Deel

2nd line leader responsible for Deel’s North America SMB sales. Leading 6 managers and 50+ AEs.

We’re just getting started; come join us!

Senior Sales Director, SMB North America

Sales Director, SMB North America

Sales Manager, SMB North America

Flexport

Responsible for Flexport’s North America SMB and MM sales. Lead the launch of Flexport’s Atlanta office and building it from 5 to 200+ employees in 2 years.

Sales Manager, Commercial

Sales Manager, SMB

Account Executive

Zenefits

Responsible for the launch and sales of Zenefits Payroll. Lead the team from 0 to 500+ customers.

Customer Support Specialist

Building sales teams and delighting customers at early stage hyper growth startups.

Cold call tip: When you get an objection say "actually, that's why I called" 🤯



Here's how it works:


𝟭. 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹.

Actually, that’s why I called.

Figured sending an email would create more questions than answers. And thought you may be curious how similar [persona] are achieving [positive business outcome].


𝟮. 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 [𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿].

Actually, that’s why I called.

[similar company] was using [competitor] and liked that we could [differentiator]. 


𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁.

Actually, that’s why I called.

Figured you wouldn’t have a budget right now, but hoped to share how we’re helping [similar persona] achieve [positive business outcome] so when you’re ready you know what’s out there. 


𝟰. 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻.

Actually, that’s why I called.

I’ve researched your company and I’m not sure to talk about [positive business outcome]. Figured you’d benefit from this. Any recommendation on who to reach out to?


𝟱. 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘁.

Actually, that’s why I called.

Figured you’d have something in place. [similar company] said the same but liked that we could [differentiator].


𝟲. 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿.

Actually, that’s why I called.

I thought there would be a few people involved in the conversation, but was curious if [positive business outcome] would help you personally.


Huge shoutout to Jeb Blount for this strategy - give him a follow if you're not already!


What's your go to for objections?

- Mike G


👉 For this week only get The Best Sales Course for less than $100 with coupon code 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗘: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

Mike Gallardo

5 reasons why this outbound cadence works:  
  
 
𝗜𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿: 
 
1. Lower email volume. Two email threads with a single "bump email" each. Protect your domain reputation.  
  
2. The focus is on quality, not quantity. Every touchpoint matters and provides value.  
  
3. It's multi-channel and leverages email, phone and LinkedIn. This approach will always get the best results.  
  
4. Three touch points on the same day. Best way to break through the noise and be seen.  
  
5. Uses a LinkedIn voice note. Sellers don't take the time to send these. Great way to stand out.  
  
 
𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂:  
  
Do you use more or less touch points?  
  
I'd love to learn what's working for you.  
  
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 Check out The Best Sales Course; 250+ page playbook for everything I know about outbound prospecting and sales: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

7 killer questions that my best AEs ask during their demos. 
 
 
Before we jump in...  
 
Here are the ones to avoid as much as possible. 
  
  
𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:  
  
1. Does that make sense?  
2. Any questions?  
  
 
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱: 
  
 
1. "Before I show you how to X can you walk me through your process step-by-step?" Great question to ask before showing a key feature so you can really compare and contrast things.  
 
2. "When you need to X what happens?" Great process question for learning their step-by-step process for key workflows that your solution can help with.  
 
3. "Who else on your team would benefit from being able to X?" Ask this to multithread after showing a key workflow or feature. Ideally, you do some research ahead of time and can drop some names as suggestions.  
 
4. "What was running through your mind as I was sharing that?" Great question to ask after showing an important feature. You'd be surprised the level of honesty and things you didn't expect from this question. People are always thinking while you're showing! 
  
5. "If you were to rate this demo on a scale of 1 to 10. What would it be?" Ask this at the end of the demo or after showing an important workflow to get a pulse check on how things went.  
  
6. "Curious, what made you score the demo that high?" Ask this to learn the specifics of what they value. Can be different from what you think it is. Also, super helpful to get the specifics so you can leverage those things throughout your sales process! 
  
7. "And what would it take to score higher?" Ask this to learn if there are any gaps or anything they thought was missing or could be better. Great way to get ahead of any objections and/or concerns with your product. 
 
 
Start using these questions and watch the quality of your conversations during your demos soar.  
  
What questions would you add? I'd love to hear them. I'm always learning from this awesome community! 
  
