Top Three Tips for Fall

Top Three Tips for Fall

by Katie Weisz
Estimated read time: Less than 1 minute

In September, CEO Scott Gillum sat down with VP at Gartner, Brent Adamson, to discuss the question of “do we really need outbound sales anymore?”

During this interview, Scott and Brent dove into the top three things sales and marketers should be thinking about for Fall and their 2020 budget.

Listen in as Brent dives into what he believes are the most important things to be focusing on when it comes to sales, marketing, and the customer experience in the buying process right now.

https://vimeo.com/372495331
Surviving and Thriving in the Sales Culture as a B2B Marketer

Surviving and Thriving in the Sales Culture as a B2B Marketer

by Katie Weisz
Estimated reading time: 1 minute 

Scott sat down with an old friend and senior tech executive, Stephanie Anderson, to discuss how to survive and thrive in the sales culture as a B2B marketer. With Stephanie’s substantial background in sales, service, marketing, and now as the chairman of the board of a healthcare software company, she brings a vast amount of knowledge and expertise to the conversation.

In the interview clip, Stephanie and Scott talk about sales misperceptions of marketing and what marketers can do to strengthen the relationship.

Along with the discussion on sales and marketing culture, Scott and Stephanie also dive into a conversation on CMOs, what is on their minds, advice for those new to the role, and what should be top of mind when “selling” to a CMO.

Watch the Full Interview here.

https://vimeo.com/368034169

Highlights from the Full Interview:

  • 2:31- The advantage of having a sales background
  • 10:20- The Sales versus Marketing divide
  • 20:03- What is on the minds of CMOs
  • 25:20- What advice would you give new CMOs.

To hear the conversation with Stephanie, listen or download here.


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The State of Sales and Marketing with CEO, Scott Gillum, and Special Guest, Brent Adamson

The State of Sales and Marketing with CEO, Scott Gillum, and Special Guest, Brent Adamson

by Katie Weisz
Estimated read time: Less than 1 minute

The conversation of “Do we really need outbound sales anymore?” continued with another lively interview, this time featuring special guest, Brent Adamson. Brent is a distinguished VP at Gartner, and a published author with a lot to say about the case between sales and marketing.

In the interview, CEO, Scott Gillum, and Brent unpack the idea of Challenger, debunking it as a “sales methodology”, and how both sales and marketing should be co-owning the process of the customer and buyer experience.

Brent also shares three very distinctive approaches (giving, telling, and sense-making) that sales reps are adopting towards information in order to connect with potential customers and buyers.

In this clip, Brent dives into the topic of “the world is crowded with good information.” In sales and marketing, the customer is now surrounded by good, quality information, which is having an impact on their decision making and buying process.

 

Listen here:

 

 

To hear the interview with Brent, listen or download here.


 

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The State of Outbound Sales with CEO, Scott Gillum and Special Guest, David Brock

The State of Outbound Sales with CEO, Scott Gillum and Special Guest, David Brock

by Katie Weisz
Estimated read time: 1:00 minute

When our CEO, Scott Gillum, posed the question “Do we really need outbound sales anymore?,” it started a great debate and open a candid dialogue between Sales and Marketers.

Friend and Sales Guru, David Brock, penned a rebuttal in defense of outbound sales that continued the conversation.

Scott and David teamed up to continue their conversation about the state of outbound sales today in a video interview, covering topics like Gartner’s ‘sense maker’ identity, the ‘silver bullet’ fix, and what sales want from marketers.

You can watch the whole video here:

https://vimeo.com/354766328

After the interview, David wrote a follow up piece entitled “Customers Feel Value”.

Let us know what you think. Are outbound sales dead? Do leaders use technology as a ‘silver bullet’ to try and fix sales, marketing, and the customer experience?


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What Sales Executives Can Learn from Kirk Cousins New Contract

What Sales Executives Can Learn from Kirk Cousins New Contract

The NFL season has begun and three games into the season Kirk Cousins is once again one of the top passers in the league. This is a position he’s enjoyed consistently over the last three seasons by throwing for more than 4000 yards a year (becoming one of only 11 to do so) as the quarterback of the Washington Redskins.

Given the success, most quarterbacks would have been content to stay in an offensive system that produced those results. Cousins, backed by his stats, moved to Minnesota in the off-season, signing a history deal guaranteeing him $84 million over the next three years. Why did Cousins change teams? Because he had leverage. Kirk knew he was a consistent and proven performer in a very tight market for experienced quarterbacks in their prime.

At a recent Gartner meeting, Brent Adamson presented information on the US labor market, along with an outlook on the demand for sales executives. As the chart below illustrates, sales organizations (on average) have to replace a quarter of the sales force each year, in what is now a very tight labor market. In fact, it now takes an average of 70 days to fill a position, an increase of close to 20 days over the last two years.  

Given these facts, is it time for proven sales executives to become free agents, like Kurt Cousins? Consider this …Cousins made $44M his last two years under the franchise tag. Making close to $24 million last year, which is more than he will make this year under his new contract. For Cousins, this wasn’t just about the money. He also wanted out of Washington, a team he viewed as never really wanting him (Cousins was drafted in the 4th round of the 2012 draft by the Redskins after taking Robert Griffin III with their first pick).

Consider these two points as you think about your career. You may be making great money but are you in an environment that makes you feel valued or wanted? For a short period of time top performers have leverage in the market.

Another consideration, the other members on your team. Is your bonus tied to the performance of the team, or the company? Cousins chose Minnesota over a richer offer by the Jets because it gave him a better chance at winning a title. Minnesota not only has many offensive weapons but it also features one of the best defenses in the NFC. Is there another team out there that could offer you a better chance of success, not only now, but also in the future?

One thing is certain, the market will change. For now the demand is high and the supply is low for top performing sales executives who can consistently deliver results. Currently, there are over a million open sales positions listed in Indeed.com, close to 200,000 alone with salaries of $70,000 or more. As they say, “sales is a numbers game.” Maybe it’s time to find out what your number is worth.