Decoding Sales podcast

#Entrepreneur #Business #Peter & Alex #Sales #Enterprise Sales #Virtual Selling #Software Sales

24:42

Episode Notes [01:14] Unexpected Email from Employer [05:49] The Deferred Resignation Program [06:34] Initial Reactions and Concerns [08:01] Evaluating the Offer [08:21] Enhanced Standards of Conduct [08:55] Personal Reflections and Concerns [12:21] Seeking Advice and Making a Decision [13:01] Option One: Do Not Resign [14:56] Option Two: Resign [16:44] Insights from Conversations [21:30] Making The Decision [23:51] Final Thoughts and Gratitude Resources Mentioned Sebastian Junger The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson Donald Trump Elon Musk Steve Bannon Russell Vought Derek Sivers Sumner Crenshaw Brian Fretwell at Finding Good Chad Littlefield The Thought Leaders Practice by Matt Church Simon Cowell Beauty Pill Producer Ben Ford Questions Asked Is it legitimate, and can it be trusted? How are you feeling? What questions come to your mind? Where does your mind go? Are you seeking safety? Would this have been an adrenaline rush as you raced to send the resignation response? What an "enhanced standard" regarding loyalty and trustworthiness was? What are these new "enhanced standards?" Are they beyond what my Constitutional oath requires? If I don't resign, how bright will the target on my back glow? My leadership has supported all my work, but would termination direction come from higher up the chain of command? What would you recommend if we talked over coffee? What questions would you ask? How would you use listening? How would you use silence? How is this scenario playing out in your mind and body? What is coming to the surface for you? How might that influence what you are about to say to me? What are the chances of my name popping on a list and getting fired? How about the chances of being part of an official Reduction in Force and early retirement? Would the administration make a better offer? What do I know about the pending job market? What did I expect the workplace to be like and did I want to be there as the contractions took place? Will the administration pay me through the end of September or will they renege? Can I sufficiently build the Curated Questions business to transition by 1 October? - Do I have the faith or confidence to step into this future as a sole practitioner and grow Curated Questions into all I envisioned? Was this purpose calling? What would I expect the job market to look like at the end of summer if I hadn't developed the income streams to maintain our lifestyle? What is your recommendation? Did it change from your initial recommendation? Where in your body are you feeling the uncertainty? Are you processing this scenario in parallel with your decision as if you had received the email? What additional questions should I have considered? Who else should I have consulted with? How would you have changed my risk rating? What is the correct length of the pregnant pause before making an important announcement? What processes would you use in my circumstance, and what would be different? What questions are at the top of your list to get to a decision? Who would be the members of your pantheon you would counsel with to gain clarity? Apart from the heady analysis, what other key practices would you include in your journey through a similar situation?…

Decoding Sales

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A podcast where an engineer (Alex Allain, CTO @ U.S. Digital Response) and salesperson (Peter Ahn, Tech sales coach) demystify what it means to build meaningful business relationships in the modern age.

42 episódios

Decoding Sales

updated há 22 dias

Home de séries•Feed

42 episódios

#Entrepreneur #Business #Peter & Alex #Sales #Enterprise Sales #Virtual Selling #Software Sales

Todos os episódios

Decoding Sales

1
Episode 42: Relationship-led selling with Centralize founders Rachit and William 38:57

há 22 dias38:57

38:57

Send us a text As a solo host, Peter tries his best to fill Alex's shoes :) He sits down with YC W24 founders of Centralize, Rachit Kataria and William Wang , to discuss their founder-led sales journey and approach. They discuss: Their approach to relationship-based selling The challenges and opportunities of selling to GTM leaders Creative outbound strategies they've leveraged How they think about hiring their first seller Visit Centralize's website to learn more about Rachit and William's vision. They've built an AI-powered deal collaboration platform that focuses on mapping key stakeholders, understanding them, and how to leverage each to get strategic deals done. Special shout out to Will Thoni (Sales at Langchain) for making this connection! To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 41: Piloting Sales at Pilot.com with Founder, Waseem Daher 47:03

