Get answers from sales leaders
Alicia Lewis
Culture Amp Senior Sales Director • January 13
The most successful AEs that I've worked with have a long list of key attributes that set them apart from the rest. These attributes include * responsiveness * curiosity * resilience * authenticity * collaboration * rapport building * not being afraid to fail * thriving on challenges Important tactical skills which I see in top reps are around strong sales execution behaviors. Skills such as thorough preparation, stakeholder management, ability to multi-thread, drive urgency, and create contingency plans are how Account Executives consistently win deals. They also make sure to never take their foot off of the gas when it comes to prospecting. They know its the only way to ensure they have the pipeline needed to execute. It’s this combination of sales execution skills and the attributes associated with a relentless drive to exceed goal and build strong relationships which enable reps to consistently be at the top of the leaderboard.
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Adam Wainwright
Cacheflow GTM Leader | Formerly Clari, CallidusCloud (SAP), Selectica CPQ • January 12
I have 2 questions that I love to ask to guage self-awareness. 1. The first is simply - What is the 1 thing that you think you could really improve on or do better? 2. The second - Tell me about a time that you weren't successful and help me understand how it impacted your approach to your job. These are the kinds of questions that I like to use to determine if the candidate is focused on self-improvement or, is an excuse maker. Why: In sales - having humility enough to qualify 'why' I lost that deal... and then being big enough to lean in and say, it was my fault. I should have put a plan together to get unstuck or get multi-threaded from the get go... etc. These are the reps that I know will work super freakin hard and I'll see marked improvement from over time. These are the kinds of reps who become future leaders. On the otherhand, if I hear "yeah, they went with the competition because we didn't support feature x" I am likely going to be less interested with this candidate because they likely lack the sense of ownership that I require from my top performers.
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George Cerny
Iterable VP, Growth Sales, B2B2C Sales & LATAM • November 15
Since nearly everything is quantified in sales, OKR's can sometimes come across as redundant and inconvenient to manage to the uninitiated. But OKR's are an amazing vehicle to drive focus on the core strategic initiatives that will generate greater success, and gain cross-functional alignment, visibility and support in achieving these goals. There are two major benefits IMO opinion in defining Sales OKR's: 1. Clarity - the process of defining Objectives and Key Results, if applied with rigor and assistance from someone truly knowledgeable in the process, can provide immense clarity into what you're looking to achieve and how to achieve it. The question was about the output, but let's not overlook how valuable the process can be to get really crystal clear on the Objectives that will have an outsized impact on team results. 2. Cross-functional alignment - OKR's are a company initiative, not a Sales initiative. This means it's a common language across departments, that can be used to unite teams in a shared mission, and increase visibility in what other departments can do to help each other out in achieving their objectives. There are few other tools that are as impactful as a supporting team attached to one of your KR's having to read out progress each week to their leadership. Every sales person wants more support from the company to sell. If it's possible to define exactly what that support is, who it's from , and tie it to a KR... drumroll please... you just got the support you needed via OKR's! So what defines good Sales OKR's? First step is in accurately defining the highest priority Objectives, that if achieved, would have a greater impact on Sales than anything else this quarter. A couple nuances to address: 1. Typically there are top line company objectives that are rolled out first, and then all departments (including Sales) localize their objectives to support some or all of the overall company objective. This is important to call out, as this exercise of connecting Sales goals to Company goals helps define the focus of OKR's. 2. The localizing of company objectives should generally just change the wording of the Objectives to ensure they align, but the big rocks that sales should focus on are typically in the following categories * Building a High Performance Sales Culture (hiring, ramping, setting a high bar for execution, focus on improvement of the culture) * Building Pipeline * Deal Execution - win rate, competitive win rate, utilizing resources more effectively to improve results, closing bigger deals/more deals * Executing new strategies to increase deal size, improve velocity, or open up new markets to increase TAM. Under those big rocks, you'll need to define the KR's that get you there. They need to be measurable, a stretch but achievable, and simple to track. This is harder than it sounds - but the process of refining these helps you gain that clarity. This is where you can really lean into intentionally setting up cross-functional goals, and align the support of the company to help Sales achieve their Objectives. A few examples: * If the goal is getting more customers in an industry - one KR could be to sign up 3 current referenceable customers for case studies. This aligns sales and marketing to build assets so you have more stories and social proof to help you sell into this industry. You could then have an additional KR on how many net new customers you are closing that quarter in that industry. * If you're looking to increase ACV as part of a Deal Execution objective, often there is a KR related to selling add-on products. You could align with the Product & Solutions Engineering teams to produce more assets, custom demo environments, or a new Guru card to improve sales' ability to sell this feature. Paired with an attach rate goal, this can be a powerful combo. * If there is a Culture objective, and you have a Culture survey in your org, addressing one of the key items that has been flagged by the team is a great way to show commitment towards improving the environment. For example there could be a new tool that addresses a major gap or point of friction for AE's. Setting roll out dates with RevOps that map to improved productivity is motivating to the team. While every company is different, sales Objectives are going to generally fall into one of 4 major categories outlined above. These need to be mapped to the company Objectives, and then it's important to lean into the benefits that the OKR process provides when defining KR's. Clarity in how to hit your Objectives. Visibility across the org of the key strategies you're leaning into the hit your Objectives. Cross-Functional alignment to get all teams rowing in the same direction to achieve shared Objectives.
