Episode Summary

Do you want to learn how to close 7-figure deals within nine months?

You’ll want to tune in to this episode of B2B Power Hour. We talk to Brandon Fluharty and Jen Allen — two rockstar enterprise sellers who are giving us incredible insights into how they close enterprise sales deals.

From designing a successful buying experience to finding your mobilizer and knowing how to get executive buy-in, Jen and Brandon share how to transform your selling process from start to finish.  

The first step to successful enterprise sales is prioritizing your account list. Don't focus on the biggest companies. Instead, look for companies that you know have a problem you can help solve and start there.

Then, find a mobilizer at that company. This is someone who has the interest and authority to truly drive change within an organization. Look for a recent hire, ideally at an executive level, who approaches your data with skepticism. Build confidence by bringing bulletproof information and insights to the table.

Internally, assemble your team of Avengers — closing enterprise deals is easier when you have a team of experts. Some people might be better negotiators, presenters, or are more familiar with the implementation process. Pull those experts in, educate them on how to communicate with your prospects, and meet with them before and after every client interaction to stay on the same page.

Closing 7-figure deals is an intense process that requires patience, diligence, and a whole lot of deep work.

Listen to this episode of B2B Power Hour to learn about why you should stop making cold calls and how to get your close rate to 70% and beyond.

What she does: Jen is the co-founder of Social Social, where she helps creators and social media managers grow their businesses on social platforms.

Key quote: "We, as sellers, sometimes undervalue how much unique perspective we have that we can bring if we just stopped talking about our solution and our stuff."

Where to find her: LinkedIn

What he does: As the Founder at Be Focused. Live Great., Brandon helps SaaS sales professionals sell better, live better, and land high-value deals.

Key quote: "Design a good buying experience, and then manage each account like a project. That's when you can get into a closing ratio of seventy-plus percent."

Where to find him: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website

B2B Power Plays

Top takeaways from this week’s conversation

💰 Finding your mobilizer is the key to the close.

There are multiple stakeholders in enterprise sales, which complicates the sales process.

The key to successful enterprise sales is connecting with the mobilizer at your prospect's company. This is someone who has the energy and impetus to drive transformational change within the organization.

Don't be thrown off if this mobilizer seems a bit skeptical at first — it's actually expected. Go into the conversation with strong research and insights into what their company is trying to accomplish, how they plan to get there, and the ways your solution can help.

Find a middle ground with your mobilizer and collaborate on a strategy to transform their company, so they can get other stakeholders to buy in on the transformation.

🎧 Use podcasts and interviews from the CEO to inform your sales process.

One of the best places to start with research is to search for interviews and podcasts with the CEO of your prospect's company. Google search "[CEO's name] podcast" and "[CEO's name] interview" and listen to everything that comes up.  

Many times, CEOs are talking about their company, what the business is trying to achieve, and even what the company's belief systems are. Use this data to inform your outreach to sales leaders.

📝 Design a good buying experience, from outreach to customer success.

Designing a good buying experience starts in the research phase and extends to customer success. Here’s how to get there:

  • Go deep: Instead of cold-calling, conduct in-depth research on top prospects to bring valuable insights to the table. Ideally, you'll have an idea of tactics, goals, and strategies the CEO and board members are most likely to buy in on.
  • Teamwork makes the dream work: It's impossible to be a jack of all trades for enterprise sales. Instead of attempting sales alone, put together a team who can champion every aspect of your process, from initial presentations to implementation.
  • Maintain strong internal communications: Once you've assembled your dream team, set up meetings with them before and after each client meeting to ensure everyone's always on the same page.
  • Prioritize prospects: Don’t limit yourself to big organizations with big budgets. Instead, start with prospects you can confirm have a problem and want to drive change.
  • Patience is a virtue: Building a meaningful relationship with prospects takes time. Remain diligent and focused in your strategy, engage where it makes sense to do so, and offer your solution at the right time.

Episode Highlights

Inflection points from the show

[3:04] Deep work: There's a finite amount of good work your brain can do. Instead of pushing for 12-14 hour days, focus on high-leverage activities and four-hour deep work sessions.

[7:19] Seek out the mobilizer: Nick explains how to overcome one of the biggest challenges in enterprise sales – having multiple stakeholders – by finding a mobilizer and working with them to drive change.

[12:19] Landing a 7-figure price point: Sealing an enterprise sales deal requires bringing data and a unique perspective to the table that fits in with what the company is looking to accomplish.

[14:00] Think big, but act small: Get your prospects to think big with a vision that inspires true transformation. Then, bring it back down to reality by telling them exactly where to start.

[17:58] Forget about hustle culture: Hustle culture won't get you results in enterprise sales. Instead of sending out 1,000 cold emails, focus on in-depth research on a few promising prospects so you can walk into intro calls with a full picture of how you can help the company reach its goals.

[21:22] Keep it simple: You don't need a research tool for every single situation. Keeping it simple is usually the best option: search for podcasts where the CEO is interviewed, conduct industry research, and prioritize your account list.

[28:45] Patience with the process: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and relationship building with prospects doesn’t happen overnight. A few of Brandon's favorite methods include setting up Google alerts for their name, following them on Twitter, and engaging with them on LinkedIn.

[31:46] Friends don’t let friends sell alone: With 7-figure deals, you'll need a team on your side to show them you can truly deliver. Having a dedicated team and multiple contacts for the client to talk to can help large sales close faster.  

[33:23] Designing a good buying experience: Brandon explains the most important aspects of creating a good buying experience, from avoiding decision fatigue to debriefing with your team.

[41:12] Look for executive turnover: One of the common characteristics of Jen's successful 7-figure deals is they had turnover at the executive level. Target this new employee, as they're more likely to drive internal change than a C-suite executive who’s worked there for 20 years.

[50:00] Accelerators that close big deals: Brandon goes through a few accelerators that helped him close enterprise deals faster, such as asking the right questions and landing a design session with his prospect.