The Sales Evangelist

Things To Look For When Hiring Successful Sellers Hiring is part of the sales process but businesses know there are things to look for when hiring successful sellers. Getting the right people to join your sales team is one of the most effective ways to boost your sales revenue.  Billy Keels is a businessman living the life of a busy entrepreneur. In addition to being a happy husband and father, he is also working for a very large enterprise software company. There, he takes on different sales and leadership roles from regional to global levels. He’s done businesses in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Recently, he’s been doing enterprise sales in Barcelona, Spain by day as well as building his own investing business in the U.S.  Things to look for when hiring successful sellers  Sales leaders are always looking to hire successful sellers to help increase their revenue. The model in which a business is working is an important consideration when hiring new people.  Business models vary.  While some are constantly looking for new businesses, others adopt a farming role where they want to sell more within their existing customer base. Another consideration is the size of the business, whether it is a multinational brand or targeting a smaller niche.  Hire the right behavior  Of the three things to look for when hiring successful sellers, the first and the most difficult is the right behavior.  If a business is hiring someone to work inside sales or remote selling, for example, and you’re looking to hire a salesperson who's going to have to make fifty to a hundred calls a day. The ideal candidate will need to be someone who can be proactive. They should be able to work without someone having to tell them to pick up the phone and make calls. This is a challenge because no matter how skilled the salesperson is, if he doesn’t have the impetus to pick up the phone, smile while talking with the customers, or keep the calls energetic, then he won’t have the behavior be successful in that position.  Most successful salespeople didn’t have this proactive spirit when they started selling. It had to be developed over the years of working in sales. Being proactive is a core strength for sellers. It opens more doors, creates more connections, and can eventually point their customers toward the right decisions.  At the end of the day, when you consider the sales process, regardless of the products and services you sell, it all comes down to being proactive and having the ability to go out and do what’s needed.  Whether it’s selling knives door-to-door or selling in an enterprise, a salesperson should be able to design and execute an effective sales process by talking about the value they lend to the consumer through their products.  As a hiring manager,  a good interview question for potential candidates will give them the opportunity to talk about an experience when they got to be proactive. New sales reps tend to go through trial and error as they gain more experience, so ask about their experiences and what they have done, not what they would do. As they answer, listen carefully as they explain the way they dealt with needing to be proactive. Their answer will help you understand how they will do things in the future. Look for self-awareness  There is so much opportunity that comes from being self-aware. The benefits are tied to existing behaviors as well as understanding the candidate’s skills, ambition, and attitude.  Looking back at the successful people Billy hired in the past, he saw their high sense of self-awareness. Self-awareness is also integral to the type of model the seller is in.  If you are hiring a salesperson for inside selling, then you might forego knowledge and go for a person who has a higher potential in selling products and services over the phone. As a sales leader, you compensate for that gap and understand that their self-awareness may not come with as much knowledge but they can be supported by the strength of available training programs that are offered to sales reps.   To see if a candidate is self-aware, you can also ask about the issues they had with quotas and what they did to improve those results. Listen to what they tell you and tune in to the things that they did to address their challenges. When they say that they haven’t had any challenges in the past, then that can set off a big red flag.  It’s a hard truth in sales that we don’t win all the time. Being able to overcome their issues and how they came through can shows you how self-aware they are.  People who are self-aware typically know where they need help, they recognize where they are in a specific model, and most importantly, they know if they’re ahead or behind the curve. They’ll come to a sales manager with the areas they need support based on the models that they’re in. It helps support the seller and it helps the sales leader be more focused on the areas where they need the most help.  Having a methodology, skill, and understanding of the product is key to success.  Considering the scale of their roles  When hiring a salesperson consider the scale of their role. If the person is on the enterprise level and they have a knowledge gap, that’s probably going to be an issue. However, if you hire that person knowing they are going to be part of a sales academy program, there is less worry that you’re hiring someone who doesn’t have the full skill set.  You know that it’s coming after the proper training.   What skills the salesperson needs to have at the point of hire, depends on the role that your candidate will be playing in the company.  There is a process that you need to follow in sales. You also have to have certain behaviors to convey that you understand what you’re selling.  It is also equally important to have realistic expectations as a sales leader because if you set your expectations too high, the new sales reps will never be able to reach those goals no matter how much they produce. This isn’t setting them up for success.  Hire people who can manage themselves  These people are able to take a specific situation, diagnose and execute planning. No one may be getting the results they’re going for but they can assess, see the need and come up with a solution. Look for candidates who have sales goals who approach you with a plan. They are the ones who don’t need to be told what to do. They can work independently and just do what’s best for their career and their business.  In the event that they didn’t reach their sales goals, they are able to self-correct and start a new plan. They don’t feel the need to go to their boss every time they have to make sales decisions. They can manage not only themselves but also their situation or their virtual account team.  The key is understanding that no one is perfect. People are going to step up to the plate, swing, miss, strike out, and learn what to do the next time they go to bat.  There are different types of successful sellers out there and even when we work on a sales team, treat your team at an individual level because every salesperson has their own environment where they succeed. As a sales leader, you need to know what environment you need to create for your sales team to thrive. When your sales team is clicking on all cylinders, it makes every quarterly business review a pleasure to sit in.  “Things To Look For When Hiring Successful Sellers” episode resources Connect with Billy Keels via his LinkedIn. You can also check out his site, Billykeels.com.  You can also catch up with Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

