Getting started
We provide you with the right set of CRM to enable you to maximize your All-bound target. Sales cadence will be defined shortly based on persona and target market
1.1 Sales 101
Your job is to isolate the challenges your personas face on a day-to-day basis. But, make sure you don’t get pigeon-holed here, rather, try and establish a relationship with other key contacts within the account at the top level.
It's very important to customize your messaging based on a persona to better connect and progress your conversation. A front-line manager would only think tactically to solve a problem at hand, but, a C-level executive will be a strategist and would look at the bigger picture. E.X. How would they improve operational efficiency this year?
1.2 Back to Basics (Rules of Engagement for better Inside Sales alignment)
There is a critical need for alignment between Sales consultants and the Inside Sales function that feeds the daily pipeline. The foundation of this alignment lies in a clearly defined account-based selling strategy, a proven qualification process for accounts passed to the next steps, and an organized, well-documented, and efficient lead hand-off process.
Use the steps in this guide to develop a sales pipeline full of quality sales appointments with well-qualified prospective buyers that show up to each meeting during your sales cycle.
1.3 Opportunity and hand-off process (SAL)
Before setting up an appointment with yourself or your Sales manager, the standardized sales process MUST be followed and adopted by every team member. At this stage, you must understand what a qualified account consists of and how it should be passed from one team to another should be crystal clear. During onboarding and training, we’ll discuss asking open-ended questions around BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, timeline). Caveat: Even if you have spoken to an “Authority” and established “Needs”, you can invite your sales manager for a deep-dive demo with a wider audience at the account level for further qualification by an SM. Once a BANT is established, it’d be considered SAL/Opportunity. For that to happen, you must convince your champion at the account to invite their key stakeholders for the demo with SM.
Sequence Of Steps (Cadence)
In this 18/10 cadence, there are 10 touch points composed of phone calls, emails, and social touch steps over the course of 18 days. These steps are designed to increase the recall value from the prospects who haven’t responded to your multiple people. 80% of sales reps give up on 2nd or 3rd follow-ups, which results in poor qualified leads and sales performance.
Here is the sequence of steps to follow to ensure every one of you’re executing the process correctly:
Day 1
Step: 1
- Call (Open/New Lead within 5 mins)
Step: 2
- Email -1 (Use Template) Customize as per 10:80:10 rule
Step: 3
- Set Descriptive Follow Up task in CRM 2 days out for the 2nd follow up if No Answer
Day 4
Step: 1
- Call: 2 (The 2nd follow up to the same set of leads you touched earlier)
Step: 2
- Email: 2 (2nd follow up email to the same set of leads you touched earlier)
Step: 3
- Set Descriptive Follow Up task in CRM 2 days out for the 3rd follow up if No Answer
Day 8
Step: 1
- Call: 3 (The 3rd follow up to the same set of leads you touched earlier)
Step: 2
- Email: 3 ( 3rd follow up email to the same set of leads you touched earlier)
Step: 3
- Send LinkedIn connection request with personalized message (Don’t push for a meeting)
Step: 4
- Set Descriptive Follow Up task in CRM 3 days out for the 4th follow up if No Answer
Day 12
Step: 1
- Email: 4 (4th follow up email to the same set of leads you touched earlier)
Step: 2 (After a few hours gap call them)
- Call: 4 (4th touch)
Step: 3
- Set Descriptive Follow Up task in CRM 5 days out for the 5th follow up if No Answer
Day 18
Step: 1
- Email: 5 (5th follow up email - Last for real. Break up Email)
Step: 2 (Call in the 2nd half or after a few hours gap)
- Call: 5 (Last for real)
Step: 3
- Set Descriptive Follow Up task in CRM 30 days out to check again
Sales Script (Outbound Approach)
2. Outbound Call Framework (Your target persona)
Lost in the city tone - Opening line of a prospecting Call
Thinking out Loud - Leads after a question or two
Asking problem based discovery questions - Layer off...
This might make sense to...
2.1 Persona-based approach
Target: Head/VP/Dir of Finance:
You: Hey Bill, I was browsing your website and I’m kinda lost and I was hoping you could help me out here. Can I steal a sec?
