You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram.

While I’m out on vacation we’re featuring 7 of the top tips from 2022 so far.

Here’s one of those top tips!

1207. Attitude is Everything – Jeff Radke

You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram.

While I’m out on vacation we’re featuring 7 of the top tips from 2022 so far.

Here’s one of those top tips!

1202. Stop Killing Sales – Janice B Gordon

“I’m a huge fan of leveraging your strengths and I really think you need to lean into those things. Even better if you have ways to quantify what’s working and can use those numbers as a guide to help you further double down on your strengths.” – Scott Ingram in today’s Tip 1237

Are you looking at what’s working best in what you’re doing? 

Join the conversation below and send me a note!

[email protected]
Scott Ingram on LinkedIn
2022 Sales Success Summit

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Are you looking at what’s working best in what you’re doing? Where are you finding the most success in your prospecting efforts? Where are you strongest in your sales process? Who have been your best mentors?

I’m a huge fan of leveraging your strengths and I really think you need to lean into those things. Even better if you have ways to quantify what’s working and can use those numbers as a guide to help you further double down on your strengths.

That’s my personal plan for this show over the next week or so. I’m actually already out on vacation, but to make things easy and consistent, we’re going to lean into some of the top tips that have been shared on the podcast so far this year. The cool thing is I’ve got some pretty good data on which tips are the most popular. At the same time, it’s a bit of an inexact science because a tip that was shared in January will have way more downloads than a tip that was shared just a few weeks ago.

So for the next 7 days in this best of series, it’s not going to be any sort of ranked countdown, instead, I’m just going to share the top 7 without discriminating.

Also, you know I always love hearing from you. Do me a favor and send me a note. I want to hear either what it is that’s been working best for you lately OR either which of these top 7 tips is your favorite, or maybe you have a different favorite?

Send your note to [email protected], and if you’ve set up your account on Rally. There’s a very very good chance that you’ll be rewarded with some $SALES coins. Do me a favor and use the word BEST in all caps in your subject line when you send your note. I look forward to hearing from you and will get back to you when I get back from vacation. Enjoy!

“I think that’s something people misunderstand is you’re not necessarily selling them on the product. You’re selling them on the sales process to evaluate your products.” – Misha Jessel-Kenyon in today’s Tip 1236

Are you selling them the process?

Join the conversation below and check the full interview with Misha!

SalesLoft
Misha Jessel-Kenyon on LinkedIn
Misha Jessel-Kenyon on Sales Success Stories Interview
2022 Sales Success Summit
Prescriptive Selling: Leading your Prospective Customers Through their Buying Process – Justin Bridgemohan

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today I’ve got another clip from my conversation with Misha to build on yesterday’s tip about not focusing on closing. Here’s a bit more from SalesLoft’s #1 rep in Europe:

Misha Jessel-Kenyon: I would say your overall sales process, I even step you take customers through is far more important than the individual conversations that you have. And I think too many reps focus on conversational tactics or language around influence connect. It’s all about the conversation-type focus. I’m going to convince them in this conversation that they should buy where I’m selling. And I think if you focus too much there that you can very quickly become in authentic if you’re not practiced or mastered properly in those areas, and that inauthenticity is poison to your deals, it makes it difficult to build trust, which makes it hard to build Champions. And if you don’t have a champion, you don’t have a deal, and ultimately can be a huge detriment to your success. So I’d say use conversational tactics precautions like individual conversational tactics are not really that useful when you compare it to how impactful being strategic about the process you’re taking them through can be.

Scott Ingram: And how does that manifest? I mean, are you educating your prospect around the process? Is it about kind of constantly driving towards the next step? What does that actually mean?

Misha Jessel-Kenyon: It’s about educating them about our sales process, saying this is typically how our sales process works, and this is why we take you through this process and showing them that it’s in their benefit to follow our process. Of course, we still need to take into account the nuance of the organization and then adapt it based on what you’re learning and then propose a slightly different sales process. If there’s information that shared, that means that kind of the standard process isn’t going to work. But it’s very much about convincing them to go your way and then also saying no when they want to go in a direction that you know isn’t going to be fruitful for the party. And a good example of that is a core part of our sales process is building a business case, and we call it a business value assessment and a big part of how we educate the customer on it. Is it’s in your benefit to go through this. Because not only will it help us quantify the impact and show you if this is worth doing or not, and we’re not going to ask you to sign off on this until we know if it’s worth doing or not, but it’s also going to provide us a map on how we deliver value and enable you to hold us accountable for what we’ve agreed to deliver.

