Free Yourself From Sales Management

If you're a founder who hates surprises from their sales team, here's the best thing that you can do to keep from being surprised. Create an accountabilities document. It's a real simple document. It's a list of what's expected and when it's expected. Just those two things. It could be all the different KPIs that move the needle, whether it's sales, calls, demos, whatever it is, and how many they need to have and how much they need to have of each. You could do it weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, and they should. So that when you hire, and this should be given with a job description to the to the new person before they even start. So everybody's on the same page. They know what's expected. They know what's expected from you, what you're going to do to help them. You put that in there as well. And then there's never any surprises and everything should go according to plan. And at least you can prepare adequately and timely so you don't get surprised. The 3 Biggest Takeaways Preparation is the Difference Between a "Vendor" and a "Trusted Advisor" Most salespeople scan a website for 30 seconds and think they are ready. They aren't. This video outlines a specific 7-step AI prompt that forces you to dig deeper. By extracting features vs. benefits, competitor landscapes, and pricing before the call, you move from a transactional pitcher to a strategic partner. You aren't just trying to sell; you are showing you understand their business model. Connection is Critical "Looking at my profile, where are the areas you think I can help this company?" This forces the AI to bridge the gap between their problems and your specific expertise. It stops you from guessing where you fit in and gives you a hypothesis to test immediately. Features Tell, Benefits Sell (and AI Knows the Difference) In your training, customers don't buy "300 megaflops"; they buy what that speed does for them. If your reps can't articulate the benefit, they shouldn't be on the call. This prompt does the heavy lifting of translating technical specs into business value before the meeting starts. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q1: Why do I need to ask the AI for their competitors (Task 2)? A: Because your prospect is already talking to them. If you don't know who the top 5 players are in their space, you are flying blind. Knowing the enemy allows you to position your solution effectively without having to ask the prospect, "So, who else are you looking at?" You show up informed. Q2: What if the pricing information (Task 4) isn't available or the AI gets it wrong? A: That is actually an advantage. If the AI can't find it, it means they aren't transparent, which is a talking point. If the AI finds an estimate that is wrong, you bring it up: "I saw some data suggesting your pricing model is X; is that accurate?" People love to correct you, and in doing so, they give you the real numbers. Q3: Can I just copy and paste the AI output into an email? A: No. That violates the rule of speaking in plain, simple language. AI can sound robotic or overly polished. Use the intelligence to form your own questions and insights. If you sound like a bot, you will get treated like spam. Q4: How does this help with the "About Us" section (Task 3)? A: It helps you find the culture fit. You are looking for triggers—recent acquisitions, leadership changes, or mission statements. This gives you the "hook" to build rapport in the first 2 minutes of the call, showing you care about who they are, not just what they buy. Q5: Is this really better than doing the research manually? A: It is about speed and scale. You could spend an hour digging for this info, or you can get it in 30 seconds. This frees you up to spend that hour strategizing on how to close the deal rather than hunting for data. It removes the excuse of "I didn't have time to prep."