Podcasts about skipio

Welcome back to another episode of Content Amplified. In this episode, we interview Emily McCauley, a digital marketing expert currently working with Skipio. What you'll learn in this episode: Identify key strategies for content personalization. Understand the impact of direct communication on customer engagement. Learn how to leverage conversational platforms for business growth.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly meets with Joe Khoei to talk about how YOU can maximize your chances of selling when meeting with senior executives. Why do senior executives WANT to talk to salespeople? There are two reasons why senior executives want to talk to you as a salesperson. The first reason is: You have something to tell the senior executive that they DON'T already know. The second reason is: You have something to tell the senior executive that their team is UNABLE to do. If you want to talk to a senior executive, you HAVE to have either or both of these traits. Giving the senior executive something valuable: One tip that Khoei suggests is using case studies. According to LinkedIn, although email outreach has gone up 50%, email replies have actually gone down a WHOPPING 30%. You HAVE to make yourself stand out. How can you do this? Utilize a case study, then apply it to the senior executive's business or personal life. Don't just bombard the senior exec with generic talk. Instead, find something that YOU can offer, personalize it to the senior exec, then offer it! Khoei's example case study: One company that Khoei was working with spent: 1.5 million dollars on leads, and generated 34,000 leads, for an average of $427 per lead. An average of $427 per lead doesn't sound terrible, right? Despite this, the company ONLY had a closing rate of 2.6%. Based on a projection that Khoei did, this company could've saved an INSANE 600k in closing leads. Instead of reaching out to a senior exec with something that sounds copied and pasted, Khoei suggests reaching out to the senior exec with that 600k figure. Which sounds more appealing? Some generic, copy-and-pasted message or saving an ENTIRE 600k per quarter? Khoei's closing advice for sales reps is this: Think about WHAT your ideal prospect wants done, then DO IT for them. After all, selling is ultimately just helping people solve issues through YOUR product or service. If you want to get in touch with Joe Khoei, his website is www.salesx.com and his email is joe@salesx.com. You can talk to Donald and drop him a message on LinkedIn, Tik Tok, and Instagram at donaldckelly. You can also join TSE's space on Circle to talk to Donald and other sellers looking to improve their craft. 1. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. 2. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  3. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly meets with Ashley Winston to discuss how you as a seller can MAXIMIZE your earnings this year. The problem with untapped potential: Most of us have absolutely INSANE potential that's just begging to be tapped into. The issue is, we simply never fully tap into it. In the sales world, this means sales and earnings left on the table. Fear is perhaps the BIGGEST hurdle to fully realizing your potential. Most sellers, and people in general, prefer to stay in their comfort zones. Why go out and face danger, when you could simply remain safe? The problem is, you'll only grow when exposed to danger. Without stress, there is no adaptation. Another hurdle people face is their atmosphere. If you're wanting to become a better seller, you have to SURROUND yourself with an environment conclusive to that. Surround yourself with great sellers, go to areas where you can learn about the process. Create an environment or find one that relates to your goals. How do sellers overcome these obstacles? The first step is simple: Change your thinking. It may be cheesy, but the absolute TRUTH of it can't be denied: Believe in yourself. Oftentimes, your self-imposed beliefs can actually LIMIT your potential. Have more confidence in yourself! Genuinely BELIEVE you can become a great seller and you will see results. So how do you change your thinking? Through training. You have to STOP having negative thoughts and start REPLACING them with positive ones. Ashley uses the metaphor of a garden: Your mind is like an unkempt garden. There are flowers, yes, but also PLENTY of weeds. Get rid of the weeds and replace them with flowers. Along with changing your thinking, you HAVE to change your circle. You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with, as the saying goes. Surround yourself with people who align with your goals. If you are surrounded by success, you will start SEEING success. If you are surrounded by negativity, you will see negativity. You can connect with Ashley on her website at theashleywinston.com or through Instagram. You can talk to Donald and drop him a message on LinkedIn, Tik Tok, and Instagram at donaldckelly. You can also join TSE's space on Circle to talk to Donald and other sellers looking to improve their craft. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly meets with Mohannad Ghannoum to discuss the importance of changing your perspective, to become an even more effective seller. Mohannad's Observations: Mohannad enjoys philosophy. He once listened to a philosopher discussing passion and purpose, and how to find it. According to this philosopher, there can be two reasons you're not passionate about what you do: A.) You already have it or B.) You don't know yourself well enough. Prior to this, Mohannad had worked for three years in sales but never found much success. He decided to dedicate himself FULLY to sales to determine whether or not it was something he was TRULY passionate about. What did Mohannad do? To discover his passion, Mohannad began to OBSESSIVELY study and take in every single thing he could about his career. He would read books, listen to podcasts, talk to seasoned sellers, etc., anything he could do to learn more. The idea behind this is simple: Mohannad was trying to get RESULTS. By learning everything he could about selling, he was BOUND to become a better salesperson. Once he started seeing results, he became more passionate about selling and wanted to see even BETTER results. The importance of changing your perspective: The saying goes that the grass is always greener on the other side. FAR too often, people absolutely dread their jobs, thinking it's not something they're passionate about. There is a level of experimentation in finding your ideal job, yes, but perhaps you're the problem and not your job. In Mohannad's case, after he started to make the most of his career, he began finding more success, by CHANGING HIS PERSPECTIVE. If you're TRULY passionate about what you do, then you'll have better results than someone who isn't. You'll simply put in more effort. By changing your perspective on selling, you can find more success. Find passion in what you do and you'll put in more effort. All of this equates to you becoming a BETTER seller. If you want to learn more about changing your perspective or talk to Mohannad, you can reach him on LinkedIn or through his email. You can talk to Donald and drop him a message on LinkedIn, Tik Tok, and Instagram at donaldckelly. You can also join TSE's space on Circle to talk to Donald and other sellers looking to improve their craft. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly meets with Chris Beall to talk about the MOST important objection you'll face as a seller and why sellers often can't overcome it. Who is Chris Beall? Chris is the CEO of the software company ConnectAndSell and offers one INSANELY valuable tool to sellers: The ability to talk to as MANY people as you want at the push of a button. Throughout his career, however, he's encountered one trend. The Number One Objection Sellers Face: In the COUNTLESS sales reps that Chris has worked with, the most common objection they face, and the hardest to overcome, is a simple phrase. That phrase is “I'm all set.”. What triggers this objection? Most people think that cold calls are mostly marketing. Marketing gets TOO involved within the process of the cold call, and going into a cold call with a marketing mindset is deadly. One of the most FREQUENTLY used tactics in marketing is establishing a niche. Define your niche or area of expertise and then do something to differentiate yourself from the competition. Although this is a useful avenue for marketing, it's TERRIBLE during cold calls. The reason is simple: If you try to establish a category or niche during a cold call, you come off as condescending. Think about it: You're effectively telling whoever you're calling that THEY'RE incompetent and that YOU are better at whatever your specific niche is. Doing this within the first cold call, to a completely new buyer, is a surefire way to get the “we're all set” objection. Why should the buyer go with your solution when they think their solution is already effective? So, how should sellers overcome this objection? You have to RELIVE the fear of whoever you're calling. Virtually ALL cold callers assume the person they're calling is angry or annoyed with them. In reality, though, this person is scared. You're someone they do not know, and we're naturally afraid of the unknown. To overcome this natural fear, empathize with them. View the world through THEIR eyes. They see YOU as a problem. Acknowledge that, and then offer a solution to that problem. This begins to build TRUST between you and the person you're calling. If you want to learn more about Chris's strategies, you can check out his podcast called Market Dominance Guys, or his company website at ConnectAndSell.com. You can talk to Donald and drop him a message on LinkedIn, Tik Tok, and Instagram at donaldckelly. You can also join TSE's space on Circle to talk to Donald and other sellers looking to improve their craft. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly meets with Trent Anderson to discuss a unique strategy you, as a sales leader, could start utilizing to help your sales team. So what exactly is the first, last, best, worst strategy? Trent comes from a storytelling and sales background, and he noticed a theme with storytelling that he used to develop the first, last, best, worst strategy. The premise is simple: Make a chart with four columns. The first column will be labeled first, the second last, the third best, and the fourth worst.  In the rows, meanwhile, put in some of the activities you, as a seller, have to do. Trent uses the examples of cold calls, cold emails, sales won, and sales lost. After you have your chart made, you begin to fill it in. In the example Trent gives, you start out by listing what the first cold call you EVER made was and filling it in. Then the last cold call and email you made, and so on. The MAIN focus of this strategy, however, is the best and worst columns. Have your sales reps go over their best and worst sales, cold calls, emails, etc. and really study them. What were their similarities? What about their differences? What types of businesses did they close deals with? Why is this strategy effective? What exactly does it accomplish? The single BIGGEST thing that the FLBW strategy offers is: Insight and information. An issue that plenty of sales teams run into is having one incredible seller who doesn't exactly know why they're good. They can't teach the specifics of their sales process to others on the team. With FLBW, however, you're able to pick up on trends and other similarities between both the best and worst sales. You can take this information to avoid bad sales in the future, with the worst sales, and get more profitable ones, with the best sales. At the end of each quarter, why not meet with your team and try out FLBW? Take note of the trends and take advantage of all of your new insight. Your sales and profits will only increase!You can connect with Trent on LinkedIn under the name Trent Anderson as well as on Twitter. You can talk to Donald and drop him a message on LinkedIn, Tik Tok, and Instagram at donaldckelly. You can also join TSE's space on Circle to talk to Donald and other sellers looking to improve their craft. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly goes over some lessons he's learned about planning throughout 2022, and how YOU can use those lessons to build a pipeline and convert sales to boost your profits. Sellers losing focus and not planning: Too often, sellers get lost in the MYRIAD of different tools, techniques, strategies, and ideas they utilize. All of these are important, yes, but they're only tools. They shouldn't be a seller's main focus. The first lesson: Utilize a focus word. With 2023 coming up, look back on your strengths and weaknesses throughout 2022. What single word can sum up all of your shortcomings? Throughout the year, focus on that word and act on it. This maintains focus AND helps you better yourself as a seller. The second lesson: Take feedback into consideration. When you're prospecting and looking for new clients or building relationships, FOCUS on the ones that are producing results. If a buyer pays well, focus on that buyer! Keep those consistent earnings coming in. This keeps your company profitable while LETTING you seek out new clients. The third lesson: Plan daily. Take 15 minutes at the start or the end of the day to plan the next day's activities out. Having a plan going into the next day lets you prioritize what NEEDS to be done and keeps your diligence up. You'll know exactly what to focus on, and you'll be more likely to get it finished. The fourth lesson: Track your work. For a day, write down EVERY single task you do and then review it at the end of the day. Out of all of the work you did, what work led to the most profits? What work led to the newest buyers, and what work produced the greatest results? Hone in on that work and eliminate what doesn't work. This is ONLY possible through tracking your work. The fifth lesson: Utilize a timer for your work. Set a timer for some amount of time, like 15 minutes, and for the full 15 minutes focus on whatever task you need to focus on. This ensures that you're GENUINELY focused on the task at hand, and eliminates distractions that might pull you away. The sixth lesson: Prepare for the next day. If you keep a plan in mind for the next day and for whatever task you're working on, it keeps you focused and lets you utilize your time effectively. Instead of getting lost and wasting time, with a plan in mind, you'll be FAR more productive. The seventh lesson: Eliminate distractions. Doing something like putting your phone in airplane mode or setting a timer prevents you from focusing on detractors. Instead of staring at social media, you'll be focused on establishing a profitable relationship with a buyer. Instead of worrying about promoting your business on social media, you'll be responding to emails. However you eliminate distractions, it's VITALLY important you do. You can talk to Donald and drop him a message on LinkedIn, Tik Tok, and Instagram at donaldckelly. You can also join TSE's space on Circle to talk to Donald and other sellers looking to improve their craft. 1. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. 2. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  3. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly goes into three changes he'll make going into 2023. These three changes will help YOU to make more sales and perfect your craft as a seller. The first major change of 2023: The first upcoming change is a slight shift in branding. The podcast's name, logo, and design will ALL remain the same. However, there will be a slight shift in branding as well as the podcast's cover. The second major change of 2023: The second major change coming up will be the podcast emphasizing the PIPELINE, both building your pipeline and converting sales from your pipeline. The third, and final, change of 2023: The final change you can expect to see is the shift in the community. In the past, we've promoted our Facebook and LinkedIn communities, but those platforms will be taking a backseat. Instead, TSE is going to promote its community on a new platform called Circle.so. How do these changes help you as a seller? Learning to build a pipeline and close a pipeline is CRUCIAL for your success as a seller. That's why going forwards we'll be pushing it so hard. Learning more information on how to successfully build and close your pipeline will only make you an even more effective seller. Circle.so is a platform that's similar to Facebook. On the site, you'll see different circles where people are discussing various ins and outs of selling. All YOU have to do is join a circle to talk with fellow sellers and together develop your craft! It's a platform with PLENTY of invaluable information and insight from experienced sellers. Going into 2023, we also plan on being FAR more active on social media. What can you expect to see are tips and tricks about selling, including content on courses the podcast offers as well as the podcast's newsletter. All of these are designed to be INCREDIBLY valuable tools for sellers to utilize. You can connect with Donald and communicate with him on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Tik Tok under donaldckelly. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Going into 2023, with a changing business landscape, buyers are looking for something DIFFERENT. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly goes into what buyers are now looking for, and how you can meet their needs. What are buyers looking for in the upcoming year? According to the State of Sales, from Salesforce, 57% of buyers prefer engaging with companies and sellers through digital means. Along with preferring digital communication, buyers have also said that they prefer YOU to go where THEY are. You have to appear wherever your buyers are, whether that's on social media or platforms like YouTube. How to take advantage of this knowledge and meet buyers' wants: Since buyers are actively WANTING to talk to your company through digital means, provide SOME WAY for them to actually talk to you digitally. Platforms like LinkedIn are perfect for this. But beyond LinkedIn, you can also use social media platforms to communicate and market to buyers. UTILIZE A DSR. A DSR, or digital salesroom, is a centralized location where buyers and sellers can meet. Instead of having to browse countless sites to try and find information, the buyer can access all the information they need STRAIGHT from the DSR. It also allows all of your sellers to consolidate in one location, instead of having to communicate through other, less efficient ways. A DSR not only streamlines the entire sales process but also PROVIDES what digital platform buyers are looking for! The MAIN thing that buyers want, however, is for you to be a TRUSTED ADVISOR instead of a salesperson. A whopping 87% of buyers have claimed they prefer advisors over sellers. Why is this? Buyers come to sellers to solve a problem. Instead of being marketed to some product or service, buyers want SOLUTIONS. Buyers want someone who they can TRUST to give them a valuable and efficient solution to whatever problem they're facing. Another thing to take advantage of in 2023 is Intent-based data. What is intent-based data? It's data that takes what buyers are looking for into consideration. Things like what they search for online, and their interest in your product or service, among others. If you TAKE this data into the mind and utilize it, you'll drive both sales AND traffic to your business  If you want to learn more about what clients are looking for in the upcoming year and how you can capitalize on it, you can check out Donald's other social platforms. You can find him on Instagram at donaldckelly, or on LinkedIn, also under donaldckelly. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly discusses why 2023 will be a difficult year for sellers. He also discusses how, despite the upcoming challenge, how you as a seller can continue to succeed in your field. What exactly is going to be different about 2023? Ever since the pandemic, inflation rates and the general cost of living have STEADILY increased. This makes people far, FAR more hesitant to actually spend money. Why should someone buy your product or service when money is already tight? Alongside higher inflation rates, the feds have also hiked up interest rates to curb inflation. Since there are higher interest rates, people are less likely actually to borrow money. This means that businesses will be slower to grow. Here are some quick facts, from Donald's personal experience and the State of Sales report: 69% of sellers are saying that selling is actually becoming HARDER for them. 92% of sellers claimed that they've had to start using a NEW method of selling their product or service. With all of this in mind, what can you do as a seller to keep a steady stream of purchases coming in? One key thing to focus on, with the current market, is to focus on LOW RISK but HIGH REWARD activities. One example of this is cross-selling. Are you maximizing your profits off of current buyers? What can you do, or offer, existing buyers to generate even more income? Another activity you can do is focus on cross-functioning. Work within your organization and your different departments to help create cohesiveness. Instead of working in multiple, different organizations, you can focus on working as an ENTIRE unit. A third example of what sellers are doing to keep steady profits and deals coming down the pipeline is targeting new markets. Instead of continuing to operate in the exact same way, see if there aren't different methods or people you can promote to. Are there buyers more comfortable with parting with their money? Is there some tweaking you could do to get a RECURRING payment? Again, focus on low-risk ventures that will bring in the highest rewards. You can connect with Donald more and learn about perfecting your craft as a seller on his Instagram at donaldckelly or on his LinkedIn profile, also at donaldckelly. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly meets with Paul Owen, the owner of Sales Talent, to discuss the importance of planning when it comes to sales, and why all salespeople should have some sort of a plan to maximize their performance. The importance of planning in the world of sales: Many salespeople will go into a deal without a plan in mind. Instead, they simply rely on their past experiences and instincts. This CAN work in some instances, but having a plan is always better. When you approach each sale with a structure in mind, you can replicate success more reliably. Instead of winging it and simply having one-off successes, a plan gives you the framework and tools you need to consistently make a profit. Why don't salespeople utilize planning more? A lot of salespeople believe that going off of a plan is too RESTRICTIVE. One big misconception sellers have is that sales are too dynamic and unique to utilize one sales plan. Sales are unique, yes, but they still have some commonalities. These commonalities allow sellers to actually utilize a plan to better equip themselves to finalize the deal. Another reason why salespeople don't use planning more is that they're naturally good at selling. As the saying goes, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it”. This CAN work if the salesperson works individually. When they start to build a business, however, they'll run into issues. Unless the entrepreneur finds people who are also naturally good at sales, they won't be able to teach new sellers how to effectively sell. Having a plan in place can alleviate this problem. How can you start using planning in your sales? Take notes of past sales, and what did and didn't work, and utilize that to create a plan. Although sales are unique, there are still common themes and elements between them. Take those common themes and elements and use them to create a framework for your future sales. Use buyer feedback. Ask past clients for their experience and utilize this feedback. Implement what works and get rid of what doesn't to streamline your sales process and create planning designed to increase your sales. You can get a hold of Paul Owen and learn more about using structure and plans in your sales through LinkedIn. Owen also runs a website for his company called www.salestalentuk.com with blog posts and more information. 1. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. 2. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  3. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. 4. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Video can be a crucial part of the sales process. People love stories. Video is a great way to share your service or product story. Chad Laken joins Donald today on how to utilize videos throughout sales process. Video is powerful Video can be daunting and somewhat intimidating. Using video in emailing a prospect adds a deeper touch. It takes 8-12 touchpoints. Video expands your ability to build trust. Individualize your video for a stronger impact. Your video is a great way to introduce you and your company to all decision-makers. Personalization at the top of the sales funnel. Create helpful content for your prospects Developing the business relationship with video will launch you further than the funnel. Rinse and repeat your bank of video content. Make a video answering commonly asked questions from your prospects. 95% of retention is increased when you use a video. Top use cases to utilize video Put context to your video to make a lastly impression Send a video when you are being ghosted by your prospect. Develop a journey map for your video content. Have fun! “Video is what makes great salespeople memorable.”– Chad Lakin Connect with Chad on LinkedIn or Shootsta This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Video can be a crucial part of the sales process. People love stories. Video is a great way to share your service or products story. Chad Laken joins Donald today on how to utilize videos throughout the whole sales process. Video is powerful Video can be daunting and somewhat intimidating. Using video in emailing a prospect adds a deeper touch. It takes 8-12 touchpoints. Video expands your ability to build trust. Individualize your video for a stronger impact. Your video is a great way to introduce you and your company to all decision makers. Personalization at the top of the sales funnel. Create helpful content for your prospects Developing the business relationship with video will launch you further than the funnel. Rinse and repeat your bank of video content. Make a video answering commonly asked questions from your prospects. 95% of retention is increased when you use a video. Top use cases to utilize video Put context to your video to make a lastly impression Send a video when you are being ghosted by your prospect. Develop a journey map for your video content. Have fun! “Video is what makes great salespeople memorable.”– Chad Lakin Connect with Chad on LinkedIn or Shootsta This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  LinkedIn  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. Calendly The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Thinking like a strategist when selling to corporate deals will get you to the closing table. The order taking days are gone! Donald chats today with Douglas Cole who is a sales leader at LinkedIn, an advisor with start-up accelerators in North America, and a part-time university lecturer at The Rotman School of Management and The Schulich Executive Education Centre in Toronto. Author of The Sales MBA. Dominant Themes in the Sales Process Sales Strategist - the company's competitive position and its market facing position. Change Agent – the organizational dynamics, happening within the company, at any given time. Decision Architect – interpersonal (human psychology) and how that affects your interactions with that prospect. Strategist: Precise understanding of where this company competes and how do they win. Being able to make the connection between your product and how it benefits your prospect. Research is critical to be able to have these conversations. Change Agent: Being able to find the catalyst to create transformation. Where is the energy in this organization? How can you feed the energy with your product or service? Decision Architect: Behavioral economics play a large part in closing the sale. Limited by the attention of the buyer. Obtain the commitment of the buyer. Motivate the buyer to act or move forward with your product. Use of influence levers (scarcity, social proof, etc.) Change your mindset: How do you per sieve yourself? Are you likeable, are your trustworthy? Think of yourself as a Sales Strategist, Change Agent and Decision Architect. “Selling is a thinking game.”