRÀQGKRZWRJHQHUDWHDSUHGLFWDEOHÁRZRI QHZTXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLWLHV and have a consistent sales closing rate, you can begin to generate highly predictable revenue and proactive growth.

41


Revenue Predictability = The Funnel + Average Deal Size + Time In addition to these activities and results funnel, you also have to know how long things take in order to have more predictability. Time: Ramping New Reps 0HDVXUHDQGSD\DWWHQWLRQWRWKHUHDOLW\UDWKHUWKDQ\RXUXQUHDOLVWLFH[SHFWDWLRQV RI KRZORQJ\RXUUHSVWDNHWRUDPSXSWKHLUUHVXOWV This amount of time can and will vary widely from company to company, GHSHQGLQJRQ\RXUOHDGÁRZWKHSHRSOH\RXKLUHKRZZHOO\RXWUDLQWKHP and whether they’re picking up an established territory or starting a brand new one. 0\DGYLFH3XWQHZUHSVWKURXJKVRPHNLQGRI WUDLQLQJSURJUDPWKDWKDV WKHPZRUNLQJLQRWKHUSDUWVRI \RXUFRPSDQ\ÀUVWWDONLQJWRFXVWRPHUV before they go on active sale duty. This will make them much more effecWLYHVDOHVSHRSOHDQGDFWXDOO\UDPSWKHPIDVWHU6ORZGRZQWRVSHHGXS TimeProspecting and Sales Cycle Lengths +RZ ORQJ GRHV LW WDNH IRU D SURVSHFWRU WR JHQHUDWH D TXDOLÀHG RSSRUWXQLW\"+RZORQJGRHVLWWDNHIRUWKRVHRSSRUWXQLWLHVWRFORVH"$UHVPDOO ones faster than large ones? What are some imperfect but useful rules of thumb for you? 3URVSHFWLQJF\FOHOHQJWK0HDVXUHWKHWLPHEHWZHHQD ZKHQWKHSURVSHFW ÀUVWUHVSRQGVWRDFDPSDLJQWRE ZKHQDTXDOLW\RSSRUWXQLW\LVFUHDWHGRU TXDOLÀHG WKLV PHDQV WKH TXRWDFDUU\LQJ $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH KDV UHTXDOLÀHGDQGDFFHSWHGWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WKDWWKHSURVSHFWRUSDVVHGRYHU Incidentally, my rule of thumb is that it takes 2-4 weeks, on average, to qualify a new opportunity from an initial response. 6DOHVF\FOHOHQJWK,OLNHWRPHDVXUHWKHWLPHIURPD ZKHQWKHRSSRUWXQLW\ ZDVFUHDWHGRUTXDOLÀHGWRE ZKHQLWFORVHG If you have trouble measuring this, just sit down with your reps and have a PLQXWHFRQYHUVDWLRQWRWDONDERXWWKHODVWGHDOVWKDWFORVHGWRJHWD rough ballpark of the length.

42



Example: 7RXVHUHDOLVWLFQXPEHUVOHW·VDVVXPH %A new prospector takes two months to ramp to full quota. %(DFK UHS SURGXFHV QHZ TXDOLÀHG RSSRUWXQLWLHV SHU month. %Deal size is $100,000 In this case, after two months an outbound rep will be producing $1 milOLRQLQQHZTXDOLÀHGSLSHOLQHSHUPRQWK 1RZLI %Sales win rates are 20%, and %Sales cycles average six months... ...then each new prospecting rep (working with their quota-carrying $FFRXQW([HFXWLYHV ZLOOEHDGGLQJDQLQFUHPHQWDOLQQHZUHYHQXHHDFKPRQWKZLWKWKHÁRZUHDOO\EHJLQQLQJDERXWHLJKWPRQWKVDIWHU the outbound rep was hired (or six months after they reached full proGXFWLRQ 'RHVHLJKWPRQWKVVHHPOLNHDORQJWLPHLQRXUZRUOGRI TXLFNÀ[HV":KDW if you had started this team or this process eight months ago, wouldn’t you love having that revenue right now? 2QFH\RXJHWWKLVPDFKLQHUROOLQJOLNHDÁ\ZKHHOWKLVSUHGLFWDEOHVRXUFH of new leads will keep producing revenue.


How Cold Calling 2.0 Works – The Process +HUHLVDQRYHUYLHZRI WKH&ROG&DOOLQJSURFHVVIRUD6DOHV'HYHORSment Rep that is doing it full-time and passing opportunities to a quotacarrying salesperson. If you are a sales rep who can only prospect part-time, adjust the goals DFFRUGLQJO\VHQGKDOI RI WKHYROXPHRI RXWERXQGHPDLOVIRUH[DPSOH DQGREYLRXVO\WKHODVWVWHS´SDVVWKHEDWRQµ ZRQ·WDSSO\WR\RX

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Step 2: Build Your List +RZFDQ\RXEXLOGDGDWDEDVHRI WKHDERYHNLQGVRI SURVSHFWV"'R\RX DOUHDG\KDYHDOLVWLQKRXVH"&DQ\RXEX\RQH"2UGR\RXQHHGWREXLOGRQH from scratch…?

44



0RVWFRPSDQLHVDSSURDFKDQGVHOOWRRORZ'R\RXKDYHGHFLVLRQPDNHUV RUWKHLUERVVHV DVZHOODVORZHUOHYHOSHRSOH"+RZWDUJHWHGLV\RXUOLVW",V it cluttered with non-relevant companies or people? Resist any temptation to throw in lists of random prospects just because \RXKDYHWKHP²WKHUHLVDQRSSRUWXQLW\FRVWWRPDUNHWLQJWRSRRUÀWSURVSHFWV5HVSRQVHVIURPSHRSOHZKRGRQ·WÀW\RXUFXVWRPHUFULWHULDZLOOMXVW end up wasting your time and cluttering your database.

Step 3. Run Outbound Email Campaigns 'RQ W PDNH WKLV PLVWDNH FRPSDQLHV DUH WRR GHSHQGHQW RQ FROG FDOOV Phone skills are critical, but use calls as the second step in prospecting. %HJLQZLWKHPDLODQGWKHQXVHSKRQHWRIROORZXSWRSHRSOHZKRUHVSRQG 6LPSOHHPDLOWHPSODWHVFDQJHW\RXDQSOXVUHVSRQVHUDWHHYHQIURP high-level prospects. 6HQGRXWERXQGPDVVHPDLOVRUPDVVYRLFHPDLOVWRSURVSHFWVWKDWÀW\RXU ,GHDO&XVWRPHU3URÀOH7KHVHHPDLOVVKRXOGORRNDVLI WKH\DUHDVLQJOH email that came from a salesperson. They should be text-based, not fancy +70/WKRXJK\RXFDQXVH+70/WHPSODWHVWKDWORRNOLNHWH[W Rather than sending hundreds of mass emails at a time in big bursts, the LGHDKHUHLVWRVHQGDUHJXODUVPDOOHUQXPEHU RI HPDLOVSHUVDOHVperson each day, a few days a week, as a rolling campaign. The main goal RI WKLV VWDJH LV WR JHQHUDWH MXVW QHZ UHVSRQVHV SHU GD\ 5HSV FDQ·W handle more responses than that per day without dropping balls.

Step 4. Sell The Dream 'RWKLV:RUN\RXUUHVSRQVHVDQGUHIHUUDOVWRPDNHFRQWDFWZLWKWKHULJKW executives, and then “Sell The Dream.” by helping them paint a vision of what kinds of solutions will solve their problems. Then connect your soluWLRQWRWKHLUNH\EXVLQHVVLVVXHV DQGGUHDP 'RQ W WUHDW \RXU IURQWOLQH VDOHV UHSV DV DSSRLQWPHQWVHWWLQJ PDFKLQHV VHWWLQJ XS DOO NLQGV RI PHHWLQJV WR ZKLFK SURVSHFWV GRQ W VKRZ XS 'R you have outbound reps that are only trained to push product, read from VFULSWVRUSXVKGHPRV"2UFDQWKH\FUHDWHDYLVLRQZLWKDSURVSHFWDQG start building trust, credibility and rapport?


Step 5. Pass The Baton (With Dedicated Sales Development Reps) If all your prospecting is done by your quota-carrying sales reps, you are making a fatal mistake. If you are committed to the results you want, you must have a team of reps dedicated to outbound prospecting, who generDWHQHZTXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLWLHVWRSDVVWRFORVHUVWRUXQZLWK7KHUHLVD science to doing this, including transferring over the relationship, in ways that generate consistent and quality results. It is vital that you have a simple and clear process to pass new leads smoothly from your dedicated prospectors to your quota-carrying Account ([HFXWLYHV'RQ·WOHWDQ\RQHGURSWKHEDWRQ )LUVW,·OOVKDUHDVDPSOH&ROG&DOOLQJ3URVSHFWLQJ)XQQHODQGWKHQLQ WKHIROORZLQJVHFWLRQV, OOJRLQWRHDFKVWHSLQPRUHGHWDLO



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Red Flags And Deal Breakers What signals or signs can you look for, as early in the sales process as posVLEOHWRZDUQ\RXDQGWKHFOLHQW WKDWZRUNLQJWRJHWKHULVDZDVWHRI WLPH" +HUHDUHVRPHH[DPSOHVRI UHGÁDJV 7KH\MXVWLQVWDOOHGDBBBBBBBNLQGRI V\VWHP 7KH\DOUHDG\KDYHDQDJHQF\VHUYLFHSURYLGHULQSODFHRUD IXOOWLPHLQKRXVHSHUVRQGHGLFDWHGWRBBB 7KH\FKXUQDQGEXUQWKHFRQVXOWDQWVRUDJHQFLHVWKH\KLUH WRGRBBBBBBBBBBBBB .QRZLWDOOV´:HNQRZZKDWZH·UHGRLQJµ *HRJUDSK\ 7KHLUPRQWKO\EXGJHWIRUBBBBBBBBLVRQO\BBBBBBBB 7KHVHLQGXVWULHVQHYHUVHHPWRZRUNBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB 7KLV DUHD RI ZRUN LV WRWDOO\ QHZ WR WKHP DQG WKH\ GRQ·W understand it yet. (That is, you would have to do a lot of education of the client before they would even understand WKHYDOXHRI \RXUVHUYLFH

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Their Core Challenges $VDÀQDOH[HUFLVHLQJHWWLQJFOHDURQ\RXULGHDOFXVWRPHUSURÀOHZKDWDUH the core challenges of the company and of the individuals involved in the buying process?
Refresh Regularly )LQDOO\\RXFDQKDYHPRUHWKDQRQHNLQGRI LGHDOFXVWRPHUDQG\RXDOVR PLJKWKDYHLGHDOSDUWQHUV/LPLW\RXUVHOI WRW\SHVRI SURÀOHV,I \RX think you need more than that, your marketing strategy needs focusing.



