The Sales Evangelist

We already know that the discovery meeting is an important part of the sales process. In this episode, we’ll talk about the best ways to structure your discovery calls and improve outcomes.  Structuring your Discovery Calls Salespeople accomplish more selling by how they structure and conduct the discovery meetings. You accomplish more by how you ask and how you pitch.  Discovery precedes presentation. We first need to understand why we’re doing this.  You need to get the customers comfortable with you. You have to build credibility so that the customers and potential clients are willing to talk to us.  Salespeople are not “Yes-man” people. We need to level the playing field. We can’t go thinking that we’re winning the deals by scoring obedience points.  It’s critical to understand the purpose of discovery.  Salespeople have two missions:    To produce the most value and the best outcome for the customers To give ourselves the best chance of winning the deal   There’s this obedient salesperson in us that tends to break the rules if an interested client comes in. We skip the discovery meeting phase and go directly into the sales journey. But this sends out a message that you don’t care much about the discovery phase.  It is important to own the process. Let the customers jump through some hoops. Let them know that they also need to do their part if they want to partner with you.  Without the discovery process, you won’t know what they need and you won’t be able to tailor your presentations when you’re talking to people. You also won’t be able to understand how they make the decision.  As salespeople, we need to understand their pain, their frustrations, and their challenges.  “Discovery: Best Ways to Structure Your Discovery Calls and Improve Outcomes” episode resources Connect and follow Mike Weinberg on LinkedIn. Grab a copy of his book New Sales Simplified. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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. 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

This episode is sponsored by: Skipio - Get one month free on an Individual plan with code TSE, or, 2 free seats/licenses on Teams. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. NetHunt - NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  We’ve talked about the importance of the discovery meeting in the previous episode. This time, Jeff Bounds talks about the powerful questions to ask during your discovery meeting.  The discovery meeting conversation  The drama Glengarry Glen Ross and all the other movies impressed on many the importance of closing. People are buying closing books and closing materials because that’s how we have been preconditioned.  People see the close because it's part of the exchange. It’s the part that you see below the tip of the iceberg.  Without discovery meetings, salespeople are just seeing the clip and not the story.  Jeff talked to hundreds, if not thousands, of salespeople and he saw that the biggest ingredient that many don’t appreciate is the use of appropriate questions. Many salespeople also don’t think much of what’s in it for the buyers. These things prevent many from going to the next level.  At the end of the day, it’s not about you. It’s about them. It’s not about what matters to you but on what matters to the buyers.  Most salespeople often assume: we assume that we understand the product, we assume that we know what the buyers want, and more.  The assumption is one of the worst things that you can do because 9 out of 10 times, you can be wrong.  Without probing and without asking the right questions, you won’t be able to find out what your prospects are trying to accomplish.  Salespeople continue to use the canned sales pitch even when it doesn’t often work. At the end of the day, it comes across as inauthentic and people can see through that.  People process visual images at 10 million bits per second. In that sense, salespeople are artists and we all need to paint a good picture for our clients.  Ask the right questions Salespeople need to ask the right questions and often, these are difficult probing questions to ask.  The hard questions allow you to anchor on the objections before they even happen.  Try to get into the emotions of the prospects because people buy on emotion and then they justify it with logic.  Roleplay is one of the best things you can do to prepare yourself and other salespeople in your team as well.  Jeff shares this quote, ‘Prepare more and practice, then you’ll bleed less in war.’ It means preparing yourself well and leveraging your power of prediction in any aspect of the sales process.  No matter what you’re doing, before you pick up the phone and make that call, you need to understand the space, the pain points, and what’s going on in the marketplace. When you’re calling with the clients, you’ll be able to provide valuable information, ask the right questions, and bring up ideas to get the conversation going.  What you need in the discovery process You need clarity and you need to understand from the prospects’ side, especially their gain and the things they want to accomplish.  Try this little exercise:  Get a piece of paper and write down three things. These are the reasons why people aren’t buying from you. These are the things that prevent you from getting the deal.    Fear Uncertainty Doubts   Discovery: Powerful Questions to Ask During Your Discovery Meeting” episode resources Follow Jeff Bounds on LinkedIn. You can also check out his website. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Get one month free on an Individual plan with code TSE, or, 2 free seats/licenses on Teams. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is also brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.  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. 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 today’s episode, Donald Kelly talks about the reasons why your discovery meeting is the most critical of all when it comes to sales.  The challenging part of the sales process Many people make the mistake of taking discovery meetings for granted during the sales process.  There are typically two sides of the sales process: the prospecting side and the closing side.  The prospecting side is the hustle part that many salespeople don’t care for as much.  The closing side is when the transaction is completed.  Another critical part of the sales journey is the discovery meeting.  