– Douglas Cole Connect with Douglas on LinkedIn or www.TheSalesMBA.ca  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  LinkedIn  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. Calendly The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Relationships are important Doing business in Europe has some similar characteristics to doing business in the United States. Data privacy is one of the critical aspects of doing business effectively. Need to understand the payment platforms and the rules. Sensitive to the borders and cultures. Getting down to business is totally acceptable – don't be offended. What to be aware of in selling to Europeans You have to be GDPR compliant to avoid a deal going south. Germany is extremely strict on GDPR. Navigating the potential language barriers of each country takes research. Consider investing in salespeople that can speak the language of the country you are prospecting too. Being aware of slang and how that can impact your ability to communicate. Stay aware of how the currencies rates are changing from day-to-day. Messenger tools are valuable in assisting your sales efforts Apps that have the ability to translate your marketing campaigns are key to your success. WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber are some powerful tools. “It makes a huge difference when an American salesperson or marketer can take a second to understand who it is that they're they're communicating with, and not be so domineering from a cultural perspective.” – Grady Anderson Connect with Grady via: LinkedIn This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  LinkedIn  The sales landscape is totally changing. You need to adapt to succeed. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. Calendly The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. Finish the year strong and request a demo of Calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify.  Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald speaks with professional speaker, author, and sales trainer, Paul Reilly. They discuss Paul's book “Selling Through Tough Times”, how to thrive through a downturn, and 6 steps to staying mentally strong.  A “Tough Timer” mindset A tough-timer mindset is about finding the opportunity in a struggle, being steadfast, and staying humble.  During tough times, progress is more important than performance. When you are facing tough times you need to continue to progress toward your goal, this will help you to stay motivated.  Daily mental flex Paul has developed six steps to help you stay mentally strong.  Gratitude Continuous improvement Self-discipline Positive reframing Pruning negativity and planting positivity Make success easier tomorrow by taking action today Anyone can utilize these six steps no matter how much experience you have as a seller.  What do buyers think during tough times? Customers buy differently during tough times and you need to understand how your customers define value during difficult moments. People are often fearful during uncertain times and often hit the pause button in order to conserve cash. How can you position yourself for success during tough times?  Focus your time, energy, and effort on the most viable sales opportunities. Detail what business you are trying to avoid so that you can limit wasted time.  Shift your customers' attention to the future and help them remember their goals.  Episode Resources Go to Toughtimer.com and submit your email address for a free chapter of “Selling Through Tough Times” about crafting your customer message.  Connect with Paul on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. The sales landscape is totally changing. The way that we are selling is out of line with the way our prospects are buying. You need to adapt to succeed. Imagine if you could use data that could give you insights into when somebody is ready and the challenges they are facing so you can fine-tune your message specifically toward them. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. With calendly, you can turn more meetings into revenue, accelerate your sales cycle, and increase your win rate when you choose to use calendly to automate your scheduling. Finish the year strong and request a demo of calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly is joined by Rob Ashton to discuss the power of writing and three things that you need to understand to convert more prospects when writing emails. Reading is not speaking We are born with structures for speaking, but writing takes years of dedicated practice in order to rewire the brain.  Because reading is so complicated we don't do it in real-time. Our eyes skip through the page and our brains fill in the rest.  Reading is much more complicated than we realize.  Writing is not great for everything You really need to put yourself in the shoes of the prospect. Think about how interested they are in this, how much they know already, what is their priority, and when was the last time we talked about this. Writing is not good for emotive issues.  Our brains are not computers and writing is not data transfer We often believe that emails should be short bullet points, but it is not always the case.  As human beings we think in narrative and bullet points are not good at communicating nuance and risk losing control of the narrative.  Remember that you are building a relationship and you have to assume sending a bulleted list will not build relationships.  Episode Resources Check out Rob's website at robashton.com This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. The sales landscape is totally changing. The way that we are selling is out of line with the way our prospects are buying. You need to adapt to succeed. Imagine if you could use data that could give you insights into when somebody is ready and the challenges they are facing so you can fine-tune your message specifically toward them. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. With calendly, you can turn more meetings into revenue, accelerate your sales cycle, and increase your win rate when you choose to use calendly to automate your scheduling. Finish the year strong and request a demo of calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald talks with the head of sales at Transcend, Mike Orlick. They discuss the importance of use cases, how to effectively utilize them, and how to better provide value to your clients.  What is a use case and how do you utilize it?? A use case comes down to the business outcome and what they mean for your client.  Mike suggests getting quotes from previous clients who have had success with your product and then targeting similar individuals in your ICP. This helps to validate your product.  You can utilize use cases when new protocols impact your industry. When you understand a prospect's situation they are more likely to trust you with a solution.  Become an investigator and problem solver You get into enterprise sales by going deep and helping companies improve their business.  When you join an organization that has already started to prove use cases, you can go in with a use case and become a trusted advisor to a company by asking the right questions and truly wanting to solve their problem.  How can you start utilizing use cases? Map out what your product does, what it solves for, and who it solves those problems for.  If you already have customers, interview them to find out why they brought you in and what problem you are solving for them.  Mike's last piece of advice Be genuine and have a real interest in uncovering and solving business problems.  To hear more from Mike, connect with him on LinkedIn and visit transcend.io This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. The sales landscape is totally changing. The way that we are selling is out of line with the way our prospects are buying. You need to adapt to succeed. Imagine if you could use data that could give you insights into when somebody is ready and the challenges they are facing so you can fine-tune your message specifically toward them. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. With calendly, you can turn more meetings into revenue, accelerate your sales cycle, and increase your win rate when you choose to use calendly to automate your scheduling. Finish the year strong and request a demo of calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly, talks with Matt Dixon about how top performers overcome customer indecision. At the beginning of the pandemic, sales went entirely virtual overnight. Matt, and his team, studied 2.5 million recorded sales calls to answer the questions: what possesses a customer to go through an entire sales process and then not follow through, and what do the best salespeople do to avoid that happening to them? The answer is the JOLT effect. What do most salespeople do when customers get cold feet? Many salespeople are taught that the reason this happens is that you haven't beaten their status quo.  They dial up the FOMO. Matt found that this increases the odds that the customer will do nothing.  Two reasons that the deal could be lost to no decision The customer still feels the pull of the status quo and they believe what they are currently doing is good enough. They don't see that switching to your product is a better alternative.  They are indecisive about changing the status quo. They don't know what to pick, they feel a lack of information, or they feel like they won't get what they are paying for.  How do you overcome customer indecisiveness? The JOLT effect During Matt's study, he found that there are four behaviors that high performers use to get customers unstuck. The acronym JOLT.  Judging the level of indecision. The best salespeople use a technique of pings and echoes.  Offering a recommendation. If everything looks good, then doing nothing seems like the best option. The best salespeople narrow the options and then recommend to the customer what they believe would be best.  Limiting the exploration. When the customer asks for more information it may feel like the customer is making progress. Beyond a certain point, the customer is engaging in analysis paralysis. To limit their exploration you need them to trust you and consider you the expert.  Taking risks off the table. Manage expectations early on and then give them a safety net.  Episode Resources To learn more amount Matt's company visit dcminsights.com To learn more about the Jolt effect visit the Jolteffect.com This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. The sales landscape is totally changing. The way that we are selling is out of line with the way our prospects are buying. You need to adapt to succeed. Imagine if you could use data that could give you insights into when somebody is ready and the challenges they are facing so you can fine-tune your message specifically toward them. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. With calendly, you can turn more meetings into revenue, accelerate your sales cycle, and increase your win rate when you choose to use calendly to automate your scheduling. Finish the year strong and request a demo of calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Right now, more so than ever, it is critical for salespeople to learn how to navigate in a tight economy. On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly, talks with the co-founder of DocSend, Russ Heddleston, about how to listen more, use the prospect's language, and how do ONE thing well for them.  Why won't order-takers survive in a tight economy? Over the last few years, more and more order-taking roles are being pushed to automation. The role of the salesperson is changing because of the amount of competition and vendors. What can we do? Be curious and listen more Your first job is to listen and understand why you are having a conversation and how you can help your customer.  Look up who you are talking to ahead of time. Russ says that very few of the salespeople he talks to have done their research ahead of time.  The process will move faster if you are more patient on your first calls.  Bridge the gap between value and the company's goals Companies have been through the ringer in the past year, so have empathy for your prospect. Your best bet to get them to buy is to understand their business. Understand what they are trying to solve so that you can become a partner to them.  Use their own language The person you are talking to is not the only person involved in the buying decision. Even if you convince them, they need to convince everyone else in the company.  To help your champion save time, recognize their language and use it so that they can turn around and explain it to their company.  If you are not versed in their industry, talk to product marketing and your support team, then document it for the next person.  Do ONE thing well for them Make it simple, not complicated, for why they should buy.  Take all the value propositions your product has and boil it down to one thing. The discovery is key in this process so you know what is important to them.  Episode resources Connect with Russ on Twitter and Linkedin. Check out DocSend here. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. The sales landscape is totally changing. The way that we are selling is out of line with the way our prospects are buying. You need to adapt to succeed. Imagine if you could use data that could give you insights into when somebody is ready and the challenges they are facing so you can fine-tune your message specifically toward them. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. With calendly, you can turn more meetings into revenue, accelerate your sales cycle, and increase your win rate when you choose to use calendly to automate your scheduling. Finish the year strong and request a demo of calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

