[Webinar]
Three Strategies to Uplevel
Your Sales Process From
Start to Finish
THE NEW NORMAL IS HERE TO STAY
Ryan Neu
Founder
Vendr
Dan Templeton
RVP of Sales
Chorus.ai
Today’s Speakers
How Deal Structures
are Changing
More scrutiny. More flexibility.
Agenda of the Webinar
Your Deal Signers
are Changing
Prepare to level up
Messaging has
Changed
Confident conversations
from start to finish
More scrutiny. More flexibility.
How Deal Structures are
Changing
Net-30 days trending
back to normal, but still
well below March
PAYMENT TERMS MENTIONED
Longer Payment Terms
Continue to Be Discussed
Transparent Pricing
Creative Deal Packaging
Flexibility
Make rules where you don’t
necessarily give terms,
dependent upon segment
Trials
Offer more trial
packages.
Conduct Term Discovery
Ask the Right
Questions
Get to “No”
Quickly
Talk to Power Be Prescriptive
Prepare to Level Up
Your Deal Signers are
Changing
Director and executive-level management join 80% more sales conversations since pre-COVID
Over the past five weeks,
leaders joining their seller’s calls
were up significantly vs. the
baseline.
Vs. Pre-Covid Baseline:
+65%
EXECUTIVES
MORE LEADERS JOINING CUSTOMER CALLS
+91%
DIRECTORS
Sales Leaders Are Joining
More Customer Meetings
Senior-level people participate in 84% buying discussions
Sales Leaders Participating
in more Buying Conversations
MORE LEADERS JOINING EVALUATIONS
Over the past five weeks,
leaders joining evaluations were
up significantly vs. the baseline.
Vs. Pre-Covid Baseline:
+84%
EXECUTIVES
+85%
DIRECTORS
Going Concern
Be Prepared to Talk
About Cash Liquidity
And Accounting
Terms
Talk to your finance team
about cash liquidity
Offer up your finance team
to talk to high value
prospects
Bring up these
concepts proactively
Deal Signers Have Changed
You must be able
to show 5-10x
ROI
C-Suite
Uplevel convo from use
case to business case
Make your software an
essential service
This is the new normal
Messaging is Changing
Outbound Motions Still Performing
Overall cold call dials are down 25% since January,
+7% week over week
CONNECT RATES
Connect calls are also down relative to dials, but
connect rates are steady at just under 10%
COLD CALLS
People Are Still Buying
Change your
messaging to fit this
environment. (Hint:
It's here to stay)
New use cases
New situations
New markets
Confident Conversations from First Call to Close
Show up prepared
Do the work
Be relevant
Align your
message and your
solution to what's
most important to
your buyer
Be Flexible With Your
Offering
Key Takeaways
Lean On the Biz Case
vs Use Case
Don’t Stop Believing
(and Selling)
Email Dan Templeton at dan@chorus.ai for a Custom
Demo!
To get in touch with Ryan Neu, email him at
ryan@vendr.com
Q&A

From Call to Close: Three Strategies to Uplevel Your Entire Sales Process

  • 1.
    [Webinar] Three Strategies toUplevel Your Sales Process From Start to Finish THE NEW NORMAL IS HERE TO STAY
  • 2.
    Ryan Neu Founder Vendr Dan Templeton RVPof Sales Chorus.ai Today’s Speakers
  • 3.
    How Deal Structures areChanging More scrutiny. More flexibility. Agenda of the Webinar Your Deal Signers are Changing Prepare to level up Messaging has Changed Confident conversations from start to finish
  • 4.
    More scrutiny. Moreflexibility. How Deal Structures are Changing
  • 5.
    Net-30 days trending backto normal, but still well below March PAYMENT TERMS MENTIONED Longer Payment Terms Continue to Be Discussed
  • 6.
    Transparent Pricing Creative DealPackaging Flexibility Make rules where you don’t necessarily give terms, dependent upon segment Trials Offer more trial packages.
  • 7.
    Conduct Term Discovery Askthe Right Questions Get to “No” Quickly Talk to Power Be Prescriptive
  • 8.
    Prepare to LevelUp Your Deal Signers are Changing
  • 9.
