The Sales Evangelist

Embracing the technological capabilities of the modern-day isn’t just a good idea; it’s a necessity. On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Peter Kazanjy, the founder of Atrium and Modern Sales Pros (the nation’s largest sales, operations and leadership peer-education community.) As an author on early-stage sales excellent (Founding Sales), Peter is a sales expert who knows why you need to become a data-driven sales seller.

What does it mean to be a data-driven seller?

• It’s very similar to the innovation we’ve seen in athletics and high-end professions: someone utilizes every available advantage. 
• Especially with people working from home, there’s an opportunity to use new information to improve rep and team performance.
• If you don’t utilize these new technological innovations to make data-informed decisions, you’re going to be in a bad spot.

How do you sell embracing technology to managers?

• There are two historical reasons sales managers are typically blocked from a data-driven perspective: their ability and enablement, or the available tooling.
• Simple deal inspection is a standard management style, but it’s no longer the most effective. Enabling managers to manage metrics and goals is necessary to close the number of deals needed to stay viable. 
• Transitioning to a data-driven framework, especially as a manager, only benefits the team and brings in more money, making it a practical adjustment when given the proper resources.

How can I go about starting if I don’t have management support?

• Start paying attention to the important precursors.
• There's a conversion rate for the total number of accounts you interact with and the number of opportunities you create. Similarly, there will be a correlation between outreach efforts and movement through a conversion funnel.
• It’s like doing your daily pushups - consistency is key. Even if you don’t have the support of those around you, tracking simple metrics yourself will significantly help your own sales goals.

What metrics should we tackle first?

• The further upstream you can get, the better.
• Ensure you are meeting not just the quantity threshold you need, but one of quantity.
• Don’t email a few people; spread your portfolio. Who are you engaging with?
• Are you doing a good job, indicated by the response rate and opportunities created?

Peter’s major takeaway: Understand the importance of data-driven sales management. Whether that’s investing in highly specialized software or just keeping track on a whiteboard in your living room, using data to make decisions will provide critical opportunities for growth in your organization.

To get in touch with Peter, connect with him on LinkedIn. His company Atrium is offering special deals on various resources (and even coffee mugs) for listeners of The Sales Evangelist, which you can access at atriumhq.com/tse.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

To own or not to own, that is the question. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Mike Farrell, who specializes in outsourcing SDR work so their clients can focus on other tasks. Should you and your company use an external SDR team, or should you invest in and develop a team yourself? Find out in today’s episode.

With 18 years in the SDR world, Mike knows when to outsource versus invest in a team yourself.

• The answer? It all depends on where your company is in its maturation process.
• Startups and recently created companies likely don’t have the tools, people, or finances in place to develop their own team successfully (and should therefore outsource.)
• On the other hand, after receiving two or three rounds of investment, it might be wise to create your own team with a more in-depth understanding of what your company offers.

What even is “outsourcing”?

• Mike’s company has two different outsourcing methods: they use their own software, systems and people to perform the tasks themselves. This means the SDR team can be rapidly deployed, but a third-party organization still owns it. This is a common model for startups.
• The other model is a pay-per-appointment method, reserved more for companies that have enterprise companies as clients.

How to determine if you should outsource your team’s SDR work:

• Work backward: First, decide on your final sales goals and objectives. 
• Look at how many deals you made in a time frame and the win rate of the prospects you contacted.
• Total the number of prospects you interacted with across all mediums, and determine if you have the number of staff required to reach your goals based on your win rate.
• If the answer is no, you need to hire an external vendor to augment that (or staff up your internal SDR organization.)

To get in contact with Mike, visit his company website at Greenleads.com or email him at [email protected].

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

Branding is way more than the marketing or the marketing team - it’s establishing and helping people realize you’re an authority. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by branding expert Marc Gutman to learn why businesses that invest in branding win out over those that don’t.

Marc’s branding journey started because of the power of storytelling:

• Marc worked in the movie business, working with award-winning director Oliver Stone. It was in this field where he learned what the power of storytelling could do for an organization.
• He moved to branding after moving to Colorado, where he discovered a fantastic community of startup entrepreneurs. Marc started his own business (which he ended up selling) and then started his branding agency, Wild Story.

A brand has one job: Get people to buy more stuff for more years at a higher price. 

• There are two ways for an organization to increase its margins: lower costs or increase the price of goods or services. 
• To raise the price without reducing transactions, you must increase the product’s perceived value so people are more willing to pay more.

Everyone has a brand, even as an individual:

• Whether you like it or not, people want to know about you if they’re going to work with you. And because people no longer work in the same career or organization their entire life,  you always need to be building a brand reputation for your future.
• There’s only room for one person to be the cheapest in the market. For everyone else, there is branding to emphasize what you bring to the table.