Step 2: Building Your List Of Targets There are books and online resources about how to build marketing lists; that topic is beyond the scope of this book. This section will, however, point you in the right direction if you’re unsure where to begin. Different sources of leads and contacts are appropriate for different busiQHVVHV 7DUJHWLQJ )RUWXQH " 7U\ RXW 2QH6RXUFH 7DUJHWLQJ VPDOO EXVLQHVV"$YRLG2QH6RXUFHDQGJRIRU,QIR86$DVRQHH[DPSOH -LJVDZ QRZRZQHGE\6DOHVIRUFHFRP LVSHUKDSVWKHEHVWJHQHUDOSXUSRVHVRXUFH of contacts with email addresses. )RULQGLYLGXDOVDOHVUHSVRUPDUNHWLQJGLUHFWRUVVHOOLQJWREXVLQHVVHVODUJHU than a couple hundred employees, we recommend using the popular services, most of which also integrate into Salesforce.com and perhaps other VDOHVDSSOLFDWLRQV -LJVDZQRZRZQHGE\6DOHVIRUFHFRP 2QH6RXUFH +RRYHUV ,QVLGH9LHZ =RRP,QIR 'DWD6DODG ZKLFK LV XQLTXH LQ WKDW LW KDV GDWDEDVHV RI companies that use certain applications, as I describe in the QH[WVHFWLRQ

ZoomInfo vs. Jigsaw $W WKH WLPH RI WKLV SULQWLQJ P\ SDUWQHU 0DU\ORX 7\OHU WKH &(2 RI PredictableRevenue.com, had just completed a preliminary test of the TXDOLW\RI GDWDEHWZHHQ-LJVDZDQG=RRP,QIR In short, she was surprisingly impressed that ZoomInfo had much higher TXDOLW\RI GDWDZLWK DPXFKORZHUERXQFHUDWHDQG KLJKHUUHVSRQVH rate from prospects. , OOOHDYHWKHQXPEHUVRXWEHFDXVHLWZDVDVLQJOHÀUVWWHVWEXWFKHFNEDFN RQ3UHGLFWDEOH5HYHQXHFRPIRUDÀQDOFRQFOXVLRQ


What If We Are Selling To A Unique Market? Do the above services not meet your needs? ,W·VDPD]LQJZKDWNLQGVRI OLVWVDQGGDWDRYHUVHDVÀUPVFDQEXLOGIRU\RX² DOWKRXJK\RXZLOOKDYHWRDFFHSWWKDWWKHTXDOLW\PD\QRWEHJUHDW(ODQFH com is an excellent resource to post projects and receive multiple bids from overseas vendors.

Blog Post On List Building %ULDQ&DUUROOKDVDQLFHSRVWKHUHWRKHOS\RXWKLQNDERXWEXLOGLQJOLVWV KWWSEORJVWDUWZLWKDOHDGFRPZHEORJZRXOGB\RXBEX\BWKWPO



DataSalad: Fresh B2B Marketing Data When running the Salesforce.com lead generation team, I wish I would KDYHKDGOLVWVRI WKHFXVWRPHUVRI FRPSHWLWRUVVXFKDV2UDFOH6LHEHODQG NetSuite. ,Q,IRXQGHG'DWD6DODGZLWK%ULDQ0DFNOH\EHFDXVHKHKDGDWHFKnology that could produce those kinds of lists, and we were both tired of all the junky lists and data sources being hocked and resold. Another ex6DOHVIRUFHFRPFROOHDJXH-RKQ%RJDUGMRLQHGXVDVDSDUWQHULQ 'DWD6DODGKDVOLVWVRI FRPSDQLHVWKDWDUHFOLHQWVRI DQGXVHVSHFLÀFDSSOLcations – such as a list of customers of Salesforce.com, a list of Webex customers, and much more.

Where The Lists And Data Come From 3HRSOHDQGFRPSDQLHVOHDYHDOONLQGVRI ´GLJLWDOÀQJHUSULQWVµRQWKH:HE 'DWD6DODGJHQHUDWHVWKHOLVWRI DSSOLFDWLRQVSHFLÀFFXVWRPHUVE\FUDZOLQJ dozens of different sources of online information and databases, such as job boards and discussion groups. 7KHQWKHWHFKQRORJ\LQWHUSUHWVWKHVHÀQJHUSULQWVDQGIUDJPHQWVWRUHDVVHPEOHWKHGDWDWRJHWKHULQWRIXOOUHFRUGV7KHGDWDLVYHULÀHGDQGFURVV checked prior to being added to our database. 'DWD6DODGPDLQWDLQVOLVWVRI DSSOLFDWLRQVSHFLÀFFXVWRPHUVRI FRPSDQLHV OLNH6DOHVIRUFHFRP1HW6XLWH:HEH[2UDFOH6$3*UHDW3ODLQVDQGPRUH -XVWDVZLWKWKHRWKHUVRXUFHV\RXKDYHWRWU\VRPHOLVWV$%VSOLWWHVWDQG measure results to determine what works best for your company.


Step 3: Run Outbound Email Campaigns The primary tool used by your outbound prospectors to get in front of QHZSURVSHFWVLVPDVVHPDLOLQJ)LUVWXVHHPDLOWRJHQHUDWHLQWHUQDOUHIHUUDOVWRWKHULJKWSHUVRQV DWWKHWDUJHWFRPSDQ\7KHQIROORZXSRQWKH responses and referrals with phone calls. ,GHDOO\WKHUHSVDUHVHQGLQJWKHVHPDVVHPDLOVWKURXJKHLWKHU\RXU6DOHV)RUFH $XWRPDWLRQV\VWHPOLNH6DOHVIRUFHFRP RUWKURXJKDPDUNHWLQJDXWRPDWLRQV\VWHPWKDWLQWHJUDWHVWR\RXU6DOHV)RUFH$XWRPDWLRQ6\VWHP2QDQ\ JLYHQGD\WKHUHSVKRXOGVHQGWDUJHWHGPDVVHPDLOVZLWKDJRDORI KDYLQJUHVSRQVHVSHUGD\DVVXPLQJDERXWDUHVSRQVHUDWH ´7DUJHWHGµPDVVHPDLOVVRXQGVOLNHDQR[\PRURQ+HUH·VKRZWKH\·UHWDUJHWHGÀOWHU\RXUOLVWFDUHIXOO\DFFRUGLQJWRWKHVSHFLÀFNLQGRI DFFRXQWRU FRQWDFW\RXZDQWWRWRXFK([DPSOHVRI ÀOWHUVLQFOXGH 9HUWLFDOUHWDLOÀQDQFHKLJKWHFKHWF 2. Revenue *HRJUDSK\7HUULWRU\ (PSOR\HHFRXQW %XVLQHVVPRGHO%%%&DJHQF\ /DVW&RQWDFW$FWLYLW\'DWH /DVW$FFRXQW$FWLYLW\'DWH &RQWDFW7LWOH&(2'LUHFWRURI 0DUNHWLQJHWF 9LUWXDOO\DQ\WKLQJHOVH\RXDUHWUDFNLQJ So even if you have a database of thousands of names, an SDR can segment down their total prospect pool into small groups that can be messaged with highly relevant information.

Writing Your Emails Although I share my email templates with clients, I don’t share email temSODWHVKHUHIRUWZRUHDVRQV 1. When you copy someone else’s template, you lose your company’s authentic voice. 2. If everyone uses the same email templates, the templates will likely lose their effectiveness.



%HORZDUHVRPHJXLGHOLQHVIRUZULWLQJ\RXURZQWHPSODWHV,I \RXGRQ·W want to reinvent the wheel, or are struggling to get your response rates up, we have products with templates you can purchase.

Guidelines For Writing Your Own Emails These are guidelines for writing emails to cold prospects to start a conYHUVDWLRQ2QFH\RXEHJLQFRPPXQLFDWLQJ\RXFDQVKLIWWRZDUGVORQJHU HPDLOVZLWKPRUHFRQWHQWEXWLQWKHEHJLQQLQJ 7KHVH HPDLOV VKRXOG ORRN DV LI WKH\ DUH D VLQJOH HPDLO WKDW came from a salesperson. 7KH\VKRXOGEHWH[WEDVHGQRWIDQF\+70/ 6WDWHVLPSO\DQGFOHDUO\ZK\\RXDUHUHDFKLQJRXW 0DNHWKHHPDLOHDV\WRUHDGDQGUHVSRQGWRRQDEODFNEHUU\ or smartphone. 2IIHUFUHGLELOLW\HJH[DPSOHVRI FXVWRPHUV $VN MXVW RQH VLPSOHWRDQVZHU TXHVWLRQ VXFK DV IRU D UHIHUUDO And BE HONEST in all your communications, whether by phone or email. 2QHWULFNWKDW,·YHVHHQUHSVXVHLVWRVHQGDQHPDLOWRDQHZFRQWDFWZLWK D VXEMHFW VWDUWLQJ ZLWK ´5Hµ WR PDNH LW ORRN OLNH WKH\ DUH UHVSRQGLQJ WR the prospect. Do you really want to start the relationship off with a lie? ,I \RX·UHD&(2RUVDOHVPDQDJHUGRQ·WDOORZRUHQFRXUDJHDQ\WKLQJWKDW erodes integrity.

An Example Of What NOT To Write Subject: Improve sales effectiveness in Q2? Chuck, Are you continually challenged to project accurate revenue? Do you know who your best reps are and what makes them successful? Do you know which marketing activities your company engages in are generating closed deals? You know there are some big deals in the pipeline, but can you easily generate a real-time report detailing their status?


