The world’s economies aren’t going to recover anytime soon. There’s more risk – and opportunity – than ever before. How can a business pivot, survive and thrive? Based on the very newest material in the 2nd Edition of From Impossible To Inevitable, Aaron Ross dives into the surprisingly few big levers that ignite – or stifle – growth. Based on lessons learned from some of the world’s fastest growing companies, including:
• Entrepreneurial Depression and the Anxiety Economy
• How to cut through customer and prospect paralysis
• How $3B Investor Sagemount Triples Company Valuations In Three Years
• How Twilio Nailed A Billion Dollar Niche
• 3 Uncommon Practices of Hypergrowth CMOs
6. “From Impossible To Inevitable”
• The Anxiety Economy & Entrepreneurial Depression
• How Sagemount Triples Turnaround Valuations
• How Twilio Nailed a Billion Dollar Niche
• Creating Predictable Pipeline
8. 2020: Unpredictable
● Great disruption = great
opportunity
● Markets, businesses, economies,
lives will be restructuring
● Invest in yourself PERSONALLY
and it will pay off in your
BUSINESS
10. Emotional Empathy
And Support
● Think about your communities (family, team,
customer).
● There’s a lot of fear uncertainty and doubt.
● The world is not ending, it’s changing.
● Provide ideas that can help bring clarity
and/or generate a feeling of safety.
11. How can you help
others without
expectation? For my
team
For my
customers
For my family
12. Counter The Reality Distortion Field
2 years to ‘something’
5-10 years to exit
22. Salespeople Shouldn’t Prospect (Much)
They don’t like to do it
They aren’t very good at it
Even if they can do it well, they can’t sustain it
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
26. Specialization => Predictability
=> Insights
=> Scalability
=> Talent / farm team system
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
You will
struggle
without (more)
specialization
27. Rules of thumb
• 6 months to define and tune new role
• “When you do something new, start with 2”
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
28. Common ratio samples
• 1 inbound lead responder per 400 inbound leads a
month that need human review
• 1 prospector per 1-4 salespeople
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
29. > Create Predictable Sales Revenue
• “we’re too small”
• “won’t relationships & service suffer?”
Common questions & objections
31. Systematizing Market-Message Fit
Is growth
dependent on a
brand or
relationships?
What does
‘paid growth’
require?
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
Can be a
blessing and a
curse!
36. Confusion => “no!”
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
but they say:
“later”
“maybe”
“i don’t know”
“send me more information”
“it’s too expensive”
but they say:
37. Nail A Niche
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
The Arc of Attention
38. > Create Predictable Sales Revenue
Niche <> Small
Niche = Focused
It’s easier to make
the pond smaller,
than make the fish
bigger
Be a big fish in a small pond
39. > Create Predictable Sales Revenue
vs.What is a
“nice to have”
to a customer
What do they
NEED to have
44. > Create Predictable Sales Revenue
people don’t care
what you do...
they care about what you
can do for them
What do
customers
want?
45.
46. > Create Predictable Sales Revenue
TO
“Who’s in charge of
receivables?”
“Who handles
patient cash?”
47. Twilio gets its people out of the ivory tower
(aka their cubes) and into the lives and minds of
customers
How $1+ billion Twilio did it…
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
48. 1. Walk (literally) in your
customers’ shoes
2. Make your lawyers build apps
Twilio
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
64. USA Examples
MOBI: 10x From 3 meetings to 30+ per month
Kemberton: from failure to extra $1m Year 1
Acquia: added extra $30m in 3 years
(sold to Vista $1b)
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
65. • Missing pipeline goals
• Disappointing win rates
• Deal sizes are too small
• Outbound SDRs doing different things (inconsistent)
• Unhappy, unmotivated prospectors and AEs
If you have Outbound team challenges
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
66. 1. Completely separate Inbound SDRs from Outbound SDRs
2. Outbound SDRs matched to 1-4 specific Salespeople/Account Executives
3. Don’t pay for meetings; only comp “Sales Accepted Leads” and
Revenue
4. Managers: no more than 6-10 reports!
5. Required: territories or ‘segments’ for salespeople
“Outbound Sales Team” Assessments
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
67. A Playbook For Systematic Growth
1. Slow to Systematize: Go back to the beginning
2. Specialize Sales: Add more roles
3. Nail A Niche: Who NEEDS you most?
4. Predictable Pipeline / Outbound:
a) Assign a single person, or
b) Fix your metrics
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
68. “Best Business Book I’ve Ever Read”
“The Growth Bible of Silicon Valley”
FromImpossible.com
74. • Comfort (habits) is the enemy of growth
• I’m challenged every day
• Are you:
Resisting (frustrated / anxious) or
Embracing (excited)?
Buiness growth (and family) IS challenging!
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
78. Some of my Forcing Functions
1. Got married with kids (Casamento e filhos)
2. Announce book publication date (Datas para publicar o livro)
3. Moved into bigger houses with higher rents (Mudança para casas
maiores com aluguel mais caro)
4. Hired a personal trainer and schedule sessions (Contratação de
um personal trainer com sessões marcadas)
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
79. Some of my Forcing Functions
1. Got married with kids
2. Announce book publication date
3. Moved into bigger houses with higher rents
4. Hired a personal trainer and schedule sessions
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
80. > Create Predictable Sales Revenue
I had no idea of my potential
until
I held my feet to the fire
with Forcing Functions
Force yourself to
systematize
sales and growth
81. Forcing Functions To Change
1. Leadership: entrepreneurial, coachable, empathetic
2. (Sales) Roles: defining new responsibilities forces change
3. Metrics: you can’t manage what you don’t measure
4. Incentives: comp, career opportunity
When this gets boring or hard in a few weeks or months
– what will “force” me to keep going through the challenge,
to get to the success?
82. Real Growth
My family’s been the best Forcing Function
to be a better father AND business leader
I can see problems as “problems”…
Or as opportunities to improve myself and my business
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
83. A Playbook For Systematic Growth
1. Slow to Systematize: Go back to the beginning
2. Specialize Sales: Add more roles
3. Nail A Niche: Who NEEDS you most?
4. Predictable Pipeline:
a) Assign a single person, or
b) Fix your metrics
5. Manufacture Motivation: Embrace challenge with Forcing Functions!
Block out important time!
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
85. • Requires people FOCUSED on it
• A Head of Customer Success
• Customer Success teams
• Metrics and compensation tied to Success
To Systematize Customer Success -
> Create Predictable Sales Revenue
87. Situation
• Software to improve recruiting
• Brad Warga: SVP Customer Success
• Problem
– high churn: 4% per month, 50% per year
• Churn Goal
– about 1% per month, 15% per year
88. Solution
• 3-tiered Customer Success Team
• 90 Day Adoption
• Quarterly Business Reviews
• Investing in process and software
89. Customer Success team
1) “Inside CS reps” handling larger volumes of smaller
customers, measured on usage (1 rep per 70 customers)
2) “Outside CS reps” who handle & are measured on renewals
(1 rep per 30 customers)
3) “Executive CS reps” who work with large or fast-growing
customers, and upsell.
90. Financial responsibility
at Gild, Customer Success owns:
• 90 Day Adoption
• Feeding usage data & customer feedback into the product
roadmap
• Renewals
• Upsells