Business Value Assessments: Looking at Opportunities through a Value Lens with Doug May

Doug May is the Chief of Staff to the CRO at Datadog. He has extensive experience in sales leadership and has a deep understanding of driving business value for customers. In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast hosted by John McMahon and John Kaplan, Doug emphasizes the importance of quantifying value in the sales process. By aligning solutions with customer goals and strategies, sellers can show real business impact. Discovery is crucial for understanding customer challenges, and building trust is essential for successful sales engagements. Presenting the results of a business value assessment in a simple and compelling way is key to gaining customer buy-in. Tune in to this conversation with John McMahon and John Kaplan on the Revenue Builders podcast. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:10:16] Distinguishing oneself as a salesperson through business value. [00:11:57] Importance of how you sell and what you sell. [00:18:07] Earning the right to discuss personal pressure. [00:20:21] Using the value pyramid framework to align solutions. [00:28:30] Collecting metrics and understanding the problem worth solving. [00:31:36] Building trust through understanding and consultative approach. [00:34:51] Story about differentiating through understanding customer challenges and providing a business case. [00:38:59] Creating a customer version of the sales process to set expectations. [00:45:24] Importance of message framework and story arc in sales. [00:53:15] Lifecycle of a BVA and its ongoing measurement of value. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Learn more about Doug May and about their company: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougmay/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/datadog/ Download our Sales Transformation Guide for Leaders: https://forc.mx/3sdtEZJ HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:55:00] "What metrics are we going to help them measure? And when you can integrate this pre-sale value experience into the post-sale value experience. Value is the red thread from the very beginning, from my first call to the customer through the closing of a deal, onboarding, and customer expansion. It's something that's just there all the time." [00:56:18] "In the best scenarios, the champion will get on the phone, invite us to the call with procurement, and explain a couple of critical points." [01:00:20] "I've made a slide that highlights that incident, it's the punch in the gut. Now you're the procurement person, you see the people you've met, the incident, the quotes, this real-world incident. You almost become scared, not wanting to be the one that said no to this vendor."