And so it’s not just how you choose, it’s how you get a good outcome of implementing the software. And that’s just one example. But there’s plenty of things like that where if you let the customer be in the driving seat, you can very quickly kind of go down routes that kill deals and unintentionally from customers. If customers don’t haven’t bought what you sold, you’ve sold it a lot more times than they bought it. And so you should very much be in the driving seat.

Scott Ingram: Yeah, this totally reminds me. I don’t know if you’ve seen it because it was quite some time ago. At the very first Sales Success Summit, Justin Bridgemohan talked about sort of this and he sort of had this epiphany. He really dug in and was like, Okay, when I win, why do I win? When I lose, why do I lose? And he realized it all came down to this. It all came down to I win when I run my process and I bring the client into sort of this idea and it’s really teaching them and educating them and selling them on the process. It’s helping them understand that this works. I’ve done this way more times than you have, right? I know how to make clients successful and we are successful when we do it this way. So you just kind of need to trust the process.

I’m going to quickly interrupt myself here to share this video link with you. I just went back and set the video I just mentioned to be free just for you. You’ll find links at Top1.fm/145 or Top1.fm/misha. And while you’re there, do yourself a favor and click on the link for the Sales Success Summit. If you think these interviews are valuable, imagine how much value you’d get from being in a room with a few dozen of the top performers you’ve heard on this podcast. Plus, we have a lot of fun here in Austin, so top1.fm/145 to get access to Justin’s video and Top1Summit.com to sign up to join us this October.

Misha Jessel-Kenyon: Yeah, exactly. You’re selling them on the process. I think that’s something people misunderstand is you’re not necessarily selling them on the product. You’re selling them on the sales process to evaluate your products. And a lot of the other supporting people that you’ll bring in on the deal will often help you sell it and you will be selling it later on in the process. But at the very beginning, it’s all about selling the process, telling them to commit to your process.

Scott Ingram: Once again, for links to connect with Misha and for my full interview with him, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1236. Once you’ve done that, be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!

“I think deals will close themselves as long as you open them correctly.” – Misha Jessel-Kenyon in today’s Tip 1235

Do you focus on closing?

Join the conversation below and check out the full interview with Misha!

SalesLoft
Misha Jessel-Kenyon on LinkedIn
Misha Jessel-Kenyon on Sales Success Stories Interview

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today I’ve got a clip for you from the interview we just released with Misha Jessel-Kenyon on the Sales Success Stories podcast. Misha has been the #1 AE in EMEA at SalesLoft for the last 2 years and was just named the #1 sales rep in the UK by Wiser in their 100 over 100 awards. Listen to this:

Misha Jessel-Kenyon: We’ve already talked about MEDDPICC and I definitely believe in that. It’s kind of the core qualification matrix, but that isn’t a sales process. So I would say MEDDPICC is key for kind of the navigation of how you navigate your deal, how you tell if you’re on track or off track and where you need to focus next.

But beyond that, I would say that following a value first sales process, that’s very much focused around the business case and my philosophy is very much quality over quantity. Find deals where you can definitely win and where you can create a business case that can really quantify value. That’s going to solve a very important problem for a customer. And then focus your time there and don’t spend your time on the other ones because as a salesperson it’s a bit like being an investor, but you’re an investor of your own time in these deals.

Then, I would say one of the other things I’d say that I definitely don’t believe in closing. I don’t think hard-selling works. I think deals will close themselves as long as you open them correctly. You manage the process correctly and then you will take them to a point where there’s no other logical solution than to buy. And I kind of really dislike the whole kind of endless talk in sales about closing, how to close. I think it only is applicable and very transactional sales. And then I would also say that at the heart of sales, trust and integrity and authenticity at the heart of everything. You can’t truly be your offensive self when you’re selling, then you’re not going to be able to build trust with the buyer. And if you don’t operate with integrity, then the deal is going to be brought in at its core if they’re going to send it. So you have to operate without a heart.

Scott Ingram: For a link to connect with Misha and for this full interview, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1235. Once you’ve done that, be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!

“If you just keep talking long-winded without breaks trying to convince somebody with all your words, you won’t know where you lost them, you won’t know if they’re actually engaged and you both end up feeling comfortable at the end of your talk and your rant.” – Meshell Baker in today’s Tip 1234

What’s your thought about this?

Join the conversation below and connect with Meshell!

Meshell Baker on LinkedIn
Meshell Baker on Youtube
Meshell Baker on Facebook
Subscribe to Meshell’s Mailing List

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. It’s Monday, so here’s Meshell Baker with another great sales tip!

