How to Respond to Exec Buyer Emails

Sales don’t deserve favoritism, but if you're a CEO and your execs aren’t actively serving sales—you’re failing your business. Period. No superstar $100M ARR CRO will save you. Building a great product and brand matters. But your ultimate metric is still REVENUE. Sales isn’t a department—it’s everyone’s job. And it starts with your culture. In the last 72 hours of Q1, our execs stepped in as frontline AEs: 23 exec-to-buyer exec emails later… 50% of slipped deals saved. +84% New ARR QoQ—our best quarter ever! Want the playbook for building a winning Sales & CS culture? You need to master internal collaboration. Here are 6 ways Aligned ensures selling is everyone's job: 1. Exec-to-Exec Email Framework Don’t send random exec emails hoping for miracles. Great reps pinpoint the exact moment an exec message hits hardest—a) Early no-ask intro to start building relationship, b) Keeping execs in the loop on key project moments, c) Problem solve: e.g. deal slippage, or shifting market perception by competitors. 2. Exec-to-Exec Meeting Framework Don’t just loop your CXO into calls to improvise. Buyers want real exec value and commitment. Sync beforehand to plan: a) What you can teach that they can use immediately, b) How you can leave a memorable, "strategic partner" impression. Don’t try to move the deal, try to deliver an unforgettable experience. 3. Internal Deal Squad The best reps build their own internal deal team early—pulling product, CS, SEs, and exec sponsorship into a dedicated Slack channel and their Deal Room. Instant, frictionless access to internal experts shortens deal cycles, impresses buyers, and unlocks real-time solutions to complex buyer problems. 4. Strategic Deals War Room Top sellers don’t go to war alone—they have backup. At Aligned, we run bi-weekly war rooms for strategic deals. AEs share tactics, insights, and market intel. I join as well. It’s more than collaboration—it’s collective intelligence. Each rep leaves energized and confident, with an entire team rooting for their success. 5. Strategic Deal Narratives Most deals die when we underestimate what buyers need to make a confident decision. Great reps don’t settle—they proactively work with CS to source the best possible customer stories, or with product marketing to sharpen competitor insights. Feed your champion compelling narratives their execs CANNOT ignore. 6. Real-Time Product Collab Top reps don’t complain about product gaps—they work closely with Product to problem-solve and share critical feedback. When buyers flag gaps, we share them in a dedicated Slack or bring product into the convo quickly—not to change roadmap often, but ensure buyers feel heard and get product’s support. TAKEAWAY: Sales isn’t a department. It’s your whole company’s job. Execs on the sidelines aren’t just hurting sales. They’re sabotaging revenue. Build a collaborative sales culture.

I’m stumped. My deals look good. Uncover pain. Prospects wants a demo. They like what they see. Hits on everything they want. But then I don’t hear anything back or they tell me priorities have shifted. What am I doing wrong? 👆That was exactly my line of thought earlier in my career Slowly realized a pattern. - I was being told “no” from ppl who couldn’t say “yes” - Wasn’t identifying and aligning to power, early Something had to change. …………………………………………… I since have a non-negotiable for deals over 50k. It’s a simple move that’s helped me win more often. Getting the right executives aligned early in the cycle. 4-ways I've done this (sometimes using a mix of them)👇 1. My mgr or sr. exec sends a note to exec on their side • no ask • after the first disco • or following first demo 2. I send a note to the exec myself • no ask • following first disco or demo 3. I personally request executive alignment • usually at the end of the demo • if group is large, I’ll make request to champion • this would happen during the post-debrief call 4. My mgr or a sr. exec sends a note to the exec • with an ask • typically after first demo ................................................................... To do this, you need to uncover the key execs early in the deal cycle and the WHY via effective discovery. Navigating carefully and choosing the right approach is important, so you don’t upset your champion. But it helps lowers the risk of surprises or obstacles later in the deal. .................................................................... Here’s an example email for option 1. The note could sound something like this: "Hi Linda - our team's been working closely with your Marketing team to better understand and address your customer data challenges. I know improving cross-sell and conversion rates is critical for your goal to double EMEA revenue in 2025. In the coming weeks, we’ll be validating your key use cases. As the head of our Central region, I wanted to keep you up to speed. P.S. We’ve been helping some of your industry peers achieve similar results." ………………………………………………….. Align with execs early to lower risk in your deal cycle and watch your win rate soar.

