Decoding Sales

Send a text Peter just finished recording his audiobook for Unlocking Authentic Sales ! While it won't be out for another few months, he's sharing the Foreword (written by our very own Alex Allain) and Introduction here with you all so that you can get a sneak peek into the book! Support the show To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn S...

Send a text In the first couple of weeks of joining TigerBeetle, Peter got together with Alex to discuss TigerBeetle and its positioning. In this dynamic conversation, Alex puts Peter on the spot with the TigerBeetle pitch and provides feedback while also trying his own version!  As they build the story arc together you'll notice some key elements that can be useful for any pitch: Encapsulati...

Send a text I sat down with Harry and Uddhav from The Inflection Group - the recruiting firm behind successful hires at Coinbase, Pinterest, Snowflake, and more. We dive deep into the biggest startup hiring questions:  When should you actually hire your first salesperson?  How do you avoid the "halo company" trap? Why do first sales hires fail so often? They share stories from 300+ execu...

Send a text Mason Fuerst, founder and CEO of Motiv (motivai.us) sits down with Peter to break down how he approaches outbound sales in an authentic way.  With all the noise out there today around how to do outbound it's rare to find something that works, but Mason's mentality around creating genuine connections has worked to produce quality pipeline for his AI startup.  Peter and Mason c...

Send a text In this episode Alex and Peter ask, "Is it OK to lie to customers? And if so, when?" They dive into:  An experience Alex's friend had with a sales lie What to do when a salesperson lies How to spot lying salespeople before and after they join a team Support the show To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School an...

Send a text Peter and Alex dive into Peter's thoughts on design partnerships and their impact on startups. They discuss: The pressure from VCs to sign more design partners Why not all design partnerships are helpful Why you should charge for design partnerships When free design partnerships are acceptable The value of saying no to certain design partners Support the show To get more sales adv...

Send a text In this repurposed episode from Peter's YouTube channel, he sits down with Hyperbound's cofounders Sriharsha Guduguntla and Atul Raghunathan .  They discuss:  The evolution of AI in sales How to actually evaluate AI tools (without getting caught in the hype) The challenges and rewards of navigating founder-led sales The state of diversity within tech sales Other AI platforms...

Send a text As a solo host, Peter tries his best to fill Alex's shoes :)  He sits down with YC W24 founders of Centralize, Rachit Kataria and William Wang , to discuss their founder-led sales journey and approach. They discuss: Their approach to relationship-based selling The challenges and opportunities of selling to GTM leaders Creative outbound strategies they've leveraged How they th...

Send a text Waseem Daher (Ex-Dropbox and Founder of Pilot.com ) sits down with Peter Ahn and Alex Allain of Decoding Sales to discuss learnings from his founder-led sales journey.  They discuss: • The importance of founders being involved in closing a startup's first customers • How to think through hiring your first salesperson • What the right profile is for sales hire #1 • How to know when...

Send a text At the end of the year, Peter and Alex look back on what Peter's learned coaching startups and three places he's changed his mind. They cover:  Peter's new thoughts on BANT and MEDDIC as discovery and sales qualification frameworks. (Originally discussed in the BANT and MEDDIC episode from December of 2022) Why Salesforce may not be the best CRM to start with if you&apos...

Send a text Having all worked together on Dropbox for Business, Tido, Alex, and Peter share a special bond and respect for building the foundational elements of enterprise sales at Dropbox when it was still seen as a consumer brand.  Now, as founder and CEO of Koala (getkoala.com), Tido shares his learnings, obstacles and opportunities that all founders who are learning enterprise sales for the fi...

Send a text Peter and Alex discuss founder-led sales mistake #2: Spending too much time on bad-fit leads.  They dive into: What makes a bad-fit lead?  How do you qualify for fit and what questions can you ask to get clarity around this? When are some examples you may continue working with non-ICP customers?  How do you know when to eject out of a deal midstream? Support the show To get more sales...

