CONTENTS Cover Praise for Inbound Selling Title Page Copyright Dedication Acknowledgments Foreword On the History of Sales through the Salesperson's Eyes On the Current State of Sales and What the Decades Ahead May Hold Preface Introduction An Interview with Brian Halligan, CEO and Chairman, HubSpot Part 1: The “Why?” Behind Inbound Sales Chapter 1: I Was Never Supposed to Be in Sales Chapter 2: Why Inbound Sales Matters Core Characteristics of the Modern Sales Rep Why Inbound Sales Matters The Inbound Sales Process and Inbound Sales Methodology The Inbound Sales Methodology7 Part 2: How to Be an Inbound Seller: A Playbook for the Front-Line Sales REP Chapter 3: Identify: How to Identify the Right People and Businesses to Pursue How to Define Buyer Fit Before Practicing Inbound Sales We've Documented, Shared, and Socialized Everything What's Next? Final Planning Steps before You Attempt to Engage Anyone, in Any Way Chapter 4: Connect: How to Engage Active—and Not So Active—Buyers Connect Call Mechanics Chapter 5: Explore: How to Properly Explore a Buyer's Goals and Challenges Getting in the Right Frame of Mind Exploratory Call Question Examples, in Context Exploratory Call Follow Through: The Power of a Recap Letter Chapter 6: Advise: How to Advise a Buyer on Whether or Not Your Solution Addresses Their Needs Part 1: Goals, Plans, Challenges, and Timeline Part 2: Plans to Achieve Sales and Marketing Goals Concluding the Advise Step: The Soft Close Chapter 7: Closing and Negotiating The Inoffensive Close1 The “1 to 10” Technique The Perfect Close Facing Reality: Closing and Negotiating Are Similar, but Not the Same How to Negotiate Part 3: How to Lead Inbound Sellers: Reflections for the Front-Line Sales Manager Chapter 8: The First-Time Sales Rep–to-Manager Survival Guide So, You Think You Want to Be a Sales Manager? “Growing Up” as a Sales Leader If You Want to Become a Better Coach—and in Turn, a Better Leader—Here's What to Do Next Chapter 9: Reflections on Sales Leadership Leadership Artifacts and Examples from My Own Management Experiences Part 4: What Inbound Selling Means Across the Executive Suite Chapter 10: Sales Is a Team Sport: The Executives' Guide to Transforming into an Inbound Sales Organization Part 1: Inbound Selling and the Future of the Sales Function Part 2: How to Create Sales and Marketing Alignment to Drive Growth Part 3: The Role of Sales Enablement to Fuel Revenue Growth Part 4: Building a Sales Operations Team to Set Up Growth Part 5: The Future of Sales and the Sales Profession Chapter 11: The Future of Sales: An Epilogue U.S Consumer Spending (in Millions) Index End User License Agreement List of Tables Table 11.1 List of Illustrations Figure 2.1 Figure 3.1 Figure 3.2 Figure 3.3 Figure 3.4 Figure 3.5 Figure 3.6 Figure 3.7 Figure 3.8 Figure 3.9 Figure 5.1 Figure 6.1 Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 6.4 Figure 6.5 Figure 6.6 Figure 7.1 Figure 8.1 Figure 8.2 Figure 11.1 Figure 11.2 PRAISE FOR INBOUND SELLING “Inbound Selling is a handbook for organizations, managers, and sales professionals who are ready to adapt to a world where the buyer is in control and competition is closing in As a first-time salesperson and sales manager, a top performer and studious learner, Signorelli provides a first-person account of his years inside the HubSpot rocket ship as it grew revenue from tens to hundreds of millions per year Combined with interviews with accomplished sales executives and lessons learned from books and training, Signorelli builds on decades of sales expertise that will be useful for sales professionals of all levels of experience and organizational responsibility Having read hundreds of sales books, I have not read one that so thoroughly provides so many practical lessons.” —Peter Caputa IV, CEO, Databox “Inbound Selling dismisses the notion that “sales” is a dirty word and shifts the way you think about how you sell In departing from the well-known, pushy, and abrasive sales tactics of yesteryear, Brian advocates a highly personalized, yet scalable approach of identifying and remedying a buyer's current business challenges He laces the pages with humorous anecdotes of humbling experiences to present an inviting learning environment for anyone in sales or anyone interested in sales It's an evocative read that provides a turnkey framework that's as comprehensive as it is pragmatic To put it plainly, if you're not inbound selling, you're doing it wrong.” —Rachael Plummer, sales professional and Inbound Seller, HubSpot “You hold in your hands a complete playbook for the journey of a sales rep from old school to what works today Buyers have changed Many salespeople haven't Nearly every buying decision starts online Buyers have as much or more information than salespeople Salespeople need to work on improving the all-too-tenuous relationships that exist (or more likely don't exist) between buyers and sellers today Sales rep processes have been shaken up due to the disruption of technology Brian's been there and done that He states, “I was never supposed to be in sales.” Yet he learned and grew as a young rep at HubSpot into a sales leader He's been down and dirty in the front lines of sales He's emerged with this book and both strategic and tactical advice for how to navigate the sales journey with today's empowered buyers Beginning with his journey as an inexperienced rep with lots of ideas, but no real sales experience, Brian