há 7 weeks47:03

47:03

Send us a text Waseem Daher (Ex-Dropbox and Founder of Pilot.com ) sits down with Peter Ahn and Alex Allain of Decoding Sales to discuss learnings from his founder-led sales journey. They discuss: • The importance of founders being involved in closing a startup's first customers • How to think through hiring your first salesperson • What the right profile is for sales hire #1 • How to know when to fire salespeople who aren't working out • Lead gen tactics for startups and the power of word of mouth To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 40: 3 things Peter got wrong! 36:46

há 14 weeks36:46

36:46

Send us a text At the end of the year, Peter and Alex look back on what Peter's learned coaching startups and three places he's changed his mind. They cover: Peter's new thoughts on BANT and MEDDIC as discovery and sales qualification frameworks. (Originally discussed in the BANT and MEDDIC episode from December of 2022) Why Salesforce may not be the best CRM to start with if you're an early stage founder (originally discussed in in the CRM 101 episode from 2021) The changing archetype of what makes a great first sales hire (from the The First Sales Hire episode, also from 2021!) To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 39: Founder-led sales from a founder (Tido Carriero, CEO Koala) 47:33

há 21 weeks47:33

47:33

Send us a text Having all worked together on Dropbox for Business, Tido, Alex, and Peter share a special bond and respect for building the foundational elements of enterprise sales at Dropbox when it was still seen as a consumer brand. Now, as founder and CEO of Koala (getkoala.com), Tido shares his learnings, obstacles and opportunities that all founders who are learning enterprise sales for the first time should tune into. They discuss: Early challenges Tido faced learning to sell Koala during the early days When is the right time to shift from founder-led sales to sales led sales? Hiring “builders” to lead GTM in the early days How to think about “jobs to be done” when building out GTM JD’s How to master and think through demand generation and demand capture when going outbound About Tido: Tido is a Co-Founder @ Koala, is an end-to-end pipeline generation engine. Prior to Koala, he was Chief Product Officer at Segment from early days through its $3.2B acquisition by Twilio. Prior to that, he worked with Alex & Peter at Dropbox and was an early engineer on the Facebook Ads team. Follow Tido on LinkedIn and visit Koala here ! To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 38: When not to chase shiny logos 26:03

há 33 weeks26:03

26:03

Send us a text Peter and Alex discuss founder-led sales mistake #2: Spending too much time on bad-fit leads. They dive into: What makes a bad-fit lead? How do you qualify for fit and what questions can you ask to get clarity around this? When are some examples you may continue working with non-ICP customers? How do you know when to eject out of a deal midstream? To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 37: Avoid this founder-led sales mistake 34:21

há 36 weeks34:21

34:21

Send us a text Peter and Alex discuss one of the most common founder-led sales mistakes he's seen early stage founders make: assuming they have a brand when initiating outbound sales. They dive into: Why establishing a digital footprint ahead of going outbound is important The value of offering lead magnets and thought leadership content ahead of asking for a meeting Why personalization may not be what it once was How to get your digital brand started and tips to start posting on LinkedIn For the next episode they'll dive into Founder-Led Sales Mistake #2 so stay tuned for that discussion! To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 36: Scaling authentic sales 42:28

há 38 weeks42:28

42:28

Send us a text Peter and Alex discuss the state of sales at large companies and what it means to scale authentic sales. They explore the following questions and topics: Can startup sales be relevant at large companies? Why sales training isn't working for large sales teams What Toyota's innovation with building cars has to do with sales What leaders at public companies can do to reimagine what sales means for their growth and brand To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 35: The pitch 45:11

há 40 weeks45:11

45:11

Send us a text Peter and Alex review the elements of an effective pitch: The elevator pitch and leaning into your origin story (regardless of what VCs will tell you) What makes a compelling pitch deck and how not to bore your prospect with deckware Teasing a demo to sell the second meeting Other episodes referenced: Episode 32: BANT and MEDDIC Episode 3: Call Leadership To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 34: ...And we're back! 35:52

