Max Baumann

Pushback is usually a signal that they aren’t seeing enough value in your pitch. Rather than “pushing harder” flip the script. Questions are the key unlock the customer insights needed here. A variety to deploy: 1. Discovery Questions 2. Clarifying Questions 3. Qualifying Questions 4. Impact Questions Impact questions are used to reset the conversation with something bold an different. For example: “what do you love about your job & what’s one thing you would change?” When all 4 are used appropriately, doors open.

Sales Skills can be broken out into 4 quadrants which 100+ skills are positioned across them. 4 Quadrants Effective Communication Effective Collaboration Critical Thinking Creative Problem solving Example of some sub skills: -building rapport -overcoming objections -team selling -data-driven selling As it relates to internships, nothing can compete with learning from the best talent. Ask questions about the tools, insights and frameworks you will learn if you were to join the internship & go “all in” on effort This questions alone will signal to the company you are going to take it seriously and add value. It also puts you in the position to qualify the opportunity, which flips the script on the company pitching you.

Start with 4 key “impact” questions: 1. If you were to restart you business today, how would you build the tech stack? 2. If someone where to steal your customers and put you out of business, what would they do differently then you? 3. How can you leverage emerging technology, such as AI, to build efficiency & effectiveness in your sales process? 4. What does your target consumer care about? Where do you deliver and where do you fall short of “10 out if 10” excellence? Start with these, analyze the data and spend 10% of your annual free cash flow on innovation before you are disrupted.

Start with the end in mind. Ask yourself: 1. What does 10 out of 10 performance look like? 2. What are the specific lag metrics (revenue/ # of deals closed)? 3. What are early indicators of success?(# of sales calls, # of proposals sent, etc.) 4. How will you acknowledge and reward excellence? (Team member of month, etc) 5. How will you encourage team members to lift performance? (Vision casting, strengths finder, book clubs, etc) Once you have these identified, then you can set quarterly objective and back into weekly KPI tracking to ensure your team stays on track.

Negotiation isn’t a zero sum game. Many creative deals can be structured when the terms are laid out by both parties and some information is shared rather than guarded, identifying which areas are: -deal breakers -more important to the other party than you -more important to you than the other party For instance: if you are buying a business, price isn’t the only factor. It can be structured by: -payment terms (lump sump or over time) -performance-based bonuses over 10 years -step-step approach (own 51% now with reminder buy out in 3 years so seller can participate in growth) In order to get there, the right questions need to be asked to identify what each party cares most about to add mutual value creation across all parties.

Best way to stand out is to ACTUALLY add value rather than just saying it. Too many VC’s are simply check writers. If you can concretely list the objectives you have helped other portfolio companies solve along with the metrics it impacted, that is a game changing pitch. For instance: We helped X company switch their production facility and increase their gross margin by 10%, resulting in them hitting break even last year. We helped connect Y company to the category managers of 5 major chains, which they closed, adding $4,000,000 in additional revenue over the past year. True value add is rooted in solving objectives that are quantifiable by key metrics, not just adding super soft ad hoc advice.