AMA: UserTesting VP of Sales, Katie Harkins on Sales Soft and Hard Skills

There are multiple tools you can use to build a management framework for your soft skills. Tools like Chorus or Gong will tell you if you talk too much or if you don't ask engaging questions. If you don't over achieve your quota on a regular basis, there are some soft skills that need improving. You can't boil the ocean all at once. It's kinda like tetris. Work on one soft skill at a time. Pick rapport building for example and see how long you can go. The best part about your soft skills are they can always get better.

The hard skills that a sales leader must have are being a product expert, having industry knowledge, presentation + sales skills, and closing. You have to remember that you're not managing yourself. Every person likes to be managed different and might have different goals than you did when you were selling. Understand those and manage to those goals. They're never going to work as hard as you did when you first got into sales. As a sales leader, you also have to be a really good motivator. Everyone on your team is motivated by different things and that's ok. Use them to your advantage to push your people to do the best work of their life.

When joining a new team, it's better to be open minded about changing your sales cycles and your approaches. Each organization has a different selling motion associated with prospects. If you're too focused on the hard skills, you often miss the little things associated with your soft skills that actually build the deal that lead to negotiating and closing. I see this a lot when organizations promote from within. If you take your #1 SDR or #1 BDR, they are often less mature in the hard skills of selling, but understand how to set amazing appointments. Often, people early in their career try and replicate the #1 closer. You cannot be someone else. Sometimes the language another AE used would not come out of your mouth. Take what they're saying and make it your own.

Without sales, you don't have a business. Talented sales people are hard to find and even harder to retain. Here are a few questions I ask: Are your sales people bought in on the company mission and the future of what your company is building? Do you recognize them for their hard work and contributions to the company? Are you providing competitive compensation for your sales people? Do they believe they're working under the best sales leadership team that will continue to foster a positive and supportive sales culture? Is there a clear path to promotions that offer growth opportunities? Are you regularly offering feedback, sales coaching and support?

The most important sales skills that others inside your organization could benefit from that would improve their day to day work are a deep understanding of the customer. Why does someone inquire? Why do they purchase? When you're not in the room, how do they explain your product or sell your product to their boss? How do they use your tool, service or software to solve a problem? By understanding your customers, it helps identify opportunities for upselling, cross selling or even suggesting relevant products. It's 100% essential in today's world.

Everyone is in sales, whether you have an Account Executive title or a Product Manager title. Even engineers have to sell what they're working on and why they're working on it. Document your wins. The definition of sales is the exchange of a commodity for money. As humans, we do this everyday whether we like to admit it or not. Think back to your best sales moment as a human. There was value in your life and you pulled out your wallet. If you're looking to transition into sales, remember to document how natural of a sales person you have been in previous exchanges. Sell your stories and why you want to be in sales longterm as your career choice.

Listen to the feedback that your boss might give you - even if you don't agree. Take a deep breath or go for a run. Don't push back on the feedback, move forward to improve it and document where you're getting better for visibility into an issue that might have happened in the past. It's also important to have a mini "board of directors" that aren't at your organization that you can call up and vent to. Without knowing the inner workings of your company, direct reports, or boss - they can provide helpful directional feedback that they've seen in the past.

