Skip to main content
Europe's B2B SaaS Sales Podcast

Europe's B2B SaaS Sales Podcast

By Unique x SalesPlaybook

B2B SaaS Sales is still an emerging domain in Europe. European salespeople and their leaders share actionable initiatives, best practices and insights on how you can source and close more deals faster and become a better sales professional.

For more free resources please visit
- www.unique.ch/ to increase sales with winning moments in every customer conversation
- thesalesplaybook.io/ on coaching committed B2B startups to exceed their sales goals
Available on
Google Podcasts Logo
Overcast Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

#9 The Art of closing a Deal and important Traits of successful Salespeople with Antoine Amiel, VP Sales Starmind

Europe's B2B SaaS Sales PodcastAug 14, 2020

00:00
45:07
#148 Wieso Konsistenz & Kultur König sind im Sales & mehr mit Lukas Götting & Robin Engelbrecht, Salescircle Podcast Hosts

#148 Wieso Konsistenz & Kultur König sind im Sales & mehr mit Lukas Götting & Robin Engelbrecht, Salescircle Podcast Hosts

Lukas Götting & Robin Engelbrecht haben 60+ Sales Expert:innen interviewed in Ihrem Sales Circle Podcast.

Hier sind 5 “Nuggets” aus unserem Dialog im Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast.

1️⃣ Konsistenz ist König #1

“Attitude kannst Du nicht fixen”.

Nur wer beständig ist und bleibt wird früher oder später erfolgreich.

Dies gilt auch für eine hohe Eigeninitiative, beständig besser zu werden.

2️⃣ Kultur ist König #2

Lukas & Robin haben viel in die Team-Kultur investiert.

Bis heute gibt es morgens einen gemeinsamen Start in den Tag.

Beide haben früh Aufgabenpakete für z.B. Kaltkakquise abgegeben.

3️⃣ Trefft Euer Team persönlich

Du bist die Summe der Menschen, mit denen Du Dich umgibt.

Gerade im Aufbau von Sales Teams ist es wichtig, präsent zu sein.

Nur Video Calls ersetzen den physischen Austausch zusammen nicht.

4️⃣Mikromanagement bringt nichts, Kennzahlen schon

Qualität und Konsistenz vor Quantität.

Deal Coaching vor “Lass mich mal machen”.

“Wie nahe ist die Person am Kunden?” vor “Telefonier mal mehr.”

5️⃣Nicht erfolgreiche Verkäufer:innen = Nicht erfolgreiche Sales Leader:innen

“Welche Rolle nehmen New Hires im eigenen Team ein?”

Sales Reps für Misserfolge verantwortlich zu machen greift zu kurz.

Wenn Verkäufer:innen nicht performen liegt dies auch an der Führungskraft.

#salessuccess #podcast #startupsales #startup #salesplaybook #b2bsaas

Feb 04, 202330:20
#147 How to answer tenders the right way with Patrick Dalvinck, Co-Founder & CEO of Sequesto

#147 How to answer tenders the right way with Patrick Dalvinck, Co-Founder & CEO of Sequesto

I personally hate tenders / RfPs / RfIs, with a passion.

Because they often lead nowhere if you are out of control.

Patrick interviewed 200+ companies on that after experiencing similar pain over 20+ years, which is why he co-founded Sequesto.

Here is a great 5 point tender checklist that emerged from our podcast:

1️⃣ Can I even win?

Many tenders are written for your competitors and already pre-decided.

(Why) Did you (not) know about a tender before receiving a request.

2️⃣ Would this contribute to my core business?

Answering tenders is often cumbersome and therefore costly.

You don’t want to involve your team for non-core business activities.

3️⃣ (How) Am I uniquely positioned to win?

You should be crystal clear why a customer should select you.

If you cannot make that argument, how should a buyer?

4️⃣ Is the timeline aligned with my internal capabilities?

Tendering is not a “let’s quickly do this game”.

Large companies have a dedicated team for this for a reason.

If you need to rely on external resources already here, be cautious.

5️⃣Is the tender stating the customer’s pain specifically enough?

If the problem is not framed clearly, you cannot craft a specific solution.

In this case strive to better understand before asking to being understood.

#salessuccess #podcast #startupsales #startup #salesplaybook #b2bsaas

Feb 02, 202332:55
#146 How to take ownership of your sales career & not burn out with Nadja Komnenic, 2x Head of Sales, led sales@lemlist 1->10M+ ARR

#146 How to take ownership of your sales career & not burn out with Nadja Komnenic, 2x Head of Sales, led sales@lemlist 1->10M+ ARR

Nadja helped lemlist scale 1->10M+ ARR quickly as 1st sales hire.

Taking ownership of her career was a game changer for her.

Nadja Komnenic grew up in Serbia, where sales is not a respected career path.

Here are the 5 key take aways from Nadja’s sales journey on our podcast:

1️⃣ Don’t wait for others to make you successful
This allowed her to move quickly in a hyper-growth company.
Instead, she learnt sales from podcasts, interviews, blogs etc.
Nadja did not wait for Guillaume Moubeche for guidance to execute.

2️⃣ Be adamant with your time management
Nadja worked all day, every day early in her career.
At one point, she realised that taking a step back is highly useful.
She prefers to be adamant with her time management vs time blockers.

3️⃣ Imagine if you had 0 tech in sales.
Doing things 100% manually has huge value.
Go “customer first”, imagine a day in the life of your buyer.
Only once validated move to scale and automate sales motion.

4️⃣ Make peers successful to spark action.
Great coaching & training is technically useful.
But reps will only take relentless action once peers succeed.
Even initially resistant reps will adopt new practices once they see success.

5️⃣ Focus on what you can control - on average.
Set your own goals for activities to be successful.
Ask yourself regularly “What could I have done better?”
If you do what you & your leader expected from you…
…but the outcome is not there - let’s analyse it together.

