Welcome to Season 3 of 10/10 GTM: The Podcast for Revenue Leaders!
Our guest for Episode 24 is Dan Wardle, VP of Sales at Noibu. Before joining Noibu, Dan held leadership positions at Vidyard, Salesforce, and Blackberry. He brings two decades of experience to the conversation.
In this episode, Ross and Dan discuss Dan’s top three tips for operationalizing deal excellence across revenue organizations. They explore the importance of ironing out next steps, establishing mutual action plans, and monitoring and enforcing multi-threading.
Listen to the episode here, and get the key takeaways from our conversation below.
Outline next steps with dates in all deals
With clear next steps and dates, reps know what to do and when. They can easily prioritize their time and focus on the most pressing tasks, which minimizes guesswork and ensures timely follow up.
In addition, clear next steps also help managers support their teams better. With visibility into deal progress and upcoming milestones, they can provide timely guidance, allocate resources effectively, and offer targeted support where needed.
“No one is going to question you if you have clear next steps,” says Dan. “You’ll receive the help you need to move deals forward and you won’t have to answer a million questions from your peers.”
Create mutual action plans from day one
A mutual action plan (map) is a collaborative agreement between reps and their prospects. It outlines shared objectives, timelines, and what to expect at every step of the process. It allows reps to paint a cohesive picture of what an evaluation of the product or service looks like.
“Right from the first call, if it’s going well, we explain the next steps. We tell prospects we’ll do the demo followed by a POC, and then a business case review. And we ask the prospect who should be involved at each of these steps,” says Dan.
By outlining each step of the process, the prospect gains a clear understanding of what to expect every step of the way. This transparency eliminates surprises and allows them to feel confident and informed throughout the journey. All relevant stakeholders are involved as needed, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
Monitor and enforce multi-threading
Rather than relying on a single point of contact, multi-threading ensures that key decision-makers, influencers, and SMEs are engaged at the appropriate stages of the sales process. By involving a diverse set of stakeholders, this approach accelerates deal timelines and enhances the likelihood of successful deal progression.
To effectively monitor and enforce multi-threading, conduct regular reviews of opportunities within your pipeline. Take stock of the contacts listed within each opportunity, considering their roles and significance. While smaller deals may involve fewer contacts, enterprise accounts often require engagement with 15 or more stakeholders. Pay close attention to any missing stakeholders so you don’t have to start over from square one because key decision makers were overlooked.
Rapid fire: Dan’s fast sales insights
In a rapid-fire Q&A session, Dan shares his insights with us on a wide range of topics:
What’s the main reason most teams miss their ARR goals? Pipeline in ICP accounts.
What’s your favorite resource for revenue leaders? My favorite book this year is, “The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision.”
What’s the number one challenge for revenue leaders in 2024? Driving business value because every dollar matters right now.
SMB, Mid-market, or enterprise? I don’t have a favorite segment, for me it depends on the product.
What’s the most important org: Sales, CS, or Marketing? This is a tough one, they all need to work together. But ultimately, CS is the most important.
Best way to unplug from the demands of leadership? I enjoy working with my hands to build stuff. It gets me away from electronics and allows me to unplug.
About Dan Wardle
Dan is the VP of Sales at Noibu. As a premium technology solution sales leader, he is dedicated to helping businesses run efficiently. Before joining Noibu, Dan led the revenue team at Vidyard and served as a Senior Account Executive at Salesforce.
