5 Steps To Creating A Lead Gen Machine & The Predictable Revenue That CEOs Love

Twitter: @brianjcarroll @motoceo

Twitter Hashtag: #b2bleadgen

Sponsored By:

From A Salesforce.com Alum:

5 Steps To Creating A Lead Gen Machine & The Predictable Revenue That CEOs Love

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About Aaron Ross

• High school coding geek (NASA)

• Stanford Undergrad + GSB dropout

• CEO of LeaseExchange: ‐$5 Million

• Ironman Triathlon, Boulder Outdoor Survival School

• Created Salesforce.com’s Inside Sales Leadgen Team (& $100 Million In Recurring Revenue)

• ‘Entrepreneur‐in‐Residence’ at Alloy Ventures ($1B)

• Author, “CEOFlow: Turn Your Employees Into Mini‐CEOs”

Now: I consult with companies on creating predictable revenue & sales.

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Created A $100M Inside Sales Team At Salesforce.com

A“Cold Calling 2.0” process and team that helped increase recurring revenue for Salesforce.com by $100 million & grew F5000 bookings by

more than 60%

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And Years Of Consulting/Advising

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“Build A Sales Machine” Client: WPromote

Michael Stone, VP Sales, Wpromote

#1 ranked Inc500 Search Marketing Firm:

• “Working with Aaron Ross has been nothing short of amazing…

• His methods produced a profitable and scalable new stream of predictable revenue. 

• We saw at least 40+% new business growth. 

• Deal size is still growing. 

• We’re getting in the door with big brands like Overstock, AT&T, IBM, etc. – people that would have never come to us. 

• The best part is, we had a blast while doing it!”

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Book Coming Fall 2010: “Predictable Revenue”

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Register for a free excerpt at:BuildASalesMachine.com/book

Early reviewer comments:“entrepreneurial crack”,

“I couldn’t put it down”, &“freaking awesome”

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A Wave Of Change

What Works In Sales Has Changed

All salespeople prospectABC / Always Be Closing Measure activities (Dials)

Cold callsManipulative selling

CRM hurts productivityLong letters & emails

1.0 2.0Dedicated prospecting teamIs there a mutual fit?Measure results (qualified leads)Research, referral callsShort and sweet text emailsCRM multiplies productivityAuthentic selling

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5 Steps To A Lead Gen Machine & Predictable Revenue…

1. Discover Your ‘Unique Genius’

2. Distinguish Your Leads: ‘Seeds, Nets & Spears’

3. Specialize Sales To Ensure Every Lead Gets The Attention It Deserves

4. Build An Outbound Sales Machine (Cold Calling 2.0)

5. Become Indispensable To Your CEO

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STEP 1

Discover Your Unique Genius, “Your Purpose, Translated Into Customer Success & Trust”

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What Is Your Purpose, & How Is It Different?

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Customer Trust => Extraordinary Growth

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Unique Genius Attracts Results

1. What is your purpose that is bigger than you?

– If your company is on the cover of BusinessWeekfor changing ____, what did you do?

2. Do you only say it or do you LIVE it?– Salesforce.com “No software”

– Zappos: “Provide the best customer service possible”

– Google: “Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful”

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Forget About What You “Do”

• Customers care less about what you do than the results you create

– “We are the leading application platform for widget integration on the social graph…blah blah”

• My example: – “I am a sales & management consultant” vs. 

– “I help companies create predictable revenue” & “I help leaders turn their employees into Mini‐CEOs”

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Homework

• When someone asks “What do you do?”, pretend they asked “How do you help customers?”

• What is your Ideal Customer Profile?

• Talk to your customers & ask them:– What difference have you made to them?

– Why did they do business with you?  

– Why do they continue to do business with you?

– Why would they refer others to you?

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STEP 2

Distinguish Your Leads:“Seeds, Nets & Spears”

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Distinguishing Lead Types

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Distinguishing Lead Types

•Lower volume•Highest value/lead•Harder to increase

•Higher volume•Low value per lead•Easiest to increase

•Lower volume•High value per lead•Medium work to increase•Grew Salesforce.comRevenue 60%!

