Matt Hyman

SDRs don't work for AEs.... In fact, AEs should work for SDRs. If you're in a position to have an SDR helping you crack meetings you need to point them in the right direction with the right messaging and use cases. SDRs aren't your assistants. They're the tip of the spear. Cole Praver 🙌 #sales

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This is absolute creative gold! Calling on ALL Sales Leaders, BDR Leaders, and sales reps to take a look at this video. 6sense can help you. #Salesintelligence #accountdata #salesai #predictive #accountprioritization #outboundsales https://lnkd.in/gEc_cv5Q

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The best "cheat codes" every AE should know: 1. 1:1s with your boss. Approach them strategically. Proactively share format and content. Biggest deals you need support on. Challenges you need help with. Forecast for the month, quarter, etc. Wins. 2. Perception. Performance is your fire. How you're perceived internally (aka your brand) is the water or gas that gets dumped on your fire. Attitude, how you show up, handle change, communicate, matters. Hold yourself to a high bar. Two levels above where you're currently at. 3. Document everything. Take the time to write down your own sales playbook. Every strategy, process and template you have. Store it on your personal computer. The value of this over time is immeasurable. I can't state this enough. 4. Problems are a good thing. Anytime there's a problem that's an opportunity to solve it, improve it, and add value. Some of the biggest opportunities I've gotten in my career came because I dove head first into problems and helped move the business forward. Startups always have problems. Don't be the negative person. 5. Time management. Block Monday mornings every week. Don't go to meetings if they're not worth your time. Most things can be solved async. Make meetings 15 to 20 mins. Sometimes you need a whole week of no meetings to catch up, get organized and do deep work. Don't feel bad for saying no to people. They'll understand. 6. External coaching. Up level by listening to podcasts, taking courses and building an external network. Don't rely on your company for everything. Even if they're doing a great job get the perspectives and strategies of other people for a significant edge. What would you add to this list? - Mike G 👉 Join 5,000+ sellers getting my (free) sales newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

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Such a valuable list of “cheat codes”! Some I wish I learned earlier on in my career, but happy to have learned them at some point and able to act on them!

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SDRs/ AEs: Prospects owe you nothing before an initial meeting. They're not responsible for you being upset when they no show/ghost. I started taking ownership for all of the outcomes in my life a few years back. It takes what it takes -- and it's up to me and on me. Not where I want to be? I can change it. Not happy with my current state? No ones' fault but mine. Way better to operate through the lens of "it's on me" vs "why me :(" Focusing on what I can control and letting go of what I can't has helped decrease no-shows. End of the day, the prospect owes me nothing. But, I can make it a no brainer for them to join by focusing on what I can control. World keeps spinning if they don't show up - it's going to be ok. Indifference wins. P.S-- this is the exact scenario that makes practicing mindfulness, working on your inner game and building a great life for yourself outside of work critical, especially in sales.

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Pipeline is alarmingly thin for many in 2024 🥶 I've heard many colleagues struggling to increase pipeline and many throw stones in others' roofs: "My BDR's don'r source enough pipe", "marketing's leads are bad", etc. Jason Bay's post the other day mentioned that he has had multiple conversations with sales organizations grappling with alarmingly thin pipelines for the second half of 2024. Many are struggling with less than 3x pipeline coverage, and there's considerable resistance from AEs. We are in the same boat here. 2024 is not looking like an easy fix. Jason says SDRs and marketing can't be expected to generate 80%+ of an AE's pipeline. We need to self-source it. And it this, in my opinion, should be a given in any sales org. Here is how Jason Bay recommends you build a stronger pipeline generating cuilture: ✅ 1) Rub Shoulders: Front-line managers should join their AEs weekly in making calls to tier-1 accounts and tough-to-reach prospects. ✅ 2) Weekly GSD Sessions: Implement 1-2 60-minute "Get Sh*t Done" sessions with your reps. Execute PG plays together. Bonus: Use tools like Orum for team phone sessions. ✅ 3) Right Tools: Ensure AEs have the same sales engagement tools as SDRs & BDRs. You can't measure outbound activity without the right tools. ✅ 4) Top-down Involvement: CRO and VP of Sales should actively participate in outbound efforts, give public shout-outs in Slack, and celebrate outbound successes. ✅ 5) Data: Equip your team with best-in-class email and phone data from sources like ZoomInfo. Solid contact information is essential for making dials. ✅ 6) Enable Front-line Leaders: Train front-line managers on outbound techniques so they can effectively coach their AEs. ✅ 7) Prioritize Low-hanging Fruit: Teach AEs to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator for staying on top of exec changes, job shifts, and previous clients in new roles. ✅ 8) Manage Up or Out: If reps resist outbound efforts and miss targets, be prepared to part ways. The team that got you to point A might not be the team to get you to point B. Are you doing anything similar? 👇🏼 And I recommend you to follow Jason Bay for interesting stuff like this

