Identifying potential customers (leads) and

Goal
getting them interested in your product.

Marketing campaigns [email protected]

Website inquiries

Referrals
Types Working out the details of the deal – discussing
Industry events Goal pricing, terms, addressing objections, and
possibly adjusting the proposal
Proactive outreach
Discounts
...
Price discussions Different packaging
Content Marketing E.g. whitepaper, webinar that requires sign-up
...
Email Marketing
Legal
Approaches Social Media Outreach
Main Activities Contract redlining Term changes
Cold calling
Deeply understanding the prospect’s ...
Goal
... requirements, pain points, and goals.
Finalizing SLAs, Implementation deadlines ...
Industries E.g. What is the business problem you are
trying to solve? Other objection handling
Inputs Ideal Customer Persona Headcount
What are the solutions you've tried/trying now? Initial proposal
Roles to target Buyer Persona Ask open-ended questions and listen actively
What are your requirements/nice-to-haves? Discounts
Inputs
Company name
Who will be the final user of the product? Other vendor competency
Main activities Feedback from prospect
Output Raw leads or inquiries Contact Person Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)
Legality
...
Walkthrough of product capabilities relevant to ...
Show a demo
customer needs
Salesforce A mutually agreed deal outline
A scheduled meeting with the prospect
CRMs Hubspot To capture and track leads Revised quote or order form
Inputs SDR pre-meeting prep notes Outputs
... CRM update
Sales script
Email campaigns ...
Set of customer requirements and pain points
Marketing Automation Tools Lead scoring documented in CRM Account Executive

... Clear idea of the prospect’s critical needs, their Sales Managers
Outputs
success criteria, and any obstacles
ZoomInfo Legal team
Internal summary of deal status and next steps Seller
Tools Prospects Databases LinkedIn Sales Navigator Finance
Leads the discovery conversation, building
Account Executive (AEs)
rapport and trust RevOps Assess the deal profitability
...
Roles Involved Roles Involved
Blog posts Answers in-depth technical questions and Product Managers For specific feature request if any.
Sales Engineer (SE)
sometimes give a product demo.
e-books Procurement officeer or purchasing department
Sales Collaterals CRMs Record detailed notes from the discovery Buyer
whitepapers Legal
Ensures that all the relevant info (stakeholders,
... Discovery Call template or checklist timeline, technical requirements, etc.) are CRM Update
captured.
Website engagement bots Master Service Agreements (MSA)
Tools and Artifacts Sales decks or slide presentations Contract Management tools
A proposal is created
Sales Development Representives (SDRs) or Order form
Live product demo environment or prototype Tools and Artifacts
Business Development Representatives (BDRs)
e-Signature platforms
Roles Involved Marketing team Maps prospect requirements against the
Fit-gap analysis document
product capabilities Steps of execution Ensuring delivery of the product or service,
Product Marketing Manager (PMMs) / Product Mutual action plan document Goal onboarding the customer, and maintaining the
Managers ... Timelines to closing relationship

Lead Generation (Prospecting) Lead Qualification Meeting/Discovery Proposal Negotiation Closing the Deal Post-Sales
B2B Sales Pipeline
Vetting MQL leads to see if they are a good fit Presenting a tailored solution – often through a Final agreement and signing of the contract,
Goal
Goal and have real potential (turning leads into sales sales presentation or formal proposal – that turning the prospect into a customer.
Goal
opportunities). shows how your product meets the prospect’s
needs. Final contract signing
Sales Development Representative (SDRs)
A recap of the customer’s challenges (to show Hand-off meeting from sales to post-sales
Roles Involved Account Executives (AEs) you listened) Main activities
Schedule a kick-off meeting
Sales Engineers (SEs) A description of the recommended solution
(how your product addresses each need) Ask for a case-study in the future
Follow up leads to understand the situation AE prepares sales proposal document
sometimes accompanied by a more formal Pricing and commercial terms Final negotiated terms and documents from
E.g. Does the prospect have a real need or Statement of Work (SOW) or Quote negotiation
Main activities Inputs
problem we can solve? Implementation plan or timeline
Purchase order from buyer
BANT (Budget, Authority, Need,
Ask qualificaiton questions Do they have authority to make a decision or Any differentiators (why choose us vs.
influence one?
Timeline) competitors) Signed contract or agreement

Main activities
What is their budget and timeline? ... In CRM, the deal is marked as Closed Won Or closed lost (deal fell off at the last hurdle)

Company name More tailored demos Provisioning a software account

Outputs
Contact person Questions about ROI Fulfillment kickoff Scheduled training

Company size Objection handling Competitor comparison ...

Basic info
Industry ... Win/Loss analysis

News regarding the company A list of customer requirements and an Account Executive
Inputs A raw lead from lead generation understanding of their priorities and constraints.
... Customer Success Manager or Account
Any standard pricing sheets, product Manager
E.g. Filled form brochures, case studies, and templates the
Context gathered Inputs company has for proposals. Roles involved Sales Operations or Order management team
Which white paper they downloaded?
Specific inputs from the PMs, SE ... Legal
Discovery Call
If Request for Proposal is provided by the ...
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) or Sales Accepted client, create proposal based on it.
Schedule further calls for in-depth discussions Demo
Leads (SAL) E-signature tools
Outputs Opportunity record in CRM ... Pricing quote with breakdown
CRM
Others Disqualified A proposal package delivered to the client Modules or edition of the product
Tools and Artifacts Onboarding materials
GMeet Outputs Terms and conditions
Contract repository
Video Conferencing Tools Zoom Opportunity status in CRM E.g. Proposal delivered
Closing checklist from Sales
... Account executives (AE) Drives the proposal creation and presentation
Roles involved
CRMs For demo or if technical details need to be
Sales Engineer E.g. integrations, security features
discussed
Inside marketing automation tool/CRMs
Sales proposal document

Lead Scoring Systems Visited pricing page

ROI calculators
Tools and Artifacts
Based on signals Job title matches target persona
Tools and artifacts Configure-Price-Quote tools
...
Product datasheets, whitepapers, case studies
Which questions shall be asked in the calls?
Demo environment might be configured with
the prospect’s sample data
Product specifications
Thor
Sales playbooks Problem statements solved by the product

Product capabilities on the roadmap

...