31 Jan 2023
Great post - I've done this a couple times on some of the largest deals I closed. But I should do it more consistently. It should become part of a normal Enterprise Sales procedure.
A top-performing Enterprise rep from Salesforce told me her top strategy for getting & keeping an Exec's attention.
It's spending 15 minutes looking at a 10-K.
Doesn't even have to be theirs (!!)
Here's why.
10-K's tell you 3 things that either your Prospect, OR their Top Competitors are focused on:
---> Their Key Initiatives
---> Risks to their Business
---> What they Plan to Spend Money on
Even if the company you're talking with is private, you can still use a 10-K.
How?
Read their Competitor's 10-K.
Everyone wants to know what their competition is doing.
Here's how to find it:
--> Google this: "(company name) competitors"
--> G2 also has Top 10 competitor lists for SaaS
--> Pick 1-2 of their competitors & scan the 10-K*
Using this info sounds like -->
"Saw {your biggest competitor} just announced record-breaking growth in sales & revenue. And that they're focused on going after SMB companies. Also making strategic investments in sales & marketing tools. And that risks around X,Y,Z are top of mind. Curious to what extent your strategies & risks are similar?"
*Where to find a 10-K:
--> Go to Company's website
--> Then Investor page
--> Find the PDF link
How to get what you need in 15 minutes:
--> Ctrl + F for words like "risk", "initiative" / "strategy", "invest in"
--> See link in the Comments to SalesHacker article for more details
--> Also, Google/news & Seeking Alpha: summaries of analyst comments
WHY it gets and keeps an Exec's attention:
--> In their 10-K, it's their Risks, Strategies & Plans
--> If it's their competitor's, it's good intel
--> Either way, shows you've prepped
Execs want to talk about their Risks, Plans & Market Share.
Not your company or product or what it does.
Executive conversations win deals.
25 Apr 2023 Lead Gen
- invite (cold) prospects to share their thoughts/expertise in a piece of content to be published on your blog
09 Oct 2023
From Chris Orlob:
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WHO matters more than anything in sales. If you're talking to the RIGHT person at the RIGHT account, you can win even with sloppy technique.
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There are two winners in every deal. The seller that won. And the seller that ejected first before wasting a bunch of time on something she wasn't going to win.
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Selling is more about pain than benefits. Money follows pain everywhere it goes. Money only follows positive benefits every once in a while.
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The 'blend' of people you put together in a deal dictate your success. Be incredibly intentional about how you 'craft' the buying committee.
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Understand the “need behind the need.” Keep peeling back the onion until you get to its core. The first few things customers share are always surface-level.
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Building a business case is more powerful when you measure the cost of the status quo than when you measure the positive ROI of your product.
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Agonize over how you phrase questions. “What are the ripple effects of X challenge on your business?” is far more powerful (and less salesy) than “how does that impact you?”
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Gain access to power by asking “who else is impacted by this challenge?” When your buyer answers, request that they be involved. This has a high hit-rate.
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Test your champions. Do they get things done? If not, they’re not a champion. Give them “homework.”
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Things are always changing. If you don’t stay on top of them, you’ll lose the deal. Start every call with “what’s changed since we last spoke?”
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Social proof is so much more powerful when the customers you’re showing off are part of your buyer’s “tribe.” Make sure your social proof 'looks' like the buyer you're selling to in the moment.
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You can’t treat discovery calls with inbound deals and outbound deals the same. You have to “earn the right” to discovery with outbound deals. Start outbound deals with a short narrative of the market pain you solve. Then transition: "Enough about the problems we TEND to solve, help me understand your challenges."
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Sell the hell out of next steps. Don’t assume your buyer will show up just because they showed up to the first call. Sell the WHAT, the WHO, and the WHY of the next step you’re proposing.
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If you’re having trouble quantifying a problem, ask “what metric would solving this most improve?” Bingo.
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The best questions you’ll ever ask aren’t pre-planned. They’re based on whatever the buyer just said. LISTEN.