Advisory · for tech founders selling into financial services
Most businesses think the problems they're dealing with are unique. They're the same problems every business has, wearing slightly different clothes.
The problems are common, and so are the solutions. We've solved them before.
The seven problems
Here they are, one at a time: what each looks like from the inside, and a hint at how it gets fixed. Most growing companies recognise more than one.
Start with the first ↓Problem 01
You sell to too many types of customer. Prospects see you as one option among several, and struggle to say what makes you different. Your best deals came through your own network, and you can't repeat them.
Every strong sales motion starts with knowing exactly where you win, and why. We know how to find that for a company selling into banks, and how to make it obvious to the buyer before they have to ask.
Problem 02
Not enough of the right opportunities. Outbound takes more effort for less. Marketing sends leads the sales team doesn't want.
Qualified demand comes from fewer places than most companies think. We know which of them work when the buyer is a bank, and how to make them deliver.
Problem 03
Deals that stall after a good meeting. Close dates that keep moving. More deals lost to no decision than to any competitor.
Deals don't stall at random. They stall at the same few gates, and inside a bank half a dozen functions can stop one without ever meeting you. We know where those gates are, and how your team gets through them.
Problem 04
Discounts to get deals over the line. Deals smaller than they should be. Buyers who push back on price, and a team that gives way.
Price becomes the argument when the value isn't clear. We know how to build a case a bank's finance team will sign off, so price stops being the conversation.
Problem 05
A few people carry the number. Everyone else sells their own way, and nobody can say which way works. CRM stages mean something different to everyone.
The best sales processes are built around how the buyer actually buys. We know what those steps are when the buyer is a bank, and which one your reps are skipping.
Problem 06
Hires who look great on paper, then sell nothing. New starters who take too long to become productive. A third head of sales, and still no answer to whether it's them or the business.
We know exactly what the DNA of a great salesperson looks like, for every type of company at every stage of growth. So the next hire fits the business you actually have, and you know early whether it's working.
Problem 07
A forecast that changes in the last week of the quarter. A CRM that looks healthy, and that nobody believes. Surprises at the board meeting.
A reliable forecast is built on evidence from the deal itself. We know what that evidence looks like in a bank deal, and how to get your team collecting it.
How it works
You tell us what's going on. We tell you what we think is broken, what it would take to fix, and whether we're the right people to fix it. If we're not, we'll say so.
Two to four weeks inside your CRM, your calls and your customers, including the ones who said no. You get a prioritised fix list. Not a sixty-page deck.
There's no wrong order. Some companies take the Diagnostic and never need more. Some skip it and go straight to a retainer.
“We've worked with James for over 18 months. He's helped us through a huge amount — succession planning, transformation of our sales team. He's a huge ongoing asset to our business.”
Cian Fernando · CEO, Aqua Global
Tell us what's going on. We'll tell you which part is broken, what it'll take to fix, and whether we're the right people to do it.