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Mark is a software entrepreneur, business development expert, startup advisor, community builder, and author of Community-in-a-Box. He currently works at AWS as a Principal Startup Advocate advising founders and technical teams on how startups across Asia-Pacific successfully build and scale their startups on AWS. As a community builder, Mark founded DEVBIZOPS, a long standing newsletter and blog about innovation, technology transformation, and developer culture. Mark also is the founder of the Enterprise Sales Forum, a global community of 25,000 B2B sales professionals that meet in-person and virtually to share ideas, network with peers, and learn new skills. Previously, Mark was with Stack Overflow to help launch their SaaS Q&A platform and then led efforts to expand business in APAC working with C-level executives to help them understand how to build internal tech communities in order to improve software delivery performance. Before that he launched an HR tech startup, invested in numerous B2B tech companies and worked at a diverse group of leading technology companies including Oracle, E.piphany, and Siebel. Mark graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Boston University. In his non-working hours, he likes to search cities for the best local foods, and he can be seen rocking out to extreme metal on occasion.
How can you stay “others focused” genuinely make it about them tobuild trust, empathy and a strong relationship. Why do so many struggle with this?Mark Birch, Founder of Enterprise Sales Forum, Community builder, Author of Community in a box, Tech entrepreneur and presently Start up Advisor at AWS joins us on the podcast, #100daysofsalesMark is no stranger to building community, The Enterprise Sales Forum, a global community of over 25,000 B2B sales professionals, share relevant ideas, grow professionally and learn from successful sales practitioners. We discuss how being “others focused” helps build trust, empathize with our clients and show our genuine desire to help. As well as many choose to remain in the comfort zone and stay “me focused”.Avoid pushing a solution that may not fit. Open dialogue to unleash trust is a difficult skill, listen to Mark's tips to work through this. Frame the right questions, don't be afraid of how and what questions. Tap in to your existing customer base as a starting point, a "test bed" for messaging, qualifying and discovery questions to provide more certainty for you and your customer.Move away from pitching the idea and co-develop, invite them to take ownership of the solution. We discuss the importance of knowing your ICP and beyond that a solid understanding of your Buyer Persona. We can further drill down and get more clarity in to their role, motivations, influencers, personal goals etc. leading to a more relevant, personalized and timely message.Qualification questions, focus on sweet spot, more direct path towards customer success.Deliverables, what can you put in to practice immediately?1) Understand industry inside out – what do your prospects care about?2) Motivation Matrix Framework to visualize what people care about; words, phrases, focus on communication. 3) Mindset to want to change and desire to achieve something big, even when it's beyond your grasp. Commit to learning and practicing over time, dedicate time to self improvement and skill development. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn at Start up Mark, https://www.linkedin.com/in/startupmark/join Enterprise Sales forum newsletter entreprisesales.substack.comhttps://www.community-in-a-box.com/
In this episode of the Perseverance Overrated Show, Deepthi Rajan speaks with Mark Birch, an enterprise software tech entrepreneur, business development expert, and startup advisor based in Singapore and NYC. Mark is the Founder of DEV.BIZ.OPS, helping enterprises build thriving software developer communities. He is also the founder of the Enterprise Sales Forum, a global community of 25,000 B2B sales professionals that meet in local chapters to collaborate, network, and learn.Previously, Mark was at Stack Overflow to help launch and commercialize their Enterprise Q&A platform and then led efforts to expand business in APAC working with C-level executives to help them understand how to build internal tech communities in order to improve software delivery performance. Before that he worked at a diverse group of leading technology companies including Oracle, E.piphany and Siebel in contributor and leadership roles. He got his start in technology by accident as a programmer without any programming experience and then becoming a sales person by chance.Mark also authors a hugely popular newsletter, DEV.BIZ.OPS, where he shares powerful insights into organizational change, developer culture, engineering productivity and community building. Mark graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Boston University. In his non-working hours, he is a fund raiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, he likes to tour around Chinatown exploring dumplings shacks, and he can generally be seen rocking out to extreme metal.You can connect with Mark online atLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marksbirch/Twitter: https://twitter.com/marksbirchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/marksbirch/Blog: https://medium.com/@devbizopsNewsletter: http://eepurl.com/gVPb0vKey Points From The EpisodeMark outlines the big customer problem he's solving with DEV.BIZ.OPS [00:04:02]Mark shares the one reason why