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Francois Drillon
Founder & CEO at EXECUTIVE SELLING : a game changer in sales performance I B2B sales training | Value pitch | Board advisor I Author of "Selling to Executives"
Professional Background
François Drillon is an acclaimed leader in the field of executive selling, celebrated for revolutionizing sales performance strategies. With a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of both local and international markets, he has dedicated his career to empowering organizations to enhance their sales methodologies. François promotes a compelling approach—engaging executives first, driving deals from the top down, and ensuring that companies can close larger deals more rapidly, all while boasting a superior win ratio.
Having served in key positions such as the CEO and Founder of Executive Selling, François has spearheaded initiatives that have significantly influenced how sales teams operate within major organizations, including industry giants like SAP, Adobe, AWS, Anaplan, Celonis, and Accenture-Avanade. His training programs are meticulously structured and KPI-driven, enabling companies to streamline their sales processes and achieve exceptional results in record time.
Education and Achievements
François holds an MBA in Marketing from emlyon business school, graduating with honors—a testament to his dedication and capability in understanding complex marketing and business dynamics. His educational journey also includes specialized training in charisma at DANTHROS under the instruction of François Aelion, which enhances his ability to connect meaningfully with executives during sales engagements. Moreover, he is a graduate of the French Alpine Troops as a Platoon Leader from the esteemed 27th BCA, showcasing his leadership skills and commitment to teamwork.
His impactful career has also seen him serve in various prestigious roles within several leading companies. Notably, he was the VP of Sales Learning and Performance at ADP on an international scale, followed by a term as Sr. Director of Sales Learning and Performance in France. His early career saw him contributing as a Deputy Managing Director at Moortgat and as a senior consultant in corporate branding at Desgrippes, in addition to providing marketing and communication consultancy to seasoned firms like McCann Erickson and Publicis.
Achievements
François’s influence in the sales domain continues to grow as he engages with organizations seeking to elevate their sales performance. His role as a former seasoned speaker at Polytechnique showcases his thought leadership and his commitment to knowledge sharing in the field. As a board member at Katalyz, he has contributed to strategic initiatives that benefit organizational growth and development.
Through his innovative approach and extensive expertise, François Drillon remains a pivotal figure in the business landscape, helping companies navigate the complexities of sales in an evolving market. His commitment to excellence and passion for empowering others reinforces his status as a leader in executive selling.
Highlights
Suite du post précédent (lien en premier commentaire). Il existe deux moyens particulièrement efficaces pour planter le développement d’une start-up / scale-up.
Voici le second.
Il consiste à ne pas avoir de conviction sur le modèle de vente.
On a des SDR (des petits jeunes qui prennent de rendez-vous en attendant de passer commercial) parce que tout le monde en a.
On fait de l’inbound marketing (pêche à la sardine appliquée au B2B) parce que tout le monde en fait.
On fait des démos au second rendez-vous (histoire de prouver que … prouver quoi au fait ?) parce que tout le monde fait ça.
On a des CSM (des gens qui expliquent enfin aux utilisateurs où est la valeur de la solution … parce que mieux vaut tard que jamais) histoire de réduire le churn.
On a à l’arrivée une organisation commerciale coûteuse, peu focus, qui résiste parfois mal à l’analyse.
Bref on déroule comme si on avait une solution qui adressait 80% du marché avec les moyens de Microsoft ou Salesforce. Parfois d’ailleurs avec des VP Sales qui, sortant de ces grandes écuries, sous-estiment le poids du branding dans leurs succès passés (je vais encore me faire des amis 😊).
Parce qu’il est structurant, le modèle de vente doit selon moi traduire une conviction. Qui doit faire écho aux deux questions suivantes : pourquoi et comment nos futurs clients vont nous acheter ?
Pourquoi tout d’abord.
Quelle est la valeur pour le client ? Question en réalité pas très claire, à compléter par les questions suivantes : Quel est la réelle nature de l’impact business de notre solution ? Que se passera-t-il si le client ne fait rien ? Pendant combien de temps le client peut-il se permettre de ne rien faire et avec quelles conséquences ?
Comment ensuite.
Comment le client va-t-il prendre une décision (« par consensus » étant une ineptie) ? Qui prendra la responsabilité de la décision finale vis-à-vis de son Comex ? Qui a le pouvoir de lancer a minima une réflexion sur le sujet ? Les utilisateurs et les parties prenantes (IT notamment) ont-ils des intérêts cachés à défendre qui en font objectivement des alliés ou des ennemis ?
En fonction des réponses, des messages et des priorités d’engagement se dessinent qui permettent de designer un modèle de vente.
Et seul ce modèle permet d’avoir une stratégie commerciale focus, donc efficace malgré des budgets limités.
#executiveselling #valueselling
Mathématiques, capitalisme, démocratie.
L'entreprise A est actionnaire majoritaire de l'entreprise B avec 36% des actions. L'entreprise B est actionnaire majoritaire de l'entreprise C avec 34% des actions. L'entreprise C est actionnaire majoritaire de l'entreprise D avec 67% des actions. Donc l'entreprise A contrôle l'entreprise D avec seulement 8% de ses actions.
Un parti politique a 36% des sièges d'une alliance qui détient 34% des sièges de l'Assemblée sur la base d'un taux de participation de 67%. Donc ce parti entend contrôler la France avec le soutien de 8% des Français. Et encore, puisque certains ont juste voté contre un autre parti.
Ce sont les mêmes, suivez mon regard, qui nous expliquent que dans le premier cas, c'est du capitalisme et c'est dégueulasse, et dans le second cas, c'est la démocratie et c'est formidable.
Va comprendre, Charles ...
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.