The Sales Evangelist

Discover Your Strengths, Sell Authentically, Increase Sales We all have strengths that will help us become great salespeople. The problem is, we don’t always know what these strengths are or how to use them to sell authentically. Eddie Villa is both a life and a sales coach and in this episode, he’ll speak about using our strengths to help us sell authentically. Strengths of a Salesperson There are 34 different strengths that fall under 4 themes: Relationship building, strategic thinking, influencing, and executing. Everyone has different motivations and strengths when it comes to selling. Are you someone who wants to deepen relationships? Are you driven by checking off a list? Do you like to learn new skills? Are you motivated by the process? Once you realize what your strengths are, and you lean into your motivators, selling becomes easy! Balancing your strengths Company culture may not align with your strengths. In that case, focus on the required activities to get the job done. Once you know the fundamentals, find a way to add your own flair and authenticity into the execution. If your company wants you to send emails, then send them in a way that is a reflection of your strength. For example, you may enjoy making a video more than you do writing. If you’re a relationship builder, find a way to connect with your prospect. Maybe you want to gather information to strategically plan out what is best for a client’s needs. If you like to do research, learn about your prospect’s company or personal interests in order to put a unique package together just for them. You are the solution We are all unique and it’s these differences that drive the various outcomes. Businesses and clients are facing a variety of problems and you are the only one who can bring a solution based on your strengths. You are that special. Realize that some of your most celebrated successes came from moments you were just being you and build your sales career on who you are, in your strengths. It’s what your client needs. “Discover Your Strengths, Sell Authentically, Increase Sales” episode resources Reach out to Eddie Villa via his LinkedIn account , his website, Facebook, his podcast, Unleash Your Strengths, or email at [email protected]. Connect with Donald via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial. Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

How Salespeople Can Use Abraham Lincoln's War Strategy To Close More Deals Abraham Lincoln is one of the most iconic individuals in American history for many reasons, but specifically his strategy in winning the Civil War. The Civil War was one of the darkest times for the American people, a pivotal time, and it caused the bloodiest wars fought on American soil. Abraham Lincoln brought the nation together and unified the two opposing beliefs of the North and the South people. Why bring this up on a sales podcast? Believe it or not, salespeople can use Lincoln’s strategy in closing more deals. Going out there It was Lincoln’s idea to visit the troops and see their issues and difficulties first-hand. That experience helped him understand what they were fighting for and he was able to communicate his observation to key leaders and generals. Lincoln listened and gathered information to know what was going on in the field. As a result, The Situation Room was created in order to discuss the intel that was gathered. Lincoln used the advancement of industrialization, such as the railroad. He deployed troops by railroad so their travel time happened in a matter of days instead of weeks. That was efficiency at its best. The soldiers were able to get where they were needed. As a sales rep The use of technology will also distinguish a good sales rep from a great sales rep. Great sales reps are taking advantage of new trends like personalized videos. They take the time to personalize emails by attaching video with content specific to the prospect. Use tools like LinkedIn Navigator and Postal to speed up your close rates and shorten the sales cycle. “How Salespeople Can Use Abraham Lincoln's War Strategy To Close More Deals” episode resources Connect with Donald via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Intherrupt, a podcast that is all about empowering women leaders. Every episode, Linda Yates interviews some of the most intriguing women in the business world and finds out what they do to be able to gain an opportunity in the business world. The podcast launches on August 24 and if you want to get on an early adopters list, go to www.salespodcastnetwork.com/intherrupt. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial. Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Becoming the Best Storyteller Possible Jim Benton is the CEO of Chorus AI, a leader in conversation intelligence, who helps people understand the conversation that their sales teams are having with their customers. Technology is more important than ever as it can be used to tell stories that help your clients understand what it is you offer. However, with the pandemic, it is all the more challenging to know these stories within your sales team and what their activities might include. Becoming the best storyteller Three ways to become great storytellers: Authenticity A sales rep can be authentic and relaxed when he’s prepared. He has to understand what’s required of him to be present in the conversation and not be distracted. Experience Experience is tied to authenticity. The most authentic stories come from those that you have personally experienced. New sales reps who don’t have stories of their own can share what they observe. This means paying attention to the details of what is going on around them and the colleagues they work with. Data You need to have a way to validate and anchor the story so it connects to you and your client. The story is an effective way of building trust because people are more laid back when they’re sharing their stories. They’re more likely to exchange better information. As sales reps, this is where you need to be attentive. Once the story and rapport is established you can also add metrics and other relevant statistics to anchor a data point and enhance credibility. Storytelling and technology It’s critical to connect with people and technology helps us do that. It bridges the gap between sales reps and prospects. Once meetings have taken place, the sales team can use AI to share conversations everyone can listen to and learn from. It becomes an automated tool for coaching that comes straight from the customer. “Becoming the Best Storyteller Possible” episode resources Follow Jim Benton via his LinkedIn account. Connect with Donald via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial. Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

How Sellers Can Build Trust With Buyers in Remote Settings Virtual and remote settings are now part of the sales process due to the ongoing pandemic. As a result, it can be hard for a salesperson to build trust with your buyers you can’t meet face to face. In this episode, we’ll look at ways trust can be built regardless of proximity. Russell Wurth is the global VP of Sales Enablement at Showpad and has had an expanding range of experience over the last 20 years. One of Russell’s favorite books, The Trusted Advisor, has a great formula for trust: Trust is credibility plus reliability plus intimacy divided by self-orientation. Trust is about developing credibility and reliability with a bit of intimacy. The thing about intimacy is that it’s hard to develop virtually. This is something that you build by personal interaction through dinners, lunch meetings, and other events. With the lack of personal meetings, however, sales reps now need to rely heavily on their credibility and reliability. Developing personal relationships is the natural way to build intimacy but what elements help the process? One way is to invest time in doing research about the other person’s personal interests and focus on topics that have nothing to do with business. That research will offer insight to common ground that could lead to a great conversation. You don’t want to come across as a salesperson looking to cut a deal right away. Step out with your authentic self. Building credibility Once a relationship starts to build, you’re then able to build credibility by focusing on what the buyer is going through. Bring value to the table. Share beneficial information that will help their pain point and present it in a way they’ll be able to understand. Don’t limit yourself to presentations that come from PowerPoints, PDFs, and videos. Think about the nurture path and feed the clients bit by bit. Provide insight instead of just unloading a pile of digital content, assuming that the client is going to read it. There are a lot of digital tools available that would vastly improve your presentations but as a salesperson, your goal is to make it more personal. Be authentic and show you truly care. You need to learn how to use your emotional quotient by showing empathy toward their challenges. Developing emotional quotient Salespeople used to just focus on what was good for their commissions and their company. They focused on product knowledge and how prospects could help their business. You can still share information about your products and services but only offer as much as it is truly helpful to your client. Sell them the problem solvers. Dive deeper and share the challenges that aren't’ just case studies but something that is relatable to them. As you build intimacy, make sure you don’t forget to focus on information that isn’t business oriented. #SalesCredibility Video is the way The best way to be out there right now is through video. Don’t be embarrassed about your background, what’s going on, or if there are kids everywhere. Be a little bit vulnerable and let them get a peek into your life. That will help you connect with your clients. You won’t just be a disconnected voice but someone they can see on camera, smiling and talking. Just be sure not to multitask while you are on a video call. Give them your full attention. The more you can show how invested you are in the conversation, the more they will return in kind. Showing them a bit of who you are can open into a friendlier conversation as it puts their guard down. Video calls aren’t about having the best background, it’s about finding your most comfortable spot. Sales reps need to be sensitive about time management especially when making calls. Set up your Google Calendar and be in 10 minutes before the scheduled time. Don’t try to wrap everything up within the hour. Your clients and prospects don’t want to feel rushed. If you can’t finish the presentation, then break it down by segments. Open your calendar again and set up another time the prospect can continue. You are only as good as the people who are going to vouch for you so explore how to do that in this digital world. Use this time while you’re home to build your social network and build your portfolio. “How Sellers Can Build Trust With Buyers in Remote Settings” episode resources Connect with Russell Wurth via LinkedIn and check out his official websites. If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course des

The One Thing Holding You Back From Massive Success Regardless of the industry we are in, success is the goal, but it isn’t easy to achieve. It takes time and effort and oftentimes, we have to overcome mental blocks that keep us from attaining that success. In this episode, we’re talking about breaking through that upper limit to achieve sales success. Limiting your sales success Gay Hendricks wrote the book, The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level. It is a powerful book that talks about how we set limitations and don’t take big leaps because of fear. As a salesperson, we set limits on ourselves about what we do on a day-to-day basis. This may include calling clients or setting appointments. We have these upper limits, the proverbial glass ceiling, we impose on ourselves. These are the limits we don’t go beyond. For example, one salesperson may limit himself to three appointments a day and when they try to go beyond that, they somehow find ways to sabotage themselves. This is because he isn’t comfortable with success that is outside of his norm. He feels the need to move himself back into his comfort zone, a place where he feels like he belongs. The same is true in relationships. Sometimes when things are going well, fighting starts. This isn’t just a mystical force suddenly showing its face. The fight is something we conjure up in our minds. We allow it and find ways to let it intrude on our lives. It turns a small incident into a big deal. It keeps us at a lower level. Go beyond your comfort zone The sales reps that go beyond their comfort zone are the ones who typically thrive but this requires you to put yourself in an uncomfortable position. It requires you to take the big leap. How can you achieve your sales success? How can you go to the next level of your sales performance? In this pandemic, some of you may have already set your proverbial glass ceilings. You may have decided that your opportunities are limited and convinced yourself that you’re not going to be successful in this current season. The truth is, sometimes the worse things happen because we stop taking action. Are you showing up on time for virtual meetings? In what areas are you showing a lack of effort? The Sales Evangelists are still offering the same services now as they did before. The organization, however, is receiving more opportunities, even with this pandemic. Donald realized that this was because he didn’t limit what he could do as a leader of the organization. Constantly look for areas to improve There is always room for success when you break through the ceiling. This may be through prospecting, your LinkedIn outreach, or your social selling. Whatever those limits are, go beyond them, and position yourself as someone who can solve the problems of your ideal customers. It’s not easy to take the big leap, especially if you are making big changes, but there’s no other way except to break through the limitations you’ve set. Be the person who can solve the problem for your ideal customer. #SalesSolution “The One Thing Holding You Back From Massive Success” episode resources If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Intherrupt, a podcast that is all about empowering women leaders. Every episode, Linda Yates interviews some of the most intriguing women in the business world and finds out what they do to be able to gain an opportunity in the business world. The podcast launches on August 24 and if you want to get on an early adopters list, go to www.salespodcastnetwork.com/intherrupt. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial. Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Use virtual tools to do more, in less time, with better outcomes Out of necessity, we are moving into a digital world in which almost every step of the sales process involves the use of virtual tools. The challenge is, not all salespeople know how to use these virtual tools and it’s inhibiting sales growth. Jeb Blount has been doing virtual sales since 2015. As he recognized the increasing need for sellers to be tech-savvy, he wrote Virtual Selling and realized that there is so much more than integrating videos in the sales process. Virtual sales include integrating all the virtual communication tools, both the synchronous and asynchronous. The question was how to utilize all these virtual tools for sales and blend these into a viable way to sell and prospect. We say “blend” because face-to-face selling isn’t always available, especially in this season of people’s social distancing. Being able to use virtual tools makes the sales process more efficient and productive. Virtual calls, for example, is a good prospecting technique. Instead of getting on a traditional call, try getting your potential client on a video conference. Face-to-face offers a better opportunity to build a relationship with your prospect. You can also save time with a virtual call because you don’t have to travel for a meeting. This frees up time to manage other activities in the sales process. The more people you get to talk to, the bigger your pipeline will be. Virtual tools are starting to reshape the way we think about selling as these tools help in shortening the sales cycle and improving closing ratios. Changes in the sales methods The great recession brought about the existence of BDR and SDR. Now, with the pandemic, the landscape of sales is changing again. We have to make changes in the process and technology is the answer. Necessity is the mother of virtual selling but not all salespeople are keen on using technology. Even Gen Zs and millennials are struggling to use technology in effectively running omnichannel. Salespeople have to learn to adapt and adjust to stay competitive. People who are looking to go virtual have to learn new skills like email etiquette and working with a camera. Fear of being in front of the camera, and speaking to an online audience, has to be overcome. Familiarity isn’t something that comes easy without face-to-face conversation. With people becoming more tech-savvy, however, you can achieve the same level of familiarity using social selling and personal branding. Ask prospects if they would be interested in a video call. You will be amazed by the number of clients who jump at the opportunity. Organizations need to teach their reps that virtual calling and using virtual tools for selling is the closest facsimile to face-to-face. There are now multiple ways to build and create relationships. Studies show that there is almost a 50% increase in closing when someone is able to see a face, even virtually. Internet traffic is rising. It’s projected that in a couple of years, 86% of the traffic will come from videos. HubSpot also did a study on prospecting and video messaging. The study revealed that video messaging is a powerful virtual tool as it increases email conversation rates to 400%. Video is king. Are you part of this selling process? #VideoSales Learning video calls etiquette You may not be comfortable facing the camera but that can be remedied. It’s important to consider perfect framing so that your clients can see you properly. Position yourself so your clients can see your hands as trust is built when hands are visible. When you’re talking to the client, lift your hands up, make gestures, and don’t be afraid to emote with your hands. If you’re able, you can stand up. You can create depth by leaning forward or stepping back. You can use your body to attract attention. A study revealed that people look at themselves 70% of the time when on a video call. This is something salespeople should avoid. Instead of looking at yourself, look at the camera in order to be perceived as making eye contact. Because of the limitations of video calls, you want to be mindful of projecting in a way that builds trust. Consider investing in good quality equipment to ensure high-quality video call content. As you’re able, you can hire people to set-up your mini studio but know that you don't have to wait for that as you learn, practice, and build your skillset. Choosing the right virtual tool for sales Productivity comes from choosing the right communication channel that will give you your desired outcome while spending the least amount of time and energy. This current season is a good time for sales leaders and CEOs to take their entire sales process and research the best communication channels so their sales reps can meet buyers wherever they are. This would allow sales reps to be more productive, make more sales calls, and reduce the total cost of the sale. Combining video messaging with direct messaging such as Wh

Using Trello to Manage Business and Sales Efforts Trello is an emerging platform that helps their customers manage and organize tasks. On one screen, Trello is an amazing “white board” that shows your to do list, doing list, and done list, especially when you have multiple projects and ideas being generated at once. How do you use Trello so you can focus more efforts driving sales? Check out this episode. Brittany Joiner is a self-proclaimed Trello nerd as she’s been using the program for about a decade. She works full-time in marketing and is learning programming on the side. Productivity has always been something she’s passionate about learning more of. Since she saw the movie, Cheaper by the Dozen as a kid, she’s loved the satisfaction brought about by efficiency. Brittany has been using Trello as a tool to organize all aspects of her life and it’s been a great help in keeping track of all her tasks and schedules in one place while keeping other team members in the loop about what’s going on. Trello helps her accomplish all the things that need to be done. Defining productivity There’s no magic bullet when it comes to tips and tricks about how to increase productivity. What makes people productive is different for everyone. For example, one of the most common pieces of advice that is offered by experts is to wake up early, but some people are night owls and are actually more productive in the evenings. With the pandemic going on, people have been working from their homes and have the biggest opportunity to be able to set their work around how and when they want to do their tasks. It’s a great way to experiment with scheduling to see when the most work is getting done. Trello and productivity Trello helps with general productivity. David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done, said that the mind is for generating ideas, not for holding on to them. The mind makes an effort when it keeps track of what needs to get done and this is where Trello can be of tremendous help. It’s a tool that allows you to organize all your thoughts so your brain can process better and creatively connect the dots. The brain can then solve the problems instead of just holding onto information. Think of Trello as a digital whiteboard with lists and sticky notes on steroids. Each card acts like a sticky note. You can add checklists, due dates, members, labels, automation pieces, and so much more. Trello is where you organize your ideas and make them accessible anytime you need them. Brittany’s Trello system consists of three categories: To Do, Doing, and Done. She moves her tasks through these cards depending on what she’s accomplished and then completed. She also has a backlog of ideas she calls an “idea inbox.” It’s where she puts her ideas and what she needs to work on for the week. She organizes this at the beginning of each week and it’s these lists that prompt her week’s activities. Satisfaction from getting things done It feels amazing to know you are getting things done and when you are able to move a card from To Do to Done. Trello has a new feature where confetti is sprinkled across the screen when you move one card to another. Brittany has added a Yay list where she puts all the accomplishments she wants to remember. Among them, launching a website and creating a blog post. It’s also possible to archive cards and tasks so you can document what you’ve already finished and still keep track of them even when they’re no longer visible on your board. Challenges in sales in terms of productivity According to Brittany, one of the biggest challenges is being able to take a task and apply it across the board for all team members and prospects. It can be difficult to manage and apply specific items to everyone. For example, you may find a task working for you but it’s still hard to be consistent with each person you’re following up with. If that’s the case, you can add a follow-up checklist to your card and apply this checklist to all your lead cards. With a standard sales process, you don’t have to worry about what you did and didn’t do with this particular lead. You can just check off the boxes you completed with your clients. Another challenge in sales is the fact that many salespeople want to do sales and not the admin work. This may be true not only for people in sales, but in general. Trello has a card-repeater powerup. What it does is you can automate your card and make it pop up every Monday, or any day you want it to appear. You can also put a habit tracker to your Trello board with reminders for LinkedIn building, sales outreach, and more. Be productive Managing contacts is a struggle for many salespeople. Crmble, a plugin for Trello, is a good tool to manage your contacts and move them through your sales pipeline. It is better than a spreadsheet. You can use Crmble, set up your list, and customize it. Each contact is a card and you can import them from CSV. You can set it up automatically to sync with your form. If you

