The Sales Evangelist

In this day and age, how can salespeople schedule appointments when so many people are working from home? Tune in as Maddy Martin talks about prospecting in the modern sales world.  Scheduling appointments in the remote working scene The work-from-home setting has a huge impact on sales especially in website chat messages, missing calls, and others. The impact is also apparent with what your next steps will be for the leads that are coming through.  Every single call and chat is precious. This truth makes you realize that how you do in that first conversation is the most critical step.  It’s important to take that first incoming call or you do something about the first message. Salespeople have to be ready to respond and answer the calls at all times because your follow-up and other efforts will be in vain when you don’t take the first opportunity that prospects present to you.  There is a debate between profit and productivity. There’s a question of whether you can interrupt your day for every inbound new lead.  Screening and then scheduling are the most important workflows that you need to do to determine if you’ve asked the right person and identify if the prospect is right for the business.  Sales is all about preparedness. It’s important to lock in the prospect by scheduling it in your calendar. You can’t be available every second of the day but you can be open to having the appointments scheduled to be able to prepare properly. Create a system that allows you to do other sales activities and let other people help fill in your calendar with qualified leads. You need to focus your energy on walking people through your business to the point that they’re ready to sign an agreement with you because nobody else can do that better than you.  There are several tools for scheduling available today - Calendly, Acuity, and ScheduleOnce. All these are only for a few bucks a month. With these tools, you don’t need to spend so much time hiring new people.  Make sure to have a quality lead list to begin with. Know your target audience and your ideal client profile and hone that. You can give that list to Smith.ai, a superior virtual receptionist, and they will do the outbound calls for you.  At the moment, Smith.ai does social via Facebook Messenger.  Most times, your ideal clients are busy during the day. On these remote-working days, you need to be available at that time when your prospects and clients are available.  Always be on the channel where the conversations are happening about your business. This may be Facebook groups and pages. These groups are active throughout the day so look for clients there, know what they’re talking about, their concerns, and be a part of the conversation.  One effective approach is to give your prospects a video that would help them prepare as well.  Businesses that charge for consultations can integrate a payment system as well or attach an invoice link that prospects or clients can click into.  When scheduling an appointment, it’s best to ask a couple of questions ahead of time to establish expertise and control. Your goal is to establish your position in the relationship properly.  “Prospecting: Scheduling Appointments When so Many People are Working from Home’” episode resources Connect with Maddy Martin via LinkedIn. You can call 657-276-484 to start your Smith.ai experience today. Use the code sales evangelist to get $100 off for the first month.  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

Sales reps can’t spend all their time nurturing a prospect. It is difficult, however, to just decide to stop. In that case, you may ask, “How can I tell when it’s time to consider a prospect close-lost?”  Learn more in this episode.  A close-lost deal For Guil, a deal is never lost in the sense that once you start building a relationship with someone, you should keep that relationship alive for as long as it takes.  Some prospects need more work and time than others.  It’s not a closed deal when the prospect has been qualified after you’ve done your discovery call and you’ve seen that there’s a huge opportunity there. It may only mean that the prospect needs more time and push to get converted.  In this case, it means that as a sales leader, it’s your responsibility to take the lead.  Salespeople must be clear of their next steps. It’s not enough to hop on a call with a prospect and just bid them goodbye with a promised email sent to their inbox later on. You need to be clear of what you’re going to do next whether it’s scheduling an appointment with the prospect or others. Most salespeople make the mistake of not planning ahead and not putting a timeline to their plans.  Instead of deciding that a deal is dead, it’s better to put the prospect in a nurturing funnel where they get a monthly email from the company. It may be valuable content relevant to them or just actionable tips they can do.  It’s not advisable to put the prospect in an inbound machine when the deal is taking too long.  Don’t make the mistake of deciding that a prospect is dead when you haven’t done your research. In the end, you may be ending a deal without knowing that the person you were talking to wasn’t even a decision-maker in the company.  Focus on building relationships and focus on discovery.  Build your personal brand on LinkedIn and let people know what you do and what value you offer.  A deal can be lost for a specific moment but it might not be lost forever.  The end game is always building relationships and bringing in value.  When a salesperson loses faith in the relationship you’ve built with the prospect, then that can be a sign that deal is lost.  Remember, you don’t need to proverbially bend your knee or do what you wouldn’t do just for a deal to happen. Don’t waste your effort and time on prospects who don’t share and appreciate the value you bring to the table.  You don’t need disappointed customers. What you need are clients who are satisfied and happy with the services you offer and who would potentially refer your business to other people.  “Prospecting: How can I Tell When It’s Time to Consider a Prospect “Close-Lost?” episode resources Follow Guillaume Moubeche on LinkedIn. You can also check out the tool, lemlist. A tool that allows you to send effective cold emails that get attention.  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

