Find My Catalyst Podcast

Guest - Matt Ostanik - Founder, CEO, FunnelWise Matt Ostanik is our guest on this week's podcast. Matt is the CEO of FunnelWise. He previously founded and grew Submittal Exchange, a provider of web-based collaboration tools for commercial construction projects. In a five-year period, Matt grew the company from two employees to more than 100 and more than 100,000 users of their software. He sold Submittal Exchange to Textura Corporation (NYSE: TXTR) in 2011 and remained its president. He served on the executive team at Textura when the company completed a successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013. We discuss the relationship between Sales & Marketing in organizations, including... What works in data in marketing and sales. How consistency in vocabulary can help. The Revenue Funnel Science Framework How "Your Data Always Tells a Story" The risks associated with confirmation bias What should your data do (i.e answer 1 question, ask 2 more) Matt and I discuss these topics and more on this week's episode of the Catalyst Sale podcasts. With tools like funnel Thank you for sharing this episode. If you like what you heard, please provide a rating and/or review via Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Show Links Revenue Funnel Science - https://www.funnelwise.com/revenue-funnel-science/ FunnelWise site - https://www.funnelwise.com/ Data - Disconnect between Sales & Marketing - Catalyst Sale Matt Ostanik on Twitter - @funnelwisematt FunnelWise on Twitter - @funnelwise Learn More About FunnelWise Since FunnelWise launched in early 2014, we have created a single source of truth for sales and marketing to rely on for revenue funnel metrics, allowing businesses to determine future outcomes, set attainable goals and predict revenue. But it's our discipline, Revenue Funnel Science, and our dedicated team of experts who have established FunnelWise as the industry leader in full-funnel intelligence. If you have questions about the Catalyst Sale approach, how we help organizations validate and identify product market fit and break through plateaus, you can reach us at hello@catalystsale.com Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Contact us today to learn more. ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via Apple Podcasts Subscribe via Google Play 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.

Listener Question - Proposal Templates This week on the Catalyst Sale podcast we review another listener question. Lynn asks about proposal templates, and if it is common to use templates that are more focused on the vendor's business than the customer. In her organization, they use a template that focuses on their business and the market, and wonders if this is the right approach. Unfortunately, yes, this is far too common these days. Proposals many times are re-used, each one building off the most recent successful version. Should you use a proposal template for your customers? It depends, in a highly transactional business a proposal template might make sense. This would include scenarios where someone is purchasing off-the-shelf materials like staples, paper clips, paper, etc. Can you formalize the approach to proposals without templates? Yes, the structure can be formalized, but not the content. The content should be delivered in the context of what you know about your customer. On this week's episode, we discuss how we structure proposals within the Catalyst Sale process, how we apply this across our customer base, and why it works. Share your proposal approach with us via hello@catalystsale.com we are interested in seeing what works for your organization, how your customers respond to your approach, and why you have taken this approach. We will share examples on a future podcast episode, and may have you on as a guest. Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Thank you for rating and reviewing the podcast via iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast platform. Catalyst Sale Service Offerings Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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. Sales is a Thinking Process.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work John Maxwell famously wrote, "Teamwork makes the dream work". This is critical to our success as individual sale reps (account executives, account managers, SDRs, BDRs, sales leaders), and to Catalyst Sale as an organization. This week on the Catalyst Sale podcast we talk about the importance of partnerships in business, and how finding the right business partners allows you to divide and conquer when necessary. A good partnership, where the same skills are shared by those involved, can help you amplify your capabilities when needed. In sales, and in life, it is important to leverage the strengths of the team. The collective intelligence of the group provides an opportunity to learn from experience, minimize failures, prevent stalls, and increase your success. A couple of important points discussed on today's episode include Identifying your internal partners Building Rapport (also discussed with Dan Tyre) The importance of diversity in partnerships (Dan Peter) Never failing alone Building your partnerships network before you need it. We would love to hear from you. What are you doing in your organization today to foster a culture that leverages partnerships? What partners have made an impact in your career? How do you identify partners in your organization? What impact can the community have on establishing partnerships? Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you have questions about the Catalyst Sale approach, how we help organizations validate and identify product market fit and break through plateaus, you can reach us at hello@catalystsale.com Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Contact us today to learn more. ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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.

