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The Sales Acceleration Formula: Using Data, Technology, and Inbound Selling to go from $0 to $100 Million
Use data, technology, and inbound selling to build a remarkable team and accelerate sales The Sales Acceleration Formula provides a scalable, predictable approach to growing revenue and building a winning sales team. Everyone wants to build the next $100 million business and author Mark Roberge has actually done it using a unique methodology that he shares with his readers. As an MIT alum with an engineering background, Roberge challenged the conventional methods of scaling sales utilizing the metrics-driven, process-oriented lens through which he was trained to see the world. In this book, he reveals his formulas for success. Readers will learn how to apply data, technology, and inbound selling to every aspect of accelerating sales, including hiring, training, managing, and generating demand.
As SVP of Worldwide Sales and Services for software company HubSpot, Mark led hundreds of his employees to the acquisition and retention of the company's first 10,000 customers across more than 60 countries. This book outlines his approach and provides an action plan for others to replicate his success, including the following key
Hire the same successful salesperson every time — The Sales Hiring Formula Train every salesperson in the same manner — The Sales Training Formula Hold salespeople accountable to the same sales process — The Sales Management Formula Provide salespeople with the same quality and quantity of leads every month — The Demand Generation Formula Leverage technology to enable better buying for customers and faster selling for salespeople Business owners, sales executives, and investors are all looking to turn their brilliant ideas into the next $100 million revenue business. Often, the biggest challenge they face is the task of scaling sales. They crave a blueprint for success, but fail to find it because sales has traditionally been referred to as an art form, rather than a science. You can't major in sales in college. Many people question whether sales can even be taught. Executives and entrepreneurs are often left feeling helpless and hopeless.
The Sales Acceleration Formula completely alters this paradigm. In today's digital world, in which every action is logged and masses of data sit at our fingertips, building a sales team no longer needs to be an art form. There is a process. Sales can be predictable.
A formula does exist.
As SVP of Worldwide Sales and Services for software company HubSpot, Mark led hundreds of his employees to the acquisition and retention of the company's first 10,000 customers across more than 60 countries. This book outlines his approach and provides an action plan for others to replicate his success, including the following key
Hire the same successful salesperson every time — The Sales Hiring Formula Train every salesperson in the same manner — The Sales Training Formula Hold salespeople accountable to the same sales process — The Sales Management Formula Provide salespeople with the same quality and quantity of leads every month — The Demand Generation Formula Leverage technology to enable better buying for customers and faster selling for salespeople Business owners, sales executives, and investors are all looking to turn their brilliant ideas into the next $100 million revenue business. Often, the biggest challenge they face is the task of scaling sales. They crave a blueprint for success, but fail to find it because sales has traditionally been referred to as an art form, rather than a science. You can't major in sales in college. Many people question whether sales can even be taught. Executives and entrepreneurs are often left feeling helpless and hopeless.
The Sales Acceleration Formula completely alters this paradigm. In today's digital world, in which every action is logged and masses of data sit at our fingertips, building a sales team no longer needs to be an art form. There is a process. Sales can be predictable.
A formula does exist.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 3, 2015
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March 13, 2015
This is a must read book for any sales organization, specially startups and B2B orgs. If you want to know and understand the science of sales, please read this book by the Sales VP of HubSpot(a marketing automation SaaS solution).
December 30, 2019
Apuntes
-Es importante estandarizar procesos.
-Hay que parecer grande siempre.
-Los vendedores son educadores.
-A la hora de crear estrategias, considerar las fortalezas de cada miembro del equipo.
-Mejores atributos para cerrar un trato: inteligencia, empatía, pasión y curiosidad.
Resumen por capítulos (inglés):
Part I: The Sales Hiring Formula
Chapter 1: Uncovering the Characteristics of a Successful Salesperson
World-class sales hiring is the biggest driver of sales success.
The ideal sales hiring formula is different for every company, but the process to engineer the formula is the same.
Statistics suggest salespeople who are intelligent and helpful, rather than aggressive and high-pressure, are most successful with today's empowered buyer.
Chapter 2: Five Trait Great Salespeople Have and How to Interview for Them
Every buyer context should have a unique sales hiring formula. For HubSpot's buyer context, there were five criteria that correlated most strongly with sales success. These criteria are probably components of your ideal hiring formula, especially if you are operating in a rapidly evolving market. The five criteria are:
Coachability: The ability to absorb and apply coaching.
Curiosity: The ability to understand a potential customer's context through effective questioning and listening.
Prior success: A history of top performance or remarkable achievement.
Intelligence: The ability to learn complex concepts quickly and communicate those concepts in an easy-to-understand manner.
Work ethic: Proactively pursuing the company mission with a high degree of energy and daily activity.
Chapter 3: Finding Top-Performing Salespeople
Build a Recruiting Agency within Your Company
Find Quality Passive Sales Candidates on Linkedin
Find Quality Passive Sales Candidates through Your Team: The “Forced Referral”
Understand the Sales Talent Pool in Your Area
Great salespeople never need to apply for a job. Finding great salespeople requires a passive recruiting strategy.
Don't hire a recruiting agency. Don't build a corporate recruiting team. Build a recruiting agency within your corporation.
Searches on LinkedIn and the forced referral are great sources for quality passive sales talent.
Chapter 4: The Ideal First Sales Hire
When faced with the first sales hire decision, many founders put the most weight on senior leadership experience and industry domain knowledge. Don't fall into this trap.
The most critical value from your first sales hire comes not from the first customers or revenue she generates, but from her ability to accelerate the company toward product/market fit.
Part II: The Sales Training Formula
Chapter 5: Setting Up a Predictable Sales Training Program
Defining the Three Elements of the Sales Methodology: The Buyer Journey, Sales Process, and Qualifying Matrix
Create a Training Curriculum around the Sales Methodology
Adding Predictability to the Sales Training Formula
Constant Iteration on the Sales Process
Every top-performing salesperson succeeds in her own unique way. Heavy reliance on ride-alongs during the training process jeopardizes a new hire's ability to shine using her unique strengths.
A “ride-along” sales training strategy is neither scalable nor predictable.
Defining the sales methodology enables the sales training formula to be scalable and predictable. The three elements of the sales methodology are the buyer journey, the sales process, and the qualifying matrix.
Exams and certifications add predictability to the sales training formula. They also provide the platform to learn from and iterate on the formula.
