The Future of Tech Sales W/Shantanu Shekhar | Data, AI, and the Death of the Traditional Funnel | Ep 044

Connect with Devon Hennig on LinkedIn, mention this podcast & he'll meet you! Checkout Boardroom Confidential  Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn.  Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition." Summary In this episode of the Work Before the Work podcast, host Paul M. Caffrey speaks with Devon Henig, a seasoned marketing professional and author of the Senior Compensation Bible. They discuss effective prospecting and sales strategies, the importance of preparation in negotiations, and tips for career advancement. Devon shares insights on leveraging value in sales, recommended books for personal development, and his personal interests, providing a well-rounded view of his professional philosophy and personal life. Takeaways Know your product and your ideal customer profile. Use creative subject lines for better email open rates. Content marketing remains a powerful tool. Leverage underpriced attention on platforms like TikTok. Provide value before making an ask in sales. Drum up leverage to earn promotions. Preparation is crucial for successful negotiations. Position yourself as the product in negotiations. Read negotiation and sales books for improvement. Find inspiration in sports documentaries and greatness. p.s. Are you an ambitious AE interested in coaching to master discovery & demos so you can exceed quota? Send me a DM on LinkedIn saying "AE" to find out more. 🔥 🍾  

Connect with Cait Kennedy on LinkedIn,  Visit Get Spoons.io Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn.  Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition." Summary In this conversation, Kate Kennedy discusses the topic of account-based sales and the importance of research in the sales process. She explains that account-based sales is most effective for companies with larger deal sizes and longer sales cycles. Kate provides insights on how to build a list of target accounts, emphasizing the need to focus on accounts with urgent, painful problems that can be solved by the seller's solution. She also shares tips on reaching out to junior people in organizations and highlights the importance of ongoing research throughout the sales cycle.   Takeaways Account-based sales is most effective for companies with larger deal sizes and longer sales cycles. When building a list of target accounts, focus on accounts with urgent, painful problems that can be solved by your solution. Reach out to junior people in organizations to validate the existence of a problem and gather insights. Ongoing research throughout the sales cycle is crucial to stay informed about changes in the organization and industry. Focus on the prospect's problem and provide insights into solving it at every stage of the sales process.     Are you an Ambitious Account Executive looking to fill your pipeline in 90 days or less? Then check this out.

Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn. AND Shoot Paul a DM about what you liked about the episode. He responds to every message personally.  Summary In this episode of the Work Before the Work podcast, host Paul M. Caffrey discusses the strategies that elite account executives are employing in 2024 to achieve higher success rates in sales. He emphasizes the importance of preparation, effective prospect qualification, and the need for a structured approach to sales processes. Caffrey outlines key strategies that top performers use to close deals, including engaging with CXOs early, following a sales process, and maximizing preparation for meetings and demos. He also introduces a preparation ritual to help sales professionals optimize their time and efforts, ultimately leading to better outcomes in their sales endeavors. Takeaways Elite account executives focus on matching their pipeline with their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Top performers follow a structured sales process more consistently than others. Engaging CXOs early in the sales process accelerates deal momentum. Regular communication with prospects increases close rates significantly. Preparation is crucial; it can be the difference between winning and losing a deal. Understanding the prospect's pain points is essential for effective selling. Top sales professionals excel at qualifying prospects to ensure they are worth pursuing. Customized demos and presentations require more preparation than standard ones. Creating a preparation ritual helps sales professionals stay organized and focused. The disparity in performance among account executives is growing, with a small percentage closing the majority of revenue. Sales Leaders, whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you: 1. Book Your Sales Kickoff Speaker Keynotes: Planning your Sales Kickoff? 17% of AEs closed 81% of revenue across $54bn of pipeline in H1 2024 according to Ebsta. What are top reps doing? "The Work Before the Work" e.g. Top AEs capture 90%+ qualification info before demos. Top AEs kill deals at discovery 3x more than average reps & keep their CRM updated! Paul M. Caffrey's entertaining keynotes shares a preparation framework & insights that shows AE's how to outperform the competition. Check Paul's availability here.    2. Book Paul M. Caffrey to be train your sales team. Team Training: Does your team need help prospecting? Are they stuck at surface level pain in discovery? Are their demo's too vanilla? Do they default to discounting when negotiating? Book a team training session to help your team master prospecting, discovery, demos or negotiation. Book team training now. "Simple, easy to implement takeaways that our entire team can utilize. The masterclass will help us achieve higher close rates and better agreements & communication with clients. The masterclass is great for entrepreneurs who have a sales team." Mike Fallat | CEO & Founder   Account Executives... ...when the time is right, the 2 ways I can help you is with: 1. Sales Coaching Sales Coaching to Exceed Quota: If your serious about exceeding quota, then you need the right skills...right now. Despite AI, online courses & so much free content...coaching is still the fastest way to get there. Apply to join my private coaching here. "All I can say is thank you, and I owe you a lot of commission!"Jodie Vard | Account Executive | Navan   2. Get The Book Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition."