Does this sound familiar? You face the same challenges as many other companies. Salesforce.com has proven to be successful at leading global companies such as Adobe Systems, AOL Time Warner Communications, Putnam Lovell, Dow Jones Newswires, Berlitz Global Net, Siemens, Microstrategy and Autodesk, to name a few. Salesforce.com is a web-based CRM service that can be rapidly rolled out and is easy to use. Sales organizations use it to centralize and report on contacts, accounts, and historical activities and to track sales performance. Marketing can easily measure the ROI of individual projects. Salesforce.com makes it very easy to customize reports and gain visibility into your sales organization and individuals' performance to get a better handle on your business. Could we schedule 20 minutes of time to discuss this? Or would someone else in your organization be a more appropriate contact? Warm regards, Aaron Ross The above email is too long, impersonal, hard to read on a blackberry, sales-y and just uninteresting. 5HVSRQVHUDWH=(52

Sending Your Campaigns 6WDUW E\ VHQGLQJ RXWERXQG HPDLOV SHU ZHHN RYHU WKH FRXUVH RI GD\V$JDLQ\RXUJRDOLVWRUHFHLYHDQDYHUDJHRI UHVSRQVHVSHU day, because if you get more than that, they will start dropping through the FUDFNV2QHRI WKHELJJHVWPLVWDNHVRXUFOLHQWVPDNHLVVHQGLQJWRRPDQ\ emails per day. 6HQGWKHPHVVDJHVHLWKHUEHIRUHDPRUDIWHUSPDQGDYRLG0RQGD\VDQG )ULGD\V6XQGD\VDUHRND\ ,I \RXDUHXVLQJHPDLOVH[SHFWDUHVSRQVHUDWHH[FOXGLQJERXQFHV 7KLVUDWHLQFOXGHVDOOUHVSRQVHVSRVLWLYHQHJDWLYHDQGQHXWUDO )RUPRVWQHZO\EXLOWRUSXUFKDVHGOLVWV\RXZLOOJHWDERXQFHUDWH – exclude those emails from your response rate calculation. So if you send HPDLOVDQGUHFHLYHUHVSRQVHVDQGERXQFHV\RXUUHVSRQVHUDWHLV UHVSRQVHVYDOLGHPDLOV %H PHWKRGLFDO LQ KRZ \RX KDQGOH UHVSRQVHV 5HVSRQVH KDQGOLQJ LV FULWLcal to make sure no responses fall through the cracks. Log them and keep



them organized. I suggest you create some standard email templates you can use for your most common responses. Don’t ignore bounces – clean bad emails out of your database as they come LQ2YHUWLPHWKH\·OOMXVWFOXWWHUDQGIRJXSHYHU\WKLQJ\RXGR /HDUQWRORYH´RXWRI RIÀFHµUHSOLHV²WKRVHHPDLOVKDYHWKHQDPHVDQG contact information for more people to target, such as executive assistants ZKRMRELWLVWRKHOSURXWH\RXWRWKHULJKWSHUVRQLQWKHFRPSDQ\

Mass Email – So You Got A Response )LUVWRI DOO/2*(9(5<5(63216(LQWR6DOHVIRUFHFRPRU\RXU6DOHV )RUFH $XWRPDWLRQ 6\VWHP DQG XSGDWH WKH FRQWDFW DV QHFHVVDU\ 2QFH you begin doing high-volume prospecting, sending hundreds of emails per month, it’s very easy to let great responses fall through the cracks. The goal of every mass email should be to establish and close a prospect on a next step. That next step should be either one of two things—but 127ERWK :KRLVWKHEHVWSRLQWRI FRQWDFWIRU«"µWRJHWDUHIHUUDO 2U :KHQLVWKHEHVWGD\WLPHIRUDTXLFNGLVFXVVLRQDURXQG«"µ WRVHWXSDFRQYHUVDWLRQZLWKWKHSURVSHFW )RUJRDOJHWWLQJDUHIHUUDOWKHREMHFWLYHLVWRFRQÀUPWKHEHVWSRLQWRI FRQWDFWIRUDÀUVWFRQYHUVDWLRQDQGJHWUHIHUUHGWRWKHP7KHQ\RXFDQ HPDLOWKHQHZFRQWDFWWRZKRP\RXDUHUHIHUUHG GLUHFWO\while mentioning (or cc’ing) the individual who referred you. This shows the new contact that you aren’t making a cold call and you’ve already been engaged with someone from his or her team. Internal referrals create the highest likelihood of getting a response. )RUJRDOVHWWLQJXSDFDOOWKHREMHFWLYHLVWRVHWXSDTXLFNWLPHWRVHHLI WKHUH·VDKLJKOHYHOÀWEHWZHHQ\RXUFRPSDQ\DQGWKHSURVSHFW·VFRPSDQ\ This call should be focused entirely on their business – not your business. You should lead the conversation and ask open questions that encourage them to talk about their business – not your business. ,I \RX·UH WDONLQJ PRUH WKDQ RI WKH WLPH RQ SURVSHFWLQJ RU VFRSLQJ calls, you need to ask more questions or just keep your mouth shut more.


,I VRPHRQHUHVSRQGVZLWKDQHJDWLYH´1RWLQWHUHVWHGµÀQGRXWZK\ 5HPHPEHU´1RµGRHVQ·WPDWWHUXQWLO\RXKHDULWIURPWKH&(2RU\RXU LGHDOGHFLVLRQPDNHU$QGHYHQWKHQZKHQ\RXJHWD1R\RXVKRXOGÀQG out why to determine if it’s coming from an objection you can handle. 2IWHQWLPHVSURVSHFWVPLVXQGHUVWDQGZKDW\RXGRRUZKDWYDOXH\RXRIIHU and will say “no” out of confusion.

Contacts Who Didn’t Respond If somebody doesn’t respond to your email, that doesn’t mean there isn’t OHJLWLPDWH SRWHQWLDO LQ WKH DFFRXQW %\ VHQGLQJ PDVV HPDLOV IURP 6DOHVforce.com or another system that tracks “email opens,” you can track which prospects opened your emails and how often they did it (or how PDQ\SHRSOHWKH\·YHSDVVHG\RXUHPDLOWR +HUH·VDQH[DPSOH

Now, rather than having to randomly call prospects, you have a prioritized list of people to follow up with. Review these reports every few hours. If someone’s opened your email more than once, call them. If open rates are high, they might have forwarded the email to a few people.



Example “Old Opportunities” Campaign A great place both to train new salespeople and generate opportunities is to reach back into old opportunities that have died, and have had no activity for at least six months. 2QFHD6DOHV'HYHORSPHQW5HSLVWUDLQHGDQGFRPIRUWDEOHZRUNLQJZLWK past leads, it will be easier for them to tackle totally cold accounts. Train WKHPEHIRUH\RXKDYHWKHPFDOORQFROGH[HFXWLYHV


Sending Unsolicited Emails and CAN-SPAM Compliance As a business, you can send unsolicited email messages to a newly acquired marketing list. If you use any kind of sales or marketing campaign with HPDLOVWKDWDUHQRW´RSWLQµVXFKDVSXUFKDVHGIURPDGDWDVHUYLFHOLNH-LJsaw or list broker, there are some rules you must follow to stay in compliDQFHZLWK&$163$0WKHDQWLVSDPDFW



Step 4: Sell The Dream 6RRQHRI \RXUSURVSHFWRUVVHWVXSWLPHWRKDYHDIXOOÀUVWFRQYHUVDWLRQ with a prospect. $VVXPLQJ\RXDUHWDONLQJZLWKDSURVSHFWZKRLVDJRRGÀWIRU\RXUVHUYLFH WKHJRDORI ´6HOOLQJ7KH'UHDPµLV127WR´VHOOµ,WLVUDWKHU WRKHOS the prospect create a vision of a dream solution that will solve their probOHPVDQGWKHQ WRFRQQHFW\RXUSURGXFWWRWKHLUNH\EXVLQHVVLVVXHV DQG dream solution. In any conversation with a prospect, don’t get eager until you actually see WKDWWKH\FRXOGEHDÀW&KDOOHQJHWKHPDVZHOO+RZVHULRXVDUHWKH\DERXW VROYLQJWKHLUFKDOOHQJHV" 7KHUH·VLQWHUHVW²EXWDUHWKH\UHDG\WRWDNHDFWLRQ" $UH\RXFRQQHFWHGZLWKWKHSHRSOHZLWKSRZHURULQÁXHQFH" ,VWKHUHUHDOLQWHUHVWLQDQH[WVWHS" 2XWERXQGSURVSHFWRUVVKRXOGQ·WMXVWWKURZRYHUORWVRI FUXPP\RSSRUtunities that go nowhere – it is better for them to pass fewer, better opportunities to your Account Executives. Track everything in your sales force automation system. 2QFHDSURVSHFWRUFRQQHFWVE\SKRQHZLWKDSURVSHFWIRUDFDOOWRÀQGRXW LI WKHUHLVDPXWXDOÀWWKHELJJHVWFKDOOHQJHLVVWD\LQJIRFXVHGRQWKHSURVpect’s business and not selling yours. $VNRSHQHQGHGTXHVWLRQVDERXWWKHLUEXVLQHVVÀUVW²KRZLW·VRUJDQL]HG for example – before moving on to ask about challenges. +HUHDUHDVHULHVRI VDPSOHTXHVWLRQV\RXFDQFXVWRPL]HDQGXVHLQD'LVFRYHU\&DOO5HDOLVWLFDOO\LQDÀUVWFRQYHUVDWLRQDSURVSHFWRUPLJKWMXVWDVN RI WKHVHTXHVWLRQV7KH\DUHURXJKO\LQRUGHUVWDUWLQJZLWKPRUHJHQHUDOEXVLQHVVTXHVWLRQVDQGOHDGLQJWRPRUHVSHFLÀFTXDOLÀFDWLRQTXHVWLRQV +RZDUH\RXUBBBWHDPVIXQFWLRQVRUJDQL]HG" +RZGRHV\RXUBBBSURFHVVZRUNWRGD\" :KDWV\VWHPV GRWKHVHWHDPVXVHIRUVDOHVDQGOHDGPDQDJHPHQW" +RZORQJKDVWKHV\VWHPEHHQLQSODFH"


:KDW DUH \RXU FKDOOHQJHV QRZ" $IWHU HDFK DQVZHU NHHS DVNLQJ “What else?”) +DYH\RXEHHQORRNLQJDWDOWHUQDWLYHV\HW" +DYH\RXWULHGDQGIDLOHGZLWKRWKHUVROXWLRQV":K\" :KHUHGRHVBBBBBIDOORQ\RXUSULRULW\OLVW":KDWLVKLJKHU" :KDWZRXOGDQLGHDOVROXWLRQORRNOLNHWR\RX" +RZZLOO\RXUGHFLVLRQPDNLQJSURFHVVZRUN" :K\GLG\RXEX\WKHROGV\VWHP":KRPDGHWKHGHFLVLRQWRSXUFKDVH it? :KDWLVWKHSUREDELOLW\DSURMHFWZLOORFFXUWKLV\HDU>LQWKHQH[WVL[ months]? :K\GRLWQRZ"2UZK\ZDLWXQWLOODWHU"

More Tips For A First Call 0DLQ REMHFWLYH JHW WKHP WDONLQJ DERXW WKHLU EXVLQHVV DQG WKHQOLVWHQ &DOOORZEHIRUHD&OHYHOFRQYHUVDWLRQ)LQGRXWKRZWKHLU business works and current challenges by calling a relevant employee at the company (at Salesforce.com, we’d call LQGLYLGXDOVDOHVUHSVWRJHWWKHLQVLGHVFRRS 7U\ EHLQJ UHVSHFWIXOO\ EOXQW $IWHU \RX·YH WDONHG DQG LI WKHLUSDLQLVQ·WREYLRXVDVNVWUDLJKWRXWLI WKHUHLVDQ\SDLQ “Where do you have pain today? What’s not working as well is it should?” .HHS DVNLQJ TXHVWLRQV XQWLO \RX·YH H[KDXVWHG WKH KXQW IRU pain—their challenges. Keep digging until there’s nothing left to uncover. $VN IRU UHIHUUDOV :KR HOVH VKRXOG \RX WDON WR DW RWKHU divisions / teams? 6FKHGXOLQJYLDHPDLOLVDKXJHWLPHZDVWHU$OZD\VZRUNWR schedule your next step while you’re on the phone. Remember, experiment and test these questions and practices to see what works for your people and business. You will have to customize, tweak and test to get great results that are repeatable.



