Ep 352 | Madden Labbing cover art

Ep 352 | Madden Labbing

Ep 352 | Madden Labbing

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 Meeting PurposeA catch-up on recent business and personal insights.Sales Coaching: New call recording tech enables deep analysis of sales calls, revealing subtle cues (e.g., voice inflection) that impact customer perception and outcomes.Skill vs. Challenge: A skill/challenge matrix explains job satisfaction; high-skill tasks (sales) are enjoyable, while low-skill tasks (new management roles) cause anxiety.Personal Systems: Austin and Miranda use a weekly whiteboard planning session to align on schedules and goals, preventing friction from misaligned expectations.Local Advantage: Deep local knowledge is a critical competitive edge, as it allows for nuanced strategy that generalists cannot replicate.New Recording Tech: A new system records nearly all sales calls, enabling deep analysis.Rationale: The previous setup was "janky," requiring reps to stay at a desk and creating a noisy office environment.Impact: Reps can now use noise-canceling headphones for focus and move freely during calls.Coaching Method: John's review process is like "labbing" in Madden, analyzing calls for subtle cues.Example: A rep's voice inflection on "only 15 minutes" signaled to a customer that the call would end early, creating a misaligned expectation.Sales Team Entropy: Reps naturally drift from proven scripts to avoid conflict, which lowers performance by failing to quickly disqualify non-ideal leads.Sales Manual: John is writing a sales manual to codify mental models and ensure consistent execution.Example Model: "Red String" value building connects a business feature (e.g., no subcontracting) to a specific customer circumstance (e.g., getting married) to increase relevance.Skill/Challenge Matrix: A framework explains job satisfaction based on skill level and task challenge.High Skill + High Challenge → Flow State: Enjoyable, high-performance work (e.g., John's sales coaching).Low Skill + High Challenge → Anxiety: Stressful work (e.g., Amer's new CMO management role).Implication: Anxiety in new roles is a skill gap, not a personal failing. The solution is to learn and improve.Weekly Planning Ritual: Austin and Miranda use a Sunday afternoon whiteboard session to align on the week's schedule and goals.Process: After a house clean, they map out commitments (work, gym, social) and meals.Accountability: This proactive review helps them support each other's goals (e.g., Miranda's 10+ WHOOP strain 4x/week) before issues arise.Friction Point: Austin's impatience and need for time-bound commitments clash with Miranda's more patient style, leading to micromanagement.Solution: Commitments must be time-bound. Austin can ask for a deadline but cannot check in on a time-bound task.Communication Style: They use precise language ("here's how that landed for me") to avoid defensiveness and have productive conversations.Door-to-Door Recording Risk: John avoids recording door-knocking interactions due to the high risk of severe community backlash, despite its legality.Rationale: The risk is small but severe, citing how Telus was "written off" in Kelowna for aggressive door-knocking.Value of Local Knowledge: Deep local knowledge is a critical competitive advantage.Example (Real Estate): A generalist might value all Kelowna units at a market average, while a local knows units in Rutland are worth far less than those downtown.Detail Orientation: Success requires extreme attention to detail.Elon Musk: Knows Tesla designs intimately; challenges teams to find physical limits (e.g., how many cup holders are possible).E.H. Harriman: Saved millions by having custom-fit bolts made for Union Pacific, eliminating the waste from standardized, slightly too-long bolts.John: Write the sales manual to codify mental models and ensure consistent execution.Austin: Practice pausing before acting on impulses to micromanage, allowing for more conscious and productive responses.
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