Learn from the top 1% of sales professionals in 5 minutes per week through the Elite Level Newsletter: https://www.elitelevel.co 🚀

You might be getting by with the basics, but if you want to achieve success in sales, you need to step it up a notch and do more… and continue to consciously grow yourself till your work becomes muscle memory. Hard work, passion, and resilience are unteachable traits you MUST possess to soar in the sales industry.

 Today’s episode of the Elite Level Podcast covers the importance of visualization, planning and execution in sales. On the show, we’re joined by Ashraf Mohamed, pro sales leader and the Vice President (Northern EMEA) at Lacework with over a decade and a half’s worth of experience in sales. 

Having trained and closely worked with several sales professionals to date, Ashraf has gathered why success comes to only those who put in the reps to continually grow… and not only grow, but grow enough to stay ahead in their game. This, he explains, is a lot like sports. While your knowledge is respected and incredibly valuable, it doesn’t help unless you apply it wherever and whenever necessary. As much as you should continuously learn and rope in new skills, you should also prove your mettle in sales. Practice what you’ve learned, apply it, and seek feedback. 

Any practice also requires planning. It’s what distinguishes the elite from the great in sales. Elite level professionals have a higher standard of the game plan and are always invested in improving it. They overdeliver, outperform, and go overboard to achieve (and outnumber) their targets. 

Another essential attribute of an elite performer is slowing down when conversing with the buyer. Figure out if your buyers already have a solution in mind and would love to execute it, or if their minds are fresh and they seek new strategies. When you slow down, you allow yourself the time to process the customer’s pain, needs, and challenges and can quantify both the negative and positive outcomes.

Sales is undoubtedly a numbers game. As a professional, your aim should be to consistently crush the existing benchmarks and set yours. 

 Whether you’re a fresh salesperson or a sales leader, the opportunities to grow are endless. As a sales leader, training and growing members of your team could mean you’re already giving yourself the chance to revisit, brush up, and improve your existing knowledge base. 

Want to learn more about how Ashraf is leveling up in the industry? Tune in to the conversation right away!

Key talking points:

●      Intensity, pace, and growth in sales

●      The importance of being coachable and learning from experts in sales

●      What it means to “slow down to speed up” in your sales journey

●      The importance of planning and execution in sales

 Meet The Guest!

Ashraf Mohamed is the Vice President (Northern EMEA) at Lacework, a cloud security solutions company. He has over a decade and a half’s worth of experience in sales, which he uses to grow organizations to unimaginable heights.

Connect with Ashraf 

●      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashraf-mohamed-7a66a0a/?originalSubdomain=uk

Learn from the top 1% of sales professionals in 5 minutes per week through the Elite Level Newsletter: https://www.elitelevel.co 🚀

Self-awareness is a critical component of any person's success. But do you know how specifically it helps in sales? 

In conversation today, we have Chris Hatfield, Founder and Coach at Sales Psyche, to discuss what it took for him to get into the mindset of a thriving salesperson. Chris dives deep into different mindset hacks to help you develop the sales muscle, combat anxiety, and boost conversion. 

Any success only begins when you work on your mindset. There are two pointers: a healthy mindset or positive self-talk and self-learning. You might have tens of people tell you what to learn and what not to learn, but unless you get your mind into it, achieving success is impossible. This links to your brain's natural phenomenon called cognitive restructuring, used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that primarily explores the underlying thought patterns of your brain. 

Elite level people are masters of self-reflection. They know what they're good at and what they're not. You might have noticed how the most successful people are also their biggest fans. But like anything else in life, reaching that level takes phenomenal effort. You face times of excessive burnout, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and things like that, and recentering yourself in those moments takes careful thought. You need to ask yourself, why is that happening? What's the root cause of the problem? There are so many variables in our lives every day that could affect our performance. You need to dig deeper and discover those things that affected your progress or profit on any given day.

The best bet? You might even realize that a little bit of anxiety is indeed good. It pushes you to observe better the things you should be improving on and help you build a workaround over them.

But to begin with, separate the controllable from the uncontrollable to effectively manage anxiety. By this, we mean identify those things you can control and those that you cannot control. Your brain doesn't know the difference between the past, the present, and the future. You need to do a brain dump occasionally to get your brain aligned with what you want and see the lessons in negative thoughts.

Today's conversation is packed with gems you cannot miss! Do not forget to tune in right away!

 Key Talking Points:

●      The importance of self-reflection

●      Why all anxiety isn’t bad anxiety

●      How to achieve financial stability in your life

●      The importance of working proactively and preventatively

 Meet The Guest!

Chris Hatfield is the Founder and Coach at Sales Psyche, the confidential 1:1 coaching & online blended training solution that works with sales teams, manager's and other commercial teams to support and develop their mental wellbeing, mindset & personal development.

