Sales Reinvented

Today’s guest, Lisa Leitch, believes that proactive prospecting is key to productivity as a salesperson. It takes discipline, rigor, and drive to achieve results. It’s important to learn to be efficient and get into a rhythm. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Lisa shares her take on productivity and a few key strategies that can help you become a more productive sales professional.

Lisa is the President and Sales Strategist of Teneo Results. She’s been a sales and training coach for over 15 years and worked with thousands of salespeople in over 250 different companies. Her mantra is “Be strategic. Be Proactive. Be Brave”. She brings years of experience in the sales world to this episode—don’t miss it!

Outline of This Episode

• [0:53] Lisa’s definition of productivity and its importance
• [1:56] Why aren’t salespeople as productive as they could be?
• [2:58] Steps to improve day-to-day productivity?
• [4:30] What are the attributes of a productive salesperson?
• [6:10] Lisa’s foolproof strategies to improve productivity
• [11:58] Lisa’s favorite productivity story

Don’t get stuck in the day-to-day

According to Lisa, being in the sales industry requires rigor and determination. You need to achieve results—and discipline and rigor are what get you there. But in the sales world, no two days are the same. It puts you at a disadvantage because it’s difficult to get into a rhythm and be efficient. 

Instead of focusing on improving day-to-day productivity, Lisa proposes setting 3-year goals. Where do you and your team want to be in 3 years? You can then break those goals down into yearly, quarterly, and weekly goals. You dissect those weekly goals into 7-day tasks. It’s about having a long-term vision for success and being future-focused. 

Be clear on your ideal clients

Salespeople are often so focused on making sales and creating revenue that they lose sight of their ideal prospects. It’s not all about getting a yes—sometimes it’s about saying no. You must walk away from clients who won’t help you yield results or who you know will be high-maintenance. 

If you have clarity on your ideal client it helps you focus your prospecting. It helps you attract and do business with the right people, where you can help them grow their business. One strategy you can use is to refer clients who aren’t a good fit to other people who “serve those types of clients better”. In that way, it’s not a hard no, but the offering of a better fit.

The concept of Proactive Prospecting

A strategy that Lisa has found greatly improves her productivity is Proactive Prospecting. Salespeople always want to be growing their business and keeping their pipelines full. Lisa blocks time to prospect, reach out to existing clients, schedule meetings, and more. She points out that to grow the business you need to move the needle on your dashboard. 

Lisa blocks Thursday mornings from 7:30 am to 8:55 am. She has found that this is the most productive time to be prospecting. You catch VP’s of sales (or other senior leaders) in their offices before their 9 am meetings. They’re also more likely to respond to an email or answer their phones. She sets a goal to make at least 10 phone calls in that time slot. 

Another strategy that Lisa finds simple but effective is the “Double Whammy”. People are more likely to use email, but it is easy to accidentally delete a message. If that’s your preferred method of reaching out she recommends following up with a 2nd point of contact with a different medium such as call, text, or message on LinkedIn.

Lisa’s tips to keep you efficient

Lisa points out that if you’re trying to be more efficient you need to maximize your time. If you’re traveling to a meeting with a client, always look for a 2nd client to meet with. She also recommends shutting off your email notifier. It’s an unnecessary distraction and your messages are likely not urgent. 

Above all, don’t be a transactional seller. Do your best to answer client questions and respond to whatever they need, but focus on being consultative. When you focus on building relationships with your clients and understand their needs you can provide solutions to their challenges—and be more productive.

Resources & People Mentioned

• Asana

Connect with Lisa Leitch

• Lisa on LinkedIn
• Lisa’s Twitter
• Teneo Results

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Mark Hunter believes that productivity is best defined by the incremental value you provide customers as you help them achieve outcomes. It isn’t about being busy or crossing items off of a to-do list. It is about providing value. What does that look like? How does a salesperson accomplish it? Learn more in this episode of SaleReinvented!

Mark—known as the ‘Sales Hunter’—is arguably one of the greatest minds in the world of sales. He is an accomplished speaker, consultant, and author of multiple best-selling books. With an astounding 30+ years of sales leadership experience, he repeatedly helps companies find and retain better prospects. Paul picks his brain in this episode—don’t miss it!

Outline of This Episode

• [0:57] What does productivity mean to Mark?
• [1:51] Why is productivity important?
• [2:41] Why aren’t sales professionals productive? 
• [3:59] How to improve day-to-day productivity
• [5:40] The mindset of a productive salesperson
• [7:50] Productivity hacks that Mark embraces
• [11:12] Top 3 productivity dos and don’ts
• [13:33] A productivity challenge that Mark has faced

Where you spend your time is determined by the outcomes you desire for your customer

Mark is adamant that you cannot get hung-up on a to-do list. Instead, you must determine the desired outcome for your day and client. Once you have the outcome nailed down, you backfill the activities that will fill your day. In this way, you are more focused and not distracted by your list. 