The Accidental Seller Recap  - "Three Things I Learned"   For the past 8 weeks, we have been interviewing several successful “accidental sellers” and sharing their stories.  We have come to know how they started in sales when it wasn’t their intention to ever be in sales, and what they did to become successful.  The last episode aired last week when Donald interviewed a very special person in his life, his own mother, who Donald credits in shaping him to be the man he is today.  As he wraps up the series, Donald wanted to share his three main takeaways.  The Accidental Seller Series Recap This series has been well-received by listeners because they’re hearing their own stories in these interviews.  Each story has been relatable and speaks to the struggles and successes that many experiences in the sales industry.  The guests were very open about their challenges and feeling like a failure as being part of their journey. These are stories everyone relates to.  From these struggles, a success story was born, and it’s these stories that offer a fascinating insight into what it takes to make sales a career. Through this series, Donald has learned three main points:  The view of sales How they have a guide Sales was easier than they thought  The View of Sales When you ask someone to share their perception of a salesperson, it’s common for someone to bring up the stereotypical used car salesperson. Many of the guests on the Accidental Seller series thought the same thing. This is the stigma around sales and it’s been embedded in the minds of many. Society has painted salespeople in such a bad light that naturally, salespeople are seen as people who are only looking out for their own best interest. While this doesn’t apply to everyone, unfortunately, it has been proven to be true for some businesses and industries. For example, when a big bank has been caught in unethical dealings. As a result, integrity has to be proven as everyone in sales comes under scrutiny. When there are opportunities to gain large sums of money, people can end up making the wrong decisions. It may not be true for all salespeople, but people who are caught in shady dealings make it harder for honest salespeople to connect with potential clients.  Several of the more high profile crimes get turned into movies. Consumers aren’t going to line up to hear about a great salesperson in the same way they want to know more about a salesperson’s dishonesty. There’s no drama in that.  These movies helped shaped the perception of many and have influenced people into thinking that sales is a career they would never touch. However, that’s not the sole reason people steer clear from sales.  De Juan, the second guest in The Accidental Seller series, shared his own definition and feelings about salespeople. His father was a good sales rep selling insurance. Growing up, De Juan saw how the business worked. His dad did hours upon hours of door-to-door selling. Watching his dad work, De Juan grew up thinking sales was an extremely hard job. It was a lucrative job but also very difficult. Salespeople were undesirable and homeowners would pretend to be out of the house so they wouldn’t have to spend their time talking to salespeople.  De Juan, believed joining a sales force was a waste of talent. He believed that if someone had the ability to connect to people and have meaningful conversations but used it in a sales position, it was a waste of skills. However, that view changed when De Juan finally got a good feel of what selling really is.  The job wasn’t a waste of talent or undesirable. In fact, it was something he could be proud of. In addition to that, he realized that you didn’t have to sell door-to-door to build good relationships. He discovered you could help businesses solve their problems and be greatly rewarded for it.  It’s the responsibility of the seller to break free from the stereotypes. Kids can be taught early on that sales is a lucrative career and should be considered as an option.  As a salesperson, you can help others recognize the value of professional selling.  John Barrels and his daughter finished a book recently to help enrich the views about selling, especially for future generations. It’s a great idea to give kids the proper education about selling, even at a young age.  We can share the value of professional selling even in elementary school. Everyone Needs a Guide  For anyone who has goals and dreams, it’s helpful to have a guide who is going to help us down the path and lead us in the right direction.  Ashley Reusch’s story is a great example. She wanted to take a break from college and her dad suggested that she try to get into sales. Like her dad, she became a car salesperson and sold new and used cars. Despite it being a male-dominated industry with a high turnover rate, Ashley thrived because she had her father to guide her along the way. Wendell Jordan was helped by his sales manager. Although his sales manager wasn’t always there at the beginning, he was able to coach him later on. He offered Wendell insight and guidance that helped Wendell perform well.  Stephen had a guide too and Debbie also had her dad to help her have more involvement in the business.  Basically, all salespeople, regardless of what you are selling and regardless of the length of time you’ve been in the industry - all need help, we all need a guide.  Nobody knows everything there is to know about sales no matter how long they've been in the industry. Donald has been in sales for quite some time but he still takes courses and reads books. Learning is a continuous process and doing podcasts has helped Donald learn more and more about the sales industry. It also helped him gain accountability and guidance to be able to help others as well.  Even if you don’t join a paid mastermind, you still need someone who can act as a guide. It can be your manager, your spouse, or your friend. It is important to have someone close to keep you accountable and help you with your goals.  Sales Isn’t as Hard as They Initially Thought The other thing that successful salespeople use is a formula or sales process they follow religiously.  Ashley’s father helped her become a better salesperson but in addition to that, she also used her own creativity to develop a training regimen. When she wasn’t working with her own customer, she would sit by the cubicle of the salesperson doing his pitch and would tune into the conversation. With a notepad and pen in hand, she’d take notes and try to learn from their experience. She knew she had to get familiar with the common objections and situations of her business.  She prepared herself by learning from other salespeople she worked with. Ashley didn’t just wait for help to come around, she took action and created opportunities for herself. She looked for ways to make her success possible. All the guests on the Accidental Seller series fell into sales by accident but they all created it as a path, they made sales a workable solution. Sales became a profession that helped them to support their families and enrich the lives of other people.  For all accidental sellers out there, your stories have a home here on The Sales Evangelist. The series is coming back next year and listeners cannot wait to hear how you have thrived and succeeded in this industry as well.  What’s Next?  The Accidental Seller Series has given us some important lessons:  There is still a stigma about sales and people have different views on what sales are about.  All the successful people in this series didn’t attain success overnight, they had guides. They had people to help them achieve their goals.  In the beginning, they thought that sales was a very difficult path but when they learned to pave their own path and followed their processes, they realized that their initial thoughts weren’t at all true.   The Sales Evangelist wraps up this series and will be diving into another series that no other podcast has ever done before. The upcoming series will be about historical figures and very persuasive individuals who were great sellers in their time. Their experience will be broken down to discover what made them so successful.  The first key figure will be Jesus Christ and this episode will be uploaded during Christmas. This series is expected to help you improve on your sales and skills.  “The Accidental Seller Recap  - "Three Things I Learned" episode resources Do you have an interesting story to tell? You can tell Donald about it via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook or you can reach out with any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast. 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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Stop Hiring From Your "Gut" - Putting a Formal Hiring Process In Place That Works   The hiring process can be a challenge for many. There’s the temptation of hiring people from the gut when in fact, there needs to be a formal hiring process in place that works for every company regardless of its size.  Kristie Jones works with early-stage startups and helps these companies do three things - process, strategies, and people. She has been in the staff leadership industry for 20 years and as part of her consulting services, she offers companies the strategies for hiring the right people. Kristie now manages her own company, the Sales Acceleration Group, and has helped funded and non-funded startups in the Midwest for the last four years. Her services are focused on the strategies that companies can use to hire the right people.  Hiring from the gut Hiring from the gut is basically hiring based on first impressions. In the sales world, it’s very much like sending a contract to your prospect without doing a discovery call. Salespeople follow the sales process in vetting and finding prospects. In the same manner, there is also a process that sales leaders should follow in vetting and finding the right candidates to join their companies.    The ideal candidate   The process begins by deciding on your ideal candidate profile, which includes their competencies and skills. As a salesperson, you take the time to figure out who your ideal customers are by spending time with them.  