    Director and executive-levelmanagement join 80% more sales conversations since pre-COVID Over the past five weeks, leaders joining their seller’s calls were up significantly vs. the baseline. Vs. Pre-Covid Baseline: +65% EXECUTIVES MORE LEADERS JOINING CUSTOMER CALLS +91% DIRECTORS Sales Leaders Are Joining More Customer Meetings
  • 10.
    Senior-level people participatein 84% buying discussions Sales Leaders Participating in more Buying Conversations MORE LEADERS JOINING EVALUATIONS Over the past five weeks, leaders joining evaluations were up significantly vs. the baseline. Vs. Pre-Covid Baseline: +84% EXECUTIVES +85% DIRECTORS
  • 11.
    Going Concern Be Preparedto Talk About Cash Liquidity And Accounting Terms Talk to your finance team about cash liquidity Offer up your finance team to talk to high value prospects Bring up these concepts proactively
  • 12.
    Deal Signers HaveChanged You must be able to show 5-10x ROI C-Suite Uplevel convo from use case to business case Make your software an essential service
  • 13.
    This is thenew normal Messaging is Changing
  • 14.
    Outbound Motions StillPerforming Overall cold call dials are down 25% since January, +7% week over week CONNECT RATES Connect calls are also down relative to dials, but connect rates are steady at just under 10% COLD CALLS
  • 15.
    People Are StillBuying Change your messaging to fit this environment. (Hint: It's here to stay) New use cases New situations New markets
  • 16.
    Confident Conversations fromFirst Call to Close Show up prepared Do the work Be relevant Align your message and your solution to what's most important to your buyer
  • 17.
    Be Flexible WithYour Offering Key Takeaways Lean On the Biz Case vs Use Case Don’t Stop Believing (and Selling)
  • 18.
    Email Dan Templetonat dan@chorus.ai for a Custom Demo! To get in touch with Ryan Neu, email him at ryan@vendr.com
  • 19.

Editor's Notes

  • #4 Speaker Note: What we’re talking about here isn’t limited to this COVID era, things have changed forever. New reality - not covid only
  • #5 Data: Lengthening of Payment Terms MoM (pre- and during COVID) First meetings → Follow up conversion cliff (need to conduct specific disco early) Messaging: Question Posed: How to adapt to a new climate of uncertainty? Anecdote: Make rules where you don’t necessarily give terms, dependent upon segment [Ryan] Tactical Advice: Conduct Term Discovery: Asking the right questions Question from Scott : Can you clarify what does that mean, what is changing in deal structure / why?
  • #6 DB data Meeting volume up 4% Less risk language on calls Gradual return to net-30 payment terms Team shave learned to be flexible with payment terms and it will continue
  • #7  Question: Your prospects are more uncertain than ever now. There’s a higher risk in bringing on new products. How do you overcome that and address the uncertainty that they’re feeling? (Scott to ask question and queue Ryan) Ryan Notes: Impact Analysis -Flexibility: It’s not 1 size fits all. The best salespeople are the most adaptable. -Trials: I wouldn’t offer trials for the sake of offering trials. I’d offer trials if that is the next logical step to get closer to closed won. Before giving trials, I’d ask your prospect if the trial will actually help advance the deal. If so, why? How are they going to measure? What happens after the trial? -Transparent Pricing: Have an MVP mentality when it comes to pricing. The simpler, the better. In the past, confusion oftentimes led to bigger deals. Not it will lead to lost deals.
  • #8 Dans Notes Ask uncomfortable questions - timing, budget freeze, competing priorities Get to No FAST so you can flush "imaginary" deals from your pipe and work deals we know we can win Deeply understand the NEW purchase process - from eval through signature to implementation planning Go deep to engage as many stakeholders (influencers) as possible so you're not single-threaded so you can deeply understand how decisions are now getting made and assume you will need to present business case to CFO/CRO RYAN NOTES: Salespeople have 2 jobs: 1. Helping people evaluate your product/service 2. Helping people buy your product/service. Right now, it’s critical that you define your job to the prospect and allow them to opt--in to the correct bucket. This will help you avoid offering discounts to non-buyers. Instead, you should customize your discount based on the specific need of the buyer, if and only if they’ve confirmed that they are in the buying bucket. Scott - what do you mean by conducting term discovery?
