This episode of the Live Better Sell Better Podcast recaps the best moments from our amazing guests for the month of June. We discuss numerous enlightening topics including openness to failure, the rise of work-life integration, how to ask for input for improvement, using momentum to continue success, predicting decision-making based on personality science, and so much more! HIGHLIGHTSMandi Graziano, Vice President of Global Accounts at Hospitality Performance Network and Author of Sales TalesSaad Khan, Business Development Manager at DoolyRachel Nazhand, Head of Business Operations at Climate Club and Founder of Vice President in ResidenceErika Davis, Vice President of Go to Market Strategy at Greaser Consulting, now Senior Manager of Sales Operations at sticky.ioTodd Caponi, Founder of Sales Melon and author of The Transparency SaleHana Elliot, Vice President of Revenue at VenditionColin Specter, Vice President of Sales at OrumWilliam Ballance, CEO of LavenderLive Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partners:Vidyard |vidyard.comDooly |dooly.aiChili Piper |chilipiper.com

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features William Ballance, CEO of Lavender. How do you get personality science into the framework of decision-making to convert more sales? William shares the ins and outs of predicting personality using online data to help write more effective emails.William explains the Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) and how people think through decisions based on action, vision, people, and data. William walks through each of these and how they are identified. He then discusses how you can approach each dominant personality to create more personalized emails and increase response rate and overall conversion. HIGHLIGHTSThe quadrants of HBDI explained and how they affect decision-makingIdentifying each personality type and applying it in the sales processAdditional resources for communication psychology in marketing QUOTESWilliam: "It's important that you have someone in your team that's going to be that vision-focused person, that action-oriented driver, some that think about the people involved, and some to research the data. It's normally used to structure leadership teams but we started applying that same framework on how people make their buying decisions both in marketing and sales."William: "So part of your messaging would target the action involved or the vision, the big picture or the aspirational side of the sale, the people that it's going to impact, and the data behind it. And that can all be in one pitch or it could be in different steps."William: "It's always interesting in demos. Sometimes I'll do the analytics and coaching dashboard last. And every now and then someone's like 'Man, I wish we could've started with that' and I never hear that. But every now and then, you get someone who just wants to dive really deep into the analytics." You can find out more about William in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmb1/Website: https://www.lavender.ai/ Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partners:Vidyard |vidyard.comDooly |dooly.aiChili Piper |chilipiper.com

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Colin Specter, Vice President of Sales at Orum. Cold calling is as much an art as it is a science. Colin shares what the data has shown to work in the world of cold calls and how sellers can increase their own conversion rates.There is a mathematical formula that you can use to derive the number of calls you have to make to get to your desired outcome. Colin shares what metrics you should be tracking and how you can tweak your messaging to increase conversion and book more meetings.  HIGHLIGHTSCold call metrics you should be trackingIncrease conversion rates and identify call dispositionsBuy more time and get permission to ask one questionTrends and patterns in landing meetings through cold calls QUOTESColin: "You want to look at your dial-to-connect ratio, you want to look at your connect-to-conversation ratio, how many conversations are you getting out of each at-bats? And then, how many of those conversations are leading to a meeting?"Colin: "There's different openers, there's different ways people love to approach the cold call. It really comes down to tonality and enthusiasm in many cases. But there's all kinds of openers. You could try what works for you. The one that we use here at Orum most commonly is 'hey, KD, Colin with Orum here. Are they keeping you busy today?'"Colin: "It's also not as common that you will book a meeting on the first connect. Most of the connects, we find, happen after that initial conversation after that initial connect. So do you have a playbook to get people back into your call list after those dispositions?" You can find out more about Colin in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinspecter/Website: https://www.orum.com/ Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partners:Vidyard | vidyard.comDooly | dooly.aiChili Piper | chilipiper.com

