3X Your Pipeline or Fail

Picture this… it’s the end of the quarter and it’s all coming down to these couple of deals. Are you going to hit your target or not?

Probably isn’t too hard to picture, because it happens just about every quarter.

And every quarter you say the same thing… I’m going to get ahead of this and be at my number way before the last few days.

But what do you do differently? Most… push harder on their deals earlier so they can get there faster.

Here’s the reality… it’s not about pushing harder earlier. That can help… time does kill deals so keeping them moving can help. But that’s not the real problem.

The real problem is this…

YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH PIPELINE TO SUPPORT YOUR NUMBERS.

INSTEAD: Imagine being on the last day and you have 3 really solid deals and you only need 1 of them to sign. AGAIN… you just 1 and they are all solid deals.

That’s what it feels like to have 3X in your pipeline.

We are talking 3X in REAL pipeline.

Why do many keep deals they shouldn’t...

• They don’t want their sales leader to see they have nothing
• They don’t want to feel like they have nothing
• They don’t want anyone to work the deal, so they keep it in their name instead of closing it out.

THIS 👆👆👆 is NOT what you count as your 3X Pipeline.

3X of REAL, legit deals that are progressing.

So what do you need to get there?

I’m a HUGE advocate of going outbound. It allows you to go after exactly the companies you want and not sit and wait for anyone to come banging on your door.

Should it be SDRs or Account Executives?

Pros and Cons of both:

1. SDR (SDR/BDR) - their role is prospecting all day, every day.

   Pros:

   • SDRs have no other focus other than finding leads and setting meetings.
   • Help streamline the process by keeping the pipeline full
   • Help AEs focus on closing deals

   Cons:

   • SDRs don't have a deep understanding of the product or service
   • They don't have conversations with prospects during the sales process to hear how they talk about their problems and pains (only given information from internal sources)

2. Full Cycle AE - they balance prospecting with closing deals.

   Pros:

   • They hear from the prospect what matters to them the most.
   • They have story after story at their fingertips through all the conversations they have through the sales process
   • Control their destiny by building their own pipeline.

   Cons:

   • Prospecting is time-consuming
   • They have to balance keeping their deals progressing with finding new
   • Skills for Closing deals and Prospecting are very different.

When it comes down to it, it’s really all about the strategy that will make or break the results.

If you want to win at going outbound, here are some basic steps.

Step 1: Dial in your ICP like you’ve never done before.

Here are the 5 questions to ask to understand their pain and problems:

1. (Make Money) What are 5 ways my product or service will help them make money?
2. (Save money) How can I or my product or service help them save money over the next week, month, or year?
3. (Save time) How much time can I save them and what else could they do with that time?
4. (Avoid effort) What is something they don’t have to do anymore once they get my new product or service? (This is how you figure out how it helps them avoid effort)
5. (Escape mental or physical pain) What physical pain do I I eliminate for them and what does that mean for their life and business?

Step 2: Create Messaging that speaks to them

• Personalized with the way they describe their pain
• Create Curiosity
• Nudge them to take action

Step 3: Take it to the People for a Hell Yeah

• Email
• Phone
• LinkedIn
• Videos

The messaging should change based on the method. Overall… keep it short and to the point.

A couple of things to highlight:

• Frame messages to their why and why they need you.
• The key… don’t talk about your product… AT ALL.
• It’s not about your product. It’s about them and what they are going through.
• Your product is the solution to fix their problems.

Overall… most struggle with the strategy above. It’s new to them and they are used to typical marketing messaging that is way too long and says “look at me”. Frankly... drives everyone away.

You are competing with their inbox and their time... there is no room to be average.

If you are struggling with outbound, let’s look at your strategy and get you to that 3X that you so desperately want and need.

PS… I have trained several hundred reps (BDRs and AEs) on how to prospect to drive 3X pipeline. It can be done... you just have to know how.