Remco de Vries

Top sales talent leaves B2B SaaS firms regularly within <12 months, because there's a lack of pipeline, process, and professional sales enablement. In Dutch, we call this "mopping with the tap open" 😁 Founders without a solid GTM approach often make this mistake. I can't blame them. The mission of Manuel and Florian at SalesPlaybook resonates with me: To close bigger deals faster and retain rockstar talent by: -> Building & scaling repeatable pipeline generation -> Coaching, training & enabling sales leaders -> Increasing efficiency & revenue per rep The result? You close more and bigger deals faster, and you retain your top talent because they're set up for success. Because losing any top sales talent is like losing a 6-figure ARR deal: "Priceless". Want to learn more? DM me if you’d like a direct introduction—I highly recommend them!

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Are cold emails dead? Over the last 3 months, our small team acquired 30 webshops through a channel many considered dead: Cold emails. During the predictable revenue boom, cold emails initially worked well. However, as everyone jumped on the bandwagon, inboxes got flooded, and the success of cold emails took a hit. Still, for a cash-strapped startup like ours, cold emails remained one of the cheapest ways to experiment. Here's our playbook: 1. Focused ICP We narrowed down our ICP to understand their exact characteristics. It's a common move, but it kept paying off. 2. Avoid being "salesy" We ditched the numbers, salesy language, and aggressive CTAs. Instead, we wrote like a friend with a great idea to share. 3. Create awareness - let the prospects do the research We skipped the product pitch in emails. Instead, we created awareness by talking about pain, value, and opportunity. Still, prospects did their research before meetings, knowing exactly what we offer. 4. Local language We always write to people in their own language. Danish companies in Danish, Swedish companies in Swedish - and so on. 5. Short subjects No fancy sales subject lines. Just short and sweet, sometimes just one word, to grab attention. 6. Data-driven approach We closely analyze data from email campaigns, conduct A/B tests, review open rates, assess click rates, and evaluate conversion metrics. All our decision-making and optimization is based on data. It's 2024 and people are tired of being sold to everywhere. Creating awareness and getting inbound interest is the goal of commercial leaders, but ads, SEO, and partnerships are an expensive and long-term strategy. Using cold emailing as a cost-effective alternative to create awareness might be the way to grow, especially for startups.

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📈 Struggling to Find and Connect with the Right Prospects? Apollo. io Can Help! For sales professionals, finding accurate contact information, engaging prospects, and managing outreach efficiently can feel overwhelming. Manually searching for leads, tracking engagement, and juggling platforms can waste valuable time and energy. Apollo. io is here to simplify and supercharge your sales process. With over 275 million contacts at 73 million companies, Apollo’s sales intelligence and engagement platform provides everything you need to connect with prospects and convert them into customers—quickly and effectively. With Apollo.i o, you can: ✅ Search a vast database to find high-quality leads ✅ Engage prospects with powerful automation tools ✅ Convert more leads with targeted, data-driven outreach ✅ Optimize your workflow with a seamless, all-in-one platform Ready to take your sales game to the next level? Sign up for Apollo. io today and see how easy it can be to find, connect, and convert your next client! Get Started with Apolloio for Free Today - https://lnkd.in/gnv-gXXG #ApolloIO #SalesIntelligence #LeadGeneration #SalesEngagement #SalesTools #B2BSales #DataDrivenSales #TryApollo #Sales #Marketing #SaaS #B2B

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𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭? Let’s talk about something people aren’t paying enough attention to:  𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. With AI handling tasks, we’ll all have more time for… well, life. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭: 📌 The global leisure market is already huge—worth $4.5 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧. 📌 Yet, a lot of companies are focused on tech-driven efficiency. 📌 Meanwhile, there’s a growing need for startups that inspire joy, connection, and adventure. 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: • AI automates work. • People reclaim their time. • Startups that focus on play, creativity, and connection win big. Which startups in the leisure space do you think deserve more attention? Tag them here! #AI #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Startups #LeisureEconomy #Entrepreneurship #HumanConnection #WorkLifeBalance #Technology #AdventureStartup

