A Path to Predictability at Scale
Michael Ingram, SalesOps.io
March 2019

Our Plan Today
Growth Framework
Repeatability
Scalability
Predictability
Case Study

Our Goal: Predictable
Revenue at Scale

3 Phases of Sales Maturation
Repeatability Scalability Predictability
=
$$$

Qualitative and Anecdotal
Quantitative and Data Driven

Apply Product Design Principles
Establish customer-defined value to
separate value-add from waste
Build in learning and continuous
process improvement
Build a culture to support excellence
and relentless improvement
Utilize rigorous standardization to
reduce variation and create flexibility
and predictable outcomes
Adapt technologies to fit your
people and process
Use tools to enable standardization
and organizational learning

Repeatability

The Scientific Method to Repeatability
Hypothesis
Test Design
Measurement
Validation
Process Definition
Iteration

As you apply a structured approach,
you’ll begin to collect insights on what
does and doesn’t work

These learnings should be
codified into a central
repository of knowledge and
best practices

Your First Sales Playbook

Your First Sales Playbook: 9 Chapters
1. Organization Overview and Vision
2. Roles and Responsibilities
3. Ideal Customer Profiles and Buyer Personas
4. Products and Pricing
5. Sales Process and Planning
6. Sales Technology
7. Time Management & Structuring Your Week
8. Measuring Sales Activities and Results
9. Performance Expectations and Commissions

1. Organizational Overview and Vision
Our mission is to change the world
through…
- Value 1
- Value 2
- Value 3
Our Values
SAMPLE TEMPLATE

Josh, CEO
Sales
Jeremy Jake Max
Success
Kate
Risk, Legal,
Finance
Operations
Daniel, CTO
Product Engineering
SAMPLE TEMPLATE
1. Organizational Overview and Vision

2. Revenue Roles and Responsibilities
• New client acquisition
Account Executive
• New customer onboarding
• Account management and upsell
Customer Success
• New opportunity creation
Sales Development Rep
SAMPLE TEMPLATE

3. Ideal Customer Profiles and Buyer
Personas
SAMPLE TEMPLATE
• Head of X
• Head of Y
• CFO
• CEO
Our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is an xyz merchant, on
a platform we currently support, doing between $25M
and $100M in U.S. revenue…
Buyer Personas

4. Products and Pricing
SAMPLE TEMPLATE

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
5. Sales Process and Planning – Buyer
Journey
Prospect
• Inbound: prospect actively engages with us (downloads content, fills out a
lead form, requests a demo)
• Outbound: C-level, marketing, or ecommerce contacts that fit our buyer
personas and have a minimum of…
Qualified
Lead
• Criteria 1
• Criteria 2
• Criteria 3
Sales
Opportunity
• Meets lead qualification criteria
• Agrees to a 15 minute intro call
Customer
• Closed Won result from the sales process (signed contract)

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
5. Sales Process and Planning – Stage
Criteria and Key Milestones
Stage
1
Stage
2
Stage
3
Stage
4
Closed
Probability 10% 20% 40% 75% 100%
Entry Criteria
Description
Milestones

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
5. Sales Process and Planning –
Discovery Call Best Practices
► Pre-Call Checklist – What are the things the salesperson should do before this call to prepare?
o Item 1: take note where lead came from (web request, trade show, phone call).
o Item 2: search CRM to see if the prospect exists. Review historical conversations we might have had with them that could give context. Note previous point of
contact.
o Item 3: If we have firm website, Review & document key pieces of information.
► Initial Call Objectives – What are our goals for this discussion?
o Goal 1: Determine pain points. Why have they contacted us? What issues do they hope our solution will solve for them?
o Goal 2: Learn more about the business and current details on our solution’s area of focus.
o Responses to key discovery questions below.
o Goal 3: Determine the proper solution to pitch
► Ideal Call Structure –Discovery phone call to gather info to develop and schedule presentation
o 30 Minute Call
o Phase 1: Introduction and outline of objectives: Ask some questions so that we can tailor a presentation for their firm.
o Phase 2: Current state discovery:
o Practice Areas- what type of law do they practice?
o What are they using now? Is it a competitor product or Homemade solution
o How do they manage documents?
o What do they use for Accounting?
o What is current intake process?
o Do they use Mac’s or PC’s?
o How many total users?
o Phase 3: Solution overview: Based on discovery responses, Share high level of how the solution might provide value given their current issues with case
management.
o Phase 4: Select and schedule the date and time of the product demonstration.
o Phase 5: Confirm team members to attend web/onsite demo. Confirm job roles of attendees and contact info for invite.
► Schedule & Document–Schedule meeting on group calendar, include dial/login instructions. Document conversation in CRM.

