<\/p>\n
My key to success over the last 20 years in sales can often be boiled down to just one thing: \u201cIf you do the right \u201cthings\u201d and execute well on the points that matter most, results will follow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t let me down yet – this mindset has helped me crush my quotas in every sales role I\u2019ve ever had and it\u2019s been the driving force to ATP\u2019s growth from day one (it\u2019s why some of our clients have literally fought with their board to work with us).<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n That said, this is a hill I\u2019ll gladly die on: whether you\u2019re a founder or salesperson, a quality-driven mindset is the key to moving up and to the right. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying that quantity doesn\u2019t have a place in sales. It does. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And of course — \u201cquality\u201d means different things to different market segmentations and sales roles… the needs of an SMB client will not be the same at the enterprise level and what quality looks like for a BDR is way different than for an enterprise level sales person.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But I am saying, no matter what market segment you\u2019re playing in (SMB, Enterprise, etc.), quality should come first (and enterprise sales DEMANDS it).<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s why.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Value (in the form of \u201cresults delivered\u201d) is the only thing people pay for in business. But in my experience, many people don\u2019t know where it actually comes from or how to truly create it. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sure, a good product is one source, but a lot of products are good and still <\/span>fall short of expectations<\/span><\/a>. So what makes the difference for the ones that don\u2019t?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The link above holds a key reason. It\u2019s an article about <\/span>Trello<\/span><\/a>, a digital \u201csticky note\u201d app that is incredibly useful in nearly all areas of life and business for organizing ideas. Sounds like a winner right? <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It could have been the next $1 billion SaaS product. But instead, it sold for just $425 million (side note: that\u2019s still pretty awesome). <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s because it\u2019s capabilities we\u2019re actually too broad\/shallow to make it an exceptionally powerful solution for any particular market. It didn\u2019t have the depth that any customer segment needed to command the $1 billion price tag, and the leadership didn\u2019t iterate to narrow it down.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Creating value is so much more about doing a single thing <\/span>flawlessly<\/span><\/i> for a certain niche than it is about doing a something \u201cwell enough\u201d for everyone. A product with a narrow focus but a big impact will always skyrocket a lot quicker than one that has a mediocre impact across every market.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s the same reason quality is way more important in sales than quantity: the better a salesperson can meet the needs of a single customer to support their journey, the more valuable they become to them.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For example: one of the biggest reasons I thrived in my HR Tech sales career was because I had been on the other side of the table and understood their lives\/pain points. As a result, I was able to ask the questions that helped me craft the perfect solutions to their problems rather than taking a \u201crinse and repeat\u201d, numbers-based, \u201conly to pad my wallet\u201d approach. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you take the time to do each deal the best you possibly can, you\u2019ll actually know why something isn\u2019t working if it doesn\u2019t go through. Which is incredibly important information to have for iterating on your product or improving your sales strategy (i.e. to drive the value up). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bottom line: if you want to make you or your product more valuable, slow down and go DEEPER with your sales process.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bonus: <\/i><\/b>Taking the time to find a creative solution with each customer will also keep you sharp and learning to be the best version of yourself you can be.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When rock climbers start to work their way up a cliff, they do so in a very systematic fashion: they anchor themselves on a hold using one side of their body before using the other to reach up to the next.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Growing a sustainable revenue stream works exactly the same way.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Think about this: would you rather have 5 customers that love what you do so much they want to stick with you for the long haul and grow or 10 customers who will bail inside of the first year? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I know what I would choose. I\u2019ll take the customers that love what I offer so much they want to stick around! <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n REMEMBER, it\u2019s a heck of a lot easier to covet and nurture what you fought so hard for in the first place than it is to get new business (in fact, studies have shown it\u2019s <\/span>5x-19x more expensive to find new customers<\/span><\/a> than to get repeat business from existing customers). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s why a quality-driven mindset is the key to creating consistent, sustainable year over year revenue growth: without loyal customers who want to buy from you every year\/month\/quarter, you won\u2019t have solid enough footing to grow upward… you\u2019ll be too busy trying to \u201creclimb each section of the wall\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you want to set the proper foundation for scaling your business or revenue, start by developing a handful of extremely loyal customers and adding one more at a time. Eventually you\u2019ll have a mountain you can use as a foundation to get to the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nFocusing on quality makes you more valuable.<\/b><\/h2>\n
Focusing on quality helps you grow sustainably.<\/b><\/h2>\n
Focusing on quality creates meaningful engagements with the right people.<\/b><\/h2>\n