The same goes for hiring new salespeople. You want to invest the time in figuring out what competencies are most important to the success of your company, and build interview questions around those competencies. It’s also  imperative to build your ideal candidate profile with business culture, core education, and relevant experience in mind.    Candidate discovery    In this stage, you identify their experience. The resume is only a piece of paper that details a person’s information. In the hiring process, you need to be asking the candidates open-ended behavioral-based questions.    Make them an educated consumer    This stage of the hiring process entails flipping the table on your candidate and allowing them to interview you.  This isn’t done by everyone but it’s a strategy to start a great working relationship, even at the interview stage.. This point in the interview allows the candidate to see whether or not they will be happy working in your organization by getting to ask questions that are important to them.    When hiring the right people to join your sales team, you can’t just hire from the gut and have the expectation of longevity. You need a formal hiring process in place that works.  This process includes understanding your ideal candidate profile, preparing your discovery questions, and lastly, giving the candidates an opportunity to become the interviewer. Knowing your ideal candidate  Experience is important in hiring the ideal candidate. Look for people who have a good track record of success. It’s your job as a sales leader to discover the candidates’ competencies, characteristics, and traits that have helped them become successful. There are many ways for a business to find the right people to hire.  Kristie has used recruiters to line up job candidates for her clients but she’s also helped her clients build and post a strong job description through a paid LinkedIn ad. Through these efforts, they’ve been getting between 50-70 resumes within the first two weeks of posting a job on LinkedIn.  It’s not necessary to utilize recruiters when you are looking for lower-level sales reps but they are a good resource if a company is looking for specialized sales leaders.  When posting a job on LinkedIn, the most attractive posts will include the following information: Job Title - Many companies use the titles Account Manager and Account Executive interchangeably. When you are looking for a new salesperson for your company, it’s a good idea to specify the job titles that are specifically related to your industry or niche.    Length of time you’ve been in the business The markets you use How successful your company has been A short description of the job Transparencies and accountabilities - you need to state what their job will look like and be upfront about the things they will be doing.  Compensation range     A great job post will be gender neutral and have a wow factor. Impress the best candidates with your company’s values and share the perks and bonuses that will come if they choose to work for you.  If your company offers free lunches, happy hours, personal development training, or quarterly healthy bonuses, make sure you say so!  Candidate discovery  When Kristie first works with her clients they go through a list of competencies and pick several  that are most important to work for that specific company. They then create their behavioral-based interview questions from the competencies they’ve chosen. The questions will vary for each company and will be influenced by the type of company it is and its core values. Questions about accountability can be very telling about a potential candidate. For example, “Why did your  previous quarterly goals?” Kristie wants to know if a candidate will take accountability for their actions.     When hiring for a startup, Kristie is looking for a willow, not an oak, a person who bends but doesn’t break. Questions or prompts that uncover this trait might include, “Tell me about  a time when you made a personal sacrifice for an employer.” Another question might be, “How you stay on track when you have competing priorities?” Look for the candidates’ perseverance and  objective judgment.  Flip the table The last phase of the formal hiring process is flipping the table. This simply means letting the candidate become the interviewer. Give them the opportunity to go through the discovery process by seeing what questions they have about the company. Allow them to spend time with your current employees in a variety of departments. When you flip the table, you get to stop asking questions and allow the candidate to discover if they really want to work for the company.  After posting the job on LinkedIn and collecting all the responses, you’ll typically pick 10 candidates to conduct a phone interview.  This is a critical stage where you can ask them questions to gauge which candidates will be chosen to come in for a face-to-face, behavioral-based interview. Kristie runs a sales profile test before flipping the table on a candidate by using  a test she says is a combination ACT/ Myers-Briggs personality test. The first section is a verbal and math test. This is to test their verbal and reasoning ability as well as numeric reasoning. In addition, Kristie has also developed the ideal candidate profile for SDRs and it can be used to hire anyone from sales reps to sales leaders. Once the results come in, there’s an opportunity to go over the results with the candidate to discuss the fit.  During a typical hiring process, Kristie invests about four hours conducting a face-to-face interview. She goes through an hour in reviewing the test results and another 30 - 45 minutes interviewing. Afterwards, the candidate is given the chance to work with a sales rep or one of the team members. At the end of the day, Kristie asks the group what they’ve learned. The process is long but following this formal hiring process, you’ll get fewer mis-hires in your company.  A sales manager looking for a sales rep must know what the company is looking for. When people don’t have a formal hiring process in place, they can mistakenly hire solely based on a gut feeling. Having a formal process can save you from any legal troubles and provide a better quality employee. The process helps you hire the best fit because you already know the right answers to the questions. Implement this process in your organization and let everyone understand they all have a role to play.  The first impression starts with the first person the candidate meets.  “Stop Hiring From Your "Gut" - Putting a Formal Hiring Process In Place That Works” episode resources” Catch up with Kristie Jones via her email address kjones@salesaccelerationgroup.com. You can check out the list of competencies and some starter behavior-based interview questions that you can use in your own hiring process. Check it out on salesaccelerationgroup.com/TSE.  You can also reach out to Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

How To Craft A Rock Solid Sales Pitch To Potential Investors    A sales pitch is part of the selling process but not all salespeople know how to craft a rock-solid sales pitch to potential investors.  First, everyone is a salesperson. Regardless of what you do, everyone sells to someone. Brian Harrington started in the infomercial business. He worked for his father who was one of the principal pioneers of the infomercial industry. His experience taught him the craft of selling products on TV.  In those early years, Brian saw how easy it was to sell through television advertising but he eventually saw how investments could be lost as fast as money was made.  They made some changes and instead of sticking exclusively with Infomercials, they followed customers to where they were making their purchases. That decision led them to the digital world and social media.  Brian and his team started to sell products through Google and other online opportunities such as Facebook. Since then, they’ve branched out to several other platforms. They sell directly to consumers with a diverse selection of products including health and fitness, beauty, home products, and more but continue to also sell through traditional brick and mortar retail stores.  Brian’s company sells products with a focus on three core worlds:  Product Education, providing ongoing training to entrepreneurs and sales professionals Investing/ Advising/Consulting where they help startup businesses grow and provide value.  Mistakes you’re making when pitching to investors It’s easy to make mistakes when pitching. especially if you have no idea how to craft a rock-solid sales pitch to potential investors. The first mistake people make is not being prepared.  