Michael Debes

“Top sales reps don't get laid off”   I've seen this a few times recently.   On paper it's hard to dispute.   But let me tell you a quick story.   In 2021 I helped a pre-IPO firm build their GTM team in ANZ.   We spent a year recruiting the best folk in the industry.   AEs. SEs. CSMs. Channel. SDRs.   All genuine A-players.   They did great. Signed some big logos. Tracking well.   Then the CEO announced they were pulling out of ANZ.   The entire team was let go including the VP.   It was properly shit. We felt terrible but no one saw it coming.   Now I can't speak for the rest of the world, but if hiring in APAC you've got to take this into account. Many SaaS firms completely pulled out of region here. Stop assuming good people dont get laid off. Being ignorant will cost you.   #techsales #gotomarket #saasrecruitment

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So much overseas talent moving Down Under.   AEs. SEs. SDRs. CSMs. Execs.   Reckon I get at least 5 people a week reaching out.   It's great to see. What a journey ahead of them.   The shit part is I often can't help.   SaaS firms rarely hire through a recruiter if a candidate needs sponsorship.   You feel bad as many only realise this once they get here.   I speak to some who've been looking for months.   We aren't talking average either. Many are genuine A-players who would be a shoo-in if they were PR or citizens.   So on that note: Is anyone hiring who can sponsor?   Let me know what you're looking for and I'll intro some great people. DM or email [email protected]. All free of charge of course. Let's help these people live the Aussie dream.   PS. To anyone moving to Sydney: Manly is 100x better than Bondi. I'll die on this hill. #techsales #saaasrecruitment #gotomarket

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How did Samantha Stephens and her team at Gong 3x their win rates? 📈 It’s simple: they make sure to engage at least three key contacts early in every deal. This focus on multithreading has been such a game changer, it’s become a team-wide mandate. And it's paying off big time. With Gong’s integration with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Samantha and her team can identify and connect with the right stakeholders faster than ever, using Sales Navigator’s advanced AI-powered features — all without leaving Gong. We couldn’t agree more! Gong and Sales Navigator really are better together. 🤝 #SalesConnect24 #B2BSales #FutureReadySales

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Identifying Key Stakeholders, Engaging early and understanding how clients make decisions are key for winning high-value enterprise sales.

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STOP SWITCHING TOOLS To stay competitive, you’ve got to be efficient. Work smarter, not harder. Save yourself time and effort - With Gong Engage, your one-stop shop for all revenue-related activities. Take it from Bryce Williford, CSCP and the team at BlueGrace Logistics. (It’s how they achieved an 88% lift in reply rates and 52% increase in calls and email execution. 🙌)

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Poor call answer rates have been eating away at your profit pie without you even knowing about it. Your deals? They're not closing. Customer satisfaction? At its all-time low. Your sales team? They're losing their mojo. Operations? A mess. Client Appointments? They don’t show up And those marketing campaigns? They're falling flat. Brand Reputation? It’s hurting Your calls may be flagged as SPAM LIKELY by AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon, and hurting your outbound campaign. If you would like to 3X your deals while connecting every call your agents make, queue up for our exclusive product launch here - https://lnkd.in/g4FDs3ha

