The Sales Evangelist

The Sales Evangelist

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The Sales Evangelist episodes

  • TSE 1048: Sales Differentiation

    Sales differentiation helps salespeople win more deals at the price point they want, and today Lee Salz talks about building a framework that will allow you to personalize your sales.

    Sales reps in every industry must differentiate themselves in today's market. It's crucial for sellers to have room to "color" the sales process.

    Origins

    When Lee was a kid, he had a job as a pickup and delivery driver for dry cleaning. The guy he worked for didn't own a dry cleaning business; he simply knew it was a hassle to drop off and pick up your clothes.

    He developed a contract with a couple of different dry cleaning firms and he charged a premium for the service. The idea took off, and Lee was intrigued by the idea that he was able to add a 40 percentage point premium by differentiating the service.

    He didn't actually put the idea into play until his 50th birthday after he had learned a lot about the industry.

    Philosophy of differentiation

    Lee said the philosophy translates for every possible seller. No matter what industry you're in, what size company you're in, whether you sell products or service, whether you sell B2B or B2C, and it doesn't even matter what methodology you use in your sales.

    The premise is simple: win more deals at the prices you want.

    Differentiation around what you sell

    Differentiation around what you sell relies on the ability to translate your passion to the person sitting on the other side of the desk.

    If you can't communicate your own passion about your differentiators to the person on the other side of the desk, you might as well not have anyone sitting there.

    The idea is to build passion and help salespeople communicate it in a meaningful way. You want your customers to believe they must have what you're selling.

    [Tweet "Companies have an obligation to share their differentiators with their salespeople and to explain how to position them with buyers. #SalesDifferentiation"]

    It's a responsibility that falls to marketing, business owners, and sales leaders.

    Marketing and sales differentiation

    Marketing differentiation is one-directional communication for the masses. Think trade shows and websites. It screams to the marketplace, "Hey! Look at us! We're here."

    It demonstrates all the available potential.

    Sales differentiation is two-directional communication with an individual, specific buyer.

    It takes all of the potential and personalizes it to an individual specific buyer.

    Everyone buys for a different reason so if you leave all the capabilities out there and rely on that to drive buyers, you'll fail.

    You must have salespeople who gather all the potential and bring it to the individual level.

    [Tweet "Solution is often used haphazardly, but it means you take what someone is looking to accomplish and align it with what you offer. #SalesSolutions"]

    Add those two things together and that meets the definition of solution.

    Two differentiation workshops

    It doesn't matter what you're selling.

    Make a list of your most common competitors who also sell what you sell. Work with your team to do the analysis.

    Answer two questions:

    • Why do you win?
    • Why do they win?

    Make a list of the decision influencers, the people commonly involved in the decision to buy what you sell.

    Again, answer two questions:

    • What is keeping them up at night relative to your offering?
    • Given what is keeping them awake, how can you help?

    If you engage your team in these two workshops, you'll get a series of differentiators that will serve as raw material to work with.

    From there, develop a communication strategy that helps you build passion around those differentiators.

    Differentiation around how you sell

    Every interaction between a seller and a buyer provides an opportunity to offer meaningful value that your competition doesn't provide.

    Consider this: Would you prefer a restaurant with outstanding food and mediocre service or mediocre food and outstanding service?

    Most people will choose the outstanding service.

    That means you could have the best product features and functions but your failure to differentiate how you sell could cause you to lose.

    From that very first phone call to the time they sign on the dotted line, you have an opportunity to build a great experience.

    Customer service vs account management

    Don't equate the two as the same.

    Customer service occurs when your client asks you for something. The measurement of success should be timeliness and accuracy in the response.

    It's the proactive set of activities and behaviors that you'll provide that adds value in the relationship that has nothing to do with the product.

    Look at every touch point to find every opportunity to do something different that your client will find meaningful.

    Recognizing your competition

    Your true competition exists in your battle to earn face time with your prospects.

    No executive has the responsibility to meet with salespeople every hour on the hour. In order for us to earn that meeting, we have to create intrigue in the first moment.

    Imagine operating the way the police do. When they knock on your door to ask questions about a crime, they don't randomly choose your home for a conversation. They follow a trail of evidence that leads them to you.

    They've put together a theory, and you should do the same with your sales efforts.

