Hunters and Unicorns

7. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Part 2 - The Stories - Espen Sjaavik

Out Now – Episode 12/20 - @Espen Sjaavic  

  

In this story session we cover:  

 

• The power of internal champions and how to know when you have one 

• How to develop your champion building skillset  
• Why you need to make your champion the hero 

 

Today we are joined by Espen Sjaavic, Senior Regional Vice President at Zscaler.  

 

Whether you're at the top of your game or just starting out, listen to discover Espen’s champion-building methodology and learn tips and best practices for identifying and developing sales champions that have the power and influence you need to drive change and close deals. 

16. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Andy Whyte

Welcome to Hunters and Unicorns, 20/20/20 Mastery Mission. 

20 topics, 20 guests for 20 minutes. 

We're here to unlock tribal wisdom from tech sales legends to help you get one step closer to mastery. 

Today we are joined by Andy Whyte, enterprise sales leader, author of MEDDICC, and founder of the leading resource for enterprise sellers, MEDDIC.com. In this interview, Andy explains what salespeople commonly get wrong with sales qualification and why nobody ever regrets qualifying out of opportunities, but so few people do it enough.

“We're really focused on qualification, but we work so hard to get opportunities that there's almost a reluctance to qualify out. One of the things I learned earlier in my career was if you go to qualify out, only good things happen.”

Andy discusses how sales qualification is often misunderstood as being a checkbox exercise, or even worse, it is used to qualify 'Can this customer buy', rather than 'Does my solution provide enough value to my customer'. He goes on to address the common misconceptions around MEDDIC and explains the origins of the framework and how to use it more efficiently and effectively to qualify deals and generate a clear path to success. With over fifteen years of experience working in SaaS and helping organizations improve their sales velocity, Andy offers his tips on how to view your qualification strategy through your customers eyes and leverage the proven MEDDIC methodology in your sales cycles so that you can articulate and quantify pain, demonstrate the value of your sales solution, and ultimately accomplish a perfect “mutual qualification”. Presenting strategies and best practices on how to successfully implement MEDDIC and navigate qualification, Andy helps us to understand how to stay ahead of complex deals by adopting the “MEDDIC mindset” and focussing on the three pillars of sales - value, stakeholders, and process.

Listen to our story session to discover how to apply Andy’s strategies to real business scenarios and learn tactics for using MEDDIC to execute your customer interactions with more purpose, achieve better results and reap the rewards of having a well-qualified pipeline of opportunities.

15. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Thea Mayes

Welcome to Hunters and Unicorns, 20/20/20 Mastery Mission. 

20 topics, 20 guests for 20 minutes. 

We're here to unlock tribal wisdom from tech sales legends to help you get one step closer to mastery. 

Today we are joined by Thea Mayes, Major Accounts Executive at Snowflake.  

In this interview, we discuss Thea’s experiences as a former Olympian weightlifter and how she transitioned into tech sales. We explore the importance of self-belief in sport and its application to the world of sales as we delve into her journey to the top as a high-level, competitive athlete and how it prepared her with the essential characteristics needed to win in the field of sales. 

“Even though Olympic lifting is an individual sport, you're always training as part of a team, and that's very much the same in sales. You compete against your team; however, you're competing against yourself the most. You use your team to help you move on - if you think someone's doing better than you, or you are doing better than them, you use that conflict to get better.” 

As a top athlete, Thea intrinsically enjoys competition and has, through dedication to regimented training and self-development, cultivated a mindset to achieve excellence, making her well-equipped to stand out in deeply competitive environments. She explains how, just like elite athletes, great salespeople continually push themselves to meet increasingly ambitious goals and aim to outperform themselves and their peers to reach the next benchmark.  

“In boxing, you learn your combos, you go to training, you get faster, you get lighter, you get quicker, but if I wasn't eating correctly, or showing up every day, twice a day, I wasn't going to get better. It's the same thing with MEDDIC. There is a framework and every time that you go back to that framework you should be adding more to it and getting better at it.” 

Having recently transitioned to a Playbook company, Thea offers her tips on how to choose the best coaches and organisations to work for as well as how to overcome adversity and treat setbacks as speed bumps rather than stop signs. She believes that discipline is the secret to success in both sports and SaaS and explains the importance of consistency, organisation, and preparation if you want to scale a career in either of these industries.  

Listen to our story session to discover how to apply Thea’s strategies to real life scenarios and learn how to adopt the mindset and apply the discipline of a top performing athlete to improve your sales performance.  

