The Enablement Brew

Carly Lehner joins me on the podcast to talk about onboarding in sales: how it has changed, what the outlook is and what are the considerations you should make when building out your onboarding programs.

You’ll Learn:

1. Understanding the perfect balance of remote and in-person elements in onboarding programs
2. Pre-Onboarding: is it a must or a nice to have?
3. Onboarding biggest challenges! 

About Carly Lehner

Carly Lehner is the Head of Revenue Enablement at Andela.  She is a sales enablement professional who believes in providing sales organisations a tech-enabled, relationship-oriented development approach, without distracting sellers from generating revenue.

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Colin Spence joins me on the podcast today to talk about customer success: what it is and isn't and why it's such a hot topic among SaaS businesses!

You’ll Learn:

1. What Customer Success is and isn't
2. How Customer Success can be more commercial
3. Why the happiness of the end client is the key to success

About Colin Spence

Colin Spence is an experienced Customer Success leader responsible for Silverfin's Global customer success. With overseas experience in both multinational Fortune 50 organisations and hypergrowth start-ups, Colin's ambition is to lead world class Customer Success teams.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-spence

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Simon Hares,  Serial Trainer 7,  joins me on the podcast today to talk about the art of creating a well written proposal for your customers.

You’ll Learn:

1. Why do you need a sales proposal?
2. LISTEN framework for your proposals
3. How to ensure you are capturing the right audience in your messaging

About Simon Hares

Simon Hares is the Managing Director of the Serial Trainer 7 international sales and management training organisation based out of the United Kingdom (UK).

Simon  has worked with organisations around the globe, from Australia to the United States.

He had a successful career in the publishing industry before he went out on his own as the Serial Trainer 7.   The organisation focuses on management leadership training, sales training, business skills training and personal development.  

https://serialtrainer7.com/

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Adriana Romero joins me on the podcast to help me demystify sales enablement: what it is, what it isn't and the most common misconceptions about our work!

You’ll Learn:

1. What is Sales Enablement?
2.  Top Misconceptions about Sales Enablement

About Adriana Romero

Adriana is a maven, she lives for connecting, helping and facilitating information. An engineer turned salesperson turned sales coach, she spends her days figuring out how to better enable the LevelJump sales team while trying to build a business that helps Immigrant women alongside her best friend. A mother of one girl and one furry boy, she loves being married to a sales star that loves planes and travel as much as she does.

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Andy Whyte joins me on the podcast to talk about MEDDICC as a qualification framework in our sales process.

You’ll Learn:

1. MEDDICC or BANT?
2. How to deal with metrics when you don't yet have tangible ROI of your product or solution?
3. How to get MEDDICC right in your deals.

About Andy Whyte

What I love about sales is how closely correlated to sports it is.

The most elite athlete can lift any team up and help them win.

However, an elite athlete needs much more than just natural ability.

- The elite athlete needs discipline
- The elite athlete needs to understand the field
- The elite athlete needs to know the plays
- The elite athlete needs to know how to win - their own strengths and their opponent's weaknesses

Subsequently when compared to an average athlete:

- The elite athlete will find more opportunities to score
- The elite athlete will convert more of those opportunities
- The elite athlete will convert more points from those opportunities , and,
- The elite athlete will score more those points more quickly

Now replace the word 'athlete' above with 'seller.'

If you extend this analogy to Mixed Martial Arts, then the fighters' natural abilities, such as their strength, speed, and agility, are important. But, in a fight between a naturally gifted fighter with no framework and an overweight, untalented, old, and out-of-practice fighter who has a black belt in a martial art... my money is on the black belt ALL DAY!!

In sales, you can be the most naturally gifted seller in the world. But, if you go into enterprise-level deals without a framework, you are going to get hurt. You are going to get beaten by less talented sellers who follow a framework.

In this analogy, MEDDIC is the OG. MEDDIC is the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu of the sales frameworks and methodologies world.

The world's greatest MMA gyms and the world champions they produce tend to use Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, just as the world's greatest sales teams use MEDDIC.

MMA fighters' use of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has evolved over the decades to adapt to the octagon's changing landscape just as MEDDIC has evolved to suit the changing landscape of the enterprise (MEDDICC/MEDDPICC etc.).

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn't the only 'framework' in MMA. Champions have used Karate, Judo, Boxing, and Wrestling, but, put simply no other framework has the quantity of Champions as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Likewise, most Champion's who use one of the frameworks above also have a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt too.

Just like how Jiu-Jitsu compliments other styles and frameworks, so does MEDDIC. It effortlessly collaborates with other frameworks and methodologies, helping sellers to meet their full potential.

https://meddicc.com/andy-whyte/

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Louis Richardson joins me on the podcast to talk about the art of storytelling in business and how to avoid "death by powerpoint" when presenting to customers.

You’ll Learn:

1. How to incorporate storytelling in your meetings
2. How to avoid death by powerpoint
3. How to inspire and amaze your audience

About Louis Richardson

He served as an IBM Worldwide Storyteller & Enthusiast re: Social Business & Smarter Work. He has over 30 years of experience in the collaboration & document management industry and has served in sales, support, consulting and document production management positions. Prior to IBM, he was the Vice President of Marketing at Green Pasture Software, a solution provider acquired by IBM. Additionally, he has served as the Director of Imaging, Workflow and Document Management at Crawford and Company, the world’s largest third-party administrator of insurance claims. He has also served as a consultant with Saros, FileNet, and Interleaf.

