The New Playbook: Signal Based Selling with Jen Igartua - The Transaction - Ep # 21

The Transaction’s guest today is one of many talents. Jen Igartua, who is not only the CEO of GoNimbly but also a side hustler in both comedy and board game designing, provides her insights on the sales and marketing world today. The conversation covers transforming B2B sales strategies using signal-based selling and PLG (Product-Led Growth) insights. Jen shares her innovative approach of using algorithmic scoring and playbooks to refine lead scoring and offering specific actionable insights for sales teams. She emphasizes the importance of integrating data from diverse sources and creating systems in Salesforce to optimize outcomes. The discussion also touches on evolving roles for SDRs and leveraging automation to enhance their effectiveness. Towards the end, Jen shares her side venture as a board game designer and the unexpected success of her game, 'Side Effects.'

Takeaways:

• Develop a system that triggers alerts and notifications based on specific business signals, ensuring those signals are integrated into CRM platforms like Salesforce for easy access by sales teams.
• Deliver summarized and relevant data insights to the sales team. Ensure that raw data is processed into actionable information, with clear next steps included.
• Design playbooks that align with specific triggers and signals, providing the sales team with structured guidance on how to respond and engage clients based on the data insights.
• Ensure that all customer interactions, whether in marketing or sales, are unified in a single repository like a data warehouse and accessible from the CRM. This avoids silos and allows for a holistic view of client engagement.
• Consider automating the initial touchpoints of outbound campaigns through marketing, and then routing the responses and qualified leads to SDRs for further personalized engagement.
• Move beyond traditional lead scoring to a more outcome-focused model that considers multiple signals for different stages of the customer lifecycle, such as expansion opportunities and churn risks.
• Even with automation, ensure that meaningful human interactions remain a core part of the sales process, particularly for high-value touchpoints.

Chapters:

• 00:00 - Jen's Comedy Career
• 01:28 - Welcoming Jen Igartua
• 02:48 - Jen's Background and Experience
• 03:28 - The Big Question
• 04:12 - Shifts in Lead Scoring
• 07:10 - Intercom's Tactical Example
• 08:40 - Challenges in Signal-Based Selling
• 14:29 - Building Effective Sales Playbooks
• 18:39 - Integrating Signals into Salesforce
• 25:10 - Leveraging High Usage Data for AI Product Pitches
• 26:01 - Effective Playbooks and Workflow Integration
• 27:05 - The Shift to Data Warehouses
• 29:29 - The Role and Future of SDRs in Sales
• 33:27 - The Human Element in Sales Automation
• 42:44 - Exploring the Side Hustle: Board Game Design
• 46:53 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Quote of the Show:

• “It’s rare that you actually see folks really putting themselves in the customer’s shoes and saying ‘What do they actually need?’” - Jen Igartua

Sponsor:

• The Transaction is sponsored and produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through Branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/

Connect with Jen:

• Jen’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-igartua/ 
• Website: https://gonimbly.com/ 

Shoutouts:

• Scott Brinker https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjbrinker/ 
• Esteban Kolsky https://www.linkedin.com/in/estebankolsky/ 
• EverString https://lsvp.com/company/everstring/ 
• Salesforce https://www.salesforce.com/ 
• Intercom https://www.intercom.com/ 
• Twilio https://www.twilio.com/en-us 
• Ashley Welch https://www.linkedin.com/in/awelch1/ 
• Dave Brock https://www.linkedin.com/in/davebrock/ 
• Zendesk https://www.zendesk.com/ 

Follow the Show:

• Craig’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cr