Not all deals come to a close, so when a deal doesn’t close, how long should you wait before re-engaging the prospect? David Perry speaks in length about closing in today’s episode.  Re-engaging the prospects David is a big fan of value selling.  Value selling is part of the training that enterprise sellers can go through. It is a value-based approach which is a seemingly simple framework on the surface but with a lot of power behind it.  Looking at frameworks is helpful when conversing with other salespeople or whoever is involved in the deal.  The more you look at the framework, the more you are able to see the things that are taking priority in the organization at a given moment.  There are top three reasons why deals don’t close:  The lack of access to power Timing The lack of articulation of value or tying it to the key master sector business issue Sales reps, however, have a whole array of reasons why deals don’t close.  Value selling is very difficult since every customer has their own view and perspective of what value is. You need to be able to translate that value for it to be considered value for the overall organization.  Before re-engaging the prospect, you will want to make sure that the team has a clear idea of what the gap is. Brainstorm with the team about the issues and forecast the additional risks that you will have when you re-engage with a prospect.  All the issues with the deal must be discussed with the rest of the team no matter how minute those issues may be.  When you are having a problem re-engaging the prospect even when the deal is almost at the end of the line, it’s good to take a step back and identify the bad signal and whether it’s the lack of access to power or something else.  At the end of the day, your first step is to call or email the prospect to try and get back on their calendar.  Chapter 11 of David’s book, Game of Sales: Lessons Learned Working at Adobe, Google, and IBM, lists all the value sources that you can use as hooks for re-engaging and catching the attention of your prospects.  With huge deals and with so much at stake, it’s normal to feel like the deal is dead several times over.  Reaching an impasse doesn’t mean that you have to let go of the deal.  It’s important to always be prepared no matter who you meet, especially if you are meeting with the executives. Make sure to learn what you can before the arranged meeting. Identify their style and make sure to adapt and adjust.  Make sure to highlight the risks of the deal to the executives. Transparency is important.  “Prospecting: When a Deal Doesn’t Close, How Long Should I Wait Before Re-Engaging the Prospect?” episode resources Follow David Perry on LinkedIn. You can also check out his book, Game of Sales: Lessons Learned Working at Adobe, Google, and IBM on Amazon or get the PDF here. You can check more resources here.  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

It’s not uncommon to have unresponsive prospects. In situations such as that, what are the best sales strategy for engaging unresponsive prospects? Engaging unresponsive prospects Fred is a one-call closer and while he could write a book on different strategies, he thinks that unconventional closing is not for him.  Fred suggests for salespeople to relax and stop stressing themselves out looking for the right strategy and method.  He uses the acronym WIIFM or What’s Iin Iit Ffor Mme. This is his magic in selling anything to anybody.  Nobody wants to be sold but everybody wants to buy. You need to first and foremost figure out what your prospect wants.  As salespeople, we need to stop looking at prospects as prospects;, we need to start looking at them as potential friends.  Most salespeople are educators because they we need to show the prospects why the service or product is to their benefit.  People who want what you have won’t run from you.  Every salesperson needs to have an elevator pitch. You have to say something that’s going to make you look up.   Salespeople often make the mistake of not investing in prospecting. They We invest in other things such as clothes and sales but  they we forget to invest in prospecting.  If you do prospecting correctly, you will close unbelievably well.  Remember that a decision-maker is a person. No matter how big the company you are selling to, you will still talk to the decision-maker.  Look at the gatekeeper as the decision-maker to get past the door.  Closing the sale doesn’t always mean that the deal is done. It may also mean other things such as being able to cut the cycle in half.  It is very important to just be yourself and to create a plan for every meeting and every phone call.  Always keep your elevator pitch ready to grab people’s’ attention.  Find something that you have in common with the person you’re talking to on the phone. Talk about it with them to keep them in the conversation.  The more personal you can get, the deeper rapport you are able to build.  Fred’s mentor, Zig Ziglar, said, ‘Forget the canned presentation, go with a planned presentation.’  In whatever sales presentation you do, always ask what’s in it for you and then put yourself in the prospects’ shoes. Think of the things that they want to hear and go from there.  “Prospecting: What’s the Best Sales Strategy for Engaging Unresponsive Prospects?” episode resources Connect with Fred Freundlich via his 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

