The biggest mistakes that we see from candidates are related to not being prepared for the interview. Failing to research the company, role, or industry before an interview can signal a lack of genuine interest and initiative. Thoroughly research the company, its products or services, industry trends, and competitors, and come prepared with thoughtful questions to demonstrate engagement and enthusiasm. We expect candidates to do their homework on the role, the interviewer and the company, just like we expect of our Account Executives prior to a prospect meeting. Asking questions when the answers could have been easily found online and not showcasing knowledge when they should have studied up on the company is a clear sign of not being prepared.

I think finding ways to give yourself an edge is always in your best interest. You want to avoid creating too much work for yourself, but there are needle-moving ways to get this edge that don't require a massive lift. If you're in a role play interview, treat it like a real sales process. Send a pre-call email with the agenda and goal of the call outlined and send a follow up email in the format you typically would in an active deal. Prepare thoughtful and custom questions to ask each of your interviewers that show how you think, what you care about, and your business acumen and/or natural curiosity.

So much of the sales KPI tracking has been automated (# meetings, Pipeline generated, funnel progression) so I find the manual ones more difficult to track, but move the needle the most. ie: how many on-sites did a rep conduct this quarter? It's a manual process for reps to log into a CRM and update a meeting field as "in person" and often gets over looked in an organization. There is no substitute for in person meetings. Another example that's difficult to track things like how many new business units or contacts from other business units you broke into in a month, quarter, or year.

This one’s easy! In sales, your performance metrics are your best evidence. Start with your revenue numbers—they’re the clearest indicator of success. Beyond that, track and showcase your quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) improvements in metrics like close ratio, deal size, or pipeline growth. For example, demonstrating consistent improvement in your ability to close deals is a strong justification for a salary increase. Tracking your own metrics not only helps you improve as a sales professional but also shows leadership you’re thinking strategically and providing valuable insights to the business. Thus making the business ant to invest in you further.

Build relationships and solve problems. Politics will happen naturally and you can decide your comfortability or desire but I'm a firm believer that if you focus on solving problems, sharing your work, being authentically you and advocating for yourself when you've done those things then "aligning yourself" to "gain momentum" will happen naturally.

30-60-90 day sales plan tailored to make a big impact at a new company: First 30 Days (Learning and Understanding): 1. Understand the Product: Deep dive into understanding the products, features, and value proposition. 2. Learn the Market: Research the industry landscape, competitors, and emerging trends. 3. Meet the Team: Connect with key stakeholders, including sales managers, colleagues, and support staff. 4. Set Goals: Establish clear, achievable sales goals aligned with company objectives. 5. Shadow Sales Calls: Observe experienced colleagues in action to grasp effective sales techniques. 6. Begin Prospecting: Start building a pipeline of potential leads through research and outreach. Next 30 Days (Building Momentum): 1. Refine Pitch: Use insights gained from shadowing and product understanding to refine sales pitch and messaging. 2. Customer Outreach: Begin reaching out to prospects identified in the first 30 days, focusing on building relationships and understanding their pain points. 3. Utilise Resources: Leverage customer stories, value propositions, and sales playbooks to tailor pitches and overcome objections. 4. Attend Training: Participate in any additional training sessions or workshops to enhance sales skills and product knowledge. 5. Track Progress: Regularly review sales metrics and adjust strategies as needed to stay on track towards meeting goals. 6. Build Relationships: Strengthen connections with internal teams such as marketing and customer support to ensure alignment and support in sales efforts. Final 30 Days (Driving Results): 1. Close Deals: Focus on converting leads into paying customers by effectively demonstrating the value of solutions. 2. Expand Accounts: Identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling additional products or services to existing customers. 3. Seek Feedback: Solicit feedback from customers and colleagues to identify areas for improvement and refinement. 4. Optimise Processes: Streamline sales processes and workflows to increase efficiency and productivity. 5. Prepare for Next Phase: Begin planning for the next quarter by setting new goals and strategies based on insights gained from the first 90 days. 6. Celebrate Success: Recognise and celebrate achievements and milestones reached during the initial 90-day period to boost morale and motivation.

Consistently reviewing and analyzing KPIs can be crucial in helping your sales team adapt to change. For example, if you are moving in to a new market the KPIs will not look the same as the sales KPIs from an established market. Momentum will develop over time. Adding rigor around the need for ongoing KPI analysis is an effective way to help your reps pivot and adapt on a regular basis and will help your reps become more successful in changing markets. In return this will mean they become more realistic when it comes to forecasting the potential of an opportunity, as they will better understand when an opportunity will close based on the appetite of the market at that time.

I am so glad you asked this question - discovery and storytelling is such a huge passion of mine, so happy to share my perspective: Best Practices I See From Top-Performing Sellers 1. Deep Discovery During Every Interaction – High performers never stop doing discovery - every conversation is an opportunity to learn more from your prospects/customers. While doing discovery, they don’t just ask closed ended (yes/no) questions, instead they focus on open-ended questioning (e.g., “Can you tell me more about that?” or “What happens if this problem isn’t solved?”). They uncover not just pain points but the underlying business drivers. 2. Structured and Flexible Approach – They follow a repeatable discovery framework but remain flexible, adjusting based on the conversation rather than checking boxes. 3. Active Listening & Strategic Note-Taking – Instead of rushing to pitch, they actively listen to their audience, ensure they summarize key points, and document these insights that allow for them to reference in future conversations (e.g., using Gong or CRM notes to track recurring themes). 4. Customer-Centric Positioning – Sellers will then translate what they learn into highly relevant recommendations, aligning their messaging with the prospect’s specific needs instead of delivering generic value props. 5. Multi-Threading Early – Top sellers engage multiple stakeholders early, and often, ensuring broader buy-in and reducing the risk of deals stalling due to a single point of contact.

KPIs can be over-hyped when they solely focus on action and lack direction. E.g. “make 100 dials” can result in sellers sacrificing quality for quantity, or in the case of a company I’ve spoken with — hundreds of AEs calling a now-defunct local pizza line to pad their stats. (True story!) More helpful is to direct the action towards an end that benefits the seller and the business — “make 100 dials or key personas in our database to accomplish this relevant CTA”.

Great question. This is a common challenge, especially in startups that often focus on immediate results. At 200+ employees, adopting a sales methodology is not just appropriate but necessary. However, given your success in deploying best practices, processes, and training, the key might not be just about adding a methodology. In my business, I leverage a combination of methodologies and 'processes' to ensure our sales approach is both thorough and scalable. Here’s how I do it: Tracking Methodologies: I use a call recording tool that transcribes every sales call. After each call, I run the transcript through a large language model (LLM) that extracts details based on four sales methodologies: BANT, SPICED, MEDDIC, and Challenger. This generates a running summary highlighting whether or not these methodologies' necessary elements were covered during the call. This helps my sellers stay aware of their performance and consistently apply the techniques needed to advance deals with prospects. Sales Process: However, while methodologies help guide the quality of interactions, they don't directly translate to the structured tracking I need at a leadership level. That’s where my sales process comes in. The sales process is tied to specific, measurable milestones that I can track at scale. These include: 1. Business Case Identified: After an initial call, sellers conduct discovery and produce a business case asset. This could also involve signing an NDA—both are concrete milestones with clear deliverables. 2. Technical Validation Completed: This involves technical discovery, often supported by deliverables such as diagrams, data schemas, or spreadsheets from a solutions engineer. When these are delivered, it signals that the technical validation step is complete, enabling the seller to engage the executive sponsor in a commercial step. 3. Executive Alignment Achieved: This milestone is reached when a meeting occurs between the buyer’s executive team and our internal executives to finalize the steps to close. It's a measurable event, usually scheduled on the calendar. 4. Vendor of Choice Identified: This step ensures that the buyer has selected us as their vendor of choice, often marked by clear communication with an internal sponsor, i.e. me as head of revenue. It's time to elevate your first-line leaders and implement a more rigorous revenue cadence over a 13-week cycle. Here’s how you can do that: 1. 13-Week Revenue Cadence: * Your quarter is 13 weeks, so every week, focus on moving the needle on three key metrics: net new acquisition, expansion, and churn reduction. * Week 1: Focus on net new revenue. Have your team identify every action that can drive deals forward and maximize pipeline output. * Week 2: Shift focus to expansion and churn. Dive into strategies to overcapitalize on expansion opportunities and reduce churn. * Alternating Focus: Continue this pattern, alternating between net new and expansion/churn focus each week. If churn is not a major concern, concentrate solely on net new ARR and expansion. 2. Revenue Stream Management: * By breaking down the focus into these specific areas, you gain more control over the daily events in your process. * This allows for more meaningful conversations with your reps about how to push the needle on their individual deal cycles. 3. Engagement-Based Incentives: * Implement incentives tied to process-oriented milestones. For example, offering $100 for every executive conversation that a rep sets up can accelerate deal closure. * Focus on engagement-based incentives rather than activity-based ones. Reward actions that directly advance deals, such as booking meetings with +VPs to advance deals or completing technical reviews that move prospects from technical validation to commercial conversations. 4. Incentivize Milestone Completion: * Tie incentives to the key milestones in your sales process. For example: * $25 for completing the business case asset. * $25 for booking an executive alignment meeting. * $25 for completing the technical validation step. * This ensures that your sellers are motivated to progress through the stages systematically rather than navigating them organically. When you're struggling to align with your executive leader, especially if they don't come from a sales background, it's important to recognize that they may be primarily focused on outcomes rather than the details of go-to-market strategies. Here’s how you can navigate this situation: Instead of convincing your executive leader of the value of subjective changes like culture or training, frame your ideas with a clear business case. 1. Shift the Conversation to Tangible Business Cases: For example, present a plan where you’ve defined a sales process or methodology and propose that you incentivize specific steps within that process. 2. Make it Transactional: For instance, could you suggest implementing incentives for key process milestones, like setting up executive meetings, completing technical validations, or signing NDAs? Show how these incentives can accelerate deal cycles, reduce closing time, and increase the likelihood of achieving critical sales milestones. 3. Link to Practical, Tactical Outcomes: Speak the language of your executive leader by focusing on practical and tactical outcomes. Could you talk about the 13-week revenue cadence and how each week should focus on moving the needle on net new acquisition, expansion, and churn reduction? Emphasize how incentivizing specific steps in your sales process can directly contribute to achieving your revenue targets. This approach not only aligns with their focus on outcomes but also provides you with the flexibility to pursue initiatives that improve the overall effectiveness of your sales team. 4. Dual Effect Strategy: By making your proposals more transactional and outcome-focused, you’re more likely to get buy-in from your executive leader. Once you have their support, you can then explore how to maximize these micro-investments to achieve broader goals, such as improving sales culture, investing in training, or other initiatives that you believe will drive long-term success. This approach creates a dual effect: it convinces your CEO to support necessary actions to hit your numbers while also giving you the freedom to implement strategies that enhance your sales team’s performance.