He recommends staying on task by preparing for each day the night before. He writes down exactly what he hopes to accomplish so that he doesn’t spend an hour of his morning ‘dinking around’ figuring out what his day will look like. 

Mark points out that any professional athlete goes into their game with a game plan in place to win. They have a clear vision in mind. Sales professionals need to view themselves in the same way—as professionals with clear goals and outcomes in mind. 

A productive salesperson has the right mindset 

Mark states that you cannot “Allow other people to define your level of success—only YOU can define your level of success”. He often sees salespeople get discouraged because their performance doesn’t measure up to someone else’s. His message is clear: you must stop defining your success by someone else’s accomplishments. Instead, measure yourself against yourself. 

If you start each day with the mindset of an optimist, you’ll start to notice the incredible amount of opportunities available to you. You just have to be ready, open, and conditioned to recognize them. Mark starts every activity with the desire to influence whoever it is he’s dealing with, create impact for each party—and exit a better person.

Throw your to-do list in the garbage

Instead of relying on a to-do list, Mark lives by time-blocking. Once you have your desired outcome nailed down, block time in your schedule for each activity that advances you towards that outcome. When you define your time, you stop allowing the work to expand and overtake your time. YOU compact the work into the time you’ve made available for it. 

Mark is ruthless with his calendar, and other top-performers such as Richard Branson and Mark Cuban do the same. 

His second sage piece of advice is to do your most difficult task first thing in the morning. In his words, “The mountains are never high as you think and the lows are never as low as you anticipated”. Whatever you may be dreading won’t ever be as bad as you anticipate!

Mark believes you must think and process in the long-term but live in the moment. Following that reasoning, he states that everyone NEEDS a 25-year goal. If you don’t set long-term goals, “You go through life reacting to things, not acting to create them”. 

Marks tips and strategies to stay productive 

Mark operates by the adage that ‘tomorrow begins today’. So what are the things he recommends doing to get a head start? How do you continue being productive?

• Build a list of outcomes and block your time accordingly. 
• Celebrate success at the end of every day. 
• Don’t start your day looking at emails—block them into your schedule. 
• Avoid starting your day on Social Media. It can be critical to sales (but also a complete time-suck). Set a timer and move on when your time is up. 
• Remember you don’t have to do it all. Delegate tasks and activities whenever you can. 

Lastly, Mark wants you to recognize that there will be times when you fail. He points out that every great baseball player strikes out more than they get to 1st base—but they’re still millionaires. 

Don’t kick yourself when you don’t get something accomplished. Stay positive and remember to focus on celebrating the good that has happened—because only YOU can motivate yourself. To hear the rest of Mark’s take on productivity and what you can do to achieve better outcomes for your clients, listen to the whole episode! 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Book: Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy
• Book: A Mind For Sales by Mark Hunter
• Book: High-Profit Selling by Mark Hunter
• Book: High-Profit Prospecting by Mark Hunter

Connect with Mark Hunter

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Mark’s website

Connect With Paul Watts

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Is your definition of productivity truly working for you? Are you stuck in an endless loop of activities? If you’re treading water and seem incapable of completing the sales activities you need to, it’s time to redefine what productivity means to you. Jeff Bajorek joins Paul in this episode of Sales Reinvented to help you rethink how you view productivity.

Jeff is a sales improvement consultant specializing in the B2B space. He’s co-host of ‘The Why And The Buy’ podcast and author of ‘Rethink The Way You Sell: The Five Forgotten Fundamentals of Prospecting’. In this episode he’ll share his thoughts on productivity, his top 3 do’s and don’ts, and what you should do to become more productive. 

Outline of This Episode

• [0:54] What does Jeff Bajorek think productivity is?
• [1:54] Why is productivity so important in sales?
• [3:23] How do you increase your productivity?
• [7:16] The tools Jeff finds effective
• [9:18] Jeff’s top 3 dos and top 3 don’ts
• [12:07] Jeff’s favorite productivity story

The definition of productivity is anything you want it to be 

Jeff points out that productivity is getting enough stuff done—and YOU get to decide what ‘enough’ is. Once you’ve defined what productivity looks like for you, you can implement systems and structures to knock things out. It gives you the freedom to implement what systems work best for you.

According to Jeff, you must be informed, intentional, and purposeful. Define how you’re going to be productive and then commit to it to reach your sales goals. He notes that many salespeople get stuck in “analysis paralysis”. They’re so hyper-focused on what needs to be done that the ‘how’ gets lost. 