The Number 1 Reason You Hear "I'm Not Interested" Of course salespeople like to hear positive responses from their prospects but it’s not always the case. Sometimes prospects say, “I’m not interested.” Why do you hear that? Is there something wrong with your pitch? Listen to this episode and understand what prospects are thinking when they say they’re not interested. Donald has worked with hundreds of sales reps,has coached a variety of individuals, trained organizations, and he’s been on countless sales phone calls. All those experiences have taught him many things. Donald’s latest lesson came from seeing Disney’s, The Princess and the Frog. The story of Tiana and the Frog In the story, Tiana lives in Louisiana and has a dream of creating an amazing restaurant with her dad. She wants to do something with her life and have a purpose. Eventually, however, she gets turned into a frog. The prince in the story also gets turned into a frog. Together, they begin their quest to find the witch that turned them into frogs so they can be turned back to humans. Along the way, they come across an alligator who’s good at playing the trumpet, and the frog prince asks the alligator for help. The alligator tells them about a witch doctor that can help but the frogs don’t know how to get there. When Tiana asks the alligator to take them, he refuses and goes back to playing the trumpet. The frog prince realizes they messed up their pitch and so he tries again. He goes back to the alligator and asks him about his challenges. To this, the alligator replies that it’s hard to play trumpet in front of people because they just run away. Upon hearing this, the frog prince then redirects his pitch. He asks the alligator to come with them in the hopes of being turned into a human as well. This time, he decides to join them! The frog prince was able to reframe the offer so the alligator could see the benefit to himself. In relation to sales That story speaks to the platinum rule in sales - to treat others the way they would like to be treated and to tell them things that they want to hear. The focus should always be about the prospect or client with the goal of giving them what they want and need. Tiana asked for good will but didn’t offer any benefit. The prince got results because he focused on what the alligator desired. The same is true when prospecting for a sale. When he saw the movie, Donald realized there were times as an account executive that he’d reached out to a prospect and led with Me, My, and I. He’d talked about his company and what they’d been doing. Nothing in his pitch was about the buyer. He eventually learned to flip it around and prioritized what they needed and wanted the most. That made all the difference. Figuring out what they want One of the easiest ways to figure out what a customer wants is to search for their job title on LinkedIn. You can also go to indeed.com. Try searching for what their responsibilities are. For example, if you see your prospect is a marketing director, search for that job title on LinkedIn. You’ll see that their job is to get traffic to their site, to bring inbound leads, bring in prospects that their sales reps can talk to, and eventually buy their product. If you call them and talk to them about your company, they’ll only listen to the first 10 seconds of your call before you hear, “I’m not interested.” As a sales rep, your job is to reach out to them with a point of reference. Connect with them via LinkedIn using the omnichannel approach. When you’ve done that, then you’re ready to make the call. “Hey Mike, we connected on LinkedIn last week....” Position yourself as a person with whom they’re already acquainted. You’ve already moved through the threat barrier on LinkedIn, so now you can present them a solution they want. For the previous marketing director example, you could say, “I was looking at what you’re doing. If there’s a way I could show you how to get 10-15% more leads coming into your website, would you be open to hearing what we can do for you?” Provide a story loop to get his attention first before you ask your qualifying questions. Then you can set up that next appointment. The old way of doing a pitch where you present your company, and all the great things you’ve accomplished, doesn’t work anymore. Now we figure out what the clients need and present a solution that benefits them. Client-centered, not sales rep-centered Your goal is to focus on what the buyer wants, use your questioning skills, and make them the center of the sales process. There is no deception when you are trying to grab their attention to solve their problem. If you’re not going into a deeper discussion, then you won’t get a close. Bring value to deepen the conversation. Provide what the prospect needs. If you’re trying to grab a prospect’s attention to solve a problem, there's no deception in that. #SalesTruth “The Number 1 Reason You Hear "I'm Not Interested"” episode resources If you are inter

How a Power Dialer Streamlines Your Sales Process and Improves Productivity Power dialers improve your sales process and productivity. As a salesperson, have you given this any thought? Listen to this episode to help you decide if a power dialer will help you in your business. Sean Leonard is the founder of FunnelFLARE and the CEO of Jump Demand. One of their products is FunnelFLARE and the other is a marketing automation platform. Sean has a background in long sales cycle sales, specifically in the process automation where they are selling automation software. Interestingly, it didn’t start in sales and marketing but in manufacturing. In his early days, he was selling industrial software for manufacturing mainly in process control. Automation really played a huge part to help scale the marketing cycle. They started Jump Demand with the goal of helping people automate customer acquisition. They use FunnelFLARE for sales enablement. The issue in sales Sales is about the highest paid hard work and the lowest paid easy work. All salespeople want to sell more and they are highly motivated to do that. The reality is 80% of the salesperson’s revenue comes from 20% of their activities. This means that 80% of the time sales reps are not doing revenue-generating tasks. Sales is a contact sport so we have to become proficient in making calls. Every sales organization wants its staff to talk to people and be helpful. The idea behind Sean’s products is to help salespeople reduce the effort in making calls. The second issue Sean was looking at is the CRM. He thinks that it’s purposely built to help salespeople succeed. There are so many CRMs out there and the evolution of the tool has been advantageous for everyone on the sales team as it helps them manage their projects and opportunities. Sean and his team found that many salespeople were spending so much time trying to add to the CRM that they were also spending more time outside of the CRM. They were having to bounce from one app to the other. These tasks included logging the calls, putting together a strategy throughout the day, updating the CRM, and integrating the information into the calls that the salespeople make. Sean’s efforts enable sales reps to do their work in the CRM and reduce the effort that’s spent in using the CRM. The goal is to keep members of the organization have lots of documented opportunities while still being able to maintain a relationship with people. Defining power dialer Power Dialer for Sean is basically what he is doing with the CRM. It’s a list of people that he has bulk edited and flagged for his calling session. They use a Chrome extension where a dialog box appears when they click the extension. The dialog box has a pre-loaded name of the person from the flagged list. The idea behind the power dialer is that it allows you to make calls efficiently and with greater speed. With Power Dialer the numbers are automatically selected when you make a call. The numbers are local numbers from the region because that typically gets a better hit rate. You can put a tracking script on the website. These are prospect insights and account insights, tabs that sales reps can quickly check. This gives them the idea of what their prospects have been up to. While the call is going on, Sean’s system records the call and builds a transcript of the call. When the call has ended, your next move is to do a follow-up email. Sean’s team has a pop-up email template that their teams can use. They also add commentary relating to the recent call to personalize the emails. When you’re ready to make the next call, you can also drop an automated voicemail if the call isn’t picked up. The good thing about the system is that sales reps can make changes to the metadata. You can add notes that are applied when reloaded and the notes are saved automatically. The transcripts are also saved in the CRM as notes. This makes the call process more efficient and there’s no typing and updating involved. The data are automatically loaded into the CRM. Personalized voicemail vs non-personalized voicemail If you are making follow-up calls with your existing clients, or with people that are late into the sales process, your voicemail has to be personalized. In this case you can’t drop a voicemail that was pre-recorded. It's different when you have a warm lead. You can choose to create a follow-up email or an SMS. Oftentimes, SMS has more traction because people are flooded with emails on a daily basis. Sean usually loads up SMS and sends them to prospects before making calls. This is for the prospects to know who is going to call them. The magic in the voicemail lies in the follow-up email. When you email, give them a link to your appointment scheduler and let them when they should anticipate your next call. If you are talking to someone late in the sales process, you must personalize the message. #SalesPersonalization Cadence Automation Aside from the Power Dialer, Sean’s team also

How I Creatively Booked Meetings Using Video With people being more isolated, the trend of how to set appointments is changing. Salespeople need to be more creative about how to get a prospect’s attention, such as using videos. This episode will be about using this approach to make you stand out from the crowd and get that meeting. Frank Weshcler works for a company called Dynamic Signal. They started in San Bruno but for the last two years, the company has branched out to Chicago. It is a communications and engagement platform to help enterprises and commercial size companies. The journey toward creating videos When Frank was still interviewing with Dynamic Signal, he was asked how comfortable he was in front of the camera. With video creation being part of their outreach, he needed to be able to do quick 30-second dynamic video clips where he could introduce himself and create a pitch. With his theater background, he was immediately comfortable and got started making videos. Use your creativity Frank’s company uses Vidyard, a video platform that integrates with their sales platform. It helps them find videos easily, attaches them into emails, and sends them. Frank has been very creative in all his videos. In one of his videos he ate the restaurant's hottest wings, with triple sauce, and recorded himself pitching to the client while his mouth was on fire! Despite the fact he was coughing and choking, he pressed on. The client loved it, sent it out to their entire team, and Frank got a meeting. For him, it was worth it! Keep in mind, the meeting took time and follow-up. After not hearing from the prospect after the initial video, he reached out again with another video, but without the wings this time, to ask if the client had seen the video. It was then that Frank was able to solidify the meeting. Don’t be discouraged after just one touch. Clients get busy. The formula in creating a video There is no one formula in creating a video but you can do the research to find the connective niche angle that will be the focus of your pitch. For a sports car company, Frank made a video of himself building one of their cars out of Legos in his workshop using his GoPro. He titled it “I Made Your Car in My Workshop” and it became click-worthy for the client. The video was tied into their brand and interest. Put yourself in your client’s shoes. What would make something click-worthy for you? When you create a video, tie it into the prospect’s brand or the contact’s personal interests. #SalesVideos How to use videos Frank loves using videos as an ice-breaker. He often sends a video for the first or second touch depending on who he is reaching out to. After the video, the next step is getting on the phone. If he still doesn’t get a response, he sends another follow-up video just to remind them of his first video. If he still doesn’t get a reply, he lets it go. Research plays a huge part in the process of making a video. In this stage of the process, your job is to create an idea that will be relatable to them. What are the prospect’s interests or hobbies? What are their favorite sports teams? Here is where you can use LinkedIn and other social media platforms to dig deep. Frank discovered one prospect was a slam poet so he made a slam poetry video. Use your videos to personalize your pitch in a way your competition hasn’t. Through your efforts, you ‘re making your introductory video a cut above the rest. The bane in video creation Not all people are using videos for their pitch and introduction because not all salespeople are comfortable in front of the camera. The trend in sales, however, is going more toward videos as salespeople are now using Zoom in their videoconferencing. Hopefully through Zoom salespeople are getting more comfortable being in front of the camera and will take advantage of this video trend as it gains popularity. Frank had never heard utilized video prospecting before joining Dynamic Signal but he’s learned the huge advantage of personalization through this mode of communication. As the use of Zoom progresses, using video prospecting may soon become the norm. Don’t limit yourself. “How I Creatively Booked Meetings Using Video” episode resources Connect with Frank via his LinkedIn account. You can also email him at [email protected] or call him at 847-521-0366. If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamen

10 things new sellers should avoid doing We all make mistakes from time to time but you can’t avoid them if you don’t know they’re mistakes. In this episode, Donald will share 10 mistakes he’s made so you he’s made so you don’t have to. Mistake #1: Being pushy People hate pushy sales reps. These are the ones that are often associated with being a stereotypical “used car salesperson.” This makes buyers feel like they are being tricked into making a purchase. Buyers nowadays are educated, prepared, and they are familiar with the tactics that sellers use. These days, buyers have different options and can go somewhere else if they don’t feel you have their best interest at heart. Buyers want to move toward sellers who can educate them to make the best decision, as opposed to someone who is trying to push them into an option they don’t really need. . Pushy sellers are those who are trying to hit their own deadlines and quotas without taking into account what’s best for their customer. They have abandoned the whole idea of empathy. Mistake #2: Not listening We’ve all heard that we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak … but not everyone takes this to heart. Donald was taught early on that he should only speak about 30-40% of the time. The rest of the time should be spent listening. New sellers have the notion that the more you talk, the more convincing you get. Actually, the opposite is true. Great sellers spend their time asking effective questions. When you research and come prepared with questions buyers can respond to, it helps them see you’re more engaged. For example, ask questions pertaining to their business or personal interests . It’s during these conversations that the prospect will tell you how to sell to them. Having two ears and one mouth should tell you to listen twice as much as you speak. #SalesListening Mistake #3: Saying “Tell me more about your business” Don’t ask a buyer about their business when there’s so much information available over the internet. Do your research before the meeting. The buyer shouldn’t have to waste their time educating you about their business. You don’t want to be caught less informed than your competition. Instead, ask them questions that pertain to their services and about the challenges their company may be trying to overcome. Mistake #4: Lying Nobody likes a liar. As a seller, you have an idea about what numbers you want to hit. Regardless of what that might be, when the buyer asks for the price, don’t tell them you don’t know if you can give them a margin to work with. Help the buyer make a decision that’s in their best interest by offering great value first, then talk price. If you truly don’t know the answer to a critical question, let them know you’ll get back to them. Just don’t lie. The buyer will appreciate your authenticity. Mistake #5: Not taking No as an answer You want to help people but you can’t force them to get your products or services. Sales work is very much like baseball. Not every swing turns into a home run. Sometimes you’re just going to get to first base or hit a line drive. The same is true with your prospects. You want to give your best but when a buyer says no, you can ask a follow-up question to make sure it’s not a problem you can solve. If it’s just not a good time, don’t be pushy and revisit down the road. Mistake #6: Not knowing the buyer’s true needs It’s best to meet a client with some understanding of their needs and how you can offer solutions or better alternatives. The last thing a buyer wants is to deal with a salesperson who has no idea how to help them solve their problems. Try to understand the pain points of their business. The more you understand them, the more you’ll be able to add value. Case studies and testimonials can offer great insight to how problems can be solved or what the problem is. These can be found in your own company’s files, through your competitors, or your prospect’s website. Look at some of the training and videos. Look at their case studies and read on the challenges they solve for their buyers. The last thing a buyer wants is to deal with a salesperson who has no idea how to help them solve their problems. Mistake #7: Being late for meetings When you set up an appointment, make sure to show up on time and don’t miss appointments. Buyers are busy and being late is a bad first impression. Be diligent with your scheduling and don’t stack appointments if you can’t follow through. Learn how to organize your time in a way that you will have extra time to prepare for your next appointment. Calculate in your travel time, the time you need to prepare your slides, and anything else that will take up precious minutes. Be careful too of being too early and creating a burden for the client. Be there early enough to set up and then be ready to go by the time the client gets there. Mistake #8: Not keeping your word This mistake ties closely to the previous one. For example, if

How to Virtually Forge Deep Connections With Prospects The pandemic has changed the methods of prospecting. Sales is still about connecting with people on a personal level but with so many people doing business virtually now, sales reps have to be able to do this without getting to see people in “the real world.” Steve Herz is the president of the Montag Group, a talent agency specializing in representing sportscasters, TV newscasters, weathermen radio personalities, podcast hosts, and more. Over the last four years, however, Steve has also become a coach to executive CEOs and anyone who wants to improve their communication skills to close more deals. Don’t Take Yes for an Answer Steve’s book is Don’t Take Yes for an Answer. The title might seem odd to a salesperson whose livelihood depends on a yes. In this case, Steve means that he doesn’t want people to be surrounded by the yeses that keep them stuck in mediocrity. It impedes your improvement. For example, Steve was in his second year of law school, and he was one of the 30 kids working at a big law firm in New York City. By the end of summer, he was facing a verdict of either getting an offer or not. The first 29 people ahead of him received an offer. Steve did not. The managing partner told him that he didn’t have the right skill set for the job and it was suggested he go into sales, start his own company, and come back to the firm as a client. Steve reflected on this advice and it changed the trajectory of his life. This is the story behind the title of his book. He was given a life-changing no and it was the best thing for him! Steve quotes Barry Summers, who has had great success on Wall Street, who said, “The second best thing to a Yes in the business is a fast No.” Striving for the best version of you It isn’t your job to say yes. Your job is to bring out the honesty from people around you. Be okay with the no that will push you to become better. Show up with a healthy vulnerability that reflects your interest in growing and learning. If you strive to get better everyday you open the door to a better version of yourself. This positions you to connect with people who may become your mentors. Successful salesman vs a great salesman To be great in sales, you need to believe you can be a success. This comes from genuinely serving the needs of others. Be someone who knows that you are going to do your very best for the person who has entrusted their needs with you. For example, if you’re selling insurance in Florida and you know the property is prone to flooding, let the homeowners know about it. If something catastrophic happens, get them a stay in a hotel and get their house rebuilt. Exceed the expectations of a client and care about the outcome. Forging the connection Steve believes that people can still forge great connections with people, even in this virtual environment. Before the pandemic, a salesperson may have made 30 phone calls but with the pandemic, may be connecting only half as much but now, it’s on Zoom. Seeing the person face-to-face has a different effect than just speaking with them on the phone. Making eye contact, even virtually, and makes the connection much deeper, especially when you’re able to discuss their life, their interests, and their needs. Stumbling blocks in using Zoom When you’re able to Zoom, set aside time to do what needs to be accomplished. Five minutes is not going to be enough. Instead, set aside thirty minutes per call so you have a chance to get to know what’s important to your potential client. Get to understand their reasons for being in the industry they’re in. If you spend the time getting to know people, eventually, enough of those people will have a need for what you’re offering. Steve has been in the business for 25 years and many of his customers/clients have stayed with him for that 25-year period. He isn’t aiming for short-term business. Steve believes that the best customers are your current customers and maintaining them while getting new ones by referral is a great way to grow your business. The authentic body language As a salesperson, you need to be confident and comfortable in your own body language. Be relaxed, have good posture, and maintain eye contact. During a sales meeting make it a habit to be professional but authentic. You want there to be a consistency of behavior throughout your life so you can show up to prospects comfortably. Oftentimes, we don’t even know we have bad habits. You can correct that with the help of your colleagues, friends, or family members who can be an extra set of eyes on what could be improved upon. Make it a habit to sit up straight and have good eye contact so it becomes natural when you’re in front of people. #SalesPosture Be perceptive and acknowledge others Make sure that the person you’re talking to feels welcome. Look at the conversation from the other person’s perspective and ask yourself: -What do they want out of this? -What is their point of view? -How

