Don't Pitch. Teach - The 411, June 16th
LinkedIn Sales Lessons, Good Podcasts, a Great Newsletter and Free Event
Heyo,
It’s hard to hit quota on a good year. And this is not a good year.
Demand is down. Quotas remain the same. Everyone is feeling the pain.
No need to dwell on it, but don’t dismiss it either. It’s okay to acknowledge that the game has gotten harder, while also committing to playing it better than ever.
This week’s 411 is here to help.
Four Links
1. Sales Lessons from a Tough Market
Alyssa Merwin, VP of Sales Solutions at LinkedIn, sells Sales Navigator. In this Sales Hacker post, she shares lessons from her interactions with sales leaders from the past few months. Some highlights:
Virtual selling and leading through change are more important skills than ever
Understanding whether your target buyer is hurting, starting to recover, or thriving is essential to knowing what sales approach to take. You should be using data to identify industries, geographies and accounts who are faring the best financially
“The value story must be front and center in the language of the presentation.” CFOs need to see real, immediate, quantifiable ROI
Social selling and thought leadership are only continuing to grow in importance and are a key way for sales pros and sales teams to differentiate themselves against the competition
Lean on marketing to get a case study from a deal that closed despite the tough environment
On a related note, LinkedIn still has a bunch of free sales courses available right now.
Tbh I have yet to take the sales podcast plunge, but this list seems like a good place to start.
I haven’t been commuting or going to the gym, which are usually my primetime podcasting hours, but I’m considering using podcasts to create the semblance of a start and end to the day.
Lots of gems on this list. Might start making it happen on Mondays with John Barrows. Though, if I’m being honest, I’m most excited to hear Morgan J. Ingram and Kevin Dorsey talk prospecting on KD’s new podcast.
3. The Forecast
I’ve been loving Scott Barker’s new sales newsletter. Every week he tells good stories and provides super actionable sales strategies and insights.
In the latest, he talks about white privilege and diversity, why 47% of reps missed quota in 2018, and a tactic he’s calling Double Dippin’ that caught my eye.
Everyone’s now familiar with the prospecting playbook when someone starts a new role. It’s a good trigger event because tech stack decisions often get made early on.
The Double Dip is sort of the same play but in reverse. So whenever a new rep joins your team, consider whether it might be worthwhile to get a warm intro and reach out to their former employer to see if there’s a fit. Seems obvious, but ever tried it?
It’s worth checking out previous issues, too. Lots of good stuff.
4. Unstoppable - A Free Sales Event
I’m feeling the “please not another webinar” fatigue. I know you are too.
But if there’s a company I’d put my faith in to rock an online sales event, it’s Gong.
Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor, is headlining. Senior sales leaders from Hubspot, Slack and Sprout Social will be there. The agenda mentions a magician, but that could just be referring to their Devin Reed. Who knows.
Anyway, free to attend. Legitimately excited for #morethanjustanotherwebinar.
One Job Posting
InVision is a design platform companies like Amazon, Netflix, Slack and Uber use to design better products faster.
They're looking for a seasoned SaaS professional with enterprise experience and a track record of crushing quota to help accelerate their global expansion.
Sound like a role designed just for you?
One Quote to Keep You Going
"Teaching starts conversations. Pitching ends them." - Josh Braun
Your prospects are busy. You get to interact with people across organizations. Use those connections to learn about the industry.
Get curious. Ask questions. Build a base of knowledge. Then lead with that expertise when you prospect.
Offer actionable insights, not features and free demos. You’ll get better responses.
Now you know.
Steele