Instead of getting lost in analysis paralysis, Jeff recommends deciding ahead of time what the important activities are. Avoid distractions and non-sales activities and follow the 4 steps of the sales cycle:  

1. Identify who you can help
2. Get their attention
3. Communicate your value
4. Get them to commit to the process

Whatever you do needs to lead to the advancement of those 4 activities. 

The attributes of a productive sales professional 

According to Jeff, the #1 attribute of a sales professional NEEDS to be the ability to be disciplined. Once you’ve identified what’s important, you must have the discipline to carry through on those tasks—especially when you don’t want to. For Jeff, this meant completing sales calls reports. He hated them but believes doing them made him more effective.

You must also be open-minded. While Jeff believes many of the tech tools available have the uncanny ability to get in the way, you must be able to evaluate and embrace them if they’ll make you more efficient. You have to be able to learn new tricks as an old dog. 

Lastly, Jeff points out that you must be humble. Be willing to admit you don’t know it all—and keep learning. 

Don’t be afraid to say NO

Jeff shares his ‘top 3 productivity do’s and top 3 don’ts’ and one concept that struck Paul was learning how to say no. To be productive you must prioritize and schedule what needs to be done. Everything else can be squeezed in around it. However, if you’re taking on too many activities and trying to fly by the seat of your pants you will struggle to hit your numbers. 

Don’t give yourself too much credit—don’t take on more than you can handle. Everyone is guilty of it at one time or another. You must learn to underpromise and over-deliver. Say yes to the activities that are important and don’t be afraid to say no. Jeff embraces careful consideration when he makes decisions, citing “Every time you’re saying YES you’re saying NO to something else”. 

Rethinking the process of productivity

When Jeff left a previous job, he wanted to implement some things that he had learned over his time there but were considered “risky”. He took a good hard look at his calendar and implemented a new system based on his research. He took the activities he knew moved the sales process along and got himself in front of prospects. He made sure his value proposition was clear and asked people to take the next step with him every single meeting.  

He changed the focus of his days and made sure every activity he completed was worth doing (and measurable). What he found was that he was able to cut down time spent working to ⅓ of what it was previously—but he tripled his sales activities. He had a 9x return on results to activity. It changed his productivity and his personal life. According to his wife, he became less stressed and more like himself. 

He points out that you must always ask yourself: “Are you spending enough time, doing enough of the right things, to get enough done?”. To hear the full conversation, be sure to listen to the whole episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Todoist
• Evernote
• Book: Rethink The Way You Sell
• The Why And The Buy podcast

Connect with Jeff Bajorek

• Jeff on LinkedIn
• Jeff on Twitter
• JeffBajorek.com

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

If you learn to define and prioritize high-value activities you will become a more productive sales professional. If you know what activities hold the highest value and act on those over lower-value activities you set yourself up for success. We have finite reserves—you get to choose where you invest your time, energy, motivation and discipline.

Amy Franko joins Paul in this episode of Sales Reinvented to chat about how she prioritizes her time to be successful in sales. Amy specializes in working with B2B organizations on sales effectiveness. She is a trainer and consultant, keynote speaker, and author of The Modern Seller. 

Outline of This Episode

• [0:46] What is productivity?
• [1:50] What makes us unproductive
• [2:51] Improving productivity
• [4:13] Attributes of a great salesperson
• [5:07] Productivity Tools and tips
• [6:30] Top 3 dos and top 3 don'ts
• [11:34] Amy’s favorite productivity story

Learn to say ‘no’ to prioritize high-value activities

Amy points out that salespeople often have a huge list of sales activities to tackle. They’re often given the added burden of administrative tasks that they don’t need on their plates. This automatically lowers your ability to focus on high-value tasks. You must define what activity only you can do so you can delegate—or drop altogether—what isn’t a priority. Where are you going to devote your resources? What can you say no to?

How do you become a more productive salesperson?

A good sales professional knows the difference between just staying busy versus being productive. They are decisive about where they spend their time. Amy says you need to learn to focus on the big picture. Look at your week and set 3 goals—the high-value activities that will bring you forward progress.

Likewise, she does the same thing daily: she prioritizes 3 things to get accomplished. If you start with a list of 10+ activities, you will never get anything done. But if you narrow your focus and knock out the most important things, it can leave room to knock out whatever’s left. 

They time-block what’s important to stay organized. She recommends using a timer for each activity. It frees up your mind to focus on the task-at-hand instead of watching the clock. When the alarm goes off, you can re-evaluate where you’re at and either devote more time or move on to the next task. 

Amy also loves using agendas to stay on track with meetings. Lastly, she likes to keep it old-school and use a paper list to track what she’s focusing on in a particular day. 

Amy’s top 3 Productivity Do’s and Don’ts

What are some things you should—or shouldn’t—do to enhance productivity?