Connect with Guy Rubin on LinkedIn, mention this podcast & he'll meet you! Get the ebsta 2024 B2B Sales Benchmarks Report here Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn.  Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition." summary In this conversation, Paul Caffrey interviews Guy Rubin, the founder and CEO of EBSDA. They discuss various topics related to sales and career growth. Guy shares his number one prospecting tip, which is to know your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and build relationships with the right personas within that ICP. He also emphasizes the importance of qualifying opportunities correctly to increase the chances of closing deals. Guy provides a tip for those looking to get promoted, which is to become useful and add value to the C-level executives. They also briefly discuss books, favorite movies, and the best concert Guy has ever been to. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the importance of data and insights in sales. takeaways Know your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and build relationships with the right personas within that ICP. Qualify opportunities correctly to increase the chances of closing deals. To get promoted, become useful and add value to the C-level executives. Data and insights are crucial in sales. Recommended books: 'Crossing the Chasm' and others. Favorite movie: 'Starship Troopers'. Best concert: Michael Jackson.   Are you an Ambitious Account Executive looking to fill your pipeline in 90 days or less? Then check this out.

Connect with Shantanu Shekhar on LinkedIn.  Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn.  Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition." "Data itself is an asset, but you need to identify the signal within the noise." Summary Shantanu Shekhar, Senior Director of Go-To-Market at Gong, shares insights on revenue operations and the growth of LinkedIn. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer value and aligning strategy and operations. Shantanu discusses the role of data in decision-making and highlights the need to identify relevant and reliable data. He also explores the future of AI in revenue operations, including data-driven insights and increased efficiency. Shantanu provides advice for companies starting out and discusses the evolving role of SDRs. He concludes by discussing the essential tech stack for revenue operations and the importance of starting with the customer. Takeaways Focus on customer value and align strategy and operations to drive growth. Use data to make informed decisions and identify relevant and reliable data points. AI can enhance revenue operations by improving data quality, driving insights, and increasing efficiency. Consider the evolving role of SDRs and the importance of talent pipeline development. Build a tech stack that starts with the customer and supports the entire customer lifecycle.    

Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn. AND Shoot Paul a DM about what you liked about the episode. He responds to every message personally.  Summary In this episode of the Work Before the Work podcast, host Paul M. Caffrey discusses the critical role of demos and discovery sessions in sales. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication and structured approaches to ensure successful outcomes. Caffrey shares insights on how top performers excel by gathering essential information early in the process and highlights the need for account executives to clarify the decisions they are asking prospects to make during demos. He also provides practical tips for structuring demos effectively to connect prospects' current situations with desired outcomes, ultimately driving better sales performance. Takeaways Top performers gather 90% of information before discovery. Clear communication is essential for successful demos. Demos should clarify the decision being asked of prospects. A mutual success plan can guide the demo process. Understanding the prospect's current situation is crucial. Value maps connect problems to desired outcomes. Proof points enhance the credibility of demos. Account executives should have a structured approach to demos. Preparation is key to effective sales presentations. Sales processes should be standardized for better performance.   Sales Leaders, whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you: 1. Book Your Sales Kickoff Speaker Keynotes: Planning your Sales Kickoff? 17% of AEs closed 81% of revenue across $54bn of pipeline in H1 2024 according to Ebsta. What are top reps doing? "The Work Before the Work" e.g. Top AEs capture 90%+ qualification info before demos. Top AEs kill deals at discovery 3x more than average reps & keep their CRM updated! Paul M. Caffrey's entertaining keynotes shares a preparation framework & insights that shows AE's how to outperform the competition. Check Paul's availability here.    2. Book Paul M. Caffrey to be train your sales team. Team Training: Does your team need help prospecting? Are they stuck at surface level pain in discovery? Are their demo's too vanilla? Do they default to discounting when negotiating? Book a team training session to help your team master prospecting, discovery, demos or negotiation. Book team training now. "Simple, easy to implement takeaways that our entire team can utilize. The masterclass will help us achieve higher close rates and better agreements & communication with clients. The masterclass is great for entrepreneurs who have a sales team." Mike Fallat | CEO & Founder   Account Executives... ...when the time is right, the 2 ways I can help you is with: 1. Sales Coaching Sales Coaching to Exceed Quota: If your serious about exceeding quota, then you need the right skills...right now. Despite AI, online courses & so much free content...coaching is still the fastest way to get there. Apply to join my private coaching here. "All I can say is thank you, and I owe you a lot of commission!"Jodie Vard | Account Executive | Navan   2. Get The Book Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition."

