Find My Catalyst Podcast History, Innovation, and Pattern Recognition in Technology & Sales - 70
This week on the podcast another friend of Catalyst Sale joins us. Andrew Savikas is the founder of YieldTalk. He is the former CEO of Safari Books Online, and he is a startup advisor who helps CEOs and Founders with strategy. This week we discuss the importance of understanding history, similarities between those in sales roles and those in technical roles, and how b2c and b2b strategies can thrive in the same environment.
Questions addressed
- How are Sales and Marketing folks similar to those in Engineering, Product, and Technology?
- As Sales professionals, what are the gaps we should be mindful of when communicating requirements back to the organization?
- What roles would benefit from learning to code?
- How does accounting apply to software development?
- What happens in organizations as they navigate the transition from b2c to b2b?
- What are some of the common challenges Andrew has seen in early-stage organizations?
- Why is it so important to understand history?
Key Takeaways
- Understanding etiquette, culture, and vocabulary when communicating across functions in an organization is important.
- Empathy is critical (this continues to be a theme)
- It's not as simple as - let's just add more resources - the sales team can't just sell more in the short term
- Nine women can't (accelerate the process and) have a baby in a month - metaphor from the Mythical Man Month
- Recognize that there are distinctions within organizations across technical roles.
- Leverage your internal resources - bring them into the discussion
- The buyer has already formed an opinion on the product before you engage with them
- General Observations working with early-stage companies
- The value of looking at B2C as a leading indicator & as a source of growth (evangelists, insight, access)
- The impact of churn at various stages of the organization
- Understanding the importance of how probabilities and percentages play into sales development
- Many early-stage organizations make the mistake of hiring the wrong sales rep, and many do this too soon.
- General observations - about technology and innovation
- Think about technology through a historical lens - what have we learned through other transformations.
- The Telegraph as an innovation - it had a transformative impact on our country
- The hyphen was a technological innovation
- "Technology is anything that was not around before you were born" - Alan Kay
Show Links
- YieldTalk.com
- Andrew's LinkedIn
- Andrew's Twitter
- Books Discussed
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Catalyst Sale
In every business, in every opportunity, there is someone who can help you navigate the internal challenges and close the deal. There is a Catalyst. We integrate process (Catalyst Sale Process), technology and people, with the purpose of accelerating revenue. Our thoughtful approach minimizes false starts that are common in emerging markets and high-growth environments. We continue to evolve our practice based on customer needs and emerging technology. We care about a thinking process that enables results versus a process that tells people what to do.