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In the last 11 years I've worked with over 700 Sales Dev Reps. Yesterday I shared some content on outbound prospecting that I've learnt in that time with the Salesforce Partner Community thanks to Ryan Doull inviting me along to speak at Salesforce's Mid-Market Partner Business Development 101 Event. What I heard.. 👂 Salesforce are really investing in working with their partner community to improve customer value throughout the entire buying journey. Some commitments include -100% partner coverage on strategic pursuits -Ensuring the right kind of assets available for the buyer at all stages -Making sure Salesforce AEs understand partners can source opportunities -Helping partners to work out what they want to be famous for What I shared.. 📢 To be ready to truly invest in cold outbound prospecting you need a few things in order. Strategic Leadership & Day-to-Day Execution: Don’t invest in outbound unless you have C-Level buy-in paired with managers who can drive execution daily. Success requires strong leadership to guide vision and strategy but also managers who bring the daily energy to coach reps, manage leads, tweak messaging, offer feedback and more.. Precise Targeting & Data Clarity: If you can’t identify your Ideal Customer Profile or don’t have the means to build accurate target lists, stop here. Successful outbound sales functions have mastered data and create assets that can be leveraged – without these, your outbound will be less effective. Quality has to meet Quantity: Outbound won’t work if your focus is too far to either extreme. You have to balance both. Consistent, Clear Messaging & Trust Building: If you can’t build credibility through simple, relevant messaging, and don't have a dedicated person or function for managing new business opportunities you’re not ready for outbound. Winning new business is a full-time job given the spend scrutiny that exists globally at the moment. Know your Numbers & Stay the Course If you wouldn't be willing to invest 2 years of effort in building a predictable outbound sales funnel, don't start. This isn't me saying stick with things that aren't working - but don't ask after a month where all the new logos are! If you have these things aligned now might be the time to be thinking about investing in outbound as a channel, and deciding if it's something you want to own in-house or lean on agency support for. BONUS I shared a breakdown of our cold calling conversion metrics in August across UK, ANZ & US markets with the audience - if you want some insight into these drop METRICS into the comments. #salesforce #salesforcepartners

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There are 33 closing days until the end of the FY for most sales teams in Australia. There are 3 types of sales leaders right now. 1. I have made my team number and we are in bonus time. The biggest challenge is “what do I keep for next year while maximising bonuses and commissions for the team this year?”. I hope this is you! 2. I will make my team number but I need a few key deals to close. The total focus is on closing those deals. If you are not in category 1, I hope you are in this group. 3. I am not going to make it. Do I push as hard as possible to get as close as possible, or do I keep it all for next year. I hope this is NOT you. Does the CEO/Owner and CFO know where you are at? How are you going to address your key challenges whichever category you are in? If you are in category 2, here are some questions for you to ponder: 1. What is the customer’s process from now to contract signature? Who is involved and when? 2. What happens if they do nothing and let it slip until next year? Is there an impact on their business? 3. Are you across their business case? What is unique about our solution that means they have to select us to get those outcomes? 4. Is there budget to spend on this? Or is this process to get budget and then we need to get further approval to spend that budget? This is the process from contract signature to cash in the bank. If you are in category 3, our proven sales framework will ensure you are not in the same place next year (95% success rate over the last 5 years). #founders #salesleadership #salesframework #pamice

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I made 2500 cold calls to Aussie SMB owners, so you don't have to. Book meetings and start conversations with my three value 🪝 framework, script, and process ⬇ 🤠 If you want the templates, give me a shout below, and I'll send them to you! 👉🏻 This script and flow delivered the first 20 B2B customers for a new SaaS company using this process and leaning into... ◾ Understanding deeply the irresistible pains to solve for the prospect ◾ Building authority with industry language ◾ Opening yourself up to objections ◾ The simple SPIN call framework ◾ Using a 1,2,3 call pattern What's often overlooked or misunderstood for first-time callers is that the goal of the call is to have a conversation, start a relationship and qualify a prospect. You are trying to work out if you can work with the person on the other end of the call or if they are not the right fit, right now or ever. In the startup world the disqualifying is about... ◾ Identifying your ICP's as fast possible ◾Investing in the best fit prospect for your product right now ◾ Keeping the non ICP's who you know you can't deliver value to warm ◾ Playing the longer game by fostering these early relationships and bringing people on the journey. If you are going to make claims you best be ready to explain at a business and functional level. This process worked because it... ◾ Brought forward objections with folks intrigued/challenged the 3 value 🪝's ◾ Focused on getting past the intro section to hold them on the call ◾ Lined up the hurdle ready for you to jump over ◾ Makes sure you can talk at a 'business level' ◾ Makes sure you can talk at a 'product level' And you know the difference between these 👆 Remember that the objection is merely a hurdle in the shape of a question or statement to be understood, empathised with, stripped back, and moved forward with in a direction. I wanted to share this from a highlight period of my dialling career where I was hitting a 5% conversion rate from call to booked and knew exactly how to run my week to hit quota! Do cold calls fit your market? If this is helpful, please let me know, and I hope it saves you 2500 calls to work out how to build your script and process! --- I am Sean the Founder of Sell Anything We have worked with 300+ Founders alongside some of the best Incubators, Accelerators, VCs and Scale-Ups in Australia. We help SaaS/Tech businesses build $0 to $5m ARR and beyond.. and we bloody love it! Reach out if you need help in sales and revenue growth you'll be working with people who have grown companies from $0 to 8 figures in revenue 🤝 #sales #coldcall

