Until very recently, Alex Whyte was the top Enterprise Account Executive at GoCardless, an organization that makes it simple to collect recurring and one-off payments from customers worldwide. Alex just started a new role at Zscaler, a company that operates the world’s largest cloud security platform, protecting thousands of enterprises and government agencies from cyberattacks and data loss. Alex is an experienced business development professional with a demonstrated history of working in scaling hyper-growth businesses in the information technology and services industry. He is an intentional and dedicated sales professional who knows firsthand the power of mentorship, listening and following your passion. Alex’s expertise ranges from market research, software as a service (SaaS), business development and finance, to name a few.
In this episode, Alex talks about his sales origin story, his journey to GoCardless and what inspired him to make the jump to Zscaler. Alex shares the three things he attributes to his success, including pipeline generation, mentorship and champion building. Alex knows the value in asking intentional and specific questions. It is his belief that in doing so you can grow personally and professionally as questions are oftentimes just as important as answers. Alex speaks to his proudest accomplishment which derives from overcoming adversity. He talks about lessons he’s learned throughout his career, failures he’s learned from and what he would do differently in his career is given a chance.
Alex continues by taking the audience through a typical day in the life which starts with him waking up consistently at seven in the morning. From there, he goes to his local coffee shop, has a chat with the owner, checks his fantasy football team and starts work by 8am. That’s when the meetings, pipeline generation and prospecting all kick into high gear. Alex finishes his day by working out and getting some exercise. Finally, Alex issues an actionable challenge to the audience. He challenges you to identify your five weakest areas, write them down and then figure out why. Then, find a member in your industry who is an expert in that area and ask them specific questions so you can learn how to improve. Even if it’s a short encounter, you’ve already gained a mentor, which is an incredibly valuable asset.
What We Covered:
00:01 – Scott thanks the sponsors of today’s episode, Outreach, Alyce and Proposify
00:36 – Scott welcomes today’s guest, Alex Whyte
01:17 – The top three attributes that Alex attributes to his success
02:05 – Number 1: Pipeline generation
03:38 – How much time Alex spends on pipeline generation
05:56 – Scott takes a moment to thank one of today’s sponsors, Outreach
06:35 – Number 2: Mentorship
10:33 – Number 3: Champion building
12:38 – How building champions and acquiring mentors are similar processes
18:15 – Scott takes a moment to thank another one of today’s sponsors, Alyce
18:52 – Alex expounds on his previous role at GoCardless and his current role at Zscaler
26:04 – Alex quantifies his sales results
28:20 – Alex speaks to the process he was required to follow while working at GoCardless
30:49 – Scott takes a moment to thank today’s final sponsor, Proposify
31:23 – Alex speaks to the decision to leave GoCardless for Zscaler
38:36 – Alex talks about the PTC Sales Mafia (not to be confused with the PayPal Mafia)
47:35 – Alex’s sales origin story
51:59 – What Alex would do differently in his career if given the chance
54:04 – Alex’s favorite sales story
56:23 – Alex’s proudest accomplishment
1:01:55 – Alex takes the audience through a typical day in the life
1:05:52 – Other habits and approaches that are critical to Alex’s success
1:07:49 – The books, news, podcasts and trade information that Alex consumes
1:11:06 – Which Sales Success Stories podcast episodes have resonated the most with Alex
1:17:43 – Alex speaks to his sales philosophy and style
1:22:02 – What motivates Alex and what is Alex’s ‘Why’
1:24:25 – Why Alex wants to eventually make the jump into a leadership role
1:25:40 – Alex expounds on the concept of wanting to be someone
1:27:49 – One of Alex’s beliefs that the average sales professional would think is crazy
1:29:24 – An average sales professional’s belief that Alex thinks is crazy
1:29:48 – Scott takes a moment to acknowledge an avid listener of the show
1:30:53 – Advice Alex would give to an upstart sales professional
1:32:59 – Advice Alex would give to a struggling sales professional looking to do better
1:34:37 – Scott encourages listeners to reach out with their own sales stories
1:35:53 – What Alex would want to know about the top sellers of other organizations
1:41:46 – Alex’s actionable challenge to the audience
Tweetables:
“Before you ask someone of something, make sure it’s a really good ask because questions are just as important as answers.” (10:08)
“For me, I’d started my career in early-stage startups. Everything was shoot from the hip. So to come and work somewhere where they were building out process – and to work for someone who lived and died by process – what I was doing really wasn’t flying.” (21:55)
“Another reason why I’m obsessed with this cult is because it’s the three ‘Rs.’ It’s recruitment, retention and revenue. It drives everything.” (45:47)
“If I could give myself some advice, the one piece of advice I would give is look for the right leader rather than the right company. Because that person who you spend most of your time with in the working world, if they have a vesting interest in you and if they genuinely want you to succeed, your career can progress five years in less than one.” (52:28)
“I really enjoy listening to real people’s stories. I think that’s why I enjoy listening to your podcast so much.” (1:06:42)
“To find the right champion, identify the right champion and build the right champion, you’ve got to be aligned.” (1:19:02)
“My motivation right now is to get Fortune 100 logos under my belt, to close an eight-figure deal and to get to number one at Zscaler. Only then I feel that I’m in the right position to move into a leadership role.” (1:24:03)
“I think the one thing you will find if you manage to identify various top performers at whatever company, they will all tell you without a doubt, they have an incredible manager or mentor who got them into this place.” (1:32:29)
Links Mentioned:
[email protected]
Sales Success Summit
Alex Whyte on LinkedIn
GoCardless Website
Zscaler Website
Brandon Fluharty on Sales Success Stories Interview
Matt DuPont on Sales Success Stories Interview
Pomodoro Technique
Sponsors Mentioned:
Tools Mentioned:
Books Mentioned:
Podcast Mentioned:
Hunters and Unicorns
Legends of Sales & Marketing
How I Built This
Grounded with Louis Theroux
Ricky Gervais Podcast
Sales Success Stories