Exploring Copying as Flattery in Sales Strategies

As a GTM leader, you’re probably working every day to improve your playbook and you’re not alone. If improving your sales motions is a serious priority, you should probably check out this episode. Doug Landis is the CEO of DL Advisory and both a renowned sales professional and storyteller. Doug joins Co-Hosts Craig Rosenberg and Matt Amundson for a B2B sales and messaging masterclass, including an explainer of his Hypothesis Selling methodology. Doug dives into why outbound sales motions have become so ineffective, the value of verticalization in competitive markets, and how much of an impact the "Thought-Leadershipization" of your Executive Team can have on your win rate. 

Also, Craig is locked in a life-or-death struggle against the internet and Matt shares his personal insights on Nick Mehta and Doug’s fashion choices.

Takeaways:

• Outbound sales reps need to earn the right to have a conversation with buyers before they share more about who they are and what they do. Sellers need to show buyers that they know them and understand the problems they’re facing, more so than the product solutions and features the buyer thinks they need.
• The core idea of Hypothesis Selling is for sellers to communicate that they understand the problems a buyer is facing by providing them with a hunch or a hypothesis of what the seller thinks the buyer’s world might be like.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Triassic Tattoos
• 02:44 Introducing Doug Landis: A Beacon of Sales Wisdom
• 05:36 How has the GTM Playbook Changed in the Past 4 years
• 11:34 The Art of Outbound: Rethinking Sales Strategies
• 25:16 Unlocking the Secrets of Killer Products
• 26:16 Survival Tips for Inferior Products
• 27:37 The Art of Execution: From Market Demand to Customer Conversations
• 34:24 The Impact of the "Thought-Leadershipization" of your Executive Team
• 41:49 Who’s the Best-dressed in B2B?

Quote of the Show:

• “If you're going to earn the right to actually share more about who you are and what you do, then you've got to build that.” - Doug Landis

Sponsor:

• Ringmaster Conversational Marketing - The Transaction is sponsored and produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through Branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/

Connect with Doug Landis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglandis/ 
• DL Advisory Website: https://www.douglandis.com/ 

Shoutouts:

• Maria Pergolino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariapergolino/ 
• Arc'teryx logo tattoo: https://www.tiktok.com/@kjadeg/video/7337453935013252394 
• Arc'teryx response: https://www.tiktok.com/@kjadeg/video/7345316691762711851 
• Lavender: https://www.lavender.ai/ 
• Norwest Ventures: https://www.nvp.com/ 
• Doug’s post about Norwest Ventures report: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/douglandis_kudos-to-norwest-venture-partners-for-this-activity-7179189994635370496-LULM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
• Kyle Coleman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyletcoleman/ 
• Copy.ai: https://www.copy.ai/ 
• Infor: https://www.infor.com/ 
• Chris Ball: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-ball-010/ 
• Veeva: https://www.veeva.com/ 
• Peter Gassner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pgassner/ 
• Nick Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmehta/ 
• Gainsight: https://www.gainsight.com/ 
• Amy Chang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/changamy/ 
• John Barrows: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ 
• John Barrows’ episode of The Transaction: https://thetransaction.substack.com/p/augmenting-automating-the-transaction 
• Robert Koehler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rkoehler/ 
• Brandon O’Sullivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tailwindsales/ 

Phrases Minted in this episode: 

• The Honest, Truthful, Ideal Customer Profile
• "Thought-Leadershipization" of the Executive Team

Follow the Show:

• Craig’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigrosenberg/ 
• Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-amundson-91657236/ 
• The Transaction on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-transaction/ 
• The Transaction Website: https://thetransactionpod.com/ 
• Substack: https://thetransaction.substack.com/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3i3r3WLacRZiSa7dOaOgDz 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-transaction/id1734518309 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTransaction?sub_confirmation=1