- Mike G  
  
  
👉 For this week only get The Best Sales Course for less than 100 bucks with coupon code 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗘: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

15 cold call openers that work. ☎️ 
 
Which one's your favorite? 
 
 
1. Hey [Name], it’s Mike with [Company]. I’ll be upfront with you. This is a cold call about [context]. Do you have 30 seconds to hear why I’m reaching out to you specifically?  
  
2. Hey Jill. My name’s Mike from [Company]. I know I’m probably catching you in the middle of something but I was [context] and was hoping I could ask you a quick question?  
  
3. Hey Jill, This is Mike over at [Company], the reason I’m calling you specifically is [context], did you see the email I sent you or does the name ring a bell?  
  
4. "Hey [Name], This is [Your Name] over at [Your Company], I noticed [insight], did you see the email I sent you or does the name ring a bell?"  
 
5. Hey Jill, it’s Mike with [Company]. I know I’m probably catching you in the middle of something, but was hoping to make your day with a cold call here. Do you happen to have 30 seconds?  
  
6. Hey Jill, it’s Mike with [Company]. Not going to lie, this is a cold call. Do you want to hang up now or roll the dice and see why I called?  
  
7. Jill, it's Mike with Acme, how's Portland treating ya? I know I'm callin' ya out of the blue, do you have 30 seconds for me to tell you why I'm calling, and if I miss the mark I'll just hang up on myself?  
 
8. Hey, this is Mike with [Company]. Good morning. I’m reaching out about planning sales kickoff. Do you have a moment? I’ll be brief.  
  
9. Jill, This is Mike with [Company]. I know I probably caught you in the middle of something. Do you have minute for me to tell you why I’m calling and you can let me know if you’d like to keep chatting?  
  
10. Jill, This is Mike with [Company], I know you didn’t expect me to call you this afternoon. Do you mind if I take one minute to tell you why I called you specifically, and then you can tell me whether or not it makes sense to speak?  
 
11. Good day, Jill. I'm Mike from [company]. We recently worked with a company similar to yours. They saw significant improvements in [specific metric]. Can I share this story with you?  
  
12. Hey Jill - How’ve you been?  
  
13. Hey Jill, it’s Mike with [company], I realize I'm interrupting by default here, however I'm reaching out to you specifically given [insight], you got a minute?  
  
14. Hey Jill, this is Mike with [company]. You weren’t expecting my call. Would you give me 20 sec of your time and if you don’t like what you hear you can hang up?  
  
15. Hey Jill, I know you probably hate getting cold calls as much as I hate making them, but could I have 23 seconds to tell you why I called?  
 
 
𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿?  
 
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀! 
 
 
👉 Join 1000s of sellers getting my free newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

We book 100s of meetings (per month) with cold calls ☎️
 
 
Here's how we do it: 
 
 
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿 
 
Permission based. Acknowledge the cold call (no tricks), ask for a moment to say why you've called and most importantly let them know it'll be quick: 
 
Hey Sally, This is Mike with Deel, I know you didn’t expect me to call you this afternoon, do you mind if I take one minute to tell you why I called you specifically, and then you can tell me whether or not it makes sense to speak?" 
 
 
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 
 
Purely focused on the problems your persona faces. Has nothing to do with you, your company or your product. The goal is to start a conversation. 
 
Typically when I talk to other sales leaders who are hiring AEs a key challenge I hear is: 
 
[challenge w/ short description] 
 
Is that relevant to you or did I miss the mark?" 
 
 
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗢𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 
 
All your objection handling should start the same way. That way you're never caught off guard. My favorite framework is "Actually, that's why I called." by Avi Mesh 
 
For example, not interested: 
 
Actually, that’s why I called – most folks aren’t actively looking for a solution but thought you may be curious how similar [persona] is achieving [positive business outcome]. 
 
 
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 
 
Cold calls should not last more than 5 minutes. Once there's interest go for the close. 
 
Awesome Sally, well look I know I called you out of the blue. Would you be against taking a look tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday in the morning?” 
 
 
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 
 
Counterintuitive but save qualification questions for after the meeting is booked. 
 
Before you hang up would it be alright if I asked 2 questions so we make the most out of our time tomorrow? 


What would you change or add? 

I'd love to know!

- Mike G


👉 Join 1000s of sellers getting The Best Sales Newsletter (for free) here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

I’ve been at Deel for 3 years.  
 
