Episodes
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In this episode of Outbound, Mike Grimberg interviews Emily Ackerman, a director of business development at Bennett Thrasher, about building relationships and trust with prospects. They discuss being authentic, focusing on people over brands, and using stories to connect. Gain insights into developing an authentic personal brand and tips for business development success.
Guest Bios:
Emily Ackerman is a director of business development at Bennett Thrasher, an accounting firm based in Dallas, Texas. She has experience in sales roles in radio and accounting.
Mike Grimberg is the CEO of Proofpoint Marketing.
Main Discussion Points:
- The importance of authenticity in sales and treating it like building a personal relationship
- Focusing on people's interests and personalities rather than just their brands
- Using stories and humor to connect better with prospects
- Tailoring outreach to industry preferences and clients
- Building a personal brand and niche on platforms like LinkedIn
Key Quotes:
"I think it is different for every single person. I think it all boils down to life's just too short to work with crappy people." (00:00:51)
"People don't remember the tax return or the quality of earnings you did for them a couple years ago. They're going to remember how you made them feel." (00:05:00)
"I would tell people, whoever I manage, I am not going to judge you based on your closing ratio in the beginning. I'm going to judge you on your activity." (00:16:12)
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In this episode of Outbound, host Joseph Lewin interviews Melissa Wexler, a seasoned sales leader with over 10 years of experience leading sales teams. They discuss Melissa's unique career journey from being a lawyer to getting into sales, as well as practical tips for building authentic relationships with customers.
Main Discussion Points:
- Making the transition from being a lawyer to a sales leader
- The importance of listening and discovery in the sales process
- Being authentically interested in your customers and their industries
- Researching your customer's industry to understand pains and passion points
- The mindset of helping others and giving back
Guest Bio:
Melissa Wexler is a sales leader with over 10 years of experience managing teams. She started her career working for an IBM hardware provider before attending law school and working as an attorney. She later transitioned into leading sales teams, leveraging her background in law.
Key Quotes:
"Really break it down a little more simple than that. What do you like about the people you sell to? What do you like about the industry? What jazzes you up and start the conversation there, right?" (00:03:38)
"When product comes up. It should be much more organic and it should have. This is why that discovery piece, if we go all the way back in our conversation to discovery and listening, the more you know about the individual, what's driving them, what's driving this purchase, and why it should be the problem they're focused on right now." (00:11:39)
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Episodes manquant?
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In this episode of Outbound, host Joseph Lewin interviews Bob Burg, author of The Go-Giver and keynote speaker, about his approach to building relationships and providing value to ideal customers through a giving mindset.
Main discussion points:
- The importance of focusing on serving others and discovering their needs in order to build trust and likability (00:01:07)
- How constantly providing value to others is the most financially profitable way to conduct business (00:01:29)
- An example of Bob asking thoughtful questions to uncover a prospect's needs even when they initially said they weren't interested (00:06:03)
- The importance of uncovering problems prospects may not even realize they have in order to provide solutions (00:11:45)
- Practical ways to add value such as making connections, providing advice and resources, and listening (00:13:24)
- Why sales conversations are more effective than "pitching" (00:14:57)
- How to transition from providing free value to paid consulting (00:17:58)
Guest Bio:
Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker and author on the topics of sales, relationship building, and influence. He is the co-author of The Go-Giver, a bestselling book on business success.
Bob is excited to be hosting an upcoming live event called SalesWise Live 2024 with fellow author Jeff West and marketing strategist Kim Angeli.
Key Quotes:
"When you can move your focus off yourself and place it on helping that other person solve or overcome their problems and challenges, you can make it not about you, but about moving them closer to happiness." (00:02:15)
"Value is always in the eyes of the beholder. It's not what we believe is of value to them or what we think they should think is of value to them. It's what they believe is." (00:14:10)
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In this episode of OUTBOUND, Mike Grinberg (CEO of Proofpoint Marketing) shares his perspective on building meaningful relationships with customers and prospects. He emphasizes the importance of being genuinely curious about how their business works in order to have insightful conversations and build trust.
