Sales & Marketing Strategies & Technologies

Co-ordinated Inbound AND Outbound Sales = Moneyball & Best way to near term monetise marketing/partner/product/ecosystem-led growth model INBOUNDS: 74% of companies primarily used inbound over outbound in 2019 HubSpot You get what you get with inbounds e.g. webform completions & partner referrals Often NOT - ideal customer - actual decision maker (junior rep gathering info) BUT decent intent signal - timing is right: in their buying / consideration window - they've realised they have a pain worth solving - interest in change - > intent than website identification or purchased 3rd party intent tools & prospect has self-educated on your category BUT - over-reliance on inbounds was blamed by > 90% of 6k+ EMEA B2B sales leaders for missing their target in 2022 Sales & Marketing Strategies & Technologies - inbound is not working as well even for the very best at inbound e.g. inbound marketing agencies https://lnkd.in/dgFZrypQ The fish may have been jumping in your boat THEN BUT now you have to go fishing 🎣 if you want to eat. Inbound is just a starting point for the outbound sales process necessary to generate revenue Outbound is revenue insurance for sales / marketing omnichannel activity OUTBOUND - You are in control - who you target / ICP: decision makers at high fit / revenue dense account potential - precise message e.g. differentiated, accurate value prop (prospect self-education often = miseducation) BUT cold outbounding you have almost no control of: - is your message timely / urgent to the buyer Use inbounds & other intent signals as a trigger / research for warm outbound AND you have a killer combo! Outbound calling to have the conversations that actually matter with decision makers at ideal accounts with intent is the gold standard in sales effectiveness. Right person, Right company, Right problem, Right time AND Right sales channel = faster sales cycles & higher win rates Inbounds = start of outbound process of a competitive sale - they are not just inbounding you - primarily competing vs. no decision / no change Inbound-led outbound is nothing new... In decade of strong economies & easy money in run up to pandemic, many sellers became lazy order takers on inbounds P.S. Companies with near term growth / revenue efficiency imperatives MUST pivot away from over-reliance on inbounds and marketing-led motions AND double down on less warm outbound "Pipeline Cures All" Andreessen Horowitz... BUT you need to go outbound and phone first to get it today 🧠 https://lnkd.in/d-sedwX3 "It’s not just in a downturn that companies find their inbound engine is no longer enough to drive business. Whether you’re operating in a down market or your inbound motion has just reached its saturation point... there’s only one cure for elongated sales cycles and pipeline deficits... Go outbound" 🧠 - Andreessen Horowitz aka "a16z" Thoughts? #sales #outboundsales #inboundsales #salesstrategy #salesleadership

Top sales performers manage sales conversations differently. Best-in-class / top 20% sellers "𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀" - Korn Ferry 2024 Sales Maturity Survey Article below covers the video summary in detail... Actionable insights & playbook to optimise sales conversations https://lnkd.in/dpEQ2k8h P.S. Want to enable your sales team to effortlessly have 1) Live conversations on-demand in 4.5 mins With only named prospects on your target list (whether you have their direct dial or not) 2) Get smarter with every call I can get you set up for free... 1) To have more conversations in a day than you've likely had in the last month 2) Identify areas of opportunity you couldn't learn any other way Book in a time to discuss here: https://lnkd.in/dPTGV9qm

Sales channel diversification often delivers inferior results to focussing on best performing channel Multichanneling creates complexity / additional busy work - "Overwhelmed sellers are 43% less likely to attain quota" (Gartner July 2024) BUT ALSO (ironically) the success of your diversified omnichannel bets relies on activation by the most effective channel to be as effective as they can be. STOP this self-sabotaging madness... Based on flawed, but often unchallenged, assumptions

