Sales Process Management

One of the biggest reasons deals stall isn’t that buyers doubt your solution—it’s that they doubt their ability to make the right choice. Matt Dixon's research for The JOLT Effect found that 40% of lost deals are driven by customer indecision, not preference for a competitor. And Brent Adamson's new book The Framemaking Sale highlights that customers with high decision confidence are TEN TIMES more likely to make a purchase. Here are a few ways you can help buyers build confidence in themselves: 1. Reduce Decision Complexity According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers report their last purchase was “very complex or difficult." Streamlining options, providing decision guides, or recommending a clear best-fit reduces “analysis paralysis” and gives buyers confidence they aren’t missing something. 2. Reframe Risk in Personal Terms Buyers often fear personal blame more than organizational failure. Use case studies and peer validation to show how people in their role succeeded—helping them feel safe and supported in their choice. 3. Provide Buyer Enablement Tools Tools like ROI calculators, pre-built board decks, or checklists reduce the burden on them and demonstrate that they have what they need to decide. 4. Normalize Their Concerns The JOLT Effect also emphasizes “normalizing indecision” as a critical skill—buyers need to know hesitation is common and that you can guide them through it. Framing uncertainty as a normal step in the process reduces the shame that often delays action. 5. Signal Post-Decision Support Harvard Business Review highlights that buyers who see strong post-sale support are more confident in making initial commitments. Show them the path forward—onboarding, customer success, peer communities—so they know they won’t be left alone after purchase. Helping buyers feel personally confident and protected is as important as proving your product’s value. The most successful marketers and sellers don’t just build confidence in the solution—they build confidence in the decision-maker.

Here's a 435-word sales call that shows you can "create" urgency in sales. Many people believe you can’t create urgency. You can only uncover it. While there are limitations, it can be done. In The Qualified Sales Leader, John McMahon tells a story of a life insurance sales rep selling to him. Here's how the rep created urgency: Rep: “Do you have children John?” John: “Two. A boy who’s five and a girl who’s seven.” Rep: “Are you planning to put the kids through college?” John: “For sure.” Rep: “How much do you think it will cost for each child?” John: “$250,000 each.” (At this point, the rep has John thinking about his kids’ future) Rep: “Do you own a home?” John: “Yes.” Rep: “How much is your mortgage?” John: “I owe an awful lot on my mortgage,” I said with a chuckle. My house was a gamble. I’d leveraged my finances, counting on working hard and making enough money in the future to pay for it, but things could always get bleak fast. Rep: “Does your wife work?” John: “No.” Rep: “If she did work, how much money could she earn?” John: “Not enough to pay the bills.” Rep: “Enough to pay the mortgage?” John: “No.” Rep: “Do you spend a lot of money every month?” (the rep is quantifying the major costs in John’s life. But we’re not done yet) Rep: “Do you have any parents in the area?” John: “No, I married a dutch woman. All of her family is in the Netherlands, and my parents passed away.” Rep: “Now John, if you ‘box up’ tomorrow, what would happen? I know it’s tough to imagine what happens when you die, when they put you in a box and drop you six feet into the earth. But think of it this way, if you ‘box up’ tomorrow, would your wife have to go back to work?” John: “Yes, I guess so.” Rep: “Is it possible your wife would have to sell the house, because she can’t pay the mortgage?” John: “Yes… that’s most likely what would happen.” Rep: “Would your wife have to put your kids in a daycare center since she has to work?” John: “Of course.” Rep: “Since you have no relatives in the area, who would drop off and pick up the kids from daycare every day if your wife is working?” John stops and makes this comment in the book: "Now thinking about the future of my kids was uncomfortable. Now I couldn’t think about anything but this conversation." Rep: “And if you did ‘box up,’ have you considered that your kids wouldn’t be able to attend college?” John goes on, “Now I wondered how I could be so stupid not to have life insurance. At this point, this rep changed my priority on life insurance from never considering it to a must-have, top priority purchase. Dan, the insurance rep, created urgency.” You tell me: Can you create urgency? Admittedly there are limitations. But I think you can. Life Insurance wasn’t urgent for John before this call. Now it is. It’s true that you need ‘prerequisites’ to create urgency. You can’t create it where no problems exist. But don’t kid yourself. You have more control than you think.