As a salesperson in sales, have you asked other successful salespeople this question, “Is there magic involved in grabbing the attention of your prospects?” If yes, how did they respond? In this episode, Daniel and Eliott talk about how you can grab your prospects’ attention.  Prospecting the right way It’s the basics that help you win the fight and remember that you never train hard enough on the basics.  People use their mailbox the least. Their email inbox, Facebook ad LinkedIn messenger, and their text threads ate all blown up with messages. It’s too crowded.  Sending something to people via their mailbox is an attention-grabbing technique.  Presenting things in a different way disrupts the regular pattern and prompts people to pay attention.  Donald and Elliott sent Donald their book but instead of just a book, it was their book in a box. There was a jiu-jitsu white belt in it, a note, and other information related to the book.  The mailbox is another perfect way to create curiosity. Sending out something unique will help you stand out and grab the attention of your prospects.  It doesn't have to cost much but it should show how much care it took to prepare the package. It’s part of the reason why people are then obligated to see and talk to you because they know how much time it took for you to send the mail.  Grab your prospect's attention  If you’re trying to get attention in a crowded economy, you need to be different and you need to be doing something new. As a sales rep, you need to be bold.   You need to take a bold approach, think outside the box, and to take a stance on what you want to try out.  When you get a meeting with a prospect, make it your goal to geek out with them. Follow the five-point of contact rule: spend five minutes on Google, YouTube, Facebook, or LinkedIn profiles of your prospect and look for something that will allow you to genuinely geek out with them.  It’s important to build that deep rapport. It means getting a clear picture of who they are, their interests, their attitude, their problems, and more.  As a salesperson, try to serve the prospects and give them what they need regardless whether they know or do not know it.  Another way to grab the attention of your customers is by creating events as it allows you to make set up your own stage  Sales professionals don’t wait for things to come to them, they take action and make things happen.  You want to become an expert in your field and you do that by putting great content out there and by establishing yourself as an authority on the industry that you’re focused on. Ask yourself, what else of you is out in the world? Sales is about service; this is the number one reason why people are coming back to you and why they’ll keep buying from you. It’s because they were served, and not just sold to.  Develop a powerful system by creating a post-mortem after every engagement and learn the lessons well.  “Prospecting: Is There Magic Involved in Grabbing the Attention of Your Prospects?” episode resources Check out their book, Sales Jiu-Jitsu: The Secret Back Belt System for Champion Leaders here. You can also visit the site for more tools. Follow Daniel Moskowitz and Elliott Bayev on LinkedIn too.  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

We are welcoming the new year with a new podcast entitled, ‘Selling in Color.’ It’s a new podcast designed to help salespeople weather the challenges in the sales world.  Looking back The Sales Evangelist podcast started eight years ago and we’re now at about 1,400 episodes. TSE has also produced about 3.45 million downloads to the podcast.  All these episodes have helped many people, organizations, and families to progress. The podcast is a powerful avenue to share ideas.  Martin Luther King said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.’ Sales is difficult because sometimes, people don’t accept the solutions that you offer them or they don’t realize the problem in the first place.  There are so many different opportunities available to us when we come together.  2020 was a tough year: the pandemic happened, George Floyd happened, and others. After Floyd, many people have asked where the black people in sales are.  There are black sales leaders and sales reps out there and there are different challenges tied to them. In truth, minorities are facing a lot of challenges when it comes to the corporate scene for selling.  Major companies out there do not have diverse teams. There’s too much inclusion in most teams, including sales.  Sales is a very rewarding career and you can use it to help your family.  According to the Bureau of Labor Management, 79.8% of people in sales are white and 11.2% are black. The other 10% consists of other nationalities. There are many reasons for this. It might be because they don’t realize how rewarding sales is or they weren’t given the opportunity to try a career in sales.   There are so many topics unique to minorities that need to be addressed.  ‘Selling in Color’ podcast The podcast is launching on February 15. It’s a show dedicated to helping people of color understand more about sales, understand the opportunities, and discuss the challenges specific to the minorities of people of color.  It would help minorities to reach out to the right people for mentorship and to get access to quality sales.  This is a movement to more inclusiveness in sales and to get more minorities involved in sales.  “Introducing the ‘Selling in Color’” episode resources Help out or learn more by going to tsestudios.io/sic. You can also check out other podcasts while you’re there as well.  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

