This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Townsend Wardlaw,  the Coach of BEing at PFC Coaching. There are lots of conflicting guides on what to do to close more sales but there aren't many that talk about who you need to be to become a better salesperson.Your choices create or don't create the results you end up with. Townsend shares how results come from actions which then come from thoughts. What produces the thought is your being. By shifting your being, you can introduce a completely different way of showing up to match your actions to your being, ultimately getting the results you want. HIGHLIGHTSCracking the code on sales to create great salespeopleResults are the product of action, which are the products of thoughtsBeing creates your thinking and how to world occurs for youShift your being to uplevel your human experienceQUOTESTownsend: "Thinking produces action and no two human beings have the same thought about the same set of circumstances. The circumstances aren't objective, they are a product of our thinking of it. This is where mindset comes in."Townsend: "I have an idea and the idea is what I call Being. It is our being that produces the thinking. What's being? Well, depends who you ask. For me, being is a function of a lot of things. Our upbringing, our race, our age, our sex, our trauma as a child."Townsend: "Being, at its simplest term, is how the world occurs for us. And based for how the world occurs for us, we will have the thoughts we have about it. We will take the actions that seem in alignment to produce and then we'll get the results we get."Townsend: "When we talk about shifting being, we're talking about changing the operating system of who we are."You can find out more about Townsend in the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/townsendwardlaw/Website: https://peacefreedomconnection.com/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Ellie Twigger, Commercial Account Director at SalesLoft. Presenting your authentic voice helps you to stand out. It creates trust with your prospects and actually shows that you are human in a time when people long for genuine interaction. Ellie shares how she uses video to communicate this. It works alongside her Hexagon Theory which proposes lighting up prospects with call, video, LinkedIn, direct mail, content sharing, and email. But being human goes both ways. SDRs should learn that being confident to send video messages to CEOs is the way to catch their attention. HIGHLIGHTSFind your authentic voice: Align who you are at home and at workThe 5 Whys: Be relevant and inquisitive to create a relationshipVideo makes you human and unforgettableConsistency is key and being human creates credibilityVideos bring out emotion QUOTESEllie: "I actually think people were craving human interactions. So I thought, what better way than interact with people than by sending even if it was a pre demo, post demo catch up, just a video with me being like hey, my name's Ellie, why not put a face to the name?"Ellie: "People buy from people. I think it's now humans buy from humans, and what better way to show you're a human than by sending a video of yourself smiling saying hey, I genuinely want to have a conversation with you."Ellie: "That's the whole thing kind of prospecting with SDRs, the main thing you need to think of is how can I be unforgettable? And video is an amazing way to be unforgettable."Ellie: "You grab their attention once, so why lose it and then just take them out of your cadence and never speak to them again?"You can find out more about Ellie in the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-twigger/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Ankur Ahuja, Chief Operating Officer at Varana Capital. Venture capital has a very sexy perception in many people's minds. Ankur discusses what really happens behind the scenes and what VCs really look for and their priorities in selecting companies.Ankur shares who the people behind VCs are and that, more than anything, venture capital is about investing in people since the relationship is typically set for 10 years. Ankur also talks about the importance of a CFO in startups looking for VC and he suggests hiring a fractional CFO to get this set up.HIGHLIGHTSThe anatomy of a VC fundVC is all about investing in peopleStartups should hire fractional CFOsSuccessful exits: Who gets paid?QUOTESAnkur: "What is the total addressable market? That's a term you hear a lot about, TAM. We also look to see is this technology new? Is it disruptive? How disruptive is it? Are we recreating the wheel or are we taking something and just making it incrementally better?"Ankur: "What we need to do is figure out very quickly which companies are going to be outliers and team, in the beginning, is a really big thing because you're investing in people. When someone just has an idea and it's like a pie in the sky, as I call it, you're investing in somebody and a team and a person."Ankur: "If you don't need a full-time CFO is hire a fractional CFO. There's a lot of companies like Early Growth and a few other companies that we partner with that have fractional CFOs that know exactly how to package those numbers and set up a data room for us with everything that we need to make those investment decisions a lot easier and a lot faster."You can find out more about Ankur in the links below:LinkedIn (personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankur-ahuja-63070537/LinkedIn (Varana Capital): https://www.linkedin.com/company/varana-capital/Website: https://varanacapital.com/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Thomas Cheriyan, Senior Director of Learning and Development at OwnBackup. Boot camps are an excellent opportunity to teach your sales process but also involve every level in the organization to create the culture you want.Thomas shares how their Boot Camp utilizes not just role-playing but also contributions from the C-suite and even their actual customers. He also talks about feedback, how providing it constructively is the effective way to perform sales enablement, and the need to understand how buyers buy to sell effectively.HIGHLIGHTSTake lessons from the best sales reps and teach other repsBoot Camp trains on product, but it also develops cultureTeach through feedback loops and bring in the customer's voiceTools don't solve problems, they amplify effective strategiesThe "Oh Shit Moment" in the buyer's journeyQUOTESThomas: "Sales enablement, the way I've defined it with my team and here within OwnBackup, it's a philosophy. So what are not only the skills you need but what is the process, the technology, the tools, essentially the entire ecosystem or environment so that you're truly being set up for success?"Thomas: "This is just how people grow, you grow through feedback. It's not necessarily about me teaching you something. It's about me giving you the feedback based on how well you've actually understood it and mastered it."Thomas: "That's why it's so much more important to scale with the resources you do have and to get executive buy-in and to build those champions or alliances with other key leaders and reps and managers across the org because that's how you build an impactful program."Thomas: "I think the best reps are able to create that empathy between the buyer and the seller. And look, from that perspective, as a buyer then, I don't want to haggle as much or haggling is not the issue here, I actually just want to buy it because you're helping me to solve a problem. And that's the issue."You can find out more about Thomas in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tkcheriyan/Website: https://www.ownbackup.com/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Ryan Walsh, Founder and CEO at RepVue. Having a process ensures that companies attract the best talents for the job, but the same goes for reps looking to join organizations.By using metrics and data, hiring companies can match with interested reps which have the optimal skill sets for the job at hand. Ryan talks about 7 metrics that companies can ask their potential hires to rank.These metrics are base comp, incentive comp structure, culture and leadership, product market fit, diversity and inclusion, lead flow, and professional development. This transparency in goals, which also flows from company to hire, sets the stage for alignment and eventual success.SHOW NOTESHIGHLIGHTSAttract the best talent with greenfield opportunitiesEmployees rank 7 priorities in joining a companyRetain talent with transparencyPatience is key and intention vs attentionQUOTESRyan: "Our goal is to shine a light on companies that are providing an exceptionally positive experience to their employees. Our goal is to highlight those types of companies for sales professionals so that they can get into those roles."Ryan: "You'll be way better if you know where you've really had success and double down a little bit on that." Ryan: "The tech stack is important. I think autonomy is important. I think how transparent is leadership about everything. I think expectations minus reality equals disappointment. There's a literal mathematical formula in there, and you can apply it to hiring."You can find out more about Ryan in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancwalsh/Website: https://www.repvue.com/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Wayne Morris, 2x CRO, 4x sales leader, consultant, advisor, and coach, who has made 2 successful $150M exits.Wayne discusses the 3 milestones every founder needs to establish product market fit. He then stresses the need to document, not just for the sake of founders, but also to facilitate better hiring processes which will come very soon.Depending on the type of founder, they can be their company's very first sales person too. There are multiple other reasons why founder-led sales is effective, but there is also a need to develop leaders so they can manage their growing sales team as well. HIGHLIGHTSProduct market fit: Hypothesis, beta testing, move to a paid modelDocument everything to facilitate good hiringHow to hire your first sales personTraining leaders to manage their sales peopleQUOTESWayne: "I'm trying to get to the real core of what their challenges are today in order to make sure that what I'm developing is going to impact that. It just cannot be peripheral. It has to be core."Wayne: "This hire, I'm expecting them to basically have 2 or 3 sales people who are coming in behind them, and I'm expecting them to really take the reins off me. So I'm selling that person hard on the future value of the company."Wayne: "9 times out of 10, it's just about give them the confidence they're not going to get fired, give them the confidence that you're going to be there for them, give them the confidence that we can work through this."You can find out more about Wayne in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waynemorris/Website: https://waynemorris.co/Newsletter: https://waynemorris.me/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Alex Newmann, Founder of Newmann Consulting and mentor to companies and tech startups. The prospecting playbook involves a series of steps but all begins in the right mindset of prioritizing and understanding your goals.Once you have this down, you can move to the more tactical steps like taking a deep dive in understanding who your customer is and what keeps them up at night. One way to get your messaging right is by recording your calls so you can look back on them and determine what you do right and wrong.And finally, lead with emotion and not the benefits of your product. Make sure to reach out to your customers using a variety of channels and to understand which channels work best and to utilize those extensively. And don't ever forget the power of personalization!SHOW NOTESHIGHLIGHTSUnderstand your goals, deal sizes, and sales cycles to make and exceed quotaTime and energy management: Prioritize tasks and learn to say noUnderstand what drives your ideal customerRecord your conversations with your customersLead with emotion and have a multi-channel approach for the askAB test and do it one at a timeQUOTESAlex: "Help me understand what my personal goals are, let me understand what is it going to take in order to get there. So average deal size, number of deals that it's going to take, not the median of the deals, the average deal size."Alex: "When you understand that formulaic way to hit your goals, then you have specific priorities that are set in order to be able to achieve those things that are inside of your control. When you break them down into a weekly or monthly basis, you can go and say, alright, those priorities need to be accomplished either weekly or monthly."Alex: "It's the emotional thing that are just banging their heads against, that's what you want to understand. You understand your customers and prospecting, literally, all the doors just got swung wide open. It makes your messaging, it makes your plans, it makes your channel, it makes every single thing now attainable because you actually have an understanding of what you're trying to do." Alex: "Understanding the channels in which the buyers of that specific offering need to be, that is part of figuring it out. If the company's been around for a little while, take a look at it and see what are other people doing to be successful. Look at the top sales reps. Look at the historical top performers."You can find out more about Alex