What To Do When a Customer Says “Not Yet” To Closing We’ve all gotten a “not yet” from a prospect and it can be frustrating having that delay in closing. In this episode we’ll look at how to move from “not yet” to yes. Jeff Shore is a salesperson at heart and has been in the industry for a number of years. He started his sales career in real estate but for the last 20 years, he’s been at Shore Consulting. Jeff works with companies large and small all around the world. He is also a published author and is getting ready to launch his 10th book. He used to look at sales from the perspective of the salesperson but now, he’s looking at how a buyer buys. Instead of reading sales books, he reads psychology books to know what’s going on in the mind during the sales process that leads to the decisions people make. Salespeople are sales counselors because they get to the root of the problem before they try to provide any kind of solution. This is the heartbeat of sales. We understand the customers’ problems and we try to offer them the best solution. On writing his books As an author, Jeff understands he has to live a book before he writes it. Jeff knows it’s not just about the sale. The follow up is just as important and Jeff is passionate about learning everything he can. He wants us all to know the greatest lessons are in how to serve customers and learning how we can add value after the initial presentation. This is what Jeff’s book is about. The inability to follow-up Not following up comes down to two things: I can’t do it or I won’t do it. This is both an ability and a motivation issue. If you don’t know how, find someone to help you or a resource that can teach you. Motivation entails having the right mindset. The challenges today The two biggest problems in doing follow-up are that salespeople are often too slow and/or too impersonal. Speed and personalization are the superpowers that salespeople have at their disposal. The faster they serve, the more that they are able to share the message that they care. These days, people equate speed with care. If you can combine speed and personalization, you’re already 98% ahead from other salespeople who just rely on their CRM to kick out a generic email 24-hours after the initial conversation. Getting back in touch adds value and this is the first step in building a relationship with prospects. The second step is being personal. We all get numerous emails in a week and they come in many forms. If salespeople spent any meaningful time online, they would see there is plenty of accessible information to personalize correspondence and it would make all the difference. Jeff got an email from a person who just took a photo of himself holding a piece of paper that said, “Hi, Jeff!” He knew then that the email was for him. He got Jeff’s attention and Jeff couldn’t deny him a reply. They didn’t close a deal but it got a response and that is a huge part of the battle. The need to follow-up Many salespeople are doing follow-up because of the fear of getting in trouble with their bosses. If the CRM has holes in it, then the sales reps can just blame it on the system. This isn’t enough. A sales rep has to see the importance and value behind the follow-up. Your starting point should be asking yourself how you can add value to the prospect. You need a better motivation to do the follow-up than just your boss. Don’t get eliminated There are two types of elimination: active elimination and the passive elimination. Active elimination is when a product or service isn’t a good fit. Passive elimination happens when you fall off from the prospects’ radar and become forgettable. The longer time you wait to do a follow-up, the longer period it will be that you go without having a conversation with them. This lack of communication destroys relationships. This has something to do with a psychological phenomenon called emotional altitude. Human beings are emotional creatures. We make emotion-based decisions but we buy more with our gut. About 85% of the purchasing decisions we have are instinctive or intuitive and only 15% is based on logic and supported by data. In a sales conversation, a prospect can start hyped up and excited. That feeling of excitement doesn’t last. Time has a way of decreasing that emotional altitude. The role of the follow-up ensures that the emotional attitude stays up. It helps to maintain an emotional engagement. When to stop The best time to stop doing a follow-up is when the prospect no longer thinks you’re adding value. Your goal in doing follow-up is to add value and be on their radar to solve future problems. Have structure in your follow-up and you put yourself in a position where you can give what they need over and over again. Be the first person that comes to mind when a need arises. Your mission isn’t just to follow-up but to follow-up and close. #ClosingADeal Adding value using a video follow-up Videos are effective and the amount of value you can build in

5 Things All Sellers Should Do Before Prospecting Many salespeople find prospecting daunting. Prospecting is one of the most critical actions a sales rep can do to develop leads.Donald has worked with many salespeople and he still sees sales reps who don’t prepare as much as they should when prospecting. Even people who are high in the organizational chart need to prospect. In this episode, Donald is sharing 5 actions that all sellers should take before prospecting. Set goals Plan ahead of time Focus on your list Do your research and find the right information about your prospects Have the proper mindset Setting your goals You must have a goal whenever you prospect. Having a goal allows you to have focused action in the time you’ve set aside for prospecting. Set a goal for how many prospects you want to contact in your scheduled time frame. Evaluate what you want to achieve. For example: Do you plan on getting three new prospects? Are you setting two new appointments? Will you be making X number of calls? To stay accountable, you can share your goals with somebody on your team. By doing this, you have someone to check on whether or not you’ve achieved your goals. For additional accountability, you can also check out The Sales Evangelizers, on Facebook and LinkedIn, to talk with the other sales reps who share similar goals. Plan it For many sales reps, prospecting can be treated as an afterthought. The best approach to prospecting is to have an action. Block out the time on your calendar and treat it as sacred so you can focus on your prospecting efforts. Use your dedicated time for prospecting and focus your efforts on that. Don’t use this time to check company emails, Facebook notifications,or LinkedIn. Sales reps need to prepare more than you think you should. #SalesPreparedness Focus on your list Before you prospect, build a list first. Regardless of the tool you use,putting together this clearly defined list should be part of the planning process. Use LinkedIn or some other software or company to make sure the information is updated so you’re not wasting time when it’s time to make contact. Clean up the data beforehand so you make the most of your time prospecting Do basic research Donald uses a three by three approach when doing research about a new prospect: He finds three things about the prospect within three minutes using LinkedIn or their own company site. Some of this information includes their position or roles in the company, any new acquisition, new announcements in the company, new promotions, and more. You can use the information you gathered when you’re reaching out to them to personalize the correspondence. In your research, you can find out their roles and vary your approaches accordingly. Depending on the positions they have in their organization, you can adjust the value proposition. Research can take time but it’s worth it. If you need to, ask for help from the members of your sales team or marketing and sales research departments. The Mindset Meditating is one of the best ways to prepare yourself for the day. It’s a time where you can get quiet and focus. Get into the zone and picture your success. Professional athletes spend thousands of dollars on coaches to help them get the right mindset so they can stay top of their game. You can join Donald’s mastermind classes as they have sales reps from a variety of fields who come together and partner with us. There, you can find accountability, support, and guidance. To join, check out the website at www.thesalesevangelist.com/mastermind to fill out an application. Getting your right mind is critical for your success. You need the mindset and belief you can get those appointments and close the deals. “5 Things All Sellers Should Do Before Prospecting” episode resources If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now

What To Do When a Prospect "Ghosts" You During these uncertain times salespeople can feel they are being “ghosted” by prospects. Someone who once seemed like a potential client has vanished with what seems like no hope of reconnecting. When this happens, what can you do? You’ll find answers in this episode. Rian Laniga graduated college and moved to Australia for a year. When he went back to Ireland, he started his career in sales. After working for other companies, he decided to start his agency to help B2B sales leaders get themselves in front of people more regularly. Rian is working with clients all over the globe including Singapore, Ireland, England, and the United States. Defining ghosting Ghosting is not simply sending an email and not hearing or getting a response. Ghosting is more of already having a meeting with them, arranging for a follow-up, and then they didn’t show up. It’s when you’ve reached out to them multiple times but you didn’t hear a response. It’s not a one and done deal. Why you may have been ghosted When you feel you’ve been ghosted the first question people ask themselves is why. One of the ways people make it easy for others to treat them this way is that sales reps aren’t deliberate about sharing next steps with prospects. Prospects need to know what to expect after having that initial contact and you need to know if you have someone who sincerely wants to continue a relationship with you. Salespeople can mistakenly believe they have a new client when all they hear is positive feedback. Rian suggests, however, that if you hear positive words, you may need to worry. Positive words don’t mean the prospect has decided to move forward with you. As the sales rep, come up with next steps that can be mutually agreed upon so you both know where you stand. . The calendar invite Rian’s next suggestion is to get your prospects to accept the calendar invite. You can’t expect them to turn into a call if you don’t send them an invitation first. Many salespeople tend to forget this step. People nowadays hate to go to meetings so it’s important you get on their schedule so there’s a lesser chance of cancelation. It’s more important that you ask for time than a meeting. Always ask for more time than you need so when you finish early, you’re able to give their time back to them. You’re Hero of the Day! To get on the calendar initially, Rian asks prospects to open up their calendar while he’s with them so they can look at availability together. Once the prospect offers a date and time, you can push back and offer an alternative date and time to appear a busy person. The important thing is for them to confirm on their calendar. The next step is a little bolder. After confirming the schedule with them, ask if there is anything that might keep them from making it to the meeting. It lets the prospect know that you’ve scheduled meetings before and you understand things can happen. This can be an unusual occurrence, especially for people who are high up the chain such as CEOs but don’t be afraid of challenging the status quo. Make No an acceptable answer Receiving a no isn’t always a bad thing because it frees you up to chase the yeses.This is one of the biggest lessons Rian has learned. There are three possible outcomes from a phone call that you have with your prospects: Yes, No, or a Referral. Rian has learned to ask which one it will be by the end of the call. What makes it easier is when he takes his prospect to Starbucks, Rian says if they close a deal, he’ll pay for coffee. If they don’t, the client gets to pay. At the end of the meeting Rian asks who’s paying for coffee. If the answer is, “The coffee is on you today,” Rian then knows that he’s just closed a deal. As a sales rep, expect to hear a no but understand, It’s typically not a “forever no” but a “no, not now.” Don’t take anything personally At the end of the day don’t take anything as personal. It’s just business. Know that there’s a difference between your identity and your role and a rejection doesn’t define who you are or your value. It’s important you know the distinction. You can lose a sale and still be an outstanding person. On the other hand, don’t be afraid of making it big. You need to be bold and do what others may think is impossible. With confidence and a great mindset, you can! Buyers are trying to gauge if the deal is worth the risk or not. You have a higher chance of closing if the rep believes you believe in yourself and in your product. Reconnecting with the prospects One thing you can do to reconnect with a prospect, is to use a different platform. Rian will initially reapproach with a private message once he finds the prospect. Rian understands people can have a change in circumstances such as losing their jobs, moving to another company, and more. Investigate the reasons that may have nothing to do with you. Another technique Rian will use is telling the prospect that if they don’t respond, he’ll go ahead and close

How a Steady Referral Rate Generated More Than 900 Authentic Testimonials A great way to increase the longevity of any business or sales career is to have great referrals. In this episode, we’ll explore the evolution of referrals and the stages of you can move through to receive authentic and quality testimonials and referrals. Amber Vilhauer is the owner of the company called NGNG Enterprises, which stands for No Guts, No Glory, a phrase that her mother used as she was growing up. It reminds Amber to face her fears as she navigates the online world. A large part of NGNG Enterprises’ work includes developing high-performance websites. Amber understands websites are the hub and heart of a business and her goal is for people to land on your website and to experience you. In order to do that, the video has become a big part of their marketing strategy so the connection is more personal. They also have a marketing division where they help influencers start creating videos and live streaming. Amber’s team teaches them how to optimize and repurpose their content for all major channels. Consistency is part of Amber’s approach because this greatly impacts sales. For authors, Amber’s team helps them launch their books. Defining referrals Referral in the traditional sense is the sharing of information from one person to another about a particular business or service. By word of mouth, people share information with colleagues, friends, and family about businesses they believe in and trust. Getting referrals is a great way to build a customer base through people who have already used your services or products so you want to make sure you ask for the referral while the memory is still fresh and they’re excited. Amber has a systematic approach she uses in asking for a testimonial. At the end of every website project, they celebrate their success with their clients. While they are celebrating and happy, Amber asks the clients if they would be willing to provide a written testimonial of their experience. The client invariably asks what she wants them to say but Amber lets them know she’d rather have them articulate their own experience with her company so the testimonials are 100% true and genuine. Over the years, she has found there are consistent keywords throughout the testimonials. Repurposing contents For years, these written testimonials were the norm but now, videos have become popular. Amber started asking for video testimonials when she realized it was the best way to develop a personal connection in this digital world. Video is more authentic. With the rise of live-streaming, Amber has taught her team to invite their clients to their Zoom Room live-stream. It’s an opportunity where to celebrate a book launch and they can also interview their clients. This offers two great opportunities. On the one hand, they are giving their clients a platform to share their message and grow their business. On the other hand, part of the interview entails the client being asked to share their experience while working with Amber’s team. It’s a win-win situation. Regardless of which platform or how the information is developed, Amber then repurposes the content and optimizes it for YouTube or blog content. Working from multiple platforms is a way to show potential clients that they are active in the business and it elevates the whole experience. Most sales teams fail to take advantage of these kinds of opportunities and can miss a very effective system. Once you know how to organize the flow, the entire process becomes a little more automated. Getting a constant referral rate Amber is writing a book with the working title Elevate Every Experience: Develop Personal Connection to Scale your Influence. Amber believes that people should be focusing on developing personal connections with each person they’re attracting into their ecosystem. As mentioned earlier, you can draw people to you using video content. As they feel they’re getting to know you, there are things you can do to nurture that relationship and move this into the beginning of a sales experience. By the time you call, they feel like they’ve known you for a long time. You need to be intentional about their sales experience. Being transparent and honest in the video stages helps set you up to be liked and trusted. When you do that, you’ll be able to build that consistent experience and further deepen the relationship. As a sales rep, you control the experience for the people you work with. Depending on what you offer, they can start as a follower, then a prospect, then as a client. You can create a website but people will stay based on the way you make them feel. You need to have the desire to build a relationship with your customer. Existing customers vs New customers Many salespeople are focused on looking for new clients and don’t realize the satisfaction, fulfillment, and profit in extending themselves to their existing customers. While it’s good to reach out and look f

5 Things To Know Before Using LinkedIn Voice Message Salespeople want to know how to use new features that enable us to reach out to prospects and an example is the LinkedIn voice message. There are, however, things you need to know before sending your first one. LinkedIn Voice Messaging LinkedIn is now expanding its reach and updating its platform with new features. One great feature you want to be aware of is the ability to send a video message. Donald Kelly has 5 tips for using LinkedIn’s voice message: Tip 1: Keep your message simple Tip 2: You need to have a specific message Tip 3: Offer value Tip 4: Follow a structure Tip 5: Have an invitation to action Keep it Simple LinkedIn voice messages offer a 60-second to record a message. (If you don’t know how to find this tool, you can check out this episode on our YouTube channel, episode 1316.) When you only have 60 seconds you need to keep your message simple and brief. Your prospects are bombarded with activities from daily schedules and you don’t want to make their lives more difficult by giving them a voice message that takes too much time. Use a message and a value When you reach out to your prospect, be sure of your message. What do your prospects really need from you? The prospect wants the message to be worth their time. Your job is to focus on their problems and the solutions you provide. The people you’re contacting are likely first-degree connections so you don’t need to tell them everything your company does. These people have already connected with you. The first thing you’re going to say is your name and then you can go ahead with your message and tie it in with value. Starting a personalized message with “Out of curiosity …” allows space for a conversation to begin. #SalesPersonalization Follow a structure Leave a message like you’re talking to a friend and make sure you include an invitation to an upcoming event or make them aware of information that brings value. Offer something that will be beneficial to them.This may be as simple as sending images or videos that may be helpful to them but it increases engagement. Keep in mind, this feature is only applicable to those who have the LinkedIn application. For those without the application, you need to download the application on your device to get the most robust features LinkedIn has to offer. Call to action Include an invitation or call to action. An example message might be: “Hey, Shannon! How are you doing? I loved your post recently about ____. You guys are doing some amazing stuff. By the way, we’re doing a webinar next week. I wanted to see if you’d be open to coming into the webinar.” For people with whom you’re already connected, you can leave a similar message or ask them a Yes or No question to offer an opportunity to respond. Ideally, you want this to lead to a conversation. “5 Things To Know Before Using LinkedIn Voice Message” episode resources If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial. Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Finding the Right Blend of Personalization and Automation In Outbound Sales There has to be a balance between personalization and automation in outbound sales. The question is, how do you keep the right blend of the two? In this episode, we’ll discuss how to personalize the method of automation. Stephen Lowisz always says that he sucks at everything except sales. He was 16 when he started selling consulting solutions. He didn’t make any money at first but even with no formal training he was able to study the process and he made his first 1.1 at 19. When Stephen started sales, it was old-school smile-and-dial. It was a time of manual effort - finding people, getting their data, putting it on SalesForce, and calling. Things are different now. The lack of interest in effective outreach Outbound sales isn’t necessarily viewed as appealing. The appeal comes later when you’re collecting the check. Outbound sales is considered spam because we often get automated messages from a variety of sources. Many sales teams don’t realize there is a right and wrong way of sending out emails. The balance between personalization and automation Executing Stephen’s philosophy of making outbound more personal is executed by taking a group of people that are almost identical in persona. Once they are selected he then communicates with the group as a specific persona and it helps make the message more personal even if it’s being automated to a specific group. In his company, they sell behavioral analytics to predict sales team performance within organizations and most of their products are focused on HR. They are good clients but they are not a group where persona can be defined. When he talks to a small group of people who exhibit the same persona he can get very personal with them. Most salespeople approach an individual saying, “Hey I’m Stephen from Quality Agents. I run a performance solution and I have behavioral analytics …” and on and on, making it all about them and their products. Stephen has a different approach. He’ll say, “Look, running HR, essentially being the CEO of people in a fast-moving tech company with ever-changing needs, is really, really difficult. I get to align with HR leaders like yourself, to help them grow and scale and align their teams and I want to swap some insight and ideas.” He’s able to make it about them and shows up to serve and partner. Automate the activity and the task Stephen suggests that you can automate the activity and the task well. You can send a sequence of automated emails and then do the same thing with LinkedIn where you do voicemail drops. Another tip to staying personal is by automating the task. In earlier years, sales had no automation. Everything was manually and there was a need for a methodology. Even with automation, however, we still need methodology in sales today. Without specific steps, you can end up working harder without working smarter. There are many tools to do this but it’s when you have a sequence and methodology that you are able to optimize your sales process. The approach Stephen created an e-book called Sales Code which offered a different mentality around sales. The goal of salespeople is to set up an appointment and make a deal; however, it is also equally important to pique the emotional curiosity of your prospects. This is what outbound sales is. It’s about piquing not just the product or service interest but also emotional curiosity. To create a balance between automation and personalization, Stephen suggests beginning with a personal approach. Once they have an emotional investment, it is more likely appointments will be made. When that’s done you can move them through email automation and start connecting with them via LinkedIn automatically. After that, a personal conversation. Cold-calling isn’t dead Cold-calling may not be scalable but it’s also not dead. It’s a good idea to warm-up your prospects with a few LinkedIn touches or emails. Depending on the size of your business, you can also use Facebook. Generally, it takes 7 - 12 touchpoints before someone will meet. Remember that prospects are different from each other so spend a lot of time nurturing the relationship using a lot of different avenues. Be professionally persistent without hounding your prospects. Cold-calling is a catalyst to get a response via other mediums. More often than not, people won’t call you back but if you give them the right opportunity and nudge them in a professional way, they will respond. Others misconstrue formality with professionalism. Stephen uses an informal approach but he tailors his message. His goal is to talk to people on a peer-to-peer level. He is professional but for him, taking a formal approach doesn’t work as well. It’s very easy to become unoriginal in sales if you just follow the strategies of other people. It’s good to take into account what successful people have done but do it in a way that is authentic and unique to you, and to your client. The f

Shoan's mission is to help every person on the planet that has a powerful and compelling message, to overcome their challenges with getting their material out “there” and broadcast their voice with confidence, courage, and fearless determination in order to connect with the Social Media World and impact their audience with next-level engagement.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