• You must decide that your time is something you want to invest—not spend. 
• Design an environment that supports your productivity. Amy invested in a co-working space for when she needs to focus and knock out projects. Her home office brought too many distractions, so she came up with a better plan!
• Block your professional time AND your personal time in a way that works for you. 
• Don’t say yes to every opportunity, but take time to decide if it’s right for you.
• Don’t procrastinate on follow-up—do as many of those tasks while they’re fresh in your mind. 
• Don’t forget to bring an agenda to your meetings with clients. You’ll be far more productive.

These are just a few of the things that Amy has found are imperative to her success that is easy for anyone to implement. 

What Amy learned launching her book: The Modern Seller

Writing a book is a huge undertaking. You aren’t just writing—you’re creating content, dealing with publishing, as well as marketing. Complex projects have a lot of moving parts, and Amy learned some valuable things that she wanted to share:

1. To do something meaningful, she had to make trade-offs on other activities. She had to invest her time wisely to accomplish her dream of publishing a book. 
2. She invested in an accountability partner. Amy hired a book coach and did a weekly call with her. Knowing she had to give her an update kept her on task and moving forward. 
3. Big things are never accomplished alone. You need a support team so that you can focus on what your strengths are and the high-value activities that produce revenue. 

Amy is full of useful tips and tricks that she’s learned throughout the years. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from one of the best and listen to the whole episode of Sales Reinvented!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Leff Bonney
• Todoist
• The Modern Seller by Amy Franko

Connect with Amy Franko

• Amy’s website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Revenue = frequency x competency is one way that Chad Burmeister measures productivity. You have to be able to do more in a shorter period of time—you must increase your frequency. Over time, as you gain experience and focus on frequency, your competency will grow. This increases productivity and therefore increase revenue. Chad and Paul discuss this topic in-depth in this episode of Sales Reinvented.

Chad is the founder and CEO of ScaleX.ai—ScaleX leverages artificial intelligence and sales automation to automate up to 75% of sales reps tasks so that they can focus on higher-value work. He is the author of multiple Sales Hack books and a recently published book about AI for sales. Chad is passionate about helping sales professionals crush their quotas and increase revenue.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:57] Chad Burmeister’s definition of productivity
• [2:55] The reality of effective sales professionals
• [4:48] Steps to balance the equation
• [9:10] Attributes of a great salesperson
• [11:30] Chad’s favorite productivity tools
• [19:17] A story you can learn from 

Are salespeople really less productive? 

The prevailing statistic is that approximately 50% of sales professionals are hitting their quotas. Chad believes this isn’t accurate. He points out that finance departments are usually the ones setting the quotas for sales professionals to reach. Have they set the bar too high? Are they setting unrealistic expectations?

Chad points out that it takes ⅔ the amount of people to drive 1 billion in revenue compared to 5 years ago. They are actually ⅓ more productive! There are technologies in place that helps salespeople become more efficient and effective. In the long run, he doesn’t think sales pros are less productive—he thinks unrealistic quotas are manipulating the numbers.

Improving productivity is still possible

While Chad believes the bar is being set too high for quotas, there is always room for improving the productivity of a salesperson. He states that the average seller executes 50-60 sales activities per day—but that baseline can be improved. 

There is a lot of noise in selling. So much so that in the last two years alone, it now takes 10x more sales touches to book a meeting. To increase revenue, you need frequent meetings to make a sale. How can that be done?

Chad points out that email marketing is proving to be ineffective, with an average response rate of 0.5-3%. Social selling fares much better, with an 8-12% engagement rate. Ultimately, he believes phone calls are having a resurgence and is still one of the most effective ways to connect with your prospect. 

Getting on the phone with your prospect is the hardest part. This is where Chad recommends agent-assisted dialing. You initiate the dial, and a combination of software and human intervention navigates you to the person you need to connect with. Keep listening to find out why Chad believes this helps increase productivity. 

What attributes make a productive salesperson? 

According to Chad, a high-achieving salesperson has to perform at a better level than anyone else. He shares a story about an athlete who made Presidents Club three years in a row. He was a football player used to being pushed to do better and be better than the competition. He took that mindset into his sales position and blew his sales team out of the park. 

He did so by learning tricks and tactics that set him apart from the competition—and didn’t share them with anyone else. One of the tools he used was agent-assisted dialing. He would come to the office early and initiate calls on the East Coast and drive 1,000 calls to someone else's 100. 

Chad points out a simple tip to live by: know the metrics of your team and focus on increasing your frequency. Statistically speaking, more phone calls equals more conversations. And as you increase your conversations, your competency soars. Your revenue should increase. But it all starts with a willingness to do more than everyone else. 

Revenue = Frequency x Competency: Tools that help you balance the equation 

Chad is a firm believer that you must embrace the technology available to you and leverage it in a way that benefits you. It’s a given that everyone should have a good CRM. But what else does he think you need?