 

 

5. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Part 2 - The Stories - Bernd Maehrlein

In this story session we cover:

• What it takes to thrive and survive in a high growth, high demanding, high excellence organization like Lacework

• The importance of doing your homework and leveraging people in your network to gain true understanding of a company

• Choosing the right company to work for and how to spot signs of validation

• How to develop an adaptable mindset and why this is a prerequisite for survival in tech

Today we are joined by Bernd Maehrlein, Vice President Central & Eastern Europe at Lacework, for a Hunters and Unicorns exclusive. Whether you're at the top of your game or just starting out, listen New to the 202020 Mastery Mission – Check out this blog for more information

4. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Part 2 - The Stories - Keith Butler

In this story session we cover:

• Game changing examples of saving deals by aligning with Economic Buyers

• How to view technology from the Economic Buyer’s perspective to win deals

• How to connect problems to technology to avoid champion train wrecks

Today we are joined by Keith Butler, Chief Revenue Officer at Observe Inc, for a Hunters and Unicorns exclusive.

“People will follow you if they believe that you can take them somewhere they can't get by themselves - that is champion building. The customer will see that this person can help them solve a problem and they can't do it without them.”

Whether you're at the top of your game or just starting out, listen discover how to apply Keith’s methodologies to real life business scenarios and learn preparation tactics, research tips, and best practices to prepare for your next meeting with an Economic Buyer.

“Are you on the mission?”

3. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Part 2 - The Stories - Lauren Ball

In this story session we cover:  

 

• The benefits of a non-linear career trajectory and why you should stop fixating on your next title 
• How to know when the time is right to take a step up and challenge yourself in your career 

• Mentorship – what does mentorship look like and what to expect from a mentor 
• Finding your authentic self as a female in SaaS 

 

Today we are joined Lauren Ball, VP Commercial Sales at Auditboard. We discuss her exemplary resilience and experiences as a female leader in SaaS and the importance of finding your “Why” in order to succeed in this environment. Highlighting the limitations of chasing titles, Lauren helps us to understand the benefits of a non-linear career trajectory in this industry and explains how her “lateral” journey to the top exposed her to opportunities that prepared her for future leadership roles.  

“We're so focused on the title that we lose sight of all the credentials that we're gaining on our CV or resume, or even just life skills. The idea that titles translate to money is absolutely not true. They can translate to more money but have to be successful in the role to earn the money in sales.  You have to find a role that you can thrive in. 

Whether you're at the top of your game or just starting out, listen to discover Lauren’s advice on how to navigate your long-term SaaS career trajectory with authenticity – learn how to articulate your “Why?” and shift your perspective to begin fulfilling both your personal and professional goals.  

  

New to the 202020 Mastery Mission – Check out this blog for more information 

   

“Are you on the mission?”  

2. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Part 2 - The Stories - Rob Watson

In this story session we cover:

-How to set up a two-way interaction and use your time most effectively in discovery.

-Why you need to become a value expert.

-How to use discovery to recognise a “no win” situation for your customer and know when to move on.

 

Today we are joined by VP Sales at Sutter Hill’s next rocket ship, Observe Inc. Sharing key insights and experiences from his career, Rob explains the science behind the success of his win-win approach and how to use it to yield deeper client relationships, lead successful negotiations and achieve great results in sales. 

“By slowing down a little bit and not just taking the bait and following the client, a little bit of courageous pushback can result in a huge transformational deal.”

 

Whether you're at the top of your game or just starting, listen to discover how Rob’s strategies have led to success in real business scenarios and learn tactics, tips, and best practices for creating win-win situations in your business. New to the 202020 Mastery Mission

– Check out this blog for more information

  “Are you on the mission?”

13. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Stuart Simmons

Welcome to Hunters and Unicorns, 20/20/20 Mastery Mission.   

  

20 topics, 20 guests for 20 minutes.   

  

We're here to unlock tribal wisdom from tech sales legends to help you get one step closer to mastery.   

  

Today we are joined by Stuart Simmons, RVP Northern Europe at Lacework. 

  

In this interview, Stuart discusses the attitudes and belief systems that underpin consistently high achievement in sales, and how anyone in sales can use this knowledge to help their business grow. Regarded as a fearless executioner, Stuart elaborates on how his experience inside the industry has enabled him to view senior level individuals through a different lens and shape his sales strategy from a new perspective. 

 

“It's about mindset and it's the compass by which you execute an account. If you start with that belief system on day one, the hardest thing then is to execute with discipline against that every single day, because invariably you come up with a great vision and strategy but because it's set against big hairy audacious goals, it’s not going to come easy. You have to apply rigor, governance and discipline every day and have an unwavering focus and belief system.” 