#salessuccess #podcast #startupsales #startup #salesplaybook #b2bsaas

Dec 23, 202233:29
#145 How CRMs stop at Closed/Won with Raphael Gindrat, Co-Founder Bestmile

#145 How CRMs stop at Closed/Won with Raphael Gindrat, Co-Founder Bestmile

Raphael is "playing host" for a dialogue on Manuel's perspective on "RevOps" with a focus on Customer Success & subscription management to discuss

  • How CRMs stop at Closed/Won and do not cover Customer Success
  • For what "jobs to be done" Hubspot "vs" Salesforce make sense
  • How to reflect multi-year subscription contracts with one-time revenue components in your systems
  • Why maintaining multiple systems for marketing, sales, customer success & finance is messy
  • How an ideal solution to go "beyond Quote-to-Cash" would need to look like - and who could build it
  • What to do with limited resources until that solution exists
Dec 22, 202247:53
#144 “Vertrieb spielt sich fast immer gleich ab(?)” mit Patrick Utz, Coach & Salestrainer, patrickutz.com

#144 “Vertrieb spielt sich fast immer gleich ab(?)” mit Patrick Utz, Coach & Salestrainer, patrickutz.com

#144 “Vertrieb spielt sich fast immer gleich ab(?)” mit Patrick Utz, Coach & Salestrainer

“Vertrieb spielt sich fast immer gleich ab”.

Inwiefern dies wirklich so ist durfte ich mit Patrick Utz besprechen.

👉 Hier sind 5 Top 1% Sales Nuggets von unserem Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast diskutiert

1️⃣ Geschäftsführer:innen sind “tolle natürliche SDRs”
Auch als Geschäftsleitungsmitglied bei Campari hat Patrick konsistent “Türen geöffnet” für die Firma, auch um glaubwürdig gegenüber dem eigenen Verkaufsteam zu bleiben. (“Ich bin nicht CEO und mein Titel funktioniert nicht in der Kaltakquise” zählt nicht.)

2️⃣ Akquise-Zeitfenster auf Zielkund:innen ausrichten
CEOs von Industrieunternehmen sind oft gut 07:00-08:00 oder 12:00-13:00 erreichbar.
Es geht im Sales darum, den KUNDEN erfolgreich zu machen.
Nicht um möglichst in der eigenen Komfortzone zu bleiben.

3️⃣ Hürden aufbrechen “im Rudel” mit Call Sessions - mit Live-Calls
Patrick macht nie fiktive Calls - immer direkt mit realen Kunden, gemeinsam.
Verkäufer:innen das richtige “Werkzeug” dafür zu geben essenziell.

4️⃣ Qualifikation professionell durchführen VOR dem Outreach
Relevanz ist wichtiger als Volumen - für die Person, nicht nur das Unternehmen.
Es gibt kaum etwas Frustrierendes als Verkauf ohne die Möglichkeit, erfolgreich zu sein.

5️⃣ C-Level direkt ansprechen lohnt sich
Geschäftsführer:innen haben eine wertvolle “übergeordnete” Sicht auf Herausforderungen.
Klar wird es dann operativer in der Zusammenarbeit - aber an den richtigen Themen.


Spielt sich Vertrieb nun fast immer gleich ab Patrick?
Technisch ja, inhaltlich weitgehend.
Branchen-Referenzen helfen aber definitiv in der Kundenakquise.
Spannenderweise kommt dieses Bedenken kaum noch auf CxO-Ebene.

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook
Dec 22, 202234:38
#143 How to connect your client's needs to your purpose with Sascha Meier, Country Manager Switzerland at EQS Group

#143 How to connect your client's needs to your purpose with Sascha Meier, Country Manager Switzerland at EQS Group

There is a huge difference between selling and truly understanding the pains of a customer. Sascha Meier brings up amazing and insightful examples of his own career that illustrate this difference and help you change to become more curious and change from selling to "helping your customers buy". This can make a huge difference in your career. Happy listening!

Dec 01, 202229:11
#142 How to use an outside-in rather than inside-out approach with prospects with Nicole Becker, CSO at BSI

#142 How to use an outside-in rather than inside-out approach with prospects with Nicole Becker, CSO at BSI

Nicole started her sales career at SAP back in 2007. Now she is leading a team of Account Managers as well as Account Executives as CSO at the CRM company BSI. Have you heard of an outside-in vs. inside-out approach? I did not. Nicole explains what she means by that and how you can apply it in your company. 

Nov 24, 202229:36
#141 How to build a great remote-first sales organization with Dave Howe, VP of Sales at Osso VR

#141 How to build a great remote-first sales organization with Dave Howe, VP of Sales at Osso VR

Dave started as Sales no. 1 with Osso VR around 4 years ago. Now, they employ more than 215 people remotely. No offices. Dave learned what it needs to build a strong connection between team members so that the fluctuation is not going through the roof and he shares those tactical learnings in this episode. Obviously, they are also using VR for that. Listen in and learn how. 

Nov 17, 202232:28
#140 Top 1% Tactical Sales Nuggets with John Barrows, Founder of JBarrows Sales Training

#140 Top 1% Tactical Sales Nuggets with John Barrows, Founder of JBarrows Sales Training

The fragmented B2B SaaS SDR/AE/CSM model slows down learning.

Promoting SDRs too fast might be setting them up to fail.

John Barrows is a Top 0.001% Sales Legend  “door-to-door printer full-cycle sales graduate”, playing the infinite game and enjoying the journey.

👉 Here are 5 Top 1% Tactical Sales Nuggets from him on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast (1st comment).

1️⃣ Get commitment for a “follow-up on the follow-up”

When asked for a follow-up email, commit indeed.

Send 5-7 bullets on priority, timing and impact.

Realise senior people reply much more often.

Aim for a 25-30% rate.

Close 90% of them.

2️⃣ Replace the subject line 2x

After 2-3 emails, change the subject to “Still Interested?”

“Either way, I don’t want to unnecessarily email you”.

If unsuccessful, change again to “Did I lose you?”

3️⃣ Focus on quality before quantity

Do NOT over-automate your outreach for quantity’s sake.

Focus instead on how to integrate your touches.

Impact people in different ways.

