Alexander Deguzman’s Post

Last June, I closed pclub.io's first $50,000 deal. But I had to "negotiate" a few big asks coming from the prospect that put the deal at risk of slipping. Here's how it went: "We won't move forward without this," he started. Him: "I want to see a full rollout plan for the first year before we're comfortable moving forward." **most reps would instantly agree to this** Me: "Let's assume we did that and you were comfortable with the plan. What would still have to happen before you moved forward with us?" Him: "A customer reference. I'd want to talk to a happy customer of yours to see how the rollout went. This is a big deal for us so I want to get rid of risk." Me: "Ok. Assume we gave you a rollout plan you were happy with, plus 1-2 customer references. Then what happens next before you move forward?" Him: "We'd still need sign-off from the CRO. She's aware of the proposal, but we need to get her comfortable with the details and business case." Me: "Makes sense. Based on that, here's what I suggest: "We are happy to invest in you in the form of creating a rollout plan and arranging a customer reference. As long as you meet us halfway and reciprocate. "It feels like we still have plenty of work to do with your CRO after those are done. "So let me know if it feels fair to you that we flip the order in which we tackle these upside down: "I'd hate to jointly do all this work only for your CRO to shoot everything down at the end. So let's get her on board first... then tackle the rollout plan and customer references. "Fair?" He agreed and we baked it into a mutual success plan. That mutual success plan ended with a late June signature. Here are three sales lessons from this: 1. Don't blindly agree to everything your buyer asks for. What if I agree to his asks without qualifying further? I would have gotten it done, thinking the deal was in the bag, only to find out I'm not even halfway there. 2. It's NOT your customer's job to create the right 'order of operations' in your mutual success plan. It's YOURS. 3. When customers have big 'ASKS' in the sales cycle, don't agree to them until you know what still has to happen AFTER you've completed it. Otherwise, you're chasing your tail. Try asking this: "Let's assume we do all that -- what would still have to happen before you and your company will be ready to move forward?" Get ALL the asks on the table first. THEN decide what you will (or won't) agree to. Give some. Get some. Create a mutual plan. Then execute it. Those were MY three takeaways. What are yours? P.S. Here's a free PDF that I worked on for 10 years that has 39 questions that sell: - 13 questions to uncover BIG business pain - 13 questions to rig the buying criteria - 13 questions to amplify urgency Grab all 39 questions free here: https://go.pclub.io/list

'Company A' goes from $0 to $10mil ARR over 5 years, with new biz doubling each year. If their NRR is 120% instead of 80%, how much less new biz do they need to win to reach $10mil ARR? ⬇️ ------ $3,341,819. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 1/3𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. ----- ...and this ignores the fact that happy customers that are staying and growing are more likely to give referrals, buy you again when they move company, and recommend you in the community ----- This is why it's so important to understand the compounding benefit of Customer Success Because if you offered a VP of Sales or Founder "Do you want to hit your revenue target while reducing quota by 33% or $3.3million?" They would absolutely rip your hand off But somehow it's not always clear to them that getting the right customers in the first place, and ensuring CS can execute growth, they are actually helping their future selves!

$1M+ earning tech sellers don’t have more skills than you. They just have better systems in place. Here are 7 easy-to-implement systems that will earn you more $$$ this year: 1. Track the most important performance numbers These metrics reign supreme in strategic sales: - Win rate - Deal size - Deal cycle Keep them front and center. The rest are distractions. 2. Take command of your calendar If you don’t set up intentional blocks, the wrong things will get scheduled for you. This will put you in reactive mode. But world-class pros always work 3 steps ahead. Design your ideal operating rhythm around 4 key commitments: - Annual strategy: Last 2 weeks of December - Monthly update: First business day of the month - Weekly organization: 3-hour block on Monday or Friday - Daily planning & reflection: Create a startup & shutdown routine With these scheduled, you can fill in the rest as you go. 3. Repeat wins with the innovators The most profitable customers are the most innovative ones. They don’t spend, they invest. Top producers figure out the DNA of their most innovative customers by interviewing the biggest spenders AND the ones submitting the most product feature requests. Then, they focus on finding more clients like them. 4. Improve your writing skills Mega deals don’t close over Zoom. They get done behind closed doors when you’re not there. Effective narrative writing becomes the difference between selling 6-figure transactions and 7-figure transformations. As Stephen King puts it: "If you want to be a (good) writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." 5. Set up personal feedback loops This compliments #2 really well. There are basically 2 things you want to understand and do on a frequent basis: - What went well? How can I repeat it going forward? - What didn’t go well? How can I avoid that or improve on it? Reviewing calls, debriefing after meetings, and capturing your thoughts provide a treasure trove for self-development. The best in the world carve out these times as a part of their normal cadence. 6. Make better decisions using rules There are thousands of decisions to make each day. 6-figure sellers rely solely on their gut. 7-figure sellers rely on well-defined principles. To make better decisions, you need to put the right rules in place. 7. Track & manage your TEA - (T) Time: We all have the same 24 hrs each day. Get a time tracker. Review it at the end of each day. Make tweaks as needed. - (E) Energy: All the time in the world means nothing if you’re run down or sick. Complete hard tasks during peak energy time and batch low-value tasks (like email) during your energy dips. - (A) Attention: Having free time and tons of energy means nothing if you waste it on distractions. Delete social media apps from your phone for 2 weeks. See how your life improves. Only reinstall the ones that genuinely add value to your life. BONUS resources in the comments ⤵ 🐝