Guest Bio:
Mike Grinberg is the CEO and Co-Founder of Proofpoint Marketing, a growth advisory firm. He has years of experience in sales, marketing, and business development.
Key Discussion Points:
- Being genuinely curious about how a prospect's business works allows you to ask good questions and show that you truly want to understand their needs (01:01)
- Understanding the business model of a prospect helps derisk the buying decision for them by building trust in you and your organization (02:04)
- Doing research beforehand on a company or individual allows you to craft informed questions and have an insightful business conversation vs. a typical sales pitch (12:39)
- Using AI tools can help quickly generate initial research on an industry or prospect to inform hypotheses to validate through conversations (15:14)
Key Quotes:
"It's being genuinely curious about business and the business of your prospective clients...It's understanding how business works for them." (01:37)
"When you are in the sales process...the person or the people on the other side are derisking the buying decision." (02:04)
"The purpose is to have a business conversation, not a sales conversation." (18:01)
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In this episode of OUTBOUND, we are doing something a little different. This is an excerpt from another Proofpoint Marketing show, Relationship-Led Growth Live. Joseph Lewin is joined by Proofpoint’s CEO, Mike Grinberg, for a discussion with Brian Walsh from Force Management.
The conversation focuses on how to create alignment within your client's organization during the sales process. They talk about why every person on your team needs to be able to communicate value effectively and how the most important conversations often happen without you in the room.
Guest Bios:
Brian Walsh is a managing partner at Force Management, a sales training and advisory firm. He has over 20 years of experience helping companies improve sales performance.
Key Discussion Points:
- The importance of creating alignment across the client's organization during the sales process
> "If you're gonna really create alignment inside of a potential client's organization, that means everybody … everybody inside of your organization's gotta be able to go carry that mantle on their own." (Brian Walsh, 00:01:13)
- Letting your client know that you understand their decision-making process
> "Why are we asking customers about that when we probably know the decision process in our space better than they do anyhow?" (Brian Walsh, 00:14:12)
- Helping prepare your client to effectively sell your solution within their company
> "Let's get in a conference room, and I'm gonna sit in Mike's chair, and you're gonna present to me. There's gotta be a way for you to help Joseph get ready." (Brian Walsh, 00:16:17)
Key Takeaways:
- Alignment within the client's organization is critical for sales success
- The most important conversations happen without you present
- Salespeople should equip clients to sell the solution internally
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In this episode of OUTBOUND, host Joseph Lewin interviews entrepreneur and CEO of Nexigen, Jon Salisbury, about strategies for building deeper relationships with customers through vulnerability and trust. Jon shares stories and examples from his experience founding multiple companies, including a cybersecurity firm and a smart city startup.
Key Discussion Points:
- Leading with complete vulnerability and exposing who you are builds trust and empathy with customers (00:01:58)
- Focusing on understanding the customer's needs rather than pushing your own agenda leads to better outcomes (00:02:20)
- Improving yourself and empowering your team to show up as the best version of themselves allows you to serve customers better (00:02:59)
- Jon shares examples of helping customers in difficult situations simply because it was the right thing to do, not because he expected an immediate sale (00:04:06, 00:05:31)
- He started a nonprofit providing cybersecurity education to high school students, which led to new business opportunities (00:06:33)
Guest Bios:
- Jon Salisbury: Founder and CEO of Nexigent
Key Quotes:
"Honestly, right off the bat, it's complete vulnerability, exposing who you are in totality." (00:01:38)
"If clients know that your focus is on their long-term outcome, they trust you because it's trustworthy." (00:02:20)
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In this podcast episode, host Joseph Lewin talks with Neil Barrow, founder of RevOps Advisors, about effective conference planning and follow-up strategies for business development in professional services.
Neil shares practical tips about attending business conferences, including doing advance research, carefully planning your calendar, and coordinating meetings with speakers, sponsors, and key stakeholders beforehand. They also discuss best practices for accountability when working with partners and "doer sellers," emphasizing the importance of setting clear expectations and getting alignment.
