Michael Zuber - Effects of Life Changing Money, Getting a C-Level Meeting, and Going it Alone

Michael Zuber has been in high tech sales since the late 90’s. While he has held positions from Solutions Consultant to Sales Director, he has spent the majority of his time in a sales leadership roles, including VP of Sales at HP. Michael is a prolific writer and at the time of this interview, he has 74 articles posted on LinkedIn, which are largely focused on sales performance and sales operations. Over the last 25+ years, Michael has worked with thousands of sales reps and has seen the good, the bad and the amazing. In this conversation, Michael shares about his role in 50-75 deals where the sales rep received “life changing money”, which is defined as $1,000,000 or more. The surprising truth that is revealed about a person’s character, is often revealed when commission checks of this size are received. The frank and honest discussion that follows is both a cautionary tale and source for motivation and inspiration. Equally important, was learning Michael’s perspective on the specific qualities possessed by really extraordinary sales professionals. We dig into some of the personality traits, the mindset, and the strategies that can be emulated by anyone wanting to take their craft to the next level. Michael also shares some insights and practical strategies including: Coaching sales professionals to 7 figure commission checks How to get a C-level meeting The value of “going it alone” and when do it, and when not to If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear: *[16:00] What makes top performers different - Getting the C-level meeting I feel fortunate to have had such a great mentor in. I have called on my friend to share his thoughts on what has made him successful so that you can do the same. QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments. Scroll down for show notes... Recommendations: MEDDIC Methodology - As explained by Accent's Sales Enablement Blog Brian Tracy - LinkedIn Profile I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe and share ;) Happy Selling, Arlina Allen Show notes: [2:50] Life changing money stories, for reps, clients and partners [6:00] Managing emotions over a 2-3 year sale cycle [13:30] Coaching top performers – Dealing with Slumps *[16:00] What makes top performers different- Getting the C-level meeting [24:00] Leverage your extended team to cover more ground [27:00] Evaluating your next opportunity [32:40] Motivation: Being coin operated vs being of service [35:50] Customer success stories [38:30] Recognition – Celebrating the wins [41:00] Sales methodology & motivation – MEDDIC & Brian Tracey [45:00] Effects of life changing money, both good & bad [48:00] Advise to younger self – Work smarter not harder & how to do it

Big win story: How a single question increased sales by $1.6M.

Victor Espino has been a high tech sales rep since 1997. He has held individual contributor roles as well as sales management roles. His diverse experience has lead him to insightful conclusions that he shares in this conversation.

Also in this episode, Victor goes into details of a $1.6M deal, and how we went from the bottom of the totem pole to a top rep at SAP.

Victor also shares some practical strategies including:

• How to land and expand

• The cash and prizes of a big win

• Valuable tools, books and resources every rep should leverage

If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear:  *[6:30] Big win story – A simple question that took a deal from $50K to $1.6M

For more resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com

I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)

Happy Selling,

Arlina Allen

Show notes: [5:20] Asking for what you want

*[6:30] Big win story – A simple question that took a deal from $50K to $1.6M

[14:27] How the big win effected his year (so good!)

[22:00] Prospecting: Start Up vs Enterprise approach

[28:00] Critical sales tools

[40:00] Advise to younger self

Resources & Recommendations:

SFDC

Crunchbase

Marketo

Discover.org

Twitter

LinkedIn

Gmail plugin – Groove for email tracking & reporting

Books:

Spin Selling

Challenger Sale

Skip Miller – ProActive Selling & M3 Learning http://m3learning.com/

Ben Horowitz – The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Podcast: The Tim Ferriss Show

Time to polish your sales skills!

If you are in sales and have a passion for improving your sales skills to close more deals faster, you will appreciate this sales podcast. The focus is on B2B High Tech sales and deconstructing the habits and best practices of the top 20% currently in the role, so you can work smarter not harder, and 10x your productivity to make more sales.

Topics include selling strategies and methodologies like top down selling, strategic selling, sales coaching, sales mentorship, team selling, sales prospecting, cold calling, social selling, whitespace exercises, finding a deal champion, and sales negotiation. We also talk about resources and tools like LinkedIn Pro, Twitter, Discover.org, The Challenger Sale, SPIN selling, Gmail plugins, and other tools.

