David Cummings on Startups

Category: Sales and Marketing

  • Mining the Sales Opportunity History for Insights

    Continuing with yesterday’s post on the sales ops role, there’s an extremely useful table in Salesforce.com called Opportunity History (API info). Opportunity History is based on the Opportunity object which is used to keep track of potential deals so as to manage the sales pipeline. As expected, Opportunity has fields like Account (the company), Amount (the potential value), Close Date (when it’s expected to close), Stage (the current sales stage), and more.

    Now, Opportunity History comes in as the audit trail of all changes to the Opportunity object. So, if a sales rep changes the Close Date of a potential deal, a new Opportunity History object is created reflecting that change. Why is this important? Opportunity History contains a treasure trove of information relating to how opportunities progress through the sales stages, how often reps change key values like Amount and Close Date, as well helps inform projections.

    Here are a few questions to ask from the Opportunity History info:

    • How often does the close date get pushed out, on average? How does it vary by sales rep?
    • When an opportunity close date is pushed out, how many days of lead time is there on average? How does it vary by sales rep?
    • How many days does an opportunity stay on a stage, on average? How does it vary by sales rep?
    • How does the number of days in a stage compare between opportunities that were won vs opportunities that were lost?
    • What’s the win rate of opportunities by stage (e.g. for all opps that reach the third stage, how many make it through to a sale)? How does it vary by sales rep (this is a much better way to do sales forecast as compared to a basic probability by stage)?
    • What’s changed recently in the pipeline? Which opportunities moved stages? How is this month/quarter progressing against the previous one?

    These types of questions can be answered by exporting the data into a spreadsheet and building a model or by using an automated analytics platform. Overall, the Opportunity History object has very valuable data and should be mined for insights.

    What else? What are some more questions to ask of the Opportunity History object in Salesforce.com?

  • The Sales Ops Role – Operational Rigor for the Sales Team

    One of the sales roles I hear talked about more lately is sales operations, better known as sales ops. As sales organizations worked to become more data driven and process oriented, it became clear that there often wasn’t the time, or skill set, to bring more operational rigor to the department. Enter the sales ops role.

    Here are a few thoughts on the sales ops role:

    • Think of the sales ops person (or team) like an industrial engineer that’s constantly evaluating the data and process
    • For the data, the common systems are the CRM, the sales engagement platform, and an automated analytics platform
    • Analysis is also done in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel to find trends and areas of improvement
    • Ensuring consistent usage of the systems, like recording activities and changes to opportunities, is critical otherwise it won’t be possible to analyze the real data (e.g. follow the sales stages)
    • Monitoring data quality and integrity is an ongoing element to make sure standards are met and processes followed
    • Training and documentation is another important part of the role

    Sales ops operationalizes the sales department by incorporating more process and data analysis resulting in more predictability and success. Look for the sales ops role to grow and become more commonplace.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on the sales ops role?

  • Hire a Sales Assistant First

    One of the best hires for an entrepreneur that’s starting to get some traction is a sales assistant. With limited resources, a sales assistant can help make the entrepreneur’s time much more productive by freeing up some of the more tactical work, getting in front of potential prospects, and running aspects of the sales process. Think of the sales assistant as a way to help the entrepreneur continue juggling a number of initiatives while maintaining momentum on the sales front.

    Here are a few thoughts on the sales assistant hire:

    • Implement a sales development system like SalesLoft with corresponding best practices
    • Hold the sales assistant accountable to a lightweight process (e.g. figure out the sales stages and map out how the sales assistant fits into those stages)
    • Have the sales assistant sit in on the discovery calls and take notes
    • Ensure all to do items, follow ups, etc. are off-loaded to the sales assistant and tracked (too many entrepreneurs hold on to details that are better off delegated)

    The sales assistant is like a cross between a sales development rep and an assistant. Hiring a sales assistant early will help the entrepreneur sell more while ensuring that all aspects of the business continue to improve.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on the sales assistant as an early hire?