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Worryingly, selling for many sales teams is tougher this year than it was last year. Five must ask questions to coach your sales team on asking their prospects this quarter, when every deal will be getting scrutinised: 1. When you take this to your CFO, what will you tell them is the key reason this is a product you need to invest in? Listen to your prospect's own rationale and 'pitch' for when they take this to the CFO. How compelling does it sound? If it doesn't clearly transmit that its going to reduce costs, create more revenue, or reduce risk - then its a sales pitch you are going to have to re-shape for them. 2. What key business metric can you see changing as a result of using our product? Uncover whether your prospect is thinking of you as a 'surface level pain' solution (e.g. 'make things a bit less manual') or whether they are thinking of you as a solution to a big massive business problem. People WON'T buy surface level pain solutions in this climate. 3. If your boss reacts negatively to this, would that be the end of the conversation? Understand truly how much influence/power your prospect's boss has AND whether your champion will fight for the deal if it gets initial pushback. How much is your champion REALLY a champion? 4. I'm pretty sure every new investment will likely be getting scrutinised right now. What is it about this one that you think will get buy in from the business? Call out the elephant in the room. We're in a tough selling climate. You don't need to pretend that it isn't. Ask your prospect to confirm why the business will care about solving the problem you solve 5. Whats happening in the company that would make this a high priority for you? Prospects have lots of problems. But the problems that are going to get solved are the ones that have ripple effects through the company. That are being felt on multiple levels. If you aren't on that top three priority list, its a deal you should likely not be spending time on. Incorporate these questions into your team's sales conversations, and if nothing else - you'll get more clarity on your forecast.

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Are you an SDR or BDR in Australia? If you’re feeling alone in your role and want to meet other SDRs and BDRs… then we have some big news for you. 🥁🥁🥁 From today, we’re opening up our free alumni community of 100+ Aussie SDRs, Sales Club, to a select few tech sales reps outside of our alumni! If selected, here’s what included as a Sales Club member: 1️⃣ SDR Slack Community Join a private community of 100+ Earlywork sales alumni. Learn how other reps deal with similar sales challenges, share & discover great sales resources, keep up to date with sales events, and meet other ambitious SDRs. 2️⃣ Fortnightly Events All Year Round URL & IRL events with local sales leaders to help reps level up their sales skills and build deeper peer relationships.  Previous guests have included the former ANZ Country Manager of HubSpot and the founder of the Salesforce SDA Grad Program. 3️⃣ Curated Sales Mentor Network A pre-vetted group of AEs and SDR managers from our network who have offered to help graduates with tactical sales and career advice anytime. 4️⃣ SDR Resource Bank No-bullshit frameworks, guides & templates built by the Earlywork team to help reps hone their sales craft. Think career development trackers, target calculators, 1:1 templates and more. 5️⃣ Exclusive Job Opportunities Looking for an SDR promotion or AE role? Be the first to apply for roles at our partner companies before they go on market. If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring, pop a few bits on info into the form on our shiny new Sales Club landing page and one of our team will be in touch if you’re successful!

