May 10, 2021

5 min read

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Weekly Pitch! Our mission is to deliver news, stories, and insights that matter most to the sales community. We hope it's equal parts entertaining, informative, and inspirational.

You can rely on the same format:

• First Pitch – issue brief with the week's highlights.
• Weekly Forecast – see how quotas and goals are trending for reps and leaders.
• Feature Story – deep-dive report on a relevant story for the sales community.

While mixing in fun elements from time to time:

• Leaderboard – no boring Q&A here; discover the details behind rising leaders in sales.
• Deal of Fortune – learn secrets from the best closers in sales.
• Pitch Perfect – two reps face-off to give their best 30-second pitch.

Finally, our official launch isn't until July. We expect some fine-tuning, so show some grace and stay subscribed until then 🙂.

Enjoy the first issue!

We had a sample of leaders and reps weigh to give their early outlook on Q2 forecasts. Only 29% are feeling good about hitting their goal. Half are worried about missing.

Click below and take 30 seconds to give an updated outlook on your Q2 forecast anonymously. We'll share week-over-week trends in the next issue.

Share Your Q2 Outlook  →

‍

The Qualtrics Sales Machine is For Real

Qualtrics continues to crush it and lead the same category they created – experience management. A software class now valued at $60 billion, according to company execs. They posted 36% year-over-year growth with revenue of $238.6 million and continue to hover around break-even profitability and Bain’s Rule of 40 for software companies.

Key Q1 Highlights
Let’s break down results from their Q1 earnings call. We can infer close approximations (or exact in some cases) of what the following sales metrics and goals look like for the company:

• Net Dollar Retention is 120%. NDR is the metric that tells you how fast the company bank account is growing (Tomasz Tunguz’s presentation for SaaStr is a must-watch). Any company with a <100% NDR effectively earns a negative interest rate.

• For Qualtrics, this means their $677 million in revenue under contract, or “remaining performance obligations,” will turn into $812 million in the next 12 months. The beauty of product-led growth. A customer signs on for the employee experience product but ends the year with one or two add-ons.

• Expand to total “remaining performance obligations” at $1.2 billion, and we see their average deal term is about two years. Multi-year purchasing decisions replacing annual terms are now the norm.

Read the Full Story →

‍

Rising Star: Corey Farley

He had a promotion on the line he so desperately wanted. Not for the status, but for all the blood, sweat, and tears he put into the grind. We in sales know all about "the grind." You hustle and work hard to get mostly rejected. Those deals come in just enough to keep you going. But sometimes you want more than the individual win.

‍

"Coaching is in my blood. I've done it for a long time in youth sports. I love the thrill of winning as a coach."

‍

As the fifth employee with Quantum Workplace (the company is now 100 strong), Corey Farley technically wasn't even on the payroll. He was first a contractor and managed projects associated with the company's Best Places to Work program. That turned into a sales role selling upgraded custom reports to program participants.

‍
Corey found instant success and knew sales would become his lifelong career path. He morphed into a consistent closer, surpassing one million in sales in 2015. Though the money was decent, Corey felt this tug to lead. He created a monthly "boot camp" for the sales team to work on skill development. He had call reviews with other reps, which he affectionately compared to "Gruden's QB Camp." All while racking up lots of wins in an individual contributor role.

Fast forward to 2019 and that pending promotion to lead a team of reps. Corey needed to hit the Q3 revenue target with zero room for error. He had one final deal that was a long shot but would take him over the top. It was September 30. And it was getting late—time to brainstorm on Zoom.

"What's up? Did you get it!"
"Not quite; legal has some issues. Let me share my screen."

He looked dejected. So did his manager. But Corey's one helluva poker player. He scrolled down to the bottom of the contract. Circled were the words, "WE DID IT!" with the customer signature freshly inked. Goal hit. Promotion to leader earned. For those reps he now leads, they won't be surprised by his subtle use of the "we" pronoun.

‍

He shared a few things influencing his success:

You currently have this artist in heavy rotation: The Fugees.

This sales or leadership book is a must-read for aspiring leaders: The Perfect Close.

‍
A new sales tactic working for my team is: Breaking down the last 10 minutes of a call into a 5/5 format to drive to a clear future.

‍

If you don't have this in your sales tech stack, you need to add: Chorus.ai.

‍

Your favorite metric to track after revenue is: Days-to-close.

‍

Corey leads the new business sales team at Quantum Workplace, where he manages a group of talented Account Executives tasked with growing new revenue 33% year-over-year.

‍

Jumping high five! You've made it to the end. If you enjoyed the first issue, consider following us on LinkedIn. Better yet, refer a few friends or your entire team.

Are you looking to elevate your personal and company brand? Consider being profiled in Leaderboard or Deal of Fortune or to win cash in our Pitch Perfect competition. Reach out to darren@theweeklypitch.com for details.

Come back next week as we profile the fastest-growing company you've never heard of and profile more rising stars in the sales world.