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Hana Elliot, Vice President of Revenue at Vendition. The cost of half-baked onboarding is reflected in lost potential revenue. Leaders must then realize that spending time to teach SDRs the fundamentals is more than just another box to tick.Rather, it is a commitment. Hana shares their best practices that have helped thousands of sales professionals sell better. Onboarding imparts your culture but it should also include some professionalism basics as a good number of SDRs are actually fresh out of college. HIGHLIGHTSCompanies need to commit time to onboard properlyCoach remotely with a buddy system for new SDRsOnboarding program: Teach the basics and use metrics  The balance between educating, building confidence, and ramping quotaRemember that SDRs are human too QUOTESHana: "I think it's a worthwhile exercise to look at the pipeline or revenue impact of not having a fully-ramped SDR in seat because that's what's going to help you prioritize your time. It's too easy to get caught up in the daily whirlwind... and say I'm too busy."Hana: "Having more experienced AEs or some of your senior SDRs who have done it and are showing great results, have them listen in and shadow and give their feedback. Chances are, if you've been coaching them all along, they'll also know your mentality and be able to pass that along."Hana: "I'm not a second week, throw somebody on the phone. That's not my approach or preference. But you have to hit it hard at the beginning. That's where you can take advantage of your mentors, of your buddies, that's where you can do a lot of group online at the same time cohort writing workshops."Hana: "Being ready is so subjective. But are there assessments that you can build in at checkpoints and milestones throughout their onboarding process to determine are they actually ready? Make sure you know what you're looking for. Can they do X, Y, and Z on a cold call practice with you?" You can find out more about Hana in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanaelliott/Website: https://vendition.com/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Todd Caponi, author of The Transparency Sale: How Unexpected Honesty and Understanding the Buying Brain Can Transform Your Results. Recognizing patterns of the past provides insights into how best to move forward into the future.Todd gives parallels to economic downturns from previous decades and how we are seeing the same red flags today. He observes a bubble in unicorn startups and advises leaders on how to provide their people with the most certainty possible to survive the incoming slump. HIGHLIGHTSSales trends follow cycles throughout historyLead through a bubble by providing certaintyRemind your team of the impact their work doesReward people with a sense of accomplishmentThe Transparent Sales Leader soft launch on Jul 5, 2022 QUOTESTodd: "Uncertainty is like a kryptonite for our brain. Like, literally, when we're uncertain, we don't sleep, we don't perform well, we're less creative, and, at it's core, our IQ literally goes down in those situations where there's uncertainty."Todd: "Create certainty right wherever you can within your teams right now, even if things are fantastic for you. You've got to do that because your teams are looking around and they're feeling like tomorrow is going to be the day."Todd: "We cut out the stuff that really didn't matter a whole lot, so that's number one. Number two is we focused all of our spending on the must-haves, the things that were going to give us certainty. So that's number two. And then number three is that we sought ways to remove risk and extend runway."Todd: "If you believe that sales reps are coin-operated, you're right if you're doing it wrong. You create an environment where your reps want to show up every day, want to stay, want to do their best, want to become advocates, and the variable compensation is the reward, not the motivator, that's when everybody wins." You can find out more about Todd in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddcaponi/Amazon book link: https://www.amazon.com/Transparency-Sale-Unexpected-Understanding-Transform/dp/1940858801

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Erika Davis, Vice President of Go to Market Strategy at Greaser Consulting and mental health advocate. Knowing the nuances of burnout helps you determine what is truly important to you and how best to manage the stress of sales.Erika defines what burnout really is and how it's different from simply being tired. She talks about the separation and connection between thoughts and feelings and how changing perspective and/or environment can create meaningful change. Erika also addresses sales leaders on how to manage people by acknowledging vulnerability and knowing what truly drives them. HIGHLIGHTSMisconceptions about burnout and knowing what's truly importantBurnout vs tired: The difference is the lack of meaning and purposeThoughts are not feelings and experiencing the spectrum of emotionFor sales leaders: Learn your team's motivations QUOTESErika: "Burnout, a lot of times, comes not necessarily from working too hard but from putting yourself in a situation where you're working really hard at things that aren't important to you and you don't find meaning in those things anymore."Erika: "When you feel like you've pushed as hard as you can with output, think about input, like what are you reading, what are you listening to, how are you getting new ideas so you're not just banging your head against a brick wall again and again and again."Erika: "Do I need to change my perspective or do I need to change my environment? And if I can't change either of those things meaningfully, then I just know it's out of my control and I just need to take care of myself."Erika: "Good mental health and being mentally healthy isn't about feeling happy or joyful all the time. It's about feeling the full spectrum of human emotion at the appropriate time." You can find out more about Erika in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikardavis/Podcast: https://www.greaserconsulting.com/learn/revops-therapy-podcast/

Rachel Nazhand, a 4x startup operator and BizOps/RevOps Evangelist, discusses leveraging ops to scale a business, aligning goals with practical steps, and the advantages of BizOps in various growth stages. She emphasizes the importance of empathy, data insights, and hiring strategically for operational effectiveness. Rachel also shares advice for sales leaders and operators on optimizing sales performance through operations.