$1M+ earning tech sellers don’t have more skills than you. They just have better systems in place. Here are 7 easy-to-implement systems that will earn you more $$$ in 2024: 1. Track the most important performance numbers These metrics reign supreme in strategic sales: - Win rate - Deal size - Deal cycle Keep them front and center. The rest are distractions. 2. Take command of your calendar If you don’t set up intentional blocks, the wrong things will get scheduled for you. This will put you in reactive mode. But world-class pros always work 3 steps ahead. Design your ideal operating rhythm around 4 key commitments: - Annual strategy: Last 2 weeks of December - Monthly update: First business day of the month - Weekly organization: 3-hour block on Monday or Friday - Daily planning & reflection: Create a startup & shutdown routine With these scheduled, you can fill in the rest as you go. 3. Repeat wins with the innovators The most profitable customers are the most innovative ones. They don’t spend, they invest. Top producers figure out the DNA of their most innovative customers by interviewing the biggest spenders AND the ones submitting the most product feature requests. Then, they focus on finding more clients like them. 4. Improve your writing skills Mega deals don’t close over Zoom. They get done behind closed doors when you’re not there. Effective narrative writing becomes the difference between selling 6-figure transactions and 7-figure transformations. As Stephen King puts it: "If you want to be a (good) writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." 5. Set up personal feedback loops This compliments #2 really well. There are basically 2 things you want to understand and do on a frequent basis: - What went well? How can I repeat it going forward? - What didn’t go well? How can I avoid that or improve on it? Reviewing calls, debriefing after meetings, and capturing your thoughts provide a treasure trove for self-development. The best in the world carve out these times as a part of their normal cadence. 6. Make better decisions using rules There are thousands of decisions to make each day. 6-figure sellers rely solely on their gut. 7-figure sellers rely on well-defined principles. To make better decisions, you need to put the right rules in place. 7. Track & manage your TEA - (T) Time: We all have the same 24 hrs each day. Get a time tracker. Review it at the end of each day. Make tweaks as needed. - (E) Energy: All the time in the world means nothing if you’re run down or sick. Complete hard tasks during peak energy time and batch low-value tasks (like email) during your energy dips. - (A) Attention: Having free time and tons of energy means nothing if you waste it on distractions. Delete social media apps from your phone for 2 weeks. See how your life improves. Only reinstall the ones that genuinely add value to your life. BONUS resources in the comments ⤵ 🐝

You're not in the industry to get ghosted!!! You're here to IMPACT + make sales while havin the time of your life!! ❤️🔥 And yes, making hugh ticket sales doesn't mean: 💁♀️ that you should have a community of thousands of people. 💁♀️ it's a must to cold outreach and DM like 67 people a day. 💁♀️ Always pitting flash sales just to sell one more spot of your high level offer. High Ticket Sales depend on: 🤑 Highly Specific- micro detailed content that takes you less than 20 minutes to create and actually converts instead of gathering some likes. 🤑 Refining your existing high level offer so that ot matches the soulmate client you want to attract. My clients hire me when they're ready to BLOW UP and make sales as effortless as posting a content piece about their offer and have dream clients reaching out... 💁♀️💅 DM me "FORMULA" to save your spot in my 2-week minimd for just $100 on pre-sale. Pre sale increases in a week. ⏰️ 2 month payment plans available!!!

