Justine Lawrence-Piccott

Here's the stark facts in sales today. - 31% of reps are making quota - Nearly half (44%) of deals slip - Sales cycles are double digits longer, win rates are double digits down - Inbound leads are down - Salesforce recognised the need to increase pipeline coverage to by 50% (from x2 to x3) Most of those we speak to recognise all these challenges. But they are stuck. "Do more with less" is the message. They have cut teams and fought for those remaining. Their organisations are stuck with blind hope and knives sharpening. The only solution they know is to fire and replace. Because the real problems aren't acknowledged. The market has changed and it's harder. But are teams are not more skilled. The same teams, that could achieve in the old world are failing in this one. And the last message anyone wants, is we need to spend some money to solve that. "That's your job isn't it?" cries the leadership to time-starved managers and leaders. Anyone want to guess what's going to happen to sales manager average tenure (already at an all-time low of 18 months)????

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It's inevitable. SDR Managers will fail at building a 'calling culture'... ...unless they integrate 4 proven elements ⬇️ 1. Weekly Dial Session 👉 Managers, carve out 1-2 hours a week to sit in the trenches with your team and cold call beside them. The benefits outweigh the time commitment by 10x You get instant feedback from what your rep's prospects say on the phone. You build trust and comfort around making mistakes. You help to promote team bonding. 2. Popcorn Roleplay 👉 Start your morning or afternoon with a round of popcorn roleplay Rules are simple: Have all your reps gather around in a circle. You and each rep takes turns being the prospect like a normal roleplay but instead, you point to someone in the circle to continue the conversation from the rep's side of the call. 🍿 3. Conversation KPIs 👉 Dial KPIs are dead. You want to incentivize the team to actually talk to prospects? Build your calling KPIs around conversations as an activity. Each time your reps talk to a prospect for more than 1 minute mark it as a conversation. Gradually ramp up your conversation KPI after each week. 4. Daily Team Call Review 👉 After every day have your reps each share a call with you to review with the whole team on a meeting. During the meeting play the audio recording and pause at each stage of the call to ask the team for feedback. What should 'we' have asked here? What did they mean by this? etc. Done right, you will help each rep feel more confident and comfortable receiving feedback in a group setting. 📞 Conclusion: Each of these elements reinforces the team's culture, trust, and comfort. At the end of the day culture, trust, and comfort, are how you build an unstoppable team! Happy Dialing ☎️

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We conducted the largest sales coaching specific survey EVER. Now its time to talk through the results and share what we discovered. Next Tuesday at 2pm UK time, join myself and Imani Cracknell from Aircall . Standby for: - How Sales Reps really feel about the amount and quality of coaching they are currently receiving - The huge disconnect that exists between sellers and leaders which companies have to pay attention to. -The type of sales coaching sellers crave (and what they want less of) - The correlation between great coaching and quota attainment. These results are a huge wake up call for Sales Leaders, who are perhaps convinced they have a fulfilled and happy sales force when it comes to their personal development. This webinar will share the specific things you need to be focused on as you plan for 2025, to finally put coaching front stage of your agenda. Register your spot here: https://lnkd.in/eESH_MDq

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Calling all B2B sales professionals. With our friends at Aircall, we need your help with our State of Sales Coaching survey 2024. 3-5 minutes of your time could win you amazing prizes - the latest AirPods, Sonos speaker, Nespresso machine, and of course MySalesCoach scholarships. Sales coaching is widely considered the most critical function of a frontline sales leader. Previous studies demonstrate that it significantly boosts win rates and quota attainment. However, many sales organisations find it challenging to establish and execute an effective sales coaching culture and strategy. Our survey seeks to identify the key trends, best practices, and impacts of sales coaching in 2024. You'll be first to get the study published in October packed with insight, data and trends. Leaders and Individual Contributors should complete the survey - with scholarship places up for grabs for each. Your voice really matters, complete today for a chance of these amazing prizes and to be first with the report. Link here to complete - https://lnkd.in/eKRcTPXV