And have done 55 promotions 🤯  
  
  
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻:  
  
1. SDR > AE (14)  
2. AE > Senior AE (16)  
3. Senior AE > MM AE (9)  
4. Senior AE > AM (1)  
5. Senior AE > Manager (5)  
6. Senior AE > SDR Manager (2)  
7. Manager > Senior Manager (3)  
8. Senior Manager > MM Manager (2)  
9. Senior Manager > SDR Director (1)  
10. AE > Enablement (1)  
11. AE > Revenue Operations (1)  
 
 
This is how we're going to win. 
 
Hiring world class talent and helping them build amazing careers. 
  
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 PS Check out The Best Sales Course; it's 250+ pages of sales strategies, frameworks and tips to help you source more pipeline and close more deals: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

Here's my entire playbook for discovery calls (broken down step-by-step)  
 
 
 
𝟭. 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮: 
 
Not super important imo. Anything like the script below is fine. 
 
 
Hey Jill, 
 
Appreciate you taking the time. 
 
I’d love to start by learning more about yourself, what piqued your interest in taking this meeting and the key items your org’s working on. 
 
If there’s alignment we can walk through the platform and chat about how we solve your key goals and initiatives. 
 
What else would you like to cover today? 
 
 
𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 
 
Anything that kicks off the call well and gets them to start sharing about their business and why they took / signed up for the meeting. 
 
 
Sounds good - Let’s start with what you’re looking to accomplish. What’s going on in the business that led you to sign up and check out ABC Company today? 
 
 
𝟯. 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 
 
Questions based on listening to your prospect and asking about the specifics they mentioned. 
 
 
You mentioned [insert something that stood out to you]. What's going on in the business that's driving that? 
 
 
𝟰. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 
 
Questions that uncover anything about their priorities, challenges and what's most important to them. 
 
 
I imagine you're speaking to multiple vendors. Can you walk me through your decision criteria and what's most important to you in a potential solution? 
 
 
𝟱. 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 
 
Any question that only benefits you, the seller. And has no value to the prospect. 
 
 
How many people are on your team? 
 
When are you looking to make a decision by? 
 
 
𝟲. 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽: 
 
1 to 3 slides that help tell your most compelling story of how you'll help and how your solution is different compared to everything else in the market. 
 
 
𝟳. 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀: 
 
A clear recommendation and why it will be valuable for the customer.  
 
Know what you plan to recommend ahead of the call and make sure to save at least 5 to 8 minutes to do this effectively and schedule everything live. 
 
 
Hey Jill, 
 
On our next call I’d like to walk through XYZ process as it relates to your priority of X. 
 
Given that, should we invite Jack to the call?  
 
Noticed he’s your people manager and it’d be great to get his perspective since XYZ process will impact his workflow. 
 
 
 
What I'd miss? 
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 Check out my 250 page playbook for all things cold email, cold calls, discovery, demos and closing deals here: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

An AE on my team hit 859% quota attainment in February. 
 
 
 
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁: 
 
1. High degree of professional and business acumen. She shows up as a consultant and advisor each and every day. Both internally and with customers. 
 
2. Hired a sales coach. She's always looking for an edge and ways to learn more. She's never satisfied with where she's at. 
 
3. A lot of hard work. She's always the one leading the way with building proposals, business cases, and collateral. We often use what she builds across the team. 
 
4. Subject matter expertise. Doesn't matter the product or question, she always knows the answer in great detail. She makes time to study consistently. 
 
5. A lot of hustle. No matter how busy we get or how much change there is, she's always outbounding and driving pipeline for herself. 
 
6. Super organized and detailed. Especially with larger more complex deals. She aligns everyone internally and externally on the mutual success plan, what's needed and how everything will play out. 
 
 
She just got promoted to MM. 
 
I can't wait to see what she does there. 
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 PS Join 1000s of sellers getting The Best Sales Course (for free) here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

I promoted a SDR to AE. 
 
He's now the #1 AE in 2024. 
 
 
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄: 
 
1. Not afraid to make asks. I'm in several Slack channels with him, c-levels, and a bunch of others working together to win deals. 
 
2. Always working on his craft. Whether it's study calls, asking for feedback or trying new things.  
 
3. Proactive with learning. Sends calls to get feedback on. Involves his manager and asks a lot of questions, always. 
 
4. Cares deeply about our product and customer experience. Spends a lot of time with internal teams trying to improve things. Big and small. 
 
5. Negotiates well. Has a lot of confidence, understands our value and has one of the lowest discount percentage on the team. 
 