1. LinkedIn Navigator: 90% of companies use this tool, and it should be 100%. It helps you build and nurture customer relationships on LinkedIn. 
2. Agent-Assisted Dialing: Getting someone on the phone can be a monotonous process. Making calls that an $8 an hour worker could do is wasting your time, so he recommends outsourcing it. 
3. BDR.ai (or another similar program): Something that executes social sales activities to allow you to focus elsewhere.
4. Calendly or Chili Piper: Gone are the days of emailing back and forth to lock down a meeting. These tools simplify the process of connecting with your prospect. 
5. FlowEngine.ai or Get The Lead: help find leads, ranks who you should reach out to, and even helps you gauge what to say to the leads. 

Chad is passionate about what he does. To get the most out of his expertise and hear in detail how he operates, listen to the whole episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Rob Jeppsen on LinkedIn
• Skip Miller on LinkedIn
• Topo
• The Bridge Group
• Bregal Sagemount
• Vengreso
• Dux-Soup
• LinkedIn Helper
• BDR.ai
• Flow Engine
• Get The Lead
• Calendly
• Chili Piper
• AI for Sales by Chad Burmeister
• How to Get a Meeting with Anyone by Stu Heinecke
• I Want to Be in Sales When I Grow Up! By John Barrows

Connect with Chad Burmeister

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

A salesperson needs to utilize behavioral intelligence to be effective. What does that look like? It’s about leveraging your skills and abilities to follow through and accomplish goals. This is imperative to your success as a sales professional. Mary Grothe joins Paul to discuss productivity and how behavioral intelligence—and your behavioral quotient—impacts your ability to make sales. Don’t miss this engaging episode of Sales Reinvented!

Mary Grothe started her career with a Fortune 1000 company in an administrative role. She quickly excelled and demonstrated the necessary skills to transition into a sales position. Since then, she’s sold millions in revenue. She is the CEO and Founder of Sales BQ®, a firm geared towards helping businesses rebuild sales and marketing departments to achieve growth and increase revenue. 

Outline of This Episode

• [1:08] Mary Grothe’s take on sales productivity
• [2:21] Why aren’t salespeople productive?
• [4:40] Improve day-to-day productivity
• [6:30] Attributes a salesperson should have
• [7:40] Tools, tactics, and strategies
• [9:30] Top 3 dos and top 3 don’ts
• [12:10] Mary’s greatest productivity story

A productive salesperson must learn to master the “in-between”

Mary points out that most salespeople are highly intelligent. They are product ninjas who know their marketplace and their competition. They excel at engaging with prospects and making them feel understood. To be productive, they must show up and do the work, day-in and day-out. They tend to excel at the core tasks of their position.

To Mary, being productive in all of these areas is important—but you must master the in-between. In-between phone calls and meetings, where is your time being spent? You must be smart and effective with every minute of your day and not let little things fall through the cracks. If a salesperson doesn’t excel at something, it’s easy for them to only focus their attention on their strengths. How is that remedied? Keep listening to find out!

Salespeople need structure to stay on-task

Mary states that some organizations are a “hot mess” and don’t have a good infrastructure in place to set their salespeople up for success. A good CRM, automation, technology, and a playbook are essential. Structure, guidance, and a constant feedback loop are imperative. If there isn’t a good framework in place, they won’t be productive—it’s that simple.

She’s also noticed that many salespeople aren’t detail-oriented. It’s not in their nature. If they aren’t held accountable through every step of the process, they’ll find activities to spend their time on that they find fulfilling. That is why it is of the utmost importance to have a guidebook and system in place. 

Organization and planning make a world of difference

Mary is naturally a very organized person (which she’s found is a HUGE indicator of success). It’s so easy to be overwhelmed by emails or distracted by social media. What starts as an essential tool can hinder your progress. She knows you must teach sales professionals how to prioritize their days so they enter the office with a game plan—not just winging it. 

The most productive people have a plan and know where every single minute of their day is going.It is a game-changer. When Mary first started in sales, she was the first person showing up at the office to knock out administrative work. She would leave for her day of scheduled appointments when most of her coworkers were just showing up. 

Mary became an accomplished salesperson because she was disciplined, organized, and planned her day in advance. She would map out her day the evening before and visually gauge where she was going and what she needed to do the next day to be on par with her goals. 

The behavioral quotient of behavioral Intelligence 

Mary defines the behavioral quotient as the “conscious decision to show up and perform every day at the highest ability”. It is changing your mental mindset so that being mediocre is never an option. Instead, you must have a winning mindset. There is no plan B, and a misstep is equal to lost revenue. 

Your mental mindset triggers feelings that dictate actions and yield results.

