Dan Rees

Every sales org has a pipeline: Stage 1. Stage 2. Forecast. Commit. You can recite it in your sleep. But when it comes to renewals? Crickets.... There’s no real-time view of customer risk. No weekly trendline. No forward-looking model that projects retention. Isn't that kinda bonkers? You FORECAST growth, but you DISCOVER churn...usually when it’s too late to fix. The big mistake is presuming retention is a lagging indicator, when it would be more accurate to define it as a neglected one. Think about it...most CS dashboards read like a rearview mirror: - Usage metrics. - Ticket volume. - NPS. Useful? Sure. Predictive? Nah. Because churn doesn’t start when a customer says they’re leaving. It starts months earlier when their exec sponsor stops showing up. If you can spot the risk early, you can unlock more levers: - Re-engage power. - Reset the value narrative. - Escalate to commercial. - Offer roadmap visibility. - Re-map success metrics post-reorg. But none of that works if your team can’t see it coming, which is why you need a churn forecast...just like you do for revenue. Build a churn pipeline. Treat it like sales. Some things to build into this: 1. Define churn stages. Just like deals, risk evolves: - Stage 1 (Early): No exec alignment, lagging adoption, stakeholder turnover. - Stage 2 (Mid): Value not realized, weak champion, limited engagement. - Stage 3 (Late): Renewal live, buyer pushing back, pricing/legal blockers. Assign clear criteria. Surface it in Gainsight, CZ, or Salesforce. Manage it like opportunity stages. 2. Assign prevention plays. Each stage should trigger a play: - Stage 1 = exec outreach + roadmap session. - Stage 2 = commercial review + value plan. - Stage 3 = C-level call + tailored retention offer. Codify this. Don’t let reps improvise. 3. Forecast it weekly. Revenue leaders inspect pipeline weekly. CS should do the same with churn. Ask: - How many accounts moved stages? - What’s projected retention by segment? - What % of at-risk logos have exec visibility? Also, share your churn forecast with the CFO. If the CFO sees new logo pipeline every Monday, but doesn’t see churn risk until Q4? That's no bueno. Start sending a weekly churn report with: - Total ARR at risk. - ARR by churn stage. - Stage progression. - Active recovery plays. - Forecasted retention (with confidence levels). This reduces surprises while also forcing accountability. Why? Because churn is rarely a CS failure, but it's often a product gap, pricing mismatch, or sales promise that aged poorly. When churn is forecasted, it becomes EVERYONE'S problem. Which it is. tl;dr = you don’t “discover” churn. You forecast it. You stage it. You act on it. Just like sales.

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How to retain salespeople: 1. Don't mess with their money 2. Great coaching and feedback 3. Majority of the team hitting quota 4. Opportunities for internal promotions 5. Top performers hitting 200% (or more) 6. Listen to feedback and improve things That's it. That's all you gotta do. - Mike G 👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

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Last week, Adam Robinson made a post about how many dials our SDRs make per day and then 500+ people called me stupid, liar, and said I don’t know what I’m doing. Here’s my response: Adam’s post was about a webinar I did with the RB2B team. On the webinar, I said we make a couple thousand dials per rep per day. That is true! The thing I want to clarify is the total number of dials. We make 1,000-1,600/per day per rep. Sometimes less if we have more conversations, sometimes more if we have less conversations. The 3,000-4,000 dials per rep number referenced in the post is not correct. I went back and listened to the podcast, there’s a bit of cross talk and I can see where that number came from. But for the Official LinkedIn Record™, I misspoke. We do not make 3-4K dials per day. But we ABSOLUTELY DO make 1,000 to 1,600 dials per day per rep and you probably should too. Here’s what people got heated about: 1. The math doesn’t math, liar! Most people seem to think you can only call one person ONCE. And that we dial one-by-one. A half-dozen people made posts about the math and how it’s wrong because there are not enough contacts in the world or hours in the day. That’s not true! Most of our highest ACV deals came from contacts that we were able to connect with after 5-6 dials. We are using a power/parallel dialer — nobody dials manually. If you’re committed, and have the right tech, you can absolutely make a lot of dials a day per rep and book a ton of meetings. 2. Just use signals it’s 2025, moron! A lot of the comments said “This is 2025, not 2019. Just use Signals.” I guarantee you there is not a single company that uses Signals alone to drive a considerable amount of pipeline every month. The alpha isn’t there. When there is a signal, dozens of other companies in your space already have that signal too. Am I saying don’t use them? Absolutely not. Stacking them helps, but it will only take you so far. If you want $100k, $500k or $1m revenue months, then you NEED volume. 3. You’re burning through your TAM, idiot! A lot of people said “they are burning their TAM.” But our largest deal to date was with a VP that told our rep to “F off.” Two months later, he picked up again, didn’t remember it, and booked a meeting. Nobody remembers one bad dial and refuses to do business with you. Your TAM is not static, it should expand. At first we were selling to SMB B2B SaaS at mid 5-figures, then we were selling to Enterprise B2B at low 6-figures, and now we are selling to 9 different verticals including banks, professional services, and tech, at much higher ACV. If you want to be high-growth B2B company, Volume needs to be built into your GTM. TAKEAWAY: Now, I love Linkedin pile-on as much as the next guy… But don’t underestimate how much volume it actually takes to grow fast. Signals help, but they’re not a strategy. They’re a supplement. If you want predictable pipeline at scale, you need conversations, and conversations come from dials.