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COLD CALLING. Is it still relevant in today’s sales world? I say, “YES!”  Cold calling still has its place. Creating a human connection is needed because humans don't want to buy from a bot. On this recent episode of the Sales Reinvented Podcast, Paul Watts, CSL CSE CPSC and I discuss the importance of mastering the craft of cold calling in today’s technological environment. Much of this mastery comes from understanding the art of cold-calling soft skills versus the science of procedures. Thank you, Paul, for having me on your show! Click the link in the comments to listen to our conversation. #sales #salesreinvented #coldcalling #salesleaders

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Here's why Sales Directors at Managed Service Providers in Australia are struggling to fill their Sales Pipeline: Market Saturation and Intense Competition According to Clutch there are currently 628 Managed Service Providers in Australia (I actually assume this is conservative and the real number is higher). That means there are 628 different companies all fighting for the same business. With the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of the Managed Services market in Australia projected to grow at a rate of 7.6% from 2021 to 2026 (MordorIntelligence), there will also be many more MSP's popping up all over the place. The fact is, far too many Managed Service Providers in this region are getting lost in the noise of the 600+ other players and are not doing enough to differentiate themselves. This means Sales Directors are running outreach campaigns with generic messaging with absolutely no USP, and then scratching their heads at why their pipeline is empty along with their sales forecast. Rapid Technological Changes The global cloud computing market is projected to grow from $445.3 billion in 2021 to $947.3 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 16.3% (MordorIntelligence). This means Sales Directors must ensure their sales reps are well-versed in cloud solutions and hybrid IT environments - which is not easy. This requires continuous training for sales reps/lead generators for new technologies, which many MSP's just aren't providing. Whilst there is huge opportunities for MSP's to add new weapons to their arsenal with new tech being released (Ai, DevOps, Cyber, Cloud, IoT), this also means lots of MSP's are spreading themselves too thin and not remaining true to their core offering/what they're actually good at. This makes it incredibly difficult for Sales Directors to generate new leads across all channels including Phone, Email, LinkedIn etc. Sales Directors end up using very generic messaging which is not cutting through the noise. If a Sales Director is trying to sell brand new tool which they don't even fully understand themselves, it is next to impossible to run a successful outbound sales campaign and generate qualified sales leads. Technological Advancements in Email Marketing Advancements in email marketing, such as the development of sophisticated automation platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and SendGrid, SmartLead (the list is now endless) have made it significantly easier for companies to send mass emails (same applies for LinkedIn). According to Oberlo there were approximately 361.6 billion individual emails sent and received per day in 2024, up 4.1% from 2023. This means that prospects are receiving more emails than ever, which makes it even more difficult to generate qualified sales meeting using email. If you're a Sales Director of a Managed Service Provider in Australia, the good news is there are steps you can take to stand out from the rest and keep your sales pipeline full. #Sales #Pipeline #SaaS #TechSales

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"AI is missing effectiveness in sales".. In this week's edition of "what he/she said" I am glad to see Aaron E. back. Here is my POV when it comes to AI in B2B Sales and Marketing: It focuses too much on orchestration and outreach and too little to answer two fundamental questions: 1️⃣ Are we targeting the right audience (account and buying group)? 2️⃣ If 1 = YES, are we reaching out at the right time? Zsuzsanna Ferenczi and I here at Bunes & Ferenczi have been working with Dun & Bradstreet Europe to answer question 1. Here we have used AI/ML, our last model was +100k accounts in a large European market. We field-tested, and see we are about 80% right. I can now lift the lid on #2. We have stealthily been working with AxonJay.ai and Jean-Philippe M.L. Schepens to configure AxonJay.ai's AI/ML engine to answer question 2. Namely, use signals to predictive company behavior. Zsuzsanna Ferenczi calls it "the emergence of the job to be done". I think it's an astute term for what it is. The same Fortune 500 client is now putting this to a test. And the only thing we care about is effectiveness: ✔ Higher conversion rates ✔ Quota attainment ✔ Bigger coverage with same resources to mention a few. We will keep you updated with our findings. https://lnkd.in/ef8MtMv8