    Instead of blindly calling people and sending emails, put together a sales crime theory, based on the answer to this question: why should they want to have a conversation with us right now? Instead of asking why we should talk with them, ask why they should want to have a conversation with us.

    Put together a messaging strategy based on your research that will help them recognize what you have to offer.

    Sales Differentiation resources

    Lee's book Sales Differentiation:19 Powerful Strategies to Win More Deals at the Prices You Want is available in bookstore, at your favorite online book sources, at Amazon, and a variety of other places.

    You can also go to salesdifferentiation.com and register for Lee's video series. The videos are typically only available to workshop clients but he's making them available to the people who purchase the book. Go to the website, click on "bonus," fill out the form, and start taking advantage of the videos.

    "Sales Differentiation" episode resources

    This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out. You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

    Mailtag.io allows you to see around the corners. You can see when people open your email, or when they click on the link you sent. Mailtag.io will give you half-off your subscription for life when you use the Promo Code: Donald at check out.

    This episode is also brought to you by the TSE Certified Sales Training Program. If 2018 wasn't the best year for you, check out TSE Certified Sales Training Program. We can help you out of your slump.

    If you gave a lot of great presentations and did a lot of hard work, only to watch your prospects choose to work with your competitors, we can help you fix that. The new semester of TSE Certified Sales Training Program begins in April and it would be an absolute honor to have you join us.

    I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

    If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode. Share it with your friends who would benefit from learning more.

    Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    hubpspot.com/marketers
    bluemangostudios.com

    31 min
  • TSE 1048: Sales Differentiation
    Sales differentiation helps salespeople win more deals at the price point they want, and today Lee Salz talks about building a framework that will allow you to personalize your sales.
    30 min
  • TSE 1046: You Need to Worry More About Your Champion Than Your Decision Maker

    Sometimes sales professionals get it backward, and they fail to understand the need to worry more about your champion than your decision maker.

    Today Garrett Mehrguth talks to us about the importance of your champion in your sales deals, and why we shouldn't lose sight of his importance.

    Sometimes there's great value in changing the defaults we learn as salespeople. We tend to become so obsessed with the decision makers that we overlook the champions, who are arguably the most important person in the whole scenario.

    How decisions are made

    Salespeople sometimes focus so greatly on getting a close that we neglect the fundamental truths involved in selling. In fact, we alienate people and we become our own worst enemy.

    It isn't price; it's me. Most often, we are the reason that deals don't close. It's a direct result of who we speak to, who we don't speak to, the way we end a conversation, the way we treat people, how well we prepare.

    We must have transparency and honesty to admit that often we're the reason we don't close a deal.

    Salespeople are quick to take credit for successes and slow to take responsibility for failures. #SalesTruth

    Garrett believes that if we would build our resources and our marketing toward decision makers, we would drastically improve our conversion rates.

    How deals emerge

    Once a decision-maker recognizes he has a need, he might send a subordinate to a conference to talk to vendors. He might instruct the person to get three quotes and then bring his two favorites to the decision-maker. Once that's done, the two will make a decision together.

    He might suggest filling out 10 forms on the way to finding three good options. The pair will whittle those to two good options before making a decision.

    The problem is that if you speak over the champion or speak through the champion or speak around the champion, you alienate your greatest ally.

    Why you need the champion

    The champion is your greatest asset while you're not in the room, so if you alienate that person, you're losing an important ally. You alienate the person who could potentially go to bat for you once you hang up the phone.

    Good decision-makers make decisions by asking the champion whether or not he could work with that agency. So who truly puts their butt on the line?

    It isn't the decision-maker, because he has a fall guy.

    The champion is the one who needs the information, the emotional support, and the resources to make a good decision. If you honor the champion with amazing intro calls, lots of sales resources, and well-prepared meetings, you give him the ammo to pitch you internally.

    [Tweet "Internal sales champions are far more powerful than outside reps trying to close deals. #SalesChampion"]

    Why the decision-maker shouldn't be your focus

    In five years of working with marketing teams, Garrett has never heard anyone mention targeting the champion. Instead, we treat decision-makers as though they have some kind of supernatural power.

    The decision-maker is never the point of contact. If he isn't the point of contact, and he isn't the one who will be working with the agency you choose, he isn't the one to target.

    Remember that everyone is selling to the decision-maker, including the champion. The decision-makers job is to discern the best fit for his champion. So even if he likes a certain agency better, if that agency can't work with his champion, it won't matter.