What can an organization do to develop a brand?

• Become a thought leader and make content. Whether that’s video, podcasts, or blogs, pick a medium that you like and start creating!
• A brand is not your logo, tagline, or website. It’s the words and underlying DNA behind your organization.
• People have a gut feeling about your products and service, and you influence that through your words.
• A brand should become repetitive to you internally, but it should never feel repetitive externally. 

Check him out on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit his website at wildstory.com.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

It’s time to celebrate The Sales Evangelist’s 1500th episode! To celebrate this milestone, today’s episode is a little different. Rather than bringing in a guest, Donald looks back at past episodes to discuss five sales principles that have been important to him as a salesman, businessman, and just throughout his life.

1. Just getting started

• Listening to the first TSE episode is...rough. But there’s an important takeaway: don’t judge your “episode one” to someone else’s episode 1500. 
• As a new seller, don’t compare yourself to a veteran seller with years of experience.
• Nobody is great at something initially. So, just start, and don’t compare yourself to the quality of others.

1. The principles of selling are the same.

• This podcast has interviewed all types of people, from authors and sellers to industry experts. 
• According to Jeb in a previous episode, the selling process has not evolved because salespeople still go through similar processes, connect with people, and solve problems.
• What has changed are the tools and information available and the buyers’ expectations.

1. Winning the morning

• Episode seven of the podcast was about something critical: time management. 
• According to the guest from that episode, Justin Su’a, winning the morning means starting strong.
• The problem isn’t that there aren’t enough hours in the day; the problem is that we don’t take advantage of the time available.
• Winning the day doesn’t mean you have to wake up at three or four in the morning (necessarily); just put the most pressing tasks and high-priority items first.

1. Learning to be agile

• According to the one and only Jill Conrad, salespeople need to find a way to stay agile.
• Agile selling is getting up to speed on sales practices as soon as possible. 
• Learning these new practices makes salespeople more relevant and helpful to their prospects.
• To become a more agile seller, set aside a portion of your day to read, study, and understand new sales techniques and practices.

1. Your net worth will directly tie into your network.

• People connect LinkedIn connections like Pokemon. (Which we can guarantee you isn’t the best practice.)
• Don’t just add people and never respond. Instead, make genuine connections with people! Create a stronger relationship that will provide help and support later down the line.
• A great intro to reach out to someone on LinkedIn? Share your favorite episode of The Sales Evangelist or Donald’s article in Success Magazine! (It might be a shameless plug on our end, but can you blame us?)

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

A common problem for salespeople is interacting solely with just one stakeholder. But in reality, involving multiple people is the perfect strategy to help deals go through (and make more people excited about them.) In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Amy Hrehovcik to discuss her strategy to apply multi-threading throughout your sales process.

Amy’s sales experience is extensive.

• After selling for nearly a decade, Amy finished at Thomson Reuters before transitioning to marketing consulting (eventually working in a startup as the Chief of Customer Value.)
• She later pivoted to sales enablement, realizing she had a passion for teaching sellers and empowering sales leaders.
• Amy now hosts the podcast Revenue Real Hotline, where she discusses uncomfortable conversations in sales.
• Why did she start the podcast? She wrote an article (Mental Health, The Greatest Competitive Advantage That You’ll Ever Know), and it was viewed by the great Andy Paul.
• He invited her onto his show, and participating in that made her realize the importance of podcasting in sales. (Check out Donald’s guest appearance on her show.)

Today’s topic: Multi-threading

• Multi-threading describes liaising with multiple stakeholders and executive sponsors throughout an organization. 
• The average number of buyers involved in the buying motion was 6.7. Since that time, it has increased.
• Because her main selling vertical was big law, Amy realized the importance of proactively engaging with multiple stakeholders early on to minimize the objections buyers would have when moving the deal forward.

Why should you consider this selling approach?

• Not to sound cliche (but we will anyway), it’s the same reason you don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
• Amy began to hold off on doing deep-dive demos until at least three executive sponsors were in the room because it diversified the risk for the individuals involved. 
• They were no longer the sole advocate for a product (assuming they like it), thus limiting the amount of blame and buyer’s remorse people might feel after implementation.
• Because the buying process is getting longer, executives will invariably drop out of the acquisition process. But when you have two or three other executives who want to see the deal move forward, it is much more likely to move through.

How can you begin to develop this approach?

• Communicate with the original executive sponsor that you want to help them make the right decision, and you can do that by demonstrating the business case on your behalf. 
• Ask permission to have conversations with others or other departments to learn how others reach a particular goal.
• The Heath Brothers wrote in one of their books (Made to Stick) the idea of bright spots.
• Because of the relationships she developed throughout this discovery phase, she could return to her original executive sponsor and deliver a detailed report that helped both of their causes.