executives fail to engage effectively with software developers [00:06:00]Must have skills for senior executives and software developers to build and sustain a culture of innovation [00:11:16]An invaluable tip for developers to overcome perception bias [00:15:28]Mark's take on the impact, the COVID-19 pandemic, is likely to have on the software industry [00:18:44]On how his experience as an entrepreneur influenced his corporate career and vice versa [00:20:13]The "why" and "how" of a career replete with diversity - Mark on charting his career trajectory [00:22:50]The failure that defined a new course of action [00:26:49]Advice on mastering the art of selling yourself [00:31:32]Mark on how he plans to disrupt himself again [00:36:21]Links Mentioned In The EpisodeDEV.BIZ.OPS - https://devbizops.co/DEV.BIZ.OPS Newsletter - http://eepurl.com/gVPb0vToastMasters - https://www.toastmasters.org/Dan Pink's book "To Sell Is Human" - https://amzn.to/2UIOyv6Dale Carnegie's book "How To Make Friends And Influence People" - https://amzn.to/33Zhm6A
In this interview with Scott Barker, Evangelist and Head of Partnerships at OutReach.IO and Sales Hacker, host Patrick Morrissey dives into what makes fast growing companies grow, without destroying the ship in the process. They cover: What are companies on a growth trajectory really struggling with? How a company’s messaging has to grow up as the company grows! How the alignment of the revenue teams of sales, marketing and operations need to have the same north star; the same APIs. Why the best companies today are attempting true immersion and not just alignment How diversity and inclusion are “top of mind” in growing successful companies Why diversity and inclusion are not only the right thing to do but the smart thing to do About Scott Barker As a top performer in sales, business development, marketing and team building at B2B SAAS companies, Scott is passionate about building and strengthening authentic relationships with his team and partners. Scott is currently living his dream, as the Head of Partnership at Sales Hacker, the company that aims to help the next generation of B2B sales professionals embrace innovative strategies, technology, hacks, and tactics from the world’s leading organizations. With Sales Hacker’s recent acquisition by Outreach.io, Barker has joined the rocket ship as they continue their mission to make modern revenue teams as efficient as humanly possible! Scott also heads up the Vancouver chapter of Enterprise Sales Forum and sit on the board of a great non-profit called Interfit. Insta: @scottybarks Twitter: @scottbsales www.saleshacker.com
Episode 46: Enterprise Sales Forum NYC with Trong Nguyen on Negotiating and Managing $50M-$100M Deals Full show notes and links to items mentioned in the show available at: https://top1.fm/46 This episode features a live interview with Trong Nguyen from the Enterprise Sales Forum in New York City on June 19, 2018. Once again Trong shares his incredibly expertise. He closed a 100-million-dollar deal at IBM, closed a 50-million-dollar deal at Dell, cracked the first health insurance company for Microsoft and cracked one of the first banks ever to move to the Cloud. He was the number on global account manager at Dell and has built an unbelievable career. He is currently getting ready to release his second book: “Winning the Bank” Trong always looks for the next big wave. He tries to get in front of the wave, so he can make a lot of money and have a lot of fun. This guy lives for the hunt and is even sad when he closes a deal. Learn more about Trong, his experience and the success that he has achieved on this episode.
The Sales Success Stories Book is being written and will be published in October. Learn more: http://top1.fm/book This bonus episode includes a sample story from Trong Nguyen "I'm 6'4 and Devilishly Handsome" To read the story and see the associated visual: http://top1.fm/trong-book-sample For details about the Enterprise Sales Forum event in NYC where Trong and Scott will be presented 6/19/2018: http://top1.fm/esfnyc
For Episode 98 of The CareerMetis Podcast, we will learn about: A Day in the Life of an Enterprise Sales Leader from our guest Mark Birch.Guest Introduction – Mark BirchMark Birch is an Enterprise Sales Leader at Stack OverFlow. He is also the Founder of the Enterprise Sales Forum.Episode Summary 1. Mark describes what an Enterprise Sales Leader does, and what goes into managing a sales team. He shares some of the responsibilities, and the types of jobs that come with the role.2. Mark shares about how he went from the trading room floor into software, and then how a situation within the company left him as the only available salesman in his office. He followed the sales trail and went from large scale sales to helping start ups in New York City. The result has been working with Stack Overflow, and how he is enjoying the experience.3. Mark goes through his day to day, and what he handles in terms of tasks and responsibilities. He enjoys the team building and the coaching opportunities within the role. He also really likes sales. Being able to develop a team, and solve problems for customers and clients makes his career pretty satisfying4. Administrative tasks tend to be something Mark doesn't enjoy. He'd rather find more effective and efficient ways to deal with those kinds of jobs, so that he and his team can spend more time honing their sales skills.5. Mark talks about the credentials needed for sales, and how people can become much better sales people. He narrows in on a few specific skill sets that a