sales metrics

On this episode of Industry Spotlight, we have a very special guest joining us: Michele Massaro, the Chief Operating Officer at Abacus Corporation. Michele brings with her over 30 years of experience in the staffing industry, and she's here to share her insights, knowledge, and industry updates with all of us.

In this episode, Michele discusses innovative strategies and support. She emphasizes the importance of talent retention, staff redeployment, and providing a stellar experience for contingent workers. We dive into a case study highlighting the impact of cleaning up job orders and the successful offsetting of declining sales through direct hire revenue.

Our conversation also delves into the challenges and evolving nature of the staffing industry, including legislative changes, market demands, and internal adaptability. Together, we explore the concept of being a one-stop shop for clients and how staffing firms can redefine their role to provide solutions for both direct hires and contingent staffing. We also touch on technology challenges, the need for digital transformation, and staying ahead of the curve in an ever-changing landscape.

Paul Ohls is the Chief Revenue Officer at Sprinklr. He has had a successful career in sales leadership, working at companies like Aerotech, Ariba, NuScale, Zillent, Lattice Engines, Medallia, Fuse, tenfold, and now Sprinklr.

In this conversation with John McMahon, Paul shares his insights on sales leadership and the importance of hiring the right people. He emphasizes the need for intelligent, driven, and coachable individuals who can ask insightful questions and think critically. Paul also discusses the challenges of forecasting and the importance of focusing on the fundamentals. He highlights the value of understanding the customer's pain points and aligning the solution with their objectives. Additionally, Paul emphasizes the need for a strong pipeline and the importance of conversion rates in driving sales success.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT

[00:02:11] - Overview of Sprinkler and its purpose
[00:07:16] - Testing for key characteristics in potential hires
[00:24:23] - Focus on testing and optimizing fundamentals in the sales process
[00:30:06] - Enabling the team to have a realistic view of their forecast
[00:35:45] - Considering the stage of new deals and their likelihood of closing
[00:38:56] - Diagnosing reasons for consistently high forecasts.
[00:40:12] - Implicated pain and alignment with decision criteria indicate a committable deal.
[00:42:07] - Differentiating recruiting process through sales manager pipeline generation.
[00:44:35] - Using a simulation exercise to assess candidate skills and fit.
[00:54:40] - Key KPIs for decision-making: leading indicators and conversion rates.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about Paul Ohls: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulohls/overlay/about-this-profile/

Download our Sales Transformation Guide for Leaders: https://forc.mx/3sdtEZJ

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:19:38]  "If you've done the right things and you truly are connected to a corporate objective, if you think about the concept of a value pyramid, those handful of things that are at the top of that value pyramid, oftentimes the things that the C level CEO has promised Wall Street, has promised investors. We aspire to go from X to Y. We are making acquisitions. We got to monetize those acquisitions, those acquisitions, these, these big things. If you have started there and your solution is you can make a direct correlation between what you are working with your champion on. To the inability of a company to deliver upon those things at the top of the value pyramid, the CFO meeting should be relative, like a relatively easy thing to do." - Paul Ohls
[00:55:34] “What we ask our leaders to do is we call it sales manager or sales leader PG. So we're asking pipeline generation. For those that don't know what that means. We ask sellers and other people in the ecosystem to dedicate time. To go build their pipeline on future deals, block out the world, spend your time doing this set of work in a defined period every single week." - Paul Ohls

In this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast hosted by John McMahon and John Kaplan, growth executive Jim Baum, who has more than 25 years of experience in growing and managing cutting-edge tech businesses, shares his insights into what makes great leadership in the world of entrepreneurship and startup growth. The conversation delves into the significance of a leader's unwavering belief, perseverance, and the importance of market research. Jim's anecdotes and wisdom provide valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[00:02:13] - Leader's belief is crucial for early-stage company success.
[00:04:46] - Perseverance can turn setbacks into major victories.
[00:07:26] - Beware of blind belief; seek evidence and adapt.
[00:11:20] - Primary market research is vital for success.
[00:15:01] - Entrepreneurship demands perseverance, intelligence, and a touch of "craziness."