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
5. Sales Process and Planning – Core
Value Propositions
Value Proposition Detail
#1 Abc
#2 Def
#3 Ghi
The Elevator Pitch
Our solution enables…

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
5. Sales Process and Planning –
Objection Handling
Objection Best Response
Too expensive Xyz

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
5. Sales Process and Planning –
Competitive Overview
Competitor Where they win Where we win
1
2
3

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
5. Sales Process and Planning – Sales
Collateral
Content Link to Current Version
Demo deck Docs.google.com/xyz
Case studies
One pager
ROI calculator

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
6. Sales Technology
• Sales intelligence –
industry, revenue, Alexa
rank, ecommerce
platforms, etc.
• Lead generation –
contacts by role, email
addresses
• Up to 1,600 email
addresses per month
• Customer relationship
management system
• Track prospect and
customer activity
• Manage the sales
pipeline
• Gain transparency on
customer-related KPIs
• Sales engagement
• Outbound cadence
enablement
• Inbound lead response
automation

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
7. Time Management and Weekly
Cadence
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Team Daily standup
All hands
meeting
Sales goals
and trends
Daily standup
Sales+CS (bi-
weekly)
Daily standup
Business
standup
Daily standup
Sales+prod.
(bi-weekly)
Daily standup
Individual Weekly
planning
Pipeline
review
As needed: Individual to CS transition
discussion

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
8. Measuring Sales Activities and
Results – Key Metrics
Activities
• Calls
• Emails
Pipeline
• New opps
• Demos
• Pipeline size
Revenue
• New logos
• New customer
revenue

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
9. Performance Expectations and
Commissions – Performance Management
Activities (/week) Pipeline (/week) Revenue (/quarter)
Outreach Emails 75
Calls 15
New Opportunities 5
Demos 4
Pipeline Size (# of
Opps)
30
New Clients 5
New Bookings $250,000

SAMPLE TEMPLATE
9. Performance Expectations and
Commissions – Comp Plans
Component Measurement
Period
% of Plan Goal Target
Payout
Revenue Quarterly 100% $250K $25K
Account Executive
Component Measurement
Period
% of Plan Goal Target
Payout
New
Opportunities
Quarterly 80% 62 $5K
New Clients Quarterly 20% 10 $1.25K
SDR

Scalability

Scalability =
Repeatability +
People +
Tools

The Right People to Support Your
Motion
Inbound
Leads
Outbound
Activities
New Opportunities / Intros Held
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Marketing
AEs and/or Sales
Development Reps
AEs
New Business

5 Levers for Lead Generation
• Specialized in new opportunity creation and enable quicker refinement
of engagement strategies. Typically generate lower volume but more
highly qualified leads than marketing.
SDR
Outbound
• Enables a broader, higher-volume engagement strategy. Should be a
powerful growth engine, particularly in SMB and MM segments and
with more transactional sales.
Marketing
Demand Gen
• Provides capacity on sales execution in addition to lead generation, but
TOF results are often mixed due to a focus on managing existing pipeline.
Often higher impact on lead gen in the Enterprise.
AE Outbound
• Often a distraction if done too early, as the product and positioning are still
being developed. Also more difficult to build partnerships when the
business is nascent.
Partnerships
• Requires a large customer base before providing meaningful impact.Upsell
Key Takeaway: It is VERY
difficult to create enough
pipeline without the support
of SDRs and/or Marketing
(except for very high ACV).

