Enterprise Sales Show

Sales is a team sport. People have re-evaluated work and the role they want it to play in their lives, culture and values really matter. Recruitment needs to begin with sharing thought leadership on LinkedIn not suddenly popping up with a hire request. Leaders' responsibility to create an environment where meaningful conversations occur. Psychological safety vital. It's what you do when someone makes a mistake that matters. There is only 1 version of Dan Swift. With much therapy over the last ten years, Dan has a superpower of seeing others being vulnerable and able to build a connection. Those leaders who don't take the mental health of their teams seriously will become irrelevant. When you have a new terrority bring it down to top 10 accounts and ask colleagues who knows any of these people? Sales is a team sport.

The greatest business challenge of our time is How to build diverse teams that deliver successful growth and innovation? One of the most accomplished leaders at achieving this is Keith Douglas. I am thrilled to have Keith back on the Enterprise Sales show. We are connected by our mutual friend Anant Patel. Thank you Anant. Keith is a motivating leader who empowers his people, he ‘get out of their way' so they can produce their best work. He has consistently created high performing and enjoyable ‘people centred' cultures. We share similar values including the importance of how you win and not just winning. Keith is an over-achieving commercial EVP, with 20 years+ Payment industry experience. He was until recently responsible for driving forward key growth area of e-commerce (Mastercard Payment Gateway Services) he had a team of over 400 talented people across the globe. Keith welcome and congratulations on your new role as EVP for Open Banking International. “Grateful to Anant Patel for our introduction, it has been a very fruitful and valuable partnership.” As a change maker, You believe “Together is always better” how do you approach enabling your team to believe in their ‘unseen' capability and embrace challenging situations? The first part is to give them more belief in themselves than they currently have. Combine your values with theirs to give your team a difference and nothing cannot achieve together. Embedded in four of principles is Together is always better: Strive to help each other. Encourage and embrace diversity of thought. Candid conversations and collaboration. Celebrate success and failure together. Trust in the team vital – build safety to have candid conversations that are fair and caring. My father has had the biggest impact on me, he encouraged me to see the opportunity in everything first and then embrace the challenge. Faith “If you think you are beaten, you are If you think you dare not, you don't, If you like to win, but you think you can't It is almost certain you won't. If you think you'll lose, you're lost For out of the world we find, Success begins with a fellow's will It's all in the state of mind. If you think you are outclassed, you are You've got to think high to rise, You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize. Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man, But soon or late the man who wins Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!” ― Walter D. Wintle

The greatest business challenge of our time is How to build diverse teams that deliver successful growth and innovation? One of the most accomplished leaders at achieving this is Keith Douglas. I am thrilled to have Keith back on the Enterprise Sales show. We are connected by our mutual friend Anant Patel. Thank you Anant. Keith is a motivating leader who empowers his people, he ‘get out of their way' so they can produce their best work. He has consistently created high performing and enjoyable ‘people centred' cultures. We share similar values including the importance of how you win and not just winning. Keith is an over-achieving commercial EVP, with 20 years+ Payment industry experience. He was until recently responsible for driving forward key growth area of e-commerce (Mastercard Payment Gateway Services) he had a team of over 400 talented people across the globe. Keith welcome and congratulations on your new role as EVP for Open Banking International. “Grateful to Anant Patel for our introduction, it has been a very fruitful and valuable partnership.” Can we go deeper on your approach to building a team culture centred around aligned values? Culture is a feeling not a thing. Firstly, have to define why we are here and what is to be achieved. Three elements: Sense of belonging Empower team members Feedback 2 way as the leader you have to give, encourage, and provide feedback. A clear vision with a dynamic team culture, let them work it out for themselves, don't micromanage. Leads to a set of values and agreed behaviours. No effective team culture just happens, needs to be purposeful. It takes time, help and full commitment from all team members. “Had Adrian Evans come in and help shape the culture of my team.” Been tough for new staters who joined in lockdown, Keith admires their ability to adapt and fit in. Zoom only 2d he is at best impact when physically in room with team. “Find ways to connect beyond the task.” You recently shared how “sponsorship equals advocacy”, as a catalyst to further career success, can you explain why this is so vital? Ties back to network, having mentors and advisors. 2-way street, I update them on my progress offer to help on projects outside of day job. If all can win, we raise the tide for all. They can act as a recruiter and help support my next career move. I now sponsor some people who have sponsored me, not a linear process. You have to give to get, invest in relationships consistently.

The greatest business challenge of our time is How to build diverse teams that deliver successful growth and innovation? One of the most accomplished leaders at achieving this is Keith Douglas. I am thrilled to have Keith back on the Enterprise Sales show. We are connected by our mutual friend Anant Patel. Thank you Anant. Keith is a motivating leader who empowers his people, he ‘get out of their way' so they can produce their best work. He has consistently created high performing and enjoyable ‘people centred' cultures. We share similar values including the importance of how you win and not just winning. Keith is an over-achieving commercial EVP, with 20 years+ Payment industry experience. He was until recently responsible for driving forward key growth area of e-commerce (Mastercard Payment Gateway Services) he had a team of over 400 talented people across the globe. Keith welcome and congratulations on your new role as EVP for Open Banking International. “Grateful to Anant Patel for our introduction, it has been a very fruitful and valuable partnership.” 1) Last time we spoke you mentioned “The Art of being you” and the awareness of the impact you have on others. How did you build this skill - particularly with creating allies in your peer group? Your job whilst on this planet is to be the best version of you. That brings your edge – values and point of difference. Balance across your IQ EQ DQ = Your What, Your How, Your Why. Arsenal legend: David Rocastle "Remember who you are, what you are, and who you represent!" 2) When you spoke with Rob and I previously you shared the power of your network – how it enabled you to achieve your career success, what advice do you have for our audience to implement such career accelerating behaviour? It's become part of my everyday being. “My network has certainly helped me be a better version of myself”. How can other help you and how can you help others, that is the thing about a network it's a 2-way equation, not one sided you have to give and invest to get. “I certainly would not have got to where I have got to without the help of many people. That is the importance of a network” Importance of diversity of thought and action, it brings perspective – which brings better decisions and relationships. Enables better individual and collective impact. Surround yourself with smart people and then - Listen to them. Otherwise, why bother. I think of my network more broadly than the team I work with, the customers and the partners. I think of the people have worked with people continue to work with and introduction like yourself from Anant. I have had 5 major career inflexion points, some examples of those key individuals that have helped me: Steve “Focus on what you want to be and not limited by you are, see what you can be.” Think about possibility not limitation. Marion “Don't complain - contribute.” Cathy “You have got to stand for something, in life and the workplace.” Be known as the group with exacting, demanding, inspiring set of individuals and impatience, a tall order. Raj “Remember who helped you out whilst others made excuses. “ People you least expect – unless you are curious and want to build a relationship then you won't see them in a new light. Power of network - people you can go back to and ask for help consistently. Keith defined what is winning? Being bolder, do different.

#336 Interview with Wealth Advisor Martin Capel-Smith by Adrian Evans

One of the greatest challenges we have observed for enterprise sales professionals is – How to create an effective message and story to connect the customer pain with your solution. One of the most accomplished people we have seen, first-hand, is Mike Adams. Mike an over-achieving enterprise sales director, with 20 years plus industry experience. He taught himself storytelling on the job and shares this insight with ambitions sales professionals across the globe to craft effective business stories. Thank you, Mike, for taking time out: 1. Can you tell us about your career and how you have successfully moved from Enterprise sales to storytelling to enable other salespeople? 2. We know how important is it to gain executive level buy-in to influence the size and scope of an enterprise deal? How do you create a compelling story for these stakeholders? 3. In your book Seven Stories ever salesperson must tell – you say “recognise you are the guide not the hero” can you tell us more? 4. For our audience struggling between their own story and creating a business story – what are the first steps? 5. What do you wish you knew early on in your career, that you know today? Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

One of the greatest challenges we have observed is – How to lead people and consistently deliver in the high-pressure environment of technology enterprise sales. One of the most accomplished leaders we have seen, first-hand, is Paul Evans. Paul an over-achieving enterprise sales director, with 20 years plus software industry experience. He is typically brought into an organisation to accelerate revenue growth - this is always achieved by creating high performance and a positive people culture. He has a rare ability to create compelling narratives that connect solutions to decision makers - enabling them to align with key business objectives. He is a stellar relationship builder and thoroughly decent human being. A declaration Paul is a client and we have worked together multiple times. Thank you, Paul, for taking time out: 1. How important is creating psychological safety within your team to delivering high performance? • Paul stated that he believes creating psychological safety is profoundly important, to deliver high perforamnce. • He believes that at its heart Enterprise sales is solving complex problems, we need to be in the place where the highest brain functioning is occurring. • Being creative, innovative, thoughtful, and empathetic to customer needs and relationship is vital. • As humans we are animals and from a biochemical perspective, the more dominant dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin rather than cortisol – (the stress hormone), the greater the likelihood of problem solving and high performance. • Safety is vital to performance and whilst not easy to achieve in the context of enterprise sales with targets to hit. • Paul sees it as his responsibility to set the tone each day for his team. 2. How do you shift your team's mindset, so they view large deals as a possibility, then a reality? • This occurs at the intersection between vision of possibilities and successful strategy and execution. • Vision and clarity of what is the contestable market share for this account for this market? • What would this deal/account look like at its largest? • Then the hard yards – Paul proactively coaching his team through these stages... Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

"Think like a jungle cat , instinctively, by feel, trusting your skills, backing yourself." This week I had the honour of interviewing Don MacPherson for the Enterprise Sales show podcast channel. Don is an internationally recognized mind coach who has unlocked potential within elite sports professionals from the fields of Formula One racing, Rugby union and even a Wimbledon tennis champion. Don is a warm and practical guide, who also helps members of the public with their anxiety and performance challenges. He shared his view on the noise presented by accidental mind coaches. How he presents a British Lion for optimal performance. How we in enterprise sales can achieve more and with a confident calmness using mental rehearsal. If you are struggling with anxiety or want to take your performance to a new level, I thoroughly recommend Don MacPherson's recently released book, How to Master Your Monkey Mind - Overcome anxiety, increase confidence, and regain control of your life. "Think like a jungle cat , instinctively, by feel, trusting your skills, backing yourself." Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

As a result of creating In The Zone - How Champions Think and Win Big, Clyde Brolin has peeled back the curtain and revealed why champions achieve ground-breaking results. During his seven-year writing quest (yes, that's right, seven years!), he interviewed hundreds of the world's top sports stars including current Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, and one of Britain's greatest ever Olympians, Sir Chris Hoy. More insights from Clyde: Clyde's conclusion is that these winners Conceive, Believe, Achieve. They dream big, they visualise, they build their skill relentlessly, believing in themselves to go on and achieve remarkable feats. I was discussing this recently with a mentor of mine, who expressed his mild irritation how visualisation is dismissed by so many. In our hyper-rational, data-driven world it is called mental preparation but is often dismissed as a bit “whacky” and “woo-woo”. Sceptics go further still and promote the disempowering belief that it only works for a select few. It struck me that in the highly-prized legal profession, all is looked at through the lens of the past, with questions such as “What is the legal precedent?” Whilst this prism is essential in many contexts, it is not always the most helpful when trying to deal with the presently uncertain world, definitely not the optimal place to start when creating a compelling future – trying to create beyond what we think is possible for us – and certainly not helpful when trying to reach our potential. As many of you know, when I get frustrated or hear others I care for getting frustrated, I get very curious and seek the truth. So, I decided to stop and reflect on whether this is ‘just for the few' or whether we can all visualise and make our careers and lives more successful. I did not have to look too far. One of my clients recently became deeply frustrated by the lack of opportunity in his current role. I too was frustrated because he deserves better, he genuinely cares about his customers and the service and technology experience being delivered. He has the ability to create an uncommon level of trust, so I knew he would connect well with those who could reinvent his career. As he is always up for a challenge, I suggested to him that we could create a new job opportunity within three months. Whilst slightly reticent at the beginning, he threw himself into the process quickly. I knew he was ‘both feet in' when he created a vision board of what his new role would look like within 90 days from now. He started the process of connecting with senior decision-makers, identifying how he could solve their most pressing business problems. He had open, curious conversations, which led to deeper dialogue and gained further referrals. After 23 calls and follow-up actions, I am thrilled to say he has created a new role for himself! ‘The difference that made the difference' was his attitude – having a vision and trusting the process. In a recent interview for the Enterprise Sales Show, Rob Howes and I asked overachieving Sales Director Paul Evans, “How do you achieve 8-figure deals?” Paul shared how a $27 million deal started out in the account executive's mind as a $50,000 opportunity; it would have stayed there if they had not thought differently and asked: “What could this deal mean at its largest?”... If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

