Question 1:

I HATE Prospecting. Are there any mindset shifts or things you'd recommend to someone to start to enjoy the process or at least tolerate it?

Prospecting isn’t the most exciting part of your job, but it can be the most rewarding.

A point structure can be helpful for folks. Reward yourself. Take a look at this example

1 cold email sent = 1 point
1 cold call = 2 points
1 voicemail = 1 point
1 LinkedIn DM = 1 point
Cold email reply = 5 points
Cold call connect = 3 points
LI reply = 5 points
Meeting booked from cold email = 10 points
Meeting booked from cold call = 10 points
Meeting booked from LI DM = 10 points

Example goal per week: 200 points

If you meet or exceed your goal, treat yourself to something. Maybe it’s a cheat meal. Dessert. A night out.

Try it out. Make it fun.

Top qualities of great prospectors - be consistent, professionally persistent, and, most importantly, patient.

Don’t annoy your prospects!

Question 2:

What are some good questions to ask in an intervi...

Question 1

What are your thoughts on video emails and do you have any best practices to follow when using it for prospecting, nurturing accounts and getting prospects to the finish line?

I believe video emails or over LinkedIn can be useful, if done the right way. Short 30 sec prospecting video clips via LinkedIn DMs can work well. I feel folks are more open to clicking on it vs receiving a video via an email.

Another use case can be a short video following a discovery call… or any call for that matter, as long as you’ve had prior communication. You can send this via email because they already know who you are. You could recap the call, thank them for their time and outline the next steps. Adds a nice touch.

In a nutshell, try short video prospecting clips via LinkedIn (and some email).

For nurturing deals (once you’ve had some communication) try sending short <1-min videos via email.

Question 2

I'm curious to get your take on selling into the Public Sector, how would some of yo...

Question 1

When you don’t have any sales related experience -  but strong in data analysis skills - how can you present yourself for an entry level tech sales role?

I speak to quite a few folks who don’t have a traditional sales background but want to get into tech sales.

It’s important to talk about the intangibles you can bring to the table.

1. Self-awareness + coachability - this is the most important quality of a salesperson, in my opinion. Speak about how your experience has enabled you to become self-aware and how you’re on an ongoing journey to learn and get better in your craft
2. Desire to break into tech sales. Have a strong “why”. For example, one of the best definitions of Sales I’ve heard is “serving by solving”. Try tying that into your “why”.
3. Conviction in what you do (and sell). Show them you’ve done the homework and due diligence on the product and competitive market. Speak to the fact that if you have conviction and belief in what you do and sell, it will allow you ...

Question 1:

How can I effectively collaborate with my SDR to maximize the conversion of qualified leads into closed deals? Could you provide an example?

Alignment on account, persona and messaging is key.

I had weekly 1:1 roll up your sleeves type sessions with my SDR

1. We picked 3-5 accounts to focus on for the week
2. 1-2 personas per account (e.g. Marketing and Digital leaders (Directors + VPs))
3. We had about 25 - 40 contacts to target throughout the week

We put this all in the google doc and spent our 1:1 on multichannel messaging

Alignment on the email messaging; ensuring we focused on

• A relevant 1st line (observation)
• Problem statement 2nd line, with impact on business
• Social proof + value add 3rd line 
• CTA 4th line

We also mapped out a multichannel approach for the persona throughout the week.

How we were going to touch the contact via email, phone and LI.

Alignment on the messaging and frequency is pivotal to ensuring you book high quality meetings that lead t...

Question 1:

I’m a new AE and have to plan my territory (identify named accounts, outreach strategy, etc…) How should I go about account planning?

Tier your accounts. Here’s a breakdown:

Tier 1
Ideally 15-20% of your book
Data quality: ensure there are personas who you sell to at the account; check Sales Nav
Include top industries your company has the most success in
High growth & innovative companies: do they invest in tech? Do some homework
Spend 50%+ of your time on these accounts
Ensure you have a strategy for engaging execs
Ensure there’s relevancy in your outreach
Engage with your SDR closely, as well as CSM and SE (as needed)
Multi-channel approach

Tier 2
30-40% of your book
Ensure data quality
Industries you sell into, but not tier 1
Align closely with your SDR
Automated sequence, multichannel approach

Tier 3
40-50% of your book
Industries your company has the least success in
Not ideal ICP
Traditionally less innovative
SDR engagement
Add to automated sequences
Take meetings as they come up

Qu...

Question 1:

“How do you prefer to multi-thread into an enterprise deal where you've had a discovery already, and want to get more power behind your champion?”

Getting to power early in your deals is important. Firstly, identifying who has power is key.

“Typically what we find when our customers are looking to solve a big problem like this, it usually means it’s driven by an executive on their side who cares about solving this problem. I’m curious, is there an executive on your side that’s driving this initiative?”

Secondly, there are a few ways you can align to that executive. 

Have your manager or director on your side reach out to the exec with a note (without an ask) that reads something like,

“Hi Linda - our team’s been working closely with your Marketing team to better understand and help solve your customer data challenges.

I understand how important cross-sell and conversion rates are given your goal to 2x revenue in EMEA.

Over the next few weeks the team will be proving out y...

Question 1:

I struggle in the first 3 sentences when cold calling. I usually go with:

“Hey [name], we haven't met before and the reason I am calling you is that we find marketing managers like yourself are looking for ways to physically meet their target audience to increase brand awareness and generate more leads. Would you be open to a quick chat about that?”

What would your advice be in this situation and how do you like my approach? Any suggestions on openers that are more to the point? 

The opening is focused on the capabilities you can provide. Take a close look, “marketing managers like yourself are looking for ways to physically meet their target audience.” 

That is not a real problem. So I would focus on a problem statement. Before that I prefer to use a permission based opening. So you could adjust your opening to,

“Hi Linda, this is Salman at [company name]. You’re not expecting my call. Do you have a min? I promise to be brief.

I’ve been speaking to a few VPs in your...

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the very first edition of Sales Soup with Salman, where you are one of 2,500 sellers that have joined this community, that have joined this newsletter where I'm going to be answering the hottest questions.

Question 1: "how do I sell a premium product when my competitors are providing their solution at a lower price?”

So this seller asks, if I'm selling a premium product, which is obviously more expensive, how do I get over the fact that, hey, my competitors are offering a lower price, how do I tackle that challenge?

Well, here's what I would do. You've got to call it out. You need to fully understand what your key competitive differentiators are versus your competitors.

Because here's the thing. In most cases, 80% is table stakes. Your competitors can do it. It's the 20% that you might be able to accomplish that your prospects can't, sorry, that your competitors can't.

So here's what I would do on a demo, for example. I would call it out. You could say so...