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I attended SaaS Summit Benelux 2024 Here are 3 key insights ↓ "𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 €100,- 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝.” Chiel Baauw from Whatson showed that Outbound email could be a powerful way to get to that first AHA-moment, but only if they’re concise. Instead of drowning users in text, keep it short and to the point. When editing, imagine earning €100 for every unnecessary word you cut. I know I’d be rolling in cash some days! 😉 "𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐒𝐌𝐬 & 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐍𝐀." Stefanie Richheimer from Mollie walked us through Mollie’s approach to customer success. Her advice? CSMs and retention should be embedded in your company’s DNA, not treated as afterthoughts. This way, you’re setting up your customers—and your company—for greater success. "𝐁𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭’𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨." Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz from Valueships dropped some knowledge about SaaS pricing in Benelux. The pricing page isn’t just a list of numbers; it’s a key moment to communicate your product’s value. Fun fact: it’s often the 2nd or 3rd page users visit. So don’t miss the chance to create an “Aha!” moment there. That’s a wrap! I had an amazing time and met some fantastic people. What where your biggest insights of SaaS Summit Benelux 2024?

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Many sales teams struggle with it... low closing rates. Studies have shown why this is often the case: you should NEVER sell the product... but the VALUE!!! The positive side effect of this little change? Your deal cycle shortens and your closing rates will increase. Successful sales leaders rely on "Value Selling". They use the so-called Value Framework for this and thus help their team sell more efficiently... by getting everyone in the sales team on the same page. Today we'll show you how to create and apply this Value Framework for your team. #valueselling #valueframework #sales https://hubs.li/Q02tTGSc0

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3 'methods' to increase your win rates: 1. The Breadcrumb Follow Up This is my favorite follow up method: After a discovery call, I don't send everything over in one email. Send the summary and next steps. Based on when the next meeting is, I sporadically send relevant documents they asked for, use cases, and helpful information leading up to the next meeting. Prospects will forget you quickly after the call. Don't lose because you're forgotten. 2. Pre-meeting Meetings Notice some people you haven't met on the invite? Shoot them a note asking for 3-5 minutes of their time before the call. Learn what's important to them. You can also send a video to them here to put a face to the name. 3. Know The Process If you're working a qualified opportunity, please understand the process of getting a deal done. Who needs to be involved. How long it takes. What needs to be done for a contract to come in house. Now, do all three of these in a sales cycle and your chances of having a smooth sales cycle will increase.

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𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘁: 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻, 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘃𝘀 𝗨𝗽𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱💡 When it comes to scaling your LinkedIn prospecting and lead generation, two tools that often come up are Dripify and UpLead. But which one is the better fit for your needs? 🚀𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗳𝘆 is a multichannel automation tool to help with the outreach optimization on LinkedIn tailored for sales teams. One of its standout features is the ability to run campaigns in the cloud, meaning you can automate LinkedIn actions even when your device is turned off. Dripify also allows users to set up advanced sales funnels, monitor team performance, and manage all interactions in a unified inbox. For businesses looking to scale their LinkedIn outreach, Dripify offers a comprehensive solution starting at $39 per month. On the other hand, 𝗨𝗽𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱💼 is a B2B lead generation tool that provides access to millions of verified contacts and company data. It excels at helping users find highly targeted prospects through advanced search filters. While UpLead integrates with LinkedIn via a Chrome extension, its core strength lies in delivering verified contact information to users, ensuring high-quality leads. However, its pricing starts at $74 per month, which may be a bit higher compared to Dripify. So, if your main focus is on optimizing LinkedIn outreach and managing multiple campaigns, Dripify might be a stronger choice, especially with its cloud-based automation and funnel creation tools. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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If you notice your CSMs are spending the majority of their calls explaining the same product feature/process/service, then it's time to reexamine the offering. Common misunderstandings = insights to drive the business forward. Time is precious. If the same low-value conversations are eating most of it, trace them back to the root of the problem. #CX #AI #CustomerSuccess #CSM