Key Takeaways:
- Start planning for conferences 6+ weeks in advance by researching the agenda and speakers to identify meeting targets [00:00:53]
- Build your calendar for the event by blocking off prospective client meetings, panels to attend, networking times, etc. [00:01:54]
- Reach out to speakers, sponsors, and other stakeholders to coordinate meetings and introduce yourself beforehand [00:02:15]
- Prioritize follow-up based on who you connected with at the event and who you had hoped to connect with [00:08:00]
- For last-minute event planning: Focus on identifying key sponsors, speakers, and organizers to connect with [00:17:57]
- Tracking originations from events can demonstrate ROI and help optimize your event budget over time [00:20:36]
Guest Bios:
Neil Barrow is the founder of RevOps Advisors, where he helps professional and financial services firms build their business development operations. He previously served as Director of Business Development at several firms over 10 years.
About RevOps Advisors: Management consulting firm that helps professional service providers systemize and scale new business development. Services include assessments, planning, program design, technology implementation, and training. Website: https://www.revopsadvisors.com/
Key Quotes:
"When I was director of business development, I had a plan that I would implement. And when I would go to any conference...about 6 weeks before the event, what I would do is take a look at the agenda, and then I would block times when there were prospective clients that were speaking that I wanted to go hear. There were clients that were speaking that I'd wanna go hear. There were interesting panels, or speaking topics, learning, opportunities for me. And I would build out my calendar, for those and go ahead and block that time." [00:00:53]
"A lot of times as business development at a firm, I'm going down with practitioners, I'm going down with partners or managers, right? And making sure that we have this plan and we've divided and conquered on a lot of this outreach." [00:05:17]
"When we're at the conference, we've got time to fill...I want to make sure that we're very active while we're there. And we can do all the planning and then all the activity while we're down there because that is work. Like, we're there to work. Right? And that's our job is to make sure that we're meeting people and meeting the right people." [00:07:10]
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In this episode, Joseph interviews Chad Nikhazy, the EVP of Business Development at Provisions Group, about strategies and tactics for building deeper relationships with ideal customers. Chad shares his "secret sauce" for successful sales over his 25-year career, which boils down to focusing on genuine relationships instead of transactions.
Key Discussion Points:
- The importance of relationship-based sales, especially in professional services (00:11:25)
- Practical tips for switching to an authentic, relationship-focused approach (00:19:54)
- Stories of proactively adding value to networking contacts, which sometimes leads to business down the road (00:22:20, 00:23:34)
- Maintaining a "big 100" list of high-value contacts to regularly follow up with (00:23:16)
- How a small gesture years ago - inviting someone new to a Bible study group - built a lasting relationship and eventually a major client (00:24:37)
Guest Bio:
Chad Nikhazy is the EVP of Business Development at Provisions Group, an IT engineering and consulting firm, where he leads the sales team. He has over 25 years of sales experience.
Company Bio:
Provisions Group provides IT engineering, architecture, and staffing services to clients nationwide. Based in Nashville, TN, they take a relationship-based approach to sales.
Key Quotes:
"The secret is be nice and be genuine and...try to solve other people's problems first without, like, pitching them a brochure. Don't pitch a brochure." (00:05:45)
"If they're gonna meet with me again a second time, I've built a level of trust where they're like, okay. Chad's not gonna waste my time." (00:07:49)
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In this episode of Outbound, Joseph Lewin interviews Max Traylor, a consultant and creator of the "Beers with Max" podcast. They discuss strategies and tactics for building deeper relationships with ideal customers through content creation, collaboration, and providing value.
Main discussion points:
- Why providing value through a "noble contribution" is key for business development
- How to leverage content creation like a podcast or book to have valuable conversations and build relationships
- Practical steps anyone can take to start making a noble contribution, even without an audienceGuest bio:
Max Traylor is known as the "consultant's consultant." He helps consultants productize their services through his podcast "Beers with Max," books, workshops, and more.
