Episode 145: Selling with Trust, Integrity & Authenticity with the #1 Sales Rep in the UK, SalesLoft’s Misha Jessel-Kenyon

Misha Jessel-Kenyon was recently named the number one sales rep in the UK by Wiser. He’s also been SalesLoft’s number one Enterprise Account Executive for the last two years running. Specializing in B2B Sales, SaaS, Go-To-Market Strategies, Sales Tech, and more, Misha is an incredibly gifted sales professional who believes that sales is the lifeblood of our economy. Misha has a true passion for the art and craft of sales and shares that passion in today’s episode.

Today, Misha and Scott discuss Misha’s sales origin story and how it led him to his current role at SalesLoft. After using SalesLoft in his previous role, Misha saw first-hand the impact it can have on the success of a sales team. He joined because he wanted to help other sales teams achieve the same results. Misha goes on to discuss his view of sales and what he loves about influencing and persuading people. It’s the innately human aspect of sales that he enjoys most. Misha provides three key factors that he attributes most to his success. These include continuous learning, committing to the craft of sales, and investing in and choosing the company that is the best fit for him and his long-term goals.

Misha expounds on the importance of leading a sales career with trust, integrity, and authenticity at the heart of it all. He believes that sales without those three attributes is fleeting and ineffective at best. That is what drives Misha as he discusses and lays the foundation for what his big-picture career goals are, which include becoming an Executive at a SaaS company and eventually founding his own company. Misha takes the audience through a typical day in the life, one that is quite unstructured (which is the way Misha likes it!) Misha shares some of his habits and routines, including his color-coded calendar. Finally, Misha issues an actionable challenge to the audience. He challenges listeners to take accountability and true ownership of absolutely everything that goes wrong in your sales world over the next couple of weeks. From there, see what actions you could have done better and see how that mindset changes your circumstances.

What We Covered:

00:01 – Scott takes a moment to thanks today’s sponsors, The 2022 Sales Success Summit
00:41 – Scott introduces today’s guest, Misha Jessel-Kenyon
01:05 – The top three things Misha attributes to his success
01:20 – Number One: Continuous learning
01:36 – Number Two: Committing to the craft and profession of sales
01:52 – Number Three: Investing in the right company to work for
02:24 – Misha expounds on the process he followed to ensure SalesLoft was the right fit for him and his career
05:45 – Misha talks about his role at SalesLoft and quantifies his sales results
08:02 – Misha’s sales origin story
10:25 – What Misha would do differently if given the chance
11:05 – Identifying opportunities to learn more
15:11 – Misha’s proudest accomplishment and his favorite sales story
19:18 – Obstacles and challenges that Misha has overcome throughout his sales career
20:02 – Misha takes the audience through a typical day in the life
22:48 – Misha walks Scott through his color-coded meeting process
24:57 – The books, news, podcasts, and trade information that Brad consumes
29:35 – Areas of the Sales Success Podcast that Misha enjoys most
30:10 – What motivates and drives Misha
31:45 – Misha’s sales philosophy and style
33:37 – How Misha shows up as his authentic self
34:49 – Misha’s side hustle and how he balances that with his career
37:01 – Misha’s tech stack
38:56 – One of Misha’s beliefs that the average sales professional would think is crazy
42:20 – Scott takes a moment to promote the 2022 Sales Success Summit
45:03 – An average sales professional’s belief that Misha thinks is crazy
46:18 – Advice Misha would give to an upstart sales professional
47:54 – Advice Misha would give to a sales professional looking to make the leap to that next level
50:30 – How Misha has fostered his own sales professional development
51:50 – Misha talks about a recent award he won
53:17 – What Misha wants to learn about other top sales performers
54:22 – Misha shares some of his long-term goals
55:29 – Final words of wisdom from Misha and what extreme ownership looks like
1:00:17 – Misha issues an actionable challenge to the audience

Tweetables:

“I think if I was to do it again, I would just go straight into SaaS software, become an SDR, and join the company that I knew could teach me the most the fastest.” (10:44)

“I think a critical part of it [color-code planning] is making sure that you’re maniacally focused on the highest priority things and really taking control of your time.” (23:27)

“As I got into sales, I just loved the process of it. I love the fact that I could get paid to speak and listen to people all day and construct a business case as to why a customer would buy. I love the excitement and the highs and lows of it. I think I’m almost addicted now to the rush of the chase.” (30:34)

“At the heart of sales, trust and integrity and authenticity are at the heart of everything. If you can’t truly be your authentic 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 rotten at its core.” (33:10)

“As a sales rep, you should reflect on what truly brings you joy within the sales process.” (45:46)

“Long-term, my overall ambition is to become an Executive Sales Leader, ideally to become a CRO at a SaaS company. And, ideally, I’d like to build a strong legacy of a very successful journey.” (54:36)

What We Covered:

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