Back to Basics for 2024: Reduce Friction for B2B Buying Journey

Between mass layoffs and tightened budgets, 2023 threw even the strongest SaaS companies for a loop. Yet some sales teams found rays of success amidst the storm.

So what strategies powered leading reps through the economic slowdown to overcome challenges?

I sat down with Tim Kenna, a Senior Account Executive at Intercom, to get his inside take on winning lessons from 2023 - plus goals for 2024 as optimism returns.

Today's Revenue/GTM Leader Speaker:

• Tim Kenna
• Senior Account Executive - Key Accounts at Intercom
• Volunteers at re:WORK Training

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Go Back to Sales Fundamentals

After the 2020-2021 booking frenzy, Tim witnessed big slippage on core sales activities like pipeline reviews, business case development, and multi-threading complex deals.

But with inbound inquiries slowing in 2022 and 2023, reps had no choice but to re-sharpen traditional process muscles that atrophied over easier times.

As pipeline contributions from marketing dipped, gritty outbound prospecting and air-tight workflow hygiene became difference makers to drive consistent results.

Mastering the basics - not some clever new hack - paved the way for Intercom's success amid adversity. And it positioned them perfectly for growth as the fog lifts.

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Make Buying Easy Through Genuine Partnership

Looking ahead, Tim wants to build on process foundations by transforming each deal into a true collaboration with buyers.

Rather than one-sided tactical documents, he envisions interactive planning where customers co-create elements like ROI analyses and mutual action plans.

This level of service builds loyalty and referral velocity. But more so, easing purchase friction simply makes closing more deals realistic despite ongoing uncertainty.

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Sell to Make Buying Awesome

Ultimately, Tim ties everything back to a 2024 vision for improving buyer experience through excellent selling.

Mastery of skills not only benefits seller happiness and effectiveness. It also allows customers behind-the-scenes to navigate arcane internal processes with confidence and support.

As Tim put it, better buying through better selling has the power to "help us as sellers, but help our buyers even more." And that mindset shift could define the next era of success.

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To Recap with Intercom’s Tim Kenna

Intercom shows organizations can still find growth with an economic tailwind - if powered by empathy and grit.

The formula? Double down on sales fundamentals, form true partnerships, and sell to relieve buyer suffering.

Help others first and revenue results will follow.

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Giving Back to the Community

What Tim Kenna can do for you

Tim volunteers at re:WORK Training, a non-profit organization, that takes people who are interested in a position in technology sales, and over the course of several weeks, trains them at no charge to obtain a BDR or SDR role at typically a SaaS company. They accept people that have never done sales before from different backgrounds. Tim is happy to share his sales expertise to those that need it.

What you can do for Tim Kenna

Check out re:WORK training. Share this with people who may need this. If you're interested, volunteer your sales knowledge to those who could use it to up level their career.

To volunteer for re:WORK training, sign up here.

Also, Tim would be happy to show you how they, at Intercom, leverage chat automation to bring more leads in the pipeline, upsell in a SaaS environment, and support customers.

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About Recapping with Recapped

Recapped CEO Mark Fershteyn interviews and unpacks the critical lessons learned by top revenue and GTM leaders in 2023. This series dives deep into their insights, strategies, and hidden tactics, offering you the blueprint to dominate 2024.

Recapped believes in the power of knowledge sharing. We're passionate about amplifying the voices of these industry leaders and helping their insights reach a wider audience. Learned something? Share this page with others, you're not just gaining valuable knowledge – you're becoming part of a community dedicated to pushing the boundaries of revenue excellence.

‍Apply to interview for our Recapping with Recapped series by emailing explore@recapped.io.