AMA: UserTesting VP of Sales, Katie Harkins on Sales Soft and Hard Skills
July 6 @ 10:00AM PST
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UserTesting VP of Sales, Katie Harkins on Sales Soft and Hard Skills
Top Questions
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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. ......Read More
397 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 w......Read More
391 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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......Read More
406 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 contrib......Read More
365 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 pro......Read More
754 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 whe......Read More
399 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 imp......Read More
377 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 sale......Read More
743 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 scho......Read More
740 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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......Read More
400 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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 tomato......Read More
810 Views
1 request
Katie Harkins
UserTesting VP of Sales • July 6
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......Read More
386 Views
1 request
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