If you work the top of the funnel, it’s easy to believe that you don’t need to build a deep rapport with your prospects. Once you get your foot in the door, your job is to hand them off to another representative, so building more than a superficial relationship may seem unnecessary. However, today’s guest believes that sales is all about the human connection, no matter where you are in the sales process.
David Fisher is a coach, speaker, and the author of a number of books. In today’s episode, David is discussing his book called Hyper-Connected Selling: Winning More Business by Leveraging Digital Influence and Creating Human Connection. Listen to the conversation to hear about why David believes that human connection matters at all parts of the funnel, how to build rapport in just a minute or two, and why face-to-face communication matters so much.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
The goal of the prospector is to generate good leads and close sales, and sometimes it’s worth seeking out options from someone who operates differently than the way that you do in order to improve your techniques.
Today’s guest is Peter Lang, CEO and founder of the Uhuru Network Uhuru is a company that drives client success by increasing monthly leads, generating site visitors and more. Listen to the episode to hear more about how Peter’s company works, what the onboarding process looks like for Uhuru’s clients, and how the GDPR affects Peter’s business.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Peter’s Email: plang@uhurunetwork.com
When you want to know how to sell effectively at the executive level, you need expert training and stories that sell. Today’s guest has been called Australia’s leading Authority on “C” Level sales. Steve Hall has sold to executives in more than 20 countries. He is a writer and speaker who focuses on executive sales. He also owns the Executive Sales Coaching LinkedIn group.
Steve Hall is Managing Director of Executive Sales Coaching Australia and joint founder of Executive Sales Forum International. Steve joins the podcast today to talk about how to use story when you’re talking to decision-makers and how you can tell an effective story in less time – sometimes in just a few words. Listen to the episode to hear what Steve has to say about developing stories, finding the information that you need when you talk to clients, and his Executive Sales Forum International.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Everybody has a story. In fact, everybody has a number of different stories, and one way or another, most people wind up sharing their stories with other people at some point. Stories help us relate to others and make connections as well as illustrate important points. And if you work in sales, you can use your stories to help you connect with prospects and close deals. Today’s guest has literally written the book on how salespeople should use stories.
Mike Adams is an engineer-turned-salesperson from Australia. He’s also the author of the book Seven Stories Every Salesperson Must Tell, a book that’s designed to help those in sales discover the power of stories, what kinds of stories are important in sales, and how you can use stories to help you close. Listen to the episode to hear more about Mike’s background, why he wrote the book and arranged it the way that he did, and how stories can help you connect with your prospects.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Sales automation tools can help at all kinds of different places in the funnel. Prospect.io is a sales automation platform that helps you start conversations and improve sales teams productivity. Today’s guests, Forster Perelsztejn and Iulian Boia are Prospect’s Head of Acquisition and Head of Customer Success respectively. They’re joining today’s episode from Brussels.
Listen to today’s episode to learn more about Prospect.io, who they serve, and how their platform works. Forster and Iulian talk about their roles at Prospect, patterns in customer pain points, how onboarding works, and how the GDPR is affecting their work and platform.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Making a sale is rarely a one-and-done encounter. Instead, it’s an ongoing process and a series of conversations, sometimes with multiple different people. In order to sell effectively, you need to be able to keep up with important details about each prospect, including what your last conversation entailed and when is the best time to schedule the next call or email. This can be a daunting task, but tools that allow you to streamline the process can help.
Outreach.io is one of those tools. Outreach is designed to help salespeople remember critical details and schedule ongoing conversations. Today’s guest is Nick Hart, the customer success manager at Outreach.io. Listen to the episode to hear what Nick has to say about what’s happening at Outreach and what he thinks about things like email personalization, referral strategies, and building and testing your processes before you implement new sales tools.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
It may be possible to use manipulative sales techniques to sell people things that they don’t really want or need. But do you really want to do that, and is it really a good strategy in the long run? Today’s guest talks about the importance of centering the customer’s needs, even if that means passing up an immediate sale, and how that strategy can pay off in the long run.
