A Smarter Way to Sell: Account Based Selling 101 with TOPO

Michelle JohnsonEnterprise Account Executive,

LinkedIn Sales Solutions

A Smarter Way to Sell:Account Based Selling 101 with TOPO

Neil HarringtonSenior Sales Analyst,

TOPO Inc.

The buying landscape is changing

FACT:

The Changing Landscape

6.8People on average involved in the buying decision

77% 20%Decision makers change roles every year

Of buyers don’t believe that sales understands their business and don’t think they can help

???

80% of SDR Teams Leverage 3+ Touch TypesUSE OF DIFFERENT TOUCH TYPES

19%

24%

37%

17%

2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Email, Phone,

LinkedIn, Social, Chat

Email, Phone,

LinkedIn, Social

Email, Phone,

LinkedIn

Email, Phone Email Only

Touch Type

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les

dev

elo

pm

ent

org

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Conventional Sales Tactics Are Losing Deals

GENERIC OUTREACHCOLD CALLING

Conventional Sales Tactics

Cold Calling

53%

Generic Outreach

The Result

Account Based Selling

Modern Selling

What is account based selling?

Researched Personalized IntegratedTimely

It is also a Journey

…Meet your customer wherever they are

Who is it for?

4 Account Based Selling Tactics

4 Key Tactics

Select Target Accounts

TARGET UNDERSTAND ENGAGE

Investigate & Identify

Personalized Value

Outreach

| TARGET |


Questions:

• Who do you sell to?

• Do you segment by industry, company size, type of sale?

• How do you ID accounts for territories?

Other Considerations:

• Lowest hanging fruit

• Size of prize

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION

1 Discovery A meeting or set of meetings to understand the buyer and their current situation.

2 Develop MatrixImmediately after discovery, sales reps should complete the Matrix.

3 Review MatrixManagers should review the Matrix with their reps, and, based on its information, coach them regarding the most effective messaging and plays.

4Customize sales engagement

Using the Matrix as a guide, sales should customize future interactions

(e.g. the demo and the presentation) with the buyer.

THE MATRIX OPPORTUNITY PLANNING PROCESS

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION

1 Discovery

2 Develop Matrix

3 Review Matrix

4Customize sales engagement

(BLANK) THE MATRIX OPPORTUNITY PLANNING PROCESS

BUYING PROCESS MAPObjective: The answers to the questions in the Buying Process Map are recorded either in the CRM (preferred) or in the tool featured below. The elements of this tool are then easily integrated into a more extensive deal management plan or close plan.

When to Use: Immediately after the buying process conversation.

STAKEHOLDER ROLE IMPACT BLOCKER

Name of Stakeholder Role in the process

(e.g. decision maker, recommender)

Impact of the solution on this stakeholder (e.g. will solve problem x)

Only complete if they will be a problem. Explain why.

Jaimie Bussey Decision Maker Increase customer loyalty and reduce same store churn

Has had problem with loyalty card implementations in the past

MILESTONE OWNER STAKEHOLDERS TIMING RED FLAGS

Significantly step in the buying process (e.g. executive demo or legal signoff

Who owns making the step happen

Stakeholders involved Exact dates or rough estimates if early in process

Are there potential failure points in this step? If not, leave blank

Implementation of pilot program in 13 test stores

Jim Smith Jaimie BusseyJillian Smith

Start 12/6End 2/6

The team is asking for new features that aren’t ready and the Holiday season usually has high turn

FILL IN ROW FOR EACH ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER

FILL IN ROW FOR EACH ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER

(BLANK) BUYING PROCESS MAP |Objective: The answers to the questions in the Buying Process Map are recorded either in the CRM (preferred) or in the tool featured below. The elements of this tool are then easily integrated into a more extensive deal management plan or close plan.


STAKEHOLDER ROLE IMPACT BLOCKER

Name of Stakeholder Role in the process

(e.g. decision maker, recommender)

Impact of the solution on this stakeholder (e.g. will solve problem x)

Only complete if they will be a problem. Explain why.

(BLANK) BUYING PROCESS MAP |Objective: The answers to the questions in the Buying Process Map are recorded either in the CRM (preferred) or in the tool featured below. The elements of this tool are then easily integrated into a more extensive deal management plan or close plan.


MILESTONE OWNER STAKEHOLDERS TIMING RED FLAGS

Significantly step in the buying process (e.g. executive demo or legal signoff

Who owns making the step happen

Stakeholders involved Exact dates or rough estimates if early in process

Are there potential failure points in this step? If not, leave blank

| UNDERSTAND |


After Selecting Accounts, Determine…

• Buyers

• Decision Makers

• Influencers

Other Considerations:

• Research pain points

• Treat company as whole vs one person

VALUE PROP BUILDERObjective: Craft highly relevant, benefit-focused value propositions that are easily customizable for different prospects.

