TestBox

The best sellers focus on winning in the margins.  Because they know that small decisions determine if they win or lose. Here’s how: -Follow Up Fast: The faster you follow up, the higher your close rate. Speed beats perfection every time. -Prep Like Your Deal Depends On It: Know their goals, challenges, and recent wins before you hit “Join Meeting.” -Handle Objections Early: Address concerns before prospects raise them. Control the narrative. -Ask the Hard Question: Don’t dance around the deal’s reality. Get direct: “What’s stopping this from moving forward?” -Know When to Walk: Time is your most valuable resource. Qualify out when the fit is not there. There are plenty more. But you get the idea. If you’ve ever said you want to “work smarter” — this is how. Winning on the margins is about seeing what others miss and making smarter micro-adjustments. Small changes. Massive results.

Handoffs hurt the customer experience. Elaine Zelby and James Kaikis discuss how handoffs can actually hurt the customer experience — how GTM teams can improve customer success with a more aligned approach. #CustomerExperience #HandoffProblems #MarketingStrategy #SalesEffectiveness #CustomerSuccess #BusinessInsights #SeamlessTransitions #CustomerSatisfaction #FounderPerspective #ProductSuccess

What does a comp plan with an aligned Solutions function look like? This is the question I get asked the most right now, and for good reason. Solutions professions are typically 80/20 or 75/25 to limit their downside (and upside). And, that is why there is friction from Solutions professionals who feel they make superhero efforts to bring deals in but don't receive the glory or compensation (aka one of the reasons I was motivated to start PreSales Collective). Let's start with a FACT: Incentives drive behavior. Here is a roadmap to changing comp plans in the aligned solutions org. Change 1: Willingness to take on less base salary to provide for more upside: 65/35 - 50/50 - Sales reps live and die on 50/50, and we typically don't want our solutions in that model, but you cannot make AE OTE without the accountability - Note: this is the most challenging change for people in the role, so a slow roll to 50/50-ish is typically the suggested path (let them experience the upside) Change 2: Prevent downside by making variable both commission and MBOs - Flat rate commission on net new, expansion, and cross-sell - MBOs for renewals - MBOs on Account Health Metrics (plays run against customers to increase value metric, adoption, utilization, etc...) Change 3: Full Cycle Solutions are included in SPIFFs - No more days of Rolexs and Spa days for just AEs. Sales is a team sport. - SPIFFs for programs run within a quarter or the year - SPIFFs can also be used instead of MBOs to increase upside (renewal, etc..) This type of comp plan may be the norm in your business, but this may likely be a [radical] shift. And for those who say this model will impact the customer experience if we are just focused on revenue, there is a reason why you use MBOs and SPIFFs to drive the proper behavior with customers (account health plays >>>>). Note: employees are not incentivized to go above and beyond for customers when your teams are at 100% or 90% base salary with no upside.

How do you wow buyers at every stage of the sales funnel? With tailored, strategic demos. It’s about the right demo at the right time. Early-stage? Try self-guided tours or high-level overviews. Mid-stage? Industry-specific, live demos work wonders. Final decision? Personalized POCs seal the deal. Get the full framework for demo success - link in the comments.

Looking for new year's resolutions? Love this one from Lexi Bohonnon about the importance of networking ... and making the time to actually do it. Go find your people!

The Art of Setting Expectations: How To Stop Wasting Time on Bad Fits — and Bad Revenue. Today, we launched our first newsletter of The New GTM Playbook, a 2x per month email to provide GTM Operators with small but powerful tactics to transform your go-to-market strategy. Today’s issue is inspired by my conversation with Elaine Zelby (co-founder and CRO, TOFU), who shared a truth every sales leader and rep needs to embrace: your time is your most valuable asset.   Yet, too often, we waste it chasing bad-fit prospects that stall deals or, worse, bring in revenue we regret.   In this edition, we’re zeroing in on the art of qualifying with precision—and disqualifying with confidence. Mastering this skill means spending less time on deals that will never close and more time on the ones that matter. If you want to read today's newsletter, subscribe, and I will forward you this edition. Thank you to Meghan Spork and Devin Reed for their energy, effort, and partnership.

What i'm finding awesome about my time with TestBox is the incredible feedback we receive from our customers. They're not just satisfied—they're raving fans. They're seeing firsthand how we can revolutionize their entire sales motion - and for the better. Let’s be real: Nobody wants to be stuck managing endless POCs or redoing the same process over and over. Presenting without confidence. Telling without showing. And that shiny AI feature you’re promising? Often it’s just an empty page that leaves prospects confused, uninterested, and unable to see the true value of your solution. Or it may be so convoluted that they can't seem to understand the story behind it, if there is one. Well, i'm glad those days are gone and you can just buy TestBox. Our fans are seeing the value in real time, and they are getting ahead of the SaaS game. Think about that.

Some views from all the fun we had last month at our incredible Rio offsite with the TestBox South team. We swapped our usual Zoom calls for ocean views and some good old fashioned face-to-face time together. And it was the perfect mix of productivity and pure fun. We can’t until the next one!

Some views from all the fun we had last month at our incredible Rio offsite with the TestBox South team. We swapped our usual Zoom calls for ocean views and some good old fashioned face-to-face time together. And it was the perfect mix of productivity and pure fun. We can’t until the next one!

The old GTM playbook is broken, and it’s about to be replaced with the New GTM Playbook, which better aligns with how B2B buyers want to engage today. Here’s why: -The old playbook was overly focused on new business acquisition at the expense of other priorities like customer retention and expansion. -Buyers now want to "try before they buy" through proof of concepts, not just demos and trust. -Sales/pre-sales roles are evolving from just doing demos to being more strategic, customer-oriented "solutions teams." -Relying on volume-based "spray and pray" prospecting is replaced by more targeted outreach using market/audience signals. -RevOps teams are shifting from just being "report builders" to being more strategic partners. The go-to-market approach must be more customer-centric and aligned with how buyers want to engage. Leaders who make the transition now will be thanking themselves this time next year.