Andrew Priestly is a business coach, chairman of the Children’s Trust, a publisher, and an author. In today’s episode, he talks about his background in teaching and then real estate sales, his psychology training, and how all of that got him to where he is today. Listen to the episode to hear what Andrew say about sales tactics, the impact of the internet, the importance of personal relationships, and his new book that features contributions from experts in the sales field.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Sales Genius 1: 20 top sales professionals share their sales secrets
Today’s guest is someone that you’ve heard on the podcast before. Donato Diorio joined us on a previous episode to talk about the virtue of voicemail and how to handle voicemail properly. Today he’s with us to talk about a different subject.
Donato is the founder and principal consultant at a company called DataZ, and today he’s going to talk about data. Listen to the episode to hear what Donato has to say about what led him to put together a strategy for assessments, where the data that he uses comes from, and the importance of considering sentiment in data assessment.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Prospecting involves more than just one conversation. It’s a series of conversations, and as the prospector, it’s up to you to keep the interactions going. This can result in a lot of work. You need to remember when the last time was that you talked to a particular prospect, work out when the next good time to contact them will be, and figure out what to say – and you have to repeat this process for multiple prospects. Luckily, there are tools that can help streamline this process for you.
Today’s guest is Nick Hart, a strategic customer service manager for Outreach.io. Outreach is a tool that performs much of the work for you. It can help you plan your follow-up conversations, make sure that the correct messages are being delivered at the right times and to the right people, and prevent you from forgetting or delaying crucial follow-ups. Listen the episode to hear Nick explain what Outreach does, how to use different types of messaging, and what types of email statistics Nick sees on a regular basis.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Email Nick at: nick.hart@outreach.io
When you’re prospecting, having just a little bit of information can be the key to getting your foot in the door and growing your pipeline. Timing your call or email just right or having the perfect conversation starter can make all the difference when it comes to making a sale. If you know that the company you’re looking at has just launched a new project that can benefit from the products you sell or is getting ready to evaluate solutions for the type of service you’re selling, you’re better able to strike while the iron is hot.
Today’s guest is Alex Greer, the founder and CEO of Signal HQ. Signal is a type of technology that you can use to help you get the kind of information that you need to make your sales pitch more effective and help you strategize more easily. Listen the episode to hear Alex explain what Signal HQ does and how it can help with sales.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Great sales people and effective sales processes are pivotal for any organization to make money. But for startups, it can be difficult to transition from founder-led sales to establishing a good sales team and putting the structure in place for effective sales processes. This can cause some serious disruption in an otherwise good business. Today’s guests understand this problem and know how to address it.
Rex Biberston and Kevin Hopp of help organizations build internal sales teams with their company, The Sales Developers. Although outsourcing is a small part of what they do, they built the company with the intent of giving companies the systems, and processes, and methodologies needed to improve their own sales companies. Listen to the episode to hear what Rex and Kevin have to say about what they do, tools that they use to improve efficiency and messaging, and what it’s like to be a millennial in sales.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Marketing and sales may intersect more than you previously thought. In fact, there are good reasons why sales should have some involvement in designing marketing for a product or service – after all, it’s the sales team that ultimately has to convince their prospects to buy, so it makes sense for sales to have some input into the marketing process.
Today’s guest is Sean Campbell, CEO of Cascade Insights, a B2B market research firm. Sean is also the host of his own podcast, called B2B Revealed. In today’s episode, Sean brings his perspective from the marketing side of things to talk about what’s going on in sales. Listen to what Sean has to say about some sales terms that you may not have heard yet, how saying “no” can actually help you sell, and why the sales team should be involved in the marketing process.
Episode Highlights:
Resources
Email Sean at sean@cascadeinsights.com
Social interaction is part of the business of selling. In the past, salespeople often met with prospects face-to-face and spent time with them in their homes or in social settings. In today’s sales environment, many of these in-person interactions have been replaced by online interactions on social media sites. However, these digital interactions are just as important as the in-person interactions that they’ve replaced.