Indian Motor Insurance Market: A 2025 Deep Dive into Trends, Profitability, and the OD-TP Balancing Act. The motor insurance industry saw a mixed bag in January 2025—some insurers surged ahead while others faltered. Top Performers: The Growth Champions These insurers are setting the benchmark for market leadership and profitability: • ICICI Lombard General Insurance is the market leader, collecting ₹8,888.49 crore with 15% growth—showcasing strong underwriting discipline. • The New India Assurance Co Ltd, the leading PSU, holds ₹8,552.87 crore, growing at 9% YoY, but its high TP dependence could impact long-term profits. • Tata AIG General Insurance displayed stellar growth of 22%, reaching ₹7,394.53 crore, largely due to a balanced OD-TP mix and digital innovation. • SBI General Insurance was the fastest-growing insurer at 36%, signaling an aggressive expansion strategy in motor insurance. Struggling Insurers: The Red Flags While the industry grew, some insurers saw sharp declines: • HDFC Ergo (-39%) suffered significant premium loss, potentially due to restructuring or selective underwriting. • Navi General (-54%) seems to be exiting or significantly scaling down operations. • IFFCO-Tokio (-9%) indicates potential distribution or pricing challenges. 2. OD vs. TP: The Profitability Puzzle Industry-Wide OD-TP Split: 41:59 Currently, 41% of total motor premiums come from OD, while 59% come from TP. This suggests that most insurers rely more on TP, which is less profitable due to fixed pricing and high claims. Who Has the Most Profitable OD-TP Mix? • Balanced Mix (Ideal for Profitability): • ICICI Lombard (51:49) • Tata AIG (45:55) • Bajaj Allianz (52:48) • These insurers maintain high OD premiums, ensuring better pricing flexibility and profit margins. • TP-Heavy (Lower Profitability, High Claim Risks): • The New India Assurance (37:63) • National Insurance (30:70) • SBI General (44:56) • Heavily dependent on TP, these insurers face lower profitability and limited pricing control. Ideal OD-TP Ratio for Profitability: 50:50 or OD-Heavy (55:45) ✅ Higher OD proportion → More pricing flexibility, higher profit margins. ✅ Balanced TP share → Stable revenue but without over-reliance on regulated pricing. ⚠️ Over-dependence on TP (>60%) → Lower profits, regulatory limitations, high claims volatility. ✅ Optimize OD-TP Mix → The ideal ratio is 50:50 or OD-heavy (55:45) for sustainable profits. ✅ Leverage Digital & AI ✅ Expand into Underserved Markets → Tier 2 & 3 cities hold immense growth potential. ✅ Differentiate via Product Innovation → Pay-as-you-drive models, EV insurance, and customer-centric add-ons ✅ Improve Claims Efficiency #Insurance #MotorInsurance #Underwriting #India #RiskManagement #DigitalInsurance #InsurTech

67% of deals are stalling right now. But a small group of sales leaders are closing 2.8x faster in this market. Here's their exact playbook (with proof) 🔥 My keynote last week 🇺🇸 looked at building sales momentum through uncertain times. Here's a summary if you weren't in the room. McKinsey & Company found something fascinating: While most sales cycles are getting longer, the top 12% are actually speeding up. Here's what they do differently: 1. 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁-𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Deloitte's 2025 Enterprise Risk Analysis shows a striking pattern: 71% of delayed deals stem from unaddressed risk concerns that surface late in the cycle. The fix? • Document all perceived risks in the first two meetings • Create a shared risk assessment document with the client • Address each point with data, not promises 2. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝟯-𝟮-𝟭" 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 McKinsey & Company's research shows top performers are 3.4x more likely to close when they: • Identify 3 key decision-makers • Connect with 2 finance stakeholders • Secure 1 executive sponsor who owns the business outcome Skip this = 67% chance of "decision freeze" 3. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 Average sales cycle: 8-12 meetings Top performers: 4-6 meetings with clear deliverables After each interaction: • Get written confirmation on agreed points • Share a client-editable action plan • Set 48-hour response deadlines for both sides 4. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲" Here's the counterintuitive finding from Harvard Business Review's latest study: Uncertainty can speed up decisions when you: • Show how waiting costs more than acting (with real numbers) • Present case studies of companies who gained market share during previous downturns • Offer flexible implementation timelines with locked-in current pricing As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella notes in Harvard Business Review: "In times of uncertainty, winners aren't those who cut across the board. They're the ones who strategically adjust their sales process to match the moment." 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: Teams using these methods see 40% shorter cycles and 2.8x higher close rates in uncertain markets, according to Gartner's 2025 Sales Performance Index. But here's the kicker: It only works if you implement all four. Cherry-picking reduces effectiveness by 64%. Question: Are you finding that decision-making is slowing down in this market, yes or no? —————————— 👋 I’m David, a keynote speaker  ✈️ Invite me to speak at/emcee your event 🌍 🤖 I don’t use AI to write my posts ♻️ Repost if you found this useful 👨💻I post good stuff every day, follow for more