LinkedIn is a good place to prospect. In this episode, listen and learn as Brynne Tillman and Donald talk about how to convert your LinkedIn connections into meaningful conversations.  When is LinkedIn ineffective? Back in the early months of 2020, people connected with others and then threw their pitch in. This was ineffective.  Today, salespeople are so desperate that they put their pitches in their connection request message.  Salespeople are becoming more and more desperate that they no longer know how to get other people’s attention.  Brynne calls it  pitch slapping, and it’s not a good approach because  it turns people off.  LinkedIn has become a platform where people are getting all kinds of notifications left and right.  This approach is not only ineffective, it’s also damaging.  We all want to have as many conversations as possible on LinkedIn but what we don’t want to do is sell on LinkedIn.  When connecting with people on LinkedIn, treat them and talk to them as if they’re on the other side of the table. This is what real-life networking is all about.  You would never walk up to a person in real life and right then and there introduce yourself and reach out. The same is true on LinkedIn.  Building LinkedIn connections the right way As salespeople, always remember that you need to earn the right to get a conversation. You can’t assume that they want to talk to you when they’re getting several other connections in a day.  Connecting with them is not an agreement that they will be having a conversation with you. You need to earn the right to keep moving forward. How? Position your profile as a resource. People will look at your profile when you connect with them. They need to see that you can provide value.  Your profile’s goal is to get people to stay. It has to do five things:  It has to resonate with your buyer It has to create curiosity Make sure it teaches them something new Ensure that what they’ve learned prompts them to think differently about their current state Let your profile’s content lead to your solution Social selling is about content.  Salespeople often make the mistake of telling people how they can help instead of just helping them. Everybody is saying that they can help.  Top-ranked keynote speaker Michael Port said that you need to give away so much value that you’re afraid you gave too much, and then give more.  You need to use LinkedIn in a way that you are adding value to your prospective clients. 74% of buyers choose the sales rep who adds value and insight, not the one with the lowest bid.  Build an authentic connection and let them know that you’re going to be with them.  Your connections are your best referrals. You can ask them if you can use the name of the people they are connected with and whom you are about to connect to. Export your connections and put them in a spreadsheet. Do an inventory of your existing connections and see who in the list you can have a conversation with.  “Prospecting: How to Convert Your LinkedIn Connections Into Meaningful Conversations” episode resources Connect with Brynne Tillman on LinkedIn and you can also check out the Linkedin library for various 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 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

Are you one of the many sales reps who suffer from imposter syndrome? If so, how can you keep imposter syndrome from destroying your cold-calling efforts? Join Donald as he talks about the subject.   Defining imposter syndrome  Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where an individual doubts his/her own abilities to do something. This then prevents them from acting or doing what they’re supposed to do.  One would usually feel the imposter syndrome when they’re doing a task that’s new to them. For example, if you are new to a selling marketing services role but you have very little experience in sales, you may feel overwhelmed when selling your services to large companies.  You may feel like a fraud when speaking with Chief Marketing Officers and others.  As mentioned, it’s a psychological pattern. It’s a way of thinking that you’re not capable of doing something and that you’ll always be seen as a fraud.  The truth about imposter syndrome Imposter syndrome is a belief.  With imposter syndrome, your mind creates different situations. In truth, some of these made-up scenarios will happen to you in your sales journey. Not everyone whom you’re going to speak to will buy from you.  Instead of looking at the people who will not buy from you, focus on the potential customers who will buy from you.  It’s a belief  As much as you believe that you’re an imposter, it is better to believe in the opposite. Believe in yourself and believe that you have something good to offer.  Look for ways to build your confidence One way to do that is to look at your past customers or the customers at your current company. Build your confidence and be excited about what you’re going to offer.  You need to understand the problem or the pain of your customers to be able to articulate how you can potentially help them.  Recognize that not everyone is going to buy from you If you speak with 20 people, you can’t expect all these 20 people to buy from you.  Remember that if somebody rejects you, it doesn’t mean that they’re doing so because you’re a fraud. They are rejecting the offer or the opportunity at the moment but they will likely change their mind the next time.  Don’t give up just yet when you only used one approach. Don’t back out immediately.  Know that there are people who want what you offer Focus your attention on the people who want what you offer.  Some people are not ready right now but there are others who are ready to take the plunge and jump with you.  Pour your laser-focused attention on the people and organizations who are interested in your services.  Don’t let the imposter syndrome hold you back.  Here’s your assignment: Do 10 outreach activities. It may be doing calls, connecting on LinkedIn, sending outreach messages, etc. You will start seeing results from doing your outreach and this will help build your confidence.  Follow this positive mantra: “This is a New Year. There are new opportunities and I’m going to get them.” Change your mindset and go out every single day doing big things.  “Prospecting: How to Keep Imposter Syndrome from Destroying your Cold-Calling Efforts” 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 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

