Sales Integrity

Steve Benson is the Founder & CEO of Badger Maps, the #1 app for route planning and scheduling to help outside sales reps save up to 10 hours every week in busy work - so that they can focus on selling more. Prior to launching Badger Maps Steve thrived in outside sales roles for IBM, Autonomy and Google, where he was recognized as Google Enterprise's Top Performing Sales Rep in the World for 2009 (227% of quota for the year). So Steve knows a thing or two about selling like a badger in an outside sales role. Throughout this interview Steve shares valuable insights for not only outside sales professionals to increase sales and earn more money, but also tech company leaders seeking to improve the way they build, develop and lead their sales organization.

JV Crum III is the host of the very popular podcast, Conscious Millionaire, which has 12 million listeners in over 190 countries with over 1000 episodes broadcasted. INC Magazine named Conscious Millionaire one of the Top 13 Business Podcasts for 2017. JV is also author of the best-selling book by the same name - Conscious Millionaire. JV is a High Performance coach and has come on the Sales Integrity Podcast to discuss the power of Mindset and Prosperity Thinking to help our audience achieve High Performance. On this episode you will find out why setting goals doesn't work and what you should do instead. This episode is jam-packed with Mindset improvement tips and techniques. If you want to take your sales performance to the next level, then you will definitely want to listen to this interview with JV Crum III. 

On this episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast we discuss whether or not you are already behind your numbers just midway through the 1st Quarter of 2018 and clarify the cause for why you might struggle to achieve your goals. Furthermore, we discuss how to create a Quarterly Sales Plan (i.e. your Sales Business Plan). More specifically, we walk through a high level overview of The 3 Pillars of Prospecting On Purpose and how you can leverage these pillars for creating your customized sales plan. Most importantly, we discuss executing your plan on a consistent weekly basis through the lens of The 3 Pillars. If you are the type of sales professional who wants to build upon your current momentum, or if you are in the position where you need to turn around your ineffective sales performance, then you will definitely want to listen to this podcast episode to get out ahead of your numbers in 2018!

Scott Ingram's passion lives at the intersection of marketing, sales and technology. As a sales practitioner, Scott is a Strategic Account Manager at Relationship One, a company that empowers organizations to modernize their marketing through strategy, technology and data. In addition to Scott's role at Relationship One, he is the host of two popular podcasts - "Sales Success Stories", where he deconstructs world class sales performers (individual contributors) to understand the habits, mindsets, routines, tools and techniques that get and keep them at the top; and "Inspired Marketing", where he focuses exclusively on inspiring stories of success, triumph and transformation among modern marketers. During this interview Scott shares his top 3 lessons learned from his interviews of world-class sales performers on his Sales Success Stories podcast. Scott also discusses the power of mentorship for top sales professionals and offers some input on the popular topics of Social Selling, Cold Calling and much more. If you are the type of sales professional who wants to learn from the best so you can accelerate your growth into a Top 1% sales professional, then you will definitely want to listen to this interview!

On this episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast we discuss the difference between your Social Profile and your Social Presence. These are two distinctly different, yet related, very important topics. One of these topics has to do with your mere existence as a sales professional in the digital world. The other has to do with your experience, and more importantly how you convey that experience to the world so you are seen as a go-to specialist in your field. Together these two topics, if mastered, can provide you a distinct competitive advantage to help you stand out in a sea of competition. If you want to elevate your sales game to the next level by optimizing both your Social Profile AND your Social Presence to position yourself as THE go-to specialist in your industry niche, then you will definitely want to listen to this podcast episode!

Phill Keene is the Director of Sales at Costello Inc, provider of a Deal Management software platform, and Co-host of the very popular Real Sales Talk Podcast. As an everyday sales practitioner, both from a selling perspective and sales leadership perspective, Phill has recently earned the distinction of "2017 Top 25 Most Influential Inside Sales Professionals" by AA-ISP and "Top 50 Sales Development Leaders You Should Know" by Engagio. Being from Indianapolis, we discuss how Phill incorporated the Indy 500 into the sales culture at Costello to encourage higher activity levels of prospecting and lead generation. Phill shares his philosophy on cold calling, social selling, and how to improve deal management sales processes to increase closing ratios. Phill also shared two quick sales hacks, including one he labels as "The Crazy Ex Cadence" that you won't want to miss! As a matter of fact, when you listen to the podcast and hear Phill explain "The Crazy Ex Cadence" approach he provides his email address for you to request him to send you the details for how to implement this unique approach yourself. If you want to learn unique advice you can immediately apply in the real world of selling to help you increase sales and earn more money, then you will want to listen to the real sales talk that occurs within this exciting interview!