Sometimes, salespeople assume things about their clients and prospects without checking in with them. They go to the presentation right away and do it beautifully, too. They are taken aback when the prospect doesn't close the deal with them.  For Donald, the discovery part of your sales process is more important than the close.  Without discovery, you won’t be able to close.  You have prospects that do not fit your product and services. There could be any number of reasons why these prospects are not a fit. Probing, digging, and getting information will help you disqualify prospects.  Salespeople should focus more on disqualifying the prospects instead of trying hard to quality them. You want to get rid of the ones that don’t fit the bill to focus on the ones that do fit the bill.  Discovery meeting allows you to do the following:  Understand the needs of the client and understand our capabilities.  We understand how they’re going to make decisions for our solution. We understand what they know and help them implement the solution.  Lastly, it allows us to understand who will make the decision and the money they’re going to spend  As salespeople, you need to understand and establish that there is a need rather than hear them saying that they’re doing research and they’re trying to figure out what works for them.  The first phase is to disqualify the prospect. Ask them questions and figure out if they have a need for your services or solutions.  Your second phase is the demonstration and the proposal.  You shouldn’t be overcoming major objections at this point because you’ve already done that in the discovery.  Some salespeople make the mistake of becoming too focused on the discovery process and then don’t keep that attention throughout the process.  Your goal is to have natural conversations with the buyers and give them a valuable purchasing experience.  Doing effective discovery is difficult work. It requires you to ask adult questions and have adult discussion but these conversations will help you take out the objections.  “Discovery Meeting: Why Your Discovery Meeting is the Most Critical of All” episode resources Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  Try Pipedrive today for FREE! As a TSE listener, PipeDrive is offering you an EXTENDED trial beyond the typical 30 days + 25% off your first three months after trial. Try it today at  → https://pipedrive.live/tse use your code: pipedrivetse.  This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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. 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

This episode is sponsored by: Skipio - Get one month free on an Individual plan with code TSE, or, 2 free seats/licenses on Teams. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. NetHunt - NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse Diversity is a result of numerous kinds of efforts, and we’re focusing today on underrepresented sellers. As a sales leader, how can you offer a hand up to underrepresented sellers? Marchello Arcelay is a waste stream analyst in Metro Atlanta and he works with small to medium sized companies to provide them with sustainable waste solutions. He helps small to medium sized restaurants or Fortune 500 companies who want to reduce their carbon footprint. He also has a show called Cocktails with Chello and he streams it live on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.  Helping new and underrepresented people  You have to exercise caution when helping people of color in the sales industry. Help others with willingness and an open mind.  It’s important to create different milestones to ensure that the people you are helping are on track.  When you help others, you just don’t help them with a certain aspect. Your goal is to help them through the entire process.  You don’t just give them the tools without teaching them how to use them or without giving them a follow-up.  It’s equally important that you hold them accountable for the milestones that you give them.  You don’t need to go straight away to help. First, you need to build trust and rapport. Go for a casual conversation at first.  You can also use social media platforms. Create groups and promote them to your network. Tell them about your goals of helping other people, especially those who are new to sales or those who are from underrepresented groups.  Don’t limit your help and offer to people of color because then, you’re not promoting diversity and you won't get the momentum that you want and need.  “Diversity: How Can I Offer a Hand Up to Underrepresented Sellers?” episode resources Connect with Marchello Arcelay on LinkedIn today. You can also check out his YouTube channel here to see his show, Cocktails with Chello. You can also call him at +678-683-9136 Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Get one month free on an Individual plan with code TSE, or, 2 free seats/licenses on Teams. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is also brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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. 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

The conversation about building a diverse sales team is an important one, and in this episode, Donald Kelly hosts a roundtable discussion about why a diverse team should be built.  The importance of a diverse team Without a diverse team, you are missing out on the insight that you need to work with the diverse buyers out there.  There’s not just one type of buyer; there are diverse types of buyers especially in the technology space. A company with just one type of person misses out on the connection with so many different people.  Driving for maximum outcomes means capturing the perspective of diverse buyers and relating to them.  Without diversity in your organization, you are limiting the creativity, flexibility, and performance of the team.  The same is true for sports managers who aren’t open to diverse talents, backgrounds, ethnicities, and more.  Diversity allows everyone to learn from each other. Women, for example, are socialized differently.  It’s necessary to have an open mindset and to believe that there’s more than one way to have success.  It all comes down to leadership. They must be proactive and intentional in the plans of building diversity. When you are in a leadership position, you have the power to bring someone up or bring someone in that can produce at a high level.  