You must change how you think, how you feel, and how you act to change how you perform. She notes it’s amazing how these changes will impact your results and make you a more productive salesperson. 

Mary was willing to do whatever it took (ethically) to find success in her position and strives to help other businesses do the same. To hear her top 3 productivity do’s and don’ts and other tips for success, be sure to listen to the entire episode of Sales Reinvented!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Sales BQ®

Connect with Mary Grothe

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Goal alignment in business can be a powerful tool. It’s not only a tool—but a necessity. Are the different departments working in unison? Are you part of a sales team at war with the marketing team? If you’re ready to become more productive and ready to find ways to align with the goals of the company, listen to this episode now!

Christopher Ryan joins Paul to share his experience with goal alignment and how it was the key to his success. He is the CEO, founder, and Revenue Growth Catalyst and Execution Expert at Fusion Marketing partners. He is an expert in B2B marketing and helping businesses grow their revenue. 

Outline of This Episode

• [1:00] Christopher Ryan shares what productivity means to him
• [1:55] Why aren’t salespeople effective?
• [4:55] What are the attributes of a productive salesperson?
• [7:20] Tools, strategies, and tactics
• [10:05] Top 3 productivity do’s and top 3 don’ts
• [14:30] Christopher’s favorite productivity story

Knowledge and a desire to serve will set you apart

A productive salesperson also needs to master their niche. They should have deep product and domain knowledge. They know how to bring information and resources to the table that a competitor can’t match. 

A sales representative doesn’t need to be aggressive. In fact, Christopher points out that the best sales professionals have a desire to serve. They are people who really want to help, not just make a sale. They’ve mastered the art of friendly persistence and the ability to sell without offending the prospect.

Above all else, they recognize that their prospects are human beings. Human beings who aren’t looking for a transaction, but a relationship, a rapport. Successful salespeople have pleasing personalities—they want their prospects to feel happy and confident with the relationship.

Christopher’s favorite tools + tactics

Christopher shares his top 4 solutions for helping a sales professional stay productive. What are they?

1. Use a CRM system: It helps keep you organized. It is a tool to help capture everything you’re trying to keep in your head. 
2. Use a calendar tool: Christopher recommends Calendly or any tool that makes it easy for prospects to book time with you.
3. Content Management System (CMS): What resources do you need at certain points in the sales cycle to facilitate the process of selling? Organize it here. 
4. Find a content curation system: gather information so you understand what’s being talked about and what will help your prospects.

Christopher’s top 3 productivity do’s and don’ts

Christopher brought so much value in this episode and shared some of his best productivity hacks. These are the top 3 things he believes you must do:

1. Understand and promote a unique brand promise. If you are different, unique, and offer something of value your product is set apart. 
2. Work closely with your marketing division. You must agree on a process and recognize you’re on the same team. 
3. Plug revenue leakages. What leads weren’t followed up on? Was something handled outside of the system? Make the process easier. 

What things shouldn’t you do?

1. Don’t waste valuable time with unqualified prospects. Make sure you’re talking to the right people.
2. Don’t do your own lead qualification. Allow your sales development team to handle this part of the process.
3. Never stay in an unpleasant or hostile business. Don’t be afraid to leave. Happy and healthy employees produce the best results. 

Why goal alignment is so important

Christopher was the VP of marketing at a software company. The business didn’t have good processes in place. Sales reps were unhappy—and unproductive. With full permission, he met with his sales counterpart. They worked together to establish joint goals, defined what a qualified lead was, and implemented a nurturing process. 

The aligned their vision and goals. It changed everything.

The cost to acquire a lead dropped from $150 to $65. They went from less than 50% lead follow-up to over 90%. Lead leakage was lowered to less than 10%. That is the power of discipline and goal alignment. 

Christopher confidently stated, “If you put your minds together and look forward in the same direction, and have joint goals, you can do anything”. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Calendly
• James Obermayer
• Lori Richardson

Connect with Christopher Ryan

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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Critical thinking skills are an imperative attribute if you want to become a productive and successful salesperson. Why are they important? What does a productive salesperson look like? Today’s guest, Deb Calvert, answers these questions—and more—in this episode of Sales Reinvented.

Deb has been in the sales industry for 15 years and is the President of People First Productivity Solutions. Their goal is to build organizational strength by putting people first. She is a certified executive coach, author, and one of the most influential women in the world of business. Listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented for her unique insight and knowledge of the industry!