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Multi-threading... A skill that's fast becoming the most critical in a sales reps arsenal. Why? 🤔 The market is tough at the moment. 🤔 Buyers are more budget conscious. 🤔 CFOs are asking teams to reduce spend and cut back on investment. 🤔 Prospects that once had buying power and sign off capability now have to get approval from C-Suite. It sounds like an uphill battle 🏃‍♂️‍➡️⛰️ but the truth is, multi-threading is not as daunting as you might think. ⭐️ Here's some tips that have worked well for me in the last 6 months ⭐️ 🗺 Map out your accounts. Org charts are critical for multi-threading. You need to understand who your prospects are, who they report to, and who holds decision making power. Tip - LinkedIn SalesNav let's you build drag and drop org charts! 🗣️ Check with your your champion. Confirm your org chart is correct. Ask them what the process is for bringing on a new vendor. If they don't know, 🆘 they are not a true champion. 📧 Share content early. Begin introducing yourself to key stakeholders quickly. Tip - Connect on LinkedIn with a short and sweet connection request, something like "Wanted to put a face to a name following some great conversations I've been having with (champion name) re (challenge). I'll send over some content via email shortly. I look forward to hearing your thoughts." 🎺 Make sure your content is personalised, engaging, and stands out. TOP TIP - Using a tool like trumpet 🎺 (digital sales room) is a sure fire way to encourage stakeholder engagement. Upload clear and concise value props, how you can solve their businesses challenges, client case studies and more. Ask these contacts to bookmark the page as you will regular update it with content as the deal progresses. And, track their engagement, so you can meet them in the moment. So far, my prospects have been LOVING it! 📞 Pick up the phone. Once you've connected on LinkedIn and sent content, call prospects to ensure that they have seen it. Ask what questions they have and tell them about next steps. By doing the above, when it comes to negotiation these stakeholders will be informed and aware of the entire process to date, and you and your product will be top of mind 🧠 Tenured AE's in my network (I know there are a lot of you), what do you do to successfully multi-thread? P.S. You can guess what I'll be doing in the office today :😉 #multithreading #sales #digitalsalesrooms #dsr #aestrategies

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Here's 1 tip to differentiate from 90+% of sellers (that most won't do): Learn to whiteboard. Here are 5 reasons why: 1. More visual = more engagement 2. More collaborative (buyers will join) 3. Adds immediate credibility + authority 4. Instant differentiation (less than 6% are using) 5. Helps you 'own' and make the message your own *Studies from Corporate Visions showed buyers remembered 14% more and scored sellers 10% higher in uniqueness, credibility, and trustworthiness. In the video, I show a simple way to get started. In tomorrow's newsletter, I'm sharing 3 more use cases. If you care to check it out  -> https://lnkd.in/e6FfePtS