Be a “mini-marketer” yourself.

The “Social” matters.

4️⃣ Relevance trumps Personalisation all day

People do not care about personalisation.
They care about relevance.

Stop fake personalisation.

Be relevant.

5️⃣ Hire for attitude instead of skills

You can technically develop B- to A- players.

You can teach skills, technique & methods.

But you cannot teach attitude.

Be consistent. For years.

Ignore competition.

Play the infinite game. 🚀🚀🚀

Thanks so much for your contribution to helping sales leaders step up their game!
Nov 10, 202235:26
#139 How to react to a prospects who really wants to see a demo with Yoav Susz, VP Global Revenue at Contractbook

#139 How to react to a prospects who really wants to see a demo with Yoav Susz, VP Global Revenue at Contractbook

We know that people only care about themselves. As a salesperson, you should listen a lot more than you talk. The ability to be in silence is one of the most difficult and valuable skills you can develop as a salesperson. And listening is not easy. We talk about what is needed to really develop that muscle, and how you can answer to some of the most difficult objections. Have fun and happy learning.

Sep 07, 202230:52
#138 How to reframe the conversation with a client/prospect with Manuel Marquina, Head of Sales Region Zurich at Swisscom AG

#138 How to reframe the conversation with a client/prospect with Manuel Marquina, Head of Sales Region Zurich at Swisscom AG

Have you heard of the challenger sales approach? Most salespeople have heard of it, but do not know how to actually use it. Manuel Marquine explains exactly how he is using that effective sales methodology....and much more. Listen in and learn!

Aug 31, 202230:37
#137 How to keep your customers forever with Firaas Rashid, CEO & Founder of Hook

#137 How to keep your customers forever with Firaas Rashid, CEO & Founder of Hook

Firaas is sharing all he knows about keeping customers in your SaaS business. What do you need to understand from a customer perspective? Furthermore, he is answering the question of how he thinks CSM and Sales should be working together to grow an account effectively. Listen in and learn!

Aug 24, 202227:24
#136 How to hyper-personalize your sales approach with Daniel Recher, now Chief Commercial Officer, vVARDIS Professional

#136 How to hyper-personalize your sales approach with Daniel Recher, now Chief Commercial Officer, vVARDIS Professional

Sales is about people. BtoB is BtoI. Every sales process is business to individual and much of what matters are the people you are talking to. Who they are, what they are interested in, and how they react. You need to adjust your approach and your talking to the individual. That is what Daniel and Patrick talk about in this episode. For a lot of tactical advice, tune in and learn

Aug 17, 202229:05
#135 Money is not the answer to sales hiring with Maximilian Karpf, Founder of FM Sales

#135 Money is not the answer to sales hiring with Maximilian Karpf, Founder of FM Sales

Money is not the answer to sales hiring.

Embrace consistency & focus.

Enter Maximilian Karpf.

👉 Here are 5 insights from him on how to qualify more & better

with Max Karpf on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast (1st comment).

1️⃣ Never miss 1:1s with your team

It is so important to stay close to your sales reps.

Therefore also pick up the phone, make some cold calls.

This way, you retain empathy & respect for your team & customers.

2️⃣ Doing “everything sales” alone is hard, but fun.

“Filling the sales funnel” is NOT an entry-level position!

Max is now an SDR again for himself - and loves 1st calls.

Because that’s where you can make the biggest difference.

3️⃣ Let’s give SDRs more love.

SDRs do so much more than executing sequences.

Work towards helping your SDRs explain what they do in 1 sentence.

If they can’t, give them more responsibility, empower them & understand “the why”.

4️⃣ Consider “The 1 Tab Agreement”.

Stay consistent & focused on what works.

That’s why Max agreed with his sales reps to keep only 1 tab open at a time.

For 6 hours a day, every day. For the other 2 hours, explore & run experiments.

5️⃣ Money is not the solution to sales hiring.

“With great money comes great pressure to deliver”.

Offering 6-figure base salaries will not fix the talent acquisition problem.

Max expects the supply-demand balance to shift early 2023…stay tuned… :)

Thanks so much for your contribution to helping sales leaders step up their game!

Jul 04, 202232:21
#134 Two simple tricks that build a lot of trust with Andreas Geist, Head of Sales South at becon GmbH

#134 Two simple tricks that build a lot of trust with Andreas Geist, Head of Sales South at becon GmbH

Andreas shares his two best tips on how to not f*ck up the first meetings with your customer. And this applies as much to Europe as it probably does to any other region. 

Jul 04, 202232:04
#133 (7th German episode) How to pitch with Volker Hein, Co-Founder of Pitch Corporation

#133 (7th German episode) How to pitch with Volker Hein, Co-Founder of Pitch Corporation

Volker Hein is the Master of the pitch. All said. Volker brought two questions (not tips this time), which will change the way how you think about deals and pitches. Have fun and happy learning.

Jun 29, 202231:03
#132 Nobody Regrets Qualifying Out with Andy Whyte, Founder of MEDDICC

#132 Nobody Regrets Qualifying Out with Andy Whyte, Founder of MEDDICC

Nobody Regrets Qualifying Out. But so few people do it enough.

Andy Whyte has a few thoughts here on value, stakeholders & process.

👉 Here are 5 Insights from him on how to qualify more & better

with Andy Whyte on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast (1st comment).

1️⃣ Focus on value instead of your pipeline.

Very few sales people qualify “hard” enough.

They focus primarily on if they can add a deal to their pipeline.

Instead focus on if you, your company & your offering adds enough value.

2️⃣ Trust is built upon value & respect.

Trust is hugely underdiscussed in sales.

Lead with social proof from customer case studies.

Have an open conversation, identify pains, rank them.

Then implicate & quantify pains & how you can help solve them.

3️⃣ “Transfer pain” by being prepared.

Don’t prepare your demo “talking about all your bells & whistles.

Instead invest into preparing insights on why buyers take action.

Then leverage those to share why other companies took action already.

4️⃣ MEDDICC is NOT a retrospective after-action review tool.

