[Update: Predictable Revenue is now the #1 Bestselling Telemarketing book on Amazon.com!]
After five years of baby steps…I’m proud to announce my new book with Marylou Tyler is out: Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into A Sales Machine With The $100 Million Best Practices Of Salesforce.com.
It’s available in both paperback and kindle versions on Amazon.com.
Why I Wrote This Book
After spending a few years at Salesforce.com learning …I realized I had to share this “how to build a sales machine” expertise with others.
I’d met so many CEOs, sales executives and salespeople who spend most of their days beating their heads against the wall because nothing seemed to be working…and I could see how simple some of the solutions would be for them, if they just knew what to do.
And I’d been one of them – a CEO of an internet company that failed – because I didn’t understand sales, and was too stubborn to ask for help or admit I didn’t know.
This is the book I wish you, and all CEOs, entrepreneurs-to-be, sales executives and salespeople would read to help take so much of the frustration and pain out of selling! It’s unbelievable how much time and energy is wasted, especially by “experts” at both small and large companies.
Early Momentum
Marylou Tyler and I are excited that it’s already been a bestseller in its category on Amazon, reaching #2 status in Telemarketing and we have some great reviews so far – all 5-Stars.
About The Book – From The Back Cover
“Alexander Graham Bell discovered the telephone, Thomas Edison discovered electricity and Aaron Ross discovered the Enterprise Market for Salesforce.com.” SHELLY DAVENPORT – VP Worldwide Sales at Replicon & ex-VP Corporate Sales at Salesforce.com
Discover the outbound sales process that, in just a few years, helped add $100 million in recurring revenue to Salesforce.com, almost doubling their enterprise growth… with zero cold calls.
This is NOT another book about how to cold call or close deals. This is an entirely new kind of sales bible for CEOs, entrepreneurs and sales VPs to help you build a sales machine. What does it take for your sales team to generate as many highly-qualified new leads as you want, create predictable revenue, and meet your financial goals without your constant focus and attention?
Learn Inside…
How an outbound sales process, without cold calls or a marketing budget, can generate a 9% response rate and millions of dollars from cold prospects.
The Seven Fatal Sales Mistakes CEOs and Sales VPs (even experienced ones) make time and time again.
How outbound sales and selling can be friendly, helpful and enjoyable.
How to develop self-managing sales teams, turning your employees into mini-CEOs.
And more…
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I Would Love Your Help In Getting The Message Out
How can you help get the message out to people who are struggling so hard with sales, who don’t realize there are better and more authentic ways to do it?
You can:
Buy the book
Refer it to friends (CEOs, VP Sales, salespeople, current or aspiring entrepreneurs)
Review it on your blog & share it
Bulk orders for your sales team, for leadgen or to give as gifts to clients
Interview me or Marylou Tyler for your blog, radio or TV audience
Brian Carroll, CEO of Intouch, just hosted me on a webinar on “5 Steps To Creating A Lead Gen Machine & The Predictable Revenue CEOs Love”.
Webinar Overview / Content:
How do you build a lead generation machine that generates quality leads, creates predictable revenue, and meets your CEO’s goals without your constant focus & attention? How do you make yourself indispensable to your CEO & Board?
During this complimentary webinar, Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch welcomes special guest Aaron Ross, who created a sales lead generation team at Salesforce.com that helped add $100 million in recurring revenues. Aaron is CEO of PebbleStorm and the author of “PREDICTABLE REVENUE: Lessons Learned From Growing Salesforce.com’s $1 Billion Sales Machine”, who will be sharing:
How to build a lead generation machine that will predictably generate leads month-after-month
How to ensure sales follows up on every lead
What “Unique Genius” is, and why it attracts big marketing results
Why you need to distinguish “Seeds, Nets, and Spears” leads for your CEO & Board
The two things CEOs care MOST about that you must understand
A simple 6-step call agenda to help salespeople convert new leads into qualified opportunities
Q: When sending outbound emails is it better to send them directly rather than through templates in salesforce or Marketo so they aren’t looked at as spam (or get bounced)?
