Developing a Sales Playbook

In 2 years, we cut Aligned’s sales cycle from 75 to 22 days, while moving up market and increasing ACV 44%. The key? Our team meets EVERY WEEK to optimize our sales playbook. Here’s our end-to-end workflow: 1. Playbooks get old within a few months—Build a regular update cadence How buyers evaluate you and make decisions constantly changes as your product, market, competitors, and economy change. Discussing these changes weekly forces us to adapt. We figure out if we need new enablement assets, training, or if our workflows need a refresh. 2. Most playbooks are “Set & Forget”—Build a system to monitor & analyze At Aligned, we use Deal Rooms to run our playbook. We analyze our best and worst-performing rooms weekly based on buyer engagement. This helps us understand what aspects of our process are effective and identify gaps. For example, an AE might create a new tab to run competitor comparisons or a business case framework that drives more exec engagement. 3. Most wait too long—Quickly turn gaps into sales or buyer enablement assets Most teams lack a routine to find OR fix gaps. Also, most teams put too much weight on sales enablement assets like scripts or training materials. Last week, Kevin "KD" Dorsey told me he sees deal rooms as an excuse for constantly creating buyer enablement assets like ROI calculators and guides. He said, “Investing in buyers must become a habit, or you’re not going to get far”. I couldn’t agree more. 4. Most skills stop at training—Embed every new skill into a dedicated template I’m a 4x sales leader. One thing I was NEVER able to do right is to get the team to consistently follow the playbook. At Aligned, we’ve tackled this by updating all customer-facing workflows in our deal room template (e.g. How we run MAPs, POCs, Business Cases...). We then use the internal-only view to templatize resources like discovery and demo frameworks. Centralizing it in one place makes it easier for the team to follow our processes. 5. Over-standardization is as bad as winging it—Encourage breaking your process A sales leader’s dream of having the ‘perfect’ process executed by their team can also be their worst nightmare. Yes, you want AEs to see what good looks like and follow what works. But do it too often, and you end up killing intuition and creativity. THE essence of what makes complex selling work is knowing how to dance. That's why our biggest updates to our template come from our team on the front line, not top-down. TAKEAWAY: There’s no quick fix for improving Deal Velocity metrics. Simply increasing price 15% won’t magically solve ACV. There are multiple potential root causes to identify. And multiple ways you can address them. But what you truly need… Is a structured way to enhance your process. Monitor, Analyze, Iterate, and Scale. That’s what has worked best for us. You have to be strategic about it. EDIT: People asked—Aligned is the Deal Room we use. It's 100% free to try https://lnkd.in/dwX_Zizk

The worst cold email I received this month started with: "I'd love 15 minutes to introduce myself and show you what we do." Nobody cares about your introduction. Nobody has time for a generic pitch. After analyzing thousands of outreach sequences, I've discovered a psychological shift that's doubling meeting rates for innovative sellers. The best performers aren't focusing on their product. They're focusing on buyer psychology. Here's what's actually working in 2025: 1. The Curiosity Gap When you write "Other VPs in your space are seeing X trend" instead of "We help companies do Y," you create an information gap buyers want to fill. Our brains hate incomplete information. Use this. 2. Relevance Triggers Generic outreach gets generic results. When you mention a buyer's LinkedIn post or recent initiative, you're bypassing their "sales defense system." Relevance is required. 3. Specificity Signals "This could help you grow revenue" gets ignored. "Companies like yours are seeing 22% reduction in CAC" gets attention. Specific numbers signal you actually know what you're talking about. 4. Miniature Commitments Don't ask for 30 minutes. Ask for feedback on one specific insight. Small asks lead to bigger conversations. 5. Value-First Mindset Position yourself as a resource, not a vendor. Share insights without expecting anything in return. Reciprocity is powerful. The old playbook of "smile and dial" is dead. Meeting quotas in 2025 requires understanding human psychology. What psychological principle has worked best in your outreach?