A brief summary of this episodeMentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Tom Abbott is the founder and Managing Director of SOCO Sales Training. He has delivered hundreds of motivational sales keynotes, kickoffs, presentations and workshops in over 20 countries and is a pioneer of optimising the sales processes of organizations worldwide. He is the author of the sales books The SOHO Solution and Social Selling, the host of the Selling in Asia podcast and is the architect of SOCO Academy an award winning e-learning platform helping thousands of small business owners and sales professionals optimise their sales performance. And here are links to resources Tom shared in the episode: SOCO Sales Training Website https://www.socoselling.com Free copy of ’Social Selling’ book by Tom Abbott: https://bit.ly/SOCOevangelizers Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/socoselling/ Facebook Soco Selling Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/socosellingMentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Tom Whalen is a career Inside Sales professional and has been leading sales teams since 2000. As a leader, coach, and mentor, Tom has trained countless sales professionals for industry leading organizations such as: Hewlett-Packard, American Express, Key Corp and McKesson Corporation. Tom has built successful sales teams from scratch, scaled new organizations, turned struggling departments around, and integrated several acquisitions. Tom’s passion for developing talent, winning new business and moving the inside sales profession forward has been instrumental in the growth of the companies he’s worked for as well as the clients they serve. When Tom isn’t growing sales organizations, he loves taking wife Suzanne and two daughters Casey and Sydney to Disneyworld and is a zealous fan of all things wrestling.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

A brief summary of this episodeMentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

John Voris educates about the very things that make us tick, the roots that make for success or failure in our work, relationships and personal well-being. John is a philosopher, writer and a psychological researcher. John earned his degree from the University of California with a degree in Philosophy. “Discover the Power That Drives Your Personality” is the result of over 20 years of application and another 16 years of research. By applying European discoveries into field application involving hundreds of sales prospects, John invented a groundbreaking approach to personal inquiry that revealed a person’s life motivation and authentic design far beyond sales. He discovered that our drive for personal Happiness, Meaning, Purpose and Harmony manifest the hidden power beneath our observed personalityMentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

How to Double Your Cold-Calling Contacts Cold-calling has always been part of the sales process. Many salespeople can struggle with this aspect of the job but it’s a critical part of gaining new prospects. The more you call, the greater the odds that they will turn into great leads. David Walter ran a call center for thirteen years and is currently a coach. He is also the author of the book, The Million Dollar Rebuttal and Stratospheric Lead Generation Secrets. David also worked with the American Bank i, and then helped his father sell million-dollar HVAC equipment. The recession then hit, however, and David had to look for another job. David reads a lot as part of his training and personal development. He credits his exposure to quality books as being a catalyst to the life he has today. With the culmination of his experience and knowledge, David has been able to revolutionize the concept of cold-calling from the ground up. Mistakes salespeople make David did training with SDRs in Plano and made a video series to help them learn more about cold-calling. When they were doing their calls, however, they were just calling the wrong numbers and weren’t getting anywhere. They weren’t able to make any useful contacts. Based on a study, 70% of contact information is incorrect and 55% of the people you call may not be available to talk to. These “dead” numbers can eat up a sales rep’s valuable hours. However, David assures us all is not lost. During David’s years in the call center he was always on the hunt for the perfect list. The lists were supposed to be verified but he found that it wasn’t the case. He learned his lesson and decided to release the idea of a perfect list. Instead, he opted for a basic format with the names of the companies and put it in a simple CRM like Crmble. He also developed a script that he still uses to get “gatekeepers” to provide needed information. He did this by listening to natural calls and getting back to the basics. For example, David used to work with a distributorship and it involved him answering calls. He noticed that if a person just used a first name when asking for a contact, the caller sounded more confident and there was an air of authority and familiarity that he’d immediately respond to. David realized he could use this “first name” technique to qualify contacts. Ask the basic questions first David also observed that people often have an easier time if you ease them into answering a series of questions.Confirming an address is an easy way to get someone to open up. Ask your way into more information little by little. David will typically start at LinkedIn when qualifying a new company. Oftentimes, LinkedIn has the most updated information about the company name and can access a list of employees to know who he should call. Cold-calling is not a numbers game Many sales people perceive cold-calling as the hardest part of the job. In truth, cold-calling can be at the same level as other activities if looked at in the right way. With anything worth doing, it may seem hard at first but with practice and the right instruction, it becomes easier. In Will Smith’s movie, The Pursuit of Happiness, Will’s character didn’t call his list from top to bottom. What he did was skip names and call randomly. While Walter Ribbon didn’t buy from Will, he got invited to a game where Will Smith was able to build a network with important people. Just know that if your goal is to make an appointment with 15 people, you need to call at least 40 people. Qualifying your data Qualifying data is important so sales people aren’t wasting their time. The key to cold-calling is to keep calling the companies at least three to four times a day within 3-4 days. Sales reps hesitate to do this because they’re afraid of burning the list but if you do it the right way,this can be avoided. The way not to burn your list is to make your calls short and as natural as possible. In addition to using the first name method, don’t leave a voicemail. Leaving a voicemail can be the cause of burning a list. Keep your call short and sweet and change your opening with each call. The other strategy David uses is, “Hey, I’m calling for Donald but he’s probably gone for the day.” David mimics a negative attitude that most gatekeepers have and uses it to position them to offer something positive. They will often want to counteract the negativity. Give that chill attitude David also discovered that the less you seem to care, the more people will give you what you need. You don’t want to sound desperate over the phone. With a more laid back attitude you will be more likely to talk to the person you want to talk to. Prospects may not have needs Most prospects don’t actually believe they need to change. Looking for prospects who know their needs can be like looking for a needle in a haystack yet this is what salespeople are looking for. What can you do as a sales rep? You can realize they are not saying No, they’re saying that the

How To Get Cold Prospects To Genuinely Listen Every call to a prospect provides an opportunity to get a sale. Your job is to move the odds in your favor and you do this about strategizing the right approach in that initial call. With the right preparation, your prospects will genuinely want to listen to what you have to say. About 25% of the phone calls you make are answered by the person you are reaching out to. Now that you have them on the phone, however, what do you say to maintain their interest? In cold-calling, every second matters, every word matters. In this episode, Donald will offer tips on how to excel in cold-calling by grabbing your prospects’ attention, and eventually make an appointment and hopefully, a sale. Grab your prospects’ interest Cold-calling can be difficult and when you let your nerves get the best of you you can end up rambling. Before you know it, they’ve hung up on you. You need to do what you can to ensure the call is successful and a lot of that success is going to be based on how you prepare long before the call happens. If you are getting to talk to people only 25% of the time, the other 75% of your time is spent going straight to voicemail so don’t waste that opportunity! You can still leave an interesting message for them to listen to. Donald learned that there are two things people want to know - your identity and purpose. Human beings have a primal need to know if someone is friend or foe. Prospects can get very defensive the moment they perceive they are part of a cold call. As a salesperson himself, Donald is one who listens and engages in conversation and sometimes, he provides tips as well. Donal would always give them the benefit of the doubt but he is more the exception than the rule. Putting yourself in their shoes When making cold calls, put yourself in their shoes. Think about what might be on their minds at that moment. If they don’t know you, the person answering the phone will wonder who you are and why you’re calling. In this scenario, Donald employs the POR strategy or Point of Reference. Everyone you’re calling will automatically distinguish and categorize you as either a friend or a foe depending on your initial statement. Your job is to give them a point of reference to extend the conversation. Using a referral One way to provide a point of reference is a referral. For example, Donald wants to call an organization about sales training. In that first call, he’ll ask to speak to someone in the finance department. Once he’s connected he then asks that person who is in charge of their sales training. Once he’s given the name, he asks this initial contact if it’s okay to use their name as a reference. Let’s say Donald is prospecting Dave Smith. After he calls finance, he calls Dave saying, “Hey Dave, Megan from Finance told me to connect with you about sales training.” Dave will now give Donald the time because he knows Megan, Donald’s point of reference. Dave from sales training is now willing to listen to Donald and hear his proposal. Connecting via LinkedIn Another point of reference you can use is by initially connecting to your prospect through LinkedIn or some other platform before you make the first call. You can send them an email or private message. Once this is done, you can open the call with, “Hey Linda, we connected on LinkedIn last week...” This prompts Linda to look at her messages to find you and if your message is well done, your odds are much better that Linda will take the time to listen to you. Donald had this experience recently. He connected with a prospect on LinkedIn and shared her content because it resonated with him. When Donald made the phone call to her, he was able to mention that particular reference of him sharing the post. They had a good dialogue and their conversation went on for some time. Through LinkedIn profiles, you can find several other points of reference as well: company content, interests, hobbies, books they are reading - you can use all these things to build common ground. The challenge Think about three different points of reference you can use in your outreach. Introduce yourself and then drop your point of reference. “How To Get Cold Prospects To Genuinely Listen” episode resources Share your points of reference with Donald. If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble now for free at www.crmble.com/tse. This episode is also partially brought to you by Thought Pattern for High-Performance Sales Professionals. It’s a newer course and partnership with the Pacific Insititute. This course is also brought to you in part by T

How To Lead A Team of SDRs and BDRs During Challenging Times These recent times have been tough for sales leaders. There’s a lot to be done, but if you have a team of SDRs and BDRs in these challenging times, you can still guide them toward success. Let’s talk about that in this episode. Asa Hochhauser has been in sales for 15 years primarily leading startups, both as an individual contributor and as a sales manager. He is currently busy helping sales enterprises, from small to mid-market businesses, and he is leading a sales academy where they are experiencing a lot of growth as people look for more training. Challenges in leading a team Keeping the team motivated is often the biggest challenge a sales manager can face. It’s difficult to keep up team spirit and focus on helping other companies. It’s also equally challenging to ensure that the SDRs and BDRs are doing the right thing when it comes to disseminating information and providing value. Sometimes, salespeople are so focused on learning about the product their attention is diverted away from solving buyer problems. Planning ahead As Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Sending emails and calling on a daily basis is still a priority but these activities have to be modified to accommodate the change brought about by the improvement of technology and computers. Asa always encourages his team to spend time understanding their ideal customers or buyers and segmenting them. Asa is also seeing to it that they are keeping their outbound in motion and encourages his team to plan for the next day. These are all done based on marketing-generated outbound. Asa’s team understands that when they plan ahead they’re not wasting valuable time that can be used on making actual contacts. They come to the office prepared with the set of activities that ensures productive time in the office. Leads coming in For Asa’s team, their marketing-generated leads are coming in based on events or content that people are engaging with. They also have a list from Discover.org based on the content they’re creating. Platforms like LinkedIn, CRM, and SalesForce have also been effective tools. There are a lot of ways that businesses can get their list of prospects but Asa cautions that these platforms can also become a distraction. This is why planning is imperative. Your team will know which platform they should focus on but don’t spend so much time there that they move away from the business of selling. This was a lesson that Asa learned from his first sales experience. Activity is important and planning, even more. Hustle despite the challenges BDRs and SDRs should always incorporate channels where their buyers are. As sales reps, we should be leading with value and empathy when reaching out to potential buyers. It’s not about asking them for appointments right out of the gate. In today’s market, conversations are started by providing the insight and value that will be helpful to the buyer. For Asa’s team, their approach is to personalize contact based on the prospect they are trying to connect with. For example, they might send a helpful article highlighting ideas in the article that the buyer needs. This empathetic approach is all the more important with heightened isolation. Their approach has been adapted to focus more on the challenge brought about by the pandemic. SDRs and BDRs would do well to focus on the needs that their clients and prospects are facing and learn more about their problems. Do this well before you mention your company’s name or product so you can personalize your solutions. Personalization is so important in today’s climate. The human touch is more important than ever. Be genuine and let your personality shine. #SaleInTimeofCOVID Improving personalization BDRs and SDRs need to spend time doing their research. It’s important you understand the company you are trying to approach. Start by going to the bio profile or the company profile to know the people you want to talk to. Read what your buyers are reading. This common ground goes a long way in making a connection. Another way to improve personalization is by providing solutions for pain points. Just ensure your messaging is centered on the person you’re talking to. Having a genuine approach is effective and so important. Even in these hard times, be grateful you are still a sales rep and a member of a team. This means you still have a job and with that, you have an opportunity to make a difference. “How To Lead A Team of SDRs and BDRs During Challenging Times” episode resources Reach out to Asa Hochhauser via his LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this episode, drop us a comment below! If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello tha

Building Good Habits In Sales Salespeople need to build good habits to excel in their careers and close more deals. There is an abundance of training materials, books, and seminars to become the salespeople we want to be. In this episode, we will talk about moving from being a salesperson to becoming a sales professional. Mark Evans has been a salesperson all his life, starting with his parents’ small business, practicing being a salesperson. After finishing college, he got back into sales. Now, Mark has a sales consultancy where he helps companies build their sales playbook. He teaches disciplined actions that can be used daily. These actions focus on the craft of selling long before the first meeting. This is the respect prospects deserve. Respecting the prospects The key differential between salespeople and being a sales professional is the level they hone their craft and prepare for each meeting. A true sales professional won’t practice in front of their prospects. Sales professionals are intrigued by perfecting their craft. They are disciplined in their approach and practice their questions so that when it’s game time, they are at their best. They’ve put in the practice. There’s a difference between a salesperson and a sales professional. The difference is practice and craft. #SalesProfessional Level of preparation The chef at a restaurant shows up hours before the kitchen opens to ensure everything is prepped, fresh, and prepared properly. They do this to offer their best to the customers. The same should be true in sales. Even before you see your customer, do your research, identify your ideal customer, and understand the most current problems they’re facing. Have empathy for their circumstances and be ready with solutions. That level of preparation will uplevel you from salesperson to sales professional. Facing the challenge Yes, preparation takes time and effort. Mark employs a strategy with his clients called The Triangle: Three people come together for a meeting and take turns role playing as the salesperson, the prospect, and the observer. As they take turns they practice various sales scenarios and objections while offering feedback. Sales managers can help foster a culture of excellence by allowing time for practice and taking action toward sales goals. Building good habits Building good habits can be a challenge and with so many people working from home, there are even more distractions: Social media, household chores, binge TV, family, etc. For Mark, the first thing that’s necessary for building good habits is your end goal in mind. Setting your big goals As a sales professional, it would be beneficial to set five big goals and keep them with you. Your big goals can be a combination of personal goals, professional goals, and family goals. When you have your big goals, break them down into actionable chunks that you can achieve by month, by week, by day, and even smaller as it’s helpful for focus. Accountability It is also good to have some level of accountability. You need to develop a scorecard for yourself to keep track of your progress. One tool that Mark suggests is writing out a check to an organization you don’t support. Give it to a friend who will deposit the check if you don’t achieve the goal in the time you’ve allotted. This can help you get laser focused. Be honest with yourself It’s imperative salespeople are honest, especially to themselves. Examine whether or not you are truly willing to make the changes that are necessary to get to your goals. Are your goals big enough to make you change? Ask yourself what it’s going to take you for you to make a phone call when you don’t want to. Set a goal that inspires you and inspires the people around you. Take action everyday Take daily action that will move you into daily habits. Mark suggests for salespeople to do The Power Hour. This is 60 minutes you dedicate to your goals. (If you can do more than one power hour, great, just work for 50 minutes and take a break or enjoy a reward for 10 minutes.) For salespeople, this 60 minutes could mean picking up the phone and prospecting. Just do it sooner than later because it’s a great launch to your day. Team meetings Sales managers, team meetings are important but consider setting aside one day a week where there are no meetings. Dedicate this day to allowing your team to concentrate on their projects and clients. “Building Good Habits In Sales” episode resources Work the power hour and really concentrate on your goals. You can also check out Mark’s book called Raise Your Standards: The Definitive Guide to Building Seven-Figure Sales. Reach out to Mark Evans via his LinkedIn or his website. If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads wi

How To Generate Interest In Lost Opportunities Every so often, a prior interest doesn’t end with a good close. Sometimes, there are lost opportunities. As a salesperson, how do you generate interest in lost opportunities? Today’s episode will talk about how you can turn “trash” to treasure! Have you experienced winning a deal that came from a lost opportunity? How did you do it? Leave a comment below! Defining lost opportunity Imagine this sales scenario: You are moving through the sales process with a new prospect and he/she is very excited to work with you. For some reason, however, before you get a chance to close the prospect loses interest. You’re not alone. A study from HubSpot shows that almost half the deals are lost due to budget and the other half is because of timing. Other reasons for a loss of interest are as follows are because of the lack of the prospect’s authority, no time to review or wanting more time to review the deal, and lack of urgency. Your deal became a back-burner item and it just fizzled out. Being diligent, you reach out multiple times but eventually decide that you can’t waste anymore time and move on. At that point, you label the deal as a lost opportunity and end it. Think about all those deals and lost opportunities. Could there be treasure in that trash? YES! There is. A lost opportunity One company thought The Sales Evangelist was a lost opportunity. Donald’s sales team had used a particular software and actually liked it. With changes happening in the TSE organization and the pandemic,however, they didn’t get to use the software as much and canceled the service. In this case, Donald was already a customer but canceled the service to focus resources on more immediate needs. Due to Covid-19, the software company wasn’t doing too well. Luckily, one member of their team figured out a way to move through it by looking at the list of people who had canceled their subscription. The company figured these cancelations were customers who, at one point, saw the value of their product. They asked themselves how they could re-generate interest and get these customers back. Donald was one of the customers they reached out to. In one of Donald’s previous podcasts, he talked about making an offer so good, the prospects can’t refuse. Through that email, Donald got an offer he couldn’t refuse. The software hadn’t been overly expensive when he was their customer, costing $50/month, but the email invited Donald to come back at 50% off, $25/month, for 6 months. Donald was happy to accept the offer. Had the software company focused on looking for new business alone, they would have had to educate new clients about their software and convince people to use their software. It would have been a much harder uphill battle. Instead, they had the wisdom to focus on the people who had already shown some loyalty. While it took some work to bring these customers back, it was far less than what it would have taken to look for new clients altogether. Generate more deals Visit your CRM and look out for lost opportunities. Do your research and understand why they became lost opportunities. It is best if you know why they dropped your service and address the reasons why these customers dropped their accounts. There are many different ways you can spark their interest again: Offer a smaller package with an opportunity to scale up in the coming months. Offer a service or solution that will help them solve a new or current problem. Offer smaller modules. All you need to do is be creative to ensure that you are offering great customer service while reinvigorating your accounts. It’s easier to reinvigorate customers who’ve left you than it is to train a new customer. #SalesCustomer Understand the timing Remember that 25% of deals fall away due to bad timing and reasons will vary.As a salesperson, you want to be sensitive to the reasons why the timing might be wrong. Look at accounts at least three months after they decide to drop the service. This is generally enough time for your clients to self-correct any issues that may have prevented them from working with you further. Urgency When you offer a discounted deal, let the prospect know it is only good for a limited amount of time to create some urgency. Even if your customers aren’t ready to sign on again, at least you’ve been able to touch base and get your company in front of them. Salespeople should be looking at the next deal but in times like these, it’s great to revisit previous accounts as well. Get ready to go on a treasure hunt! “How To Generate Interest In Lost Opportunities” episode resources If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data