Outline of This Episode

• [0:20] Deb Calvert joins Paul in this episode!
• [1:03] What is productivity?
• [2:00] Why aren’t salespeople productive?
• [3:15] How to improve day-to-day effectiveness
• [4:35] Attributes that make a productive salesperson
• [6:05] Tools and strategies to increase productivity 
• [8:40] Top 3 Do’s and top 3 don'ts
• [11:00] Deb’s favorite productivity story

E = O (Effort equals Opportunity)

Productivity is about the ability to generate, create, and complete goals and it must lead to revenue production. Being a productive salesperson also means producing new ideas and creating relationships. If you aren’t able to produce the desired results, then you are not reaching your potential as a salesperson. 

Being productive isn’t just being busy—it’s about being effective and driving a result. 

Deb’s #1 rule of selling is E = O, in other words: “the amount of effort you put into any activity should be directly proportionate to the opportunity associated with that activity.'' She points out that the “big fish” should get more of your attention than the minnow. Deb notes that you need to be mindful of what you spend your time on and be sure it’s proportional to the effort you put in.

Delegate and automate whatever isn’t essential

Deb iterates that you must change your mindset. You can’t be stuck in the dark ages and refuse to use the technology available to you. Likewise, you must delegate whatever is not essential to the act of selling. Don’t fall trap to the mentality that only you can do something right—train others to take over non-essential responsibilities. 

Be willing to set up software and applications that liberate your time. Save that precious time and utilize it only for activities that produce sales. For example, Deb embraces ‘Calendly’ to manage her schedule. She opens up time in a schedule that she has blocked for appointments, and allows her prospects to schedule at a time convenient to them. This saves her the hassle of emailing back and forth to nail down a time.

Why critical thinking skills are essential 

The #1 attribute that Deb believes a productive salesperson must have is critical thinking. You have to be able to make smart and calculated decisions about where to spend your time and energy. The ability to think critically gives you the power to cut through the noise and distractions. It allows you to be more discerning. 

Deb is always looking for more effective ways to carry out tasks. If you have the necessary critical thinking skills required you’ll be able to discern what moves you need to take. Listen to the whole episode—Deb suggests some resources to hone your critical thinking skills that you won’t want to miss!

Deb’s top productivity tips

Deb has some favorite tools and strategies that she was kind enough to share: 

• Crystal Knows: this is a personality profiling assessment tool that you can use to look at someone’s LinkedIn and other social media profiles (anything available on the internet) and gives you a snapshot of their personality. This can help you gauge whether or not to be more direct with someone, how to communicate, and so forth. 
• Stop multitasking & start time-blocking: Deb points out that less than 3% of people can do quality work shifting between tasks. Instead, block similar activities or tasks together and focus on them until they’re completed.
• Work on what you don’t like: a little bit of front-end preparation and knocking out the hard things first allows you to focus on the goals that you’re reaching. 
• Experiment and find what works for you: there are so many strategies out there. Deb notes that you can’t be afraid to play around with different suggestions and find what works best for you—then stick with it.

To hear Deb’s favorite productivity story and other resources she shares, listen to this episode now!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Crystal
• People First Productivity Solutions on YouTube
• The Sales Experts Channel

Connect with Deb Calvert

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Bill McCormick has learned to leverage LinkedIn lead generation in a way that is both productive and efficient. In a world where it’s easy to get lost in social media and get distracted by shiny things, how does he stay focused? How does he use LinkedIn as a social selling tool and not a hindrance? Find out in this episode of Sales Reinvented!

Bill McCormick and his wife launched their Digital Sales Course in 2017—geared towards helping businesses leverage LinkedIn to build relationships. Now, he is the VP and LinkedIn Strategist for Social Sales Link. He’s become a master of social selling tactics. He joins Paul to lend his expertise. Don’t miss it!

Outline of This Episode

• [0:20] Bill McCormick joins Paul!
• [1:10] What is productivity?
• [1:45] Why aren’t sales professionals productive?
• [3:40] Steps to improve day-to-day productivity
• [5:30] Attributes of a productive salesperson
• [6:40] Tools, tactics, and strategies to increase productivity
• [9:00] Top 3 Do’s and Top 3 Don’ts
• [11:50] Bill’s favorite productivity story

A lack of productivity is akin to being busy and broke

According to Bill, “We need to put systems in place to be consistent with activities that will lead to desired outcomes”. If you’re a sales professional, that means making sales, signing contracts, and having money in your pocket. If you aren’t doing those things, you’re the equivalent of busy and broke. 

Bill points out that there are more productivity tools available than ever before, but unless you use them properly, they just become further distractions. So how do you refocus? How do you make the switch from doing busywork to engaging in productive work?

Improve day-to-day productivity by implementing systems

Bill’s answer is to implement systems to obtain sales goals. He quoted James Clear, saying that “We don’t rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems”. Salespeople are good at setting lofty goals, but productivity will suffer if they don’t have steps in place to reach those goals. 