A: If you mean sending them directly through your email servers, no, you should send them through systems like Salesforce.com or Marketo.By sending them through your email servers/Outlook, you lose all the benefits of reporting, tracking and keeping your data organized.
Q: Could clarify what you mean by Internal Referrals?
A: Calling or emailing someone at the company who is NOT your ideal person…and having them refer you to the right person at the company. For example, if you sell to the VP Sales, you could contact the VP HR and get an internal referral to the VP Sales. Internal referrals vastly increase your response rates.
Q: Just to clarify…the cold emails should be to ask for internal referrals which you can then follow up on?
A: Yes.
Q: Could you share some example email templates or subject lines?
A: Ha! A dozen or more people asked this question. I don’t share these publicly, but I do share them with clients (an easy way to get them is sign up for my Cold Calling 2.0 Starter Package).
Q: All this info is great, I wonder though if this works for a small business <5 employees.
A: Yes! All you just need someone dedicated (or 80% time) to outbound prospecting.
Q: What kind of Can-Spam issues should we be aware of with the Cold Email?
A: Here’s the simple version of what to do around compliance…with commercial email, you can send unsolicited email, just make sure that it has:
Q: I’m a believer, but many/most cos are mired in Sales 1.0 tactics, what is the one/two thing(s) you would recommend to shift the culture & change the paradigm w/in an org.
A: See the above answer.
Q: What do you consider an acceptable cost per lead (qualified lead)
A: This all depends on your Lifetime Customer Value. If a new customer is worth $100,000, then an acceptable cost per qualified lead could be $5000. So – first go calculate what a rough Lifetime Customer Value is for your customers, then work backwards. I can’t give you a rule of thumb, but this also depends on your conversion rates.
Q: How does al of this affect a marketer’s MBOs and how do you sauggest a marketer set up their MBOs in light of this? What is the new way to be measured as a marketer if not # of leads?
A: I answered this live in the webinar Q&A, but…a suggestion: a portion based on the number of qualified opportunities generated, and a portion tied to revenue closed from those leads.
Q: How can a marketer get measured on qualified pipeline/leads/revenue when your sales cycle is 6 to 18 months long?
A: What do you do with your salespeople’s comp and metrics, who also have to wait 6 to 18 months? Or the VP Sales? Align with them and how they do it.
Q: I generally experience a pretty low response rate to whitepaper leads…do you have any recommendations as to some good questions to ask based on your experience at SFDC?
A: Whitepaper leads are nurturing/education leads, they always have a low response rate. Nurture them with more great content. Or, when calling them, find out who else in their organization matters – whitepaper people often aren’t decision makers.
Q: Is there a certain percentage you should aim for from each type of the leads (seeds, nets, spears)?
A: Answered this live in the webinar Q&A.
Q: Why not “is this a good time?” vs. “did I catch you at a bad time?”
A: People have a natural tendency to say “no” to questions…you can turn that to your benefit. “Bad time” is my personal preference…but asking either way works.
Q: How is cold calling 2.0 not perceived as spam?
A: If you’re pushing Viagra or porn it would be! If you’re honestly offering a valuable product and just sharing the message with people who could benefit from it, then it is unsolicited email, not spam. In my mind, the difference is in being VERY TARGETED (not blasting randomly) with who you go after, and being HONEST in your communications and intentions.
Q: Great work Aaron! What do you suggest on building a solid prospect database. We are using Siebel, and it’s difficult to reach our audience at times with only digital media. (Emails, Webinars, etc). Have there been other ways to generate leads outside of digital? Direct Marketing perhaps?
A: Coming…
Q: As a very small business, is there any solution that marries the best of e-mail marketing solutions like Aweber and CRM’s like SalesForce?
A: A very popular Salesforce.com-integrated solution for small businesses is Vertical Response.
