Sales Masterclass 9: A Step-by-Step Sales Strategy Learned From 300 Sales Calls

Prospect, prepare, own the conversation, retrospect - then rinse and repeat. Featuring Alon Cinamon of Ibex Investors.

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Episode Highlights:

It's a common misconception among founders that sales calls are a stage to display their product's brilliance and bask in the glow of the prospect’s admiration. In reality, sales is about strategic communication and relationship-building, not a solo performance. 

In this Masterclass, you'll gain the tools to identify potential customers, craft a compelling narrative, lead a productive meeting, and critically analyze the outcome to refine your approach. Understand it, use it, rinse, and repeat. 

What you’ll learn :

• Creating a targeted list of prospects.

• Preparing for a sales meeting 

• Taking command of the meeting and guide it towards your goals.

• Analyzing the meeting afterwards to gain actionable insights.

Meet the expert: Alon Cinamon works at Ibex Investors and focuses on investing in early-stage B2B enterprise software companies. He previously worked for Glilot Capital for three years. Over the years, he has participated in over 300 sales calls with 30 different startups

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Step 1: Prospecting

Prospecting is how you pinpoint the people who are likely to become your product's most enthusiastic users and advocates, so you can sell to them.

We've covered into this in the previous episodes, but here's the gist:

• Specify your value proposition: start by articulating what your product does better than anyone else's. What customer pain points are you addressing, and how do you stand out from the crowd? 

• Identify your ideal customer profile (ICP): the next step is to determine who will benefit most from your solution. Analyze common traits among your best customers, such as industry, company size, and decision-maker roles. 

• Build a prospecting list: now it's time for some legwork. Utilize platforms like LinkedIn Sales Navigator or ZoomInfo to assemble a database of potential organizations and key contacts. Keep the list organized in a CRM of your choice. Don’t forget to prioritize based on your current assumptions about how is easier to reach or sell to

• Use warm introductions: Operate every connection at your disposal to reach your ICP. When you make contact, lead with your 'bottom line'—a concise, powerful statement of your product's value. This is your hook in cold emails and a valuable nugget for your connectors to share.

Step 2: Preparing

Approach each sales meeting with the kind of preparation that gives you a sense of control over its direction. As we all learned in the IDF, success in any mission depends on thorough preparation; the same principle applies to sales. And like the IDF, the mission can be divided into three parts:

1. Research: Before you even set foot in the room, become an expert on the organization you're engaging with. Understand their market position, size, employee count, and financial turnover. This knowledge positions you as an authority and shows that you don't just understand your product—you understand their business. In addition, use the wealth of information available online to get to know the person you are meeting, their professional challenges, and their personal interests. This is about finding common ground for a rapport that can make or break deals.

2. Impressive demo: Your demo isn't just a feature tour; it's a narrative that needs to be convincing. Invest in its quality. A crisp, engaging demo can transform a pitch from forgettable to front-of-mind.

3. Answers to pushbacks: Every question or challenge from your prospect is an opportunity to showcase your product's strengths. Don't leave this to chance. Prepare for the hard questions about competitors, data security, integration, scalability, cost, support, and customer success stories. Your readiness to address these points confidently can shift the momentum in your favour.

Owning

Own your meeting with a firm hand and a listening ear, adhering to the 40/60 rule: limit your talk to 40% and let the other side elaborate on their challenges, organizational structure, and preferences. Listen actively, respond thoughtfully, and be fully present.You should come prepared with a powerful presentation and ensure your technology is fail-proof. If feasible, bring a teammate to observe, take notes, and provide post-call feedback. Consider the option of recording the meeting for learning purposes, but know that it may influence the meeting's dynamic.

Furthermore, be cognizant of cultural nuances. For instance, Israeli business culture often embraces directness and might interpret interjections as a sign of engagement, while in the U.S., such behaviour could be perceived as intrusive or disrespectful. 

The minute-by-minute structure of a 30-minute demo

Minutes 0-3: Introduction and Ice Breaker

• Begin with a friendly introduction of yourself and your team.

• Establish yourself as a credible entrepreneur.

• Move to an icebreaker to build rapport and set a positive tone for the conversation.

  

Minutes 4-9: Discovery

• Validate the pain points uncovered during research.

• Understand their needs, budget, authority, and timeline through open-ended questions.

• Actively listen and give them space to describe their problems in their own words. Don’t jump-in with your pre-fabricated conclusions.

Minutes 10-17: Pitch and Demo

• Give a compelling presentation or demo of your product.

• Focus more on the benefits than features, making sure it's aligned with the discovery step.

• Keep it interactive, asking questions to ensure understanding and engagement.

Minutes 18-27: Discussion and Elicitation of Feedback

• Encourage them to share their impressions about your presentation/demo.

• Ask specific questions to gather authentic, valuable feedback.

• Use their responses to further highlight your product's value and address any concerns.

• Keep the conversation natural and inviting.

Minute 28-30: Set Next Steps and Conclusion

• Propose a clear next step, like a follow-up call, a product trial, or a meeting with others in their company.

• Summarize key points, thank them for their time, and express anticipation about the next steps.

Step 4: Retrospecting

Reflecting on your performance after a sales call can be as daunting as staring into a mirror, flaws and all. It’s a time when you confront the uncomfortable truth that not everything went as planned and that your sales hypotheses may not be as rock-solid as you believed. But embrace the learning curve; with each review, the process becomes less about critique and more about growth.

Start the post-mortem by revisiting your goals. Did the meeting fulfil your objectives? If it fell short, identify where and why. Then, turn to the connection you established—was there a genuine warmth and authenticity in your rapport, and did your delivery convincingly validate their pain points, positioning your solution as the remedy they’ve been seeking? Lastly, evaluate the immediate reaction to your pitch. Measure their interest and engagement: Was it a must-have product in their world or a nice one to have? 

Use the insight from your post-mortem analysis of the call to refine your strategy. Question what could be enhanced and what lessons can be applied moving forward.If a particular segment of your presentation didn't resonate, it's time to overhaul it. If you find yourself repeatedly missing the mark on specific objectives, it's time to reevaluate those goals or adjust your tactics to better achieve them.

Now, go back to the prospecting list and repeat. 

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This was the final episode of our Sales masterclass! We hope it will serve you as a valuable resource moving forward. You can see the full list of episodes here – and if there’s any feedback, please let us know in the comments!