sales person can truly benefit from learning and mastering.6. Mark also talks about the value of tenure, and why someone may want to build tenure within a few companies.7. Mark gives some perspective surrounding an environment's impact on sales performance. Often times, when a person is struggling with sales, it isn't necessarily the fault of the individual, and can be linked back to a few factors within their environment.8. Finally, he leaves us with a thought surrounding the objectives and goals certain employees may have, and how that can impact a person's career trajectory.Quotes“I never had an objective or a goal to be in sales”“I really enjoy being able to spend the time to coach others”“You've got to be able to build up your confidence and your skill set”“You're not going to be successful if you think the product you're selling is terrible”“Often times, the reason you're discouraged in sales is because you're in the wrong environment to be successful”“Have the conversations, that's where you're going to learn the most”“Not everyone wants to climb the ladder”.Links & ResourcesTo learn more about Mark Birch, you can connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.During our interview – Mark recommended Radical Candor by Kim Scott.Intro Music provided courtesy of Accelerated Ideas (www.accelerated-ideas.com). Soundtrack – Siren KickbackEnding Music provided courtesy of Accelerated Ideas (www.accelerated-ideas.com). Soundtrack – No Need to Rush See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This October the Sales Success Stories Podcast is partnering with the Enterprise Sales Forum to present an all female lineup of episodes and local events respectively. Listen to the episode for all the details and visit http://top1.fm/women for links to everything mentioned including the Enterprise Sales Forum website and all previous episodes of the podcast featuring top sales women.
Mark Birch is a builder of great communities. He is an enterprise software tech entrepreneur, sales executive, and startup investor based in NYC. As founder of the Enterprise Sales Forum he helps bring B2B sales professionals together through a network of global chapters to share ideas, network with peers, and learn from top sales operators & leaders. He also keeps his skills sharp as an extraordinary enterprise sales leader @StackOverflow. All while being a heavy metal acoustic guitarist, dumpling aficionado and incredibly funny (in that sarcastic sort of way) all-around great guy. Enjoy listening to Mark Birch on Thrive LOUD
On this episode, John is joined by Mark Birch, founder of the Enterprise Sales Forum to talk about business writing and communication skills.
This week, the Bowery Capital team hosted Mark Birch, an Enterprise Sales Executive at Stack Overflow, to discuss "Leveraging Internal Champions." Stack Overflow is the world's largest and most trusted community for software developers. A question and answer website for professional and enthusiast programmers, Stack Overflow caters to developers and provides a forum for learning, knowledge sharing, and career advancement. The Company also provides enterprise customers with a powerful database to reach out to a targeted talent pool as well as package reports for corporate customers. Mark joined us in the studio to discuss ways of leveraging internal champions during the enterprise sales cycle. He reflects upon his experiences at Stack Overflow, as well as his background as the Founder of the Enterprise Sales Forum, a 10,000 person global B2B sales community of enterprise sales professions. As a part of our discussion of leveraging internal champions, Mark discusses the process of identifying, coaching, and providing digestible information to internal champions. He also provides insights into the ways that champions can assist with mapping a purchasing path within organization and providing insight into the segments within the business where gaps may emerge. We conclude the discussion identifying best practices and identifying scenarios in which you build credibility and avoid the painful "stall, evade, quiet" cycle of losing a champion.
This week, the Bowery Capital team hosted Mark Birch, an Enterprise Sales Executive at Stack Overflow, to discuss "Leveraging Internal Champions." Stack Overflow is the world's largest and most trusted community for software developers. A question and answer website for professional and enthusiast programmers, Stack Overflow caters to developers and provides a forum for learning, knowledge sharing, and career advancement. The Company also provides enterprise customers with a powerful database to reach out to a targeted talent pool as well as package reports for corporate customers. Mark joined us in the studio to discuss ways of leveraging internal champions during the enterprise sales cycle. He reflects upon his experiences at Stack Overflow, as well as his background as the Founder of the Enterprise Sales Forum, a 10,000 person global B2B sales community of enterprise sales professions. As a part of our discussion of leveraging internal champions, Mark discusses the process of identifying, coaching, and providing digestible information to internal champions. He also provides insights into the ways that champions can assist with mapping a purchasing path within organization and providing insight into the segments within the business where gaps may emerge. We conclude the discussion identifying best practices and identifying scenarios in which you build credibility and avoid the painful "stall, evade, quiet" cycle of losing a champion.