6. Works hard, has a lot of passion and is super positive. Every conversation I have with him is energizing. 
 
 
Couldn't be more excited to see what he does in Q2 🥳 
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 Join 100s of sellers getting The Best Sales Course here: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

My best AEs ask really good questions during their demos.  
  
  
 
Ask less of the bad questions, ask more of the good questions and watch your demo success rates go way up.  
  
  
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:  
  
1. Does that make sense?  
2. Any questions?  
  
  
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:  
  
1. "What was running through your mind as I was sharing that?" Great question to ask after showing an important feature.  
  
2. "If you were to rate this demo on a scale of 1 to 10. What would it be?" Ask this at the end of the demo to get a pulse check on how things went.  
  
3. "Curious, what made you score the demo that high?" Ask this to learn specifics of what they value. Can be different from what you think is valuable.  
  
4. "And what would it take to score higher?" Ask this to learn if there are any gaps or anything they thought was missing or could be better.  
  
5. "Before I show you how to X can you walk me through your process step-by-step?" Great question to ask before showing a key feature so you can really compare and contrast.  
  
6. "When you need to X what happens?" Great process question for learning their step-by-step process for key workflows.  
  
7. "Who else on your team would benefit from being able to X?" Ask this to multithread. Ideally, you do some research ahead of time and can drop some names in there.  
  
  
𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽:  
 
Stop your screen share when asking these questions and make it more conversational. 
 
  
- Mike G  
 
👉 This is only 1 page in my 250+ page playbook The Best Sales Course; check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

I know a bunch of SMB AEs that are making 200k+ a year 🤑 
 
 
𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆: 
 
1. A monthly quota system. Much harder to hit accelerators on quarterly and annual plans. Yes, a monthly system can be more stressful but there's always more upside with this plan set up. 
 
2. A quota model where at least 70% of the team is exceeding. One of the best metrics for whether the plan is great or not. Near impossible to do 200% or more when no one is really hitting in general. 
 
3. A must have product or a product with a clear return on investment. This makes selling so much easier, especially in down markets. So pick a product (like payroll) that's absolutely essential for running a business. 
 
4. Market leader in a fast growing industry. This will result in a lot of inbound leads on top of what you self source for yourself. So you'll always have a healthy pipeline. 
 
5. Strong leadership. Managers, directors etc. that know what they're doing and are also helpful/supportive by nature. Continuous improvement is critical for long term success as the company scales. 
 
 
What I'd miss? 
 
- Mike G 
 
👉 Join 1000s of sellers getting The Best Sales Newsletter (for free) here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

Fun fact: I played poker full time for almost 4 years.


Why?

Because I took a 60% pay cut to get into sales and needed a lot more money to survive financially in San Francisco.

So every day after work I'd drive to Lucky Chances Casino (such a great name) and hustle cards until 1 or 2 in the morning to make ends meet.


What's something most people don't know about you? Let me know in the comments!

- Mike G

Post inspired by Brian LaManna 🦙

Here's how much Account Executives can make in 2024. 
 
 
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 
 
1. SMB = 200k (or more) 
2. MM = 300k (or more) 
3. ENT = 500k (or more) 
 
 
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀: 
 
1. Work for a winning company. Needs to be a market leader of a must have product. Probably the number one thing for determining how much you make long term. 
 
2. Consistently spend time mastering your craft. Study podcasts, buy courses if you can, and always be looking to dial in your strategy as much as possible. 
 
3. Document everything. At some point you'll switch companies and having a pre built playbook that's battle tested is absolutely invaluable.  
 
4. Be ruthless with your calendar. A lot easier said than done to really prioritize your time. This fundamentally means saying no to great things so you can put all your energy into what truly matters most. 
 
5. Proactively seek out feedback. Ask your manager to give you their most honest and non sugar coated opinion for what you need to work on to get to the next level. Usually the biggest unlock is something we are not aware of and someone else needs to point out for us. 
 
 
What would you add to this list? 
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 Join 5000+ sellers getting The Best Sales Newsletter (for free) here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

At my second startup I was doing 15 demos a day (all inbound) 🤯 
 
 
I booked a conference room each day and walked circles around the table while making all my calls. 
 
Coworkers started bringing me food and water and I'd only take breaks to go to the restroom. 
 
Got in around 6am and left sometime between 8pm or 12am (sometimes later). 
 