 

In a world where customers are infinitely more sophisticated than ever before, Stuart provides key preparation techniques to help you elevate yourself and articulate value, especially within larger accounts, and explains the importance of “thinking big” and attaching yourself to board level initiatives to drive impact and attract attention from C-suite execs.  

Stuart believes that audacious goals drive action and talks us through the importance of consistent communication and how to set a bold vision and execution strategy for your customer from day one to enable growth and inspire the creation of solutions beyond expectation. 

Sharing key insights and advice on how to accelerate execution in big accounts, Stuart talks us through his strategies for success and tactics you can use to make a good first impression, maximise your chances of qualification and remain focussed on your ultimate objective. 

 

Listen to our story session to discover real business examples of how Stuart’s approach to sales has generated transformational results and learn how to apply his strategies and adapt your own belief system to navigate a successful future career in technology.  

14. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Michael Musselman

Welcome to Hunters and Unicorns, 20/20/20 Mastery Mission. 

20 topics, 20 guests for 20 minutes. 

We're here to unlock tribal wisdom from tech sales legends to help you get one step closer to mastery. 

Today we are joined by Mike Musselman, Senior Director of Technology & Strategic Alliances at Lacework, the data-driven security platform for the cloud. 

Leading Lacework's ecosystem of strategic relationships with cloud service providers and other independent software vendors for activities around co-sell, co-build, and co-marketing activities, Mike is well equipped to introduce us to the next chapter in technology sales – how to scale your business by aligning your technology, ecosystem, and sales playbook with the three major cloud service providers. 

Mike explains the evolutions that are driving ecosystem development and the huge levels of opportunity attached to the emerging trend of aligning a cloud infrastructure to your business strategy. 

I look at us being built on Amazon Web Services, then I look at them having hundreds of thousands of customers and us having less than 100 customers. The opportunity and the theory is - if I could ever make that partner bring business or accelerate our pipeline, then that makes us a multi-billion dollar company pretty fast, so every day, that’s what myself and my larger extended global team are aiming for. 

By now, most organisations have moved some aspect of their business to the cloud. The inherent benefits of cloud computing are clear to them, but many may not understand how to accelerate their pipeline and customer base with the leverage of the cloud service providers.   

Sharing tips and tricks from his experiences getting started and transacting on Marketplaces, Mike explains how to kick start your relationship with a cloud provider, build teams around “goal alignment”, and the importance of understanding your position in the ecosystem and nurturing relationships inside and outside of your own organisation. 

Listen to our story session to discover more on how to apply Mike’s strategies to real business scenarios and learn tactics, tips, and best practices for aligning with a cloud provider to scale your business. 

 

 

 

 

12. Hunters and Unicorns - 202020 Mastery Mission - Ceire McQuaid

Welcome to Hunters and Unicorns, 20/20/20 Mastery Mission. 20 topics, 20 guests for 20 minutes. We're here to unlock tribal wisdom from tech sales legends to help you get one step closer to mastery. Today we are joined by Ceire McQuaid, Regional Vice President UK&I at DataRobot. In this interview, Ceire shares her knowledge on the evolution of MEDDIC from its inception at PTC through to the thousands of enterprise sales organisations that have gone on to embrace it. With so many voices and opinions talking about MEDDIC, and every organisation leveraging the methodology in a unique way, many candidates entering this space find themselves confused about which variation to align with and which company to join. Shedding light on this topic and demystifying the methodology, Ceire talks us through the different variations of the MEDDIC community, unpicks common misconceptions and helps us understand how to tap into the playbook network and “find your MEDDIC home”. “For individual contributors, I want you to go away and challenge yourself on what good looks like for you as a person and your life. I want you to do your research, have conversations and when you make that commitment, knowingly make that commitment as an investment in your career, not just for one year or a quick pay cheque, it needs to be the investment to learn this, to grow and develop because it will set up the rest of your career. Treat it like the biggest deal you've ever done in your life.” Sharing key insights and experiences from her own career, Ceire explains the four categories of MEDDIC and how the maturity of an organisation can hugely affect process adoption and change the conversation. She emphasises the importance of aligning individual skillsets and personality types to the right MEDDIC environment to secure career progression and offers advice and valuable interview techniques to help candidates understand a company’s principles of leadership from the outset and gauge whether this aligns with their career progression goals. Listen to our story session to discover more on how to apply Ceire’s strategies to real business scenarios and learn tactics, tips and best practices for finding the right MEDDIC organisation for you.