Scottsdale - March 2017
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Transcript of Scottsdale - March 2017
Scottsdale - March 2017
Create Predictable Scalable,
Revenue
#1 award-winning
bestseller
called
“The Sales Bible Of
Silicon Valley”
@ Salesforce.com
@ Salesforce.com
aaron ross
$1B+ @ salesforce.com /etc
11 kids
20-30 hour workweek
ken sterling
EVP Hypergrowth for BigSpeak
Dr. of Org’znl Leadership
Black Belt
Rapper
aaron ‘air’ ross
@motoceo
ken sterling
@ken_sterling
CEO Reviews on the Sequel
• “Best business book I've ever read”
• “We’d have scaled 4x faster
with this book”
• “It changed the way we do business”
• “I was blown away by this book”
1. was single
2. got married with (lots of) kids
3. “oh shit”
4. grew income 11x
why i’m here
1. they had “something”
2. they wanted to grow
3. some grew 10x (added $100m’s)
4. some floundered
i’ve seen the same pattern with clients
1. Salesforce.com: $8 billion+
2. EchoSign: $0 to $144M
3. Zenefits: $1M to $100M in 2 years
4. Acquia: $100M+ and #1 fastest company
for example:
1painful truth:
you’re not ready to grow
“Organic” -> Hot Coals -> “Proactive”
the problem with smart consultants
results can be sexy
nail your niche
niche <> small
niche = focused
tip: to win, be a big fish in a small pond
it’s easier to make the
pond smaller than the
fish bigger
examples
• Amazon: books
• Facebook: Ivy League schools
• Zappos: shoes
• Salesforce.com: SFA
need vs. nice
are you a NICE-to-have?
to which kinds of customers are
you a NEED-to-have?
what are you selling?
what do they REALLY want to buy?
how sellable/ scalable is it?
Consulting
Outbound
Outsourcing
software
Online Training/Certs
Eff
ort
to
lau
nch
Easier Sell, Scalable
_______ provides professional consulting
services to develop and support online
business solutions. From startup to Fortune
500 companies, _________ assists clients to
maximize their return on blah blah blah…
speaking to everyone = no one can hear
Sample Cold Email (#2of 6)
Hey <name>, I would love to connect with you to learn more about how your or your team
is updating and managing all your different regional- and brand-based sites.
For example, do you have to deal with [tactical pain] or [tactical pain]?
We're experts in the area, helping simplify things for complex global brands like NBC, BBC
and Warner. Ex: we reduced the number of platforms for the BBC from ___ to ___, and
the annual costs from ___ to ___. [<== tactical proof points]
If you’re interested in chatting, reply with a couple of times to connect in the next couple
weeks. (I realize it may be tricky finding the 'right' person for this kind of chat...if you're not
them, who do you think'd be better?)
SIGNATURE (with link to brief case study)
where do you begin?
jason’s “20 interview rule”
(well, at least 3)
questions for the table
• do you feel like you’ve ‘nailed a niche’ and are
ready to grow faster?
• if not, what needs to change or be
(re)focused?
painful truth:
overnight success is a fairy tale
2
• even with an amazing product, you’ll struggle
without a system to grow leads predictably
• with great leads, you can get a lot wrong &
still grow
• key: 3 types
leadgen is your “big lever”
3 types of leads
seeds: turn your funnel into an hourglass
seeds: turn your funnel into an hourglass
#1 customer success tip
invest bigger, faster!
“customer success is 5x sales”
- co-author jason lemkin
nets: example marketing funnel
nets: example marketing funnel
favorite marketing tactics
• stories with concrete details
• head of marketing needs a “Lead Commit”
• #1 metric: “Pipeline Creation Rate”
• make it personal
spears: outbound funnel
spears: outbound funnel
outbound pros & cons
• pro: can drive very predictable, fast growth
• pro: get into bigger companies
• pro: source bigger deals (3x-10x inbound)
• pro: perfect complement to inbound marketing
• con: not for everyone
outbound ROI for SVCS
$ estimate:
0.5-2 customers /prospector /mo
• 24 hours: email responses
• 30-90 days: first Sales Accepted Leads
• 3-12 months: “Niche Nailed”
• 6-18 months: recurring revenue
Sample Cold Email (#3of 6)
<Name>, did you miss my email last week - ?