Who Should Drive Lead Gen?
Transactional Enterprise
Marketing SDRs AEs
• Large
addressable
market
• Very low ACV
• Short sales
cycles
• Small
addressable
market
• Very high ACV
• Long, complex
sales cycles
• Anything in-
between

Foundational Tools to Consider
CRM
Target Prospect
Data
Sales
Engagement
Marketing
Automation
Sales Telephony
• A single system where you manage all key prospect and customer
interactions and track and report on ongoing performance.
• Ex: Salesforce | HubSpot Sales | Pipedrive
• Allows you to filter potential prospects based on key firmographic
and behavioral characteristics tailored to your ICP/BP.
• Ex: LinkedIn SN | DiscoverOrg | ZoomInfo
• Enables the management of ongoing touch points with prospects
across multiple channels (email, phone, social, etc).
• Ex: Outreach | SalesLoft | MixMax
• Supports the design, automation, and tracking of key marketing
initiatives and prospect engagement.
• Ex: HubSpot | Pardot | Marketo
• Enables efficient and trackable phone communication with
prospects, often integrated with other systems like the CRM.
• Ex: Truly | RingCentral | Vonage
Don’t Over-Engineer

A Growth Timeline
PEOPLE
Founder led
sales
PROCESS
Hire 2
SDRs+
Demand Gen
TOOLS
Hire 2
Sales Reps
Hire VP of
Sales
First sales
playbook
Refine
ICP/BP
Iterate on
Positioning
Test New
Marketing
Channels
CRM
Prospect
Data
Sales
Engagement
Marketing
Automation
Key Takeaway: Hire Sales in 2s!

Predictability

How Data Drives Decisions at

Better Subject Lines:
Direct Ask vs. Hard Data
Source: SalesLoft, 2018
41%
-68%
-80%
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Direct Ask Hard Data
Response Rate vs. Average

Subject Line Length:
1 word vs. 4 words
Source: SalesLoft, 2018
35%
17%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
1 word 4 words
Response Rate vs. Average

Salutation:
“Hi Jane,” vs. “Hi Jane:”
Source: SalesLoft, 2018
0%
35%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Comma Colon
Response Rate vs. Average

Links:
With vs. Without
Source: SalesLoft, 2018
-2%
30%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
With Without
Response Rate vs. Average

Source: SalesLoft, 2018
Subject Line Insights

The Day Before the Board Meeting

The Day Before the Board Meeting

Quantification of the Sales System
Inbound
Leads
Outbound
Activities
New Opportunities / Intros Held
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
New Business
• # of Inbounds
• Lead to Opp %
• Response Time
• # of Activities
• # of
Prospects
Engaged
• Activity to
Opp %
• Total Pipeline
• Pipeline by Stage
• Stage Conversion %
• Discounted Pipeline
• Forecasted Revenue
• # of New Logos
• Booked ARR and 1x Fees
• Win Rates
• Average Deal Size
• Sales Cycle Length
• Loss Reasons
• Revenue per Lead
System Wide:
• CAC
• LTV
• Payback Period

Valuable Insights Often Come Through
Segmentation
Lead
Source
Geo
ICP
Type
Vertical
TeamRep

CRM as Your Source of Truth

A Case
Study

Organize into Groups of 2-3

The Scenario
• What levers can we pull to drive revenue growth?
• How should we think about the tradeoffs between levers?
• What additional information might inform the decision?
• What is acquisition cost by channel, and what would
happen with an incremental $75K investment in each?
Situation Overview
SaaS
$1M in new ARR last year
80% of ARR sourced via Marketing
20% of ARR sourced via SDRs
ACV = $25K
Win Rates = 20%
Cost Data
$200K in Marketing spend
$300K in Marketing headcount
1 Outbound SDR, Cost = $75K
2 AEs, Cost = $250K
Assumptions: Win rates and ACV are consistent across channels. Only sources of pipeline today
are SDR and Marketing.
Questions

Levers to Pull
• Hire new SDRs or enable existing to be more productive through
data sources and/or sales engagement tools.SDR
• Increase spend in existing channels that are performing or new
channels and/or identify higher ROI channels.
Marketing
Spend
• Sales people begin initiating their own outbound efforts, provided
they have capacity to do so.
AE
Outbound
• Better targeting and positioning, improved sales execution,
reduction in average pipeline size.
Increase
Win Rates
• Delivering a product that creates more value, better positioning of
value and ROI, better targeting of segments that are willing to
pay more.
Increase
Prices

