Field notes

Field notes

Stories from 25 years of selling and marketing B2B tech, and what they taught me. One a month, more or less.

No.11
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Beware the Rainmaker
Coaching
Beware the RainmakerCoaching

Six questions to ask before you poach a star from a bigger competitor.

No.10
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Qualifying a Prospect: Demographics
Qualifying a Prospect, Vol. 3 · Coaching
Qualifying a Prospect, Vol. 3: DemographicsCoaching

A 100-person shop chasing the Fortune 500 list is not a sales strategy. It's a wish list.

No.09
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Qualifying a Prospect: Transition
Qualifying a Prospect, Vol. 2 · Coaching
Qualifying a Prospect, Vol. 2: TransitionCoaching

Companies don't make changes unless they have to.

No.08
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Qualifying a Prospect: Criticality
Qualifying a Prospect, Vol. 1 · Coaching
Qualifying a Prospect, Vol. 1: CriticalityCoaching

Is this conversation worth your time? What happens if their widgets go down for an hour?

No.07
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
How to Write a Cold Email That Doesn't Suck
Coaching
How to Write a Cold Email (That Doesn't Suck)Coaching

Cold email is not going to work. Here's how to give it a small chance.

No.06
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Selling HIPAA Compliance to a Plumber
Sales Suicide, Vol. 3 · Coaching
Sales Suicide, Vol. 3: Selling HIPAA Compliance to a PlumberCoaching

Personas are homework. Homework isn't a call agenda.

No.05
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Corporate Word Salad
Sales Suicide, Vol. 2 · Coaching
Sales Suicide, Vol. 2: Corporate Word SaladCoaching

Don't use a word in a sales communication that you wouldn't say out loud to a friend.

No.04
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
The Pitch No One Wants
Sales Suicide, Vol. 1 · Coaching
Sales Suicide, Vol. 1: The Pitch No One WantsCoaching

Four minutes into a first call, the CTO asks what the call is about. Teach reps to wait for the pitch.

No.03
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Optimism vs. Fantasy
Strategy
Optimism vs. FantasyStrategy

Hype the company externally. Tell the truth internally.

No.02
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Confidence in One Easy Step
Coaching
Confidence: In One Easy StepCoaching

The stupidest coaching instruction I've ever given, and the deal it closed.

No.01
Antimatter Consulting · Field notes
Sales Reps Are Lazy
Coaching
Sales Reps Are LazyCoaching

Sometimes they are. The question is why, and whose problem it is.