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When you run cold calls, data quality is the most important thing you should look for! I’ve been saying it for a while now, and the latest test from Céan Greer and Mark Bangs only proves it again. They ran a head-to-head test: 100 contacts, same persona, same call block. Disclaimer: They are not affiliated with either company, and paid for the data themselves. Lusha - Easy list building directly from Linkedin + HubSpot integration But results included: retired people, landlines marked as mobiles, fax numbers, wrong geographies, inactive numbers… FullEnrich - Higher connect rate (and NEW Hubspot integration) Only “issue”: a few personal mobiles => still far more usable than dead numbers 👉 Conclusion: data quality >>> Integrations and convenience are nice, but if the data isn’t reliable, you’re just wasting time. And as of today, nothing beats FullEnrich on quality.

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I’ve reviewed 100s of discovery calls. The #1 difference between AEs converting 40% and AEs converting 70%+ of first calls is the number of problems discussed. And the top reps discuss fewer. Reps that don’t convert go wide, trying to find anything and everything to tie their product to. They think: “The more problems I find, the better chance I have of solving some of them.” Reps that convert go deep into the most important problems uncovered. They think: “I need to attach to a problem worth solving.” I built a discovery capture sheet that will help “guide” your conversations to go deep, instead of wide. You can get it here in this blog post (ungated and no cost - just make a copy): https://lnkd.in/gCaUJ4ZD

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6 storytelling frameworks every SDR needs to know. (unless you want to be an SDR forever) Most SDRs get storytelling wrong. And it's costing them promotions and pay-rises. I've seen brilliant ideas die in in meetings. Watched prospects check their phones. Noticed colleagues peers eyes glaze over when they talk. Not because the ideas were bad. But because the story wasn't there. These 6 frameworks change everything: 1) Simon Sinek's Golden Circle ↳ Don't start with what you do. Start with WHY you do it. ↳ Then explain HOW you do it differently. ↳ Only then share WHAT you actually offer. When Airbnb pitches, they don't just say "we rent rooms." They start with "we create belonging." Lead with vision. 2) Minto's Pyramid Principle ↳ Hit them with your main point first. ↳ Support it with clear evidence. ↳ Add details only if they ask. Your busy prospects will love you for this. No more waiting until 15 minutes into your cold call for the punchline. 3) The Pixar Pitch ↳ "Once upon a time..." (set the scene) ↳ "Every day..." (show the problem) ↳ "Until one day..." (introduce your solution) ↳ "Because of that..." (share the impact) ↳ "Until finally..." (reveal the transformation) This structure is pure magic for showing your company's journey or vision and how your prospect can join you. It shifts their belief system and helps them take action. 4) StoryBrand Framework ↳ Your customer is Luke Skywalker ↳ You're Yoda, the guide ↳ Show them how to win Stop making your company the hero. It's not about you. It's about your prospects. 5) What, So What, Now What ↳ State the facts clearly ↳ Explain why anyone should care ↳ Define the next steps Perfect for turning QBR from sleep aids into action drivers. 6) ABT (And, But, Therefore) ↳ Set up what everyone agrees on ↳ Introduce the challenge ↳ Present your solution When you need to be quick and compelling, this is your go-to. Great for 1:1s with your manager. In today's world, the best story wins. It books the meetings. It closes the revenue. It wins the deals. Your dials deserve a story that matches it. Master these frameworks, and watch what happens to: Your quota. Your commission. Your career trajectory. P.S. What's your go-to storytelling framework? ♻️ Repost to help an SDR in your network. Follow Chris Ritson for more SDR content.

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Coaching your frontline sales managers can increase the entire sales team's performance by as much as 20% Some other data points: 👉🏻Companies that invest in coaching see an 788% ROI through increased productivity and employee retention. 👉🏻Reps are 21% more likely to hit quota with the right leadership. 👉🏻Revenue per seller can jump as much as 50%. Compelling, isn’t it...？ So why is it that sales management training & coaching comes so low down on the priority list when the results are so impactful? In many cases sales managers have been promoted because they were top salespeople, but the skills needed to be a high performing Individual Contributor (IC) are very different to those needed to lead a team (where you go quite literally from 'I' to caring about 'We'). Without the right training and coaching, most are left to figure out on the job - neither of which is optimal for the individual or the company. Ok, so yes, at this point there is a shameless plug for my revenue coaching services, but the results are truly special when a revenue leader with potential and talent (but still learning on the job), can fast track through effective coaching... So what does coaching with me look like: 🌟Personalised 1:1 sessions tailored to your needs 🌟Assessment of skill & knowledge gaps against a revenue leadership maturity model 🌟Clear coaching plan with tangible outcomes 🌟Access to best-in-class playbooks & frameworks (as well as practical guidance on how to execute on them).  Who's my coaching for: ✅First-time sales leaders stepping into new VP/CRO roles ✅Experienced SaaS leaders taking on new functions or geos ✅Ambitious leaders with an 'always learning' mindset ✅SaaS companies that want to increase sales performance by 20% 🎯This quarter’s offer: Book five coaching sessions and your sixth is on me. If you are interested in finding out more, please email me at [email protected] Apologies for cringy photo - it's me at my desk following a coaching call - tenuous link to the post I know :)!! #thefemalesalesleader  #softwaresales  #salesleadershipcoaching  #saas

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