Adding 7 fields to Salesforce will not make reps more successful.

Because sales people hate admin work, but love actionable insights.

Therefore use MEDDICC starting in your preparation before even the 1st call.

5️⃣MEDDICC is “like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) for qualification”.

BJJ isn't the only 'framework' in MMA for “groundwork”.

Champions have used Judo, Sambo, Wrestling among others.

But simply no other framework has the quantity of Champions as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu..

Thanks so much for your contribution to making qualification so much better!

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook #qualification

May 30, 202238:34
#131 How to find and hire the right candidates with Michael Jezela, VP Sales at Cosuno

#131 How to find and hire the right candidates with Michael Jezela, VP Sales at Cosuno

Cosuno is a success story from Germany. Michael started at Cosuno in November 2020 when they were 8 people. Today, the company employs almost 200, out of which 60 are in sales. How can you find and hire the right talent so quickly in the current "war for talent"? Michael shares a few answers to that question. 

May 24, 202229:48
#130 How to make pricing a game changer with Jeffrey Tjiok, Director at Simon-Kucher

#130 How to make pricing a game changer with Jeffrey Tjiok, Director at Simon-Kucher

Pricing is part science, part art. And huge for profitability.

Jeffrey Tjiok worked with 25+ B2B Tech companies, many of them VC-backed unicorns.

👉 Here are 5 Insights from him on how to make pricing a game changer for you

with Jeffrey Tjiok on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast (1st comment).

1️⃣ Master your pricing toolbox to defend value

Many startups immediately rush into discounting.

Instead find out WHY the offered price seems too high.

Then offer value-add, low-cost items sequentially in the process.

2️⃣ Embrace long-term quid pro quo

Ask what you get in return instead of giving in to incumbents “kicking tires”.

Steer the discussion away from price towards focusing fully on value.

Frame concessions with a clear (time) limit, e.g. 1st-year discounts.

3️⃣ “Everyone’s responsible for pricing”

Pricing is one of the most cross-functional disciplines.

Product marketing has to tell a compelling story around the offering.

Sales needs clear pricing guidelines to close profitable, attractive deals.

This requires close alignment of the company’s leadership (CRO x CFO x CMO).

4️⃣ Your pricing needs to follow your business objectives

One of Jeffrey’s clients moved from volume- to revenue-focus and is now valued at $10B.

You need to decide first if growth, profitability, retention or win rates are most important.

As you scale quickly, getting pricing right is crucial to build a sustainable business.

5️⃣ Pricing can have a huge impact on profitability

Many Silicon Valley companies follow a “reach first, rich second” model.

If you’re a VC-backed, hypergrowth scaleup, that’s great.

May 20, 202229:03
#129 How to scale 0-100(!)M ARR quickly with Martin Giese, Coach & Advisor & Investor

#129 How to scale 0-100(!)M ARR quickly with Martin Giese, Coach & Advisor & Investor

Martin Giese is a B2B Startup Sales legend that interviewed many hypergrowth scaleups such as Personio, SAP Hybris, LeanIX & many more for "Fast Forward: Accelerating B2B sales for startups".

👉 Here are 3 Insights from him on how to scale 0-100(!) million ARR quickly on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast (1st comment)

1️⃣ Increase your prices with confidence

Go to your pricing page and increase prices by 20%.

You could charge (way) more without losing deals.

Most startups don’t price aggressively enough.

2️⃣ Emphasise NRR - Net Revenue Retention

Achieving negative churn starts with your mindset that closing a deal is only the start.

How the revenue from your existing customers evolves is quintessential in SaaS.

Aim for 100%, if you have >200% Martin would like to get involved, so write him.

3️⃣ Scaling 10->100M ARR is also a mindset

Personio’s founder Hanno Renner decided to raise his 2019 VC round in the US.

Because no VC in DACH had the track record & ambition to think this big.

Why not hire 10x the people you do today if you believe it works?

4️⃣ You can’t afford to not fix your bottlenecks - like churn

If churn is not under control, you will reach stagnation mode sooner or later.

Fixing 1% of churn is equal to fix 10% of your sales performance.

This also means getting the fundamentals & more right.

5️⃣ If in analysis-paralysis, validate hypotheses quickly

You cannot afford NOT to take decisions regularly on an ongoing basis.

If unsure, look for ways how to assess your past data “experiments”.

Then define inexpensive, fast hypotheses to validate for the future.

May 17, 202237:07
#128 Why to write & sell like you speak normally with Jan Mundorf, AE@Pleo & Tech Sales Ambassador

#128 Why to write & sell like you speak normally with Jan Mundorf, AE@Pleo & Tech Sales Ambassador

Jan’s getting job offers for 3x the money he is making today - rejecting them all.

Because he’s prioritising People, Product & Personal Development before money (now).

👉 Here are 3 Insights from him on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast (1st comment)

1️⃣ Write like you speak

Jan validates his outreach with his growth manager, reading it on a mobile phone & more.

Then being relentless about A/B testing if the system is running reasonably well.

And never forget: Write like you speak, keep it natural, don’t overthink it.

Have a “Player instead of Prisoner” mindset to put humans first.

2️⃣ Professionalise your sales stack

Jan is using best of breed tools across the whole sales stack:

- Salesloft for Sales Engagement top funnel
- Lusha / Lead IQ for data gathering
- Chili Piper for meeting scheduling
- Gong / Unique for call reviews

- Reachdesk for small gifts

3️⃣ Attract & retain top sales talent: People, Product, Personal Development

Pleo raised 9-figures at a Unicorn valuation, growing 300 -> 700 people in 4 months.

Especially at hypergrowth, Pleo is “values first” and emphasises that in hiring.

In a company which is “going places”, in a space that is scaling quickly.

Jan’s priority in life is learning from people he love’s working with.

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook #hypergrowth

May 13, 202230:58
#127 How to close the biggest deal of your career with Jamal Reimer, Founder of Mega Deal Secrets

#127 How to close the biggest deal of your career with Jamal Reimer, Founder of Mega Deal Secrets

“Run-rate selling” sucks. The constant pressure, pace & pain of potentially not hitting quota.