One of the greatest challenges we have observed from the current sales environment is – How to manage and motivate a diverse and remote global sales workforce. Jeff Riseley is currently the Founder of the Sales Health Alliance and Mental Health Advocate. With over a decade of sales experience – Jeff understands the importance of Mental Health in achieving peak sales performance. Jeff combines his sales and Mental Health expertise to improve sales performance through a mix of sales mentorship and mental health best practices. His strategies have helped sales teams improve their sales process, while helping them become more motivated, resilient and better equipped to tackle stressful events within sales. Who is on a mission to end Mental Health stigma in the workplace. Welcome Jeff thank you, for taking time out: • From our previous call you have an incredible backstory; would you mind sharing that with us please? An over performer, all looked good on the outside not the case on the inside. Cancer survivor. Sales people are corporates athletics, we need to give them, the pads, gloves… • Can you share some of the statistics on mental health within the sales industry? General population, sales and now post Covid. 58% of salespeople struggle with Mental Health. Unfortunately there is still a stigma around addressing this in the workplace. • What specific steps can sales professionals take to improve their mental health, whilst still performing? Challenge their leaders to create a psychologically safe environment. • What advice do you have for the sales leadership community to support their teams and individuals at this time of increased uncertainty? Listen rather than be a problem solver. Data from the World Health Organization shows that for every $1 put into scaled up treatment for common mental disorders (anxiety, depression, burnout, etc), results in a $4 return on improved health and productivity. • What do you wish you knew early on in your career, that you know today? Take off the mask and create human connection and be authentic self. Always positive intent. FOMO and companies will lose top sales talent if not allowing them recovery time. • How would you recommend one follows up if interested in discussing your services further? Email: jeff@saleshealthalliance.com Wanted to share a recent post from Jeff that illustrates the value of building resilience as sales individuals: Sales enablement teams should emulate Formula 1 car companies in their hunt for higher sales performance and efficiency. They are missing these 2 key buckets: When you envision a Formula 1 race and you think about a Ferrari racing around the track... What do you see? You see a multi-million dollar car with the best car technology in the world. In sales this is your tech stack - comprised of all the best sales technologies on the market. You also see a driver who is being fed insight from their team on the sideline. This is your salesperson who is receiving Training and Coaching from their manager. But sales enablement usually stops there. They are missing: 1) Resilience - Practical strategies the driver and salesperson can use to respond to stressful situations (near death experiences or missing target). Tools that protect their Mental Health and keep performance high. This also includes pit stops during the race or quarter that keep the driver, car and salesperson from breaking down. 2) Recovery - Time between races when drivers and salespeople can recover from the stress of competition. Often times, salespeople are never allowed to get off the track. Without these 2 buckets a sales team will never reach peak levels of performance.

One of the greatest challenges we have observed for enterprise sales professionals is – How to win 7 or 8-figure ($10M+) deals. A lot of salespeople talk about closing mega deals, but the reality is that most don't achieve it or at best had a deal driven by their management. We've found that its usually a small percentage of sellers who've cracked the code and have done it multiple times. We'd like to unlock the mystery of closing these deals. One of the most accomplished people I have seen, first-hand, is Paul Evans. Paul an over-achieving enterprise sales director, with 20 years plus software industry experience. He is typically brought into an organisation to accelerate revenue growth - this is always achieved by creating high performance and a positive people culture. He has a rare ability to create compelling narratives that connect solutions to decision makers - enabling them to align with key business objectives. He is a stellar relationship builder and thoroughly decent human being. A declaration - Paul is a client and we have worked together multiple times. My Key Takeaways: • Be authentic. • Have greater ambition that you can currently see. Ask “What could this deal mean at its largest?” • Adrian observed that for a customer to sign off an 8-figure deal - 26 million technical spend there must be at least 40 million if not more of value. • Implication for ESC community if you want to sell a £26 million deal identity and solve a £40 million problem, for someone with the purse and power. • Create early executive engagement. • Consultative selling builds trust and enables bigger wins. • When you know what your do best in this world, you can enjoy it and be excellent at it. Paul feels his career like a Catherine Wheel a slower start but now fully energised operating at speed. If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

One of the greatest challenges we have observed for enterprise sales professionals is – How to win 7 or 8-figure ($10M+) deals. A lot of salespeople talk about closing mega deals, but the reality is that most don't achieve it or at best had a deal driven by their management. We've found that its usually a small percentage of sellers who've cracked the code and have done it multiple times. We'd like to unlock the mystery of closing these deals. One of the most accomplished people I have seen, first-hand, is Paul Evans. Paul an over-achieving enterprise sales director, with 20 years plus software industry experience. He is typically brought into an organisation to accelerate revenue growth - this is always achieved by creating high performance and a positive people culture. He has a rare ability to create compelling narratives that connect solutions to decision makers - enabling them to align with key business objectives. He is a stellar relationship builder and thoroughly decent human being. A declaration - Paul is a client and we have worked together multiple times. Thank you, Paul, for taking time out: 1. How do you achieve such big deals? · Three possible routes: · RFP, by that point written by someone else and have another in mind. · Defined project, or · Consultative approach - you proactively discover what the customer really needs. · Third option whilst harder enables you to help the customer more than they know themselves. It is the most uncertain. · Reading the annual report will give you the investment intentions of the company. Discovery work, contacts in the company to build up a picture of what the need is. Joining dots and aligning your solution to these is the optimal route to larger deals. · Early executive engagement - win the psychological and social contract before commercial contract. · It feels authentic to Paul to know the executives at the beginning of the process and have relationships in place rather than last few days before deal sign off. · A $27 million deal started out in the account executive mind as a $50-100,000 opportunity, it would have stayed there if they had not thought differently and asked: o “What could this deal mean at its largest?” o Burning platform, a high level of pain allows larger deals. 2. One of my observations is how you connect with senior level executives and create a compelling narrative; can you tell us more about that? · Paul paints the pictures of where the customer is now, a vision of an outcome and how the technology will close that gap. · At a human level we are ready for story. For business, a compelling narrative arc. So, tell that story well. · Rob recalls the time when working with Paul at an offsite sales conference at Juniper Networks Rob and Paul in the same team to create a pitch for client business. Paul created a compelling narrative which became the winning pitch. · A 2-year active customer engagement process led to the eventual signing of a 26million deal. · Consultative selling builds trust and enables bigger wins. 3. What do you wish you knew early on in your career, that you know today? · Take more risks, not unmeasured, yet explore possibilities. Be braver. · Paul like a Catherine wheel, gaining speed and energy. Would have challenged himself to step into the unknown more. If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

One of the greatest challenges we have observed for enterprise sales professionals is – How to win 7 or 8-figure ($10M+) deals. A lot of salespeople talk about closing mega deals, but the reality is that most don't achieve it or at best had a deal driven by their management. We've found that its usually a small percentage of sellers who've cracked the code and have done it multiple times. We'd like to unlock the mystery of closing these deals. One of the most accomplished people I have seen, first-hand, is Paul Evans. Paul an over-achieving enterprise sales director, with 20 years plus software industry experience. He is typically brought into an organisation to accelerate revenue growth - this is always achieved by creating high performance and a positive people culture. He has a rare ability to create compelling narratives that connect solutions to decision makers - enabling them to align with key business objectives. He is a stellar relationship builder and thoroughly decent human being. A declaration - Paul is a client and we have worked together multiple times. Thank you, Paul, for taking time out: 1) Can you tell us about your career and how you have successfully moved from Individual Contributor to Manager to Director? • Early career spent at IBM and a systems integrator; sales foundation skills built here. Spent eight years at Oracle and moved through these positions from account director to lead to sales director to country leader. Now at IFS on the senior leadership team. • Paul a self-confessed “Bit of a geek”, enjoys and understands the technology and loves what it enables. • Paul's long hinterland of experience - he has sold every type of technology from, consulting, infrastructure to applications, feels an authenticity when leading teams as never as them to do something he has not. • Nothing gives him great pleasure than ensuring his teams are successful and him contributing to that success. As a sales leader my success is assured through their success. • A key inflexion point for Paul was when we started working together. He invested in himself at a time when he wanted to be more assertive about his future. He felt that as a coach I brought him an independent lens which allowed him to see a path beyond what was visible and known. Allowed him to build a stronger narrative about himself. 2) How have you been able to make the transition from working for a globally recognised brand that employs 100,000+ people to a smaller business culture yet still overachieve? • Raise the level of ambition and scale of transaction. • Transformed UK Sales team at current company IFS. Changing the culture, mindset, expectation, and execution resulting in significant success during the last challenging 18 months. • Coaching and supportive of his team and specifically being wingman for high performing Account Executives on significant opportunities. 3. How important is it to gain executive level buy-in to influence the size and scope of an enterprise deal? How do you navigate a complex organisation? · Alignment to value. · Build an impactful business case and investment case. One or two-page executive summary. · Go deep and broad in the customer organisation, multi-level engagement. Create early executive engagement, its genuine and authentic. · 3 areas where software add value by enabling: Do more with it to drive revenue. Reduce costs. Managing risk or Compliance. Blend these together. Build a solid business case to take to the board. If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

My recent podcast, “How to visualise”, has certainly resonated with the Enterprise Sales community. Many found it a practical exercise; some of you commented it was a reminder to take back ownership of your own careers and a few of you have fully embraced the value of daily visualisation to create your next job opportunities. This quote from performance psychologist Dr Michael Gervais, has refined my ability to embrace and teach visualisation: “The visualisation process needs to be as real as possible… not just vision but all senses if possible. It requires a disciplined approach of embodying and experiencing life-like images.” Knowing the best route for your next large enterprise deal or career trajectory is tough at the best of times. Then add in the after-effects of the pandemic, little face-to-face contact, and pressure to over-deliver in the day job. The life of a sales professional can be really difficult. I recently explored outside our field to gain some inspiration and insights. I read the book The Outstanding Actor, by Ken Rea, Professor of Theatre at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, which outlines how to overachieve in this field. The book has three themes that we can learn from: · Embrace the learning of your craft and always get better · Know your values and build your character · Always be at peak condition, ready to perform This final one struck me. Sir Laurence Olivier, who was the outstanding actor of his generation, was still having weekly voice lessons at aged 68. He was ready for his next performance, even if not always sure when it would come to him. He was considered very gifted. Yet on further inspection of his back story, he was extremely hard working, always rehearsing, deliberately practising and refining his relentless work ethic at the Old Vic and his pioneering work at the National Theatre. His dedication, scholarship, determination, practice and sheer grit is what made him one of the greatest actors – if not the greatest – of the twentieth-century. This sounds like ‘the talent code', rather than a gift from God, as highlighted by author Daniel Coyle in his exceptional book, The Talent Code – Greatness isn't born. It's grown: “Although talent feels and looks predestined, in fact we have a good deal of control over what skills we develop, and we have more potential than we might ever presume to guess.” There are many parallels with acting in enterprise sales such as long periods of work before consistently producing the ultimately exceptional performance. Recently, I have noted from a number of my clients that they are at the peak of their sales career, the more experienced they are. They are adding greater value to customers, having a broader impact, and closing larger deals than ever before. This is best summed up by Rob Howes, co-founder of ESC, who in his day job is an overachieving Strategic Account Manager at Collibra: “I could not have closed this significant deal at any other stage of my career. It is as if I needed all those previous experiences and engagements to bring this together.” ...As one of Britain's most decorated Olympians, Sir Chris Hoy, said to author of the stellar book - In The Zone, Clyde Brolin: “People think champions are a different breed, but we all underestimate what we're capable of…” Why not raise the level of ambition of the size of your next deal? You will be surprised at what can be achieved. Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

One of the greatest challenges we have observed for enterprise sales professionals is – How to win 7 or 8 figure ($10M+) deals. A lot of salespeople talk about closing mega deals, but the reality is that most don't achieve it or at best had a deal driven by their management. We've found that its usually a small percentage of sellers who've cracked the code and have done it multiple times. We'd like to unlock the mystery of closing these deals. One of the most accomplished people I have seen, first-hand, is Paul Evans. Paul an over-achieving enterprise sales director, with 20 years plus software industry experience. He is typically brought into an organisation to accelerate revenue growth - this is always achieved by creating high performance and a positive people culture. He has a rare ability to create compelling narratives that connect solutions to decision makers - enabling them to align with key business objectives. He is a stellar relationship builder and thoroughly decent human being. A declaration - Paul is a client and we have worked together multiple times. Thank you, Paul, for taking time out: 1) Can you tell us about your career and how you have successfully moved from Individual Contributor to Manager to Director? • Early career spent at IBM and a systems integrator; sales foundation skills built here. Spent eight years at Oracle and moved through these positions from account director to lead to sales director to country leader. Now at IFS on the senior leadership team. • Paul a self-confessed “Bit of a geek”, enjoys and understands the technology and loves what it enables. • Paul's long hinterland of experience - he has sold every type of technology from, consulting, infrastructure to applications, feels an authenticity when leading teams as never as them to do something he has not. • Nothing gives him great pleasure than ensuring his teams are successful and him contributing to that success. • A key inflexion point for Paul was when we started working together. He invested in himself at a time when he wanted to be more assertive about his future. He felt that as a coach I brought him an independent lens which allowed him to see a path beyond what was visible and known. Allowed him to build a stronger narrative about himself. 2) How have you been able to make the transition from working for a globally recognised brand that employs 100,000+ people to a smaller business culture yet still overachieve? • Raise the level of ambition and scale of transaction. • Transformed UK Sales team at current company IFS. Changing the culture, mindset, expectation, and execution resulting in significant success during the last challenging 18 months. • Coaching and supportive of his team and specifically being wingman for high performing Account Executives on significant opportunities. 3. How important is it to gain executive level buy-in to influence the size and scope of an enterprise deal? How do you navigate a complex organisation? · Alignment to value. · Build an impactful business case and investment case. One or two-page executive summary. · Go deep and broad in the customer organisation, multi-level engagement. Create early executive engagement, its genuine and authentic. · 3 areas where software add value by enabling: Do more with it to drive revenue. Reduce costs. Managing risk or Compliance. Blend these together. Build a solid business case to take to the board. 4. How do you achieve such big deals? · Three possible routes: · RFP, by that point written by someone else and have another in mind. · Defined project, or · Consultative approach - you proactively discover what the customer really needs. · Third option... If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

