From missed quotas to high customer churn, to even lower conversion rates – sales teams have their work cut out for them in this hypercompetitive post-pandemic landscape. This is why, now more than ever, the role of the sales leader cannot be ignored. But, the question often becomes, as a sales leader, what should and can they do to not just motivate their sales teams, but actually drive substantial and consistent growth for their organizations. That is the topic of this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast – which is a must-listen for any sales leader currently struggling to hit quota or keep their sales teams focused on results. In this episode, we welcome Andrew Thompson. He is the VP of Sales, Americas for Agora.io – a leading API platform for real-time engagement for video, audio, and chat communications. Agora’s Real-time Engagement Platform as a Service (RTE PaaS) allows everyone to interact with anyone, in any application, anytime and anywhere. Their platform provides developers with simple, flexible, and powerful APIs to embed real-time video, audio, and chat experiences into their applications. Andrew leads a large group of managers and sales reps worldwide in driving customer growth and international expansion to help grow profitable revenue streams, while also delighting Agora’s customers. What Can Sales Leaders Do To Stimulate Revenue Growth? When it comes to new sales leaders, I wanted to know from Andrew’s perspective what he sees are the most critical things to do to drive sales. Here at Vengreso, all of our sales leaders play an integral role in understanding our buyer personas, and partnering with marketing – really immersing themselves in as many aspects of the business so they’re clear on the entire buyer journey. According to Andrew, studying the buyer is THE most important thing that B2B sales leaders should be doing, but often overlooked, “I think with new sales leaders there tends to be misalignment because they put forth sales strategies without thinking through the buyer personas. I would go to my top five customers and just talk to them. Understand how they’re using the product, and why they selected your company – just get clear on what value it was and what they see in your company. Then use that intel to improve how you sell to other similar-sized companies.” This is such a critical component – understanding your buyer personas – is why personalization throughout the entire sales cycle is so key. When sales leaders and sales reps know who they’re talking to, their specific pain points, and how your company solves them (specific to each buyer persona), that’s when you can really win in prospecting and sales. Tune into the full conversation to hear what strategies and tools Andrew recommends to use to segment your customers to do a thorough buyer persona analysis. How Should Sales Leaders Be Working With Their Teams? This can be a loaded question, depending on who you ask. In my 20+ years of sales, I’ve found that the most effective sales leaders are those that listen first and always seek to understand. That’s why at Vengreso, we have a very open communication structure. Whether you want to talk to the CEO, COO, sales manager, or a sales rep – everyone is 100% accessible. In this way, we create a transparent culture where communication, ideas, and honest feedback are welcomed. As the VP of Sales for Agora, I was interested in hearing Andrew’s insights as someone who is tasked with not only driving sales, but also getting global teams to work together. Andrew shares three key points for sales leaders to remember: See what’s not working. As a sales leader, especially if you’re a CRO – you’re often far removed from the day-to-day sales grind. That can make it easy to be out of touch with what’s working and what’s not. Andrew makes it a point to reach out to his sales teams ...
The past three years have seen radical shifts in the B2B sales landscape. From sales organizations having to go from in-person selling to virtual selling, to shifting how prospecting is done by leveraging online tools – there has been a lot to navigate. As sales leaders and sales teams have been focused on prospecting faster and more efficiently, there has been a quiet epidemic happening in the background. Getting prospective customers into the sales funnel is part of the battle, but converting them and keeping them as customers is a whole other challenge. With so many options on the market and an oversaturation of generic sales and marketing messages, the retention strategies and personalization techniques used to retain customers must also evolve. But, exactly how to prevent what one sales expert calls the “Great Customer Resignation” is the topic of this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast. I’m excited to welcome a phenomenal guest who spends quite a bit of time researching...
The emerging role of the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) has become one of the most talked-about topics in B2B sales this year. But, when it comes to truly knowing how to position and leverage a CRO to help a sales organization scale, this is where many modern sales companies are struggling. The key to the success of a CRO comes from not just the path they took in their career but from their ability to align teams across all departments and tap into technology to enable progress and productivity at all levels. What CROs should be doing and how companies can strategically use this role to scale is the topic of discussion in this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast. My guest, arguably one of the best CRO experts and consultants in the industry, shares his incredible insights to prove that when done ‘right’ a CRO can be the winning advantage to take your sales organization to the next level. Ed Porter is the Chief Revenue Officer of Blue Chip CRO. His stellar 20+ year career has led hi...
The B2B sales landscape has shifted from the phone to the email inbox. With the average consumer being bombarded with over 5,000 sales and marketing messages every day – knowing how to stand out in the inbox is what most sellers are struggling with. But, the key to getting your cold outreach messages read and responded to comes down to nailing a few important email strategies. And, those specific (and winning) email marketing strategies are exactly the topic of discussion in this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast. My guest, William Ballance is not just the expert in everything email marketing, but his company is leading the way in how B2B sellers are crafting sales messages and engaging with prospects in new and innovative ways. William Ballance is the CEO of Lavender.ai, a psychology-driven tool designed to help sellers write better emails faster by leveraging cutting-edge AI insights on individuals’ personalities. So, if you’ve ever wondered how to get in the inbox and stay...
