Thomas

Director, Global Sales Development

Sales Upskill

Sales Trainer

Global App Testing

SDR Manager

Plant an App

Working on Growth initiatives with Sales, Partnership & Marketing.

Head of Growth

Leading the sales effort with outbound and inbound. Focusing on Go-To-Market strategies and building out the playbook.

Sales Leader

GoodHabitz

Account Manager

Appco Group North America

Business Leader

Director, Global Sales Development @ Thomas | Passionate about sales training

Thanks for reading my about me section. I like Sales Development, a lot! 

I’m working with a wonderful company Thomas.co as the Director of Global Sales development. Our teams sole mission is to educate companies, who are looking to create high performing teams, about our platform Thomas Perform. It helps this beautifully.

Outside of this I’m on a mission to help other SDRs. You’ll see me post daily, plus you can access my free training platform above. (It’s a work in progress and would love your feedback 🤟)

Do you love it or do you hate it? 

I am genuinely more enthusiastic when this song starts playing. 

Thank you Cisco for making Sales reps cold calls a little better 👍 

Is there better hold music? 🤔

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I create & post things like this + sales tips + cheat sheets everyday. 

If you would like more, consider following and hitting the 🔔 Matthew Putnam

Matthew Putnam

Its been a really tough week... 😂 😉 Say you work in sales without saying you work in sales...

Happy Friday all 🙋‍♂️ 

One of life’s simple pleasures.

You’ve been nurturing and sporadically staying in touch with your prospect.

They call you because they’re now looking for a solution.

Thank you prospect 🙇‍♂️

…Thank you 

How good of a feeling is it?! 😅

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If you want to see more of these posts, hit the 🔔 -> Matthew Putnam

Getting rejection in sales is tough.

Getting a “no f— off” on a cold call is tough(sometimes a little funny)

Losing to a competitor or the prospect doing nothing is rough.

Being ghosted and left in the void of space isn’t fun.

Getting nothing when you’ve put in everything.

But we all wake up and go again 🫡

Sales can be an emotional game and that a isn’t easy.

But you will get there! Cheers e try

Big up to all the SDRs and AEs dealing with this daily 💪🫵

If Donald can cold call so can you 👍

Donald’s been a follower of Giulio Segantini for a few months now.

The classic:

Throw you phone out the window of give me 30 seconds conundrum.

Spoke to a few top performing SDRs this weekend. Can you argue against their points? 

The similarities between them are awesome 👇 

- They all knew their weekly activity metrics. 

- They would do more activity if their usual doesn't produce the goods.

- All would do a minimum of - 20 emails per day, 30 calls per day, add 20 people a day on linkedin. (Two of them did between 20-40 emails, One did 60 per day relying a lot more on automation)

- Two of the reps loved time blocking - 2 call blocks a day, 2 admin blocks.

- All three said they felt aligned with their AEs on expectations on qualification.

Advice they would give to them starting over:
(Two suggested to obsess over pain points👇 )

- Understand the ICPs problems and pain points, and learn 1) how your solution helps 2) how to uncover these with questions or triggers. 

- "Learn to forget about yesterday, today is a new battle" 

Honestly loved this. Her point was that whether you did well or bad yesterday, that can no longer impact today, so reset back to 0 either way and go for it. What a mindset. 

Side note: 2 of the reps were at established companies, so were more confident in their messaging. The 1 with higher activity was at a 3 year old company. Thought this was interesting 🤓 

I hope this email finds you well...

Still see debates about this one. "Does it really matter if I put this? Chill out"

Well probably not, but let's do a pros and cons list. 

Pros:

Cons:
- Wasted email real estate
- Takes up half the email preview

If you are getting thousands of responses, its probably because your copy and CTA is great. Not because of this sentence. 

The difference between an okay SDR and an amazing one 👇 

And point number 35 will blow your mind 😱 

(Jokes, I've spent too much time on Buzzfeed polls)

Okay SDR:
↳ Executes basic automate cold calling and email campaigns
↳ Hits minimum activity quotas because "that's what is expected"
↳ Asks questions, gets answers and moves on to the next question
↳ Engages minimally in learning sales techniques or new product knowledge
↳ Performance is up and down. 

Good SDR
↳ Personalises communication based on prospects role and industry
↳ Researches leads thoroughly to improve their part of the interation.
↳ Communicates well, builds strong report, listens to answers and plays it back.
↳ Performance is consistently at or near target. 
↳ Has confident in which channels generate their numbers, knows the stats behind the activity to justify this.
↳ Actively developing, listening to AE calls, seeking now knowledge and techniques. 

