Episode 316: Are You Solving the Right Problems for Your Customers? With Suraj Sampath

GUEST: Suraj Sampath, IT Sales Director at MindSource

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Today, success in B2B sales doesn't come easy and goes way beyond a simple pitch and a few cold calls.

B2B sales require a more strategic and personalized approach.

However, it's all about setting a strong foundation.

Here's the main question:

Why should you understand the problems your company solves when building an ideal customer profile and pipeline?

To help us with this today, we have Suraj Sampath, IT Sales Director at MindSource. Suraj has a unique combination of natural sales ability, engineering aptitude, and business acumen, having closely worked with marketing and engineering while shadowing sales and being mentored by sales leaders. Before joining MindSource, Suraj worked at companies such as Smartcar, DocuSign, ThoughtSpot, Conga, and AdMaxim.

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How Can You Master Business Interactions Through Strategic Preparation and Insight?

Be well-prepared for business interactions by creating a framework that helps you understand your position and the next steps in a deal. This includes knowing the facts, identifying information gaps, and determining the right questions to ask. Suraj highlights the importance of understanding the strategic priorities, business objectives, and risk factors of both public companies and startups to tailor conversations that resonate with executives and decision-makers.

He highlights the value of doing your homework, such as reviewing your customers' public activity, social media profiles, or previous podcast interviews, to gather insights that can shape a more informed and respectful dialogue. This way, you can position yourself as a thoughtful partner and enhance the likelihood of a successful engagement.

“You really want to understand things around their business objectives, their risk factors, and their strategic priorities just because this is probably what's resonating with them the most, and this is what personally affects them”.

Suraj Sampath, IT Sales Director at MindSource

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Targeting the Right Customers

When aiming to target the right customers, focus on those who truly benefit from your solutions rather than chasing prestigious clients for the sake of appearances. Suraj recommends looking beyond initial impressions and examining which segments genuinely increase their spending and engagement over time.

This involves analyzing past customer data to understand which profiles are purchasing and expanding their use of your services. So, take the time to evaluate your customer base analytically, focus your resources on those who demonstrate real growth potential, and avoid the temptation of chasing outstanding but unprofitable opportunities.

“There's no reason to try to go for everybody who more than likely won't buy. I'd rather say spend 80-90% of your time on the people who would”.

Suraj Sampath, IT Sales Director at MindSource

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Tailor Your Pitch to Resonate and Drive Results

When engaging with different departments, such as sales, marketing, or IT, it's vital to know their language, their main concerns, and the specific problems they face that your product can solve. Focus on the key business metrics that matter to them to increase the urgency and likelihood of their engagement. Moreover, leveraging successful customer stories can significantly enhance your credibility and assist potential clients in visualizing the real benefits of your offering.

“Ultimately, what you're really doing with those outcomes is you're helping people make more money, you're helping them save time, you're helping them decrease risk, or you're helping them improve their overall customer experience”.

Suraj Sampath, IT Sales Director at MindSource

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‍Now that you know the importance of understanding the problems your company solves when building an ideal customer profile and pipeline, discover the full list of episodes at The B2B Revenue Executive Experience. If you enjoy the show, instructions to rate and review it are found here.

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