Mike Shelah is the Founder of Mike Shelah Consulting where he works with individuals and companies to help them combine LinkedIn, Emotional Intelligence, Networking, Public Speaking, Leadership and Business Development for the purpose of generating more leads and increasing sales. During this interview Mike and I discuss how emotional intelligence affects your selling success, the difference between a "sales funnel" and "sales pipeline", Mike's definition of what "LinkedIn Gold" is and how you can leverage it to "connect and cultivate" the right relationships to open up more doors of opportunity, and much more. If you want to learn creative new ideas for generating more leads to help you achieve your sales and income goals then you will want to listen to this interview!

On this episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast we discuss 5 tips for improving your LinkedIn profile. There are some basic mistakes sales professionals make when it comes to how they handle their LinkedIn profile and during this episode we will review not only what those mistakes are but more importantly how to avoid those mistakes by making some subtle edits to various sections of your LinkedIn profile. They key is you want to make it easy for the right target audience to find you, connect with you and contact you after they connect with you. You want to make it easy for people to help you and avoid frustrating those who choose to help you. We discuss all of this and more on this podcast episode. If you want to elevate your sales game to the next level by optimizing your LinkedIn profile to attract the right target audience then you will definitely want to listen to this podcast episode!

On this episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast we discuss the 3 Key aspects of a successful sales game plan and more importantly address how you can apply them to improve your overall sales game. We all lose at some point. Sometimes we lose to competition. Many times we lose to the status quo, meaning your prospects and clients choose to do nothing after evaluating your solution. It is your duty and obligation to yourself to put yourself in the best position to win at all times. At the end of the day, he or she who masters these 3 key aspects of a successful sales game plan will win more than their competition and win more than they lose to the status quo. If you want to elevate your sales game to the next level then you will definitely want to listen to this podcast episode!

On this episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast we examine the seemingly subtle difference between "Use Cases" and "Case Studies" and how both tactics can be used within your prospecting and selling efforts. Many sales professionals would like to leverage Case Studies within their selling efforts because helps demonstrate credibility within the selling process. Case Studies make it easier to convince prospects and customers you have "been there; done that" as it relates to the solution you are selling. However, many companies lock down the process of creating formal Case Studies and only allow for the use of formally approved Case Studies created by the Marketing Department. This is where "Use Cases" come in and can help sales professionals quickly create the messaging they need to positively influence, persuade and convince their prospects and customers by leveraging the concepts of "Social Proof" and "Competitive Intelligence". If you want to elevate your sales prospecting game to establish credibility, generate more leads and close more business so you can earn more money then you will definitely want to listen to this podcast episode!

On this episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast we examine the seemingly subtle difference between using Canned Messages versus using Message Templates while prospecting and selling. The differences may seem subtle at first. However, as you will find by listening to this episode the differences are quite vast. Think eating soup out of a can versus ordering steak off of a menu at a nice restaurant. We discuss the differences especially as it relates to using canned messages on LinkedIn. We also walk through other possible uses of Message Templates while leveraging the "4 Cornerstones of Lead Generation Success" - Cold Calling, Social Selling, Strategic Networking and Referral Selling. You will learn some practical use cases for improving your sales prospecting efforts that you can apply immediately in the real world of selling. If you want to elevate your sales prospecting game to establish credibility, generate more leads and earn more money then you will definitely want to listen to this podcast episode!

