Maintaining Sales Consistency

In 2 years, we cut Aligned’s sales cycle from 75 to 22 days, while moving up market and increasing ACV 44%. The key? Our team meets EVERY WEEK to optimize our sales playbook. Here’s our end-to-end workflow: 1. Playbooks get old within a few months—Build a regular update cadence How buyers evaluate you and make decisions constantly changes as your product, market, competitors, and economy change. Discussing these changes weekly forces us to adapt. We figure out if we need new enablement assets, training, or if our workflows need a refresh. 2. Most playbooks are “Set & Forget”—Build a system to monitor & analyze At Aligned, we use Deal Rooms to run our playbook. We analyze our best and worst-performing rooms weekly based on buyer engagement. This helps us understand what aspects of our process are effective and identify gaps. For example, an AE might create a new tab to run competitor comparisons or a business case framework that drives more exec engagement. 3. Most wait too long—Quickly turn gaps into sales or buyer enablement assets Most teams lack a routine to find OR fix gaps. Also, most teams put too much weight on sales enablement assets like scripts or training materials. Last week, Kevin "KD" Dorsey told me he sees deal rooms as an excuse for constantly creating buyer enablement assets like ROI calculators and guides. He said, “Investing in buyers must become a habit, or you’re not going to get far”. I couldn’t agree more. 4. Most skills stop at training—Embed every new skill into a dedicated template I’m a 4x sales leader. One thing I was NEVER able to do right is to get the team to consistently follow the playbook. At Aligned, we’ve tackled this by updating all customer-facing workflows in our deal room template (e.g. How we run MAPs, POCs, Business Cases...). We then use the internal-only view to templatize resources like discovery and demo frameworks. Centralizing it in one place makes it easier for the team to follow our processes. 5. Over-standardization is as bad as winging it—Encourage breaking your process A sales leader’s dream of having the ‘perfect’ process executed by their team can also be their worst nightmare. Yes, you want AEs to see what good looks like and follow what works. But do it too often, and you end up killing intuition and creativity. THE essence of what makes complex selling work is knowing how to dance. That's why our biggest updates to our template come from our team on the front line, not top-down. TAKEAWAY: There’s no quick fix for improving Deal Velocity metrics. Simply increasing price 15% won’t magically solve ACV. There are multiple potential root causes to identify. And multiple ways you can address them. But what you truly need… Is a structured way to enhance your process. Monitor, Analyze, Iterate, and Scale. That’s what has worked best for us. You have to be strategic about it. EDIT: People asked—Aligned is the Deal Room we use. It's 100% free to try https://lnkd.in/dwX_Zizk

When I find myself at odds with Sales, it's often because we seem to be working toward different goals: Product builds long-term value, while Sales needs to close deals right now. How to fix this? The traditional advice of "just align goals" or "Sales should sell what Product already built"… ...has not worked for me. No wonder, really. Just put yourself into the sale's shoes. 👉 If they don't sell, you don't get to keep your users and... job 👉 They will not follow the product goals, their manager doesn't care 👉 They need to make the sales, sometimes with "whatever it takes" push 👉 Very often they are closer to users and best understand what they need You need to be in alignment and support one another. Here’s what has worked for me: 1) Regular comms I proactively share roadmaps and priorities with Sales so they understand why we’re building what we’re building. The weekly or biweekly catch-up also helps me understand what would help them sell and what the leads are asking for. A shiny product won't be appreciated if no one uses it. 2) Speak their language. Instead of saying “This feature doesn’t fit our vision,” I explain it in terms of revenue impact, customer retention, and chances to get someone to extend the contract. things Sales actually cares about. Of course, you can't say to everything being asked for. But if there are conflicting priorities, coordinate with mutual managers to determine the high-level best choice. You are working together for the success of the product, not against one another! 3) Make them part of the process. I don’t just collect feedback from Sales; I involve them in discovery calls, workshops, brainstorms, beta programs, and prioritization discussions. When they feel heard, they’re more likely to back the Product’s decisions. Hopefully, this will lead to fewer misunderstandings. 4) Voice structural issues If your manager wants you to focus on long-term vision and sales are told to sell, sell, sell, NOW, then the company is like a giant with two heads. Make sure that this situation is transparent to everyone. If no one speaks up, nothing will change. This process works because it shifts the dynamic from conflict to collaboration. Sales stops seeing Product as a blocker, and Product gets invaluable insights from the front lines. Win-win. As Steve Jobs said: “Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.” Are you a team with your sales department? Sound off in the comments! #productmanagement #productmanager #sales P.S. To become a Product Manager who can create products that sell, be sure to check out my courses on www. drbartpm. com :) P.S. Also, if you want to take your product global with great, manual translations, check out my patron, Alconost :)