Recruiting people is important, and the same is true for retaining them. You need to make sure that you support the new people in your team and that you provide them with a nurturing environment.  Changing the policies If you see that there’s a lack of diversity within the organization, don’t hesitate to talk about it and point it out. It’s okay to mention that there’s a person in the team who could contribute to the diversity of the organization.  You need to be transparent and ask the members of your team about the things you can do to improve diversity. Even if you’re not a leader, you can still make changes.  Ask insightful questions to help the customers think about their strategy and their processes.  Do not be afraid of asking the hard questions of your customers. The same should hold true in not being afraid of asking the hard questions to the leaders in your organization.  Change is difficult for everyone so leaders need to care. Anita Nielsen advocates using high-impact questions with customers to get to their emotions quickly.  People like people who are like them. Likeability is an important part of persuasion. Diversity is life or death. The whole concept of diversity is very important. Diversity is more than just business. It goes beyond it, especially in this day and age. “Diversity: ROUND TABLE - Why You Should Consider Building a Diverse Sales Team” episode resources Follow Anita Anita Nielsen on LinkedIn. Get a copy of her book Beat the Bots: How Your Humanity Can Future-Proof Your Tech Sales Career here. Follow Larry Long on LinkedIn.  Dre Smith’s LinkedIn is here.  Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  This episode is also partly brought to you by Wingman. Wingman uses AI-software to empower remote sales teams with conversation intelligence, actionable insights on successful playbooks and delivers real-time coaching. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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

There are many black women in sales and despite the challenges, they keep on moving forward to have success. Tune in as today’s guest, Cynthia Barnes, speaks of the challenges affecting black women in sales.  Cynthia Barnes is the founder and CEO of the National Association of Women Sales Professionals. It’s a member-based organization of women who sell B2B services in a male-dominated industry such as SAAS (Software as a Service), tech, cloud, and others. The organization provides two things to its members: access to laser-focused companies on achieving parity for women in sales and training created by women for women to reach the top 1%.  Women’s’ participation in sales Anytime there’s an underrepresented population, there will always be challenges that are specific to them and vice-versa.  When women are working from home, they aren’t only employees. They are also mothers and wives. They juggle three or more different roles all at the same time.  These women are doing a good job of making sure that they’re staying balanced, but that comes at a price. Sometimes at the expense of their mental health.  When women give so much to their company, to their husbands, and their kids, they have nothing left for themselves.  Cynthia emphasizes the thought that you can’t pour from an empty cup. You always need to fill the cup to be a rockstar at work, home, and with the kids.  Organizations can make a difference in ensuring that their employees are appropriately compensated and given the work-life balance they need.  When sales members are well taken care of and they’re engaged, their output greatly improves. The money organizations put into their employee care is an investment.  The expression, ‘Happy wife, happy life,’ is also applicable at work. If women in sales are happy, engaged, supported, and heard, they’ll be able to perform better. As it is, women already outsell men by 5%. With that support system at work, women can do so much more.  Challenges women face in sales Sales leaders who did not grow up with a diverse background will less likely prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion because it’s only thought to get more revenue, not an actual idea where they feel and see tangible results.   With the racial and systemic bias in the previous year, many companies wanted to get women in sales. They wanted not only black women but also the other underrepresented minorities.  The problem is that there are no programs in place to elevate women in sales. They only attract them but they do not make an effort to retain them.  There are still no organizational changes that make the women feel respected, welcomed, and represented.  When it comes to bringing in more diversity to the table, all you often see is a team of leaders who are all men.  Women are leaving the workforce because they can’t be a wife, a mother, and a teacher at the same time.  It’s about creating a culture of belonging. Women should have a voice at the table, not just a seat. They need to be heard and to be treated fairly.  Breaking the barriers There should be more women in leadership roles.  As a leader of an organization for women in sales, part of Cynthia’s responsibility is to empower women to have the right mindset, get the right verbiage, and build awareness around microaggressions.  Women shouldn’t sit idly waiting for the opportunities that they’ve already earned.  Women should be the change that they want to see.  “Diversity: Challenges Affecting Black Women in Sales?” episode resources Connect with Cynthia Barnes on LinkedIn. You can also check out their official site here.  Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  Try Pipedrive today for FREE! As a TSE listener, PipeDrive is offering you an EXTENDED trial beyond the typical 30 days + 25% off your first three months after trial. Try it today at  → https://pipedrive.live/tse use your code: pipedrivetse.  This episode is also partly brought to you by Wingman. Wingman uses AI-software to empower remote sales teams with conversation intelligence, actionable insights on successful playbooks, and delivers real-time coaching. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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