Amazing SDR
↳ Focuses on relevance on top of personalisation. 
↳ The quality of the lead list is top of priority, they know where to focus their effort.
↳ Fantastic communication skills. Probes, listens, understands and then asks follow up questions to delve deeper.
↳ Constantly staying up to date on product knowledge, competitor landscape and trends.
↳ Completely responsible for their numbers. They know what actions will generate what results. 
↳ Shares successful tactics with others, influencing better process. 

...

...

↳ Point number 35 - Rejection is handled like water of a ducks back

Probable could go on and on here. Any obvious ones I've missed?

Chat-GPT emails are literally terrible.

Without 10 detailed prompts to teach it it will produce rubbish.

150+ Words, weird language, interesting interpretation of your service.

This doesn't mean AI cant make emails. I've added some examples in the comments 👇 Introducing Twain

Genuinely unreal tool. (Link below)

➜ Create your free account 
➜ Fill in the problem you solve
➜ Fill in the solution you offer & company name
➜ Pick the type of email you want to write e.g. Intro email
➜ Set the tone settings (Length, Formality, Firmness, Creativity, Emoji use)
➜ Hit the generate button till you find something you like

All this take 2 minutes.

Great work to Twain, Mohamed Chahin and the team on the project. They're also getting advice from these legends, so not surprising the quality of the tool.

🎺 Ali Chrisp
Daniel Disney
Malvina EL-Sayegh
Hannah Ajikawo
Lewis Gadsdon
Alex Vacca 🧠🛠️
Patrick Trümpi
Mark Colgan
Leslie Venetz
Mark Kosoglow
👩🏻‍🏫 Krysten Conner
Danilo Vuk Capric
Vin Matano
William Padilla
Mor Assouline

Also thank you for the wonderful evening and dinner ❤️ 

Not qualifying prospects is like driving without a steering wheel. Not a good idea.

If you need to improve your qualification game, or need some inspo, here are 25.

Any good ones you do that I have missed?👨‍🏫

------Initial Contact/Lead Qualification Stage------

➯ Reason for Seeking a Solution: What made you start looking for this type of solution now?

➯ Your Role: What's your role in deciding on this solution? How do you fit into the decision-making process?

➯ Company Goals: How does finding a solution like this help your company achieve its goals or tackle current challenges?

➯ Current Situation: Can you describe what you're currently doing and what's not working well with that approach?

➯ Budget: Do you have a budget set aside for this? How do you plan to fund the solution?

➯ Timeframe: When do you need to have this solution in place? Is there a specific event or date driving this timeline?

➯ Decision Makers: Who else will be involved in making the final decision?

➯ Past Experiences: Have you tried any similar solutions before? What did you learn from those experiences?

➯ Key Needs: What are the most important things you need this solution to do for you?

➯ Commitment Level: How urgent is this for you? Are you looking to make a decision soon, or are you early in your research?

-----Needs Analysis/Discovery Stage-----

➯ Understanding the Problem: Can you tell me more about the main issues you're facing and how they're affecting your work?

➯ Expectations: What do you hope the solution will do for your company?

➯ Must-Have Features: What are the most important features you need in the solution?

➯ Who Will Use It: Who in your company will be using this solution, and what do they need it to do?

➯ Measuring Success: Once you start using the solution, how will you know it's working? What will success look like?

➯ Ease of Use: How easy does the solution need to be for your team to start using it? What's important for them?

➯ Learning: What kind of help or training might your team need to get the most out of the solution?

➯ Looking Ahead: How does this solution fit with your plans for the future of your company?


------Solution Mapping/Consideration Stage------

➯ Solution Fit: How do you think our solution matches what you need? Does it seem like a good fit for your problem?

➯ Benefits: What stands out to you about our solution? Are there features or benefits that you find particularly useful?

➯ Comparing Options: Are you looking at other solutions too? How are you deciding which one is best for your needs?

➯ Process: Can you share how you'll make your decision? Who will be involved and what steps will you take?

➯ Concerns: Do you have any concerns or questions about our solution that we haven't addressed yet?

➯ Timeline: When do you expect to make a decision? Is there a timeline you're working against?

➯ Next Steps: What are the next steps from your side in the evaluation process? How can we assist in moving this forward?

The hardest thing about Sales Management...Some would say the management bit 😐 

It's a tough role, managing revenue numbers, expectations, training, emotions.

So for anyone new to their management role, or those wanting a refresher of the basics! Here is a little cheat sheet. 

Comment below and I'll get you the HD and editable version. 