Sales folks, take note! Spamming a target company's employees with your services and requests for meetings will result in your company making its way onto a buyer's blocklist. As a buyer in the localization industry, I receive dozens of emails and LinkedIn requests every single day from vendors looking to showcase translation, AI, QA services, and more. It's not humanly possible to give personal replies to every outreach. When vendors can't get through to me, they often reach out to everyone on my team... and sometimes to many others across my company. I'd love for this practice to stop. It wastes valuable company time and makes a vendor appear desperate and non-strategic. Here's what to do instead: 1. Appeal to ego! Invite a target company’s decision-maker to a panel, or start a vlog series and ask buyers to appear and discuss industry topics. It’s also a great opportunity to reposition your company as a thought leader. 2. Offer genuine insight, not just services. Share a case study, white paper, or benchmarking data that’s actually useful to the buyer’s role, and do it without a sales pitch. 3. Build a reputation before you build a pipeline. Comment thoughtfully on posts. Contribute to community conversations. If you consistently show up with value, you’re far more likely to get noticed. 4. Target smarter, not broader. Don’t shotgun your message to an entire company. Learn the org. Understand the buyer’s scope. Then send one well-researched, personalized note that shows you actually did your homework. 5. Focus on mutual value. Can you help solve a known pain point or offer perspective on something changing in the market? Frame your outreach around collaboration, not consumption. 6. Use timing to your advantage. Keep tabs on when companies are hiring for roles associated with your offerings, launching in new markets, or attending conferences. That’s when buyers are more receptive to new solutions. 7. Lead with generosity. Offer a no-strings-attached resource, intro, or suggestion that doesn’t benefit you directly. Reciprocity is a powerful trust builder. And please! Don't ever ever call me on the phone! ;)

I see a lot of sellers using case studies the wrong way. It’s backfiring (without them knowing). Try this instead: When I was pursuing Fortune 500-level brands with transformational deals, we had to be really purposeful with who we showed as examples and why. They had to be just right for the situation. Here are the 3 categories and when to use them: 1/ THE COMPETITOR Using someone in their industry can work, but only if they are NOT the category leader. Otherwise, you risk pissing them off. 2/ THE NORTH STAR Other times we’d position another category leader outside their industry because we knew that company publically talked about improving a very specific area (like customer experience) and the example we provided would be an inspirational North Star for them to emulate without any conflicts in their category. Example: Using Disney to inspire a healthcare company to improve digital customer journeys. 3/ THE PARTNER Finally, the third move was offering up a complimentary case study where there were partner connections for the brand and we could facilitate strategic exec-to-exec peer discussions. Example: We shared with Delta what Virgin Atlantic was doing, knowing Delta had a financial stake in that airline. We also shared innovations T-Mobile was doing using our tech knowing TMO was their preferred onboard in-flight messaging partner. The framework: Choose the right case study for the right situation. Not all are created equal. 🐝

Most sellers focus on top-of-funnel signals. But there is serious power in also using signals that surface after the demo – when buyers go quiet or deals stall. I was chatting with my friend Saad Khan at Aligned this week, and he broke down how they use Digital Sales Rooms (DSRs) to track buying signals deeper in the funnel. Most people use DSRs as a content dumping ground. But here’s how to actually turn it into a bottom-of-funnel signal engine: 1. Map the real buying committee Every org is different. Use your DSR to track who’s engaging – not just your known champion. → Cross-check with your account map → Talk with your champion about these new players → Tailor content for the real decision-makers 2. Use engagement (or silence) as a signal No activity = no deal. If your room’s been dead for 2 weeks, that’s a sign. Time to re-engage, reposition, or de-prioritize. 3. Stack signals from other sources Combine DSR data with: → Former users re-engaging → Trial activations → Job listings tied to your initiative → Competitor activity Example: The procurement team is deep in your DSR looking at competitive content while your competitor’s AE is liking their exec’s posts. That’s not random. That's a signal. The best sellers today don’t just read signals in isolation. They connect the dots.

"I'm sorry, but we've decided to go with a competitor." The words no sales rep wants to hear. I asked why. "Their solution seemed more transparent. We felt like we understood exactly what we were getting." This confused me. I had sent: - Our most detailed product sheets - Multiple case studies - Comprehensive pricing information What was I missing? Later that week, I watched the competitor's demo recording. I noticed something immediately: They didn't just talk about transparency. They demonstrated it. Their follow-up wasn't a flood of attachments. It was a single space where the prospect could: - See who viewed what information - Track exactly where they were in the buying process - Access only what was relevant to their specific challenges - Control how information was shared internally I realized my mistake: I was hiding behind documents. They were building an honest relationship. For my next opportunity: I created a digital room that showed the prospect EVERYTHING: → Who from my team had accessed their information → Which implementation resources they hadn't reviewed yet → Honest timeline expectations → Both the strengths AND limitations of our solution The prospect messaged me: "This is refreshing. For once I don't feel like I'm being 'sold to'." They signed within a coupla weeks. The truth: Modern buyers don't lack information. They lack trust. Old sales playbook: Send impressive materials that hide potential issues. New sales playbook: Create transparent spaces that address concerns head-on. Your prospects can sense when you're hiding something. Even if you're not. Stop treating sales like a magic trick. Start treating it like an open book. Agree?

