SALESDOCk

After 3 weeks with the EasyDMARC sales team, one thing is clear: they operate at a level few SaaS sales orgs reach. Here’s what makes their win rates among the top 1% of 400+ teams we’ve worked with: 1️⃣ A razor-sharp product–market fit - They solve a real and urgent problem, protecting domains from phishing and spoofing. - The value is immediate, tangible, and deeply resonates with IT and security leaders. 2️⃣ Deep product mastery across the team - Every seller knows the product inside out. - They can go deep technically, demo with authority, and speak the language of their buyers. 3️⃣ A company-wide outbound and social selling culture - Hundreds of outbound meetings booked each month - Marketing, SDRs, and AEs aligned under one motion - Every department understands and contributes to the go-to-market engine After massive growth, their sales leader, Eltjo Hofstee, isn’t satisfied; he wants to push the win rate even higher. That mindset is what separates great from exceptional. At SalesDock, we partner with leaders like Eltjo who refuse to settle, those who continuously challenge the status quo, refine their process, and set new standards for excellence. Challenge accepted.

Nine SaaS sales leaders met with us yesterday in Amsterdam. The topic: how to build predictable revenue, use AI that drives results, and consistently win more deals. Here’s what stood out. 1. Building a Predictable Pipeline Predictability isn’t about more dashboards or metrics, it’s about discipline. The highest-performing teams operate with rhythm, not chaos. What they do differently: - Territory reviews every six weeks instead of quarterly - Deal reviews every two weeks with a consistent structure - Win/loss analysis every month that feeds back into playbooks - CRM hygiene tied to pay. In some cases, reps lose up to 30% of commission if data isn’t compliant. Predictability is a habit, not a report. 2. Using AI for Real Sales Impact The conversation around AI is shifting from hype to execution. The leaders who see impact are using it to sharpen focus, not automate judgment. Examples that work: - Account scoring based on intent signals, product usage, and company activity - Automated discovery briefs summarizing company news and executive moves - Roleplay tools that coach reps through objections and tone - Copilots that surface key personas, KPIs, and potential value levers AI becomes a performance tool only when it enhances human decision-making. 3. Increasing Win Rates When we discussed conversion, one leader shared something powerful: “We started hiring people who had something to prove.” One rep came from a challenging background and used sales to change her path. Another came from privilege but wanted to earn credibility on her own. That hunger, the personal reason to win, made the difference. Enablement and process can accelerate growth, but purpose fuels it. What We Learned The most successful sales organizations don’t rely on tools or luck. They rely on rhythm, consistency, and people who care deeply about performance. Predictable growth isn’t about adding volume. It’s about clarity, focus, and execution at every level of the team. PS: As part of SalesDock’s inclusion initiative, we’re offering one free seat for a female sales leader at our next private Amsterdam dinner (value €130). If you know someone shaping a modern GTM motion or leading with impact, tag her below. We’ll select the one who brings the most perspective and authenticity to the table.

If I were a new Head of Sales and didn’t want to be part of the 30% who get fired in the first 6 months, here’s the 90-day checklist I’d follow: Phase 1: Days 1–30 - Diagnose and Listen - Speak with every team member to understand their challenges and goals - Audit the pipeline: win rate, deal size, cycle length, stage conversion - Identify top performers and blockers - Review sales messaging: emails, decks, and recorded calls - Analyze ICP and segmentation: who is actually buying, and why - Shadow live calls and observe the deal management - Identify low-effort, high-impact changes - Focus on trust-building, not quick fixes 🟢 Milestone: Quick wins identified with minimal disruption Phase 2: Days 30–60 – Build the Sales Engine - Define or refine the sales process: qualification, stages, forecasting - Update the outbound and deal management playbook if needed - Run focused training: demos, pricing, closing - Set clear performance benchmarks - Establish team feedback and coaching rhythm 🟢 Milestone: Process in place, first wins delivered, team operating with more structure Phase 3: Days 60–90 - Execute and Lead - Present a summary: what’s working, what’s broken - Share early wins: stronger pipeline, better conversations, closed deals - Reinforce the sales process and forecast rhythm - Define the next 90-day plan: hires, campaigns, experiments - Communicate your long-term sales vision - Align the team on direction and expectations 🟢 Milestone: Team is aligned, foundation is solid, and execution is underway Takeaway: The best Heads of Sales don’t rush to fix. They listen, simplify, unblock, and build the system that scales.