On today's Sales Integrity Podcast episode we feature our newer "Ask-the-Coach" Q&A format. I have received quite a few questions since unveiling this new format so I will answer another question today. Today's question comes from Dave Casey, CEO of Calvus Cloud (www.calvuscloud.com). Dave asks: "What is the single most important qualifying (not closing) question you can ask a prospective client?" Dave goes on to say "Expected answers are: "Do you have a budget for this?", "Do you feel our solution solves your business problem?", and the real $64,000 question; "Can we win this business?" If you are wondering the single greatest qualifying question you can ask prospects then you will want to listen to this episode to find out my answer!

Fred Diamond is the Co-founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Excellence in Sales (IES). Fred created the IES to recognize corporate and organizational sales and business development operational excellence, and promote best practices and thought leadership. With the growth of the IES, Fred has also been causing waves in the sales world as well. Well-known as a marketing consultant to companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and others, Fred has led the IES to become a leading source of sales excellence, content development, and premiere sales training solutions. Through the IES Fred works with such well-known sales thought leaders as Neil Rackham, Jill Konrath, Jeb Blount, Kendra Lee, Mark Hunter, Colleen Stanley and many others. During this interview Fred shares the "elusive critical factor for sales success", discusses "cold calling vs. social selling", and addresses many other hot topics in the world of sales. If you want to learn from one of the world's leading sales influencers spearheading the movement of sales excellence then you will want to listen to this interview!

On today's Sales Integrity Podcast episode we continue with our new "Ask-the-Coach" Q&A format. I have received quite a few questions since unveiling this new format so I will answer another question today. Today's question comes from Les Ehrsam of www.lesehrsam.com and the North Texas Crime Commission. Les aks: "I have received a request from long time contacts in my network to join 'Alignable: The Small Business Network', which seems to be an alternative to LinkedIn. The site description seems to be very similar to LinkedIn. Do we really need another Social Selling network since there already seems to be some overlap between Facebook and LinkedIn?" If you are wondering the same thing then you will want to listen to this episode to find out my answer!

On today's Sales Integrity Podcast episode we continue with our new "Ask-the-Coach" Q&A format. I have received quite a few questions since unveiling this new format last episode so I will answer another question today. Today's question comes from Jimmy Curtin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at CK Telephone and Data Services. Jimmy asks: "Sean, do you believe that the use of an engagement plan at the beginning of the sales process improves your closing percentage?" If you are wondering the same thing then you will want to listen to this episode to find out my answer!

"A referred customer spends 13.2% more than a non-referred customer." [Source: Journal of Marketing] On today's Sales Integrity Podcast episode we try out a new format - "Ask-the-Coach" Q&A. I receive questions from time-to-time from my listeners and will start answering them on the podcast so all listeners can benefit from the coaching advice. Today's question comes from Brian Childers, President of Comport Consulting Group. Brian asks: "Sean, can you discuss the changing landscape of leveraging social media selling as it relates to referral selling?  Specifically, it has been proven that more people will buy from a personal referral, either direct or indirect via a trusted resource/friend, versus cold-calling, mass marketing, etc.  As a professional sales coach and industry expert, how do you see these either competing against or complementing each other?" If you are wondering the same thing then you will want to listen to this episode to find out my answer!

"Only 25% of leads are legitimate and should advance to sales." [Source: Gleanster Research] We have reached a milestone - this is our 50th episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast! On this episode we focus on The 4 Cornerstones of Lead Generation Success and more importantly, how you can apply each one. During this episode we pull together the previous lessons learned throughout our Prospecting On Purpose podcast series into one comprehensive approach to generating more leads. If you want to create and execute a well-balanced consistent weekly lead generation strategy to help you achieve your sales and income goals then you will want to listen to this episode.

From playing on the same college basketball team at LSU as "Pistol" Pete Marovich, to a successful 14-year sales career at IBM, to working alongside Zig Ziglar for 32 years, Bryan Flanagan has some great stories to share. This is definitely one of the more entertaining interviews conducted on the Sales Integrity Podcast. After 3,628,807 miles, 4,670 engagements, and training over 745,144 professionals, Bryan still believes that, armed with the right skills and attitude, anyone can learn to sell. And he imparts such wisdom during this interview as "Comfort kills careers" and "Think in silence, talk in complete sentences" as well as "The intention behind your technique determines your integrity" and much more. If you are the type of sales leader or sales professional who seeks to learn creative new ideas in a fun way to take your sales career to the next level then you will want to "grow get em" by listening to this interview of the great Bryan Flanagan.