I warmed up a prospect for 3 months on LinkedIn before our first call. They signed a £75K deal in 3 days. Modern selling demands a new approach: cold outreach fails, warm relationships win. Think about it... That prospect had consumed 47 of my posts. Watched my videos. Read my articles. Engaged with my content. By the time we jumped on that first call? They already trusted me. They already knew my approach. They already understood the value. I didn't have to sell them. They'd already sold themselves. Here's my framework for turning content into closed deals: 👇 1. Build trust at scale BEFORE the pitch Stop spraying and praying with cold messages. Start building relationships through value. Each post builds trust. Your insights mark credibility. Stories create connection. Your content is doing the heavy lifting while you sleep. 2. Let buyers self-educate on THEIR timeline Modern buyers don't want to be sold to. They want to discover solutions themselves. ↳ 70% of the buying journey happens before they talk to sales ↳ They're researching you before you even know they exist ↳ Your content is either attracting or repelling them Give them what they need to make informed decisions. 3. Recognize the REAL buying signals Forget MQLs and SQLs. Think about PQLs (product qualified leads) Here's what actually matters: - Multiple engagements across different posts - Bringing colleagues into the conversation - Asking specific, detailed questions - Moving from public comments to private messages These aren't leads. These are pre-qualified buyers. 4. Keep momentum BETWEEN meetings Here's where most deals die: The 167 hours between your calls. While you're chasing other prospects, your buyer is: ↳ Getting cold feet ↳ Talking to competitors ↳ Forgetting why they were excited Smart sellers stay present even when they're not there. This is where tools like Consensus come in. They let buyers explore demos on their own time. Answer their questions at 10 PM. Share materials with their team. Stay engaged between touchpoints. It's how you keep social selling momentum right through the demo stage. https://lnkd.in/ePVWw-Bi 5. Close with confidence, not pressure When trust is already built? When value is already proven? When buyers are already educated? Closing feels natural, not like a battle. The best deals I've ever closed felt inevitable. Because the relationship started months before the opportunity. Here's what this approach delivers (in my experience): ✓ Significantly faster sales cycles ✓ Much higher close rates ✓ Bigger deal sizes (pre-sold = less negotiation) ✓ Happier customers (they chose you, not the other way around) Stop thinking of social selling as "nice to have." Start treating it as your primary sales strategy. Your next big deal isn't in your CRM. They're scrolling LinkedIn right now. What content are you creating to catch them? #ConsensusPartner

Just got off a call with a founder who's sent 1,000+ cold emails with ZERO responses... Let me ask you something... Have you ever crafted what you thought was the perfect outreach message, only to be met with complete silence? One of my clients (a SaaS founder) just shared their frustrating experience that might sound familiar... They spent weeks perfecting their message, researching prospects, and personalizing every email. The result? Radio silence. Zero responses. Zero meetings. Zero opportunities. And here's what really hurts... Their competitor, with an inferior product, was landing meetings left and right with the same prospects. After analyzing thousands of outreach campaigns, I’ve discovered that trust isn't built through volume - it's built through three specific elements that buyers actually care about. Here are the 3 trust drivers that actually get decision-makers to reply: 1) Social Proof That Matters Stop leading with generic logos. I've found buyers instantly engage when you share specific results from companies in their exact industry. They need to see themselves in your success stories. ✅ POWER MOVE:  Reference a similar company's specific metrics improvement (e.g., "We helped Company X increase their conversion rate by 47% in 60 days") 2) Thought Leadership Signals Your prospects are drowning in "experts." I've tested this extensively - buyers respond when you demonstrate deep industry knowledge through specific insights about their business challenges. ✅POWER MOVE: Share a unique observation about their market position or recent company changes that others missed. 3) Micro-Deliverables This is the game-changer most miss. I've seen response rates triple when founders offer immediate value before asking for anything in return. ✅POWER MOVE: Provide a quick competitive analysis or specific growth opportunity they can implement today, regardless of whether they reply. The data is clear: 89% of cold outreach fails because it focuses on what YOU want instead of what THEY need. These aren't just theories - I've watched these exact strategies transform response rates from 2% to 20%+ across hundreds of campaigns. Here's the real question: How many of these trust drivers are you actually incorporating in your outreach right now? #ColdOutreach #B2BSales #TrustBasedSelling #OutboundMarketing #SalesStrategy