A while ago I lost a deal I should have closed: "We want this, but we have to wait a quarter or two," the CRO told me. I lost this deal despite: - Access to power (direct access to/CRO) - Painful problem (16% close rates) - Saw pclub.io as a viable solution Here's what happened: CRO: "Let's connect again in 120 days." Me: "Feels like we had a slam dunk partnership. Where'd we miss?" CRO: "Our head of enablement left last week." Me: *stomach sinking* CRO: "I have no one to own this. And I don't have time to. Nor do my sales managers. Our enablement leader was the owner. And she's gone." Me: *eyes darting* CRO: "I think I'll have a replacement in a quarter. After a month of ramping that person, it'll make sense to resurface." Me: "I wish I had a clever way to turn this around, but I get it. In fact, even if I somehow convinced you, it feels like this would fail without an owner." CRO: "Exactly." I got off the Zoom. Opened our CRM. And selected the "Closed - Lost" dropdown. There's not much I could have done. But there is still a lesson: Economic buyers need champions to 'own' deals. Or they won't buy. John McMahon makes that point in his book. Economic Buyers won't buy without someone to: - own the project - own the relationship - be accountable for success Economic buyers don't plan on being directly being involved. So they need someone they can rely on. Without a great champion? Doesn't matter if you have: - access to power - strong business pain - agreement on your solution They won't buy without an owner. Don't just sell high. Sell high. Sell wide. And sell in the 'messy middle.' Because if you don't... even if you close it... You might just have a failed customer. P.S. I've watched 3,000 discovery call recordings and pulled out the top 39 sales questions that sell. You can get them free here: https://go.pclub.io/list

Do you know what's about as fun as a Dr visit? You know when the doctor is asking you questions but really isn't interested in what you have to say and speeds through the visit?.. you know... let's get this over with as quickly as possible... It's #discovery calls! This is what most buyers feel in the pit of their stomachs right before that dreaded IM/Discovery call. While in rare cases, the quickie works, in other cases, it leads to small deals or to ghosting... quickest way to a closed-lost. This 'I'm only listening for 'these' key words' causes us to miss out on; 1) What their pain really is; 2)What Enterprise-wide initiatives they're working on 3)What competitors are in the deal 4) Re-enforcing the perception that your tech/tool/product only solves for X and nothing more 5) etc Here's an example; Senior executive problem: I need to move from $4B to $7B in 36 months Director Problem: I need to increase my team's pipeline by 20%. Which problem is going to get more budget? Which one is easiest and quicker to solve? Which pain is going to get you paid next qtr? Most sellers won't connect the two, and they focus on the apparent pain statement by the Director, just on how you solve the pipeline problem; all the while, the senior executive decides on another vendor to solve the $3B problem who wins the $1M+ opportunity? Some of the people I've been most impressed with when it comes to doing discovery are Chris Albro and Rebecca Feiten, who are MASTERS at discovery - detaching themselves from the product to focus on just understanding the state of the business. They saw/heard the in-between, and that's where and how they could win and coach to winning BIG business. Anyway, I'm sure reading this was just about as fun as getting your ears swabbed by the Dr. :) Let me know how I can help or don't... but hope this was helpful! What would you add? #sales #salesenablement #diaryofaneliteseller

Prosper Show 2024 was a really big confidence boost for me. This is my first time working in BizDev. This is my first time creating social media/digital/print content. This is my first time working in Sales. This is my first time attending conventions. This is my first time representing a company. This is my first time working with Amazon-affiliated companies. This is my first time being away from my family for longer than 12 hours. 😔 There are many other firsts I have working for Better Refunds. Even so, I don't let my inexperience in my position interfere with my work. How so? I have 20 years of experience just working in general in various fields and disciplines. I am human, just like everyone else, with the capability to make smart, intelligent, rational decisions. I culminate everything I know and everything I am, in addition to learning about those things I don't know, into my role to excel as much as I possibly can. I started working at Better Refunds on January 1st, 2024. I am closing in on 10 closed deals, with the new clients ranging between $50k and $100 million in annual revenue. I have brought in partnerships that add value to the company on multiple levels. As I tell prospective leads/clients: don't sell yourself short; get what you deserve; grow. If I can do it, you can as well.

WIN-WIN Special Referral Offer: Get 10% of their first payment Do you know anyone who needs: 1. A new website or website revamp? 2. Extra pair of hands on their business(PA, VA or EA) ? 3. Funnel for their offers (VSL, Sales, Lead magnet, Webinar, or high ticket)? Drop me a DM! For every person you send me and they signs up for any of my services, You get 10% commission of their first payment. Tag others to participate as well.! Let the fun begin...