Find Your Motivation, Drive Your Destiny
Knowing what drives you will drive you to success
Debe Rapson is the top Director of Strategic Accounts at Demandbase. She has been with Demandbase for the past 7 years (she has been #1 every one of those 7 years), and has seen it through its growth from a small company with 18 employees, to one of the top marketing firms in the B2B industry. With over 30 years of experience in the sales industry, Debe shares her experiences about how to achieve success in sales. Tune in to hear some insights that Debe has about finding your motivation and driving your success!
Shareable Clips & Quotes:
“Discovery, in my book, is all about listening, not pitching.” Tweet this
“Staying in the same industry has really benefited me.” Tweet this
“Once you find your people and you start getting success, I think it’s a great idea to stay in the same industry.” Tweet this
“The thing that motivates me is freedom. And money buys you freedom.” Tweet this
“You’re not a great sales rep if you’ve never been fired.” Tweet this
“You don’t want things to happen to you, you want to drive your destiny.” Tweet this
Key Takeaways:
[:26] Scott introduces his guest for today, Debe Rapson! Debe appeared in Episode 4 of Sales Success Stories, but that episode is now exclusively available to members of the Sales Success Community. Sign up at top1sales.wpengine.com!
[1:13] What are the top three things that have allowed Debe to get to and stay at the top, all these years? Genuine curiosity, following through with promises, and challenging the status quo.
[4:29] Scott gives a shout out to Nudge!
[4:58] How does Debe structure her discovery process and first conversation with her clients? What are some of the most powerful questions she likes to ask?
[7:00] How does Debe prepare for her first conversation?
[8:13] Debe is a challenger. She shares some examples of how being a challenger has given her some of her biggest deals.
[11:07] What is Debe’s role at Demandbase, and how did she get to Number 1 there?
[12:10] How big of a factor is staying in the same industry, and leveraging her knowledge base, in her success?
[15:49] What is Debe’s origin story? How did she get into sales?
[18:36] What most impacted Debe in her sales journey?
[22:53] Why did Debe decide to go back into the individual contributor role vs continuing down a management path?
[23:40] What are the questions you should ask, going into a new role or opportunity?
[26:06] What’s the most important factor that ultimately determines which company Debe picks?
[28:01] What are some red flags that Debe looks out for when choosing a company?
[29:11] Challenges Debe has faced in her career.
[32:50] What is Debe’s process so that changes in territory do not completely throw her off her game?
[36:16] Debe is a night owl. What does her evening routine look like?
[37:58] How does Debe structure her day so that it’s most effective?
[39:47] Debe spends some time on Sundays to lay out her entire week’s goals and activities.
[41:23] Scott has a bonus for you! Craig Rosenberg, the Funnelholic, is hosting the 2nd Annual TOPO Summit in San Francisco on April 12-13, and Scott will be there too! Find out more at top1sales.wpengine.com/topo! Scott’s giving away a ticket to the event on February 24, at the Sales Success Community — be sure to check it out!
[42:53] What motivates Debe?
[44:26] Dealing with bad days — If everything is going wrong that day, walk away from the day.
[45:49] What are some beliefs or practices that stand between the average sales rep and success?
[49:30] Debe talks about how she sets up discovery calls with clients.
[52:10] Debe shares some of her favorite advice for new SDRs.
[55:15] What is Debe’s opinion on mentors? How does she foster those relationships?
[57:43] Scott has observed that the few women in sales, tend to be at the top of their game. What does Debe have to say about this?
[1:02:10] Debe advises you to listen to that little voice within you, and if you don’t love what you do, stop doing it and do something else!
Mentioned in This Episode:
[…] a recent interview on the Sales Success Stories podcast, Debe talked about how she’s been able to be the top seller at Demandbase for all that time. […]