Self-Defeating Lies Sellers Tell Themselves 1) Personalisation is necessary 2) Quality > Quantity 1) FACT: Relevance > Personalisation Show me you know my business pains & how to solve them ALWAYS > Show me you know me personally Leading with personalisation makes me think a) you're desperate b) don't offer any value c) likely a con / scam Surprisingly relevance + personalisation adds near 0 2) FACT: Quality AND Quantity. Both are necessary for high performance, NOT mutually exclusive either / or ALL AGREE QUALITY IS IMPORTANT BUT many still misallocate limited active selling time to low quality, low trust sales channels e.g. email sequence spam cannons + cringey AI enrichment... burning NOT building bridges Quality is often used as an excuse for lack of activity QUANTITY IS VITAL a) Market coverage 2-3% of your market is buying now, 7-8% of your market in next 6-12 months Ensure that you speak with your TAM to identify who is who & earn these easy near term opportunities. Note: actual conversations with decision makers at target accounts is high quality communication / north star of sales effectiveness b) You need to benchmark where you are at - If you only practice X a handful of times, do you think you'll identify all the permutations of incorrectness in your doing, even if you are self-aware / analyse every recorded put? - Not a chance… just wishful think and another lazy lie we tell ourselves - By doing X a lot AND quality control of continual feedback you accurately model what you do, and so reveal areas of opportunity for improvement / catch lapses back into bad habits - You need to know where you are so you can know how to get where you want to be c) Muscle memory is built from repetition - Nobody got good at anything by not practicing - BUT repetition does not automatically make you better. It only makes you better if you adjust/fine-tune as you go, otherwise you'll be reinforcing bad habits so constant feedback & adjustments are needed to refine approach CONCLUSION Practice doesn't make perfect. Volume of practice with constant feedback + growth mindset makes perfect (& a good coach - all top performers have them) Purposeful practice with marginal improvements (earn or learn mentality) compounded by repetition = sure path to mastery BUT if I had to only choose quality OR quantity... I’d choose quantity, because quality is a function of quantity AND in sales you make your own luck with market coverage P.S. The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves No more hiding behind flawed thinking / BS excuses of “I need to research / personalise”. Prioritise conversations that matter with decision makers your market: the real work of being in sales - You’ll learn things you never could from research by actually speaking to them: unique unfiltered 1st party from the horse's mouth (=) real competitive advantage - What is more personalised than a real-time 1-2-1 conversation? What are your thoughts?

Sales channel diversification often delivers inferior results to focussing on best performing channel Multichanneling creates complexity / additional busy work - "Overwhelmed sellers are 43% less likely to attain quota" (Gartner July 2024) BUT ALSO (ironically) the success of your diversified omnichannel bets relies on activation by the most effective channel to be as effective as they can be. STOP this self-sabotaging madness... Based on flawed, but often unchallenged, assumptions

1) Speed of sales cycle & 2) Volume of gualified leads generated are the Top #SalesLeadership Challenges today ("The State of Sales" research I've been involved with) Is this true in your business? P.S. I'm seeing differences of priorities depending on size / maturity of sales org. #vpsales #saleseffectiveness #sales #salesperformance

You Need to 1) Close the gap in your sales maturity 2) Generate revenue > efficiently & effectively. THE SOLUTION: Run a Confidential & Complimentary Sales Audit https://lnkd.in/dPTGV9qm • Benchmark your function • Spot performance gaps and highlight areas of opportunity where 1 of your team excels that others can follow • Build an action plan that prioritises the highest impact activities to improve your function’s effectiveness THE PROBLEM IS HUGE Pipeline has always been sales forecast insurance / lifeline BUT required pipeline multiple has increased dramatically recently 1) B2B Sales Benchmarks from Ebsta / Pavilion, in 2024 YoY Win rates down 18% ACVs down 21% Sales cycles 16% longer Size of decision making unit expanded Number of touches for impactful engagement have increased 📉 69% of reps are missing quota 👨🔧 There’s an 8.9x delta between top performers and the rest of their peers 2) Objective Management Group's Sales Pipeline Benchmarking Data Reveal: Shortfall in pipeline quantity puts revenue targets at risk and hampers growth potential. Only 49% of salespersons self-reported four closeable opportunities in their pipelines, with a significant portion having even fewer. (=) > 59% of salespeople are not meeting the minimum threshold for pipeline quantity. Less than one of the three "closeable opportunities" reported by the average salesperson were deemed "truly closeable". Alarmingly, nearly 75% of opportunities were categorised as 'suspect' or 'prospect,' indicating a lack of essential qualifiers such as engagement with decision-makers or confirmed budgets. So only 3% of all salespersons had four "truly closeable" opportunities in their pipeline. AHHH. TOP TIPS 1) Go Outbound "There’s only one cure for elongated sales cycles and pipeline deficits... Go outbound" Andreessen Horowitz "Imperative that companies become obsessed at knowing, identifying, and targeting their ICP ... this means outbound" Pavilion Over reliance on partners & inbounds was blamed by > 90% of 6k+ EMEA B2B sales leaders polled for them missing their target Sales & Marketing Strategies & Technologies 2) Focus on & Optimise Live Conversations with Decision Makers Best-in-class / top 20% sellers "𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀” "Teams labeled as trusted partners achieved 48% higher quota attainment and 25% higher win rates than those who were approved vendors" Korn Ferry 2024 Sales Maturity Survey "Increase interaction quality by helping sellers: Focus activity on high-quality outreach efforts, not just batch and blast volume" Gartner Pick up the phone - Channel-Market-Fit is Moneyball today: https://lnkd.in/dt7PZMhG Top Sellers Make 82% more calls and send 24% less email McKinsey & Company #salesstrategy #salesleadership #sales #salesperformance