The most important soft skills a sales professional can build upon everyday are the following: * Excellent verbal and written communication skills are crucial. Whether this be via slack, teams, over zoom, or with accounting and finance. You have to be able to drive next steps in the sales cycle with prospects as well as internally within your organization. * Active Listening. My dad use to say, "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason." * A deep understanding of where the prospect is coming from. Whether it be an inbound or an outbound lead. You have to be able to address pain points effectively and be a chameleon in your sales cycles with different industries and titles. * Persuasion! When you're addressing an objection, you have to posses the ability to influence and educate prospects throughout the entire sales cycle * Relationship Building. Use holidays and zoom backgrounds to your advantage. It cannot be forced rapport, it has to be natural like you met them in the wild. One of my favorite sales cycles an AE on my team donated to a prospect's New York Marathon fundraiser. It wasn't a ton of money, but it was a personal touch that made all the difference to stand out in the sales cycle. If you don't take care of the customer in a special way, your competition will. * Problem Solving Skills. Being able to think critically and provide creative solutions is what the top sales people do on a daily basis. Treat each problem as an opportunity or problem-tunity to sell your services with a smile. * Adaptability. The market will always be changing. Adaptability ensures your sales team can quickly address unexpected prospect issues. This also unlocks the potential for new revenue growth. * Resilience. The highs are high and the lows are low in sales. Your job starts at no. In candidate interviews I always ask, "Why get up and get told no everyday?" There's nothing worse than a pipeline of maybes. You need to be able to push prospects to a yes or a no & understand why a prospect isn't building immediately in the sales cycle. At that point, it's ok to ask for help from other colleagues who have seen it before and get innovative to get the contract signed. * Time Management. Your ability to over achieve your monthly or quarterly quota is your ability to manage your time. * Teamwork. A lone wolf of a sales person is outdated and not scalable. In 2023, you need a wingman or wingwoman to manage the zoom chat while you're addressing the prospects over zoom. The best deals and biggest deals are multi threaded in an organization. You have to treat your teammates with respect and work with multiple departments. The most important hark skills a sales professional can build upon everyday are the following: * Product Experts. Know it as good as the back of your hard. Immerse yourself in usage and customer stories. In order to sell effectively and communicate the value prop AND address customer questions, you have to be a product wizard. * Industry Knowledge. Break out the flashcards like you're a sophomore in high school. What terms do your prospects use? Engrave them in your brain and don't be afraid to use them. * Sales Techniques. Sharpen your tool belt on a monthly basis with what's getting your prospects to buy in different industries. Whether it be negotiation or early selling techniques to build value, both are important to increase your ASP and decrease your time to sell. * Presentation Skills. Are prospects looking forward to your demo? An engaging presentation never gets old and you do less of the talking. * Prospecting. The best sales people are always on the hunt. It's not just a volume game, you have to make sure you're bringing the right leads into your pipeline. * Closing. Always ask for the business.

For recent graduates that want to go straight into sales, I will immediately high five them and say, "Hell yes!" Everyone is in sales whether you have a quota or not. You're selling your significant other that you want Mexican for dinner vs. sushi. You're selling your kiddos on why attending school is an advantage in the long run. Ultimately, it matters what you W2. Why work harder than your co-workers only to get paid the same as them? A career in sales pays you more for your hard work and growth mindset. Sales is the only careers where you can get up in the morning and determine how much you make.

As a hiring manager, the best sales candidates have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. They come prepared with questions about the organization, sales team structure and prospects you sell into. They aren't afraid to ask for next steps in the interview process while standing out from the crowd of interviews that might be in your calendar. This might sound old school, but in a candidate heavy market, it's important to write a cover letter as to why you would be a great fit for the company long-term.

I decided early on that I wanted to choose sales as a career. My dad was in private label contract negotiations in the grocery industry and my mom was a successful real estate agent. I always saw them hustling at home. I came out of the womb selling. My neighborhood friend and I would sell tomatoes and lemonade on the corner of a busy street. We would document how much cups costs us at our local grocery store and worked to decrease our fixed costs by "borrowing" lemons from our backyard trees. Every day we had a goal to beat yesterday's sales. This was at the age of 7. Now a days, I love that I have the ability to influence my W2. Everyday, I wake up with a positive attitude and write down what I want to accomplish for the day. I don't log off of my laptop until my goals are hit that will influence sales in the future. Sales is addictive and rewarding. There is a variety in your day to day and I love the autonomy. It's also taxing and comes with unique challenges to overcome. There is also an element of continuous learning that I love. There isn't a day that goes by that you don't learn something new that you can use tomorrow to close more deals.

Intangible sales qualities are charisma, confidence, enthusiasm in the product or the problem you're solving, emotional intelligence, perseverance, authenticity, adaptability. If you're the top sales rep at your company, you weren't always early in your career. Remember to take care of the people below you who are supporting you. It goes a long way!