AMA: UserTesting VP of Sales, Katie Harkins on Scaling a Sales Team
October 3 @ 10:00AM PST
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UserTesting VP of Sales, Katie Harkins on Scaling a Sales Team
Top Questions
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
#1 Need = REVENUE. Never forget that. Do everything in your power to exceed your number, everything comes after that. When you're the first sales leader at a company you're wearing multiple hats and you're under a ton of pressure. You need to get to know your team, what makes them tick, why they ......Read More
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
#1 - Hire strategically * SDRs? BDRs? Solutions Consultants? AEs? Sales Managers? RevOps? All these roles internally should have a specific focus and set of responsibilities that helps generate, close and support global pipeline. #2 Structured Interview Process, Onboarding Process & Tr......Read More
379 Views
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
My old CRO use to say, "If your territory isn't shrinking or the company isn't hiring - you're at the wrong company." I love this mindset. As your company grows and scales, it means your equity is worth more. Motivation for AEs should be that change is a good thing, change is inevitable and chang......Read More
379 Views
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
* Email Templates based on vertical & title you're selling to (Outreach or Sales Loft) * SFDC Dashboards to track accountability metrics * Closed Won Recorded Call Library (Chorus or Gong) * Interview Scripts and Interview Processes with the recruiting team * Onboarding Program with d......Read More
658 Views
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
Sales updates can be done via slack or teams. We also have done weekly sales huddles every Monday at 9am PST to start the week strong. I've also done bi-monthly email updates to our CRO, CFO & CEO as to what we're hearing in the field. Here's my template for success: * Stat Rat (asp, close rati......Read More
389 Views
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
For complex features, I recommend flash carding like you're in high school and listening to successful recorded call. This can be on an individual basis or in a group zoom setting. It's important that every quota carrying individual has a script that they can easily access and commit the sales sc......Read More
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
I personally think verticalizing a sales org died when COVID hit. If you had a hospitality and tourism vertical - they were bleeding big time when the world was shut down. For larger organizations, it makes sense to have a team specializing in healthcare or fintech for HIPAA and security reasons.......Read More
720 Views
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
I highly recommend doing a deep dive on understanding the landscape of the product or service you're about to sell. Take the time to thoroughly understand the products or services or competitive landscape. Make sure you can pitch this to your grandma blind folded. What are the key features, benef......Read More
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Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • October 4
I love shared KPIs with Demand Generation. We're all on the same team. If marketing doesn't bring in the leads, sales teams are turning to outbounding which elongates sales cycles. I see the sales team missing content creation on assets that don't yet exist to handle objections within the sales c......Read More
693 Views
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