Guest - Drew D'Agostino - Founder, Crystal Knows This week on the Catalyst Sale podcast Drew D'Agostino, Founder, Crystal Knows joins us to talk about building trust with your customers, prospects, team members by understanding their perspective, tendencies, and personality type. Crystal Knows is embedded into our sales technology stack at Catalyst Sale. We discuss how we use this technology to prepare for meetings, and communicate in general. Our sales team and the teams we work with perform better as a result of this tool. Crystal Knows is part of our call planning process. Drew discusses how various personality types can work well together, and where conflict can occur. We discuss common behaviors/tendencies of each of the 4 DISC profiles and touch on a couple of the 64 combinations of DISC profiles. Why DISC Because it teaches empathy. Empathy is the ability to share and understand another person's feelings. To employ empathy is to be able to view another perspective in an authentic way. The DISC personality assessment is the best resource for an individual to understand how to cater their behavior to the situation. The DISC framework gives us a more flexible, adaptive assessment and tools to understand and communicate more effectively as you go about your busy, hectic life. To employ empathy is to be able to view another perspective in an authentic way. Impact on Building Trust, Rapport, and Improving Relationships The more you learn about the other types, the better you can understand how to remain approachable, how to be more assertive, how to lower your guard, and how to attract others to get your ideas heard. As you improve communication, you can build rapport, accelerate trust, and build better relationships. Learn More About Crystal Knows Crystal helps you communicate more effectively. They build email and business apps on top of the largest, most accurate public personality database on the web. You can learn more about Crystal Knows by going to their website. http://crystalknows.com/ On their website you can create your Crystal Knows profile, completed your DISC assessment, learn about the application of DISC in the workplace, and search for people you know. You can also connect with Drew via twitter @drewdagostino Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you have questions about the Catalyst Sale approach, how we help organizations validate and identify product market fit and break through plateaus, you can reach us at hello@catalystsale.com Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Contact us today to learn more. ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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.

Listener Question - Mentoring on the Job This week on the Catalyst Sale podcast we review a listener topic. Spencer asked if we could discuss the importance of having a good mentor as a new rep OR a seasoned rep starting with a new company or in a new industry. It is through mentoring programs and job shadowing programs that organization information can be passed down from person to person, and generation to generation. It is also through these programs that creativity can be inspired, relationships can be built, knowledge can be passed quickly, and a catalyst for innovation can occur. If these programs are set up poorly, or the mentor/mentee match is mishandled, the results can be rough. Should you implement a job shadowing or mentoring program in your Sales Org? The short answer - it depends. Should you have a formal or informal mentoring program? Again, it depends. We discuss why you may want to consider a formal mentoring or job shadowing program, even if culturally it may not seem like the best fit. We share personal experiences with mentors who helped us throughout our career and end with some important tips for both mentors & mentees. Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you have questions about the Catalyst Sale approach or building a mentoring program, you can reach us at hello@catalystsale.com Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Contact us today to learn more. ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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. Sales is a Thinking Process.

Key Performance Indicators - what works, what does not, and where to start This week we have a listener question from Jared in Florida. Jared is questioning the KPIs that are being measured by the organization and wonders how to determine if you are measuring the right things. We discuss some common errors when creating KPIs, general best practices, and some practical examples. We also discuss how KPIs can be established outside of sales, and be used to measure other aspects of the organization's success. When we think of these metrics we usually begin with the end in mind. We identify the desired behavior(s), desired state, and some of the key milestones that are necessary to demonstrate progress. It is important to understand what we expect to see to indicate success. KPIs provide a data-driven measurement of performance that goes beyond feelings or intuition. When tracked consistently, they provide a great look into the rearview mirror as well. Year over year, quarter over quarter, month over month, measured performance can help to identify opportunities in your business. Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you have questions about the Catalyst Sale approach, KPI definition, or have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, you can reach us at hello@catalystsale.com schedule a call with us to discuss our practice areas. Schedule a call with us to discuss our practice areas. Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn.