This episode of the Live Better Sell Better Podcast recaps the best moments from our amazing guests (and myself!) last May. We touch on incredibly relevant topics such as the power of taking the initiative to further your career, pursuing coaching to guide others through your own mistakes and successes, increasing awareness of the value of diversity, leveraging content to engage prospects on multiple channels, having a reason WHY to achieve your goals, and much, much more! HIGHLIGHTSDerek Anniston, Director of Operations at American Equipment Financial ServicesCasey Jacox, Executive Leadership Coach at Winning the Relationship, and author of Win the Relationship, Not the DealHeidi Solomon-Orlick, VP of Global Sales at VXI Global Solution, Founder of GirlzWhoSell, and author of Heels to DealsMandy McEwen, Founder of Mod Girl MarketingKevin Dorsey,  SaaS Sales Consultant, Advisor, and Host of Live Better Sell Better Podcast

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Saad Khan, BDR Manager at Dooly. The role of BDRs can be empowered to close deals. However, making full-cycle reps doesn't take away from their role of prospecting, it just adds to it. Saad discusses BDR leadership and the strategies he employs to implement it. During their Initiation, they teach the concept of Give and Get which informs a way to get past resistance while also ensuring your time is spent wisely, and Mirroring which helps keep the conversation going. Saad shares how this allows them to have a leaner but much higher quality team who get paid more too. HIGHLIGHTSMake BDRs full cycle to close dealsTraining versus coachingDooly’s Initation teaches "Give and Get" and MirroringTraining fewer reps with higher compensation QUOTESSaad: "Instead of BDR Appreciation Week, I'm giving my BDRs the opportunity to come start closing deals. I'm not promising them to become an AE in six months. I'm giving them the right tools and the right training and the opportunity to make things happen."Saad: "Training could be just showing people how to use a tool, how to use Salesforce, how to use Dooly, what to do on a day-to-day. Coaching is you're on the trenches, you're on the field with them, you're working on plays every single day, you're executing plays. "Saad: "People are always going to have objections. You can address an objection, get something else in return. Very basic example, somebody says at the end of a call, hey, just send me something. Okay, well, hold on. what can I send you that's not going to get deleted? How can I stay top of mind without being annoying? Get something in return."Saad: "You know the buyer's conservation journey? People say the buyer's concerning journey is made of three phases: awareness, consideration, purchase. I disagree. I think there's one other phase which is the unaware phase." You can find out more about Saad in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saad-khan-73329013b/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iaresaad/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Mandi Graziano, sales veteran as both a leader and rep and bestselling author of Sales Tales: The Hustle, Humor, and Lessons Learned From a Life in Sales.Today, Mandi delves deep into how you can differentiate yourself. She details ways you can be memorable in all the right ways, from sending "choose your own adventure" emails to following up regularly and authentically. She also talks about other ways to engage prospects aside from happy hour like sweatworking. To find your own voice, you have to make your sales your own. Mandi shares how iterating others' effective strategies is a great way to do something that works but feels natural to you too. HIGHLIGHTSBe memorable with creative emails and follow-upsA student of the crisis: Surviving COVID in the hospitality industryMake it your own: Iteration and testing to find your voiceSales Tales is a collection of funny stories from Mandi's career QUOTESMandi: "Choose your own adventure email is a great, memorable way to get a customer to call you back or email you back. And, the thing is, they may email you back saying uh, who are you and I don't want to work with you, but then that's an opportunity for a no and an opportunity to ask why or how you can improve or who they're working with."Mandi: "Write your own haiku, choose your own adventure email, use video. There's so many ways you can be different and people now, I really believe this and this may sound crazy, but I think now people are more open to creativity and clever antics than they ever have before because they can't remember how it used to be done."Mandi: "Iteration, I think, is one of the best ways to find your own voice. Just try a whole bunch of different ways. But I think closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and thinking about what it is that makes it your own is really important."Mandi: "You have to keep trying things and you have to be open to failing because the magic is in the fail. It really, really is. So you have to try." You can find out more about Mandi in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandigraziano/Website: https://www.mandigraziano.com/Email: coach@mandigraziano.comAmazon book link: https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Tales-Hustle-Humor-Lessons/dp/1949635945