2020 has gone and now we’re making our way into yet another year. In this episode, Donald talks about the 5 trends that you should know about prospecting that we can use to improve our sales game this year.  Know the sales stats 40% of businesses did not meet their revenue targets last year.  81% of non C-suite employees have some influence in the final purchase decision.  Important sales trends about prospecting   #1 - 40% of businesses did not meet their target revenue in 2020.  The implication: 64% of sales leaders who doubled down on remote selling said that they met or exceeded their revenue targets in 2020. The pandemic has helped us move 30 years into the future in the way we perform and operate the business.  The idea of remote working wasn’t a huge thing in the beginning of 2020. The pandemic, however, forced the global workforce to work remotely.  More and more prospects are now working from their homes, and it’s your job as a sales rep to grab their attention.  Showing empathy is even more important today as prospects are juggling both their home life and work life at the same time.    #2 - 81% of non C-suite employees have some influence in the purchasing decision and 73% of millennials are involved in the decision-making process.  The implication - Sales reps today need to understand how millennials operate.  Millennials use social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. Your job is to find ways to connect with these young people instead of just waiting around to be introduced.  Try to be more social in your efforts in reaching and connecting to these young individuals.  Think of ways to connect on a human level. You need to understand what millennials care about and the causes they are drawn to.  #3 AI Automation. Customer-based organization Forrester said that AI and automation will put sellers on a path to fulfill their consultative destiny.    Many salespeople complain that they spend way too much time doing administrative work. This is holding them down from doing the more important things such as prospecting.  Many sellers say that the administrative tasks burden them.  Companies are now focusing on using CRMs with automation such as Monday.com, salesdirector.ai, PipeDrive, SalesForce,and others.  These CRMs have built-in automation tools that connect email straight into the CRM database.  AI adoption by sales teams is projected to increase by 139% over the next three years.  Automation helps sales reps do what’s more important instead of burying themselves in menial administrative tasks.  #4 Personalization.  Due to automation, people have the desire to connect more with others. There is something about interacting with others that uplifts us.  Being able to talk with others personally has its powers.  While automation has its place, there are still certain times and avenues where we can add human interaction into that effect.   Look for ways to add human touch when you’re reaching out to your prospects or doing phone calls. Inject a more humanistic side into your outreach activities.   Tim Cook, CEO of Apple said, “For all of the beauty of technology and all the things we’ve helped facilitate over the years, nothing yet replaces human interaction.”   #5 B2B sellers will become experts in creating engaging videos In a recent survey, 40% of B2B reps said that they plan to modify their tactics to adapt to remote selling activities.  Sellers are looking for ways to become more dynamic in how to grab their prospects’ attention.  70% of sales reps say that social referrals convert faster than any other lead they’re getting.  Spend more time on LinkedIn a nd build 10-15 personal connections with potential customers.  Make sure that you connect with people who actually connect with you as well. Send a personal message and have a dialogue with them.  Share content and think about your ideal customer and their challenges, pains, and difficulties.  People are looking for ways to connect. Take full benefit of that and approach people as friends instead of sellers right away.  “Prospecting: 5 Trends You Should Know About Prospecting Going Into 2021” episode resources Consider the following CRMs with automation built in: monday.com, salesdirector.ai, pipedrive, Salesforce. 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 EXTEND 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. 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

Salespeople don’t play it safe at all times. You need to take risks, challenge expectations, and do big things to succeed. How do you do that? Listen as Jonathan Diaz shares his thoughts.  Increase your motivation Jonathan and his siblings love Kobe shoes and back in 2010, Kobe wore bright lime green shoes called The Grinch for a big Christmas game they played. Jonathan really wanted to get a pair for himself.  Nike launched their sneaker app and they “dropped” the shoes, which meant you’d need to log in at the time they drop to enter a raffle and have a chance to buy the shoes.   The usual response for this app is a big sorry since somebody else has been selected. It’s really rare to win it.  Even when Jonathan knew that his chances were slim, still he tried to do what he could to win it. He reached out to his friends and family to help him. He did his best to get what he wanted.  His wife told him that his name wasn’t picked and that he wasn’t chosen. But he didn’t stop there. He kept on until he got the shoes he wanted!  It seemed impossible for Jonathan to get the shoes but he was motivated and he persevered. He had a vision and he put his mind to it.  The same is true for sales: when the odds are stacked against you, you find a way to make it happen.  If you want something, you need to do everything in your power to get it.  Success is a combination of hard work and luck. You need to put in the effort to be rewarded.  “Motivation: Take Risks, Challenge Expectations, and Do Big Things!” 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 EXTEND 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. 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