If you show up to a meeting and don’t know enough about their business, competition, industry, to answer a potential investor’s basic questions, you can tank a meeting in the first few minutes. It can make you look incompetent in an area you claim a level of expertise. Investors do not want to get involved with people who seem to lack core knowledge.  Simple changes can make the pitch so much better.  Brian says it can be broken down into 3 easy steps: The Tease, The Please, and The Seize.  The Tease, The Please, and The Seize  The Tease:  Get the investor’s attention right away. The first impression matters and you have a small window to capture a potential investor’s interest. Cater the pitch to the person you’re pitching to and keep the company’s culture in mind.  BE PREPARED. Your goal is to capture their attention and interest in the first 10 seconds.   You also want to be mindful of how your actions and words may be received by your audience.  If you’re working with international investors, do the research about how to conduct yourself during the meeting in order not to make a faux pas.  The Please: On the one hand, you want to be sure you’re prepared to answer any questions your potential investor might ask. On the other hand, you also want to withhold enough information so they continue to ask questions and dialogue continues.  Take a breath when you’re talking and allow those questions to happen. These unanswered questions will keep them excited and interested in hearing more. There’s a balance between the information you want to offer and the information you want to hold onto until the pitch closes.  The Seize: Once you’ve had a great launch to your pitch and generated excitement, your job is to keep up the energy. You do this by making sure every pitch has a call to action.  You want to think of ways to make your pitch intriguing enough for the investor to enjoy your presentation, see the value in your product, and have the desire to work with you in a new venture.  You want them to have confidence in you and the products or services you represent. It’s important to take the time to do the research in potential investors.  Make sure you know they’re looking to invest in your industry or type of product before you ever get in front of them.  Find out what kinds of pitches they’re drawn to. For Brian, the best pitches are the ones that come from people who command attention and hold the attention of the room throughout the presentation.  Have the right amount of confidence  Confidence is key for any salesperson. That confidence, however, has to balance with the facts that are being offered.  A good investor is going to research the data you are using to support your claims so stick with the truth. Don’t makeup stories to make yourself look good.  It can compromise your integrity and an investor needs to be able to trust you.  You also want to be careful about being annoying.  Again, you don’t have a lot of time to make a great first impression.  You don’t want to come off as too cocky or flashy. The best course of action is to substantiate your claims and have a real plan you can confidently and competently execute.  The truth is, not all pitches will be successful. There are risks in every opportunity but oftentimes, the rewards are bigger than the risks. You can lower the risks by offering realistic projections that show you’ve systematically mapped out how you’re going to make a profit.  Crafting a Great Sales Pitch As a salesperson, it’s your job to craft a rock-solid sales pitch to potential investors. The right pitch doesn’t sound too  “salesy.” During a pitch, be careful of talking too much. It could seem like you’re trying too hard and can be perceived as a lack of confidence in your presentation.  Turn that around by keeping these key elements in mind when crafting a great sales pitch: Come prepared Be confident Know your business Show a level of traction and validation  When presenting, take a deep breath and refrain from repeating the same things over and over again.  “How To Craft A Rock Solid Sales Pitch To Potential Investors” episode resources Connect with Brian Harrington by emailing him at brian@kevingharrington.tv. For more sales information and questions, you can also catch up with Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

The Accidental Seller Series 8  - "Norma Bell" This is the last episode for the Accidental Seller Series. Because it’s the last, it needed a very special guest, Norma Davis Bell, Donald, The Sales Evangelist’s mom.  Norma Bell wanted to become a policewoman growing up because of the idea of protecting and helping people. As she grew older, however, her path took her in another direction. After Norma decided she wasn’t going to train to be a policewoman, she discovered she had the skill to make dresses.  Norma’s older sister, Ivy, wanted to support her and connected her with a friend with the idea that Norma could be her apprentice.  As it turned out, however, the friend wanted an assistant more than she wanted to teach so the opportunity was short-lived. Ivy, who owned a small store and bar at the time, new Norma was great with people and invited her to work with her. Ivy had a great head for business, was able to network well, could make things happen and managed the administrative details of their work.  What she was lacking, however, was the customer service skills. Her little sister, Norma, had a natural gift when it came to working with customers, entertaining people with jokes, and bringing joy to their places of business. This was especially evident when Norma worked in the store. As a cashier, even if she had the longest line, people would stand in line longer, just to wait for her. She knew the names of each of her customers and Norma made each of them feel special.  With the sisters working together, the businesses thrived.    Working as a salesperson in the shop Norma felt good while working in the shop because it gave her the opportunity to earn money. She felt happy knowing she brought in more customers to the store and to the bar. She talked and laughed with them and she became their reason for coming back. People gravitated towards the shop and the bar because of Norma’s outgoing personality.  Seeing all the success, Norma’s husband eventually convinced her to quit working with Ivy to start her own business. She hadn’t wanted to leave but did so with her husband’s encouragement.  Running and managing the store on her own was a challenge because all the pressure was on Norma. She no longer had Ivy handling the administrative aspects of the job and the money was leaving as quickly as it was coming in.  Norma decided to close it down when the money ran out. She went to live back with Ivy. After some time, the family moved to the United States and Norma went into customer service. She struggled for almost 4 years before things began to smooth out for her family. Despite the hardships, Norma decided to take on the challenges and opportunities the United States had to offer in order to give her kids a better life. Today, Norma enjoys the fruits of her labor through the success of her grown children, like Donald.  Even when he was young, she had dreams of Donald becoming a radio announcer. Today, she gets to be interviewed by her son! It’s a joy for Norma to listen to Donald, The Sales Evangelist, as he makes a global impact through his podcast. Norma’s best advice:  Keep on going. Keep on praying. “The Accidental Seller Series 8  - "Norma Bell" episode resources  You can connect with Norma and her life story on Facebook.  You can also catch up with Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