  • #9 Leadership in Meetings Data: Buying-side Leadership Meeting Participation Selling-side Leadership Meeting Participation Messaging: Question Posed: How is COVID changing purchasing decisions? Anecdote: Champions changing: COOs Tactical Advice: Change your conversations: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Make essential Scott : to transition , multi threading in the new climate
  • #10 Dan: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Make your solution essential and aligned with c-level problems you solve Deals are not getting approved without C-Level involvement (CFO, CRO, COO) - Get leadership involved and connected early and often
  • #11 Dan: Change your conversations: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Make your solution essential and aligned with c-level problems you solve Deals are not getting approved without C-Level involvement (CFO, CRO, COO) - Get leadership involved and connected early and often Dan to ask Ryan : what are you seeing on the buyer side? Ryan Notes: Executives are involved with your deal whether they are on the call or not CFOs likely have a list of non-negotiables and it’s your job to find out what’s on that list and then decide if you’d like to comply or pass
  • #12 RYAN NOTES: Salespeople need to get acquainted with the concept of “Going Concern”. Going concern is an accounting term for a company that has the resources needed to continue operating indefinitely until it provides evidence to the contrary. ... If a business is not a going concern, it means it's gone bankrupt and its assets were liquidated. It’s a fact that many companies will not make it through COVID and finance leaders want to have certainty that if they buy your product, you’ll be around in a year. If not, they’ll be left holding the bag. Advice: Talk to your finance team about cash liquidity Offer up your finance team to talk to high value prospects Bring up these concepts proactively
  • #13 Dan: Uplevel convo from use case to business case Go high and attach yourself to the biggest business problems your solution can solve to unlock "dry-powder funds" Dry powder is committed, but unallocated capital i.e. unspent cash that is waiting to be spent i.e. safety net in tough times It’s a commonly used term in the VC and startup world. This is because all VC’s and Leadership at companies want/need adequate cash on hand to quickly invest in a new opportunity or provide additional funding to fuel growth initiatives. Proactively prepare and show 5-10x ROI. Leave nothing to chance in terms of the value and ROI that you will deliver to the organization bringing on your new product/service RYAN NOTES: ROI Noise. Yes, selling with a tangible ROI is more important than ever. But, it has created a lot of noise. Now, everyone is claiming that they save money or generate a positive ROI. What does this mean? Finance teams will prioritize the projects with the best return. 1-3x ROI is likely not going to warrant an investment, now. Most CFOs are looking for a guarantee of 5x with the hopes of accomplishing 10x. Above 10x? You’re likely underpriced.
  • #14 Sales Team Productivity - yes world changed. Changed position don’t change behavior Data Cold Call Dials → Connect Rates First Meeting → Follow Up Meeting Cliff AEs → CS Data about market likely to come back Messaging: Question Posed: People are still buying. Why is that? How does that change how you approach them? New use cases, new situations, new markets Tactical Advice: Prospecting with Confidence: Outbound team must believe that people should buy software rn OB down, but why Prioritize Resources: Activate entire sales motion: Turn closers into hunters Time and energy on the companies that are more likely. Reallocating to new biz vs acct mgmt) Anecdote: Vendr pull data re: how many deals they’re closing for people
  • #15 Dan - Chorus stats Ryan - to talk about Vendr Stats (faster decisions / why / world has paused, but we are seeing 75% of activity back) Faster decisions: right now, sales is binary. They are going to buy or not. People are still buying
  • #16 Why is that? How does that change the way you approach them? Dan T: We need to be relevant, personalized, and demonstrate the contrast between status quo and a world with your solution in place i.e. no delta, no deal Share insights - Tell me something I didn't know about my business or market Tighten your messaging to align your story to mission-critical, business priorities by persona(s) you sell to Scott to queue this up - People are still buying, how has it changed from buying / selling side to adjust that approach
  • #17 Dan: Prospecting with Confidence: Outbound team must truly believe that people can’t wait to see how things shake out and need to communicate with confidence why waiting will negatively impact the business Dan T: Do the research to be relevant and leverage connections - So much information out there and it blows me away how infrequently people take advantage of this, especially if selling into the enterprise (10Q/10K, LI, Crunchbase, etc.) Be credible and know their priorities and align your solution, specifically, to how you force-multiply their active initiatives. If your solution doesn’t align with those priorities, put them back in nurture and don’t waste your time/resources Ryan: The importance of Belief. As a salesperson, do you actually believe that your prospect should buy? If so, it’s your job to convey that story with authenticity.