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Eric Martin
Vanta Head Of Sales • November 29
As the first GTM hire and sales leader at Vanta, hitting our weekly revenue target was the absolute most important thing that I could do for myself, for the company, and for my CEO. Yes, you read that correctly, I had a weekly revenue target that I had to hit (and that we exceeded on a weekly basis for the first few years). Why weekly? I think it came from some YC guidance. :) If you're taking on a first sales leader role where there are literally no sellers, it's critical that you first roll up your sleeves and prove (on a repeated basis) that you can close deals and hit the revenue targets. Once you've established that you can get the job done, it'll become obvious to you when it's time to start scaling. And if it's not obvious to you, it might be obvious to someone else, like your CEO. To put yourself in a position where you're ready to start adding bodies, be sure to not overlook investing in key systems (i.e. buying your CRM) and processes (i.e. creating an AE hiring loop). If you're taking on a first sales leader role where there are already butts in seats, your primary responsibility is still to hit the number, whatever it takes. Rather than immediately rolling up your sleeves and learning how to close a deal (though this is something you should prioritize), you might instead start by doing an audit of the sales org that you're joining. Doing an audit should help give you a better sense of how strong (or weak) of a position you and the team are in to hit the revenue targets. My advice, communicate up (to your CEO) your findings as they come, and with full honesty. As the CRO of Snowflake once told me, "Sales leadership is a single elimination tournament, if you miss your number, you should expect to be replaced." It's a bit extreme, but it's also not wrong.
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Grant Glaser
Salesforce Director, Sales Leader Excellence Coach • January 11
Sales is an ever-evolving sport and there is no sitting on your laurels if you want to stay ahead. Companies are constantly on the look-out for cutting edge technology to train & tune sales skills, increase industry knowledge, and show-up well in-front of customers. Adoption of new tools, tactics, & strategies include: * Understanding the role of AI in sales interactions * Finding ways to uncover customer pain-points before hearing it directly from a prospect/client * Staying on top of best-in-class sales methodologies (or often creating their own) * Leveraging a simple, clear, and efficient sales process that maps to the buying journey of clients
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Roee Zelcer
TikTok Head of Sales, Products & Services • February 10
Coming into an organization as the first sales hire puts a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. You are basically in charge of proving the validity of this function within the company. There are a few things that I would consider and act on in this position: Start with the short term. As a first hire in a sales organization, you are required to deliver results that have a very immediate impact that meets the business needs. This means focusing on some low-hanging fruits in order to deliver results within a short time frame. Build a framework. As a first hire within the team, you should make sure you document your work, and create clear guidelines and processes, with the expectation of adding additional members to the team in the future. This will ensure a smooth expansion of the team while positioning you as a thought leader and a pivotal member of this function. Go beyond your scope. As a junior sales hire, never underestimate the power of tenacity. I always invite my team members to push the boundaries and look for additional scope and responsibilities whenever they feel capable. This is a very strong signal that you are willing to take on more, and when management will face a new task at hand, they will know they can count on you.
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Charles Gryor Derupe
accessiBe Director of Enablement • February 8
Big question, but I'm happy to share some small factors that can really help to align and at least surface areas that enablement professionals can miss: 1. Know when and by whom business reviews are created. Even if it's async, understanding the target numbers, target audiences, and key strategies can help you understand where there are areas of opportunity. If you don't have this (common for early business organizations), gather feedback, create a base document of your strategic focus areas, and then gather feedback from top leads. 2. Align yourself as an enablement individual to understand where in the sales selling journey these numbers/initiatives align. For example, maybe your organization wants to increase top-of-funnel conversion. You'll probably want to focus on outreach efforts like effective outbound emails, cold calling best practices, and effective value-selling content to use for outbound campaigns. 3. Be aware of any sales leads' initiatives that they may start without enablement knowledge. This is very common when in hyper-growth mode or when an enablement team is so strapped that they have to say "no" to projects. At least being aware will help you to consult and map out what they are doing. 4. Report on your findings and annual/quarterly strategies and key initiatives for feedback. You'll get comments on whether you're on the right track and can provide call-to-actions with your team on areas that they can support.
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Shahid Nizami
Braze APAC Vice President of Sales • January 10
I stronly believe that sales people are one of the most likely people to get to the highest position in any business right upto the role of a CEO. In fact, many CEOs in global companies either come from either sales or product background. * A sales person would start their sales career somewhere as a SDR/BDR. * And then move into an account executive quota carrying role. * From there, they would either branch into management or continue to be a senior Individual Contributor (think about a Key Account Director) * I have seen successful sales people eventually getting into GM, CRO or even CEO roles
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Common mistakes include: * Focusing on why you want to work at X company, but not why you want Y job (it's arguably more important to show why you're drawn to the role that you will be doing every day rather than just the company you will be joining) * Not having any questions whatsoever for your interviewer at the end (it's important to show that you took some time to think through thoughtful questions) * Spending more than half the interview going through every single job you've ever had (essentially, reading off the resume). Perfect your elevator pitch for yourself. In just a few minutes, how can you tell your story effectively and succinctly? * Indicating that you've never had any setbacks, failures, or difficulties in your previous roles (no one is perfect so being able to speak to setbacks and what you've learned from them is important) * Not knowing much about the company, its products/services, value props of what you would be selling, etc. (little-to-no research done before the interview shows a lack of Investment on the interviewee's end)
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Fabio Maglieri
Yext Director Enterprise Sales • March 17
Good question, timing is crucial to respect execs short span of attention. You and your champion should feel comfortable answering following questions before approaching execs: Why do anything? Why do it now? Identify relevant pain linked to strategic initiative Describe outcome if they do nothing Discover impact that your solution has backed by solid value assessment challenged with your champion (champion should feel comfortable enough to present the value to the execs themself) Create compelling story why limited budget and resources should be allocated to your solution specifically Try to find out specific agenda of exec and how to help them achieving it Why buy from you? Show references that resonate (same industry, same use case) Demonstrate superiority to the competition Goal of exec aligment Get management attention and approval that your solution adds value Get buy-in Budget approval Identification and elimination of potential road-blockers
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