Aaron Schmookler is a Culture Engineer and an ally to People-First leaders, helping their teams to commit their full talents to the job at hand and to bring out the best in those around them.

On today’s episode of the Salesman Podcast, Aaron Schmookler joins us as we get into the topic of how to be more effective in sales regardless of what your current circumstances are.

Resources:

Aaron on LinkedIn

TheYesWorks.com

@AaronSchmookler

Transcript 

Will Barron:

Coming up on today’s episode of the Salesman Podcast.

 

Aaron Schmookler:

Well, if we back up away from the world of sales for a moment, and just think about cause and effect, we are effective. Congratulations, Will, you’re effective. If you stay home in your bed, the effect will be that not much happened.

 

Aaron Schmookler:

There is a universal human bias called the negativity bias. We all have it. We are all pessimists at one level.

 

Will Barron:

Hello, Sales Nation. My name is Will Barron. I’m the host of the Salesman Podcast, the world’s most downloaded B2B sales show. On today’s episode, we have the legend. He’s been on the show a bunch of times now, Aaron Schmookler. He is the co-founder of The Yes Works.

 

Will Barron:

On today’s episode, we’re getting into the topic of how to be not just more effective in sales, but how to be effective in sales right now during a global pandemic, regardless of what your current circumstances are. There’s a tonne of value in this episode, so let’s jump right into it.

 

What it Means To Be Effective in B2B Sales · [01:40] 

 

Will Barron:

Today, we’re going to answer some difficult questions and hopefully provide a tonne of practical, valuable value for the audience. I want to get into this topic of what it is to be effective, and how to be effective when seemingly the world may be falling down around us.

 

Will Barron:

We can get into the metaphor and whether that’s the reality or not in a second, but to get started, Aaron, what does it mean to be effective? Do you have a definition of this? In the context of B2B salespeople specifically, what does it mean to be effective?

 

“We are effective to a certain extent. If you stay home in your bed, the effect will be that not much happens. There is cause and effect going on, whether you like it or not. The question is what is the effect that you want to see happen, and then the other question is what are you going to do about it.” – Aaron Schmookler · [01:45] 

 

Aaron Schmookler:

Well, if we back up away from the world of sales for a moment, and just think about cause and effect, we are effective. Congratulations, Will, you’re effective. If you stay home in your bed, the effect will be that not much happens.

 

Aaron Schmookler:

There is cause and effect going on, whether you like it or not. The question is what is the effect that you want to see happen, and then the other question is what are you going to do about it.

 

“Being effective is not necessarily getting the results that you’re resigned to, but getting the results that you want. And that takes being sure that you can get some results that you want.” – Aaron Schmookler · [02:19]

 

Aaron Schmookler:

For our purposes, being effective is getting the results that you want, not necessarily getting the results that you’re resigned to, but getting the results that you want. When we talk about being effective, it takes being sure that you can get some results that you want.

On today’s episode of the Salesman Podcast, Aaron Schmookler joins us as we get into the topic of how to be more effective in sales regardless of what your current circumstances are.

There’s a tonne of value in this episode, so let’s jump right into it. 

Cause, Effect, and Effectiveness

Aaron shares his view on being an effective person. If we look at ourselves right now, even if we lie in bed all day, we are still considered “effective.” However, Aaron stressed the importance of asking ourselves, what kind of effects do we want to achieve? He also touched on the metrics you need to consider as a salesperson.

“Being effective is getting the results that you want, not necessarily getting the results that you’re resigned to. When we talk about being effective, it takes being sure that you can get ‘some results’ that you want. Notice that I’m saying ‘some results’ that you want, not necessarily ‘exactly the results that you want.’ But you can be moving in the direction that you want.” – Aaron Schmookler

Choosing Better Outcomes

Aaron also pointed out about doing something and yet getting the same results. As an example, you can send 500 non-converting emails this month and continue again next month and yet feel “productive.” This holds true even if we know that the outcome is not what we intend to have. 

In today’s world where everything around us drastically changed, we as salespeople should also adapt to change to have better outcomes.