What is Social Selling? According to LinkedIn, Social Selling is about leveraging your social network to find the right prospects, build trusted relationships, and ultimately, achieve your sales goals. In terms of measuring Social Selling success LinkedIn conducted some research and found that sales reps with the highest Social Selling Index (SSI) scores create 45% more sales opportunities, are 51% more likely to hit quota, are 3X more likely to go to club, and 78% of social sellers outsell their peers who don't use social media. On today's episode we focus on where it all begins as it relates to social selling - the connection. We provide a systematic approach for connecting with over 25% of your target audience of senior executives on LinkedIn. If you want to learn a proven step-by-step approach for reaching out to senior executives who will gladly accept your LinkedIn connection requests then you will want to listen to this episode.

“Nurtured leads produce, on average, a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads." [Source: DemandGen Report] Today we start a new podcast theme - Sales & Marketing Integration. Moving forward we will look at the ins and outs, as well as benefits associated to the sales department and marketing department working together as it relates to Lead Generation. Today’s niche focus will be: Social Selling vs. Lead Nurturing. If Social Selling is really just the sales professional's way of getting attention and then nurturing leads how does that affect the Marketing department’s formal Lead Nurturing campaigns? What are the pitfalls associated to these two departments not communicating as it relates to this topic? We address this in detail during this podcast episode. We even provide 3 tips on how Sales and Marketing can work hand-in-hand to make the Lead Nurturing process a great success without stepping on one another. If you want to learn how the Sales and Marketing departments can leverage Social Selling and Lead Nurturing campaigns in conjunction with one another to generate more qualified opportunities, then you will want to listen to this episode.

“Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text." [Source: Insivia Reports] We continue with our theme of “Creating Content” as a sales professional. Today we focus on sending videos within LinkedIn InMails to New Prospects. It’s not as easy as it may sound. People who don’t know you typically won’t click a link for fear it could be a virus or something less desirable. Within InMails LinkedIn doesn’t convert a link to a preview of the video like it does on its activity feed wall when you post a link in an Update. During this episode we provide you with a “sales hack” on how to get around this challenge within LinkedIn. We also provide you a quick blueprint and outline for how to structure your message within the 300 character limit LinkedIn imposes on you when sending messages to 2nd degree contacts or beyond using InMails. If you want to learn a creative way to send videos to target market prospects within LinkedIn that simply yields results, then you will want to listen to this episode.

The Sales Integrity Podcast just completed it’s 3rd month in existence and has received some excellent feedback from our audience of loyal listeners. This quick episode will provide a special announcement for some changes we are making to the podcast moving forward effective May 2017 based on audience suggestions.

“59% of senior executives prefer video over text." [Source: Brainshark] We continue with our theme of “Creating Content” as a sales professional. Today we focus on how to create videos to send to senior executives within the sales process. Video equals higher viewer attention. We all know senior executives don’t like longwinded emails or conversations. They tend to be brief in their communications because of how much demand is on them and their daily schedule. Given that, Brainshark also found that the information contained in one minute of online video is equal to about 1.8 million written words. You can take advantage of this research as a sales professional by creating compelling videos that make you more memorable and drive home points your made during your meetings with senior executives. We provide three tips on how to create and share videos with senior executives, both in follow up emails as well as to summarize longer presentations you made during previous meetings. If you want to set yourself apart from the competition and become more memorable with senior executives during the sales cycle to win more business, then you will want to listen to this episode.

"90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text." [Sources: 3M Corporation and Zabisco] We continue with our theme of “Creating Content” as a sales professional. Today we focus on how to create an InfoGraphic. Visual content drives engagement. In fact, according to research conducted by Simply Measured, just one month after the introduction of Facebook timeline for brands, visual content — photos and videos — saw a 65% increase in engagement. You can take advantage of this same approach as a sales professional by creating your very own InfoGraphic to illustrate your knowledge and expertise while helping simplify complex topics for your target audience. We provide three tips on how to create and share an InfoGraphic to elevate your status as a thought leader and go-to-specialist in your field. If you want to take advantage of the power of visual content to improve your sales prospecting game, then you will want to listen to this episode.

