In the sprint of startups, catch phrases like resilience, tenacity and rebound are brandished as the crowning qualities for success. But who personifies these better than athletes? Immersed in a world of discipline, diligence and constant iterations to improve, they bring in a fierce wave of value into the business landscape. Join us in this episode of Teaching Startups To Fish, where we dive deep into the potency of this ground-breaking synergy. Chartering this exciting territory with Mladen Jovanovic is no other than Alex Opacic, the brains behind Athlete2Business and a former professio ..read more

Here are three ways generative AI is able to empower Account Executives and the broader teams within the company:  1) New generative AI tools are perfect for Account Executives to leverage the opportunity to learn from their peers and foster a collaborative environment within the company. 2) When AEs are torn between giving their full attention to their customers during meetings and taking notes. With generative AI tools, AEs are now able to give their full attention to the customer and run thorough discoveries, with the AI tools taking care of the heavy administrative lifting.  3) F ..read more

Here are three things to consider when expanding your company to the US from Evan Augustine:  1) Generally, things are much more formal in the US regarding meetings. Have an agenda, leave some time to get to know the people you're meeting, and make sure you dress to impress on the first meeting - it's always easier to dress down.  2) If you have a specific vertical you're targeting, go where your customers are. If your customers are broad and you need to be everywhere, base yourself somewhere central where you have direct flights to East Coast and West Coast. 3) Start small, then go ..read more

Three key reasons why startups have long sales cycles: 1) You're talking about your product far too much 2) You don't understand the risk to the organisation 3) You don't understand all of the key parts of how an infrequent buyer makes a buying decision Timestamps 00:00 - 3:25: JD's history and the impact he has made so far with Sales Director Central 3:26 - 10:40: Biggest mistakes founders make when scaling from $0-$1M 10:41 - 18:20: When to hire salespeople and how to get customer buy-in for you to help them write the internal business case 18:21 - 23:30: How to align your sales process with ..read more

3 quick tips from Will:  1) Structure your sales teams into vertical territories instead of geographical. Each vertical has its own jargon and if you’re a salesperson who’s trained on a particular vertical, you’ll be better placed to have intelligent conversations with your prospects.  2) Don’t make Customer Success responsible for renewals because this can compromise the role. The CS rep gets focused on the commission, and the customer gets confused about who manages the financial relationships. 3) The first rule of hiring salespeople: the best indicator of future success is past su ..read more

3 quick tips for cold calls from Alex: 1) Energy, tonality and confidence are super important when calling people you don't know. 2) Get to the point. Be direct about the intention of your call. The modern attention span is shrinking, fluff less and you will get much better engagement 3) Understand the client's objection before trying to overcome it. Ask questions before offering a solution. Information is ammunition. Time Stamps 00:15 - 3:16: Introduction to Alex and background 3:16 - 6:49: Background on the Real Estate industry and how prospecting is handled within 6:49 - 10:02: Does cold ca ..read more

Here are three ways generative AI is able to empower Account Executives and the broader teams within the company:  1) New generative AI tools are perfect for Account Executives to leverage the opportunity to learn from their peers and foster a collaborative environment within the company. 2) When AEs are torn between giving their full attention to their customers during meetings and taking notes. With generative AI tools, AEs are now able to give their full attention to the customer and run thorough discoveries, with the AI tools taking care of the heavy administrative lifting.  3 ..read more

Here are three things to consider when expanding your company to the US from Evan Augustine:  1) Generally, things are much more formal in the US regarding meetings. Have an agenda, leave some time to get to know the people you're meeting, and make sure you dress to impress on the first meeting - it's always easier to dress down.  2) If you have a specific vertical you're targeting, go where your customers are. If your customers are broad and you need to be everywhere, base yourself somewhere central where you have direct flights to East Coast and West Coast. 3) Start small, then ..read more

Three key reasons why startups have long sales cycles: 1) You're talking about your product far too much 2) You don't understand the risk to the organisation 3) You don't understand all of the key parts of how an infrequent buyer makes a buying decision Episode structure:  00.00 - 3.25: JD's history and the impact he has made so far with Sales Director Central 3.26 - 10.40: Biggest mistakes founders make when scaling from $0-$1M 10.41 - 18.20: When to hire salespeople and how to get customer buy-in for you to help them write the internal business case 18.21 - 23.30: How to align your ..read more

3 quick tips from Will:  1) Structure your sales teams into vertical territories instead of geographical. Each vertical has its own jargon and if you’re a salesperson who’s trained on a particular vertical, you’ll be better placed to have intelligent conversations with your prospects.  2) Don’t make Customer Success responsible for renewals because this can compromise the role. The CS rep gets focused on the commission, and the customer gets confused about who manages the financial relationships. 3) The first rule of hiring salespeople: the best indicator of future success is past s ..read more