Tim Zielinski is the RVP of Strategic Acquisition Sales at Dynatrace & the author of Sell with Swagger: The Quick-Hit Guide to Crushing Your Quota. Tim joins the show to share his career path from Java developer to SaaS leader and author. A lifelong individual contributor who has consistently crushed quota, Tim never thought he would end up in a management/leadership position. That is until he was given an opportunity he just couldn’t pass up. Tim is a consummate professional whose technical capability and focus on clients’ needs make him a stand out in his field.
Today, Tim shares his sales origin story, his transition from individual contributor to sales manager, and how he’s been able to become such an effective sales coach and leader. Tim expounds on the three things he attributes most to his success, which include discipline, focus, and hard work. Tim quantifies his sales team’s results, speaks to the multi-faceted nature of Sales, and shares why he believes it’s easier to go from Sales to other parts of business rather than the other way around. Tim highlights the major differences between individual contributor and sales leader, details his approach to building trust and credibility, and takes the audience through a typical day in the life.
Tim speaks to what inspired him to write his book, Sell with Swagger, and what he hopes other sales professionals take away from his book. Tim also touches on both his sales philosophy and leadership style and what keeps him motivated. Finally, Tim issues an actionable challenge to the audience. He challenges you to look at who you are and where you are in your sales career and identify the key items you need to work on. Then, look for the book, or podcast, or tool that can help you improve in that area and get after it. Work on the business – not in the business – and you’ll see, more often than not, that you’ll achieve better results.
What We Covered:
02:20 – Number Three: Hard work
02:54 – Tim speaks to how he’s transitioned from individual contributor to a leadership role and quantifies his sales team’s results
05:32 – How Tim has been able to become an effective sales coach and leader
08:30 – Tim’s role as RVP (Regional Vice President) of Strategic Acquisition Sales
09:41 – What prompted Tim to transition to a management role
11:48 – The major differences between individual contributors and sales leader
13:07 – Tim’s sales origin story
15:50 – What Tim would do differently if given the chance
17:40 – Tim speaks to the multi-faceted nature of Sales
19:54 – Tim’s favorite sales story
22:38 – Tim’s approach to building trust and credibility
24:49 – Tim takes the audience through a typical day in the life
29:17 – How Tim structures his one-on-one meetings
31:31 – What inspired Tim to write his book, Sell with Swagger
33:56 – The one thing Tim hopes people take away from his book
35:15 – The books, news, podcasts and trade information that Tim consumes
37:58 – Tim’s tech stack
38:40 – Tim’s sales philosophy and leadership style
42:01 – What motivates and drives Tim
43:30 – An average sales leader’s belief that Tim thinks is crazy
45:26 – Advice Tim would give to those thinking of making the jump from individual contributor to sales leadership
46:56 – What individual contributors can do to prepare for becoming a great leader
48:01 – Final thoughts and words of wisdom from Tim
56:52 – Tim issues an actionable challenge to the audience
Tweetables:
“Instead of being the one that takes the ball from them and scores the touchdown, you want to be the one helping and enabling them. And a lot of that is through questions.” (06:03)
“I would certainly say that’s a big part of what drives me is learning more and challenging myself. And that’s the biggest thing about being in a management role is it was a whole new thing. So, when I got into management, my day was a lot of learning new skills and challenges. And, I guess I just felt like I was very fortunate, in my career, to have great mentors and leaders. And now it was my time to give back and enable the next generation of sellers.” (12:27)
“A lot of Sales, to me, is psychology. It’s understanding ‘Who are you selling to? What do they care about? What are their issues? What’s their personality? What’s driving and motivating them?’ And then aligning yourself to that.” (20:59)
“I think discipline is one of the most important things in Sales. A lot of salespeople can be busy all day. You can be busy doing so many things, whether it’s talking to your boss, talking to other salespeople, planning for a meeting, updating SalesForce, doing your forecast, or handling customer issues. There is just so much you have to do as a salesperson. But, at the end of the day, if you’re busy that doesn’t mean you’re successful.” (34:09)
“When you ask salespeople those questions, it causes them to really come up with the answer themselves. And, at the end of the day, they’re gonna learn faster doing that than just watching me do it. So, I think I’m trying to use questions to help my sales reps become the best they can be, but also being very understanding and empathetic and knowing where they are at.” (41:03)
“As a sales leader, it’s a tougher job than being an individual contributor, because now you’ve got a bunch of people that you’re fighting with and you’re out on those front lines. It’s not easier; it’s harder. And if you’re doing the right things, the right job, and being the right leader, it is harder than an individual contributor role.” (44:58)
“If you want to have a successful, sustainable sales career, you gotta stick to it. And it’s gonna take time to really build that sustainable success.” (54:18)
Links Mentioned:
[email protected]
ALL Enterprise Sales Episodes
ALL Sobriety Inspirational Episodes
ALL SDR Episodes
Tim Zielinski on LinkedIn
Sell with Swagger: The Quick-Hit Guide to Crushing Your Quota
Dynatrace
LinkedIn
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Salesforce
Zoom Info
Google
MEDDIC Masterclass
Book Mentioned:
The Ultimate Sales Machine
The Qualified Sales Leader
Sales Management. Simplified.
New Sales. Simplified.
Atomic Habits