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Attention SDRs and Sales Reps🎙️ If you are not getting enough coaching, use Chat GPT to supplement the lack of support - P.S sorry you aren’t getting support 😥 Paste a transcript of your recorded call or role-play you did with a co-worker into ChatGPT (check with legal if you can do this) Ask ChatGPT to: • Analyze your call based on your call framework or script • Identify areas for improvement by asking Chat GPT (or whatever tool you may use) questions • Suggest alternative phrases to communicate value better Prompts you could use: "What did I do well on this call?” - Start off feeling good "What did I not do well?” "How could I have dug into the pain more? Please provide questions I could have asked?” “Can you give me 3 ways I could have handled the objections?” "Suggest alternative ways I could have gone for the close?” “Did I miss anything in the call that could have helped me go for the close?” A.I. will not replace you; the Reps who learn how to use it to help them improve will. If you are a sales or enablement leader and want to learn more about how you could leverage A.I. to help improve your team. Come to the Allego Sales Success Summit, where Sam Richter CSP, CPAE, will discuss how to use AI to help improve your sales team. https://lnkd.in/eKg3w7w2

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Story time - My worst demo of Salesvue. (January 2021) ⬇️ Today I had the opportunity to demo a prospect that I first showed Salesvue to 4 years ago. I was 3-4 months into the role at the time and candidly had no idea what value we provided. During the demo I showed off our email template functionality and focused on the ability to automate mail merged email templates. (I couldn't get out of the rabbit hole once it got going) The prospect who runs a distribution team at a major insurance company hates automated spam email so wasn't impressed. 😴 His operations team focused on the effort it would take to create email templates and the potential conflict that might arise with marketing who owns the bulk email communications for the firm. Months went by and the prospect was polite. "Check back next year we don't have budget in 2021". ❌ For years I continued to try to reengage with them and to say he was disinterested would be a massive understatement. Fast forward to May 2024 and 25-30 attempts to reengage later. ⬅️ A few weeks ago I attended and sponsored the LIMRA wholesaler leadership summit. The prospect saw we have a ton of credibility within the community and work with several of their competitors. He gave me another shot and we did a demo today. Today we focused on scaling his team's sales process, lifting up his wholesalers by providing them with an easier way to do their job and mimic the behaviors of top wholesalers. 💰💰💰 Those are items the head of sales cares about - not the shiny objects and "features". I share this because without improving myself in speaking to his pain points, persistence, and social proof my pipeline would have one less opportunity in it today. #salesforce #insurance #salesprocess

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Integrations= the unsung heros in tech! Elevate your sales engagement activities and boost seller efficiency with the newly deepened integration of 6sense intent and predictive data inside Gong! Now you can access 6sense’s Sales Intelligence platform directly within Gong Engage for an easier, more efficient workflow and more targeted outreach. We’re taking our partner integration to the next level, empowering B2B sellers to: ➡️ Explore high-value intent activities and prioritize in-market accounts directly in Gong Engage. ➡️ Identify key buying team members, and purchase contact info directly from 6sense. ➡️ Target and personalize outreach using high-value intent keyword signals. ➡️ Spend less time switching between your fave tools, Gong and 6sense, and more time SELLING! Get in on the action: https://okt.to/PXd3FB

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Is there a single SDR/AE that enjoys a daily point system? Or is that just a leadership agenda? If you're new to sales, points make sense. You need activity to learn the job & repetition is one of the fastest ways to success. But... chasing a daily number is exhausting. The alternative is to become proficient at what works for you. & then of course, outsourcing cold calls 🤣

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Genuine Question - When are B2B reps that are LinkedIn prospecting going to learn that people are not going to read their multiple paragraphs of "value selling?" Who is teaching people to do this? It's nothing like normal human communication. If you are doing this, please stop and remember you are a human being trying to talk to another human being. Start with a question specific to that person's potential goals and go from there. Write the question, stop, breathe, drink some water, and send the question. The sales industry is labeled as fake and manipulative because 80% of the industry are sales robots. Be Human.