Diversity and inclusion are important in sales but what do these things mean exactly?  In today’s episode, Stephen Hart and Sharon Manker are joining Donald in talking about what diversity and inclusion mean in sales.  Diversity and inclusion in sales Diversity is being invited to the table and inclusion means having a seat at the table to participate in whatever opportunity there is.  It’s not just about getting the seat at the table but it’s also about having the equity component. We need to break down the unconscious biases that we have. We need to employ true diversity, equity, and inclusion not only in the sales team but also in an organization as a whole.  For the black men and women, what the media portrays of us doesn’t really represent who we are.  Growing up, you may have developed a certain mindset towards people of color and that translates into the workplace. Naturally, you gravitate towards the things that you know and what you’ve been taught.  There are biases that we were brought up with that we need to check at  the door.  Getting over the things that you’ve been taught is an uncomfortable conversation. There’s a need for willingness and openness to have these difficult conversations.  There are things that you can do to change the cycle and have more diversity and inclusion in your organization even if you’re only a small group.  Shaping the culture Culture is very important. Sharon’s organization is very committed to the culture of inclusion and diversity. They recently hired a Chief Diversity Officer, an initiative that highlights the differences. There's self-reporting that employees can do. You can go and report that you’re an LGBTQ without any repercussions.  You need to be comfortable in the skin that you’re in when you go to work.  Organizations should encourage people to have difficult conversations to ensure that the culture is sustainable. It needs a top-down approach where people at the top invite everyone to be heard.  The goal is to create an environment in the workplace where everyone can talk about the biases and differences. Every member of the organization should be able to see each other and be able to show empathy.  Organizations should champion training everyone on unconscious biases, on how to talk about difficult conversations, and how to be advocates.  Expanding the workforce for people of color At the end of the day,  you're going to hire the most suitable person for the role. But it’s also important that organizations represent society and have different perspectives in the team.  If everyone is looking through one lens, then you’re missing an opportunity.  The more you know, the more you grow. In sales, the more you know of the things that you’re trying to achieve, the more likely you’ll get success.  Unless you have a diversity of thoughts in the team, you won’t have innovation.  Unless you are inclusive, you won’t know what else is out there.  “Diversity: What Do Diversity and Inclusion Mean in Sales?” episode resources Connect with Sharon Manker on LinkedIn. You can also connect with Stephen Hart on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram or visit his site here.  Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is also partly brought to you by Wingman. Wingman uses AI-software to empower remote sales teams with conversation intelligence, actionable insights on successful playbooks, and delivers real-time coaching.  This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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. 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 matters of diversity, salespeople can’t help but sometimes ask,’Do Americans have racial bias with who they buy from?’  Kwame Christian has both a law and business background. He understands the issue of whether Americans have a bias from who they buy from, and he is doing bias training to help companies understand the importance of knowing humans on a deep fundamental level.  The existence of bias In truth, everybody has biases. It is a by-product of a naturally functioning brain.  Bias doesn’t make you bad.  It only becomes a problem if you are aware of your biases and you don’t do something about it.  It’s important to raise awareness to help people make better decisions.  Americans have biases with the way they buy. Salespeople need to determine what those biases are and create strategies to try to work around them.  Biases cut both ways - there are positive biases and negative biases.  You are more likely to know, like, and trust people who are like you and people who are represented frequently in the media. The reality is that regardless of race and color, we all share the same media representations repeatedly. It’s not only the Caucasians who would favor white people, but even some people of color also favor white people too.  Changing your perception The change has to start with self-awareness because you can’t do anything about any obstacle unless you know that it exists.  As a salesperson of color, you need to be aware of the bias working against you. You need to learn how to tip the scale in your favor in terms of the positive bias.  Salespeople of color need to be more mindful in creating unique opportunities to make positive touchpoints with the people they want to work with. Spend a little more time building rapport and making people feel comfortable. If a white salesperson allocated three minutes for pleasantries during a call, then a black salesperson needs to allocate seven minutes for pleasantries before moving to the business side of things.  You need to make more effort at the beginning of the interaction to ensure that the person you are speaking with feels comfortable with who you are as a person and what you bring to the table before you transition to the other side of the dialogue.  Once they recognize that you’re legit, that you have intelligent quantities and value, then pushing through the barriers will become easier.  As a white buyer, you need to recognize how your bias impacts your decisions. “Diversity: Do Americans Have Racial Bias With Who They Buy From” episode resources Connect with Kwame Christian on LinkedIn and check out this podcast as well. If you want more tips on how to be a genius in negotiating, check out their official website.  Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is also partly brought to you by Wingman. Wingman uses AI-software to empower remote sales teams with conversation intelligence, actionable insights on successful playbooks and delivers real-time coaching.   This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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. 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