Key quotes:
"My noble contribution to the marketplace is my podcast, my books. I did a psychology study. I host free workshops. I do group networking calls. And this free value is something that I can invite my ideal clients to participate in." [00:03:06]
"I think business development is a lot more of people's lives than they are willing to admit. But certainly for someone like me who is an independent consultant who feeds their kids because I find people that are willing to pay me, business development is life, even though I consider myself a consultant, and I love helping people that do pay me. Business development is a life or death situation for many of us even if we don't recognize it." [00:01:56]
"All you need is an idea. And go start interviewing people to gather opinions and insights for your book. That's the way I started. I wanted to write a book." [00:17:59]
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In this episode, Joseph Lewin interviews Matt Dixon, co-author of "The Challenger Sale" and founding partner at DCM Insights, about business development strategies for professional services firms. They discuss Matt's recent research on what today's rainmakers in professional services do differently to drive business.
Guest Bio: Matt Dixon is a bestselling author and expert on B2B sales effectiveness. He co-wrote the book "The Challenger Sale" and co-founded DCM Insights.
Main Discussion Points:
- Overview of Matt's recent research on 1800 professional services partners to uncover what drives BD effectiveness (00:10:00)
- The 5 distinct partner profiles Matt uncovered: Expert, Confidant, Activator, Debater, Realist (00:12:15)
- Key traits of the Activator profile that correlates most strongly with BD performance (00:30:40)
- Why today's buyers are less loyal and partners can't rely solely on doing good work (00:04:26)
- How a partner's firm culture and incentives shape the path they choose (00:28:38)
Key Quotes:
"If you took an average performer...and they went from not very good to very good on activator skill demonstration, they could lift their personal revenue generation by up to 32%" (00:24:29)
"When a client changes jobs, the research shows very clearly that that client...spends 70% of their budget in the first 100 days" (00:35:17) on choosing vendors
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In this episode of Outbound, host Joseph Lewin interviews Mickeli Bedore, an enterprise sales expert known for turning around underperforming sales territories. They discuss tactics and mindsets for building trust and respect with prospects to drive sales conversations and close deals. Listeners can expect to learn best practices for discovery calls, avoiding the "friend zone," and maintaining an organized sales process.
Guest Bio:
Mickeli Bedore is a top sales closer with over 20 years of experience "cleaning up" territories for companies like IBM, Oracle and Verizon. After hitting his pinnacle as a sales rep and having a child, Mickeli switched to consulting startups on developing repeatable sales processes optimized for fast revenue growth and conversions.Key Discussion Points:
- Don't lead sales conversations trying to build friendship. Friendship is earned through respect, value and solving problems:
"One of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to building relationships with your prospect is people want to lead with friendship. Friendship is earned, just like trust is." (00:02:55)- Structure every touchpoint and call intentionally to demonstrate respect for prospects' time. Set and stick to agendas for discovery, demos, etc.
"I want to respect you and I want to respect your time so our process and how we run our entire sales process and our sales, every single sales call is almost, there's always a bit of the same redundancy so that the person knows what am I getting into?" (00:03:19)- Act as a guide focused purely on making the deal, not trying to become actual friends. Overindexing on friendship can prevent deals from progressing.
"They expect me as their guide to show them a good time. And I think our prospects expect the same, especially when we're doing outbound." (00:03:46)- Success comes from preparing diligently on prospects' industries, priorities and challenges - not focusing conversations on yourself or your product. Diagnose needs.
"As salespeople, it is our responsibility to be the doctor and the expert in the problem that we solve." (00:22:30)Key Quotes:
"Friendship will come, but it shouldn't be the main focus in the beginning, I don't think." (00:06:23)
"I have to kind of put on my theater robe, I guess, and be a little bit more stern and stubborn and disciplined than I usually would be in real life because it's my job and it's my livelihood and I'm not paid to be everyone's buddy." (00:13:56)
"They only care about them. That's your baby, right? Like, nobody wants to see pictures of your baby on your phone. No matter what you think. They want to show you pictures of their baby." (00:22:38)
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In this episode, Joseph Lewin interviews Andy Rogers, VP of Business Development at Key Tech. They discuss strategies and tactics for building deeper relationships with ideal customers, with a focus on being interested, being interesting, and establishing common ground. Andy shares stories of successful relationship-building that have led to long-term business partnerships.
