Professionals on Purpose

In today's episode, we hear from Senior Director of Global Accounts for Seismic Software, Evan Kelsay! Prior to his current role at Seismic Software, Kelsay spent ten years selling in the HR tech space.

“Coaching 1st, numbers 2nd”

Selling without a quota seems like an impossible goal to reach. However, it is possible and it can be a game changer to your sales. Start by keeping your target numbers in mind but do not let them take up all of your thought space. By servicing to prospects and clients first (before thinking about your quota), you will find yourself reaching your numbers naturally. Slowly you can start thinking about you quota less and your customers more and you'll be reaching your quota without having to put much focus on it.

“Winners practice until they get it right, champions practice until they can’t get it wrong.”

View sales as a craft! From the perspective of a doctor, you'd say "I don’t do medicine, I practice medicine." The same thing goes for sales; it’s a craft with a bottomless amount of knowledge. Each day you're moving forward and growing in knowledge. Seeking out books, articles, podcasts, and people to learn from is incredibly beneficial. Remember that there is no achieving greatness in your craft. Don't read that as a bleak statement but rather one of opportunity. You can get infinitely better. It's this process of getting better where you really start to enjoy what you do.

Life On Purpose: Start with "why." What is your "why" and what drives your passion? What you do professionally should be in service to what your "why" is.

Connect with Evan Kelsay on LinkedIn!

• The fun and fulfillment that comes from shifting your sales outlook to non-zero sum
  
  • The joy that comes from viewing your profession as a craft (e.g. the impact of grit & growth mindset)
    
  • Managing the mental ebbs and flows of pursuits of global accounts
    

Today we hear from Art Harding, the Chief Operating Officer at People.ai! Harding is a business leader with experience leading sales globally. He also specializes in customer care (Experience + Success) and business strategy execution and digital transformation.

"Recognize, respect and connect with the differences of how different people with different strengths tackle problems."

When you're just starting to figure out where you belong as a sales person, you end up spending most of your time with people who are just like you. The same thing can happen once you start really focusing on and refining your brand. 

While it is great to have these connections with people who hold similar views and positions as you, you can’t just look at everyone through one lens. Especially for those of you who are looking to grow as a leader. When you narrow your view, you run the risk of missing out on important talent and some really important methods of solving problems. Practice being intentional about who you make connections with and making sure they aren't all similar people.

"Don’t spend the most important commodity you have (time) unintentionally"

There are 168 hours in a week. Harding breaks these hours into three 56 hour categories:

1. Self care + Sleep

2. Work

3. "Free"/Extra Time

When looking at the fundamentals of sales, how you use your extra time is crucial. It is key to spend those hours intentionally and invest your time into activities that will be beneficial to you and your goals. Being intentional with your time will help you achieve intentional and purposeful results.

Life On Purpose: Be intentional and creating opportunities for yourself and others. Growth is so important and happens when you feel uncomfortable. Being intentional in creating that slight lack of comfort for yourself and helping other people reach their own, is where a purposeful life is found.

Connect with Art Harding on LinkedIn!

In today's episode we hear from Senior Manager at Data Robot, D'Andre Crump. D'Andre specializes in Revenue Enablement through Accelerating Ramp, Productivity, and Retention.

What can someone do who has just started sales or is new to an organization?

Understand what's going on with your customers

• What outcomes are they focused on? What challenges are they facing?

Uncover these answers by talking to existing sellers on the team as well as talking to actual customers. Ask your coworkers what problems they're selling for their customers. And then ask customers why they bought from your company and what problems your company are helping them solve. Allow for honest feedback and the customers with feel valued in the conversation.

What can someone trying to reach the AE level or get an enablement do to get ahead and stand out?

1. Make sure you're hitting your numbers

2. Leverage your manager (or the managers of the teams you're interested in) to see what you could be doing more of to learn about those spaces.

Make sure your messaging is on point, that you're targeting the right accounts, and that you're booking qualified meetings.

Life On Purpose: 

1. Waking up and working towards a goal you're passionate about; be dedicated. 

2. Being excited about the company you're working for.

3. Making sure work life and personal life are balanced; one shouldn't be taking over the other.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about successful ways to get promoted as a VDR or SDR, how to hit your numbers if your back's against the wall, how to stay consistent and maintain persistency, and the common miss of enablement and how to get the most out of your organization.

