Get answers from sales leaders
Andrew Zinger
Fastly Senior Director, Global Sales Enablement • January 10
People's definition of 'hard skills' may differ depending on where they work, what the sales organization makeup is, and what product/platform they are selling. In my experience, the 'gold standard' sales leaders have a few attributes in common when it comes to 'hard skills'. For instance all seem to possess the ability to be dangerous with their technical skills, and business skills - similar to what we would may say about someone outside of work: they are book smart, and street smart. Strong leaders can keep up with the IT and Platform executives, but can also 'wow' prospects and partners with their ability to tell an effective story. Also, they appear to be educated and comfortable with the 'best of breed' platforms and applications, ensuring they stay on topic of the latest in tech. Finally, the strongest leaders I have worked alongside all have deep analytical skills that are super impactful to the sales organization including data analysis, research, creativity in problem solving, and are wonderful communicators.
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In my experience, the best sales candidates are not necessarily people with the most years of sales experience. I've noticed the best sales candidates all have these qualities in common: * Insanely Driven and Hard-Working (folks who are intrinsically motivated to double down on KPIs to exceed their goals if that's what it takes) * Adaptable (people who can think on their feet, and adjust their sales motion/process to best hit their sales targets) * Inquisitive (excellent salespeople know that the key to selling is listening, not talking. So people who are naturally curious about their clients' pain points are generally much better at prescribing solutions and highlighting impact for the client) * Self-Sufficient with Outbound (the top 1% sales talent I've seen will always find ways to exceed their number beyond what's given to them. They know how to go creatively source for leads and go outbound to feed themselves, and not just rely on an inbound pipeline)
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Jessica Holmes
Adobe Director, Adobe Sales Academy • August 29
According to all the websites and experts, a typical career path for a sales professional is to move from BDR to AE to Sales Manager, or a variation of this, and that can absolutely be your path. What you'll most likely find, is that there is NO typical path - especially as you discover who you are as a sales professional and your sales style. Each of us have unique strengths and interests, and instead of focusing on a career ladder, where you only have one option in moving up/down in roles, you should focus on in developing your career lattice based on skill and sales style. By this, I mean: Identify what you know and don't know, as it pertains to the sales process: * What parts of the sales process you are skilled in and can leverage as you progress in your career? This can be leveraged to identify roles that you qualify for, can succeed in, and show your expertise. * Where in the sales process do you need to develop or hone your skillset further? This info can be used to identify which roles can help you grow and develop your expertise in the sales process. Determine the type of seller you are/sales motion you are interested in: * Do you like speaking to decision makers early in the sales process? Do you like working multiple deals at the same time? Do you want to close multiple deals a month/quarter? * Would you prefer a longer sales cycle with each prospect? Do you like building long-term relationships and developing plans and strategies that span across multiple buying panels and decision makers? Are you content with closing 1-2 deals a quarter, or even a year? * Do you prefer to work with buyers who are early adopters, where you sell vision and strategy and a reasonable approach to taking risks, or do you prefer working with early/late majority buyers, when what you're selling may have mass market appeal and your buyer is a bit more risk-averse. Once you have identified the type of seller you are, the sales motion you most prefer, the skill set you have today and where you want to develop further in the sales process, you now can make an informed decision about YOUR career path and identifying what is the best next move for you. This may be a move up, across, diagonal or down - as long as you're making career decisions with information and goals to continue your growth, it's a good move. Remember, it's not about doing what's typical, it's about making career decisions that makes it right for you.
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Brandon Love
Salesforce Regional Sales Director • October 11
I often hear a few common concerns from enterprise prospects. These usually revolve around worries about the price, potential risks, getting locked into a single vendor, and status-quo objections. Cost Worries: When prospects bring up cost concerns, I like to highlight the value our solutions bring. I show them how our offerings are designed to solve specific issues and bring tangible returns. Plus, I work closely with our financial experts to offer flexible pricing options and demonstrate the long-term benefits of their investment. Mitigating Risks: It's only natural for enterprises to be cautious about adopting new tech. To address this, I point to our track record of successful implementations, backed by glowing customer testimonials and case studies. I also stress how adaptable and scalable our solutions are, fitting seamlessly into their existing setup and future growth plans. Avoiding Vendor Lock-In: Some prospects worry about being stuck with a single vendor for the long haul. I reassure them by emphasizing our focus on interoperability and open standards. I highlight our wide range of integrations and partnerships, underlining the flexibility and freedom our solutions offer. This way, they know they can integrate with other platforms and technologies if they need to. Validating with Proofs of Concept: Given our emphasis on proofs of concept aligned with the customer's future goals, prospects often want to see real results. I suggest starting with a smaller pilot project or proof of concept that's tailored to their specific needs. This hands-on experience helps build trust and confidence in our solutions, often leading to broader adoption. By addressing these concerns with a mix of personalized value propositions, strong case studies, and adaptable implementation strategies, we can show how our solutions align with the prospect's big picture vision while easing worries about cost, risk, and vendor lock-in. This approach ensures that our tactical opportunities lead to long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with our enterprise customers. Status Quo Resistance: Another common objection we encounter is a hesitancy to disrupt the status quo. Many enterprise prospects are comfortable with their current processes and systems, even if they may not be fully effective. To tackle this, I approach it as an opportunity for growth and improvement. I share success stories of similar organizations that made the leap from their familiar routines to our solutions, showcasing the positive impact it had on their operations. By highlighting the potential for transformative change, we can overcome the inertia associated with maintaining the status quo and inspire prospects to embrace innovative solutions aligned with their strategic vision. This approach empowers them to envision a future state that not only meets their immediate needs but also positions them for long-term success. By addressing these concerns with a mix of personalized value propositions, strong case studies, and adaptable implementation strategies, we can show how our solutions align with the prospect's big picture vision while easing objections about cost, risk, vendor lock-in, and status quo resistance. This approach ensures that our tactical opportunities lead to long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with our enterprise customers.
