Sales Samurai

Episode 4: Tips and Techniques to Improve Phone Skills with Colin Specter

The relationship between sales and cold calling has always been a close one. Despite this, cold calling has always had a difficult position and is often viewed with some trepidation or disdain from people in the field. Today we are setting some things straight and breaking down a few simple ways to up your cold calling game! Joining us to dive into the subject is Colin Specter, the VP of Sales at Orum, and someone who knows a thing or two about this important part of any salesperson's life! Colin clearly lives and breathes sales and we get to hear a little from him about his path into the field, his early affinity for the work, and his jobs prior to joining Orum. Colin explains how cold calling and communication over the phone fits into a healthy omnichannel method and what this sort of holistic approach can consist of for optimum results. We also get to discuss contentious elements such as scripts, times of calls, and confidence. The main takeaway here is that finding ways to practice and hone your skills on a constant basis will make all the difference to your numbers, so make sure to listen in with us and hear what this sales guru has to say!

 

Key Points From This Episode:

 

Colin's professional journey, history in sales, and his father's early influence on his skills! 

The job that Colin landed at Namely and how he moved up the ranks at the company.

Growth at Orum since Colin joined two years ago and excitement about the future. 

The role of cold calling in 2021: a necessary avenue for exploration in sales. 

Cold calling hurdles for salespeople and how to go about overcoming these challenges. 

Methods for improving tone, pace, and clarity; the techniques to practice towards more success. 

The use of scripts in cold calling and why Colin believes these are an important asset. 

Thoughts on the best times to call prospects and ways to manage time constraints. 

The power of setting aside call blocks for concentrated work on the phone.

Building confidence and learning to navigate stumbling blocks and challenges. 

Playing the numbers game and combining different skills to boost your statistics 

The emphasis that Colin puts on keeping routines and strategies simple. 

Reducing risk on the calls you make and how to minimize inevitable mistakes.

Maintaining a high level of cold calling through constant practice!

Closing thoughts from Colin about usef

Episode 3: Tactical Approach to Your ABM Strategy with Erik Kostelnik

We are at a point where digital account-based marketing is overloaded and creating diminishing returns. This means if you want to see results, you have to move into the offline space. ABM is a behemoth topic in sales and marketing and Erik Kostelnik joins us on the show today to help us tackle it. Erik is the Founder and CEO of Postal, an experienced marketing platform that helps companies drive brand loyalty, increase conversions, boost overall employee happiness, and improve customer health scores. Before Postal, Erik founded TextRecruit, served as the Head of Sales for Wrike, and was named Upstart 50 Inventor by Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2017. We kick our conversation off on the subject of the rise of sales-driven CEOs and hear about the lessons Erik took away from his extensive sales experience before Wrike and TextRecruit. From there, we take a deep dive into the world of ABM, hearing Erik weigh in on the need for an omnichannel approach and the services Postal offers as far as tactile and personalized offline strategies at scale. In this episode, Erik also gets into the fundamentals of a masterful ABM strategy, the huge increase in conversions Postal generates, the role of incentivizing, and a whole lot more, so be sure to catch this one! 

 

Key Points From This Episode:

The services provided by Postal in the form of driving offline B2C engagement.

How Postal is helping do omnichannel marketing and sales at scale.

Surviving the pandemic and Erik’s approach to overcoming unexpected challenges.

The role of Erik’s background in sales and the shift to sales-focused CEOs.

Different understandings of what ABM means and how Erik defines it internally and externally.

Whether there are any businesses for whom ABM is less applicable.

A deep dive into how to use Postal for ABM and create custom strategies at scale.

The different buckets of offline and online sales engagement and how different integrated solutions will collapse into one in the future.

KPIs to look at to find out if an ABM strategy is working and what to tweak.

The challenge of finding the right tools and how good sales ops can help.

Recommendations for baseline tactics to get one’s feet wet in the world of ABM. 

Getting away from thinking about ABM as gifting but rather as incentivizing.

The astounding conversion rates Postal sees and how incentivizing plays into this.