Recent podcast “Forget your limits and find your potential”, has certainly resonated with the Enterprise Sales community. Many of you found it a thought-provoking message; some of you commented it was a reminder to take ownership back of your own careers and a few of you felt the value of visualisation an extremely powerful but under-utilised skill. One of my clients recommended I watch the mini-series about chess on Netflix, The Queen's Gambit. He knows I have a keen interest in the game and see it as a metaphor for life and career management; planning moves, developing effective strategy, and breaking process down into manageable chunks with an opening, middle and end game. “The Queen's Gambit follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy, Elizabeth Harmon, during her quest to become the world's greatest chess player while struggling with emotional problems, drugs and alcohol dependency.” Wikipedia The Queen's Gambit is where you sacrifice a low-value piece (a pawn) to achieve a better overall position. Many in Enterprise Sales will relate to this as a useful way to add more value in a sales process to be able to secure a greater opportunity. The most compelling part of the series for me is when the main character, Elizabeth, uses her spatial intelligence to visualise a game on the ceiling of her orphanage dormitory. She later uses this as a recall technique when in an actual game many years later. It strikes me that society feels that visualisation is all a bit irrational, wacky, ‘woo-woo' or only reserved for the few. The truth is that we all visualise every day, creating images in our minds. What if we directed these images and our self-talk to what we actual want rather than what we do not? Whilst we are not taught it at school, I think it should be on the curriculum, because if the very highest achievers use it, then why not all of us, to create a more compelling future for ourselves and fellow humans? Thank you to my good friend Clyde Brolin, for his seven-year quest interviewing hundreds of sports champions. Clyde really has pulled back the curtain to reveal how top champions create compelling visions for themselves and use belief as the “Mother of reality”. The result is his compelling book In the Zone, It reminds me of the time I was in the final year of secondary school about to complete my O-Levels (yes, I am that old now!). I had an appointment with Mr B, the careers teacher, a very tall man in a three-piece tweed suit, who would pull his trousers up to chest. He told me, “You won't go to university; your sort doesn't go there, and you are not on my list to stay on and do A-levels.” I fortunately had a different vision for my future than Mr B. I was going to take my A-Levels at a Further Education college ten miles away. The meeting ended shortly afterwards. That taught me a valuable lesson, which was, despite being dyslexic, I was determined to get a good education and improve my life. Whilst I am always open to feedback, I move away from naysayers and use their negativity as fuel for the bonfire of possibility for myself and other humans! 11 years ago, I created a new vision for my life and career; apart from being a good son, husband, and dad, I want to positively impact 20,000 careers... Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this article valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

When the evaluators have finished your proposal, you want them to turn to each other and say: they're brilliant, we should go with them – and to have a clear, consistent view of “why” that is. And then on to the pitch… Jon quotes the CEO he's worked with many times, who always comments: I want to walk into the presentation first of three, not one of three.” Obliviously the proposal and presentation need to align. Jon shared a story of a pitch from his days in procurement many years ago, where there was no mention of the key part from the proposal. At the end of the presentation, he asked the first question: “Thank you. That was great. I just wondered how you were going to achieve the commitment in the last line of your executive summary.” And the bidding team looked panicked, as they turned to the relevant page and saw: “We guarantee that, if you choose us, you will achieve your 30% reduction in total cost of ownership target”. So preparation and rehearsal are key. As Jon says: “I'm at my most spontaneous when I'm at most prepared.” And this is even more important in the middle of a pandemic, when presentations are online. Jon quoted one of his good friends, a brilliant proposal professional called Nigel Hudson, who observed recently that it's now more a case that: “People buy from people they know, like… and have never met.” How important is it to have a no bid policy and qualifying out? Rob shared a story where, out of the blue, he received an RFP for a large company they wanted to secure. But they had no relationship. They took the tough decision to no bid when access to economic buyers was denied. After he and his team had explaining the rationale, they opened up access and within a few weeks won the contract. When you no bid it can create panic in the buyers! Jon entirely agrees. It's important not to chase deals where you have no realistic chance of success. But a flaw in most “bid / no bid” processes is that they never really think through how a “no bid” could be done well – to enhance your credibility with the customer. Final insight on renewal proposals, in the current market: It's worth asking yourself whether buyers really want to go through the painful tender and change process at the moment. Gathering the stakeholders together remotely to agree requirements, evaluate proposals. Implementing new solutions in the middle of a pandemic if it's not strictly necessary to do so. So Jon argues that where you're the incumbent, with a contract that's due to expire (say) this time next year, you need to paint a picture for the client of what it will look like if we continue to stay friends – and thus avoid them going to competitive tender? The most successful bid teams are spending more and more effort on renewal proposals, not waiting for RFPs to land. Key takeaways: · The need to know whether this is business you actual want? Qualify, qualify, qualify. · The need for a compelling story: frame it first so you are people they want to go with. · Take the Spice Girls approach to proposals – give the customer what they want, what they really, really want! If you have found this podcast valuable, please review, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

What advice do you have about design, pictures versus text? Jon's a writer, and so finds that he often needs to stop himself from simply using phrases like “What are we going to write?”. Because there's real value in also thinking visually: “What we will draw?” What pictures could we bring our story to life? And how do we make the customer “the hero of the graphic”? He quotes the example of the common question on quality certification. Which is more compelling: a scanned copy of your ISO9001 certificate, or a diagram of how your quality processes result in better solutions that will reduce the client's cost of ownership? If you're working on a bid that matters, you really need a designer to bring this to life professionally. And not just any designer: you need one who can work at “proposal speed”, against very tight deadlines, being comfortable knowing that changes will keep on happening right up until the last minute. A question from our community regarding the importance of the executive summary, how important is it and is brevity the key? There is a popular theory that customers ignore the masterpiece and skip to the commercials - how true is this? The job of executive summary is to “get the audience on your side quickly”. It's critical to create deep rapport with the evaluators as soon as they start reading. And so you must include an exec summary, whenever the rules allow. You need the buyers to think from the outset that you are the right partner for them. Grab their attention with relevant headlines. Create empathy, showing you understand their requirements and what they're trying to achieve. Then you want the readers saying things like: • “They know what's needed to do this successfully.” • “I can see clear reasons why to choose them.” • “They're clear on what needs to happen next.” When reading the rest of the document, the buyers are then reinforcing their decision that you are their best option - rather than looking for reasons to score you down... If you have found this podcast valuable, please review, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

One of the most significant challenges facing Enterprise sales professionals is how to write winning proposals. We tend to be good at building rapport and engaging customers, yet the arrival of an RFP in our inbox can strike the fear of God into us. To bring value to the community we reached out to our network to find the best person in this space. Jon Williams is the MD of Strategic Proposals, who employ 30 people focusing exclusively on producing winning proposals for their customers. He's a popular keynote speaker and has published widely on bid and proposal best practice - including the "Proposal Guys" blog, numerous white papers and the book "Proposal Essentials - Win More, Win More Easily” (available on Amazon). He's won a range of industry awards and is a Fellow of APMP (Association of Proposal Management Professionals). As an APMP Approved Trainer, he's helped over 2,000 candidates to achieve certification. Enterprise Sales Club co-founder Rob Howes was introduced to Jon and his team ten years ago by Rob Verity, a salesperson Jon had won a big deal with in the past. At this time Rob's company was responding to a huge RFP. Rob - despite being dyslexic - knew it was rubbish. Jon was able to work his magic and help create a winning bid. 1) Can you tell us about your career and some of the key choices you have made? Jon started out in procurement. As he says: “I started my career on the dark side: I was one of those people who used to send out RFPs giving no notice, asking irrelevant questions and giving bidders too little time to respond effectively!” During a bid review with a failed vendor, he was offered the job of improving their proposals. He’s spent the last few decades dedicated to this profession and is hugely passionate about raising the standard of proposal writing. 2) In a recent white paper, you describe how the companies that win proposals more often have a Strategic+ approach, can you tell us more about this? Jon and his team see four stages of evolution of organisations’ proposal capabilities. Their online benchmarking model – the Proposal Benchmarker® - has been completed by nearly 900 companies in the past four years; they now have 100,000 data points. So that lets them compare how the most successful bidders operate, against those who are more run-of-the-mill. · Ad hoc – the salesperson who receives the RFP has to write the response themselves; everything’s pulled together with buddies and favours and “what did we write on the last one”. · Tactical – to make life easier for salespeople, companies set up an RFP response factory. The sales lead passes the document over the wall, leaving the bid folks to plug together a complete and compliant response. It’s all very reactive, lacking any magic – more “glorified admin” that a real focus on winning. · Strategic – where the company has all the right building blocks in place to enable them to do proposals well. Processes are defined for things like “bid / no bid” and strategy development; there’s an experienced bid team. They’ll ask the salespeople the tough questions, trying to get under the skin of the customer’s real need. But it still, somehow, always feels like a challenge! And what they’ve seen recently is the emergence of a real top tier: · Strategic+, where proposal development is seen as a source of competitive advantage from the very top. From the CEO down, proposals are seen as critical - the job creation and protection engine of the business. It’s how to drive revenue growth. And everyone’s aligned... If you have found this podcast valuable, please review, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

This podcast comes with a health warning; this could seriously improve your career! It asks you to challenge your assumptions so only listen if you interested in finding your potential, if not please skip it. Recently, whilst enjoying a socially distanced coffee, I overheard a fellow customer explaining to the barista how she had read an incredible book and was fascinated to share that people’s Maths grades can be improved if they are told they share the same birthday as a famous mathematician. I got into a discussion with her as I am so passionate about this subject. The conversation flowed and she said the book was Bounce, by Matthew Syed. I was really enjoying the conversation; the book is one of my favourites because it is so well-researched and insightful. However, I was shocked when she said, “I like the book, but come on, we all have limits.” Which is sort of missing the point, as the book is all about human potential. She explained how in her field, the legal profession, one must know the law and be gifted to be able to apply it correctly. I had to respond that if we assume you have an IQ between 110 and 140 (which is most of the population), you have the ability to start the journey to becoming a lawyer. It is clearly evidence by organisations like the Sutton Trust that the ability to enter the legal profession is highly skewed to those from middle and upper middle-class socio-economic backgrounds rather than a gift of natural talent. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was not born one of the world’s greatest composers. He put in many hours of practice! In fact, by the age of 6 he had clocked up over 3,000 hours of hard practice under the tutelage of his father, Leopold... With the explosion of neuroscience during the two decades, many people read about deliberate practice and society’s lazy over-emphasis on natural talent, yet still have to point out, like my fellow-coffee drinker above, "Yes, but we all have limits.". So what is the problem, you might say, with this mindset? It is cripplingly limited when it comes to realising our potential, and dulls our curiosity to explore new paths. Stellar journalist and author, Clyde Brolin, conducted a seven-year study, interviewing hundreds of the world’s leading sports stars,. The result is his compelling book In the Zone, Clyde’s conclusions can be summed up in three words: Conceive, Believe, Achieve Conceive – Michael Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, taught him how to visualise from a very young age to make the previous stretch times a self-fulfilling prophecy. He ended up winning one of his gold medal by one-hundredth of a second because he had his palm outstretched whilst his opponent’s hand was flexed. Believe - Novak Djokovic told Clyde, “To be honest with you, there are no tricks, there is just belief”. Achieve – Olympic heptathlon champion, Denise Lewis told Clyde, “It’s about unlocking that potential in your mind. The first step is not to put limitations on what you think is physically and mentally possible.” So, what can we take from these fellow human beings who achieve extraordinary things? It’s an invite to have an honest conversation with ourselves. What do we really want to achieve within our lifetime? What do we really think is possible for us? What is our impact on our fellow humans? “Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don't expect it from cheap people.” Warren Buffett. That starts with you; are you up for an honest look in the mirror? Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

