Sales Reinvented

Productivity can be defined as efficiency multiplied by effectiveness. It’s about doing things right and doing the right thing. Too often, salespeople only focus on efficiency. You can do many things efficiently—but still be ineffective. So what’s the key? Listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented with guest George Brontén to find out!

George is the founder of Membrain, a multiple award-winning Sales Enablement CRM. He specializes in helping to train sales professionals to become more effective. The goal is to bridge the gap between sales strategy and execution. His expertise is a welcome addition in this episode. 

• [0:30] What is productivity?
• [1:30] Faulty assumptions about sales professionals
• [3:10] Steps to take to improve day-to-day productivity
• [4:35] Attributes that make a great salesperson
• [5:45] Tools, tactics, strategies
• [6:40] Top three Do’s and Don'ts
• [9:50] How Paul defines efficiency
• [10:35] George’s favorite productivity story

There’s a faulty assumption in the sales industry that anyone in sales was born with a special knack for the industry. In some cases, those people do possess the traits that naturally make them a good salesperson. But George believes it’s a process that can be taught and learned.

You can’t just hand someone a goal and expect them to reach it.

You must train them and give them the guidance and resources needed to be efficient, effective and productive. A sales professional must be allowed to grow and learn just as in any other profession. Give your team the tools they need to reach success.

Sales isn’t only about selling. To sell well, you need to understand your potential clients and their needs. You need to be able to pinpoint what is important to them and actually engage with them. 

Most people can recognize when they’re being sold. 

But if you take the time to understand the customer’s needs and connect with them on a deeper level you will be more likely to make a sale. 

George points out that you need to know your craft well. Know the product or service you’re selling inside and out. He shares one of his favorite stories in which a sales team was always falling short of closing. He finally realized that they were afraid to talk to the tech people and didn’t know how to engage them.

They had to learn to speak their language.

They had to learn the problems that needed to be solved and be able to communicate that they could solve the problem. Their software would resolve an issue that was forcing the tech force to work overtime every single week. Once they figured that out, they tripled their success rate.

George recommends seeking out the friction points in the sales process. Where is the ball being dropped? At what exact point is the sale lost? More importantly—has your best salesperson already solved the problem? Those who are struggling with the sales process can learn and benefit from other peers and managers. 

Once you identify the friction points and solve the issues, you can then systematize the process. This is what leads to efficiency, effectiveness, and therefore productivity. It allows your business to train sales professionals properly and not simply expect success. You begin to create it. 

• Membrain

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• The Membrain Blog

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

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

Productivity improvement is what every sales professional is trying to reach. Struggling to reach quotas and long work days seem to be the bread and butter of the sales industry—but it doesn’t have to be that way. Carole Mahoney is here to chat with Paul about improving productivity and the positive impact it makes on every part of your life. 

After graduating with a degree in Marketing & Business Management, Carole dove into a sales and marketing career. In 2014 she founded Unbound Growth—a business dedicated to coaching start-ups and experienced entrepreneurs alike to reach their goals. Carole knows how to help you move from struggling to make quotas to becoming top salespeople in your company. 

• [0:18] Carole Mahoney of Unbound Growth
• [1:20] Carole’s take on Productivity
• [2:30] Improving day to day productivity
• [5:20] Set personal meaningful goals
• [7:00] What attributes lend well to productivity
• [8:20] Productivity tools, tactics, and strategies
• [11:20] Top 3 dos and top 3 don’ts
• [12:50] Favorite productivity story
• [14:55] Productivity leads to a clear mind

Many people struggle with productivity because they do not have clear goals set for themselves. This doesn't just apply to the workplace. A person needs to set deeply personal meaningful goals for their life that productivity at work helps them achieve. This typically goes beyond meeting your basic needs and providing for your family (though important). 

Carole recently coached someone and helped them break down their goals to the root issue: he wanted to earn $50,000 to pay for IVF so that he and his wife could build a family. That was the motivation he took to work every day to help him reach his sales goals. Carole emphasized that no goal is more important than any other—it could be as simple as a college student trying to reach independence. 

