How far would a prospect go to back out of a deal?

Published: Wed, 11/30/22

November 30, 2022

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning. Well, it’s here… the last day of the month; followed by the last month of the quarter, which is also the last month of the year, and the last year of the full blood moon, and so on and so on. Take a break from the neverending cycle with this week’s edition of The Quota, where we interview the cofounder of an independent sales company, share a motorcycle-related Sales Fail, and give some advice to a sales rep who wants to become a manager. Let’s go.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

Nearly 13% of all the jobs in the U.S. (1 in 8) are full-time sales positions.

Source: Brevet

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

Even the world’s most valuable companies aren’t immune to comp plan changes. According to a recent report, tech giant Google plans to change how it compensates its Google Cloud sales reps, changing commissions from total contract value to how much customers actually spend. The changes reportedly come at a time when investors worry about a softening economic climate. You can read the report here.
Despite the number of layoffs in recent months, according to a report from Gartner, building a high-performing sales team is actually harder than ever. Gartner’s research shows that hiring is taking longer, retaining talent is becoming harder, and new hires are more expensive. Hey, it’s sales – nothing ever gets easier! You can read the report here.

FEATURE

Katy Huff

An interview with Katy Huff, cofounder of the independent sales company MadRev

Katy Huff and Ben Alexander were the top two sales reps for media company The Hustle when it was acquired by HubSpot in 2021. Since HubSpot was no longer interested in running ads, Katy and Ben found themselves out of a job. So they came up with an idea: start an independent ad sales business, where they’d act as the middleman for companies looking to reach new audiences, and the media creators looking to monetize their newsletters. MadRev was born!

We were curious about this independent sales business model, so we reached out to Katy, who was kind enough to answer some of our questions. The following interview has been edited for clarity.

1. You were one of the top salespeople at The Hustle, which ended up being acquired by HubSpot. What was it like selling ad space there? Was there a lot of cold-calling, or were the inbound leads flowing?

While there were some inbounds, it was fairly heavy on the cold outreach. What made the prospecting nice was the name recognition was pretty good. Sending emails from @thehustle got you a decent response rate. Neeeever did any actual cold calls. Scary!

2. After The Hustle, you partnered up with your former coworker Ben and started MadRev, which connects media companies (who want to sell ad space) with brands (who want to market their products). Why did you decide to strike out on your own instead of going to work for another company?

I want to be clear that I definitely wouldn't have started my own business if I still had a job. That takes real guts. Instead, I had no job so there was nothing to lose by trying to spin up a business. Sales jobs are a dime a dozen, so worst case scenario, I could have always gone and worked somewhere else if this thing tanked. Also, big SHOUT OUT to severance. I love it and recommend it to all.

3. What are some of the biggest challenges with this business model? What are some of the positives?

Invoices. They are so annoying to manage and Ben does it all. For that, I am eternally grateful. The positives are that sweet, sweet PTO. If something cool comes up tomorrow and I don't want to work, I don't have to run that decision by anyone. Also, we work only on commission so if we slack off too much, we don't make money. There’s no salary to pad the lazy days/weeks.

4. How do you source new business? Is it mostly relationship-based, or do you prospect a ton to find new clients?

The best prospecting method is reading other newsletters to see who's ponying up the ad bucks, then emailing those companies.

5. Do you have plans to expand the business and potentially hire more reps, or are you happy to keep things lean?

No. I'm a terrible manager and frankly it sounds like soooo much work. What if I'm 5 beers deep on the craps table in Vegas and a subordinate needs me to hop on their call? Hell!

6. What advice would you give to someone who is a successful salesperson and might want to take the leap and strike out on their own?

Referring back to point #2, sales jobs are a dime a dozen and so easy to get (if you're someone who's good). It's not that expensive to pay for health insurance out of pocket, and if it totally fails, you can just go work for someone else. Low risk baby!

7. What’s your favorite sales movie?

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion!!!!

MUTUAL ACTION PLANS: A GAME-CHANGER FOR SALES REPS

What’s one thing that sales teams at Drift, Salesforce, Figma, and Stripe have in common?

They use Mutual Action Plans!

Never heard of a Mutual Action Plan? It’s a collaborative plan that outlines how buyers and sellers will work together during the buying process – aligning both sides around objectives, timelines, and next steps.

Especially in times like these when resources & budgets are tight, Mutual Action Plans (or MAPs) help sellers make the most of every opp in their pipeline. Here’s a quick rundown.

(TL;DR: MAPs are a must-have on any sale longer than a one-call close. Jump straight in with a free MAP template from Accord!)

Why should you use MAPs? 🤔

Make buying from you easy by outlining a clear path to success
Keep sellers & buyers accountable to the timeline & deliverables
Identify & align all key stakeholders in the buying process

How should you use MAPs with your buyers? 🙋

Don’t forget about the “mutual” in MAP – it should be a collaborative process!
Revisit the MAP in every call to review progress, next steps, and any blockers
Link helpful resources so your buyer has everything they need to sell internally

How do you build a MAP? 🛠

Accord did the heavy lifting for you here: get a free Mutual Action Plan template to customize for your own sales process. Happy selling!

MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

Which of the following sales tech companies is listed on the Fortune 500?