Building Champions If the prospect is interested but isn’t ready, or they need to convince more people on the team, then turn your focus to developing your contact into a Champion, who can do the selling for you at the account. ,W·VVLPSOHUWKDQ\RXWKLQNIRFXVRQZKDWZLOOPDNHWKDWSHUVRQVXFFHVVIXO QRWZKDWZLOOPDNH\RXVXFFHVVIXO DQGDVNWKHPKRZ\RXFDQVXSSRUW WKHP*LYHWKHPZKDWWKH\QHHG²LQFOXGLQJWLPH&KHFNLQZLWKWKHP EXWGRQ·WEXJWKHP%XLOGWUXVWEHUHVSHFWIXODQGEHSHUVLVWHQW You’re planting seeds here, and it can take time for the seed to sprout and EORRP.HHS´DGGLQJZDWHUµJLYLQJWKHPORYHDQGDWWHQWLRQ DQGSUDFWLFLQJSDWLHQFHZLWKWKHP


Step 5: Pass The Baton (When Is An Opportunity 4XDOLÀHG" $ TXHVWLRQ , JHW IURP HYHU\ FOLHQW LV ´+RZ GR \RX GHÀQH D TXDOLÀHG opportunity?” — that is, one which the inside Sales Development Rep 6'5 VKRXOGSDVVWRDQ$FFRXQW([HFXWLYH$( DQGWKDWWKH6'5FDQ be compensated on.

In this section, I’m going to be using the terms “Sales Development Rep” and “Account Executive” a lot, so while I’m not a fan of acronyms, I sometimes will use “SDR” and “AE” for brevity. This process below was just for the outbound sales process. Salesforce. FRP KDG GLIIHUHQW TXDOLÀFDWLRQ FULWHULD IRU OHDGV FRPLQJ LQ WKURXJK WKH ZHEVLWH´LQERXQGOHDGVµ ZKLFKZHUHURXWHGWRDWRWDOO\GLIIHUHQW0DUNHW Response Reps team. After lots of experimentation, these simple guidelines worked the best for our outbound generated opportunities….



The Basics $SDUWIURPWKHTXDOLÀFDWLRQFULWHULDLQRUGHUWREHFRPSHQVDWHGIRUDQHZ RSSRUWXQLW\WKH6DOHV'HYHORSPHQW5HSPXVWÀQGRSSRUWXQLWLHVZKLFK +DYH DW OHDVW D SRWHQWLDO RI XVHUV WR HQVXUH WKH VDOHV UHSVZHUHORRNLQJIRUODUJHHQRXJKRSSRUWXQLWLHV +DYHQRIXQGDPHQWDO´UHGÁDJVµRUGHDOEUHDNHUV 7KH6DOHV'HYHORSPHQW5HSFOHDUO\JHQHUDWHGQRSRDFKLQJ IURP´LQERXQGµOHDGVRURWKHU6'5V You must have clear guidelines and rules for reps to follow to help them ensure they are generating quality leads that are worth the company’s time. $QDOOWRRFRPPRQPLVWDNHLVOHWWLQJWKHSUHVVXUHRI ´-XVWJHWOHDGVLQµ VWRS UHSV IURP GLVTXDOLI\LQJ VPDOO GHDOV WKDW DUH QRW SURÀWDEOH HQRXJK There is an opportunity cost to small deals – they waste time and resources that could be spent looking for or working on larger ones.

When An SDR Should Pass An Opportunity To An AE )XQGDPHQWDOO\ ZKHQ WKH 6DOHV 'HYHORSPHQW 5HS IHHOV LW LV ZRUWK WKH $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH·V WLPH WKDW WKH $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH ZRXOG ZDQW WR engage this deal, they pass the opportunity over. There were three guideOLQHVIRUWKLV 'RHVWKHFRPSDQ\ÀWRXULGHDOFOLHQWSURÀOH" $UHZHVSHDNLQJZLWKVRPHRQHZLWKLQÁXHQFHRUSRZHU" ,VWKHUHDFOHDULQWHUHVWLQDQH[WVWHSXVXDOO\LQWKHIRUPRI DVFRSLQJRUGLVFRYHU\FDOOZLWKDQ$FFRXQW([HFXWLYH" 7KHRSSRUWXQLW\LVFUHDWHGDQGSDVVHGWRWKH$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHVWLOODVD ´6WDJH1HZ3URVSHFWµRSSRUWXQLW\(YHQZKHQSDVVHGWRWKH$FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH LW LV QRW XSJUDGHG \HW DQG WKH 6DOHV 'Hvelopment Rep is not FRPSHQVDWHGIRULW\HW²QRWXQWLOLWLVUHTXDOLÀHGE\WKH$FFRXQW([HFXWLYH

How To Pass An Opportunity Smoothly Best+RWWUDQVIHUWKHOHDGWRWKHVDOHVSHUVRQ Okay6FKHGXOHDWLPHRQWKHFDOHQGDUVRI \RXUVDOHVUHSDQG the new lead for a discovery call.


Last option0DNHDQHPDLOLQWURGXFWLRQFF·LQJERWKWKHVDOHV UHSDQGWKHQHZOHDGZLWKHDFKRWKHU VFRQWDFWLQIRUPDWLRQ in the email. And of course, the Sales Development Rep needs to log the email/pass in their sales force automation system, like Salesforce.com, and set up a new WDVNRUFDOHQGDULWHPIRUWKHLU$FFRXQW([HFXWLYH

The SDR Gets Credit After7KH$FFRXQW([HFXWLYH5HTXDOLÀHV 1HZRSSRUWXQLWLHVDUHQRWXSJUDGHGWR´TXDOLÀHGµXQWLODIWHUWKH$FFRXQW ([HFXWLYHVSHDNVZLWKDQGUHTXDOLÀHVWKHPLQWKHLURZQSKRQHFDOO'R not let the Sales Development Rep get credit until this happens, it is so FULWLFDOWRTXDOLW\FRQWURO $IWHUWKH$FFRXQW([HFXWLYHVSHDNVWRWKHSURVSHFWRQWKHSKRQHDQGIHHOV JRRGDERXWWKHVDPHEDVLFRXWERXQGTXDOLÀFDWLRQFULWHULD(Can we solve their problem? Are we in touch with the decision makers? Do they want a next step?…), the $FFRXQW([HFXWLYHFDQXSJUDGHWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WR´6WDJH4XDOLÀHGµ Now the Sales Development Rep can get credit and compensated for it.

Use An Audit Process It requires some extra time, but it is totally worth having a manager or the company owner review every single outbound opportunity to ensure high quality and integrity of the results. As soon as an opportunity is upgraded, check it to ensure all of the folORZLQJ :DVWKLVWUXO\DQLQFUHPHQWDORXWERXQGRSSRUWXQLW\"1RW an inbound lead from your website? :DV LW UHTXDOLÀHG E\ WKH $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH E\ SKRQH" 6RPHWLPHV DQ $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH ZRXOG ´GR D IDYRUµ IRU their Sales Development Rep and upgrade opportunities EHIRUHWKH\UHTXDOLÀHG²DELJQRQR 'LG WKH 6DOHV 'HYHORSPHQW 5HS DQG $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH enter notes into your sales automation system appropriately? If it doesn’t exist in your systems, it doesn’t exist — and reps can’t be compensated for it.



%DFN DW 6DOHVIRUFHFRP WKH EHQHÀWV RI WKLV VWULFW DXGLWLQJ SURFHVV HYHQ WKRXJKLWWRRNDOLWWOHH[WUDWLPHDQGHQHUJ\ZHUHFOHDUDQGVROLG :KHQ,UHSRUWHGP\UHVXOWVXSWKHFKDLQLQFOXGLQJWR0DUF %HQLRII,KDGWRWDOWUXVWLQWKHLQWHJULW\RI WKHGDWD,KDG URFNVROLG52,SURRI RI WKHWHDP 7KH DXGLWLQJ IRUFHG WKH 6DOHV 'HYHORSPHQW 5HSV WR VWHS up the quality of their work, and reduced the temptation to push boundaries, such as poaching a lead from the inbound team. It created trust within the team that everyone’s results were fair and that no one was cheating.