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:02:13] "The belief, the conviction, the strength of the founder or founders is just not to be underestimated as a force for building the company."
[00:04:46] "They just needed more time. The market wasn't quite ready. The messaging wasn't quite right. And their perseverance carried it through, turned into a great return for the investors, a great return for the founders, and a big win."
[00:07:26] "It's sometimes easy to get caught up in the belief. So you do have to look for evidence and you do have to look for what are we going to do differently to make things turn around here in cases where it's not going well."
[00:15:01] "It takes a pretty special kind of mindset to be successful as an entrepreneur. I think that mindset is one of perseverance, a deep belief, and maybe just enough of the craziness to make it happen."

Listen to the full episode with Jim Baum in this link:
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/the-entrepreneurial-mindset-with-jim-baum

Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4

Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: 
https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of sales leadership with veteran sales leader Andy Byron. We discussed critical aspects of sales scaling, including ideal customer profile alignment, pipeline metrics, and the cost of a bad hire. Andy shares invaluable insights on what it takes to build a successful sales organization and the common pitfalls to avoid. Whether you're a seasoned sales professional or an aspiring leader, this episode offers practical advice for achieving sustainable revenue growth.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[00:01:08] Define your ideal customer profile to target the right audience effectively.
[00:02:10] Avoid blindly copying strategies; adapt to your unique market and product.
[00:03:15] Lessons from Andy's experience: Choose your target market, Embrace adaptability, and Surround yourself with supportive, challenging peers.
[00:06:33] Blend art and science in sales leadership; establish fact-based decisions, hiring profiles, and productivity models.
[00:08:14] Take responsibility for developing team members, ensuring their success.
[00:10:00] Focus on leading indicators to build predictability and sustainable growth in sales.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:00:51] "You have to be very smart about developing an ideal customer profile where your differentiators really align with the pain that the customer has."
[00:02:37] "Sometimes I've seen where there's a brand new CEO and they're influenced by venture capitalists who never have ever scaled the sales force themselves..."
[00:04:37] "Surround yourself with great people that have the same desired outcome in mind... constantly challenge each other, support each other and push each other to get there with good intentions."
[00:10:57] "When you can get Sally successful and you can repeat that time and time and time again across these leading indicators, it becomes a really predictable business that can outpace the rest of the market."

Listen to the full episode with Andy Byron in this link:
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/tactical-advice-for-scaling-sales-organizations-with-andy-byron

Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4

Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: 
https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/

Veteran sales leader Carlos Delatorre joins Revenue Builders for a conversation into pipeline generation and the essential skills and metrics that sales leaders should monitor. Carlos shares his experience in building a sophisticated pipeline generation machine at MongoDB, highlighting the complexity of open source software sales. He emphasizes the importance of conducting thorough research on target accounts and tailoring messages to different personas. The discussion also covers key metrics such as net new meetings and visible opportunities, with Carlos providing insights into what constitutes a visible opportunity. Throughout the conversation, the importance of unambiguous exit criteria for each sales stage is emphasized as a crucial element of successful pipeline management.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[00:01:08] Pipeline Generation Is Crucial
[00:02:02] Building a Sophisticated Pipeline Recipe
[00:03:14] The Secret Sauce: PG Recipe
[00:03:33] Managing a Large Pipeline
[00:04:17] Key Metrics for Monitoring Sales
[00:08:15] Importance of Clear Exit Criteria

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:01:08] Pipeline Generation's Crucial Role - "I would say that I guess the thing that comes to mind the most is, um, pipeline generation." 
[00:03:14] The Secret Sauce of MongoDB's Success - "Over time, the PG recipe became a big part of the secret sauce for why that company was growing so quickly."
[00:04:49] The Significance of Visible Opportunities - "The second really important metric is visible opportunities or scope stage opportunities."
[00:08:40] The Power of Unambiguous Exit Criteria - "For each stage, you have unambiguous exit criteria."