Head of Sales [on LinkedIn]: Thrilled to share our strong pipeline and big AI investments to empower reps and drive growth! 🔥 🚀 Head of Sales [in private]: Half my team misses quota. Outbound still doesn’t work. No one’s using our AI tools properly. Behind the scenes: - Unclear ICP and value prop - every seller communicates a different value. - No unified way of selling - complete anarchy in the sales team - No consistent discovery or follow-up structure. - Sales methodology not really implemented - MEDDIC is just a slide in onboarding, not a real practice. Leading to: - Reply rates: 0.5% (half of those are OOO) - Connected Cold call to meeting: 2% - Meetings booked per BDR: 3/month - Win rates: 12% - Team Target attainment: 47% quarterly AI won’t fix that. This will: 1. Make sure BDRs and AEs understand the value they bring through the entire buyer journey with value-based selling: - BDRs: What signals and intents make customers buy? New tech stack? New products? Specific intents? What messaging should I use in prospecting for these signals? - AEs: What insights can I bring into discovery? What pains do my personas feel most often, and how can I prove we can solve them? How do they validate the investment and justify the value? 2. Map the sales process to the buyer journey. - How do your customers actually buy, and how can you guide them through it proactively? - Will a POC help? How should it be structured and measured? - What are the typical objections, and how do you dissolve them from day one? - Who needs to be involved on their side, and what value does each stakeholder get? - How do you build a value realization plan that minimizes their risk? - How do you trap competition as and coach buyers that you are the right vendor? 3. Identify and master the key skills. - What are the key skills your sellers need to master? Discovery? Stakeholder management? Differentiation? Value selling? What else? Just don't say they need to work on "soft skills" - Build a competency map and fix the biggest gaps first. Focus on 6 skills, rating each seller from 1 to 5, and create enablement plan - Coach each seller on real deals 45 mins a week - Shadow calls and ask sellers to conduct a retrospective in their performance - what went well, what did not. Do that in quterly QBRs as a team, where team members roast each other, but friendly :) AI won’t fix a sales org that’s not performing. What actually drives performance: - Consistent value communicated throughout the buyer journey - Buyer-focused process - Enabling crucial skills for success - Ongoing coaching and enablement AI is an add-on, not a cure.

Sales Rep 1: I hate this new training. Sales Rep 2: Same here. It’s just way too much. Sales Rep 1: Yeah, it’s not designed for how we actually work. I barely have 10 minutes a day for this, not 40 hours a month to read 50 slides of processes or positioning materials from marketing. Sales Rep 2: Exactly. It’s as if they've forgotten we’re supposed to be selling, not watching endless videos. No wonder the enablement manager still hits us that we spend on average 20 seconds in the enablement platform. Sales Rep 1: You know what’s funny? At my last company, we actually had a training I loved. Sales Rep 2: No way. I’ve never liked any training. Sales Rep 1: Yeah, it was super practical, real deal coaching, quick roleplays, focused sessions on live opportunities. Sales Rep 2: See, that’s the kind of training I’d actually pay attention to. You guys also did live deal reviews? Sales Rep 1: Yeah. We built a new sales process and refined our positioning together with leadership and marketing. Then, over the course of a few months, we had biweekly 2–3 hour sessions, always outside of main selling time, so I could keep up with my pipeline. Plus, we conducted role-plays every other week based on real-world use cases. Sales Rep 2: That actually sounds legit. Like something built with the reps, not just for them.

CEO: Why did we spend $25,000 on positioning & messaging when no sales rep is using it? Head of Sales: Well, it was created by marketers, for marketers. Looks great on a slide, but it doesn't help reps sell. CEO: Wait, what? Head of Sales: Every single positioning doc I've seen, including this one, was created to help build ad campaigns and homepage messaging. Not to help sellers sell. CEO: Ok you need to expand on this. Head of Sales: The way our new positioning/messaging is structured right now isn't aligned to how we sell. There's a lot of translation reps need to do themselves in order to adjust this to the buyer journey and our sales process. CEO: Go on… Head of Sales: On the homepage, you want to communicate pretty much everything. And in an ad, we usually focus on ONE value prop, feature, message… CEO: And in sales calls… Head of Sales: In sales calls, it all depends on the stage. During discovery, we need to align our positioning to pain points. During demos, to impact. During validation, to our differentiators and COI. CEO: So you're saying that for each different stage of the sales process, we should sort of have a very different, specific positioning doc? Head of Sales: Pretty much. CEO: Why can't the reps figure this out themselves? Head of Sales: They can, and they are doing it. But what you end up with then is what you've heard in those sales calls... Every rep telling a different story. CEO: Ok so how can we fix this? Head of Sales: We invest what we invested into *Marketing* positioning... into translating it into Sales positioning. CEO: Sounds like a lot for something we already paid for… Head of Sales: For this $25,000, we'll train the sellers how to use it, and reinforce it for months until it's muscle memory. Plus, the ROI will be as immediate as possible, unlike with marketing/homepage messaging. CEO: Quantify this ROI. Head of Sales: In my last org, we went through this process, it's more common than you think. By end of month 1, most reps were speaking the same (positioning) language, and by end of the Q each rep closed 1.3 more deals on average. Our ACV is $40,000 so if each of our 12 reps closes just 1 more deal, that's 12 x $40,000 = $480,000 in incremental revenue closed. CEO: You know what, you just closed me on this one. Let's go ahead with this. Head of Sales: Roger that. Sounds like we're aligned on our positioning 😉