“I’m not getting responses, that’s a result. I’m getting people emailing me back ‘saying stop emailing me’, that’s a result. So if you keep doing, I’m sure we’ve all heard the definition of insanity ― it is doing the same thing, but expecting different results. That’s the trap that we’re much more likely to fall into as far as cause and effect goes.” – Aaron Schmookler

Communication and Collaboration

Aaron believes communication and collaboration is the core of effective sales. He further describes communication as an interior game. When a prospect doesn’t get what we are trying to convey, we don’t get defensive and label the prospect as “stupid.” Instead, we should ask ourselves:

“Why are we failing, what do I need? What can I do in order to help this prospect get it? What can I do, in order to connect to this other human being?” – Aaron Schmookler

Aaron further discusses “the negativity bias” and how the human mind works. He differentiates optimists from pessimists and why it is natural for humans to avoid conflicts and problems as a way to “conserve energy.”

Resources:

* Aaron on LinkedIn* TheYesWorks.com* @AaronSchmookler

Sponsor:

Badger Maps. The #1 Route Planner for Field Sales

On this week in sales we’ll be looking at: 

* Whether B2B sales heading into a “self-service” era* What Super Productive People Do Differently* Why 2020 wasn’t all bad for sales professionals 

And much more!

This Week In Sales hosts:

* Will Barron – Salesman.org/Youtube* Victor Antonio – Youtube.com/user/salesinfluence

TOPICS:

Victor’s EPIC Sales Training Webinars

Discount code for This Week In Sales Viewer: VEM ($100 off)

salesvelocityacademy.com/VEM

15 Sales Statistics That Will Change How You Think About Revenue In 2021

* 40% of businesses did not meet revenue targets in 2020* 25% of sales reps believe they have not received enough sales training* 68% of B2B customers are lost because of indifference, not mistakes* 70% of businesses claim that social referrals convert faster than any other type of lead* 35% of people decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line alone

saleshacker.com/sales-statistics/

SalesLoft raises $100M for its digital sales platform, now valued at $1.1B

SalesLoft, provides AI-based tools to help salespeople run their sales process virtually — from finding and following up on leads, through to helping them sell with virtual coaching tools.

Co-founder and CEO Kyle Porter- “The effects of COVID have been a tailwind due to the effects of digital selling,”

“All sellers immediately became remote. It’s meant that inside sales are now all sales. Whether the opportunities are mid-funnel or upgrades or renewals.”

techcrunch.com/2021/01/06/atlantas-salesloft-raises-100m-for-its-digital-sales-platform-now-valued-at-1-1b/

Allbound PRM is the Platform for Successful Partnerships 

Partner relationship management (PRM) enables you to optimize relationships with resellers and distributors so you can focus your time on other partner channel efforts.

Simplify and digitize your entire partner lifecycle with Allbound’s Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Software – from partner onboarding, to enablement, marketing collaboration, coop dollars and deal registration.

Allbound.com

Bigtincan Acquires ClearSlide to Create Industry’s Only End-to-End Sales Enablement and Engagement SaaS Offering

The addition of ClearSlide technology extends Bigtincan’s end-to-end SaaS stack, with access to buyer engagement analytics, email timing, and personalized video communication.

prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bigtincan-acquires-clearslide-to-create-industry-s-only-end-to-end-sales-enablement-and-engagement-saas-offering-840509567.html

Harvard Business Review: What Super Productive People Do Differently

* Batch your meetings.* Avoid using the mouse.

On this week in sales we’ll be looking at: 

* Whether B2B sales heading into a “self-service” era* What Super Productive People Do Differently* Why 2020 wasn’t all bad for sales professionals 

And much more!

This Week In Sales hosts:

* Will Barron – Salesman.org/Youtube* Victor Antonio – Youtube.com/user/salesinfluence

TOPICS:

Victor’s EPIC Sales Training Webinars

Discount code for This Week In Sales Viewer: VEM ($100 off)

salesvelocityacademy.com/VEM

15 Sales Statistics That Will Change How You Think About Revenue In 2021

* 40% of businesses did not meet revenue targets in 2020* 25% of sales reps believe they have not received enough sales training* 68% of B2B customers are lost because of indifference, not mistakes* 70% of businesses claim that social referrals convert faster than any other type of lead* 35% of people decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line alone

saleshacker.com/sales-statistics/

SalesLoft raises $100M for its digital sales platform, now valued at $1.1B

SalesLoft, provides AI-based tools to help salespeople run their sales process virtually — from finding and following up on leads, through to helping them sell with virtual coaching tools.

