Aligned

What even is a digital sales room / deal room anyway?

🚨BIG Hiring Alert! Aligned's GTM team is about to double. We're looking to fill roles in Sales, CS & Marketing. Here's why you should (or shouldn't) come work with us and how to apply: BACKGROUND: We’re opening the following roles: - SMB Account Executive - Head of Marketing - Head of Sales - CSM - SDR Honestly, I’m so excited for this next phase. We’re just ready. PMF, GTM-Fit, Scalability, Culture. Growing to $10M ARR is going to be an exciting ride. So I wanted to share in public *everything* you should know before applying. Including numbers, strategies, and challenges. THE UPSIDES: 1. Our team is simply THE BEST. No ego, no BS, caring, hard-working, smart professionals who also don’t take themselves too seriously and have fun. 2. We’re hitting aggressive ARR targets (Triple, Triple... path), BUT growing efficiently; ±150% NRR, 10-month CAC Payback, 80% GTM Efficiency Ratio. 3. PLG is magical, generating more ARR than AEs (no-touch) while driving 50% of AEs' pipeline, which closes at a 44% Win Rate vs 25% for demo requests. 4. We practice what we preach and obsessively invest in Buyer Enablement; Training, buyer assets/tools, buyer-led processes... If that excites you, join us. 5. Winning >90% of competitive deals as leaders (See G2: Digital Sales Rooms & Client Portals) in a new CRM-scale category. 6. We cracked Social as a strategic channel driving ±65% of leads. But it’s more than lead-gen. It’s a business strategy, a MOAT, and we’re only getting started… THE DOWNSIDES: 1. We’re hiring Remote-First; If you thrive in-person, this might not be for you. 2. We're juggling PLG, PLS, and Top-Down Sales motions. It’s powerful, but very messy to execute. If you’re not comfortable with that complexity, don’t apply. 3. We have 6-fig clients today, but will need to consistently drive high ACV; That means our GTM will need to constantly (and painfully) adapt. And so will you. 4. GTM tech is noisy and competitive. I can share our 10-year vision and upside. But if you’re looking for smooth sailing, this won’t be it (if there’s such a thing). HOW TO APPLY: Go to Aligned -> Jobs -> Apply. Any questions/notes, DM our recruiter Gareth Arnison. We'll get back to you. Exciting times, let’s go! P.S. Do me a favor. Like/reshare this post to help someone find their next role!

Fastest way to lose an exec on a sales call? Asking questions instead of leading with insights. Insights like: 1 - macro trends in the market right now 2 - key priorities/challenges of other execs like them 3 - What you've learned from their team and the impact Gal Aga has taken his experience from ENT AE -> CRO -> CEO and has a deep understanding of what buyers want in a sales process and what most reps struggle to provide in the buyer's evaluation. Your champions have to sell on your behalf, and if you aren't doing that from the start of the sales process, your deals will struggle. The 30 Minutes to President's Club crew breakdown how to build a business case that gets circulated internally, and how you can tie your demo to business problems your buyer cares about. Check it out on Apple/Spotify/YouTube #30MinutestoPresidentsClub #b2bpodcast #BuyerEnablement 

I’ve been on both sides. Purchased over $2M in software and closed over $50M. The disconnect between buyers and sellers is bigger than most think. Here are the 15 most critical buyer expectations gaps costing you quota: 1. Buyers don’t care about your product and what it does. Stop falling in love with it and your awesome brand. Fall in love with solving problems. 2. Buyers mostly lie when they say “I just wanna see the product”. Everyone values real listening. They might just need context, or don’t feel you actually care. 3. Buyers rarely make decisions during your sales meeting - Obsess over supporting your buyers’ meetings as much as your own and you’ll 2x influence. 4. Buyers are not starving for more information from sellers - They are suffering from information indigestion. Don’t share knowledge, be a sense maker. 5. Buyers don’t want you to be accommodating. Eventually, they all ghost the ‘Mr. Nice Guy’. Don’t just agree; help them see problems and solutions in new ways. 6. Buyers rarely read your decks, summaries, case studies - It all gets lost in the shuffle. Orchestrate decision resources in shared spaces, don’t spray them. 7. Buyer C-level executives are the worst champions - Stop selling them as if they’ll do the heavy lifting, or get the details. Find lower-level managers who will. 8. Buyers don’t appoint people as ‘decision makers’ - Most of the time they don’t even define their buying group. Focus on mapping buying roles and influence. 9. Buyers below the line of power can often make or break your deals - Especially with the flat hierarchy we see today, execs give end users power. 10. Buyers never *just* want to see your product when they push - They’re hoping it would answer, “Why should I care?" Make sure to answer that first. 11. Buyers level of spend directly ties to the level of problem they believe you can solve - Stop telling product pain points stories, sell business transformations. 12. Buyers entire process leads up to one glory moment: a Business Case - Don’t leave that moment to your champion to figure out from your decks. 13. Buyers don’t know how to buy from you, even when they say “Let’s do X” - Make Next Steps a brainstorming moment, not them OR you dictating things. 14. Buyers process is not linear. Hell, most don’t even have one - Stop pushing them down your 5 CRM stages. Solve for the 20 steps they take in between. 15. Buyers will most likely ghost you, keep you single-threaded, choose a competitor/nothing, because of *how* you sell - Stop caring so much about *what* you sell. TAKEAWAY: Most sales enablement teaches how to sell. Most sellers turn into tactics and methodology zombies. “I have to get all ‘MEDDIC’ letters in the CRM on this call” “My prospect’s started talking, but I missed my ‘up-front contract’” Stop. Teach Buyer Empathy first. Sales Tactics and Methodologies second.