Chapter 6: Manufacturing Helpful Salespeople Your Buyer Trust
Train Your Salespeople to Experience the Day-to-Day Job of Potential Customers
Enable Your Salespeople to Build Their Personal Brand with Potential Customers Using Social Media
Buyers should not be asked to understand the salesperson's solution and how it can help with their own goals. Instead, the salesperson should understand the buyers' goals and how his own solution can help achieve those goals.
The best-trained salespeople have experienced the day-to-day jobs of their potential customers.
Modern selling feels less like a seller/buyer relationship and more like a doctor/patient relationship.
Social media presents an opportunity for all salespeople to be perceived as trusted advisors by their buyers. Salespeople should take some time normally spent prospecting and reallocate it to social media participation. The rewards are greater.
Part III: The Sales Management Formula
Chapter 7: Metrics-Driven Sales Coaching
Implementing Coaching Culture throughout the Organization
Creating the Coaching Plan Together with the Salesperson
Examples of Metrics-Driven Skill Diagnosis and Coaching Plans
“Peeling Back the Onion”
Measure the Coaching Success
Effective sales coaching by sales managers is the most important lever to drive sales productivity.
A common sales management mistake is to overwhelm the salesperson with coaching too many skills simultaneously. Pick one skill and focus.
Use metrics to diagnose which skill development area will have the biggest impact on a salesperson's performance. Customize the coaching plan to that skill area. Execute metrics-driven sales coaching.
Chapter 8: Motivation through Sales Compensation Plans and Contests
Criteria to Evaluate a New Commission Plan
Involve the Sales Team in Compensation Plan Design
Promotion Tiers: Removing the Subjectivity from Promotions and Compensation Adjustments
Using Sales Contests to Motivate the Team
The Best Contest I Ever Ran
The sales compensation plan is one of the most effective tools for the CEO and VP of sales to use to drive business strategy.
There is no perfect sales compensation plan. The appropriate sales compensation plan depends on the stage of the business.
Evaluate a sales compensation design through the lens of three factors: Simple. Aligned. Immediate.
Sales contests are an effective tool to drive short-term behaviors and build team culture within the sales organization.
Chapter 9: Developing Sales Leaders - Advantages of a “Promote from Within” Culture
Prerequisites for Leadership Consideration
From the Classroom to the Real World
Common Potholes from New Sales Managers
Focus on leadership skills, rather than general sales management skills, when developing future managers internally.
Develop your leadership bench by using a formal leadership curriculum for your salespeople who earn the opportunity.
Before formal promotion, let qualified leadership candidates hire, train, and manage one new salesperson while still carrying their individual quota responsibilities.
Avoid the common pitfalls of new managers: exhibiting weak time management around coaching, acting as a glorified salesperson, and giving up on new hires too early.
Part IV: The Demand Generation Formula
Chapter 10: Flip the Demand Generation Formula - Get Buyers to Find You
How Can Your Business Rank at the Top of Google?
This Does Not Happen Overnight
Create a Content Production Process
Complement Content Production with Social Media Participation
Long-Tail Theory
Today's buyer is empowered by the Internet. A modern demand generation strategy means less focus on interruptive outbound marketing and more focus on inbound marketing.
Successful inbound marketing comes from two tactics: (1) continual quality content production, and (2) frequent online participation in social media where your target buyers are already conversing.
Do not overburden valuable resources at your company with inbound marketing responsibilities. Hire a journalist. Form a thought leadership committee. Put the two together to create a continuous stream of high-quality content.
Focus your content on “long-tail” topics. They are less competitive and more likely to attract your target buyer.
Chapter 11: Converting Inbound Interest into Revenue
Marketing’s Role in Converting Interest into Revenue
Sales’ Role in Converting Interest into Revenue
Filter the leads. Avoid passing all inbound leads to Sales.
Avoid the lead scoring trap. Use a Buyer Persona/Buyer Journey matrix to decide when to pass leads to Sales.
Sales needs to:
Call low, and then call high. On the call, scrap the generic elevator pitch.
Prioritize prospecting by engagement, not call cadence or alphabetical order.
Consider specializing the team by inbound or outbound.
Chapter 12: Aligning Sales and Marketing - The SMarketing SLA
The Marketing Service Level Agreement (SLA)
The Sales Service Level Agreement (SLA)
The dysfunctional relationship between Sales and Marketing is the kiss of death in a buyer-driven world.
Use the Sales and Marketing SLA to replace the subjective and qualitative aspects of the Sales/Marketing relationship with well-defined targets and quantified goals.
The Marketing SLA provides a framework to put Marketing on a revenue quota, similar to Sales' dynamic.
Sales is accountable to Marketing just like Marketing is accountable to Sales. The Sales SLA defines a series of behaviors expected of the Sales team to ensure each lead is worked effectively.
Send daily reports updating the entire Sales and Marketing team on the Sales and Marketing SLA. Manage the Sales and Marketing machine on a daily basis.
Part V: Technology and Experimentation
Chapter 13: Technology to Sell Better, Faster
Accelerate Lead Sourcing with Technology
Accelerate Sales Prospecting with Technology
Accelerate Lead Engagement with Technology
Automated Reporting with Technology
Historically, sales technology has been built for the sales leader, not the salesperson.
This technology does not work for salespeople. Instead, it creates work for salespeople.
Companies should strive to adopt sales technology that enables better buying for customers and faster selling for salespeople.
Sales technology creates better buying experiences for customers by capturing customer context and making that context readily available to salespeople.
Sales technology enables faster selling for salespeople by eliminating admin tasks and automating data capture.
Sales technology developed for the salesperson in the end benefits the sales manager with more accurate reporting to run the salesforce and the business.
Chapter 14: Running Successful Sales Experiments
Generating Ideas for Experiments
Best Practices of Experiment Execution
Great teams have a core philosophy of continual improvement. A key ingredient to the sales acceleration formula is fostering a culture of experimentation.
A key role of the executive team is to set up a culture around innovation, rather than generate all of the big ideas themselves.
Follow a specific formula for experiment execution so that you can be confident your experiments are efficient and effective.
Chapter 15: HupSpot’s Most Successful Sales Experiments
The HubSpot Value Added Reseller (VAR) Program
GPCT
Chapter 16: Conclusion: Where Do We Go from Here?