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___ Website Visitors

___ Leads(Registrations)

___ Qualified Leads

___ QualifiedOpportunities

$___ Pipeline

$___ Bookings

__% Conversion

__% Accepted

__% Converted

$___ Avg /Oppty

___% Close

SALESDEVELOPMENT

SALES

MARKETING

Sales Cycle Length ____

__ Lead Qualification Reps per __ Leads per Month

__ Account Execs per $__ Pipeline per Month

Cost per Lead$___

Example Nets Funnel

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Add Target Accounts

Add Contacts

__ Call Conversations

Example Spears Funnel (Cold Calling 2.0)

__ New Opportunities

__ Closed Deals

Prepare

Prospect

Begin SalesCycle

Work Responses (9% Response Rate)

__ Demos/Appointments

Define Ideal Target Profile

Send __ Cold Emails / Make __ Mapping Calls

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STEP 3

Specialize Sales Roles To Ensure Every Lead Gets The Attention It 

Deserves

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Layers Of The Onion

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Critical Success Factor: Specialize Four Sales Functions

“Outbound”

Customer SuccessSales

FrontlineSales

Organic & Marketing Leads

“Inbound”Qualified Opportunities

New Customers

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3 Keys To Making Contact

1. Train salespeople to be “business people who can sell, not sales people”

– Use role‐playing

2. Keep initial emails/vmails short & relevant– Make it about giving them value, not about you

– If they pick up: “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

3. Propose a specific time to talk– Wrong: “Reach out when you have time”

– Right: “Are you free Thursday at 9a PST?”

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6 Step Qualification Call Agenda

“Did I catch you at a bad time?

1.Introduction (SHORT)

2.Be curious

3.Current challenges? 

4.Position your solution

5.Probe/confirm/qualify

6.Next step recommendation

Total Time < 20 minutes26

The Simplest Ways To Nurture Leads

• Two SIMPLE options that require < 4 hours– An email newsletter (email out your blog posts)

– Hold a monthly webinar (or teleseminar) 

• Guidelines: – Share your expertise ‐ TEACH them something beyond your product

– How can you help them do their job better?

– Be interesting / authentic (don’t be boring)

• More trust = more sales

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STEP 4:

Build An Outbound Sales Machine(Cold Calling 2.0)

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You’ve Been Doing It Backwards

Cold Calling 1.0

1. Cold CALL

2. Cold Email

Cold Calling 2.0

1. Cold EMAIL

(9% response rate)

2.  Warm call people who respond (internal referrals)

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Prospecting Emails: Less Is More

1. You can get a 9%+ response rate asking for referrals

2. State simply why you are reaching out –and be honest! (In every way)

3. Make the first email SHORT & SWEET: easy read & respond to on a blackberry

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BuildList BuildList 

Run EmailCampaignsRun EmailCampaigns

Sell TheDreamSell TheDream

Pass TheBaton

Pass TheBaton

Generate Internal Referrals

Connect Their

Need To Your Solution

Seamlessly Handoff To Quota‐Carrying 

Salesperson

Import Into 

Sales/Marketing Systems

5‐Step Outbound Process

IdealCustomerProfile

IdealCustomerProfile

Highest Revenue 

Potential & Close Rates

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STEP 5

Become Indispensable To Your CEO

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Law Of Reciprocity

• If you work to make others successful, they will work to help you succeed

• Do you know what’s important to your CEO? – It’s not leads

• All quality CEOs care about:1.Money (Revenue, finance, metrics, investors)

2.People (Attracting, developing, turning them into Mini‐CEOs)

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CEO Sweet Spot

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The CEO Is The Pebble In The Pond

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What’s The Value Of…

• A clear, step‐by‐step plan to create predictable revenue?

• The ability to repeatedly source sales‐ready leads from ideal clients who aren’t calling you?

• The ability to attract and develop driven sales talent?

• Peace of mind and freedom of predictable results and self‐managing systems?

Contact

Best address for speaking, consulting or partnering:info@pebblestorm.com or emily@pebblestorm.com

(My personal email: aaron@pebblestorm.com) 

Thank you!

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