Reed Clarke — Selling Professional Services
It’s all based on relationships
Read the full transcript & show notes →
Reed Clarke is the top Solution Consulting Director at LeadMD, based out of Scottsdale, Arizona. He is the first professional seller on the show coming from the the consulting space, as opposed to product sales space. Reed shares how he has managed to rise to the top of his team in just over a year of being there, as well as the lessons he has learned in his extensive sales career. Tune in to this episode for some insights into establishing relationships with prospects, as well as how selling professional services differs from selling product-based solutions.
Shareable Clips & Quotes:
Key Takeaways:
[:35] Scott welcomes his guest for this episode — Reed Clarke.
[1:25] What are the top three things that have allowed Reed to get to the #1 spot at LeadMD?
[5:20] How does Reed determine which prospects are a good fit that he is willing to invest time into, and what does he do when he encounters a prospect that is not a good fit?
[7:03] Professional services tends to be a little bit different than product sales, in that it’s a lot more dependent on managing relationships. Reed explains further.
[9:24] Reed describes the structure at his company in terms of clients and how much revenue he receives from new clients, vs. existing clients.
[10:52] What does it take to be #1 at LeadMD? Reed quantifies his results.
[11:20] What allowed Reed to get to the top in barely over a year that he’s been at LeadMD?
[13:04] Reed records all of his calls. He talks about the apps he uses in this process.
[13:25] How did Reed get into sales in the first place?
[17:05] What would Reed have done differently if he had to do it again?
[18:32] What is Reed’s favorite sales story?
[21:00] What is the biggest challenge in sales today, or what has been the most challenging part of Reed’s sales career?
[22:39] What is Reed’s sales structure and process?
[26:37] Apart from the Challenger sales philosophy, what else informs Reed’s sales philosophy?
[28:36] What are Reed’s daily routines?
[30:47] When does Reed come up with his mental plan of the things that need to get done for him to be successful?
[33:09] Reed travels about once a month, for four to five business days. What are some things that help him manage his travel time?
[35:38] Reed tries to give his clients an actionable item when he meets them. How does he go about introducing this idea, during or after the meeting?
[37:13] What does Reed’s information diet look like?
[40:57] What are some apps and technology that Reed uses?
[42:44] Technology is a tool, and the real power comes from harnessing it to your specific process to enable people to do what they do best.
[44:11] Scott shares an analogy to illustrate the point that technology is only a tool.
[45:59] What motivates Reed? How does he think about motivation?
[47:27] How does Reed define success?
[49:19] What is something that Reed believes or does that the average sales rep would think is nuts?
[51:50] On the flip side, what is something that the average seller believes or does that Reed thinks is crazy?
[55:45] What are some lessons that Reed has had to learn to get where he is today?
[57:45] What advice would Reed give to someone just starting out in a sales career?
[58:57] What advice does Reed have for someone further along in their sales career?
[1:01:00] How does Reed think about relationships and maximize those opportunities?
[1:03:54] What would Reed like to know from other top sellers in other organizations?
[1:05:10] Reed talks about what the things were that made his best clients, his best clients.
[1:07:04] How does Reed deal with failure and learn from his losses?
[1:08:22] Why has Reed chosen to sell professional services, rather than a product type solution?
[1:11:07] Who is the most successful salesperson Reed knows personally?
[1:13:16] Reed challenges you to go back to the basics — solve people’s problems by putting yourself in your prospect’s shoes.
[1:15:31] Reed has an exclusive piece available for members of the Sales Success Community! Sign up for the mailing list by visiting top1sales.wpengine.com, or if you’re in the US, text top1 to 444999 to get access to Reed’s piece, and other great resources!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Top1.fm
ViewedIt
Influitive
Reed Clarke on LinkedIn
LeadMD
Marketo
Salesforce
GoToMeeting
Box.com
ExecVision
Tim Ferriss
Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself, by Florence Littauer
The Joe Rogan Experience
Engagio
DiscoverOrg
LeanData
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Datanyze