This piece is from a podcast I was invited to appear on, Outbound Metrics with Morgan Williams.
EPISODE SUMMARY
Matt Wolach talks with Morgan Williams, host of Outbound Metrics, about the importance of a defined sales process and how it can help a struggling software startup become a huge success.
Matt explains his methods of how a polished sales process can help the chances of closing deals and helps great software founders find their customers faster, better, and easier.
Matt also shares his client’s success stories and how a startup can achieve its full potential, from very low conversion rates to generating a huge amount of interest and revenue.
PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCE
Podcast: Outbound Metrics
Episode: SaaS Sales Process: 4 Step Approach (D.E.A.L. Method) = INC 500 List and a 9 Figure Acquisition
Host: Morgan Williams, Host of B2B Sales Tech Podcast “Outbound Metrics”
Guest: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS Sales Coach, Entrepreneur, and Investor
TOP TIPS FROM EPISODE
Have a Dedicated Sales Process
Startups that jump into the industry usually experience challenges in the sales department. As Matt mentioned on the podcast, these software founders tend to be technical and product-focused. This harms their chances to close the deal which becomes the kiss of death for the startup.
Matt advises startups to prepare a clear sales process to lead prospects. This way, what were once disastrous sales calls, become doors of opportunity for these prospects to become users.
Once you figure out how to lead prospects to a sale, continue to optimize this process until you hit increasing conversion rates.
The Age of Personalization
Today’s era marks the height of personalization. Your Amazon listings, your Facebook ads, your Netflix recommendations are all tailored to what the algorithm thinks you like.
Matt touches on this with advice to make your products personal. Make the sale a personal one that understands the prospect on a personal level. People are now used to personalization since it’s what we came to know and love. It’s very effective as well, and the whole culture has shifted into this change.
Matt says to go with the flow and adapt it to most of the products that we produce. From the start of the development process, you’re out to solve the problems of people. The best way to show you can help them is to associate your solution to their problems.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Give a Face to the Name
“[A founding history] makes the company, some big logo, brand – now a human, and made it much more for somebody to connect with that, somebody can identify with that, it’s probably the same challenges that they’re going through, and it’ll be much easier for them to connect with the brand.”
Matt gives a beautiful remark on the desire of people to talk to people. Everyone craves a sense of connection. One of the best ways to build the bridge to your prospect is by giving them a brief explanation of how things got to be at your company which personifies the corporate logo.
Remember to Recap
“One of the best and the most powerful things you can do is to recap. I rarely see salespeople do this. At the end of your presentation, go back and recap. People forget 90% of what you show them.”
“When you’ve gotten the emotions stirred up, they feel really bad about the problems that they have, which is super important to draw out.”
Once the show ends, people forget all about it. Matt tells this to make software founders realize to associate their product to the prospect’s pains. Get them hating what they have trouble with and let them recognize that your product is the solution.
Start Right, Finish Strong
“You have to take control of the whole process from the start right to the end of the deal.”
Short but strong. These words from Matt show that a great salesperson is a great leader. SaaS founders should be able to take the prospect to the call, lead them to the sale, and seal the deal.
TOP QUOTES
Matt:
[06:40] “You’ve got to have a defined process, a defined formula on how you’re going to get that person excited and how you’re going to further their emotional state, so you can get them to a point where they’re ready to take action.”
[08:30] “If you can associate your solution to what you learned from them in discovery, it’s a very very powerful thing.”
[11:04] “If you’re in a desert, things are bad, and you’ve been crawling across the desert for a while, and somebody comes to you and just has any water, you’re not gonna ask where the water came from.”
[15:50] “People buy from people.”
Morgan:
[24:10] “You can have the same product, but two different people may have a different perception of it because of the sales interaction that they had and because of how well the person dug into the prospect’s challenges, listened to them, applied what they were hearing and thoughtfully matched that up.”
[26:55] “Sales, selling doesn’t have to be boring. It doesn’t have to be a job. It can be stressful at times, of course, but it can be fun.”
LEARN MORE
For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/.
As part of the founding team in his first SaaS product, Matt owned the sales & marketing processes. But he struggled to sell and gain traction for the company. It took years of learning and tweaking before Matt created The Perfect DEAL Process, an innovative yet easy to implement method for closing more software deals. To find out more, visit https://mattwolach.com/about-matt