The full episode with Carlos Delatorre in this link:
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/driving-a-sales-discipline-with-carlos-delatorre

Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4

This throwback episode of the Live Better Sell Better Podcast features Peter Kazanjy, Co-Founder of Atrium. Having a data-driven organization is more relevant than ever. Peter discusses the key quantity and quality metrics sales leaders should look out for in their sales team, as well as how to put that data in front of the team through an open culture of coaching.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

Net new accounts interacted with is a quantity metric for SDRs - Peter: "One of the non-obvious things that people really get kind of tripped up on is not sufficiently paying attention to net new accounts interacted with or net new contacts interacted with."

"Oftentimes what can happen is SDRs—it's like stale accounts. They can have their couple hundred accounts that they're going after and it's kind of like flogging the dead horse. And so what you want to make sure is that there's like ongoing inflow."

Email reply rate is a quality metric echo - Peter: "Success in sales is all about a high quantity of high-quality selling behavior. And so there's also a number of metrics that are really important for characterizing the level of quality of the behavior in question. So again, going back to SDRs, those would be things like email reply rate, and that's like a good echo."

You can find out more about Peter in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazanjy/
• Website: https://www.atriumhq.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kazanjy

Connect with KD in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/insidesalesexcellence

Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:

Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Leading indicators, lagging indicators, qualitative data, and quantitative data might sound like boring topics for your sales meetings. Quite the contrary, Michael Ingram of SalesOps.io explains the role that each one plays in achieving predictable revenue growth.

Sales revenue is a lagging indicator of success. By the time you know it, it’s too late. You need data daily and weekly that tells you what to do before it’s too late. Leading indicators give you a chance to fix problems before you miss the quarter.

Chapters:

00:00 What Is SalesOps? 
08:27 Moving On From Anecdotal To Leading Indicator Data 
14:04 Qualitative Customer Data Capture at the Front Line 
20:20 Activity-Driven Approach to Sales Metrics Worked 10 Years Ago 
24:26 It's All About the Conversation 
30:15 Scaling SalesOps Gracefully

About Our Guest:

Michael is the Founder and CEO of SalesOps.io (rev ops talent marketplace), as well as the Co-Founder of Productal (product talent marketplace). He has helped build marketing, sales, and customer success operations for hundreds of organizations over the last 10 years, with a focus on high-growth B2B technology companies. He previously led sales operations, business development, and sales development teams at Axial, an online network connecting the lower middle market of private equity. Prior to Axial, Michael led enterprise sales operations and strategy at Zocdoc, helping structure the systems and processes to scale the sales and success organization to over 250 team members. Before recognizing his passion for startups, he spent 4 years in management consulting for biotech and pharma companies with ZS Associates. Michael graduated from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide) with a Masters in Applied Economics and a BS in Operations Management.

Company Overview 

SalesOps.io is a revenue operations talent marketplace. We have a network of over 500 rev ops experts that we place into fractional and full-time engagements with tech companies and other organizations that have a gap in operational resources. Our work largely falls into the buckets of commercial process, tools, and analytics across the customer journey. Productal is a similar talent marketplace focused on the Product side of the house - staffing product managers, designers, advisors, and analysts into orgs that need product-related experts.

Social links:

Michael Ingram’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsalesops/

SalesOps LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/salesops.io/

Productal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/productal/about/

​​You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.

Website: https://AliceHeiman.com

Connect with Alice on LinkedIn

Does your sales team have the autonomy and skill to identify your ideal client? And once identified, are they zeroing in on those ideal customers rather than spending time doing less profitable activities? Today’s guest, Patrick Kagan of PK Solutions Group, puts forward the concept that your sales improve with proper alignment.  

Aligning actions with your vision can improve your sales trajectory by 10%. That is significant for any small business. Not sure how? Listen in to learn more about how to identify the unique metrics for your business. Find out how to dig through the layers and ask questions that clear away the clutter that keeps your business focused on the wrong KPIs so you can, finally, land on the correct KPIs to motivate your sales team.  

Patrick is also a podcast host of Sales Hindsights with Patrick Kagan and the author of Sell the Difference.

About Your Host 

DCA Virtual Business Support President, Denise Cagan, has been working with small businesses for over 20 years. She has served on the boards of professional organizations such as Business Leaders of Charlotte (BLOC) and the National Association of Women Business Owners Charlotte (NAWBO). Denise is also a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, which is a program for small businesses that links learning to action for growth-oriented entrepreneurs.   