“Constantly seek out the latest, best practices; study the sales strategies of the most successful companies.”
“Challenge the norm in the areas in which you are unique. Innovate. Share your learnings. Contribute to the field of sales.”
“The best and brightest students graduating from top universities have, for many years, pursued rewarding careers as investment bankers, management consultants, engineers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and doctors. Traditionally, they have delegated the sales jobs to their less-accomplished peers.”
“I have seen a renewed interest in sales by top students from the world's best universities.”
“These students see that many Fortune 500 CEOs' careers started in sales and appreciate the importance of sales in almost every aspect of entrepreneurial success. They understand the financial rewards of a high-performing career in sales.”
“Over the years, buyers have migrated from reluctantly engaging with salespeople to proactively avoiding them. Salespeople are notoriously regarded as manipulative, deceitful, and borderline unethical. It is these perceptions, and the behaviors that create them, that will lead to the continued degradation of the sales profession. We need to embrace the early incubation of modern sales tactics in order to change this stigma. Salespeople should be thought of as helpful advisors and respected thought leaders. They should be sought after in times of crisis, just as doctors are, and their diagnoses should be taken seriously.”
“Somebody out there holds the most important element of the sales acceleration formula: improving the underlying global perception of sales itself.”
-Es importante estandarizar procesos.
-Hay que parecer grande siempre.
-Los vendedores son educadores.
-A la hora de crear estrategias, considerar las fortalezas de cada miembro del equipo.
-Mejores atributos para cerrar un trato: inteligencia, empatía, pasión y curiosidad.
Resumen por capítulos (inglés):
Part I: The Sales Hiring Formula
Chapter 1: Uncovering the Characteristics of a Successful Salesperson
World-class sales hiring is the biggest driver of sales success.
The ideal sales hiring formula is different for every company, but the process to engineer the formula is the same.
Statistics suggest salespeople who are intelligent and helpful, rather than aggressive and high-pressure, are most successful with today's empowered buyer.
Chapter 2: Five Trait Great Salespeople Have and How to Interview for Them
Every buyer context should have a unique sales hiring formula. For HubSpot's buyer context, there were five criteria that correlated most strongly with sales success. These criteria are probably components of your ideal hiring formula, especially if you are operating in a rapidly evolving market. The five criteria are:
Coachability: The ability to absorb and apply coaching.
Curiosity: The ability to understand a potential customer's context through effective questioning and listening.
Prior success: A history of top performance or remarkable achievement.
Intelligence: The ability to learn complex concepts quickly and communicate those concepts in an easy-to-understand manner.
Work ethic: Proactively pursuing the company mission with a high degree of energy and daily activity.
Chapter 3: Finding Top-Performing Salespeople
Build a Recruiting Agency within Your Company
Find Quality Passive Sales Candidates on Linkedin
Find Quality Passive Sales Candidates through Your Team: The “Forced Referral”
Understand the Sales Talent Pool in Your Area
Great salespeople never need to apply for a job. Finding great salespeople requires a passive recruiting strategy.
Don't hire a recruiting agency. Don't build a corporate recruiting team. Build a recruiting agency within your corporation.
Searches on LinkedIn and the forced referral are great sources for quality passive sales talent.
Chapter 4: The Ideal First Sales Hire
When faced with the first sales hire decision, many founders put the most weight on senior leadership experience and industry domain knowledge. Don't fall into this trap.
The most critical value from your first sales hire comes not from the first customers or revenue she generates, but from her ability to accelerate the company toward product/market fit.
Part II: The Sales Training Formula
Chapter 5: Setting Up a Predictable Sales Training Program
Defining the Three Elements of the Sales Methodology: The Buyer Journey, Sales Process, and Qualifying Matrix
Create a Training Curriculum around the Sales Methodology
Adding Predictability to the Sales Training Formula
Constant Iteration on the Sales Process
Every top-performing salesperson succeeds in her own unique way. Heavy reliance on ride-alongs during the training process jeopardizes a new hire's ability to shine using her unique strengths.
A “ride-along” sales training strategy is neither scalable nor predictable.
Defining the sales methodology enables the sales training formula to be scalable and predictable. The three elements of the sales methodology are the buyer journey, the sales process, and the qualifying matrix.
Exams and certifications add predictability to the sales training formula. They also provide the platform to learn from and iterate on the formula.
Chapter 6: Manufacturing Helpful Salespeople Your Buyer Trust
Train Your Salespeople to Experience the Day-to-Day Job of Potential Customers
Enable Your Salespeople to Build Their Personal Brand with Potential Customers Using Social Media
Buyers should not be asked to understand the salesperson's solution and how it can help with their own goals. Instead, the salesperson should understand the buyers' goals and how his own solution can help achieve those goals.
The best-trained salespeople have experienced the day-to-day jobs of their potential customers.
Modern selling feels less like a seller/buyer relationship and more like a doctor/patient relationship.
Social media presents an opportunity for all salespeople to be perceived as trusted advisors by their buyers. Salespeople should take some time normally spent prospecting and reallocate it to social media participation. The rewards are greater.
Part III: The Sales Management Formula
Chapter 7: Metrics-Driven Sales Coaching
Implementing Coaching Culture throughout the Organization
Creating the Coaching Plan Together with the Salesperson
Examples of Metrics-Driven Skill Diagnosis and Coaching Plans
“Peeling Back the Onion”
Measure the Coaching Success
Effective sales coaching by sales managers is the most important lever to drive sales productivity.
A common sales management mistake is to overwhelm the salesperson with coaching too many skills simultaneously. Pick one skill and focus.
Use metrics to diagnose which skill development area will have the biggest impact on a salesperson's performance. Customize the coaching plan to that skill area. Execute metrics-driven sales coaching.
Chapter 8: Motivation through Sales Compensation Plans and Contests
Criteria to Evaluate a New Commission Plan
Involve the Sales Team in Compensation Plan Design
Promotion Tiers: Removing the Subjectivity from Promotions and Compensation Adjustments
Using Sales Contests to Motivate the Team
The Best Contest I Ever Ran
The sales compensation plan is one of the most effective tools for the CEO and VP of sales to use to drive business strategy.
There is no perfect sales compensation plan. The appropriate sales compensation plan depends on the stage of the business.
Evaluate a sales compensation design through the lens of three factors: Simple. Aligned. Immediate.