"The top salespeople use LinkedIn at least 6 hours per week." [Source: The Sales Management Association] We continue with our new theme of “Creating Content” as a sales professional. Today we focus on how to create and share content on LinkedIn. We have discussed previously how buyers feel more positive about a brand after consuming content from it. Well the same thing is true for sales professionals - the more timely, relevant content you share that adds value to the buyer’s evaluation journey then the more likely they will reach out to you at the right time in the buying cycle to engage with you. We provide three tips on how to share and create content on LinkedIn that will help you build a steady following of target market prospects with consistent action on your part. If you want to leverage LinkedIn as a social selling tool that helps you steadily build a sales pipeline of qualified opportunities, then you will want to listen to this episode.

“70% of people make purchasing decisions to solve problems. 30% make decisions to gain something.” [Source: Impact Communications]  We continue with our new theme of “Creating Content” as a sales professional. Today we focus on the Pain & Pleasure Principle and how you can put it to work for you to improve the way you influence and persuade. We discuss how to leverage the Pain & Pleasure Principle as you create content knowing you will want to map that content directly to the more pressing concept of the two (pain and pleasure). We provide three steps and tips on how to create compelling content that makes use of this principle. If you want to improve the effectiveness of your sales messaging and create more impactful content, then you will want to listen to this episode.

“95% of buyers chose a solution provider that provided them with ample content to help navigate through each stage of the buying process.” [Source: DemandGen Report]  We shift our attention to a new theme we will focus on moving forward on the Sales Integrity Podcast, which is “Creating Content”. Given that all of the research points to buyers needing to consume multiple pieces of content from a vendor before buying from them, we will focus on creating one piece per episode moving forward. This renewed focus will build upon our previous “Prospecting by the Numbers” discussion and provide our listeners with plenty of ideas on how to create valuable content they can use within their prospecting and selling efforts. Today we focus on the process associated towards creating a Case Study. We provide three steps and tips on how to quickly create a simple one-page Case Study that will be compelling to your target audience. If you have always known you should be telling success stories and sharing case studies with your prospects at the right time in their buying journey, then you will want to listen to this episode.

“73% of executives prefer to work with sales professionals referred by someone they know.” [Source: Sales Benchmark Index] On today’s “Sales Prospecting by the Numbers” discussion we focus on “Referral Selling Uncovered” as our primary topic. We unpack this statistic a bit and provide 3 specific tips on how to improve your overall approach as it relates to success with referral selling. In a previous episode we discussed how only 11% of salespeople are actually asking for referrals. Today we focus on some positive statistics that highlight the benefits of using referral selling as a primary prospecting strategy. We also provide specific tactics to help you elevate your referral selling game. If you are struggling with how to generate more referral-based leads, then you will want to listen to this episode.

"The first viable vendor to reach a decision maker & set the buying vision has an average close ratio of 74%” [Source: Forrester] On today’s “Sales Prospecting by the Numbers” discussion we focus on “The Unfair Advantage of Being First” as our primary topic. We unpack this statistic a bit and provide 3 specific tips on how to put yourself in the best position to be the first sales professional to reach your target market prospects before they reach out to other sales professionals. If you are struggling to come up with creative ideas on how to connect with prospects to reach them just before (or right as) they are entering their buying journey, then you will want to listen to this episode.  

“The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video.” [Source: Mist Media] On today’s “Sales Prospecting by the Numbers” discussion we focus on “The Power of Visuals and Using Video” as our primary topic. We unpack this statistic a bit and provide 3 specific tips on how to use video extensively in your prospecting and selling activities. Additionally, we recommend 3 specific technology tools you can use to quickly create video content and make it available for prospects to connect with you through it. Finally, we even recommend a tool that allows you to use video within emails, for both introductory emails and follow up emails. If you have known for some time that you need to weave the use of video into your prospecting and selling efforts but just haven’t figure out how to do so yet, then you will want to listen to this episode.  

