Selling Saas

This episode of the Selling Saas podcast discussed the importance of taking time to review and measure data to ensure that the output produced is strategically aligned and has an impact. This requires slowing down and blocking off time to look for correlations between data points and then measure the results of the output produced. This is the challenge of constant output versus targeted, strategi...

Scott Stouffer, the founder of Scale Matters, joined the Selling SaaS Podcast to discuss the importance of agility in business leadership. He believes that leaders need to be able to assess and adjust quickly to changing circumstances rather than getting stuck in a rut. He also discussed the importance of being able to communicate difficult decisions and the ability to recognize when a decision is...

The conversation focuses on the importance of managing expectations in coaching. Mark explains that it should be a positive experience, as professional athletes are used to having fun while training, and that it is important to read the room, as not everyone may be in the right mental state for coaching. He then explains that they try to have a friendly relationship with their team so that they ca...

Scott Stouffer also discusses the disconnect between the mindset of growth at all costs and the reality of how long it takes for results to show. He attributes this disconnect to the revolving door of heads of sales and marketing, who are expected to make their numbers every month and cannot take the longer-term view that a CEO or CFO might. He encourages leaders to take the time to understand the...

Sales managers need to give their reps more positive feedback to help them do well and boost their confidence. This is especially important for new reps who may be feeling anxious, and it can help them sleep better and work better with their managers. Recognizing behavior, processes, and skills is very important. It was pointed out that recognition should include these three elements rather than j...

Benedikt Parstorfer discussed two epiphanies in their career. The first was to approach customers with a focus on their challenges and current processes, rather than pushing the features and benefits of the product. The second was to have realistic expectations of what could be accomplished independently versus the input that would be needed from multiple stakeholders. They also discussed how enab...

The environment created by sales leaders often puts an emphasis on showing competency rather than practicing and growing skills. This can make reps nervous and can lead to them performing worse than they would in a real customer situation.  Roleplay often takes the form of a live group setting or a training module which can be recorded to be assessed. This is not practice, and is more like a test....

It’s great when we have team members transfer departments and learn a new skill, but often times we dont take the time to teach them whats needed to be successful in this role. It’s a particular problem when we look at data and the insights we glean from data. If you’re coming from a data science role in product and engineering, and going into Revops, you MUST take the time to learn what “good dat...

The conversation focuses on the importance of positive reinforcement and how it can be more effective in creating lasting change than negative reinforcement. The speaker explains that they have a big shift in their leadership style and focus on more positive reinforcement than negative. They give an example of positive reinforcement by talking about how they would give feedback in a role play sess...

No matter how good you are, how smart you are, how hard you work, stuff is going to happen that you just cannot influence, you can't change. And so just focusing on controlling what you can control, keeping some humility, I mean, that is a huge part. Like, no matter what stage of your career you're at, you can always use a little dose of humility and just recognizing that things won't always be ho...

The mindset that many sales reps have which is that they already know what they're doing and don't need to get better. The argument is that reps should have a hunger to get better and a willingness to get outside of their comfort zones in order to improve in their practice. It is important for reps to be willing to make mistakes and look like a fool in front of their practice partner in order to l...

The conversation explored the importance of having revops data connected to enablement teams, processes, and protocols in customer facing roles. It discussed how sales managers often need to react quickly to customer needs and how having access to the data in salesforce can help enablement teams develop a plan of action. How to quickly assess gaps in core competencies and skills across their go-to...

The people who let adversity weigh them down, are the ones that let that story happen to them instead of for them. And, how leadership isn’t about you at all, its all about the team. Living through times of adversity that ends up shaping your life Our responsibility as a leader to help others translate their adversity into winning. Getting into Leadership? Make sure you WANT to do it. Understandin...

The challenges of implementing new technology to streamline sales processes. There has been an influx of people hired to help startups with this task, but they often lack the sales experience to truly understand what is needed. The technology is complex, with CRMs, marketing automation platforms, Cadence tools, and other tools often purchased by sales and marketing people without the IT organizati...

When calculating the cost of sales its important to not just add in the head count and the tools, but also the resources and materials supporting the customer facing teams. And a simple way to reduce sales cost is by making the team and the resources more effective by proper training and centralizing resources. One of the key ways to take the pressure off your customer facing teams reducing the co...

When we as sales reps fail, its hard to look inward for improvement, we tend to point the finger at the company we’re at or just jump ship thinking its going to be better on the other side, but then its the same everywhere we go. If the only constant in the equation is you, wouldnt you think that you are the one that needs to improve? - Wasting time with people who don’t want it - What the combina...

Early-stage founders should focus on the bigger problems that their prospects have, and if their product isn't solving one of the top five problems, it's likely to fail. He used Salesforce as an example, as it is used every day and typically one of the last products to go when a company is struggling. To conclude, he suggested looking at product positioning to determine the success of the product....

Sales enablement and how to make it successful. It is noted that there is no universal definition of enablement, and as a result, enablement teams often struggle with how to best leverage their services. It is suggested that enablement teams should focus on the strategic goals of the organization, such as the CRO's goals, in order to better prioritize their own goals. It is also recommended that e...

Raising the rep's level of pain tolerance to a high enough point that they are prepared for the real sales process. This approach has proven successful but obviously the reps don’t appreciate what the coaching process. We need to ensure that the coaching process is a positive experience and that reps are prepared for it before they join the company. Asking the question “What did you hear?” as a wa...

Businesses need o pay more attention to data and create efficient processes. It is argued that there needs to be a shift away from the mindset of 6 months to a 18-24 month time frame. To achieve this, it is important to have specific, tactical goals and focus on executing quality actions. The discussion then moves to the importance of data in creating an efficient process, with the investor commun...

The importance of creating an environment of trust, which will help employees achieve the best results. Finally, they advise to focus on employee engagement, as this will help create a culture of collaboration and innovation. Overall, the conversation highlights the importance of investing in talent development and creating an environment that is conducive to learning and growth. In todays episode...

When the founder has moved out of the "Founder-led sales" stage in their business, most of the time, its all about documenting the process of what works. But., if even the founder is having trouble selling the product, bringing in someone from the outside isn't going to fix everything, in fact, it may make it worse.     OTHER TOPICS - Gaining Insight into Effective Go-to-Market Strategies and Sale...

How important it is to focus on how to solve the problems of their clients. It's more important to understand what the client is truly looking for, rather than just providing a product or service that might solve the problem.     Then when interviewing sales reps, they look for coachability. This means giving harsher feedback than necessary to see how receptive the person is to feedback. The key t...

Companies are now looking to be cost neutral when it comes to buying software, meaning that they have to get rid of one tool in order to buy another. It is speculated that this recession is of our own making, due to low interest rates. It is also noted that the essential workforce is not affected by the recession and is in fact doing better. The conversation closes with the idea that luxury proble...

It's important for businesses to empathize with their customers and employees and use natural language in their marketing and conversations. Meagan Davis, Director of Sales Enablement from Hunters, advised that businesses should be cognizant of the potential of their customers and employees to learn and grow. Enablement can aid in improving customer experience, as well as taking pressure off of in...