Introduction

John Donnelly III is a seasoned global operational executive with over 25 years of experience in growing enterprise B2B SaaS companies. He has successfully managed various stages of growth for tech companies, ranging from series A to over $900M in revenue, leading large global teams in sales, support, services, and marketing. With a track record of delivering multiple millions in returns to private equity and venture investors, John has played key roles in two IPOs and several M&A exits. 

In this episode, John McMahon and John Kaplan talk with John Donnelly about his sales career journey, the challenges of business acquisitions, effective sales forecasting, and the importance of storytelling in sales campaigns. Donnelly also stresses the need for sales reps to build emotional connections to their customers and to deeply understand their needs. This episode illuminates valuable insights for sales executives navigating forecast challenges and business acquisitions.

Tune in to this conversation with John McMahon and John Kaplan on the Revenue Builders podcast.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT
[01:27] John Donnelly's Career Journey
[03:19] John Donnelly's Experience with Acquisitions
[05:35] The Challenges of Cultural Fit in Acquisitions
[11:49] The Importance of Listening and Understanding in New Leadership Roles
[24:52] The Impact of Slip Deals on Forecasting
[28:05] The Role of CRM Systems in Forecasting
[32:00] Understanding Why Deals Slip
[32:13] Top Reasons for Deal Slippage
[32:28] The Importance of Attaching to the Biggest Business Issue
[33:04] The Role of a Champion in the Sales Cycle
[34:09] Differentiating Yourself from the Competition
[34:40] The Art of Asking the Right Questions
[35:03] Understanding the Timeline of a Deal
[38:05] The Importance of Testing Champions
[46:15] The Power of Storytelling in Sales
[48:59] The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Sales

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about John Donnelly and about their company.
john@masteringtechnicalsales.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncare/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/up-2-speed/

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:41:55] "And I, like I said earlier, at the very beginning, I think, the reps that get, more people involved and more people involved in a deal, you get more perspective on something. And I think if a rep is holding a deal very close to the chest and not really willing to get other people involved in the business, I always worry about that as well."
[00:46:27] "I love this because that's really important. Sorry, Johnny when, especially when they can tell a story that aligns to the same issues that customer had. so they're, because I found that a lot of customers, sometimes they're. Reluctant to talk about all their issues 'cause they think they're the only ones, those issues they have are very unique."
[00:51:46] "And I think that's something that's so important. And whenever I talk to customers now, it's always, okay, tell me what we've done to make, why are we, why are you different now using DTIQ? What's different about it? I wanna know what that is and why, and because ultimately, of course, not every customer can speak publicly. But I'm always looking for the next referral, the next customer that can speak on our behalf to say, Hey, we brought DTIQ in before, before we had DTIQ, we had these problems, we brought it in, and now we don't and we saved money."