“82% of buyers viewed at least 5 pieces of content from the winning vendor.” [Source: Forrester] On today’s “Sales Prospecting by the Numbers” discussion we focus on “Nurturing Your Prospects” as our primary topic. We unpack this statistic a bit and provide 3 specific tips on how to become systematic in the way your prospect. Additionally, we discuss the various methods of how people learn and how you should structure the unique content that you create to include in your nurture marketing process. If you are seeking a better way to become more systematic in the way you prospect, especially as it relates to creating and including unique value-based content into your approach, then you will want to listen to this episode.

Rob Rash is the President & CEO of Olympia Consulting, a sales management consulting services provider. Rob has previously built a very successful consulting business which employed over 100 consultants. He ran that business as President/CEO and eventually sold the enterprise to a publicly traded competitor. His background includes deep expertise in executive leadership, sales and marketing leadership and technology consulting. Rob also spent eight years in sales leadership at KPMG Consulting, as well as sales leadership roles with entrepreneurial growth firms. Rob joins the show to discuss his newly published book that is hot off the presses, Launch Your Sales, which focuses on 8 steps to build a winning sales organization. If you are the type of sales leader who wishes to achieve more and inspire others to achieve more in the field of sales, then you will want to listen to this episode.

“73% of salespeople using social selling as part of their sales process outperform their sales peers and exceeded quota 23% more often.” [Source: Aberdeen] On today’s “Sales Prospecting by the Numbers” discussion we focus on Social Selling as our primary topic. We unpack this statistic a bit and provide 3 specific tips on how to best approach the topic of social selling and weave it into your lead generation strategy. Additionally, we discuss the Four Cornerstones of Prospecting and how Social Selling fits into that structure. If you are not factoring in social selling to your lead generation strategy, or if you want to improve your social selling approach, then you will want to listen to this episode.

"91% of customers say they’d give referrals. Only 11% of salespeople ask for referrals.” [Source: Dale Carnegie] On today’s “Sales Prospecting by the Numbers” discussion we focus on referral selling as our primary topic. We unpack this statistic a bit and provide 3 specific tips on how to ask for and consistently generate a steady flow of customer referrals. Additionally, we walk through a process to make it easy for your customers to give you referrals. If you are part of the 89% of salespeople who don’t ask for referrals then you will definitely want to listen to today’s episode to take advantage of a tried and true approach for referral-based selling to consistently generate more leads faster.

Josh Silverstone is the CEO & Pokerpreneur® at Aces Raise, where he trains businesses and salespeople on Poker game theory to help them understand the commonalities between Poker strategy and Sales strategy. As Josh states "“Pokerpreneurship is a way of thinking to evaluate opportunities, assess risks, and make calculated decisions. Sometimes we make the right choice and lose; stay focused on the process, continue to play your A-game, and you’ll be a winner.” Josh joins the show to talk about how the process of mirroring and looking for “tells” maps directly to building relationships and understanding your audience in sales, how your sales strategy should factor in “adaptability” along the way, and how knowing your expected value and probabilities in poker correlates with knowing your numbers and forecasting in sales. If you want to learn a new creative way to look at your sales game to improve your strategy and win more business then you will want to listen to this interview.

78% of decision makers polled have taken an appointment or attended an event that came from an email or cold call [Source: DiscoverOrg]. If that is the case then why is there all of this chatter about "Is Cold Calling Dead?" or "Cold Calling vs. Social Selling". Based on this statistic, it should be "Cold Calling AND Social Selling", along with a few other strategies to incorporate a well-balanced approach with a mix of prospecting strategies that all work together in unison to generate more leads. Today we focus on a proactive approach for outbound calling. We will share some best practices on getting properly prepared to execute an outbound calling strategy that works. If you are the type of sales professional that would like to improve your use of the phone to generate more leads then you will want to listen to today's episode. 

Previously we introduced our Prospecting On Purpose podcast series discussion and reviewed some key research from Hubspot. We discuss why 50% of sales prospecting time is unproductive and review some more mind blowing sales statistics of what average reps are struggling with as it relates to prospecting. We will then look at what to do about the statistics in terms of putting a plan in place to prospect on purpose so you can achieve your sales and income goals. If you are the type of person who wants to consistently and systematically prospect on purpose to always have a full sales pipeline of qualified opportunities then you will definitely want to listen to this episode.