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Believe it or not, the bar is still LOW in SaaS sales in 2024. Here’s some REAL stories of what I’ve heard sellers doing recently: 1. Promising to send info via email after a call… but never sending that email. 2. Showing up to calls late. 3. Not scheduling calls in the correct timezone, i.e. the prospect’s timezone Which means: —If you can get your timezones straight —If you show up on time —And if you follow through on your word Then you’re already doing much better than a lot of sellers out there. (By the way, I’ve found that the number of people in the professional world who don’t actually follow through on their word is… staggering 😔. That goes for both sellers and for buyers) #salesfam: Have some pride. Try to represent your profession well. Don’t screw up the small things. And (insert cuss words here), if you say you’ll do something… do it! 🤯 Be a professional. The bar is low. ✌🏽 . .

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Engaging the right buyers at the right time is critical to sales success. ZoomInfo Copilot's Target Account Digests alert you when your most promising suspects are showing the right buying signals. 🔔 Get personalized daily digests — delivered via Slack or email — with AI-powered recommendations for next steps. Never miss a sales opportunity with ZoomInfo Copilot: bit.ly/3yxBNes #ZoomInfoCopilot

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Lot of talk about Pipeline....heres how essentially every seller at 6sense approaches Pipeline Tuesday at 6sense. Pipe Gen: Have we engaged ATL buyers at our Tier 1's in the last 15 days? Have we reviewed the AE/BDR dashboard and have a plan with our BDR to drive mutual accountability? Have we reviewed LinkedIn to find new buyers at all prospects? People that come from our customers? Have we connected with our partners installed at our Tier 1's to understand the lay of the land and get introduced? Customer Base: Are there customers with no active upsell opps? Do we have a relationship with the CRO? CMO? Ops Leader? Have we used our model metrics / value metrics to discussion missed opportunity at the executive level? Have we run a report on the # of 6QA's that have been unworked in the last 30 days at X account? Are there additional people we should educate about our other offerings? Pipe Progression: Looking 1 quarter, 2 quarters out, do we have meetings booked with every opp? Looking 1 quarter, 2 quarters out, do we have active conversations with sales, marketing and ops? Looking 1 quarter, 2 quarters out, have we brought the CMO and CRO up to speed on our conversations and educated on where we see the opportunity to support their 2nd half efforts? Consolidation? Efficiency? Partners: Have we connected with our partners? How can we help them be more successful & sticky?

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"There was a time when buyers were less incredulous about the decisions that they were making. Buying committees weren’t as large as they are now. Now sales and transactions are under a microscope." - Chris Turner, Sales Engineering Manager at Salesloft On this NEW episode of RevTalks, Chris and Rebby John, discuss changes to the sales and presales professionals’ roles, the keys to multithreading ever-expanding buying groups, getting to ROI faster in conversations, the story of “how” in sales, AI, and more. Full episode here: https://lnkd.in/enKeJrNs

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If your demos aren't buyer centric, then you're missing the point. Gone are the days of straight discovery -> demo -> some process of closing. Once I started treated discovery as a never ending conversation, it was easy to meet my prospects on their level. If somone wants to see the demo, show them. But don't feature spray - make it targeted and understand what they want. Buyer Centric + Discovery = problem solving Group demos though.... woof. Now that's tough

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Sales people have some of the most variable comp of any W2 professional. Most comp structures are a 50/50 split, sometimes a 60/40 split (60% base and 40% variable based on performance). So my question for sales professionals - how do you think about your comp? Do you plan around your base income, OTE (on target earnings), or something in between? Since I started selling software almost 5 years ago, my family has decided to live off of my base. This has forced us to live within our means and helps avoid lifestyle creep as my income increases. This means my 401(k), our mortgages, rent, utilities, groceries, automated target contributions, and monthly variable expenses all fit within my base. With commission, I make a plan for the additional cash. Most of my comp plans have had quarterly commission payouts, so by the time the commission hits I have time to make my plan. My rule of thumb is 50% gets invested in my target account, 25% gets allocated to upgrades for our properties, and the remaining amount goes into our checking account as extra spending money. Sales reps, how do you think about your base vs variable comp?

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