We've watched dozens of B2B SaaS and technology startups and experienced companies fumble setup of sales teams. We have finally written down our best advice for creating an effective sales organization with a predictable pipeline and highly aligned with marketing. Behold! Our latest ebook: The Truth About B2B Sales!
We know what works—and we have so many real-life stories to share that will give you a practical understanding of how your sales team can break down and cost you money.
“Cherry picking” comes from our painful IRL experiences. We get hired to generate leads for SaaS startups. All kinds of leads start flowing in, including top of funnel leads like content download. The sales team responds with, “We don’t like that stuff.” Leads for nobody. 😡 We have learned to ask some serious questions upfront about the sales team structure and the compensation. We let whoever is paying for us know that leads will fall to the ground when marketing begins generating volume (scale) unless sales has the right system in place. And the marketing ROI won't be great without this system.
- The Truth About B2B Sales, Orange Marketing
Sales Teams Are Like Glaciers
We compare sales teams to glaciers because they have shiny parts showing out of the water (the charismatic salesperson)—with a considerable amount happening under the water (sales process) like:
- Your sales pipeline process
- Lead processing playbook
- Automation used to nurture leads
- The symbiotic relationship between sales & marketing
- Who belongs to the "I Hate Money Club" and why.
There are many elements in play and, consequently, much that can go wrong.
Download our Ebook - The Truth About B2B Sales!
Will this ebook help you make more money? Yes!
- You will attract more money by making investors happy with a scalable, repeatable, and PREDICTABLE sales forecast.
- You will better unify your sales and marketing teams which increases the ROI on your marketing spend.
And our real-life examples will open your eyes!
We had an SDR at a client a couple of years back whose average number of attempts against the contact was around 100. He just kept after them. For several years, he followed up on prospects with brand names like Oracle, Google and Microsoft. We were boggled by this, and we asked him why. He said, 'Well, because that one time...' That one time on like the 75th try, he landed a big deal. Statistically, this outcome is improbable. And statistically, he was wasting his own and his company's time."
- The Truth About B2B Sales, Orange Marketing
What You Will Get
In our ebook, we tell you:
- The difference between an AE and an SDR and why you will eventually need both
- How to set up your sales pipeline and identify deal stages
- How to better understand your salespeople (a biggie!); what motivates them? (Why do they do the things they do?)
- How to get your sales and marketing teams to function in a more cohesive manner
Ready? We think you can handle it.
- You can read our ebook online right now.
- Or download it for later!
- And, if you like, watch the video conversation that inspired this ebook!