OR
You: Hey, Bill. This is Sandeep over at ERPNext. Listen, I need some help. I know you and I’ve never spoken before but, can I take 60 seconds to tell you the reason for my call and then you decide whether it makes sense to have a conversation?
OR
You: Bill, this is Sandeep Shekhar over at ERPNext. Let me be upfront here. This is a cold call, so either you can hang up right now or allow me 60 seconds to tell you the reason for my call and then you can decide whether it might make sense to have a conversation, is that fair?
Bill: (Any response along the lines of “Sure.” If the prospect ever says that you have called at a bad time, ask when would be a better time to call back.)
You: I was thinking out loud, are you the person in charge of managing/handling finances/accounting?
Prospect: Yes, That’d be me. You: Great, glad that I got better phone luck today.
2.2 30 Seconds Commercial/Pitch:
2.2.1 VP/head of Finance/Accountant:
You: Bill, tell you what, I talk to (CFO/VP/head of Finance) all day long, typically in the manufacturing world. And while They tell me that they have some sort of system in place, a lot of them still struggle with managing complex transactions due to disconnected systems in place, unhappy with the lack of insight into business processes and disappointed by the amount of time it takes to reconcile purchasing, invoicing, inventory
Do you think this applies to your business world or you’ve got it figured out?
OR
Do you run into these challenges on a day to day basis? or Am I just rambling?
Bill: Yeah, Sure. We’re using SAP version 5.0 and it's outdated and we’ve a lot of problems in even generating simple reports. It requires doing coding to get that done and we’re very disappointed with the support as well.
You: Interesting! Bill, I’d like to see your business world through my eyes. With your permission, can I go ahead and ask you a few questions to see if ERPNext could be the solution to your problems. And, If I think we can’t help you out properly, will that be okay if I tell you that upfront. I want to be cognizant about your time.
You: So, Bill, who are you using to manage and track warehouse and inventory?
Note : Now is a good time to get into problem-based discovery questions.
Discovery Question 1: So, Bill, how do you ensure you’ve enough raw material on hands without breaking the bank to stock them?
Illusion of choices: Do you have a system that tracks stocks and inventory, Or, is it manually done?
Discovery Question 2: How does inventory/stock data flow into the accounting? (Assuming they have different systems to manage inventory and stocks)
Illusion of choices: Is it manually done by someone? How often?
Discovery Question 3: How do you ensure you’ve full visibility into entire business processes so that you don’t have to worry about any risk and compliance?
Discovery Question 4: How’re you making sure that your team is able to correctly track your Payables/Receivables so that you’re not losing money/owing to vendors for too long.
Note: Now it’s up to us to drive the conversation and keep them engaged by asking more probing questions.
Tone:
You: Bill, This might makes sense, you’ve a lot of X, you aren’t able to do X, and you might potentially be missing out on Y
Value Proposition:
You: ERPNext is an open-source solution designed to solve mundane, repetitive tasks and automate the entire back office operations. So that you can only focus on running your business without worrying about operational breakdown as a result.
Now, ask for the meeting - Assumptive/Let me help you:
You: Bill, can we set up a meeting with one of my senior consultants that specialize in [Industry], So that they can dive a bit deeper into how ERPNext might help you overcome your current challenges we discussed. Do you have 15-20 minutes sometime later today or tomorrow?
2.2.2 CTO/CIO/IT Dir/Engineering (With an objection)
You: Bill, tell you what, I talk to (CTO/CIO/head of IT) all day long, typically in the manufacturing world. They tell me that they have various systems in place, however, a lot of them still struggle with information silos due to disconnected systems, worried about the security and compliance risk due to manual entry and lost data. Also, they’re disappointed by the lost time and lack of visibility into the process as a result. (Note: Repeat the same process)
2.2.3 COO/Head of Operations
Missing...
2.3 Objection handling
You: Do you think this applies to your business world or you’ve got it figured out?
Bill: No. we’re all set Or We’ve an ERP solution in place and we’re happy with it.
You: Oh! Thank God, you’ve a system in place. You'd be surprised to know that I talk to a lot of businesses in your segment and most of them are still struggling with Excel and off-the shelf systems. just out of curiosity, who are you using currently?
Bill: You know what We’re all set.
You: I totally understand, Bill. Can I ask you one more question and I hope you won’t get mad at me.
Bill: Yeah, go ahead.
