The Sales Evangelist

Your personal brand and image impact everything about your sales process. Creating and maintaining a professional self-care routine is necessary to put your best foot forward to make the most money and foster the most connections. In today’s episode of the Sales Evangelist, Donald shares some quick tips for any seller to improve their confidence and build a personal brand that reflects the hard work you do each day. Sometimes, we neglect the emotional for the physical: Sure, scoring that meeting or closing the deal can be nice. However, it’s not as nice when it comes at a cost for our own physical and emotional needs as human beings. The Sales Evangelist is launching a course to build your professional self-care routine; check out the information here: thesalesevangelist.com/free-sales-training Build a positive attitude and confidence: One of the biggest things to help you be more effective is confidence.  Even if you don’t know a lot about the industry or individual, learn the company basics. Research the company to have more poignant discussions about the material to drive confidence.  If you are genuinely interested in the conversation with the potential buyer, you’ll inherently come across as more confident and competent in the conversation. Dress to the customer’s needs: If you’re meeting with an executive or higher-level individual, dress to their level. Leave the hoodie at home and wear what instills confidence in yourself and the buyer.  Especially if you work from home, dressing professionally will make an impact where lower dress scales are more common. Your personal brand is critical: Pay attention to how you project yourself online and on social media.  Amid a potential recession and the Great Resignation, ensure your content, language, and tone are transferable wherever you want to go.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year’s Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are 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

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by frequent guest and CEO of Sales Gravy, Jeb Blount, to discuss an important (and often avoided) topic: selling a price increase to clients.  The price increase conversation is awkward, especially if you’ve never done it before. A seller’s main priority is to get the increase without losing the customer or order. Increases are good for the health of an organization. They’re essential to ensure you get the resources to sell more deals, help prevent layoffs, and service quality initiatives.  Understand what kind of price increase is occurring: Defensive increases are smaller and leveraged across the entire company. In addition, having a relationship with the customer makes discussing a price increase easier. The status quo means it takes a lot of work for a buyer to leave - many customers are likely to stay with you despite the price increase.  Popular narratives sellers can use to discuss: In an inflationary period with supply chain issues, price increases constitute an economic fairness narrative. Costs have risen, impacting your ability to serve customers. Future value narratives occur when you add features, services, and additional expertise that justify the price increase. Project-based narrative - To successfully meet a particular benchmark, timeline, or quota, you need additional funding.  Weave narratives together to weave a custom reason for your client - it should be whatever best helps them explain the increase.  Connect with Jeb on LinkedIn for more content and information. You can find his new book, Selling the Price Increase, on Amazon, and a free downloadable companion guide at salesgravy.com/resources. Finally, tune in to his podcast, the Sales Gravy Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else podcasts can be found.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year’s Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are 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

Many buyers see sellers as a commodity. While the goal of every seller is to close more deals, how are you supposed to do that without being memorable to the buyer? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by a sales coach and expert, Casey Jacox, to learn how sellers can stand out and be memorable to their prospects. Sellers are under a lot of pressure: Whether that pressure is to hit KPIs, increase quarterly figures, or just contribute to company growth, sellers have a lot to worry about. However, sales leaders are unlikely o slow down and contribute to sellers’ foundational skills (AKA building relationships.) The ultimate goal? To make internal and external connections that help sellers improve their close rate while enjoying their position more than before. Six things sellers can do to be more memorable: Bring a positive attitude to your team Manage expectations of your team and prospects Understand the difference between listening and hearing Document and record interactions, goals, and data to inform your questions Let your authentic self shine Relationships take time Have a boomerang mindset. Think about ways to be nice and positive to those around you - set the precedent for communication.  Give what someone asks for, and communicate with stakeholders if something might prevent you from reaching a certain benchmark or KPI. For more content and information from Casey, tune in to his podcast, The Quarterback DadCast, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year’s Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are 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

The modern seller is exceptional in their industry and knows what to do to add value to prospects, keep a full pipeline, and close more deals. But how exactly can we be modern sellers? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by sales consultant Amy Franko to discuss what she believes makes modern sellers stand out in today’s market.   The modern seller excels in three things: Their value is an essential part of the conversation; they look to be a part of the equation that closes a deal.  They are seen as difference makers in the eyes of their clients and others in the industry. Prospects and buyers believe modern sellers have a competitive advantage over the other sellers in the industry. Anyone can be a modern seller: Understand the makeup of your territory and what you’ve been assigned to sell. Then, take a strategic view of what makes up your territory. Determine if you have a business plan for your inventory, revenue, and profit. The hallmark of a modern seller is the ability to take something complex and boil it down to something simple. Set goals and milestones that indicate if you’re on the right trajectory. Understand your ideal client profile and know what is important to the people you pursue.  Focus on building relationships. Once you clearly understand your verticals, you can focus on building relationships with decision-makers. Connect with one or two people a week to something of potential value to them, whether that’s introducing them to another contact or sharing articles and information.  Read Amy’s book, The Modern Seller, to dive into the five capabilities any sales professional should build in themselves and their teams. For more information and content from Amy, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit amyfranko.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are 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