Buyer first tips for Account Executives from Gal Aga

The root cause of the problem dictates the best solution Let's pretend "We're losing deals" is the problem But without knowing the root cause of that problem there's no way to know what solution will solve it Are you losing deals because your reps aren't asking for next steps? Gong will help spot and coach the team to do that better Are you losing deals because your champion failed to sell internally and involve the right stakeholders? Aligned will help you proactively avoid this Are you losing deals because your product is broken and doesn't have product market fit? Making updates and changing your positioning will help this Same problem, three different root causes, three different best solutions Find the root cause of the problem then focus on how you solution addresses it Gal joined today's 30 Minutes to Presidents Club episode to talk all about deal strategy and presentations Go check it out, it's a good one

Buyers aren’t buying that generic & bias ROI calculator The fact that Boggis, Bunce, and Bean all increased their farm’s output by 200% using Fantastic Mr. Fox’s solution doesn’t mean any other customer will be garaunteed to achieve that same result Instead in order to put together a compelling case then the seller and the buyer both need to understand: - What does the company want to accomplish (goal) - What specifically is preventing them from getting there (problem) - What happens if I don’t fix that problem (impact) That is going to be different for every business a seller works with and is why good discovery is so important #stoinks

Wow they’re really thinking about this Want to avoid this? Book a next step. If they won’t agree to a next step then push them away “It seems like this might be something you’d like to have but you’d be fine without it…” If they don’t fight you then “closed - lost” the deal, look at what you missed in discovery, and move onto other deals

Frankly, I get a little sick every time I see companies hiring sales ‘closers’. It’s like we’re stuck on the Wolf of Wall Street's yacht. I mean, take a look at these 2024 (not 1987) job descriptions: - “Seeking a top-tier closer who isn’t afraid to push boundaries to get results” - “Thrives in high-pressure environments, with a killer instinct to close” - “Aggressive deal maker, master of overcoming any possible objection” Honestly, would you buy from this person? But I get it… AEs are measured in $$$ closed, so naturally, people think closing is the ultimate skill. Push harder, smooth talk through objections, use tricks to not let the deal get away, right? WRONG. Hiring someone optimized for the *end of the sale* DOESN’T WORK. Great closers close because they optimize the *entire process*. From start to finish, they just do the right things and do things right. So when it’s time to close, they don’t need to be Jordan Belfort. They have executive support, team consensus, committed champions, a hard to ignore business case, and a plan both sides are accountable for. So most deals practically close themselves. Here’s what a real B2B closer looks like today: SKILLS: 1. Project Management – Someone who partners with buyers and orchestrates the process. Structured, organized, operates like clockwork. Time kills deals. 2. Business Case Mastery – Can run discovery so deep and write so well that an internal business case can’t be ignored. Champions close deals, not AEs. 3. Consensus Building - Someone who doesn’t just sell to their contact. A real closer knows how to multithread, and build consensus across a buying group. 4. Executive Selling – Can they have a strategic, confident conversation with those who will scrutinize the investment? Because if they can’t, they’re toast. TRAITS: 1. Empathy & Integrity – Many buyers avoid salespeople—Give them a reason to believe your AE is there to help, not trick them into a purchase (they’ll churn). 2. Curiosity – Today’s buyers don’t need more information—They’re drowning in it. Give them experts to help make sense of it. Which accelerates decisions. 3. Grit – Closing takes resilience, but not the kind that pushes buyers away. It means being relentlessly helpful and committed, no matter the outcome. —— So please, can we kill these outdated job descriptions? It’s not 1987 anymore. Your team needs trusted experts, not “closers.” And here’s the kicker: If you keep hiring this way, you’re guaranteed to scare away the real sales pros. Stop pushing for deals that will most likely churn. Start hiring closers who don’t need to push at all.

The Why, When, and How of Mutual Action Plans with Armand Farrokh Just four of the 50 slides in our buyer enablement guide Comment "GUIDE" and we'll share it with ya!