SMM06. Bullseye: Data-Driven Ways to Increase Pipeline

Data-Driven Best Practices for Sales Success
Kristina McMillan
VP of Research,
TOPO
@lifeiterated
Jeremey Donovan
SVP Sales Strategy & GM NYC,
SalesLoft
@SpeakingSherpa
Renaissance Waverly Wifi: Renaissance_CONFERENCE / HitTheGong
Cobb Galleria Wifi: EVENTS / HitTheGong

© 2019. SalesLoft. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Messaging Execution Skills

Messaging
Effective sales messaging:
● Addresses buyer challenges
● Tells a story to the buyer
● Offers value to the buyer to continue conversation

Top-Performing Reps Understand the Pains of the Buyer
Can you answer the following questions for each type of persona you sell to:
● How is performance measured for this person?
● What requests or demands does this person hear most frequently?
● What gets in the way of this person’s success?
● What happens if this person does nothing to address the problem you solve?

Top-Performing Reps Structure Their Messaging
Top-performing reps follow a recipe to ensure their messaging is good every time.
CREATE CONTEXT CONVEY VALUE CLOSE - NEXT STEP
Intro: Hi John. This is Rachel from <company>.
Context: I’m reaching out to you because we are working with <persona>s across
<industry 1> and <industry 2> to address <challenge>...
Agenda: ...I wanted to share a few insights for how we are helping them address this and
see if it makes sense for us to speak further. Does that work for you?

Use case: In helping <persona> successfully enable a data-driven analytics solution, we
consistently see the following challenges: <challenge #1>, <challenge #2>, and
<challenge #3>.
Question: Do any of these challenges most resonates with you?

Pivot: Based on our conversation, I think it would make sense to set up time to dig deeper
into some of these use cases.
Reinforce value: The benefit to you is I can share more details on how we’ve helped
<persona> solve similar challenges, as well as answer any additional questions you might
have.

1. Connect to buyers through stories
Top-performing sales reps connect to buyers through stories.
Example:
“One of our customers, <insert company name>, had a
number of issues that interfered with getting the job done.
Manual processes were taking hours every day. The company
changed its entire process, moving from <previous solution to
your solution>. As a result, the company released 3x as many
applications in 2016 with half the staff and improved metric A
by Y%. It was a huge win for the team.”
These stories address the
buyer’s challenges and
provide valuable insights
related to these challenges.

2. Share insights to build credibility
Top-performing sales reps recap the impact/payoff at each step in the conversation.
ELEMENT CHAPTER 1
Headline Social Content Strategy
Insight
Share a provocative datapoint or
observation
We have found that most organizations want their employees to share content under their own social
profiles, but they struggle to manage the content shared.
Discovery
Ask questions to surface buyer
challenges related to the insight
• How are you managing the content sharing process today?
• What would your optimal content sharing process look like?
• What’s preventing you from achieving that strategy?
• If you could change 1-2 things in your process, what would they be? Why?
Demo
Show features related to the insight
• Recommended content
• Sharing on behalf of others
• Sharing in multiple channels
• Content analytics
Micro-Close
Confirm impact to the
buyer
• Do you believe our process can help you? How?
• What would it do for you?
• What happens if you don’t get help with your content management process?
Example: Insight-Discovery-Demo (IDD)

3. Optimize messaging using data
→ Subject lines

→ Greetings

→ Body

→ Signature

Execution
Effective execution:
● Multi-touch / multi-channel
● Templates
● Time management

Top-Performing Reps are Masters of Execution
On any given day, do you know what to do to maximize your effectiveness as a rep:
● How should you organize your day to get the most critical things done?
● Which buyer should you reach out to next that will most help you make your
number?
● How do you leverage automation? Does it help or hurt your efforts?