Safe to say I was super stressed and completely burnt out. 
 
I took a day off when I was at my breaking point and thought about how to make the situation better. 
 
And then it dawned on me... 
 
What if I figured out how to do a webinar for all these people and started doing demos for multiple people at once?  
 
So I signed up with GoToWebinar and started doing demos for 10, 20, 40 people at a time. Eventually figured out how to automate the whole system and run it on autopilot. 
 
This led me to growing the business unit from 100k a month in sales to 1MM/month, getting promoted to sales manager, and being offered the opportunity to build the Atlanta office and team from scratch. 
 
 
Here's why I'm sharing this story. 
 
Whenever you're stressed or burned out at work take a big step back, look at the situation from 10,000 feet above, and ask yourself how you can make it better. 
 
There's always a way and you're 100% smart enough to figure it out. 
 
You just gotta hit pause for a moment and trust yourself to find the way. 
 
You got this. 
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 Join 5,000+ sellers getting my (free) sales newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

One of my best AEs hit 275% attainment in Q1 (here's one of her secrets) 🤫  
  
  
 
How she runs demos.   
 
  
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿:  
  
1. Did you use a "what we heard" slide summarizing their key priorities and challenges?  
  
2. Did you align with new stakeholders on the priorities and challenges to ensure their perspective is heard?  
  
3. Did you ask them about their process before showing how it'd work with your solution?  
  
4. Did you only show features that were directly related to their #1 priority and challenges?  
  
5. Did you start with the most powerful feature first and build momentum as quickly as possible?  
  
6. Did you provide context before showing a feature ie why you're showing it and how it'll help?  
  
7. Did you ask about their team, and their process, so you can effectively multithread ie demo other people who will be impacted by the change?  
  
8. Did you differentiate our solution ie communicate what the differences are and why those differences are important?  
  
9. After showing a feature did you ask questions like "what was running through your mind as I was showing that?" instead of "any questions?"  
  
10. Did you set a call as the next step and clearly communicate what the next step would be and why it'd be valuable?  
   
  
Do these 10 things well and it's impossible not to run a great demo.  
  
What would you add? 
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 For this week only get The Best Sales Course at 35% off with coupon code 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗘: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

I changed our demo structure. 
 
Here's the breakdown: 
 
 
𝟲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀: 
 
 
1. Recap what you learned from the first call. Use a "what we heard" slide for the biggest impact and best communication. 
 
 
Hey Jill - Appreciate you taking the time today. 
 
I’d like to start by sharing what I heard from our last conversation. 
 
[share “what we heard” slide and recap what you learned]. 
 
Curious, has anything changed since we last spoke? 
 
 
𝟮. Start with the best feature. Jump straight into what will be most impactful and solve their biggest priority and/or challenge. 
 
 
Hey Jill, 
 
If you remember one thing from our demo and conversation today, let it be how we... 
 
[share best feature]. 
 
And here’s why... 
 
[tie it back to their #1 priority]. 
 
This is also a differentiator of ours... 
 
[insert differentiation talk track] 
 
 
 
𝟯. Ask them about their process. Especially before sharing a workflow. Get as much info as possible first. 
 
 
Hey Jill - Earlier you shared you were struggling with [challenge]. 
 
Would you mind putting me in your shoes and walking me step-by-step through your process for X? 
 
 
4. Ask great questions after showing a feature. Instead of "any questions?" try these questions instead: 
 
 
Hey Jill - What about [process] stood out to you the most? 
 
or 
 
Curious, what was going through your mind when I was showing [process]? 
 
or 
 
Would anyone else on your team benefit from being able to [benefit]? 
 
 
5. Differentiate your product. No matter how great your product is it'll all blend together unless you tell a compelling story of how your solution is different and why those differences matter. 
 
 
Hey Jill - Curious, have you asked anyone about [differentiator]? 
 
That’s an important question because... 
 
 
6. At the end of the call ask them to rate your demo. Great to truly understand how well it went from their perspective. 
 
 
Hey Jill - Appreciate your time today. 
 
I’m curious. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate this demo for helping with [#1 priority]? 
 
 
If they rate high: 
 
That’s great! I have to ask... What made you rate us so high? 
 
 
If they rate low: 
 
Appreciate the candor. Curious, what would it take for you to rate us an 8 or higher? 
 
Would love to get your perspective here. 
 