in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexnewmann/Website: https://www.alexnewmann.com/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Kris Hartvigsen, CEO and Founder of Dooly. Kris shares his wisdom as a sales leader on how managers must be present to coach reps. By empowering reps with the tools they need, guiding them, and roleplaying, reps enter calls confidently as subject matter experts to close deals. Kris discusses that managers must also be aware of what questions their reps are not asking since this comfort zone may be what is limiting their success. He also shares his 5:01 Challenge which gives you back your time to live your own life. HIGHLIGHTSWork back the numbers to strategize how to hit your quotaDeal prepping increases your credibility on the callAvoid happy ears by validating where you are in a dealContext switching wastes valuable timeRecognize a rep's strengths to overcome strugglesQUOTESKris: "How many small, medium, and big-sized deals do I need to get in order to get there? Where am I going to have the most success? Where have I seen the most success? What are my core strengths? I think it's also really incumbent upon the rep to ask or at least request of the business the things that they think they need to be successful."Kris: "Every time that you say 'I don't know' or 'let me get back to you' to a prospect, you have a moment where maybe you're earning their respect because you haven't told them a BS story, but you're also limiting your ability to be the credible person on that call."Kris: "Every single time you context switch, psychology will say this, it takes you between 3 and 5 minutes to get yourself back into your super focused mode. So if I need to context switch between my 8 actively used tools all day everyday, every single time I'm doing that 3 to 5 minutes, that's a lot of time you're chewing up." Kris: "Look at how they're commenting on their deals. Understand the different things that they're learning and figure out where the gaps are. Figure out the questions they're not asking. Oftentimes, that's where the real magic lies."You can find out more about Kris in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishartvigsen/Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrisHartvigsenWebsite: https://www.dooly.ai/

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Matthew Roberts from Mosaic.tech. Becoming the best leader doesn't mean you have to always be the best at everything. Matthew shares that creating empathy with others by working alongside them and knowing the pains of the sales floor is one of the best ways to achieve this.He also shares how leaders can motivate others with strategies like quantitative and qualitative documentation, perhaps with Loom videos, micro promotions, and one on one conversations as nothing is every one-size-fits-all. To recognize growth, leaders can also utilize strategies which don't cost money like 4-day work weeks and incentives for quota coverage. HIGHLIGHTSBe a better leader by learning the pains on the sales floorDocument each and every processMotivate with micro promotions and conversationsTaking ownership and motivating with a full cycle role Always treat people as people QUOTESMatthew: "I would kind of like a fraud if I came in and just sort of building things and coaching and training but wasn't on the phone making calls, wasn't building the sequences from scratch and sending cold emails every single day, adding in good accounts."Matthew: "Of course, you hope and you expect or you want that leader to be killing it but, at the same time, if they're failing too it also shows how they handle that failure is so much more important than booking that meeting."Matthew: "Have stuff to share with them. Have hard numbers. Have timelines. Have qualitative and quantitative information that you can share so that they know what they should expect and they know what they need to do in order to get there. And, at the same time, micro promotions."KD: "Create an AE boot camp, sure they're still an SDR but at least now you're preparing them to be an AE. That buys you some time. And then, the second one, if your market allows you for it, create a full cycle role."Matthew: "Talk to people like they're people. No matter what, a lot going on in the world, a lot going on in people's personal lives, a lot going on at work, it's exhausting. So making sure that you understand that everyone's a human first."You can find out more about Matthew in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpaulroberts5/Website: https://www.mosaic.tech/Email: matt@mosaic.tech

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Devin Williams, thought leader and president and co-founder at People First Professionals. People's emotional response is biologically hardwired to kick in before we are able to rationalize it.Having the emotional intelligence to be aware of this requires intentionality, and Devin shares what you can do to be intentional about this self work, so you can improve your emotional relationship with yourself and others. This definitely applies to sales too and the way salespeople can cultivate better relationships and increase margins. HIGHLIGHTSEmotional intelligence: Start with self then move to socialGain self-awareness with meditation and recognize biases Intentionality: Journal triggers and find an accountability partnerCuriosity for social emotional intelligence and salesEmpathy creates the connections you need for successQUOTESDevin: "We literally feel emotions before we can rationalize them. As you trace synapses through the brain, through the alligator brain into the emotional center, you literally feel it before it reaches the part of your brain where you can rationalize it."Devin: "You have EQ, emotional intelligence, so one way to help advance your self-awareness is to gain the perspective of others, and then reflect that back on your own perception of the world."Devin: "The more questions that you can ask in a genuine and authentic level of curiosity, the more your social awareness is going to improve. The more perspectives, opinions of other people, the more you start to form a real picture that is beyond your biases and all this. Again, because you've put in the effort and the work to grow your self-awareness, you're now more able to see the world for what it really is."Devin: "Just having empathy and creating that true connectiveness and that curiosity that comes along with it, it's how you build amazing teams. It's how you build amazing companies. It's how you build champions at your customers who truly believe that you care about them because you do."You can find out more about Devin in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinwilliamspfp/Website: https://www.peoplefirstprofessionals.org/