1. Follow a consistent process
The best reps have a process for getting more done.
QUALIFICATION
TOUCH
PATTERNS
IDEAL
CUSTOMER
PROFILE
PIPELINEPRIORITIZATION RESEARCH
OUTBOUND
TARGETS
MARKETING
LEADS
CRM
Handoff
Recycle
Inbound
SALES
QUALIFIED
LEAD
SALES
ACCEPTED
OPPORTUNITY
Closed
business

2. Use a playbook
Top-performing sales reps leverage playbooks.
TOUCH PATTERN DESCRIPTION WHEN TO USE TENDENCIES
Custom Follow-up Ensure you get back in touch in the
event of no reply
When buyers reply over email and you want to
make sure you follow-up
• Call heavy
• Custom emails
Get Back in Touch For high priority buyers who’ve
engaged in the past
Re-engage top priority buyers Similar to semi-custom
Referred Internally Introduce yourself to the decision
maker based on internal referral from
other prospecting efforts
When referred internally (both up and down) • Call heavy
• Similar to semi-custom
Meeting No Shows Follow-up after the buyer does not
show
Immediately after buyers don’t show up • Call heavy
• Similar to templated
Opportunity Lost Re-engage a closed lost opportunity
after a specific period of time
90 days after designated as closed lost Similar to semi-custom
Nurture Enter a buyer into a drip campaign When you want to periodically nurture target buyers Similar to semi-custom

3. Plan the conversation in advance
Top-performing sales reps execute more touches and make those touches count.
STEP/DAY TOUCH TYPE DESCRIPTION ACTION
1 – Day 1 Pre-call research • Find out what the company does
• Identify peer customer accounts
• Identify strategic initiatives that map to value
proposition
• Use research to create messaging that ties to
the buyer’s role or company
• Identify relevant use cases for the buyer’s
specific persona
2 – Day 1 Account-centric Mention peer account use case story and peer
customer names
Voicemail #1, Email #1, LinkedIn mail #1 (triple
touch)
3 – Day 2 Top of Inbox Forward account-centric message Email #2
4 – Day 9 Buyer-centric Refer to relevant peer persona value props and
stories (other VPs of companies like…)
Voicemail #2, Email #3 (double touch)
5 – Day 16 Content-centric Share relevant use case or persona content Voice #3, Email #4 (double touch)
6 – Day 21 Final touch One last try before moving on Voicemail #4, Email #5 (double touch)
In-between
Touches
War dial Call to reach live; no voicemail Time permitting

4. Spend time on the critical activities
Top-performing sales reps schedule time for critical activities.

5. Allow “breathing room” between touches
• Execute a high number
of touches in the first
10 business days...
• … increasing the wait
time between each
touch gradually …
• … then keep nurturing
1x or 2x per month
(Note: This is an average of
best performing cadences. A/B
test to find if more/less
aggressive cadences are best
for you.)

6. Tune outbound cadences
→ Example: 15-touches over 16 business days
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8
Data integrity
+ Social
Follow
Call 2 (AM) Call 4 (AM) Social
connect
Email 3
Call 1 (VM) Call 3 (PM) Email 2 Call 5 (VM)
Email 1
Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16
Call 6 (AM) Call 7 (PM) Call 8 (VM)
Email 4 Email 5
Move to
nurture

7. Start with templates, then personalize
• There are rapid gains to
personalization up to
20%.
• There is a lose-lose
zone over 80% → more
time + less impact!
• We see many clients
using a “10-80-10 rule”
- personalizing the first
& last 10%

Skills
Foundational sales skills:
● Follow-up
● Meeting management
● Objection handling

Top-Performing Reps Project Professionalism
Do you possess the skills that make “professional” sales reps stand out:
● Do you know how to run a good meeting?
● How do you manage your buyer’s time?
● Do your buyers enjoy your conversations?
● How do you resolve conflict in your conversations?

1. Develop questioning skills
Top-performing reps know how to ask questions and what to avoid.
HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS
Ask
open-ended
questions
“Who is responsible for…?”
“What is the process for…?”
“How do you handle ______ today?”
Expand on points
made
“Tell me more about that.”
“So, how are you dealing with that problem today?”
Clarify details “What did you mean by _____?”
“Help me understand how are you _________ today?“
Confirm
responses
with yes/no
questions
“It sounds like this is something you are actively
looking at today, is that right?”
“…and your team is struggling to ________,
correct?”
“What I’m hearing is ________. Is that
accurate?”
Elicit missing
information
“Is there anything we didn’t discuss that you feel I
should know?”
“What else?”
THINGS TO AVOID
Interrupting Ask your question and keep silent. This also
shows the buyer that you will wait for the answer.
Double/triple
stacking
questions
Ask one question at a time so that they
can give a clear response and remember
what you asked.
Not actually
asking a
question
While you want to share information during the
conversation, make sure you are leading up to a
question.
Making them
defensive
“What” questions can soften the defensiveness of
natural “why” questions such as “What made you
choose that?” instead of “Why did you do that?”
Interrogating Asking too many questions in a row without
stopping to acknowledge the information
shared ends up feeling like an interrogation.
Use transition phrases to acknowledge each
response before pivoting to another question.