The past 18 months have been tough for all of us on many fronts. Worried about the health of our family and loved ones, our jobs and businesses, and fellow humans across the globe. Yet we have seen some shoots of optimism and hope. Hope is so important to us humans. The fact that the UK vaccine programme is working has brought confidence to the UK economy which is expected to grow by record levels this year. On a personal note, watching my son Matthew play hockey; a scene that felt like a typical British summer’s evening. It got me thinking if our depths and worse performances can be the necessary preparation for our peak? Manchester City have suffered many sharp exits from European competitions... Pep Guardiola said, “Getting to the Final makes sense of what we've done in the past four or five years.” It got me thinking why and how certain people can use their greatest lows to reach incredible heights. It is as if it is an essential part of the preparation and necessary trauma they must go through. Why does this not occur for all of us? I believe we get to choose our mindset, how we respond to feedback and to difficult challenges. As mentioned in a previous post, society has shifted in the last twenty years so that when things go wrong, we blame others. Pep Guardiola is no ordinary football manager; he can count Garry Kasparov as a close friend. Kasparov is one the greatest chess players ever, and one of the sharpest minds around - you have got to be smart to have friends like that. When meeting Kasparov at his New York apartment (even though it was meant to be an informal diner with their wives), Pep was relentless. He interviewed Kasparov on winning at chess, strategy planning and how to outflank opponents, so he could apply all this knowledge to his football team. This obsession serves him well, and he lives by that great mantra “Win, lose or draw - let’s get better.” On his great show ,“Don’t Tell Me The Score”, Simon Mundie interviewed Danny Kerry, the gold-winning hockey coach from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Kerry shared how when they finished sixth at the Beijing games in 2008, the post- games review felt like a charter assignation from the players. They saw him as aloof, stuck behind a computer, and only interested in results rather than the players. He had a clear choice: be defensive and probably lose his job, or reflect within and adapt. He chose the latter and now has a daily mantra for how he enters challenging conversations: • Where am I right now? • Where do I need to be? • Where are they right now? • Where do they need to be? • How do we close the gap? This mental checklist enhances his self-awareness and situational awareness and creates the space to jointly develop better outcomes. If you are thinking that these are special examples, I urge you to ask yourself, “Why not me?” You can take feedback, adjust your behaviour and apply that to new frameworks. There is a well-known saying: “The person you will be five years from now will be a direct result of the people you meet and the books you read.” This is so true, especially if you add the podcasts you listen to and other information you let into your brain. I urge you to take these opportunities. Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this article valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

One of the most significant challenges facing Enterprise sales professionals is how to write winning proposals. We tend to be good at building rapport and engaging customers, yet the arrival of a RFP in our inbox can strike the fear of God into us. To bring value to the ESC community we reached out to our network to find the best person in this space. Jon Williams is the MD of Strategic Proposals who employ 30 people who focus exclusively on producing winning proposals for their customers. He's a popular keynote speaker, and has published widely on bid and proposal best practice - including the "Proposal Guys" blog, numerous white papers and the book "Proposal Essentials" - Win more, win more easily (available on Amazon). He's won a range of industry awards, and is a Fellow of APMP (Association of Record for Bid, Proposal, Business Development, Capture and Graphics Professionals). As an APMP Approved Trainer, he's helped over 2,000 candidates to achieve certification. Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

Knowing the best route for your career trajectory is tough at the best of times. Add in the after-effects of the pandemic, little face to face contact, and pressure to over deliver in the day job. The life of a sales professional can be really difficult. I recall when a client and I were walking around the beautiful Italian Gardens in Hyde Park. Given the beauty and lack of noise, he commented that he could not believe we were in one of the busiest cities in the world. He had recently been promoted and was feeling out of his depth in the new environment of an esteemed group of leaders. He asked me how he could close this seemingly insurmountable gap? I reminded him he had been promoted because he was a stellar performer. He was exceptional at what he did; yet the key to make the difference would be to “get in better rooms”. I was suggesting that he build his own authentic leadership muscle and get used to operating at a higher level of conversation. I asked him to step in and actively meet more people, both internal and externally, who were at the level he was expected to operate at. This got me thinking of the wider challenge we all face, namely how to continue to walk the tightrope of growing our careers without feeling overwhelmed during the process? The most valuable exercise of my career I had reached a point in my career where I felt that I wanted to examine how I could develop and become more fulfilled. My first step was to identify and subsequently interview people who had achieved the results that I desired. These leaders were all very successful in their chosen fields and, as a result, were very wealthy, in some cases, millionaires. I wanted to uncover what had made them so successful. They were from a variety of disciplines, including property development, technology and accountancy. I considered all these people to be super- successful in their chosen field. I was very nervous about contacting them and wondered if they would help me; however, I needn’t have worried, as the result was fascinating. By stepping out of my network, making a friendly introduction, and acknowledging their successes, every one of them was willing to share their wisdom and career story. One of the unifying themes was that every one of these individuals had a clear vision for their futures... ...Since the passing of my mum, I realise my time is limited. So, as I want to leave a positive legacy, I had better evolve. I have changed direction in my life's journey by becoming a full-time career coach. What a privileged job and position to be in! Often people say to me, “You truly love your job.” I certainly do! Helping people in their hour of need emotionally, as well as guiding them towards a better career decision, is a multiplier - it helps their families too. It is rather selfish really; I sleep better at night knowing I have helped someone that day. During our recent podcast interview with Keith Douglas (EVP at Mastercard), he shared a hopeful and empowering message: “Whilst you are on this planet, your only job is to be as good as you can be, at being you." I urge you to ask yourself: · What do people seek my advice on? · What would I do if I knew I could not fail? · What do I want to have achieved by the end of my career? Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

This quote from Irish rugby legend, Paul O'Connell, has certainly resonated with the Enterprise Sales community. Many found it a hopeful message; some have commented it is a stellar mindset, and a few felt it helped them get ‘out of their own way’. What requires no talent: • Being fully present during each conversation • Being open to learning • Making accurate career decisions Too often, people make poor career decisions based on a salary hike, or the headline brand name of a company. In the worst of cases, a mistaken belief is to stay with a company because the longevity looks better on their CV. We are directed by our beliefs and ‘recruitment myths’, rather than evidence from trusted confidants. One of the prevailing recruitment myths is that the best way to start a job search is by posting your CV on job boards and with recruitment companies. Having been a head-hunter and career coach over the last three decades, it is self-evident that this is suboptimal. I would advise limiting time spent on the live job market to 20% or less. The optimal focus is to use your precious energy accessing the hidden job market, where you are most likely to find more fulfilling and aligned opportunities. I have built a programme to accurately accelerate achieving your next role. ‘Accelerated Career Results” is a proven methodology that has significantly enhanced every career of the select attendees. There are 10 modules, and CV writing is module 6. Evidence has demonstrated that there are five key steps to the job opportunity creation process before writing your CV. Another crippling recruitment myth regarding earnings, is ‘that you are paid what you are worth’. Having negotiated thousands of job offers, I have to disagree. You don’t get paid what you are worth, you get paid what you negotiate. Far too many people receive salary offers and their annual review passively, rather than creating a proactive plan. ‘View yourself as a premium employee’ is our signature programme to bring confidence to your difficult salary negotiation conversations. One of the most thought-provoking and well-researched authors of our time is Matthew Syed. In his brilliant book Bounce, he offers an insight: “One of the most remarkable findings of modern psychology is the extraordinary capacity of human beings to mould the evidence to fit their beliefs rather than the other way around; it is our capacity to believe in spite of the evidence…” So, what can you do to mitigate the risk of making a poor career decision? Pre-pandemic, I advised all of my clients to spend at least half a day with their new organisation, before formally accepting any job offer. Whilst it in not common practice, you want to see the ‘warts and all’ of the business. You are likely to spend over 240 days a year working, and this less than 1% time investment is worth it, to help you make the right decision. This approach is beneficial for both potential employees and employers. Most career mistakes occur when there are value and cultural misalignments between employee and employer. The overwhelming influence on the culture you experience at work is your line manager and their line manager’s behaviour towards you. It is not the legal contract of employment that is the ‘difference that makes the difference’ – it is the psychological contract. If this choice is not aligned for you, then better options lie elsewhere; keep going until you find a closer match. It is prudent to test how these leaders react under pressure... ...Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this article valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

Kevin is now a Partner for This Partners with over 30 years IT & sourcing experience gained across multiple industries for many major blue-chip organisations. This Partners is a boutique consultancy specialising in Sourcing Advisory, focussing on IT. This Partners typically help clients with Market Engagement (supplier selection, negotiation and contracting), Supplier Optimisation & Remediation, Sourcing Strategy (development and implementation) and Transition, Transformation & Benefits Management. Kevin can be contacted at kevin.keith@thispartners.com or you can reach This Partners via LinkedIn at This Partners: Overview | LinkedIn or via www.thispartners.com Key points Kevin described how important research is for procurement professionals. That involves supplier, stakeholders, acquisitions, stock price, products and services. Planning Establish your intent, and your desired outcome. Add a slice of realism to the outcome which is your goal. Least acceptable - minimum you'd accept before walking away Understand what your alternatives are There are no tricks to negotiation, just good intention, preparation and thinking Win/Win. Importance to work with stakeholders Sometimes Procurement Teams do get overruled by the Business Procurement teams should challenge the request Traits of a good salesperson: energetic, charismatic, honest, trustworthy, tech-savvy, empathy, knowledge of product, knowledge of the client. Cognitive empathy approach to negotiation - understand their pain thresholds, what their drivers are, what does success look like to them. If both parties adopt the same approach is very useful for the negotiation process. Look for the Win/Win outcome. Both parties should have some benefits from the negotiation. Importance of landing on something that's going to have a positive lasting impact. Define what success looks like from the outset for both supplier and client. Adopt KPI's, and objectives to measure the success of a partnership, but ultimately it's about having a strong relationship. Over the last decade the concept has moved from cost to value. Procurement are reluctant to adopt a revenue share model because of the difficulty in proving the contribution made by the supplier. Some Procurement Teams are measured on personal goals and objectives, others on savings for the firm. % of savings of spend % of savings of addressable spend Payment terms e-Auctions: -Spend through e-Auctions -e-Auction effectiveness -Number of lots through e-Auction e-Auctions usage is increasing Handling continuous price increases Ethics during price exploration If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career.

Winning in sales is tough at the best of times; now add in the after-effects of the pandemic, isolated remote working, and revenue pressure from line managers. The life of a sales professional is really difficult right now. When walking with Rob Howes last week, we discussed how vital confidence is in the successful closing of enterprise sales. Confidence is like holding the wind in your hand; difficult to maintain and ever-changing. When you have it, you feel like you can walk through walls and achieve incredible deals and success. When you do not have it, doubt is rife, and you feel like you cannot close a door, let alone a sizeable deal! I recall in an attempt to change gears and create excitement during a sales slump, we had a fun competition: “Who can win the most consecutive pitches?” Conventional wisdom says that confidence is a natural trait - you have it or you do not. Many years ago, whilst on a training course, my confidence level was allegedly measured via a series of 20 questions. The results indicated that my confidence was exceptional high when sales were going well yet reduced to a third of that figure when times were tough. A number of my peers took much delight teasing me about my scores compared to theirs, which hardly changed, regardless of circumstances. I knew these results were flawed, as I was more customer-focused during the good times than many, and far more resilient during the tougher times. I intuitively knew confidence was a moment-to-moment emotional response to environmental changes, and not something you have or do not... ...A significant body of science has emerged which challenges conventional wisdom. In his outstanding book The Genius in All of Us, David Shenk provides evidence that we are asking the wrong question – rather than the nature v nurture debate, more accurately we should be asking ‘How do genes interact with the environment?’ Shenk concludes, “Genes don't issue fixed instructions for development; rather, they interact with our surroundings so that we can adapt to them. Intelligence is not innate; it is a collection of skills that one acquires. Talent is not a thing; it's a process.” During my recent interview with world-renowned mind-coach Don Macpherson, he shared that having worked with over 500 elite sports people, “I don’t believe anyone is born with in-built confidence, just as I find it difficult to accept a champion is born a champion.” … We all have days where our confidence is unaccountably low. Yet this can be adjusted by recalling times when we were at peak performance. We can shift our confidence levels at any point of our choosing. This is a very empowering thought to initiate during challenging times of our lives – such as developing the confidence to sell. In this uncertain world, this is an urgent message for you... If you are still convinced confidence is a natural trait, then I invite you to adopt the stellar mindset of Irish rugby legend, Paul O'Connell: "Let's be the best at everything that requires no talent." I believe what requires no talent is: • Being genuinely interested and listening to a customer • Being fully present during each conversation • Being open to learning • Having an attitude that is solution-focused… If you have found this podcast valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career.