If you are a BDR, SDR, or AE you are going to benefit from today's podcast. In today's show, Donald talks with Jenner Smith about three ways to train and ramp your team in half the time.  What problems arise when training a sales team? Productivity. Jennifer says that it is all about spending as much time as possible doing the thing that drives the most impact.  Scale yourself Scaling yourself is all about figuring out the core things you are good at and spending as much time on them. Take the other tasks that are filling your time and reduce them, automate them, or delegate them.  Jennifer challenges you to track how many interruptions you have and the time you spend doing various tasks on an average day. They add up.  Get people the things they need Get information to the right people at the right time so that they can be effective with their time. Scale your best rep Have your best reps, the folks who have been there a while and know what they are doing, record how they do what they do.  Share this information with the rest of your reps so that they can learn from the information and knowledge that makes your best rep really good.  If all the reps are able to share with each other what is working, everyone will learn together to create a rapid learning machine.  Last advice from Jennifer Anything that you are doing that is not talking to a customer, ask yourself “Could I scale this in a particular way?” To connect with Jennifer connect with her on LinkedIn and check out scribehow.com. Use promo code “The Sales Evangelist” for a discount on the paid service.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

The sales process seems to be getting more difficult and if you don't know what you are doing it can be scary. On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald talks with salespeople Ari and Kristen about how to overcome the fear of cold calling.  What makes cold calling scary? No being prepared to have conversations with high-level executives and to overcome their objections. If you learn what the prospect is selling and who they are selling to you will have a better chance. The fear of sounding stupid. If you haven't done your research you will sound like you don't know what you are talking about. The conversation will be more organic and authentic if you have done research beforehand.  The fear of hearing no. Once you accept that a majority of the people you call are going to say no, it is easier to handle it. Reframe your thinking and realize that the prospects who say no aren't the ones you are looking for.  How do you effectively do research and still maintain volume? As you get better at research, you can do it a lot faster. With experience, you can see common trends in each industry.  Have an understanding of what their business is going through, even if you are totally off, a good senior-level leader will appreciate the fact that you did research.  Focus on what they sell, who they sell it to, and how they sell it. You don't need to read an entire annual report to understand what they do.  Use all resources available to you including job descriptions.  What advice do Ari and Kristen have for BDRs who are scared You won't get over the fear of making calls by not making calls. Make as many calls as you can and learn from your mistakes.  Practice with a team lead, manager, or AE. Record your role plays and have your manager review them.  Let yourself be vulnerable and let yourself make mistakes.  No question is a dumb question, if you are having trouble ask for help.  To hear more from Ari and Kristen, connect with them on LinkedIn.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

What are things you can do to improve the handoff to your AE? On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald talks with high school teacher turned salesperson Taylor Clawson about how to improve the handoff from SDR to AE.  What problem does ineffective communication bring?  Deals collapse because they make the environment seem unprofessional and give the impression that you are not knowledgeable.  Why do SDRs have bad handoffs? Depending on where you work, SDRs can get paid on how many appointments they set up.  If processes aren't in place for SDRs to hand off qualified prospects, deals fall apart.  Taylor believes it stems from the organization and what process they have in place for SDRs.  What qualifying questions does Taylor have in place?  Truly understanding their needs. That is an ambiguous but important question.  What is their timeline?  Taylor says that the more information the better. What is their personality like, what are they expecting, who is going to be on the call, and what is their style?  What can an SDR do to ensure a smooth handoff? Make sure that everything is as detailed as possible in the CRM.  In Taylor's organization, the SDR calls the prospect the day before the demo to confirm and ask final qualifying questions.  It's important to build trust with your SDRs and have a relationship with them. Taylor's SDRs give her feedback and she gives them feedback as well.  Taylor's last piece of advice Build trust with one another.  For more content from Taylor, connect with her on LinkedIn.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

As a BDR, nothing is more frustrating than doing all the work to book a demo and the prospect doesn't show up. On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist Donald talks with Nicolas Sosa, an automation specialist at IBM, about how to make sure you book demos that actually show up.  Why don't people show up?  There are things that you can control, and things that you simply cannot control. You cannot control if someone shows up or not.  Focus on the right authority If you are not speaking to the decision maker, or the champion (a person heavily involved in the decision making process), it is really hard to progress that call.  As a BDR, you need to make sure you are talking to the right people.  Gatekeepers do a very good job at gate keeping, try building a relationship with them. Be transparent with the gatekeepers.  Make sure you understand the reason they are showing up Walk away with very specific challenges and pain points - wanting to make more money isn't a good enough reason.  Knowing why the prospects are showing up shortens the sales cycle.  Communicate with your AE so that you know what they are expecting.  Don't promise the prospect a solution to all of their problems. Try using the words “if” and “qualify”. As a BDR, you don't need to close the deal, you are just closing time.  Accept the invite right away When you are closing time, make it very clear what kind of meeting it will be, then make sure that you stamp time on their calendar.  Send them a calendar invite and make sure that they accept it. The simple things are where the money is at.  If you see this as pushy, you aren't understanding the value of the product.  For more content from Nicolas, connect with him on LinkedIn.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

To some people, building outreach sequences for prospects is easy. However, for most people, that isn't the case. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the co-creator of the Money Sequence, Miranda Morrison, to explain how she built a sequence that doubled engagement upon implementation. Sequencing, especially in tech sales, is critical. Before the money sequence, Miranda's company had email segmentation for many audiences depending on their interests, position, and what information would be most pertinent to them. What made it successful was the combination of ‘spray and pray' with highly personalized and individualized approaches.  Personalizing later in the sequence (by reference to an article or important piece) shows a degree of research that is most effective without spending too much time. Personalization at scale is the best approach. However, there are times a more personalized email is more appropriate, which is often later in the sales cycle. What metrics were they focused on? The goal for each SDR was to book ten meetings each month, and Miranda found that short and sweet messaging was well-opened but infrequently responded to.  Moving to a more personalized sequence later in the cycle resulted in a larger shift. After converting to the money sequence, Miranda adjusted her copy to be more bulleted and more personalized that presented the same information, but the tone as a whole was catered more toward the job title of the prospect. The Money Sequence - 18 steps over 28 days: Always start with a phone call and ensure you have the correct phone number. Call and email on day one.  Day Two - Phone call again Day Four - Phone call with an email. With this email, Miranda utilizes Drift for videos. Putting a face to a name is the best way to separate yourself from the pack in an email format. In her video, she gave insight into what the platform looked like so the prospect wasn't entering a meeting completely blind. If there isn't an opportunity for personalization, the video still serves as a source of information that people would open. Steps 5-8 are phone calls and a LinkedIn request On Day 10, she manually replies on the same thread as her video message. Step 11 (Day 13) - Another phone call Her other best email? Coffee on me. Coffee chat sessions with ideal clients offering a gift card in exchange for taking a look. Miranda's advice to someone scared of reaching out and facing rejection? She used to be terrified of it. But most of the time, the people you're contacting are used to it and know what's happening. If you provide genuine value, there is nothing wrong with how you reach out.  Maybe the money sequence isn't perfect for your industry. If not, find what works and stick with it. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

For many people, entering the sales profession can seem overwhelming. What are the right strategies, tactics, and mindset to do the best job possible? In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the Account Executive at Challenger, Brendan Kelly, to learn his takeaways and thoughts after working in sales for six months.  Before starting his job, Brendan assumed he would just make phone calls every day. However, he soon realized high activity isn't the long-term solution; it's a burn-out-inducing, needle-in-a-haystack mentality. Instead, who, when, and why he reaches out to prospects is far more important. Intention and consistency are what yield success for new sellers. He learned to keep it simple. The person on the other end appreciates the authenticity. Whether he gets the meeting or not, the person should have a positive experience from the discussion. The intention is to get the win, and a win doesn't always equal a meeting.  Business acumen Brendan didn't know: A lot of acronyms and the specifics of what stakeholder titles mean were confusing. It takes time and curiosity to learn it all.  It won't happen overnight, and it'll take effort to learn the ins and outs of a job title. To learn, get in situations where it comes up and have the confidence to ask someone what it means. It's as simple as searching it on Google and writing it down to remember later. Prioritize the learning and schedule time to devote to complex topics to better understand them.  Sales is collaborative. It isn't the cutthroat environment he thought it was going to be. While you need a level of self-motivation to thrive and succeed, it isn't a process done alone.  Since day one, Brendan was able to rely on his Account Executive for advice and to help him hone his craft. When everyone works together to reach their quotas, everyone is happier and more successful. Brendan's final piece of advice? Volume doesn't solve all your issues. Being intentional about your efforts is a better long-term plan for success. For more content and information from Brendan, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit challengerinc.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