Guest - Dan Tyre from HubSpot We are excited to have Dan Tyre join us on this week's episode of the Catalyst Sale Podcast. The conversation went so well, we ended up recording our longest podcast to date. Let us know how you like this format, and who you would like us to invite to join us on the podcast. Dan is a director at HubSpot, entrepreneur multiple times over & inbound expert. We cover the do's and don't's when thinking about outreach and connecting with your prospects. Building rapport - It isn't just small talk, it is important. Invest your time in the information gathering phase, and it will pay dividends. When thinking about the connect call - don't use this as your opportunity to qualify - You have not earned the right to do so. It is so important to get the person on the other end talking, and focus on the positive. So many times reps miss with this step. They start with their agenda, or talking about their company. Be helpful. If you are not researching, you don't deserve the person on the other end to pick-up the phone. The connect call is focused on helping, be human, provide context. Be an effective warm caller, by investing time into your prospects. What's the best time to call your prospects? What's the best time to send an email? How many voicemails should you leave before expecting a response? Why does Dan recommend calling early in the morning? Very few people take this from the perspective of respect. Remember, you are an executive speaking to an executive. Put yourself in front of your customers as one human being to another. Dan and Mike share their experience, a number of best practices, and ultimately an approach that you can apply today to get results. You can connect with Dan directly via Twitter (@dantyre), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantyre01/) or via the email mentioned in the podcast. If you have questions about the Catalyst Sale approach, or would like to discuss how Inbound Marketing teams and Sales can work better together you can reach us at hello@catalystsale.com Listener questions are great, please send them to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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. Sales is a Thinking Process.

Plateau Breakthrough Practice Area Catalyst Sale has multiple services we deliver to the marketplace. This is the second in a series of podcasts where we share our capabilities. In this episode, we discuss Breaking through Revenue Plateaus, and our approach to identifying gaps and risk from the perspective of People, Technology, and Process. CEOs, CFOs, COOs, Board members, Advisors, Investors, Controllers, struggle with this question - "Are we doing everything we can to grow top-line revenue?" The next question is likely - "How do I generate more growth without creating unnecessary risk in my current business?" Followed by - "How can we innovate when it comes to growth?" Can you relate to any of these statements? Single digit or low double digit growth is nice, but it will not get us to where we want to be, in the timeframe we'd like to get there. It has been a while since the team has brought up an idea that is new or innovative. We have invested in a company with a great product, great technical know-how, and a solid revenue track record, but I'm not sure they are ready to scale. Sales is a black box, I'm unable to decipher. As we go through the process we assess readiness. We interview your team, test assumptions, provide objective analysis, and identify gaps in people, technology, process. Think of this as a post-mortem in your sales organization while the business maintains its focus. Contact us today to learn more. ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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. Sales is a Thinking Process.

Product Market Fit Practice Area Catalyst Sale has multiple services we deliver to the marketplace. This is the first in a series of podcasts where we share our capabilities. In this episode we discuss Product Market Fit, what we mean by breaking things, and how we have helped founders reduce risk by testing assumptions. Founders/CoFounders, entrepreneurs are optimistic when it comes to product market fit. The product you have created may pass the family and friends test, but have you been able to get customers outside of your network to purchase? Can you relate to any of these statements? We've identified product market fit, but… We are not seeing adoption Users do not stay engaged Customers are not spending money Metrics do not align with our original expectations Our Focus changes Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly We don't know where to start We've started, but we are not making progress As we go through the process we assess readiness. We test assumptions, identify use cases, and test these use cases in real world scenarios outside of the bubble. Schedule a Product Market Fit discussion with Catalyst Sale We look forward to speaking with you. ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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. Sales is a Thinking Process.

Objections are common in the sales process. A number of sales training companies offer best practices in handling objections and ways to avoid objections. Sometimes it is important to raise the objection. Common objections include price, influence, time, budget, competitive capabilities. Sometimes the objection is less common. Even worse, the objection might be silent. Mike & I share our approach when it comes to objection handling, how we have trained our teams to handle the objection, and the mistakes you will want to avoid. Humanize the process, continue to provide value, and don't answer your objections with a list of information your client/prospect can pull out of the FAQs. If someone tells you that "every objection can be overcome" they are probably selling you on some "technique", and not the process. Roleplay and game planning should play an important role in your objection handling approach. As we have said before (Ben Franklin) - failure to plan is a plan to fail. Assumptions lay a quick path to Failure If you walk away with one takeaway from this podcast - Don't make assumptions when it comes to listening to objections, or responding to those objections. Listener questions are great, please send them to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play 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. Sales is a Thinking Process.