State Farm agents were avoiding their most profitable product. Here’s how a story changed that. A couple of months ago, I was invited to work with State Farm Insurance. Their sales team was struggling. Their numbers were down for the year, and morale wasn’t great. "I'm constantly second-guessing myself after every pitch." One agent shared that phrase during a group session. Then another. And another. It kept coming back to one product: life insurance. It was their highest-ticket offer And the hardest to sell. Premiums went up. Most people didn’t see the need. And every time the topic came up, customers would shut down. The agents were so anxious about selling it that most didn’t even try. They stuck to the lower-ticket policies like auto and property. Anything to avoid hearing "no" again. But avoiding it meant lower commissions. Missing quotas. And feeling defeated. That’s when we started crafting sales stories. Instead of pitching features and benefits, they began painting a vivid picture of the value for their customers. They focused on the transformation the policy could bring. And the shift was immediate. Just four days later, one of the agents messaged me. They sold three life insurance policies. To put that in perspective: That’s more than they’d sold in two entire quarters. All because they weren’t selling anymore. They were connecting through stories. The customers didn’t feel pressured or sold to. They asked for more information on their own. Storytelling gave those agents something no script or funnel did: Confidence. Confidence created connection. Which led to sales. Have you ever seen an idea fail? Not because it wasn’t good, but because it didn’t connect with the people who needed to hear it? PS: Did you have a product or service you’ve struggled to sell—not because it lacked value, but because the story around it wasn’t connecting? --- I’m Chris Schutt I help introverted founders overcome sales anxiety and attract clients who are ready to say “yes” through sales stories that create a gut-level connection.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 Celebrating a "landmark deal" that actually cost you $62K? You’re not alone. 𝟰𝟮% 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲. When teams chase low-margin volume or over-customize for non-ideal clients, EBITDA bleeds silently. One SaaS CEO discovered 𝟯𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 "𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀" 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 due to unbilled onboarding hours. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁: Profitability dashboards integrated with your CRM track real-time metrics like Deal Contribution Margin (Revenue - COGS - CAC). Reward sales for profitable wins, not vanity metrics. A logistics firm 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝟵% 𝗶𝗻 𝟵𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 by tying commissions to profit thresholds. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Aligning sales and finance ends the blame game. Teams feel empowered as strategic partners, 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀. Less friction. Faster wins. Real high-fives. 📊 Profitability isn’t an accounting metric; it’s a sales KPI.

Cutting costs won't save your business. This will. Trimming expenses is the default response to profit challenges. But what happens when you've cut everything you can, and margins are still low? I worked with a $50M company that cut their way from 15% margins to 8% over three years. How? Every cut weakened their ability to serve customers, innovate, and compete. They optimized themselves into irrelevance. I told them they would have to do something different. Instead of asking "What can we cut?" ask "What can we charge?" • They invested $2M in customer experience improvements and raised prices 30%. • They doubled down on serving their top customers instead of serving everyone. • They automated their highest-cost processes instead of eliminating them. The result was a 35% margin increase. The uncomfortable truth is: Profitability isn't a math problem. It's a value problem.  Growth-focused businesses obsess over profitable revenue expansion. This requires moving beyond basic tactical responses to strategic profit architecture. Most businesses fail because they confuse activity with progress. Cutting expenses is not a way to build a sustainable profit engine. Growth-focused companies understand that profitability problems are solved by generating more value per interaction, per customer, per system. What's your approach, defensive cost management, or offensive profit creation?

RevOps folk spend too much time firefighting 🚒 But automation isn't always a simple solution...especially when you need to handle the messy unstructured context of deal progressions. Here's how I built a workflow using Tango's new CRM Admin agent and "hybrid automation" to save reps a ton of time AND enforce good data hygiene and business rules in HubSpot. Here's how it works: 1. Extract the economic buyer from an email ✨ Agent reviews and extracts relevant information 🙋♂️ Rep validates the extracted information is correct 2. Verify contact on LinkedIn ✨ Agent searches for the economic buyer on LinkedIn and extracts job title 🙋♂️ Rep validates the extracted information is correct 3. Update deal contacts in HubSpot ✨ Agent searches for the deal record using the company name from the email ✨ Agent adds the new stakeholder to the deal record ✨ Agent applies correct association labels to the contact-deal relationship 4. Extract deal context information ✨ Agent extracts context from deal record (notes, call transcripts, emails) ✨ Agent fills required fields to progress the deal ✨ Agent assigns a deal score with explanation and rationale ✨ Agent searches identifies potential risks and next step suggestions 🙋♂️ Rep can edit any information and override rules by providing rationale 5. Progress the deal ✨ Agent fill required information in the deal progression form 🙋♂️ Rep saves the information and moves forward 6. Create follow-up tasks automatically ✨ Agent generate appropriate next steps 🙋♂️ Rep confirms details and completes the workflow The workflow turns unstructured data from prospect/customer conversations into structured and validated data in HubSpot, ensuring accurate forecasting and saving reps a ton of time on CRM busywork. #tangopartner