  • The Best Sales Demos are Conversations

    After mapping out the sales stages, it’s time to refine the sales demo. First Round Review has a great post up Your Product Demo Sucks Because It’s Focused on Your Product. Here are a few notes from the article:

    • Craft the demo for the audience
    • Distill the dozens of features down to the few that matter
    • Use the “You-They-You” framework where you show them what they need to get what you want
    • Write out all the common questions and answer (include them in the Sales Playbook)
    • 10% of demos are great and 10% are bad, it’s the 80% in the middle where you win or lose
    • Take at least five minutes to ask discovery questions (see Discovery Calls – A Critical Part of the Sales Process)
    • Common discovery question ideas:
      • What are they doing today that they aren’t happy about?
      • Where are their existing pain points?
      • What slows people down?
    • Have the audience envision what it will be like with the product or service
    • Get to here’s what you told me your goal is, here’s the challenge you told me is in the way, here’s what it will look like when our product takes down that challenge.
    • Always echo the tone and desire of your audience
    • Start with a macro view of the solution and then go micro (don’t overwhelm the prospect)
    • When getting into the more specific product details, connect it to what the prospect described earlier as part of the discovery
    • Leave the awkward silence in the conversation intentionally
    • Great demos are simply conversations with the product as the backdrop
    • Ask open-ended questions
    • Ask a point question to magnify part of the problem
    • Ask a response question where you ask a question back after getting a question

    The best sales demos are conversations. Follow these ideas and make your sales demos even better.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on the idea that the best sales demos are conversations?

  • Mapping Out the Sales Stages

    As the startup moves past the search for product/market fit and into the search for a repeatable customer acquisition model, mapping out the sales stages becomes much more important. Now, the sales process should start with a discovery call, but what’s next? Here’s an example group of stages in a sales process:

    1. Discovery
    2. Demo
    3. Trial
    4. Negotiation
    5. Won / Lost

    There’s a balance with having the stages fine-grained enough to reflect where things are in the process, but not so fine-grained that the stages don’t reflect useful information. One best practice is to include the stages that the majority of winning opportunities pass through. For example, some products require two or three demos before purchase, and most deals go through at least two demos, so it’d be useful to rename the “Demo” stage to “Demo 1” and add a new stage after it “Demo 2” since it’s a key part of the normal flow.

    Here’s a more advanced set of stages:

    1. Discovery Scheduled
    2. Discovery Complete
    3. Demo Scheduled
    4. Demo Complete
    5. Trial Started
    6. Trial Complete
    7. Negotiations
    8. Contracting
    9. Won / Lost

    Entrepreneurs should map out the sales stages and continually refine them as the business matures.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on mapping out the sales stages?

  • Discovery Calls – A Critical Part of the Sales Process

    One of the most important elements of the sales process is to really understand the problem that needs to be solved. This sounds obvious, but too often sales people just “show up and throw up” providing the same information without context. The solution is to always do a discovery call (or discovery questions) before proceeding to other aspects of the engagement.

    Here are some example discovery call questions:

    • How do you currently do X?
    • What tools, system or process do you use to do X?
    • What works well with X?
    • What are some challenges with X?
    • Who else is involved with X?
    • How much time do you spend on X?
    • If you could wave a magic wand, how would X work?
    • What’s your timeline for changing X?
    • Anything else I need to know about X?

    Of course, these questions would be more specific to the product or solution being offered as well as tailored to the audience (e.g. different questions for C-level execs vs front-line managers). The answers to each question should be documented in the CRM and applied to MEDDICC, where applicable.

    Sales discovery calls are a critical part of the sales process and should be structured and valuable.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on sales discovery calls?

