Stop measuring activity. Measure Stage 1.
Activity dashboards count effort, not pipeline. Here are the four Stage 1 measures that tell a services sales leader where next quarter is coming from.
3 min read
Blog
The Stage 1 blog Page 5
How services firms find accounts getting ready to buy, get in through people they know, and open conversations worth having. Written by Kevin French.
The cost of a burned intro
A badly handled warm introduction costs more than one lost deal. What burns an intro, what it does to your network and how to keep it from happening.
3 min readPut the first meeting agenda in the reply
Why the reply that confirms a first meeting should carry a three-line agenda built on the buyer's own words, and how that one change raises show rates.
3 min readMeasuring a seller's first 90 days
How to measure a new services seller in their first 90 days, when closed revenue is too far off to judge, using leading indicators that show real progress.
3 min readWhen the news names the incumbent integrator
A headline naming an account's integrator tells you who you're displacing and when the contract turns. Here's how to read it and when to move.
4 min readThe meeting ask that doesn't feel like one
Why a cold note should end with a question about the buyer's problem instead of a meeting request, and how that question earns the meeting anyway.
3 min readSelling to Canadian companies from the US
How a US services firm sells into Canadian companies, from who buys and what pressures they face to the signals that matter and an example opener.
3 min readAI pilots that never reach production
When a leader admits AI pilots haven't scaled or proven ROI, someone owns that gap. Here's how to read the signal and open the conversation.
4 min readHow to size a pipeline gap honestly
How a services firm sizes the real gap between its revenue target and its pipeline, without padding stages or counting deals that aren't there.
3 min readCloud contract renewals you can see coming
How to spot a company's cloud contract renewal before it happens using filings, job posts and leadership changes, and pitch the cost work around it.
3 min readAdvisory boards as intro engines
How a services firm builds a small advisory board of senior operators who open doors to buyers, and how to ask for intros without wearing them out.
3 min readSelling to a VP of operations
What a VP of operations owns, what they're measured on, which buying signals matter for the role and how to write an opener they'll answer.
3 min readCarve-outs come with a transition clock
A spin-off or divestiture puts a hard date on standing up new systems. When the transition services agreement runs out, the work goes outside.
4 min readThe reply that asks for a call next week
When a buyer replies asking for a call next week, the next note decides if the meeting happens. How to confirm it, prepare it and bring the right people.
3 min readRFPs. When to bid and when to walk.
An RFP is the strongest buying signal there is and the one most likely to waste a month. Here's how to decide when to bid and when to walk away.
3 min readConcentration risk and new logos
Why a services firm with one or two dominant clients needs a steady new logo motion, and how to build one before the big account changes its mind.
3 min readThe signals before an ERP migration
The buying signals that show up months before a company starts an ERP migration, and how a services firm reads them to get in before the RFP.
3 min readIntroductions at conferences
How to turn a conference into warm introductions to buyers by asking the people you already know to make a short in-person or written intro.
3 min read