Meshell Baker: Hello. Here are five essential sales tips to help you thrive no matter what you’re selling.

The first one is to know yourself. Know and understand not just what makes you successful, actually what and how you operate in the midst of challenges, difficulties, setbacks. What do you do when the things don’t go as planned? How do you respond and react when you’re uncomfortable and inconvenient? Knowing yourself is vitally important to sales success because most sales don’t go as planned. Often the most successful sellers will tell you that they were able to be flexible and adaptable no matter what the situation was, so that they could continue to let their potential buyers see the value. So know yourself and know how you operate in the midst of things going well and things not going as planned.

The second tip is know how to listen. You have two ears to hear and one mouth to speak. Successful sellers do less talking and more listening. And the key to listening more is to have better questions. So be prepared with questions that will help you guide your buyers in the direction of understanding why and what you have to offer can benefit them. So that is essential to helping you listen, to practice at home, and to have follow-up questions, instead of responding. Learn yourself from the know yourself. Know how to stay still and ask another question. You’ll be amazed at how many more yeses you get, the less you speak and the more you listen.

The third tip is to know your buyer. Where does your buyer exist? Who are they? What is their name? Right? Where do they play? Where do they spend their time? What triggers them? So again, know your buyer. If you have a $50 product and you’re trying to sell to someone who has a five-dollar budget. If you have a $50,000 product and you’re trying to sell to someone who has a $10,000 budget. Again, a million-dollar product is someone who has a half a million-dollar budget. No matter what you do and say, you’re not going to convince them because they are not your buyer. You’re looking for people who want what you have and getting clear on where they are and who they are is important. So know your buyer.

Tip number four is know what motivates your buyers. So we go back to the last one. Why do they buy? Do they buy because of pain? Do they buy because they are wanting a cutting edge? Do they buy because they see everyone else has it? Are they buying because they want to advance? They want to innovate? They want to improve. Know what motivates your buyer to say yes, and it will help you to ask a better question, to listen better, and to be keyed in on whether it’s an opportunity for now or whether you’re planning a seed for the future.

And the last and final tip is know how to say it simply. So often people overshoot the sale, they talk too much, they miss the window of opportunity because they’re so busy trying to convince and conjul and to shake and shift somebody to make someone understand why what you have is what they want. Trying to convince someone to sell is very different from influencing someone to buy what they already need. So keeping it simple and bite-sized consumable pieces allow you to pause, take a breath and see if the buyer is still engaged in your conversation.

And this is especially true with your initial pitch. Keep that initial pitch or that initial introduction to 30 to 60 seconds. I really, honestly say about 30 seconds. What you’re looking for is just have some statement that’s very powerful engaging so that that person actually asks you for more. When they are asking you questions and wanting more and when you have that lean in now you know it’s a conversation that’s valuable to you both. However, if you just keep talking long-winded without breaks trying to convince somebody with all your words, you won’t know where you lost them, you won’t know if they’re actually engaged and you both end up feeling comfortable at the end of your talk and your rant.

So the five tips are know yourself, know how to listen, know who’s your buyer, know why they buy, and know how to stay accepted. Have a great day selling.

Scott Ingram: That’s 5 for the price of one today. That’s what you get with Meshell Baker. To connect with her, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1234 where we’ve got a link for you and the transcript of this tip.

Once you’ve done that, be sure to come right back for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!

“When you dig deep enough into the heart, you’ll find what truly motivates the customer in front of you.” – Shari Levitin in today’s Tip 1233

Do you ask questions and uncover what truly motivates your customers?

Join the conversation below and learn more about Shari!

Take the Quiz
Shari Levitin Virtual Training
Heart and Sell: 10 Universal Truths Every Salesperson Needs to Know

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip comes from Shari Levitin. Shari is a wickedly funny sales guru, who helps sales teams bridge the gap between beating quota and selling with an authentic, heartfelt approach. LinkedIn recognized her as a Top Ten Voice in Sales and Salesforce distinguished her as a Top 20 Global Sales Expert. Here she is:

Shari Levitin: Every human being is motivated emotionally. We know this to be true. Research shows that we make decisions based on our motions, and we justify it with logic. In fact, when parts of the brain are removed in the prefrontal cortex, humans can’t even decide the most basic thing, like if they want a chicken taco or a salad. We can’t decide without using the emotional part of our brain. And we’re all motivated by emotional motivators. And I believe there are seven emotional motivators that cause anybody to do anything.