I just got a cold email from Uber… Why in the world would a $201 billion taxi company be sending me cold emails? Answer: Because it works 4 years ago, I remember thinking that “lead gen” was a dirty phrase. I specifically remember telling someone in the team that I’d never do cold outreach from my LinkedIn profile. I thought it was a bad look That it might seem desperate That it wouldn’t be good for the brand Turns out that was a terribly naive opinion. Everyone loves to pretend that marketing should all be about pretty ads and all your new clients coming inbound. But every channel works. (Otherwise, they literally wouldn’t exist as channels.) The question is, how do you approach it? I’ve spent the last 4+ years testing hundreds of strategies across almost every channel you can name. And the key is always the same. It comes down to focusing on these 3 things: 1/ Effort I want everyone person who we approach to clearly see that we’ve put in effort to reach them. That may mean: Sending a wax-sealed envelope to their office ↳ Like we did with Monzo Creating a 35-page audit of their marketing ↳ Like we did with GoCardless Or simply a personalised email that shows we understand their business. In a world where no one wants to lift a finger and expects 1000s leads, showing them that you actually put effort into contacting them is a simple way to stand out. —— 2/ Creativity Marketing is an attention game. No attention = no sale. So find a way to put a twist on whatever you do, that might be: - A voice note instead of text - A custom GIF with their logo - A handwritten note on company letterhead - A package delivered to their office with a QR code inside The format matters less than the fact that it's different from the other 47 pitches sitting in their inbox. —— 3/ Value I see every piece of outreach as an exchange. You don’t show up at someone’s house for dinner without bringing flowers. The same way you don’t show up in an inbox without bringing them something valuable. My favourite versions of this: A) You give them an eBook explaining a unique part of your process that they could use for themselves B) You invite them to an intimate workshop where you help them solve a problem Either way, just turn up with something genuinely useful for them. —— And yes, I hate having an inbox full of cold emails too. But I also hate when YouTube makes me wait 2 minutes to watch an ad before my video starts. The channel isn’t the issue, your approach is. P.S. Let me know if this was useful? If it was, follow for more Niall Ratcliffe

Something cool I realized over the years: you should build process in your company EXACTLY like you build software as an engineer. If you're starting a company or team today and want to build great processes, do what software engineers do, just replace "software" with "process": 1. Start with no process. 2. Make small, frequent updates to your process. Updates should be small but complete. 3. Solve real problems with your updates. - Always start with the most important problems. - Solve bugs and improve quality. - Identify real problems by performing a root cause analysis on events that ACTUALLY happened and that you’re trying to avoid going forward. 4. Push those updates to the machine that executes them. When you make process changes that humans need to follow, always “push it to their 🧠” by notifying them of the process change. 5. Don’t just accumulate processes. Perform “garbage collection”: occasionally reexamine your process and delete what doesn’t serve us anymore. 6. Your process should have one entry point. Every software system has an entry point. Build a central playbook for your team and company and make it the entry point, to ensure that everyone within your team has an entry point into your full process, and doesn't have "blind spots". Going deeper: --- 1. ACTION QUALITY I think about all actions in all processes in 3 categories: 🟢 GUARANTEED: these are actions that are software-controlled, and don't require human discretion. They are executed on 💻 Example: starting 2022, every sandbox sign up at Unit sends a welcome email. 🟡 MOSTLY GUARANTEED: these are actions that happen because we expect people to follow a playbook. We give them feedback and help them develop habits to do it. They are executed on 🧠 Example: in 2021, we had a step within the sales playbook to send a welcome email for every sandbox sign up. 🔴 NOT GUARANTEED: these are actions that are not written in playbooks: implicit expectations, reminders in people’s heads or a message in Slack 2 years ago. They are executed on 🧠 Example: in 2020, I had a reminder in my head to send a welcome email for every sandbox sign up. --- 2. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS In the Israeli army, there is a saying that "all rules were written in blood". If you instill a culture of root cause analysis in your company, it will AUTOMATICALLY upgrade your process over time: - Upgrade 🔴 not written in a playbook into 🟡 written in a playbook. - Upgrade 🟡 written in a playbook into 🟢 fully automated. Below is how we like to do root cause analysis at Unit.