As we continue to focus on our Prospecting On Purpose podcast series topic, today we introduce the "Credibility Ladder". We discuss how you can leverage it as a sales professional to ultimately generate more leads. We will discuss the four steps on the Credibility Ladder in detail to help you begin thinking about where you are currently positioned on that ladder. This episode will help kickstart your process to putting together a plan to ascend up the Credibility Ladder. If you are serious about Prospecting On Purpose to help you ultimately master the game of complex technical selling then you will want to listen to this episode.

Prospecting on Purpose includes three parts - 1) Establishing Credibility; 2) Systemizing Sales Campaigns; and 3) Generating More Leads. Today we discuss what it means to Establish Credibility specifically as it relates to conducting research as part of the prospecting process. We discuss the concept of CIGs to put you in a position to understand your target audience's unique Challenges, Issues and Goals. We discuss how you can map your products, services and solutions to your prospective customer's unique CIGs. Finally, we illustrate all of this by listening in on a short clip of one of Sean's coaching sessions with one of his clients.

Stu Schlackman is a relationship selling expert, a popular speaker, President of the Dallas Chapter of the National Speakers Association (NSA), and author of the book “Four People You Should Know: How to Connect for Exceptional Sales, Customer Service and Unified Teams”. Stu joined the show to discuss the ins and outs of the four people you should know, which are really four personality types of your buyers. Stu dissects how each of the personality types make decisions and commit, which is very helpful for sales professionals trying to navigate the political waters when dealing with teams of buyers made up of multiple personalities from multiple departments. Stu reminds everyone that “people still buy from people” and provides real insights and strategies into how to effectively communicate leveraging the power of influence, persuasion and convincing. If you want to improve the way you manage complex technical sales cycles within complicated multiple buyer team environments, then you will definitely want to listen to this episode.

50% of sales time is wasted on unproductive prospecting according to The B2B Lead. Recently, Hubspot conducted research into sales prospecting and discovered these two shocking facts: 1) 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up; and 2) 80% of sales require five follow-ups. This means that 44% of salespeople have an 80% probability they won't close the sale. It's quite obvious that sales prospecting is the #1 challenge for B2B tech sales professionals and organizations. Given that, we will focus on the concept of "Prospecting on Purpose" as a new podcast series topic moving forward on the Sales Integrity Podcast. This episode will introduce the concept of "Prospecting on Purpose".

Previously we discussed why you want to establish a powerful morning routine (episode #21) and why you always want to make it a great day (episode #24). In continuing with the “positive mental attitude” theme on today’s episode we will discuss the power of positive affirmations and how the concept of “mindfulness” can help position you for sales success on a daily basis. We will hone in on the concepts of “focus”, “desire” and “intentions” and specifically walk through some sample positive affirmations using Deepak Chopra’s “Success Cards” as the example. If you are feeling overwhelmed and would like to become more mindful and focused to help you achieve your sales and income goals then you will want to listen to this episode. 

Dean Lindsay is a popular author, speaker, coach and Chief Marketing Officer at Synclab Media. Dean is author of the book “The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change” and the book “Cracking the Networking CODE: Four Steps to Priceless Business Relationships”. Dean is also the host of the new “Dean’s List” web tv show on Youtube, which provides a blend of humor, common sense and fresh ideas all wrapped up into one fun approach to provoking positive thoughts and inspiring action. Dean stops by the show to discuss an interesting point of view on the contrast between “progress” and “change” as concepts that can be used while selling. Dean joins the controversial debate of “Social Selling vs. Cold Calling” and offers his interesting perspective, including how Strategic Networking fits into the mix for both tactics. If you want to hear a unique holistic perspective on selling to elevate your sales game another notch then you will definitely want to listen to this episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast featuring Dean Lindsay as our special guest.