How Can My Personal Brand Set Me Apart From My Competition 2020?    The year is almost over. As a salesperson, how can you set your personal brand apart from your competition in 2020?  Veronica Romney is solely focused on educating and facilitating individuals in their marketing and branding efforts. Veronica and her team are helping clients to stand out from their competition. They make it their goal to ensure you position yourself correctly so you can jump into the narrative and story that your prospective customer has as opposed to trying to force the customer into yours.  You Don’t have to Be the Best of the Best  Many businesses and sales reps are under the assumption that in order to distinguish their personal brand, they have to be the best of the best. The prevailing thought is that the only way to be seen as special is to look bigger and be better than everyone else in the same industry. This mindset can be exhausting for both business owners and sales professionals and can lead to burnout as they fight for consumer attention. Customers are bombarded with attention-seeking ads, streaming services, and other campaigns.  Companies and salespeople do a disservice to them by adding additional distractions that just focus on how great they are. Veronica teaches her clients to focus on something more critical:  You don’t have to be your customer’s hero. It’s more important to be their guide in helping them get to where they want to go.  Tony Robbins, for example, is a huge brand. He is a big name and a big individual with a big personality. Everything about Tony Robbins is larger-than-life and at the end of his documentary,Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru,  he was asked what he hoped people would better understand about him through the documentary. His answer is critical to his branding and should be a great takeaway for people who work with consumers. He said that it’s not really about people caring about the person, Tony Robbins. The Tony Robbins brand lets customers know that it's the means to an end and it’s a company that will get them to where they want to go. Tony is aware that he isn’t the show and he isn’t the product.  It’s more about how they are transformed through him and what he teaches. People respond to the things that cause change, keeps them hungry, make them feel fulfilled and feel alive.   His organization does that. The Positioning Technique This is a method being used by CarMax in selling cars. This industry is overly saturated and the competition is stiff. There’s no point in fighting against the current. Instead, CarMax guides their customers where they want to go.  Whether the customer is purchasing a car, trading in or selling a car, CarMax has made it a simple three-step process. They have removed the barriers of haggling and negotiation from the interaction with their salespeople and by doing so, have made it easier for the customer to do business. This positioning technique relieves salespeople from having to be the product or prove they’re the best. Instead, they can concentrate on being a guide, mentor or coach for their customers.  Because of this, burnout is greatly decreased. People need a guide when purchasing decisions need to be made. For example, someone buying a weight loss program or supplement isn’t just buying a product but the transformation that product offers. As a salesperson responsible for packaging products and services to the consumer, the goal isn’t to make the product the hero of the sales pitch. The goal is to offer transformation by helping customers understand how the product can get them to their destination. Position Yourself as a Guide, Not the Hero.  We live in a world that is driven by consumers who are focused on their self-interests. Consumers want their problems solved quickly and as salespeople, guiding them through their ambitions is key. Develop your voice It’s tempting to want to be a chameleon who can be everything to everyone but it’s also impossible. Yes, it’s important to mirror the person you are talking to in order to help build a connection but your voice must be unique to you and your brand.  Let’s take Warren Buffet as an example. He is a billionaire, investor, and businessman. Warren Buffet is famous for writing an annual letter to his shareholders  to talk about his market forecasts and investments for the upcoming year.  These letters are so famous they have been turned into books, with the information also being consumed by MSNBC and Forbes. He has been able to deliver consistently, over decades, to successfully build a personal brand that people can trust and feel confident about.  Warren did this by writing letters to just a single person, Doris. Writing to just one person makes the letters have a unique and intimate tone. Speaking to one person creates consistency in your voice and people relate to that when you connect with them.  Find Your Own Doris Doris is Warren’s sister. He has an emotional connection to her and that’s the kind of affection and connection that you need to have with the people you choose to connect with. Finding your voice can be difficult, especially if you are new to sales, so find a favorite customer, someone that can really benefit from what you have to offer, and pretend you are speaking to that person every single time, no matter who your customer is. Eventually, you will be able to develop your natural tone consistently.  It’s the same thing in politics. People are drawn to politicians who are consistent and speak the same way, regardless of audience or circumstance. There can be a disconnect when businesses have one person writing for their blogs, another person their press release, and yet another working their ads. Each person is going to have a different voice in their writing instead of having a company voice.  It’s important that there is consistency of a company voice throughout.  Consider Asking Your Customers these Four Critical Questions Veronica suggests four critical questions you can use to help find your voice as a salesperson and help you understand your customer more intimately. They help to develop the relationship when you have an opportunity to survey a new client. The answers to these questions are a great vehicle to learn how to be the best guide you can be:   What are you trying to accomplish this year?   It’s important to set a time parameter on the things your customer wants to achieve. For example, you can ask about a quarter goal or a yearly goal. Setting a time frame gives you an endgame and will serve as a guide to where the customer hopes to go.   What do you think it would take to double your business results or your happiness this year?   Your goal is to enter their story and not to force them into yours. They have already been thinking about what they need to accomplish their goals but these questions allow you to go into the story they have already created in their own mind. What if their solutions are wrong for them? You have to know what they’re thinking to guide them to the right answer.    What frustrates you the most about your business and life right now?   Whatever the answer is, your product and services has to offer the solution. You are in the business of taking away the pain and obstacles that prevent your customer from getting to where they want to go. Every client will have different pain points so you can’t make assumptions about what frustrates them about their business or life.   What have you tried to do to improve the situation you’re in?   Your customer’s answers will give you insight into what they’re open to trying. Knowing that you’re offering something they’ve never tried before may feel revolutionary to them. You need to understand what people are comfortable in doing.  The answers to these questions will allow you to see your client’s aspirations and what they think the need to double their business. Their answers will give you an idea of what frustrates them the most and what their pain points are. In addition to that, they tell you the mechanism and the behavior they’re already accustomed to. It’s why these 4 questions are critical in distinguishing yourself from the competition.  Stay focused on your client and maintain the goal of making them the hero of their own story. You’re there to offer the transformation. People will buy from you, they will say yes to you, when they feel understood by you, not when they understand you. #SalesTruth “How Can My Personal Brand Set Me Apart From My Competition 2020” episode resources Catch up with Veronica via her personal website, veronicaromney.com. She is also in various social media such as Twitter.  You can also catch up with Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

How To Create A LinkedIn Profile That Consistently Brings New Business To Your Pipeline   Many salespeople create a LinkedIn profile to bring in new business but are they creating a profile that is attractive to a potential buyer? Felipe Lodi is a returning guest and he’s back to teach salespeople how they can create a LinkedIn profile to bring in new business. Felipe is based in Ireland and he is helping other expatriates like himself to establish themselves in Europe. By teaching them the social skills needed and building their LinkedIn accounts, he’s helping them market their abilities and attract opportunities. He launched his book, Advanced LinkedIn, last year based on hundreds of workshops he’s done within the public and private sectors throughout Ireland.  Common Mistakes Salespeople Make on LinkedIn  There are many common mistakes made on LinkedIn. Once you know what they are, they can be avoided. The most common mistake is the failure to use headlines creatively.  The headline is 120 characters long and can be found underneath your profile picture. Most people just list their titles with a brief job description. Doing this is a waste of characters. The tagline stays visible and can be used to make a value proposition. As an alternative to your job title, create a sentence that shares your why, how you do what you do, or what you sell.  Another common mistake is that people don’t utilize their Summary or About Me sections effectively.  