  • Notes from Trenton Truitt’s Presentation on MEDDICC

    Continuing with yesterday’s post on MEDDICC Forecasting Methodology, Trenton Truitt has a great video titled PagerDuty’s VP Sales: Managing Enterprise Sales where he talks about MEDDICC in detail. Here are the notes from his slides:

    • Metric
      • Define, capture and communicate the values used to make a decision
      • More than the ROI on the project
      • Why – Share similar success stores and build metrics for your champion
      • How – Arm the champion with a narrative to save/make money
    • Economic Buyer
      • The person who owns the budget for your service
      • Why – Shorten the sales cycle
      • How – Ask your champion
    • Decision Criteria
      • The values by which your service is evaluated
      • Why – Control the criteria or it will control you
      • How – Ensure your strengths are part of the criteria. Understand your competition’s technology. Lay traps for your competition.
    • Decision Process
      • Answer three questions:
        • How are decisions made?
        • Who is in the power base?
        • Who will move each stage forward?
      • Why – Forecast your sales. Focus your resources. Protect your time.
      • How – Ask the client to walk you through the decision process. Then ask the same question of everyone you meet. Trust, yet verify.
    • Identify Pain Points
      • The measurable problem your solution will solve
      • Why – Understand the value of the problem you are solving.
      • How – Ask the EB or Champion.
    • Champions
      • The person that will stake their badge on your technology
      • Why – A champion sells for you when you aren’t in the building. Nothing happens without a champion. Period.
      • How – Find the right person who has a way-in to sponsor your solution. Arm them with Metrics.
    • Compelling Event
      • An event that drives the timing of a decision
      • Why – Understand when the client needs to be up and running. Work with your champion to create the reason.
      • How – Ask. What are the implications of not having a solution implemented by X-date. Write the narrative.

    Want to learn more about MEDDICC? Head on over and watch the video.

  • MEDDICC Forecasting Methodology

    After yesterday’s post on The Success Plan Google Doc for Sales, Landon mentioned I should take a look at the MEDDICC forecasting methodology discussed in the post Control, or Be Controlled: Sales Forecasting Done Right. Like a more advanced version of BANT, MEDDICC is an an acronym for seven characteristics to evaluate:

    • Metrics – ROI and/or business case that proves the value of the solution.
    • Economic Buyer – The person who makes the economic decision to buy the solution.
    • Decision Criteria – The requirements and specifications to make a decision.
    • Decision Process – The process to find, review, and choose a solution.
    • Identify Pain – The existing business problem that needs to be solved in the timeframe.
    • Champion – The internal person with power and influence.
    • Competition – The other competitors in the opportunity and how they stack up.

    Looking to improve sales forecasting and predictability in the sales department? Implement a system like MEDDICC.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on the MEDDICC sales forecasting methodology?

    Bonus: Here’s a great video explaining MEDDICC.

  • The Success Plan Google Doc for Sales

    Recently I was talking to an entrepreneur about B2B sales and the sales process. After we talked for a few minutes, he offered up something that had been working well for his company: the Success Plan. Intrigued, I wanted to learn more. Here’s how it works:

    • Make a Google Doc for every prospect that’s qualified after completion of a discovery call
    • Title the Google Doc “Company Name / Prospect Name Success Plan”
    • Write bullet points of the major pain points learned in the discovery call
    • Make a table of what needs to be done, the person that owns the task, and a done column to check things off
    • Outline the schedule and timeline of deliverables to prove the expected value (e.g. if there’s a trial or proof of concept involved, it should show the value)
    • Share the Google Doc with the prospect and work it until the deal is closed!

    Looking to improve your sales process and increase the win rate? Try the Success Plan process and use it like a collaborative mutual close plan.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on the Success Plan for engaging with qualified prospects?

  • Product-First or Movement-First Startup

    When I reflect on four of the fastest-growing ~100 person startups in town, it’s clear that they fall into one of two camps: product-first company or movement-first company.

    Product-first companies absolutely adore their own product. Everything centers around building an amazing product that customers love and everything else comes second. Internally, software engineers and the product team are put up on a pedestal and the hierarchy is clear. Product-first companies are all about the product.

    Movement-first companies are on a mission greater than themselves. Everything centers around educating the market about this better way to do things, most often through live events and heavy sales and marketing. Internally, sales and marketing teams are hard-charging and at the center of the company. Movement-first companies are all about creating a movement.

    What’s the better route? Both are great ways to do it and have their own pros and cons, and both produce very successful businesses. Startups that aren’t amazing at one or the other often fail. Pick one thing and do it well.

    What else? What are some more thoughts about product-first and movement-first startups?