    Deal retention is far more important than closing deals. Even if you manage to close a deal, if you don't treat the champion well, you won't renew it. You won't get referrals from it.

    In Garrett's mind, there isn't a single aspect of the process where the decision-maker is more important than the champion.

    Avoiding absolutes

    He acknowledges, too, that absolutes are dangerous. It's certainly not true that the decision-maker should never, ever be considered.

    Instead, let's work to change the fundamental hypothesis that we as marketers and sales reps enter relationships with.

    If we spend more time building rapport with the point of contact, you will drastically improve your close rate because you are building confidence and comfort with the most important voice in the room.

    You need a champion who will give you a voice during moments when you aren't in the room because that's often when deals are decided. You won't close $150,000 contracts while you're in the room. It happens behind closed doors, and you won't likely be there when it does.

    Shifting focus to champions

    Give your champions resources to bolster their confidence. Make that your primary goal.

    Your champion is likely scared to death of going to his boss with a recommendation. His discernment and character will be judged by the referral he makes. Anytime you give a referral to someone, your own judgment is on the line.

    Challenge things that other people won't do. Put your neck on the line by offering evidence and claims that protect the champion when he goes to his boss. You take the risk so your champion doesn't have to.

    It will give him the confidence to recommend your agency and it will differentiate you from the competition.

    In order to be successful, do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

    Building confidence

    Garrett's company operates on annual contracts, and they give the point of contact room to act if he doesn't feel completely comfortable in the relationship. By backing up their claims, it gives the champion room to cover himself if he makes a bad choice in hiring them.

    If you create alignment with the champion, you'll create alignment with the decision-maker. At the end of the day, the decision-makers just have to make more money than you're charging them.

    The champion has to have a day-to-day relationship with you. You can't neglect that relationship.

    It's why you must develop resources that speak directly to your champion.

    Even when it's time to renew, the champion will get to decide whether to continue working with your agency. Regardless of the data, if the relationship isn't there, the deal won't renew.

    Change your perspective to focus on champions, and your volume will drastically improve. There are far more champions looking for vendors than there are decision-makers.

    You'll also increase your deal retention and reduce churn.

    Change your prospecting and marketing to focus on the champions, you'll increase your at-bats and your close rate.

    "You Need to Worry More About Your Champion Than Your Decision Maker" episode resources

    You can connect with Garrett on LinkedIn @garrettmehrguth, email him at [email protected], or connect with him on Twitter @gmehrguth.

    This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out. You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

    Mailtag.io allows you to see around the corners. You can see when people open your email, or when they click on the link you sent. Mailtag.io will give you half-off your subscription for life when you use the Promo Code: Donald at check out.

    This episode is also brought to you by the TSE Certified Sales Training Program. If 2018 wasn't the best year for you, check out TSE Certified Sales Training Program. We can help you out of your slump.

    If you gave a lot of great presentations and did a lot of hard work, only to watch your prospects choose to work with your competitors, we can help you fix that. The new semester of TSE Certified Sales Training Program begins in April and it would be an absolute honor to have you join us.

    I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

    If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode. Share it with your friends who would benefit from learning more.

    Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    hubpspot.com/marketers
    bluemangostudios.com

    27 min
  • TSE 1045: TSE Certified Sales Training Program - “David and Goliath”

    Sometimes the logical approach doesn't make sense, just as in the story of David and Goliath it seemed impossible to believe that the shepherd boy could beat the giant.

    In sales, we sometimes have to be a bit irrational. We must think outside the box.

    Today we'll discuss how unorthodox thinking can help us take down some pretty significant giants. It can also help us win some pretty decent accounts.

    Logical approach

    When the giant Goliath demanded that the Israelites send out their best warrior, it didn't make sense for them to send David. He wasn't the fastest or the biggest.

    He was a little farm guy tending sheep, and he wasn't the typical warrior type.

    Too often in sales we default to the same logical approach that sales reps have been using for years. Instead of thinking outside the box, we choose the most rational solution to the problem.

    Imagine you're selling TVs and you're meeting with a client that has a good idea of what they need and what they want. It's possible, though, that the client's perception of the problem may not even be the real issue. Worse yet, their solution to the problem may not be the best one.