As we move from crisis to recovery, many people are keen to make up for lost time. They want to grasp the opportunity and advance their careers, upwards. At the heart of achieving this advancement is amplifying one’s own personal brand. Yet the common challenge I hear is, “I am overwhelmed with my day job and back-to-back Zoom calls, I’ve got no time for networking.” I remember only focusing on the day job myself and not factoring time in my day to be promoted, believing my results would speak for themselves. However, I slowly realised I was sleepwalking through my career. At various points I became bewildered at the unearned advantage of the confident “Old Boy Network”, who gained promotion with ease. After the third time of being overlooked for promotion, (which was allegedly to be on merit), a painful thought struck me - if I do not change my approach and mindset, my career will plateau permanently. The clock was ticking, and I needed to find a new path urgently. I was so frustrated with the situation that I decided to cancel a weekend trip away and got a pencil and paper out to write down my reflections and come up with better options. By Sunday morning I had ‘aha’ moment! I had built a reputation for being fearless at business development. This was mainly due to my attitude – I currently have no relationship with this ‘cold’ prospect, however, if I can create dialogue then I will earn the right to add value to them. I realised this was my ‘unfair advantage’. I could put this learnt skill into action for my own career. In his excellent book ‘David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants’, Malcolm Gladwell highlights how underdogs win more often than expected. There are ‘hidden advantages to being disadvantaged’. I took control of my career by developing a network. I had to build trust to create meaningful dialogue - I add value to others first. In a hectic world, many people do not take the time to create useful connections even within their own company. I connected two Sales directors from a leading SaaS provider - this may sound like no big deal, but they sat 30 metres apart, one on the 4th floor and the other on the 5th of the same building! ...A client of mine became frustrated by the lack of opportunity in his company, so decided to move on. He is someone always looking to support others, connecting people who would benefit from an introduction. When it came to his hour of need, he was given several prompt introductions to key decision makers, which led to four job offers. He is an overachiever, yet ‘the difference that made the difference’ was his attitude. By consistently investing in others, he did not look needy when it came to asking... I have been very fortunate to have been guided by a stellar mentor, Rob Howes, founder of a leading Big Data and Analytics Community with over 450,000 members, and co-creator of Enterprise Sales Club. Networks are hard earned, so Rob is naturally protective of his. I urge you to forget shallow networking, and create meaningful dialogue instead. Do your due diligence and identify a challenge that the other person has in their life. Have the right intention – to create a connection and dialogue. Earn the right to create dialogue by giving value first. Never act with entitlement - be polite with any request. I believe it is worth the risk of creating dialogue when you have everything to gain and nothing to lose… Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this article valuable, please like, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

Remote working is an “aberration”, says Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon. Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley, says “It’s remarkable it’s working as well as it is, but I don’t think it’s sustainable.” I have had the privilege of experiencing first-hand, some of the most engaging corporate cultures in the world. Where companies have breath-taking results, where employees have autonomy, respect, and growth. These cultures are built by stellar leaders who create a sense of purpose and belonging. The underlying belief is we all need to be within these four walls, to sustain our competitive advantage. Contrast this with right now, where many high performing employees are enjoying the flexibility and increased autonomy that a lack of daily commuting brings. According to [Future Forum] research, hybrid is the preferred option for the vast majority (73%) of workers, while just 12% would want a return to full-time office work. Two urgent questions need addressing: • What is the purpose of the workplace environment? • How do you create a ‘space’ to collaborate and network optimally in a hybrid world? When recently discussing this with an esteemed leader, they were pragmatic about the solution: “I am open and flexible on discovering the optimal approach.” They believe certain roles in central functions like finance and operations would be best served three/four days in the office, with customer facing/sales roles best served one day or less in the office as a norm. The vital pieces of the jigsaw are: • How do we collaborate to win? • How do we break down the functional silos and adapt? ... “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” Pablo Picasso A former colleague of mine, Stuart Templeton, now Head of UK at Slack, shares his perspective on the optimal response to the pandemic: “The companies that have most impressed me are those that have not only embraced the potential of this paradigm shift to remote working and the tools that enable it, but those that have done so while keeping their people front and centre. The default office-and-email model has been exposed as a false standard.” Whilst much has changed as a result of the pandemic, winning in business has not – it starts with the behaviour in the boardroom. • Leaders do not lead spreadsheets • Leaders do not lead procedure and policy • Leaders do not lead coding of technology Leaders lead people. Leaders lead people to achieve results. Here are the first three rules of Leadership: • Behaviour, Behaviour, Behaviour • Culture, Culture, Culture • People, People, People … take your pick. People will not go to the office to do work - they will go to the office to collaborate and network. The companies and leaders that crack this code are going to be the winners. “The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.” Arie de Geus – former Head of Royal Dutch Shell’s Strategic Planning Group Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you have found this article valuable, please like, reshare and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career. To discover exclusive content for our community, go to https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com.

Have you ever kicked yourself because you have not: • Applied for a job because you do not have ‘All’ the ‘correct’ qualifications? • Left a company sooner, due to a controlling boss? • Created a plan to control YOUR career? I certainly have. I see many very talented people who have a magnitude of skills, yet are unable to secure the role that they can achieve. Many times, I have heard people say “I can do that job,” but for various reasons, do not even get to the interview stage. When I was headhunting, I would often conduct an experiment. At the start of the process I would ask: Who is the best qualified candidate on paper? And at the end, I would ask: Who achieved the role? In my twenty plus years, I can only recall a handful of appointments when the best candidate on paper got the role. So, what was happening to the other 90%+ of the candidates? In my experience, the people who achieved the roles were better at creating and selling their story to the key decision makers. Is it possible to change and learn this skill? YES! You must create your story, because no one else will create it for you. “But,” I hear you say, “it’s a natural skill, and I am no storyteller.” Before the launch of his album ÷ (Divide), Ed Sheeran was interviewed by the BBC, who commented on how Sheeran and his co-writer Benny Blanco wrote 15 songs a day effortlessly . This was Ed’s reply: “Look, all things considered, you and I both know people that are more talented than us, but you know what they say about 10,000 hours? How many guys do you know that have put in 30,000…? …There aren't a lot of us…" So, Ed has a laser-like focus and a committed work ethic, rather than being a natural song writer. I have observed a society shift in the last 20 years, where if something goes wrong in a person’s life or career, then it must be someone else’s fault - let’s blame them. The unwillingness to acknowledge perhaps someone was better than you to achieve a particular goal, for example. Many sporting coaches, players, and fans in particular, are very quick to blame referees. Naturally, I was very disappointed that Wales did not secure a Grand Slam win recently; some suggested they should have awarded a penalty try, which would have secured them the match. The Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones is a class act; when asked post-match about the incident, he said: “So, it would be remiss of me and uncouth if I was to shout from the rooftops about decisions that could or should have gone our way. The sport isn’t about that.” He accepted the decisions and felt Wales should have taken their chances. An optimal mindset is Win, Lose, or Draw - Get Better. This starts with some self-reflection and a good, hard look in the mirror rather than looking out of the window. What could you achieve if you spent more time expressing your story? The business world is getting too obsessed with data alone and missing the vital fact that most business decisions are made emotionally and then justified with data. Aristotle first observed that the way to effective persuasion of other humans is 65% emotional, 25% logical, 10% ethical. A sales director client of mine said it best, when positioning the value of data to his customers: “Big data is directionally precise, yet precisely inaccurate; it’s the skill and judgement of the human that dictates if that data leads to valuable business decisions or not.” You do not need to have Ed Sheeran’s work ethic or laser-like focus. However, you do need to strike the right balance between using appropriate data, with the human story.

I am a strong advocate of winning more, both for and in collaboration with my clients. I have always viewed our success as intertwined, their success is my success and vice versa. I am committed to their overachievement and we grow together. ‘How’ this is achieved is as important as ‘what’ is achieved. As I commit fully to any client engagement and relationship I commence, the chemistry has to right. Back in 2020, I stepped away from a potential client as I knew the fit would not work. Some might say I was brave or crazy to refuse business in the middle of a global pandemic, and I promise you it was very tempting. My intuition told me not to go ahead; why? It was their behaviour during our initial interactions – they were too demanding, disrespectful, and even rude. The ‘how’ we do business matters greatly to me. How we win starts with knowing ourselves. I recently had the honour of interviewing Keith Douglas (EVP at Mastercard). When facing the challenge of where to take his career next, he took the time to reflect and find his true self; what he describes as finding his ‘edge’. What separates him from others? What does he stand for? What are his values? He exemplifies that how you behave and go about your business is a choice. I believe how you show up consistently is what separates you from everyone else – integrity. Isn’t it frustrating when large enterprise deals slip to the next quarter, or do not close? You lose credibility and income. Using a proven qualification tool like MEDDICC is the way to de-risk. Recently, Rob Howes (Co-founder Enterprise Sales Club), and I interviewed Dick Dunkel (creator of the MEDDICC framework), and he emphasised ‘Decision Criteria’ as a vital component to the sale qualification process. Attaching your solution to greater revenue, reduced costs and risk migration for the economic buyer, is the optimal way to enhance your sale. Tilt the field in your favour…to close better qualified deals. My most proactive clients find the time to regularly network and have potential jobs lined up, even though they do not need them… yet. Truism - over 80% of jobs are not advertised. You need to regularly make connections – so which three people would most accelerate your career right now? Build time to make these connections – this time is never wasted as it is the way to ensure that your career is future-proofed. Ask people from your network and in turn, their network, for positive referrals to key connections. Give first - offer your new connection a valuable market insight or a well-qualified lead to build your relationship. Detach from the results and do not take non-replies personally. All feedback is progress but not all conversations will be productive. Remember the 80/20 rule? 20% of the conversations will produce 80% of the results. You will have unearthed previously unknown opportunities that you can convert into live jobs. You will have put yourself in the driving seat of your career. Tilt the field in your favour…to future proof your career... If an external move scores higher than your current role, have an honest conversation with yourself - if not now, when? Have confidence to be able to handle the outcome of any decision you make. Tilt the field in your favour…to make optimal decisions. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

Summary Part 3 Decency Quotient + EQ + IQ = Multiplier effect “Doing the right thing” and caring. Simon Sinek: “Leadership is not about being in charge it is about taking care of those in your charge.” Keith Douglas “Leadership is one of the greatest privileges you can have in the world.” "Everybody in my team gets an A - my job is to get an A+". His two questions to help others 'unlock' the edge within: What are you good at and what do you really enjoy? Pandemic thoughts as a leadership group at Mastercard, all wrote blogs sharing a day in their life, their experience - we are all finding it tough, and we are in this together. This was hugely impactful for people around the Mastercard business. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

How to consistently deliver successful commercial growth? Is one of the greatest business challenges I have observed. One of the most accomplished leaders at achieving this is Keith Douglas. We are thrilled to have Keith on the Enterprise Sales show. Keith is an over-achieving commercial EVP, with 20 years+ Payment industry experience. He is an EVP at Mastercard and responsible for driving forward their key growth area of e-commerce (Mastercard Payment Gateway Services) he has a team of over 400 talented people across the globe. Keith is a motivating leader who empowers his people, in many ways, ‘get out of their way’ so they can produce their best work. He has created a high performing and enjoyable ‘people centred’ culture. We share similar values including the importance of how you win and not just winning. We were connected by our mutual friend Anant Patel. Thank you Anant. Key takeaways: Part 2 Guiding principles: Keith rules of the road). Have to lead by example. 1) Be present - always how up and be in the moment. 2) Sharing to empower others – learn from failure. 3) Lead – you get to choose the ‘narrative’ that defines you. 4) Be decisive, encourage others to make decisions. 5) Provoke – challenging self and others, people do not expect Keith to that. Come out of his own shell. 6) Think - not just do, find the time to. 7) Be first or be right, chose carefully. Action orientated. 8) Together is better – as a team we achieve more. "In terms of your career, your only job to be as good as you can be being you." Keith manifesto of leading the team: Everybody gets an A - my job is to get an A+. See the opportunity and then embrace the challenge. Encourage to help each other. I would not be where I am today without that help. Recognize success and failure. In terms of giving feedback process helps and recognize and acknowledge failure. Keith goes first, have to set an example, Different perspectives are actively encouraged. Engineering and product different lens. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

How to consistently deliver successful commercial growth? Is one of the greatest business challenges I have observed. One of the most accomplished leaders at achieving this is Keith Douglas. We are thrilled to have Keith on the Enterprise Sales show. Keith is an over-achieving commercial EVP, with 20 years+ Payment industry experience. He is an EVP at Mastercard and responsible for driving forward their key growth area of e-commerce (Mastercard Payment Gateway Services) he has a team of over 400 talented people across the globe. Keith is a motivating leader who empowers his people, in many ways, ‘get out of their way’ so they can produce their best work. He has created a high performing and enjoyable ‘people centred’ culture. We share similar values including the importance of how you win and not just winning. We were connected by our mutual friend Anant Patel. Thank you Anant. Key takeaways: Importance of network, Keith said he would not be where he is today if not have the support of his network. Keith knew he wanted to be a General Manager and committed to that path. Working with an executive coach 'unlocked' Keith's Edge. The impact you can have as an individual or as a leader importance of you - 'the art of being yourself' - understanding yourself less time on competencies and more time thinking about self. How to have impact - "if you think you are too small to have an impact you have never been to bed with a mosquito." What is your edge? What makes you curious and different? Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