Creating and maintaining a full and robust pipeline of high-quality leads and sales is dramatically easier when utilizing a trust-based sales strategy. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by professional sales coach Chris Morrison to understand how making yourself irreplaceable is the key to securing more high-quality clients. Why be irreplaceable? The name gives it away, but memorizing a sales script isn’t a scalable long-term solution to making more money.  To make yourself irreplaceable, you have to make yourself known. Command trust as a trusted advisor to those around you, whether coworkers, managers, or customers. Have a following or community of people who take your word as trusted advice.  Many sales reps get comfortable and fall into repetition. Understand that salespeople have two battles to fight - one with prospects and one with their company.  Building trust with clients: The two most common outreach methods are still phone and email. However, understanding the best way to get the client persona from Point A to Point B will make outbound messaging drastically more successful.  If a lead is unsure about an immediate purchase, ask to share insights with them over the next 12 months. Whether it’s emails, discord, or a Facebook group, nurturing the leads through a series of problem-solving content based on their root issues will foster that trust. Some sellers think they don’t have time to nurture potential buyers: People talk and interact. Even if someone isn’t willing to buy now, they might buy later or can help refer your company to other clients down the line. Build the skill of trust because it’s a skill you’ll need for the rest of your life. Chris’s final takeaway? Lean into the trust-based pipeline, because not enough people put effort into creating great leads. It all depends on the effort and energy you’re willing to channel into your work to create the best results. For more great content and resources from Chris, connect with him on LinkedIn or join his Facebook Group. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are: 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

Believe it or not, changing your sales communication strategy can be all you need to close more sales! In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CEO and Founder of Ajax Union, Joe Apfelbaum, to learn how he changed his sales approach to land more deals with larger accounts. Break into larger accounts without wasting too much time: Everyone says to go on LinkedIn, but many people don’t understand how to use LinkedIn effectively. Anyone will see through a counterfeit pitch, even if it's just a mutual connection request.  Don’t waste time talking to unqualified leads by creating a strategy to guide your connection requests. Know the buyer, their issues, and their goals to sell effectively. Features tell, stories sell. Become a storyteller to motivate and inspire people to create positive interactions on LinkedIn.  Coaching without permission is criticism, so build rapport (through storytelling) to build the relationship beforehand. When you get a referral, the buyer or prospect doesn’t go to the company's LinkedIn page; they go to yours. Keeping your own page updated is critical to a good interaction. Get familiar with the contact by reading their posts and looking through their content on other platforms to see what you can mention.  To the sellers who say they don’t have the time: It’s much easier to ask a friend for an appointment than a stranger. Build relationships, and you’ll have a perspective of abundance. Set a goal for how many conversations you want per week or month. Start with the end in mind. Joe’s secret? Exposure, credibility, and direct messaging.  LinkedIn has a high organic reach, so post engaging content that grows your personal brand. When interacting with others, discuss something of interest and don’t jump into a sales pitch. Connect with Joe on LinkedIn for more great content, insights, and information. To find more than 200 pages of sales insights and the key to building lasting sales relationships, read Joe’s book High Energy Networking, available on Amazon.  This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are: 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

Some salespeople say LinkedIn doesn’t work for their industry. But LinkedIn is effective! (Chances are, you’re simply not using the platform correctly!) In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald explains the different LinkedIn features available to help make anyone a LinkedIn success. Connect with Donald on LinkedIn to share what features are effective for you that everyone should know! Name Pronunciation By enabling pronunciation on your LinkedIn profile, people can listen to you explaining how to say your name. While simple, this powerful tool will foster better communication and greetings, especially when utilizing cold outreach in the sales process. If your name is easily pronounceable, it’s still a quick intro to your personality and how you approach greetings. Utilizing video in messaging: The video introduction feature on LinkedIn is an opportunity for a more in-depth look at who you are, what you do, and what motivates your professional pursuits.  Engage your audience, direct them to a website, or add a CTA urging people to sign up for your latest class.  When messaging potential leads, supplying video explainers or commentary will build rapport and make you appear more trustworthy than a text message. Utilizing voice in messaging: Recording audio messages is a mobile-only feature that allows you to quickly add an audio component to a message. This is an opportunity to explain your actions, engage your audience, or connect and build rapport. Actually posting content. LinkedIn has close to 800 million active users, but only 2% of users post content regularly. Posting content is one of the most underutilized yet obvious strategies to drive lead growth and offer value to others. If directing people to a website off of LinkedIn, try linking the site in the comments instead of the actual post to generate more impressions. The people who view your profile: Linkedin allows you to see who viewed your profile. While not everyone might apply, this is an excellent database of names to start connecting with potential leads. They clicked on your profile for a reason; you or the other person will benefit from the interaction! This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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