These areas give you a whopping 5,000 characters to really make a statement. Typical content:  Creating bullet points Providing your contact number and email address A better alternative:  Reasons why you’re doing what you’re doing  Tell people why you are the right person for them  Your profile is where you talk about yourself. When you go outside your profile and start engaging with people and creating content for others, talk about your prospects and how you’re going to solve their problems.    Creating your LinkedIn profile It’s not necessary to spend money on LinkedIn to make money. Use LinkedIn because of its organic reach instead.  There are three ways to enhance your account:    Optimize Your Profile To better ensure people will get to the information about you you want them to see, make sure your LinkedIn profile is visually appealing. Many people mistakenly view LinkedIn as a community board where someone can look for a job and get hired.  Instead, approach this platform as an opportunity for you to engage potential employers, collaborators, and colleagues in a way that opportunities can present themselves through these relationships.  Don’t open a LinkedIn account to just looking for employment, but seek ways for you to find opportunities.#LinkedInSales If you are in sales, start believing that LinkedIn is your sales platform. It’s the best place to reach out to C level executives because you have direct access. There are no gatekeepers on LinkedIn and salespeople can use this accessibility to their advantage.   It’s important to make your profile visually appealing. People will judge images before they read any information. Have an avatar and profile picture that looks professional. When Felipe changed his profile picture to an image of him holding a mic, the invitations for speaking engagements began to grow. People believed he had the ability to speak because of the image of him already doing the job. Use your photo to tell people what you do without them ever having to go to your profile.  The people who invited Felipe to speak were the people who already had him on their radar because they already had a relationship through previous engagements on LinkedIn. Every little detail counts - the picture, the tagline, and the summary need to support the story you want to tell and what you want potential clients to know.    Start Creating Content Unlike Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn’s algorithm doesn’t downgrade content that looks like an advertisement. You can take advantage of the organic reach by posting ads for free.  In doing so, you reach people with whom you’re connected without paying any additional fees. LinkedIn’s ad platform is still fairly young compared to Facebook. For example, LinkedIn doesn’t have a feature to target a specific demographic but it can still be used to publish compelling content to attract business.  The second part of Felipe’s methodology is to create a LinkedIn profile to bring in new business by including compelling content.  Your content is your vehicle to attract more people to your profile.  If offers an opportunity to include information about your products and services in a way that’s appealing. For example, create educational content and allow people to have access at no charge. Include some components that talk about the items or services you offer.  How to build your content: In the first paragraph, talk about what you do.  In the second paragraph, tell them a story about how you’ve helped someone in the past. Content on LinkedIn needs to be there at all times. Utilize automation to repurpose your content for different time zones. Automating your content gives you more time to execute the third part of Felipe’s formula, engagement.  Consider the Cost of Engagement The cost of engagement includes the time you invest in the activity on your profile, especially with the people who want to connect with you.  The more you engage, the more attractive your profile becomes. The relationships you nurture in the present can turn into future selling opportunities. You can show potential buyers how committed you are in your profile presentation and content creation. Don’t let two weeks go by without checking in. You want to let people know you’re accessible and you’re ready to answer their questions. Position yourself as an authority within your niche.  You may not see a lot of results, such as “likes” on your posts, but that’s fine. The number of “likes” isn’t a reflection of whether or not your engagement is working. To LinkedIn, it’s the number of views that matter. Your post might have zero likes but gets 230 views. That means 230 people have stopped for at least three seconds to check your content.  Even when people don’t like or share your post, they have been exposed to your profile, your  tagline, and the type of content you want them to see.  LinkedIn also ties the number of views on your post to the companies that were represented by the people who viewed that entry..  As a salesperson,  you can follow up with the people who have seen your post to start a conversation. They may have not “liked” but they keep seeing your posts and make the association with your content. There is something there that you can explore.  Don’t just focus on content creation. Make it a priority to create opportunities for engagement and place importance on how you can repurpose your content.  “How To Create A LinkedIn Profiles That Consistent(ly) Bring New Business In Your Pipeline” episode resources Catch up with Felipe Lodi via his LinkedIn account. You can also check on his book, Advanced LinkedIn.  You can also reach out to Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

The Accidental Seller Series 7  - "Debby Montgomery Johnson"   Here’s another episode from the Accidental Seller Series where we interview successful salespeople who didn’t start their careers with the intention of going into sales.  Debby Montgomery Johnson is the president of Benfotiamine.net. Most of Debby’s family members are in the medical field and growing up, she wanted to be an anesthesiologist. It was during middle school when she worked at a hospital, she thought being an anesthesiologist was cool. When she got into high school, she discovered medicine wasn’t for her. Her interest was in languages so she studied French, Spanish, and a little bit of German. Once in college, she majored in Political Science and got her bachelor’s degree.  Debby had planned to go on to law school but after she got out of college, she enrolled in paralegal school and worked for a firm specializing in corporate and family law after graduation.  Unfortunately, she was let go from that job.  Getting into sales Being released from her paralegal job became the catalyst for her going into the Air Force where she served for eight years, even in Germany. Debby was working with the Pentagon as an imagery analyst and during that time, their work entailed analyzing photos from the Cold War. Till then, Debby had never really looked at the sales industry as a career. When Debby thought of sales,  thoughts of a car salesman or vacuum cleaner salesman came to mind. She didn’t really want to be a salesperson.  Debby left the Air Force when she had her third baby and started working as a bank manager. There were sales involved in her job but what she really wanted to do was assist people and help them with their finances. Debby left the job when her husband died so she could take over their company. Debby had no experience in running a company that was based on internet sales.  As she became more involved, she realized the company made more money in a month than she made in a whole year. This convinced her to jump into the business full-time.  Fears about sales  The biggest fear was the fact that the company wasn’t familiar with the details. It was built to help people suffering from diabetes with neuropathy. Her late husband, Lou, had the same disease.  The company offered products that worked for him and he shared a personal testimony about how each product worked for him. It was hard for Debby to really embrace the company as hers and to believe in herself when she didn’t know how the products helped their clients. She didn’t have the confidence in herself that she could actually sell.  Debby was able to get past that fear by bringing her father into the company.  Her father answers the phone and talks to clients. Being a retired dentist, he has a medical background that helps build rapport. Debby’s father also understands the chemistry side as well as the medical side of their company.  Debby’s first sale made her ecstatic. It was fun and it released her from the fear of talking to clients. She was getting to interact with them as a person, not just a client. She made it her goal to build relationships, not just transactions.  