Sales contests are an effective tool to drive short-term behaviors and build team culture within the sales organization.
Chapter 9: Developing Sales Leaders - Advantages of a “Promote from Within” Culture
Prerequisites for Leadership Consideration
From the Classroom to the Real World
Common Potholes from New Sales Managers
Focus on leadership skills, rather than general sales management skills, when developing future managers internally.
Develop your leadership bench by using a formal leadership curriculum for your salespeople who earn the opportunity.
Before formal promotion, let qualified leadership candidates hire, train, and manage one new salesperson while still carrying their individual quota responsibilities.
Avoid the common pitfalls of new managers: exhibiting weak time management around coaching, acting as a glorified salesperson, and giving up on new hires too early.
Part IV: The Demand Generation Formula
Chapter 10: Flip the Demand Generation Formula - Get Buyers to Find You
How Can Your Business Rank at the Top of Google?
This Does Not Happen Overnight
Create a Content Production Process
Complement Content Production with Social Media Participation
Long-Tail Theory
Today's buyer is empowered by the Internet. A modern demand generation strategy means less focus on interruptive outbound marketing and more focus on inbound marketing.
Successful inbound marketing comes from two tactics: (1) continual quality content production, and (2) frequent online participation in social media where your target buyers are already conversing.
Do not overburden valuable resources at your company with inbound marketing responsibilities. Hire a journalist. Form a thought leadership committee. Put the two together to create a continuous stream of high-quality content.
Focus your content on “long-tail” topics. They are less competitive and more likely to attract your target buyer.
Chapter 11: Converting Inbound Interest into Revenue
Marketing’s Role in Converting Interest into Revenue
Sales’ Role in Converting Interest into Revenue
Filter the leads. Avoid passing all inbound leads to Sales.
Avoid the lead scoring trap. Use a Buyer Persona/Buyer Journey matrix to decide when to pass leads to Sales.
Sales needs to:
Call low, and then call high. On the call, scrap the generic elevator pitch.
Prioritize prospecting by engagement, not call cadence or alphabetical order.
Consider specializing the team by inbound or outbound.
Chapter 12: Aligning Sales and Marketing - The SMarketing SLA
The Marketing Service Level Agreement (SLA)
The Sales Service Level Agreement (SLA)
The dysfunctional relationship between Sales and Marketing is the kiss of death in a buyer-driven world.
Use the Sales and Marketing SLA to replace the subjective and qualitative aspects of the Sales/Marketing relationship with well-defined targets and quantified goals.
The Marketing SLA provides a framework to put Marketing on a revenue quota, similar to Sales' dynamic.
Sales is accountable to Marketing just like Marketing is accountable to Sales. The Sales SLA defines a series of behaviors expected of the Sales team to ensure each lead is worked effectively.
Send daily reports updating the entire Sales and Marketing team on the Sales and Marketing SLA. Manage the Sales and Marketing machine on a daily basis.
Part V: Technology and Experimentation
Chapter 13: Technology to Sell Better, Faster
Accelerate Lead Sourcing with Technology
Accelerate Sales Prospecting with Technology
Accelerate Lead Engagement with Technology
Automated Reporting with Technology
Historically, sales technology has been built for the sales leader, not the salesperson.
This technology does not work for salespeople. Instead, it creates work for salespeople.
Companies should strive to adopt sales technology that enables better buying for customers and faster selling for salespeople.
Sales technology creates better buying experiences for customers by capturing customer context and making that context readily available to salespeople.
Sales technology enables faster selling for salespeople by eliminating admin tasks and automating data capture.
Sales technology developed for the salesperson in the end benefits the sales manager with more accurate reporting to run the salesforce and the business.
Chapter 14: Running Successful Sales Experiments
Generating Ideas for Experiments
Best Practices of Experiment Execution
Great teams have a core philosophy of continual improvement. A key ingredient to the sales acceleration formula is fostering a culture of experimentation.
A key role of the executive team is to set up a culture around innovation, rather than generate all of the big ideas themselves.
Follow a specific formula for experiment execution so that you can be confident your experiments are efficient and effective.
Chapter 15: HupSpot’s Most Successful Sales Experiments
The HubSpot Value Added Reseller (VAR) Program
GPCT
Chapter 16: Conclusion: Where Do We Go from Here?
“Constantly seek out the latest, best practices; study the sales strategies of the most successful companies.”
“Challenge the norm in the areas in which you are unique. Innovate. Share your learnings. Contribute to the field of sales.”
“The best and brightest students graduating from top universities have, for many years, pursued rewarding careers as investment bankers, management consultants, engineers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and doctors. Traditionally, they have delegated the sales jobs to their less-accomplished peers.”
“I have seen a renewed interest in sales by top students from the world's best universities.”
“These students see that many Fortune 500 CEOs' careers started in sales and appreciate the importance of sales in almost every aspect of entrepreneurial success. They understand the financial rewards of a high-performing career in sales.”
“Over the years, buyers have migrated from reluctantly engaging with salespeople to proactively avoiding them. Salespeople are notoriously regarded as manipulative, deceitful, and borderline unethical. It is these perceptions, and the behaviors that create them, that will lead to the continued degradation of the sales profession. We need to embrace the early incubation of modern sales tactics in order to change this stigma. Salespeople should be thought of as helpful advisors and respected thought leaders. They should be sought after in times of crisis, just as doctors are, and their diagnoses should be taken seriously.”
“Somebody out there holds the most important element of the sales acceleration formula: improving the underlying global perception of sales itself.”
November 1, 2019
О ЧЕМ КНИГА:
Одна из лучших книг по продажам, которую я прочитал за последние годы. Автор - основатель компании HubSpot. Видно, что он очень хорошо разобрался в построении В2В продаж. Ну и успех его компании говорит сам за себя. Как говорит Нассим Талеб «Хватит разговоров, просто покажи мне свое портфолио». Здесь портфолио отличное и есть чему поучиться у автора и сразу применить в своих компаниях.
КАКАЯ БЫЛА ЦЕЛЬ ЧТЕНИЯ:
Улучшить систему В2В продаж в моей компании
ГЛАВНЫЕ ВЫВОДЫ:
- Есть 4 столпа успешной системы продаж
1. ��анимать всегда одного и того же продажника, соответствующего портрету человека, у которого максимальные шансы добиться успеха в продажах именно в нашей компании.
