There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to work every day for the paycheck. But if you go one step further, ask yourself, what is that paycheck for? What do you REALLY care about? In this episode, your host Donald Kelly and guest Will Yarbrough break down a word that all sales leaders should be thinking about constantly – “motivation.” Listen in to hear how you can improve yourself or your team by tapping into those unique drivers that go beyond the dollar sign.

 Why Should We Go Beyond Being Money Driven?

• People want to spend their paychecks on the things that matter to them. There’s nothing wrong with making money, but it’s just a means to an end.
• Whether you’re a sales leader or an individual contributor, if you want to get better, you have to see how that fits into the big picture of your goals in life. Each decision you make should support those goals.
• Focusing on things other than money will reach sellers who aren’t that motivated by the money itself. This drives performance up and sets you apart from a hiring perspective.

 How Can Leaders Help?

• Spend a lot of time with your team members. Make time for one-on-ones where you can ask questions and understand the things that motivate them. Each person is unique, and their motivations can be complex.
• Using the REKS framework, help team members identify how to proceed toward their goals.
• Be the coach in their corner, providing both encouragement and accountability. All the greats have coaches who help them practice and improve.
• Helping every team member achieve their goals is important – when one person cashes in on the improvements they’ve made, they’ll share their successes with the rest of the team, and that increases buy-in from their peers dramatically.

 “I may want to make a six-figure salary, but at the end of the day, it may just be checking a box, where other things are much more important to me. Words of affirmation, getting opportunities to take on more responsibility, having trust and flexibility in the way that I go about my job – these are all things that I think can help inherently motivate folks, but you have to start with the fact that Donald and Will are going to respond to different tactics differently, and money is just one component of motivation.” – Will Yarbrough

 Resources

Will Yarbrough on LinkedIn

Fleetio.com

 Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

2.            This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

Cold calling will not work if you’re using shallow, outdated information. You need to go deep. Try Deep Sales by LinkedIn, the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial - simply go to Linkedin.com/TSE.

3.            This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

 Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.

You can’t control the changes that are currently happening with the economy, or the changes that are to come. What matters is how you respond in each moment. If you’re not sure how to approach selling in the current economy, fear not – our guest today brings the knowledge and experience that has helped him find great success in his business. Alex Levin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Regal.io, and he’s here today to sit down with your host Donald Kelly. Together, they share the wisdom that can get you through a tough period in the market and even help you see it as an opportunity for growth.

 4 Tips for Success During Challenging Economic Times

1. Invest in your craft. If you have enjoyed the luxury of a fairly passive sales experience during the last couple of years, now is the time to shift gears. Get better educated on how you can take a more active role in selling, rather than taking orders and filling them.
2. Learn to create urgency. People get used to the way things are, and during a time when they’re cutting costs, they aren’t actively searching for new places to invest their money. It’s your job to help them see how much better things could be if they use your product or service.
3. Go to conferences. During the height of COVID, doing everything online made a lot of sense. Now, buyers are starting to get out to conferences again. These are great places to network with peers and make personal connections with new and existing prospects.
4. Do things that don’t scale. Now is the time to show your clients how much they matter to you. If you have the resources, find ways to meet with them in person or be physically present if there are events where you can support them. Become a respected part of their team rather than just a voice on the other end of a phone line.

 Advice For New (or Experienced!) Sellers Trying to Build Pipeline

• Selling is a journey. Don’t put a ton of pressure on yourself to be perfect or know everything right from the get-go. The best sellers in the world had to start somewhere, too.
• Keep a learning mindset. When you have opportunities to get better educated about your product or sales, take them!
• Have real conversations with your prospects. Discovery calls are not a venue for you to grill your buyer or spew lists of facts about your product. Find out what they need and help them decide whether your product is right for them.
• Identify your champion. When you are reaching out to a company, locate who will actually be helped the most by your product, and get to know them. Honestly take an interest in their goals and see if your product helps them achieve those goals.
• Get in an SMS or Slack conversation with your prospect. Start a running dialogue and build trust.
• Be an honest broker. Build trust with your prospects by accurately representing what your product can do and actively listening to their pains and needs. “Sales is not a one-turn game” – you never know how things will shake out in the future.

“Don’t ghost people. Don’t treat them with disrespect. Don’t do things that you wouldn’t want on the cover of the New York Times.” – Alex Levin

Resources

E-mail Alex: hello@regal.io

 Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

2.            This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.

In this episode, your host Donald Kelly sits down with Chris Duprey, Chief Strategy Officer at IMPACT (impactplus.com). Duprey has an engaging, no-nonsense approach to sales training, and wants to help you and your team master the basics so that you can go from being decent at sales to being truly great. Check out the list below and see what’s holding your team back, then listen in as Donald and Chris delve into each one, point by point!

