E45: 5 Steps to Customer Intimacy and Lifelong Relationships

Timestamps:

07:28 Customer Segmentation: If They Can’t Buy, Don’t Flirt

17:09 Customer Journey: See Everyone. Hear No Less Than Three Nos.

19:54  Qualify the Opportunity: The Deal Review Is Not a Mugging

24:04 Buyer-Focused Proposal: Tell a Story, Say No, Close With Grace

28:56  Delight Your Customer: Trust Is Built in Chaos, Not Comfort

About Brad Perriott:

Brad’s the kind of guy you think you’ve figured out—until you haven’t. On the surface, he’s the polished Country Manager & AVP at SentinelOne. Scroll LinkedIn and you’ll see the expected titles: Dell, New Relic …  leadership stripes and global

But rewind a bit and you’ll find him shouting into a mic in a punk rock band called No Joel (named after the guitarist they had to sack). He also faked his way into music management by creating a made-up label—Pez Music Management—and negotiating with major promoters using a deep voice and an email alias. If you ever needed proof that sales skills start young, this is it.

He’s also been an NRL satire writer, a dad blogger with articles picked up by Mamma Mia and Kidspot, and the guy who’ll give you a call at 9 p.m. if your IT system goes belly-up.

But here’s the kicker: Brad wasn’t always a confident, connected seller. In fact, he bombed his entire first year as an AE because he was trying too hard to act like a “real” sales guy. It wasn’t until a mentor told him, “Just be yourself,” that everything changed.

That advice—simple but rare—is the launchpad for Brad’s entire sales philosophy.

Because customer intimacy isn’t a technique. It’s a decision. One that starts with showing up as you.

Let’s unpack the 5-part system he uses to build customer intimacy, close deals that last, and create buyers who follow him, no matter the logo on his shirt.

1. Customer Segmentation: If They Can’t Buy, Don’t Flirt

→ Create a Territory Plan

→ Develop Account & Call Plans

→ Quantify TAM

The first step to intimacy? Don’t waste it on the wrong people.

When Brad started out, he chased everyone. “If they breathed and had an email address, I thought they were a lead.” But his hit rate was rubbish because he wasn’t qualifying at the macro level.

Now, he only goes deep where there’s a real addressable market and a true willingness to spend. It’s quadrant thinking: find the top-right customers and leave the rest to your competition.

Before any meeting, Brad digs deep—annual reports, AI tools, old blogs, company strategy decks. His belief? “If you walk into that meeting knowing their business better than they do, you’ve already earned the next one.”

2. Customer Journey: See Everyone. Hear No Less Than Three Nos.

→ Go Deep & Wide

→ Elevate The Conversation

→ Know ALL The Decision Makers

Brad is big on not giving up early.

“One of the biggest mistakes reps make is hearing one polite ‘not now’ and walking away. That’s not a no. That’s a challenge.”

He tells his teams: go wide across the business, go deep in departments, and for heaven’s sake, stop qualifying out after one call. The average enterprise account has multiple IT shops and even more budget holders.

Once you find traction, elevate the conversation. Brad swears by executive peering—get your execs in front of theirs early, even if it’s a net new logo. “You’ll need those layers when the negotiation gets spiky.”

And yes, even the cleaner can be an intel source. “See everyone” isn’t a joke—it’s a sales law.

3. Qualify the Opportunity: The Deal Review Is Not a Mugging

→ Book a MEDDPICC

→ Swarm to Fill the Gaps

→ BVA (Business Value Assessment)

Brad’s mantra? “If you’re not qualifying, you’re winging it.”

He expects reps to run their own deal reviews. It’s not a witch hunt—it’s a strategy session. What’s the pain? Who’s really signing off? Where are the gaps?

He runs what he calls a “swarm”: a rolling internal meeting with sales engineers, legal, and anyone touching the deal. “We’re not here to chat—we’re here to plug holes, fast.”

Out of this comes the BVA—Business Value Assessment. “If your champion doesn’t have budget now, help them build a case to get it.” You measure cost reduction, risk mitigation, productivity gains, and revenue impact. You help them write the board pitch.

Sales used to be feature wars. Now it’s value proofing.

4. Buyer-Focused Proposal: Tell a Story, Say No, Close With Grace

→ Curated Proposal

→ Say No

→ Collaborative Close

Brad hates naked quotes. “Even when the customer says, ‘just send pricing,’ I send a story.”

A buyer-focused proposal isn’t a document—it’s a feeling. It shows them you understand their world, their pain, their future. Brad always includes references, outcomes, and a strong executive summary—even if no one reads it.

But here’s where it gets controversial: Brad believes saying “no” is more intimate than always saying yes.

When a customer demands a 10% discount, he says, “I’d love to help, but I’ve already given you my best. That said, if this secures the deal, I’ll go ask.” It’s respectful, it’s honest, and it earns trust.

And when the deal’s nearly done? Don’t pressure your champion. Instead, use the multithreading you built earlier to align stakeholders, troubleshoot concerns, and close with mutual conviction.

“Nothing breaks intimacy like desperate closing.”

5. Delight Your Customer: Trust Is Built in Chaos, Not Comfort

→ Say What You’re Going To Do… Then Do It

→ Continuously Measure Value

→ Be There in Their Time of Need

This is where the gold lives.

“Anyone can be charming before the deal closes,” Brad says. “But are you there when the server crashes at 10 p.m.?”

He once helped a long-time customer renegotiate a deal—with a competitor—because she’d overcommitted. There was nothing in it for him. Just empathy. Ten years later, she’s still in his corner.

That’s intimacy.

But delight isn’t just heroics. It’s consistency. Run QBRs. Track the ROI. Show customers—again and again—why they made the right choice.

Brad says, “If you don’t reinforce value, they’ll forget why they’re paying you. And when renewal time comes, they’ll ghost you.”

His trick? Be present when it’s hard. Over-deliver in their worst moment. That’s when the intimacy becomes bulletproof.

Summary: Be You. Be Relentless. Be Remembered.

Brad Perriott didn’t become a top seller because he was slick. He made it because he was consistent, curious, and—eventually—authentic.

His five-step intimacy system isn’t a theoretical framework. It’s how he wins trust, repeat business, and lifelong customers.

• Segment smart
  
  
• Go deep and wide
  
  
• Qualify with rigour
  
  
• Propose with purpose
  
  
• Delight beyond the deal
  
  

Do this, and your logo won’t matter. Your name will.

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