2. Prepare responses to common objections
Top-performing reps handle objections with prepared responses.
OBJECTION RESPONSE
Send me something
over.
“May I ask you a couple questions to ensure I send you over the right content?”
I don’t have time. “I totally understand that I caught you on the fly. What I would love to do is schedule a meeting.”
We are already in a
contract.
“No problem. Many of our customers have an existing contract in place. We like to start the conversation 6-12
months before the contract ends. I would love to schedule time to learn more about what is working well and what
isn’t with your current service so we can provide you with options to evaluate during contract renewal. How about
next Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. or 2 p.m.?”
Not a priority <Share an insight about that differentiates your services or a market trend> and ask <open ended assumptive
question>
We are happy with our
existing services.
“Great, I am glad to hear you are happy with your current service. In our experience, we found that utilizing data to
verify the best services allows people to execute efficient and cost effective programs. What type of data or metrics
has your current supplier provided to help validate your program?
Not in our budget, too
expensive
“Our customers have seen success in lowering costs with our services.”

3. Confirm meetings in advance
Top-performing sales reps confirm meetings in advance, showing that the rep values the
buyer’s time.
ACTION EMAIL SCRIPT
Subject Line <Buyer First Name> // <Sales Rep First Name>: Meeting Confirmation
Location We will call you at <buyer direct phone number OR hyperlink to web meeting> .
Introduction
Opener
Hi <buyer first name>. I’d like to introduce you to <sales rep first name>, our <title>. Below is the purpose, agenda, and
outcomes for our call, scheduled for <time> on <date>.
Insert PAO Purpose: A call to address your specific challenges and show you how we’ve helped similar companies address these
challenges in the past .
Agenda:
• Discuss insights on how we have helped other <title>’s address <specific challenge>
• Answer your outstanding questions around <topics raised by buyer>
• Show you how we approach <solution>
Outcome: A clear sense of whether there’s sufficient mutual interest for us to move forward with our engagement .
Conclude
and Thank
Again, we will call you at <buyer direct phone number OR hyperlink to web meeting>.
Thank you for your time, <your name>

4. Start every call with an agenda
Top-performing reps leverage call openers using a PAO framework to lead productive, professional
meetings and increase the odds of achieving call objectives.
STEP ACTION EXAMPLES
P
Purpose Call objective “The purpose of today’s meeting is to share more about WeDriveU and determine if we are the
best solution for your company/university.”
A
Agenda Agenda bullet
points
“The agenda is to recap your goals and top challenges and share how we our solution can help
your
transportation needs.”
O
Outcome Tangible next
steps
“At the end of the call, we will determine if you think we can solve your challenges (or are the best
fit), define how the process moves forward from here, and schedule appropriate next steps. Does
this seem like a good use of the next 60 minutes? Is there anything you would like to add or
deprioritize?”

5. Always send a recap email
Top-performing sales reps always schedule a next step, but do so with value to buyer in mind and
don’t when qualification is unclear.
ACTION EXAMPLE
Subject Line <Buyer First Name> // <Sales Rep First Name>: Meeting Recap
Sentiment Thank you again for your time. I enjoyed our conversation.
Findings Here is a summary of our discussion:
• Takeaway 1
• Takeaway 2
• Takeaway 3
Next Steps As you know, we identified the following next steps:
• Step 1
• Step 2
Call-to-Action We look forward to showing you how we can help you solve these challenges in our next call, scheduled for <time> on
<date>.

6. Are always seeking ways to improve
Follow UpMeeting Management Objection Handling
If you don’t talk about next
steps on your 1st call,
close rates plummet by
71%.1
Including multiple
participants from your
organization (sales
manager, sales engineer)
on sales calls correlates
with 258% increase in
close rates. 1
Top reps respond to
objections with questions
more often (54% vs 31%
for average reps)1
1
Source: Chris Orlob - not TOPO or SalesLoft but great stuff!

Thank You!
Connect with us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinamcmillan/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremeydonovan/

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