Scott Ingram welcomes to the podcast Evan Kelsay, Senior Director of Global Accounts at Seismic, the leading global sales and marketing enablement solution. Prior to this role, Evan worked at LinkedIn for about six and a half years as a Global Account Executive. He credits his time at LinkedIn with growing his knowledge and mastery of sales exponentially. He is an expert in the field of sales, as evidenced by recently closing the largest deal in Seismic’s history, earning a massive commission check in the process.
In this episode, Scott and Evan talk all about the historic multi-million dollar deal that Evan recently closed for Seismic. Evan provides an inside look at his sales background and his journey that led him to this opportunity. He reflects on the challenges of this deal cycle and the ramifications that would have come had this deal not been closed. Evan also touches on the great expectations that have accompanied the success of this deal; he is expected to deliver again on other deals of similar magnitude. Evan talks about what he was most proud of during the deal cycle of this large sale, including how hard his team worked to get everything done in a timely and effective manner. While his business success has been a highlight of his year, Evan continues to stress the importance of not taking himself too seriously. Sales success is great, but at the end of the day it is time with family and the means to spend it with them that matters most to Evan.
We also hear from Evan about his earlier career, and what he would do differently if given the chance, including being more disciplined in his craft. He identifies the three things he attributes to his success, which include never losing his child-like sense of wonder, curiosity, and resilience, a hyper-competitive drive, and a desire for win-win scenarios. Evan also takes listeners through his typical day, from prioritizing the most important tasks of the day to spending time with his children. Perspective is a key component of Evan’s daily routine as he touches on the importance of keeping a grounded mindset throughout the day-to-day chaos of sales. Finally, Evan leaves listeners with parting words of advice. He urges the audience to break away from everyday life distractions, listen to new and interesting podcasts, read new books on interesting subject matter, partake in thought exercises to map out career paths and have confidence. Evan leaves the audience with one final sentiment, echoed from earlier in this episode: Don’t take yourself too seriously.
What We Covered:
00:29 – Scott Ingram welcomes to the podcast, Evan Kelsay
01:25 – The three things Evan attributes to his success
01:57 – Number 1: Never grow up
03:42 – Number 2: Hyper-competitiveness
06:07 – Number 3: A desire for win-win scenarios
08:11 – Evan discusses his roles with LinkedIn and Seismic Software
13:49 – Breaking down the huge deal Evan recently closed
21:47 – Evan’s sales background
27:45 – What Evan would do differently in his career if given the chance
29:39 – Scott promotes the 2019 Sales Success Summit and Evan elaborates on why he chose to sign up for the summit
31:32 – The importance of focusing on honing your craft
36:29 – What Evan is most proud of throughout the deal cycle
40:22 – Evan reflects on what would have happened had he not closed this deal
42:46 – How Evan handles the expectations that have been placed on him
43:26 – The most challenging part of brokering this deal
47:10 – Maintaining a grounded mindset throughout the stress of this deal
48:26 – Evan describes a typical day in the life
52:08 – Evan’s sales playbook
55:31 – The industry trades, news, podcasts and books that Evan consumes
1:05:41 – Tools and apps that Evan uses on a daily basis
1:07:50 – How Evan also accomplishes work without the use of tools and apps
1:09:35 – The importance of blocking out distractions
1:11:58 – The sales models Evan utilized during the process of this deal
1:14:27 – Evan speaks to the most important decision he’s ever made
1:16:42 – Evan gives a shout-out to his mentor and ‘Jedi’ sales manager
1:18:22 – Why Evan sought out a mentor in his latest job search that led him to Seismic
1:19:31 – Advice Evan would give to an upstart sales professional
1:21:21 – The lifestyle change Evan underwent to flip the switch in his career
1:23:25 – The things Evan is hoping to learn at the 2019 Sales Success Summit
1:24:55 – Evan gives an example of a time he had to implement a nuanced approach
1:27:25 – Evan’s challenge to the Sales Success Stories Podcast audience
Tweetables:
“The emperor is very powerful, but he is also very far away.” (21:14)
“If you ever have the chance, go work abroad because you’ll always find people who will look at you and they will be continuously accepting friend applications and, ya know, your friends become your family when you’re living abroad.” (24:43)
“I firmly and fundamentally believe that steel sharpens steel. And, if you want to be a master of your craft, you have to surround yourself with other masters of their craft.” (30:35)
“I get a text from my CEO on commission day and he said, ‘I was happy to write this check. Go do it again.’” (42:51)
“You never can take yourself too seriously, cause otherwise, you’re gonna drive yourself crazy.” (48:12)
“The part of the brain that makes decisions cannot understand language. It operates on gut.” (1:04:34)
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” (1:15:51)
“What you learn in the early part of your career is exponentially more valuable than what you make.” (1:19:44)
Links Mentioned:
Sales Success Summit
Evan’s LinkedIn
Sales Success Stories Book
Podcasts Mentioned by Evan:
The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling
SalesRoundup Podcast
Conversations with Women in Sales
The Alignment Podcast
Invest Like the Best
Get In The Door Podcast
Inside Selling
The Art of Procurement
The Procurement Revolution
Books Mentioned by Evan:
Never Split the Difference by Chriss Voss
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek