Voices from the Field: Progressing Deals with ValueCloud®

Learn how sales reps are using ValueCloud^® to progress deals and elevate conversations

Our tech customers are using ValueCloud^® to win customers for life—and the top reps at those companies know better than anyone how to get the most value out of ValueCloud^®. We sat down with three of our customers’ leading sales professionals as well as two of our own top sellers to talk about how they use ValueCloud^® at each stage of the sales funnel, and what advice they have for sales reps who are just getting started with our customer value management platform.

Leading with value

The first step in any sale is getting a seat at the table—or at the very least, getting someone in your prospective organization to agree to a conversation. With thousands of tech companies vying for the same customers, cold-calling or cold-emailing is a hard way to break through the noise. Especially if your value proposition is not crystal clear.

To grab a prospect’s interest, Brandon Rezek, sales development representative at DecisionLink, recommends taking a show-don’t-tell approach. He says, “ValueCloud^® is such a visual weapon. I’ll pull out an executive value overview asset and use this to get their attention, so I can say look—I’ve done my research, and here’s the kind of financial benefit that DecisionLink can provide to address the specific issues you’re looking to improve.”

Oliver Foxley, regional sales director at Dynatrace, says in addition to helping his team lead with value, ValueCloud^® has redefined the sales process, including the best questions to ask to capture the data points needed to build a business case. He explains, “Prior to using ValueCloud^®, we had multiple approaches across teams, including case studies and other internal tools—but no intelligence around how we got to the value numbers. With ValueCloud^®, we have everything readily available for reps around the different value drivers and benefits we’re focused on.”

 Do your homework

Georgeanna Westmoreland, DecisionLink’s sales director, says researching a prospect is important so you can bring an impactful perspective to the very first conversation. She uses ValueCloud^® to put together a value hypothesis, which is based on the actual data she’s gathered: “So I can say to them, hey, if I could increase your average sales price by 8%, is a 30-minute conversation worth $38M in revenue?”

Will Peabody, account executive at RapidRatings, adds that ValueCloud^® makes it easier to speak a prospect’s language. ValueCloud® makes it easy to create sales collateral using the most accurate, up-to-date insights for their business. “It’s more relevant and more impactful,” he explains, “and that’s a big value add.”

Spencer Weiss, commercial account executive at Highspot, likes to use the ValueCloud^® assumptions deck as a jumping off point. He explains, “It lets me say, here’s what I understand about your company from my research. Let’s have an open conversation and correct any metrics that I might have wrong.” It’s a great way to not only show prospects that you’ve done your homework, but to actually get them involved and on board.

Breaking away and reaching higher

Once you’ve got your foot in the door, it’s time to really differentiate your solution from the competition. And also, from the status quo. After all, in the tech world, inertia is often just as big a competitor as other vendors.

According to Georgeanna, “There’s a business case in every deal, whether you’re putting it together or not.” Meaning, if you don’t build the case, your competition will. Or without a clear case for change, the “no decision” factor that tech sales are always running up against can become a pretty compelling barrier.

At this stage, the ease with which you can put together a comprehensive business case using ValueCloud^® is a game-changer—and the sooner you do that, the better. Don’t wait until the deal gets to procurement. Use value to start differentiating your solution right out of the gate.

“ValueCloud^® has given me the opportunity to present the case to executives quicker than I normally would. I can build a business case that aligns with company goals and initiatives faster using the ROI and metrics that they can realize from Highspot.”

—Spencer Weiss, Commercial Account Executive, Highspot

Oliver adds, “We always get a lot of pushback from procurement on our price. But with ValueCloud^®, we’re able to leverage the customer’s data points instead of using industry stats around conversion, performance, and ROI. That results in less pushback and lets us get the deal through a lot quicker.”

It’s also critical to bring value to bear beyond the sale. ValueCloud^® enables sales professionals and customer success organizations to track the actual value realized versus metrics projected during the sales motion. As Oliver explains, “It’s important to be seen as a strategic partner and to talk about the long-term roadmap and success.” Not only does this give you leverage during renewals, it also gives you a deep well of data to draw from when approaching prospects—bringing the conversation full circle.

Ramping up faster

All of the sales professionals we spoke with agreed that ValueCloud^® played a major role in helping them gain confidence and “get a seat at the table” quicker. For Will, it enabled him to learn the language of a new company, RapidRatings, by pointing directly to how two particular groups derive value from their offering with key driving indicators and ROI-based collateral.

For Georgeanna, ValueCloud^®’s assets were a welcome relief from spreadsheets and allowed her to lead every sales motion with a guided, intelligent, value-based conversation. Before joining DecisionLink, she was a sales specialist for a large U.S. tech company where she had to work closely with engineers. She says, “I always walked in with an asset from ValueCloud^® and my peers would think I’d spent months and months putting these together. But of course, I can attribute all of that the ValueCloud® and the power of automating these conversations and assets.”

Words of wisdom

Despite different roles and backgrounds, the sales professionals we spoke with all offered similar advice for others looking to learn the language of value. Brandon says, “Practice value early, and practice often.” Spencer adds, “You only have one chance to make a first impression. And that first impression can go a long way when using ValueCloud®.”

For Will, talking about value is about addressing the customer’s real issue. He says, “No one goes to Home Depot to buy a drill. They go to acquire a hole in the wall. Lead with that and let ValueCloud® point directly to the hole in the wall.”

“I can say with confidence that ValueCloud^® is the only platform that I have ever been given that helps me make more money. It increases my win rate and increases my deal size.”

—Georgeanna Westmoreland, Sales Director, DecisionLink 

For Georgeanna, success starts with building trust and getting in front of the right people to put together a business case—and she says there’s no better tool for that than ValueCloud®. “I find many other tools valuable in my everyday process, but ValueCloud® is the only one that helps me close business and win champions.”

Oliver’s advice is simple: “Rather than, ‘Always be closing,’ or, ‘Always be calling,” I think the key is to always be qualifying and always be curious. Also, use ValueCloud^® in every deal possible.”

Sounds like good advice to us.

To get the full scoop from these leading sales professionals, check out the full webinar: Voices From the Field.

Get to know our panelists:

Oliver Foxley is regional sales director at Dynatrace.

Will Peabody is an account executive at RapidRatings.

Spencer Weiss is a commercial account executive at Highspot.

Brandon Rezek is a sales development representative at DecisionLInk.

Georgeanna Westmoreland is DecisionLink’s sales director.