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Sometimes you have to dig a bit deeper into your - WHY (in Sales) In coaching conversations, talking about Goals, be it business or personal, is a common theme, however some struggle to know exactly what they want, but more so WHY they want it. It's easy to come into an SDR role and be enticed with earning big commissions, seeing your name on the leader board, and becoming that top performer - I've been there, but what I realised later on in my career is; "Well now I'm here/ achieved that goal - now what?" There is also the notion, that yes, you can become Number #1, but when the next rep comes in, and you move to Number #2, then what? I feel a lot of this can come down to what we read on LinkedIn (people I read* either post/ talk about the big achievement, or perhaps the tragic loss, but may not be as keen to post the in-between bits) and can shape what we THINK great looks like.. I encourage my coachees to think and unpack the motivation behind the WHY, and this might take a session or two to reflect on. Things that come out sometimes fall in the realm of; - Because that's what my peers are doing - I want the company to know how good I am - I want to be the best and prove it to myself - I want to Master X before I move on to Z - Come to think of it, I'm not really sure (BINGO!) All valid, but I still encourage them to dig even deeper, and sometimes we come to a standstill - but then I bring up a video (1m30s) clip from my show, from Tom Bertrand 🎁 on the topic of being a Top performer and Intrinsic Motivation. This clip has served well in a lot of discussions and provides inspiration (thanks Tom, proof content can be evergreen, and you inspire a lot of peeps!) *You might notice I said "people I read.." - This is to highlight my subjective view on what I see on my feeds and whom I follow, so it might not be everyone's perspective, as I don't want to generalise, just based on observations.. ...BUT - I would love to hear your perspective, on how you dig deep to find your why? - Let me know in the comments PS - Feel free to check out Tom's episode, link in the comments! #IntrinsicMotivation #FindingYouWhy #Sales #Motivation

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So, we have an engaged prospect - They’re in the ICP - They have buying intent - It’s the right timing for them - But they’re the wrong Buyer Persona! What do we do here? 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗚𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 (𝗬𝗲𝘁) In my experience this is a fantastic way to piss of your prospect (AND their boss) while coming across as salesly and losing all credibility. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 if we try to sell to the wrong persona, more often than not we lose the deal, and any time we’ve invested, if we don’t get to power. This is a fantastic way to work really hard and miss quota. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 Instead of selling the product, we sell them on partnering with us to run an evaluation together. Let me walk through how I’ve done this. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝘆 Find out why this is important to them and the impact on them personally of getting this right, of getting it wrong, and of it not happening at all. We need a good reason to ask them to stick their neck out to introduce us to their leadership team. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 There’s often risk for our champion. If this goes south, they may be blamed for it, or even fired. I’ve seen it many times and I can share specific stories of how this goes down and how it could all be avoided by engaging leadership in the right way. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 It’s critical not to skip key steps. To earn trust, we have to add value. They want to see an introductory demo, understand pricing, etc etc. These things are fair. But we can’t go too far without looping in the right people and we need to stay in the pocket until we can. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 Once we’ve earned their trust, we can and should ask to build a plan together. This involves bringing the right people, from both sides, in for the right steps. If we build this plan together we stand a better chance they’ll follow through with it. 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 If we cannot get them on board with this we need to walk away and nurture them until that’s changed. We can share relevant marketing content, events, etc with them to do this. We can also start to share that with others on the team. I’m a big fan of role specific marketing content for this reason. It’s a lot easier to invite a CEO to a CEO dinner than it is to just go around our champion with a cold email pitching a sales meeting. RevOps can really shine here by helping to map this process out and align sales and marketing to do this. What would you add here? 🤔 More on nurturing tomorrow in 📰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 📰 Sign up here to get it: https://bit.ly/3xgqF55 ✌️

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The job of sales is NOT to sell at all costs. It’s to sell to customers that can realise the value you promise. The best Sales Reps: 🕵🏼 Understand the customer’s needs 🙋🏻‍♀️ Qualify their leads effectively 🤑 Focus on value, not features ⚒️ Set the right expectations 🤝 Give honest feedback They are not afraid to walk away from a bad deal. But their job doesn't end here. Great Sales Reps want to make sure their customer is set up for success. So they work closely with Customer Success to ensure a seamless handoff and consistent support throughout the customer lifecycle. That means their business contribution is outsized: - Higher Retention - Expansion Deals - Higher LTV - Referrals A great sales rep is worth 10 mediocre ones. So if you have a good one, keep them! Show some love to your favourite salespeople here! 📥 If you're interested in building and scaling Customer Success Teams, consider joining 10k+ CS Professionals who read my weekly newsletter on how to build and scale a CS Team [sign up in the comments section]. #csm #customersuccess #customerexperience #gtm #revops

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This is one of the most powerful questions we ask during our onboarding Kick off call... "If we're sat here in 12 months time, what would have happened between now and then for you to be thinking that partnering with MySalesCoach was one of the best decisions you've made" Give it a try and see the gold you get back! What's questions do you ask? #customersuccess

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Sales is a team sport..... As a Head of Sales, one thing I’ve noticed about our top-performing SDRs and AEs is that they aren’t afraid to ask for time. They see it as a crucial part of their success. They know that being great at sales isn’t just about grinding away - it’s about being strategic. They know when to reach out, ask for feedback, and get input from others to up their game. * They’ll sit down with seasoned colleagues to pick apart their process, looking for those little tweaks that can make all the difference. * They carve out time with product and marketing to understand the ins and outs of our solutions - and share insights they’re picking up from customers. * And they’re not shy about reaching out to the customer success team, figuring out what turns a one-time deal into a lasting partnership. They don’t wait for someone to hand them a playbook. They’re asking questions, starting conversations, and looking for that next breakthrough. Sometimes, a quick 30-minute chat can completely change how they see a challenge. So, if you want to level up, start reaching out more. Ask for input, get another perspective, and don’t try to do it alone. Sales is a team game!