Your job as a seller is to ask those hard questions after you ask the skin and bone and to uncover what those unique emotional motivators of your clients are. Is it they want to spend more time with their family? Is it that they want to grow and learn? Is it that they want to have adventure? Is it that they want to leave a legacy? Is it that they need peace of mind and stress reduction?

Today, a big one is security. A lot of people say, Oh, well, I sell financial services. So really, at the end of the day, people just want to save money. I will challenge that because if you were to ask that same customer the question, what would you do with the money you save? Well, I’d invest it. And then what? Well, and then I’d have more money when I’m older. And then what? Take really nice vacations or I’d buy that cabin in the woods. Why spend more quality time with my grandkids?

When you dig deep enough into the heart, you’ll find what truly motivates the customer in front of you. Because at the end of the day, we’re all motivated by heart motivators.

Scott Ingram: If you want more tips on this changing buying/selling environment. Book a call with Shari and her team to discuss customized group sessions. We’ll have links for you to do that at DailySales.Tips/1233.

Once you’ve done that. Be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!

“I simply think of this as belief and I think it’s the first and probably most important ingredient when it comes to sales success.” – Scott Ingram in today’s Tip 1232

What about you? Are you self-efficacious? Do you believe?

Join the conversation below and feel free to share your thoughts!

Submit a Sales Tip

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Earlier this week I got an email from one of my mentors. He was talking about reading the book “Fans First” by Jesse Cole, the founder of the Savannah Bananas and I’m going to read a quote, but I really want you to go to DailySales.Tips/1232 where I’m going to include the full piece and a link to this newsletter. You’ll also be able to see who my mentor is.

Here’s what he said though:

“I could talk forever about what they are doing, but just read the book. So far it’s amazing and I’m learning quite a bit.

But mostly, I’m learning about self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is someone’s belief that they can accomplish something. Noom, the weight-loss company, says that self-efficacy is the number one reason why people will or will not accomplish their goals. They promote this concept in a ton of their marketing.

Jesse accomplished his goal because he believed he and his team could do it. Everything else is in the details.”

So self-efficacy isn’t the phrase I would use. In fact, it’s also kind of hard to say. I simply think of this as belief and I think it’s the first and probably most important ingredient when it comes to sales success.

I think you have to believe in 3 things:

First and foremost, you need to believe in yourself. You also need to believe in whatever it is that you’re selling and you have to believe in your process.

This shows up over and over again in the interviews I do with the top 1% sales performers on my Sales Success Stories podcast, but maybe the most interesting way that I see it is from those who call their shots.

Today, I’ll actually be doing an interview with a top SDR who reached out to me a year ago. He’s a fan of Sales Success Stories and got in touch to suggest that we do an interview together after his first year once he had become the #1 SDR of several dozen at his company.

Challenge accepted and of course, he made it. What’s interesting is that this isn’t the first time. Dustin Brown called this kind of a shot when he joined Outreach.

In fact, the vast majority of listeners who have reached out and let me know that they were going to be number one and were going to need to be on the podcast have gone on to do exactly that.

So what about you? Are you self-efficacious? Do you believe?

I believe you should click over to DailySales.Tips/1232 so that you can read the full piece from my mentor. Once you’ve done that, be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!

 

About Self-Efficacy

by Joe Pulizzi in his Random Newsletter that you can subscribe to HERE.

I’m in the middle of reading “Fans First” by Jesse Cole, the founder of the Savannah Bananas independent baseball team.

The story is truly unbelievable…how he turned an idea that everyone thought was terrible into what ESPN calls “the greatest show in baseball.” From the Banana Nanas (their senior citizen dance team) to throwing out the first banana (instead of the first pitch) to all-you-can-eat tickets (all tickets are the same price and they all include food/drinks).

The Bananas have more social media followers than many Major League Baseball teams. They also just announced a new special series on ESPN+. Here’s a video of their players dancing during the game to give you an idea of their antics.

I became a fan a few years ago. My wife and I have looked into going to a game. Tickets are very hard to come by (they’ve sold out every game since 2016).

I could talk forever about what they are doing, but just read the book. So far it’s amazing and I’m learning quite a bit.

But mostly, I’m learning about self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is someone’s belief that they can accomplish something. Noom, the weight-loss company, says that self-efficacy is the number one reason why people will or will not accomplish their goals. They promote this concept in a ton of their marketing.

Jesse accomplished his goal because he believed he and his team could do it. Everything else is in the details.

I’m working on some new things myself. Here is how I’m breaking it down to find success.

