Sales War Chest Mary Crampton

J. Ryan Williams is an Executive Coach for Revenue Leaders, especially in the SaaS B2B space. Having helped scale sales to millions of dollars, Ryan gets the most satisfaction from developing leaders. He launched his coaching practice in 2017, and has worked with leaders from some of the most well-known names in Silicon Valley such as Zoom, Airbnb, Lyft, and Asana.

Good Sales Leadership is crucial to the post-Covid business recovery. As a startup operator and advisor Ryan has seen the $0-$100M ARR journey three times. And as a founder, has seen two companies go to zero.

Alongside coaching, Ryan shares his invaluable experience with growing revenue and developing revenue leaders through talks, mentorship and investing. He teamed up with Hunter Weeks via Churro Media to build a channel that tells startup stories from all over the world.

Their first feature film, Outside the Valley, finished filming early as the worldwide impacts of Covid-19 hit in early 2020. In true pandemic style, the 2021 world premiere was held in Wellington, New Zealand while Ryan and Hunter watched via Zoom.

Ryan shares his sales and revenue leadership development theories. The core problem is the same around the world – When does the Founder hand off sales? Around 70% of VPs of Sales fail. Ryan Williams wants to fix this from the Executive Development side, giving VPs of Sales the resources they need, and helping them to manage up better.

· What to look for in Revenue Leadership

· How to develop great revenue leaders

· The differences between a Sales Manager and a Sales Leader

Hear Ryan detail what’s special about New Zealand and NZ Entrepreneurs that the world needs right now, including the importance of good internal structure, and getting the first deal right rather than going for growth at all costs.

How soon to hire the VP of Sales. Strategies to scale your sales and grow revenue. How to get comfortable asking for large sales. What to look for when hiring a salesperson.

Strategic sales and business development to grow your sales into Germany and the EU. Offshore opportunities into the very established, traditional market in Europe. As the largest EU membership organisation in New Zealand, the German NZ Chamber of Commerce plays a vital role in growing sales and new business development opportunities for NZ companies to enter the German market. Trade fairs in Germany have paused for now, due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, there are still international new business development and revenue growth opportunities, despite Post-Covid supply chain and freight issues.

So, how do you put your best foot forward as you step into the German market? For a start, you'll impress your Germany customers by having clean shoes. 

And if you can't meet in person? Monique Surges, Chief Executive Officer at the GNZCC, details how to impress your German customers by being punctual, organised, sticking to your word, and sticking to the facts throughout your sales process.

Understanding cultural differences to grow sales opportunities and sell into the German market, which has more than 83 million potential customers spread across 16 Federal States, each with its own characteristics. Targeted sales and marketing activities to increase the ROI of your business development. Product sales, technology and services markets in Germany. Understanding the GDPR and regulation requirements to enter the German market. New business opportunities for high quality food and beverages, and health products/services.

Entering the German market can be a big step and require some hard work, especially when we are unable to travel easily. Organisations such as the German NZ Chamber of Commerce help business leaders navigate a strategic path into Germany and other parts of the EU markets.

The role of membership networks to grow sales, and be an extension of your sales and marketing. Networking, giving your business a voice, then enabling you to have reach and profile with opportunities to create meaningful business relationships. How businesses can network and progress sales when physical events are uncertain. Hybrid model expo with virtual and in-person events. Includes local discussion re Lower Hutt Chamber of Commerce.

Proactive selling is key to grow revenue in uncertain times. Having a good website is no longer enough. Discussion on virtual selling, sales processes during/after events and conferences, driving traffic to your website and integrating this with a sales process to deliver return on investment. Storytelling as a key part of your sales strategy.

The critical role of the NZ manufacturing and technology sector in NZ's economic recovery. How to connect with other businesses, membership organisations and others to grow opportunities for increasing market share, building new relationships and growing your sales.

The post-Covid business landscape is new and unknown. How will NZ small and medium businesses survive the uncertainty of the next 12 months?

Richard Liew - Editor of NZ Entrepreneur Magazine, Founder of Startup NZ Entrepreneurs Programme, and Member of Economic Development NZ -  talks about NZ SMEs and how they can get through the next 12 months.

Silver linings, the huge upswing in people learning how to start businesses, upskilling, creating value, growing sales. And one big advantage SMEs have - their entrepreneurial mindset as they make use of available support for new businesses, and target new markets and new opportunities.

Welcome to the Sales War Chest podcast to help you grow revenue in uncertain times. Hope you enjoy all future episodes and make sure you subscribe.