How Stansberry Research finally got the info it needed (Hint: Gong)

Stansberry Research stakes their investment recommendations on understanding data, so they know the value of reliable information better than most. And not just any information, but the right knowledge at the right time. 

When the organization started using Gong, an influx of analytics helped them make purpose-driven decisions around strategy, coaching, and deal execution. 

“What we can do with those Gong recordings across departments, across themes, across trackers, and across topics is mind blowing,” says Stansberry Managing Director, Sales & Member Services, Nicholas Giro.

Even with checklists in place, nothing helps sales reps improve more than having the facts of their calls laid out in front of them. Previously, Giro and his team used random samplings of calls to set a coaching plan, but found that simply reviewing positives and negatives in a few calls didn’t have the impact they wanted. 

Once they started using Gong, reps were able to track their own performance, eliminating the need for as many one-on-ones with managers. Teammates could also learn from each other’s successes through peer-to-peer and self-coaching. 

“This tool lets reps verify their own actions,” says Giro. “But more importantly, they can see who’s at the top of the leaderboard and dive into those calls to hear what they do differently.”

The additional data also means that leaders can drill into their own calls to solve problems quickly and get campaigns back on track.

In one instance, Giro focused on a sales rep who was at the bottom of the leaderboard despite good top-level metrics. He took a snapshot of the rep’s previous two weeks and compared the numbers to the rep’s performance in a similar past campaign. “I quickly showed them the difference in key markers, and the rep went from being offpace to beating his campaign numbers by two or three orders,” says Giro. 

Gong gave Giro the ability to point to specifics, like the fact that when the rep was under pressure, his talk ratio went from 50% to 80%. “All of that came from a five-minute review that set him back on track,” says Giro. “When we can do that in a quick period of time, we can change the trajectory of an entire campaign.”

The more information that’s easily available, and the more digestible that information is, the faster it can be put into action. 

In addition to providing retrospective data, Gong also provides information about deal executions in the moment. Using Gong’s automatic insights, the Stansberry team quickly and efficiently sorts through calls to find missing pieces that can help close a deal. 

Because sales is a moving target, there is no single path to success. That means the more your tech stack helps you adjust your approach with relevant information, the better. 

“We’re constantly thirsty for information,” says Giro. “We do everything analytically with a purpose to drive benefits back to the end user so their experience is better. That ultimately makes our customer experience better.”

Deal insights highlight opportunities to maximize revenue, so every sales rep can become your best rep, and every deal is within reach. “When you layer the analytics pieces that are inside Gong, the trackers we set up and the topics, this platform levels the playing field,” says Giro. 

Perhaps the most important thing analytics gives you is a clear path forward. 

Marketwise Solutions’ VP of Engineering, David Kline, understands that the most helpful tools use the most accurate data. And where better to get data than directly from the source? 

“This is zero-party data. Customers give you information about themselves directly,” says Kline. “Gong is an invaluable source of customer data that I really can’t get anywhere else.” For Kline, using Gong’s recordings is akin to building an entire system he’d otherwise not have the time or resources to create. “There are a lot of really interesting technical problems that this platform solved for us,” he says. 

Giro agrees. The data they can now access has elevated his team’s predictive analytics, future sales models, and future re-engagement models. “We believe in getting smarter about how we approach deals by building models we can measure and enrich and extend over time,” he says. 

“Gong was incredibly attractive because it has so many use cases. It’s a home run having Gong running through the whole ecosystem.”

Indeed, the entire Stansberry ecosystem is benefitting, from sales, to marketing, to copywriting. “We’re working on dashboards using the data in Gong, showing it in different ways to different departments, to demonstrate relevant impact. The thirst for information from Gong is growing on a regular basis across every department that interacts with customers,” says Giro. 

“When we put all these elements together, the sky’s the limit.”