In pretty much any team dynamic, some will perform at their best and some less than up-to-par. So how can we utilize our tech stack to help low-performers blossom into the great sellers we know they can be? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CEO of Logik.io, Chris Shutts, to understand how to best manage and create strong sales teams. It’s commonplace for new sellers to struggle in complex industries. There’s often a massive difference between an experienced rep and a new hire, beyond what experience alone can account for in productivity and time-to-value ratio. Logik.io helps standardize sellers’ effectiveness to help everyone reach quotas and KPIs.  Buyers are becoming very particular in the way they interact with tools. In B2B transactions, people put up with complications. However, that impatience found in B2C transactions are moving into B2B. If your company can respond faster, your margin will grow. Technology helps guide the user. With Logik.io, they want feedback from the sales team to iterate and make it ideal for the users. A $6 billion tech company client self-implemented the platform, and they were a nuanced company with a complex product. With Logik.io, they created a migration path to download data from one tool and upload it into Logik, moving hundreds of models. Because they have so many models, they wanted configuration inside their CPQ tools, primarily Salesforce, and in e-commerce applications. With this platform, any seller can utilize those configurations to help seamlessly provide clients the same value and options. Indicators that mean you might need a tool like Logik.io: All companies want to grow and make transactions more efficient. The problem with existing configuration engines is that they don’t support an omnichannel experience either. From a cost efficiency standpoint, consolidating multiple engines into one for product data maintenance is a great way to reduce administrative workload. Speed of market and new product introductions. Logik.io requires a short window of implementation, helping companies deliver accessible channels quickly. Chris’s final takeaway? There’s a shift in the market, and buyers and sellers are becoming more particular. Sellers want to sell solutions, not bundles of parts. This combination makes Logic an awesome differentiator, and it can help other companies differentiate and compete with others For more information and content, connect with Chris by visiting Logik.io or sending an email at chris@logik.io. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are: 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

Believe it or not, anyone can go from small-scale deals to multi-million dollar closes. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by sales and mindset coach Cheryl Parks to discuss how she gets the right people in the conversation to close large-scale deals. Believe in your own story: You don’t need to be the best salesperson; you need to be the best thing your customers dictate. If you don’t know the answer to something, toss the answer to someone else. Be honest and approach situations as needed. Starting the conversation with larger accounts:  In today’s environment, there are so many more opportunities. Sales is a treasure hunt, not a linear scenario. The insights you provide to a CEO or CFO mean more than just sending a case study or book; be the extra set of eyes and ears that provide concise thoughts. Large deals don’t happen overnight - you need to have conversations, talk to new people, and determine where they spend their time. Go to the companies you are loyal to, because you’ll be more excited about it. Initial messaging outreach: Cheryl teaches the heart-centered framework, and one of the “h”’s is human-to-human contact. Don’t be a robot. Instead, be authentic and show passion for your work to trigger meetings and events that push prospects further into the pipeline. Relationships come from serving and providing value for the prospect. The buyer wants to support the organization and demonstrate competence. What can you provide to help them achieve their own goals and company goals?  Smaller organizations tend to be more agile, adaptable, and long-term. So larger-scale companies can and do work with companies that might be smaller than themselves. How can we make large deals work? Determine their desired outcome, streamline customer experiences, and create specific and actionable reporting.  Throughout her deal, Cheryl based who would be in the meeting depending on who was in their meeting, but remembering there might be more people who need to be in the room.  Cheryl’s parting advice? You’re living in your story, but change what story you tell yourself. Write affirmations to speak your future into existence. Walk yourself out of your shortcomings to go beyond your comfort zone. For more information, content, and advice from Cheryl, visit her website thesalesgrowth.com or connect with her on LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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

Unsurprisingly, most people work to get paid (a wild concept, I know.) Despite that, navigating and creating a proper pay scale for sales teams is a seemingly complex and difficult process. How can we create a pay scale that works for the organization and the workers themselves? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CRO of LinkSquares, Steve Travaglini, to discuss what he does to strike a balance between these two sides.  Salary open for negotiation in sales roles doesn’t make sense. If you have two people doing the exact same job, they should be paid the same. Pay isn’t the way to motivate people. If you pay people differently, that will eventually get out and will result in a lack of trust in the organization. Base salaries should be standard across a job title, but allow the variable income (i.e. commission) to determine how much a seller’s skills allow them to make.  There should be no questions or ambiguous items when an employee signs a compensation agreement. Set the rules before you play the game. What items do sellers find annoying in the compensation package? Having different salaries but the same amount of experience should be a nonstarter. Structure annual bonuses around the hiring period, not the calendar year to give everyone an equal chance of reaching that quota.  Implement rewards and compensations beyond strictly monetary like parental leave, benefits, and even stocks or an owner’s portion of the company to keep employees satisfied. Consider advertising jobs based on income; it shouldn’t be the taboo topic that it is currently.  Steve’s average retention v. other tech companies: Typically tech companies aim to be in the 50-75% range of employee This year, Steve’s company is around 80% retention and historically around 70%.  They take risks on sellers with no experience or without the 5-6 years of closing experience, people expect to see. It all comes down to the product and the company; you can be great at your craft, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be world-class at every company. Steve’s final takeaway? Don’t forget what it’s like to be the rep. Listen to the account executives and those around you; put together a benefits package you would’ve appreciated if you were in their role. To get in contact with Steve, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit Linksquares.com to view available job openings (but he always enjoys a custom LinkedIn DM.) This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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