You: I kinda get the feeling that you’re probably thinking I’m one of those pesky, slimy sleazy sales rep who is going to start pitching my product right out of the gate. By the way, that wasn't going to happen. So, help me understand what’s going on here actually :) (End this sentence with the smile)
(Note: Now, you offer them to at least allow you to ask some problem based discovery questions and lead the conversation.)
2.3.1 Shallow objections
- “Send me an email.”
- “Not interested.”
- “I was in a meeting but I picked up the phone thinking you’re someone else.”
- “Running into a meeting.”
Note: You can understand and counter these objections by structuring your conversation shown below.
2.3.2 Pattern Interrupt
You: Bill, Can I level with you? I’ve been hearing “Send me an email” from a lot of people recently. And, I get the feeling that probably it’s your polite way of saying “Go away you annoying sales rep”. Did I get that right?
Note: Now, you will get one of these two reactions. If Bill is really busy or it’s a real objection, Bill will back this up by saying : Oh no! I was really running into a meeting but I’m interested in hearing you out or something along those lines. 2nd Reaction: Bill might crack up a bit and say “Yeah, you got me.” or, “Yeah, I’m just not interested.”
2.3.3 Empathy
You: I get it. I say the same thing when I get a cold call out of the blue. Note: Let’s assume Bill level with you and shows curiosity to learn what might offer
2.3.4 Prospect Pact
You: Bill, I’m not sure if we might be a fit for you, but, can I get 30 seconds to tell you the reason for my call and then you can decide if it makes sense to continue the conversation from there?
Note: If Bill agrees then you’re in the game. Pitch your 30 sec commercial and lead the conversation followed by problem-based discovery questions.
Sales Script (Inbound Approach)
3.1 Opening the call:
You: Am I speaking with Bill?
Bill: Yes, Bill here.
You: Hey Bill , this is Sandeep from ERPNext. I hope I didn’t catch you in the middle of things.
Bill: No, I got a few minutes. What’s up?
You: Awesome. Does ERPNext ring a bell?
Bill: Yes, it does.
You: Great! I wanted to reach out and gauge your overall interest in exploring ERPNext and see your business world through your eyes. Do you have 15-20 mins to chat about it? This way, we can figure out quickly if We are a fit here, Fair enough?
Bill: Sure, I do have 15 mins.
You: Great! I see that you signed up for a trial account and mentioned that you’re interested in exploring more about Stock, sales and purchase lifecycle management as well as being open to learning more about accounting and HRMS. Is my understanding correct?
Bill will say something.
You: Q1: Well, just out of curiosity, What prompted you to explore ERPNext of all the solutions out there? Did you look into other solutions as well? Can you talk about what you liked or disliked about other solutions? (Listen and don’t interrupt)
If the reply is positive for ERPnext, ask another question
You: Q2: Is ERP platform part of your road map for this year? and is it approved and budgeted by organization-wide management?
Continue….. engaging by asking the rest of the BANT questions.
Note: Pull the module-based discovery questions document and ask a few questions per Bill’s interest in that module. Now, use your skills to ask the rest of the questions and keep them engaging.
Bill: If Bill says ‘yes’ then go ahead with your pain-funnel questions. If NO. then continue with the below “May I make a suggestion?” statement and forward the conversation.
Comments: Then, understand the pain funnel by asking probing questions and rest remains the same process.
3.2 Scheduling the appointment
Bill: No, I don’t have 15 mins.
You: May I make a suggestion?
Bill: Sure
You: Let’s do this – Pick a day to invite me on a call, and we can discuss this further for 30 mins and dive deeper into the challenges. We may have something for you, we may not.
My experience tells me that we’ll be able to figure out in maybe 10-15 mins whether or not we’re a good fit.
Continue...
If we’re still talking after about 40 mins, we’ll probably want to begin the process of working out how we do business together. Is that sounding fair?
And, if I think that we can’t help you out properly, will you be okay if I tell you as much? It’ll save everyone a lot of time and effort after all, right?
Note: This time the prospect will say “Okay”. Idea is to get that Okayness.
Continue…
I guess it’s only fair then that if at any time you don’t feel that we’re the kind of company you want to be working with; will you be okay telling me that too? Don’t worry, you won’t offend me. You’ll still be on my Christmas card list ☺! (Add a bit of humor!)