If you like Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Simon Senik, Zig Ziglar, Mark Hunter, Brian Tracy, Jill Konrath, TEDTalks, and podcasts like The Brutal Truth, The Advanced Selling Podcast, Salesman Podcast, then you will like Sales Polish.

Happy Selling,

Arlina Allen

http://www.SalesPolish.com

Chris Sullivan has been in high tech sales in Silicon Valley for more than 25 years.  In his current role as Director of Sales and Marketing, Chris contributes in a player / coach role. He has some very interesting methods to help his sales rep improve their presentation skills, build confidence and resolve hidden fears that may be holding them back. Over the last 18 months, they have implemented new training that has significantly increased sales.

In this episode Chris shares:

• A $3M Big Win
• Chris’ Scary Confidence Building Exercise
• Tactics for Increasing motivation

If you only have 5 minutes, this is a must listen: *[18:40] The 8 c’s Process – Resolving fears

• QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll down for show notes...

I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!

Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)

Happy Selling,

Arlina Allen

Books & Resources:

David Allen, Getting Things Done

Dick Schwartz (Richard) & IFS, The Center for Self Leadership

https://www.selfleadership.org/

Sigmund Freud – Sub personalities

Show notes:

[1:25] Intro to Chris

[4:30] Role of Inside Sales in 2016

[7:00] $3M Big win story

[9:45] Fun part of the win

[11:30] Acknowledging the wins

[14:20] Sales mindset

[16:08] Dealing with procrastination

[18:00] Mental framing for success

*[18:40] The 8 c’s Process – Resolving fears

[24:00] Landmark results of new practices

[25:00] Building confidence

[28:50] How to make them promote you

[36:00] Learning from losses

[37:44] Rapid fire questions

Patrick Blahosky has been a high tech sales rep since 1996 and has consistently been a top producer. During the time I worked with Patrick at HP, I was in a unique position to observe how he successfully ran his business and how he had a ton of fun doing it.

In this conversation, Patrick shares about the training he got at the beginning of his career, details of a $2.5M deal, and the guiding principles that have kept him a top sales rep for the last two decades.

Patrick also shares some practical strategies including:

• How to provide value to customers and become a trusted advisor
• Ways to manage difficult customers and complex deals
• The skill set required for effective customer presentations

If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear: *[25:08] $10M Sale = Worst website crash in history

I feel fortunate to have had such a great mentor in Patrick. I have called on my friend to share his thoughts on what has made him successful so that you can do the same.

• QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
• Scroll down for show notes...

Book Recommendations:

The Phoenix Project, Gene Kim

Spin Selling Training

Dale Carnegie Training

For more resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com

I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!

Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)

Happy Selling,

Arlina Allen

Show notes:

[3:12] Patrick’s background

[5:00] Dale Carnegie Training success story

[7:00] What to look for in a company when searching for your next career opportunity

[9:04] The importance of finding a good mentor

[12:00] Having a good team

[13:28] SaaS vs Perpetual, $2.5M deal

[17:40] Long term customer relationships

[19:30] Challenging customers

[23:35] Make yourself valuable to the customer

*[25:08] $10M Sale = Worst website crash in history

[27:00] Guiding values

[29:00] End of the year karma

[31:00] Rapid fire questions

[33:30] Staying current – Industry Trends & Networking

[36:15] Actual Goals & Activities

[38:00] Advise to younger self

This is a conversation with Steve Browne. Steve has been a successful Account Executive in high tech for about 30 years. In this interview, we discuss:

• How he went to extreme lenghts to get the biggest deal of his career
• The line he uses to break the ice
• Tactics that turn skeptical and resistant prospects into cooperative customers

We also discuss his book, "Traction" which which was used at Stanford Business school. It reveals:

• The three questions he uses to qualify deals
• The 10 steps of the sales cycle
• How to turn your pipeline spreadsheet into a crystal ball (aka the art of forecasting)

You can download for free here: http://www.innovatorstraction.com

For show notes, and additional selling resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)

Happy Selling,

Arlina Allen