What Makes a Successful Sales Team?
A Normal Day for fullthrottle.ai’s Sales Operations
The long evolution and industry-wide conversation about the use of third-party cookies online continues. Safari blocks all third-party cookies by default for all users. This year Firefox rolled out their solution, limiting cookies to the websites where they were created. [1] Google delaying plans to phase out cookies in Chrome extends the conversation.
Privacy has become an industry priority. The shift to privacy-first thinking has resulted in an increasing percentage of users on browsers without third-party-enabled cookies. This shift leaves marketers looking for impactful targeting approaches as a replacement for third-party audiences and cross-site retargeting to maintain and grow healthy returns on their marketing investments.
There is wide agreement that first-party data is part of the solution. fullthrottle.aiTM helps brands build novel first-party data, so it’s no surprise the company’s sales organization has a full calendar of brand and agency meetings. Agencies and brands are sharing that they are seeing lower scale and higher costs using traditional third-party tactics and looking to fullthrottle.aiTM to help them build more impactful first-party audiences.
With each conversation, the sales teams uncover a new use case for first-party data. Third-party cookie deprecation is impacting all brands. fullthrottle.aiTM looks at each conversation as an opportunity to solve a problem.
The Philosophy of Sales Operations
Jeff Dillman is the VP of Sales and has run several teams in the AdTech space for many years. His philosophy for running the fullthrottle.aiTM Sales team is a focus on quality conversations.
Quality conversations begin with uncovering the right points of contact within an organization. fullthrottle.aiTM is uncovering people who are interested in making the change in their organization to start thinking about building first-party data in a way that’s impactful for their brand and their marketing efforts in the future.
fullthrottle.aiTM offers a solution that brands want; however it can be hard to take a wide view and make a tactical shift. Quality conversations can challenge the status quo in a productive way and set the course to meaningful and profitable change.
The Type of Person Who Thrives in AdTech Sales
Smart and dynamic are the two primary characteristics of successful salespeople at fullthrottle.aiTM. The salesperson must be able to adjust their thinking based on the needs uncovered mid-conversation. Using emotional IQ and adjusting to a new direction is easier said than done, if the individual isn’t open to listening and scrapping the prepared agenda.
There are thousands of potential fullthrottle.aiTM customers. This team wants to get out there and have meaningful, quality conversations every day. fullthrottle.aiTM is looking for people who never want to stop learning. The team is passionate about solving problems and this is reflected in the company’s client and prospect engagements.
KPIs of a Good Salesperson
Jeff appreciates that there isn’t a single type of successful seller. He has seen success from reps that teach, socialize, and connect. It doesn’t matter if the salesperson focuses on the steps that comprise positive customer interactions versus the end revenue goals.
Quality conversations are what fullthrottle.aiTM wants from our sales operations. The real and impactful interactions from a mutually beneficial conversation result in referrals, which can lead to follow-up meetings, trials, and new business.
It’s important to set clear expectations for the sales team. This includes quality outbound activity. Expectations also include meeting preparation, prompt follow-ups, and recording and reporting on successes and missteps.
fullthrottle.aiTM is entirely remote. It’s essential that the sales team keeps everyone in collaborating departments informed. The account management teams, marketing team, sales leadership, and the executive suite should have easy access to the sales team’s work. It’s all hands on deck at fullthrottle.aiTM, so It's important to share the work and the positive progress and conversations that are happening with all stakeholders.
When the expectations of the salesperson’s role are clear and individuals find focus and uncover impactful conversations, the end goal of increasing revenue quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year will be met.
Jeff’s Thoughts on the Deprecation of Third-Party Cookies, Data, and the Move to First-Party Data
Working with third-party data over the last eight years, Jeff was seeing headwinds. Third-party audiences are losing scale and high impact cross-site retargeting via third-party cookies is waning.
Third-party data was leaned on heavily over the last 20+ years and it is a big change that third-party cookies will be a thing of the past. First-party data is interesting, since it can help solve a problem for brands.
Collecting and building new first-party data is one of the largest initiatives for brands and agencies today. Jeff saw a lot of companies helping clients manage existing first-party data but very few companies helping clients build net new first-party data.
The way fullthrottle.aiTM is approaching the market is to solve a real problem the industry is facing and add real institutional value for clients. fullthrottle.aiTM is proving the product’s worth. The company has thousands of clients, from mom-and-pop stores to some of the biggest marketers in the country.
fullthrottle.aiTM is skating to where the puck is going.
