SalesTechStar Interview with Chris Rack, Chief Revenue Officer of PureB2B

Sales reps that are smashing their numbers today are those who have figured out how to make personalization scalable for their target buyers. So it’s more crucial than ever to focus on creating a process that allows for customization at-scale shares Chris Rack, Chief Revenue Officer of PureB2B in this recent chat with SalesTechStar. Catch the complete QnA:

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Tell us a little about yourself Chris…what are some of the biggest sales hacks and learnings your time in the industry has taught you?

I’ve successfully led four sales organizations that experienced 10x growth over a 2-3 year span as an individual contributor, middle manager and executive leader. My leadership model is built on a strong foundation of process building, execution and building winning cultures. The root of those cultures is taking a human-first approach, while maintaining accountability and ownership of goals and targets.

I am a competitive chess player, Lego collector and father of four. I’m also fascinated by the idea of flawed heroes and collect memorabilia associated with these portrayals in TV and movies (Iron man, Dr. Gregory House, Andy Sipowicz, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Elliot Stabler – I could go on all day). I love all things movies and movie quotes, and believe pound for pound that The Shawshank Redemption is the greatest movie ever made.

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My biggest “sales hack” is to not ride the rollercoaster. At the end of the day sales isn’t about “winning/losing,” it’s about executing great processes flawlessly for predictable outcomes over time. Too many sellers get overly excited when things are going well, and conversely too down when things aren’t. Over time, things will always balance out if you remain consistent with your process.

What are the top thoughts / tips you’d share with B2B sales reps and executives who are currently struggling with quotas or getting prospects on the calendar or a call?

I’d boil it down to three words: Customization at scale.  In the world of sales automation/acceleration technology your prospects are likely getting 50-100 prospecting messages a day. You have to find a way to speak directly to your target buyer, grab their attention and earn the right to provide your value proposition.  If you don’t cut through the noise, you’re just part of the noise. The scale part is important as well; anyone can do highly customized, in low volume.

What according to you would a dream salestech-martech stack look like during a global downtime (when challenges differ from other business-as-usual challenges) – could you share some creative ways in which teams can consider optimizing how they use their tech stacks to target prospects and plan their outreach?

One of the benefits of working during a pandemic has been taking a really close look at our “stack” and deciding what we really need, versus what we thought we needed because we liked it. Using that frame of reference, I believe that our single most valuable tool (outside of CRM, which is a given) is Chorus – our coaching platform. The data and insight I am able to pull from this platform is a key foundation for our team continuing to scale rapidly with the market opportunity. It checks multiple boxes across market intelligence, training, and coaching.

What would you share with sales teams and marketers today who are struggling to cut through the noise and engage with their prospects effectively? How can they stand out in a crowded digitech space?

Too many reps think they have to sacrifice volume for quality, when that’s just not true. From my experience, the difference between the rep who hits 60% consistently and 160% is the ability to execute customization with prospecting in higher volumes. The key to personalization and customization is simply remembering that there is a human on the other end of the email, phone line or LinkedIn. At PureB2B we focus a lot of our energy in sales and marketing on what we term “#behuman.”  Just because we market and sell to other businesses doesn’t mean we can’t take a human approach to our interactions with our clients and prospects.

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As a tech leader, in a challenging environment due to the Covid19 pandemic: what are some of the ways in which you are enabling a balanced remote work culture while maintaining motivation levels?

First and foremost, I am not going to be the person who says that working remote is no different than being in an office environment. Being someone who spent almost a third of my career in a full time remote role, I can tell you that the gains in productivity are cancelled out by the emotional toll working full time remote has on employees.  Like most companies, PureB2B has done our best to make our “new norm” fun and inviting though weekly team Spotify playlists, video yoga, and our first ever virtual “club dub.”   Again, it comes down to continuing to be human in how we interact with each other – it’s easy to see through forced “bonding” events.

How according to you will the face of marketing and sales now completely change because of the ongoing pandemic? Sum up marketing and sales in 2021 in one line!

Challenge the status quo, just because it has always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean it always has to be.

I have four kids, so you can imagine I’m pretty well versed in all things Disney/Pixar. It’s in moments like these where I always remember Dory from Finding Nemo. “Just keep swimming.” If at the end of every day, you know you gave your team, your role, and your company 100 percent – that’s all anyone can ask of you. If 2020 has taught us anything it’s that the world we live in is unpredictable.

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Listen in to How these Tech Leaders Are Helping Their Business Thrive During Covid-19, featuring episodes with Adform, Merkle, Heinz Marketing and more!