We’ve been building powerful AI agents and workflows across every part of our sales process — here are some of our favorites: 📨 Automate daily meeting prep – Each morning, an AI assistant emails the team a sales meeting agenda, complete with attendee insights, past interactions, and talking points for every call. 📞 Compile meeting minutes to create a call query chatbot – All calls are transcribed and saved for this assistant to reference, so we can ask questions, get summaries, and draft informed follow-up emails in seconds. 🤝 Identify decision-makers on new leads – When a new lead arrives, an AI research agent pinpoints the key people from the company for us to be in contact with, providing us with their LinkedIn profile and email automatically. 📈 Draft cold emails using deep company research – AI finds and pulls data from company 10-Ks to create personalized, high-impact emails for executives and founders. 👨💻 Enrich leads + send personalized emails – When a lead fills out our website form, this workflow enriches their contact in our CRM and instantly drafts them a hyper-personalized intro email. 📑 Answer RFP questions in bulk – AI reads RFPs in any format and automatically generates responses based on our past answers and company knowledge.

Series A investors called it “unscalable.” Yet, we hit 30% QoQ ARR growth with 30 new logos per quarter. So, why a "No"? → Broken unit economics: 85% NRR, 60% GM, 18-month CAC payback. Here's how we fixed it: The harsh reality check: - 85% NRR: Customers were churning faster than expansion could offset losses. - 60% GM: High infrastructure and support costs were eating into profitability. - 18-month CAC payback: it took 1.5 years to recoup acquisition costs. Translation: Investors don’t care about your ARR growth if your unit economics are broken. As the company's Fractional CFO, I teamed up with the leadership team to fix unit economics with surgical precision: ▶️ 1. Turning churn into expansion (NRR from 85% → 105%) Problem: Low NRR meant the business was bleeding revenue. Solution: We shifted from reactive support to proactive Customer Success-led growth: - Implemented QBRs for top 20% of customers, uncovering upsell opportunities. - Launched a tiered pricing model with usage-based add-ons, driving a 15% increase in expansion revenue. - Hired a dedicated CS lead, tiered customers by ACV, and built proactive “health check” workflows. Accounts scoring <60/100 got proactive 1:1 interventions. - Found 70% of churn came from SMBs <$10k ARR. We sunset that segment. Outcome: NRR climbed to 105% within 9 months. ▶️ 2. Boosting profitability (GM from 60% → 75%) Problem: Low margins made the business unprofitable, despite growth. Solution: We attacked cost drivers and pricing: - Migrated from à la carte AWS to reserved instances, cutting cloud costs by 25%. - Launched AI-powered chat for Tier 1 issues, cutting support costs by 25%. - Renegotiated payment processing fees from 3% → 2.2% with volume commitments. - Repriced the core product by 12% for new customers. Outcome: Gross Margin hit 75%, freeing up cash to reinvest in R&D and sales. ▶️ 3. Slashing CAC Payback (18 → 12 Months) Problem: CAC payback was unsustainable, straining cash flow. Solution: We overhauled go-to-market efficiency: - Built battle cards for top 3 verticals, reducing sales cycle from 90 to 45 days. - Launched a referral program: 20% of new deals now come from customer referrals (CAC: $0). - ICP Refinement: Analyzed closed-won deals and found customers with >$50k ARR had 3x LTV. Shifted sales focus entirely to this segment. - Lead Scoring: Built a predictive model to prioritize high-fit prospects. Outcome: CAC payback dropped to 12 months. 📈 The Result: Sustainable scaling Within 9 months, the business transformed: - ARR grew 35% QoQ with 75% gross margins. - Net dollar retention hit 105%, signaling product-market fit. - CAC payback at 12 months. Most importantly, cash runway extended by 8 months, without sacrificing growth. ⏰ When to go back to investors? If you’ve sustained improved unit economics for 2-3 quarters, you're ready. For this client, we re-engaged investors after 9 months of clean metrics and closed Series A at a 2x higher valuation.