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Startup Selling: Talking Sales with Scott Sambucci

Over the past twenty years, I’ve led three Silicon Valley startups to their first customers and revenue, and sold everything from financial data, enterprise software, and vaporware to cabinet doors, amusement park daily programs, and “would you like fries with that…?” My customers have included the largest financial institutions in the world, top US Universities, cabinet door makers and people that eat at Applebees and go to amusement parks... I’ve learned a lot, and made a few, ahem, well… a lot, of mistakes. Here in The Sales Podcast with Scott Sambucci, I share the lessons learned from my past two decades of selling. In each episode, I discuss a specific topic in selling and sales strategy like how to find new prospective customers, how to manage leads, how to run an effective sales meeting, uncovering customer needs, and developing pricing strategies. Episodes are a mix of guest interviews, observations from the field, and sales techniques that I’m using every single day. And people that care about such things, I’ve written two books, been a TEDx Speaker, been featured on CNBC, The Financial Times and NPR. Oh… I’m also a husband, a dad, and a three-time Ironman triathlete. Build your sales process so that you can have the company you imagine. The Sales Podcast with Scott Sambucci will help you get there.
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Now displaying: 2018
Dec 25, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Startup Selling Podcast. Today’s episode is a bit different because there’s no special guest. It’s just you and me.

A couple of years ago I wrote a book “52 Sales Questions Answered” (get a free copy here).

Back then, I used to be really active on quora.com answering sales related questions. I got to the point where I had answered so many questions, that I decided to put them all together into a book and that’s how “52 Sales Questions Answered” was born!

Today’s episode is like an audiobook with comments. Meaning, I read the question, I read the answer I wrote back, and then I add comments based on new experience.

Since one episode is not enough to read the whole book, I chose a few questions that I think would be particularly relevant for CEOs or Sales Leaders that are managing a sales team.

 

Enjoy!

Dec 11, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Startup Selling Podcast. Today we have Matthew Harrell as our special guest. He is a business leader, advisor, and angel investor. He has over twenty years of experience in enterprise sales and channel management at Google Cloud and Symantec.  

In 2009, he started off with Google as a Strategic Accounts Manager. Since then he’s been quickly moving up the ladder. He was a Regional Sales Leader, then he was the head of Google Cloud Channel Business in the Americas, and now he’s the Head of Google Cloud Business in Latin America and the West.

A lot of his work today is focused on channel distribution, channel partnerships, channels sales, and partner development.

His LinkedIn job description says:

Lead team of 30 Channel Sales Managers and Partner Development Managers responsible for the Google Cloud partner business and channel go to market strategy for G-Suite and Google Cloud Platform across the US West and Latam. This includes owning the channel sales targets, ecosystem development of all channel types, including GSI's, MSP's, Regional Systems Integrators (RSI's), VAR's, Telcos, etc. and development of disruptive partner models that will drive significant scale.

 

Matt and I met around seven years ago.

I cold emailed him through LinkedIn and invited him to join a meetup group I was running back then. He graciously accepted and attended a meetup as a guest speaker to talk about enterprise sales. We’ve stayed in touch since.

 

I wanted to have Matt on the show to talk specifically about his work in channel partnerships and about indirect selling versus direct selling. Some of the topics we covered are:

  • Compensation Neutrality.
  • Compensating Partners VS Compensating Your Sales Team.
  • Inbound VS Outbound.
  • Different Channel Types.
  • Different Layers of Partnerships
  • Selling a Disruptive Technology to Fortune 500 Companies.
  • Innovative Sales Methodologies.

 

Where to find Matt on the Interwebs:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpharrell/

Dec 8, 2018

The Elf On The Shelf Christmas Time Edition.

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10).

