The Sales Development Podcast

Leveraging Relationships and Referrals: The Future of Strategic Sales Ep 236 with Brendan Cassidy

Tue Jul 11 2023

SalesGo-to-Market StrategyRelationship CapitalReferralsTwo-Sided Marketplace

Description

Brennan Cassidy has had a successful career in sales and has created numerous opportunities for people. CoSEL is a company focused on relationship capital and referrals in sales, moving away from brute force automation and mass emailing. Effective sales strategies involve articulating the problem in a simple way, leveraging personal networks, and utilizing advisors. The value of connecting people lies in recognizing influence and creating a network of premium connectors. Building a two-sided marketplace requires market desire, solving unsolved problems, and prioritizing user experience. Additional insights include the speaker's consulting work, studying their approach, and the belief in being on the leading edge of something significant.

Insights

Crafting a Narrative

The key to a successful go-to-market strategy is crafting a narrative and story that clearly articulates the problem and solution.

Leveraging Personal Networks

Leveraging personal networks and relationships can be more valuable than traditional marketing tactics.

Creating a Two-Sided Marketplace

Building a two-sided marketplace requires market desire, solving unsolved problems, and prioritizing user experience.

Recognizing Influence

Recognizing influence and connecting two parties can be a valuable service.

The Value of Connecting People

The goal is to get people paid by connecting them with the right opportunities.

Solving Unsolved Problems

The creation of the product is a result of solving unsolved problems.

Prioritizing User Experience

The experience of free members was prioritized over monetization at LinkedIn.

Consulting Work

Consulting work is currently being done alongside CoSEL as a seed startup.

Studying the Speaker's Approach

Startup founders and salespeople can study the speaker's approach by listening to interviews like this one.

Being on the Leading Edge

The speaker believes they are on the leading edge of something significant.

Summary

Transcript

Brennan Cassidy's Career

00:00 - 07:09

Brennan Cassidy has had a successful career in sales and has created numerous opportunities for people.
He started his career as a recruiter during the dot-com bubble.
After gaining experience and building his network, he transitioned to becoming an SDR at On Story.
Realizing that he was doing most of the work in customer relationships, he believed he could sell better than many sales reps.
He then joined Spoke Software and later LinkedIn, where he played a key role in building the corporate solutions team.
LinkedIn became the predominant revenue stream for the company.
Brennan also worked as VP of Sales at EchoSign, helping grow the company from a startup to $70 million before it was acquired by Adobe.
He then took a break at Adobe before joining Talk Desk as the fifth employee and helping them become a $10 billion company.
Brennan also advised and consulted for Gong and has worked with over 70 startups throughout his career.
Currently, he is a co-founder of CoSEL.

CoSEL and Go-to-Market Strategy

06:39 - 13:24

CoSEL is a company focused on relationship capital and referrals in sales, moving away from brute force automation and mass emailing.
The key to a successful go-to-market strategy is crafting a narrative and story that clearly articulates the problem and solution.
Many startups struggle to define their problem and communicate it effectively.
A compelling problem and story can usually be developed for any company, even if the alignment between problem and solution is not perfect.
Startups often fail due to being too early or too late in addressing the market's needs.
Articulating the problem in a simple way that non-experts can understand is crucial for success.

Effective Sales Strategies

12:57 - 19:28

Articulating the problem in a way that non-experts can understand is important.
Marketing through demand generation no longer works due to increased competition.
Outbound approaches require significant effort and may not yield desired results.
Alignment with the market is crucial for success.
Inbound strategies have also become less effective, leading to the exploration of alternative methods like direct mail.
Leveraging personal networks and relationships can be more valuable than traditional marketing tactics.
Utilizing advisors or well-connected individuals can help open doors and establish credibility with potential customers.

The Value of Connecting People

19:03 - 25:11

Recognizing influence and connecting two parties can be a valuable service.
There is a market for people who want to make money with minimal effort.
LinkedIn's referral or intro button didn't provide enough incentive for people to make referrals.
Creating a network of premium connectors who can make strategic introductions is valuable.
Premium connectors can make multiple intros per month in their most strategic targets.
This service is not a replacement for outreach, but rather a top-of-the-stack approach to the market.
The goal is to get people paid by connecting them with the right opportunities.

Building a Two-Sided Marketplace

24:41 - 31:25

Demand exists for the product, but it's important that both sides of the market want to use it.
The creation of the product is a result of solving unsolved problems.
One problem being addressed is graffiti, with a virtual reality app to make it invisible.
To succeed, there needs to be a market desire and willingness to pay for the solution.
A two-sided marketplace is being created where relationships are key.
LinkedIn was also a two-sided marketplace focused on the network itself.
The experience of free members was prioritized over monetization at LinkedIn.
Recruiting became a win-win monetization play for LinkedIn.
Initially, third-party recruiters were eliminated from LinkedIn's go-to-market approach.
Eventually, revenue optimization became more important than user experience at LinkedIn.
Not selling to third-party recruiters prevented annoying job offers without company information.
Making introductions should have a gain for both parties involved in order to be successful.
Consulting work is currently being done alongside CoSEL as a seed startup.

Additional Insights

30:58 - 33:20

The speaker is not doing a ton of consulting, but some consulting to keep the revenue where it needs to be.
Startup founders and salespeople can study the speaker's approach by listening to interviews like this one.
The speaker is open to connecting with anyone who wants to follow up offline or through LinkedIn.
The speaker jokingly refers to UC Santa Cruz as the 'Harvard of the West' in an ongoing rebranding effort.
Cocell.co is mentioned as a website where companies can onboard and new customers can come in.
Premium cost dollars are being added, offering 100% upside for interested individuals.
The speaker believes they are on the leading edge of something significant.