Jelle den Dunnen — Understanding Yourself, Understanding Your Client
Personal relationships with your clients are paramount.
Jelle den Dunnen is a Senior Account Executive at Bullhorn, the global leader in delivering recruitment software to recruitment agencies. When he joined Bullhorn five years ago, Jelle was the first non-native English speaker in the company, but he is now the top seller globally, with an average performance of 130% of quota per quarter, and 171% of quota last year. Tune in to this episode as Jelle and Scott discuss the importance of understanding yourself as a seller in order to form better and more lasting personal relationships with your clients.
Shareable Clips & Quotes:
Qualifying sales pipeline
Deal strategy and relationships
“Every loss is an opportunity to learn” + “Being me”
Being seen as a partner not as a supplier
Social selling definition
Cold calling vs. Introductions
Building a sales network
From 70 cold calls a day to referral selling
Finding like minded people
Learning from lost deals
Get a mentor
Sales mentor examples
How to go from average performer to top sales performer
Key Takeaways:
[:27] Scott introduces his guest for this episode — Jelle den Dunnen.
[:43] What are the top three things that have allowed Jelle to be the top seller at Bullhorn so consistently?
[1:44] What is Jelle’s qualification process to decide which key deals to focus on?
[2:35] Jelle’s second most important thing is deal strategy — looking at the deals and deciding how to approach them.
[4:00] Jelle’s final tip for being the top seller is work hard, play hard. How does he approach work-life balance?
[6:01] What is Bullhorn? What does Jelle sell, and who are his clients?
[7:20] How did Jelle get into sales?
[9:21] Scott gives a shout out to the exclusive sponsor of this episode, Vidyard GoVideo.
[9:54] Jelle quantifies his results.
[10:50] What are Jelle’s process and approach with regards to deal strategy?
[12:41] What is Jelle most proud of and what was his biggest challenge in this last 17 quarters with Bullhorn?
[14:05] What were the most important lessons Jelle had to learn that have helped him get to the level of achievement that he’s at now?
[17:02] Jelle is a night owl. What does his routine look like, and what are some key habits and routines he leverages to make the most of his day?
[19:04] Jelle sells internationally, across many different countries and languages. How does he manage that?
[20:27] What does Jelle’s information diet look like?
[21:57] Jelle is a pretty big fan of social selling. What does that mean to him, and how does he utilize that in his process?
[23:47] How would Jelle describe his selling style and approach?
[24:55] Jelle has transitioned from cold-calling to a more introduction-and-referral-based approach. How does Jelle ask for introductions and find connections to open more doors for business?
[27:12] What are some tools and apps that Jelle uses on a daily basis that impact the way he works?
[27:57] Jelle gets enough business from his network that allows him to stay busy enough. How did he get to that point?
[32:02] How does Jelle decide which relationships to focus on to make the most of the network he has developed?
[35:56] What motivates Jelle?
[37:25] What part of an average seller’s process does Jelle think is off-base, or crazy?
[39:04] Does Jelle get feedback from deals that he lost to improve himself?
[40:55] Another thing that can greatly aid personal development is having a mentor. Who are Jelle’s mentors, and how does he leverage them to improve?
[43:48] How does Jelle cut down on ‘noise’?
[44:54] What is it about Jelle’s relationship with his manager that has allowed him to improve?
[46:55] What advice does Jelle have for someone who wants to improve their ability as a sales leader?
[48:27] What advice would Jelle give someone who is starting out on their sales career, and someone who is further along in their career to get to the top of their game?
[51:13] Get on the Sales Success Community mailing list to get access to some great resources!
[52:45] Jelle challenges you to look at your data and set realistic targets on goals you want to achieve.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Top1.fm
Vidyard GoVideo
Jelle den Dunnen on LinkedIn
Hardwell
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, by Patrick Lencioni
The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability,
by Roger Connors, Tom Smith, and Craig Hickman
Google Docs
HubSpot