If you are in a Product Management role, here's one of my best tips: partner with your Sales Leaders. Yesterday, I presented our AI Foundation Models strategy to 10k+ sellers and partners at our Americas Sales Kickoff for Q3 in Washington, DC. I enjoyed sharing the stage with one of my favorite colleagues, Madison Gooch, the VP of Sales in the Americas for watsonx. We've come a long way working together, more than six years building products and serving all kinds of customers: from small startups to some of the largest and most complex organizations. Your sales team interacts with customers daily. As a product leader, you must: 1. Build trust with your sales team. 2. Get invited to key customer meetings by the sales team. 3. Become the sales team's best partner. 4. Encourage the sales team to provide honest feedback about the product. 5. Use their feedback to improve the product. 6. Allow the sales team to keep you grounded and focus on value rather than just features. 7. Let the sales team help craft the product messaging. 8. Ask the sales team to recommend a pricing strategy. 9. If you have multiple products in your portfolio, get the sales team's advice on how to package them effectively. 10. Regularly communicate with the sales team to stay aligned on goals and strategies. If you want to build a rocketship product, you need: - Product Market Fit - Some Virality and network effect; in my case, I am obsessed with capturing this new wave of developers adopting AI technology - and most importantly, you need sellers selling your product and make your numbers! Thanks to everyone who joined us in DC and online yesterday and for the candid messages after the session!

Your sales team is optimizing for the wrong metric, and it's costing you millions Most sales leaders are obsessed with pipeline coverage ratios. "We need 3x coverage to hit our number." "Generate more top-of-funnel activity." "Increase prospecting activity by 40%." But coverage ratios are a vanity metric that's actually destroying your team's performance. Here's why this thinking is backwards Traditional logic is the same old… More opportunities = Higher probability of hitting quota Build massive pipeline = Insurance against deal slippage BUT in reality Bigger pipelines create cognitive overload for reps Too many opportunities = Poor qualification and deal management Reps spread thin across 50+ "opportunities" instead of focusing on 15 real ones The highest-performing sales teams I work with have completely flipped this Instead of maximizing pipeline size, they maximize pipeline quality. The Quality-First Framework looks like this 1) Ruthless Qualification Standards Only deals with documented business impact, defined evaluation processes, and accessible buying teams make it into the pipeline. 2) Rep Capacity Management Each rep can effectively manage 12-15 active opportunities. Anything beyond that diminishes focus and results. 3) Stage Velocity Tracking Measure how fast deals move through stages, not how many deals exist in each stage. 4) Elimination Before Generation Before adding new opportunities, eliminate stalled ones. Clean pipeline = clear thinking. The math is crazy Team A: 200 opportunities, 15% close rate = 30 deals Team B: 100 high-quality opportunities, 35% close rate = 35 deals Team B wins with half the pipeline stress. Your reps aren't struggling because they need more opportunities. They're struggling because they can't focus on the right ones. Share with a leader who needs to hear this ^^

Bit odd innit? 👀 Pablo Ylarri 🎯 just dropped a great piece on this on the Product Marketing Alliance Pablo leads PMM for LATAM out of Buenos Aires, working across 14 countries in three languages. Pablo lives this problem daily so I trust his pov on this! The problem: Fragmentation pulls you apart Markets demand localization. Sales reps on the ground know their prospects better than anyone. They want messaging that feels local, tailored, and relevant. and... Leadership demands consistency. Product positioning, brand promise, and strategic narratives must be unified, or the company risks confusing customers, analysts, and investors. As a PMM, you sit in the middle of that tension. And in fast growing orgs, fragmentation can happen quickly: AKA... - Regional decks multiply - Translations lose nuance - Sales collateral drifts from the agreed narrative - Teams spend more time debating "what we say" than actually selling So, how do you solve this big challenge? Pablo says start here: 1) Single source of truth One core messaging framework. One transparent process for updates. No silent edits floating in Slack threads and old presentations. Sales can localize, but they start from the same base. 2) Align across languages, not markets Translation isn't mechanical, it's strategic. English emphasizes directness. Spanish requires precision in formality. Brazilian Portuguese favors conversational tone. Treat each translation as adaptation, not copy. 3) Build partnership with Sales Regional reps will improvise if materials don't reflect their reality. Involve them early in message testing. Establish regional champions. Celebrate when local input improves global narrative. 4) Flexibility within a framework Define non negotiables: core value prop, strategic narrative, differentiators. Give regions room to adapt delivery: local examples, nearby case studies, tone adjustments. 5) Communicate relentlessly with PMM peers Weekly syncs. Shared document reviews. Quick check-ins to avoid duplication. Silence creates inconsistency. Two PMMs can accidentally create two PMM philosophies. 6) Codify lessons into playbooks Every time you solve a fragmentation issue, document how to prevent it next time. Messaging frameworks. Enablement guidelines. Localization rules. Playbooks scale trust. P.S. What else would you add PMMs? Make sure you give Pablo a follow btw!