For example, Bill shares some tips from his daily morning routine. His job is selling social selling to other companies (his speciality is LinkedIn). So every day he checks his LinkedIn notifications. He looks to see who looked at his profile or interacted with his content. He makes connections, all the while keeping his end goal in mind. 

You must have boldness, persistence, and tenacity to be a productive and effective sales professional. Bill points out that without those attributes, you’ll make it a nanosecond in the sales world. 

The largest enemy of a sales professional is inconsistency

Bill further breaks down his systems strategy by setting daily goals that you carry out consistently. You need to get into a rhythm, a cadence. Above all, he points out you shouldn’t wing it. Don’t start your day saying, “Hmm, maybe I’ll do this today”. Write down the goals you want to achieve that day and break them down into manageable chunks.

Bill prefers to set timers for various activities so he devotes a set amount of time for each thing without getting distracted. He does the same things consistently, day in and day out. 

Always ask the question, “What system can I put in place to reach my daily goals?”.

Do you do cold-calling? Do you have a system in place to obtain phone numbers and contacts? How will you make those calls? If you nail down each step of your process and create a system, you will become more productive. 

Leveraging lead generation on LinkedIn

It’s no secret that Bill is passionate about LinkedIn, after all—he’s made a career of it. When he and his wife first launched their business, they were looking for the best way to get in front of decision-makers. What Bill found was that Linked in was like having someone’s Rolodex. An endless list of connections, online, completely free.

They started making connections and reaching out to businesses on LinkedIn. 30-35% of those communications led to an appt. Of that percentage, they closed 30-40% of those meetings. Bill calculated last year that approximately $450,000 of their closed sales were leads generated on LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn was the key to their success. It can be your greatest productivity tool with the right systems and cadence in place. To hear their full conversation, make sure to listen to the whole episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• LinkedIn

Connect with Bill McCormick

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Cultivating personal productivity is something that takes practice and persistence. You must be disciplined and have the drive it takes to reach your goals. How do you learn where to focus your energy? What activities and processes should be front and center? Dionne Mischler joins Paul in this episode of Sales Reinvented to share her opinion on productivity. 

Dionne is the founder and CEO of Inside Sales by Design and specializes in helping clients achieve their goals. She is passionate about sales and driving results and outcomes. With over two decades of sales experience, her insight is a welcome addition to this episode!

Outline of This Episode

• [0:20] Dionne Mischler Joins Paul.
• [0:45] What is productivity?
• [1:10] Why is productivity important?
• [2:10] Why aren’t salespeople productive?
• [3:20] Hone and own your craft
• [5:00] Success is about mindset
• [6:10] The value of pen and paper
• [7:30] Top 3 do’s and don’ts
• [9:10] Dionne’s favorite productivity story 

Discipline and Focus are crucial to personal productivity

Salespeople have a bad rep for being “ADD” and jumping from one shiny object to another. But successful sales professionals are disciplined and focused. They follow Dionne’s definition of productivity: being engaged in the right activities at the right time with the right intention.

Dionne points out that things will come up that you want to run by product or marketing—but that they don’t need to be done now. Focus your energy and stay engaged in selling activities for the right length of time. Only then should you attend to other tasks.

Owning and honing your craft

Dionne points out that If you work in sales, closing a deal is glorified. The arrival mentality. What’s not focused on is the blood, sweat, and tears that go into a customer saying “yes”. There’s pre-call planning, rehearsing and proactive. You have to educate the customer on your product and advocate for its usefulness. 

Dionne notes that “people don’t see the sweat equity that goes into making it look effortless.'' 

To hone your craft and get to the point where your prospects consistently say yes, you must invest in career development. Dionne recommends choosing a skill every month and focus on improving that skill. You get to decide if you’ll become the next-level professional by the time you’re willing to invest to get there. 

Pen and paper drive productivity

Dionne advocates for utilizing pen and paper as a productivity tool. They don’t run out of batteries and serve up endless distractions. There is value in sitting down with a blank page and sketching out a plan for the future.

What are your goals for the year? The next quarter? What about the upcoming month or next day?

She has her clients sit down and go through this process as well. Dionne believes it helps develop the right mindset and lays out a plan for productivity. If you pinpoint a theme you want to carry throughout the year it can make a huge impact. 

You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re hanging out with turkeys 

Dionne points out that iron sharpens iron. Don’t engage with people who don’t sharpen you or push you towards greatness. Sure you can hang out with coworkers or have the occasional lunch with a friend. But focus on developing relationships that drive you to be better at what you do. Be intentional with all of your time and the activities you invest that time in. After all, you can’t soar with the eagles if you’re hanging out with the turkeys.

To hear Dionne’s top 3 productivity do’s and top 3 don'ts as well as her favorite story, listen to the whole episode now.

Connect with Dionne Mischler

• Inside Sales by Design
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts  

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com