    In the case of David and Goliath, if the Israelites had sent the best warrior into battle to try to outperform the giant, the best warrior would likely have been killed.

    Unorthodox approach

    David used an approach that had never been used before. He used a sling and a stone to take down the giant, and the approach was unexpected.

    In the situation with the client and the TV, he may assume that he needs a TV because it has always been the best solution in the past. Perhaps, though, the best solution is a projector, but the client doesn't realize it's even a possibility.

    What if you forget about the TV for a minute and consider other possibilities: smartphones or tablets, or even podcasts. If the goal is for the client to find a form of entertainment, TV isn't the only option.

    [Tweet "Instead of giving the client exactly what he says he wants, offer possibilities that he may not even be aware of. #SolveProblems"]

    Sales reps who ask the right questions can differentiate themselves. They can challenge the status quo and help the buyer to see us in a different light.

    Risky decisions

    I was reading a book called Selling to the C-Suite and the author mentioned that executives will often make risky decisions if there's a clear plan for that decision. Most executives routinely get what they want.

    In many cases, their team members fail to offer unique proposals because they are afraid of getting fired.

    In this case, an educated seller may propose an option that's a little riskier than just selling the executive a television. The executive may be so busy running his business that he hasn't researched TVs or other options.

    Your goal should be to inform yourself about the industry, the client, the type of business, and the problem. Come to the table as an expert and offer unique ways to solve the client's problem.

    Memorable actions

    David explained to Saul that because he had killed lions and bears in the past, he was equipped to take down a giant. If Saul was seeking a victory that would make the opponents his servants, wouldn't it be worthwhile to consider David's proposal?

    David accomplished exactly what he said he would, and the result is a story that has survived for thousands of years.

    Will your clients remember you and your heroic efforts or will you be just another sale rep? Will you be the one who offered them a cheaper price? Or will you be the one who offered a unique approach that turned the organization around?

    Studying industries

    Know your client's industry well. Study it. Understand the business left and right.

    Instead of trying to sell to 10 million different industries, focus on the top three or five and master those industries. Become an expert in those niches. Then focus on those people.

    That doesn't mean you won't sell to those other industries. It simply means that you won't focus on those industries. Invest your efforts into the industries that will give you the best bang for your buck.

    Read industry magazines, and watch YouTube videos. Spend time on activities that will help you become more effective.

    When you do, you'll stand out from the competitors. Because you'll bring different ideas, different strategies, and different tactics, you'll earn the respect of your prospects.

    Bring resources, examples, and share your past experiences with your prospects. Explain to your clients why they must choose the option you're offering.

    “David and Goliath” episode resources

    This episode is brought to you in part by our TSE Certified Sales Training Program, which teaches you to improve your sales skills, find more customers, build stronger value, and close more deals.

    The next semester begins in April.

    If you're not familiar with the TSE Certified Sales Training Program, it's a program designed to help brand new sales reps, as well as those who have been selling forever. The 12-week module offers videos you can watch at your own pace, as well as the option to join a group discussion. It's broken into three sections: finding, building value, and closing. It's amazing and it's fun!

    This episode is also brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

    You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

    The episode is also brought to you by prospect.io, a sales automation platform that allows you to send cold emails in a personalized manner. To find out more about how it can help you automate your sales process, go to prospect.io/tse. Your prospecting will never be the same.

    I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

    If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

    Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    hubpspot.com/marketers
    bluemangostudios.com

    14 min
  • TSE 1044: Sales From The Street: "Being A Great Leader"

    It's impossible to overstate the importance of being a great leader when you're working to build a team or an organization into something that will change the world and make things better for people.

    Today's guest Andrei Mincov founded Trademark Factory in 2013 to help entrepreneurs secure the legacy of their brands and preserve their hard work.

    Teams

    As you grow your team, as you grow your business, as you grow your dream, as you grow your vision, there comes a time when the leader can't come up with all the ideas.

    In order for the organization to grow, leaders need team members who help generate ideas and who provide initiative to improve things.

    You'll likely have some team members who simply have marching orders or tasks. Others will be responsible to help you move the organization forward.

    Those team members will have to have vision. They'll operate from your inspiration.

    Hiring

    Finding those visionary team members is different than hiring task-based team members.

    Andrei uses small, unique tasks to help make hiring decisions simpler. He might, for example, offer a jpeg with a typo or error in it and ask prospective employees to find the error. The intention would be to measure the candidate's attention to detail.