One major takeaway from multithreading? Just do it. It’s like anything else- you might not be good at it at first. But with practice, you’ll begin to see success. To contact Amy, connect with her on LinkedIn to learn more about her process with multithreading.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

It’s the golden rule of life: treat others the way you want to be treated. As sales professionals, you do this by playing the long game, building relationships rather than focusing on the sale. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald interviews David Henzel to learn David’s approach and strategy to being customer-centric in modern selling. 

What does it mean to be customer-centric?

• In essence, a customer-centric salesperson sets customers up for success. 
• It’s helping your customers succeed (or positioning them to be successful) instead of worrying purely about making a sale.
• Selling out of fear only provides mediocre results. If you sell to make a commission, the customer’s problem might not be solved, and they might not want to be your advocate as readily.

A happy customer tells their friend, but an unhappy customer tells the world.

• To close customer success gaps, you can either write copy on your website to inform potential buyers (as a facet of content marketing) or partner with a sales coach to teach proper outbound messaging.
• To understand your client’s needs, you must play the long game. 
• Don’t give the customer what you think they want; find out what they need and give them that.

You’ll naturally get referrals if you sell what the customer needs instead of what you want them to need.

• People won’t typically brag about a platform or service they use, but they will brag about material things. 
• Try giving gifts to your clients to generate more referrals and word-of-mouth marketing.
• The key, however, is to give stuff people will use. Otherwise, it’ll end up in someone’s closet (or trash can.)
• If your rapport with the customer is strong enough, simply ask!

David’s major piece of advice: act out of love, not fear. It’ll change not just your professional relationships but your personal ones as well. For more great content from David, check out his podcast  How We Solve. The questionnaire on Understanding the jungle that will help understand your customer better. You can also learn more about his portfolio companies on his personal website https://www.davidhenzel.com/, and connect with him on LinkedIn to stay updated on everything he’s doing! (And be sure to mention you came from The Sales Evangelist.)

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

The future of sales is evolving, with the main components of modern selling being drastically different from the pillars of sales twenty years ago. Namely, sales is no longer just managing people; it’s managing software and technology. Today Donald is joined by Derrick Williams to learn how to manage technology while still providing the same level of interpersonal communication.

Technology has become infinitely more important in the sales arena.

• Yet despite its importance, there is still a massive concentration on the people management side instead of the technical side.
• The modern sales leader needs technical aptitude to lead an effective team.
• Maximizing the effectiveness of sales engagement platforms, sequence building, and even data insights help sales professionals be more effective in their outreach efforts.
• It’s not just using the platforms provided to you, but how can you structure and optimize all aspects of it (like importing contacts and information)

Sales leadership sold in a completely different manner than salespeople today.

• Because of their experience, there might be a laggard mentality towards technology adoption, even in tech companies (yes, we see the irony.)
• Understanding the technology and how it works together can seem daunting, but you’ll find much more success by leveraging it than you otherwise would.

Technology has more applications than anyone initially thinks. 

• For example, do you want to know which SDRs are talking too much when interacting with customers? There’s a technological way to determine that. 
• Sure, you could do most things without technology. But technology will create an unbiased report that is far faster and more accurate than doing it on your own. (As well as saving time and resources.)
• If you don’t have the time or money to acquire technology platforms, leverage third-party implementation consultants (which exist in virtually every industry.)

How do you determine where to implement technology in your business?

• Put your process to paper. Use whatever tools you have to create a simple play-by-play of what SDRs go through each day.
• What software are they using? What’s involved in their process?
• Have salespeople give honest feedback and determine where in the process there are the most issues.

Derrick’s final fast fact? Casual Friday does not mean casual effort. To contact Derrick, follow him on Instagram or LinkedIn, and visit his company website.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

From small entrepreneurial startups to major corporations, customer loyalty and customer service are vital for business. After all, without customers, would you be able to stay in business? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Brad Cleveland, author, speaker, and something, to learn Brad’s five steps leaders should take to build customer loyalty.

Establish a vision.

• Think REI: we inspire, educate, and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. It’s clear, concise, and anyone hearing it will know exactly what the company is about.
• Visions aren’t exclusive to companies; they should be for individuals too. So why do you do what you do? 

Tap into innovation.

• As you interact with your contacts, prospects, and customers, think about what you can learn from the exchange.
• The more you pay attention to the root causes driving interactions with your customers, the better you’ll be able to serve them.

Cast a wide net of listening.

• Brainstorm every possible way a customer might try to interact with you. Between email, social media, physical, website forms, there’s a myriad of potential sources you have to be prepared to listen to.
• The quietest voices can be the most powerful, but you’ve got to be willing to hear them.