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Alicia Lewis
Culture Amp Senior Sales Director • April 24
The biggest mistakes that we see from candidates are related to not being prepared for the interview. Failing to research the company, role, or industry before an interview can signal a lack of genuine interest and initiative. Thoroughly research the company, its products or services, industry trends, and competitors, and come prepared with thoughtful questions to demonstrate engagement and enthusiasm. We expect candidates to do their homework on the role, the interviewer and the company, just like we expect of our Account Executives prior to a prospect meeting. Asking questions when the answers could have been easily found online and not showcasing knowledge when they should have studied up on the company is a clear sign of not being prepared.
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Charles Gryor Derupe
accessiBe Director of Enablement • February 7
I very much understand how this is difficult, especially if you have a distributed workforce and if budget constraints don't give you the ability to get folks into one place. I'll share a common approach that my peers from across the industry use (since I focus mostly on content) that can help set this up for success: * When: Try trying these real-world experience workshops during times when you do have some sort of gathering. Perhaps that's SKO or a bi-annual regional meetup. Work with leads to ensure this is expected programming when they gather in a centralized office. * How: Identify how some key skills (whether this is discovery, negotiation, driving urgency) and teach on strategies and frameworks. Then identify some moments in non-work environments when we use these. For example, when you do discovery, can you challenge them to approach an acquaintance, or even stranger, and give them the 3x Question exercise? * Next Steps: Follow up with their reflections and experiences in another session or post-session reinforcement training. Whether that's a module they can add their experience to, or gather some of the real-life scenarios straight from them and do a follow-up async training that would challenge other team members to try that 3x questions. You can even roll these out with managers with facilitation guides and do some kind of improv exercise session for their teams. Really, at the end of the day, you need them to practice with a framework in a controlled environment, take it out in an uncontrolled environment, and reinforce in a controlled environment.
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Grant Glaser
Salesforce Director, Sales Leader Excellence Coach • January 10
You'll get many enablement requests from a vast number of sources. I recommend triaging using this flow: * Inbound request for enablement * Substantiate with data (where & when possible) * Identify outcomes to measure & impact * Understand if the gap is: skill, will, or knowledge * Define learning outcomes * Decide if the program is necessary * Execute the program * Capture feedback * Report back findings
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A mentor taught me to evaluate opportunities leveraging the VIP framework . The framework incorporates three inputs Vision, Impact and People. Here is a quick breakdown of how I have thought through each of the inputs. 1) Vision: How excited are you about the companies vision and mission? How aligned is the leadership team and company around the vision? Does the company have aspirations of being a generational company solving a large problem set? 2) Impact: Is there an outsized opportunity to drive impact for customers, the company and the people I work with by leveraging my experiences and skillsets? 3) People: Do the folks I'll be working with share similar core values? What is the quality of the leadership team and personnel? What can learn and develop from their experiences?
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Maria White
Cornerstone OnDemand Vice President Sales Enablement and Education • April 6
During your Q4 working with sales leaders and operations your sales kick off should be the launch pad for your sales content and strategy for the year by supporting the company revenue goals and big bets for that year. What I have found to be very successful by conducting quarterly enablement reviews sales leaders and their direct reports. The framework for these meetings is to review the performance of enablement and allows time to review metrics and showcase data insights from those metrics. What is uncovered in these meetings will help you to develop new sales content and build a mutual strategy with your sales leaders. This is also time to present any new programs you want to get sales leaders buy in from prior to launch.
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Eric Martin
Vanta Head Of Sales • November 28
First off, I'm going to assume that the question here is whether or not I have any advice for a "junior seller" who is a first sales hire. My advice is to ask your company leaders to help you find a sales mentor or sales coach. Asking for something like this is not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of maturity. Your company leaders clearly see something in you (that you also hopefully see in yourself). You should operate from a place of confidence, but also seek out someone who you can also continuously learn from. As a junior seller in a first sales role, you should also assume (if your company is smart) that future sellers will probably have more experience than you. That's a great thing! If you're the legacy rep who's been finding a way to get the job done, and who has enough humility to know what you know and what you don't know, you're going to be incredibly well respected as the team grows.
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