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You have to be so much better than the incumbent if you want to have even the slightest change.
This episode is a tactical masterclass on early-stage B2B sales. You’ll learn how to nail the first meeting, architect modular demos, multi‑thread like a pro, and turn proposals into “Champion Empowerment” decks that actually close. We also cover ROI modeling, executive sponsorship, outbound strategy, and the exact behaviors that separate A‑players from everyone else.
Our guest is Greg Costigan leads the sales team at Performica and has built and led GTM organizations at Box, Zuora, Zenefits, LearnUp, Hone, and MindGym. He’s closed complex enterprise deals, championed award‑winning programs (e.g., Pinterest’s Brandon Hall–recognized L&D initiative), and specializes in taking startups from founder‑led sales to scalable processes.
In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
01:33 - Sales process is a science—ditch gut feel for repeatable rigor.
04:51 - Stop skipping steps—credibility beats the ‘one‑call close’ myth.
07:01 - First meeting playbook: GGGA, pre-read, ruthless prep.
10:57 - Lead with a hypothesis—change the buyer’s frame (Challenger).
13:32 - First-call exceptionalism: come in hot and create momentum.
14:51 - Yes, demo on call one—and land a clean close.
19:44 - Multi-thread fast: champion texting, exec sponsors, rule of threes.
22:19 - Demo excellence: send agenda early, close BANT/MEDDICC gaps.
23:59 - Modular demos: tailor admin, user, integrations to stakeholders.
27:51 - End every demo with a scoping or proposal—never ambiguity.
34:14 - Turn proposals into a Champion Empowerment deck that sells itself.
36:54 - No exec sponsor? You’re at risk—fix it before forecasting.
38:20 - Build a simple ROI model—finance will ask, be ready.
54:49 - Outbound isn’t dead—SDRs matter more than ever.
This episode is a tactical masterclass on early-stage B2B sales. You’ll learn how to nail the first meeting, architect modular demos, multi‑thread like a pro, and turn proposals into “Champion Empowerment” decks that actually close. We also cover ROI modeling, executive sponsorship, outbound strategy, and the exact behaviors that separate A‑players from everyone else.
Our guest is Greg Costigan leads the sales team at Performica and has built and led GTM organizations at Box, Zuora, Zenefits, LearnUp, Hone, and MindGym. He’s closed complex enterprise deals, championed award‑winning programs (e.g., Pinterest’s Brandon Hall–recognized L&D initiative), and specializes in taking startups from founder‑led sales to scalable processes.
In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
01:33 - Sales process is a science—ditch gut feel for repeatable rigor.
04:51 - Stop skipping steps—credibility beats the ‘one‑call close’ myth.
07:01 - First meeting playbook: GGGA, pre-read, ruthless prep.
10:57 - Lead with a hypothesis—change the buyer’s frame (Challenger).
13:32 - First-call exceptionalism: come in hot and create momentum.
14:51 - Yes, demo on call one—and land a clean close.
19:44 - Multi-thread fast: champion texting, exec sponsors, rule of threes.
22:19 - Demo excellence: send agenda early, close BANT/MEDDICC gaps.
23:59 - Modular demos: tailor admin, user, integrations to stakeholders.
27:51 - End every demo with a scoping or proposal—never ambiguity.
34:14 - Turn proposals into a Champion Empowerment deck that sells itself.
36:54 - No exec sponsor? You’re at risk—fix it before forecasting.
38:20 - Build a simple ROI model—finance will ask, be ready.
54:49 - Outbound isn’t dead—SDRs matter more than ever.
Creators and Guests
Host
Pascal Unger
Co-founder / Managing Partner at focal.vc We lead pre-seeds in North America with up to $1M: We exclusively back AI native software startups at the very start. Thereafter, we help them get off the ground better and faster, supported by a network > 200 GTM executives. That's our singular, unwavering focus.
What is focal podcast?
Pivotal early lessons of today's best startups.
Welcome to the focal podcast where we go deep with some of today's best founders and operators on ONE crucial lessons from their early days.
This podcast is not the usual "highlight reel" startup podcast that goes one inch deep across 20+ topics. Rather, we ask the questions you’d ask if you were sitting across from them. No fluff, just the real, actionable insights you’d get if these founders were mentoring you 1on1.
We cover topics including:
- What worked and why.
- Costly mistakes and how they fixed them.
- Frameworks that truly made a difference.
- Tactics to move faster.
- What they wish they’d known sooner.
- And much more!
"Only a fool learns from their own mistakes. The wise learn from the mistakes of others."