Is it generating new opportunities? Is it closing large deals? Is it learning the technical aspects of latest technology solutions? Is it engaging with customers? Is it ensuring your bonus and commission are accurate and paid on time? My observation is that right now managing upwards, is the single largest stress for enterprise sales professionals. It is tempting to believe that when not seeing our managers face to face, their influence is less. Yet working from home has led to the need to be in ‘attendance’ even more with the often on back-to-back Zoon calls, leaving no time for natural and mental breaks. People do not do their best work if in ‘fight or flight’ mode. At its worse this approach can turn into a toxic culture. I have observed toxic environments created by leaders, and the effects on people lives and careers first-hand. The need by leaders to control and be in control is at the root of the problem. From experience I believe that remote working has heightened the current need by leaders to be controlling and to be in control. Lack of physical contact has only added to be ‘command and control’ approach - crazy back-to-back Zoom calls and daily forecast updates... ...Daniel Goleman (the creator of EQ Emotional Intelligence) is: “Out of control emotions make smart people stupid.” This is a valuable message, we have to take charge of own mental and emotional state to stay smart, because these distractions are inevitable. Right now, I regularly find myself sharing the advice below with my private clients: Put space between the stimulus/event and your response - it leads to better outcomes for you... ...Never react. Proactively respond: Response 1 = Park for time being and reflect further. Ask yourself what is the optimal response than will enable you to achieve your goals? Response 2 = How can I make this Win/Win? Response 3 = Do nothing. Response 4 = Ask a colleague or coach their independent view. Put space between the event and your response, a few deep breaths, go for a walk or even have a night’s sleep. Have multiple responses that work for you. I want to share a story of one of my clients who was due to have an annual review in Q1 2021. He was significantly over sales target in 2020. He is a multiplier who mentors many people within his company. He is happy at the company, enjoys the culture and customers. He is always looking to add value to his line manager and colleagues across the globe. Yet did not feel appropriately rewarded for the value he adds. He did not want to go down an aggressive route (and high energy investment) of gaining an external offer to justify a pay increase. So, he decided to own his response, he asked for an early review in December. He positioned his individual and companywide value to the key decision makers. A significant (21% increase) in pay was agreed and confirmed before the new year. I know this figure and timescale might look unrealistic or unreasonable, yet this is what is achievable when we take a proactive, relationship and campaign approach to managing upwards. Managing upwards is a skill and like any other skill, it improves with deliberate practice. Learning how to negotiate upwards for yourself effectively is such a worthwhile investment, it is an evergreen skill that you can use on a weekly basis to enhance your career, life and even the lives of your families and loved ones. It of course is a route to reducing stress. To hear more from Daniel Goleman, where Simon Mundie on his podcast channel 'Don't tell me the score' interviewed him. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, and also improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

How to consistently deliver successful commercial growth? Is one of the greatest business challenges I have observed. One of the most accomplished leaders at achieving this is Keith Douglas. We are thrilled to have Keith on the Enterprise Sales show. Keith is an over-achieving commercial EVP, with 20 years+ Payment industry experience. He is an EVP at Mastercard and responsible for driving forward their key growth area of e-commerce (Mastercard Payment Gateway Services) he has a team of over 400 talented people across the globe. Keith is a motivating leader who empowers his people, in many ways, ‘get out of their way’ so they can produce their best work. He has created a high performing and enjoyable ‘people centred’ culture. We share similar values including the importance of how you win and not just winning. We were connected by our mutual friend Anant Patel. Thank you Anant. Key takeaways: Importance of network, Keith said he would not be where he is today if not have the support of his network. Working with an executive coach 'unlocked' Keith's Edge. The impact you can have as an individual or as a leader importance of you - 'the art of being yourself' - understanding yourself less time on competencies and more time thinking about self. What is your edge? How to have impact - "if you think you are too small to be effective, have you ever been to bed with a mosquito." What makes you curious and different? Guiding principles: Be present - show up and be in the moment Share - successes and failures Be decisive Together is better Keith manifesto of leading the team "In terms of your career, your only job to be as good as you can be being you." Everybody gets an A - my job is to get an A+ Encourage to help Recognize success and failure Different perspectives are actively encouraged. Decency Quotient + EQ + IQ = Multiplier effect His two questions to 'unlock' the edge within: What are you good at and what do you enjoy? Pandemic thoughts as a leadership group at Mastercard, all wrote blogs sharing their experience - we are all finding it tough and we are in this together.

I have recently been asked why myself and @RobHowes created the Enterprise Sales Club Community, by a number of new subscribers to our podcast channel. Firstly, the relationship between Rob and myself is well-established - we have been working together for over six years. During out interactions, we observed and experienced certain patterns in the lives and careers of enterprise sales professionals. Software sales is like a roller-coaster, a challenging yet rewarding career with the opportunity to earn lots of money and travel the world, whilst impacting the company’s bottom line. There is a fine line. When it is good it is great, however, there is a darker side. When you have a bump in the road, it can be a very unhappy place resulting in negative consequences. Enterprise salespeople might be comfortable negotiating million-dollar deals with corporations, but many are surprisingly poor at negotiating their own salary and managing their careers. Time after time we witnessed successful sellers confronted by: You’re only as good as your last quarter. We know that Enterprise sales professionals will be confronted by the following scenarios: · You have very little control of your career. · After a successful year of overachievement, your quota is increased. · You are ‘punished’ for success and your territory is reduced. · Your employer is not investing enough (if at all) in your professional development. · You have limited scope for career progression – ‘just sell more this year…’ · You have inappropriate compensation for the value you add - unfair allocation of pay rise or share options. · You experience a toxic culture and bullying - sales leaders are promoted into their roles for being the best sellers, but often they make poor leaders. The truism is that years of consistent pressure take their toll on the mind. Rob and I concluded that there was a need for a ‘safe’ space for enterprise sales professionals to interact and solve these challenges... Why did we call it the Enterprise Sales Club? Enterprise because it serves professionals dealing in large accounts Sales because Rob and I are both sales practitioners, not theory consultants Club because we wanted to create an exclusive community We are an invite-only community, welcoming members who meet the following criteria: · SaaS Sales professionals with a minimum of 10 years’ experience · High performers who have regularly exceeded their annual quota · Members must be a participant, not a lurker How will Rob and I will help solve your Enterprise Sales and career challenges? • Our reason to be is to facilitate your ‘Inner Hero’ to come out of its shell. • We care about people and build relationships that last decades. • We will shorten your learning curve and take the pain out of the process. • We are connected with extensive networks built up over 25 years. • We do what we say we are going to do…we have integrity As an Enterprise Sales Club member, you will receive: · Exclusive Content so you can both earn more and learn more. · Interviews with industry practitioners and thought-leaders. · Access to stellar partners such as internationally-acclaimed voice coach Lisa Åkesson. · Access to a private community network. · Events (coming soon) - we cannot wait to see people face to face!) · Interactive sessions with industry experts to help you thrive in a competitive world. · A network of fellow sales professionals whom you can turn to any time for repeatable, scalable advice. Interested in taking your career to the next level, as well as improving your skills in Enterprise Sales? Then please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings.

I am a big advocate of utilising what is around us to drive our careers and business forward. Right now, the days are getting longer, the daffodils are in full bloom and our energy levels are rising. It is the ideal time for us to grow by learning and refining our enterprise selling skillset. Rob Howes (co-founder of Enterprise Sales Club) recently interviewed Dick Dunkel. Dick is the co-creator of the stellar Enterprise Selling methodology, MEDDIC / MEDDICC / MEDDPICC. His key expertise is in Value Selling, Customer Engagement Process and Technology ROI. Throughout his career, Dick has helped major corporations and world-class brands adapt to change and improve business performance through innovative technology and process improvement. Dick shared great insights on how to succeed and close large deals. This episode is a stellar guide on how to use MEDDICC to identify and qualify “business outcomes”, the process of unlocking funds and credibility. The key takeaways from his interview are: • You don't have a champion, only have potential champion until they prove they have access to those with power and funds. • To ensure that you thrive at enterprise sales during this pandemic, an optimal route is to sell business outcomes. It will give you more control of the timing and likely success of your deals. • Visualise the end of the deal and backwards engineer each step along the way. It is vital to 'begin with the end in mind', by challenging assumptions, being clear of the economic and political landscape and to realise your role as the protector of company resources. • An enterprise sale is a two-way value process, so you need to ensure throughout that you have ‘fair exchange of value'. Test if there is real interest in your proposition, by ensuring you are not the only one making commitments. • You may have to start with steps 1, 2 and 3, then your champion needs to do steps 4, 5 and 6 and back to you to do steps 7, 8 and 9. You can’t be the only one making the commitments... My personal Key Takeaways that I am implementing: To thrive during this pandemic, make sure you sell business outcomes. It will give you more control of the timing and likely success of your deals. It is vital to 'begin with the end in mind'. Remember during an enterprise sale, it is a two-way value process, so ensure throughout you have ‘fair exchange of value'. Knowing the decision and engagement plan involving the Economic buyers at the start is vital to a successful outcome of any complex enterprise sale. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

This week, I have heard many people say to me, “I am so overwhelmed” “I’ve got no time for networking” or “I’ve got no space for my own brand development”. My reply to all these and more is… “What would you do if lost job tomorrow?” Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, says the following: “If you were made redundant tomorrow, which people would you contact among your existing network? Send them an email today to renew your relationship.” My aim is to guide and advise clients who think they have a growth mindset, yet reject positive change with phrases such as: · I can’t because I’m too busy · I'm overwhelmed · Branding can wait In her ground breaking book, Mindset – the New Psychology of Success, the world-famous Carol S. Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, states the following: “Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.” The hard truth is that to grow your mindset... ...Reposition yourself as a business problem ‘identifier and solver’, rather than as a job seeker. What is the greatest business problem you could solve for your potential new line manager? Which companies will you target? Segment and prioritize your target companies into three lists. The A list is 20 immediately attractive potential companies, the B list is the 30 next most attractive potential and the C list is the next 50 most attractive potential companies. Outline the three key most important criteria for your next move: culture, training opportunities, salary, career progression, mentoring… What ‘unique value proposition’ can you bring to your next organization? Use the Three Rs Method of connecting with and influencing people. Right person, Right timing, Right conditions. Who has the results and has succeeded in the roles you desire? What are the traits and behaviours of the top performers? Who makes the decisions for the roles within the companies you most desire to work for? The Head of the Company? The Directors? The COO? The CEO? And what about you? Do you have a strategy to access the hidden job market? Can I help you define your path to your next role? Let me finish with another quote from Carol Dweck’s seminal book: “When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world—the world of fixed traits—success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other—the world of changing qualities—it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself” Yeah, I know networking is hard...YET your career DEPENDS on it Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

Throughout his career Dick has helped major corporations and world class brands adapt to change and improve business performance through innovative technology and process improvement. He is the co-creator of the stellar Enterprise Selling, MEDDIC / MEDDICC / MEDDPICC, His key expertise is in Value Selling, Customer Engagement Process and Technology ROI. We explored with Dick: How the methodology came about. Why its vital to 'begin with the end in mind'. What is 'fair exchange of value'. Why an engagement plan involving the Economic buyers at the start is vital to any complex enterprise sale. and much more...

In a recent blog, I shared how Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code, highlighted the powerful “windshield effect” – that even a short connection with a role model can improve our belief that we too can excel at a very difficult skill. This has significant implications for our enterprise sales and negotiation ability... This week I had the honour of interviewing Don MacPherson for the Enterprise Sales show podcast channel. Don is an internationally recognized mind coach who has unlocked potential within elite sports professionals from the fields of Formula One racing, Rugby union and even a Wimbledon tennis champion. Don is a warm and practical guide, who also helps members of the public with their anxiety and performance challenges. He shared his view on the noise presented by accidental hypnosis, when previously speaking with Clyde Brolin author of 'In the Zone': ‘Ask my wife, Jane, to play tennis and she will politely decline. She’ll say, “I can’t play tennis! I don’t have an eye for the ball or any hand-eye coordination.” But if you gently pry as to why she holds such a view, she’ll say it must be true because, “Everybody has always told me I am hopeless at tennis.”’ ‘If you dare to go any further you might enquire who this everybody is. You may know a few: mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends, teachers… They are Jane’s “everybody” and probably yours!... I can relate to how Jane bought this external information. I know during the earlier stages of my career I did not trust my own instinct, yet trusted my line manager’s judgement much more. In turn, this left me vulnerable to his suggestions and manipulations. I was frustrated but was not sure how to overcome it. I recall a late-night conversation with my late father who told me, “You have earned the right to use your intuition, as you have made plenty of mistakes.” I am sure here was a backhanded compliment there somewhere if I look hard enough…! However, I do know one thing about myself - when I get frustrated, I get very curious. So, I started exploring, reading articles, books, and watching videos on how to deliberately build my intuitive muscle. During this process, one of the key accelerators was the body of work from The Times journalist and former UK No 1 table-tennis player, Matthew Syed. In particular, his ground-breaking book ‘Bounce’: One insight stood out above all others for me: “There are apparently no limits to improvements in memory skill with practice…its promise that anyone can achieve the same results with opportunity and dedication.” I thought, if there are no limits to a seemingly “natural talent” and “innate trait” like memory skill, trusting your intuition is like any cognitively complex skill, it is improvable with deliberate practice. I invite you to filter the information coming into your mind, to challenge the hypnosis from external sources and your own self-talk. Ask yourself: Does this language enable me to live the life I want and to have the career fulfilment I desire? Why not create the opportunity to enhance your skillset, right now? As remote working has become the ‘norm’, one of my executive clients was looking to improve a key leadership skill – candid and thoughtful communication with his team. I know from experience that expanding self-awareness is the key first step to developing this skill. So, I invited him to use a simple framework. Before any vital conversation, check his mind-set and self-talk: What is the specific purpose of this conversation? Where is my mindset right now? Where does my mindset need to be for optimal conversation? (Being open, flexible, and resourceful is a good place to start)... If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