 The 5 Habits of A Great Sales Team

1. Have a team mentality. Top performers will burn out if they’re the only ones doing all the work. Go beyond sharing wins – share losses too. Even top sellers should be willing to talk to the team about what’s not working and why. 
2. The best teams roleplay… a LOT. If you want to improve, practice! Work with others to get better. You’re not going to win unless you do the reps. Duprey recommends doing it weekly!
3. The best teams watch their sales calls. Record your calls so that you can go back and review them later. Just like a sports team watching their old plays, watch the calls you make and watch calls other people make! Sales leaders: watch a lot of sales calls your team makes.
4. Gain peer status with your buyer. Nobody wants to be sold to – people will accept guidance and assistance from someone who knows their stuff. Ask great questions, give realistic advice and don’t be needy!
5. You proactively work on communication. Obsess over how you communicate. If something goes wrong, figure out what you missed. Also, learn how to deliver your message and have an engaging presence.

“If you just do the basics, that’s what makes the best the best… I was a paratrooper and I had friends that were in the special forces. Everyone thinks we all did special things – we all just did the basics A LOT and got really good at them.” – Chris Duprey

Resources

Chris Duprey on LinkedIn

IMPACT: Sales & Marketing Training

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

Cold calling will not work if you’re using shallow, outdated information. You need to go deep. Try Deep Sales by LinkedIn, the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator. You can get a 60-day free trial - simply go to Linkedin.com/TSE.

2.            This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

3.            This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.

 Having the right mindset is crucial to being a successful salesperson. So why do we often get locked up in a mindset of fear, and how can we change that? In this episode, your host Donald Kelly and Dr. Jean Oursler (Ph.D. in Business Psychology from the Chicago School) are here to teach us about our “Caveman Brain” so that we can harness the way we are wired and make it work to our advantage. 

What is Your Caveman Brain?

• The amygdala is a part of the brain that controls our fear responses to our environment. Dr. Oursler calls this the “caveman brain”
• Our “caveman brain” exists to protect us from getting hurt or dying, so we can’t get rid of it or turn it off!
•  We don’t have to run away from predators or protect our young from danger anymore, so nowadays, we fear things like rejection, losing our reputation, or being a pushy salesperson.

 How Do We Work WITH the Caveman Brain?

• The amygdala only knows what it sees and hears. Pay attention to the media and information you consume!
• Identify your personal fears. Know what is holding you back and why.
• Use positive self-talk to give the caveman brain information to overcome your fears. Think of these as affirmations or talking yourself up.

"Almost everything that’s happening in your life that isn’t happening the way you want it to comes down to your caveman brain. When you realize that and you start to fix that, everything else falls back into place.” – Dr. Jean Oursler

Resources

https://cavemanbrain.com/

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

2.            This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.

Today’s guest brings his top-tier track record to the show to help you and your team convert your prospects into customers using his proven, customer-first approach. In this episode, your host Donald Kelly sits down with David Bennion, the VP Sales at Apollo.io, which serves over 160,000 companies and more than one million users worldwide. Bennion shares his clear-eyed, precise understanding of his team’s success and the steps it takes to get there.

 As a Seller, Learn to:

• Identify your customer’s issue, even if they haven’t identified it themselves
• Quantify that problem - how impactful will solving the problem be?
• Ask the right questions so you can truly understand where your prospect is coming from. When they trust you enough to describe their company’s pains (or even their personal ones), show empathy!
• Know whether your product can actually solve their problem - and learn to graciously walk away if it can’t

 Common Mistakes in Selling (And How to Avoid Them)

• DON’T just drive your company’s agenda. Instead, think about what you can offer to the customer.
• DON’T limit your pitch to just data points. Instead, offer some real-life examples of your current customers’ success with your product
• DON’T add to your prospect’s list of problems they have to deal with. Instead, show them how seamlessly your solution can be implemented

“I think, sometimes in outbound [sales], there’s a feeling like, ‘All I’m doing is creating a problem for somebody,’ when really, you have the opportunity to create a quick win for somebody and make them a hero inside their business.” - David Bennion

Resources

http://apollo.io

Sponsorship Offers

This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.

Writing intriguing, trustworthy e-mail content in today’s market can feel like a losing game. How do you stand out from the crowd without resorting to gimmicks (which doesn’t work anyway)? Enter your host Donald Kelly and our guest James Boreham with five tips on creating e-mails that create unforgettable first impressions your clients will still be talking about years later (true story!).