walks us step-by-step through his sales journey: his emotions on hearing no over and over (and what it felt like to hear yes), his real-world experiences and how he could have done better, why he decided to move into sales management—and what he wished he had known before making that move Unlike highlevel strategic sales leadership books, which are great in theory but aren't practical in reality, this one is deep in the trenches, sharing hard-won insights from personal experience and digging into the mechanics of how to sell now Today, not 10 years ago Buckle up for this inbound sales journey—it's packed with actionable examples throughout.” —Lindsay Kelley, head of digital and content marketing, Telit “For any salesperson, sales manager, or business owner looking to learn how to adapt to the new way customers buy and turbocharge their growth, this is the book!” —Matthew Cook, CEO, SalesHub “The world of sales has been flipped on its axis over the past decade Buyers have seized control from what once was a highly orchestrated, controlled, and (some would say) manipulative process Salespeople and sales organizations have had to learn new skills and to develop new processes A result of this “sales revolution” has been a new approach to selling called Inbound Sales There are few people in the world who have studied, practiced, and refined the process like Brian Signorelli In this book, Brian shares everything you need to know to be successful with this approach It's a must-have for any salesperson or growth executive's bookshelf (or Kindle).” —Doug Davidoff, CEO and founder, Imagine Business Development Inbound Selling How to Change the Way You Sell to Match How People Buy Brian Signorelli Cover design: Wiley Copyright © 2018 by Brian Signorelli All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 7486011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation You should consult with a professional where appropriate Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002 Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Signorelli, Brian, author Title: Inbound selling : how to change the way you sell to match how people buy / Brian Signorelli Description: Hoboken : Wiley, 2018 | Includes bibliographical references and index | Identifiers: LCCN 2017056770 (print) | LCCN 2017058103 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119473442 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119473275 (epub) | ISBN 9781119473411 (hardback) Subjects: LCSH: Selling | Telemarketing | Customer relations | BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Sales & Selling | BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Marketing / Telemarketing Classification: LCC HF5438.25 (ebook) | LCC HF5438.25 S567 2018 (print) | DDC 658.85 dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017056770 To Pete and Dannie ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Ryan Ball, Sam Belt, Kipp Bodnar, Dani Buckley, Peter Caputa, Matthew Cook, Doug Davidoff, Katharine Derum, Matt Dixon, Nathaniel Eberle, Debbie Farese, Jill Fratianne, Brian Halligan, Danielle Herzberg, Justin Hiatt, Lauren Hintz, Lindsay Kelley, Hunter Madeley, David McNeil, Rachael Plummer, Mark Roberge, Dan Tyre, Derek Wyszynski, Leah, Dixie, and Charlotte for contributing to this work in many ways, shapes, and forms Thank you to my entire HubSpot family, and, of course, the team at John Wiley & Sons, for making this possible HubSpot blog HubSpot Partner Program HubSpot’s Agency Partner Team I Ideal buyer profile “Identify” step and Basho model building buyer persona in building buyer profile in defining buyer fit in final planning in research/preparation in Implications, in GPCTCI framework Inbound interest Inbound leads Inbound marketing Inbound Marketing (Halligan and Shah) Inbound sales Inbound Sales Methodology Inbound selling: Advise step closings in Connect step defined Explore step idea of Identify step negotiating in transformation to Inc (magazine) Independence Individual-level training Industry forums Influencer (“I”) personality type Influencers, negotiating with Information, rating quality of Information gathering: during connect calls examples during exploratory calls Information technology (IT) buyers Inoffensive close Inside selling InsightSquared Intelligent.ly Manager Exchange Training Internal marketing, questions about Internet Internet of Things (IoT) Interviews “I” (Influencer) personality type IT (information technology) buyers J Jobs, Steve “John Henry the Salesperson” (Wyszynski) K Kindle Knowledge transfer Kurlan, Dave L Lao Tzu Leads cold at HubSpot inbound Leadership becoming a leader marketing sales, see Sales leadership in sales operation teams Lead Response Management Organization Lead scoring Lead-to-customer conversion rate Legal Marketing Association Library of Congress LinkedIn and Basho methodology buyer control through generating leads from information gathering from Longworth Ventures Lower-level employees, speaking with M McNeil, David Madeley, Hunter on future of sales function on sales process Management, sales, see Sales management Managers, coaches vs Marcus, Jon Marketing: alignment of sales and and buyer personas content Golden Age of inbound and sales enablement sales vs Marketing leadership Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead (Halligan, Scott, and Walton) marketing qualified lead (MQL) Marketing software Massachusetts