This week I had the honour of interviewing Don MacPherson for the Enterprise Sales show podcast channel. Don is an internationally recognized mind coach who has unlocked potential within elite sports professionals from the fields of Formula One racing, Rugby union and even a Wimbledon tennis champion. Don is a warm and practical guide, who also helps members of the public with their anxiety and performance challenges. He shared his view on the noise presented by accidental hypnosis. ‘Ask my wife, Jane, to play tennis and she will politely decline. She’ll say, “I can’t play tennis! I don’t have an eye for the ball or any hand-eye coordination.” But if you gently pry as to why she holds such a view, she’ll say it must be true because, “Everybody has always told me I am hopeless at tennis.”’ ‘If you dare to go any further you might enquire who this everybody is. You may know a few: mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends, teachers… They are Jane’s “everybody” and probably yours! All are hypnotists who were in action from her first attempt to hit a ball. Perhaps she missed or miss-hit the ball, at which point I doubt she received much encouragement. It would have been more like “Oh dear, it doesn’t look like little Jane has much of an eye for a ball, shame...”’ I can relate to how Jane bought this external information. I know during the earlier stages of my career I did not trust my own instinct, yet trusted my line manager’s judgement much more. In turn, this left me vulnerable to his suggestions and manipulations. I was frustrated but was not sure how to overcome it. I recall a late-night conversation with my late father who told me, “You have earned the right to use your intuition, as you have made plenty of mistakes.” I am sure here was a backhanded compliment there somewhere if I look hard enough…! If you are struggling with anxiety or want to take your performance to a new level, I thoroughly recommend Don MacPherson’s recently released book, How to Master Your Monkey Mind - Overcome anxiety, increase confidence, and regain control of your life. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

Culture is dynamic and ever-evolving. Always involving people - it is fluid and can change extremely quickly. I have observed at first-hand how culture can be different even in two separate divisions of the same company – these different cultures were entirely shaped by the leaders of those divisions. One open collaborative and encouraging, the other controlling, individualistic and stifling. There seem to be so many examples of poor leadership at present, that I am left wondering - are toxic workplace cultures inevitable? After all, we are talking about work and perhaps, we should just get over it and stop being so unrealistic in expecting working environments to be safe and open. Then I think of the very best leaders I have worked with, both past and present. They build a psychologically safe environment; they give, creating a feeling of belonging and higher sense of purpose, rather than just expecting and taking the credit. So, is ‘belonging’ the antidote to the toxic workplace? Are we safe here? In his book, The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle examines how high performing groups evolve through the world. “Belonging cues are behaviours that create safe connection in groups. They include...proximity, eye contact, energy, mimicry, turn-taking, attention, body language, vocal pitch, consistency of emphasis, and whether everyone talks to everyone else in the group. Like any language, belonging cues can’t be reduced to an isolated moment but rather consist of a steady pulse of interactions within a social relationship. Their function is to answer the ancient, ever-present questions glowing in our brains: Are we safe here? What’s our future with these people? Are there dangers lurking?” Ajay Banga, the current Chairman of Mastercard, shared a story from early in his career whilst he was at Citibank. Sandy Weill, the then CEO, invited him to the senior planning group. Ajay was very nervous and looked and felt different from everyone else in the room. He explained during a podcast with David Novak that when he entered the room Sandy called him over and said: “I am delighted you are in this room - you will make us better.” This reduced Ajay’s stress and meant he was accepted and gave him a sense of belonging. “Behaviours drive culture – culture drives results.” Anant Patel, Vice-President of WEX Anant’s modus operandi comes from a deep-rooted belief, that to achieve stellar results, you must engage and build a safe environment where people can bring more of their true selves to in turn, produce their best work. A place where everyone belongs. He believes that a leader’s role is to enable people and get out of their way. To praise and not take the credit. For Anant, it is truly all about the team – “One team”. What makes Anant a servant leader? He genuinely cares about people, so it feels natural to him to... Anant has a personality and approach that is all about growth...He loves learning, which is a valuable skill that he has capitalised on to stay constantly adaptive and move forward in his career. Therefore so what? So, what are your takeaways from this article to improve the sense of belonging in your culture? Is it to be more curious about people and your team? Is it to learn from those who have skills that can enhance your career? Is it to stay where you are, with a fixed position? We all have choices to adapt and evolve…now is the time to step up. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk "Culture is like holding the wind in your hand". Title came from Toni Minichiello podcast interview from Don't Tell Me The Score: Thank you Toni and Simon.

We have all got used to working from home, so it can be tempting to forget that office politics exist, and breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, they are still rampant, and, in many ways, we need to be even more aware of them and make them more visible. Business mediator Clive Lewis who specialises in workplace disputes, believes office politics to be so prevalent, that he has written a book, Toxic - A Guide to Rebuilding Respect and Tolerance in a Hostile Workplace. He describes toxic behaviour, bullying and the minefield of office politics. “Such behaviour is not only simply wrong and damaging to its victims, it also results in reduced productivity, higher employee turnover and can often leave a stain upon the wider reputation of an organisation.” I have observed toxic environments and the effects on the lives and careers of people first-hand. The need by leaders and fellow colleagues to control and be in control is at the root of the problem. My observation is that with remote working, this need has heightened due to lack of physical contact. This has only added to the ‘command and control’ approach with crazy back-to-back zoom calls and daily forecast updates. Rethinking your approach to politicisation within your organisation is vital in the current climate if you want to avoid being outflanked. With your visibility currently reduced, now is a good time to stop, reset and ask yourself, in terms of managing upwards and sideways: • What should my next 90 days look like? • What should my next 180 days look like? Many organisations have not allocated enough resources or thought to this new environment to allow people to work from home effectively. For example, they haven’t allowed for appropriate breaks,” he notes. Remember the film The Good, The Bad & The Ugly by Sergio Leone? This is how it translates to office politics: The Good - when your visibility enhances your personal brand. The Bad – when you are outflanked to a promotion, a major account or don’t get the credit for landing a major account. The Ugly - a nasty exit that could potentially damage your career and is mentally destabilising. Here’s how: • Realise that managing upwards is very, very important. So, ask yourself what you can do to make your line manager’s career easier and to help bolster their image. • Understand your line manager’s priorities, expectations, beliefs, and attitudes - agreeing those is vital. • Try to identify the most pressing problems that your line manager has so that you can look to solve those problems using your knowledge, expertise, and network of resources. My office politics light-bulb moment Like most of us, I used to find office politics a complete drain. That was until a conversation with a much-respected senior leader changed my perspective. He commented that politics was inevitable within the company and noted how well I managed the politics with my customers. I knew how to navigate large, multinational companies and FTSE 100 businesses and did so very well for my customers. With that being the case, why wasn’t I managing office politics more effectively within the company that I was actually working in? It was my communication skills that enabled me to navigate so well for my customers, yet I found that type of communication challenging when I had to do it for myself. Communication in the workplace can be extremely challenging and, as George Bernard Shaw said: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

In my previous article I identified that the vital career and life skill of having confidence, is not reserved only for the privileged few see below: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6760144697471053824/ One of the key sources to confidence is inspiration from fellow humans, where they act as a ‘windshield’, showing you possibilities. Real inspiration says, "Me too, I can do that.” What is a ‘windshield’ I hear you ask? A windshield is what you see in front of you that gives you inspiration; role models that give you an image of your future self. In his book, The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Skill in Sport, Arts, Music, Math and Just About Everything Else, Daniel Coyle gives the following example: “In 1997, there were no South Korean golfers on the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. [By 2009, there were] more than 40, winning one third of all events. What happened? One golfer succeeded (Se Ri Pak, who won two major tournaments in 1998) and through her, hundreds of South Korean girls were ignited by a new vision of their future selves. As the South Korean golfer Christina Kim put it,” You say to yourself, ‘If she can do it, why can’t I?’ ” Studies have shown that even a short connection with a role model, no matter how minor, can improve your motivation immeasurably. Daniel Coyle continues, “What ignited the progress wasn't any innate skill or gene. It was a small, ephemeral, yet powerful idea: a vision of their ideal future selves, a vision that oriented, energized, and accelerated progress, and that originated in the outside world.” The stories we tell ourselves frame our actions and attitude. We see this everywhere. Going to Eton must make you think at least you have a chance of being Prime Minister, regardless of your ability...it has never entered my head that I could be Prime Minister! Inspiration and Opportunity matter - so how do we create more in our lives?? I have experienced my own career defining 'windshield' moment: I had identified that Jeff Grout, (previously the MD of the recruitment company Robert Half International, now a bestselling author and speaker), could accelerate my career. These are the precise words I used to connect with him and gain a very valuable half-hour of his time, to ask him five key questions, regarding his success. “Hello Jeff, my name is Adrian Evans. We have not met yet. I know you are a busy man, so I will be brief. I run my own search & selection business. Over the years you have done an excellent job of building the Robert Half business and moving into the public speaking and coaching arena. I have read and enjoyed a number of your books including ‘Mind Games’ (2004). I am sure you had many challenges when you were first starting out. I am still at those early stages, trying to figure everything out. I would really appreciate it if you would spend half an hour of your time to answer a few questions.” This resulted in a very successful conversation between us, it gave me the methodology and path to not only write a book, but also be the catalyst for the belief that I could have a successful executive coaching career. I would love to know your thoughts, comments and questions adrian@adrianevans.co.uk Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at Sales, https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through: the power of life-enhancing connections shared experiences and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

I used to believe this falsehood when I was growing up on a council estate in south Wales. It can be, yet Confidence is a Skill you can Learn and Earn the right to use. Having confidence is vital for your performance in the work place. Confidence is variable per minute, per hour, per morning, per day. It is controllable but you must earn the right to have it. Most people think confidence is a natural gift – you have it or you don’t. If you don’t and you are not one of the blessed, then it is elusive; you would love to have it. Yet, one of my life discoveries is that “authentic confidence” is a skill which is learnable via: · Deliberate practice · Effective coaching · Expanded awareness This can be a game-changer for your life and career. You can move to butterfly from caterpillar. You need to have the audacity and confidence to believe you can achieve break-through targets and goals, allied with the humility to actually do it. To gain this Winning Enterprise Sales Mindset, you need to: • ‘Do the Do’ and call high to economic buyers • Gain executive sponsorship • Be accountable and get better each week How confidence can be learned by anyone...let me explain from personal experience. Confidence is gained by a strange mix in believing you can do something before you have proof i.e. the audacity, added to the humility of showing up and actually do the job, ‘doing the do’. For instance, I had to believe I could write a book even though I was dyslexic. The odds were stacked against me, but thinking like that did not help. I believed that I could (the audacity) so then started to write half a page a day (doing the do). Two years later, I published my first book! No magic - just earned skill. Right now, why not use your newfound awareness that confidence is a skill and apply it to your mindset and attitude? Hold yourself accountable. Being accountable means identifying the most important high value activities you need to do each week. For an enterprise sales person, dialogue with key decision makers is up there. Check your accountability at the end of the week- what was the quality and quantity of conversations you had with economic buyers/ decision makers? Perhaps you need to engage a coach who could help you achieve even more? I have personally experienced so much wisdom and guidance from mentors and coaches in my life. I am so grateful that they: • Showed me new possibilities • Raised my standards • Created income opportunities • Made stellar introductions • Acted as guides, giving me the courage to explore new fields of skill within my career What are you missing out on by not having a mentor? When I refer to mentors, I am also referring to coaches or anyone who can show us an expanded way from our current thinking/skillset. As an example, even though I am an executive coach and very good at negotiation and presentation. I have multiple coaches who expand my perspective. I currently work with a negotiation coach, and a voice and presentation coach. My overall message this week is that we are all ‘work in progress’! 2020 and 2021 has shown us how we must evolve and adapt, to stay relevant. I would love to know your thoughts, comments and questions adrian@adrianevans.co.uk Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

Did you notice that it was “Blue Monday” at the beginning of the week? The third Monday in January is known as Blue Monday, due to a combination of post-Christmas blues, cold, dark, wet days, unpaid bills from Christmas, a ‘dry’ January and generally being fed-up. And of course, in the current climate, the sobering Covid-19 figures we are presented with on an hourly basis in the media are even more reason to feel gloomy and down. So, what can you do in these unsettling, uncertain times? You can Control the Controllable. You will feel more in the driver’s seat, be prepared and ready for whatever life throws at you from a career point of view. You will know what action to take in every situation; what happens if you are fired or made redundant? Are you having second thoughts about your current job, debating whether or not you should stay or move on? Many people dread networking or perceived self-promotion - it can bring into stark relief the difference between someone with bravado who takes risks and someone who is more conservative and doesn’t want to cause a fuss. As President Teddy Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy”. So, when you compare yourself to how others work and promote themselves, it can often make you feel inadequate and deflated, which in turn, threatens your confidence and self-worth. However, if you think of your career journey as a series of steps on your own personal ladder, you can compare what you did yesterday to where you are today. Taking stock of each step on your own ladder, seeing the progress you have made, rather than comparing yourself to anyone else, is all part of Controlling the Controllable. Start with a short exercise to help bring you career under control. It will help you identify what is most important to you in a role. Rate these five priorities in order of importance: · Your level of autonomy · The culture of the company you work for · Your opportunity for career progression · The calibre of your leadership team · The appropriateness of your reward for the value you bring to the company Rate your current role on each, ranging from 5 to 1, where 5 equals an Excellent Match; 4 equals Good, 3 equals Needs Improving, 2 equals Not Much to Offer and lastly, 1, which is No Match at all. If the average is above 4 - stay and position yourself as vital for business success. If the average is between 2 & 4 – it is time to explore other career options If the average is below 2 - time to plan your exit so that you can leave on your terms I share this exercise to suggest that there is an alternative route. It is possible to be in control of when you choose to leave an organisation and for you to decide the impact it will have on your life. This is all part of the process of taking a step on your own ladder and looking at your own progress, rather than comparing yourself with someone else...how different this would be if he had been forced out or made to leave on the company’s terms instead. In addition, a further benefit for both parties was avoiding the dreaded ‘performance improvement’ process and any unnecessary legal costs. Therefore, my core message today is be prepared and be ready – and if nothing else, remember, you can control the controllable, taking each step of your personal ladder one at a time, putting you in charge of your future career path. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