A. ZoomInfo
B. Lusha
C. HubSpot
D. Salesforce

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

In the early 2000s, I briefly sold motorsports before moving into cars and eventually mortgages, which is what I sell now. I was pretty good at it, and I was young enough where even making 70k a year felt like making a fortune. Those were the days lol.

One day this guy came in to look at a used Suzuki GSX-R. He was a restaurant manager or something like that, and was really friendly and nice. My manager worked the deal, and he ended up signing for the bike and coming back to pick it up the next day.

About a week later, he called and said he wanted to return the bike. My manager tried to be nice at first but basically ended up laughing at him, like there’s no way that’s going to happen. The guy kept calling for the next few days, and was getting increasingly irate. Still, my manager said no way – you bought it, it’s yours.

The next week, when we went to open the building, our power wouldn’t come on. We called the power company and they came out and saw that someone had cut the power to our building and to the D’Angelos next door to us. We kind of suspected that it might have been this guy and we filed a police report but nothing ever came of it.

Then, we got a letter from a lawyer, basically laying out the ways in which we supposedly “deceived” this guy into buying the bike. It was absolute nonsense, but my sales manager discussed it with the owner, and they decided to take the bike back just to avoid dealing with any more headaches.

Well, fast forward a few months. I come into work and they’re all laughing about something. So I ask what’s so funny. My manager says, “You remember that crazy guy who returned his bike?” I said yes, and he says: “Well, that letter from the lawyer he sent us. It was completely fake. He typed it up himself.” It turns out that this guy concocted an entire fake law firm, with fake letterhead and everything, and sent it to us to scare us into taking back his bike. And guess what? It worked!

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- November 2022

WORTH A PEEK

Are you looking for a gift for your coworker, sales manager, or fellow office-dwelling family member? I Hope This Email Finds You Never, the new book from the creator of Sales Humor (and the publisher of this newsletter) is the perfect stocking-stuffer, with page upon page of workplace humor, charts, graphs, and other good clean fun! If it doesn’t make you laugh, then nothing will. Get ready for the holidays and order a copy (or copies) here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

I’ve been in sales since my mid 20’s, and I’m turning 40 in a few weeks. I’ve made sales my career, and it’s given me a lot of things that I probably wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise. I own my own home in a town with a good school district. My wife only works part time, and gets to take care of our two beautiful kids. And we have newer cars and take vacations a few times a year. The point I’m making is that I’m not ungrateful.

But after putting in fifteen years into this career, I’m still grinding it out as a sales rep, and am not in management. I’ve worked for four different companies in that time, so I am a fairly loyal employee and don’t hop around when things get difficult. My performance is almost always solid. I’m not at the top of the board every month, but I am the guy that will stay late and work weekends to make sure I hit my goal and deliver. That is, I will do what it takes to pull my weight, unlike many of my coworkers.

I am getting older, and when I think of the future, it makes me a bit depressed. I don’t want to spend the next twenty-five years doing the same thing (selling); I want to move into management. I will admit that I don’t necessarily have the most assertive personality, but I am honest and professional, and generally have good relationships with my coworkers. How do I set myself up to get into a management role without pretending to be somebody that I’m not? When I think of being an independent contributor ten years from now, it kind of drains the life out of me. Do you have any tips?

Concerned in Washington

Dear Concerned,

Here’s a piece of advice that many people learn too late: unless you’re born into a powerful family, almost nothing in life happens unless you make it happen. As a successful sales rep, you know exactly what we mean. Prospects rarely beat down your door, and opportunities almost never do.

So what are we saying? Here it is: If you want to become a sales manager, it’s up to you to make it happen. Here are some things you can do:

Talk to management. Ask them what they look for when hiring and promoting managers. Ask what you could work on to become a prime candidate. Don’t assume you’ll be a sales manager where you work; it might take a few lateral moves before you find the right fit.

Learn everything you can about sales management. Read books/blogs/talk to sales managers. Ask questions. Network. Update your LinkedIn to highlight leadership skills. Take on more responsibility. Proceed forward confidently – this is an attainable goal, and if you keep at it, you absolutely will become a sales manager.

Dedicate yourself to this next career step. But make sure you keep closing deals in the meantime. You don’t need to change your personality to become a manager. As long as you can take criticism, be professional, and learn from your mistakes, it doesn’t matter if you’re introverted, extroverted, short, tall, loud or quiet. All that matters is that you can get results.

But to get there, you need to do the one thing that all sales reps should never fear: you have to ask for what you want!

Quiz Answer: D - Salesforce

SHARE THE QUOTA

Help us grow, and we'll send you a reward!

{% if subscriber.custom_field['RH_REFLINK'] != '' %}

Share The Quota, get cool stuff!

Know a salesperson who’d love The Quota? Give them your unique referral link (below), and we’ll give you some awesome rewards when they subscribe.

facebook

twitter

PS: You have referred people so far

{% endif %}

How did you like today's story?

Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Looking for a new gig or to hire for your sales team? Check out our jobs board — powered by RepVue.

Advertise with us

Books

QUOTA MEDIA LLC

651 N. Broad Street., Suite 206
Middletown DELAWARE (DE) 19709
USA

Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options