The best-sellers aren't always the most charismatic, understanding, or intelligent. Sometimes, all it takes is an organized, structured, and productive day. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by tech sales Account Executive William Padilla to learn how he structures his day to make sales, make connections, and impact his work.  Many old-school sales organizations are built on price.  However, with tech sales, a single deal can require an 8-month process of creating the relationship first. BDRs might only have 6-8 qualified demos each month, but creating that number of opportunities requires much more leg work behind the scenes. Planning and prepping your day: Don't go into your day winging what you plan to do. For example, Will realized he was too distracted and hit his metrics only by scrambling on a Friday afternoon. He decided to structure his day, achieving all his late-stage interactions in the morning to reserve his afternoons entirely for prospecting. He's not more talented than the next seller; he's more structured. Your mindset creates the structure needed to foster more sales. BDR roles are fairly science-based because it's focused on hitting metrics and quotas.  When Will needed to book eight demos per month, he quickly realized that not every cold call was a qualified demo.  He would make sure to have at minimum four cold calls set up each week with qualified leads.  What every demo number you need to hit, book double to ensure enough opportunities to reach your quota. Implement the 5x5 rule - don't log off for the day unless you have five new companies to prospect and five contacts within each company. Be like Batman and Robin; work with your AE: As a BDR, understand that your account executive is your teammate. So sometimes, it helps to be friends.  By creating a working relationship with your AE, you increase the chance for both of you to succeed (because your success largely depends on one another.) For more content and information from Will, follow him on social media: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-padilla Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sellthatsaas This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

For many sellers, there's too much to do in too little time. So how can we find the extra time in our day to accomplish everything we want? In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by author, speaker, and the founder of The Free Mama, Lauren Golden, to understand how we can implement time management strategies to get more done in less time. Productivity is only so much of time management; busy work is a significant problem. Being “busy” doesn't always mean you're “producing.” There are many ways to feel busy without actually doing anything beneficial. Preparing for your next day at the end of the current day is a great way to ensure you stay on track and focused on what moves your bottom line. Never begin work before understanding what needs to be done. Implementing the Daily Five: It's not about doing everything on your to-do list; it's about accomplishing the major, most needle-moving activity you can. For sales professionals, the needle-moving business is closing deals, especially if the contact is a latter-stage sales prospect. Self-sabotaging is a frequent element at play in prioritizing. Often, the most challenging task is the one that will make you the most productive. Be clear on your goal; if you aren't sure of your goal, you won't know how to prioritize. Don't fall victim to others' priorities: Put your needs first. Consider blocking time for self-care, errands, and family time, so you don't allow other people to schedule time with you at those intervals.  Discover what you're currently doing that can be cut or approached differently to create more time in your day. Lauren's advice for people looking to adopt a more time-managemental mindset:  There's always more work to be done, so create boundaries that prevent you from pushing all the time. It doesn't require special tools to take control of your time, but it requires a level of discipline that will only grow through practice. For more content from Lauren, connect with her and The Free Mama on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Tik Tok. Visit her website, www.thefreemama.com, to access the free downloadable worksheet to help you discover your own Daily five. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Cold emails are a hallmark of modern selling, yet many salespeople don't include the correct information to yield the right results. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by content expert and sales professional Luke Charlton to learn how sellers can write better cold emails to see more success. How can sellers write better emails? When you start sending people new information, many notice the open rate drop markedly after a few weeks. People lose interest. That led Luke to question what media kept people's attention - streaming, social media, film, and television. He realized that to get people to read his emails, he needed to make them more entertaining. Luke's three tips for better email writing: When you tell a story, it doesn't necessarily have to be personal. Instead, it could be something that sparks emotion in you.  What's the lesson of the story? Whether it's about sales, dating, or how to pick something for dinner, there should be a derived lesson from the story. Once the lesson is explained, it's easy to transition to the close. In the close, you pitch or offer whatever the email's goal is to get more people involved. Entertaining emails receive higher engagement because people look forward to reading them. The more you email, the more money you'll make.  If you send pitch-heavy emails that aren't entertaining, you'll likely have many people unsubscribe. But by creating fun emails people want to read, they'll look forward to a daily email.  The typical rules of sales emails don't apply if the email is entertaining enough. People are willing to read longer content and paragraphs rather than skim bullet points if they feel moved to continue reading. However, that only happens if you properly captivate them. To learn more from Luke, visit 9emailoffers.com or the15minuteclientworkshop.com for content and information about successful email marketing. You can also join his private community for free training at thehermithole.com or connect with him on LinkedIn for regular content.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Stories are a part of the sales process, but there are better strategies and tools to help sellers refine their storytelling abilities. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by sales speaker and managing partner of Amp, Todd Mitchem, to learn how he utilizes storytelling to make more sales.  What's wrong with storytellers today? Sellers tell stories thinking they should be solely personal anecdotes before the work conversation begins.  In actuality, the most powerful stories are upfront with a purpose that launches into the pitch, intro, or discussion. Second common mistake? Not setting up the story. Sellers either set up too much or don't set up enough to give the listener the correct amount of information to engage properly. Three elements of a sales story: Set up the customer's struggle, allowing them to see how the story relates to them.  Dictate the solution and derive benefits or successes from implementing the seller's product or service. Explain what the story means to the prospect - why should they care? A story's impact is only as good as the person telling it: The best salespeople are the ones who care about (or at least respect) what they're selling. The story has to be honest to be impactful. While it doesn't have to be your story, it should be genuine.  Great storytellers practice their craft; a salesperson can't expect to nail it just by winging it during meetings. If done right and truthful, storytelling is the most powerful element to any sales process. Lead with what matters: Think from the perspective of the prospect; why does the sale or the pitch matter to them? They don't care how many sales you've done or how close you are to hitting a quota. Todd's final takeaway? Take your ego out of the sale, and you'll find more success. Instead, focus on what you do differently and stand with that. To learn more from Todd, email him directly at toddm@ampld.com. If you reach out, he'll send you a free learning PDF to research and learn more about today's discussion. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

When it comes to improving sales, all it might take to reach your goals is a shift in mindset. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Justin Cunningham to learn how any sales professional can stand out, transform, and optimize their mindset for better performance.  You won't be able to sell until you believe you can sell. Adjust your beliefs. Try integrating a value-based reframe - People will form their beliefs after an experience. During your next relationship or interaction, you'll subconsciously look for those same affirming beliefs to support your existing notion.  Decide that you want something better and find evidence to support that new belief. Set yourself apart to win larger-scale accounts: Learn what they're passionate about and what drives their bottom line to integrate a plan framed directly to them. A gatekeeper will pass individualized materials and information to a decision-maker rather than a mass-sent supply of information. Don't act like an employee; act like a business partner. When you focus on creating unique connections, relationships, and moments with others, you'll realize you're far more critical than a cog in the business machine. If you try something new, what's the worst that can happen? Propose new growth ideas and ways to improve your organization; if that is considered negative, it likely isn't the best environment for you. How leadership empowers their teams: Most people are completely underutilized. People are motivated by many different things, and determining your team's perspectives and mindset can be a powerful way to unify positions toward a common goal. Ask yourself and your team if your current actions are contributing to the company goal. If not, change your behavior. Justin's final takeaway?  Believe that your radical insights are worth sharing. Don't be afraid to tell your ideas to those around you. Read Clicking by Faith Popcorn for more ideas about this topic, and visit ishiftresults.com to connect and interact with Justin. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