Jamal Reimer went from missing quota to closing 8-figure deals repeatably. Here’s how:

👉 Here are 3 Insights on how to (>)10x the size of your biggest deal from having a true enterprise sales legend on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast:

1️⃣ Dig a well before you’re thirsty

Provide tons of value to executives and key opinion leaders BEFORE you need their help.

Jamal shared valuable industry insights with his management team proactively.

The first time he needed the support of an executive, they were more than happy to help.

2️⃣ Run-rate selling is fundamental. Mega deals are game-changing.

You’re never escape run-rate selling. As a company and individual early on.

How much of your time you can invest into a mega deal depends on your account list.

Jamal had 4 accounts at the time of closing a $53M deal. And 2 did not want to talk to him.

3️⃣ Embrace multi-threading in a multi-product setting with a major account plan

Jamal’s account spreadsheets “were a kilometer long” to understand an organization.

At this deal size, orchestrating the buyer journey is also hugely important internally.

He managed his internal organisation in weekly meetings, but knew he did not want to go into management…

…which is why he founded his own company now! 🤩

👉 Listen to the full episode in the 1st comment

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook #enterprisesales

May 12, 202225:42
#126 (6th German episode) Unlocking the mystery of being authentic and the difference of that aspect in services and product sales with Martin Mühlbach, Head of Sales & Marketing at ITARICON

#126 (6th German episode) Unlocking the mystery of being authentic and the difference of that aspect in services and product sales with Martin Mühlbach, Head of Sales & Marketing at ITARICON

Telling somebody "to be authentic" does not mean much at first. Because authenticity is relative to the person you are telling to be so. Martin and I unlock what it means in the context of selling. Because what we actually want to say is that some traits are important in sales (be honest, direct, speak about problems, say no to business that has no positive long term effects) and that those traits should come naturally to salespeople. What do you think?

May 10, 202229:23
#125 How to deal with rejection & build resilience as an SDR with Bisho Chamssuddin, SDR Coach

#125 How to deal with rejection & build resilience as an SDR with Bisho Chamssuddin, SDR Coach

Bisho Chamssuddin went “from molecular biology to sales”, thriving in face-to-face sales.

He is OK with rejection & resilience, but not unrealistic goals for SDRs without getting external support.

Here are 3 Insights on how to build a predictable demand generation process after getting a lot of sales coaching from our dialogue in our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast:

1️⃣ Rejection requires resilience

The rejection he experienced was “unreal” in terms of having 200+ “outreaches” per day.

And getting rejected 180+ times of it. Every day.

A key for him was to not take rejection personally & focus on improving the process.

2️⃣ Record & review your sales calls

Both the sales manager and the rep should review their sales conversations.

Then reconstruct these conversation in mock-up calls. Then “rinse & repeat”.

At scale, not only for 1-2 mock-up calls.

3️⃣ Aim for people with an elite athlete mindset

You need people who want to be the best at what they do.

To improve 1% every day. To get feedback, implement quickly, and continue learning.

This has 100% to do with getting the right coaching to build the right sales systems & 0% with product training.

P.S. PM me if you want to get on Bisho’s weekly Wednesday SDR small group coaching call.

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook #salesrecruiting

May 08, 202229:08
#124 How to do AI Startup sales with close to zero industry knowledge with Christian Fontius, Co-Founder & Co-CEO Turbit

#124 How to do AI Startup sales with close to zero industry knowledge with Christian Fontius, Co-Founder & Co-CEO Turbit

Christian Fontius studied business, but learnt 0 about B2B Sales there.

So he went “learning by doing” as StackFuel’s 1st business employee (shout out to Leo Marose)

Here are 3 Insights on how he’s bringing innovation with AI to a traditional market (wind industry) from our dialogue in our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast:

1️⃣ Sales is Service & Stories

Detach from the outcome & embrace a service mindset.

Give your buyer’s champion a nice story to tell internally.

If this does not work out, don’t get frustrated, but ask “Can you help me understand better”

2️⃣ Rehearse your 30 second intro for cold calls

When cold calling, you face a strong attention constraint.

You therefore want to have a rock-solid, sharp intro pitch.

Christian even uses bao (a Conversational Intelligence solution to iterate quickly here.

3️⃣ Be hyper-precise when framing the buyer journey.

“This is how we run things. After this call, here’s what will happen next.

We will run an initial collaboration for 10 wind turbines for a low 5-figure investment.

When this works well, we roll-out the solution company-wide for a 6-figure investment.

“BONUS”: Christian sees a misunderstanding in DACH about sales being about “only money” instead of solving customer problems.

P.S. Turbit closed 2 deals on the day of the recording & is looking for a Senior Account Executive

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook #salesrecruiting

May 03, 202220:24
#123 What focus really means and how to track the effectiveness of your sales process with Patrice Geiger, CSO Empolis Information Management

#123 What focus really means and how to track the effectiveness of your sales process with Patrice Geiger, CSO Empolis Information Management

Patrice and Patrick talk about the single most important metric "pipeline velocity rate", how it is calculated and what you should do in case the number is off. Additionally, Patrice shares insights into his sales process. Listen in and learn!

Apr 28, 202230:04
#122 Why MEDDICC can be outdated for some sales organizations with Bruno Teuber, CRO at commercetools

#122 Why MEDDICC can be outdated for some sales organizations with Bruno Teuber, CRO at commercetools

Bruno started in enterprise sales back in 1995 - that is longer than most salespeople on this planet. He has seen how buying changed and what that means for sales organizations. That is why we are talking about older methodologies such as MEDDICC and how we should be using them today. 

Apr 24, 202242:12
#121 Wie Marketing & Verkauf gemeinsam eine top Customer Journey sicherstellen mit Marvin Karis, Teamlead Sales & Market Development Echobot

#121 Wie Marketing & Verkauf gemeinsam eine top Customer Journey sicherstellen mit Marvin Karis, Teamlead Sales & Market Development Echobot

Marvin Karis hat die Verkaufsstrukturen bei Echobot mitaufgebaut.