    He might also ask the candidate to build a video or a graphics project.

    This process helps him narrow the field because not every candidate is willing to jump through the required hoops to get the job. It also helps him determine who actually has the necessary skill set to accomplish the work.

    Without poring over countless resumes and applications he can narrow the field to the best candidates.

    If candidates aren't excited enough, in the beginning, to show you what they can do for you, how excited will they be after they are hired?

    [Tweet "It's hard to hire from a bunch of unknowns, but it's much easier to select employees from a smaller number of candidates you've already seen in action. #HiringLeaders"]

    Growth

    Leaders must have a compelling vision in order to grow a company. They should also likely have a track record of successfully accomplishing goals.

    Conveying thoughts and messages won't be enough to lead well. Leadership demands action and results.

    People will follow leaders who have vision and a successful track record. The better your business and the better your track record, the more likely you are to attract great people to surround you.

    Andrei shared that animals in the zoo don't care about ticket sales. They care about food and comfort and safety.

    Your team members are similar in that they care about basic things like provision and comfort. While you probably want them to have full ownership in your business, they likely never will.

    Your role is to provide enough vision for them to recognize that aligning themselves with your goal will benefit them personally.

    Building

    Smaller companies often fail to see that they are capable of building something that matters. They may have a really cool team or a really cool business and they assume it's a fluke. They don't take themselves seriously enough to worry about protecting their businesses.

    What steps would you take to protect yourself and your business if you knew that you would definitely succeed?

    This issue boils down to leadership, because if you don't have a vision of growing your company into something substantial, you'll miss an opportunity.

    Great leaders like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos know that they are building something that can change the world. They are building something that will help a bunch of people do a bunch of great stuff.

    When you have a vision toward the path to greatness, people will follow you. Do something that people will remember years from now.

    "Being A Great Leader" episode resources

    You can connect with Andrei and his team trademarkfactory.com. If you have a brand you're interested in protecting, you can schedule a free call with the team to determine the next steps in your process.

    This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out. You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

    Mailtag.io allows you to see around the corners. You can see when people open your email, or when they click on the link you sent. Mailtag.io will give you half-off your subscription for life when you use the Promo Code: Donald at check out.

    This episode is also brought to you by the TSE Certified Sales Training Program. If 2018 wasn't the best year for you, check out TSE Certified Sales Training Program. We can help you out of your slump.

    If you gave a lot of great presentations and did a lot of hard work, only to watch your prospects choose to work with your competitors, we can help you fix that. The new semester of TSE Certified Sales Training Program begins in April and it would be an absolute honor to have you join us.

    I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

    If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode. Share it with your friends who would benefit from learning more.

    Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    hubpspot.com/marketers
    bluemangostudios.com

    29 min
  • TSE Episode#1043: 5 Ways to Measure the Quality of your Leads, Pipeline and Sales Talent

    When you're scaling an organization, it's important that you're able to measure the quality of your leads, pipeline, and sales talent. It important for business owners as well as sales reps, because simply adding people to the organization won't necessarily result in more sales.

    Today Rob Kall talks about the numbers that we might not be measuring and the importance of that data in helping your organization grow and improve.

    Although they aren't commonly measured, these data are the true drivers of your organization's success.

    Soft things

    Many sales leaders believe that the solution to any sales struggle is to throw more bodies at it. Though that option may work sometimes, it comes at a cost.

    Eventually, you'll find that you aren't getting that much more out of the machine despite the added personnel.

    In response to that problem, Rob and his company spent a lot of time looking at how you can move to tangible measurements instead of making decisions based upon gut feelings.

    They have identified 5 metrics to improve your company's performance.

    1. Lead quality

    Leads are not created equal. If I have 1,000 leads and a 2 percent conversion to close, that's a super easy way to measure.

    But if I get a referral from my rich uncle, that's probably a much easier sale than calling someone who has never heard of my business or product.

    We fail to pay attention to these factors, but they are important. Unfortunately, they can also be difficult to determine.

    Begin by creating a baseline.

    If you find that of 1,000 leads you generated in the last period, you were able to generate 20 sales, you can measure a 2 percent conversion.