It's an all-too-common sales tactic to reduce your price to drive more sales. However, it can be easy to reduce our worth far below the time, energy, and thought it takes to provide the service we have. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by professional sales coach Steve Brossman to uncover his secrets to creating sales without lowering your worth. The three levels of influence: Imposed: Present and pitch information to the client to make an informed buying decision Collaborative - When the client is involved, they invest to co-create a solution. Self-influence - With the right connections and collaboration, the buyer knows you'll deliver more than whatever money you charge. Shift your sales mentality: Instead of portraying selling as taking from buyers; shift your perspective. Instead, think of it as giving greater value than what they're willing to invest. Create information and relationships through your videos, content, and messages to potential buyers.  Come with high energy. Build the buying energy, not just the sharing of information. Steve's four-letter framework to sell anything: D - Data, demonstrate, and deliver information.  N - Narrative. Use a narrative to frame the solution, whether it's a quick story about how you've used it or a case study. Q - Quantifiable results. Those results are significantly greater than the investment to deliver C - Confirm and continue with the sale.  Steve's major takeaway? Collaborate, don't convince. You'll never win the sale with just a pitch and close; it takes collaboration, research, and work to make the close. For more information and content from Steve, email him at steve@stevebrossman.com. For TSE listeners, Steve is also offering a free back pocket guide (How to Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul), available at stevebrossman.com/bpg.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Working in sales becomes drastically easier when we have a mindset and behavior that encourages our best work. But how can we curb limiting beliefs to develop a consistent and positive change in behavior? In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by speaker, author, and podcast host Heather O'Neill to discuss how sales leaders can inspire change in their mindset for performance growth.  Our existing beliefs can hold us back:  Our perceptions about the profession, money, or industry can all hold us back from our full potential.  More importantly, our beliefs about ourselves can have the same impact - the idea that we don't have enough experience, work, or ability to get the job done. These limiting beliefs often aren't true and are inspired by what others tell us, not necessarily what we believe. Your brain doesn't know what's true and what isn't - it'll believe whatever is easier. If you tell yourself you're a confident speaker, you'll be more confident with it. (And yes, the reverse is also true.)  It comes down to where you choose to direct your energy. Both bad and good things happen every day - choose where you focus. Shaping positive beliefs: When we become aware of our negative beliefs (and choose to let go of them), we generate the space for more positivity to ward off those prior beliefs.  Shift to the opposite (and then dive deeper) to uncover a more nuanced perception. Surround yourself with successful people further in their careers. We inadvertently hold ourselves back when those around us want the people around us to stay the same. Removing negative ideals: Negative generational beliefs are often passed down, whether through family, friends, and coworkers. Generational beliefs are often negative and are based on prior misconceptions that lead to biases. We get beliefs from everyone around us and any external situation. But if we're on guard for it, we can stop ourselves from prescribing. Heather's final takeaway? You have more power over this than you might believe. When you control your beliefs, you'll experience more freedom and joy. For more information and content from Heather, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her website at heatherhansenoneill.com. Tune into her podcast, From Fear to Fire, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever podcasts can be found. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Even the best sellers must overcome the feeling of burnout at one point or another. But how can we maintain performance while finding time for our physical and mental health? In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Chris Prangley to discuss his own experience with burnout and how any seller can maintain success and momentum in their careers. Making good money can also come with stress:  Review your ‘why' to maintain motivation toward your financial goals or realign with your company mission and personal goals.  If you don't maintain your health and well-being, you'll eventually burn out. How do you determine why you do what you do? Making a certain amount of money is a great goal, but it is not a ‘why.' Instead, it should be more profound and connected to who you are. You'll find the most success at the intersection of your why and the company's mission. Try journaling about your traits and values to determine what you care about and continue to explore that. Look for the niche that excites you. What about the company or industry intrigues, inspires, and motivates you to sell it? Five things sellers can do to get recharged and handle burnout: Get out of the country at least once per year. Depart your normal and discover new cultures. The power of massage is incredible. Sitting at a desk all day can lead to tension and stress you don't realize is present. Work out or exercise early in the morning; you'll have more energy and be more productive. End your day with journaling, praying, or just expressing gratitude for what's happening in your life.  When you have an exhausting day, turn on your favorite song and spend a few minutes dancing. Find the things that work for you because we're all different, and different things will recharge us. Chris's major takeaway? Know that it's okay to feel overwhelmed. But there are amazing tools you can use to continue reaching your goals. Check out Chris's book, Tech Sales Warrior, available on Amazon and connect with him on LinkedIn or his company website at techsaleswarrior.com/. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Sales isn't rocket science. However, we want to cover our bases just in case. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by former NASA flight control engineer and CEO of ElevenPoint2, Kristin Taraszewski, to learn how sales organizations can adequately train their employees with technical knowledge to close more sales.  Many sellers require technical training to sell their products, and that training has become more scarce. In 2021 alone, 39% of all salespeople switched jobs. Unfortunately, that shift led to a huge need for training that hasn't been fulfilled. It's difficult to keep up with the rapid changes of the world as quickly as the solution is needed. Many companies don't have a definitive onboarding and training program beyond a few online courses. It's expensive to pull salespeople out of the field to train, and lecture-based training historically has a 10% retention rate, making it challenging to implement successfully. Give sellers a clear map. When training sellers, a clear pathway with clear direction is necessary to help people succeed and thrive. You can't shortcut the learning map. Ask your technical team, sales team, and other necessary departments to determine what information is critical for the seller to know. Then, devise and implement a plan that teaches those elements. Think in the context of the customer. Teaching and training should be integrated. Learning one segment of the process at a time, like tech or applications, is not as helpful as full exposure. To get your foot in the door, a seller needs to prove they have something the buyer requires that solves a problem they experience. Utilize gamification to build successful programs: Training should be individualized as much as possible to help the people retain the information in the best way for them. To implement gamification, replicate the scenario a salesperson might experience while training. Get the trainee to explain the technical aspects, starting from the macro level and refining into finer details. Without a way for sellers to get better at their jobs, a company will begin to stagnate. Implementing strategies and tools to increase learning knowledge is synergistic for all levels of an organization. For more content and information from Christina and her company, visit their website at elevenpoint2.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Your personal brand and image impact everything about your sales process. Creating and maintaining a professional self-care routine is necessary to put your best foot forward to make the most money and foster the most connections. In today's episode of the Sales Evangelist, Donald shares some quick tips for any seller to improve their confidence and build a personal brand that reflects the hard work you do each day. Sometimes, we neglect the emotional for the physical: Sure, scoring that meeting or closing the deal can be nice. However, it's not as nice when it comes at a cost for our own physical and emotional needs as human beings. The Sales Evangelist is launching a course to build your professional self-care routine; check out the information here: thesalesevangelist.com/free-sales-training Build a positive attitude and confidence: One of the biggest things to help you be more effective is confidence.  Even if you don't know a lot about the industry or individual, learn the company basics. Research the company to have more poignant discussions about the material to drive confidence.  If you are genuinely interested in the conversation with the potential buyer, you'll inherently come across as more confident and competent in the conversation. Dress to the customer's needs: If you're meeting with an executive or higher-level individual, dress to their level. Leave the hoodie at home and wear what instills confidence in yourself and the buyer.  Especially if you work from home, dressing professionally will make an impact where lower dress scales are more common. Your personal brand is critical: Pay attention to how you project yourself online and on social media.  Amid a potential recession and the Great Resignation, ensure your content, language, and tone are transferable wherever you want to go.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.  

In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by frequent guest and CEO of Sales Gravy, Jeb Blount, to discuss an important (and often avoided) topic: selling a price increase to clients.  The price increase conversation is awkward, especially if you've never done it before. A seller's main priority is to get the increase without losing the customer or order. Increases are good for the health of an organization. They're essential to ensure you get the resources to sell more deals, help prevent layoffs, and service quality initiatives.  Understand what kind of price increase is occurring: Defensive increases are smaller and leveraged across the entire company. In addition, having a relationship with the customer makes discussing a price increase easier. The status quo means it takes a lot of work for a buyer to leave - many customers are likely to stay with you despite the price increase.  Popular narratives sellers can use to discuss: In an inflationary period with supply chain issues, price increases constitute an economic fairness narrative. Costs have risen, impacting your ability to serve customers. Future value narratives occur when you add features, services, and additional expertise that justify the price increase. Project-based narrative - To successfully meet a particular benchmark, timeline, or quota, you need additional funding.  Weave narratives together to weave a custom reason for your client - it should be whatever best helps them explain the increase.  Connect with Jeb on LinkedIn for more content and information. You can find his new book, Selling the Price Increase, on Amazon, and a free downloadable companion guide at salesgravy.com/resources. Finally, tune in to his podcast, the Sales Gravy Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else podcasts can be found.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Many buyers see sellers as a commodity. While the goal of every seller is to close more deals, how are you supposed to do that without being memorable to the buyer? In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by a sales coach and expert, Casey Jacox, to learn how sellers can stand out and be memorable to their prospects. Sellers are under a lot of pressure: Whether that pressure is to hit KPIs, increase quarterly figures, or just contribute to company growth, sellers have a lot to worry about. However, sales leaders are unlikely o slow down and contribute to sellers' foundational skills (AKA building relationships.) The ultimate goal? To make internal and external connections that help sellers improve their close rate while enjoying their position more than before. Six things sellers can do to be more memorable: Bring a positive attitude to your team Manage expectations of your team and prospects Understand the difference between listening and hearing Document and record interactions, goals, and data to inform your questions Let your authentic self shine Relationships take time Have a boomerang mindset. Think about ways to be nice and positive to those around you - set the precedent for communication.  Give what someone asks for, and communicate with stakeholders if something might prevent you from reaching a certain benchmark or KPI. For more content and information from Casey, tune in to his podcast, The Quarterback DadCast, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by the Outbound 2022 Sales Conference. Are you looking to learn actionable and practical ways to improve your sales performance? Do you or your team want to experience a fantastic professional development opportunity full of expert and high-quality speakers ready to help you reach your sales quotas? Attend this year's Outbound Conference! Visit outboundconference.com to learn more, and use code MANGO10 at checkout to take a portion of your final ticket price. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Unsurprisingly, most people work to get paid (a wild concept, I know.) Despite that, navigating and creating a proper pay scale for sales teams is a seemingly complex and difficult process. How can we create a pay scale that works for the organization and the workers themselves? In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CRO of LinkSquares, Steve Travaglini, to discuss what he does to strike a balance between these two sides.  Salary open for negotiation in sales roles doesn't make sense. If you have two people doing the exact same job, they should be paid the same. Pay isn't the way to motivate people. If you pay people differently, that will eventually get out and will result in a lack of trust in the organization. Base salaries should be standard across a job title, but allow the variable income (i.e. commission) to determine how much a seller's skills allow them to make.  There should be no questions or ambiguous items when an employee signs a compensation agreement. Set the rules before you play the game. What items do sellers find annoying in the compensation package? Having different salaries but the same amount of experience should be a nonstarter. Structure annual bonuses around the hiring period, not the calendar year to give everyone an equal chance of reaching that quota.  Implement rewards and compensations beyond strictly monetary like parental leave, benefits, and even stocks or an owner's portion of the company to keep employees satisfied. Consider advertising jobs based on income; it shouldn't be the taboo topic that it is currently.  Steve's average retention v. other tech companies: Typically tech companies aim to be in the 50-75% range of employee This year, Steve's company is around 80% retention and historically around 70%.  They take risks on sellers with no experience or without the 5-6 years of closing experience, people expect to see. It all comes down to the product and the company; you can be great at your craft, but that doesn't mean you'll be world-class at every company. Steve's final takeaway? Don't forget what it's like to be the rep. Listen to the account executives and those around you; put together a benefits package you would've appreciated if you were in their role. To get in contact with Steve, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit Linksquares.com to view available job openings (but he always enjoys a custom LinkedIn DM.) This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Sellers often look for the newest tool, software, or strategy to find success and increase performance. However, improving the core elements of sales is often overlooked. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Dan Zavorotny, the co-founder and COO of Nurtisense, to learn what elements every great sales team should integrate into their culture. Flexibility Culturally, you have to portray the values that work for your company. However, they might not fit other people. People operate differently. If you are a self-motivated individual and you know what will make you perform your best, you should have the flexibility to do that. People who like flexibility can find a balance in life that drives people's ability to perform at their best time rather than the company's best time. Transparency Many employers sell potential employees on the dream of working with the company rather than the reality. Being straightforward with the reality of working with the company saves time interviewing, onboarding, and training because turnover will drastically decrease. Maintaining transparency after the hiring process and providing precise methods for improvement will make employees more comfortable asking how they are performing. Metrics Metrics shouldn't be arbitrary or difficult to measure - they should be specific and actionable metric that allows people to know how they can best move forward and accomplish new goals. It's easy to get busy with busy work, but this often has little impact on the organization. Before starting an activity, determine the baseline you're starting with and what you'll consider a success. Without that baseline, how can you determine if the work was worthwhile? Bonus: Sleep and Nutrition When sellers get a good night's sleep, they perform better. Their expressions, body language, and enunciation are dramatically better when well-rested. Sleep is derived from your nutrition, meaning the better your diet, the better your sleep will be.  To learn more about Dan and his work, visit Nutrisense's blog, and connect with him on LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