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I couldn’t believe it’s only 25 days until Aussie companies shut down for the Xmas period! 😬 If you’re like me, pushing to drive more pipeline in the next couple of weeks to help sales close deals before the end of 2025, this is for you. ➡️ Quick video below 👇 How to use Firmable data + LinkedIn ads to launch targeted B2B campaigns—fast. It takes just 3 minutes to set up campaigns that can drive critical pipeline before the year wraps up. Let me know in the comments if this helps, and feel free to reach out if you’d like more tips! 🎯 #GTM #pipeline #B2Bsales #demandgenmarketing #growth

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Sales Leaders - should you hire in Q4? The Great Debate! Q4 - possibly the most critical in your financial year, and if you're one of the majority whose Q4 also coincides with the end of the calendar year and holiday period, should you be throwing additional hires into what is already a very complex mix? 👍 Pros of Q4 Hiring 👍 🟢 Talent Availability Q4 often sees a larger pool of candidates as job seekers who paused their search during the year re-enter the market. This offers the chance to find a strong fit for your team during a time when options are more abundant. 🟢 Reduced Competition With many companies slowing down recruitment during Q4, competition for talent decreases. This can make for a smoother recruitment process, as candidates may be more receptive to offers. 🟢 Budget Benefits End-of-year budgets can sometimes allow for more flexible or enhanced compensation packages, which can attract high-caliber candidates. 👎 Cons of Q4 Hiring 👎 🔴 Holiday Distractions The holiday season may create scheduling conflicts, making it difficult to organize interviews or assessments. Careful planning is required to avoid disruptions in the hiring process. 🔴 Limited Onboarding Time Bringing on new hires in Q4 often means a shorter onboarding period before year-end. This may pose a challenge if your training is complex or requires extended integration time. 🔴 Timing Uncertainty Candidates might prefer to start a new position in the new year, potentially leading to delayed start dates and affecting project timelines. ☝ Making the Right Decision In summary, choosing to hire in Q4 depends on your company’s specific needs. Think about what your strategic goals are for the year ahead and make a calculated decision based on the above criteria. Anything further to be added?

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Sitting down with Justin Geller (VP of Sales at Gong) was a treat. One of their early GTM hires he's risen the ranks - instrumental in their rise to category leading/defining growth and market dominance. Interviewing 1000's of candidates - he shares valuable lessons learnt about the strategic importance of clear communication and mission alignment in hiring Practical advice on sourcing top talent And trusting your instincts and maintaining honesty in the recruitment process The new episode of Between Two Hires (The Subtle Art of Not F#*king Up Your Team) drops this Thursday at 9AM PT! #saleshiring #salesrecruiting #hiring #startup #sales #between2hires

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How can you be more strategic in RevOps? - Move from report jockey to strategic advisor? Here’s a tangible example: - Suppose we’re running a Pipeline Council meeting... - We start showing CQ pipeline and forecast are on target Then, we show the pipe gen for the next quarter is not on track. Here’s how we could tackle the conversation: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴? - This slide shows our pipeline for next quarter. - Current progress is $1M against a target of $3M - We’re behind pace to hit that $3M target on time. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗞𝗣𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼? - This will impact one of our major KPIs… - New business bookings for next quarter.” 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱? - We have about 40 more days here - To increase our pipeline generation - In order to close the gap we have today 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁? - If we stay at the same pace - We’ll likely only reach $2.2M in pipeline. - We would likely miss next quarter’s revenue targets. 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: - We can see the issue is in the enterprise segment. - We’re creating about 1/3rd the opportunities we need 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: - We’d suggest having a 2nd meeting - Looping in marketing and field sales - To brainstorm a one-off campaign here - And how we can close this gap together 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽: - Other ideas to beef up pipe gen in the next 40 days? This is the fundamental difference in being strategic - We’re identifying a root issue and a potential solution - We’re making it easy for leadership to respond to this data - Not asking them to analyze data and make conclusions alone But what do you think? What would you add here? 🤔 More on this in in yesterday’s 📰 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙊𝙥𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮 📰 Get it here: https://bit.ly/4cDUcVO ✌️

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