Co-founder and CEO Kyle Porter- “The effects of COVID have been a tailwind due to the effects of digital selling,”

“All sellers immediately became remote. It’s meant that inside sales are now all sales. Whether the opportunities are mid-funnel or upgrades or renewals.”

techcrunch.com/2021/01/06/atlantas-salesloft-raises-100m-for-its-digital-sales-platform-now-valued-at-1-1b/

Allbound PRM is the Platform for Successful Partnerships 

Partner relationship management (PRM) enables you to optimize relationships with resellers and distributors so you can focus your time on other partner channel efforts.

Simplify and digitize your entire partner lifecycle with Allbound’s Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Software – from partner onboarding, to enablement, marketing collaboration, coop dollars and deal registration.

Allbound.com

Bigtincan Acquires ClearSlide to Create Industry’s Only End-to-End Sales Enablement and Engagement SaaS Offering

The addition of ClearSlide technology extends Bigtincan’s end-to-end SaaS stack, with access to buyer engagement analytics, email timing, and personalized video communication.

prnewswire.co.

Zachary Ballenger is the co-founder of Casted, the only podcast marketing platform built to give marketers a true return on effort through access, amplification, and attribution of their brand podcasts and related content.

On this episode of the Salesman Podcast Zachary explains how B2B sales professionals can use the power of podcasting to get in front of their audience and build massive trust at distance.

Resources:

* Zachary on LinkedIn* @ZRBallenger* Casted.us

Sponsor:

Badger Maps. The #1 Route Planner for Field Sales

Zachary Ballenger is the co-founder of Casted, the only podcast marketing platform built to give marketers a true return on effort through access, amplification, and attribution of their brand podcasts and related content.

On this episode of the Salesman Podcast Zachary explains how B2B sales professionals can use the power of podcasting to get in front of their audience and build massive trust at distance.

Resources:

* Zachary on LinkedIn* @ZRBallenger* Casted.us

Sponsor:

Badger Maps. The #1 Route Planner for Field Sales

In this episode of the Social Selling Show, Will Barron and Daniel Disney talk about personal branding and its benefits for B2B sales professionals.

Resources:

* The Million Pound LinkedIn Message by Daniel Disney

* Sam Dunning’s Business Growth Show

* Send your questions to [email protected]

Transcript

Will Barron:

Welcome to the Social Selling Show with myself Will Baron and the king… I like this name. I might quiz you on where it came from. The King of Social Selling, Daniel Disney. Daniel, how’s it going, sir?

 

Daniel Disney:

It’s going very well, Will, I’m so excited to be doing this and excited to dig into this new show.

 

Why Daniel Disney is the King of Social Selling  · [00:20] 

 

Will Barron:

Good man. Well, let’s start with this because you are the King of Social Selling. I don’t want to turn this into an interview show. We’re going to get into why personal brand is so important within sales, B2B sales and social selling in a second. But where did the King of Social Selling come from? What moment just clicked and you’re like, “That’s me. That’s my branding from now on.”

 

Daniel Disney:

I would like to clarify it wasn’t me that came up with it, I think that would be horrendous if I referred to myself as the King of Social Selling. It was actually a group of people that do an amazing podcast In the Bed series basically. And they film these episodes. They’re in their bed and you’re in your bed and you do the episode, do that. Really fun it’s Laura and Enrique. Enrique is from G2 and they basically referred to me as the King of Social Selling, as prep for the episode I said, “Well, why not, I’ll order a crown.”

 

Will Barron:

Nice.

 

Daniel Disney:

In the episode I wear it but beyond that it just sits on there. So, not me, but it came from other people.

 

Defining Personal Branding From a Sales Perspective · [01:17] 

 

Will Barron:

Well, I’m glad I asked now and I’ll check out that show myself. So we’re going to get into personal brand. So let’s get started with this of what… Let’s start with the basics and build up from it and I’ll give you my thoughts. Do you have a definition of what a personal brand is? What the heck is a personal brand within the context of sales?