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💥Boom! Popular Sales Intelligence tools just got outlawed. Here's the inside scoop... We're talking about the likes of Lusha, Zoominfo, Apollo and more. Why? Where? Let's dig in... The Netherlands just pulled the plug on them. And this might be a domino effect across the European countries. Here's the essence of it 👇 The AP, the Dutch Authority for Personal Data, laid out stringent new rules few days ago related to data scraping. I pegged this in my book, Sales Tech, hinting that ethical dilemmas could lead to a ban on such tools. Now, it's a reality in the Netherlands. What this means for you? For B2B companies relying heavily on sales intelligence tools, navigating these tight regulations will be tricky. In a nutshell, sales intelligence tools just got booted out in the Netherlands, and the wave might sweep across Europe soon. While this is fresh and the actual impact is yet to be felt, I'd love to hear from experts in my network who can share their insights on this development. My advice? If you use these tools, alert your compliance officer. It's a necessary step. And for those contemplating investing in these tools, it might be best to hold off for now. But the ultimate question is, where do you stand on this? Are you relieved? Or drowning under the weight of strict regulations? Stay in the game, keep making those sales! P.S. Link to the Dutch publication https://lnkd.in/g2NeQ4tE

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Is this still relevant, or can it go? Unsubscribe. Stop. End. The 3 most important – and basic – dimensions to consider when using WhatsApp: - Frequency -> In most cases, companies send 1-1.5 WA-NL per month) - Format -> What best aligns with my content and the goals I want to achieve - Tone / Messaging -> Tone, messaging and emoji ratio With this approach, we keep the unsubscribe rate well below 1% in most cases – despite the common perception that WhatsApp unsubscribe rates would be much higher due to its private nature. Average unsubscribe rates for email range between 1-2%, according to sources like Emarsys, Intuit Mailchimp, or Klaviyo – even though email frequency is typically higher, right? I was surprised to learn that the most common email newsletter cadence is monthly (37%), while only 16% of brands send weekly, quarterly: 11%, biweekly: 14%, and only 1% send daily. Combining this with cross-channel harmonization ensures maximum relevance, whether through email, app, or WhatsApp. Anything you would add ? By the way, the most commonly used and established opt-out trigger on WhatsApp is "STOP". Thanks to Joseph in the Seychelles for the picture.

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Last week we spun up a fully-automated outbound B2B campaign for one of my companies. Within 24hrs we had 10 new deals in the pipeline. Here's three reasons why it worked for our team: 1. We interviewed customers to understand why they buy. No assumptions. For example, sustainability is a big part of what this company offers but from interviews, we know that is not why customers buy. Copy excluded this major value-add on purpose and focused on their motives, not ours. 2. We hyper-focused on a 2 ICPs. We got super-narrow on who we targeted and a picked 2 markets where we knew there was already some traction. If this hadn't of worked we would have had a meaningful dataset to analyze and either iterate copy or move to another ICP within <2 weeks. 3. We used a soft opening and offer. We didn't ask for anything from the prospect - not even a meeting. We offered something of value that aligned with our service offering. After opening, this has resulted in a 100% meeting success rate to discuss it. Finally, I have to mention that previous to this campaign, we put 150% hustle into working with marquis customers. That means we're already positioned as an industry leader in this space. I've talked about this before as a powerful sales tool and I know it helped here. As I write this I think we're up to 18 new deals <1 week. #B2Bsales #venturecapital #sales

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🔥How to repel top saas sales talent🔥 Part 1: ICP A clear Ideal Customer Profile is crucial. An ICP defines your perfect customer. The customers your product solves problems for best. Without a strong ICP? Sales hiring gets way harder. Why? Top salespeople want to win. An unclear ICP means... ❎Chasing bad-fit prospects that won't buy ❎Wasting time on crappy leads ❎Low close rates and commission checks No clarity on who to sell to? Top reps will bail for better opportunities. But with a tight ICP? Salespeople know exactly who to pursue. Pitches improve. Closes get easier. Reps earn more. A solid product with a tight vision and ICP will have a much easier time attracting and retaining talent then a company throwing sh*t against a wall hoping it sticks.