2. Обучать всех продавцов по одинаковой системе.
3. Контролировать всех продажников на основе одинаковой системы продаж, которую выстроила компания.
4. Давать всем продавцам одинаковое число качественных лидов каждую неделю и месяц.
- Всегда нанимать продавцов на основе оценки их успеха именно в нашей компании. У нас должен быть четкий портрет такого человека.
- Современные продажи больше похожи не на отношения продавец/покупатель, а отношения доктор/пациент. Не покупатель должен понимать, что предлагает ему продавец, а продавец должен понимать цели покупателя и предлагать ему решения.
- Когда директор по продажам помогает продавцу закрыть большую сделку, то он выигрывает битву. Когда он нанимает, обучает и создаёт команду сильных продавцов, он выигрывает войну. Поэтому основная задача руководителя - подобрать команду сильных продавцов, которые могут закрывать сделки без его участия.
- Формат и показатели компенсационного пакета зависят от индустрии в которой работает компания и от ступени на которой находится развитие бизнеса. Не надо копировать чужие системы мотивации.
ЧТО Я БУДУ ПРИМЕНЯТЬ:
- Внедрю систему, где руководитель отдела продаж будет уделять больше времени коучингу своих сотрудников, а не решению технических вопросов.
ЕЩЕ НА ЭТУ ТЕМУ:
Jason Jordan «Cracking The Sales Management Code»
Одна из лучших книг по продажам, которую я прочитал за последние годы. Автор - основатель компании HubSpot. Видно, что он очень хорошо разобрался в построении В2В продаж. Ну и успех его компании говорит сам за себя. Как говорит Нассим Талеб «Хватит разговоров, просто покажи мне свое портфолио». Здесь портфолио отличное и есть чему поучиться у автора и сразу применить в своих компаниях.
КАКАЯ БЫЛА ЦЕЛЬ ЧТЕНИЯ:
Улучшить систему В2В продаж в моей компании
ГЛАВНЫЕ ВЫВОДЫ:
- Есть 4 столпа успешной системы продаж
1. ��анимать всегда одного и того же продажника, соответствующего портрету человека, у которого максимальные шансы добиться успеха в продажах именно в нашей компании.
2. Обучать всех продавцов по одинаковой системе.
3. Контролировать всех продажников на основе одинаковой системы продаж, которую выстроила компания.
4. Давать всем продавцам одинаковое число качественных лидов каждую неделю и месяц.
- Всегда нанимать продавцов на основе оценки их успеха именно в нашей компании. У нас должен быть четкий портрет такого человека.
- Современные продажи больше похожи не на отношения продавец/покупатель, а отношения доктор/пациент. Не покупатель должен понимать, что предлагает ему продавец, а продавец должен понимать цели покупателя и предлагать ему решения.
- Когда директор по продажам помогает продавцу закрыть большую сделку, то он выигрывает битву. Когда он нанимает, обучает и создаёт команду сильных продавцов, он выигрывает войну. Поэтому основная задача руководителя - подобрать команду сильных продавцов, которые могут закрывать сделки без его участия.
- Формат и показатели компенсационного пакета зависят от индустрии в которой работает компания и от ступени на которой находится развитие бизнеса. Не надо копировать чужие системы мотивации.
ЧТО Я БУДУ ПРИМЕНЯТЬ:
- Внедрю систему, где руководитель отдела продаж будет уделять больше времени коучингу своих сотрудников, а не решению технических вопросов.
ЕЩЕ НА ЭТУ ТЕМУ:
Jason Jordan «Cracking The Sales Management Code»
July 3, 2023
This is an absolute goldmine of tactics and strategies for future-proof sales teams. Will surely re-read frequently!
February 25, 2020
It's a must read for anyone working in a startup, especially if you are selling SaaS, especially if your line of responsibilities are within generating growth.
Loads of lessons shared from the first few employees at HubSpot, hands-on examples and failed experiments.
Best sales-growth book I have read and definitely a good starting point for anyone just beginning their sales acceleration journey.
Loads of lessons shared from the first few employees at HubSpot, hands-on examples and failed experiments.
Best sales-growth book I have read and definitely a good starting point for anyone just beginning their sales acceleration journey.
December 22, 2019
A clear practical guide on how to build a scaling sales organization.
July 18, 2021
Simple and insightful. One of the best sales books I have read
April 7, 2015
Good read but above the scope of most small business requirements. A very systemised approach to management which works better at scale than in a more personalised environment of smaller sales teams.
I would have scored it higher had it not been for the over the top sales push towards inbound marketing above all other forms of sales methodology. I understand the author works for hubspot and that should be enough. Definitive sweeping statements about one form of sales vs another frustrate me. There isn't a one size fits all sales model any more than there's a one size fits all business model.
I would have scored it higher had it not been for the over the top sales push towards inbound marketing above all other forms of sales methodology. I understand the author works for hubspot and that should be enough. Definitive sweeping statements about one form of sales vs another frustrate me. There isn't a one size fits all sales model any more than there's a one size fits all business model.
April 25, 2018
One could say this is a sales enineering book: Clear structure on topics of recruiting a sales team, coaching them, lead generation and nurturing the customer relationships, with practical tips on each.
April 2, 2023
A good intro to building a sales function in an organisation. The heavy focus on B2B made a lot of it irrelevant to my world. If it had been similarly focused on B2C, it would probably have resulted in 4 stars.
August 8, 2022
Excelente. Conciso y practico para quien esté armando equipos de ventas.
August 1, 2021
I need to circle back to this book; this is potentially a High Output Management equivalent, but for the sales domain.
(HOM, by the way, is the only management book you ever need to read).
(HOM, by the way, is the only management book you ever need to read).
March 12, 2016
I've been a fan of Inbound marketing and HubSpot for many years but I've always looked at things from the marketing perspective. Reading this from a Sales perspective and seeing Inbound Marketing from a sales perspective is on the one hand duh dude how could you not have seen it, it's obvious and on the other hand completely eye opening. Gonna have to make this a compulsory read for sales and marketing teams from now on for sure!
December 4, 2016
The best book on sales that I've read. Very updated, with plenty of modern examples with real life situations among startups and SaaS business models. The book is also very complete since it draws the foundations for every major aspect of a sales team, going from lead generation, onboarding new employees and data driven management of a sales team and so on.