Connect with Chris

●      LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/chrishatfieldsalespsyche

●      Website: https://www.salespsyche.co.uk/

Connect with Alex

●      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexalleyne/

●      Instagram: @elitelevelalex

Learn from the top 1% of sales professionals in 5 minutes per week through the Elite Level Newsletter: https://www.elitelevel.co 🚀

As companies reinvent their methods to engage with customers in the "new-normal" circumstances, the need for skilled sales professionals has sky-rocketed today.

But despite the demand, not many people decide to pursue the field. The reason? Severe lack of information or misinformation. The industry has undergone rapid transformation in the past few decades, and it would only be fair to look at it before deciding on anything.

If you're seeking a dose of inspiration and information about the relevance, potential, and demand of sales professionals, this episode is a definite treat. Today, on the Elite Level Podcast, Alex interviews Alanzo Blackstock, a pro sales leader passionate about delivering impeccable customer experiences and serving people using the power of modern sales. He discusses his tryst with sales in IT, getting started (and succeeding) in the industry, technology's ability to transform business sales, and the irreplaceable need to build authentic customer relationships.

 It's a popular misconception that sales are for extroverts alone. Even if it were fact decades ago (it certainly wasn't), it is not true now. As an introvert, Alanzo Blackstock has raked more profits than most others in the industry and continues to do so by leveraging his unique natural abilities. By studying the details of the industry and tapping your true skills, anybody can be a successful salesperson!

Modern sales is no longer about informing the customer about your product and convincing them to buy it as it used to be previously. Salespeople today need to know that their buyers would've already learned about the product, its features, and benefits and need only be convinced or guaranteed that it is the best for them. It takes a lot more than basic communication skills to get to this level, making sales refreshing and challenging both simultaneously. Hence, now more than ever, managers and sales leaders must engage in and encourage individual growth and development. The more informed you are about the industry, the higher you climb the sales ladder.

Listen to this episode as Alanzo Blackstock shares some impeccable advice to grow yourself from professional to the elite in sales.

Key Talking Points:

●      Working in a team vs working individually

●      The downsides of being a goal-oriented professional

●      The importance of self-awareness and an abundance mindset in sales

●      The need to build strong professional relationships as a salesperson

Meet The Guest!

Alonzo Blackstock's career extends over 30 years in the IT industry in various Sales and Channel Sales management roles. He joined the industry as a repair engineer, repairing modems and computers, and was a product engineer and project manager before becoming a sales leader.

Connect with Alonzo

●      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanzoblackstock/?originalSubdomain=uk

 Connect with Alex

●      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexalleyne/

●      Instagram + TikTok: @elitelevelalex

Learn from the top 1% of sales professionals in 5 minutes per week through the Elite Level Newsletter: https://www.elitelevel.co 🚀

How To Go From Elite Sales Leader To Hyper Growth Company Founder With Gautam Rishi 

How much of the entrepreneurial lifestyle constitutes glamor?

Entrepreneurship sounds fancy on the outside. The thrill of being your own boss, hiring people for your team, and progressing in steps is unbeatable. But it only holds relevance until you get out in the field and realize the immense patience, hard work, passion, and energy it takes to build a business that shines.

On the pilot episode of the Elite Level Podcast, Alex is joined by Gautam Rishi, CEO+ Founder of the highly-personalized prospecting product business, OneShot AI. Gautam has nearly two decades worth of experience in sales, growing up a sales representative to sales director and founding and leading a highly innovative team.

Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship didn't happen to Gautam on the get-go. Years of his experience working with and leading teams brought him closer to an incredibly scalable business idea and building a company with employees having the potential to take it further.

As Gautam shares, the stress as a salesperson or an entrepreneur is inevitable. It often takes years of patience, positive self-criticism, and learning to get closer to success and see your business gather momentum. Team-building is even tougher. A thoughtless decision could mean you hired someone unfit for the role you're looking to get occupied. It's also essential to hire employees who want to grow themselves in their journey with you. Stand your company on the principles of individual and organizational growth.

It's easy to get swayed by failures, especially when you're only getting into leadership roles. Unsurprisingly, the results might take time to surface, but who has ever said hard work doesn't pay off? 

If you wonder why you cannot climb up in the organizational hierarchy and get into leadership roles despite the efforts, maybe you want to communicate effectively with your managers. Be clear on how you can get to where you want to be.

Learn more about the entrepreneurial journey and leadership with Gautam Rishi -- check out the episode now!

Key talking points:

●      3 critical values that help you grow into an elite leader or entrepreneur

●      Why intrinsic employee motivation is necessary and why you need to search for that quality in them as a leader

●      Transitioning from an individual contributor to a leader

●      Transitioning from a sales leader to a business leader

Meet The Guest!

Gautam Rishi is the Co-Founder & CEO at OneShot.ai; an AI product-based company that leverages LinkedIn messaging to land better business prospects. Gautam has extensive experience as a sales leader and draws from his knowledge to continually grow his business.

Connect with Gautam

●      Website: https://www.oneshot.ai/

●      LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/grishi

 KW: business leader (also, business leadership)