Here are links to the five posts from last week and things to steal for yourself and/or take back to your team. Click through on each title for more [each article has a voiceover as well].
To the articles:
Keep the “Risks” Slide in Your QBR Deck
The insight: Talking through risks shows you are a true partner. Customers who think you’re unwilling to talk about risks eventually stop feeling comfortable bringing them up with you.
Change this: Keep the risk slide in every QBR or equivalent meeting. List the account risks and leave an empty bullet so the customer can add their own. Then report progress on each one in your follow-up. Both the good news and the bad.
Understand What “Coaching” Really Means
The insight: Don’t do the work for your reps. Doing the work looks like contributing but in the end the rep doesn’t learn.
Change this: Before a joint call agree with the rep on the one or two moments where you’ll step in. Make a plan! After the meeting debrief on what you did in those moments so they can handle it themselves next time.
Low Quota Attainment and Math
The insight: There will be a lot of pressure to set a top-down quota that is too much of a stretch. A quota based on company needs instead of reality leads to people and culture problems.
Change this: Build quota from the bottom up using the data available to you: territory potential, ramp time, close rates and rep feedback etc. Compare that to the board number and evaluate the gap critically. If you still want an aggressive stretch goal then use accelerators or bonuses to motivate reps.
Work That AI Doesn’t Touch
The insight: Don’t assume AI always makes work faster. Some work is better done without it.
Change this: Write down your core AI principles and what AI will and will not touch in your sales motion. For example “write your own outbound emails” could be a rule. If you’re a leader make sure to regularly review that list with the team.
Don’t Bring a Leader in Before Discovery
The insight: When an exec or founder joins the first call, full discovery rarely happens. Prospects take it as permission to jump to pricing and product questions.
Change this: If you have reps, let them own discovery. Leaders should join after the pain and value are clear and with a specific reason to be there. Usually this is around the third meeting.art a trial until the rep can finish this sentence: “This trial ends on [date], and it’s a win if [person] can show [specific result] to [named exec].”