Given AOL has more than 20 brands and such an international presence, it could be
helpful to chat about your content management platform(s) underlying all the global sites.
We've worked with many global brands to simplify their web- and-content management
systems, and could share some ideas based on what's saved them millions.
Are Huff Post's regional sites (like .com / .com.au etc) customized regionally, or just auto-
translated? [Quick conversation-starting question]
SIGNATURE
(with link to brief case study)
• expecting revenue before you’ve
“Nailed An (Outbound) Niche”
• prospectors aren’t 90%+ focused
• lack of commitment
common mistakes
questions for the table
• what’s been your best leadgen source to
date?
• what should it be in the future?
painful truth:
speeding up growth creates more problems than it solves
3
4 types VP Sales
• you should learn a lot from them
• they upgrade the talent
• improve results <1 sales cycle
• don’t be blinded by the resume
for CEOs hiring a VP Sales
specialization = focus
4 core sales roles
specialization = predictability
• insights
• scalability
• talent / farm team system
you will struggle without specialization
common ratios
• 1 inbound lead responder per 400 inbound
leads a month that need human review
• 1 prospector per 0.5-4 salespeople
• 1 customer success manager / $2m
• affects ratios: SMB, mid-market, enterprise
• “we’re too small”
• won’t relationships & service suffer?
• restructure vs. layer-on
common questions & objections
coming in April:“People Analytics for Predictable Revenue”
+
portraits of exceptional prospectors:
•Yes: Power, Versatility, Precision
•No: “Adaptability”
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Power (Primary) Versatile(Primary)
Adaptable(Primary)
Precise(Primary)
Power(Pressure)
Versatile(Pressure)
Adaptable(Pressure)
Precise(Pressure)
MDM
RSM
1. who should be hired?
2. who needs to go?
3. who should be transferred to
another department?
4. which of the 4 core sales
roles are they suited for?
People Analytics for Predictable Revenue
+
questions for the table
• what should your sales or customer “team”
look like when 2018 begins?
• what can you do NOW to start?
painful truth:
it’s hard to build a big business out of small deals
4
painful truth:
it’ll take years longer than you want
5
why you’re struggling when others are
crushing it
• Reality-Distortion Field
• Anxiety Economy
• 2-3 years
• 5-10 years
• you can’t accomplish anything in life without
selling your self, ideas or stuff
sales is a life skill
• Ask questions
• Be honest
• Customer Success
goal: win-win
Selling 101: ABC
• how I motivate myself when i’m crazy busy or
don’t want to do something…
• Forcing Functions
last tip: overwhelmed / too busy?
1. sales is a vital LIFE skill
2. SPECIALIZE your customer team(s) or time
3. “Nail A Niche” to grow faster (could require product
changes)
4. outbound prospecting can be powerful Forcing
Function, but is not for everyone
5. don’t let yourself procrastinate- act NOW
in summary
questions for the table
• What’s ONE THING you can do in the next 24
hours?
painful truth:
your employees are renting, not owning
6
• a rental car vs. your car?
• apartment vs. house you buy?
• others’ kids vs. your kids?
are you renting, or owning?
painful truth:
EMPLOYEES:
you let frustrations stop, rather than motivate, you
7
where’s the money?
• it’s part of growing
• i’m frustrated every day
• are you resisting (frustrated) or embracing
(excited)?
embrace frustration
1. what’s highly frustrating to you?
2. list some cons
3. how could it be an opportunity?
4. now list some pros
5. what baby step can you take today to take
a step?
embrace frustration: ACT
