7 Financial Metrics Sellers Must Know to Build Pipeline with the C-Suite | David Graswick - 1685

Don’t be intimidated by the business acumen that gets used every day in C-suite meetings! If you want to hold your own in these conversations and earn a seat at the table time and time again, you’ll need to get educated. We’ve got you. In today’s episode, our host Donald Kelly talks with David Graswick, VP of Sales for Databook. Listen in to learn the metrics you need to understand before meeting with management.

The Language of the C-suite

• Execs are interested in the big picture. Sellers are not often taught how to have these types of business conversations – mastering this can set you apart.

• Anyone can say words like “revenue growth” or “back office efficiency,” but if you can become fluent in these topics and personalize discussions to your specific prospects, you’ll be invited into higher-level meetings more often.

• Sales leaders and sellers need to be educated before they can start having more informed, impactful conversations with buyers.

7 Financial Metrics for Sellers

1. Revenue Growth. Executives compare their company’s revenue growth to that of their peers. They are motivated to hit targets because the company’s performance is directly linked to their bonuses and compensation.

2. Profitability. Leaders have shifted away from a “growth-at-all-costs” mindset. In today’s market, sellers need to show how their product helps drive the company toward “smart growth.”

3. SGNA (Sales, Growth, and Administrative Expenses). These are expenses directly linked to selling the product. The C-suite wants to lower SGNA margins, which can look like doing big deals in a shorter amount of time.

4. Back-Office Efficiency. You may not have access to all of this information if you’re working with a private company, but you can make educated guesses based on how public peer companies are operating. Even if you’re not always correct, you’re speaking from an educated perspective.

5. Productivity. Think of this as “revenue-per-employee.” Increasing productivity means finding ways to improve or maintain revenue from customers without increasing costs to the company. 

6. Investor Sentiment. An exec wants to make sure investors believe the company can meet Street expectations. Identify your prospect’s past issues and show how your product closes the gap between where your prospect is and their projected performance.

7. Gross Margin. Any expenses that don’t fall into the SGNA category are considered a part of this metric. If you can help companies reduce costs in any way, you will get the C-suite’s attention.

Strategic Relationship-Building With Databook

• Unlike a lot of other sales technology, Databook was built to help sellers create strategic narratives for their prospects.

• The key is to align Street expectations, management priorities, and the solutions you provide in a broader narrative.

“You’re probably not going to tell these executives anything about their past performance they don’t already know. But, in my experience… if you can show how they are ranked and compared against their peer group, how that aligns with the Street expectations of your organization over the next two years, and where your solutions can help drive to that… That becomes a different narrative and a much better story that we’ve seen resonate at a much higher rate.” – David Graswick

Resources

http://www.databook.com

Call (412) 807-9119 if you’d like to speak with David directly!

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com