Key Takeaways:
- Building relationships starts with being genuinely interested in the customer as a person (00:00:33)
- Do your homework like you're going on a date to determine shared interests/experiences (00:00:33)
- Position your offering or services as interesting and compelling (00:02:01)
- Find common interests with the customer to build rapport (00:03:04)
- Share stories around lessons learned and successes to create interesting content customers can share (00:10:33)
- Nurture your network and build community around your brand (00:19:44)
Guest Bio:
Andy Rogers is the VP of Business Development at Key Tech, a product development firm focused on bringing innovative medical devices and combination products to market. He transitioned from engineering to a sales and marketing role at Key Tech and has over a decade of experience in relationship-building within the MedTech industry.
Company Bio:
Key Tech is a full-service product development firm in Massachusetts that specializes in engineering, prototyping, and process automation solutions for medical device companies. Founded in 1996, Key Tech now has over 75 employees.
Key Quotes:
"If you're not interested in them as a person or what they're doing, you're in the wrong job. Like, just flat out you have to be interested in that person." (00:01:09)
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In this episode, Joseph Lewin interviews Mark Colgan about his strategies for building relationships with ideal customers through thought leadership and content creation. Mark shares how he leveraged thought leader interviews and curated content to start conversations with prospects who recently raised funding, ultimately leading to new business.
Mark Colgan has 14 years of experience in B2B sales and marketing. He previously ran an agency focused on securing podcast guest interviews through outbound tactics. Now helps agency owners generate more pipeline and optimize their sales processes as the founder of Agency Sales Design.
Key Discussion Points:
- Creating thought leadership content based on target customer pain points, even if not directly related to your product (00:56, 01:26)
- Conducting video interviews with multiple industry experts to create an in-depth blog post/resource (01:46)
- Using the content to start conversations when prospecting, not to directly sell (03:44, 05:01)
- Providing additional value without expecting anything in return to build goodwill (08:03, 08:16)
- Practical tips for individual salespeople to replicate a similar approach on their own (10:44)
Key Quotes:
"It's essentially creating thought leadership and then using that thought leadership in your outbound prospecting campaigns to start those conversations and build the relationships with the customer." (00:56)
"I try and deposit as much goodwill in as many banks as I can and just somehow, eventually the universe...it has come back and benefited me in the long run." (08:23)
"But really, you have to start with understanding what are the problems and pain points that my prospects are facing." (11:34)
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In this episode, sales consultant Kevin Lawson shares his approach to building meaningful relationships with ideal customers. Listeners can expect to learn practical strategies for connecting with influential people in their target customer's world in order to establish trust and rapport.
Main Discussion Points:
- The importance of building relationships with people who can introduce you to ideal clients rather than cold outreach (00:01:43)
- Creating an "ecosystem" of influencers around your ideal customer, like their trusted advisors in various functions - IT, marketing, finance, etc. (00:03:10)
- Framing sales relationships as "collecting friends" rather than transactional sales (00:06:01)
- Practical relationship-building tactics like quarterly check-ins (00:11:11) and understanding how your contacts measure value (00:16:21)
Guest Bio:
Kevin Lawson is the owner of Lighthouse Sales Advisors, where he works with small B2B companies on building sales infrastructure and processes. He hosts the "Two Tall Guys Talking Sales" podcast and writes frequently about sales excellence and leadership.
Key Quotes:
"Nobody cares how much we sell at the end of our careers. They care about what kind of person we were." (00:05:28)
"Stop thinking about it that way. Instead, replace those thoughts and conditional what you've been conditioned to view as sales. Think about it like collecting friends, people you want to do business with." (00:06:01)
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In this episode of Outbound, Joseph Lewin interviews David Mussan-Levy, a 15-year sales veteran currently the Director of Sales at Synechron. They discuss David's approach to building deeper relationships with customers through personalization, persistence, and bringing value. Listeners can expect to gain tangible tips for researching and understanding their ideal customers.
Guest Bio:
David Mussan-Levy has over 15 years of sales experience. He is the Director of Sales at Synechron, a professional services company focused on IT consulting for the financial services industry.