This is a conversation we need to have. Cold outreach is one of the core tenants of successful sellers, right? In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the founder of Blueprint, Jordan Crawford, to discuss why there might be a better strategy. Every job Jordan has, he's either been fired from, or the company went under. He ultimately found his place helping startups scale and grow for long-term success, and it was through this endeavor he found a better methodology than personalized cold outreach. The ‘spray-and-pray' method was the initial online sales foray. However, that soon led the way to personalized outreach. So, is a new method taking the lead? Personalization has its uses, and there are times it is still functional. However, there are some where it isn't. Personalization helps grab a prospect's attention. But as a B2B seller, you should only want their attention if their company has a problem your solution can help solve. If you aren't making a commercial transaction, personalization can have great power.  Sellers can't test personalization systematically; you must have a way to process the data that is useful to prospects and act on it. Invest in data that leads to understanding product-market fit that solves your customers' core problems. Personalize based on problems, not on the person: Once the potential problems are identified, sellers can sift through potential prospects and interact with them based on those problems the prospect (or their company) might be facing. We're in the world of tactics. But if you lead with insight based on a prospect's problem, you'll be successful.  How can a sales team can implement this strategy: Determine what channels and messaging work for your company. Do a bottom-up analysis to understand everything about the consumer and who you're selling to. Only after this point should you go to market. Score existing customers by a ‘rubric' of your ideal customer. If they are a rough match, you'll know you've achieved a more scalable business. You must determine the data sources to find the consumers struggling with the products you solve. Jordan's final takeaway? If you're in the sales system, spend time with customer success to determine what consumers already know. Because if you know what they know, you can build models that find more organizations like them. For more content from Jordan, connect with him on LinkedIn or email him at jordan@blueprintgtm.com.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Not all companies are created equal. Five key differentiators separate the cream of the crop for sales and sale-focused companies. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald discusses the five key components that successful sales-focused companies have in common. Everyone in the organization is selling. This doesn't mean every position in the company is a salesperson; we still need our accountants and other critical roles.  Instead, this means that the employees believe in the organization's mission, and they sell the organization because of its powerful mission. Adjust your focus and mission to ensure it is clear and something everyone can get behind. Salespeople are treated as the best in the company. Salespeople are the front line of the people giving money to your company. Salespeople are crucial to bringing money into the organization. If you treat your sellers poorly, you'll have high turnover (and thus lower sales.) The key? Treat sellers like they're needed and appreciated. (And you should probably apply that mentality to every role in your company.) Sales education is provided to sales professionals You want your sellers to spread the word about your company's mission. Infuse your salespeople with the greatest of the organization. Provide books, seminars, and boot camps to help provide the techniques sellers need to thrive in their roles. These salespeople will stay with you because you're providing value to them. The Sales Evangelist has training programs you can use to help your sellers master their profession. Sellers are challenged to become better. Top organizations challenge sellers to be accountable for their work. The best sellers are the ones who consistently set new goals and hit new quotas. Look for ways to be better, and you'll constantly raise the bar to make more money for yourself and your company. You have the right KPIs in place that encourages you to grow. KPIs should not focus exclusively on the end result. While outcome-based KPIs are useful, the best companies understand which other metrics best drive results. Leading indicators make better KPIs because sellers have direct control over how they can fulfill the actions associated with them. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

We're running it back! Here's one of our all-time favorite episodes on 30MPC. FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Write like a human - especially in your Linkedin DMs. No over-formal language. Leverage up by reaching out to ICs, then getting referrals to the VPs. Tell them it's a cold call, then ask permission to sell before ya start selling. Use permission-based selling in your upfront contract. Get the buy-in on the agenda. RESOURCES DISCUSSED: Time is running out to register for our upcoming 30MPC Live webinar. Download our exclusive cold calling battlecard by signing up for the newsletter. Improve sales execution with Outreach. Click to watch our playbook on how to write better subject lines. Gong improves your win rates, starting with their Discovery Cheat Sheet + our top discovery tactics. Share demos, proposals, and customer stories that push opportunities over the finish line with Vidyard. See our top video tips + use promo code 30MPC to upgrade to a Pro account free for 30 days.  Dooly instantly syncs notes to Salesforce and automatically adds contacts to accounts. Access the sales template we use to qualify and close more deals, faster. Automate conversational texting for the entire customer journey with Skipio. Check out our best practices for texting prospects. HELP US OUT! What do you love about our podcast? Please consider leaving a rating and review for the show. We always enjoy reading your comments and feedback!

When you have the intention to change your sales approach, the behavior follows suit. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Scott Savage, Managing Director at Franklin Covey, to learn how sellers can increase their close rate by winning more deals.  Salespeople tend to think we close more than we do. In actuality, the close right is only around 17%. But imagine what it could be if that close rate were higher. Why are win rates so low? Many would say the pandemic, but it's not one sole factor.  42% of the time, decision-makers could not tell the difference between vendors. Sellers almost always think they're different. But it doesn't matter how different you are if the buyer cannot differentiate between sellers. Talk less, question more: Executives and other buyers judge sellers based on their questions, not necessarily their answers. Clients don't want sellers to just talk at them; they want a discussion to know their problems are being addressed. It's not that a seller is disliked, but rather that the meeting didn't progress with the buyer's needs in mind. RDM is Scott's strategy to close more sales: Relevant, distinct, and memorable: For relevant, ask yourself what the client truly cares about. What do they wish to buy or add to their current company? Distinct is explaining how they will be dramatically better because of what you can bring to the table. People make decisions based on differences, not similarities. People want compelling contrast. Juxtapose those distinct differences by making those differences easy to share and difficult to forget. Start with the end in mind.  Establish objectives for each meeting to help guide interactions toward those pre-established checkpoints. Ensure your close rate is open: we get too focused on ourselves, and our intention is based on the sale, not the best decision. To stand out, take the RDM strategy. Next, understand what's essential to each decision-maker to get everyone on board. Many people can veto a deal. But, if you know each stakeholder and help them improve, you'll altogether avoid that issue. Your biggest competitor isn't other companies; it's the status quo. Be interesting and stand out to convince each decision-maker to choose you. Scott's final takeaway? Most sellers think they're better than they are. Establish what makes you better and convince buyers of that factor. If you can set yourself apart, you'll close more deals. For more content from Scott, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit franklincovey.com/sds to pre-order his book, Strikingly Different Selling. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Most modern sales methodologies focus on building rapport and trust with the prospect; challenging the prospect's beliefs to make better deals is a hallmark of that perspective. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the Chief Evangelist of Challenger, Jennifer Allen, to discuss her company's methodology that drives relationships with their prospects and customers. Jennifer started as an entry-level seller in account management: A relationship-builder through and through, she worked hard to gain client trust. (Which worked well for a long time.) During the 2008 recession, her peers and customers laid off teams and cut back budgets; that's when her corporate exec board launched a report detailing what maintains relationships with customers. Jennifer was shocked to see none of her current sales components in that report. What worked once now no longer works. Why focus on the relationship side? Jennifer never wanted to be one of those salespeople, but it was also how she was coached - she mirrored the behavior of her managers and peers. She was taught to ease tension with the buyer. However, constructive tension is crucial to teaching a prospect a risk (and why they need to act on that risk.)  When you have a problem and go to the bar, the bartender makes you feel good in the moment, but then you wake up with a hangover and the same problem. Conversely, working towards a productive goal helps make strides toward solving the problem. It's all about your relationships with the people around you. Implementing the challenger sale for success: Jennifer transitioned from a relationship-building to a challenger by reading The Challenger Sale. Her first interpretation after reading the book? Tell prospects everything they were doing wrong. Unsurprisingly, that didn't work that well. She failed to engage in a two-way dialogue and didn't offer a space for the prospect to interact and engage. The takeaway? You have to earn the privilege to say they're doing something wrong. Have an observation about the company, look for something the company is trying to achieve and determine the company's end-state goal. If it's a public company, see if they're trying to acquire AI or how they're trying to grow. Express curiosity in the end goal. Have something of value to share, whether right or wrong. Either way, it's something to think about.  If it's a private company, look to the CEO's LinkedIn page or an exec's podcast and see if they convey any information. Bringing something of value to the prospect throughout the sales experience is a compelling reason for the prospect to work with you. Stop using sales buzz words and figure out how you can bring something to the table. Jennifer's major takeaway? Keep a log of what each company is missing, and what happened to make you realize that particular thing was lacking. As you grow that log, you'll have an easier time when identifying other companies. For more content from Jennifer, connect with her on LinkedIn and listen to her podcast, Winning the Challenger Sale, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Define success criteria before going into a pilot so you don't waste your time. Run two products during the POC so your buyers choose between your options vs the competition. Establish a buying window by highlighting a compelling event OR the cost of inaction. Prioritize your pipeline as finish line deals > pilots > open deals > warm follow-ups. PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB Director of Sales @ Orum Former Account Executive @ Namely Former Brand Ambassador @ Uber   RESOURCES DISCUSSED: Time is running out to register for our upcoming 30MPC Live webinar. Download our exclusive cold calling battlecard by signing up for the newsletter. Improve sales execution with Outreach. Click to watch our playbook on how to write better subject lines. Gong improves your win rates, starting with their Discovery Cheat Sheet + our top discovery tactics. Share demos, proposals, and customer stories that push opportunities over the finish line with Vidyard. See our top video tips + use promo code 30MPC to upgrade to a Pro account free for 30 days.  Dooly instantly syncs notes to Salesforce and automatically adds contacts to accounts. Access the sales template we use to qualify and close more deals, faster. Automate conversational texting for the entire customer journey with Skipio. Check out our best practices for texting prospects. HELP US OUT! What do you love about our podcast? Please consider leaving a rating and review for the show. We always enjoy reading your comments and feedback!

