Decoding Sales

Send us a text📅 When to hire your first salesperson - and how to find them. ❗ Mistakes technical founders make in hiring and evaluation. ⚙ Why your first sales hire need to think like a technologist. 🤝 What you should NEVER compromise on. 🚀 How to sell them on your company before you've taken off. 💰 And finally - how much to pay them. Enjoying Decoding Sales? Leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcasting app!Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textFind out how CEOs blow their demos - while thinking the call went great.How to prepare for a demo without sounding scripted.How Peter handles curveball questions during a demo.Why feature dumping doesn't work - and what to do instead.How to handle a distracted prospect.Getting meaningful feedback at the end of a demo.When demos aren't the right tool, and what to do instead.Enjoying Decoding Sales? Leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcasting app!Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textIn this episode Alex and Peter break down potential pricing models and how to think about conveying your price if you're a startup.  Topics covered include:Different pricing models to explore in SaaSPositioning your price and different negotiation levers you can employ to get a deal doneHow to think about discounting and the discounting boundaries based on company size & deal timelinesAs always, feel free to email us at podcasters@decodingsalespodcast.com with any feedback.  If you'd like to do some reading on price, visit Peter's blog post on "Conveying why the price is the price"Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textIn this episode Alex and Peter discuss how to structure effective proof of concepts to help get the deal done while keeping the prospect accountable to specific milestones. Topics include:The collaborative aspects of setting up a mutual proof of concept structureHow to establish tangible success criteria for the evaluation periodWhat milestones to track throughout the POC periodHow to determine which prospects need a formal POC structure How to hold prospects accountable to meeting POC milestonesShare this episode on Twitter or LinkedIn and reach out to us at podcasters@decodingsalespodcast.com for a copy of a real proof of concept template!Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textIn this episode Peter and Alex discuss how client dinners and meals outside of the regular cadence of emails & calls, can positively impact deal progress. Topics covered include:When to offer client dinners & meals How to make these engagements productive and fun at the same timeThe importance of conveying your authentic self and culture during client mealsIf you have feedback about this episode and any future episode topics you'd like to see covered, please email us at podcasters@decodingsalespodcast.com!Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textIn this episode Peter and Alex discuss how to handle unexpected obstacles that come about during a high stakes negotiation.  Topics covered include:How to handle prospects asking for additional discounts when they've agreed to a floor alreadyThe ability to think aloud during a negotiation call while using common language to bridge differencesWays to ensure the deal does not get delayed and that you can still pin down a realistic close date, even when curveballs are thrown at youFeel free to email us at podcasters@decodingsalespodcast.com with any feedback on this episode and future episode topics you'd like to see covered! Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textIn this episode Peter & Alex discuss what it means to effectively lead business calls and conversations.  Key learnings include:How to start strong with a powerful introHow to give the floor to the other person on the callThe importance of laying out a roadmap for the callEmploying "bridge phrases" to naturally jump from topic to topicSetting up tangible next steps and ownership for those next stepsFeel free to email us at podcasters@decodingsalespodcast.com with any feedback on this episode and future episode topics you'd like to see covered! Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textIn this episode Alex and Peter discuss what it means to effectively find the right person to champion a business deal.  An org chart is oftentimes not enough to map out an impactful strategy to navigate stakeholders. Tune-in to this episode for some tips around how to mobilize your prospect and perhaps even more importantly, how to also cut your losses and move on from ineffective deal sponsors. Feel free to email us at podcasters@decodingsalespodcast.com with any feedback on this episode and future episode topics you'd like to see covered! Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send us a textIn this pilot episode, co-hosts Alex Allain and Peter Ahn demystify sales and discuss what it means to facilitate authentic sales conversations and methodologies.  While Peter is a career salesperson, Alex's unique perspective as an engineer sheds light on how modern sales techniques can be broadly applicable to any human engagement.  Feel free to email us at podcasters@decodingsalespodcast.com with any feedback on this kickoff episode and future episode topics you'd like to see covered! Support the showTo get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!