Andrew Zinger

Great question and something I love talking to (and sometimes 'debating') our leaders about - the idea behind 'what's the characteristic (or two) of your best seller you would want to clone?' For me, at the top of the list are 2 attributes I look for in potential sales team members: 1) 'Customer first' mindset: I don't want to lead or support a team of 'vendors' who are only interested in selling 'licenses'. I want to enable a team of 'consultants' or 'trusted advisors' that are not interested i ...Read More

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 l ...Read More

Another topic that is always top of mind for sales leaders, and their recruiting teams, is their employee retention scores. It is a massive expense to organizations when they see talent leave, whether regrettable or not, and have to spend resources recruiting, enabling and eventually filling that seat. Programs, behaviours and approaches that may help keep your teams intact and excited about their role, can include: - providing new challenges and opportunities. This can come in many forms of int ...Read More

First off, for those serious about a career change to sales, I would start off by building (or rebuilding) your network. This can be done is a number of ways including: - attending conferences and industry training events (virtual or in person) - focus on joining relevant industry and/or company groups on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Slack - do an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Successful sellers are not born overnight and constantly are curious on how they can improve them ...Read More

Ah.. a great question and something that I have yet to see perfected, but continues to get easier as many enablement and development professionals know and argue that companies cannot afford NOT to invest in the soft skills development of their employees. Historically I have seen that budgets typically allocated towards soft skills learning initiatives are all too often the first to be cut because of the difficulty of proving an ROI of sales soft skills versus hard/technical skills. Below are a ...Read More

Another great question and one that will certainly differ from executive to executive. However, in my experience some of the top intangibles for the top performers I have seen include: - Confidence and a winning personality. Now, I don't want to confuse 'confidence' with 'ego'...to have 'confidence' is to believe in yourself and your own abilities. 'Ego' on the other hand operates out of self interest, and 'lone wolves' do NOT work in today's high performing sales teams. - Being a 'consultant' a ...Read More

The topic of 'feedback' is a passionate one with many people. For me, feedback is fuel, but at the same time it needs to be actionable and agreed upon for it to be that 'fuel' for change/innovation. My advice for if you don't understand, or agree with, the feedback you're receiving would be to start with checking your understanding with the individual providing the feedback. Just like in a customer/prospect discovery call, you can start off by summarizing your understanding of the feedback. This ...Read More

The lost successful leaders I have worked with all seem to be able to have a healthy mix of the following: Must Have Sales Strategy Development: For CRO's, its imperative that they have the ability to work with their partners in enablement to design and implement effective sales strategies that align with company goals, including setting KPIs, sales targets, and go-to-market plans. These strategies need to be clearly communicated and must be repeatable, measurable and scalable across regions Dat ...Read More

The best sales candidates often share several key traits and skills that set them apart. As a hiring manager, you can identify high-potential candidates by looking for the following common characteristics: 1) Strong Communication skills Clarity and Persuasion: Top candidates can clearly and confidently articulate ideas, products, and value propositions. Active Listening: They listen carefully to customer needs and feedback, showing empathy and understanding. 2) Adaptability Handling Rejection: T ...Read More