Marketing and sales alignment is pivotal in the modern era of sales, and building credibility and rapport in your communication for all departments is essential. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CMO of Growth Stage Marketing, Mark Donnigan, to discuss his take on building rapport while unifying departmental collaboration. Good CMOs think about marketing campaigns. Great CMOs bring value to the enterprise. Between the evolution of technology and the pandemic, sales has completely transformed. Buyers no longer attend trade shows to talk with peers; they organize entirely through online forums. Buyers are 50% or more through the buying process before reaching out to their first vendor. A seller's job is no longer to get the first meeting; it's to state the problem that the solution solves while differentiating from competitors. CMO turnover is almost exclusively because they repeatedly try the old playbook rather than embrace these new changes. Credibility plays into rapport building: There's one thing sellers can do at all times - add value to their network through social channels. Nobody wants to be sold to, so content shouldn't be explicitly sales-focused. Instead, create helpful content the audience will read.  People are drawn to others who make intelligent observations about a problem or solution.  Add value to customers as someone who can bring thoughtful insights to the industry - that's the open door in the modern sales landscape. Only 2% of LinkedIn users post content, so seeing thoughtful and relevant content from a person on the platform makes an impression on anyone.  Create your own opportunities by providing internal and external value. Too many executives see themselves as professional managers, but that position is a commodity. However, when you can add insight to a large enterprise organization, you become a lot harder to replace. The new Rolodex isn't names and addresses; it's the community that forms around the network. People who like, respect, and are engaged with your content are more valuable than a simple name and number registry. Create a network that respects your insights and content. There are plenty of other competitors who are just as competent and insightful. However, nobody knows it because they don't post. Mark's final takeaway? Focus on the seller - find every possible way to add value to those in the ecosystem around you. Visit his company website at growthstage.marketing and connect with Mark on LinkedIn for more interesting and insightful content.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Closers.io. Closers.io helps sales reps land their dream remote sales gig, where they can set their own hours, work from anywhere, and make six or even multi-6 figures per year. That sure sounds good to us! Committed to helping sales reps make a shift, Closers.io will place you in an available sales role that will increase your commissions and help you live the life you want. Apply for free now at go.closers.io/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

An alignment between sales and marketing inspires the competitive collaboration needed to develop consistent business growth that is scalable across the departments of the organization. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist Donald is joined by Gregg Ames, CCO of Act-On Marketing Automation, to discuss his take on building a proper sales and marketing alignment. Great solutions occur when sales and marketing stop acting as separate processes.  Companies start fragmented. Sales and marketing do their things, but unifying the entire sales funnel leads to a guide for better messaging.  People process information with technology, and that behavior has not shifted. That processing starts with an integrated flow between departments.  Every company has good salespeople. But, when equipped with marketing to canvas a broader market, brings more high-quality leads to allow a focus on later-stage selling. Sellers are (historically) not great at generating demand. Getting marketing to take this role will bring more revenue to the organization How sellers can help with the alignment: Many have seen some semblance of a unified sales and marketing process, and whether it's through your ideal profile or not, you need to create feedback loops.  People need to drive communication upstream; you can't have the left and right hands be completely uncoordinated. Receiving constructive feedback is necessary to properly learn from past mistakes. However, it's also critical for the company to invest in the seller's knowledge. Everything starts with a proper ICP. If marketing's leads aren't the right fit and converting sales, the team needs to reiterate their messaging or scoring methodology to avoid false positives from proliferating. Three implementation times for inter-departmental unification:  When driving sales and marketing alignment, be prepared to plan and evolve your program. You have to access where you are in the organization and understand how it might change in the future. Leveraging data is paramount to a successful program. Marketing is no longer just art; it's art and science. Leverage data to build a repeatable process that decisions are based on. Determine where deals stall, and where wins are created - when you integrate the marketing stacks in the conversation, there's data about site intent, nurture potential, and A/B testing to quality people more quickly.  If you look at these elements, you'll be successful. Create feedback loops, which can be small email or slack technologies, or well-structured interval meetings between relevant parties. AE working for an organization - how to implement? We're chasing numbers, so it's important to measure good metrics to hit the proper revenue targets. However, we're not as comfortable talking with our teams and having earnest discussions about the high-level air cover or ABM strategies that should be the next customers. Initiate dialogues with peers to at least establish a strategy that will move the organization closer to the desired outcomes. Gregg's final takeaway? Embrace your marketing team, because it's much easier to win as a team when sales and marketing are properly aligned. Email Gregg at gregg.ames@act-on.com or connect with him on LinkedIn for more interesting and relevant sales content. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Closers.io. Closers.io helps sales reps land their dream remote sales gig, where they can set their own hours, work from anywhere, and make six or even multi-6 figures per year. That sure sounds good to us! Committed to helping sales reps make a shift, Closers.io will place you in an available sales role that will increase your commissions and help you live the life you want. Apply for free now at go.closers.io/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Before agreeing to a give, ask what they're willing to bring to the table. Map out every step of the process to the signature with actions, owners, and dates. Send a recap to the buyer of where they are in the journey after every discovery call. Prime your champion with the nuances of your product / MSA and be ready to jump on a call to hash out the details. PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB Director, Enterprise Sales @ Drift Former VP Sales @ Altocloud | Acquired by Genesys Former Direct, Sales @ SmartBear RESOURCES DISCUSSED: Time is running out to register for our upcoming 30MPC Live webinar. Download our exclusive cold calling battlecard by signing up for the newsletter. Improve sales execution with Outreach. Click to watch our playbook on how to write better subject lines. Gong improves your win rates, starting with their Discovery Cheat Sheet + our top discovery tactics. Share demos, proposals, and customer stories that push opportunities over the finish line with Vidyard. See our top video tips + use promo code 30MPC to upgrade to a Pro account free for 30 days.  Dooly instantly syncs notes to Salesforce and automatically adds contacts to accounts. Access the sales template we use to qualify and close more deals, faster. Automate conversational texting for the entire customer journey with Skipio. Check out our best practices for texting prospects. HELP US OUT! What do you love about our podcast? Please consider leaving a rating and review for the show. We always enjoy reading your comments and feedback!

Selling is constantly evolving. There are techniques and strategies you should implement today to set a precedent for long-term success for those looking to thrive in enterprise selling. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Vice President and lead trainer at Empire Selling Jesse Rothstein to discuss his tips to modernize enterprise selling. Modern challenges in the enterprise selling environment: A considerable challenge is the continued expansion and growth of organizations making decisions with a committee or group model. More people involved in the decision make it harder to track, maintain, and influence necessary stakeholders.  Because committees complete research before reaching out to salespeople, it's more difficult for the seller to show a differentiation point. 75% of people are groups and committees are prepared to make a decision before they contact a seller. Three core pillars to modernize sales selling strategy: Build your digital brand. Sellers understand that their digital brand is what buyers will evaluate as they undergo their research. Your network is imperative. It's not what you know but who you know.  Leveraging your network to get into new organizations and make additional connections helps create a stronger sales strategy. Content: Do you have a thought-out, pragmatic, and consistent strategy for sharing content? Buyers want to know your opinion, your industry, and even who you are as a person.  Creating a digital brand: Acknowledge that selling is digitally-focused. A few decades ago, your brand was done by the initial physical impression. And while those days aren't over, they are less frequent. If you're a seller who doesn't buy into digital branding, that's akin to showing up to a meeting in your pajamas. Or with bad breath. Allocate time to determine every point your digital brand touches, consider owning the domain rights to your first and last name, and build out the social profiles that might be involved in a conversation. Utilize your network: It's always easier to get business from people you currently do or have done business with. Modern sellers can (and should) spend more time with this audience - those via referral. It's an outbound sales skill that doesn't get measured or chartered as outbound work. It's no longer as direct as asking for referrals - it's sharing content and using LinkedIn to get an intro or mention rather than an all-out referral. Build a content strategy: Most sellers do not have a consistent content strategy - just by doing that; you're differentiating yourself. Get conversations started that are around you, your company, and your industry. Before the internet, we'd go to trade shows, public forums, and live demos to hand out flyers, brochures, and demonstrations. Today, you just need an internet connection to make it happen. It's not about creating everything from scratch, but instead taking content, distributing, and creating it to form an opinion. To start, set a calendar appointment for a quiet time and develop a content sharing strategy. Once allocated, choose a free scheduling tool like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your content.  Contact Jesse on LinkedIn, visit empireselling.com, and read his book Carry that Quota on Amazon for more great content and information.   This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Great Resignation has become the Great Reshuffle, meaning it can be difficult for sales professionals like you to find leads and close deals. Luckily, Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is here for you! Sales Navigator from LinkedIn is the only tool that uses real-time alerts and up-to-date insights to help you know when prospects are ready to buy. And, with over 30 advanced filters, sales professionals can quickly find genuine leads with the intent to purchase. Gain the advantage of accurate, quality lead generation data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial of Sales Navigator at www.LinkedIn.com/TSE.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Closers.io. Closers.io helps sales reps land their dream remote sales gig, where they can set their own hours, work from anywhere, and make six or even multi-6 figures per year. That sure sounds good to us! Committed to helping sales reps make a shift, Closers.io will place you in an available sales role that will increase your commissions and help you live the life you want. Apply for free now at go.closers.io/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com.  As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.