 

Sep 28, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Startup Selling Show - Talking Sales with Scott Sambucci... in today’s episode we have Shannon Waller…

Shannon Waller is a passionate expert on entrepreneurial teams. She’s been working with Strategic Coach since 1991 and she’s also the creator of The Entrepreneurial Team Program, a parallel program  - for team members of her Coaching clients - that focuses on fostering a winning entrepreneurial attitude in its participants.

Shannon is a sought-after speaker, presenter, and coach. She’s a Kolbe Certified Consultant, and the 2015 recipient of the Kolbe Professional Award for individual leadership in building conative excellence.

She also co-authored the bestselling book Unique Ability 2.0: Discovery and has written two books about entrepreneurial team success.

Her first book, The Team Success Handbook, is a wealth of her distilled teamwork wisdom and includes 12 actionable strategies for working successfully in any entrepreneurial company.

Most recently, Shannon published Multiplication By Subtraction, a comprehensive guide to gracefully letting go of wrong-fit team members.

Shannon has been working with entrepreneurs over the past 27 years helping them build highly functional teams and with their entrepreneurial mindset.

 

In today’s conversation with Shannon, we talked about:

  • Shannon’s story, why she got into coaching entrepreneurs.
  • The importance of creating an entrepreneurial organization.
  • Small bureaucratic organizations Vs large bureaucratic organizations.
  • Teamwork and team building strategies - How to assess/hire the right people.
  • Behavioral assessments and behavioral profiles - Kolbe Index.
  • The dangers of cloning.
  • Core values and how to articulate them.
  • How to let someone go - Graciously.

Where to find Shannon on the Interwebs:

www.yourteamsuccess.com

Team success podcast

Sep 12, 2018

Topic: Life is a verb

In this episode, the SalesQualia team talks about the meaning of the phrase “Life is a verb.”

Disclosure: Scott was highly caffeinated in this episode :-).

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10).

Sep 9, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Startup Selling Podcast, in today’s episode we have Brandon Bruce the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Cirrus Insight.

Since founding the company in 2011, Cirrus Insight has been listed in the Inc 5000 ranking for three years in a row… A list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.

Cirrus Insight is an all-in-one sales productivity platform with world-class Salesforce integration. 250,000 people use Cirrus Insight and its sister products Attach.io and Assistant.to to work faster and smarter from the inbox and calendar. It allows you to Track emails, schedule meetings, set follow-ups and more, right from your inbox...

In my conversation with Brandon, we covered a lot of the early days at Cirrus Insight. We focused on how Brandon and his Co-Founder, Ryan Huff, built the company from 0 to +250,000 users…

Some of the topics that we covered are:

  • Getting their first users.
  • Converting them into paying customers.
  • Pricing in the early days Vs Pricing now.
  • Making their first sales hire.
  • The bottom up sales strategy.
  • Creating your product roadmap based on feedback.
  • Using partners to sell your product.

Brandon grew up in Los Olivos, a small California town of 800 people and had only

one classmate in grade school.

He loves endurance sports and raced his bicycle 508 miles across Death Valley in 2002 as part of the Furnace Creek 508 (https://www.the508.net/). He finished in 35 hours and 7 minutes. He also enjoys hiking, camping, and building with Legos. Brandon lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife, Tricia, and their two children, Sonoma and Carson.

Brandon’s advice for Entrepreneurs and Founders:

“Stay curious.” & “Have the ability to make decisions.”

Where to find Brandon on the Interwebs:

Sep 5, 2018

Topic: When things don’t go as expected

In this episode, Scott tells us a story about an ultra marathon he ran where things didn’t go as he expected, the steps he took to deal with the situation, and how he ended making the best possible decision given the circumstances.

 

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).

Aug 29, 2018

Topic: Pulling the trigger on projects or initiates.

In this episode, we talk about pulling the trigger on projects or initiatives you’ve had for a while… We give personal examples of how we delayed things, and provide some recommendations on how you can start your projects today!

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).

Aug 22, 2018

Topic: Exercise for the busy people

 In this episode, we talk about a couple of workout routines that busy,busy people can use to stay fit and healthy. 