Don't forget to check out the book Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff

Connect with D'Andre on LinkedIn!

Today's episode is with ClozeLoop Account Executive, Haylee Taylor. We'll be discussing the benefits of video prospecting and the know how of social selling. Haylee is a big proponent of using video as a way to increase sales and make communication with customers more personal.

"You can add some personality to your video or to your messaging, and people will really respect that."

Is the buttoned-up corporate look always the most effect way to present yourself as a salesperson? There has been a shift in customer preference from a corporate look to one of authenticity. Putting your human self first when it comes to communicating with customers is incredibly important for increasing positive interactions.

Videos are the key in achieving this more personable feel. Communicating through video can be a fantastic aid especially when reaching out to your customer for the first time. By seeing you face, customers feel more connected to you as a person rather than just words in an email or a faceless voice over the phone. Videos are a great way to warm up conversations and are beneficial for any role you have in your business. Simply adding a GIF of yourself to your signature can be incredibly effective in attracting continued communication between you and your customers.

"It's all about the mindset."

When it comes to making videos, focus your attitude on getting discovery calls. If you have a positive goal-oriented attitude, you'll find yourself being more authentic and wanting to talk with people. Instead of saying to yourself that you're about to go make videos, spin it for what it really is: booking meetings. Hype yourself up to go book meetings through the videos you're creating. Remember you don't get paid for the phone calls you make or emails you send but rather the meetings you have and the closed revenue you bring to your company. Focus with the end in mind.

Recommended Video Lengths:

1. LinkedIn - under 15 seconds

• Great for saying why you've made the video and for giving a CTA

2. Email - 30 to 90 seconds

• These videos can be longer because you've already intrigued the recipient enough to open the email

Don't forget to check out Triangle Selling by Hilmon Sorey and Cory Bray!

Life on Purpose: Going into everyday with a harmonious relationship between your professional and personal life. Instead of viewing them as separate entities, view them as one cohesive life where your personal strengths are helping you professionally which in turn is feeding positivity back into your time away from work.

Connect with Haylee on LinkedIn

In today's podcast we hear from Director of Sales and GAP Selling Trainer at A Sales Guy Inc., Rachel Mae. Rachel has a passion for helping sales teams win and getting them real results!

"It's not that you can't sell, it's that you can't diagnose."

GAP selling is fundamentally different than any other sales methodology. It's a customer centric selling that focuses on first, finding problems and helping customers understand those problems in new ways. Then bringing understanding to how the problems are really impacting their business. And lastly by diagnosing the root cause for them.

How do you find the root problem? 

1. Start by identifying the business problems. 

• Do not start with technical process problems because people tend to keep their pocket books closed when dealing with only minor inconveniences. 

2. Ask a full spectrum of process questions. 

• How is process impacting the business problems? 
• Asking a lot of questions will lead you to root problems. 

3. Focus on thew current state

• What's happening now? 
• Don't jump to the future state because then you shift from actually solving problems to only talking about hypotheticals.

 "Sales people have to quit needing to be liked."

You do not need everyone to like you. What you do need is be respected. In order to earn that respect, you must ask the hard questions and give your customers all your focus. Playing it safe when it comes to your discovery will potentially get the customer to like you, however, it will not get you paid. It's also important to shift your mindset from focusing on yourself and trying to sell to viewing yourself as a doctor helping people understand and fix what's wrong. When you focus on helping people, the quotas and everything else will fall into place.

Living a life on purpose: Waking up everyday and making a positive impact on everything you do and leaving the people you interact with feeling better about themselves and more inspired.

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn or through email: [email protected]

In today's episode, we hear from Roman Pennell! Roman works at AppDynamics, partnering with  DevOps & IT teams to empower them with industry-leading application intelligence software to improve performance and UX!

"Being genuine and taking steps back will in the long term help you take a couple steps forward."

So many people in sales focus on hitting their quotas more than anything else. The problem with upholding your sales quota and business agenda above all else is that your customers can tell. It often comes off as pushy and deters the customers. 