The sales space is a huge industry but it needs more diversity. In this episode, DeJuan Brown talks about how we remove the barriers to sales for people of color.  Studies show that 78.9% of salespeople in all industries are white, 11.2% are tan, and the remaining percentage is divided into various ethnicities. There is so much success in sales but there are barriers - both visible and not so visible to many.  The barriers in sales Job descriptions can become a barrier, especially for black people. These are individuals who do not have much experience in a specific space. Some jobs need 7-10 years of experience before one can even get a nod for an interview.  There’s also the perception that sellers don’t make money and that a career in sales is just a plan B, C, or D.  In some communities, there’s still a stigma on salespeople. They’re the ones you shut your door to, they are the car dealers, the door-to-door insurance man, and other undesirable roles.  Changing the mindset Sales leaders and professionals who have experienced in sales and who have seen saw how it  can could support families for generations have to be vocal. T, they need to speak up, and start talking to break the stigma.  Salespeople who are achieving success in the sales world need to put their success on display to attract other people into the sales space. It’s essential to help these people to make it in sales and get themselves past the door.  Some people already have the skills to get into sales and succeed in it but they lack the right mindset. As sales leaders, your goal is to put that spark in them, to bring them along for the ride, and teach them what they can do.  There is a need to attract a new generation of salespeople and when you do that, you need to have a place for them to grow. They need guidance on how to navigate the sales space to avoid the pitfalls.  Job description is a barrier and many companies today are eliminating cutting people off right off out the bat because of it. Organizations are looking for years and years of experience that many do not have. What they do have is the right attitude but they don’t get to show their tenacity off because they’ve been cut off by the experience requirement.  Young black people who want to get into the sales space need good mentors. They need to be taught the truth that sometimes companies are looking for people who can do the job right and who have the right attitude.  Aspiring salespeople need to lean into communities, gain get confidence from their mentors, and have the humility to ask for help in improving their skills.  Companies right now are looking for ways to make gender-neutral job descriptions. DeJuan, however, would like to see that same effort to create job descriptions that wouldn’t box people out.  DeJuan encourages sales leaders today to keep learning from the people before them, to keep learning and sharpening one another, look for ways to help others get into the sales space, and ensure that these new salespeople are properly equipped.  “Diversity: How Do We Remove the Barriers to Sales for People of Color?” episode resources De Juan and other great minded individuals who were also mentioned in this podcast created a community called Sales for the Culture. It’s a community to attract and empower black people in technology sales. Check out the community on LinkedIn.  Connect with DeJuan Brown on LinkedIn, Marcus Knight, and Jacob Gebrewold.  Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is also partly brought to you by Wingman. Wingman uses AI-software to empower remote sales teams with conversation intelligence, actionable insights on successful playbooks and delivers real-time coaching. This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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. 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

For an organization to succeed, it is important for sales leaders to see the benefits of building a diverse sales team. In this episode, Donald talks about three reasons why diversity and inclusion are important.  The sales statistics The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2019 that 86% of sales managers were white and 80% of people in the sales occupation are white as well.  Sales is a great field and a huge one. There is still so much space and room for more people.  Three reasons why diversity and inclusion are important It helps you understand your clients better.  A study of the Harvard Business Review in 2013 showed that organizations with sellers who share the same ethnicity as their clientele were  152% more likely to understand their clients’ needs better.  Putting people of the same culture and ethnicity creates a  connection that would help the sales progress. Clients and prospects are more at ease and relaxed when they speak with sales reps who share their culture.  It improves employee engagement A  Gallup poll in 2018 shared that companies with engaged employees achieve 4x the growth of their competitors. This means that if the employees are engaged and they’re enjoying the atmosphere, they are bound to grow.  Building connection is hard but if you have a diverse team, there is better engagement among team members and it encourages participation. Every member of the team will feel understood and will  feel like they belong,  Based on the study, organizations lose about $480 billion a year in productivity because of disengaged employees.   Increase in market share The diverse sales team reports a 40% increase in their market share.  There can be many contributing factors to this including the fact that your team can go to different communities and areas to look for people they can connect with.  Have a good mix of people in your team and build it in a diverse way.  “Diversity: 3 Benefits of Building a Diverse Sales Team” episode resources Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.  Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is also partly brought to you by Wingman. Wingman uses AI-software to empower remote sales teams with conversation intelligence, actionable insights on successful playbooks and delivers real-time coaching.   This course is 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 free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey 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. 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