Additional Considerations
• Sales Rep Capacity – are reps at capacity for managing pipeline or can we
give them additional opportunities?
• Sales Cycle Times – what is the average sales cycle length, and how is that
distributed by channel?
• Ramp Time – how long does it take to get a new hire (SDRs or AEs) ramped
up? How long does it take for Marketing spend to make an impact?
• Quota Attainment – what % of reps should hit quota? Can they be more
effective?
• Market and Channel Saturation – what % of the market have we contacted
already? Do we have the potential for diminishing marginal returns on sales
engagement or marketing spend?
• Marketing Cost – isn’t linear like sales. Much of the cost is in headcount, but
we can keep it relatively constant while increasing spend.
• Risk – If we double down on one channel, we are creating much more risk as
we have fewer options if we realize mid-year that our big bet isn’t working as
expected.

CAC by Channel
Marketing SDR
$800K in ARR sourced
÷
$25K ACV
=
32 new clients
$200K in ARR sourced
÷
$25K ACV
=
8 new clients
AE Cost: $250K * 80% = $200K
+
Marketing Cost: $500K
=
$700K total cost
AE Cost: $250K * 20% = $50K
+
SDR Cost: $75K
=
$125K total cost
CAC = $21,875 CAC = $15,625

What Does a $75K Investment Get Us?
Marketing SDR
Marketing Cost: $500K ($200K
in variable spend)
=
$800K in ARR
SDR Cost: $75K
=
$200K in ARR
$800K in ARR
÷
$200K in Spend
x
$75K in Spend
=
4x ROI: $300K in New ARR
$200K in ARR
÷
$75K in Spend
x
$75K in Spend
=
2.7x ROI: $200K in New ARR

A Recap
Art Isn’t Predictable at Scale.
Science is.
Apply product design
principles as you develop
your sales motion.
Repeatability: Document
learnings into a sales
playbook.
Scalability: Thoughtfully
sequence people and tools.
Predictability: Begin capturing
key data points to transition
from qualitative to quantitative.

Thank you!
Questions?
michael@salesops.io

Appendix

First Head of Sales Hire
Potential Profiles Pros Cons
The
Entrepreneur/
Evangelist
• Will provide feedback from customers that
accelerate product-market fit
• Has leadership experience
• Comfortable as an evangelist for the
product
• Lacks sales management fundamentals
• Inexperience scaling and systemizing sales org
• May not have industry knowledge
The Sales
Manager
• Recent front line experience and still
willing to get into details
• Can build out sales methodology and
process
• Likely promoted to manager after being a
top performer
• Doesn’t necessarily have instinct to ask
questions that drive product-market fit
• May not have industry knowledge
The Industry Top
Performer
• Knows the buyer you’re targeting and can
speak their language
• World class sales fundamentals
• May be uncomfortable in an unstructured
environment
• Accustomed to receiving formal sales training,
pitch decks, tools, etc. not building it
The Industry
SVP of Sales
• Well connected with executives in the
industry
• Can build go-to-market strategy, sales
methodology, hiring roadmap, etc.
• May not be willing to roll up sleeves; accustomed
to more manpower and bigger budgets
• Likely hasn’t personally sold a deal in a long time
• May have to adjust to faster paced environment
ProfileStrengthatCurrentStage

First Head of Sales Priorities
Market Testing and Iterating
a. Develop and refine the go to market strategy
b. Test hypotheses around buyer personas and ideal customer profiles
c. Engage customers to understand what they value and how they buy
d. Deliver feedback to team to help obtain and improve product-market fit
Refining the Sales Methodology
a. Map the buyer journey
i. What steps does your customer progress through when they purchase your product?
b. Establish the sales process
i. What does the seller need to do to support the customer along their buying journey?
c. Define a qualified prospect
i. What information do we need from prospects to determine if our product helps them and if
they will buy from us?
Building a Great Team
a. Develops the right candidate profile and recruits top talent
b. Onboards new reps and holds recurring training sessions to improve execution of the sales
process
c. Coaches and supports reps in closing deals where needed
Establishing the Foundation for Growth
a. Rolls out processes that are repeatable and scalable
b. Understands what metrics need to be measured from the beginning
c. Builds reports and dashboards that promote data driven decision making
d. Co-creates demand generation strategy with marketing