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).

Aug 15, 2018

Topic: Sticking to your guns.

In this episode, we talk about "sticking to your guns."

  • When you should and shouldn't stick to your guns.

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).

 

Aug 15, 2018

Topic: Nutrition for a healthy life

 In this episode, we talk about a couple of nutritional strategies that busy,busy people can use to stay healthy.

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).

Aug 8, 2018

Topic: Extreme Ownership

In this episode, we talk about Extreme Ownership. 

  • What is extreme ownership?
  • How to implement it in your life.

Books Mentioned in the episode:

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willing & Leif Babin

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).

 

Aug 1, 2018

Topic: Changing the way you work.

In this episode, we talk about why/when you should change the way you work and try a new approach.

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).


Jul 17, 2018

In today’s episode of the Startup Selling Show we have Niko Hughes. Niko is the Co-Founder and COO of SDRemote.

SDRemote is an outsourcing & consulting company focused on helping early stage startups (Pre Seed - Series A) achieve market validation, logo acquisition and build the revenue stream they need to receive additional funding or reach profitability.

Prior to starting SDRemote, Niko spent the last 5 years working in sales and marketing with a number of different startups. Niko, along with his brother Anthony Hughes, decided to start SDRemote because they saw that early stage companies had a need to ramp up sales, but lacked the know-how.

Throughout the course of the conversation  Niko and I talked about sales process management. We specifically focused on the top of the funnel.

Some of the specific topics we covered are:

  • Biggest mistakes companies make when kicking off their sales work.
  • Personas VS Target Buyers.
  • How to test a market.
  • Laser focus selling.
  • Length of the buying process.
  • Cold Calling best practices.
  • Warm Calling.
  • How to qualify inbound leads.

Tools mentioned

Books Mentioned:

How to get in touch with Niko:

Get a FREE copy of my book: “Startup Selling: How To Sell If You Really, Really Have To And Don’t Know How.”

Jul 12, 2018

Justin, along with his brother, Co-Founded Disco, which is a software company that focuses on helping teams appreciate each other on top of other communication platforms.

Prior to Disco, Justin worked at Intuit as Territory Sales Manager, he was also Account Executive at Gigya, and Director of Enterprise Sales at Nomu.

In this episode we dove deep into Company Culture and Core Values. Some of the specific topics that we covered are:

  • What is company culture?
  • Mission/Vision/Values - The difference between each.
  • Growth mindset.
  • Keep it 100 - Being brutally honest.
  • Tying circles - Being able to iterate fast.
  • Using qualitative and quantitative analysis.
  • Cash Rewards vs Experiential Rewards
  • Backward-bending labor supply curve.
  • Most popular experiential rewards -- Personal/Career Growth, and Personal Wellness.

Some of the books, and resources that were mentioned:

Where to get in touch with Justin:

Email: justin@justdisco.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinlvandehey/

Website: www.justdisco.com

Jul 10, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Startup Selling Show. In today’s episode we have Xan Gentile. Xan is the Head of Account Management at Blend (also, one the best dressed man in the mortgage industry). He has been with the company since it’s early days. Now they’ve raised a series D an the team has grown to 400+.

Xan’s has been selling large enterprise software deals to the mortgage and financial markets for three and a half years, so given his success and experience I thought he would be an AWESOME guest for the Startup Selling Show.

In this episode we went deep into Customer Success, Account Management, and Enterprise Sales. Some of the specific topics that we covered are:

  • Using a Situation Slide for your product demos.
  • Tribal Cultures.
  • Post-Sale Product Adoption & Usage.
  • Implementation Plans.
  • Product Road Maps.
  • Hiring project managers for your sales teams.
  • Agile Methodology.
  • 3x3x3 Weekly Review Method.

How to get in touch with Xan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergentile/

Twitter:

Jul 5, 2018

David Dulany is the CEO and founder of Tenbound, which is a consulting and training firm that focuses 100% on sales development in the tech space in the Bay Area.

He’s also the organizer of The Sales Development Conference (Check it out here: https://tenbound.com/conference), and, as you can imagine, he’s an expert when it comes to sales development.

In this episode, we really focused on one main topic: sales development.  Just a few of the things that we covered:

  • Cracking the code of sales development.
  • Why founders need to be Sales Rep first.
  • Why being an SDR is the toughest job in the sales process.
  • Compensation Structures For SDRs.
  • Traits to look when hiring SDRs.
  • Why train on persona instead of product - Lead with the problem you solve not your solution.
  • How to balance quality vs. quantity when doing outbound calls -- Use chunking.
  • Outsourcing research for your SDRs.
  • How to make your outbounds feel less cold.
  • Why you need a sales navigator in your organization.
  • The 18-month payback period - Getting ROI from your hires.
  • The #1 key metric for sales managers and their SDRs.
  • The "two-volley email" and why it's a key signal in your lead development and qualification.

Some of the books and resources that were mentioned by David:

Where to find David on the Interwebs:

Getting in touch with David: www.tenbound.com/contact

Jun 28, 2018

Topic: Why Some Entrepreneurs Fail And Others Don't

In this episode we talk about why some entrepreneurs fail and others don't.

If you're liking this edition of the Startup Selling Podcast, please leave us a 5-star review and recommend our show to a friend (or 10 :-).

Jun 26, 2018

Today’s guest is Brian “I Help Startups Grow” Manning, he’s the Head of Growth at PatientPing which is a company in the HealthTech sector that connects health care providers and allows them to share information, coordinate care, and work together to get patients healthier faster.

Brian was also the CoFounder of Zocdoc's Enterprise Team and has been doing enterprise sales for 18+ years.

In this episode, we really focused on two main themes: Enterprise Sales and Sales Team Management. Just a few of the topics we covered include:

  • The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make when selling to big companies - The Sales Process vs. The Buy Process.
  • Helping your buyers through their own "Buying Process"
  • How enterprise sales is a lot like project management
  • Being empathetic in your sales process.
  • How to sell innovation.
  • The Access Audit.
  • Known Said/ Known Unsaid/ Unknown Problems.
  • How to use scarcity to move the sale forward -- Creating FOMO.
  • Sales management - From individual contributor to manager.
  • How to build effective, and real, relationships with your team - 1:1s, weekly, monthly and quarterly strategies.
  • Sharing failures to create confidence with the team.

Some of the books and resources that were mentioned by Brian:

Where to find Brian on the Interwebs:

Jun 22, 2018

Hey Everyone - 

Welcome to another episode of the Daily Dose. In this episode we talk about: 

  • Personal Motivation.
  • Just Start.
  • Learn how to motivate yourself!
  • Keep your eyes peeled for our next episode. 

Enjoy!

Jun 19, 2018

Today we have Kris “Speedhunter” Duggan on the Startup Selling Podcast.

“If you’re not a sales-oriented founder, sales is a critical part of your business success and you can’t outsource it. You should put as much effort on sales as you put into product.” — Kris Duggan

Kris is an expert when it comes to startup sales, especially enterprise software. Kris’s experience and accolades include:

  • Advising Palantir, RelateIQ (acquired by Salesforce), Addepar and Blend (and other…) on their go-to-market strategies;
  • Starting two venture-backed companies that have raised $100M in combined capital.
  • Interviewing over 1000 salespeople, and hiring 15 senior executives in the last 10 years.
  • Personally meeting with 50% of the Fortune 1000 companies. 
  • Carrying a $25M sales quota.

His 2018 goal is to help 100 startups, if you’re interested in getting help from Kris, you can just go to his blog at https://krisduggan.com/ and contact him through there. Look for the blog post titled – “ Live, Personalized Advice for 100 Entrepreneurs – How can I help?”

