Selling complex tools to large clients was never easy. Today’s market makes it even harder. Feature lists don’t cut it anymore – buyers want proof of value before they commit. Here’s my playbook after building monday.com’s sales team from scratch, honed from experience selling into some of the biggest organizations out there.
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The Shift: From Pushing Features to Proving Value
monday.com was built with value in mind. That made my job easier, but even companies lacking this headstart can win by adopting these 4 core principles:
- Product Mastery: This isn’t optional. You MUST know every feature’s purpose, not just what it does.
- Need Comes First: What pain point brought them to you? What solution, even a poor one, are they using now?
- Translate to Value: Example: A workload feature isn’t about pretty charts, it’s about preventing burnout and improving team efficiency.
- Learn From Real Users: Your best case studies aren’t yours, they’re your customers’. How did your product change their lives?
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The 5 Steps to Execute on Value
Theory is great, but execution is where it gets real. Here’s the process I teach my reps:
- Baseline: What’s the client’s MINIMUM need they absolutely have to solve? Deliver on this flawlessly before thinking bigger.
- Context is King: Who else is impacted by this solution? Questions like “How does work get to your team?” reveal hidden stakeholders.
- Seed New Use Cases: Once trust is earned, offer 15 mins to show quick-win solutions in other areas. Demo something easy, relatable (hiring, onboarding, etc.).
- Earn the Intro: ONLY when they’re already seeing value do you say, “Love how our CRM helped. Think your Head of Marketing might want to see it too?”
- Go Enterprise-Wide: Once you have buy-in from a few departments, approach IT or the CTO for formal approval. Now the tool is company-standard.
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Why Slowing Down is the FASTEST Way to Grow
The hardest thing to teach reps is to take their foot off the gas. In value-selling, you’re a consultant first, a salesperson second. This means:
- Deep Discovery: Rushing to the demo stage is where feature-selling takes hold. Fight that urge!
- Long-Game Mentality: Every interaction must prove “I’m here to make YOU successful, not just close this deal.” That’s how you create loyalty
Key Takeaways
- Product knowledge is power. It’s not enough to just parrot features. You have to understand the WHY behind them..
- Listen, then tailor: A generic pitch is a dead pitch. Their specific pain points are your sales roadmap
- Trust opens doors: When the client sees you as a partner, introductions to other departments flow naturally. That’s worth way more than a cold email.
Want more? Let’s talk about how this approach can transform your sales results and what tweaks might be needed for your unique situation.
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