David & Tim discuss one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves, “So What?” Why ask this? Because our prospective clients are ALREADY asking it! Every time we go to sell via phone call, voicemail, email, etc. our words must be ruthlessly relevant to THEM, not us!

Jack Daly says people love to buy, they hate being sold! Do our communications pass the “So What?” test? If our scripting is “we are, we do, I this”, they probably aren’t!

“Our resource is irrelevant until we map it to one of their problems!”

People are busy. We can’t expect them to invest time with us; we MUST get to the point — THEIR problems — in order to peak their interest and earn a spot on their calendar.

Be concise, be brief, use their name, get to the point, followup, and in everything, ask “So What?” before they do.

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

or LinkedIn group

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12539994

As sales leaders, are we accessible? Jason Kron, Businesses Dev. Manager & Attorney at BridgeTrust Title and good friend of the show joins us. He shares how people are yearning to connect, but the word is also wobbly right now.

Do our teams feel we’re accessible to them. Do we think they know, or have we explicitly told them we want to get in the field, on zoom, in their goals and metrics with them? Loyalty, trust and results skyrocket when we do!

Jason agrees there’s an Empathetic Urgency in us connecting with people, and he also coins Simplistic Urgency — getting back to simple, foundational sales disciplines. David shares there’s market share to be had if we do!

Alex Goldfayn says the #1 killer of sales is fear, and if that’s the case, we as sales leaders have an opportunity to get in the trenches with our team to help them build and bolster their mindsets.

Be accessible!

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

or LinkedIn group

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12539994

You can connect with Jason here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-kron-61085331

Whitney McKinney, AVP for Change Healthcare, joins David and Tim on this episode of Energy4Sales.

Much of her success as a sales leader has come from nurturing a Wholistic Sales Mindset in her team. Instead of picking your favorite product or two and “pushing” them, we can learn about our entire suite of solutions as a business and engage in more wholistic sales calls.

Her Buddy System is the glue here as Whitney shares, “we can all learn something from everyone on the team”! Paring your more senior people with new team members is powerful!

Having a goal on your sales call and more importantly, being able to coach your team with a successful structure is game-changing!

Whitney gives us her BANT recipe:

- Budget - can they afford your solution?

- Authority - who are the decision makers?

- Need - understanding the pain point?

- Timeline - what’s the go-live date?

Pro Tip: the BANT recipe is GREAT for highlighting what your team logs into their CRM’s.

Whitney circles back to accountability being KEY to your team’s success! If any of these mindsets are going to stick and be nurtured, we must develop an accountable culture.

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

or LinkedIn group

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12539994

You can connect with Whitney here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneynlow

Todd joins David and Tim to discuss networking—getting back out there! It’s just like riding a bike, he shares, with an added measure of emotional intelligence.

People are ready to see you post-pandemic. Be courageous and bold enough to show up. Evolve your discovery, lead with empathy and have fun with it — be human. Mask if necessary, fist bump if still preferred, but whatever you do, show up!

Connect boldly, now.

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

Connect with Todd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddabowman/

Email:  [email protected]

David & Tim discuss having fun in sales! “Don’t count the days you live; make the days you live count!” We believe that if you’re NOT having fun in sales, you may be doing something wrong!

What does “fun” mean to you? We discuss enjoyment — did I enjoy today? Do I enjoy what I get to do? Do I enjoy working with the people I work with?

Fun isn’t mindless nor whimsical; fun is being comfortable in your own skin, ability to be yourself, laugh at yourself, not take things too seriously, try new things, enjoying connecting with new people and being enjoyable to be around.

Fun works best when leaders have a solid foundation (like our signature DAFT process) on which creativity can thrive! Avoid stifling individuality! You need everyone’s uniqueness to keep it fun!

“Absorb what is useful; reject what is useless; add what is essentially your own!” — Bruce Lee

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

Connect with Janelle here:

https ://www.linkedin.com/in/janelle-rosenbaum-79b4a34

We discuss how to keep our teams away from “coasting”. Times are great! Business is booming! It’s EASY to take our eye off the prize of leading indicators — prospecting, activities that generate opportunities, pipeline review and keeping urgency around what’s next.

Like Mike Weinberg’s RPA model, are the results there? Is the pipeline full? Are your activities consistent?