Q: Great work Aaron…what is the revenue size/deal volume where breaking out specialties makes sense?
A: At least a few thousand dollars. Even more important is how many calls/meetings it takes to close, and if there’s any negotiation. If your deals take 1-2 calls to close over 1-2 weeks and there’s very little negotiation (fixed prices, paperwork, online purchasing…), you don’t need to specialize. Once you’re getting into 3+ calls and 30 day+ sales cycles…time to think specializing.
Q: Aaron, we are a small but well established organization. We have only 2 people in BizDev, and little to no sales or marketing support. The 2 bizdev people have to prospect, sell, close and maintain relationships in addition to admin…invoicing etc…we have a lot of different media offerings we sell, as well as software. We are always running up against sales deadlines because we sell print media. As we focus on making goal on print media, Then our sales of online media positions suffers….With these slim resources, is there anything we can do to improve results?
A: Assuming the two bizdev people have equivalent responsibilities, I would split the two bizdev people into two separate roles: one acquires new business, the other maintains it and upsells, and manages the backend. You’re in a tough spot until your CEO is involved. If you’re a influencer at your company (CEO, exec, manager, etc.), register for a free consultationand we can discuss this further.
Q: Specialize Sales Function Question; Currently staffing 8 outside reps, 2 inside reps – Is that a good ratio? Sales cycle is 8 to 24 months.
A: Yes, ratios are often 1 “Closer” to 1 Sales Development Rep, up to 5 “Closers” per Sales Development Rep. On prospecting rep can really only support up to about 4-5 salespeople and still maintain the necessary great relationships with them to maximize their output and minimize errors.
Q: How do you reach out to Small and Medium Businesses in absence of credible database/lists?? Or, how can you make them each out to you?
A: Through partner marketing. Find partners with audiences of small and medium sized businesses, and then co-market with them. The best approach is to find partners with a common purpose or vision, that want to really make a difference to their customers, and money is not their #1 priority. These partners are much easier to work with and more supportive than purely ROI-driven partners.
Q: How should an effective e-mail subject look like? Which makes them to open the e-mail at the least. Too salesy does not work!
A: Keep the subject short and sweet. “Quick question”, “Hi [First name]“, “Following up”… that kind of short and sweet, human subjects work.
Q: I am a niche based recruiter, own my own company (small Virtual Asst. staff) and do everything you spoke about in your process… For these types where would you suggest focusing time?
A: Go back and really clarify and focus on who your Ideal Customer is. If you’re following my process, or proven marketing processes, usually the thing blocking results is a lack of focus on ideal targets. Yes you can sell to all kinds of people, but who is IDEAL? (Highest revenue potential + highest likelihood of closing + highest enjoyment to work with).
Q: If a rep asks “DId I catch you at a bad time?” and the person says yes, should the rep try to get their entire sales pitch in during the next 5 minutes? And what do you suggest the rep do when the person does not wish to speak to the rep.
A: Hell no! Never jam your pitch in to someone who doesn’t want it – yet. If they say it is a bad time, then ask “when’s a better time?” If the person just doesn’t want to speak to the rep (after the rep politely introduces themselves and asks if its a bad time/etc., hang up and move on.
Q: is there a way to modify this framework to make it applicable to selling through channels/consultants/SIs/the like? Or is selling through organizations like that always frustrating? (especially for younger organizations that don’t have a lot of brand rec)
A: Yes, this works when selling through channels as well in two ways: the channel partners can adopt the methodology, and you can use the method to recruit new channel partners. Also, selling through partners can be frustrating but doesn’t have to be – if you’re having challenges, chances are either a) you are working with the wrong partners, or b) you aren’t appreciating how much work it takes to make even good partners successful.