It could easily be a 6 stars rate.
It could easily be a 6 stars rate.
January 2, 2020
If Hubspot can do one thing better than marketing, it's sales; and in this book, their CSO shares what he's learned over the years. As a result, the book provides a solid guide on how to set up your sales organization, from hiring salespeople, through educating them, to evaluating the success of your team. If you're building a startup, especially a B2B business, this is a highly recommended read!
January 1, 2021
A Bible for every founder, CEO or Head of Sales of a company, whether a startup or a more mature company.
This book is not really addressing sales techniques, but rather how to recruit, manage, motivate and grow a highly effective salesforce
This book is not really addressing sales techniques, but rather how to recruit, manage, motivate and grow a highly effective salesforce
October 26, 2019
Inspired me at the beginning of my sales management career
January 13, 2023
"The Sales Acceleration Formula" is a book written by Mark Roberge, the former Chief Revenue Officer of HubSpot. In the book, Mark shares his experience scaling the sales team at HubSpot from $0 to $100 million in revenue. He outlines a formula for sales acceleration, which is a systematic approach to scaling a sales team and increasing revenue.
The formula is divided into three main components: People, Process, and Technology. Mark emphasizes the importance of hiring the right people, providing them with the right training, and setting clear goals to help them reach their full potential. He also highlights the importance of having a well-defined sales process and using technology to automate and optimize it.
The book also covers topics such as lead generation, sales forecasting, and sales management. Mark provides a detailed look into how HubSpot's sales team was able to increase revenue, and includes case studies and examples from other companies to show how the formula can be applied in different industries. Overall, "The Sales Acceleration Formula" is a valuable resource for sales leaders and entrepreneurs looking to scale their sales team and increase revenue.
My top 10 take-aways:
The importance of hiring the right people and providing them with the right training to achieve success in sales.
The need for a well-defined sales process and using technology to automate and optimize it.
The use of data and analytics to make informed decisions about sales strategy and forecasting.
The importance of setting clear goals and metrics to measure performance and progress.
The need to continuously innovate and improve the sales process to stay ahead of the competition.
The use of technology to automate repetitive tasks and allow sales reps to focus on high-value activities.
The value of creating a positive and supportive culture within the sales team.
The importance of lead generation and nurturing leads to increase the quality and quantity of opportunities.
The role of sales managers in developing and leading the sales team.
The need to continuously iterate and improve the sales process in response to market changes and new insights.
The formula is divided into three main components: People, Process, and Technology. Mark emphasizes the importance of hiring the right people, providing them with the right training, and setting clear goals to help them reach their full potential. He also highlights the importance of having a well-defined sales process and using technology to automate and optimize it.
The book also covers topics such as lead generation, sales forecasting, and sales management. Mark provides a detailed look into how HubSpot's sales team was able to increase revenue, and includes case studies and examples from other companies to show how the formula can be applied in different industries. Overall, "The Sales Acceleration Formula" is a valuable resource for sales leaders and entrepreneurs looking to scale their sales team and increase revenue.
My top 10 take-aways:
The importance of hiring the right people and providing them with the right training to achieve success in sales.
The need for a well-defined sales process and using technology to automate and optimize it.
The use of data and analytics to make informed decisions about sales strategy and forecasting.
The importance of setting clear goals and metrics to measure performance and progress.
The need to continuously innovate and improve the sales process to stay ahead of the competition.
The use of technology to automate repetitive tasks and allow sales reps to focus on high-value activities.
The value of creating a positive and supportive culture within the sales team.
The importance of lead generation and nurturing leads to increase the quality and quantity of opportunities.
The role of sales managers in developing and leading the sales team.
The need to continuously iterate and improve the sales process in response to market changes and new insights.
November 30, 2023
1. **Inbound Selling Philosophy:** Roberge introduces the concept of inbound selling, emphasizing the importance of aligning sales strategies with the way modern buyers conduct research and make purchasing decisions.
2. **Data-Driven Sales:** The book highlights the significance of leveraging data in the sales process. Roberge discusses how data analytics can inform sales strategies, improve targeting, and enhance overall performance.
3. **Scalable Customer Acquisition:** Roberge explores the idea of building scalable customer acquisition processes. He discusses how companies can systematize and optimize their sales efforts to efficiently acquire new customers.
4. **Technology Integration:** The book emphasizes the role of technology in sales acceleration. Roberge discusses the integration of technology tools and platforms to streamline sales processes, improve communication, and enhance efficiency.
5. **Sales Team Hiring and Training:** Roberge provides insights into hiring and training sales teams for success. He discusses the importance of recruiting individuals with the right skills and mindset, as well as implementing effective training programs.
6. **Customer-Centric Approach:** The book advocates for a customer-centric approach to sales. Roberge discusses the importance of understanding customer needs, providing value, and building long-term relationships.
7. **Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):** Roberge emphasizes the use of metrics and KPIs to measure and optimize sales performance. He provides a framework for identifying and tracking the most relevant metrics for a company's specific goals.
8. **Iterative Improvement:** The book encourages a culture of continuous improvement in sales processes. Roberge discusses the value of experimentation, iteration, and learning from both successes and failures.
"The Sales Acceleration Formula" provides a systematic and data-driven approach to building and scaling successful sales operations. Mark Roberge's insights, drawn from his experience as Chief Revenue Officer at HubSpot, offer practical guidance for companies looking to accelerate their sales growth in the modern business landscape.
2. **Data-Driven Sales:** The book highlights the significance of leveraging data in the sales process. Roberge discusses how data analytics can inform sales strategies, improve targeting, and enhance overall performance.
3. **Scalable Customer Acquisition:** Roberge explores the idea of building scalable customer acquisition processes. He discusses how companies can systematize and optimize their sales efforts to efficiently acquire new customers.
4. **Technology Integration:** The book emphasizes the role of technology in sales acceleration. Roberge discusses the integration of technology tools and platforms to streamline sales processes, improve communication, and enhance efficiency.
5. **Sales Team Hiring and Training:** Roberge provides insights into hiring and training sales teams for success. He discusses the importance of recruiting individuals with the right skills and mindset, as well as implementing effective training programs.
6. **Customer-Centric Approach:** The book advocates for a customer-centric approach to sales. Roberge discusses the importance of understanding customer needs, providing value, and building long-term relationships.