Bisher haben alle 40+ Verkäufern “Full-Stack” gearbeitet (Lead Gen + Closing).

Im Rahmen der Internationalisierung evaluiert Echobot nun den Split BDR/AE/x.

Hier sind 3 Insights aus unserem Dialog im Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast:

1️⃣ Je besser Produkt & Strukturen, desto einfacher der Verkauf

Der angehende Split BDR / Account Executive ist ermöglicht durch ein einfacher zu verkaufendes Produkt.

Weiterhin hilft dem Team ein professionelles Stack sowie team-übergreifende Pods.

2️⃣ Hire for attitude, train for skill

Echobot setzt auf Absolvent(inn)en von Universitäten und entwickelt diese dann proaktiv.

Daher sind Soft Skills via Bewerbungsvideo wie Coachability & Offenheit hier wichtiger als Hard Skills wie Prospecting & Closing.

Auch mit mittlerweile 120 Mitarbeitern sind Marvin & Team das Aufrechterhalten Startup-Spirits mit gemeinsamen Events, Perks & eigenen Formaten sehr wichtig.

3️⃣ Verschmelzung von Marketing & Verkauf

Vertriebsmitarbeiter bauen selber ein starkes Brand auf, was Marketing befähigt.

Marketing kann daraus bessere Landing Pages mit Custom Audiences bauen.

Der Vertrieb funktioniert hier als Ohr, das Marketing als Sprachrohr.

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook #salesrecruiting

Apr 19, 202227:24
#120 How to change your hardware to become an even better cold caller with Murad Sah, Head of Sales Product line Athena at Dampsoft

#120 How to change your hardware to become an even better cold caller with Murad Sah, Head of Sales Product line Athena at Dampsoft

Murad has a long history in telesales. He knows that what you say is very important, but how to say that is even more so. And there are methods that help you make changes in your voice and become a much better cold caller. These methods are basically changing the hardware of your system (mouth, jaw) and help you a much better communicator

Apr 11, 202231:11
#119 How to genuinely compliment your prospects and create real relationships with Alessandro Graf, Head of Business Development isolutions AG

#119 How to genuinely compliment your prospects and create real relationships with Alessandro Graf, Head of Business Development isolutions AG

Alessandro has been in IT sales for the past 12 years. He is a master in building relationships through genuine feedback, real compliments and asking for personal goals. If you really mean it, according to Alessandro, you will be able to create those relationships much faster. 

Apr 06, 202228:02
#118 How to start your day right with Torsten Sauer, Head of Digital Sales at Uhlmann Pac-Systeme

#118 How to start your day right with Torsten Sauer, Head of Digital Sales at Uhlmann Pac-Systeme

We have been talking about a lot of sales tactics. But doing sales all day is not possible if you do not feel great and start the day right, thinks Torsten Sauer. That is why he is sharing some tactical tips on starting the day and goal setting with the team and as an individual. Listen in if you also struggle with the long screen times in today's world full of screens.

Mar 26, 202230:25
#117 How to execute your sales strategy properly and invest time with the right tasks as a sales leader with Oliver Manojlovic, VP of Sales at Personio

#117 How to execute your sales strategy properly and invest time with the right tasks as a sales leader with Oliver Manojlovic, VP of Sales at Personio

Oliver is leading >100 salespeople in the SMB business of Personio and was an integral part of building that team. This episode is for aspiring and working sales leaders. The priority of a first-line sales leader is coaching their salespeople to become the best version of themselves. However, many leaders are focusing on strategy and projects instead of training. What about you?

Mar 23, 202230:43
#116 How to learn from other sales organizations with Alexander Naydenov, Head of Direct Sales at GraphCMS

#116 How to learn from other sales organizations with Alexander Naydenov, Head of Direct Sales at GraphCMS

Alex shares some amazingly tactical tips on how you can learn from other company's salespeople. Additionally, Alex and Patrick talk about the difference between selling to technical people compared to business-oriented people. You might not be able to just ask questions in a discovery call but also share some value and be genuinely helpful is going to help a lot.

Mar 20, 202230:39
#115 Why sales hiring is a marathon at a sprint pace right now with Tim Fetzer, Partner 3C

#115 Why sales hiring is a marathon at a sprint pace right now with Tim Fetzer, Partner 3C

Tim Fetzer in 2022 staffed a talent within 10 days from 1st call to signed contract.

Speed, attitude, persistency & relationships are crucial in sales recruiting - like in sales.

Actually, recruiting is “doing sales twice a day” - 1x to the candidate & 1x to the company.

Here are 3 key insights I learnt from Tim having him on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales podcast.

1️⃣ Hire for attitude & speed.

You need people who are willing to go the extra mile and make team successful.

Stock options & equity are becoming more valued by sales reps, “everyone is asking for it”.

If the attitude is there, strive to hire “start to finish” within 1-3 weeks.

The hiring managers need to “play along” with this, trust the process and make time.

2️⃣ It’s a marathon at a sprint pace right now.

Lots of companies are looking for hunters with 3-5 years of experience in SaaS.

Candidates often get multiple offers every week with double-digit InMail per week.

Companies are often impatient but unaware of the degree of the war for talent.

3️⃣ Hire the right team leads (like @Ben Bauer)

Sales reps join - and stay with - team leads who help them get to the next level.

This also enables more affordable hiring to hire young hungry talent and develop them.

#podcast #startupsales #b2bsaassales #startup #salesplaybook #salesrecruiting

Mar 15, 202227:54
#114 How a great hiring process can look like with Chris Funk, Founder & CEO of Xenagos

#114 How a great hiring process can look like with Chris Funk, Founder & CEO of Xenagos

Chris truly is an expert when it comes to recruiting. He first worked as VP at one of the largest recruiting companies worldwide called Adecco and almost 20 years ago started his own company Xenagos. He was also one of the first Sales podcasters in Europe with his "VertriebsFunk Podcast". Chris and Patrick discuss what it takes to recruit great salespeople and how you should build the best recruiting process. 