Improve Call Effectiveness Without Scripts Call scripts have been a classic tool in telemarketing and sales, but executives and business people have become much more tuned to canned questions. We use two simple but much more effective tools to plan and exeFXWHFDOOV$$$&DOO3ODQQLQJDQG&DOO)ORZV

AAA Call Planning (YHQLI DVDOHVSHUVRQWDNHVMXVWÀYHPLQXWHVWKH\FDQTXLFNO\JHQHUDWHDOLVW RI REMHFWLYHVIRUWKHLUFDOO :KDW$QVZHUVGR\RXZDQWWROHDUQLQWKHFDOO" :KDW$WWLWXGHVGR\RXZLVKWKHSURVSHFWWRIHHO" :KDW$FWLRQVVKRXOGRFFXUDIWHUWKHFDOO"

Call Flows 7KHRUGHURI TXHVWLRQVKRZWKHFRQYHUVDWLRQÁRZV PDNHVDGUDPDWLFGLIIHUHQFHLQWKHHDVHDQGSURGXFWLYLW\RI FDOOV)LUVWZHUHYHUVHWKHFODVVLF FROGFDOOPHWKRGWKDWWHDFKHVVDOHVSHRSOHWRXVHWKHÀUVWVHFRQGVWREDUN RXWDQHOHYDWRUSLWFKWRVSDUNDSURVSHFW VLQWHUHVW«EHFDXVHUHPHPEHU we have already conversed via email or have a referral before we call. So while the salesperson does want to begin with explaining why they are calling, and who they and their company are, it’s not a cheesy “cold call pitch.” Salespeople should use a nonthreatening, research-oriented approach that XVHVWKHÀUVWKDOI RI WKHFDOOWROHDUQDERXWWKHSURVSHFW VEXVLQHVVDQGQHHGV The salesperson positions their service and value at the end of the call, after WKH\ YHXQFRYHUHGZKDWWKHSURVSHFWDFWXDOO\ZDQWV7KLVPHDQVWKH\SRVLWLRQWKHVROXWLRQWRWKHVSHFLÀFQHHGVRI WKHSURVSHFWZLWKRXWORWVRI GLVtracting, irrelevant information and features the prospect doesn’t care about. %HORZLVDW\SLFDOÁRZIRUDTXDOLÀFDWLRQFDOO 2SHQLQJ´'LG,FDWFK\RXDWDEDGWLPH"µ DQG,QWURGXFWLRQ 'LVFXVV SURVSHFW V FXUUHQW EXVLQHVV VLWXDWLRQ DXWKHQWLF FXULRVLW\



3UREHIRUSURVSHFW VQHHGVDQGFRQÀUPXQGHUVWDQGLQJRI WKHQHHGV 3RVLWLRQVROXWLRQWRPHHWWKRVHVSHFLÀFQHHGV +DQGOHREMHFWLRQV 1H[WVWHSV You don’t need fancy scripts to help salespeople make effective calls. They can be useful during training, but don’t let people get dependent on them and lose their own authentic voice. 8VH PRUH UROHSOD\LQJ WUDLQLQJ DQG IHZHU VFULSWV WR WHDFK WKHP KRZ WR think on their feet and have more natural conversations.

Leaving Voicemails Since email is the primary way people communicate today, use voicemail as a tool to increase response rates from emails rather than to attempt to get people to call you back (especially when targeting large companies; i.e., VPDOOEXVLQHVVSHRSOHDUHPRUHOLNHO\WRUHWXUQYRLFHPDLOV Leave voicemails with the same demeanor you would use with a friend or family member. You want to be disarming and warm — not sales-y, soundLQJOLNHDMDFNDVVRU´FRUSRUDWHµQRSHUVRQDOLW\


If you haven’t sent them an email yet, send an email as soon as you leave them the voicemail – give them more than one way to get back to you. Example 1“Hi John, this is Aaron Ross from Salesforce.com. My number is 555-555-5555. John, I sent you an email a couple of days ago and hadn’t heard back, and I was hoping you could give me a quick courtesy response. I’ll resend it here in a minute. Again, Aaron Ross, 555-555-5555. Thank you and have a great day.” Example 2: “Hi John, this is Aaron Ross from Salesforce.com. My number is 555-555-5555. John, I’m calling to follow up on the email I sent you, I’d love to hear either way if you can please help me out or not. Again, Aaron Ross, 555-555-5555. Thank you and have a great day.” Example 3 WKHP\VWHULRXVYHUVLRQ “Hi John, this is Aaron Ross following up. My number is 555-555-5555. I’m free after 3pm today. Again, Aaron Ross, from Salesforce.com, 555-555-5555. Thanks and have a great day.” The last message is likely to get you the highest callback rate, since it is mysterious. I’m not a fan of this last message with new prospects because WKH\FDQFDOO\RXEDFNWKLQNLQJLW·VVRPHWKLQJLPSRUWDQWRQO\WRÀQGRXW ´2KLW·VDVDOHVSHUVRQµDQGOHDYLQJDEDGWDVWHLQWKHLUPRXWK,VXJJHVW using it with people you’ve already had contact with who could or should recognize your name. 9RLFHPDLOFDQEHHIIHFWLYHLQFRPELQDWLRQZLWKHPDLO:KHQSHRSOHGRFDOO you back directly, they’ll often say things like, “I wasn’t going to call you EDFN DW ÀUVW EXW \RX ZHUH VR SHUVLVWHQWµ RU ´7KDQNV Voicemail can for the reminder, I’ve been meaning to call you back.…”

be effective in combination with email.

9RLFHPDLODOVROHWVWKHPKHDU\RXUYRLFHDQGKHOSVHVWDElish that you’re a real human, which is why it’s important not to get too mechanical with scripts and lose the humanity in your voice.



Move Prospects Through “Account Status” Assembly Line Stages


These “Account Status” settings are the equivalent of sales stages in RSSRUWXQLWLHVEXWVSHFLÀFDOO\IRUDFFRXQWVRUJDQL]DWLRQV6RWKHDFFRXQW is “cold,” the account is “working,” and so on. It is essential for reps (especially Sales Development Reps who are prosSHFWLQJIRUQHZEXVLQHVV WREHDEOHWRRUJDQL]HWKHLUDFFRXQWVLQWKLVPDQner so that reps can focus on the right accounts with the right messages at the right time, and minimize wasted efforts. It’s highly embarrassing for your outbound sales team to be sending prosSHFWLQJHPDLOVRUPDNLQJSURVSHFWLQJFDOOVLQWR\RXUFXUUHQWFXVWRPHUV

How To Use These Stages &UHDWHDQHZGDWDÀHOGLQ\RXUVDOHVV\VWHPRQWKH$FFRXQWV2UJDQL]Dtions page or tab called “Account Status,” which is a pick list. Add these eight settings. Test them out and feel free to customize them to your own language and process. +HUHDUHIXUWKHUH[SODQDWLRQVIRUWKHVWDWXVHVZKLFK\RXFDQDOVRWKLQNRI ´%LQVµZKHUH\RXSXWDFFRXQWV

Bin: 1. Cold 7KLV VKRXOG EH SUHWW\ VHOIHYLGHQW EXW LW V DFFRXQWV ZKHUH \RX KDYH QR DFWLYLW\DQGQRUHDOLQVLJKWLQWRZKHWKHUWKH\ UH D ÀW RU QRW 2IWHQ WKLV EXFNHWFRQVLVWVRI GDWD\RX YHLPSRUWHGIURPVRPHSODFHOLNH-LJVDZDQG unresponsive accounts.

Bin: 2. Working This bucket includes all the prospects that a rep is actively touching and researching. A rep has some kind of conversation going on at this account, either by email or phone. They may not be sure if the company is a good SURVSHFW\HWLI WKHUH VLQWHUHVWRUHYHQZKRWKHULJKWLQÁXHQFHUVDUH 7KH JRDO RI D UHS ZLWK DQ DFFRXQW LQ WKH :RUNLQJ VWDWXV LV 127 WR generate a sales opportunity by any means necessary. The primary goal is to determine the “truth” of whether there is, or is not, an opportunity at WKLVDFFRXQWLQWKHQH[WVHYHUDOZHHNVRUPRQWKV,I WKHUHLVQ WLW VEHW-



ter to move on than to generate a poor opportunity that will distract sales reps from “real” ones.

“Nurture” Bin: 3. Active Opportunity When a rep generates a new sales opportunity and that opportunity is still DOLYHXVHWKLVVWDWXVWRUHPRYHWKDWDFFRXQWIURPWKHDVVHPEO\OLQH)RU Sales Development Reps, it makes it easy to check on the accounts and RSSRUWXQLWLHVWKH\ YHSDVVHGWRWKHLUVDOHVUHSSDUWQHUVWRPDNHVXUHQR EDWRQVJRWGURSSHGZKLFKKDSSHQVPRUHWKDQ\RX GOLNH

“Nurture” Bin: 4. Check Back Quarterly ,OLNHVWDWXVQDPHVWKDWVSHDNIRUWKHPVHOYHV 7KHUH VQRFXUUHQWRSSRUtunity here, but there should be someday.

“Nurture” Bin: 5. Dead Opportunity Accounts with a dead sales opportunity are special, and deserve their own category, because they are highly likely to become customers in the future.

“Avoid” Bin: 6. Current Client 6PDOOFRPSDQLHVPD\QRW´JHWµWKLVEXWWUXVWPH$V\RXUFXVWRPHUEDVH JHWVELJJHUDQGWKHGDWDLQ\RXU6)$&50V\VWHPJHWVPHVVLHULW VDOPRVW impossible to keep your Sales Development Reps from calling on current customers. You want to make sure the team prospecting into cold accounts avoids current customers, and this is a way to help them do that.

“Avoid” Bin: 7. Bad Fit 1REXVLQHVVÀWRUSHUKDSVWKH\ UHRXWRI EXVLQHVV,W VDZDVWHRI WLPHWR ever talk to this company.

“Avoid” Bin: 8. Duplicate Account 6RPHWLPHV \RX GRQ W ZDQW WR GHOHWH DQ DFFRXQW RU OHDG %\ PDUNLQJ LW duplicate, you can make sure you avoid it in the future.


SDR Compensation I experimented quite a bit with different compensation structures at SalesIRUFHFRP7KHEHVWZDVWKHVLPSOHVWZLWKMXVWWZRFRPSRQHQWV $%DVHVDODU\BBBBBBB $&RPPLVVLRQRI BBBBBBWDUJHWHGWREHDERXWRI WKHEDVHRU RI WKHLUWRWDO Depending on where you are in the country, your base, for a quality person, FRXOGUDQJHIURP²DQGWKHFRPPLVVLRQFRXOGUDQJHIURP ² The low end compensation would be if you’re hiring new college graduDWHVDQGVHOOLQJJRRGVZLWKVPDOOHURUGHUV²VHYHUDOWKRXVDQGWR dollars. 7KHKLJKHUFRPSHQVDWLRQVDUHLI \RX·UHKLULQJSHRSOHZLWK\HDUVH[SHULence who are selling premium business-to-business services that cost at OHDVW

Commission Structure 7KHFRPPLVVLRQLVSDLGPRQWKO\,WLVPDGHXSRI WZRSDUWV GHSHQGV RQ D JRDO IRU WKH QXPEHU RI TXDOLÀHG opportunities generated this month. LVSDLGEDVHGRQGHDOVWKDWFORVHVXFKDVDSHUFHQWDJH of revenue. This structure balances short- and long-term goals. It incents Sales Development Reps to generate many opportunities now, while encouraging them also to focus on the size of deals and likelihood of closing.



SDRs: Account Executives Are Your Customers Your job as a salesperson is to establish such value with your customers that they tell everyone they know how good you are and what a fantastic job you’ve done. This is true whether you are a company or an individual. $V DQ 6'5 \RXU FXVWRPHUV DUH WKH $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYHV \RX VXSSRUW DQG ZRUNZLWK0DNHWKHPVXFFHVVIXODQGWKH\ZLOOPDNH\RXVXFFHVVIXO Your customers are always your greatest assets.