Recognized as a facilitator, problem solver, and builder, Denise enjoys speaking to business groups about social media for small businesses and motivating remote and work-from-home (WFH) teams. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Quality Systems Management from James Madison University. With extensive experience in outsourcing solutions that provide administrative, creative, marketing, and website support, she is able to help other small businesses grow and thrive. 

Connect with Denise 

DCA Virtual Business Support website. 

View and listen to Podcasts with Denise Cagan. 

LinkedIn 

About Your Host

DCA Virtual Business Support President, Denise Cagan, has been working with small businesses for over 20 years. She has served on the boards of professional organizations such as Business Leaders of Charlotte (BLOC) and the National Association of Women Business Owners Charlotte (NAWBO). Denise is also a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, which is a program for small businesses that links learning to action for growth-oriented entrepreneurs.

Recognized as a facilitator, problem solver, and builder, Denise enjoys speaking to business groups about social media for small businesses and motivating remote and work-from-home (WFH) teams. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Quality Systems Management from James Madison University. With extensive experience in outsourcing solutions that provide administrative, creative, marketing, and website support, she is able to help other small businesses grow and thrive.

Connect with Denise

DCA Virtual Business Support website.

View and listen to Podcasts with Denise Cagan.

LinkedIn

There's been a lot of focus on  using data and metrics to determine the effectiveness of Sales Enablement initiatives and rightfully so. What about using metrics to identify and prioritize which enablement projects the team focuses on? In this episode Lisa Hammack of Cornerstone OnDemand and host Paul Butterfield discuss how she and her team are doing just that by:

• Working with other teams in the org to gather and analyze the data
• Using both quantitative and qualitative data to analyze sale reps' performance
• Using a scorecard information to drive programs
• Overcoming challenges to implementing a scorecard approach

Lisa Hammack is a 20+ year veteran in the world of high tech and SaaS sales, with over 15 years spent in sales enablement.  Her passion is building sales enablement teams from the ground up, pivoting training solutions to enable business continuity under changing market conditions, driving strategic shifts in sales methodologies and building alignment with evolving business needs and to grow market share across multiple sectors, when not thinking about SaaS Software and Sales you can find her going to concerts with her two daughters, on her Peloton or running a 5K!

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

If you have a business, then you have to sell your product or service. For some people, this comes naturally, but for the majority, it can feel a bit awkward to sell what you make. In entrepreneurship there’s the pervasive attitude that just because the product is awesome, people will line up to get it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. This is where Engaged Prospect comes in. They understand that selling isn’t just telling and that having a product that solves a problem is only the first step. There’s much more to it, and great selling involves listening, asking questions, and educating the consumer. Many entrepreneurs are technically proficient in their craft and passionate about their work. They just need help selling what they’ve made.

In this episode, Dan Hersh and Sam Stein discuss the inspiration for their company, how their partnership came together, and what steps businesses should be taking right now in order to not only survive, but also thrive during the pandemic. If you’ve ever struggled with sales in your business, then this episode is for you. I know that entrepreneurs and small business owners will find it refreshing to discover that companies like Engaged Prospect exist to provide the type of help and support that is so urgently needed in the marketplace.

If you have any questions or if you’d like to chat, you can reach me at my contact info below. The purpose of this podcast is to share ideas, inspire action, and build a stronger small business community here in Pittsburgh. So please say hello, tell me what you think, and let me know how I’m doing. It means a ton!

YOU CAN REACH ME AT:

Podcast: https://www.proprietorsofpittsburgh.com

Website: https://www.thestartupshoppe.net/podcasts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proprietorsofpittsburghpodcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/proprietorsofpittsburghpodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darinvilano

Phone: 412-336-8247

YOU CAN REACH ENGAGED PROSPECT AT:

Website: https://www.engagedprospect.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EngagedProspect

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/engaged-prospect

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EngagedProspect

Phone: 412-715-5151

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill

Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and  Leif Babin

Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss

Fanatical Prospecting - Jeb Blount