You: Just as a recap, bill. Typically we find that the best way for the first meetings to go would be if I ask you a whole bunch of questions around the issues –
You know, to try to see the business issues through your eyes. Are you Okay with that?
Note: He won’t say “No” I promise. Hooray! Now you’ve the permission from the prospect to ask.
Continue...
And, Bill, you’re probably going to want to ask a whole bunch of questions, too. Such as, who else we’ve worked with, how our process works, what the timescale will likely be; you know, all of that kind of stuff, right?
You: is there anything else you think we need to add to the agenda?
Bill: No, we are good!
You: Great. And, just to be clear, Bill, what usually happens at the end of these first meetings is that once we know each other better, we can have a good feel for whether or not we will meet again or kill it; are you okay with that, too?
And, the prospect will say “Yes”
3.3 On the day of an appointment
You: Thanks again for meeting/joining the call today, Bill. How are things with you today?
When we spoke the other day, we agreed to discuss the accounting, inventory and sales related challenges, right?
Bill: Yes, that's right.
You: And we talked about how you’d be wanting to ask me lots of questions about how we do or deliver the solution, correct?
And, in order for me to be able to see your world through my eyes, I’d like to hear more about the current challenges, yes?
Note: Just wait for Bill’s response after every question.
We also agreed that by the end of this meeting/call we would likely realize whether or not we’re a good fit, in which case either of us would say so without hurting the feelings, didn’t we?
But, we also said that if we both believed that it’d make sense to continue, we could agree to take things to the next level and agree on the next steps; are you still going to be okay with that?
So, let’s get started.
Note: Now is the time to jump to ‘Problem based Discovery’ and BANT qualifying questions below. Just keep in mind to be professional about asking questions. Also, it should be a two-way street to understand answers to each question and respond accordingly. Just the way we talk to our family members.
3.4 Qualifying Questions:
3.4.1 Authority, Need & Timeline Questions
Is an ERP platform part of your road map for this year? and is it approved and budgeted by organization-wide management?
What prompted you to explore our solution?
No-one buys software to buy software. What various outcomes you’re hoping to achieve?
Have you explored a solution earlier? Can you talk about what you liked and dis-like about them?
Do you understand the perceived value proposition of the ERP? and would you mind what that would be for you?
And, what’s your understanding from the business and technical side of the project?
And what’s the priority of this project along with other projects that might have been going on?
Note: The answer will tell us if they are seriously looking out or it’s just a casual google search to fit in something at a later time (Surface Pain)
People love to buy an impact. How is it impacting your business? Eg: Cost cutting, poor operational efficiency, delayed accounting, etc.
What if you didn’t do anything and kept the process the same? It will let us know the actual business pain - and typically while answering this question, the prospect is giving reasons for the concerns.
If you had a chance to wave a magic wand to have the most desired outcome from a solution, what would that be? or what is your wish list for an ideal solution? This is for us to know how much as a solution we can help the prospect fulfill his/her wish.
(Personal Pain) I understand the challenges and the need, but how does picking the right solution impact you, personally? Note: If we do not get the answer and if we find it to be repetitive, we can ask - does it put you in a better space in front of your management?
OR
Does it benefit you to showcase better work optimization? This is to reveal the personal pain around the concerns if any. Also, this is a great question to make the prospect your Champion internally and also validate SUCCESS CRITERIA.
While picking up the right solution, what is the most important component that you would consider? It could be price, scalability, or implementation time.
Note: This is a very important question - this can give us a lot of clarity around whether they are price sensitive or if they are looking for a functionally viable solution or if they are motivated enough to grow as a company if they are talking about scalability.
What does the decision process look like? how technologies have been purchased in the past and how long did it take to fully deploy?
Note: To get an idea who else along with you would be involved in the process so that you can suggest getting someone on the conversation at a later time in the sales cycle. This will also give us a fair idea around how long the sales cycle can go post evaluation and accordingly we can take measures.
By when do you plan to have a solution in place? Note: If the conversation implies a longer timeline, we can ask " it seems like a big problem in hand. any particular reason why you are looking at a later solution? This question will help us know the timeline and how our follow up pattern/frequency needs to be.
