Dialing for dollars is not easy.
What is the number one thing that we’ve heard sales reps dread in the sales process?
Follow-up. And consistent follow-up. Statistics show that the average sale requires at least 5 follow-up calls (which are preceded by follow-up emails 😉).
You know you need to do it, but it is oh so easy to procrastinate.
Want to streamline the process? Try the below prompts in claude.ai.
Intro Call Follow-Up
I’m going to provide you with meeting notes from a discovery/intro call with a prospect who is a [role] at [prospect’s company]. The ultimate end-goal is to sell [your company’s product] to [prospect’s company].
Please provide a succinct, yet detailed follow-up email to be sent to [prospect’s name] in the following structure: recap, actions, next steps, recommended resources.
Notes below: [paste your notes into Claude]
Bonus: If your company uses a transcription tool like Gong or Clari - you can use the transcripts to feed into Claude for an even more detailed recap. If you do this, tell Claude that you’re sharing a call transcript.
Demo Call Follow-Up
I’m going to provide you with meeting notes from a virtual demo with a prospect who is [title] at [prospect’s company], their name is [prospect first name].
My goal is to sell [your company’s product] from [your company name] to [prospect’s first name].
Please provide a succinct and detailed follow-up email to be sent to [prospect’s first name] in the following structure: recap, actions, next steps, recommended resources.
Finally, if there are any relevant use cases for [prospect’s company] based on recent news or current events, please note them as well.
And voilà - an eloquent, comprehensive follow-up email based on your notes in seconds!
🔔 Ring the bell! 🔔
Jake Bischoff serves as an Account Executive at Salesforce, specializing in the Retail vertical. He won a $1M deal by focusing on what made the client unique, listening to learn, and knowing the business better than they knew themselves.
Industry: Luxury ScentingÂ
Problem: The customer's biggest challenge was rooted in their extremely fast growth as a young company. They're master marketers who nailed a niche product need that customers swarmed to. Operationally, they were ill-prepared to scale in the way their customer base was demanding and a patched-together, siloed, tech stack was holding them back.Â
How We Won: Knowing that a clear, connected picture of their business was lacking, we sat down and spent 2-3 hours with each department (sales, marketing, service, commerce, shipping/warehouse, and financial).
With each department, we discussed the current state, current processes, and their desired KPIs by doing what we call a "reverse demo." A reverse demo is simply the customer showing us, on their screen, the way their employees flow through their daily processes. During this process, we're identifying areas that are time-consuming, repetitive, and could be further automated. We also worked to understand the experience of their customers as they engage in the buying process.
To learn more about the customer experience, we went to their website, engaged with their advertising, and even purchased products to further immerse ourselves in the journey. After the information gathering/discovery portion of the deal cycle was complete, my team and I created an "art of the possible" demonstration to deliver back to their entire executive team. The demonstration featured a simulation of an ideal customer (whom we created a profile for) going through the process of discovering, engaging with, and then purchasing from them - while simultaneously showing a simulation of an employee of this company executing a sale/engaging with the customer through the use of the solution/products we recommended.
Solution: We decreased the number of clicks it took for their employees to execute a sale from 22 to 8, automated repetitive steps, and consolidated unnecessary tech onto one platform allowing them to draw data across all departments, giving them a clear picture of their entire business in real-time.Â
Tactics: 1. Listening to learn 2. Knowing your customer. The relationship with the customer had been well established over a period of nearly a year. Who we included in each department discovery session was reflective of our understanding of the political climate driving the decisions of the company. We understood which people had the information we needed most, and who they would or wouldn't voice that information in front of. Through these engagements, we were able to anticipate the questions/objections the decision-makers might have and answer them, in the demonstration, before they could ask. Â
We put a $1M proposal in front of the executives. The CTO identified an unnecessary phase 1 element that cut the project by $50K. The President, who fought us through the entire deal cycle, told the CTO "These guys know our business better than we do- we're taking nothing out of the proposal." ..and proceeded to sign.
I'm proud of the way we were able to capture what made this customer unique and successful and made sure to honor that in our demo and solution recommendation.Â
Who Inspires Me? Leaders who have a master's degree in AWARENESS. These gems make me want to run through a brick wall. It's the leader I aspire to be at some point. The people who are able to get on the ground level with their reps put themselves in their shoes, strategize with genuine interest, and then celebrate a great win!Â