How can you find that perfect balance between focusing on numbers and building relationships? It's all about being intentional with being genuine. You need to understand what you do and why you're doing it. Understand that the goal is not to make everyone your friend, but rather to make personal connections with your customers so they can see how they as a human are important, not just how important your profit is. And remember to stay persistent!

"Tap into your customer's why to find their motivation."

One of the best ways to "stick" with customers is through getting to know them and diving into their why's and motivations. What excites them? What are they passionate about?It's important to have non work related conversations with your customers in order to create an on going dialogue with them. This kind of candid conversation goes a long way in understanding your buyer's persona and motivation. Make a point of having a relationship with your customers that is not solely based on business.

Living a life on purpose: understanding your own "why" and living very intentionally. 

• What's important to you? What's your motivator? Focus on the steps that help you reach your "why."

Connect with Roman on LinkedIn!

In today's podcast we hear from Matt Shakir, life and business coach and human optimization specialist.  Matt is also the founder of Awaken Masculine men's group. Matt works to help men rise up to the next level by awakening all areas of their lives.

"Every single no gets you closer to the yes."

It takes resilience to get you to the place you want to be in life. When you're looking for work or aren't receiving as many sales calls as you'd like, you need to start being creative and focus on making powerful connections with your clients. This will take some trial and error so be prepared to fail fast and fail hard. This process will work but you NEED to get back up. Every time you intentionally choose to get back up after a "no," you are growing stronger.

But HOW do you shift your beliefs and rearrange your mindset to be more creative? Breath work, meditation, and movement. In order to achieve a more creative mindset, you need to make a state change and disrupt your current thinking pattern. Carve out time in your day to work on these exercises and fill up your own cup first. You need to create this new mental state before anything else and then once you've laid the foundations, you can start operating from it. You can find a myriad of resources online for breathing practices, meditation routines, and healthy movement to help you get started.

"You are not just your company."

Bring yourself into the experience of your work. Being professional does not mean being a robot. You are a human and can use that as an advantage in creating real and personal relationships with your clientele. Drop the emotionless mask and remember to bring the person you are at home with you into your work place. People respond better to other people, not preprogramed professionals. Allow yourself to break the mold and bring in a personal approach to your work.

Practical ways to add value to your sales calls, clients, and prospects!

1. Complete an audit of what you're doing on a daily basis.

• uncover what you love and what you don't love about what you do
• Ask yourself if there is a different way to approach what you don't love and then try it out

2. Ask yourself how you can get creative and do things differently from everyone else

• Find out what your competitors are doing and then do it better by adding your own authenticity and twist

Don't forget to check out these great reads!:

The GRIT: the Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth!

Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

The best ways to reach Matt are on IG @mattshakir and on his website awakenmomentum.com

You can also get in contact with Matt through LinkedIn and Facebook!

In today's podcast we hear from Devin Williams, President and Co-Founder of People First Professionals. Devin strives "to empower professionals to live a career and life of purpose and passion so they might inspire others to do the same." 

"Focus on taking care of all rocks of life."

There is a need for balance of the important elements in your life. When you get to a place where you are enjoying what you do, the people you're with, and you're able to provide for your family in all aspects, then you're off to the races and it's a snowball effect from there. You'll start seeing improvement in all areas of your life. 

How can you get to this place? Set yourself up financially and think intelligently on how you spend your money. Don't fall into the trap of spending on things you think you need but are unnecessary. But most importantly, you need to check your perspective. Ask yourself how you can achieve this enjoyment of life and intentionally find purpose in the small moments that most people trudge through and overlook.

"We have one opportunity at this life, in this moment, on this planet."

Being present has a positive impact all around. Devin found a 22-25% retention rate increase since implementing mindfulness techniques in his life. With stress levels down, you can really focus on what matters and what you can control. As Richard Branson puts it, "happiness leads to productivity leads to profitability." When you emanate positivity and a relaxed state, the people who you work and spend time with will experience the secondhand effects.

Practical ways to be present:

1. Be Intentional.

• It's too easy to wake up and realize how much time has past.

2. Organize your "present" time.

• It will eventually become a ritual
• Check out the 8 Minute Meditation book

3. Remind yourself to pause at totally random moments. 

• Observe the world and pick one thing to specifically focus on (literally anything).

Listen to the full podcast to hear how we define happiness and explain how happiness and emotional Intelligence impact your life!

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