Mar 14, 202232:03
#113 How to successfully use the challenger sales approach with Lisa Glassner, Head of Sales Europe at Comfy

#113 How to successfully use the challenger sales approach with Lisa Glassner, Head of Sales Europe at Comfy

Lisa knows how not to be afraid, create positive tension and disagree with C-level executives of potential customers. Lisa and Patrick uncover the tactical way to the challenger sales approach as she has been using that approach for a long time.

Mar 10, 202229:47
#112 Why content contribution is underrated and product market fit should not be skipped with Sandro Meyer, Partner & Co-Founder at GrowthBay

#112 Why content contribution is underrated and product market fit should not be skipped with Sandro Meyer, Partner & Co-Founder at GrowthBay

Sandro Meyer won all of his customers at Growthbay from his audience funnel.

Now what is the difference between an audience funnel vs a prospecting funnel?

Here’s 3 insights I gained from having him on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast.

1️⃣ Content contribution is underrated: Many companies invest heavily into creation, hit publish and then “wait, see, and hope for the best”. Instead of re-purposing content “gems”.

2️⃣ Saying no to offer requests:

3️⃣ Don’t skip PMF (Product-Market-Fit): x

Thanks so much for sharing your learnings and insights from the last 10 years as a marketing leader with us Sandro!

#selltoscale #salessuccess #salescoaching #salesacceleration #salesplaybook

Mar 08, 202230:22
#111 How to set a focus in prospecting and reach out to future clients with Jaap Boven, Sales Director RoE at Netcore Cloud

#111 How to set a focus in prospecting and reach out to future clients with Jaap Boven, Sales Director RoE at Netcore Cloud

Jaap Boven worked himself up from SDR to Sales Director in 5 years. He is sharing his experience in regards to compiling a great target list and reaching out to those in a way that you get to talk to them. He also shares some important tips on how you can stand out in today's crowded sales market.

Mar 05, 202226:31
#110 Why being genuine matters in outbound sales with Theo Shikov, CEO & Founder Out2Bound

#110 Why being genuine matters in outbound sales with Theo Shikov, CEO & Founder Out2Bound

“We need more leads. This will solve all or at least tons of sales problems.

Can you please do outbound sales at scale for me for EUR 2’000-5000 / month?“

“NO - if product-market-fit is not there and you have only few potential buyers.”

Here’s 3 great insights from having him Theo Shikov, CEO & Founder Out2Bound on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast.

1️⃣ Following up is everything: In Europe, there is still this stigma that following up can be negative. It is not. Countless prospects only reply after 5-7 touchpoints. And then become customers.

2️⃣ Embrace Personalisation at scale: Get to the DNA of your target company and buyer. Then decide via “ABC-Bucketing” where to invest into deep personalisation and where to “only” nurture at scale.

3️⃣ Don’t skip PMF (Product-Market-Fit): Scaling outbound sales motion without nailing down your sales arguments and ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) can actually hurt you, especially if your market has

Thanks so much for sharing your learnings and insights from the last 6 years with us Theo!

#selltoscale #salessuccess #salescoaching #salesacceleration #salesplaybook

Mar 03, 202222:52
#109 How to start your discovery with your best, open-ended questions with Jonathon Ilett, VP of UK & I at Cognism

#109 How to start your discovery with your best, open-ended questions with Jonathon Ilett, VP of UK & I at Cognism

Jonathon Ilett is leading sales at Cognism, one of the fastest-growing sales tech scale-ups in Europe with over 300 employees. He faced several challenges young salespeople face in their careers and knows what is needed to become successful. For some great examples of open-ended questions, listen in.

Feb 27, 202231:48
#108 Why Ego is the Enemy and knowing how to deal with what you don’t know with Jonas Gesslein, SDR Coaching

#108 Why Ego is the Enemy and knowing how to deal with what you don’t know with Jonas Gesslein, SDR Coaching

“Before I begin telling you what I think, I want to establish that I’m a “dumb shit” who doesn’t know much relative to what I need to know. Whatever success I’ve had in life has had more to do with my knowing how to deal with my not knowing than anything I know.” (Ray Dalio)

Jonas Gesslein invested 8 years of his career in face-to-face sales on the street (“Dialogmarketing”) before becoming an SDR leader and it was a true pleasure learning from him on having him on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales podcast.

Here are 3 insights he shared on our conversation:

1️⃣ Prioritise learning to (only) KPIs: Enable coachees to figure out solutions themselves and empower them to take action and be confident and proactive themselves to fix problems.

2️⃣ Be incredibly fast in hiring: Jonas dedicated 30-50% of his time as an SDR Leader at Solve Mate to hiring, then strived to “close the deal” within ideally a week if an A+ player.

3️⃣SDRs deserve coaching: Either hire a fantastic sales leader that can lead SDRs. If not in place, get external help & invest into your SDRs to help them ramp quickly & be successful.

Thanks Jonas for sharing these great insights & happy prospecting!

Feb 24, 202235:42
#107 How to measure the right KPIs in sales and customer success with Maximilian Karpf, Founder FM Sales and former Head of Sales Personio

#107 How to measure the right KPIs in sales and customer success with Maximilian Karpf, Founder FM Sales and former Head of Sales Personio

Max worked in several SaaS Sales Leadership positions at such companies as Personio, Homanoo, Oracle and Payfit, and recently started to build his own company. He learned the hard way that measuring important KPIs is really important for decision making in sales and customers success - and something that is not done enough. We are deep-diving into what KPIs you should measure and show you how to improve the game step by step. Happy learning.

Feb 22, 202230:24
#106 Running SaaStock from 7-figure to 0 to 7-figure A(R)R with Alex Theuma, Founder

#106 Running SaaStock from 7-figure to 0 to 7-figure A(R)R with Alex Theuma, Founder

SaaStock has grown to be the biggest B2B SaaS Conference in Europe.

But behind the well-known event is a multi-product, fast-growing 7-figure ARR company.

Then revenue went to 0 with COVID-19 but its founder Alex Theuma adapted quickly.