Build your approach around ten customer expectations.

• Customer expectations aren’t changing; be responsive, be available, simple things that just make common sense.
• Find ways to provide the service your customer wants.

Build processes around recurring problem areas.

• Even after implementing the four previous steps, you might still encounter recurring frustrations, and that’s normal. 
• If this happens, identify those problem areas and work to solve those issues. Then, develop processes that avoid or fix the areas moving forward.

Brad’s major takeaway? Be uniquely you. There might be things you can learn from other people or organizations, but trying to emulate them will prevent you from developing the authentic relationships you want. Visit him at bradcleveland.com to view his courses, get in contact with him, and find out more about his journey. Read his book Leading the Customer Experience and visit the International Customer Management Institute to find a community of professionals dedicated to providing the perfect customer experience.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

With every other major field in the business world, professionals undergo years of training and education to learn the standard practices, techniques, and skills to make them successful. But with sales, it’s the exact opposite. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Paul Fifield, CEO, and co-founder of Sales Impact Academy, to learn why the education system has overlooked sales (and what we can do to fix it.)

It’s okay to feel like you don’t know what you’re doing.

• Imposter syndrome is common in sales professionals because nobody is told what they should be doing.

• There is no structured learning or education in sales, which Paul deems “the greatest educational tragedy.”

What if we applied a similar educational journey to finance?

• To reinforce the point, think about another important B2B profession: finance.

• What if the way you got into finance was to go get a degree in math and then just walk up and start working?

• It’s absurd, yet that’s exactly what happens in sales. 

The core role of higher education is to equip people with the skills to contribute meaningfully to the economy.

• The pace of change for sales is too quick for it to be integrated easily into traditional education because traditional universities just can’t keep up with these shifts.

• The result? Everybody feels like an imposter, and nobody follows the best practices. And the wheel is being reinvented each and every day.

Some quick facts:

• A search on LinkedIn reveals 60 million people are in sales. 

• There’s not even one book on revenue operations, yet over three million people hold revenue operations titles on LinkedIn.

• The GDP of B2B companies is roughly 43 trillion dollars, and that staggering amount of money is resting on the sales staffed by people who’ve never been educated on their positions.

How can we make an impact and these changes to teach sales principles?

• Educate yourself. Learn the sales standards and educate around those standards. 

• That’s the platform Paul’s company solves by teaching these standards and best practices.

Paul’s major takeaway? Get a subscription for the sales academy (yes, it’s a shameless plug. But it really will help!) To connect with Paul, connect with him on LinkedIn or reach out to him at [email protected] or +44 075-988-3543. Visit The Sales Impact Academy to find courses and learnings that will help you in your sales career.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

Because of the hustle and bustle salespeople experience each day, it can be challenging to be our most focused and productive selves. So what steps can we take to be more productive throughout the day? Today, Donald is joined by Janice B. Gordon to learn her tips for staying focused and energized throughout the day.

Always listen to your body:

• Janice does yoga and meditation, which she’s been doing for nearly forty years.
• .If you enjoy what you do, that makes all the difference.
• She chooses to focus on energy management because many people, especially after the pandemic, feel low energy and motivation.
• People think pulling a 10, 12 or 15 hour day is productive. But you are far less effective pulling these days than focusing your time and energy for shorter lengths of time.

Symptoms arise if you don’t address your personal energy needs.

• You just feel negative. And instead of having a bad moment, you turn that moment into a bad day. 
• When you feel you’re having a bad day, you are less productive and less likely to make the most of the time you have available.

The four dimensions of energy:

• Physical energy - All the nutrients going into your body. Exercise and recovery time can bring up your physical energy.
• Emotional energy is the interconnectedness between people and is the energy that suffered because of the pandemic. There is less interaction with others, be it in the office, at a restaurant, or even around the neighborhood.
• Mental energy is associated with thinking and problem-solving. As sales professionals, we use this form of energy all the time. For this energy type, practicing drastically helps cultivate this energy. However, ensure you take mental breaks.
• Spiritual energy - This is your purpose and mission. Spiritual energy influences your character, your personality, and your choices. This is the overarching concept that connects your different energies.

If your spiritual energy is low, your motivation will suffer.

• To solve this, take a mindful walk. Notice and observe what’s around you and empty your brain. Then, when you go back to the office, you’ll be incredibly focused and productive.
• Listen to your body and give it what it needs. 
• Always have water at your desk, and drink it constantly.

To get more content from Janice, check out her podcast, the Scale Your Sales Podcast (and check out episode 95 to listen to Donald’s guest appearance!) You can also connect with Janice on LinkedIn.

Join Donald’s Facebook group, The Sales Evangelizers, to find a community of people to share, reflect, and grow with on your sales journey.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to! 

Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS