garuda717 profile picture
garuda717 profile picture

garuda717

Sales Manager

Fire Starter
Contributor

Framework for involving sales leadership in your deals

has anyone seen a company implement a really good sales exec engagement framework? like where sales leadership is mapped appropriately to key account and deals and engages at the right times and cadence by role, opportunity, etc. i imagine Salesforce does this well but i haven't worked there before. there are probably other companies that do this really well. any pointers to documentation of a modern and effective framework would be much appreciated.
🏋️‍♀️ Leadership
👑 Sales Strategy
☁️ Software Tech
11

16 comments

Sort by:
Pachacuti
Politicker
5
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
SF isn’t good at this at all, unless you put a ton of time and effort into designing it to do so.

Miller Heiman is actually great for this. It helps maps out accounts and can help pair sales leaders to the correct peers in your targeted accounts. You should look into it.
ThatNewAE
Big Shot
2
Account Executive - Mid enterprise
Hi ! Just here to thank you for this - I googled what Miller Heiman is all about. It actually is good to have information on (as a sales person!)
Thanks!
garuda717
Fire Starter
0
Sales Manager
Thanks for this tip, will check it out
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
3
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
I bring in leadership after the initial technical review where we get signing and just want to discuss commercials. At that point, the customer has decided to sign off and backing out will be a waste of their weeks/months of technical review. It also helps with asks for early termination (won’t do it) and discounts for ramp (only if you back end minimums).
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
I only bring them in if I feel they are needed, which is always further down the line from the initial meeting.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Leadership engagement is brought in at different stages in my sales cycle, depending on the account and factors such as overall strategy, what I feel it will take to win the deal and set the customer up for success, and of course if there’s been previous interaction. Volume isn’t an issue; fortunately our execs aren’t overbooked and even more fortunately, every one of them is willing to step in when asked. Unfortunately, this means I can’t recommend a framework other than mapping out your accounts via the data sources you use, and understanding who the best execs are for the opportunity and contacts at hand.

I’m going to be checking Pachacuti’s recommendation, though, as it may be a good process to add.
GDO
Politicker
2
BDM
We just check if they are connected on LinkedIn with prospects. That’s about it
activity
Politicker
2
VP, Business Development
I agree with @PachacutiSFDC is awful at this. Miller Heiman is a tried and true sales methodology and is relatively easy to implement/customize for your org.
Maximas
Tycoon
0
Senior Sales Executive
True.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
ok so it sounds like you are wanting this to be a kinda automated thing?

like when you get an opp to a certain stage, a task tiggers to involve leadership?

or are you trying to just understand the best way to think about it having your leadership engage with an account?
garuda717
Fire Starter
1
Sales Manager
More the latter for now. At some point will think about systems automation. But first really looking for methodology and process best practices.
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
Ok so i think it’s really a case by case basis on if your execs reaching out to their execs would actually help. But my guidance:

1. Execs should only reach out to decision makers or super critical influencers. No lower than VPs
2. Your execs need to be able to say something of value. (Having you CEO send a message saying “we really value your business” is not going to move the needle. This is another reason why it shouldn’t be automated.
3. This really should be used at the end of the process. Ether the end of the decision making process, or the end of procurement to get things over the line sooner.
GingerBarbarian
Opinionated
1
Lead Sales
I teach a concept I call murder-boarding. (I don't remember where I heard the name, but I know I read it somewhere.) The idea is to break down a deal completely. Every stakeholder, everything that can go wrong. How much they like you compared to how much influence the stakeholder has.

From there, the leadership team can be I voiced and help create a strategy.

The best way to do this is during sales meetings. Let the whole team work together. Odds are another rep may have dealt with something similar and may have a story that can help
garuda717
Fire Starter
1
Sales Manager
Very cool name, and love the concept too. Thanks
garuda717
Fire Starter
0
Sales Manager
Some questions I’m asking:
Depending on account size, deal size, stakeholder, how often should I aim to orchestrate a touch point with a sales leader on my side? What format, email, call, in person, etc.? Which sales leaders at which level best map to which kinds of stakeholders?
Justatitle
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
Ok, this is one of my favorite tangos to dance. Here’s the thing give leadership enough info in SFDC so they know the wheels are moving and involve them every so often in the latter stages(negotiation, exec presence) and really they will pretty much leave you alone and trust your work

Related posts

7

Sales Managers often assist AEs in closing sales (sitting in on demos, providing support in pricing calls etc). What can SDR Managers do to provide similar support?

Question
🔎 Prospecting
8
9

Talk/listen ratios in sales

Discussion
👑
🥎
📣
13
Talk/listen ratio is a metric to keep track of and take seriously?
55% Yes
15% No
30% Depends
47 people voted
19
Members only

Bottleneck in your sales process

Question
🔎
👑
☑️
23
What is the biggest bottle neck in your sale process to tackle in 2023?
38% More first conversation
20% Connecting with right poc
16% Handling people on the fence
25% Creating urgency
91 people voted
Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.
Apple Store logo
Products
The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U
Company
About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty
Contact
Press Careers
© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs
If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.