([DPSOH6LPSOLÀHG7UDLQLQJ3ODQ)RU$1HZ6'5 $VVXPSWLRQ7KHÀUVWZHHNVRI WKHLUMREDUHIRFXVHGRQJHQHUDOFRPSDQ\ training, product training, services, etc., before they focus on SDR training.

Week 3 (YHU\GD\*RDOV(see examples on the next page 1. Daily training &RQÀJXUH6DOHVIRUFHFRPH[SORUH6DOHVIRUFHFRP 6LWZLWKDQ6'5DQGVDOHVSHUVRQHYHU\GD\ 4. Add an account and contacts from your source of data /HDUQKRZWRGHGXSOLFDWHDFFRXQWVKRZWRWKRURXJKO\FKHFN QHZOHDGVWRHQVXUHWKH\DUHQRWDOUHDG\LQWKHV\VWHP 6HQGDPDVVRXWERXQGHPDLOWRFRQWDFWV 7UDQVLWLRQWKHSULRU6'5 VWHUULWRU\

Weeks 4 and 5 (YHU\GD\*RDOV(see examples on the next page 6HQGRXWERXQGHPDLOVEHIRUH)ULGD\ 2. Practice logging and responding to emails correctly :RUNXSWRÀYH´FDOOFRQYHUVDWLRQVµSHUGD\E\WKHHQGRI the week +DYHDYHWHUDQ6'5VLWZLWK\RXHYHU\GD\ 'UDIWDSHUVRQDOGDVKERDUG 'LVFXVVDQHZVHFWLRQRI WKHWUDLQLQJPDWHULDOVZLWKWKHWHDP


Sample Beginning Daily Goals 3LFNDQHZRQOLQH6DOHVIRUFHFRPWUDLQLQJPRGXOHWRVWXG\ &DOO ÀYH ROG QRW FROG OHDGV LQ WKH V\VWHP WR SUDFWLFH discussing their needs in a business conversation ,GHDO&XVWRPHU3URÀOHGLVFXVVLRQZLWKWHDPPDWH /HDUQDERXWWKH$FFRXQW6WDWXVVWDJHV

$GG ÀYH QHZ DFFRXQWV DQG WKHLU FRQWDFWV LQWR 6DOHVIRUFH com 6HQGDPDVVHPDLO

0HHWZLWKDPHQWRU 0HHWVRPHRQHIURPDQRWKHUWHDP /LVWHQWRDVDOHVFDOO /LVWHQWRDSURVSHFWLQJFDOO

'UDIW\RXU'D\LQWKH/LIH

Sample Intermediate Daily Goals &RQÀJXUH6DOHVIRUFHFRPUHSRUWVRUDGDVKERDUG &XVWRPL]H\RXURZQ&KHDW6KHHW

3UDFWLFH ´0DSSLQJ &DOOVµ LQWR FROG DFFRXQWV FDOO WKH executive assistant of the President, and ask for a referral to WKHULJKWFRQWDFW 5ROHSOD\VRPHFDOOVZLWKDWHDPPDWH /DUJHDFFRXQWPDSSLQJSURMHFWSLFND)RUWXQHDFFRXQW DQGPDSRXWGLYLVLRQV 'UDIW\RXUSODQIRUWKHPRQWK²9LVLRQ"0HWKRGV"0HWULFV" %XVLQHVV3UREOHPVY%XVLQHVV6ROXWLRQVUROHSOD\H[HUFLVH 5XQ D 'HDG 2SSRUWXQLWLHV FDPSDLJQ LQWR DFFRXQWV ZLWK old opportunities 5HPHPEHUDJDLQ\RXZLOOKDYHWRH[SHULPHQWWHVWDQGPHDVXUHWRÀJXUH out what works and is repeatable for your business and team. If something GRHVQ WZRUNWKHÀUVWWLPHNHHSWZHDNLQJ

Best Practices -


4 Prospecting and Sales Best Practices A collection of tips and tricks that any salesperson can use to improve results.

P r e d i c t a b l e Re ve nu e - Best Practices

A “Day in the Life” (SDR Example) +RZLQWHQWLRQDODUH\RXLQGHVLJQLQJ\RXUGD\RUWKHGD\VRI \RXUVDOHVSHRSOH"+HUHLVDQH[DPSOHRI DQ´LGHDOGD\µLQWKHOLIHRI D6DOHV'HYHOopment Rep. You can take the principles behind it and design your own “ideal day” templates for other roles in your company.

Free gift: download this "Day In The Life Template" from: www.PredictableRevenue.com/templates

,QWKLVFDVHWKHÀUVWKDOI RI WKHday is primarily for following up on new DQGSDVWOHDGVDOWKRXJKSHUKDSVWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWÀYHPLQXWHVLVLQWKH EHJLQQLQJZKHQWKH6'5FRQVLGHUVWKHLU´JRDOVIRUWKHGD\µ In summary, the most effective days begin with prioritizing key goals for the day, then a morning of responding to leads ("important and urgent" ZRUN DQGDQGDIWHUQRRQRI FDOOVDQGSUHSDUDWLRQIRUWKHIXWXUHLPSRUWDQWQRWXUJHQWZRUN

Best Practices -


After lunch, the day is blocked out to focus on scheduled calls and demos and planning. Lastly, the SDR sends out an evening email campaign so that they have fresh responses waiting in their inbox in the morning.

Maintaining Enthusiasm )LQDOO\WRPDLQWDLQVXVWDLQDEOHDQGSRVLWLYHVDOHVHQHUJ\LQWKHWHDPLW V LPSRUWDQWIRUVDOHVUHSVWRWDNHEUHDNVHYHU\PLQXWHVWDNHDIXOOOXQFK with coworkers, and pick a time of day to commit to stopping work (such DVSP 2YHUZRUNFDQSURGXFHPRUHUHVXOWVLQWKHVKRUWWHUPEXWZLOO HYHQWXDOO\JULQGRXWDQ\RQH VDXWKHQWLFHQWKXVLDVPDQGFUHDWHEXUQRXW and turnover in the team.


The Top Six Prospecting Mistakes Reps Make 1. Expecting Instant Results When targeting companies that have multiple people involved in decisions RIWHQDFRXSOHKXQGUHGHPSOR\HHVDQGXS LWFDQWDNHZHHNVRUORQJHUMXVWWRGHYHORSDQHZTXDOLÀHGRSSRUWXQLW\ 2. Writing Long Emails Long emails can be hard to process – especially when so many people read them on mobile phones. Can someone read and respond easily to your HPDLORQD%ODFNEHUU\"0DNHLWHDV\IRUWKHPWRUHVSRQGE\DVNLQJWKHP a single simple question. $OVRLQHPDLORUE\SKRQH VWDWHVLPSO\ZK\\RXDUHUHDFKLQJRXW²DQGEH KRQHVW

Best Practices -


My Favorite Prospecting Questions +HUHDUHP\SHUVRQDOIDYRULWHVDOHVTXHVWLRQVWRRSHQDQGVWDUWJUHDWFRQYHUVDWLRQVZLWKSHRSOH\RXGRQ·WNQRZ ´'LG,FDWFK\RXDWDEDGWLPH"µ This is my all-time favorite question for opening any conversation. In fact, I have a whole page about it a bit later here in the book. %\DVNLQJ´GLG,FDWFK\RXDWDEDGWLPHµ\RXDUHVKRZLQJ\RXUUHVSHFWIRU their time by asking permission to chat. It takes them off the defensive. It demonstrates that you’re not a sales jackass. 0RUHRIWHQWKDQQRWWKH\·OOVD\´,W·VQRWDJRRGWLPHEXWKRZFDQ,KHOS \RX"µ«DQGWKHQJRDKHDGDQGFKDWZLWK\RXIRUPLQXWHV 0D\,DVNKRZ\RXU>VDOHVWHDPV_PDUNHWLQJRUJDQL]DWLRQ_ research efforts…] is organized? People like to talk about their business. It’s harder to begin with a “What DUH\RXUWRSFKDOOHQJHV"µTXHVWLRQEHFDXVHD WKH\GRQ·WWUXVW\RX\HWDQG E WKH\PD\QRWKDYHWKRXJKWDERXWWKHLUFKDOOHQJHV*LYHWKHPDQHDV\ TXHVWLRQWRDQVZHUVXFKDV´0D\,DVNKRZ\RXUPDUNHWLQJRUJDQL]DWLRQ VHDUFKHQJLQHHIIRUWVUHFUXLWLQJSURFHVVHWF LVVWUXFWXUHG"µ 8VLQJ DQ RSHQHQGHG TXHVWLRQ HQFRXUDJHV WKHP WR WDON DERXW LW DQG JHW warmed up, to start thinking of challenges. Also, sharing the structure or process of a part of their business will be easy for them (not requiring PXFKWKLQNLQJ DQGZLOOJLYH\RXH[FHOOHQWVLWXDWLRQDOLQIRUPDWLRQRQWKHLU business. This is an excellent follow-up question after you tell them, honestly and directly, why you’re calling (“I’m doing some research on your company to GHWHUPLQHLI ZH·UHDÀWRUQRW«µ ,I \RXZHUHPHKRZZRXOG\RXDSSURDFK\RXURUJDQL]DWLRQ" A great question after you’ve talked with someone who’s helpful, but not the right person at that company. 'R\RXKDYH\RXUFDOHQGDUKDQG\" 1HYHUVFKHGXOHE\HPDLOLI \RXFDQKHOSLW*HWRQWKHFDOHQGDUZKHWKHU LW·VIRU\RXUVHOI RU\RX·UHVHWWLQJDQDSSRLQWPHQWXSIRUVRPHRQHHOVH ULJKW WKHUHZKLOH\RX·UHRQWKHSKRQH


7 Quick Prospecting Tricks 1. Call/Email High5DWKHUWKDQJRLQJGLUHFWO\WR\RXUWDUJHWFDOODERYH them and get referred down to the right person. 2. AttitudeWHDPSURFHVVIXQFWLRQ@ >LV structured/works] today?" ´:RXOGLWEHDZDVWHRI WLPHWRGLVFXVVBBBBWRVHHLI ZH could help?" Think “Bite-sized Emails” .HHS LW VKRUW DQG VZHHW $VVXPH HPDLOV DUH UHDG RQ %ODFNEHUULHV $VNRQHDQGRQO\RQH TXHVWLRQSHUHPDLO«NHHSLWVLPSOH 4. If They Aren’t Interested, Find Out Why ,V ZKDWHYHU SUREOHP \RX VROYH MXVW QRW D SULRULW\" 1R EXGJHW"2UJDQL]DWLRQDOFKDQJHKDVWKHSODFHLQFKDRVULJKW now? ,VLWZRUWK\RXUWLPHWRGLJPRUHRUVKRXOG\RXPRYHRQ" 7KLVLQVLJKWLVLPSRUWDQWEHFDXVH\RXZLOOOHDUQLI WKHEORFNV are objections to overcome, or what and when your next step should be. 5. Don’t Give Up Too Easily! (With Ideal Prospects): :LWK LGHDO SURVSHFWV GRQ·W GLVTXDOLI\ WKHP XQWLO \RX JHW D “no” from the decision maker (don’t take “no” from others, HYHQRWKHUH[HFXWLYHV ,I \RXVHOOWRWKH936DOHVDQGIHHO WKHDFFRXQWLVLGHDOGRQ·WDVVXPHWKDWEHFDXVHWKH&,2VD\V you’re wasting your time that you are. As Winston Churchill said, “Never, never, never, never give up!” (with ideal prospects).