7. **Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):** Roberge emphasizes the use of metrics and KPIs to measure and optimize sales performance. He provides a framework for identifying and tracking the most relevant metrics for a company's specific goals.
8. **Iterative Improvement:** The book encourages a culture of continuous improvement in sales processes. Roberge discusses the value of experimentation, iteration, and learning from both successes and failures.
"The Sales Acceleration Formula" provides a systematic and data-driven approach to building and scaling successful sales operations. Mark Roberge's insights, drawn from his experience as Chief Revenue Officer at HubSpot, offer practical guidance for companies looking to accelerate their sales growth in the modern business landscape.
February 12, 2023
I find that a lot of educational business books are extremely redundant, offering only a few insightful ideas over the course of hundreds of pages. This book is not like that at all. It is divided into 5 sections, each of which has its own focus as it relates to sales and marketing (everything from the hiring process, to generating demand for your product). There is also a very detailed table of contents at the beginning making it super easy to go back and reference topics later. The figures and examples shown from Hubspot are very helpful, and I finished the book with a much better understanding of how to grow a sales department and market your product effectively through inbound strategies.
The one critique I would have is that I wish there was more time invested in the discussion of each topic as it relates to smaller businesses. Obviously, Hubspot has an enormous sales team, so some of the chapters (particularly in sections 2 and 3 about training and management) are not very applicable to small teams.
This is definitely a book that I would revisit again as our business continues to grow. The most helpful chapters for me (that I plan on revisiting) while growing a sales team at a startup would be:
Chapter 2 - Five traits great salespeople have and how to interview for them
Chapter 4 - The ideal first sales hire
Chapter 8 - Motivation through sales compensation plans and contests
Chapter 10 - Flip the demand generation formula - get buyers to find you
The one critique I would have is that I wish there was more time invested in the discussion of each topic as it relates to smaller businesses. Obviously, Hubspot has an enormous sales team, so some of the chapters (particularly in sections 2 and 3 about training and management) are not very applicable to small teams.
This is definitely a book that I would revisit again as our business continues to grow. The most helpful chapters for me (that I plan on revisiting) while growing a sales team at a startup would be:
Chapter 2 - Five traits great salespeople have and how to interview for them
Chapter 4 - The ideal first sales hire
Chapter 8 - Motivation through sales compensation plans and contests
Chapter 10 - Flip the demand generation formula - get buyers to find you
May 4, 2020
A great perspective on why B2B businesses need to change
While this book is 5 years old at this point, the ideas are still spot on. Somehow, very few companies do things the right way, despite how ingrained these thoughts are within Silicon Valley water cooler talk. The core concept is that buyers are empowered and technical product advantages don’t last, so sales and marketing need to be differentiators. But to do that, you have to truly educate potential buyers rather than “selling” or “marketing” to them.
The big change since the book published is that a few of the tactics are harder to execute, so more creativity is required. The internet has become way noisier and each market has more companies vying for attention. The trick of hiring unemployed journalists as content marketers is also widespread. Nonetheless, the theories are sound and this book is a foundational read for anyone in the tech industry.
While this book is 5 years old at this point, the ideas are still spot on. Somehow, very few companies do things the right way, despite how ingrained these thoughts are within Silicon Valley water cooler talk. The core concept is that buyers are empowered and technical product advantages don’t last, so sales and marketing need to be differentiators. But to do that, you have to truly educate potential buyers rather than “selling” or “marketing” to them.
The big change since the book published is that a few of the tactics are harder to execute, so more creativity is required. The internet has become way noisier and each market has more companies vying for attention. The trick of hiring unemployed journalists as content marketers is also widespread. Nonetheless, the theories are sound and this book is a foundational read for anyone in the tech industry.
May 26, 2019
The Sales Acceleration Formula: Using Data, Technology, and Inbound Selling to go from $0 to $100 Million comes from practical experience of Mark Roberge setting up a Predictable, Scalable sales team at Hubspot. Relevant for B-2-B sales.
This book answers 4 top questions:
1) How to build sales hiring model
2) How to build sales training model
3) How to build a model to make sales reps accountable
4) How to build model for steady leads pouring in
WIIFM: Hiring model explained pretty well, I am taking it from this along with Training model (the Data driven training).
This book answers 4 top questions:
1) How to build sales hiring model
2) How to build sales training model
3) How to build a model to make sales reps accountable
4) How to build model for steady leads pouring in
WIIFM: Hiring model explained pretty well, I am taking it from this along with Training model (the Data driven training).
January 8, 2021
As a person who is always more connected to marketing rather than sales, it was beneficial. Mark Roberge proved his model work by pushing Hubspot towards a unicorn valuation path. Funny thing, even his haters (e.g., Dan Lyons in "Disrupted") had to agree that the formula he had implemented in the company worked.
What I personally enjoyed: it's simple, actionable, and provides both tactical and strategic approaches. I think that the process for hiring a salesperson or when it comes to marketing/sales SLA approach - simply awesome.
What I miss: it was too short! I really wanted more case studies, more examples of the situation. I would also like to see the data, but I understand it was not possible due to the confidentiality policy.
As I'm thinking of our sales operations or our clients, I know that ROI from this piece will prove extremely useful for sure.
What I personally enjoyed: it's simple, actionable, and provides both tactical and strategic approaches. I think that the process for hiring a salesperson or when it comes to marketing/sales SLA approach - simply awesome.
What I miss: it was too short! I really wanted more case studies, more examples of the situation. I would also like to see the data, but I understand it was not possible due to the confidentiality policy.
As I'm thinking of our sales operations or our clients, I know that ROI from this piece will prove extremely useful for sure.
December 6, 2022
In the world of sales books, this one is decent?
Recognizing that the genre is inherently bad, I'll say Roberge at least makes actual points. He correctly states that they may not apply to your business -- a lot are a product of place/time, and Hubspot got very lucky in that way.
(I just fundamentally don't believe that most of building a business is skill -- I think so much of it is circumstance! He spends a lot of time being like "we rule bc we are innovative" but babe, you started a SaaS company in the late aughts! You rode a wave! Whatever.)
This is a laundry list of what worked for them. Vaguely useful, if only to provoke a reaction.
I'd recommend this but for people who are building sales teams of 4+ people, not folks at the very early stage. I'll probably revisit this one day and get more out of it.