Do you think the initiatives of adopting an ERP platform can be put on hold and why?
What could be three potential threats for not adopting a solution to your problem?
3.4.2 Budget Questions
Typically we are not comfortable asking about the money part. So, the idea is to get that fear out of the way before we proceed. Here’s how you ask a budget question in the beginning of your conversation to see if a prospect is legit or broke!
Bill, let me see if I've got this straight, you talked about the problems you’re having with P1, P2, P3 and it sounds like you’re hoping what I can do is S1, S2, and S3. Is that a fair statement?
Bill, I grew up in a family where talking about money has always been considered impolite, so, I’ve this problem of my own and I want to get it off my chest :) [End this with a smile :)]
So, Bill, have you set aside a budget to solve your problems, would you mind sharing with me the round numbers?
Will that be okay if I tell you the range of investment you would fall in.
There could be three answers to the question “Have you set aside a budget to solve your problems, would you mind sharing with me the round numbers?”
Bill: No, we haven’t set aside a budget.
You: I get it! Help me understand how you are planning to invest on this project? Have you had any similar situations in the past? How did you manage to get the fund?
Bill: Yes, We’ve a budget for this project.
You: Bill, most of the time when I work on a project like this, the total investment falls somewhere in the $20,000 to $50,000 range. Do you think the amount you will be able to invest will fall within that range?
Bill: Yes, but I can’t discuss this with you.
You: Bill, I appreciate that you can't reveal your budget numbers. However, maybe you can help me so that we don't waste your time. When we have worked on projects like this, the customer investment ran somewhere between $20K to $50K. Which end of the range should I focus on? Or is it over before we even get started?
If the prospect says “No” then you revisit the pain funnel and clarify the issues. (refer to point:1)
OR
Bill, assuming that we’re a fit for your problem and what we’re offering, the investment is going to run between $50K - $70K depending on what you’ll need. Is there going to be a problem?
3.5 Additional Questions
Do you have a budget set aside for this project? If so, would you mind sharing what that would be in round numbers?
Have you given some thought to how much you will need to invest?
When I work with other companies on a project of this size, I find that they usually have funds allocated? Has your company done that?
Most often when I meet with a group such as yours, I find they have a budgeted amount they would like to stick to? Has your group come up with that amount?
Who will make the decision, their roles, direct/indirect influence, veto power, etc.? Who else is involved in making the decision - the purpose of each step?
When will a decision be made?
Where will the decision be made - at what level or part of the company?
How will the decision be made?
Why is the decision made this way?
Tell me more about that?
Can you be more specific and give me an example?
How long has that been a problem?
What have you tried to do about that?
And did that work?
How much do you think that has cost you?
How do you feel about that?
Have you given up trying to deal with the problem?
Discovery call: Script
SDR: Thanks for joining the call, Bill. We’ve been joined by my senior colleague, Faraz, who has colossal experience in helping businesses such as yours. Faraz, please meet Bill. Bill has been responsible for evaluating ERP solutions at {Company_Name}. Bill and I had a lengthy conversation about a few challenges around P1, P2, P3 the other day and Bill has decided and agreed to solve the problems/challenges they’ve been facing for the past couple of years. Is my understanding correct, Bill?
Bill: Yes, That’s correct!
SDR: Faraz, I’ve shared the notes with you about my conversation with Bill. And, I’m sure you may have a question or two. So, take it away. Floor is yours.
AE: Thanks again for joining the call with me, Bill. Means a lot to us. I know we all are busy professionals, so I won’t take too long. I’ve a few questions of my own to further understand if the problems you proposed are big enough for you to take any actions.
4.1 Discovery questions: AE
Look, Bill. Normally in a situation like this where we have uncovered the root cause of the problems and you and I have agreed this needs to be solved and changed. The best thing normally for us together is to get some consensus and bring some people from your team to collaborate around this so that they can support this or at least they don’t oppose when we bring this change. Who else do you think can miss out if we don’t bring them to our next meeting/demo and when can we do that?
If yes, are you going to invite in your technical and functional evaluator along with end-users as well? Would you like to share their names so that I can look them up to better understand things they care about. This way, we can focus on key modules specific to the problems during the demo?
What if we solve these problems for you, what happens next? or, Let’s say Bill, we really knock it out of the park and it’s 10 on 10. What will happen next?
