Sales Introverts

One of our SDRs went from hitting ~60% of quota to 120%+ with the simple change of “bucketing” their prospects. Before making the change, they were uploading all of their prospects into a call list and cranking out dials. High volume, tons of conversations, very few conversions. They’d call a VP of engineering, then a product manager, then an engineering IC, all across different industries. They were making it nearly impossible for themselves to be “audible ready” for conversations because they were creating their own massive context switching problem. The change we made was simple: they started bucketing their prospects into lists based on level and title. Then, they spent entire call blocks on the same level and title, making it incredibly easy to nail the talk track when someone answered. Their conversion jumped, along with their quota attainment and commission checks. How do you organize your call list? Do you “bucket” your prospects?

My career lowlight was being suspended for a day without pay (was close to being fired). Here's how a bad territory (and a bad reaction) changed my career: We launched a new territory model to support company growth. The model was based on scored zip codes. I got suburban Grand Rapids, MI. Not the city of Grand Rapids… the stuff near the city. Nothing against the fine people of suburban Grand Rapids, but my territory sucked. To make matters worse, my friend sitting beside me was assigned to Metro New York. I spent my days trying to get contact information for companies that were not even on LinkedIn. My friend often had multiple inbounds in a single day. Frustrated, I threw a fit about how the zip code territory was flawed to senior leaders and my peers. Leadership didn’t love that. Some wanted to fire me. Fortunately, my boss fought for me. Instead of being terminated, I was suspended for a day without pay to fix my attitude (bless up). Eventually, the territory model was adjusted, and everyone lived happily ever after. Here are a few lessons: 1) Propose solutions instead of throwing fits. 2) Bring data, not emotion. 3) Vent up - not across. If you are frustrated, talk to your manager. Don’t bring negativity to your peers. 4) Everyone at your company is doing the best they can. Be forgiving of others' errors, and you’ll find people more forgiving of yours. Since my… suspension I’ve helped hundreds of AEs maximize results in their assigned territory through a scientific approach to account scoring. If you want to find gold in your territory, my territory guide is free today: https://lnkd.in/gV6uEuRs

7 observations from a guy leading a global sales org in a brutal economy: 1) The list of “essential” technologies gets shorter every quarter. Every potential purchase is questioned with: “Do we need to do this now?” Or, “Can we get this done almost as well with a current tool?” If you don’t have great answers to these questions, your tech won’t make the “essential” list. 2) Cold outreach only works if you combine problem, person, and timing. High volume automation doesn’t work because you won’t nail the message. Low volume doesn’t work because you won’t have the surface area needed to hit the combo. Top reps are doing quality outreach with higher volume than used to be needed. They’ve adapted. 3) Rep desperation is at a high, which is matched by increased buyer skepticism. Reps are afraid of getting fired if they don’t sell. Buyers are afraid of getting fired if they make a bad purchase. If you don’t understand that skepticism you have no shot at overcoming it. 4) Buyers don’t want to take a risk to “make a splash.” They want to keep their jobs. See point three - buyers aren’t putting their reputation on the line for a risky purchase. De-risk the deal through effective PoCs, demonstrate value through BVAs, or mark it lost. 5) No one’s buying because you “might” be able to help them. Prove it, or move on. The days of “buy a few tools, we’ll renew the ones that work best” are behind us. More buyers expect proven value before signature - the best sellers know how to prove it quickly. 6) It’s never been easier to personalize outreach, so it’s never been harder to stand out. The ultimate trap of AI: the better it gets, the less it stands out. When every email in an inbox is personalized, relevant, and timely, “good” gets ignored. 7) Top reps are still having massive success. Everything is “figure-it-out-able.” While some reps feel like it’s an insurmountable struggle, others are cashing in the biggest commission checks of their career. There’s still money to be made. The habits of top performers are too extensive to include in this post, but you can copy them here: https://lnkd.in/g94bV2w6 What would you add? Any of these stand out?

AEs are tired of being told to: - Make more calls - Set more meetings - Close more deals Vague demands aren’t helpful to anyone. Most AEs appreciate being told what actions to prioritize to achieve their revenue goals. To help, I built a stupid-simple framework to help you spend your time in the most meaningful areas. Allow me to recommend two steps: 1) Learn the framework by watching the (short) video 2) Track the framework by grabbing the sheet/calculator here: https://lnkd.in/g879yrCK What's one task you have to complete every day to feel like you had a "good day?" Bonus points if you answer giving your VP updates on deals