Recognizing that the genre is inherently bad, I'll say Roberge at least makes actual points. He correctly states that they may not apply to your business -- a lot are a product of place/time, and Hubspot got very lucky in that way.
(I just fundamentally don't believe that most of building a business is skill -- I think so much of it is circumstance! He spends a lot of time being like "we rule bc we are innovative" but babe, you started a SaaS company in the late aughts! You rode a wave! Whatever.)
This is a laundry list of what worked for them. Vaguely useful, if only to provoke a reaction.
I'd recommend this but for people who are building sales teams of 4+ people, not folks at the very early stage. I'll probably revisit this one day and get more out of it.
January 5, 2020
This book packs a serious punch for anyone involved in Inside Selling.
I know I will keep referring back to it for tactical insights on hiring, training and building inbound sales and content marketing teams, as well as in creating experimentation frameworks.
It’s only limitation is that it very much chants the Hubspot mantra, meaning many of the examples might not be directly applicable to your business.
In particular, it was fascinating to read how Roberge instituted a training program for new sales recruits to create their own digital presence using Hubspot so that they could develop deeper empathy with their customers when they sold.
This might not apply to my own business but it certainly helped me understand a driver of Hubspot’s enormous success.
I know I will keep referring back to it for tactical insights on hiring, training and building inbound sales and content marketing teams, as well as in creating experimentation frameworks.
It’s only limitation is that it very much chants the Hubspot mantra, meaning many of the examples might not be directly applicable to your business.
In particular, it was fascinating to read how Roberge instituted a training program for new sales recruits to create their own digital presence using Hubspot so that they could develop deeper empathy with their customers when they sold.
This might not apply to my own business but it certainly helped me understand a driver of Hubspot’s enormous success.
November 18, 2020
Wellbeing into sales I used to ponder whether sales can be data-driven & can be learnt. After reading this I can confidently say that the prior two points are taken care of. In a modern world where the buyer is well versed, this books signifies how imperative is to understand the need of the customer. How important is hiring, training, marketing/ sales alignment? If the prior plans are not aligned then it is a sure shot kiss of death in a buyer-driven world. This book signifies quantitative metrics for success and removes the subjectivity. It also highlights fostering innovation as the forefront of any modern organisation. Practices like BANT & GPCT can be game-changers. I would highly recommend this book to all the leaders who want to grow there org at a fast pace.
September 5, 2017
This is a good book on sales written by Hubspot's former head of sales. An engineer by training, he had great success defining and systematizing a selling system that he shares in this book.
His system consists of first uncovering the important characteristics of a successful salesperson. Second, instructions for how to interview them. Third, prospecting for sales people. Fourth, setting up a predictable sales training program. Fifth, metrics-driven coaching and compensation design. Sixth, the inbound demand generation formula. Seventh, setting up a culture of experimentation and helpful technology.
His system consists of first uncovering the important characteristics of a successful salesperson. Second, instructions for how to interview them. Third, prospecting for sales people. Fourth, setting up a predictable sales training program. Fifth, metrics-driven coaching and compensation design. Sixth, the inbound demand generation formula. Seventh, setting up a culture of experimentation and helpful technology.
March 17, 2019
I picked this up when I saw Mark Roberge was speaking at SalesLoft's annual conference Rainmaker. Mr. Roberge is the former CRO of Hubspot, a company that invested in PandaDoc.
PandaDoc uses Hubspot and is inbound focused - exactly what Mr. Roberge preaches is the future of selling as buying power has shifted with the creation of the internet.
The book is broken down into 5 sections:
Hiring, Training, Management, Demand Generation, and Technology/Experiments.
Each section is written with an explanation supported by examples and diagrams. I think the first three sections were most valuable as people are the key to doing well in anything. As my old rowing coach Mike Teti used to say, "its not about Xs and Ox but Jims and Joes."
This book is easy to read and full of learnings. I would recommend to anyone who is trying to grow professionally. Cherry on top is all earnings go to the nonprofit BUILD.
PandaDoc uses Hubspot and is inbound focused - exactly what Mr. Roberge preaches is the future of selling as buying power has shifted with the creation of the internet.
The book is broken down into 5 sections:
Hiring, Training, Management, Demand Generation, and Technology/Experiments.
Each section is written with an explanation supported by examples and diagrams. I think the first three sections were most valuable as people are the key to doing well in anything. As my old rowing coach Mike Teti used to say, "its not about Xs and Ox but Jims and Joes."
This book is easy to read and full of learnings. I would recommend to anyone who is trying to grow professionally. Cherry on top is all earnings go to the nonprofit BUILD.
December 30, 2020
As a fan of @hubspot, exploring how this startup grows its B2B revenue from $0 to $100million, scales its team from 3 to 10k, and acquires millions B2B customers in pretty quick time absolutely got my attention!
And how they dit it? Mark, as first VP of Sales at that time, with no background at sales instead engineering, took different approach of most sales leader did. Seeing sales as a science instead of art and experimenting with lot of matrix to find its best sales framework to scale Hubspot.
A few sales book talks about this kind of practical formula. Pretty suitable for you who aim to scale a B2B business.
9.5/10 - thanks for sharing, @roberge_mark!
And how they dit it? Mark, as first VP of Sales at that time, with no background at sales instead engineering, took different approach of most sales leader did. Seeing sales as a science instead of art and experimenting with lot of matrix to find its best sales framework to scale Hubspot.
A few sales book talks about this kind of practical formula. Pretty suitable for you who aim to scale a B2B business.
9.5/10 - thanks for sharing, @roberge_mark!
April 12, 2023
To the point explanations that are simple and practical makes this a fantastic read. No fluff.
Practical tips with examples to build and scale the sales function
- playbook to hire the best sales folks
- playbook to train them
- playbook to iterate the sales process & incentivise the sales folks to adopt them
- setting up a rhythm & alignment between sales and marketing
- understanding how sales tech and sales productivity tools should be leveraged. One that enables the sales folks to be in front of the customers - sell better and sell faster.
Practical tips with examples to build and scale the sales function
- playbook to hire the best sales folks
- playbook to train them
- playbook to iterate the sales process & incentivise the sales folks to adopt them
- setting up a rhythm & alignment between sales and marketing
- understanding how sales tech and sales productivity tools should be leveraged. One that enables the sales folks to be in front of the customers - sell better and sell faster.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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