Occasionally I get some who stops me and asks why I always say "Make it a Great Day" instead of "Have a Nice Day" or "Have a Good Day". I even had a client end a call with me yesterday by saying "Make it a Great Day" and then he proceeded to ask me if he owed me a royalty for using that phrase. That is EXACTLY what I like to hear. Not that I am owed a royalty. Rather, that my personal brand exudes optimism and having fun. That is the way it should be, both in your professional life and in your personal life. After all, if you can’t have fun then what can you have? What exactly are we doing here? Right? So what does your personal brand and attitude say about you to your prospects and customers? If you want to learn why you should choose optimism over pessimism every time and why your words, your choices and your personal brand all matter to you as a sales professional (and more importantly learn how they affect your sales success), then you will want to listen to today’s podcast episode.

If you are selling your products, services and solutions without mapping them to the 3 primary business outcomes your customers are really seeking through them then you are doing both yourself and your customers a big disservice. Listen to today’s episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast to learn about these 3 primary business outcomes and how you can improve your prospecting conversations by weaving them into your discussions. We will discuss various tech industry niches and take a closer look at the Big Data niche of the tech industry to illustrate one example of how you can put this concept to work for you in practicality.

Debbie Mrazek stops by the show to share some sales wisdom with our audience. Debbie is the author of the book "The Field Guide to Sales" and President of The Sales Company, a firm that is helping hundreds of entrepreneurs, individuals and large corporations better assess, understand and engage in practical, purposeful selling. Debbie shares why “time is lost in minutes, not in hours” as it relates to improving productivity. She also talks about what it takes to be successful with Social Selling and why you should pump the breaks a bit on the “Cold Calling is Dead!” mantra as she highlights a way that cold calling and social selling can play nice together. Finally, Debbie also reminds us that “asking for what you want, every time” and leveraging your network using “The Rule of 250” are still the bedrocks of selling success. Listen to this episode to grab some of Debbie’s enthusiastic “Mrazek Energy” and to apply some of her actionable insights to your sales game!

It is well known that the most successful people in the world, including the top sales professionals, are early risers and have established a very powerful morning routine to get themselves off to a great start to each day. Establishing a powerful morning routine is the focus of today’s podcast as Sean walks you through his morning routine to provide a framework to help you establish your own. If you already are an early riser this will provide you a framework to provide more of a structured ritual to your morning routine. If you aren’t getting up early and starting your day off with the same routine each day then you will want to listen to this episode to learn why you will want to start doing so immediately to help you achieve your sales and income goals. 

This is a special announcement from Sean Piket, host of the Sales Integrity Podcast, about feedback he has received from the podcast audience, lessons learned after 20 episodes and one month of podcasting, and improvements that will be made to the Sales Integrity Podcast.

Today we will talk about the “Power of 3” and how you can put that concept to work for you as it relates to sales messaging. More specifically, we will discuss the psychological advantage the "Power of 3" provides to improve your communication with prospects, customers, partners and anyone (even in your personal life) who you are trying to positively influence and persuade. We will peel back the onion a few layers to discuss where the “Power of 3” originated from and why we are pre-conditioned to learn in this manner, starting back in our early childhood learning stage of life. After listening to this episode you will look at the way you communicate differently moving forward and will want to immediately update all of your sales messaging scripts, talk tracks and templates to put yourself in a better position to achieve your sales and income goals. 

Today we throw it back to an American self-help author inspired by the New Thought movement, Napoleon Hill. Hill is best known for his book "Think and Grow Rich”, which has sold over 20 million copies and is among the top 10 best selling self-help books of all time. Instead of doing a book review to learn valuable lessons from Hill’s iconic book, we will actually look at the man himself. We will walk through his epic life journey of ups and downs and learn the most valuable lesson of all from Hill - how to handle and overcome adversity in life during our darkest moments and times of struggle. If you want to hear a little known inspiring story to help you apply Hill’s life lesson of persevering in your own life, then you will want to listen to this episode.

Barry Saltzman is the founder of Saltzman Management Group and a top Sales, Sales Leadership and Culture Coach and Consultant. Barry joins this Wisdom Wednesday episode of the Sales Integrity Podcast to discuss the profile of a perfect sales professional, what true leadership likes look, how to create a winning sales culture, what percentage of an average salesperson’s time is spent on productive tasks, and what the top 3 traits are of the ideal sales professional. Learn about all this and more on this powerful podcast episode when Sean Piket interviews Barry Saltzman!