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    Here’s Why We’re Revamping Our Sales Methodology

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    Come VIBE with us! We’re rolling out a new sales methodology, and we’re ready to let you in on it.

    At Membrain, our mission is to elevate the sales profession, and our core values include challenging the mainstream. Naturally, we are always evaluating how we’re doing, whether we’re living up to our potential and our mission, and looking for ways to do it better.

    Earlier this year, we brought Paul Fuller, a seasoned sales consulting veteran, on board as our chief revenue officer. Renaming and revamping our sales methodology was one of the first things he did.

    The new methodology, dubbed VIBE for “Vision, Impact, Barriers, and Execution,” is currently being trained across our organization. I grabbed Paul for a few minutes to talk to us about what he’s doing with the new methodology and why.

    Q: As Our New Revenue Growth Leader, Why Did You Start with the Sales Methodology?

    Paul: I wanted to give the company a solid framework for meaning, to make sure we’re all speaking the same language and that the language aligns with our mission to elevate the sales profession. Changing the methodology shakes the foundation, so we can establish it more strongly and then build more successfully on top of it.

    Q: Why Did You Call it VIBE?

    Paul: The name VIBE came out of a conversation with Nate Tutas (Membrain’s Head of Partner Success). We wanted an acronym that communicated in one word what we need to do with our customers. VIBE does that better than the old word, which was MOVE. VIBE is how we operate. We want to be in sync with our customer, we want to vibe with them. We have a rebellious streak, and we want to vibe with you. It also signals that we don’t have to be serious all the time.

    We want to be in sync with our customer, we want to vibe with them.

    We want to be good at what we do, but also have fun and connect as humans. VIBE communicates all that while the words it stands for cover the key elements of our sales approach.

    Q: Does the VIBE Methodology Apply Across All Workflows, from Prospecting to Customer Success?

    Paul: Yes. The methodology is simple and it applies all the way through. Everyone has a vision of what they want to accomplish within the platform. It could be a grand vision, or it can be a small vision. Vision is simply the difference between current state and future state, and the gap between.

    So the “V” in “VIBE” refers to everything we do to help customers understand what they need. If it’s a support ticket, for instance, on the customer success side, the vision may be “I want this problem to go away, and I need help.”

    The same is true for Impact, Barriers, and Execution. No matter where you are in your relationship to our platform, making a change will have impacts, you’ll face barriers, and you’ll have to execute. Our methodology helps you with every phase of that. So it absolutely applies across all workflows, and not just the traditional “sales” aspects of the process.

    Q: Can You Talk More About Applying the VIBE Sales Process to Customer Success?

    Paul: It’s important that we not try to sell something to our customers that’s outside their vision, or outside what we can fulfill right now. We’re doing the same thing with partners. It’s important that we be in tune with our customers and partners, with their current state and desired future state, so we can help them map the best path through impact and barriers to execution. Sometimes that means they don’t need anything else from us right now, but when they do, we want our customer success team to be equipped to help them with that. That’s what we mean by VIBE-ing with our customers.

    Q: How is the Customer Success Team Receiving It?

    Paul: Probably best to ask them! But what I hear is things like, “I love the training–Now how does it apply?” So now our job is to take the concepts and methodology and put it into the process, so they can see how it applies and how to execute.

    Customer success is three key areas - account management, upsell and cross sell, and customer support. So our job is to take VIBE and put it into a process for all three areas, so we ensure they can apply it to everything they do.

    Q: What Else Should People Know About VIBE?

    Paul: It’s my firm belief that context creates meaning, and shared meaning enables action. So having the firm foundation of shared meaning is what the sales methodology does. It allows you to create meaning with your clients and prospects, and understand internally where you are and why you’re there across all levels of the organization. VIBE will enable our organization to speak the same language, make better decisions, and execute well based on those four simple letters.

    Did We Leave Anything Out?

    I’m excited to have Paul on board, and excited to see how this new methodology inspires and motivates us to do better work for and with our clients and prospects. Now it’s your turn–when you think about sales methodology, what do you think of? Did we leave anything out?

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    George Brontén
    Published October 19, 2022
    By George Brontén

    George is the founder & CEO of Membrain, the Sales Enablement CRM that makes it easy to execute your sales strategy. A life-long entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the software space and a passion for sales and marketing. With the life motto "Don't settle for mainstream", he is always looking for new ways to achieve improved business results using innovative software, skills, and processes. George is also the author of the book Stop Killing Deals and the host of the Stop Killing Deals webinar and podcast series.

    Find out more about George Brontén on LinkedIn