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Our strategy at PeakSpan is simple - scaling a growth company successfully should be an iterative, incremental process. The decisions and options you have in front of you at $3M of ARR scale are vastly different than those at $10M and different still from those at $25M and beyond - scale your way into success sensibly, putting your foot on the gas more and more when the data asserts that you’re ready for it and it’s the right thing to do. This video encapsulates our approach in a nutshell - swinging as hard as you can for a statistically unlikely outcome when you’re a young, still very much evolving business, simply isn’t the value maximizing strategy. https://lnkd.in/e96AzU_N

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"Can you send me some information over so I can send it my VP Sales?" The classic "send me some info" request. In this case from a teamlead at the end of a discovery. She approached me because her VP was focusing on AI and bottom-of-the-funnel conversion. But here's the thing: Nobody wants more PDFs or generic links they already have. Here's what I do instead: 1. Record a short Loom video 2. Focus on the pains I understood from the teamlead 3. Include names of the recipients like another teamlead or VP Sales In this case, trial usage was an important factor. "Tom, I heard you need to ask the product team for trial usage every time...now, you have it in one overview here mapped with all other relevant sales data. If something happens like dropped engagement you can just send it to your Slack and act in real-time" They all watched & liked it. Why did this work? - Mapped their problems or status quo with features - Easy to consume (video > text), 2-3 mins max - Name-dropped key stakeholders Next time you get the "send info" request, try it. Remember: Your prospects are busy. Make it easy for them. What's your go-to move when asked to "send some info"? #sales #discovery #gtm

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I'm so tired of negotiating price hikes. For the second time, I had to renegotiate after a 5% increase with Sales Navigator. Safe to say, costs are skyrocketing 📈 Here’s some eye-opening data you probably didn’t know… A 31% jump in SaaS spend in Europe is forecasted by Gartner for 2024, compared to 2022 🤯 Now here's the real kicker: in France, SaaS prices are ballooning 1.8 times faster than the consumer price index. It's a global trend. SaaS pricing is increasing. As a CEO who's felt every bit of this pinch, I know the pain isn't unique to me. The solution? It's not just about cutting back. It's smarter than that. We need to sharpen our focus on: 💡 streamlining our tool inventory by eliminating redundancies, 💡 monitoring contracts for cost-saving opportunities 💡 leveraging Procurement to make informed, strategic purchases So let's see this as a chance to innovate and adapt. I’m a believer that adversity often sparks the most creative solutions! 🚀