4.2 Discovery Call Guidelines
A sales consultant must set aside a time for him with a prospect to qualify as per BANT. During the discovery call, you must talk to a strong influencer and recommender and uncover the needs part. Once they see the value, you convince prospects for a deep dive demo with a wider audience.
Describe the process for next steps and send the calendar invite:
After the SDR confirms the best time and date for a demo, he or she should send the calendar invite to the prospect while still on the phone and let the prospect know to expect it in the inbox. You then politely ask the prospect to accept it while you are still talking. That way nothing goes to spam or otherwise goes missing. In the meeting invite, provide a short summary of key talking points discussed.
Reminders before scheduled appointments:
SDR must always follow-up with the prospect the day before the scheduled appointment. Confirming via phone is best, but you can’t reach the prospect live, be sure to leave a voicemail stating that you would like to confirm the availability and follow up with an email. Be sure to templatize your reminder emails so that you won’t have to reinvent the wheel all the time.
Share qualification notes:
Communicate what the prospect is expecting to happen during the appointment. It's important that the sales consultant provides ample resources to the closing rep a few days before the call so that the closing rep knows where to focus their time and how best to prepare.
Show up ON TIME:
The best way to book a sales appointment that happens is to ensure that all the members on the sales side of the meeting have an equal stake in it being successful. To achieve this, both parties should join the call together and if necessary, SDR must provide a soft introduction and hand-off at the start of the meeting.
Initiate sync-up between SDR and AE:
The closing rep should be responsible for following-up with the sales development rep after the meeting to discuss next steps and review why the opportunity was a good fit or why they were disqualified. This kind of feedback will be useful for future appointment setting opportunities.
4.3 Handling No-Shows
Sometimes, no matter what you do to prepare in advance, a prospect doesn’t show up to the appointment that was scheduled. That’s okay, it happens.
Here’s what you would do:
Stay calm. You should call the prospect and re-start the process of getting time on their calendar for the meeting. Be sure to confirm if an appointment is something they are still interested in.
Ask for clear input as to how they would like to be reminded about the rescheduled meeting. Do email reminders work best? How much advance notice would they need? It’s okay to imply that everyone’s time is valuable, and we absolutely want to make sure meetings do happen.
Give the prospect something to be excited about. Let them know what to expect during the meeting. Everyone wants value from time. If a prospect is consistently a no-show, then go back to the basics of qualifying and understand what the underlying issue could be. Maybe they aren’t ready to buy/move forward yet.
Post Demo
On a scale of 1 to 10, how/where would you rate our solution in terms of how it aligns to your requirements?
Note: Always agree on a follow-up date and send an invite to the prospect after the completion of any call/meeting.
The Idea is to find out the compelling reasons to change or move forward.
Top-of-the-funnel objection handling
Typical objections you’ll hear when scheduling or rescheduling an appointment
I spoke with my boss and I no longer feel like this is the best time to have a conversation about your offering. You could try back in 6 months.
This kind of objection means several things. It could be budget related, a project or initiative has been pushed indefinitely. Or, simply no longer interested in a meeting. However, you can still reiterate what you discussed about their current challenges during the first conversation and how it would impact their business if they don’t do anything to solve their problems.
Oh man, I have got tons of work on my plate, so, I’m going to need to reschedule. You know what, I’ll get back in touch with you.
The classic, “Don’t follow up until I reach out to you” blows off. This one is dangerous because you’re leaving the ball (a.k.a leverage) in their court. Use the objection handling technique such as – “I totally understand your situation, even I have to juggle several responsibilities. When we discussed your challenges around managing [Insert challenges]. you mentioned this goes on your top priority. Can you carve out 15 mins next week to discuss this with my senior colleague? This way, we can determine if we are even a good fit or not.” Something along those lines.
I don’t remember committing to a meeting with you. Take me off your list.
Sometimes, if you push too hard for the appointment that the prospect is not ready for, they will agree to a next step just to get off the phone with you and then blow off the meeting altogether.
Radio silent
This one is the toughest to flip. You try to remind prospects about the meeting, and you hear nothing. In this scenario, you have to prove the meeting will yield positive results. So, acknowledge the objection, connect with the value proposition and progress.