How do you communicate sales updates and activities to the rest of the company?

In my experience, communicating the performance & progress of your sales team to the company helps to connect all employees to the mission. It can create transparency into the health of the business, aligns individuals within the company more closely to the voice of the customer, and enables you to more easily activate resources when support is needed.

On a Daily Basis...

• Every time a deal is Closed/Won, a "Congratulations" email is sent out to the whole company, and a Slack message is posted in our "team" channel sharing the details of the deal & the "Win Notes" (ex. the customer, the value of the deal, the "why" behind their purchase, any learnings, and shout-outs to teammates who helped to close the deal)
• For the biggest deals or most special wins, I'll also create fun memes showcasing the rep & the customer and share that via Slack & email too

On a Weekly Basis...

• I'll create a Freehand with 4-5 slides sharing our progress (Closed/Won against Target, Pipeline Generation over the last week, etc.), shouting out the biggest & most prominent deals of the week, and sharing the most relevant & interesting customer stories. Then I'll record a 3-4 minute video walking through the content, adding my commentary & perspective, and then I'll share the video & the Freehand in our "team" Slack channel so everyone in the company can watch it & engage with the content
• I also look for opportunities and encourage my sales managers & sales reps to post in our "sales" Slack channel any interesting stories or learnings throughout the week. Sharing snippets from chorus calls, best practices for generating conversations or overcoming objections, and capturing the greatest success stories helps to raise the overall knowledge of the organization.

On a Monthly Basis...

• During our company All-Hands, I'll provide and expanded version of my weekly Freehand & video, and also look to provide the platform for 2-3 of our sales reps partnered with their account or customer success managers across different segments/regions to share their customer stories with the entire company.

And keep in mind...it's as important to celebrate the journey just as much as the wins, especially if you're in an earlier stage organization. Communicating the behaviors, the mistakes, the learnings, and the process behind your sales motion is often even more valuable for your entire organization than the wins alone.

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 ratios, # of net new logos, total contract value out for signature, total revenue booked on the quarter, total ARR)

• Self serve revenue #s

• People updates (records broken, houses purchased, upcoming babies on the way, birthdays, etc)

• Top Competitors

• Top integrations asked for, but not yet in the product

• Upcoming Pitches this week (Company name, Title you're pitching, blurb on what they do)

• Demand Generation Updates

• Personal Updates (what's going on in your life)

This is a great question, and how we have done this at Vanta has evolved over the years. Being thoughtful about how sales communicates updates to the rest of the company (and vice versa) is so critical.

Today, we have a number of public slack channels where sales or GTM-related updates are regularly shared. We also host a public GTM All-Hands once a month that the entire company is (optionally) invited to attend.

We also have monthly business reviews where GTM and EPD (engineering, product, design) representatives are asked to report on progress on key cross-functional company initiatives.

All this to say, there are any number of ways that you can (and should) communicate sales updates to the rest of the company. Sometimes even a weekly email is enough to do the trick. H/t to my CRO for sharing that idea!

Effective communication of sales updates and activities is crucial for keeping the entire company aligned and informed.

Here’s how I approach it:

Utilize Dashboards for Transparency:

• Dashboard Review: Well-structured dashboards that track key metrics such as lead volume, outbound activity, and deal progress are essential. While sales teams may not always focus on dashboards independently, reviewing them in a structured setting can be very effective.

• Weekly Stand-Ups: During weekly stand-ups, briefly review these dashboards to provide a quick snapshot of current sales activities. This ensures that everyone knows the overall activity levels without spending too much time on details that may not require deep discussion.

Focus on Meaningful Sales Activities:

• Highlight Key Milestones: Beyond just looking at activity metrics, it’s important to focus on the sales activities that truly matter. This includes tracking the number of deals that have advanced to the next stage and the milestones that have been completed. While this can sometimes be challenging to capture, modern Revenue Operations (RevOps) tools can simplify the process.

• Tools for Automation: Tools like Motion, Superhuman, HubSpot, Salesforce, Outreach, and SalesLoft are capable of automatically aggregating key events and milestones within deal cycles. By leveraging these tools, you can ensure that you’re tracking and reporting on the most critical aspects of deal progression.

Regular Review in Stand-Ups and One-on-Ones:

• Weekly Stand-Ups: In these meetings, review the dashboards and key milestones. This keeps the sales team and the broader organization informed about where things stand and what’s being accomplished. The goal is to keep these reviews focused and actionable.

• One-on-Ones: In individual meetings, dig deeper into the details of specific deals or challenges. This is where you can discuss strategies for advancing deals, overcoming obstacles, and refining the sales process.

Tailor Communication for Different Audiences:

1. For Executives: Focus on high-level metrics and strategic insights. Highlight how sales activities align with overall business goals and where the team is progressing significantly.

2. For Cross-Functional Teams: Emphasize how sales activities intersect with other departments, such as marketing, product, and customer success. Could you make sure they understand how sales updates impact their work and how they can contribute to advancing deals?