Celebrate the wins — absolutely! Now, what’s next? Leaders, over-communicate with your teams and find out where they need help, what their motivation is, etc.

Rhythm trumps sporadic activity and guards against burnout. Build rhythm by increasing accountability, safe places of discussion and coaching, and staying in the trenches with your team — keep them pointed!

Focus on leading indicators and celebrate those more than the “big wins”!

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

Our sales teams need empathetic leadership; our families do, too! Especially during this pandemic/post-pandemic era where lines between work and family easily become blurred to non-existent. David encourages Tim and listeners to go get on the floor with their kids! And in sales, avoid becoming too prestigious to go get in the trenches with your team! #GoThere Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

Connect with Thom : https://www.linkedin.com/in/thom-coats/

 

Middle Tennessee State University is dedicated to developing the “SOFT skills” in their business school students. Thom leads their dynamic sales lab program. No, they don’t have beakers cloning sales people. Thom describes it as more of a film-room in sports where you get to watch yourself play.

 

In your organization, when do your sales people practice & roleplay? Do you have a Film-Room?

 

Thom shares that everyone DOESN’T get a trophy – “there are no secrets in sales”!

 

He drops golden-nuggets in this show like:

 

-          “Don’t assume anyone else can tell your story like you can”.

-          Avoid “showing up and throwing up” by FOCUSING on END RESULT (not everyone CARES about all the details. ie: IT, CFO, CEO, etc., so know your audience).

-          If you don’t have a weekly 1:1 with your manager, go and ASK for it!

-          Use a CRM (Hubspot used in MTSU’s Sales Lab) – you’ve got to know your numbers.

-          Track your Sales Funnel!

-          Read “Productivity Zone” by Thom’s good friend John Boyens

 

Thom’s graduates are trained on the SPIN Selling Process (https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/the-4-steps-to-spin-selling) and able to adapt to any sales organization – this cuts down on turnover as they know how to success. Did you know installing rhythms of sales roundtables/practice/training will also cut down on turnover as ROCKSTAR sales professionals realize:

 

-          The attitude/culture of your organization is “I want to help you” not “I got you”,

-          You’re giving them the tools that empower them to do their job,

-          Metrics are agreed to, and everyone is held accountable (inspect what you expect),

-          You’ve created a safe environment – like a LAB – where learning doesn’t stop.

 

Note: executive training center at MTSU (Sales certificate for non-degree seeking sales pros):https://www.mtsu.edu/business/execed.php

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

Our TM is the essence of who we are and it’s felt — around our team and our clients! Are we abundant-minded teammates, or limited-minded “trouble makers”? Like Simon Sinek states, “The finite-minded player strives to climb to the top; but, the infinite-minded player strives to constantly improve”! Their is no “I” in team may sound cliché, but in fact, it’s a mantra worth living by! Raise your tide and ALL ships rise! Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/

Connect with Justin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justincookctgcoach/

As an Enneagram 9 (Peacemaker) Justin's LEANED INTO conflict. He shares the biggest room for improvement in most organizations is CONFLICT.

Often, we look at conflict as a bad thing instead of seeing it as the greatest area for growth.

Encourage people to LEAN INTO conflict. What causes the most conflict? Justin shares it's the emotions generated by the poor stories we tell. As leaders, we can take the story we're used to telling and tell a BETTER story! Negative conflict DRAINS team energy! Handle conflict well by having CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS and CREATING a SAFE PLACE to discuss and POINT people to the RIGHT people who can bring positive resolution.

How do you create a safe place? ASSUME POSITIVE INTENT!! Give the benefit of the doubt. This brings the defenses down.

Leadership skills to develop:

Mediation and listening.

How do you create a culture of positive conflict: RESPECT (shared language from top down), ACCOUNTABILITY and COMMITMENT!

How to be PROACTIVE in changing culture? Understand the neuroscience of change - the TENSION created. As leaders, we MUST be looking to "remove the springs (things that are in the way; spring back against the tension of forward motion). Hey, I just found a way to make your job easier … etc.

PRO tip: in this virtual workspace, body language (video) is important so you can SEE the springs. By using email over phone call you give up 50% of your communication power. Especially when tough subject matter.

Justin wraps us up with this gold nugget:

“BE AS SPECIFIC with your positive feedback as you are with your negative feedback.”

Join our sales group on Facebook for no-nonsense sales accountability: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Energy4Sales/