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6. Always Set Up a Next Step :KDWQH[WVWHSZLOOERWKKHOS\RXUSURFHVVDQGFUHDWHYDOXH for the prospect? Always frame a next step in a way that LVYDOXDEOHWRWKHP´7KHEHVWZD\IRUXVWRVDYHWLPH«µ ´+HUH·V KRZ , FDQ KHOS \RX JHW WR D GHFLVLRQ IDVWHU«µ “Your team will learn….” $ERXW RQH RXW RI IRXU SURVSHFWV ZLOO KDYH KDG D VWURQJ opinion on the next step they wanted to take. In that case WKH\ OO RIWHQ VD\ ´, QHHG WR VHH D GHPRµ ,I \RX KDYH D GLIIHUHQWLGHDDERXWZKDW\RXZDQWGRQ·WÀJKWWKHP7DNH their next step with them, and “enhance” their idea with ZKDW\RXZDQW´,·GEHKDSS\WRVHWXSDGHPR$VSDUW of that preparation process, it’ll help make our time much PRUHSURGXFWLYHLI \RXÀOORXWWKHVHÀYHTXHVWLRQV«µ 7KH RWKHU RI SURVSHFWV ZLOO ORRN WR \RX WR VXJJHVW the best next step. You’re there to walk them through an evaluation and buying process. So be prepared to have RQHRUWZRVSHFLÀFVXJJHVWLRQVEDVHGRQZKDW·VEHHQPRVW HIÀFLHQW IRU \RXU RWKHU FOLHQWV ´:KDW ZH·YH IRXQG DV D best next step is to…” Try out these tips, and keep track of your own "few, best practices and questions" that work in your market. Put them into a cheat sheet that you can use in training new sales reps and helping veterans prepare for sales calls.


Time Management and Focus Tip: “3 Goals For The Day” 2QHRI P\IDYRULWHWLPHPDQDJHPHQWSUDFWLFHV²RQHWKDWZRUNVIRUDQ\ VDOHVUHSRU&(2²LVWRPDSRXWWKUHHWRÀYHPDLQJRDOVIRUWKHFRPLQJ day. I like doing it the night before. Ask yourself, “If I could only get three things done today, what would they EH"µ,W·VKDUGHUWKDQ\RXWKLQNWRJHWWKUHHLPSRUWDQWWKLQJVGRQH ([DPSOHVRI VDOHVGDLO\JRDOVNHHSWKHPVLPSOH

+DYHand logÀYHSKRQHFRQYHUVDWLRQV 6HQGDFDPSDLJQRI PDVVHPDLOV 4XDOLI\DQHZVDOHVRSSRUWXQLW\ 6FKHGXOHWZR6FRSLQJ'LVFRYHU\&DOOV 0DSRXWDVXFFHVVSODQJRDOVDFWLYLWLHVPHWKRGV IRUQH[W month.

)RU D JUHDW RQOLQH DSSOLFDWLRQ QRZ WKDW KHOSV \RX SULRULWL]H \RXU GDLO\ weekly, monthly and quarterly goals, take a look at www.Teamly.com.

Example 1-Page Printed Template

Free gift: download this "3 Goals Template" from: www.PredictableRevenue.com/templates

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Example Dashboards In Salesforce.com For A Sales Team I encourage clients to generally set up their dashboards in a three column IRUPDWLQFOXGLQJ /HIW&XUUHQWPRQWKDFWLYLW\DPRXQWRI VWXII JRLQJRQ &HQWHUFXUUHQWPRQWKUHVXOWVGHDOV 5LJKW/RQJWHUPUHVXOWV\HDUWRGDWH

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Example Sales Development Rep Dashboard (YHU\VDOHVUHSVKRXOGVHWXSWKHLURZQSHUVRQDOGDVKERDUGVRWKH\FDQ see the state of their own business at a glance (and it makes it easier for WKHLUPDQDJHUWRFRDFKKHOSWKHP %HORZ,KDYHODLGRXWDWKUHHFROXPQGDVKERDUGZLWKQLQHH[DPSOHUHSRUWV LQD[PDWUL[1RWLFHKRZWKHUHSRUWVIROORZWKHVDPHWKUHHFROXPQIRUmat I suggested on the prior page. /HIW&XUUHQWPRQWKDFWLYLW\DPRXQWRI VWXII JRLQJRQ &HQWHUFXUUHQWPRQWKUHVXOWVGHDOV 5LJKW/RQJWHUPUHVXOWV\HDUWRGDWH

(YHU\WHDPLVGLIIHUHQWDQGZKLOHIRURXWERXQGVDOHV\RXVKRXOGXVHWKH above key metrics and reports as a foundation, you will have to customize HYHU\WKLQJWRÀW\RXURZQQHHGV

Sales Best Practices -


Sales Best Practices Shorten sales cycles. Increase sales productivity.

P r e d i c t a b l e Re ve nu e - Sales Best Practices

Sell To Success 6HOOLQJ WKH 3UHGLFWDEOH 5HYHQXH ZD\ LV DERXW 6HOOLQJ 7R 6XFFHVV ,W V about hiring and training salespeople who are totally committed to their FRPSDQ\ VYLVLRQDQGYDOXHV,W VVDOHVSHRSOHKHOSLQJQHZSURVSHFWVFRQnect with that vision, and then helping these new customers succeed — and generating lots of revenue as a byproduct. 7KHVHVDOHVSHRSOHGRQ WFORVHFXVWRPHUVWKDWDUHQ WDJRRGORQJWHUPÀW They work with a team of other great salespeople, all helping each other improve and learn as a team. Compensation is important, but it’s not the most important thing.

Traditional “ABC” Selling 3HRSOH IURP ROG VFKRRO VDOHV PLQGVHWV OLYH E\ $OZD\V %H &ORVLQJ 7KH\ GHVWUXFWLYHO\ FRPSHWH ZLWK FRZRUNHUV 7KH\ FORVH ZURQJÀW FXVWRPHUV 7KH\VHOOMXVWWRJHWSDLGDQGWKDW VDOPRVWWKHRQO\UHDVRQWKH\VWD\LQWKH MRE$%&6HOOLQJVNLSVWZRHVVHQWLDOVWHSVFUHDWLQJD6XFFHVV3ODQEHIRUH QHJRWLDWLQJDQDJUHHPHQWDQGIRFXVLQJRQ2QJRLQJ&XVWRPHU6XFFHVVDIWHU the close.



:KDW0DNHV´&ORVLQJµ6R$UWLÀFLDO Salespeople get paid to close deals, and they tend to be pressured — I mean PDQDJHG³E\IHDU)HDULVWKHFRQYHQWLRQDOVDOHVPDQDJHPHQWWRRORI choice. (YHUVHHQWKH*OHQJDUU\*OHQ5RVV$OZD\V%H&ORVLQJVDOHVPRWLYDWLRQ VSHHFK",W VH[WUHPHEXWWKHUHDUHJUDLQVRI WUXWKLQWKHUH When anyone gets paid to do something, and has managers breathing down WKHLUQHFNLWGLVWRUWVEHKDYLRU(PSDWK\ZLWKSURVSHFWVLVORVWLQWKHSXVK WR-XVWFORVHWKHGHDO7UXVWLQJFDSDEOHPDQDJHUVFDQKHOSSURWHFWWKHLU salespeople from these distorting effects by focusing on doing the right thing; fear-driving managers exacerbate the problem. 7KHUHVXOWSRZHUIXOLQFHQWLYHVWRVHOOKLJKYDOXHVHUYLFHVOLNHDODWHQLJKW FDEOH79JX\%X\QRZDQGJHWDPRQWKHQGGLVFRXQW%\WKHZD\WR SURVSHFWVJHWWLQJWLPHSUHVVXUHG'RQ·W\RXUHDOL]H\RXFDQJHWWKHVDPH GLVFRXQWQH[WPRQWK" Is the high pressure you’re applying today generating short-term results at the expense of long-term results or client/employee trust?

What Customers Care About (And It Ain’t Your Sale) &XVWRPHUVGRQ WFDUHDWDOOZKHWKHU\RXFORVHWKHGHDORUQRW7KH\FDUH about improving their business. It’s easy to forget this in the heat of a sales cycle. 2ND\\HV\RXNQRZWKDW²EXWGR\RXOLYHLW"'R\RXUHPHPEHULW"
Sell Past The Close With A “Success Plan” 6HOO´SDVWWKHFORVHµWRWKHSURVSHFW VRZQYLVLRQRI WKHLUVXFFHVV²KRZHYHU WKH\GHÀQHLW+HOSWKHPGHÀQHLWIRUWKHPVHOYHV6XFFHVVLVQRWZKHQ\RXU VHUYLFHLVODXQFKHGLW VZKHQ\RXUVHUYLFHLVVXFFHVVIXOO\LPSDFWLQJWKHFXVWRPHU VEXVLQHVVVXFKDVZKHQ\RXUVRIWZDUHLVDGRSWHGQRWMXVWGHSOR\HG


Push Selling vs. Pull Selling $EHQHÀWRI VHOOLQJWKLVZD\LVWREHJLQWRSXOOSURVSHFWVWKURXJKDEX\LQJ cycle, rather than pushing them through a sales cycle. Not only is it a pain to push a prospect through a sales cycle, it tends to be a lot less productive, DQG\RXHQGXSZLWKPRUHFXVWRPHUVZKRDUHQ WDJUHDWORQJWHUPÀWIRU the company. Selling to success helps pull a prospect through a buying cycle by helping tie WKHLUJRDOVDQGGHVLUHVWR\RXUFRPSDQ\ VDELOLW\WRKHOSDFKLHYHWKHLUJRDOV

The Trick 2QHRI WKHWULFNVLQ´VHOOLQJWRVXFFHVVµLVWRQRWFDUHWRRPXFKDERXWWKH close. Caring too much about the close will cause you to give off subconVFLRXVVLJQDOVWRWKHFXVWRPHUWKDW\RXUHDOO\GRQ WFDUHDERXWWKHLUVXFFHVV you care more about getting paid or getting your manager off your back. 7KDW VWKHLURQ\RI VWUHVVLQJWRRPXFKDERXWWKHFORVHLWVHOIWKHVWUHVVFDQ reduce the likelihood of it happening.

