Decoding Sales

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How to write emails that get results - and when to switch to other channels.

    - How do you know when an email you're writing is too long
    - How Peter uses the "phone test" to tell if his email is going to get a response
    - When - and how - to switch to text messages, phone or Slack (and how to handle it gracefully when your outreach is rejected)
    - Why response speed is an underrated asset in sales
    - How to frame powerful questions that get responses
    - The one type of conversation you never want to have over email - and what to do instead

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

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Facts and myths about salespeople

•  What really motivates salespeople (it's not just the number!)
• What shapes customer perceptions of sales (it's not the average sales person)
• Peter confesses that as a professional sales leader, he doesn't know how to play golf (and why golf isn't an essential sales skill)
• Peter explains what's replaced the importance of the rolodex in modern sales
• How Peter flips the tactics of normal salespeople to break through and win deals against traditional sales processes
• One thing Peter says is 100% true of salespeople (hint - it involves a number!)
• Resources and links
  • Episode on Building Client Relationships 
  • Episode on sales as a team sport - It Takes a Village 
  • Episode on Call Leadership 
  • Alec Baldwin clip from Glengarry Glen Ross 
  • Ben Affleck clip from Boiler Room
  • The Market for Lemons
  • BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

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Signing a deal is a legally binding agreement - and legal negotiations can kill deals. Learn the ins-and-outs of navigating the landmines separating you from the prize:

•  how to avoid complex legal negotiations in the first place
•  When you have to negotiate, where to give - and where to hold firm
• The key things to never write into a contract - and what to do instead
• How to balance the sales and legal roles during end-of-deal negotiations

Resources mentioned:

• Call Leadership Episode 
• Authentic Sales and sales as relationship building 

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send a text

Peter relives some end of quarter moments and discuss what it's like to experience that final inning rush. 

• What does it feel like to manage the end of quarter close?
• How to prepare for the end of the quarter ... at the start of the quarter
• How Peter manages the stress of both the buyer and his sales team at quarter end
• What are the typical last-minute holdups on deals...and how to unstick them
• Are quarters the right model for tracking sales?

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send a text

Learn to catalyze revenue growth through your early customer community. 

• How your first customers differ from later customers
• The formula for finding and winning those customers (and avoiding the wrong first customers)
• The formula for creating systems to turn your first customers into referral engines
• The incentives that drive individual buyers to choose innovative products

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send a text

Peter shares his experiences adapting to COVID, and 

• How COVID upended and accelerated the traditional sales process
• The new profile of the ideal salesperson
• What happens when things return to normal, what's changed for good, and what opportunities are opening up

Let us know - how have you seen sales change and where do you see it going post-COVID?

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send a text

•  How Peter got his start in sales
• The two key ingredients to advancing to sales leadership
• How Peter thinks about finding the right company
• Overcoming stereotypes and how Peter flipped the script to turn perceived weaknesses into strengths

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send a text

How to pick and set up your first CRM tool.

• What CRM does Peter recommend?
• How to quickly set up your CRM so you can get back to selling
• Common pitfalls setting up a CRM
• Beyond CRMs - what other tools do you need?
• As a bonus - what will the next wave of successful sales tools look like?

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send a text

• How engineering and product contribute to closing deals
• How NBCUniversal took a leap of faith on the Dropbox's team and vision
• How a team-oriented approach build trust when selling a roadmap and vision
• When to pull in the CEO...and a story of Peter pulling in his CEO at just the wrong time
• Sales as the eyes and ears of the organization
• The pitfalls of a team based approach when not everyone's on the same page

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!

Send a text

• How sales comp is structured - including real talk about numbers
• How do you set a quota?
• More sophisticated bonus structures - how to incentivize business value beyond deal price
• How to change quotas as the business changes, without burning our your sales team
• The best compensation plans Peter has seen ... and the worst
• How to negotiate sales compensation in the hiring process

Enjoying Decoding Sales? Leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcasting app!

Support the show

To get more sales advice from Peter, Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, check out Peter Ahn Sales School and purchase Peter's newly published book, Unlocking Authentic Sales!