As you’ve probably noticed, A LOT has changed in B2B sales since 2020 (especially since I started Accord 4+ years ago).
And even more since I felt the rush of closing my first deals – working hard to stay at the top of the leaderboard 16 quarters running!
Recently, I’ve noticed a pattern. A resurgence of revenue leaders & execs focusing on the lost art of ‘value selling’ and investing in their field vs a capacity based approach to revenue.
This is less about “back to basics”, and more about the art of Sales. The craft. What I like to call: Execution Excellence.
You’ve probably heard endless strategies, tactics, or tools to “get everyone performing like your top rep” but that is absolutely impossible. You’ll never be able to build a team of true A players. You're lucky if they make up 20-30% of your team.. Let alone 50%+!
Why? Your top reps have deeply dedicated themselves to perfecting their craft.
They’ve mastered the fundamentals, have conviction in themselves and the product. Are meticulous in everything they do, and are expert relationship builders.
They also follow a proven process, and anchor everything they do to value. They are 10/10 and deliver execution excellence, by default. Not due to some software or strategy.
While revenue leaders (myself included) would love to replicate their top reps, they know that it isn’t realistic. So their alternative is to build a process where they can ensure rigorous execution on every deal.
Last week Charlie Moss posted on LinkedIn about how category leaders Salesforce and Gong are responding to the current state of the market.
In short, Marc Benioff and Amit Bendov both talked about rigor, discipline, and a more structured approach to navigate the market.
With no surprise Gong is laser focused on:
- Tracking every deal with MEDDIC
- Greater accountability for the sales team and sales management
- Weekly KPIs, weekly results, and monitoring key activities
^ I translate this to “doing the right things consistently”
While Salesforce is focused on increased pipelines (2-3x), a higher level of enablement, and a level of stability (vs disruption).
Really interesting times in the B2B space, but the people (and orgs) that are going to come out on top are doing the work consistently.
- Ross
In this newsletter:
- Takeaways from the Building High Performing Sales Teams Masterclass
- 10/10 GTM Podcast - Latest Episodes with Ryan Lazar, Jon Feldman, and Jeff Rosset
- Why Deal Criteria is Key When Implementing and Executing your Strategy and Methodology
Takeaways from the Building High Performing Sales Teams Masterclass
Winning in 2024 requires execution excellence, and a 10/10 team. Building a culture of high performers starts at the top by creating an environment people want to be a part of, and building a roadmap for success.
I recently sat down with leaders from Aiwyn, NetApp, and Matrix to discuss how to create a winning culture, retain top performers, and up-level your team to achieve 10/10 performance.
During the 45 minute live session we discussed:
- How a high-performing sales team is defined
- How to build a winning sales culture that upholds GTM standards and retains top talent
- How to implement proven strategies, tools, and training to cultivate A-players
My top 3 takeaways from the conversation:
- A high-performing sales team is built on trust, curiosity, and bias to action. You need to be able to trust that your team is doing all the things they need to do, both internally and with their customers.
- It starts at the top! The first step in building a sales culture that enforces GTM standards and retains top talent is to hire great leaders. A strong leader will naturally attract and recruit top performers.
- Timing is key. Implementing proven strategies, tools, and training to cultivate A-players requires a combination of the right people in the role, at the right point in their career, with the right culture and processes in place.
Check out the full masterclass here.
10/10 GTM Podcast - Latest Episodes with Ryan Lazar, Jon Feldman, and Jeff Rosset
Awesome conversations with top revenue leaders Ryan Lazar, Jon Feldman, and Jeff Rosset. In our most recent episodes we chat about:
- Establishing consistency and clarity from the get-go
- Practicing radical candor
- The importance of positioning
- Strategy over tactics
- The critical role of data-driven decision making
- The importance of building a system that works
And much more.
Check out the full episodes below and subscribe to get alerted when new ones drop!
Building Community, Consistency & Radical Candor with Ryan Lazar, Country Manager, Qualtrics
In this episode, Ryan and I discuss Ryan’s three strategies for achieving execution excellence. They discuss the importance of building an internal and external community, establishing consistency and clarity from the get-go, and practicing radical candor.
Mastering Positioning, Strategy & Leadership with Jon Feldman, VP of Sales at anecdotes.ai
In this episode, Jon and I discuss the importance of positioning, strategy over tactics, and developing effective leaders to drive execution excellence across sales and CS teams.
Data Driven Decision Making and Building a System that Works with Jeff Rosset, CEO at Sales Assembly
In this episode, Jeff and I discuss the critical role of data-driven decision making, the importance of building a system that works, and why continuous learning and skill development is crucial.
Subscribe to 10/10 GTM to get alerted on upcoming episodes with Jacco Van Der Kooij, Kyle Coleman, Emma Galler and more!
Why Deal Criteria is Key When Implementing and Executing your Strategy and Methodology
Ensuring rigorous execution across every rep and deal is key, especially in this market.
In Accord you can leverage the Text Deal Criteria feature that allows you to replicate your chosen methodology (ie. MEDDICC), across the organization, and ensure it is executed on the field.
What does this mean?
It means you can take any text section and mark it as Deal Criteria, and stage gate with your CRM opp stages. This ensures that important information like customer decision criteria is documented, tracked, and seamlessly synced to your CRM.
Keep your team aligned with your chosen approach. Achieve better execution, higher win rates, and increased deal velocity.