It contains: 
- Core stats and metrics to track with calculations
- Overview of core tasks
- 1:1 structure to help you run these more efficiently
- Interview structure to help you spend less than 4 hours on finding a great candidate.
- Key Interview questions to ask
- 3 month ramp plan for all new hires. 

Donald Trump stepped up to the cold call challenge last week.

Joe wasn’t having any of it.

Which of the two cold call openers do you prefer? 

DT in the chat for Donald
JB in the chat for Joe

Donald’s will be linked in the comments 👇

Hot Tip: Put every customer in sales navigator.

If you know the names of the individuals signing off, and those who are big advocates of your product/solution.

Visit sales navigator, create a list and put them in.

Now this is a long term play, but people leave jobs. 

My favourite feature of sales navigator is the “Changed job in last 90 days”.

They will be the easiest new business conversations you can have.

Has anyone here got experience with this aswel?

AI doesn’t help with everything, LinkedIn  please stop.

When you make your CTA bigger than a person I’ve chosen to follow, it’s going to have an effect.

2 things: 

1) I missed the see more drop down and was taken to AI collecting advice and then literally using {{job_role}} to personalise

2) Mohan ‎Muthoo 💬 🇬🇧 🌍 post is just better. In every way. Human.

Love AI helping us get better at our jobs, but honestly don’t see the benefit here.

I also don’t like how much real estate it’s taken up on posts.

Corr I’m grumpy for a Saturday 😂

I’ll write you a good email, and a dreadful one 🤮 😂 

Tell me what you do below

I’ll use all the best practises for the good, and will dial up the mega cringe terrible tactics for the bad

I was supposed to go on a holiday to Guernsey today with the misses and the dogs.

Ferry got cancelled

So Instead…I’ll do this 🤓 


How much time do you spend per week on admin?

One of the biggest contributors to sales reps not effectively following up (a huge no no) is too much admin.

Sales reps know the drill all too well. 

The constant cycle of noting call highlights, CRM updates, and email follow-ups can turn days into a blur of backend tasks.

Consider the time drain:
→ Call Summarization: Up to 10-15 minutes per call.

→ Discovery notes: An additional 10-15 minutes per call.

→ CRM Updates: 10-20 minutes for each entry.

→ Follow-up Emails: 5-10 minutes per email.

→ Meeting Scheduling: 5-15 minutes per meeting.

→ Data Entry and Reporting: 30 minutes to an hour daily.

Adding up these tasks, a sales rep can easily lose 5-10 hours a week on administrative tasks alone.

This is where a tool like Sybill helps. And thank you Felix Frank ⚙️for introducing me to this tool 🤙 

Efficient Call Notes: Sybill provides instant, accurate summaries of sales and discovery calls, capturing essential details, actions, and outcomes.

For those who have used a tool like this. You always get a moment of: “Oh, I didn't even pick up that they said that”

Automated CRM Updates: CRM updates are automated and error-free, literally just saving yourself 3 hours a week.

Follow-up Emails: It personalised follow-up emails swiftly, allowing reps to maintain engagement without the manual effort.

Development: The recordings and insights it produces help with finding out areas to improve.

If you had an extra day a week, how would that effect your results?

We have all been there: I'm going to achieve my goal

But maybe I'm being overoptimistic or overconfident. I then don't hit my goal. 

But the more specific you can be on your goal the better.

I was introduced to SMART goals about three years ago and I love it. Easy word for my little brain to remember, but its a simple and effective framework to map your goals across. 

What other goal setting frameworks are there that you use? 

Hope you enjoy the comic, I find these images more funny than they probably are 😂 

Setting Smart Goals Comic

Hit Play to take part 👇 Comment what you get

I'll then send you the Sales Resource. Or one of the two really special prizes 😉 

No cheating

Seriously please don't, I've spent all my marketing budget + took out a loan on my house to license one of Steven Spielberg's favourite movie tracks.  

So intense  

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If you are coming across my profile for the first time, I make sales resources like this to help reps and managers. Take a pick if you want one 🙆‍♂️ 

All are FOC

Does you team/company do enough call coaching and listening? 

So far the polls the last few weeks have show the following:

- Calling is the most effective way to book and qualify a prospect

- It’s the hardest skill to learn.

- People wish they were better at converting through email and LinkedIn.

I don’t want to make any assumptions here, but there is a potential trend.

Thanks for taking part all 🙌

Also glad you liked the video yesterday 😂 credit goes to my partner for saying 

“How about Daniel Craig dancing”

Quick one on MEDDICC, added a resource that gives you suggested questions for each letter 👍 

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