Selling, especially in this post-pandemic space is just as much of a science as it is an art. There’s no surprise that some sellers rise to the top, while others find it increasingly difficult to prospect. With so many sales tools, prospecting methodologies, and B2B sales strategies to navigate, knowing just what you should be doing to generate higher quality leads that convert to sales can be complicated. But, mastering how to sell without being pushy or aggressive is exactly the area of expertise that my guest on this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast is known for. Andy Paul is one of the Top 50 Global Sales Experts and award-winning author of Zero-Time Selling, Amp Up Your Sales, and his recent bestseller, Sell Without Selling Out. His popular and long-running sales podcast, Sales Enablement with Andy Paul, was acquired by Revenue.io in 2020 and continues to inspire thousands of sales professionals every week. His client list is as long as it is impressive and includes some ...
When it comes to making prospecting easier, the temptation can be to turn to sales automation to reach more prospects. But, modern sellers beware – sales automation has to be implemented the right way to increase the effectiveness of prospecting. From the sales automation best practices to automation tools to use, to the mistakes to avoid – we cover them all in this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast. And, our expert guest, knows firsthand what goes into making sales automation work to expand sales pipelines and lead to more booked meetings. Rashmi Viswanath, is the Director of Growth and Sales at Apollo.io where she is responsible for expanding the reach of the 150-person company. Rashmi has 10+ years of extensive sales and growth experience, generating rapid and consistent pipeline growth within mid-market and enterprise target areas. She has quickly risen through the ranks in various roles in sales automation and development, strategic sales, retention and SDR management. Do...
Over the past two years, the business landscape has dramatically shifted. The days of taking a ‘spray and pray’ approach are long gone and have been replaced with much more targeted sales tactics to attract an eager and ready-to-buy B2B audience. There are a host of unique account-based selling techniques that leading organizations are using to bring in millions of dollars in new sales. From how to identify the best target accounts, to pinpointing the buyer personas to engage, to the highly personalized strategies to use to book more meetings – we cover it all (and more) in this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast. And, my guest is one of THE industry leaders in helping companies redefine how they prospect to keep their pipelines full and their calendars booked. In this episode, I welcome Jaakko Paalanen, the Chief Sales Officer of Leadfeeder. Under his guidance, Jaakko has grown his global team across 9 different countries and propelled the company from $0 - $2M ARR within 2 y...
What if you knew the exact companies or individuals who are actively looking for the products or services you offer? Imagine how much more targeted your outbound marketing or prospecting could be. That’s the exact topic we dive into in this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast with my expert guest, who is leading the way in leveraging intent-based data to revolutionize the sales game. We welcome Mike Farrell, CEO of Green leads, to the show. Mike is a proven high-growth leader with over 30+ years in the IT Channel and BPO-service industries with both start-up and public companies. He has direct leadership experience with seven M&A events and has expertise in leading integration teams. With Green Leads, Mike leads business growth by focusing on strategic differentiation, customer acquisition, and providing a high-touch, high-quality client experience. Prior to Green Leads, Mike did sales consulting work, helping B2B companies optimize their digital marketing and build internal SDR ...
It’s no secret that the B2B sales game has become harder and harder. With more informed buyers, the same old sales techniques aren’t working at the same success rate to convert prospects to customers. But, what should sales reps and leaders do toreallymove the sales needle? The answer is simple:better prospecting! Yet, the key to doing this successfully often comes down to your sales cadence and the specific actions you’re taking and when. This is the topic we cover in a special episode of the Modern Selling Podcast with one of the greatest minds in sales. Priya Sachdevis the Chief Customer Officer, here at Vengreso. She is responsible for Vengreso’s Customer Success and Support team as well as all implementation, training, coaching, and delivery of the entire LaaS (Learning as a Service) and SaaS technology suite to the 1,100+ companies that Vengreso has served. Priya has been in the sales training industry for over 20 years and has overseensales enablementfor a leading global ...
As we have embarked on the Great Resignation with droves of people leaving or switching jobs and careers, how to find qualified salespeople and getting them to stay has become a hot topic. Since it can take upwards of a year for a new sales rep to truly be competent enough to close deals on their own, the time, energy, and money invested in training is not something most sales organizations take lightly. But, the question becomes: What are the best sales recruitment and training practices that top sales organizations are using to retain their top talent? That’s the question we answer in this episode of the Modern Selling Podcast, with my guest, Priya Sachdev. Priya Sachdev is the Chief Customer Officer, here at Vengreso. She is responsible for Vengreso’s Customer Success and Support team as well as all implementation, training, coaching, and delivery of the entire LaaS (Learning as a Service) and SaaS technology suite to the 1,100+ companies that Vengreso has served. Priya has bee...