 
𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: 
- Use a "what we heard" slide 
- Start with your best feature 
- Good questions before showing a feature 
- Good questions after showing a feature 
- Differentiate your product 
- Get your demo rated 
 
 
What'd I miss?  
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 PS Join 1000s of sellers getting my (free) newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

When you're getting ghosted: Try sending this email to your prospect 👻


𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲:

Hey Jill - It's been a bit since we last connected. 

If you're anything like other companies I work with, you're likely working through [insert priority].

Here's my hypothesis for how I think we can help:

[short description]

If I'm not completely off base, could we find some time to discuss in more depth?

Cheers,
Mike


Source: The one and only Kyle Asay - Give him a follow if your'e not already!

- Mike G


👉 Join 5,000+ sellers getting The Best Sales Newsletter (for free) here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

I've gotten multiple 5 figure raises in my sales career (two were $50,000+)


𝗠𝘆 𝟲-𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 + 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗜 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻:
 
 
1. Join the company early. 300 employees (or less) and growing really fast. A lot of opportunities to add value, go the extra mile and demonstrate you can take on more responsibility. 
 
 
2. Hold myself to a super high Standard. Hired as an AE act like a director. Hired as a manager act like a VP. These little things matter when you're going for big promotions. Perception is more important than most people realize.
 
 
3. Work harder than everyone else. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You gotta work a lot of hours if you're looking to get big raises + promotions faster than everyone else. Be the first one in and one of the last ones to leave. 
 
 
4. Be relentlessly positive. Have to be solutions-focused and move the business forward at all times. Most people complain about hard things. Be the person that always builds and gets things done. 


5. Communicate up. Once you've shown your value and have really made an impact, share what next step you'd like to take and ask what you need to work on to get there. Work on those exact things and keep your boss up to date on your progress.


6. Negotiate (if needed). A lot of times companies will give you a great offer and opportunity. If that's not the case simply bring some research using RepVue to have an informed conversation about your market value.

 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱: 
 
You can attract bigger promotions + raises then you realize are possible. 
 
You just have to be willing to consistently do what most people are not willing to do. 
 
- Mike G


👉 Join 1000s of sellers getting The Best Sales Newsletter (for free) here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

I'm hiring a sales manager! 🥳 
 
Here's why you should apply. 
 
 
1. The team's a bunch of rockstars. We have an insanely high bar and everyone's high performing with a high EQ. Super competitive and supportive culture. 
 
2. Deel is absolutely legendary. One of the fastest growing companies of all time. We're the clear market leader in our space and the gap between us and everyone else is growing quickly.  
 
3. We're just getting started! I've never been more excited about Deel and where we're going from a product, people and opportunity perspective. This is legit an opportunity of a lifetime. 
 
4. All remote forever and always. We've never had an office and never will. This is a big part of the reason why we're so successful. We can hire great people no matter where they live.  
 
 
That said, you gotta be ready for a lot of hard work, things changing all the time, and always being in the trenches and building.  
 
If that sounds like what you're looking for apply here: https://bit.ly/3U6CwdI 
 
Can't wait to meet you! 
 
- Mike G 
 
 
👉 Join 5,000+ sellers getting my (free) sales newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

Every AE should use "the menu of pain" on their discovery calls.



Huge shoutout to 👩🏻‍🏫 Krysten Conner for the best sales strategy and name of all time.


𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:

Simply give your prospect options based on your experience helping other customers.

Here are some examples:


𝗧𝗼 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹:

Hey Jill - typically when Sales Directors join these calls they're facing a couple of issues:

- Issue 1
- Issue 2

But I don’t know how much any of that sounds like your world and what did I miss that you’re focused on?


𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀:

Hey Jill - Thank you for sharing. I work with other Sales Directors in a similar situation and they were each facing a couple of issues:

- Issue 1
- Issue 2

But I don’t know how much any of that sounds like your world and what did I miss that you’re focused on?


𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴'𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

1. You establish credibility and build trust because you know the issues and they don’t have to educate you. 

2. You take control. Open ended questions like “what brought you to ABC Company” are ok but it’s a lot of work for the prospect and nobody likes essay questions.

3. Customer experience: It gives prospects room to correct you and people love correcting people. So there's no real downside.


You game for trying The Menu of Pain in your discovery calls?

- Mike G


👉 For this week only get The Best Sales Course at 35% off with coupon code 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗘: https://lnkd.in/gP_-mVXR

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