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This is interesting. We in partnership with Aircall surveyed over 1,600 sales professionals and produced the State of Sales Coaching in 2025 -the largest sales coaching-specific survey ever conducted. Look at what we found: Only 19% of reps who took part "highly rated" the coaching they received internally whilst 70% of leaders who took part in the survey recommended their coaching approach. Thats quite the disparity! While sales leaders may feel confident about their coaching, the reality from the reps’ perspective tells a different story. Quality of internal coaching is a major issue, & many reps believe the coaching they receive from their managers is not meeting their specific needs. In fact, 39% said the coaching they receive is too generic, 34% said it was too repetitive. 29% said the coaching they get lacks practical and actionable advice. -- Sales leaders, what can you do to change this? you can start by attending MySalesCoach's upcoming webinar: "How to Be the Most Sales Effective Sales Coach Your Reps Ever Work With" Join me and Steve Myers CISM and Emily Bair on 21st of November at 2pm GMT and we'll share and discuss ways you can become a better, more effective sales coach for your team. Not that these two legends need an introduction but... Steve has 40+ years of sales and leadership experience including 9 years running his own Sandler consultancy, as well as former Global Sales Manager for Rolls-Royce and Emily is the former Head of Sales Enablement for Cognism, Wistia and VP of Sales Operations for FullFunnel. Safe to say joining me are two absolute experts when it comes to sales coaching. --- When is it: 21st of November at 2pm (GMT) How do I save my space?: https://lnkd.in/eMniaEz9 --- See you there if you like?! Mark #salescoaching #salesperformance

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OTE on its own means nothing. It's a fugazi. There's still far too much focus on OTE when hiring. Less than 35% of AE's hit target last year (depends on source but it isn't high) and so in most cases candidates did not hit that beloved OTE number. I would pick a highly achievable €140k OTE over an impossible €180k OTE every day of the week. Who wouldn't? As an alternative, when advertising roles, why don't we just work with: - Basic Salary range - Quota & % attainment - Anonymous example earnings in the team - Clearly presented comp plan Do you agree?

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Stop obsessing over OTE on its own. It's a vanity metric that doesn't really matter if loads of other factors aren't on point. I know a lot of AE's ''on €160k OTE'' who just earn their base salary. The achievability of the OTE and the impacting factors do matter: - Quality of leadership - Training & Coaching - Product Market Fit - % current team on target - Saturation of the sales team - Bonus Structure OTE is an important aspect of course, but all A players I speak with don't give much importance to the OTE figure on its own.

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As an SDR, what can you do to really set yourself apart? To really get yourself noticed? Don’t just focus on booking meetings. Focus on booking quality meetings. One’s that are useful. With a clear problem and a desire to change it. If you do this then the quality of your qualification will shine through. You’ll get comfortable asking the right questions, even when they feel uncomfortable to ask. And you’ll get really good at listening to the real motivations of your prospects. The type of motivations that are often hidden in initial conversations. Or the type of motivations that lots of sales people walk straight past. So if you do this, not only will your business be wowed by the quality of the meetings that you’re bringing in. But you’ll have developed your communication skills to an elite level. And your progression will be much easier after that. #salescareer #sdrskills #communication

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Many SaaS companies underestimate the power of a strong Sales Development Rep team (SDR). Yet, I've seen how skilled SDRs dramatically improve lead qualification and conversion rates. Here's why: Focused Prospecting: SDRs laser-target ideal customers, saving senior sales reps time. Personalised Outreach: They build initial rapport, warming leads for deeper engagement. Pipeline Management: SDRs ensure smooth handoffs, increasing sales efficiency. Any sales leaders agree or have a different experience? I'd love to hear your insights. #SaaSgrowth #SalesTeams #HiringAdvice #SaaSJobs