Selling is helping Debby has a great mindset as a salesperson. She talks to clients and only sells products that will help their specific needs. She keeps a positive outlook throughout but understands people are different and every product may not work for every person. With this understanding,  she tries to create opportunities for clients to try a product so they can see if it works for them. Instead of just trying to complete a transaction, Debby is making interactions more personal. She thinks of her clients like family and she’s willing to go through great lengths for her family.  Even with all their success, there are trying times throughout Debby’s sales experience as well. An example is when she’s calling potential clients and there is an apprehension the client will say no. Cold calls are dreadful for Debby.  One challenging client was a doctor.  Debby’s company had stopped selling the product the doctor wanted so Debby called her and left a message. When she finished the message, she started complaining about the client to her son. It was right after that she heard on her phone, “If you are satisfied with the message, please hit send.” Needless to say, she got a phone call from the client telling her how unprofessional she had been.  Should I quit? It would be easier to quit than run a business but Debby has become very close to her clients and sees them as part of her family. She feels responsible for the products they take and she just can’t turn her back on that. With the mindset that clients come first at all times, she keeps on pushing on with sales.  Her husband’s death has been life-changing for her but it’s the reason why she went into sales. She has since expanded her career path and is now an advocate for relationship survivors. Debby has also started a nonprofit organization called The Woman Behind the Smile.  It’s easy to make a sale when you believe in what you are doing. #SalesPurpose For Debby, it’s important to just jump into it when she finds something she likes. She knows if you fail, it only means you’re one step closer to your goal.  “The Accidental Seller Series” episode resources Catch up with Debby Montgomery Johnson by going to benfocomplete.com or through her email addresses, me@thewomanbehindthesmile.com or debby@thewomanbehindthesmile.com.  You can also reach out to Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

5 Counterintuitive Mistakes Preventing You From Closing Revenue    There are times salespeople don’t make the best decisions that lead to closing deals. These mistakes can cause a loss in revenue. Let’s take a look at the 5 counter intuitive mistakes preventing you from closing revenue.  Devin Reed is a content strategy manager at Gong. He handles all the content marketing strategy courses and is responsible for presentations. He also goes to roadshows, such as Sales Live Miami.  At this roadshow, Devin talked about  5 Counterintuitive Mistakes Preventing You From Closing Revenue. It’s about the five things salespeople think are good practices, and are trained to believe are good habits when in fact, they’re the opposite. These five mistakes hurt their deals and sales conversations. What Devin is sharing is backed up by data.  Devin works for a company that has millions of sales conversations. They’ve analyzed these conversations to see patterns that help them get an idea of the things salespeople talk about the most. Here are the 5 counterintuitive mistakes preventing you from closing revenue.  Using the ROI to seal the deal Focusing on quantity when it comes to discovery questions Answering objections quickly and thoroughly Using  large enterprise clients Using cold call opening line Don’t use ROI to seal the deal People make the mistake of using the ROI to close. Finding a way to bring ROI into the conversation is one of the basic strategies taught to beginning sales reps.  This strategy is proving to be counterintuitive.  ROI isn’t bad in itself, but it becomes an ineffective tool when it is used for persuasion. Presenting your ROI to the client doesn’t work because the information doesn’t go to the right part of their brain.  The human brain has two parts - the emotional and rational. More often than not, the right part processes information later than the emotional part. If you want to get the attention of your prospects, you need to tap into the emotional side of their brains first. You do this by giving them a before and after story. “Hey, I was in a podcast and not to brag or anything but that podcast did so well. They were doing this and that. I came on and I did this thing and two weeks later, they saw an X increase in their ROI.” This is an example of having a “before and after”, then diving into the ROI.  When you are able to provide the identifiers with the before and after stories, the emotional pull comes in. Make it a goal to tap into their curiosity instead of just desperately presenting the numbers. A good salesperson always starts with emotion and understands people need to feel before they will give you their ear and show interest. After you’ve piqued their interest, then you can get to the boss to present the ROI. You show them what you can do for them is not only a great idea but also makes fiscal sense.  Another reason why presenting the ROI often doesn’t work is because it’s naively done. Junior sales reps usually speak to CFOs who have years of experience. Their newness in the industry and lack of confidence make their calculations look phony. CFOs don’t find the numbers trustworthy.  Focusing on quantity when it comes to discovery questions Most salespeople have a discovery playbook with 15 to 30 questions. New sales reps believe it’s necessary to ask them all because they have the mindset the more questions mean more information and eventually, the more chances of closing the deal. While asking questions isn’t a bad thing per se,  it can give buyers discovery fatigue. It feels more like an interrogation than a valuable business conversation.  Based on the data, 11 - 14 targeted questions is the sweet spot for the number of questions a salesperson should ask. The article by Chris Orlob entitled Why You Can’t Sell to C-suite Executives shares how salespeople only have four questions to ask C-suite executives.  Tips when asking targeted questions:  Use open-ended questions Using open-ended questions allows you to get more information. Ask one question that prompts a stream of answers.  Get someone to think instead of reciting information  Ask questions that will make them think about their answer. For example, “How is that tech stack preventing you from closing revenue?” This question causes them to take a moment before giving an answer.  Ask connected questions  Don’t just throw out random questions. Ask them in a way that paints a bigger picture.  Answering objections quickly and thoroughly  Answering quickly shows how ready salespeople are to handle objections but the downside to that is the risk of actually answering the wrong objections. Instead , pause and wait. The benefits go both ways. For the salesperson, pausing creates room to time to think and for the prospect, the pause makes them feel heard.  By the middle of the discussion, the prospect has already decided if they want to actually meet with the salesperson.  It’s the salesperson’s responsibility to make sure the conversation is good throughout the meeting so prospects see the value and have a good time. The prospect enjoying the conversation is the most important goal.  Using the enterprise logo when selling Data shows that salespeople using social proof has actually a lesser success rate. Salespeople may think dropping big company names they’ve worked with is compelling information but prospects don’t share the same perspective. Instead of building trust with the prospect, what it does is alienate them. The right approach is to use tribal identifiers. This means building a tribe based on shared characteristics. The best salespeople will have three to six tribal identifiers to make the connection more appealing and compelling. For small startup businesses with fewer clients, salespeople can create a hyper-specific profile. This would mean not focusing on the same geography, for example, but instead , targeting companies with the same struggles and goals.  Salespeople need to show their clients they are more than just someone on LinkedIn. They need to invest time upfront if they want to be heard. #SalesFacts Cold call opening line Many believe if you want to catch your prospect's attention, give them an opportunity to first say no. The assumption is that using an opening line that allows them an opportunity to say no gives the prospect the power they want to feel in the conversation. Philosophically, you want them to feel comfortable in letting their guard down.  This strategy doesn’t work. Data says there’s a 6.6X increase when, instead of trying to get them to say no, you ask instead, “How have you been doing?” The potential client answers in the same vein and it causes a pattern interrupt. Your opening line isn’t something that the receiver is expecting.  An opening question like, “Hey, this is Devin. Did I catch you at a good time?” is a telltale sign that it’s a cold call and immediately, guards go up. From that point on, it’s an uphill battle.   Always remember the before and after story because that’s how trust is built. People may not remember you but they will remember your story. You don’t have to be a great salesperson to share a story, you just have to share stories of value.  “5 Counterintuitive Mistakes Preventing You From Closing Revenue” episode resources Catch Devin’s podcast, Reveal the Revenue Intelligence, where they interview industry leaders who understand how they use their revenue intelligence to win the market. They have a pretty impressive line-up of key interviews. Connect with Devin Reed in his LinkedIn profile.  You can also reach out to Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