How to Network Your Way into Value Building your network is an important step in being a success in sales. With a good network, you’re able to network your value. Curt Tueffert is the Vice President of sales development for a large industrial distributor in Houston, Texas. The company was founded in 1908 is now a multinational publicly traded company with over 200 outside sales. Curt’s job is to manage a small group responsible for developing sales training, sales leadership, and vision casting for the rest of the team. Curt is also a sales instructor at the University of Houston, an author of two books, and travels across the United States trying to coach people in getting better at sales. He teaches that sales is a work in progress and no two sales are the same. Each sale needs to be approached with curiosity to discover what is needed to build relationships. Defining networking and value Curt points out that networking isn’t about the people you know, it’s about the people who know you. You can know 10 people but it’s more important to have 100 people who know you and see you as a source and resource of value. Customers and prospects are the ones who define your value in sales. You expand your network by constant communication and the cadence in which you release information they feel is valuable. This is especially true at this time where we have new rules of engagement in 2020. Now that you have time, this is a great opportunity to enhance and increase your network. Network your way into value Curt shares three ways you can network your way into value: Create an organizational chart by knowing who is connected to who in the organization. Who knows you? Increase your influence quotient. These elements affect your ability to influence other people using the research you’ve uncovered, and how you barter your information in exchange for information they can provide in turn. This is what networking is all about. The organization chart Let’s look at a company that has multiple branches of influence. When you build your organizational chart, you may start with one person but you need to know who is above them and below them, who their peers are, and the chain of command. Ideally, you want to know who is two levels up, two levels across, and two levels deep. Why so much effort? Let’s use “Greg” as an example. Greg is the person you talk to in the organization and he’s in purchasing, maintenance or the engineer. In the entire organization, you only know Greg, not his peers, the people they report to, or who their leaders are. In the event of lay-off or acquisition where Greg gets replaced, without an organizational chart, that account is lost to you. You need to know who else you can talk to. Salespeople tend to move through the path of least resistance, going to the nicest people or those who accept the gifts. There’s got to be a deeper knowledge of the accounts you’re working with. If you don’t know all the other players, you’ll be cut out of the loop if the organizational chart changes. However, if you have taken the time to know Greg, you know that Greg’s boss is Lisa and Lisa’s boss is David. The fact that David knows you will allow you to present your value proposition up your organization chart, across your organization chart, and down your organizational chart. When your number one contact gets promoted up or out of the company, continue to update that network. It is detrimental for a salesperson to not have an organization chart for his top 10 accounts since these accounts typically represent 90% of your W2. If you lose one of your accounts, you may decrease your W2 by 42%, all because you didn’t take the time to do the heavy lifting on the front end. Building the connection Building the connection then and now is different. Your job as a salesperson is to become a detective through social media and to build those relationships in person. If you want to network for value, you’ve got to really know the interests of the people in your organizational chart. When you offer value, you don’t have to track people down. People will come looking for you. It’s not about the people you know but the people who know you You can add value by connecting the people who know you to one another. This is beckoning to your network. What makes people run is illustrated in the book called Appreciation Marketing: How to Achieve Greatness Through Gratitude written by Tommy Hyatt and Curtis Lewsey talks about networking. The book uses the illustration of seven creatures, one of which is the vulture who just perches waiting to suck the life out of people at a social networking event. Another is the narcissist who is only waiting to tell people what they do. Both of these sellers make it all about them. Spend time on social media platforms such as LinkedIn learning about the people in your circles. Be curious about them and collect information that can show you how to add value through their interests. Once you’ve built that rel

How To Partner With Resellers To Experienced Repeatable Sales Growth Sales is not just about growing your customer base but also about partnerships with a variety of people. If you want repeatable sales growth, these partnerships include businesses, other salespeople, and resellers. Todd Rychecky is the VP of Sales Americas in Latin America and has been with the company for the past 12 and a half years. Todd got into sales in 1991, when he was studying was pre-med in college but didn’t get in. As a result, he joined the sales force when he was 23 years old and made a huge move from Nebraska to Dallas where he worked for Whitmire Distribution, a drug wholesale company. Later on, the company was acquired by Cardinal Health and Todd continued to work for them, traveling by car, calling on hospital pharmacies, home infusion, retails stores, and retail chains. Todd never imagined he’d be in sales but his college roommate was very passionate about becoming a salesman and Todd was intrigued by someone who knew they wanted to be in sales. When Todd started his career, he had the chance to work for a sales manager who he still says is one of the best salesmen he’s ever seen. They traveled from hospital to hospital and Todd clearly remembers his sales manager’s sense of urgency. In addition to that, he was also knowledgeable and credible and always conducted business with a big smile on his face. With this complete package, Todd saw it was hard for anyone to say no. Starting the sales journey Once Todd was on his own, he made his first road trip in a new company car, a car phone that cost 75 cents a minute, and an AT&T calling card. Back then, you could cold call the pharmaceutical companies without setting up an appointment, especially true in rural areas. Fast forward to today and Todd is running the Sales for the Americas. What has contributed to his success is that working for OpenGear, a startup in Australia. They originally had five employees so initially, Todd had to do everything himself, handling inbound calls and the online chat. He knew that the company needed to win new customers so he was able to practice a variety of styles and approaches in every task and through each customer. People would often be impressed when they found out they were speaking to the VP of Sales. What they didn’t know was it was just Todd. Todd’s focus is now on the sales team, the partner channels, executing the sales playbook, their selling strategies, and scaling new talents and resources. Create your playbook The first thing you need in order to win is a playbook that you know how to execute. Todd loves to use basketball as an illustration. When you have the ball and there are four guys standing under the basket with their hands open wide, you need to pass the ball. Teammates are important to win the game and it’s also important to stay in your lane. If your job is calling end-users then you call on the end-users. If your job is channel management, then manage the channel. If everyone on the team can execute a playbook then you and the team will win regardless of what you’re selling. Accountability is critical as well because if team members are not accountable, then nothing gets accomplished. Without accountability, it's difficult to count on one another. Building the right culture Everyone on the team should understand the culture and help to support it. Sales leaders must take the lead in building a good culture within the sales team. Other members will eventually see the benefits of having a good culture and follow from the sales leader setting an example. The goal of a sales leader is to create an environment that makes the team want to follow. Communication is critical to building a good culture within a team. Todd and his team are using phone calls, email, texting, and setting up Zoom meetings. Despite the pandemic, there really is no excuse for you not to be able to communicate with the rest of your team. Buyer’s journey Todd has noticed a change in the buyer’s journey, especially from today’s technology. Because of the internet, buyers are already 60% of the way to making their decision by the time they get to you. Open Gear is today’s number one brand in its industry. That means they already have 50% of the market share. People who come to buy, already know their name, they know the company’s good track record, and they’ve already checked the competition. Usually, their buyers have already made the decision and want to move on to the next step. As the sales advisor, meet your customer where they are. If they’re already 60% of the way to buying then help them with the last 40% of the journey by tailoring presentations to where they are. For example, if Todd sees the buyer is almost ready to buy, he asks about their budget so he knows the appropriate products to suggest. There’s no hit and run in sales A common mistake that salespeople make is they win a deal and cut loose. They move on to look for the next win too soon

5 Ways New Sellers Can Sell Like Pros New sellers struggle because they lack the skills and experience to ask well-crafted questions and build rapport with prospects. In this episode, Tony Morris talks about the five ways that new sellers can sell like pros. Tony Morris is a speaker for sales conferences around the globe, and an author of several books, a podcaster, and an entrepreneur who runs a sales training business called Tony Morris International. The 80/20 Law Tony believes that sales reps should apply the 80/20 Rule. This means salespeople should listen 80% of the time and speak 20% of the time. As Tony points out, we have two ears and one mouth so we should use them in that order. Unfortunately, most salespeople are in fact doing 80/20 but they’re doing it the wrong way round. The first tip for new sellers is to get the customer or prospect to talk more than you. People generally love to talk about themselves. When you encourage your prospect to talk more, it allows them to become comfortable. As they talk, you’re able to learn more and build rapport quicker. You do this by asking the right questions and listening with the objective to learn and understand. Asking the right questions Many people ask the wrong questions. These questions can be answered with yes or no, they don’t provide a lot of insight into the prospect’s journey before meeting with you, and they aren’t personal. Alternatively, Tony calls the right questions “killer questions.” One example of a killer question is, “What’s the best that you’ve seen so far?” The answer to this question allows you to understand more about what the prospect is looking for, what they’ve seen in your competition, and how you can offer better. Ask questions that are open, will provoke conversation, and will allow you to share the info your prospect needs. #EffectiveQuestions Sales managers can encourage asking skills in a team meeting. Start by allowing each person to come up with a topic and then the team has to practice asking open-ended questions about that topic. Going through this process trains the brain to become comfortable asking these questions. The more you do it, the more natural and habitual it becomes. Through this exercise, you’re learning how to hold a conversation, not an interrogation. When you’re comfortable as a sales rep, it allows room for your prospects to get comfortable as well. Different types of questions Tag on questions that allow you to go deeper into the answers. Statement questions help deeper engagement. Replay questions demonstrate that you are listening. Treat people how they want to be treated It’s true that The Golden Rule states we should treat people how we want to be treated but in sales, it’s more important to lean into The Platinum rule, treating people how they want to be treated. You can’t respond to your clients the same way because they all have different perspectives on how that should look. Your job as a salesperson is to pay attention to the clues your client provides about how they want to be treated and respond effectively. Be interested, not interesting Top salespeople are genuinely curious and are sincerely interested in their prospects. Your job is not to sell, but to serve. It’s your job to help a customer buy what is appropriate to their needs. This isn’t just about the quick sale and then moving on to the next prospect. Being genuinely interested will transform regular customers into raving fans who will be the ambassadors that recommend you to their friends, family, and colleagues. Sales managers can help their team practice being curious by getting into the habit of asking their sales reps to share three things about their potential clients that can’t be easily researched. They will only be able to give detailed and personal information about their prospective clients if they have been genuinely curious. Be The Challenger Being The Challenger comes from the book The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Matthew Dixon. This book challenged Tony’s perspective of sales. Before reading the book, Tony thought that sales were about relationships. However, this book proved that the most successful salespeople are able to share insights to make their prospects think differently. Tony illustrates The Challenger by sharing a story about how he met with a client and questioned their process. It made the client uncomfortable and he wondered why Tony was asking. Tony responded that the client could greatly improve current practices and proceeded to offer the prospect multiple solutions. The client loved it! Tony challenged the process that they’d been using for years and was able to provide a fresh perspective that served the needs of his client. Don’t be afraid of challenging the process as long as you can back it up, share value and offer insights to make your prospect think differently, and in their favor. Using The Challenger method helped Tony stand out from the competition. Do t

5 Things I Learn About Sales Doing 1,300 Episodes It’s been a long and amazing journey for The Sales Evangelist. Content creation and podcasting have been the core of TSE and after 1,300 episodes, there are several lessons that Donald has learned. This episode will be about all the top lessons that have come from producing The Sales Evangelist since starting seven years ago. TSE has now been able to reach halfway around the world and has been mentioned and recognized in some of the most recognized business publications such as Entrepreneur and Forbes. We all have moments in our lives where we give up an idea. Donald is grateful that he didn’t give up on podcasting even though he came close. Having TSE has allowed him to serve people in sales and by doing so they are better able to navigate the struggles they face in their industry. He summarizes these top lessons in Five Sales Principles: You can’t sell higher than your level of belief. Nothing happens until you prospect. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Zig when everyone is zagging. Swing for the fences. You can’t sell any higher than your level of belief Henry Ford has a very famous quote: “If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.” Wayne Gretzky said it this way: “You miss 100% of the shots that you do not take.” These words all point to the first principle. Donald started this podcast with a desire that later turned into a belief. He began the podcast in April 2013 but realized early on that it was difficult. Luckily, Jared, one of Donald’s friends, invited Donald to his podcast. That experience made Donald believe that he could do podcasts as well and served to remind him how much he loved talking to people himself. In sales, you cannot succeed until you believe it. The same is true in life. You need to visualize your success. In sales, visualize your success before it even happens. Believe that you can get into pitch with people, close a deal, and be a great seller. Your belief will cause you to act, lead you down a path of opportunities, and open up a social circle of the people you need to be exposed to. Donald suggests that when you go out to a prospect, believe you will contact someone. That belief and action will lead you to the inevitable success that you desire. Nothing happens until you prospect Nothing ever happens until you prospect. The TSE podcasts have invited many successful people to interview and one of the common traits among these successful people is that they took action. This is true for prospecting. Nothing happens until you do something. Donald was working with a client who just released a program; however, it turned out that people didn’t know about her new program. Even when she announced it to her community, no one actually knew of it. Donald suggested she reach out to her community and to talk to them. It wasn’t until this client started to prospect and call people that she was able to meet her goals. She was actually able to close a deal. This happened because she asked! Too often, sales reps get timid and get worried that people will get mad at them. There’s no truth in that. The more time that we spend on calling and prospecting people, the more that we’re going to see success. Even an hour or two of dedicated time for prospecting will give you success. Prospecting is not just jumping back and forth doing research. Prospecting is making phone calls, reaching out to people on LinkedIn, or sending out emails to people two hours per day, uninterrupted. Whether you are prospecting in person or calling a client, set a goal, and follow-through. Send out personalized emails in your dedicated prospecting time every day to see success. Spending 2 hours of dedicated time prospecting correctly guarantees success. #SalesProspecting Value is in the eye of the beholder A sales rep cannot dictate what value is. The buyer must be the one to dictate, validate, or believe that your product or service is valuable. You start the conversation by personalizing your message. Too many people make their initial contacts too generic. We generalize value propositions to all prospects without any reflection about the prospects’ current situation, needs, and what they might see as valuable. This lack of understanding hinders salespeople from having a breakthrough moment. If you sell a product by focusing on yourself, then your buyers are going to push you away. Instead, sell a product because the buyer understands you are offering a solution to their problem. That’s when it becomes valuable. You need to look for the problem and position your product as the solution to their problems. It comes down to personalization, listening, and asking effective questions. Taking the time to do the research will prove invaluable. The blind side challenge In the world of football, a quarterback always has a support system that looks after his blindside. In sales, the prospects are the quarterback and the sales reps are the sup

Keys to Making the Sales Process ENJOYABLE for You and the Customer The sales process is a journey that can vary in the amount of time invested. Regardless of how long it takes, it’s within your control to make it enjoyable for you and the customer! Tasha Smith is with Emerge Sales Training and they help entrepreneurs become great at selling. Their goal is to make the journey enjoyable for both the sellers and their customers. Tasha’s company wants to ensure that the selling experience is in line with the sellers’ values and personalities. They offer one-on-one coaching with entrepreneurs to figure out what their best offers are, how to unlock their superpowers, and how they can communicate in an honorable way. They call it good human sales. Unfortunately, not all salespeople are selling with the buyers’ best intentions. Some are tricking them into a one-sided experience where they win and the buyers don’t. However, when you’re selling for the benefit of the consumer, then you elevate the transaction for you and them. Leveling the playing field As a salesperson, ask yourself this question, “What is it about the sales process that makes it unenjoyable?” When Tasha coaches a new client, they start with the opposite of what they want to create and then reverse engineer the process backwards. There are several reasons why a sales transaction can be unenjoyable: The customer feels like there’s going to be a bait and switch. The customer feels the pressure to buy. The decision to move forward feels confusing and overwhelming. The process is boring. The customer has to work really hard at connecting the dots. Your job as the salesperson is to keep these things from happening and making it a great experience for the customer. If it’s great for the customer, it’s great for you. When you stick with your morals and beliefs during selling, you and the buyer both win. #SalesWin Tasha has some tips on how to make the sales process enjoyable. To begin, we need to make our sales process customer-centric. The goal is to have high conversion but in a way that feels more effortless because you’re both having fun. The dictionary’s definition of “close” is “unite.” We need to start thinking about what our customers would prefer the interaction to look like. If they like how the conversation goes, then they are more likely to engage and convert higher. Customers are more responsive if they see you as a stable individual, trustworthy individual who offers hope. Set up an appointment Setting up an appointment is a very common step in the sales process but the details can often be overlooked. Salespeople can get caught up in closing with speed because they don’t want to lose a sale. The downside to this is that we can overwhelm a potential customer or miss critical details. Our sales process should be more consent-based. We need to ask our customers if they would be interested in meeting, if our product sounds helpful, and if they’d be open to moving toward a solution to their problems. We need to go beyond just pulling out our appointment book and filling a time slot. Putting in a little extra effort is a great step in earning your customer’s trust. Your job as a salesperson is to guide them and to give them the control to purchase. Giving someone the choice to say no makes them feel better and they are more likely to stick around until the end of the sales process. This simple shift can send a closing percentage through the roof because you’ve removed the stress from the customer. Restate the agenda Let your customer know how much time you’re expecting to be with them and stick to it unless the customer wants to talk longer. Make sure you ask your customer if the amount of time is acceptable. Let your customer know you’ll be talking about your company and going over your most popular packages and offerings. If the customers like what you have to say, they are likely going to move forward through the sales process but assure them they get to make that decision in their time frame. . By this point, you’ve eliminated the fear of risk for your customer. Through this process you’ve offered trust, compassion, stability, and hope which are all qualities people are looking for in a transaction. Sales reps don’t just sell products. You’re leaders and problem solvers. Discovery process The discovery process can feel like an interrogation and that leads to an unenjoyable experience. Even when it’s a well-meaning person who is trying to get to know you, it feels like whatever they ask is going to be used as ammunition. Many sales trainers even call discovery questions “bullets in the gun.” Who wants to do business on the receiving end of that? Sales reps need to remember that the purpose of discovery questions is to personalize the experience for the customer. We need to be able to connect the dots for the customer and to make it easy for them to see how the transaction works. Make sure the questions are first and foremost clarifying for the