First, I’m writing down the big goal. Before we sold our company in 2016, I wrote down how much I was going to sell for and by when. I reviewed this goal every day.

Then create small daily habits. For example, I’m trying to lose a few pounds and get in shape. I track how much water I drink per day and how many times I run per week. For you, this will be whatever daily habits get you to your larger goal.

Track everything. If you set a large goal that can’t be tracked, you’re going to have a difficult time. Make sure whatever you do can be measured. If you want to be a successful content entrepreneur, what does that mean for you? Is that the number of subscribers? Or perhaps a revenue or profit goal per month? Then mark it down and track it like crazy.

Get feedback. Now, I don’t mean you have to share what you are doing with the world every minute on social media, but having a few mentors and supporters is critical. They will keep you accountable and give you honest feedback during your journey.

So, keep it simple.

Create the goal and write it down.

Develop small daily habits that define the goal’s success.

Track your progress every day.

Create a feedback team to keep you accountable and to help adjust your goals as you learn more.

Let’s make 2022 an amazing year of positive change for all of us.

“If you’re trying to create an atmosphere where you’re empowering and enabling your Salesforce to take the time that they need, to focus on their health or on their family, think again before being super active when you’re supposed to be on leave of your own.” – Jack Wilson in today’s Tip 1231

What’s your thought about this?

Join the conversation below and be sure to connect with Jack!

Jack Wilson on LinkedIn
Submit a Sales Tip

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. A little out of order here, but here’s a recent tip from Jack Wilson just after the birth of his son, who’s now almost a month old!

Jack Wilson: What’s going on Daily Sales Tips Community. Jack Wilson here with another tip. Have you heard the quote, Leadership is Action? I think it’s important to remember, but specifically when you’re taking action that you might not be aware of. What I’m referring to is the way you act that other people observe, even though you might not have taken those actions intentionally or deliberately.

So, for example, we live in a world where empowering our Salesforce to take the time away from work, to take mental breaks, and focus on their health is more and more in the limelight. But one thing that I’m starting to see is that leaders that don’t want to take that time away stay involved, when they’re supposed to be on leave or when they’re on vacation. They’re in the Slack channel, or they’re sending emails. And I think the message they’re trying to say is, “Hey, I’m still here. Or let’s keep motivated, or I have your back.” And that’s all well and good. But one of the subtle messages that it sends is even when you’re away, you shouldn’t be away. If I’m here working, I might subtly be hinting that I’m expecting you to do the same.

So if you’re a leader and that’s your intention, keep up the good work. But if you’re trying to create an atmosphere where you’re empowering and enabling your Salesforce to take the time that they need, to focus on their health or on their family, think again before being super active when you’re supposed to be on leave of your own. And you know what? I actually just got home with my newborn son, Weston, so I’m going to take my own advice and go away now. Thanks!

Scott Ingram: For links to connect with Jack and for the transcript of this tip, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1231. Once you’ve done that, be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!

“Make sure you have a clear timeline and understanding around when the organization needs to implement or solve for the problem that you’re solving for.” – Mike Simmons in today’s Tip 1230

How do you reduce stalls in your sales process?

Join the conversation below and learn more about Mike!

Mike Simmons on YouTube
Find My Catalyst Podcast
Sales Tactical Discussions – Catalyst Sale
Catalyst Sale
The G.A.M.E Plan

Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: [email protected]

Transcript

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip comes from Mike Simmons. Mike is the Founder of Catalyst Sale and host of the Find My Catalyst Podcast. Here he is:

Mike Simmons: A good way to avoid stalls in the sales process. One great way to avoid a stall in the sales process is a high level of clarity around when the organization needs to implement the program that you’re implementing. When do they need to solve the problem by? If you don’t understand that, it’s really hard for you to work backward and set a clear timeline for your customers on how they’re actually going to execute against that. If you don’t have that clear timeline, it’s really hard to reveal urgency and risk. Most organizations don’t want to take on risks.

Now, the challenge is we can’t create that urgency, we can’t create risk. But what we can do is really good sales professionals, people who are guiding our customers, who are there to help them execute on the problems that they’re trying to solve for. We can help them reveal items, reveal risks, reveal things, some of those unknown things that exist in the operating environment.

So when it comes to tactics to help avoid stalling in deals, make sure you have a clear timeline and understanding around when the organization needs to implement or solve for the problem that you’re solving for. If you can’t get that timeline, maybe the thing you’re selling really isn’t that much of a priority. Thanks.

Scott Ingram: For links to more from Mike, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1230. Once you’ve done that, be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!