How To Write A Cold Email Your Prospect Will Open And Reply To   The cold email has been part of the sales process for a very long time but how do you actually write a cold email that your prospect will open and reply to? Anton van Rhyn is the CEO and founder of the company Wavo,  a cold email platform that helps salespeople automate email outreach and follow-up. He also built Huron, a company for outbound prospecting and service. Anton has used  both his software development experience and sales development experience to fine-tune the email automation platform.  A cold email automation platform  Anton built a cold email automation platform in order to assist sales representatives to relieve them of these more mundane tasks. The platform creates a sequence for the machine to follow. It can reach out to prospects and follow up in a way that looks  like human effort. The tool is very efficient in that it focuses on making initial contacts while it frees up sales reps to focus on their demos and talking to people.  Anton’s company has been utilizing email for three and a half years. They’re previous experience came from being a prospecting service where they used emails to contact different verticals and industries. regardless of company size.  Email makes it easy to prospect because most people today already use email. It is reminiscent of the cold calls used in the past. Cold calling was effective because most people were already sitting at their desks and  ready to pick up a phone call. Today, very few people own office phones. Businesses have resorted to using emails to reach their clients. It’s become one of the most powerful channels to engage with prospects.  Emails that don’t work  Using a template in making cold emails is one of the reasons why this strategy often fails. In the U.S. alone, the phrase cold email template is searched for around 200,000 times a month in Google. Mail servers create a hashing algorithm to identify email content, and using these  algorithms, servers can quickly identify these emails as spam.  The other reason why cold emails are failing is that some people in the email list aren’t interested and just flag your email as spam.  When you’re using the cold email templates, it’s very easy for emails to go straight to spam.  Over time, Anton’s company developed a framework in using cold email, calling it the 1-2 punch. It’s a series of emails to address a topic. After some time, another mail is sent to revisit the topic sent two emails ago. It’s important to give the recipient a break.  Use a good subject It’s important to use a good subject when creating a cold email  so it seems you are really writing to someone. A subject line that looks like a headline from an ad stands out to people. Even when the email isn’t  flagged as spam, or ends up in the Promotions Tab, the receiver will still likely not open it because nobody likes being sold to. An ad is off-putting. Google and Gmail Suite are also getting smarter by the day. They check your inbox and look at how people engage with your emails. A sender who gets replies gets a higher score than sanders whose emails don’t get opened and responded to.  As a salesperson who is using emails to reach their clients, find smart ways to get them to reply. One trick Anton suggests is to include a way for people to unsubscribe. For example,“Hey, if you don’t want to hear from me again, please reply to this email with your request to unsubscribe,” or some other variation..   Anton’s clients have seen how using this trick improved their engagement rate. While there are some who reply unsubscribe, they also  see positive responses coming back as well. At the end of the day, your goal is to make your cold emails sound more human to get the other person to respond.  The three word-subject line works well. You can email your list with no more than a three-word subject line and talk about the value proposition.  Salespeople have to be creative in their emails without sounding like they are selling  products and services. #SalesTalk Talk about the quarter’s results or a related subject clients may find interesting.  A quick question subject line is the most overused subject there is but it has 40-60% open rates. This shows just how effective a short subject line is. The body of the email You can write a cold email that your prospect will open by building a series of two emails. The first email shouldn’t be longer than three sentences. Salespeople often make the mistake of putting everything in their mail. They try to explain every value proposition and all the information about what they’re selling.  Explain the most important things in three lines:  Who you are Why you’re reaching out The relevance of your product/services to your prospect  Anton observed that trying to get the conversation started is what matters. It’s equally important to give the prospect breathing room regardless if they respond or not. After two days, send them another email as a reminder. You can also add some social proof in your second email to tell them who you’ve worked with and how the partnership produced good results. Build on that sequence and wait another week to create an additional one-two punch email.  If there is noreply then give it another week or two to give the prospect breathing room and time to forget. You can then start the process again.  You can continue this sequence as long as you deem effective.  Scheduling effectively  Google has implemented many ways in detecting cold email these days as the use of cold email starts to proliferate. In the early days, using cold email was very effective when sent by batch before and after office hours. It let people do their jobs in the middle of the day and then emails were sent before they got into the office after they left.  In the last months, this strategy hasn’t been performing very well. This is due to the spike of activities during the 6:00AM - 9:00AM and 5:00AM-9:00PM window. People tend to get busy in those times and end up not doing much during the day.  Anton’s team is changing their approach and adapting to peoples’ activities. It’s counterintuitive to what they’ve done in the past but it’s proving to be effective today. Sending the emails by batch in the times when people aren’t too busy has become their automating signature. They rewrote the scheduler in a way that emails are sent consistently throughout the hours between 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, rather than sending all the emails as quickly as possible in just one time.  This has proven a preferable schedule for delivery.  When sending cold emails, remember these few things: Introduce yourself, your reason for mailing, and state why this is relevant to them  Keep the email short Have a very quick call to action Your goal is to start a conversation Scheduling tools such as Calendly are also helpful especially if you get a reply showing interest. This is the perfect time to send your Calendly link.  “How To Write A Cold Email (that) Your Prospect Will Open And Reply To” episode resources Contact Anton Van Rhyn via his mail anton@wavo.co. They are also giving out PDFS of their frameworks at wavo.co/tse.  You can also reach out to Donald via LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for any sales concerns.  This episode 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. Sign up now and get the first two modules for free! You can also call us at (561) 570-5077.  This podcast is also brought to you in part by Reveal the Revenue Intelligence podcast. It’s about utilizing data to make business decisions instead of just guessing your way through major sales decisions. Visit gong.io for their podcast.  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.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com