CFO is often ultimate buyer / key to sales effectiveness today. Most overlooked / miss-sold to stakeholder #csuiteselling I'm a qualified accountant & sales director. Here's my 2p 1) Talk to YOUR CFO / people you know in this role about their strategic priorities How do they assess options / buying criteria, frustrations with buying process... see the world through that lense & note the phrases they use A friend who is a enterprise CFO shared: - Overcoming the CRuD a) Cost of change b) Risk of a poor outcome c) Disruption to the organisation - Four Whys a) Why do anything? - current situational pain b) Why do it now? - urgency / the cost of doing nothing c) Why this particular solution? - the differentiated solution with customer references d) Why take the risk? - the value of going through the CRuD. Not only about cost cutting; as we emerge from recession: optimising budget for growth is key. For each X he cut, he reallocated 22X; beware “the paradox of thrift” 2) SPEAK to Prospect CFO early - Focus on Board Level Priorities Have conversations up front / be consultative NOT email (doesn't count) Ensure your value proposition aligns to top priority / strategic initiative / pain e.g. CEO statement CFOs don't waste time on "nice to haves": extra purchasing oversight / scrutiny = > time poor than ever Lose / Disqualify Fast: Get Feedback; iterate ICP / VP 3) Ensure your champion has an effective narrative to sell you internally to the CFO - coach them up Speak to Sellers at Target Account: your peers can give you guidance - they have to sell to their CFO themselves 4) Reduce Risk of Change / Make doing nothing Risky 0-cost, easy to deploy POC trial so have proof of value / truly relevant data > 3rd party case study, references / testimonials 5) Multi-thread Each member of the buying committee / decision making unit will have different needs - personalise to each persona CFO often has best perspective on how your solution systemically impacts their organisation across functions, so can get company-wide benefit insight and perhaps reallocate budget from wider business 6) Cost of Inaction > ROI (=) FOMU > FOMO To be credible: must be built with #cfo to accurately model, earn trust, be championable: THEIR calculation not the vendors. Recheck calculations/assumptions No happy ears / rose-tinted 🤓 Give the CFO confidence in modelling & make it easy to show value at a #boardmeeting as most deals lost to no decision CFOs allocate limited resource to maximise strategic goals: so know the sales maths for competing budget allocations 7) Understand their buying process NOT your #salesprocess MAP = forecast accuracy What is purchase conditional on 8) CFO Negotiations Don't concede anything until all of the ‘asks’ are on the table & always ask why they’re asking for X If lose deal: do post mortem: what went wrong/why? If win deal: how could have made buying easier What would you add? #enterprisesales #consultativeselling

It's 𝗕𝗗𝗥 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 🫡 I salute all the pipeline heroes out there. FREE 🎁 for you below - Tag your team. How are you celebrating BDR contribution? Must publicly thank my own team (every week is BDR appreciation week with this crew!) 🙏 𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗕𝗗𝗥 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲) 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 💪 - 2.8 hours / day (=) 112 hours aggregated - 802 CXO conversations (=) 6.53 conversations / hour. - Wait time to speaking to ONLY a named target on their list ⏩ 3 mins 42s despite only having 16% DDIs & mobile numbers - 67.46 meetings booked directly (=) 0.6 meetings booked / hour 🚀 from cold calling alone 😂 Too busy building £millions in 2024 revenue & future pipeline to read the "cold calling is dead 💀 memo" I suppose? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗗𝗥𝘀 / 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺? 🧠 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 SDRs / BDRs 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙭𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚... - Contact me https://lnkd.in/efp6zCiy 🎁 Happy to set you up for FREE to test out our conversations on-demand weapon - you deserve it! - Guarantee you'll will speak with more decision-makers on your wishlist than you have in weeks. #BDRAppreciationWeek #prospecting #SalesDevelopment #SDR ConnectAndSell, Inc RevGenius Pavilion Modern Sales Pros GTMfund CRO Connected SalesHookup SDRs of London SDRs of Germany Sales Confidence 6sense