 

Daniel Disney:

I was going to say it’s try to keep it as simple as possible. It’s your reputation. It’s how people perceive you. It’s not something you define. It’s something that others define of you. So it’s something everyone has, whether you have a good one or a bad one, we all have one. We have this digital presence, whether you’re active or not active, it still defines your personal brand. So the people that aren’t active on social media, they have a brand it’s just not a good one. And the ones that are active and building it obviously have a more positive one.

 

“You have a personal brand whether you choose to curate it and create it or not.”  – Will Barron · [02:07] 

 

Will Barron:

I’ve never thought about that that’s interesting just off the get-go. I’ve never thought about it like that, you have a personal brand whether you choose to curate it and create it or not. And I always pictured it like this from a more… just very specific to salespeople.

In this episode of the Social Selling Show, Will Barron and Daniel Disney talk about personal branding and its benefits for B2B sales professionals.

Resources:

* The Million Pound LinkedIn Message by Daniel Disney

* Sam Dunning’s Business Growth Show

* Send your questions to [email protected]

Transcript

Will Barron:

Welcome to the Social Selling Show with myself Will Baron and the king… I like this name. I might quiz you on where it came from. The King of Social Selling, Daniel Disney. Daniel, how’s it going, sir?

 

Daniel Disney:

It’s going very well, Will, I’m so excited to be doing this and excited to dig into this new show.

 

Why Daniel Disney is the King of Social Selling  · [00:20] 

 

Will Barron:

Good man. Well, let’s start with this because you are the King of Social Selling. I don’t want to turn this into an interview show. We’re going to get into why personal brand is so important within sales, B2B sales and social selling in a second. But where did the King of Social Selling come from? What moment just clicked and you’re like, “That’s me. That’s my branding from now on.”

 

Daniel Disney:

I would like to clarify it wasn’t me that came up with it, I think that would be horrendous if I referred to myself as the King of Social Selling. It was actually a group of people that do an amazing podcast In the Bed series basically. And they film these episodes. They’re in their bed and you’re in your bed and you do the episode, do that. Really fun it’s Laura and Enrique. Enrique is from G2 and they basically referred to me as the King of Social Selling, as prep for the episode I said, “Well, why not, I’ll order a crown.”

 

Will Barron:

Nice.

 

Daniel Disney:

In the episode I wear it but beyond that it just sits on there. So, not me, but it came from other people.

 

Defining Personal Branding From a Sales Perspective · [01:17] 

 

Will Barron:

Well, I’m glad I asked now and I’ll check out that show myself. So we’re going to get into personal brand. So let’s get started with this of what… Let’s start with the basics and build up from it and I’ll give you my thoughts. Do you have a definition of what a personal brand is? What the heck is a personal brand within the context of sales?

 

Daniel Disney:

I was going to say it’s try to keep it as simple as possible. It’s your reputation. It’s how people perceive you. It’s not something you define. It’s something that others define of you. So it’s something everyone has, whether you have a good one or a bad one, we all have one. We have this digital presence, whether you’re active or not active, it still defines your personal brand. So the people that aren’t active on social media, they have a brand it’s just not a good one. And the ones that are active and building it obviously have a more positive one.

 

“You have a personal brand whether you choose to curate it and create it or not.”  – Will Barron · [02:07] 

 

Will Barron:

I’ve never thought about that that’s interesting just off the get-go. I’ve never thought about it like that, you have a personal brand whether you choose to curate it and create it or not.

Today, we have the legend, Jim Benton, the CEO Chorus.ai. Chorus.AI is a conversation intelligence platform that teams plug into their Zoom meetings, emails and conversations to capture and understand sales interactions. Jim and Will get into how to sell to the C suite, especially during this COVID pandemic time.

“We’ve looked at data across, hundreds of thousands of meetings and different interactions. What we found was that the C suite, specifically, is involved 86% more than they were back in Q1, back in the January, February timeframe.” – Jim Benton

Identifying The Quality of Interactions

Through Chorus.AI, we are able to figure out the quality of interactions we have, as it relates to closing a sale. Since the technology is plugged in CRMs, Salesmen are able to generate data and analyze the conversations that can make or break a winning sale. 