    [Tweet "Figure out where your leads come from. Once you've identified that, you may determine that the conversion rate for a particular lead source is higher than the others. #LeadSource"]

    You can also evaluate your leads by industry and location.

    Once you understand those conversions, you can identify the leads that are not likely to close and stop wasting your time on them.

    2. Prospecting effectiveness

    Prospecting results in a lot of "no" responses.

    The only thing that really matters is engagement. As a rep, you must get a certain amount of engagement every day.

    Some people do it with sheer numbers. Others send fewer contacts but they personalize the ones they do send.

    Whichever approach you use, make notes every single time an activity results in something. When you do, you'll begin to recognize patterns.

    Your numbers might look great, but if the outcomes aren't there, those numbers don't mean as much.

    3. True pipeline

    Rob points to a concept he calls a critical deal.

    Some companies do pipeline reviews on a weekly basis but others do it on a daily basis. It's a chance to see how well deals are progressing.

    Consider the following three factors:

    • Is it a big deal that matters? If it's a $500 deal when typically your deals average $10,000, you probably shouldn't even look at it. Is the significance there?
    • Is it a deal that is unlikely to close? Consider the probability.
    • Has something happened that would make you think it's less likely to close? If you've had no communication with the customer or other indications that the deal may stall, consider those.

    If these three factors aren't there, you probably should focus on other deals. Move the critical deals forward and think about your deals in a structured way.

    4. Product knowledge

    On the rep side of the issue, reps must have product and industry knowledge. When you're just starting out, you won't have as much knowledge as those who have been there for years.

    How well does this rep know the industry and the product? How does he compare to other reps?

    Those with the best product knowledge won't necessarily be the best performers. You can't possibly know every single factor of the industry.

    You simply must know enough to be credible. Those who haven't reached that minimum threshold will struggle until they do.

    Consider also closing ability or the ability to look at the last part of the deal.

    When you get to the last stage of a deal, what happens? How often do you win? You'll see patterns if you track this rate.

    Does one rep have more of a killer instinct?

    5. Engagement ability

    If you are able to generate a lot of engagement, you're probably a good communicator. You're probably good at providing valuable information to the prospect.

    Instead of measuring how the prospect responds to it, measure how much engagement the rep is able to generate.

    Technology

    The reality is that your sales team probably includes a few people who don't have the right product knowledge and a few people that don't have valuable leads.

    You may have a few areas where your marketing team is spinning its wheels.

    When you start addressing some of these shortcomings, you start to see amazing results.

    By fixing the one thing that's screwing you up, you unlock the potential for your sales organization.

    Team mood

    As a sales leader, you probably have a gut feeling about your team's morale. You know whether they are optimistic or not.

    When negativity is present, it will affect your team's ability to sell. It will also affect your retention and your on-boarding.

    Though no product is perfect, there are frequently just one or two things that are causing grief.

    • How do they feel about the materials they have?
    • How do they feel about coaching?
    • What kind of competitive pressures are they feeling?

    You'll likely identify multiple areas of improvement that will help your team perform better.

    Limiting factors

    Many limiting factors don't simply add up. They multiply.

    If you can improve it a little bit, even if you can't perfect it, you'll get results from that thing. If the rep doesn't know the product, train him. If the team doesn't feel good about the commission plan, explain it.

    If your product isn't ready for market, figure out what you can do to improve it.

    "Measure the Quality of your Leads, Pipeline and Sales Talent" episode resources

    Connect with Rob at cien.ai. It's a reference to doing things 100 times. You can also connect with him personally on LinkedIn @RobertKall.

    This episode is brought to you in part by our TSE Certified Sales Training Program, which teaches you to improve your sales skills, find more customers, build stronger value, and close more deals.

    The next semester begins in April.

    This episode is also brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

    You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

    I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

    If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

    Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

     

    Mentioned in this episode:

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

    hubpspot.com/marketers
    bluemangostudios.com

    31 min

About The Sales Evangelist

From the publisher's feed

I believe in doing BIG THINGS! You should be earning 6 figures easily as a sales rep. But chances are you are not...yet! Sales is the most important department in every company but many sellers are never taught how to effectively sell, much less how to earn their way to high-income status. My own career limped along until a company I worked for invested in sales training to help me succeed. Immediately afterward, I closed a deal worth 4X what the company spent on me and saw hockey-stick improvement in my performance. So I started a podcast to “Evangelize” what was working.

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