há 42 weeks35:52

35:52

Send us a text After a break from recording, Peter and Alex are back at it with regular recordings. Catch-up to hear what Peter and Alex have been up to and how the state of play has changed within startup enterprise sales. Peter and Alex discuss: Standing out in a hyper competitive environment The importance of establishing founder branding Multi-stakeholder sales in today's environment The role of AI in sales Founders mentioned on the episode for thought leadership examples: Victor Hunt, Ava Julian Park, Bezi Ashu Dubey, Gleen.ai Animesh Koratana, PlayerZero.ai To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 33: Micro-negotiations in everyday life 48:56

há 2 years48:56

48:56

Send us a text Every day you're presented with moments where you can decide whether to take what's offered, or you can negotiate. Most of us take what's offered because it's comfortable and easy, but are you leaving something on the table? Peter and Alex share expert strategy for mastering negotiations with vendors, sales staff, contractors, and even friends. Learn to build stronger relationships, reach win-win outcomes and secure fairer deals for everyone, while also sharpening your your negotiation chops for those big ticket items. Learn actionable tactics, powerful phrases, and the key mindset to build your negotiation skill in everyday life and never feel taken advantage of again. This episode is sponsored by our friends at Salesroom who are building a video conferencing platform specifically for AE's and their buyers to build strong relationships in the virtual world. Built from the ground up specifically for sales interactions with video note-taking, real-time transcription and question detection, and AI-based recommendations, every feature of the platform is meant to help build rapport and trust. Go to salesroom.com to get access! To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 32: BANT and MEDDIC 38:11

há 2 years38:11

38:11

Send us a text BANT and MEDDIC are two popular sales methodologies. Learn what each of them are for, how to apply them, and how they help you create a more effective sales process. This episode is sponsored by our friends at Salesroom who are building a video conferencing platform specifically for AE's and their buyers to build strong relationships in the virtual world. Built from the ground up specifically for sales interactions with video note-taking, real-time transcription and question detection, and AI-based recommendations, every feature of the platform is meant to help build rapport and trust. Go to salesroom.com to get access! To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 31: Cold outreach - love or hate? 22:51

há 2 years22:51

22:51

Send us a text Sales and marketing teams need to be able to reach out to prospects cold. But prospects hate getting bombarded by irrelevant messages. What do you do with this necessary channel for building awareness for your company? Peter and Alex debate what makes cold outreach emails bad, what makes them effective, and look for common ground on what you should do if you want to make cold outreach emails that prospects don't hate. For more on outbound and how to be successful with cold outreach and cold calling, visit Belal Batrawy's #deathtofluff resource hub To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 30: Recession-proof sales 39:06

há 3 years39:06

39:06

Send us a text High inflation, negative GDP - possible recession? It doesn't matter what you call it, it matters what you DO. In this episode: 👀 Peter shares his view of the state of play and how sales teams should be reacting 🎯 How a recessionary environment forces you to up your game and what you need to do differently 🎱 How to forecast and adjust your quotas in the face of uncertainty 🤝What to do when a customer wants to renegotiate a contract due to layoffs or lost business To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 29: Decoding subtle cues 49:47

há 3 years49:47

49:47

Send us a text * How body language and subtle cues can tell you if a deal is on track - or not * How to take the initiative when you get clues that the conversation is going off-track * Cues to look for in a virtual sales environment * How to recreate casual "lobby moments" during a virtual call This is our first video episode! Find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzNtJUyjKoA This episode is sponsored by our friends at Salesroom who are building a video conferencing platform specifically for AE's and their buyers to build strong relationships in the virtual world. Built from the ground up specifically for sales interactions with video note-taking, real-time transcription and question detection, and AI-based recommendations, every feature of the platform is meant to help build rapport and trust. Go to salesroom.com to get early access! To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and get added to his newsletter for bi-weekly coaching nuggets!…

Decoding Sales

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Episode 28: Dealing with the competition 36:52

há 3 years36:52