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💥 BANT is Dead. Real Sales Qualification and Discovery is Where the Wins Are💥 AE's - Two things to STOP doing - asap. 1 = Focusing on *Need*........ A recent survey by Capterra revealed that nearly 2/3 of software purchases made by buyers were the WRONG ONES, with the problems still remaining in the business. So when your buyer comes to you and says 'sell me the thing I need' - you better dig deeper and validate that information. Why? Because what they think they need and what actually solves their problem? ..... 💡Often two VERY different things. And here's the thing... Your name, your solution, your company's name will be the first thing buyers bring up when *it doesn’t work*. And don't think they won't tell others. Word gets around. 2 = Focusing on *Timing* So many AEs hear “We’re not looking for a solution until 2-4 months from now” and immediately think *Unqualified*. Wrong move! Timing doesn’t mean there’s no urgency - it means you’ve got to find it. And Influence it. That’s where business acumen kicks in. Ask the right questions, get to the real urgency, and stop making assumptions. Here's the problem with BANT: too many sellers lean on it, and it’s killing your win rates. You qualify deals that shouldn’t even be in your pipeline, chase them endlessly, and wonder why they don’t close. 🛑 Or worse - you DISqualify deals prematurely - deals that could possibly put you over quota! I see it every day during my client’s pipeline and call reviews. We need to stop relying on BANT and start focusing on the 4 Pillars of real qualification. ⚡Problem we can solve ⚡Agreement on the Problem ⚡Desire to FIX the Problem ⚡Going on the Journey Let’s do better. 💥 #Sales #BANT #qualify #AE ====================================== Hi, I'm Leah 📕, Elite Seller, Sales Coach and Consultant. Want to be a Top 10% seller? DM me for a conversation about 1:1 Coaching.

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Position titles don't have much meaning anymore... Everyone is striving for that RVP role. You know, the job that used to be called a Sales Manager. Organisations are offering more senior titles to attract talent, and it's working. Sales Directors are often ICs, and the titles have become more elaborate. It's genius when you think about it. If you'd given me a Regional VP role at 26, you bet I'd be telling people about it. That's how they get you. Going backwards isn't an option. What will people think if you go from RVP to Sales Manager despite the job being the same? People have been programmed so deeply to care about external validation, and I get it. Everyone is trying to move forward. But where's the ceiling? Why rush? Why care? At this rate, we'll see CROs with 3 years of leadership experience. If you're making good money, you're happy, and you're making a meaningful impact... That's all you need. Stop choosing bad companies for a title.

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What are you asking––or not asking? It was the worst sales call I've ever experienced and I was the prospect. The questions they asked didn't seem relevant to the one problem I wanted solved. Why were we talking? What were they trying to sell me? Frankly, I didn't understand. Because they never said, "I can help you solve your problem," and they never asked, "do you want me to help you solve your problem with this solution for X dollars?" I was getting angry and frustrated. I wanted to ask, "what are you selling me?" Until I saw myself in their smiley face. Trying to please me, agree with me. Telling me the things they thought I wanted to hear. Beating around the bush. But not asking for the sale. Why not? What was stopping this talented creative from making the ask? What is stopping so many talented creatives from making REAL money (not survival peanuts) with their businesses? We, creatives, are often at odds with money and commercial mindset. But it doesn't need to be that way. If you feel your mouth goes dry, your hand sweat and your heart pumps harder than necessary, you might be haunted by "money ghosts." If you want help busting them ONCE AND FOR ALL, knowing that they excel at hiding from your consciousness, I'm here for you. My purpose is to make the world a better place by increasing the influence of creatives. That's why I help creatives to be comfortable around money and their own impact potential, so that they get rich! Because I want all creatives to be RICH! And you? Write "yeah" in the comments if you do. (Pic: me in Costa Rica.)

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"I hope no-one from Cognism watches this..." 😅 The truth is, the SDR role isn’t dead - it’s evolved. Forget the days of hammering phones and spamming inboxes. The best SDRs today bring real value by ✅ knowing your business, ✅ understanding your pain points, ✅ delivering relevant content that keeps them front of mind. Even if it’s not the right time to buy, ✅ they know they’ll be top of your list when it is. In this clip, Global Sales Director (and £5-25M ARR ICP/GTM wiz) Paul Wingfield and I talk abut why we firmly believe SDRing is far from dead, and how companies like Cognism are nailing the modern SDR in to ICP game. 💬 What's your take on where SDRs win, or lose today? #sdr #cognism #sales #gtm #icp #MakingRevenueTick #podcast by Tick Talent

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Nearly every salesperson who's prospecting is making this mistake right now Assuming that sending a 15-step cadence over two weeks will land them a meeting Whilst it might be ✅ Value-driven ✅ Multi-channel ✅ Hyper-personalised There are only 52 weeks in a year And less than 5% of buyers are in the market at one time So the likelihood of you catching them in those 2 weeks is pretty small The solution? Ditch the breakup emails and add nurture steps to your sequence instead Short + educational emails every 4-6 weeks So you're top of mind when they are in the market

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