Free Trial:  Fyxer.ai - Save 1 Hour Per Day on Email! Connect with Archie Hollingsworth on LinkedIn.  Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn.  Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition." Summary Archie Hollingsworth, co-founder of Fixer.ai, shares his journey as an entrepreneur and provides insights on how to become a founder. He outlines a four-step process for wealth creation, starting with time-for-money jobs, moving to service businesses, then productized services, and finally selling products. He emphasizes the importance of domain expertise and understanding customer workflows when building software products. Hollingsworth also discusses the challenges of selling in a world of AI and automation and the need for salespeople to focus on building relationships and providing value. He invites listeners to try Fixer.ai and connect with him on LinkedIn.   Takeaways The journey to becoming a founder involves starting with time-for-money jobs, then moving to service businesses, productized services, and finally selling products. Domain expertise and understanding customer workflows are crucial when building software products. In a world of AI and automation, salespeople need to focus on building relationships and providing value. Selling software based on warm signals and intent is becoming more important than traditional outbound methods. Fixer.ai offers AI-powered email management to help salespeople save time and focus on building relationships.      

  "Your first impression sets up your subsequent beliefs." Summary In this episode of the Work Before the Work podcast, host Paul M. Caffrey discusses the importance of preparation in sales meetings and how to make a great first impression. He highlights upcoming guests and their contributions to the sales process, emphasizing the need for sales professionals to engage effectively with prospects. Caffrey shares practical tips for preparing for meetings, including researching the prospect's business and industry, to ensure a productive conversation that leads to successful outcomes. Takeaways Preparation is key to making a great first impression. Sales professionals must engage effectively to overcome bias. Researching the prospect's business can enhance the conversation. A well-prepared meeting can lead to better engagement and outcomes. Spending time on preparation can make you look more accomplished. Salespeople should aim to help prospects make confident decisions. Building rapport should go beyond mundane small talk. Understanding industry trends can impress prospects. Effective communication is crucial in sales meetings. Those who are ready to serve will achieve greater success.    

Connect with Kristie Jones on LinkedIn & let he know what your favourite part of the episode was.  Get the new book: "Selling Your Way In, The Playbook for Setting Your Income and Owning Your Life" by Kristie K Jones.  ________________________ Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn.  Get 5 Scripts to help you 5x your Pipeline here. Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition." Key Lessons for Sales Professionals & Founders: Choose the right sales role by understanding your motivations, superpowers, and desired compensation. Be intentional and proactive about your career to maximize your income and own your life. When transitioning from founder-led sales to building a sales team, take the time to define your ideal customer profile and product-market fit. When hiring sales professionals, focus on finding the right fit for your company culture and ensure they align with your ideal customer profile. Prospecting tip: Just do it. Consistent prospecting is essential for success in sales. Sales tip: Introduce prospects to other prospects to win their hearts and build relationships. To get promoted, understand your why, earn the right to be promoted, and sell your promotion to others.   Summary In this conversation, Kristie Jones, author of "Selling Your Way In," shares insights on choosing the right sales role, the importance of self-awareness, and navigating the real estate industry. She also discusses the transition from founder-led sales to building a sales team, the process of hiring sales professionals, and her experience working with Mike Weinberg on the book. Kristie provides valuable tips on prospecting, sales, and getting promoted. In this conversation, Kristie Jones discusses various aspects of sales and career advancement. She emphasizes the importance of having the right motivations for seeking promotions and career growth. Jones shares her personal experience of wanting to pay for her son's college education and how that drove her to work towards financial success. She also recommends reading books on psychology and sociology to gain a deeper understanding of human behavior and improve sales skills. Lastly, Jones highlights the significance of thorough preparation and research in sales, urging sales professionals to avoid asking questions that can easily be found online. P.S. Enjoy the Show, Rate Us in your Podcast APP!! (The more stars, the better lol)

Check out Spoons  here Connect with Cait Kennedy on LinkedIn.  Connect with Paul M. Caffrey on LinkedIn.  Get your copy of "The Work Before the Work, The Hidden Habits Elite Sales Professionals Use to Outperform the Competition." Summary In this conversation, Cait Kennedy shares valuable tips for sellers to improve their prospecting, sales techniques, career advancement, and preparation. She emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing prospects' problems, doing thorough research before sales calls, making the boss's job easier to increase promotion chances, and reading the book 'Problem Prospecting' by Richard Smith, Mark Ackert, and Stuart Tyler. Cait also highlights the significance of being reliable and hardworking to stand out among peers. Overall, the conversation provides practical advice for sellers to enhance their sales approach and career growth. Takeaways Understand and address prospects' problems to stand out in outreach. Thoroughly research prospects and their organizations before sales calls. Make the boss's job easier to increase chances of promotion. Read 'Problem Prospecting' by Richard Smith, Mark Ackert, and Stuart Tyler to improve sales techniques. Be reliable and hardworking to stand out among peers.