Three Things I Learn From Jordan's Last Dance To Dominate Sales Donald Kelly’s knowledge has come from a variety of sources -- books, podcasts, training, sales seminars, documentaries, and more recently, the docuseries, Michael Jordan’s Last Dance. The natural seller in Donald caught key principles from the series that will help salespeople to dominate sales. The Last Dance is a docuseries featuring the last year Michael Jordan was with the Chicago Bulls. It’s a revealing 10-part series that shows why Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players of all time. As Donald watched, he could see the lessons that are revealed are applicable to Donald in every role: as a father, a husband, a business owner, and as a sales professional. Here are the top takeaways for Donald from the Last Dance series: Have a win-at-all-cost mentality You need a mindset and belief system of success Be a perfectionist in the details Win-at-all-cost mentality To Michael Jordan, a win-at-all-cost mentality, meant he didn’t let it enter his mind that he could miss a shot. His only focus was getting the ball into the basket every time. While he did miss shots in the span of his career, he was able to make critical shots because it didn’t occur to him that he wouldn’t. If you want to achieve greatness, this is the mentality you need to master. Within ethical and legal boundaries, what are you willing to do? Will you dare to believe you can’t miss a shot? Michael Jordan was willing to put in the work. His mindset allowed him to give his best and practice hard. He was willing to work longer than anyone else, learn from the best, and he could adapt to new strategies in order to take him to greater heights of success. How does this apply to sales? More often than not, sales reps desire success but don’t truly believe that they can achieve their goals. Not everyone does what it takes to achieve the success they want. If you want to be the best in the team and excel in sales, however, then you may have to reevaluate the level of effort you’re willing to show up for. Thoroughly understand the products and services you’re selling, understand the profile of your client and know how to find them. Make it your goal to study the clients’ industry, learn the trends, and know what’s going on in the industry, making sure that you are updated with the trade policies. Don’t stop learning even when you think you’ve been taught everything you need to know. There have been many good basketball players over the years but only a few of them turned great because so many settled. Shaquille O’Neal was a good player who could have been great but he’s admitted to being lazy. He could have become one of the best in the history of basketball but he limited his efforts. Jordan aspired to be the greatest and he was willing to do whatever it took. . As a salesperson or a business owner, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you close the deal. This may include traveling long distances or working hours that don’t fit into a normal day. Do this with Jordan’s mindset: You’re going to make every shot. Even if you don’t, with a great mindset, you’ve shifted the odds in your favor. Mindset of success Michael Jordan has a mindset of success and this reflects a high level of toughness. He let this mindset dictate his level of fitness and gameplay, leading to multiple championships. He was able to overcome his opponents and defeat them. As a salesperson If you want to be the best, mental toughness is also needed in sales. Jordan didn’t win every game he played. In sales, you won’t land every presentation or close every deal. A tough mindset allows you to show up even when you’ve experienced defeat. Don’t worry about the losses. Let it be an opportunity to think of all the ways you can improve. A great mindset doesn’t blame others but focuses on how you can show up better next time. Turning the wheel Do not let the lost deal affect your next call and don’t let negativity become part of the conversation. It’s a slippery slope when you allow interactions with new clients to be influenced by previous losses, especially when you blame others for losing a deal. Instead of pointing fingers, re-evaluate and assess how you can do better next time. Jordan was also keen on learning from other players. Who is the best in your industry? These are the people you want to learn from them and emulate. If you can’t find a person, seek out the books that resonate with you. Just keep learning. Aim for perfection Look for perfection in the details. Evaluate your calls, look at how you describe your products, and think about how you phrase a message. Other areas to consider include: How you write and send emails Look at how you take notes and recap How are you writing and updating the CRM Are you engaged on LinkedIn All these little details will help you in the long run. Do whatever it takes, have a strong mindset, and be perfect in the details. #TheLastDance Paying the cost

How to Land Your First Sales Job With No Previous Experience A loaded resume is important to many employers but when you’re brand new, how do you land your first sales job without any experience? In this episode, we’re going to learn how to jump the line even before your first close. Mitchell Earl had his life planned out; however, a year into college, everything changed for him. He got involved in a startup that took off in his sophomore year of college. It started with a small team over the course of three years, the company grew to thousands of people. Working for the startup early on allowed him to work many different positions within the company. Mitchell eventually met the founder of Praxis and quickly became a valuable member of the team. Mitchell is now the COO. Praxis helps people take the first steps into the real world whether their clients are fresh out of high school, college, or they’ve left school before graduation. The goal is to help them begin their first careers, many of which are in sales. Starting your career fresh from school Sales is one of the entry points where people care less about credentials and more about someone’s ability to learn quickly, be coachable, and handle rejection. Before you set out, know what you want. For new graduates, you’ve already chosen a path and that’s great. Oftentimes, however, people get stuck because they can’t figure out what it is they want to do next. Show your value One of the best ways to impress a potential employer is to show how you can be valuable to the company. As a salesperson, an important skill is to be able to capture someone's attention.. To do that, you need to stop doing what everyone else is doing. Stand out by differentiating yourself. Once you’ve gotten their attention, secure your place by continuing to prove your value. To do this, Mitchell uses a personal pitch deck and a project. For example, you can do preliminary research by going to a company’s website. Figuring out who their buyers are and how you can participate in problem solving. Build your prospects list and with all this information, document your methodology so it’s duplicatable. A pitch deck explains who you are, why you love their company, and how you can help with the problems. This is where you get the opportunity to present thoughtful solutions that show how you can be of value to the company. It should reflect that you know who their customers are. Taking this level of care in your presentation will help you stand out from others. Keeping their focus Employers will look at your experience. That’s a given. When you haven’t gotten the chance to build your experience, however, be prepared for questions regarding the value you bring without any back up to your claims. Remember, when you don’t have the experience, effort is your best friend. Let your interviewer know you are willing to show up earlier or stay later than everybody else.. They need to understand you are willing to perfect your craft and learn quickly. Give them all the reasons they need to give you a shot. Also remember everything is up for negotiation. Don’t assume that the rules of the job exclude you because the moment you do, you remove a way to create that opportunity for yourself. Address your weaknesses head on In an interview it’s typical to be asked about your weaknesses. The best thing to do is to attack your weakness head-on before they even ask. Address the elephant in the room immediately and build trust at the same time. Part of what makes a great salesperson is the ability to handle objections. As you talk about your weaknesses, you’re also able to share how you’ve overcome these low points. Being able to talk about your weaknesses and the way you’ve moved through them shows potential employers you have self-awareness and grit. This also helps you control the narrative. Don’t let the first no stop you. Handle those objections. This is what salespeople do. #HandleObjection More tips from Mitchell It may be that you don’t get hired on your first interview. That’s okay. Give yourself the best chance by going back to Mitchell’s tips. Build a portfolio of sales projects, build your prospecting lists, and look at different ways you can approach a variety of companies. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for a referral from a company who doesn’t hire you. They may know another company who is looking for someone exactly like you. Just don’t let the first no stop you. Handle those objections. This is what salespeople do. “How to Land Your First Sales Job Even With No Experience” episode resources Connect with Mitchell Earl via his LinkedIn account and Twitter. If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, syn

How To Build Your Career In Sales The road to building a career in sales may be difficult but certainly not impossible, especially if you have a great road map, the right character, and key people in your life who help you move forward. In this episode, we’ll outline what these may look like. At 22 years old, Mary Grothe started with a Fortune 1000 payroll and HR company. She became an administrative assistant supporting eight salespeople and the number one sales manager in the country. Within a couple of months, she realized she wanted a spot on the mid-market sales team. She asked her sales manager what she needed to accomplish in order to be considered for the position when it became available. For two years, she worked hard and became number one in her role. Looking back to heer first phone call, she was like any other sales rep, very nervous, and was sweating hard, but she also had a strong desire to surpass all expectations. She certainly accomplished what she set out to do. Mary eventually took on an equity position as a VP in Sales and Marketing. They rebuilt the company’s revenue engine and quadrupled its revenue in seven months. She liked the thrill of growing a business and as she thought of setting out on her own, her entrepreneurial spirit was ignited. As a result, Mary started her first consulting firm called Butterly Creative in 2011. As a young entrepreneur, she was trying to figure out how to maneuver through pricing her services while maintaining the energy she needed. There were a lot of rookie mistakes in the beginning, so she eventually stepped away from the company. After she gave birth, her passion for the business came back again and she now helps build revenue for larger companies. For the new salespeople Mary Grother has these suggestions for new graduates who are just starting out their careers in sales: There are multiple types of sales roles A new salesperson doesn’t have to automatically choose to go to a BDR/SDR position. There are so many types of sales positions in business development roles. It is important to understand these roles because each salesperson has the opportunity to match who they are as a person to the type of selling they want to do. Doing something that is more in line with who they are will likely influence their performance and sales roles in a positive way. Understand the equations Part of the reason why Mary became the number one sales rep in such a short time is she knew how to play the game. She knew her playbook and was aware that if she worked at it every single day, she would have success. Most sales reps don’t know what’s expected of them so they don’t have the framework to succeed. Communicating to your leadership team about our future goals You need to talk to your leadership team about the progression of your current role, what is needed to meet certain goals, the positions you aspire to attain, and discuss how you are going to get there. Your leadership has to know, so they won’t be in the dark, and they are prepared to receive you when new positions open up. Common roles in sales Your role in sales will be dictated by the kind of company you will work for and what they sell. Is the company selling a physical product that you can touch or technology, or a service? Service vs product selling Mary has observed that service sales are harder to sell because unlike products, you can’t touch it and you can’t see it. It’s hard to compare side by side to a competitive option. It’s different from a product sale because most people can wrap their heads around a product much easier. Services also can have a want vs. a need. Transactional vs big-ticket price As a salesperson, you need to look at who is buying the product. Is it more of a transactional, high volume sale where you talk to 10 - 30 different buyers within a day or is it a deal that could take up six months to close?. You just have to know where your preferences are. Mary likes selling big-ticket items because she enjoys complex sales. She doesn’t mind if it’s selling a service; she just loves the challenge of multiple buyers. Sales reps need to understand the type of selling method that fits them. As a sales rep, you need to look at who you are as a person and how your choice is aligned with your goals. You want to take it a notch further. What part of the sales cycle do you want to be a part of? The third thing to consider is where your role lies in the sales cycle. Some salespeople are hunters and love the outbound. With these salespeople, they love starting conversations but they may not be detail-oriented and able to go through a whole three-month sales cycle. Discovery, demo, proposal, and closing may not be their strengths. Others may be on the opposite side of the spectrum and maybe more comfortable working with people they know when it’s time to demo, present solutions, offering renewals, and upselling. Many new salespeople, especially fresh out of college, are put in the outbound whe

Mindset vs. Skill Set - Which Is More Important In Sales? As a salesperson, which do you think is more important, a mindset or a skill set? What are the differences between the two? In this episode, Donald will explore the value of both. Defining mindset and skill set Mindset is your established attitude or beliefs. Mindset has two parts - a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. A fixed mindset settles into what is working and doesn’t change. A growth mindset can see the opportunities to improve. A skill set, on the other hand, is your range of ability. What training and skills have you mastered to be able to execute the work you need to do well in your business? Donald Experiences the Difference Between Mindset and Skill Set A salesperson should have both a great mindset and the relevant skill set. When Donald was a young man his friend’s father, who was like a second dad, gave him the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. He read it and internalized the information so he believed he would succeed in his goals. As a result, when Donald started in sales, he was a ball of energy. He watched all the movies and rolled out his B2C experience fresh from college. He was working, setting up appointments and he felt good that he could take all the ideas he’d learned and bring them into professional selling. His mindset was propelling him forward. Things got a little bit difficult when Donald entered the B2B world. He had the growth mindset but he didn’t have the skill set to go with it. One of the companies he worked for had him knocking on doors and handing out business cards. This was something that Donald did not see as professional selling. Without the proper skill set, Donald felt he was just going around in circles. He eventually moved on to another company and there he got the skill set training he needed. There, he learned how to Use the phone to prospect Make a proper cold call Use LinkedIn Go to networking events Ask effective questions Challenge a prospect about their beliefs to get to better solutions. After gaining such valuable skill sets and merging them with his growth mindset, Donald started to see amazing transformation and acceleration. He started to produce well. As Donald started to grow, he noticed that colleagues that were decades his senior were remaining at the same level they’d been for years, even with much more experience. The reason? Donald’s teammates had a lot of skill set but with even all their knowledge it was impossible for them to grow beyond their mindset. As a result, they missed out on the opportunities that Donald was able to enjoy. It was Donald’s mindset that helped him excel and perform well. Bringing Skill Set and Mindset Together Donald was different from stagnant colleagues in that he was able to take advantage of social selling, he could see fresh opportunities, and he was eager to prospect. With the proper growth mindset and proper skill set, he was able to excel as a sales representative. Do you see why both are so critical? Having a great skill set does not guarantee success if you don’t have the mindset that will push you through the glass ceilings you can set for yourself. Donald suggests taking time every single day to improve and sharpen and expand your beliefs. Listen to motivational videos, repeat your affirmations and goals, and get around like-minded people who can help you build up a positive mindset. Read the books that will help you get that growth mindset. One of Donald’s favorite books is The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho, a book that will help you open your mind to your potential. Build a great library One of the best ways to support your business is by getting real about what skill sets you need to acquire and pursue that knowledge through books. Take a look at your prospecting, social, or closing skills. Do you know how to ask effective questions? Take time each day to build these skills and launch your day even better than you did the day before. Sales books are always there to help you improve and Donald has some suggestions to start your library if you haven’t already. One of Donald’s favorite authors is Mike Weinberg, who provides a lot of great content and value about sales management and simplifying sales. Kevin Kruse’s book entitled, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A students, and 239 Entrepreneurs discusses planning and time management. There are many great authors who have amazing books in a voice that will be perfect for you. If you want to turn your commute, down time, or workout into a university, download books using Audible and listen to the books if that’s more convenient. No more excuses. Which is more important, Mindset or Skill Set? Of course, both are important but if Donald had to pick just one,he’d pick mindset. He understands that a person with the proper growth mindset can be taught the proper skill set. A person who is able to s

How To Easily Track Your Leads From Prospect Status To Closing the Deal Salespeople track leads from prospect status to closing the deal because that’s how the sales process flows. But how can we keep the information organized so we take action in a way that’s best for a potential client? For the last six years, Toni Panea has focused on his role as a sales engineer. Before that, he was running a real estate business and wanted to track all his leads and how they flowed through his business. He wanted to organize information in a way that let him know how many clients he had when the next appointments should be, and how to prepare for meetings. However, when Toni looked for apps and software that could help, he found there were no available tools that existed. When Toni realized this was a critical need that was missing, he filled the void himself by creating his current business, Crmble. This business would provide what he’d been looking for and it’s helping others as well. Tips on tracking your leads Salespeople should ask themselves if they have a system that tracks the status of leads, including names, contact data, notes about meetings, etc. Toni recommends using available tools like the Trello app where you can see the status of your leads and add alarms. Many salespeople use Excel as Donald did, but Trello offers more organizational opportunities. Trello allows you to track more information relevant to your business and sales team. The power-up Crmble is a power-up of Trello. Using the existing Trello platform, Crmble is a plug-in that can be layered to provide notification capabilities specifically for sales. With Crmble, you are also able to connect to third-party services such as Facebook and Google Forms. Others will be added in the near future. A feature in Crmble is connecting salespeople to Google Contact to better access a data link from your Trello cards when someone is calling. As soon as you finish the conversation, you can go to your Trello card and update an alarm for the next steps. You can close confidently knowing you won’t forget future steps. This plugin is a bridge that lets Crmble capabilities stream into that of Trello functionalities. For example, Crmble also has reporting capabilities where sales reps can see the number of leads they have in every touchpoint for their sales funnel. There’s also a report on the number of leads converted to sales before leading into the sales funnel. Sales reps are also able to see the percentage of wins, percentage of losses, a report on where the leads are coming from, and the number of leads you get per day. This is a valuable feature when you need to know how your ads are performing. Crmble is easy to use and very simple to understand. There’s no need to learn how to code or compute. With Crmble it helps your CRM become even more effective and user friendly. Otherwise, a system that is overly complicated may never get used. Every CRM user needs to be able to work a system without losing important information. #CRM How Crmble was named Toni’s wife named Crmble. She has been very supportive from the very beginning and recognized that CRM needed to be in the name to make it easily identifiable. Because this was not a platform that was created from scratch, they are a “crumble” for an existing tool, Trello, that is already considered the best in the world when it comes to project management. They turned this project management platform into a CRM. It’s basically a crumble of many existing tools like Facebook, Google Forms, Google Contacts, and Google Drive, for example, and what you can get from Trello itself. For the new salespeople For new salespeople, Toni suggests that you speak to people with similar jobs. Talk to your friends, teammates, and colleagues who are dealing with the same issues that you do, and get fresh ideas about how they’re facing and addressing their problems. When you are just starting, it’s important to know the status of your sales funnel because this status can change a lot. You need to be able to track your leads to be aware of the variety of situations that may affect the sales flow. Discover the kinds of leads you have, where they came from, and their status to know how they need to be prioritized. This information is essential to design an appropriate sales funnel to ultimately close. CRM users need to find a balance between not working for the system and not losing track of important information. Sales leaders want to be careful of making the CRM so complicated that salespeople won’t want to use it. This is what makes Crmble different from other CRM software. It makes the process so easy. “How To Easily Track Your Leads From Prospect To Close Deal” episode resources Visit Crmble and try the software for free! You can also connect with Toni on LinkedIn to know more about the Trello power-up plugin. If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, In

Learn To Prospect Like An Expert With Steve Kloyda Prospecting isn’t to be taken lightly and there are skills needed before you can prospect well. In this episode, Steve Kloyda helps us figure out how to prospect like an expert. Steve Kloyda has been creating unique selling experiences for over 30 years and has been able to transform the lives of countless salespeople. In addition to facilitating thousands of workshops across the country, he personally made more than 25,000 sales and prospecting calls, listened to and analyzed more than 25,000 sales calls, and facilitated over 6,000 one-on-one coaching sessions. He has clearly earned the title expert! Steve’s insights have provided clients with a powerful learning experience for anyone who wants to transform their sales and dramatically grow their business. His aim is to help salespeople attract more prospects, retain more clients, and drive more sales. Steve also remembers unforgettable customer service. One of his coolest sales experiences was at Hilton Head several years ago when it was suggested to him and his wife to go to the Pink House for dinner. It was indeed an old pink house converted into a restaurant and by dessert, his wife just wanted fresh fruit but it wasn’t on the menu. Steve made his request and though it wasn’t a dessert they offered the waiter came back 10 minutes later with a plate of fresh fruits so beautifully arranged it reminded Steve of a work of art. To top it all off, they didn’t even charge them when they were billed! The Pink House went above and beyond all their expectations. When was the last time you went out of your way for a customer? Steve as the prospecting expert Steve started his company, Telemasters, in 1990. He built the company over 18 years and they specialized in creating a unique process for salespeople to prospect. From that point until 2005, the primary tools for prospecting were basically telephone and email. When 2006 came around, social media including LinkedIn started to look like a great platform to prospect. Steve went on an online class with Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive, and what she asked him hit him: What are you really passionate about? What are you really good at? Steve has always been good at opening doors and prospecting. To see how many people were looking up topics related to prospecting, he did a Google search and learned that tips, strategies, and ideas were a hot topic. People are searching for these topics about 200 to 300,000 times a month. He decided to sell his Telemaster brand and changed the name into what it is today, the Prospecting Expert. Claiming it You can’t call yourself an expert unless you’ve walked that path and Steve has certainly walked them all. Today, he is helping salespeople attract more prospects and drive more sales as he provides a clear path for sales and prospecting success. The basics of prospecting The definition of prospecting is “in search of or to labor for.” As sales reps, we are looking for people who are going to purchase our product or service. We’re also searching for new customers and new businesses through our existing customers. Let’s look at Hector the Prospector as an example. During the California Gold Rush, he found a nugget of gold but he didn’t stop to turn in that one gold nugget. He continued to prospect until the stream dried up and then he looked for another stream. All successful salespeople never ever stop prospecting. #SalesProspecting The organic process Prospecting should be an organic process that starts with identifying who your target audience is. One of the mistakes salespeople make is that they don’t know who they should be selling to and are prospecting people who don’t have the ability to say yes. It really comes down to knowing where your prospects hang out, whether that be online or offline, and identifying ways to approach them naturally. Prospecting methods over the years Prospecting methods have changed dramatically over the years. In the 1980s, they had the telephone and snail-mail. There was no voice mail or email. In 2003-2004, social media started gaining popularity, especially platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Steve got the first taste of Twitter in 2008 and he immediately disliked it. He thought Facebook was for kids and with the addition of LinkedIn and Youtube, social platforms were coming from all directions. Steve soon realized that these tools were becoming an important point of contact in the sales process. Some salespeople, however, started to hide behind the technology and they have bought into the notion that somehow Twitter is going to help them sell. These tools can certainly be used to connect, educate, and engage with your target audience but ultimately, a phone call or meeting will have to happen. People can’t forget how to engage. The way Steve uses social media is with his Instant Sales Nuggets and twice a day, he posts a tip on Twitter. He also knows how to ask his network great questions.