When to Use: Qualification call, positioning during a discovery call

30-SECOND VALUE PROP MESSAGING BUILDOUT

Persona

(who you help)We help… General Managers

Peers

(which co’s you help)At companies such as…

At restaurants such as Red Robin and

The Melt

How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…Reduce customer churn and increase

same store sales

How they use it By doing…By implementing our loyalty card

program

Put it all togetherWe help General Managers at restaurants such as Red Robin and The Melt reduce

customer churn and increase same store sales by implementing our loyalty card

program

(BLANK) VALUE PROP BUILDERObjective: Craft highly relevant, benefit-focused value propositions that are easily customizable for different prospects.

When to Use: Qualification call, positioning during a discovery call


Persona

(who you help)We help…

Peers


How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…

How they use it By doing…

Put it all together We help _____________ at companies such as _____________________________

_____________________________ by ____________________________________

VALUE PROP BUILDER – “10-SECOND VERSION”Objective: Create a 10-second version of the value prop to use when sales reps are pressed for time and must articulate value quickly.

When to Use: Initial phone connect, voicemail, email


Persona

(who you help)We help… General Managers

Peers


At restaurants such as Red Robin and

The Melt

How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…Reduce customer churn and increase

same store sales

(BLANK) VALUE PROP BUILDER – “10-SECOND VERSION”Objective: Create a 10-second version of the value prop to use when sales reps are pressed for time and must articulate value quickly.

When to Use: Initial phone connect, voicemail, email


Persona

(who you help)We help…

Peers


How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…

| UNDERSTAND |

Personalized Value

Create Value:

• How do pain points align with value prop?

• Develop content for industry and role

• Tailor messaging to specific account

• Build storylines of success to share with similar accounts

* Do NOT send exact same message to everyone

TOPO USE CASE STORY FRAMEWORK

PROTAGONIST The “hero” of the story & the company

CHALLENGES The challenges faced

SOLUTION How the challenges were solved

PAYOFF The business and personal results

(EXAMPLE) TOPO USE CASE STORY FRAMEWORK

PROTAGONISTThe GM of a small restaurant chain the in the Pacific Northwest

CHALLENGES Had declining same store sales and low average check prices

SOLUTIONThey implemented a customer loyalty program that allowed for generous benefits with their most loyal customers.

PAYOFFStacey implemented the solution for her store and then spearheaded the implementation for the whole region. She is now in District Manager of 17 stores

(BLANK) TOPO USE CASE STORY FRAMEWORK

PROTAGONIST

CHALLENGES

SOLUTION

PAYOFF

| ENGAGE |

Outreach

Multithreading

• Referrals

C-Level Outreach

• Groundswell: Emerging Markets

• Call High

Utilize:

• Multi-channel approach:

InMail, Email, Phone, LinkedIn, Social, Chat, Direct

33

Prospect posting surfaces,

Capitalize on like/comment

opportunity

Commenting with purpose will net the best results

Example: Social Post | Engage with Insight

Social Response

Impact

Call to Action

Example: Social Post (Continued) | Engage with Insight

SocialInsight

Elevating Personal Brand

Establishing Connection

Example: Social Post (Continued) | Engage with Insight

Engagewith

Insights

Example: InMail / Email | Leverage Social Insights to Engage

Call to Action

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

1Create a customer target list

Identify customers who fit the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).20-30 customers in the geographic region representing one of your target verticals

2Request referralmeeting

Reach out to ideal referrers and request referral meetings.

Hi Stacey,

Would you be willing to introduce me to William at SmashBurger? I would like to talk to them about our loyalty card program.

3Referral meeting Conduct a 30-minute meeting with the customer. n/a

4Send referralrequest

Create a referral request which your customer can easily forward to colleagues. If the customer does not want to make an introduction, sales should perform outreach.

Stacey,

Thank you for being an amazing customer Acme.

I understand you know William at Smashburger. Would you be willing to make an introduction?

5 Send thank you note

Send a thank you note to the referrer(s) after the first referral connection is made. Sending a gift is also a common bestpractice.

Thank you note with gift card

THE REFERRAL PROCESS (RUNNING THE PLAY)The referral process starts with identifying potential referrers from within the customer account, executing a brief meeting with one or more of them, and enabling each to provide a referral on your behalf.

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

1Create a customer target list

20-30 customers in the geographic region representing one of your target verticals

2Request referralmeeting

Hi Stacey,

Would you be willing to introduce me to William at SmashBurger? I would like to talk to them about our loyalty card program.

3Referral meeting n/a

4Send referralrequest

Stacey,

Thank you for being an amazing customer Acme.

I understand you know William at Smashburger. Would you be willing to make an introduction?

5 Send thank you note Thank you note with gift card

(BLANK) THE REFERRAL PROCESS (RUNNING THE PLAY)The referral process starts with identifying potential referrers from within the customer account, executing a brief meeting with one or more of them, and enabling each to provide a referral on your behalf.

Tools to Scale

Respond to engagement real time

Tracking Automation

Set strategic cadences- Use with caution -

* Augment human effort, do not replace it

Key Takeaways

4 Key Tactics


TARGET UNDERSTAND ENGAGE


Personalized Value

Outreach

Most attractive prospects

(Best fit for product/service + size of prize

Scan social, company website, & tap into connections to gather insights

Create tailored messaging/ resources specific to industry & role

Use multi-channel approach to engage DMs at all levels

Q & A