Hey there 👋
Can you confidently say your team consistently delivers 10/10 throughout the sales process? Going above and beyond for ever lead & opportunity? (which you NEED to be doing in this economic environment)
One big lesson I’ve learned on this rollercoaster ride of growing Accord & helping scale Stripe:
Word of mouth is more powerful than you think.
Don’t underestimate the impact of giving 10% more to every buyer & customer relationship. 💯
We've seen a lot of referrals from users who love Accord – not just because we help them hit ARR targets, but because we went the extra mile during our partnership… BEFORE and AFTER the deal closed.
I’ve even gotten emails from customers sharing their bad experiences with trying to buy other software, and connecting me directly to the seller's team to see if Accord can help.
(That’s the kind of support that still blows my mind and makes me LOVE our community!)
All this to say… I can’t emphasize enough how important prioritizing partnership instead of vendorship in your GTM motion is. Great things happen when you do this.
People buy based on recommendations from people they trust. People buy when they can see you actually care. Consistently delivering 10/10 makes a difference.
What are you going to do to make your sales & success process 10/10 today?
- Ross
PS: ICYMI last week, we celebrated breaking the 100+ customer mark at Accord!
As we wrap up what turned out to be a very goofy & gratifying celebration (did you catch our rap??) I’m feeling very energized – THANK YOU for supporting us on our journey so far. 🙏
In this newsletter:
- How to balance repeatability with personalization
- Podcast interview with a Stripe sales leader
- Accord’s new Health Score – see deal health at a glance
🎨 Balancing Repeatability with Personalization in Your Sales Process
Pictured: Hand-delivering a bottle of champagne to one of our early customers for closing his first big deal via Accord! (A key part of our crazy early customer success process🍾)
Some folks might think: "That's crazy! You shouldn't build a GTM motion that isn't scalable and requires reps to do those kinds of things!"
But the real trick is balancing repeatability with personalization. 🔁 🎨
(That's why B2B sales is both an art and a science!)
Personalization is what helps you stand out to prospects & customers. Repeatability is what helps you predictably scale more customers, faster.
When you only have a few customers, it’s easy to be much more personalized in your outreach and communication. You can go above and beyond for those early partners without over-stretching your team.
That personalization and attention is what will set you apart at the beginning and help you build long-lasting relationships.
However, this level of attention doesn't scale. From the start, you should be looking for opportunities to build repeatable processes:
- What are the common questions your prospects and customers are asking?
- What are the stages of the buying process you’re guiding customers through, and what needs to happen in each stage?
- What messaging is resonating with your ICP in calls and emails?
The sooner you write your process down and start measuring it, the better you’ll be able to understand what’s working (and what’s not) – and the faster you’ll grow! 🚀
But never lose that personal touch!
- Do 10 extra minutes of research on your prospect and their company
- Follow up after every call with next steps and helpful resources
- Look for opportunities to go the extra mile in every interaction
Build personalization into your repeatable sales process, and you’ll be set for success. 🏆
Want more tips like this? Check out my lessons learned growing from 0 → 100+ customers.
🎙 On the Podcast: Stripe’s Jeanne DeWitt Grosser on the Art & Science of Sales
I had the privilege to work with Jeanne, Head of Americas Revenue & Growth, during my time at Stripe – I learned a ton from her then and I still do today!
So I was stoked to have her join an episode of From Vendorship → Partnership, where she tackled common problems faced by sales leaders.
Get a sneak peek into her wisdom below and listen to the episode for more.
Three pitfalls that first time sales leaders run into, according to Jeanne:
1. Staying in IC mode. 💪
If you’re an A+ rep, it can be hard not to continue jumping into deals all the time when you move into a management role. Sometimes, early stage founders even encourage that behavior.
Set good boundaries for yourself in your new role and focus more on coaching instead of executing on deals.
2. Not aligning with your product org or founders. 🧩
Especially when it comes to your funnel math, you need to make sure different departments are on the same page – so when something is off or needs to be fixed, you’re able to have a productive discussion.
3. Chasing whatever is in front of you. 🏃
Going after any opportunities you find without discretion isn’t going to help you scale or enable your product team to build for what’s going to win.
Listen to my full 20-min chat with Jeanne here!
🤝 See Buyer Engagement Levels at a Glance with Accord’s Health Score
What if there was a way to gauge your buyers’ interest in the blink of an eye?
The keys to a successful buying and onboarding journey are aligning and engaging with your customers. But the problem with looking at opportunities in your CRM is that they all look the same.
How engaged is your buyer in the process? How multi-threaded is the deal? It’s hard to tell at a glance which deals are in good shape.
Today we’re introducing Accord’s Health Score, an unprecedented real-time insight into your buyers’ engagement levels.
Now you can use the dimension of customer engagement to understand which opportunities are healthy and which need some love. 💕
Learn more about the Health Score here, and see it for yourself in a free workspace!
Thanks for reading From Vendorship → Partnership! 👋 Feel free to reply & share your thoughts on this newsletter – I'll respond to every email :)
Ross Rich (CEO and Co-founder)
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