How Do I Stand Out From The Competition? Are there still ways salespeople can stand out from the competition? This is an age-old question that was posed by a recent college graduate. If so, how? In this episode, Donald will share four ways he’s learned, through his personal and professional experience, to stand out from your competition: Be persistent Personalize Use your CRM and bring value Have energy and drive Be persistent Studies have shown that many sales reps give up making contact after one or two attempts. In reality, it takes 8 - 12 points of contact before a potential prospect may respond. If you want to stand out from your competition, be consistent and persistent. Of course, this doesn’t mean sitting and calling eight times in a row within a day. You have to ensure you have an organizational flow process. This is the process that moves through the buyer’s journey to get to the interest and awareness phase within the organization. Use an omni channel approach when strategically making multiple contacts with prospects. The buyers are not camping out in one location. Many salespeople think the only way you can get in touch with a prospect is through phone calls and emails. With this digital world there are multiple platforms to utilize, like LinkedIn. Don’t just hop from profile to profile but truly invest your time engaging with people you’re already connecting with. Some suggested steps include the following: Call Send an email Reach out on LinkedIn and connect Follow them on LinkedIn Follow their company Give them a second phone call Send a gift through physical mail Send them a gift through digital mail,like a gift card You can modify these steps based on how you choose to reach out to your prospects. The important thing is getting beyond the first two tries. Always Personalize Donald uses some important strategies when it comes to personalizing a message. One of the most important elements in a message is to use their name. No one wants a generic message. Make use of a personalized message and let them know you’ve looked at the problems their company is facing. Address these issues in your message and bring some value that ties to their concerns. Provide a solution specific to their challenges. A great way to personalize a message is by sending a video. This way, a potential client can see your personality before they ever get to meet you in person. Personalize your message! Your first impression is not the time to be lazy. #SalesImpression Bring in value and use your CRM Another way to bring value is to go back to your CRM. If your company doesn’t have a CRM, you can visit Crmble. It’s an awesome tool that companies can use for free but upgrades are available. If you already have CRM already, go back to the very beginning and see what problems you were addressing then. Check out if it was a decent sale and read through a thread that might give you some current insight. While it may take some work, you'll be armed with the knowledge of the issues these customers were facing and be able to apply current solutions now and into their future. Energy and the drive Whether you are a seasoned salesperson or a new graduate, another way to stand out from the competition is to know that you are awesome! Your clients have the chance to get YOU - your passion, your desire, your work ethic … only you can bring that. Know that you are your own best asset. “How Do I Stand Out From All The Competition?” episode resources Donald is currently working on his new book, Sell it Like a Mango. In the book, Donald has written about his experience in Jamaica, seeing people sell the same exact product and seeing some have greater success than others. You’ll learn what made them stand out in Sell it Like a Mango. If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald directly. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Crmble, the easy-peasy CRM for Trello that helps you manage your contacts and leads without investing in complicated solutions, sync all your data, manage custom fields, and get powerful reporting on your sales. Try Crmble for free now at www.crmble.com/tse. This course is also brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day fr

How To Leverage LinkedIn For Better Networking LinkedIn is an important social platform for people looking to broaden their network. In this episode, Bobbie Foedisch will be talking about how to leverage LinkedIn for better networking. Bobbie Foedisch is the founding partner and Chief Social Selling Officer at All About Leverage. The company develops social selling, lead generation, and networking processes. Bobbie has been in the business development space for most of her career. She’s seen the power of leveraging social media and now, along with her team, they have cultivated a lead-generation process that they offer to their clients as a voluntary benefit business. LinkedIn now has over 413 million users and they are growing daily. This makes LinkedIn a perfect platform for you and your business. You can use it to leverage your online and offline marketing presence. Use LinkedIn Strategies available One of the best ways to start your LinkedIn experience is by using a picture of yourself as your profile photo. It’s tempting to use a company logo but people don’t develop a relationship with a logo the way they want to connect with people. When selecting a picture make sure the photo looks like you and you look professional. This is your first impression so make the most of this opportunity by having a great headshot. Customize your message and be yourself The message is an important part of your LinkedIn profile as it shows effort on your part. Don’t make it a generic. Show your personality and let people know you care. Be yourself so people get a true sense of who you’d be face to face. Build your network right away The purpose of LinkedIn is to grow networking opportunities so be confident in building right away. Have a purpose to connect and know the worth of your business. Look for the people you can partner with or who will benefit from your service or product. They are waiting to be found. The social selling process It’s important to have your own social selling process. Here’s a process that Bobbie suggests: Put your content out there You need content that will resonate with your network but be sure to tie it back to your subject, job, or area of expertise. Before you begin, assess how you are going to create your content. Will you create your own or curate your content? Either way, your content should be interesting or relevant to your audience. Start the conversation As a thought leader, begin conversations that are compelling and will allow conversations to occur. Post these “ice breakers” on LinkedIn network groups, Twitter, and add them to your company page on Facebook. Time your posts well Do your research about what days and times to post on the social platform you’re trying to engage with so you have maximum exposure. This will help ensure you are reaching at least 60% of your network. Join groups for content and networking LinkedIn groups allow you to reach beyond your network. Having the right content can help you leverage the groups for face-to-face networking events. You can search LinkedIn groups for the niche that reflects your target audience. Search for specific details such as company name, job titles, geographic locations, and other details that will help you narrow down the search. You can then offer your message to the group. Advanced save and purchase Make use of LinkedIn’s lead generation. Do this by saving your purchase based on your ideal client profile. LinkedIn will automatically send you a lead generation list every week. Leverage your first degree connection Learn to leverage your network. Look at your connections and narrow them down to exactly who you want to reach. Meet with your different referral partners weekly and aim for an average of five introductions. Statistics show that this type of warm lead generation has a 60% conversion rate. The following features on LinkedIn will help you broaden your reach: Thought leadership Content marketing Face-to-face networking Online and offline social activity Reaching people in your community and across the world Effective cold-calling Even with everyone using social media as a way to connect, there is still a lot of value in cold calling. Bobbie suggests the following to be more effective: Narrow down the list Monitor recent activity and comment on the things you care about Engage with people and create opportunities for conversations. Move from connecting online to connecting offline LinkedIn is more effective the more you use it. Be visible on the platform and allow people to get to know you each day. Your LinkedIn profile is the first thing that pops up when somebody searches your name so make a great first impression. Match the sales process to the buying process if you want to be successful. Focus on people who are interested. Sales is no longer just about selling but guiding people through their needs and being there with a solution. “How To Leveraging LinkedIn For Better Networking” episode resources As a salesperson,

How To Overcome Your Fear of Selling During Challenging Times Fear can be common for salespeople regardless of where you are in your career. The fear of rejection can paralyze us and impact our performance. In the current climate of a pandemic, one fear that salespeople are dealing with is that customers won’t be interested in what we have to offer. In this episode, we’ll talk about how to overcome fear of selling during challenging times. Nina Cooke works with entrepreneurs, their coaches, consultants, and sales specialists. Her task is to help them overcome their fear in order to get them to move toward sales conversations. Nina helps salespeople overcome their negative thoughts and the lies people tell themselves. Nina’s goal is for her clients to see how powerful and magnificent they can be as they run their business. The origin of fear The origin of a lot of our fears occur in childhood. We were all born with a blank slate and then picked up the programming of other people over time. From a very young age, we start to take in information and make assessments about our world and the people in our life as we observe activities and conversations around us. These observations can heavily influence how we view our place in this world. If we see others are fearful, for example, we tend to take on that fear and it can take a grip into adulthood. Another example of a child making assumptions about their environment may come from their parent not playing with them, even though they promised. As this child starts to see this as a trend, they begin to wonder why the play isn’t happening. Is it because they aren’t important enough? “I’m not important enough” is now a limiting belief they take into adulthood. As their belief takes hold, they begin to collect evidence to prove it’s true: Someone wasn’t listening to you while you were talking because you weren’t important. You spoke up in a group and no one listened because you weren’t important. Parents didn’t take notice of you but focused on your siblings because you weren’t important. We build meaning around events and then live our lives as if these beliefs were fact. These limiting beliefs become a crippling way of thinking, especially if it keeps you from seeing your full potential. Change of mindset We’ve got to be careful about settling because of a limited mindset. Changing your mindset is necessary to redirect your path. These limitations are keeping you from reaching out to people during a pandemic: -“People aren’t interested in what I have to offer.” -”They don’t have the budget for my products.” These are concerns but they’re not necessarily the reality. How do we know this? Because other salespeople are thriving. If they can do it, you can too. One of Nina’s clients set a goal to have six new clients/customers in the month of April and while she wasn’t able to lock in all six, she was able to get five new customers! If we continue to reason our way out of growing our business, we won’t have a business to return to when this pandemic is over. We have to carry on taking action by knowing our value and realizing that there are people who need what we have to offer. There are people who are willing to invest in the solutions to their problems. Breaking away from the negative influences It’s very easy to be influenced by the negativity around us but know that you have a choice in how you think. You can’t stop someone else’s negative outlook but there is always a choice to buy or not. Reset your habits of thinking toward hope and optimism. Accept only the mindset that will prompt you to take action. Other people around you may have a bleak outlook about conducting business but don’t take that on. People are still purchasing! The more people you contact, the more people will know you are ready to do business but you have to call for them to know. If you can keep a resilient mindset, then you’ll be okay, even when people say no, because it’s one step closer to yes. Perseverance through challenging times is going to take effort but it will put you ahead of the people who don’t even try. Know your value and stay active. It isn’t personal when someone says no. Their “no” means they are not ready to purchase but they are not rejecting you. Just allow your customer to guide the sales cycle and be available when they’re ready to go. Transforming the mind Before you change your mind, it’s first important to know your goals. Let’s say for example that your goal is to generate 30,000 a month as your income. What thinking is stopping you from achieving that? Nina helps you figure out your limiting beliefs. After rating your limiting beliefs from a 1-10 scale, she takes you through a simple process to remove that block from your subconscious once and for all. The biggest limiting belief Nina’s clients are currently experiencing is, “It’s inappropriate to make offers right now because people can’t afford me.” This belief is keeping you from people who need your product or

What I Wish I Knew Before Going Into Sales To benefit the many new graduates and new sellers entering the sales arena, I’ve spent time thinking about the things I wish I knew before going into sales. This episode goes out to my buddy Isaac, who is just entering sales, as well as the other new graduates and new sellers. Many sellers have initial experiences that leave them wondering if they made the right career choice. This month on The Sales Evangelist, we’re focusing on the class of 2020, but our messages will resonate with those who are entering the sales world for the first time as well as veterans who have been selling for a while. Believe in yourself and starve your doubts Mindset is incredibly important, but I didn’t understand that initially. I remember watching movies like Boiler Room that portrayed a charismatic sales rep who would sweet-talk buyers and say anything necessary to land a sale. I figured sales was entirely about skillset. When I came into sales, though, I realized that mindset is probably 70 percent of the effort. Unlike football, which requires learning physical tasks, sales is largely mental. Are you self-conscious about your ability to find prospects? Are you worried about people saying no to you? Do you believe in your product or service? All of these things tie back to your mindset and your belief, and you have to begin with a belief that you’re going to succeed. Believe that what you’re doing matters, and believe that you’re going to succeed. I give credit to my buddy Jared Easley whose podcast Starve the Doubts first introduced me to the idea of dealing with doubt and worry. Feeling overwhelmed by doubts can cause you to wonder whether you’re cut out for sales, so you must avoid the temptation to fuel your doubts. There’s a Native American proverb that says that we each have two wolves within us: a good one and an evil one. Whichever wolf we feed most often will survive. You can feed the doubt or feed the belief in success. Create a proper mindset, develop some goals, and determine how you will overcome your existing belief system. Sales is not about winning or losing Movies like Boiler Room perpetuate the idea that in any transaction, the seller is the winner and the buyer is the loser since the seller got money and the buyer got hustled. I wish I had understood that better before I got into professional selling. When I started selling B2B, I realized that I was engaging with very intelligent people. These were smart executives who weren’t going to be tricked or bamboozled. I wish I had realized this when I started selling. I realized after studying The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that our job as sellers is to create a situation in which both parties win. We should create relationships in which both parties will benefit because the seller will close the deal and the buyer will solve a problem. Because the buyer needs our expertise, we’ll provide it and help them overcome a challenge. Once that happens, he’ll richly compensate us for our diligence and support. Sales is about helping the buyer identify a solution to a problem and then persuade himself that your organization offers the best solution. You must be ethical. You must deliver the things you promise to deliver in order to avoid customer churn. When you lead with the belief that your goal is to help solve problems, you’ll create raving fans in your customers. Focus on how you can help. Become an expert at asking effective questions When I started out in sales, I thought that sellers did all the talking. I was surprised to find that many of the successful sellers are like Dr. Phil: they ask effective questions. Sellers who do this build rapport, and they are able to gather all the information they need to solve problems. And when you master the art of asking effective questions and doing follow up, your customers will tell you everything. Consider a situation where you ask the buyer why his company is considering making a change right now. Some sellers would stop with that question, but sales pros will go deeper. “Why haven’t you been able to solve this problem in the past?” “If your current vendor is working well, why are you considering a move to another?” I’ve spent too much time pitching my company’s great track record and providing information that my buyer didn’t really want to hear. By asking better questions and probing, I was able to gain true understanding and help my customers solve problems, which helped us close deals faster. Don’t take rejection personally Your customers will not wake up this morning planning to reject sales reps today. They won’t conjure negative ideas about you or your product. Most likely, when you call, they won’t be ready to talk. Give them a call back. Don’t take it personally if they reject you the first time. If you take these things personally, it can negatively impact your future phone calls. I wish I had known when I first started selling that rejection wasn’t personal.

Why Giving Your Prospects An Out Upfront Will Help You Win In The End Sometimes we need to lose a customer before they become a client. In the current climate of a pandemic it’s important that we give a client an out in order to be sensitive to their struggles but we still want them to know we’re open for business, right? How are these two needs served in the way we communicate? Jeff Kosser is the CEO and the founder of Zebrafi. The company is often known for its top-selling book, Selling Zebra, seeing the Zebra as the perfect prospect. The company’s philosophy is pretty straightforward. When people see Zebras, regardless of where that might be, they always know what it is. The simplicity and the purity of this fact is the philosophy behind what keeps their business running. Jeff Koser has also built a software business based on software-guided selling. It’s a tool that guides B2B salespeople through the best practices of how to communicate and collaborate with the prospects and customers to ensure both parties arrive at a mutually beneficial place. Selling in the present situation It’s imperative that salespeople be sensitive to the current world situation. Jeff’s goal sales goal is lofty, as he wants to change the way people sell throughout the world. However, to be able to do that, we first have to recognize who we are as salespeople, what we are as a business, and what we’re selling. Our business may not represent something that is a priority for people right now, and that’s okay, but as we seek to keep our businesses going, we need to diversify our approach. Jeff Koser believes that we must approach every sales situation, whether it’s prospects or customers, with language that gives them an out. When you want to keep in touch with your customers or prospects by email, for example, genuinely ask about the safety of their family and their employees. Not just in a way that allows you to check off the “sincerity box” but in a way that your customer knows you are there for THEM. Be respectful about how you reach out to them and acknowledge they may have very different priorities by the time you contact them. Let them know that if the timing is right, you want to help, but regardless the relationship is the priority and you will come alongside their needs on their terms. What our business represents may not be a priority for everyone right now. We are approaching every sales situation with a simple out. #SalesApproach Respectful selling Jeff recently received 149 email messages in his spam folder within a 24-hour period. Due to automation and account-based marketing, there are several tools that can come with good messaging but unfortunately, even good messages are getting buried just from the sheer volume. There will always be those companies, however, that believe talking about the product at the very beginning of the message is the best way to begin an email. During a pandemic, when people are struggling, this isn’t the best approach. Making sensitivity and respect a priority in your communication will preserve the dignity of your business, and your prospect’s. Doing otherwise could tarnish your personal brand or that of your company’s. Despite the volume of spam email Jeff received, he opened a few of the emails with the more interesting subject lines. The most annoying emails came from companies that introduced their products as soon as he opened the message without any reference to the struggles going on in the world that we are in right now. Other emails that were only slightly better began with, “Hope you’re well and healthy…” before launching into the product information. Both approaches are typically ineffective but they’re even more inappropriate in the current climate. What you can do To improve their approach, salespeople can do more research. First, they should know if their company fits the priority and needs of their prospects and customers. Jeff Koser recommends salespeople know the following before pursuing contact: That their product or service can help solve their prospect’s current problems. They’re talking to the decision makers. How much value needs to be created within the prospect’s timeline. Jeff’s current clients take this advice to heart. Some of Jeff’s clients also seek his help because they’re preparing to launch well once this pandemic is over and they want to be able to reposition their businesses to accommodate future needs. One of the things Jeff recommends is to talk with their clients’ customers. Doing this allows them to ask their clients’ customers what problems have been solved by buying their clients’ solutions. This method allows them to see their client through the eyes of existing or former customers. The customers’ words are always going to be more powerful than any marketing department. Additional information is gathered by talking to the executives who are the decision makers for the customer solution. Selling to the executives In the world of sales, the person w