It was a true pleasure having Alex on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast.

1️⃣ Sales-centricity: Alex started SaaStock with 10+ years sales experience and embraced growing revenues & scaling the team with sales at the heart of the organisation.

2️⃣ Adaptability & resilience: Alex needed to scale down the team from 24 to 9 people upon moving from physical to virtual setups, but went 0-1M revenue from virtual conferences.

3️⃣ Educating the market: Professionals where not used to pay for virtual, but only physical events. Employees as well as founders also therefore asked more for discounts or even free tickets, unaware how high the investment is to put an event such as SaaStock is.

Love your “enthusiastic focus” Alex & really looking forward to see you at SaaStock!

Feb 21, 202228:37
#105 How to close 6-figure deals in a B2B SaaS Scaleup with Oliver Arber, Senior Account Executive Beekeeper

#105 How to close 6-figure deals in a B2B SaaS Scaleup with Oliver Arber, Senior Account Executive Beekeeper

Beekeeper is one of Switzerland’s biggest B2B SaaS Startup success stories.

But to achieve 8-figure ARR, you need fantastic sales reps closing 6-figure deals.

Oliver Arber is one of the best in the game.

It was a true pleasure having him on our Europe’s B2B SaaS Sales Podcast.

Here’s 3 great insights from him

1️⃣ “Be paranoid”: Constantly “have your radar on” what could go wrong until a deal is closed, avoid the “Happy Ears Phenomenon”, embrace risks and deepen your discovery.

2️⃣ You never do large deals alone: Working closely with your & the prospect’s team, Oliver brings in e.g. Cris Grossmann or Daniel Sztutwojner strategically.

3️⃣ Get a Champion AND a Spy (Coach): You need to know what’s going on in the buyer’s organization at all times, especially if you’re waiting for intelligence but don’t get it.

Special credits to Mila Nussbaumer for keeping Oliver 4.5+ years at Beekeeper because she cares a lot about her people and developed them accordingly!

Feb 14, 202229:19
#104 (5th German episode) How to always be positive and focus on customer's needs (and not your own) with Raphael Schifferle, CMO Brugg Lifting

#104 (5th German episode) How to always be positive and focus on customer's needs (and not your own) with Raphael Schifferle, CMO Brugg Lifting

Raphael Schifferle, newly promoted to CMO at Brugg Lifting has a long background selling cars and industrial products. An angle we have not looked at in the podcast. However, there are still very important takeaways for all sellers in SaaS and tech. Raphael is always preparing well and goes into a customer meeting with a positive mindset. How he manages to do that every day and how he can put the customer's needs in the centre you learn in this episode. Happy learning and stay unique. 

Feb 12, 202226:60
#103 Why loving people and loving what you sell is important for your success as a salesperson with Patrick Minder, Executive Vice President Swisscom B2B

#103 Why loving people and loving what you sell is important for your success as a salesperson with Patrick Minder, Executive Vice President Swisscom B2B

Patrick Minder's story is an incredible success. At 34 years old, he is leading Swisscom's Platform and Software B2B sales business - a unit consisting of over 1'000 sellers and supporters. Prior to working at Swisscom, he was building up JLS Digital as CEO and CSO. In this episode, Patrick is sharing some of the wisdom that got him where he is today. The love for people and the product you sell are among those important factors. Happy learning!

Feb 09, 202226:03
#102 How keeping your pipeline clear is helping you succeed with Paolo Donnarumma, CSO at Somnitec

#102 How keeping your pipeline clear is helping you succeed with Paolo Donnarumma, CSO at Somnitec

Paolo Donnarumma is a sales legend and knows exactly what you need to succeed in large enterprise sales deals. Even though there might be negative short-term consequences, Paolo is an advocate of closing opportunities that are not hot anymore quickly. It sounds easy but is actually really hard. "But they said they buy in three months!" Well, you do not know and you should not make your feelings dependent on that possibility. Free yourself from those opportunities. How you can do that, and other tactical tips, you learn from Paolo in this episode.

Feb 06, 202231:24
#101 How you shorten the sales cycles with Manfred Artmeier, Head of Growth at RAQUEST

#101 How you shorten the sales cycles with Manfred Artmeier, Head of Growth at RAQUEST

For more than 10 years, Manfred has been engaged in tech B2B business development. In his current role as Head of Growth at RAQUEST, he helps the FinTech with scaling up the business and hire talents. Moreover, together with other sales leaders, he has founded acceederate a network of business angels helping B2B startups to win their first customers. In this podcast, Manfred discloses his five golden rules of how to make proof of value/concept phases to sales success:

1. Make no commitment without commitment

2. Make friends with fans

3. Know the enemy

4. Lead!

5. Be one step ahead

A must-hear for enterprise salespeople

Feb 01, 202228:37
#100 How to manage insanly fast growth with Lars Mangelsdorf, Patrick Trümpi and Manuel Hartmann

#100 How to manage insanly fast growth with Lars Mangelsdorf, Patrick Trümpi and Manuel Hartmann

The first episode of this podcast was a discussion between Manuel, Lars and Patrick. That is how it all started. Back then, Lars and Yokoy were at 20 people with three in sales. 1.5 years later, Yokoy finished series A and employs more than 100 people, 40 of which are in Lars' team. Learn how he managed to grow his team so fast and what tactics they are using to win customers every day. 

Jan 30, 202231:09
#99 How to make sure that being ghosted is the past with James Buckley, Chief Evangelist & Master of Ceremonies at JB Sales

#99 How to make sure that being ghosted is the past with James Buckley, Chief Evangelist & Master of Ceremonies at JB Sales

You do not want to be ghosted again? Then, this episode is for you. James 'saywhatsales' Buckley is currently Chief Evangelist & Master of Ceremonies @ JB Sales and definitely earned his evangelist title. One can literally feel his energy and he has a lot of interesting tactical tips to share for all the salespeople who do regular demos and have difficulty following up with potential clients. Happy learning and let us know your feedback.

Jan 19, 202227:55