Most sales VPs I talk to are frustrated. Their teams hit numbers sporadically. Deals slip. Reps plateau. They feel like they're babysitting adults instead of leading high performers. (Is this you?) Here's what I learned scaling teams to multiple 9 figures while hitting President's Club every single year: → High performance isn't about talent. It's about systems. The same 3 pillar system I used as a frontline leader (and now teach to sales VPs at 8 and 9-figure companies) can transform your team from reactive to proactive. PILLAR 1: Systematic Weekly 1-on-1s Not check ins. Performance drivers. 🔹Have THEM verbalize their numbers 🔹Review specific action items from last week 🔹Set crystal clear next actions (so specific a 2nd grader could understand) 🔹Use a pre-meeting form to drive self-awareness PILLAR 2: Weekly Scoreboards Visibility drives behavior. Period. 🔹Stack rank by your most important KPI 🔹Send every Monday morning 🔹Everyone sees where they stand 🔹Celebrate top performers publicly PILLAR 3: Strategic Call Shadowing This is where transformation happens. 🔹Plan monthly in advance 🔹Require agenda with minimum 3 calls 🔹Coach in real-time, not a week later 🔹Start with what they did well, then max 3 improvements If your AE can't prepare a solid half day for their sales leader, what are they doing when you're not watching? The result of this system: → Reps know exactly where they stand and what to do next → Problems surface early, not at quarter-end → Your team CRAVES feedback because they know it drives results → You hit bigger numbers without needing heroics every quarter Bottom line: Stop managing by hope. Start leading with systems. Your team (and your numbers) will thank you. — Ready to systemize your sales leadership? Book a call to see how we can implement this in your organization: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

THE ULTIMATE CHECKLIST FOR SALES LEADERS Ever wondered how top sales leaders consistently drive outstanding results? One of our clients—a forward-thinking Sales Director at a leading organization—discovered that the secret was in a 10-point structured checklist. By implementing thist, she not only boosted team performance but also created a culture of accountability and continuous growth. Here’s how her daily routine worked wonders which she shared with us: 1. Set Powerful Daily Intentions Each morning, she began by defining clear, actionable goals that aligned with long-term targets. This simple practice sparked a 22% boost in productivity right from the start. 2. Kick Off with a Dynamic Morning Huddle A lively team huddle was conducted every morning to share quick wins, challenges, and fresh ideas. This open exchange led to a 16% increase in conversion rates as problems were nipped in the bud and collaboration thrived. 3. Review Performance Metrics Right after the huddle, she reviewed the sales dashboard to check key performance indicators—conversion rates and pipeline progress, and real-time data insight helped the team stay proactive and adjust strategies instantly. 4. Conduct Targeted One-on-One Coaching She set aside time for brief one-on-one sessions with team members and provided personalized feedback, driving an 18% improvement in individual performance over the quarter. 5. Delegate Smartly and Empower Effectively She delegated tasks effectively and this empowerment built trust and boosted overall efficiency. 6. Prioritize High-Impact Activities This laser-focus on high-priority items that had the greatest impact on sales performance streamlined efforts and accelerated deal closures. 7. Monitoring the Sales Pipeline Daily Regular checks on pipeline status allowed her to spot bottlenecks early resulting in a healthier pipeline and ensured that no potential deal slipped through the cracks. 8. Learning and Innovation Innovation is key in sales - and she reserved time to review market trends and new sales techniques, keeping the team ahead of the curve and adaptable in a fast-changing market. 9. Celebrating Wins Recognizing small victories boosted team morale and created a positive feedback loop. 10. Reflection and Planning Finally, each day concluded with a reflective session to evaluate successes and areas for improvement. This habit laid the groundwork for smarter, more strategic planning the following day. If you have a point to add for this checklist, please do share in comments - we would love to hear! Curious how this checklist and other hacks can transform your sales leadership? 💹https://lnkd.in/dGGM5vCK #sonniasingh #sonniasinghleadershipcoach #SalesLeadership #SalesChecklist #SalesSuccess #TeamPerformance #LeadershipTips #SalesManagement #salesgrowth #business