Insitute of Technology (MIT) Mastery, pursuit of Match.com Matuson, Roberta Chutsky Mentors Micro buyers Microsoft Middlesex University for Work Based Learning Mind-set Mission, company MIT, see Massachusetts Insitute of Technology Motivation(s): and coaching and higher purpose of personas of sales team in Year in Review communication MQL (marketing qualified lead) N National Do Not Call Registry Need, in BANT approach Needs assessment Negative, going Negotiating closing vs effective Google search results techniques for Netflix New employees New England Patriots Next Level Sales Consulting Non-decision-makers Note taking O Objective Management Group Offers, during negotiations Office hours Onboarding 1-800-Flowers “1 to 10” technique Online sales Opinions, in coaching Optionality Organizational checklist, prospecting Orlob, Chris Outreach P Packaging, questions about Page, Larry Peer mentors Perfect close Performance improvement plans (PIPs) Personas, buyer Personality types Pink, Daniel PIPs (performance improvement plans) Pitch, elevator Plans, in GPCTCI framework “Platinum Rule,” Porcupine close Positioning statement PQL (product qualified lead) Predictable Revenue (Ross) Preparation, in Identify step Pricing: in negotiations questions about Problem solving: coaching team members on by leaders product qualified lead (PQL) Prospecting PTC (company) Puppy dog close Purchasing decision Q Qualification, prospect Questions: about retention about timeline during advise call buyer clarifying during closing in coaching during exploratory calls follow-up Questionnaires Quora R RAIN Group Recap letters Recruiting Redbord, Mike RedFin Reputation Research, in Identify step Retainer-based engagements Retention, questions about Return on Investment (ROI) Roberge, Mark Rosen, Keith Ross, Aaron S S SaaS (Software as a Service) industry Sales: alignment of marketing and control of buyers over future of (hypothetical scenario) inbound marketing vs online questions about seller-centric solution-oriented The Sales Acceleration Formula (Roberge) Sales calls: advise best day of week for best time of day for cold connect, see Connect calls exploratory, see Exploratory calls fear of Sales enablement Salesforce model Sales function, future of Sales leadership artifacts and examples of coaching and manager mind-set for in sales and marketing alignment and team motivation Sales management and becoming a sales leader and building team unity and creating a sense of higher purpose with direct reports and forecasting and onboarding of new hires and recruiting time commitment for Sales operation teams (sales teams) building communication with culture of leadership of and marketing organizing roles and responsibilities of unity on Sales process closing and negotiating in elements of evaluating and marketing outdated and sales calls Sales profession sales qualified lead (SQL) Sales qualified lead (SQL) Sales representatives (sales reps) See also “Advise” step; “Connect” step; “Explore” step; “Identify” step front-line modern software successful Sales software Sales targets Sales training Satellite radio Scaling Scott, David Meerman Self-identifed buyers Seller-centric sales Selling environment, current Services, questions about “7 Things I Wish I Knew before Becoming a Sales Manager” (Signorelli) Shah, Darmesh ShopifyPlus Silence, power of Skill training Sloan School of Management “Smarketing,” Social media Soft close Software: marketing sales sales reps for Software as a Service (SaaS) industry Solution-oriented sales Solution Selling Southwestern Corporation “S” (Steadiness) personality type SPIN SQL (sales qualified lead) The State of Inbound (survey) Steadiness (“S”) personality type Stereotypes Stone, Biz Subpersonas Success, communication with team about Suddenly in Charge (Matuson) Sustainable differentiation T Tableau Team culture Team unity Technologies: HubSpot blog success with and messaging in sales and marketing alignment in sales enablement for targeted sales Television advertising “The Three Drums,” Tiffany’s Time commitment: for connect call for Identify step for sales management Timeline: in BANT approach in GPCTCI framework questions about Tinder TiVo Trade-offs, in negotiations Trade shows Training coaching vs defined individual-level sales skill Trigger events TrueCar Trust TrustRadius Twitter Tyre, Dan U “Ultimate” product Urgency V VAR Team Performance Verndale Vision: communication with team about and motivation team-driven document on Vocabulary Voicemails Volpe, Mike W Walking away, delaying a close vs Walton, Bill Websites White Bread Leads Williams, Tony Wine.com Word-of-mouth marketing Wyszynski, Derek X Xerox Y Yelp Z Ziglar, Zig Zillow Zuckerberg, Mark WILEY END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT Go to www.wiley.com/go/eula to access Wiley's ebook EULA ... leaders in the executive suite realize their business needs to change the way it sells to match how people buy if it is to succeed in the age of the empowered buyer Don't hesitate to share your criticism—for... work today to me is blasphemous I just think of the way people buy and the way people used to engage me as a sales rep They needed me from the “top of the phone” to the “bottom of the mountain.”... before the Internet, buyers had to talk to salespeople to make a purchase They needed to understand the details of the offering, how the offering differed from the competition, how much it cost, the