OnBase: Smashing Sales and Marketing Misalignments Ep. 481 | Making Schools Safer with Mission-Driven Sales
Episode Summary Randy Welch talks about mission-driven sales in the education sector. He discusses his background in school psychology and administration, and how it led him to a career in education technology focused on school safety solutions. He emphasizes the importance of truly understanding customer needs through active listening. Randy also provides insights into navigating the challenges of the education market by prioritizing safety over sales numbers. The interview covers Randy's vision for developing a holistic safety ecosystem and recommendations for incorporating learning into a sales mindset.
About the guest
Randy Welch is an educator at heart but found his way into the technology sector through his passion to ensure the safety and security of school students and staff. At Motorola Solutions, Randy oversees the education focused Sales efforts for the North America region and highlights the technology, safety, and security solutions schools need to solve their biggest safety challenges. Prior to Motorola Solutions, Randy served for more than 20 years as a school psychologist, special education director, Chief Program Officer, and board member for multiple public and charter schools. Randy has also spoken nationally and internationally about a variety of education topics.
Key takeaways
- Understand customer needs through active listening, not just hearing what they say
- Prioritize solving customer problems and mission over making sales numbers
- Develop a holistic, integrated ecosystem approach to school safety rather than isolated systems
- Keep focus on the mission of keeping students safe even during budget cuts or challenges
- Incorporate continuous learning into sales through recommended books and shared learning
- Bring an educator's passion for learning to the sales field
Quotes
"Someone has a problem, your job is not to solve their problem, your job is to help them find a solution to that problem." - Randy Welch on drawing connections between education and sales.
Recommended Resource
Books
-"New Sales. Simplified." by Mike Weinberg.
-"Sales Management. Simplified." by Mike Weinberg.
-"Selling in a Crisis" by Jeb Blount.
-"Sales EQ" by Jeb Blount
-"The Little Red Book of Selling" by Jeffrey Gitomer.
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