"I've been privileged to have journeyed through large and small organizations in over a dozen industries. And during those global experiences I frequently observed well-meaning individuals and organizations, who had amazing products, services and ideas, fail to effectively communicate to the audiences entrusted to them. For that reason, I consider it an honor to offer my assistance, insights and coaching to anyone who is willing to invest time and attention to discover, develop and deliver their amazing story."


http://creativitycrisis.com/newblog/contact/

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Ken Lundin joins me on the podcast to talk about B2B sales; the importance of booking that next meeting, handling price objections, and steering your focus towards an incredible discovery with your prospects.

You’ll Learn:

1. Why most sales training in companies is "broken"
2. How to have an incredible meeting with a great structure
3. How do we tackle the "price" objection early on in the conversation

and so much more!!

About Ken Lundin

▶️ WHO IS KEN LUNDIN & ASSOCIATES?

We are the company that puts your ROI in front of how we deliver our services. We are less concerned about whether you want sales training, sales assessments, sales hiring, sales enablement, sales coaching, or sales consulting than what will provide you the quickest return on your investment and we tailor our approach with this goal in mind.

Our team of experts specialize in working with companies from $1 million to $150 million in revenue. From turn-arounds on the verge of bankruptcy who then grew revenue 300% in the next 3 years to hyper-growth unicorns and established brands seeking to grow market share.

We believe our managed services approach which holds nothing back from our clients and allows them access to all our resources is better than any other approach on the market to provide ROI and pivot with the flow of your business. Not to mention our shared risk/reward approach for qualifying businesses.

Personally, I'm a fitness and anti-aging guy who wishes he had a full head of hair and loves weekend getaways and a great glass of wine or scotch.

▶︎ GET IN TOUCH:

No matter which stage your company is in there is a prescriptive path to the next level of sales and corporate valuation with The Sales Alpha Roadmap™️.

If you own a company with revenues between $1 and $50 million let's talk about your goals. The worst thing that happens is we don't work together, have a great conversation and you get an experts outside perspective on the most valuable next step you can take.

Connect on LinkedIn
E-mail me at: ken @ kenlundin.com

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Ryann Dowdy joins me on the podcast today to talk about aspects of the sales process, social selling & discovery.

You’ll Learn:

1. Social selling as the "new" sales way
2. Making your presence known for your business 
3. Mastering "discovery" with your prospects

About Ryann Dowdy

Ryann Dowdy, former Director of Sales, left the corporate world after 15 years with a vision to achieve time & financial freedom. Ryann's vision became a movement when she founded Uncensored Sales & built a community of women looking to gain back control of their lives. Ryann is passionate about helping women learn to sell & build a business they love, so that they can leave their 9-5, take back control of their time, & have unlimited income potential. Her talent & passion for sales has taken her mission one step further by helping businesses to create 7-figure sales organisations.

https://www.ryanndowdy.com

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Alex Smith joins me on the podcast today to talk about all aspects of being "human" in our sales interactions.

You’ll Learn:

1. What it means to be human in our sales interactions
2. How to build that element of trust and rapport with your customers
3. Why a "no" doesn't mean a "no" forever

About Alex Smith:

Sometimes in your life it feels like you lose everything.

Like the year I was laid off. Interviews pushed from COVID 19, But then the real bomb hit,

My Dad got diagnosed Leukemia.

Just 5 months later, unfortunately my Dad passed away. Despite losing so much, I'll never lose what my Dad taught me about life. Things like selflessness, a relentless work ethic, and a thirst for knowledge.

His best lesson was how to create genuine connections with everyone in your life. I've taken that approach to sales my whole life. I’m still the 8 yr old kid who loved meeting people so much that he went door to door selling Ham and Cheese out of a catalog.

I got genuine connections out of it and the Sony Boombox I won wasn’t half bad either!

Highlights from 15 years in professional sales:

🔥 I launched a new team where I successfully recruited financial producers for a firm owned by Fran Tarkenton, Hall of Fame QB.

🔥I was named the top sales rep in an office of over 50 media sales people. Judged not just by sales attainment but also by activity.

🔥At Monster, I sold the biggest partnership contract in the history of our team. $300k ARR, 3 year deal.

What am I most proud of professionally?

A 15 minute meeting. I drove 3 hours to Chicago to meet a client I’ve never met in person. For 15 mins to say hi and drive back. It wasn’t to close a deal. It was just a Tuesday.

Those “Just Tuesday” moments are why I love this gig.

I’ve had success in my career because I genuinely seek to understand people.

An understanding strategy IS my sales strategy.

My relentlessness isn’t driven by my product or a sales number. I'm motivated by digging deeper to discover the “un-discovered” problem. Sales is something that happens for and with your buyer not to them. You're a guide on a discovery together with the intention to help and add value. ALWAYS.

The best feeling in sales isn’t ringing a bell, (even though that’s always fun).

The real joy is in being told three simple words.

“I trust you.”

That’s what really lights me up and what I'm going for.

Finally, my approach in sales is guided by attuning yourself to what someone’s entire world is like, actively listening without any agenda, being genuine, and putting them first.

I call these things, “Selling Human”. I practice it daily. I think we can all do it.

I choose to study it.

If you want to learn it with me, listen to my podcast: Stories of Selling Human

AND for more,

Follow #sellinghuman

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Greg Freeman joins me on the podcast to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of being the first sales hire in an early stage start up.

You’ll Learn:

• Is going into an early stage startup for you?
• The things to consider when making the leap to an early stage startup
• Why early stage startups are nothing like the movies...

About Greg

On a personal level, I make the somewhat stupid decision to go in as the first sales hire at early stage companies, so I’m happy to chat about:

> Expectation setting
> Package negotiation
> Working with founders
> Mapping the commercial org journey
> Your first junior hires
> Building your team culture

For founders, the only topics that matter:

> Why your first sales hire won’t deliver what you dream of
> Types of hires to avoid, if you want to succeed

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn to speak with him about the "real world" of early stage startups.

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