Episode 51

051 Drew D'Agostino - Unlocking the Power of Personality with AI

Are the same old, boring interactions with your customers slowing down your sales cycle? If you’re not sure, this is for you – using AI may be the perfect way to step up your game! In today’s SaaS Fuel™ episode, Jeff talks with Drew D’Agostino, founder and CEO of Crystal, a SaaS company that offers personality AI technology and helps you to personalize communication with prospects and customers that engage them. Learn the elements of an effective pitch that resonates with your prospects. Explore 12 types of pain points and how to address them in your solution. Learn why businesses should not only recognize their own personalities but those of their clients too.

Key Takeaways

00:00:00 Scaling From 7 To 8 Figures: Strategies For B2B Saas Leaders

00:00:31 Scaling B2B Saas Profitably And The “'Netflix And Chill” Pizza Deal 😲

00:05:03 How did Crystal come up with the concept of adaptive selling?

00:06:19 Knowing the Who, Why, and How

00:08:07 Detecting Personality Types: Collecting Numerous Variables with Data

00:09:28 Suggestion Engine and how it works

00:10:19 Insights Engine That is More Based on Your Intent

00:10:37 Using Crystal To Improve Negotiation Strategies

00:12:37 Successful Expansion Of A Vertical Market

00:13:31 Using Personality as A Medium for Empathy in Your Sales Process

00:16:53 Separating From The Bots: Improving Rep Communication And Connection

00:18:57 Detecting Sarcasm is Difficult for Computers

00:19:59 Creating Human Connections And Acknowledging Flaws: Keys To Success

00:20:44 Machines Don’t Recognize Their Weaknesses; Humans Do

00:22:10 Personality Types Exist, But They Cannot Account for Everything

00:28:22 Effective Pitch Really Does Depend On the Person.

00:30:18 Creating A Great Pitch: Tool Set And Building Blocks

00:31:58 Identifying The Twelve Pain Point Categories

00:38:00 Even Successful Entrepreneurs Struggle for Long Periods of Time

00:41:03 Analyzing Sales Emails For Phrasing And Frequency

00:43:30 Concentrating On a Problem Teaches You How to Solve It

00:46:03 Work-Life Balance And Seasonality

00:48:47 Creative Pursuits Vs. Software Tech: A Guilt-ridden Journey

00:51:37 You Don't Need to Neglect Other Responsibilities To Focus On What You Desire

Tweetable Quotes

“I think the cyclical nature of things is just like this natural law where you can't really violate it.” - 00:46:47 Drew D’Agostino

“You don't have access to millions of tools, but you've got a few that you can hold on to…” - 00:28:56 Drew D’Agostino

“Because it comes back to empathy. It's the human aspect and connecting with them in a way that makes sense.” - 00:37:29 Jeff Mains

“The more technology infiltrates human communication, the more of an advantage it is to be a real human writing something.” - 00:17:35 Drew D’Agostino

“Acknowledging your flaws is actually something computers don't really do. It's something that humans do.” - 00:20:40 Drew D’Agostino

SaaS Leadership Lessons

1. Have a toolset of pitches and know your building blocks well in order to be able to use them when necessary.

2. Prospects have fears that need to be alleviated.

3. Maintain a clear vision for the company while being open to new opportunities.

4. Mastery comes from repetition and obsessing over solving problems.

5. Time management is important and the key to success is prepping instead of improvising.

6. Fear of risk can be alleviated by understanding 12 types of pain points.

7. Analyzing sentences and emails can help extract value propositions, questions, and calls to action.

8. Work-life balance varies during different seasons in business.

9. Creative people may feel guilt for pursuing tech instead of their passions. Love what you do, do what you love.

10. Effective Pitch Really Does Depend On the Person. Make it Personal.

Guest Resources

Drew D’Agostino (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewdagostino

Drew D’Agostino (Twitter): https://twitter.com/DrewDAgostino

Drew D’Agostino (Instagram):https://www.instagram.com/drewdagostino/

Crystal Knows (Website): https://www.crystalknows.com/

Crystal Knows (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/crystal_knows

Resources Mentioned

Crystal Knows: https://www.crystalknows.com/

Gmail: https://www.google.com/intl/fil/gmail/about/

Coke / Coca Cola: https://www.coca-colacompany.com/

CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/

MIT Technology Review: https://www.technologyreview.com/

WIRED: https://www.wired.com/

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/international

Episode Sponsor

Today’s episode is sponsored by SaaSOpen. Join 1,000+ SaaS Leaders, Get an Inside Look at the Future of Software, and spend time with the people making it happen. There will be 5 stages with valuable content delivered in short 20-minute segments built for SaaS founders, CMOs, heads of product, sales, and engineering. The best way to predict the future is to create it so come do that with us on March 16 & 17 in NYC. I’ll be there and would love to meet you. Get full details at SaaSOpen.com

Small Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel’

Champion Leadership Group – https://championleadership.com/