Send a text Peter and Alex discuss one of the most common founder-led sales mistakes he's seen early stage founders make: assuming they have a brand when initiating outbound sales.  They dive into:  Why establishing a digital footprint ahead of going outbound is important The value of offering lead magnets and thought leadership content ahead of asking for a meeting Why personalization may no...

Send a text Peter and Alex discuss the state of sales at large companies and what it means to scale authentic sales. They explore the following questions and topics: Can startup sales be relevant at large companies? Why sales training isn't working for large sales teams  What Toyota's innovation with building cars has to do with sales What leaders at public companies can do to reimagine...

Send a text Peter and Alex review the elements of an effective pitch: The elevator pitch and leaning into your origin story (regardless of what VCs will tell you) What makes a compelling pitch deck and how not to bore your prospect with deckware Teasing a demo to sell the second meeting Other episodes referenced:  Episode 32: BANT and MEDDIC Episode 3: Call Leadership Support the show To get more...

Send a text After a break from recording, Peter and Alex are back at it with regular recordings.  Catch-up to hear what Peter and Alex have been up to and how the state of play has changed within startup enterprise sales.  Peter and Alex discuss: Standing out in a hyper competitive environment The importance of establishing founder branding Multi-stakeholder sales in today's environment The r...

Send a text Every day you're presented with moments where you can decide whether to take what's offered, or you can negotiate. Most of us take what's offered because it's comfortable and easy, but are you leaving something on the table? Peter and Alex share expert strategy for mastering negotiations with vendors, sales staff, contractors, and even friends. Learn to build strong...

Send a text BANT and MEDDIC are two popular sales methodologies. Learn what each of them are for, how to apply them, and how they help you create a more effective sales process. This episode is sponsored by our friends at Salesroom who are building a video conferencing platform specifically for AE's and their buyers to build strong relationships in the virtual world. Built from the ground up...

Send a text  Sales and marketing teams need to be able to reach out to prospects cold. But prospects hate getting bombarded by irrelevant messages. What do you do with this necessary channel for building awareness for your company? Peter and Alex debate what makes cold outreach emails bad, what makes them effective, and look for common ground on what you should do if you want to make cold outreach...

Send a text High inflation, negative GDP - possible recession? It doesn't matter what you call it, it matters what you DO. In this episode: 👀 Peter shares his view of the state of play and how sales teams should be reacting 🎯 How a recessionary environment forces you to up your game and what you need to do differently 🎱 How to forecast and adjust your quotas in the face of uncertainty  🤝W...

Send a text * How body language and subtle cues can tell you if a deal is on track - or not * How to take the initiative when you get clues that the conversation is going off-track * Cues to look for in a virtual sales environment * How to recreate casual "lobby moments" during a virtual call This is our first video episode! Find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzNtJUyjKoA...

Send a text Competition is a fact of life and business; in this episode, learn how to sell and win against your competitors. * How to understand what the competition is saying about your weaknesses - and turn it to your favor * Why understanding technology trends is crucial to winning deals against competitors * How to credibly undermine the competition - without seeming petty * Why and when it&ap...

Send a text Virtual-first selling is here to stay--what does the future hold? How virtual-first and in-person sales will merge into a hybrid sales process When to stay virtual and when and how to leverage face-to-face How virtual sales unlocks access to high level prospects Keeping a prospect's attention in a high-distraction selling environment Buyer-friendly tactics made possible by the fre...

Send a text Zoom fatigue, everyone has it because it's taken over our lives. But what makes a seller successful over Zoom? - Zoom etiquette for dealmakers. - Peter's stack rank of Zoom backgrounds (including the weirdest Zoom background he's ever seen). - How tools like Zoom and Slack work together to change the game. - Tips for successful - non-embarrassing - demoing over Zoom. Plu...

Send a text If you build it, will they come? Maybe not. How do you build a modern outbound sales motion that brings in new customers? - Peter's moment of insight about the modern sales motion - How to go beyond cold prospecting - ...and how to do cold outreach without being obnoxious - Why you shouldn't think of inbound and outbound as completely independent - Peter's pep talk for a...