 Current Challenges In Email Prospecting

• People are flooded with information. When you reach out to someone, you’re just one out of so many notifications they’re going to see that day
• Buyers are burned out when it comes to e-mail. E-mail prospecting is up 30% since the beginning of the pandemic, but reply rates are down 50%

Do These 5 Things to Boost Your E-mail Open Rates

1. Use short, intriguing subject lines. Most e-mails are viewed on mobile devices. On a smaller screen, only a small amount of text makes it to your prospect’s eyes before they decide whether it gets opened or goes to the trash.

• TRY THIS: Send the e-mail to yourself before it goes out. Does it look like marketing fluff? Or does it look important?

2. See the prospect as your equal. Even though you might be reaching out to prospects who have a lot of experience in their field, you are the expert in YOUR field (which is your product). Don’t condescend, but don’t beg either. Know the worth of your information and your product to become a trusted advisor who commands respect.

3. Do your homework. Personalize your content to show that you’ve taken the time to get to know their business and their needs. Impress your customer with your hustle and commitment (without sacrificing the natural flow of the e-mail).

• TRY THIS: Check out the careers page on the company’s website. Get a sense of what roles and responsibilities exist so you can understand your prospect’s needs.

4. Stay actionable and objective. Don’t be too “sales-y”. Talk in terms of facts and keep things clear. Don’t add so much personality that your prospect loses the plot.

5. Follow up with one-liners. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel - one-liners work! Use them to connect with people and encourage their responses.

“Each of these [5 tips to boost e-mail open rates] is to make it easy for the customer to buy and to put us in a position of power in those interactions and conversations so we are a trusted advisor. I think that is transformative to the whole sales process.” – James Boreham

Resources

Juro Contract Management (website)

James Boreham on LinkedIn

Sponsorship Offers

• This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

• This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.

Your social media presence can build your credibility, community, and pipeline… or break it. Most people don’t create content on LinkedIn, so they miss out on all of the opportunities that can come along with having a sizeable following on the platform. In this episode, your host Donald Kelly sits down with Richard Smith,  the VP of Sales for Allego. Listen in to hear how Smith grew his social media audience to the point where his content now generates conversation, interest, and qualified inbound leads.

Why DON’T People Post on LinkedIn?

• People don’t think they have anything interesting or novel to contribute

• People are happy to read and don’t feel like it’s necessary to make the extra effort to post

• “Head trash” – people don’t want to embarrass themselves if no one interacts, or say the wrong thing and end up in trouble professionally

How to Do LinkedIn Posts the Right Way

• Keep your day job. Smith uses LinkedIn to generate leads for his sales job, but it took years to build his audience. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

• Build a community, not an echo chamber. Discussion is healthy – while you don’t want to be inflammatory just for the sake of getting attention, don’t try to pander to your audience either.

• Your reputation on social media will follow you everywhere, so be educated, honest, and authentic.

“The key is to almost “anti-sell,” and this is quite strange for some people to hear. You have to be on there, not wanting to sell your product – you have to be on there building an audience… And that is the key starting point.” – Richard Smith

TSE episode 578: How to Use Technology to Better Coach Salespeople with Richard Smith

Allego: Sales Training and Sales Enablement Platform Website

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

2. This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.

Spring is a time for change and renewal, which means it’s time to reevaluate the sales strategies you or your company have always used. In sales, it’s crucial to set yourself apart from the competition, and we want to show you how to do just that using efficient methods that WORK. In this episode, your host Donald Kelly takes you through the Top 3 Prospecting Strategies he and his company are utilizing in 2023. 

Why Do We Need New Strategies?

• Since the beginning of the pandemic, e-mail outreach is up 50%, but reply rates have decreased by 30%
• Writing a great subject line and e-mail content does no good if the person on the other end doesn’t feel motivated to reply

3 Strategies to Adopt in 2023

1. Create previous engagement. Before you reach out to a potential buyer, create a connection with them. Don’t just start with a cold e-mail!
2. Use social media to gauge interest. If you work for a bigger firm, look at who follows your product on LinkedIn. That list will have prospects on it who are already interested, and may just need more information (and that’s where you come in!)
3. Use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator. In the episode, Donald runs you through how to use the Spotlight feature to look at activity levels on LinkedIn so you can decide whether to reach out via LinkedIn (or some other way).

“Everybody knows the play that we’re running. They know these strategies. So what are we going to do? How are we going to be different?” - Donald Kelly

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

2.            This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, 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, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, 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.