Hey there 👋
If you’re like me + the rest of the world right now, you’re doing everything in your power to make the most of every deal in your pipeline.
But it’s hard to do when budgets are being cut, decisions are taking longer than ever, and more people need to be involved in the buying process. Trust me, we’re feeling the challenge too. 😅
The big question: how do you take back control over your deals and ensure you’re not only making the most of them, but also forecasting accurately?
One key answer 👉 Mutual Action Plans.
Especially today, MAPs should be a no-brainer for your sales team… even more so if your sales or onboarding process is complex and involves multiple stakeholders.
When you proactively align with buyers on a clear path to a buying decision, deal velocity and win rates follow. 🚀
But if you’re reading this, chances are you’re already on board with the value of MAPs – I don’t think many sales leaders deny that.
The hard part is getting started: what do great MAPs look like? How do you implement them across your sales team? How do you get your reps actually using MAPs consistently?
That’s why I’m excited to jam on this in a masterclass on Winning More Deals with Mutual Action Plans with some of the best sales pros around! 💥
We’ll dive into how to help your team and buyers consistently follow 10/10 MAPs – plus walk through examples of great MAPs used by Salesforce, Atrium, SalesPlaybook, and more.
It’s happening a week from today, August 11 at 1pm ET / 10am PT. No worries if you can’t join us live – sign up anyway and I’ll send you the recording & recap. 🙌
- Ross
In this newsletter:
- Interview w/ Productboard’s Director of Commercial Sales
- How to leverage executive sponsors effectively
- Top places sales & revenue leaders go to learn
🎙 On the Podcast with Conor, Founding AE & Sales Director at Productboard
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As a two-time founding AE turned sales leader, Conor Dragomanovich is a pro at both closing deals and building strong teams.
Since joining the incredible Productboard team in 2018, he’s moved up from his founding AE role to lead and scale the commercial sales org of 20+ reps.
Somehow in his packed schedule, he found time to chat with me about all thinstartup sales. 😉
Check out the 20-min episode to hear Conor’s take on common mistakes & future trends in B2B sales – plus tips for how to partner with your reps without over-partnering.
👑 How to leverage executive sponsors on deals
Bringing executive sponsors on deals is my personal favorite move in sales – it’s an amazing way to move the needle on key deals AND it shows your leadership team's commitment to customers.
The trick is... how do you leverage them effectively and at scale? (Oh, and without wasting your execs’ valuable time. 😅)
As a founder and ex-AE, it’s been easier for me to jump in on key deals often at Accord – but as we continue to grow, it slowly gets harder to prioritize.
I learned a lot of great tactics on how to leverage exec sponsors from our masterclass recently on Closing Deals as a Sales Leader.
Especially loved the process that Nasri El-Sayegh, VP of Sales at Hokodo, follows:
💥 1) At the beginning of every quarter, identify the highest-priority deals: which ones will move the needle from a revenue or a logo/brand recognition perspective?
🧠 2) Figure out the skills required to close each deal (for example, some might need more financial/risk, operational, or technical knowledge).
🙋 3) Assign an exec sponsor to each key deal based on their skills (your Head of Finance to deals needing financial/risk expertise, etc.)
This is an awesome flow because it doesn’t feel like just a sales tactic – it’s very relevant to the specific problem your prospect is trying to solve, and a real value-add.
A simple message from the exec saying they’re excited about the opportunity and offering themselves as a resource goes a long way in building the partnership.
Want more tips on how to balance closing deals with closing reps as a sales leader? Check out the masterclass recap!
🤩 Inspo
On LinkedIn last week, I asked people to share their fav places to learn about GTM, sales, success, and revenue. I got a lot of great responses (& now have a long list to work through!)
If you’re looking for some new communities, newsletters, or podcasts to learn from, here’s a few that came highly recommended. 👇
🔮 Pocus’ Product-Led Sales Slack Community
🍻 Thursday Night Sales weekly virtual sales happy hour
📈 The Startup Effect weekly newsletter
⚡ B2B Power Hour podcast & live show
Thanks for reading From Vendorship → Partnership! 👋 What are you most interested in learning about in the sales world? Reply to let me know!
Ross Rich (CEO and Co-founder)
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