In this episode, Kris and I cover:

  • Top pitfalls startups make – doing work for free, overcomplicating the price sheet, giving multiple price options, not staying engaged with executives.
  • The fallacy of free trials.
  • Negotiation – Getting people to tell you what you need to do to get the deal done.
  • How to design your pricing so that no customers churn.
  • The pilot program fallacy and what to do instead.
  • What to do when you get asked for proposals.
  • When should startups hire their first sales person, and how much the CEO has to sell BEFORE hiring sales teams.

Some of the books and resources that were mentioned by Kris:

  • Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Markets by Michael Bosworth
  • Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
  • The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Matt Dixon and Brent Adamson.
  • The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results by Brent Adamson and Matt Dixon

Where to find Kris on the Interwebs:

Jun 18, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Daily Dose —

In this episode we talk about a bunch of tips on how to become a better conversationalist, some of the topics that we covered:

1- Five bricks a day.

2- Improve your conversation by improving your questions.

3- Have a set of go-to questions in case your conversation stalls.

Keep your eyes peeled for our next episode. 

 

Jun 11, 2018
Long-time listeners to the show know that we normally talk sales and growth and strategy. But today, we’re taking a step off the main track with this episode to talk about “Financial Literacy.”
 
Snooze, right? 
 
Yep, we’re not talking about growth and investing and all of the fun stuff that goes along with startup life. Instead, I’m making it my job to make sure you know a key fundamental to running your business and your life – Financial Literacy. 
 
And it turns out this can directly affect sales and growth – What kind of candidates are you trying to target? Gen Y vs More experienced? What kinds of benefits should you offer, or need to offer to attract the right candidates?
 
As you sell to larger enterprises, their procurement departments will ask you about your insurance programs with your startup.
 
What about business insurance – is your company covered?  And how about yourself and your family – are THEY covered if something happens to you or your business… Every seven years, something drastically will change in your life. Are you ready for it?
 
Enter our guest… Tim Phebus, a Financial Services Entrepreneur and Marketing Director at WealthWave. Even better, Tim is a a life-long personal friend and a person I trust with my own personal insurance and family protection.
 
Here are some of the key highlights from our conversation….
 
  1. Go see someone that specializes in Financial services.
  2. Write down your goals - what’s most important to you and the company
  3. Call an advisor to get multiple consultations
 
Insurance:
  • Business Owner Policy 
  • Business Insurance
  • General / Liability Insurance
  • Commercial Insurance
 
Business Insurance:
  • Key Man Insurance - Policy on one of my key employees
  • Buy-Sell Agreement Insurance - Co-owner dies, forced to leave the business, or chooses to leave the business
  • Split-Dollar Agreement - The employer will pay for a life insurance that accrues cash value.
 
Family Coverage:
  • Emergency Fund: Liquid Cash of 3-6 months
  • College Planning: 529 Plan, state-by-state prepaid tuition, Indexed Universal Life (IULs)
  • Long Term Care plan
  • Living Wills & Trusts
 
Life Insurance:
  • 8 types of life insurance
  • Term life insurance – allot specific coverage amount for a set period of time.
  • Whole life policy – outdated
  • Return of Premium – 
  • Index Universal Life – Life insurance with death benefit, builds cash value – becomes as investment
 
Here’s Tim’s Contact Information:
 
(702) 326-1553
Jun 7, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Daily Dose —

In this episode, we talk about a couple of the reasons why you're deals are being stalled.

1- Procurement.

2- Not talking directly to the Decision Maker. 

If you're enjoying our content, share it with a friend, or 10 :-).

Keep your eyes peeled for our next episode. 

May 25, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the Daily Dose —

In this episode, we talk about mindset. We specifically cover the Joy of Choice and the Joy of Accomplishment.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” — Theodore Roosevelt

If you're enjoying our content, share it with a friend, or 10 :-).

Keep your eyes peeled for our next episode. 

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