A Head of Sales at a $10M ARR SaaS is the hardest job in the world, Exhibit B: 1) When you hit the targets, it's thanks to Product. When you miss targets, it's because of Sales. 2) The whole attribution system is rigged to get you into fights with Marketing, instead of being best allies. 3) Anyone more senior than you coming in (VP+) acts like a smartass, wants to rebuild everything. 4) Every week, the CEO forwards you emails/LinkedIn posts asking 'why aren't we doing this?'. 5) All the sales training your team needs is taught by people who closed their last deal a decade ago during the ZIRP era. 6) Your CEO gets his advice from VCs who've never sold, held a quota, or led reps. 7) This year, we all got the mandate to replace human SDRs with AI, expecting it'll actually work. 8) The CEO will ask you why no deals are being closed in August, while they're sipping cocktails at the beach. Join the therapy session in the comments 👇

In the last 3 months, I closed €180,000 in new sales. This came after 6 months of struggling with outbound (1,650 messages sent, only 30 replies), so I analysed first touchpoints of each deal for patterns: Deal 1: Connected with the Head of Sales through our Salesheads community. He joined our Tactic Swap session, then an event. Deal 2: Invited a champion to an executive dinner. We discussed their partner ecosystem, then he introduced me to their VP of Sales who I did a workshop with. Deal 3: Offered the CRO a free audit of their sales team performance. I reviewed 8 demos, provided detailed feedback and recommendations. Deal 4: Invited a sales leader to our Saleshead community, then met him and his 2 colleagues personally. Their challenge was low win rates, so I audited 6 demos of their sellers. ------- To me, the common thread here is value-based selling. In each of these interactions, I led with value (advice, free audit, community membership). Earlier this year, Salesdock went through a period of restructuring, and somehow we forgot to eat our own dog food and do value-based selling. And it reflected in our pipeline and bank accounts... Months of 'spray & pray' outbound resulted in only 10 relevant replies. Then, I hit the reset button and went back to basics: - Started posting on LinkedIn (540,644 impressions this year) - Organized 5 IRL events in Prague and Amsterdam - Launched Saleshead community for Head of Sales (158 members strong!) - Went back to living and breathing value-based selling Stay close to your customer > value-first > play the long game For us, it led to higher response rates, shorter sales cycles, and deals where trust is established from day 1. Eventually generated €180,000 in closed-won. For our clients, it's the same: - $1.3M in new qualified pipeline opps (through outbound) for a $2M ARR SaaS - Increasing meeting-to-deal CR from 28% to 48% for a $5M ARR SaaS - Lifting win rate by 130% for 18M ARR Saas  - 14% MoM Growth, Sustained For Over 12 Months And there are 400 clients proving that value-based selling is the only way forward. But yes, I sometimes need a reminder too…

We asked over 150 Heads of Sales in SaaS scaleups what has been keeping them up at night. Here’s what they said: 24% – Driving pipeline & predictable revenue 12% – Hiring, retention & team development 12% – Scaling processes & change management 14% – Market expansion & positioning 8% – Personal transitions & career moves Our take? Outbound efficiency and win rates are becoming make-or-break. Leaders who adapt their GTM strategy, lean into account-based approaches, and focus on enabling their teams are the ones scaling sustainably. Curious to see how top SaaS leaders tackle these challenges? Join SalesHeads, our community of 200+ Heads of Sales. Swap ideas, share what’s working, and connect with peers scaling SaaS revenue. (You’ll need to know 3+ people on your sales team to join.)

Event Alert for Sales Leaders! How do you build accountability and performance without micromanaging your team? Join us in 12 days (5PM CET) for an exclusive online event with two proven SaaS sales leaders: Ashling Reid 🇧🇪🇬🇧🇮🇪 Reid (Sales Director Europe, Cleverbridge) Topic: Trust-Based Leadership vs. Micromanagement Michel van den Berg (Former Head of EMEA Sales at Jamf, Xactly & BetterCloud) Topic: From Handholding to High-Performance Expect actionable frameworks, coaching strategies, and leadership lessons you can put into practice immediately. 📍 Free to attend – register via the link in the comments.