Final words from Erik about the need t

Episode 2: What Metrics Matter to Be an Effective Sales Leader with Anthony Zhang

Welcome to the second episode of the Sales Samurai Podcast, hosted by Sam Capra! On today’s show, we discuss what metrics matter to be an effective sales leader. To help us tackle this topic, we have a very special guest joining us. With over 16 years’ of sales experience, Anthony Zhang has led sales and sales development for countless startups, including being the first SDR at Pardot, pre-sales acquisition, and the first hire at SalesLoft. His most recent accomplishment was taking Stax, previously known as Fattmerchant, from $3 million to $25 million and growing the sales team by 130 percent in just over three years, leading to the company’s acquisition by Greater Sum Ventures. Anthony’s passion lies in building sales for early stage startups, mentoring sales professionals, and giving back to the sales community. You’ve probably seen Anthony’s posts on LinkedIn, ranging from tactical sales methodologies and process to sales leadership and his own personal stories of growth, success, and failure. You can also find him in the RevGenius community and at Thursday Night Sales. In this episode, you’ll hear about the value of focusing on the end goal rather than obsessing over the numbers and why it’s essential that you know how to diagnose your KPIs, as well as how to manage your time effectively and avoid what Anthony calls “death by meetings.” He also shares some tips for optimizing effectiveness and understanding that your purpose as a leader is not to be heard, it’s to serve, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

An introduction to Anthony Zhang and his career trajectory and background.

Hear about the sales teams Anthony has led and the various leadership models he employs.

Common mistakes sales leaders and managers make, like micromanaging activity.

Unpacking what you are working towards rather than hyper focusing on the numbers.

The repetitive behavior that obsessing over the numbers inadvertently creates.

The fine line between skill versus activity; the value of learning how to diagnose your KPIs.

Improving the quality of your deals so you don’t have to make 100 dials a day.

Find out why Anthony dials in on opportunities generated.

Why 80 percent of your time as a sales manager should be spent coaching your team.

Anthony shares why he believes sales managers suffer from “death by meetings.”

Some resources and advice for becoming a better leader or coach.

The importance of analyzing how effective you are with your time as a leader.

Tips and tricks for time management; why your time

Episode 1: Tips and Best Practices to Land That Next B2B Sales Role with Mark DeChant

Welcome to the first episode of the Sales Samurai Podcast, hosted by Sam Capra! This is the only B2B sales podcast providing unfiltered, unapologetic views and tactics directly from the sales trenches! On today’s show, we are going to be discussing tips and best practices that candidates can use to land that next big B2B sales role! The special guest we have for today who will be helping us tackle this awesome topic is Mark DeChant. Mark is the author of The 500K Sales Recruiter and he is also president of Top 10 Sales Talent, a contingent recruiting firm that specializes in placing software sales professionals in their dream positions. We kick off today’s discussion on the role of the origin story, the value of Mark’s previous experience in his success in the field of sales, and why he made the transition into hiring management. We then dive into the meat of our conversation, hearing Mark weigh in on the top strategies for sales personnel who are looking to land the role they have always wanted. The main point he makes here is that job seekers should treat their next interview with the same care as they would the largest deal they have ever closed. To this end, Mark gets into the ins and outs of a brilliant and candid resumé, the biggest mistakes candidates make in interviews, and the role of being able to tell brilliant stories about the deals one has closed. So for an extremely tactical interview filled with countless nuggets of highly actionable advice from Mark, tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

An introduction to Mark’s skills and the services provided by Top 10 Sales Talent.

Why Mark decided to make the transition into his current role of helping align candidates with companies.

Misconceptions on the side of interviewers and interviewees about the interview process.

Mark’s career trajectory and how his waitering and journalism background played into his gift for sales.

The demand for good software salespeople and which roles are the most coveted.

Top tips for B2B tech salespeople looking to land their next big position.

The most common mistakes made by candidates; best practices for assembling a great resumé.

Why it is important to include missed quotas on one’s resumé and how to breach this conversation.

The value of having stories about deals you have closed prepared for your interview.

Being a brilliant storyteller and the importance of practicing the stories you tell.

Major negative characteristics from the employer’s perspective; energy levels, lack of preparation, and more.

How to go above an