Mike Huffaker

I recently talked to a company in the mfg space. Top rep? A conversation, 1/16 calls. The rest? 1/60 calls. The difference? Top rep sources more prospects & tries them more often. That's it. He saves more prospects from ZoomInfo & he's more creative about getting ahold of them (in this case its as simple as more attempts per contact...) This is what says where traditional SDR teams are getting it wrong. In traditional cold calling/outbound... You took a list, put it into a dialer and made dials until conversations slowed down. At which point, you'd add more people to the list. And so you may call people six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twenty times. I set the limit and connection cell to 20 attempts per contact and the maximum number per day to three. So how many SDRs out there are trying their prospects three times per day? You as a fractional SDR can go in and have more conversations than their existing reps... Doing nothing different besides just calling the same prospects that they're already calling more times per day. Because inevitably someone might not pick up in the morning, But they may pick up in the afternoon of the same day. But what most companies do is... "Oh, I called them on Monday, so I have to wait four days because, in my sequence, the next call task isn't until Thursday. " And then reps end up getting behind on their sequences anyway. And all the tasks pile up, And then they just have to blow through them. Simplify it. How many hours per day are you logging on the dialer? Three? Ok. How many conversations are you having per hour? This many. How many conversations are turning into a meeting? Got it. That's what people should be focused on, Not how many steps are in my sequence. And is it call or is it call, email, email, email, call, LinkedIn, No, none of that matters. It is: - build list - call - follow-up. That's the order of operations.

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Why is the "3X pipeline coverage" rule an issue in sales? Glad you asked. Here's my take: 1. It's too simple and doesn't consider how your sales process really works. 2. Even with 3-4X coverage, many teams still don't hit their targets. 3. It makes you focus on getting more leads instead of closing more deals. There are two types of sales teams: Type 1: Wins by "volume." Close rates hover ~20%, leadership always pushes for more pipeline. Type 2: Wins by "rate." They break down their process stage by stage, focusing on areas with the biggest leakage. Let's look at a healthtech company example: Company built $1M quarterly pipeline vs. $250K target. Sounds good, right? But revenue was stuck between Stages 3 & 4. (the demo stage) 40% Stage 3 → 4 rate cut overall win rate to 21%. Result? Only $215K closed from $1M pipeline. Ouch. The solution? Shift to a "Type 2" team: 1. Enable reps to build a sharp point-of-view. 2. Tie exit criteria to revenue ops validation. 3. Craft messaging that taps into priorities. 4. Build a system with scorecards. Result? Win rates jumped to 28% overall. I'm not a math guy but I think thats higher than 20% Less pipe, more revenue. What type of engine are you building? And more importantly, what are you doing about it going into next week?

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Considering a sales role at an early stage company? Ask yourself 2 questions: 1. Has the founder sold their own product/solution? If not, I would be very cautious. Founder led sales provides invaluable insight. My preference: A founder that sold the company's first 5 deals (at least). 2. Is the product/solution great (good is not enough)? As a sales professional, the one thing you can't overcome is a sh*tty product. Roles at early stage companies can be fun, rewarding, and very lucrative . . . if you choose right. 👉 Follow if you enjoy sales and business content.

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This is absolute creative gold! Calling on ALL Sales Leaders, BDR Leaders, and sales reps to take a look at this video. 6sense can help you. #Salesintelligence #accountdata #salesai #predictive #accountprioritization #outboundsales https://lnkd.in/gEc_cv5Q

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🫢 I can't say the name yet! Stay tuned for an update 10/15...... 👉 Articles you want to read 👉 Expert Insights 👉 Lessons from the Trenches with Actionable Takeaways 👉 Interviews with the best minds in sales Anyone else have to tape their mouth so they don't let the cat out of the bag?! 🫤 🤣 #sales

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