The Sales Manager's Guide To Greatness! You may have been a top salesperson, and still continue to be, but that doesn’t always qualify you to be a top sales manager. Both have very different skill sets and require mastery in very different skills. Kevin F. Davis is the author of the book The Sales Manager’s Guide to Greatness: Ten Essential Strategies for Leading your Team to the Top. Kevin started his career in sales at an entry level position and worked hard to become a general manager. His new role gave him the opportunity to train and coach 250 sales people and directly manage the sales team and sales managers. He also founded TopLine Leadership, Inc. where they have offered sales coaching and leadership workshops to corporate clients and groups of sales managers for the last 27 years. Other books Kevin has written include Getting into your Customer’s Head and Slow Down, Sell Faster. On writing the book There aren’t a lot of books written about how to effectively manage sales people so Kevin wrote his books to help fill this void in the marketplace and to offer support that was sorely lacking. Research has shown that up to 80% of all sales managers in North America don’t get the training they need in order to be successful. Their company may not have a budget for it or they offer management training that is too general to solve the specific problems of their sales managers. Not enough time Managers have to spend the majority of their work day answering emails, dealing with interruptions, going to meetings, and answering questions from their sales team. With this constant activity, they are too overwhelmed the distractions to coach their salespeople. The self-serving bias Most salespeople think they’re better than they actually are. We tend to overestimate our capabilities and underestimate our weaknesses. The result is a sales team who think they’re better than they are and don’t fully appreciate the mistakes they may be making. Because they aren’t being coached, they don’t know they’re making mistakes and end up perpetuating existing problems. Unfortunately, salespeople are getting a lot less feedback from overtaxed sales managers. Because they are so busy, managers tend to wait for a sales rep to come and ask questions instead of being proactive. An opportunity to coach comes from approaching the sales team with critical questions throughout the entire sales process. Kevin points out that the salespeople on the team who appear to be the least needy are probably the people who need coaching the most. Great salespeople don’t always make great sales managers. #SalesTruths According to Kevin, a great sales rep who has mastered their sales role inhibits that individual’s success as a sales manager. As sellers, we love to take charge of a situation and work it through to have a successful outcome. Once you become a sales manager it can be tempting to jump into a conversation a sales rep is having with their client. This can send a message to the team you don’t trust their process and destroys an opportunity for valuable coaching following that meeting. Kevin further added that the sales people who report to you are your Number One customers so you should care about how to make them the most effective they can be. From being task-oriented to people-oriented One attribute of a great sales leader is recognizing the importance of sharing time between tasks and coaching their team. Sales managers need to be able to focus on their salespeople and connect on a professional and personal basis. As a sales manager, it’s your job to ensure that your salespeople are with you and they know what the team is trying to accomplish. While it’s good to be task-oriented, it’s equally important to be people-focused. Kevin mentioned the valuable lessons he learned from the story of Beth Comstock (now the vice-chairman at General Electric) about how important it is to focus on people and not just be a task-master. Understand the buying cycle The sales forecast is a misnomer. The sales forecast should be a buying forecast. It is important to understand the customer’s buying process to maximize the sale. Sales managers need to be able to recognize when a buyer is purchasing differently from the way the sales rep is trying to sell. Oftentimes sales reps sell faster than the customer wants to buy. The buying process focuses on improving the accuracy of the forecasts instead of depending on the guesswork of sales. The key to this is by asking the right questions. One example would be to ask the sales rep, What are the buying criteria in order of priority? When a sales manager asks the right questions, the sales rep knows what to ask the customer. Managing sales people requires a completely different set of skills from selling. If you’re looking to get promoted, set a goal to become as masterful at leadership as you are selling. “The Sales Manager's Guide To Greatness!” episode resources Connect with Kevin Davis via his website and you

Why Every Seller Needs To Create An Ideal Sales Profile It is imperative for all businesses, no matter the size, to be able to describe their target customer. It is equally important for businesses to create an ideal sales profile. This will help you identify the right hire for your sales team. In this episode, Donald will talk about the importance of defining the ideal sales profile in detail. Oftentimes, as salespeople, we start our days with a list of things we want to accomplish in our day. By the end of the day, however, we realize we didn’t get to do what we set out to do. As a result, you come up with excuses for why you didn't get your tasks completed. You can avoid that by creating the ideal sales profile. This is about the picture you’ve set in your mind about how you will conduct yourself in each activity throughout the day, long before they happen. Visualize your success The greatest swimmer of all time, Michael Phelps’ was taught by his coach about playing tapes to watch his performance.. His coach told him to visualize the perfect race and all the details surrounding those moments. His job was to play in his mind every scenario that could occur: What does the audience look like, what is the feel of the water temperature, how does he feel mentally and emotionally? He would visualize his win over and over again until eventually he knew exactly what to do to win the race. He visualized it before it happened. The greatest people in their careers and fields have all visualised their success long before they ever got there. That’s exactly what you need to do - visualize your success before it happens. In a sales situation, salespeople can get distracted because more often than not, we focus on external factors. We spend hours, days, and even weeks coming up with the ideal customer profile. Your task now is to create the mental tape of your ideal sales profile succeeding in every scenario. The ideal seller Who is the ideal seller? The ideal seller is you, at your best, able to sell in every possible scenario. It’s about more than what it looks like to execute a sale, it’s about what the seller can do under various situations. In 2008, Michael Phelps was competing in Beijing and while in the water, his goggles broke but this didn’t stop him. He still won. How was he able to pull through? He had already visualized himself winning the competition with broken goggles. Michael Phelps had already created his ideal swimmer profile, planned out what he’d do in a variety of adverse circumstances and saw himself win anyway. His preparedness enabled him to perform without skipping a beat. What does your ideal seller look like? It’s you selling within the different scenarios you’ve already seen in your mind. #SalesProfile Envision yourself It helps to see yourself accomplish everything on your to do list. If you have made up your mind to make phone calls at a certain time of day, then ensure you’ll do what you have planned no matter what other schedules will pop up. If you planned on making phone calls at 2 PM, then make the calls and prospect. Envision yourself sitting in your chair, making calls, and think about what you’ll do if you’re faced with any distractions. Let it play out in your mind until you’re positioned to get back on the calls. This will help you to know what to do and say in order to take control of the situation. If you don’t, you have a greater probability of getting pulled away from the task at hand. You can apply the same visualization technique to negative conversations. Some clients will not be receptive to your offer but you can envision how you’ll handle these scenarios beforehand and prepare what you’ll say. You don’t need to have all possibilities covered but you can have a better idea of how you’ll respond for a greater success rate. Envision yourself to be a seller who hits quota Envision yourself to do prospecting everyday Envision yourself to perform well under pressure Play the situation in your head You may have created a habit of doing a different activity when you’re supposed to be prospecting but habits can be replaced with some creative visualization. Believe that you will prospect at a set time and stick to it. If you’re playing a tape in your mind of being distracted, replace it with focus and execution. If you make prospecting a new habit and stick to it, your mind will replace the old tape and success will be the new norm. Your mind will recognize these habits as something you do on a regular basis. As a result, you’ll have the energy and the capacity to perform your goals. The key is that long before the habit is formed, play the tape over and over again in your head until your brain believes it. Once that happens, the actions will start to match until it’s truth. Just make sure that as you release the negative scenarios you’re replacing them with your best actions. If you don’t, your mind will fall back into old habits of thinking. Get those new habits locked in! The i

We all experience pain and grief and in these seasons, we can feel depths of emotion that are hard to resolve. How does unresolved grief affect your sales potential? Let’s learn about dealing with unresolved grief today with Herdyne Mercier. Herdyne Mercier is the Chief Grief Crusader and host of Redefining Grief Podcast with Herdyne Mercier. Her job is to create safe spaces so that broken hearts can be seen, heard, and validated. The process helps you get unstuck from your unresolved grief and get you to a place of purposeful living. Redefining grief Herdyne defines grief as experiencing any kind of loss. This isn’t limited to losing a loved one to death. Grief can also be felt when you move to a new place, experience job loss, go through divorce, or when filing for bankruptcy. Herdyne had the exact feeling when along with her husband, they filed for bankruptcy back in 2007/2008. The real estate market crashed and they couldn’t sell their home. Her husband, James Mercier, could not find a job with a Master’s Degree. Herdyne had to become the main provider for the family while James delivered newspapers and sushi. As a new mother, she grieved having only thirteen days to spend with her newborn son before she realized she had to go back to work. As James adjusted to being a stay-at-home father, he too grieved as a man because of the job he’d lost. The grief almost cost them their marriage when Herdyne told her husband that she needed a divorce but James, in his wisdom, suggested they go to counseling together instead. The process of overcoming her own grief helped her create a brand that represents a woman who had forgotten to put on her MASK (an acronym we’ll explain) but is now healed. In her healing, she is now able to serve others. Days of grieving Many are grieving loss due to the pandemic. People have lost their jobs and some have lost the people they love from this illness. We have all lost something in this pandemic and are trying to figure out how to navigate this new normal. There’s a lot of frustration and pain in the process. The first step is to not compare your grief story to someone else’s. We may feel that our loss is greater than others but in truth, we can’t actually quantify loss. Our culture does not teach us how to deal with loss. Instead, we focus on aiming for the top and shooting for number one. We want the biggest house and the nicest car, but we aren’t told what to do with our emotions. We’re not guided toward healing when loss occurs. This is nobody’s fault - not your parents, not your grandparents, or any other people around you. Circumstances are what they are; however,Herdyne teaches to be still and know your purpose. How do you go about doing that? The truth and connection anchor Emotional anchors will set you free. The first, is truth. Be honest about your grief. The next anchor is connection. Look for that person in whom you can confide and be totally transparent. One of the biggest myths a griever has to overcome is the belief they have to do it alone. Overcoming your truth They say time heals all wounds but Herdyne doesn’t believe this to be true. Time doesn’t heal all wounds. While time may pass on, you can remain emotionally stuck. Some also believe that keeping yourself busy will help you forget your grief, that if you stay busy, the grief will eventually fade. The truth is, grief won’t just disappear. Left unchecked, it will manifest in other ways. These alternatives are just pacifying and soothing behaviours. Giving a hungry baby a pacifier only means you’ve helped to delay, but not address, the real problem of hunger. In the same vein, you need to heal and not just soothe by taking time for yourself, finding a community, possibly hiring a grief coach or a therapist, and finding a wisdom circle. Seeking wisdom in your situation is how you’ll see the beauty of restoration. The restoration anchor is the phase where you’ve already managed your grief and taken care of the pain and the loss. Your grief Everyone’s grief journey is different, so we can’t compare or police anyone’s journey. We all have our own time frame and can even experience grief flare-ups. Anchor into your truth, your sadness, and your heartache. In seeking the wisdom within your situation, you can begin healing the grief. #Healing The importance of dealing with your truth Oftentimes, people can be tempted to “go with the flow” in order to ignore the pain. For example, you may be hurt because your friend wasn’t there when you needed him/her. Instead of talking it out, you decide to get on with your life to get over it. You think you’re okay until your friend calls and you don’t answer your phone. Because you didn’t address the root cause of your pain, your feelings haven’t been resolved. The first step toward healing is to seek wisdom. Herdyn has many free resources about how you can find wisdom. This resource has 61 different ways you experience grief and how you can deal with each one. Once you know how

Why Your Brain Lies To You: Cash Is NOT The Best Motivator Although money is one of the indicators of growth and success, it’s not necessarily the best motivator when it comes to incentivizing a sales team. Tim Houlihan and Dr. Kurt Nelson are consultants who have spent more than 20 years working with companies to design incentives that will increase productivity within sales teams. Just a few years ago, they started a podcast that provides practical applications in the real world. One of their topics, motivation through incentivizing, is especially helpful for sales managers. People tend to make decisions based on an emotional gut response, even though we mistakenly think these choices are made based on rational thought. Emotion and motivation come from the same root making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. Money has less of an emotional connection than we realize and because motivation is tied to our emotions, money can be a poor incentive for a sales team. Human beings as emotional creatures Daniel Kahneman won a Nobel Prize in 2002 for his idea about the one thinking vs two thinking, an automatic response versus one's cognitive reflective thinking. Human beings respond quickly to a number of situations because that’s how we survive. The brain takes only 3% of our body weight but it consumes 20% of the energy used. The brain then tries to conserve energy with the speed of decision making. When we make emotion-based decisions, non-rational judgements are made. The illusion of motivation Because we think we know our own motivation, we think we can analyze what motivates others. While we can be sympathetic, knowing what others think has too many variables for us to make a consistent, accurate assessment. If we focus on someone’s emotions, instead of assuming what they’re thinking, it is far more effective to ask directly. Cash is a required component Cash isn’t bad as an inventive. It’s a required component in any business and it’s needed to pay the bills, mortgage, buy food, go on vacation etc. However, once those needs are met, incentives that are more material or experiential in nature move people into greater effort. Tim did research with Dan Ariely from Duke University, the author of the book called Predictably Irrational. For their study, Tim and Dan took several call center reps and broke them into four groups, each getting a different reward. They found that the people who were rewarded with prizes such as bicycles, cockpots, and other non-cash items performed 30% higher than their counterparts who received cash. Motivation and Emotion When we evaluate the value of an incentive, a cash reward is easily calculated against the effort it takes to get it. When a non-cash reward is offered, it’s harder to estimate. The thought process then goes to the level of desire for the prize and the motivation becomes emotion-based rather than calculative. The Four Drive Model, developed by Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria, illustrates the different ways people can be motivated. The four drive models: Acquire and achieve: Reward System Bonding and belonging: Organization’s Culture Challenge and creating: Job and Organizational Structure Defending and defining: Vision/Reputation and their Performance Management System Competition as a motivator When Tim begins his lectures, he asks the students to raise their hands as high as they can. He then asks them to raise their hands even more. About 30-40% of them will continue to stretch a bit more which means they weren’t raising their hands as high as they could. They always had a little incremental effort reserved. Tim would then say that whomever raised his/her hand the highest would get the candy bar in he was holding. Invariably, there would be people who stood on their chairs to get the candybar. In this scenario, the motivation wasn’t the prize. It was the competition. The same is true for the sales reps. Tim and Kurt often hear sales reps say that their whole lives revolve around money. Was this true? Tim and Kurt decided to team up with a global automobile manufacturer in Saudi Arabia to test the dealer owners. These were extraordinarily wealthy men so cash was not a good incentive. Instead, they were offered lunch with Nelson Mandela who was still alive then and living in South Africa. They then added another element of competition and told them they would get to land their private jets at the Johannesburg Airport in the order that they finish the contest. The team set up a big tent on the tarmac and received them as they landed. Each owner in the competition worked extra hard to not be the last one to land. They didn’t need more money but they sold more cars in order to achieve something that would elevate them above their peers, a prize they couldn’t get on their own. The hedonic component The hedonic component speaks to a prize being perceived as a luxury.. When we get cash, we tend to assign its function such as education, bills, mortgage, and oth

Building A Successful SDR Team From The Ground Up The sales team is the backbone of a business. It’s composed of both SDRs and BDRs, both working to make sure the business is thriving through a steady flow of consumers. For this episode, we’ll discuss SDRs and how you can build a successful SDR team. Kyle Coleman started his career in B2B tech in 2012 at an advertising agency in San Francisco. He supported clients such as Dell, VMWare and other large companies; however, Kyle eventually realized that advertising wasn’t where he wanted to continue his career. In a timely move, he was able to pursue an exciting new position in sales and marketing with a start-up called Looker, a data analytics company based in Santa Cruz. Kyle was recruited and became a member of the Looker team in 2013. He stayed with Looker for six years and was able to experience firsthand the growth of the company from six people to roughly eight-hundred sales reps and 100,000 ARR to over 100 million in ARR. In 2019, Kyle made the move to Clari. Growing the team As a startup company, oftentimes it’s hard to know what really needs to be done. In the beginning, there can be a lot of trial and error. Sometimes you have to try different options to know what works and what doesn’t. Kyle has observed many startup companies are reluctant to bring on an SDR function because they think it’s too soon; however, as the SDR for Looker in its earliest days, Kyle knows firsthand that it’s never too soon. He wasn’t just getting coffee and making sure that everyone was fired up. His main role was to partner with marketing. The SDR team became a three-person team in the first 12 months and it allowed their marketing leaders to test messaging in a variety of ways. They had the ability to use the tools to get in front of the right people from great companies and be the feedback loop for their marketing team. The SDR team wasn’t just adding value in setting up appointments, they were also adding value on the marketing side. It helped them understand what they needed to do to differentiate themselves as sales reps in the market. They proved their value early and it was one of the reasons why success resulted in more successes. The impact was felt from the top-of-the-funnel column to the thought leadership marketing. The SDR team gave their company a solid start by offering insights about how to get to the right people faster. The sales process was different back in Kyle’s time with Looker. The email market then wasn’t as saturated as it is now and their root force also helped in getting a lot of messaging out in the market. Their aggressive SDR method made them stand out compared to other SDR teams of that time. However, regardless of the changes in the sales process now, outbounding for companies in its early stages is critical to understand the company’s ICP, the personas, and the kind of messaging that should be delivered to the market. Make the first right hire A startup company has to make the right hires from the beginning. The ideal candidate has a little bit of experience but not so much he has forgotten how to actually do the work. The first hire should also be someone who is willing to take risks and to own success as readily as he owns his failures. Hire someone who is hyper, driven, and motivated. You can give them space to practice their own methodologies but also make sure to give them a support structure that allows them to fail with management ready to help with adjustments. You need somebody who is 100% dedicated to the cause, one who can communicate verbally and in writing, and someone who wants to help you achieve your company’s mission and vision. Step 1: Describe your Ideal Customer Profile Knowing your ideal customer profile will help define the right hire. While working at Looker, Kyle looked at the company’s number of employees and its funding. The ICP in Clari is much tighter due to the specifics around the tech stack. Ultimately, you want companies matched with similar personas. Step 2: Work with the product marketing team The product marketing team writes wonderful blog posts, white books, and e-books so don’t box them into just writing outbound emails. Blog posts and outbound emails are two different skill sets. Hire a person who knows how to write outbound emails. These emails need to contain a call-to-action, personalization, and all the related content that comes from your SDR. It’s good for SDRs to get their leads from LinkedIn. It has the most trust-worthy data and is always up-to-date. There are other additional tools that can be used as well such as ZoomInfo, LeadIQ, and Seamless.ai to get contact information.. Cold-calling may be an old method but it’s still mission critical. Getting on the phone is how you get to hear a Yes or a No. Sometimes, it also depends on the personas. People who are more technical tend to stay away from phones. However, if you are connecting to salespeople who can talk about anything, then cold calli