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Don't Hire Fool's Gold!
The easiest way for a startup to SABOTAGE its revenue plan is by hiring fool's gold reps. These are reps who look good but aren't. Here...
2 min read
Stop Teaching the "How to" Demo
One way startups light money on fire is to hire new sales reps but not set them up to succeed. One key point of failure: Training new...
2 min read
Stop the Storytelling Madness
What if we stopped advising sales reps to "tell a story" with their demos and instead told them to get organized? 1. Here's what you...
2 min read
Retaining Revenue the Easy Way
How will you retain the revenue you close - and avoid having your sales and CS teams kill each other? The issue is post-sale handoffs....
1 min read
Stop the Discovery Madness
What's the best way to make deals close at the end of the quarter? Do excellent discovery at the beginning of the quarter. Throw away...
1 min read
OCD Demo Structure
What's the best way to structure a demo? Be a little OCD about keeping your demo organized and split it up into sections based on...
1 min read
Want to Hire Good AEs? Stop Talking About Your Mission
If you run a sub $10MM ARR startup and think you can recruit talented, experienced salespeople with your vision to change the world,...
2 min read
The Free Trial Trap
Product people think you should offer free trials at the beginning of a sales process. Traditional salespeople say: "Wait till the end."...
2 min read
Negotiating Success: Knowing What You Want
What's the most fundamental negotiating mistake? Not knowing what you want. Well, of course you know what you want. You want EVERYTHING....
1 min read
Three Steps to Sales Talent Management for New VPs of Sales
Probably half of startup VPs of sales fail in their first year. The reason isn't what you think. It's not about hiring the wrong VP of...
2 min read
Three Modes of Sales: Value, Technical, Relationship
What if the way I’ve always thought about sales isn’t the only way… or even the right way? I’ve been reflecting on some conversations...
2 min read
The Sales Pitch Success Trap
Success can be a trap. Lots of startups deliver bad sales conversations because they use material that WORKED in another context. Here...
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The Least Sexy Way to Help Your Team Succeed
Feeling behind on revenue after last quarter? Lots of you hired new reps last quarter and are hoping they'll deliver - if they don't,...
2 min read
Shape Buyer Decision Criteria to Win More Deals
What was the most painful deal you lost last quarter? This is the right time to reflect: What could you have done better? Often, it's not...
2 min read
Two Hiring Errors that Burn Capital and Leads
As you evaluate results from last quarter, you're likely making changes to your sales team. But smart leaders know something others miss:...
2 min read
Onboard Sales Reps with Real Sales Challenges
Why do too many new sales reps fail? Their onboarding teaches them scripts, not how to solve customer problems. Here's how we did this...
1 min read
Great Negotiations are Months in the Making
The most expensive negotiation mistake happens months before price discussions begin. Great negotiators don't wait until quarter's...
2 min read
Strategy Questions Should be Part of Your Hiring Process
Want to know why most sales teams struggle to be consultative? They're not hiring for it. Too many companies hire sales reps based on...
1 min read
Action-Focused Onboarding
The traditional startup sales onboarding process can be summarized in three words: sink or swim. I saw this up close in my first few...
14 min read
Guerrilla Sales Enablement
“When I got here, nobody showed me how to do my job. That’s a fact.” So said a colleague of mine a while back. And he was right, he’d had to figure things out on his own. My colleague was a badass: He could make it happen. But he’d have been a lot more productive a lot sooner if he’d had access to the right enablement. What’s worse, there are plenty of perfectly good employees who won't figure it out if they aren’t properly enabled. This creates an enablement doom loop: Sale
24 min read
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