Jamie and Amar discuss the transformation of the SDR (Sales Development Representative) function in sales organizations due to the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the need for AEs (Account Executives) to self-generate leads. The podcast host, Jamie, highlights companies' challenges as they invest in lead generation but only fuel a small percentage of AEs. 

Amar and Jamie discuss how the SDR function has become commoditized over time, leading to its radical transformation. Also, they touch on the history of the sales organization's structure, highlighting the shift from a full-cycle seller to carving out the SDR function. Jamie concludes by questioning what AEs are now doing and how companies should proceed to address these challenges.

Connect with Jamie and Amar

Jamie Shanks: www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
Amar Sheth: www.linkedin.com/in/amarsheth/

Build Pipeline Fast with Former Customers & New Decision Makers!

pipelinesignals.com/

In this podcast episode, Jamie discusses the results of a poll they conducted asking account executives and account managers. He discusses what percentage of their pipeline comes from inbound or channel sources versus self-generation. The surprising result was that 80% of respondents said they needed to self-source at least 50% of their pipeline. Despite the millions of dollars spent on demand generation and marketing, Jamie discusses the issue of the lack of support for AEs and AMs.  

Also, Jamie and Amar talk with each other about this broken system that puts too much onus on the seller and does not give them the support they need to succeed. And Jamie suggests that this is rooted in a psychology of expecting AEs and AMs to figure it out independently rather than providing the necessary resources and support.

Connect with Jamie and Amar

Jamie Shanks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
Amar Sheth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarsheth/


Build Pipeline Fast with Former Customers & New Decision Makers!

https://pipelinesignals.com/

In this podcast, Jamie and Amar discuss a story of a CRM company that wanted to track their customers' CXOs to potentially open doors to new accounts. When they contacted these new contacts, they discovered they had never heard of their company. They realized that their CSMs (Customer Success Managers) were single-threaded and needed to track the right people leaving. Jamies emphasizes the importance of account managers putting in the effort today to affect prospecting efforts one year in the future.

They also discuss the sad state of affairs of the sales profession, where salespeople are enamored with dealing with CXOs. But the reality is CXOs need more time for salespeople. Instead, a buying committee includes decision-makers, champions, and advocates for the solution. Jamie recommends tracking the buying committee and identifying the core power users to make the most of the sales efforts.


Connect with Jamie and Amar

Jamie Shanks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
Amar Sheth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarsheth/


Build Pipeline Fast with Former Customers & New Decision Makers!

https://pipelinesignals.com/

This podcast explores the power of networking and the potential for growth from leveraging your existing customer relationships. Jamie and Amar share their personal success story of how a single customer referral led to a chain reaction of new business opportunities, culminating in the largest social selling deal in the world. They highlight the importance of identifying a customer's sphere of influence and mapping out their competitors, partners, and vendors. 

By targeting these individuals and organizations with a personalized message, businesses can effectively enter new accounts and sustainably scale their sales efforts. Jamie also provides actionable tips for crafting better sales messages and the importance of establishing clear goals and expectations when managing virtual teams. Overall this podcast offers valuable insights for you in sales or revenue support looking to grow your business and improve your networking skills.

Connect with Jamie and Amar

• Jamie Shanks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
• Amar Sheth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarsheth/

Build Pipeline Fast with Former Customers & New Decision Makers!

https://pipelinesignals.com/

In this insightful podcast, Jamie and Amar delve into the issue of poorly crafted sales emails and LinkedIn messages. They highlight one common and lazy text titled "just checking in to update my CRM". This message lacks personalization and value or attributes this problem to the pressure to meet volume requirements. They also suggest marketers consult with sales and put themselves in the buyer's shoes before crafting messages. 

Additionally, they recommend conducting customer roundtables to understand what customers like about the company and using their words in sequences. They also provide actionable tips for crafting better messages, such as consulting with sales. They also talked about conducting customer roundtables to understand buyer needs and preferences. They also highlight the importance of targeting the right people within an organization and avoiding generic messages that don't resonate with the recipient.

Connect with Jamie and Amar

• Jamie Shanks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
• Amar Sheth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarsheth/

Build Pipeline Fast with Former Customers & New Decision Makers!

https://pipelinesignals.com/

Jamie Shanks (CEO) and Amar Sheth (COO) of Pipeline Signals represent their captivating podcast in the latest episode of "Relationship Signals- Episode-1." They make their previous episode enjoyable by sharing their thoughts and real-life examples of the importance of relationship signals in professional services. 

Jamie and Amar explain how anyone can use LinkedIn's Alumni feature to search for potential clients based on shared experiences, like attending the same college or university. They provide a step-by-step guide to searching for job titles, companies, and locations using LinkedIn's search function. They also highlight the importance of building relationships with potential clients.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

JAMIE: PROFESSIONALS USE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI TO CREATE RELATIONSHIP SIGNALS

“I'm a huge believer that people buy from people they like and trust, and people like and trust people just like themselves. So when you walk a mile in somebody's shoes, there's this odd inherent trust. So with that, I'm going to speed up you talk about the university alumni search function in LinkedIn and how sales professionals”

AMAR: GIVING INSTRUCTIONS OF THE ALUMNI SEARCH AND MAKE RELATIONSHIP

“How many of them can you book a meeting with based on the fact that you have this beautiful shared experience with them? So if we're looking at salespeople on prioritizing where we invest our time, as we should, why not start investing time into signals like this that are much more likely to convert? So that's the quick overview and demo, and if you have any questions on how to run this.”

Connect with Jamie and Amar

• Jamie Shanks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
• Amar Sheth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarsheth/

Build Pipeline Fast with Former Customers & New Decision Makers!

https://pipelinesignals.com/

SHOW SUMMARY

Jamie Shanks (CEO) and Amar Sheth (COO) from Pipeline Signals take the stage as they go all out with their very first episode of the Get More At Bats Podcast. They kick off the episode by introducing the show and how it goes, then open a discussion on the importance of relationship signals in professional services. 

Relationship signals are vital for professional service companies (ProServ), as they are in the people business and selling a people-to-people relationship. Jamie and Amar share their thoughts and will be sharing some real-life examples so stay tuned until the end of this kick-off episode of Get More At Bats Podcast with Jamie Shanks and Amar Sheth.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

JAMIE: COMPANIES ADAPTING TO RELATIONSHIP SIGNALS

“Hundreds and hundreds of tech companies love social selling, professional services companies didn't gravitate to it, but now we're seeing, all of a sudden we see Lionbridge, Celestica, all these ProServs are starting to look at relationship signals. Now I have a theory. My theory is, guess what? When you’re in ProServ you're in the people business, and that's really the only thing you sell is a people-to-people relationship.”

AMAR: RE-MONETIZE THE RELATIONSHIP

“Former customers are buying from us three to five times more likely than just a random cold outreach. It's not that the random cold outreach doesn't work, they work of course, but the former customers, they know you, you can re-monetize the relationship.”

Connect with Jamie and Amar

• Jamie Shanks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
• Amar Sheth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarsheth/

Build Pipeline Fast with Former Customers & New Decision Makers!

https://pipelinesignals.com/