When you aren’t able to be as productive as you think you should be, why is that happening? Are you starting your week trying to figure out what the week will look like? In sales, you are immersed in phone calls and emails. Stop letting them overwhelm you! Be proactive with your time. 

What does that look like with day to day work? 

The first step is setting goals, both personally and professionally. Then, set aside time to plan out what your quarter, month, and week will look like so that you dive into your day with clear objectives. Make sure those objectives line up with what you’re trying to accomplish and the goals you’ve set. Set 3 priorities that only you can accomplish and distribute or shelf the other work.

Carole and Paul discuss some of the qualities that you should look for in potential hires that scream productivity:

Does the person take responsibility for the outcomes of any given situation?

Do they own their mistakes or make excuses?

Do they have a positive outlook?

Can they work independently or remotely?

What is their motivation?

You want to look for someone who realizes that everything they do is under their control. From the actions they take to the outlook they have when they start the workday. It all matters. 

Carole recommends starting somewhere simple: purchase a planner or a journal to help you map out your time. There are planners geared entirely towards sales professionals, some that are completely customizable, and all simply practical.

Then, start blocking your time. Clear one or two hours in your schedule and group similar tasks together. In doing so, you’re not forcing your brain to constantly adapt to very different tasks. Alternate these blocks of time with 5-10 minute breaks to allow yourself to recharge. The genius is in the simplicity. 

Carole covers her top three “Do’s and Don'ts” and her favorite productivity story—listen on to hear the full conversation!

• More Sales, Less Time by Jill Konrath
• Savor Life Planner
• The Sales Journal
• The Phoenix Journal

• Unbound Growth
• Carole on LinkedIn
• Twitter

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Subscribe to CLIENT PODCAST on
SINGLE LINK PLINK SUBSCRIPTION (must be iTunes/Apple before you can do this)

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

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 165: Steve Benson.

After receiving his MBA from Stanford, Steve worked in Sales at IBM and Google where he was Google Enterprise's Top Sales Executive in 2009. In 2012, Steve founded Badger Maps, an app that helps Field Sales People optimize their routes and schedules to save time and be on time so they can sell more.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 164: Drew D'Agostino.

Drew is the CEO and Founder of Crystal Knows which is an artificially intelligent psychometric platform which accurately predicts the personality style of people from their social media profiles.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 163: Wart Fransen.

Wart is co-founder and CEO of LeadBoxer which is a Lead and Customer Data Platform where he spearheads the growth and product development of the company. He has 2 decades worth of experience in SaaS, Software development and Online Marketing. LeadBoxer is the 3rd company he has founded.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 162: Leeno Karumanchery.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 161: Kevin Dixon.

Kevin is the founder of Boxxstep - Buyer Relationship Management, the Buyer Enablement platform for complex and enterprise sales which focuses on the before and after in opportunity management!

Prior to Boxxstep Kevin spent 20 years in executive sales leadership roles with global tech companies Ericsson, Siemens and Logica. Kevin was also EVP Sales and board member for successful software start-up elata who were the original pioneers of app download to mobile devices before Apple and Googles solutions.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 160: Kate Chernis.

Kate is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lately: Marketing agency owner. 25 years brand-building, extensive CMS development, sales and national broadcast communications experience. Clients include Walmart and United Way Worldwide.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 159: Jon Ferrara.

Jon is a CRM and Relationship Management entrepreneur and noted speaker about Social Media's effects on Sales and Marketing. He has re-imagined CRM by building the Simple Smart CRM for GSuite and Office 365, his most recent venture Nimble.com. It is the first CRM that works for you by building and updating contact data for you, then works with you, everywhere you work.

Ferrara is best known as the co-founder of GoldMine Software Corp, one of the early pioneers in the Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software categories for Small to Medium sized Businesses (SMBs).

He has recently been recognized on Forbes as one of the Top 10 Social CEO’s, Top 10 Social Salespeople In The World and Top 100 Marketing Influencers.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 158: Shawn Finder.

Shawn is the founder & CEO of Autoklose which is a sales engagement platform with a built-in B2B database. He is a former professional tennis player who has now bootstrapped multiple software companies to break even within 6 months of launch. Shawn is a top influencer in the sales community and speaks globally about prospecting.