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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Aaron Ross
Read between
May 31 - June 12, 2022
Sketch out how things work and what your processes are on a flow chart.
What is your lead generation or sales process? Can you sketch it out simply, on paper or a whiteboard? If not, that’s a problem.
Start with defining the desired outcome of a process or team.
Sketching it out is the first step to bringing some order to the process
Pay special attention to “batons” that cross functions.
“Inbound” Lead Qualification: Commonly called Market Response Reps,
“Outbound” Prospecting/Cold Calling 2.0: Commonly called Sales Development Reps or new business development reps,
“Account Executives” or “Sales”:
Account Executives should stay in touch with new customers they close
until the new customer is fully deployed and launched.
Account Management/Customer Success: Client deployment and success, ongoing client ...
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The second person you hire, after a salesperson who can close, should be a sales rep who is dedicated just to generating leads for your first closer.
A second rule of thumb is the 80/20 rule. When your reps, as a group, are spending more than 20% of their time on a secondary function, break out that function into a new role.
if someone whose primary role is to generate outbound leads begins spending more than 20% of their time qualifying inbound leads, it’s time to look at specializing and creating a separate role just for responding to inbound leads.
The best long-term source of salespeople is to grow and develop your own.
Combine one part veteran with three parts young, smart and adaptable... and mix in a system that keeps challenging people to learn new things, to stretch, step by step.
The best salespeople are the ones who have grown up in your company, and know your products, your customer...
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Think about how you can create a career path for people, to continually develop and grow them. Each group can act as a feeder team for the next. Here’s a startup/small sales team example:
Any short-term transaction cost/effort in moving someone into a new role is really outweighed by the benefits of getting a more well-rounded, developed employee who has another learning curve to keep them energized, and has a broader understanding of what customers need.
The best salespeople are more like consultants or business
people who can sell.
Listen much more than they talk. Are problem-solvers. Understand their customers’ industry/business/needs (key to both building trust with customers as well as understanding how to help solve their problems). Believe in their product and company. Demonstrate unquestionable integrity. Can get things done in their own company (via internal networ...
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Simple monitored practice exercises, with feedback, can make a dramatic, noticeable difference in performance,
whether in public speaking, objection- handling, phone skills, demos or personal/career development.
Nothing beats role-playing as a form of training.
“Salesforce University” meeting every Wednesday afternoon for ongoing education.
The agenda often included a mix of topics in 10-15 minute chunks, such as:
Product or sales training.
General business topics (like understanding financial statements or h...
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Public speaking: Sales reps would present to the whole team for p...
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“Dealer’s Choice” – anything the agenda owner wanted to i...
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Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.
Choose people carefully Set expectations and vision Remove obstacles Inspire your people Work for your people Improve it next time
What would you do differently next time with any of the above five steps?
12 key measures for employees: Do I know what is expected of me at work? Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? Is there someone at work who encourages my development? At work, do my opinions seem to count? Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best
...more
In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress? At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?
V2MOM stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, and Metrics.
The V2MOM process helped the company (and the teams and people in it) lay out a vision, prioritize the most effective methods to achieve that vision, anticipate problems ahead of time, and understand how they would measure success.
What are the top three business values most important to keep in mind while working toward that vision?
“Lead from the trenches.”
What would they change? What would they do if they managed it?
if you’re having customer and marketing problems, part of it could be a reflection of what’s not working with your internal marketing and servicing of your own employees.
If you were to focus (with your employees as you do with your customers) on usability and ROI — in this case, “return on salesperson’s time” — how would you redesign your sales environment, organization, and tools?
Involve the sales teams in the identification, selection and design of initiatives, so they can feel like owners, get their input in early, and become champions once they’re ready to rollout.
how would “Goal Setting and Achievement” work if the VP Sales disappeared tomorrow and wasn’t replaced?
Charles de Gaulle said: “The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”
The more a sales team can manage itself, the more the VP Sales can focus on developing the “important, not urgent” aspects of the team, such as talent, culture and vision, rather than fighting fires or spending time on daily, “unimportant but urgent” tasks.
Rather than distributing 100% of the work of the manager, divide the work into two parts: (1) the 20% that is the most important to keep within the team or company, and (2) the 80% that can be eliminated, automated, or outsourced.
What can you Eliminate? What can be Automated? What can you Outsource? Finally, Delegate or Distribute what is left.
20% of a team lead’s goals and compensation depended on the whole sub-team’s results. This 20% was extra compensation for taking on the responsibility of being a team lead. The other 80% of a team lead’s compensation depended on their individual sales performance.