The Close Becomes A Natural Step In Achieving The Vision If you and the customer create a joint vision around how your company will make them successful, and they believe you, then the close becomes just a logical step in the progression to achieve that dream. You can remove WKHDUWLÀFLDOLW\RI ´FORVLQJµDQGPDNHLWIHHOQDWXUDO

Two Steps To Help Your Team Sell To Success )LUVW ,QFOXGH D 6,03/( ´6XFFHVV 3ODQµ VWHS EHIRUH \RX FORVH 7KLV LV D SODQ DOPRVW D YLVLRQ WKDW SDLQWV D SLFWXUH RI WKH EDVLF VWHSV EH\RQG GHSOR\PHQWWRDFWXDOFOLHQWVXFFHVV,WVKRXOGDOVRLQFOXGHDGHÀQLWLRQRI what success means to the client, a few key milestones, and some responsibilities of both your company and the client. This “plan” can literally be a half dozen bullet points in an email, agreed on with the client. It should be simple enough so that anyone at the client company who sees it will quickly grasp its essence and vision. Do not create a complex plan.



7KHPRUHFOHDUWKHFOLHQW VYLVLRQRI WKHLUVXFFHVVWKHPRUHWKH\·OOZDQWWR pull the deal forward on their own. 6HFRQG:KDWLV\RXUSODQIRUDFOLHQW·VRQJRLQJVXFFHVV"'R\RXKDYHD role in your company dedicated solely to helping customers become successful in using your product or service? It’s easy to want to push all the responsibility for success onto the customer, but it is equally your responsibility to help them succeed, because happy customers will help your busiQHVV,W·VERWKWKHULJKWDQGWKHSURÀWDEOHWKLQJWRGR


9 Ways You Lengthen Your Sales Cycles $QHYHUHQGLQJJRDORI FRPSDQLHVLV´+RZFDQZHVKRUWHQVDOHVF\FOHV"µ 7KHUHDUHQRVLOYHUEXOOHWV%XWWKere are some patterns around what lengthens cycles and how to shorten them. While I could come up with a million-and-one issues that delay cycles, here are the eight main ones to look inWRÀUVW 1) Wrong Prospects, Poor Messaging (Square Peg / Round Hole) It takes longer than you want to nail your market and messaging. CompaQLHVVHOOWRWKHZURQJSHRSOHDQGFRPSDQLHV$//7+(7,0(2UWKH\ sell to the right people with language that sounds good and fancy to investors, but means nothing to prospects (“We are the leading social graph SODWIRUPLQWHJUDWLRQDSSOLDQFHEODKEODKEODK«µ It’s human nature – you want more customers, and you get desperate anytime anyone gives you a sign of interest. (I’ll refrain from making the soREYLRXVGDWLQJDQDORJ\KHUH “Pick a niche, get rich.” If your marketing and sales efforts aren’t focused on your Ideal Customers, you will spend way too much time and energy on prospects who don’t really need what you have to offer (or they don’t XQGHUVWDQG\HWZK\WKH\QHHGLW 2) No Sales Process 'R\RXKDYHDVDOHVSURFHVV",I \RXGRQ·W²JHWRQH$1<7+,1*LVEHWter than no process. A consistent process that isn’t working well is better than no process, because you can improve consistent systems – you can’t improve random systems. 3) You Have A Fantastic But Unused Sales Process You have a great sales process but still struggle. Do your reps actually folORZWKHSURFHVV",VLWVLPSOH"&RPSOH[LW\UHGXFHVDGRSWLRQ +RZLVLW VXSSRVHGWRZRUNLQWKHWUHQFKHV"+DYH\RXFXVWRPL]HGWKHSURFHVVWR \RXUVSHFLÀFEXVLQHVV":KHQZDVWKHODVWWLPH\RXVDWGRZQZLWKDUHSRU reps and watched or listened or asked about what they really do each day, and how effective it is?



´6HOOLQJ6HOÀVKO\µ5DWKHU7KDQ´6ROYLQJµ Are your reps just pushing deals and “selling,” or are they proving to the clients that they can help solve problems? Do your reps disqualify? (Reps WKDWMXVW´VHOOVHOOVHOOµGRQ·WGLVTXDOLI\HQRXJK &DQUHSVDVGHVFULEHGLQ the prior section on “Selling To Success,” create a clear vision that empowers and pulls clients into really wanting what you have to offer? 5) Selling Too Low )LQGRXWHDUO\ZKRKDVLQÁXHQFHDQGDSSURYDOSRZHU²ZKR·VLQYROYHGLQ WKHVDOH"


,I \RXU SURVSHFW RU PDUNHW KDV DQ DYHUDJH VL[PRQWK EX\LQJ SURFHVV there’s no point in getting impatient at month three. :KDW·V\RXUXVXDOSURFHVVWRHYDOXDWHDQGEX\SURGXFWVOLNHWKLV"µ :KDWZRXOGLWWDNHWRFORVHLQ>@GD\V"2UE\DFHUWDLQ GDWH +RZFDQZHJHWWKLVGRQH"µ/DWHULQDVDOHVF\FOH When asking bold questions, it’s not what you ask, it’s how you ask it. If \RXDVNDTXHVWLRQOLNH´+RZFDQZHJHWWKLVGRQH"µLQDQLQVHFXUHZD\LW ZLOOKXUW\RX$VNLWHDVLO\DQGFRQÀGHQWO\DQGLWFDQFORVHWKHGHDOIRU\RX 7) Not Caring About Them Do you really want to help them improve their business, or just sell them VWXII "*UHDWVDOHVSHRSOHIRFXVRQPDNLQJWKHLUSURVSHFWVVXFFHVVIXO+RZ can you help your prospects, even if there’s no direct connection to a sale yet? Are their resources, news, advice, referrals or other things of value you can share with them? When you call, do you authentically care about KRZWKHLUEXVLQHVVLVJRLQJRUDUH\RXMXVWIRFXVHGRQÀQGLQJRXWLI WKH\·UH UHDG\WREX\\HW")RFXVLQJRQWKHLUVXFFHVVEXLOGVWUXVWZKLFKOHDGVWR more sales. 8) Telling Instead Of Showing (How Can You Prove It?) If you’re still working on breaking into an account, or have a stagnant prospect, try giving them something for free that will be valuable to them, like a free trial. Instead of telling them how great you are, or what a leader your FRPSDQ\LVKRZFDQ\RXSURYHLW")RUH[DPSOHDWULDOFDQFUHDWHDÀUVW point of entry in the “getting to know you” stage and give buyers a taste that you have the credibility to help them. Don’t just throw free stuff at them. Tailor what you’re offering to whatever their needs or problems are, or else it’s likely to be a waste of time for both parties. 9) Dragging Your Feet In Disqualifying ,ORYH7RP%DWFKHOGHU·VERRNWLWOHG%DUNLQJ8S$'HDG+RUVHDQG,UHFRPPHQG LW %HFDXVH RI GHVSHUDWLRQ SUHVVXUH RU D ODFN RI FODULW\ RQ WKHLU´,GHDO&XVWRPHU3URÀOHµH[HFXWLYHVDQGVDOHVSHRSOHZLOOEHDWGHDGRU SRRUÀWRSSRUWXQLWLHVWRGHDWKVLPSO\EHFDXVHWKDWRSSRUWXQLW\LVLQIURQW RI WKHPDQGLW VHDVLHUWRZKLSLWWKDQWRJRORRNLQJIRUQHZRQHV(YHU\ month, go in and clear your pipeline clutter to create space for new, high TXDOLW\RSSRUWXQLWLHV



Obsess About the Decision Making Process, Not The Decision Maker In the past, Sales was ALL about the decision maker, and everyone else on their team wasn’t thought of as important. Now, because executives are busier than ever, and because business culture is more collaborative and less dictatorial, decision makers rely more and more on their teams to help them make purchase decisions. In the past, when decision makers would defer salespeople to their subordinates, it was because the decision maker didn’t think it was important or valuable, and wanted to blow salespeople off. 6DOHVSHRSOHZHUHULJKWO\WUDLQHGWRÀJKWWRJHWDURXQGWKLVREMHFWLRQDQG obtain the decision makers’ time no matter what. Now, the “decision making process” is more important than “the decision maker.” Avoid questions like: “Who is the decision maker?” “Who signs the check?” Ask questions like: ´+RZKDYH\RXHYDOXDWHGVLPLODUSURGXFWVRUVHUYLFHV"µ “What is the decision making process?” “Who is involved in making the decision?” ´+RZZLOOWKHGHFLVLRQEHPDGH"µ “What are the steps to have a check cut or funds released?” Now, when a decision maker refers you to their “get it done” people (the LQÁXHQFHUV LW·VDSHUIHFWO\JRRGZD\WREHJLQVHOOLQJLQWRDQDFFRXQW 6KRXOG\RXLJQRUHGHFLVLRQPDNHUVHDUO\RQ"1R In other words, sales reps shouldn't wimp out and avoid trying to build a relationship with the decision maker, but it’s not always urgent to get there from the beginQLQJWKRXJKLWLVDELJKHOS


,VUHDFKLQJWKHXOWLPDWHGHFLVLRQPDNHUVDQ\OHVVLPSRUWDQW"1R :LQRYHU\RXULQWHUQDOFKDPSLRQVDQGFRDFKHVÀUVWEXLOGWKHFDVH7KHQ \RX·OOEHSHUIHFWO\SRVLWLRQHGWRZLQRYHUWKHÀQDOGHFLVLRQPDNHUV You do want to build a relationship with the decision makers early, but GRQ·W ´VHOOµ WKHP XQWLO \RX·YH EHJXQ ZLQQLQJ RYHU WKH LQÁXHQFHUV RU DW least until they’ve begun to agree with the value of your business case. %XLOGVRPHFUHGLELOLW\DQGXQGHUVWDQGLQJRI WKHEXVLQHVVÀUVW

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