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"We are definitely customer centric, because we do yearly CSAT or NPS surveys." 🚨 🚨 🚨 Customer centricity, (or the lack of it), poses significant challenges for too many companies. It affects not only the product, but also sales and marketing, as well as post-sales operations and customer success teams. This deficiency in customer centricity creates internal issues across various parts of the organization, it impacts your customers directly. 👎 Throughout the years we helped dozens of companies, and too often organizations wrongly believe that customer centricity is only about talking with customers or soliciting their feedback. While communication with customers is essential, it does not inherently make an organization customer-centric. ✅ Firstly, many customers do not really know what they need, as evidenced by low response rates to open-ended questions in CSAT or other customer surveys. ✅ Secondly, not all customer requests are feasible or beneficial for the majority of your customer base. 👍 True customer centricity involves putting the customer at the heart of your business and its decisions. It focuses on helping customers achieve their goals, rather than prioritizing the organization’s objectives. It aims to add genuine value to as many customers as possible, ensuring ease of contact and a seamless customer experience. ❌ Transitioning an organization to a customer-centric mindset is often perceived as a complex and slow transformation, requiring extensive structures and processes. However, the most successful customer-centric organizations do not rely on massive overhauls. ❗ Instead, they begin with a compelling vision, which is embraced and promoted by the senior management and board. These organizations embed customer centricity into their core values, demonstrating it through consistent actions and incremental steps rather than a single large-scale big-bang project. 💥 A practical quick win is to incorporate the following question into every organizational decision: “Does this decision impact our customers, and if so, how would I react if I were a customer?” 🙏 Have a nice (customer centric) day ! #customerexperience #cx #CSAT #surveys #NPS ---------- 👋🏻 Hi, I'm Ramses, Co-Founder of The House of Retention I talk about #customersuccess, #customerexperience #cx in #saas 🔔 Did you find this useful? Then follow me for more. ♻️ Share this post to help others with elevating their Customer Experience game. 🔑 Need help with your Customer Experience? Drop me a message!

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In B2B marketing, especially in tech, we often hear the critique: “You’re doing it wrong.” This statement could be revealing more about our challenges than we realize. The Hard Truths 🚀 - SaaS companies chasing growth at all costs often target 'bad fit customers'. - The B2B tech landscape suffers from a lack of differentiation, becoming a 'sea of sameness'. - Misaligned measurements lead to misplaced focus on ineffective tactics. - Marketing budgets are frequently insufficient and not aligned with benchmarks. - A significant portion of your target market may not need your product right now. - Research shows startups typically underinvest in marketing, while many board members lack marketing expertise. - The pursuit of "profitable growth" is proving harder to scale than expected. The Blame Game 🗣️ It’s common for new marketers to criticize predecessors to build credibility. This tendency to focus on past mistakes rather than future opportunities permeates many discussions, leading to debates over the “correct” approach: - New playbook vs. old methods - Growth marketing vs. traditional marketing - CRO vs. harmonious sales and marketing efforts - Brand vs. performance marketing - MQL vs. marketing sourced pipeline A Call for a New Approach 💡 What if the real issue is how we debate and defend our marketing philosophies? These discussions often start from a place of conflict rather than collaboration, leaving businesses confused and mistrustful. Towards a Solution 🎯 We need to embrace a mindset of listening to understand, not just to respond. Each business is unique, and what works for one may not work for another—or it might work even better with adjustments. Let’s start a dialogue about how we can shift our approach to B2B marketing to be more inclusive, open, and effective. Are we stuck in our ways, or are we ready to learn from each other and evolve? #B2BMarketing #TechMarketing #GrowthHacking #MarketingStrategy #BusinessGrowth #SaaSMarketing #Leadership #AkheleashRaghuramMarketing #ARM

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2 years ago I could win a deal with 1 stakeholder involved. Fast track to today and I need 5+ stakeholders, ROI calculations and insight into their deepest darkest secrets. (just kidding about the secrets bit but you get the point) Winning deals in 2024 is TOUGH. I have to treat 10K deals like they're 100K deals. That means: ✅ Stakeholder Alignment ✅ ROI Calculations ✅ Partnership Plans ✅ Technical Demos The list goes on… But from a buyers pov, keeping track of all this information is a chore in itself. Not only are they gathering a buying committee & resources together to make a decision. They're also speaking to multiple vendors in your space. So our stakeholders need to be equipped with pricing, documents, competitor analysis, sales content, etc, etc. Which you could do on 654354 emails, decks, excel spreadsheets & through carrier pigeons. Or you can make their lives 10x easier by organising all the content they need to make a decision inside of Trumpet. On top of making lives easier, it’s also helping your sales process stand out. Which in a tricky market is a necessity. Sign up with trumpet 🎺 for free here: https://bit.ly/44vP2rS

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