Future-Proof Selling

John Smibert is one of the top sales thought leaders out there. He digs into the importance of deep discovery and how we need to hold back talking about our products, company and capabilities until the time is right. John challenges us all to go through the whole first meeting with a customer without talking about ourselves.

Offering insight to customers that drives positive business outcomes for THEM is critical to sales success today, John calls this process 'Selling via Positive Disruption,' and outlines five areas we need to master around this concept. John also shares real world examples and relevant stories that really drive the point home.

John is the founder of Sales Masterminds APAC, the head of the Strategic Selling Group plus the Sales Leadership Forum. Check out some of John's wonderful interviews with top sales leaders here, absolutely every important sales topic is covered.

http://strategicsellinggroup.com

Matt Macnamara is an impressive, hardworking frontline SDR who certainly knows how to prospect effectively. Matt employs many creative strategies to stand out to his prospective clients. Combining this with an ironclad commitment to daily activity, guarantees his outstanding prospecting success. Matt also has a mindset of becoming the 'Mayor' of his territory which is a very motivating concept.

If you'd like to improve your prospecting effectiveness you will surely get a lot out of this interview.

Also check out Matt on LinkedIn and his Youtube channel, a lot of insightful and engaging content here. You must watch 'Cold Calling Excuses', very funny.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmacnamara

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQB_2J-34GgbuHlKOm0buWA/videos

Andy Paul is one of the world's top sales thought leaders with 168,000 followers on LinkedIn. He is also an accomplished author of two well known sales books.

One of the big themes in Andy's work is "It's how you sell, not what you sell", so we delve into that topic in our discussion.

We also cover how groupthink permeates the sales profession with various concepts becoming fashionable but without the empirical data to support it. We discuss Discovery, and how it is an overlooked; but very critical part of the sale.

Matt Michalewicz has spent his whole working life in the AI field. He is a serial entrepreneur who is currently the founder and CEO of Complexica, an amazing Australian tech company at the cutting edge of AI solutions for the Sales function.

Matt shares what's going on in the world of AI in general, and then narrows in on how it can assist the sales function. Many companies are applying this technology already, and it's clear that we will all be following suit very soon - or risk being left behind.

The Complexica solution, called Larry, helps your salespeople visit the right customers at the right time, and assists them with the best talking points in order to improve your productivity. Sales reps (especially those with busy territories) just don't have the time to fully research every call manually. Larry does it all for you, and provides relevant advice directly to your tablet or phone.

Check out a video here that outlines the Complexica solution.

Pleased to have talked with Jim Beach in an interview discussing the seven steps to a Future Proof Sales Strategy and other key insights.

I'm interviewed by Brian G Burns on his popular sales podcast "The Brutal Truth About Sales and Selling Podcast."

I touch on how the sales function in B2B has been overlooked in many ways over the past decade. Considering the rise of the customer experience function and how much marketing has developed - sales hasn't had the same attention. Companies are finding it more and more difficult to differentiate themselves. A sustainable competitive advantage is now a very transient thing.

There are challenges in dealing with a numb customer who is bombarded with information - how do we get their attention and bring value. The no decision issue and the problem that companies are training their sales teams on products; but not about solving customers problems, engaging with them and asking the right questions.

We talk about the processes I apply when working with companies and sales leaders to overcome these challenges and more!

I thoroughly enjoyed being on the other end of the interview, thank you Brian, I hope all the listeners enjoy it also! Leave me your comments.

"No Decision" is one of the biggest problems that sales teams face today with 58% of deals ending up nowhere (SBI survey). We go into depth on this topic and how to address the problem in my podcast with Calum Kilgour and John Bissett from Slingshot Edge - a company that provides Weapons Grade Messaging for your Sellers & Marketers.

We also discuss methods for replicating your rockstar reps; you know that top 10-20% that generate most of your sales?...How do we get the other 60-70% to perform better?

Calum and John have garnered much attention in the sales world over the past year with their very creative videos on LinkedIn, they're absolutely worth checking out.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/calumkilgour

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-bissett-395b026

http://www.slingshotedge.com/

It was a pleasure to speak with Jeff Davis about the challenges between the B2B Sales & Marketing functions. Jeff is an expert in this area and has some great tips and solutions to help align everyone involved.

Please check out Jeff's fantastic work here:

A must listen for anyone selling high value or business-critical solutions. Do you and your team want to master the art of high-level executive selling? Here is a great place to start with advice from one of the best going around.

We all know we need executive buy-in for our proposals but what is the best way to go about it? What is the best way to get the attention of a CEO, CIO, CMO etc? How do we engage them most effectively? How should we manage the follow up actions?

The answers to all these questions and more in this in-depth interview with Mr. Steve Hall, Australia's leading C-Level Sales Authority. A must for all sellers of complex solutions.

Companies rarely understand the real reasons why they win and lose deals. Most analysis is conducted internally around the meeting table where inherent bias and guesswork rule. Cian McLoughlin shares with us the benefits of doing thorough and independent Win-Loss analysis and how to get the real Customer's Voice. Getting this right can really help sales leaders make changes to their approach, and prioritise development areas for their sales team.

Cian McLoughlin is the author of Rebirth Of A Salesman, and founder of Trinity Perspectives, a sales consulting firm specialising in Win-Loss Analysis.