The Katy Mason-Jones Sales Theory.
That’s what the Cognism team calls the legendary processes developed by this real-life sales magician.
Joining the company in September 2020, Katy smashed through her targets as a Sales Development Representative (SDR). She has since moved up the ranks, securing a promotion to Account Executive (AE) in 2021 and to Senior Commercial AE role in February 2022. 🎉
So what’s behind her winning formula? And how can you cut and paste it into your workflow?
Well, we sat down with Katy to find out.
Keep scrolling for her game-changing insights 👇
Where do you attribute your success at Cognism?
“The whole team at Cognism is incredible. I’ve never worked in a company with such a wonderful support system.”
“Firstly, the management and training are second to none. We have at least three weekly training sessions, whether it’s one-on-one with a manager, in your pod or with the wider team.”
“Secondly, it helps that what we're selling is so crucial to the growth of pretty much every company out there. Since I started over two years ago, it's amazing to look back on the updates and improvements. Especially as they all contribute to why so many companies are choosing Cognism.”
What has helped you on this journey?
“Understanding that every day/week/month will be different from the last always helps. This keeps things in perspective in my sales role.”
“Sometimes it seems like everything is running smoothly, and deals you’ve been working on all end up signing at a similar time. Whereas the following week, you can have the complete opposite result.”
“You definitely have to maintain a positive mindset and make sure you are able to pick yourself up from any rejections. As well as celebrate the wins and concentrate on what's coming in next.”
What processes in your sales theory have helped you achieve success??
“One rule I stick by is making sure that every day I learn at least two new pieces of information.”
“It’s great to keep evolving. So that’s whether you’re watching a senior colleague's demo or learning more about a competitor. You might be facing an objection that you didn’t handle well on a demo with one of your team members.”
What's the number one innovation you implemented that helped you speed up your workflow?
“We are lucky enough to have an amazing tech stack at Cognism. So it’s key to ensure that we’re utilising all the tools designed to make our day-to-day activities as speedy as possible.”
“I aim to find two key accounts to prospect each week to supplement the inbound and outbound demos booked into my calendar. I’ll prospect into them outside of my other meetings.”
“The Cognism Chrome extension means you can find a mobile number in seconds while finding prospects on LinkedIn. Then you can push it into an outreach cadence with one click, making the whole process quick and easy.”
“Scratchpad is an amazing tool that speeds up the Salesforce admin process. It saves the team at least five hours a week in slow admin-related tasks. Which leaves more time for prospecting!”
How do you manage prospect relationships?
“Being human is always key to building a good relationship with a prospect. As the saying goes, people buy from people.”
“But, to build that relationship, there needs to be trust and attention to detail. A good discovery is key to tailoring the demo to a prospect's requirements. And that you can keep referring back to exactly why they’re researching tools like Cognism.”
“The teams here use the BUSS sales methodology, which focuses on making every call customer-centric. It helps to ensure the customer feels valued and listened to at every step of the sales cycle.”
How did you build relationships with prospects when you started out?
“When I was an SDR on the first call, I generally opened with:
‘Hi, this is Katy from Cognism, and for full transparency, this is a B2B sales call.’
“I know this line isn’t in most SDRs’ sales call scripts, but it’s definitely worth a try. Most prospects appreciated the honesty, making it a refreshing change to the usual cold call opener. Being transparent and friendly is always the best way to make a good first impression.”
“On the first call, identifying the prospect’s pain point is often simple, which can lead to you closing the call too early.”
“But it always pays to be patient.”
“If the prospect makes it clear they’re not interested, try to understand why or find out a potential timeline of events.”
“Be a consultant:
“Learn what they’re struggling with and suggest how your company might be able to help further down the line.”
“Listening to some of my early cold calls, I noticed I was a little persistent and pushy.”
“In fact, one prospect who attended a demo with a BDM said he only agreed to do so because I was so keen for him to take a look. He didn’t actually need the product.”
Hit ▶️ for more insights on how to have meaningful conversations in sales with Ryan Resiert and Galem Girmay, Co-Founder @revgenius.
What are the differences between the SDR, MDR and AE roles?
“The SDR and MDR roles were an amazing step in my sales career. I had just returned from two years of living in the Canadian Rockies straight into lockdown, with very little idea of what I wanted to do with myself.”
“The SDR role was the perfect one, as it honed all of the skills I’d developed working in hospitality. It's hard work and requires resilience and determination, but you learn on the job and improve quickly.”
“The SDR role and your success depend on how much you’re willing to put into every day. It's best to structure your days so you can keep focused.”
“I started off with an hour of cold calling, then an hour of LinkedIn activity (voice notes, Vidyards), back to calling, then emails. Keep it varied and structured to ensure you stay on track.”
“The MDR role was a big change that meant I was engaging with prospects that had interacted with Cognism in some way (like downloading a piece of content) and then reaching out to them as a warm lead. We’ve since moved away from the MDR model as our amazing marketing team has moved towards a demand gen model.”
“The AE role is amazing. We’re lucky enough to have our diaries full of great demos, whether they are inbound or outbound (booked in by our SDR team). The day involves a combination of demo follow-up, prospecting and multi-threading existing opps.”
What advice would you give to other salespeople who want to progress?
“Stay focused on your goals. Make sure you keep remembering your 'why'.”
“When I was an SDR, the goal was to progress into the AE role within a year, which I achieved. You have to make sure you’re hitting your numbers at a minimum. But at the same time, you need to make sure you’re a team player that everyone wants to work with.”
“Make sure the demos you’re booking are top quality and that you’re someone the team thinks of as motivated, a hard worker and a go-getter. That way, you’ll get noticed, and then when the time comes to move into the next role, you’ll be top of mind for those that matter.”
“Again, as an AE, make sure you’re consistently finding ways to improve your processes. Listen to your team's demos and calls and explore where you can make small improvements.”
“When you are doing this, make sure you keep your 'why' in mind. Are you aiming for the President’s Club? Are you saving for a flat deposit? Or are you just looking at giving one of your best demos that week?”
Need more inspiration? Listen to Confessions of an SDR to hear Morgan Ingram talk all things SDR best practices and blunders! 😂
How do you manage your admin?
“Just try and stay on top of it at all times! Make sure that after every call or demo, you send your follow-up as soon as possible. Don’t think you’ll remember everything that was said that evening because you won't.”
“Every morning before 9 am, ensure all emails have been answered, and the same applies to every evening. You'll thank yourself for it!”
What tools/resources would you recommend to other salespeople developing their own sales theory?
“When I worked in the MDR role, I tried to watch as many demos as possible using Gong. It’s a great way of seeing how the BDMs approach their demos. This was super helpful when I wanted to work on my discovery at the start of calls.”
“Watching Gong recordings is a great way of hearing more experienced salespeople’s demos. It allows me to see whether I’m asking enough questions, as well as the right questions.”
“Also, (shameless plug!) I love Cognism. What could be better than a tool that saves hours of manual prospecting time and lets you speak directly to the right people you’re prospecting?”
What's your number one sales tip?
“As silly as it sounds, try not to be too sales-y. Prospects can smell it a mile off. If you’re genuine, friendly and trustworthy, you’ll be in a much better position when it comes to any negotiation.”
Sounds like a winning sales theory to us! But we're not done there…
If you want to get your hands on the winning sales cadence our team uses, smash the button below 👇
.png)