Early morning (my time...) long form musings. 💵 Revenue stalls when teams stay in their lanes. Collaboration is the only way to win. Too many companies treat Product Marketing like a content factory, looking to them to crank out decks, one-pagers, and flashy campaigns - without asking a very important question -> Will this actually help sales convert? We don't want to be talking about features, or just running campaigns randomly to create buzz. Or - leave our Sales team to battle buyer objections without support. We all win when these these groups (and others) collaborate early and often, making sure we align around *outcomes* buyers are interested in. That means creating messaging that isn't about us, it's about our prospects and talks to their pain, their needs, their goals. We can't afford to leave Sales guessing how to translate features into business outcomes. We don't want our partners in Product Management frustrated because their vision gets watered down. We gotta talk, people! If we collaborate, sales enablement becomes a growth engine, not an afterthought and conversion rates increase instead of pipelines stalling. Cross-functional engagement isn’t just “nice to have.” It’s how we help our companies turn messaging into revenue. That means: Building messaging that connects outcomes to buyer pain, not specs to features. Partnering with sales before a launch to arm them with tools, stories, and training that shorten the sales cycle instead of slowing it. Making enablement a culture, not an afterthought. If Product Marketing is doing its job, sellers don’t just get collateral. They get clarity, confidence, and conversations that convert. Alignment isn’t optional. It’s revenue. #productmarketing #outcomefocus #salesenablement

The dynamic between product and sales teams often reads like a classic love-hate story. Isn't it? Sales team aims to tailor a solution to individual customer needs, while product team strives for a scalable product that caters to the majority. This intersection often leads to tension between the teams. After much reflection, I've come to believe that as product managers, we should the ones bridging this gap. It's our responsibility to equip the sales team with a deep understanding of our product - who it's for, what problems it solves out-of-the-box, and its potential through configuration, customization and extension. But equally, carefully listening to the sales team and incorporating their feedback is crucial for the future product improvement. Ultimately, we are focusing on the same, one goal - to help as many people as possible to address their needs with our product ♥️ At Spryker's recent global Go-to-Market kick-off in Berlin, we used this exact approach. The positive feedback from the sales team was overwhelming, confirming the massive value of such approach. I'm confident that this approach will result in a growing, satisfied customer base within our Spryker ecosystem. ✨ Fellow Product Managers, how do you create synergy with your sales team? Any additional strategies you've found effective? #ProductManagement #SalesCollaboration #TeamSynergy #CustomerSuccess

This is the most underrated problem I've seen when trying to build or expand partnership GTM: Leadership is initially fully behind a new partnership, excited about its potential, but that enthusiasm never makes its way down to the sales teams who are expected to execute. Without alignment, even the best partnership can stall before it has a chance to succeed. Why does this happen? Sales teams are often focused on their core products, and if a partnership doesn’t clearly benefit them or fit into their day-to-day operations, it becomes an afterthought. To turn things around, you need to make sure your partnership incentives, compensation, and training are in lockstep with the teams that will be selling your product. Here’s how to align incentives and drive results: 1. Ensure your incentives are compelling enough for frontline teams. It’s not enough to excite leadership—sales teams need a clear, tangible reason to sell your product. - Introduce a financial incentive or bonus structure that’s competitive with what reps earn on their core products. This could be a one-time bonus for the first sale, or an ongoing commission that rewards consistent effort. -Tie the incentive to their existing sales goals. If your product helps them hit their targets more easily, they’ll naturally prioritize it. 2. Structure partner compensation to motivate co-selling. If your partner compensation doesn’t align with their core goals, they won’t push your product. - Design a compensation plan that aligns with both the partner’s and your business objectives. For instance, if your partner’s core offering is hardware, incentivize bundling your software as part of the sale to create a win-win situation. - Offer performance-based incentives that reward partners for hitting key milestones—whether that’s a certain number of units sold, a specific revenue target, or even customer engagement metrics. Keep it simple and measurable. 3. Provide consistent training and engagement so your product isn’t just another checkbox. Sales teams won’t advocate for your product if they don’t fully understand its value or how to sell it. - Develop ongoing, bite-sized training sessions that fit into their schedules. Instead of overwhelming them with lengthy sessions, focus on 15-minute, high-impact trainings that teach them how to identify the right opportunities. -Pair training with real-time support. Join sales calls, offer one-pagers, and provide direct assistance during key customer engagements. When they feel supported, they’re more likely to feel confident pushing your product. This kind of alignment can make the difference between a stalled partnership and a thriving one. When sales teams are motivated, equipped, and incentivized to sell your product, the partnership stops being just another checkbox—it becomes a key driver of growth.