Key Discussion Points:
- Personalization in sales starts with thorough research of prospects’ interests both personally and professionally (3:02)
- Being persistent by continuing to nurture prospects over longer sales cycles (13:25)
- Bringing value to every interaction and always having a purpose for meetings (8:52)
- Tips for increasing persistence, such as switching up sales cadences (10:13)
Key Quotes:
"80% of life is showing up." (7:43)
"Sales is equal parts persistence and luck." (16:42)
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In this episode of Outbound, host Joseph Lewin speaks with Alex Garner, an account manager at Prosource Technologies, about strategies for building genuine relationships with potential customers before trying to make a sale.
They discuss the importance of prioritizing face-to-face interactions, finding ways to show you care about the customer beyond just making a sale, asking questions to understand pain points, and adapting your approach to connect better with each unique customer. Listen in to gain actionable tactics to establish rapport and trust that pave the way for sales success.
Key Discussion Points:
- Alex brings donuts to school accounts as a way to show appreciation for the staff and build connections, not just push a sale (00:02:22). This gesture has led to hardware sales but more importantly, ongoing relationships.
- Face-to-face prospecting is key - it allows for genuine conversations and makes a more memorable impression than emails or calls (00:06:58).
- Look for conversational hooks in an office to establish common ground, like noticing a Tom Brady photo to discuss football fandom (00:08:20). Getting someone laughing helps build rapport.
- Ask questions to understand their pain points so you can position yourself as a partner focused on their success, not just a vendor (00:10:09). Diagnostic questions help prescribe the right solutions.
- Adapt your appearance and approach to connect with the local context and not appear overly salesy (00:13:13). Blending in helps build trust faster.
Key Quotes:
"I try to lead with some warm donuts and fresh conversations that way." (00:01:51)
"If you can get somebody laughing with you, then they're going to give you 5-10 minutes of their time because you've already built that rapport, that relationship without even having to sell anything." (00:09:04)
"I've always said, if you can get somebody laughing with you, then they're going to give you 5-10 minutes of their time because you've already built that rapport, that relationship without even outside of here's a quote, here's a proposal, here's a solution, here's what I can bring to you as an organization." (00:09:04)
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In this episode of Outbound, Joseph Lewin talks to Dee Acosta, Director of Sales and Strategic Growth at Modigi, about the best strategies and tactics for building deep relationships with customers. They discuss taking an all-bound approach, getting into the mindset of buyers, leveraging relationships through networking and referrals, and being authentically yourself in sales. Listeners will learn tips for developing trust and rapport with prospects to drive successful sales.
- Dee Acosta is the Director of Sales and Strategic Growth at Modigi. He previously held sales leadership roles at Hockeystack, Metadata, and Aberdeen. Dee brings a wealth of experience in sales strategy, relationship building, and revenue growth.
- Joseph Lewin is the Director of Growth at Proofpoint marketing and is the host of the Outbound podcast focused on sales strategies and tactics. He is passionate about helping companies build meaningful relationships with their ideal customers.
[00:00:00] Introduction
[00:01:08] Being Authentic and Taking an Allbound Approach
[00:02:06] Understanding the Mindset of Each Buyer
[00:03:40] Leveraging Relationships and Networking
[00:05:09] Becoming a Domain Expert
[00:06:27] Telling a Story About Leveraging Relationships
[00:07:19] Taking a Well-Rounded Approach
[00:09:07] Building Trust Through Multiple Touchpoints
[00:12:03] Relying on Sales Fundamentals in Challenging Times
[00:13:34] Building Relationships Beyond Transactions
[00:14:10] Taking an Allbound Approach - Key Takeaways
[00:16:56] Being in the Right Headspace for Sales Calls
[00:17:04] A Story About an Uncomfortable Sales Call
[00:18:53] Conclusion
Key Quotes:
"In short, it's authenticity. You have to be yourself with your clients and confident with yourself." (Dee Acosta, [00:00:47])
"It's really taking an all-bound mentality is understanding what you need to do to create pipeline, to create meaningful conversations and then almost obsessing over that." (Dee Acosta, [00:01:08])
"If you're uncomfortable with a channel, try it, just do it. Because your competition is using that channel." (Dee Acosta, [00:15:06])
"You have to be neurotic. (Dee Acosta, [00:15:42])
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In this episode, Joseph Lewin interviews Matt Hall about finding and engaging with relevant ecosystems, asking current customers about their ecosystems, and slowly building relationships in those ecosystems over time.