How much of your Q1 pipeline was "not a no, but not a yes"? Here's the mistake I used to make when trying to re-engage those accounts in Q2 (+what I do now instead). I'd call/email them with an ask to "reconnect" or "check in". I'd invite them to a webinar or event. Or, I'd use the mysterious "we have some good news - have 5 mins to discuss?" hook to "just get them on the phone". The problem with these tactics? I was way too focused on my need to book the next call so that I could update my forecast. They could see it in my messaging. The prospect knew exactly what that check-in call would sound like. Instead, I switched to a different approach. Create a hypothesis about why the deal might be stuck. It could sound like this: Subject: Q2 Results "When we spoke in Feb - you were frustrated your AEs weren't prospecting. Not sure how Q2 ended up, but I remember you were worried about a miss due to lack of new logo pipeline. We discussed the idea of bringing the Sales team together to workshop outbound messages to their target accounts (with the goal of increasing # of self-sourced meetings booked). But, I imagine you might be under pressure to explore some DIY alternatives, too. Open to hearing some DIY tactics I've seen work well vs. those that backfired?" Be willing to "lose" the deal to win it. Execs are under tremendous pressure to cut spend or limit new purchases. This is the year to play the long game. Like it or not, our solutions are not the ONLY way for an exec to make progress on a problem.

Most AEs can’t get a meeting with a CFO. My clients are getting them with CEOs, COOs, and CFOs—consistently. The secret? Not magic. Not spamming. Hyper-personalized, multi-channel outreach powered by ChatGPT. Here’s the exact framework we use (that gets replies when “short and sweet” emails fail): When I ask sales teams how many times they follow up with an executive before moving on, the most common answer is: “Two emails, maybe a call.” That’s why you’re losing. Executives don’t respond because: Your outreach is generic You stop before you break through the noise You rely on ONE channel (usually email) Here’s how we fix it. 1. Go narrow before you go deep Stop prospecting to everyone in your patch. Pick your A accounts—the top 10-20 that would change your year if you closed them. 2. Use 3-4 channels every time If you send an email and don’t follow it with a call, a video, and a LinkedIn touch, you’re invisible. I’ll use ZoomInfo or Seamless to get the cell number, call right after sending the email, leave a voicemail, then send a voice note or video if no pickup. 3. Reach out 10+ times (not 2) My largest deals took 10-15 touches before the first meeting. If you believe you can help them, they need to know you’re serious. 4. Hyper-personalize using AI Forget “Hope you’re doing well.” Here’s the structure: Line 1: Personal, sincere compliment tied to research Line 2: Observation about their stated goals/priorities Line 3: The gap between where they want to go and where they are today Line 4: How you can close that gap Close: Soft call to action 5. Steal my favorite ChatGPT-4o prompt “I’m a sales rep at [Company] targeting [Name, Title]. Write a personalized, executive-ready email that speaks to their role, their publicly stated goals or quotes, and how we can help them. Be concise, use bullet points, and end with a soft CTA.” (more in the video below) Combine this with deep account research before you ever reach out, and you’ll have emails that sound like you wrote them just for that exec—because you did. I’ve seen this method work when: - You’re selling to an account that already uses your product (reference it in the first line) - You can’t find public info on a prospect—personalize at the account level instead - You need to enable champions to sell internally You don’t get meetings with executives by sending “short and sweet” emails. You get them by showing you’ve done the work— And proving, in detail, that you understand their business better than 99% of reps hitting their inbox. Get my top 4 ChatGPT prompts for tech sellers here: https://lnkd.in/gbznEjgq