“Are we asking the right questions? Are we setting next steps? Are we talking about certain features? Are there key trigger words that are coming up? From there, we’re then connecting this data back to your CRM, back to your organisations that people can learn and really understand? What does best look like? What drives deals that win versus lose? How do we replicate those moments successfully? How do we understand our relationships?” – Jim Benton

Involving C-Suite In Conversations

Jim shares that we need to be more prepared in dealing with CXOs as data shows they are far more involved now, more than ever. In fact, CFOs are 92% more involved now, more than they were before. Reasons such as convenience to join via Zoom and tighter budgets may come to play. The important thing is, we must be prepared to involve CXOs in sales conversations. 

“They want to get their CXOs, the C-Suite talking. When they get involved, they do not want to be just pitching. They really need to be asking at least five engaging questions. And again, the CXO talk more when we win deals. We need to get them speaking in these interactions.” – Jim Benton

Impressing C-Suite Execs

In terms of how much you should prepare before a meeting with C-Suite Exec, Jim shares nothing beats an honest question of “what do you want to get out of this meeting?”

“I’m a big fan of providing a quick recap, summary but with demonstrating the credibility of why we’re here, what we’ve done, the parties that are here, the key stakeholders we’re working with, and bringing someone into that dialogue versus shifting the focus all to them.” – Jim Benton

To know more why selling to the C-Suite has changed FOREVER, watch or listen to this episode.

About the guest:

Jim Benton is the CEO of Chorus.ai, is a revenue generating visionary; translating customer needs into innovative solutions. As Co-Founder of ClearSlide and later as CEO of Apollo, Jim helped create the Sales Engagement category.

Resources:

* Chorus.ai* Jim on LinkedIn

Sponsor:

Badger Maps. The #1 Route Planner for Field Sales

Today, we have the legend, Jim Benton, the CEO Chorus.ai. Chorus.AI is a conversation intelligence platform that teams plug into their Zoom meetings, emails and conversations to capture and understand sales interactions. Jim and Will get into how to sell to the C suite, especially during this COVID pandemic time.

“We’ve looked at data across, hundreds of thousands of meetings and different interactions. What we found was that the C suite, specifically, is involved 86% more than they were back in Q1, back in the January, February timeframe.” – Jim Benton

Identifying The Quality of Interactions

Through Chorus.AI, we are able to figure out the quality of interactions we have, as it relates to closing a sale. Since the technology is plugged in CRMs, Salesmen are able to generate data and analyze the conversations that can make or break a winning sale. 

“Are we asking the right questions? Are we setting next steps? Are we talking about certain features? Are there key trigger words that are coming up? From there, we’re then connecting this data back to your CRM, back to your organisations that people can learn and really understand? What does best look like? What drives deals that win versus lose? How do we replicate those moments successfully? How do we understand our relationships?” – Jim Benton

Involving C-Suite In Conversations

Jim shares that we need to be more prepared in dealing with CXOs as data shows they are far more involved now, more than ever. In fact, CFOs are 92% more involved now, more than they were before. Reasons such as convenience to join via Zoom and tighter budgets may come to play. The important thing is, we must be prepared to involve CXOs in sales conversations. 

“They want to get their CXOs, the C-Suite talking. When they get involved, they do not want to be just pitching. They really need to be asking at least five engaging questions. And again, the CXO talk more when we win deals. We need to get them speaking in these interactions.” – Jim Benton

Impressing C-Suite Execs

In terms of how much you should prepare before a meeting with C-Suite Exec, Jim shares nothing beats an honest question of “what do you want to get out of this meeting?”

“I’m a big fan of providing a quick recap, summary but with demonstrating the credibility of why we’re here, what we’ve done, the parties that are here, the key stakeholders we’re working with, and bringing someone into that dialogue versus shifting the focus all to them.” – Jim Benton

To know more why selling to the C-Suite has changed FOREVER, watch or listen to this episode.

About the guest:

Jim Benton is the CEO of Chorus.ai, is a revenue generating visionary; translating customer needs into innovative solutions. As Co-Founder of ClearSlide and later as CEO of Apollo, Jim helped create the Sales Engagement category.

Resources:

* Chorus.ai* Jim on LinkedIn

Sponsor:

Badger Maps. The #1 Route Planner for Field Sales