Key Discussion Points:
- Finding ecosystems where your ideal clients do business and becoming part of them by understanding different players, pain points, and needs (01:01)
- Example of manufacturer ecosystem with channel partners and how Matt interjected himself into it (01:31)
- Using current trusted customers as a starting point to ask about their ecosystems (14:00)
- Getting into complex ecosystems like engineering standards groups through learning, adding value where you can (12:18)
- Being patient because ecosystems and relationships take time to build (08:16)Matt Hall works at Pivotal Advisors. His role is to help business owners and sales leaders to identify opportunities for business growth.
Key Quotes:
"Find an ecosystem where your ideal client is doing business. I'm not saying just they live there, they hang out there like, no, this is the business world that they're in. Find that ecosystem and become part of it." (Matt Hall 01:04)
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In this episode of Outbound, Logan Lyles shares how content-based networking has helped him build stronger relationships and generate more pipeline. Listen as he outlines practical tactics any salesperson can use to start creating more content with their ideal customers.
Main Discussion Points:
- What is content-based networking, and how it enabled Logan to combine content marketing and sales relationship building (00:00 - 02:30)
- A story of how Teamwork.com used content-based networking at a conference to create buzz and initiate sales conversations (02:30 - 07:35)
- Why salespeople should consider creating more content with their customers (10:15 - 14:15)
- Practical tactics salespeople can use to start content-based networking even without a big marketing team (14:15 - 18:00)
Guest Bio:
Logan Lyles currently serves on the Evangelism and Content team at Teamwork.com. He was formerly the Head of Partnerships for Teamwork. Logan got his start in sales, selling copiers and printers before transitioning into tech. He's passionate about content-based networking and relationship selling.Logan is the host of Nearbound Marketing and the Agency Life podcast.
Company Bio:
Teamwork.com creates online project management and collaboration tools for businesses. Their products help teams communicate, collaborate, and hit deadlines. Teamwork.com serves over 20,000 customers globally.Key Quotes:
"This idea of being able to add value by inviting my prospects to create content with me was just really fascinating to me as a salesperson who had done Outbound, never really loved cold calling, never really loved the interruption and the immediate ask without adding value." (00:59)
"It literally changed the trajectory of my career." (02:24)
"If you're just looking to talk to people who are ready to buy right now, you're really missing out on nurturing all these relationships and some of these people will be ready to buy and that's awesome." (13:14)
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In this episode of Outbound, host Joseph Lewin speaks with Juan Arcila about effective outbound strategies and tactics to build relationships with your ideal customers.
They discuss Juan's approach of "radical honesty" and transparency in sales and how being upfront builds trust and rapport with prospects.
Juan provides examples of how he implements radical honesty through cold calling, discovery calls, and addressing pricing and other objections early on.
He shares anecdotes of times this strategy has worked well. Listen in to gain actionable tips on using honesty and transparency to move deals forward faster.
Key Discussion Points:
- Why Juan starts cold calls by acknowledging it’s a cold call, which catches people’s attention (2:03)
- Frontloading hard conversations like pricing in discovery calls (4:50)
- Addressing the 3 reasons it may not be a fit upfront builds trust (5:34)
- The problem with providing value first before sharing high pricing (6:04)
- An example deal where radical honesty led to a big win (9:19)
- Practical ways to implement radical honesty in your sales process (11:25)
Guest Bio:
Juan Arcila is an account executive who helps growing SaaS companies close new business. He uses honesty and transparency to build relationships and trust with prospects.
Key Quotes:
"I tell them right up front, it's like, hey, I'll be completely upfront, and you're probably going to hate me for this, but this is actually a cold call." (2:03)
"Front-loading those hard conversations. First, it's a great way to build rapport and trust with your ideal customer." (5:37)
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