Q: If you gather a referral from a prior happy client, what do you think of offering a discount to the person referred – say that you would like to offer a discounted intro rate as a courtesy because we enjoy working with “friends of friends”
A: It sounds fine, but you don’t think you need to offer them a discount. This is a marketing decision since there is no wrong/right way: are you going to have a referral program that gives discounts to referred customers…or not? Whatever way you go, standardize it across the company.
Q: We are doing cold calls (mandatory inside sales) and have no success in setting appointments – what do you suggest we do.
Q: We use Salesforce.com and have lead status that are not relevant to leads or very confusing (the were created by someone at our firm) what do you suggest would be good lead status to have?
A: Here are the three key inbound lead status settings for leads coming in through your website: “1 – Open” (Untouched leads), “2 – Working” (You’re in touch), “3 – Nurture” (Unqualified, there’s nothing more to do here). If it’s a qualified lead, just convert it into an Account/Contact. You also might have status settings for “Press”, “Consultant”, etc. depending on your business and market.
Q: Do you have a template for a salesperson to keep track of their daily activities such as sending emails, calls, webinars, faxing info, canvasing tracking etc
A: I do have some templates I share with clients, but not a single one that would be easy to share here in one bite-sized chunk. Here’s the one I’ll ask you to imagine: sit down the night before and write out “If I can only accomplish 3-5 things tomorrow, what would they be?” Also see My 10-Step Morning Personal Success Routine.
Q: With Sales generating emails for lead gen, how do you see marketing’s fits in nurturing the same contacts?
A: Marketing should do more high-value webinars, nurturing campaigns, blogging, etc. Create material that teaches prospects and positions your company and people as experts in the space.
Q: What would you consider the essential attributes a person needs to be a Rock Star in LeadGen.
A: Ambition/drive/energy, good business sense, process-oriented, cares more about self-development than money (though money is important), great team player!
Q: What is a mapping call?
A: When a rep calls into a cold account, at high levels, and gets passed around from person to person…mapping out how the organization works, who is who, and what the needs are. It’s not a cold call. The objective of a mapping call is to LEARN, not sell. Once you understand that there is a fit and need, then the selling can begin
Here’s the beginning of the post by Jon Miller, with a link at the bottom (and here) to the full article One of the best pieces of organizational wisdom I’ve ever received is to pay the most attention to “batons” that cross functions. Wherever two or more departments share ownership and responsibility, conditions are ripest [...]
As a CEO or executive, how often do you talk directly with employees on the front line for unfiltered feedback? Every time information is passed through someone or a level in a company, it’s filtered and changes. What do your salespeople (not sales managers) tell you is their #1 bottleneck in growing their numbers? According [...]
Want the peace of mind to know that your own Sales Machine will create predictable revenue, generate new leads on demand, and meet your financial goals without your constant focus and attention? From Kurt Daradics (CEO, FreedomSpeaks/CitySourced), a client who just read an early version: “I couldn’t put it down, it took me a few [...]
While I’m on the “Fatal Mistakes” topic, here is a presentation about seven of the main ones that executive teams make time and time again. Some of the text is small to read in this small blog-sized format. To make it easier: There is “Full Screen” button in the top right of the viewer, or [...]
Note: I first published this post exactly one year ago. Unfortunately it bears reposting again and again!. I have a feeling this same post will be relevant for another few years until the conventional wisdom evolves. If you’re looking for help with growing sales, and especially in creating an amazing inside sales lead generation function, [...]
(Want expert help – based off of salesforce.com’s $1 billion best practices – in building your B2B Sales Machine? See Build Your Sales Machine) I’m a big fan of Marketo, mostly because of the people there like Jon Miller, Kelly Abner and now Maria Pergolino. Marketo’s application and the team’s knowledge and practical experience around [...]
Last night I spoke at a Meeting Of The Minds event in Westlake Village (SoCal). MOTMS was started by Kurt Daradics of FreedomSpeaks and Baron Miller, and is a great group of entrepreneurial people that meets monthly. I really had fun sharing with them last night. The format was casual (more of an interview) and [...]
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