Is Your Job at Risk? How would it affect you financially, mentally and emotionally if you were dismissed, especially in the uncertain times we live in? Unfortunately, I have seen the, sometimes, brutal way employers let employees know that they are no longer required. I fully appreciate that we are in a rapidly changing world and business pressures lead to inevitable reorganisation, but a bit of human respect can go a long way. The favoured technique of one CEO was, without warning, to take an employee into a room and fire them. In some cases, the employee had worked for the organisation for many years. Naturally playing on the element of surprise and bully tactics, the CEO would offer a package to the employee to leave immediately. And, if they walked out of the room without signing away their employment rights, the amount would be halved. Thankfully, this kind of old-fashioned, out-dated behaviour is changing, but as an employee in our fluid, constantly changing world, you must always be ready. My core message this week is that lockdown is NO excuse not to network, In fact, you have more time! Your job could be at risk if you do not. No alt text provided for this image Imagine the impact of that happening to you… Recently, a sales director who had overachieved on challenging sales figures for the year, was let go because the board had lost confidence in him. I took his phone call the morning after he had found out he was fired. He was absolutely devastated, in fact, so upset that he could not even speak and had to end the call after the third attempt. He thought he would never get another job in the industry and that he was worthless. My most proactive clients are excelling in their roles, yet find the time to network every month and have potential jobs lined up in their pipeline even though they do not need them yet. Accessing the hidden job market is key. Remember, over 80% of job positions are not advertised. So, you need to make connections – which 10 people would most accelerate your career right now? Firstly, update your CV and social networking profiles such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Next, build time into your day to make these connections – try 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. Taking this small amount of time to ensure that your career is future-proofed, is essential. No alt text provided for this image Ask people from your network and in turn, their network, for positive referrals to key connections. Put yourself in their shoes - offer your new connection a valuable market insight, article or a well-qualified business lead to build your relationship. Be flexible, detach yourself from the results and do not take non-replies as personal. All feedback is about progress and resilience. Of course, not all of the conversations will be productive; just like most of business and life, the 80/20 rule applies. However, 20% of the conversations will produce 80% of the results. So, two connections may well end up being ‘career pearls’. Finally, record all progress so that you are prepared and ready for the next step should you be made redundant or let go. By making these key connections, you will have unearthed previously unknown opportunities that you can convert into live jobs. You will have put yourself in the driving seat of your career search because you will have little or no competition for these roles. Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

‘Underselling’ yourself is detrimental to your career and can be as damaging as ‘overselling’. Following on from my post of last week, I received a pertinent comment regarding the benefit of a “pre-review review”. I love the idea of a pre-review review. There is a risk that it becomes adversarial with both sides defending entrenched positions if left until after the disappointing raise. The comment went on to say that, I'm sure often employers don't think about it much: they just add a bit to the previous year's salary rather than deliberately deciding to keep people on the cheap.” That is to say that employers don’t mean to under-pay, but that they are not prepared. I think this is a rather generous perspective; after all, if the employee is over-delivering, fully prepared and up to speed, the least one can do as a line manager is come prepared, having looked at and discussed salary and other issues in detail. A client of mine was preparing for his annual review. He had significantly over-delivered in the previous year and was looking to set himself up for a successful year ahead. He wanted to be appropriately rewarded, yet did not want to be perceived as a ‘moaner’. We worked on ensuring his mindset was optimal. He agreed to deliver his message with accuracy and conviction, and to be firm in order to achieve the pay increase he was expecting. We used the following message that we felt was a win/win situation for both him and his line manager: My request is to have an £xxxK basic for the next financial year. In addition, I believe there is some scope for reducing my target, so I’d like my increase reduced from xx% to xx%, making it £xxK per quarter. That would incentivise and motivate me to succeed, ensuring that I qualify for the High Flyers Club next year. This would be in the company’s interests as it ensures targets are more likely to be reached. The line-manager’s likely objections/questions could be: · What do you want me to do about it? · This is not standard practice in our business. · You have never mentioned your ambitions to qualify for the Highflyers. The net result of this was a 15% base increase (significantly higher than his peers), and his target increase was reduced as requested. This advice is a just a sample of the value I can add. In partnership with Lisa Akesson, a World Class Voice & Presentation Skills Coach, we are offering a two half-day virtual course on “Impactful Negotiations for Women”, where we will be tailoring this methodology to the specific needs of the participants. Why not join us? Learning how to negotiate effectively is such a worthwhile investment. It is an evergreen skill that you can use on a weekly basis to enhance your career, life and even the lives of your family and loved ones. · Imagine being able to negotiate the job you want at the level of appropriate reward. · Imagine confidently asking for that seat at the table and being given it. · Imagine negotiating the resources you need to help your team function better. Lisa and I have enabled many of our clients to achieve positive career results with confidence and our partnership brings a blend of unique skills. Lisa will enable you to take your space, own your voice, build rapport and communicate your needs in a negotiation with gravitas and personal power. I will help transform your negotiation mindset, results, and income. I regularly achieve significant increases in my clients’ income levels. And remember, with every negotiation you enter, be it large or small, you are building a muscle and a skill that will serve you for life. Drop a line in the comments section or a personal message (adrian@adrianevans.co.uk) if you are interested. I will then send you the details of our programme.

‘Underselling’ yourself is detrimental to your career and can be as damaging as ‘overselling’. I recently spoke about the truisms in the professional job market, and the skills you need to develop to navigate effectively. Today, I want to give you some practical insights that will enable you to succeed in gaining promotion, receiving a pay rise, or being offered a new job, Most employees do not know their worth and are too afraid to ask for it, especially women. In her book “Women Don’t Ask”, Professor Linda Babcock notes that when women MBAs got an offer, only 7% of them would attempt to negotiate, as opposed to 57% of men. Research also shows that when women do negotiate, they tend to negotiate 30% less than their male counterparts. In my experience, (I was a head-hunter for over two decades), most professional employees – both men and women - do not realise the true value they add to their company. I displayed this behaviour during my own career, until I applied my negotiation ability (that I practiced every day for clients!) to myself. To own your career direction, knowing your worth in the external marketplace is very useful. You don’t need to be actively looking for the next role, yet if you are a high performer, I believe you have ‘earned the right’ to have a bolder conversation at annual review time. Always remember you have created significant value by performing at your current level; it’s an invitation to ask for ‘appropriate reward’. Here is a simple guide to bring confidence, before you enter a negotiation. Start from a well-defined plan, position yourself as a premium employee, create options, and re-evaluate. I want to share a story of one of my clients who was due to have an annual review in early 2021. He was significantly over sales target in 2020. He is a multiplier who mentors many people within his company. He is happy at the company and enjoys the culture. He is always looking to add value to his line manager and colleagues across the globe. Yet did not feel appropriately rewarded for the value he adds. He did not want to go down an aggressive route (and high energy investment) of gaining an external offer to justify a pay increase. So, he asked for an early review in December. He positioned his individual and companywide value to the key decision makers. A significant (21% increase) in pay was agreed and confirmed before the new year. I know this figure and timescale might look unrealistic or unreasonable, yet this is what is achievable when we take a relationship and campaign approach to negotiation. Too many people view negotiation as a ‘one-off’ big conversation. Learning how to negotiate effectively is such a worthwhile investment, it is an evergreen skill that you can use on a weekly basis to enhance your career, life and even the lives of your families and loved ones. This advice is a just a sample of the value I can add. In partnership with Lisa Akesson, a World Class Voice & Presentation Skills Coach, we are offering a two half-day results focused course: “Impactful Negotiations for Women”. Where we will be tailoring this methodology to the specific needs of the participants. Why not join us? We will be exploring: The power of building rapport in negotiations, the power of pacing and leading others and confidently hold your space to bring your dynamic presence to the table. Drop a line in the comments section or a personal message (adrian@adrianevans.co.uk) if you would like to learn more.

After a successful 2020 (despite all of the headwinds), many SaaS sales professionals are now considering their options. The central dilemma they face is: “Should I stay with my current company or leave for a new challenge?” There is always an inherit risk and never has there been a more uncertain time to make a career move. Starting at a new company could be difficult, as you will not be able to have a face-to-face induction or the necessary networking to set yourself up for success. More anxiety comes with taking a leap of faith, as it could lead further down the line to a disastrous situation of ‘last in, first out’. Nobody wants to unwittingly make the wrong decision, leaving the security of your current company, where your personal brand reputation is strong and built over many years. Nagging ‘inner dialogue', comparison to others, and FOMO (Fear of missing out), are the modern day ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ scenario. People do not want to miss out or make a poor decision that could cost them dearly. So, how do we solve this dilemma? Due diligence is important but procrastination is crippling. I have observed many SaaS sales professionals spend far too long worrying about the actual career decision, and far too little time on the post-decision execution. The decision itself is important, but having made it, you need to proceed with all the energy, focus and resourcefulness to optimise...Leicester City were 5,000/1 to win the Premier League at the beginning of the season in August of the previous year. Bookies Paddy Power thought it was more likely that Elvis, who died in 1977, was found alive and well in 2016 than Leicester City winning the Premier League…Paddy Power had the King's resurrection down at 2,000/1! To bring things back to 2021, I urge you to move from FOMO to NOMO – from “Fear of missing out” to “Necessity of missing out”. To make successful decisions, we cannot have it all – less is more, and prioritisation is key. How to make effective current choices in enterprise sales: · Acknowledge this is a quality/first-rate problem you are facing. · Define your career purpose – what is your North Star? Mine is to positively impact 20,000 careers. · Confirm how each role fits into your ‘next’ and ‘next, next’ career moves · Measure each opportunity against your key criteria which should include: Value proposition Executive leadership team Funding Culture Compensation Role/Terrority Calibre of line manager Existing customer logos Potential to overachieve… If an external move scores higher than your current role, have an honest conversation with yourself - if not now, when? Have the confidence in yourself to be able to handle the outcome of any decision made. In order to reach better decisions, we all need someone to believe in us more than we believe in ourselves, like Ranieri and his football team. I myself was humbled recently when one of my long-standing clients provided feedback tackling an important decision about a potential career move: “I would not be where I am today without you, Adrian. You persuaded me to act and leave my former company. I would have done my normal thing and stayed put. Then you helped me secure the new role right through to gaining promotion. “ Sean Gregan, Sales Director, Oracle Thank you for your comments Sean – much appreciated! Enterprise Sales Club is now LIVE at https://www.enterprisesalesclub.com. Our purpose is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings. If you want to take your career to the next level, as well as improve your skills in Enterprise Sales, please contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk

In my last blog, I spoke about the truisms in the UK’s professional job market, and the skills you need to develop to navigate effectively. Today, I want to give you some practical insights that will enable you achieve that new job, receive a pay rise, or be offered promotion. Most employees do not know their worth and are too afraid to ask for it, especially women. In her book “Women Don’t Ask”, Professor Linda Babcock noted that when women MBAs got an offer, only 7% of them would attempt to negotiate as opposed to 57% of men. Research also shows that when women do negotiate, they tend to negotiate 30% less than men. In my experience, (previously as a head-hunter for over two decades) most professional employees – both men and women - do not realise the true value they add to an organisation. I displayed this behaviour during my own career, until I applied my negotiation ability (that I practiced every day for clients) to myself. When it comes to your next career move, always remember you have done a huge amount of work to even achieve an interview or offer, you have earned the right to be ‘appropriately rewarded’ for that role. Here is a simple guide to bring confidence - before you enter a negotiation: Start from a well-defined plan, market yourself as a premium employee, create options, and re-evaluate all that you have learned. Let’s go into a little more detail: Your well-defined plan: • Evaluate the role - will it move your career forward? How? • Understand the interests and what the employer is looking for, by asking them to identify what their goals are before your interview/appraisal. • Know what the employer/organisation can be flexible on and what they cannot. Be a premium employee: • Understand the key performance indicators of the role – this identifies the value you will add. • Identify your asks, split this into three zones: a) Stellar offer b) Acceptable c) Unacceptable • Negotiate ‘as if’ you are representing your best friend. It is far simpler to champion someone else rather than yourself! Create options: • An early review/appraisal. • Flexible working hours. • Asking for training and coaching course to be paid for by the employer. Re-evaluate all you have learned: • During all interactions, create an environment of rapport and respect. • Remain clear on your objectives and be persistently patient. ‘Underselling’ yourself is detrimental to you and your career. It is as damaging as ‘overselling’. Purposefully - both sides can then reach an agreement. Good luck! Naturally, this advice is a sample of the value Lisa and I can add. Bringing this methodology to your specific needs is our purpose. Why not join us on our two half-day virtual course on “Impactful Negotiations for Women” on 8th and 9th February 2021? Drop a line in the comments section or a personal message (adrian@adrianevans.co.uk) if you are interested. I will send the details of our programme.