Today’s guest is Jon Ferrara. Jon is the founder and CEO of Nimble, a contact management solution that enhances basic contact information with richly detailed social information that helps you gain new insights about people in your network. This can help you deepen your social media relationships. Listen to the episode to hear what Jon has to say about the importance of social interactions in business, how Nimble can improve those interactions, and what role artificial intelligence plays in Nimble. You’ll also get a special offer from Jon.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Email Jon at: Jon@nimble.com
Special Offer: Sign up for the Nimble free trial. Before the end of the 2-week free trial, enter promo code JON40 to get 40% off Nimble for the first 3 months.
In a world powered by social media, social selling is a crucial aspect of sales. Social media allows salespeople to interact with prospects in a way that provides real value for those prospects. You can answer questions and offer useful content in a way that not only shows the prospect why they want to buy, but also why they would want to do business with you personally. Social selling allows you to create more loyal, engaged customers.
Today’s guest is Brynne Tillman. She’s an authority on social selling and the author of the book The LinkedIn Sales Playbook: A Tactical Guide to Social Selling. Listen to the episode to learn more about how social selling can be used to bring more predictability and reliability to your sales pipeline.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
The LinkedIn Sales Playbook: A Tactical Guide to Social Selling
How can you keep yourself at the top of your prospects’ and clients’ minds? LinkedIn is a powerful tool that can help you do just that, but only if you know how to use it. Unfortunately, LinkedIn can also be confusing and changeable, and even if you have a LinkedIn profile, you may not know how to leverage it to get the most out of it.
Today’s guest is Viveka von Rosen. Viveka is an author, speaker, and LinkedIn expert. She’s also a CVO & Co-founder of Vangreso, a digital sales solution provider that works with people to help create their personal brand online and create content for sales. Listen to the episode to learn more about what Vangreso has to offer, as well as what Viveka has to say about the benefits of LinkedIn, the challenges of using LinkedIn more effectively, and what you should do to turn your LinkedIn profile into a useful resource.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Email Viveka at: viveka@vengreso.com
With artificial intelligence becoming more and more able to take over parts of the sales process, how can you make sure that you stand out as a salesperson? Your own personality can give something to the sales process that robots can’t.
In today’s episode, I’ll talk to Shawn Karol Sandy and Dianna Geairn of the SellOut Show about the importance of bringing personality into the sales process. Listen to the episode to hear what Shawn and Dianna have to say about the approach they recommend for sales conversations, how to experiment with sales scripts, and why you should try recording or videotaping yourself and listening to how you sound during a sales conversation.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to be make a pitch on ABC’s Shark Tank? Today’s guest has been there and done that, and in today’s episode, she’ll share some of what she learned in the process.
Today’s guest is Michelle Weinstein. She is the entrepreneur behind The Pitch Queen, and she’s successfully raised money and landed contracts with companies like Costco and The Vitamin Shoppe. She has 20 years of experience in sales to draw on, and of course, she was featured on Shark Tank. Listen to the episode to hear more about that experience, as well as Michelle’s thoughts on the importance of continued learning, the value of persistence, and what it means to be “professionally annoying.”
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
All sales start with a conversation, whether that happens over the phone, in person, or through email or direct mail. When it’s your job to start the conversation that will lead to a sale, you definitely want to begin with the right words. Today’s guest knows a lot about which words will best help you approach those conversations.
Phil M. Jones is a professional sales coach and speaker. He’s also an author whose books Exactly What to Say and Exactly How to Sell provide the phrases and frameworks that can help demystify the sales process and increase confidence and sales success. Listen to the episode to hear what Phil has to say about the importance of word choice, the steps between a conversation and a sale, and the best kind of framework for a cold call.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
In sales, perfecting your process can be the key to making more sales. But how do you find the right process? When do you know that you’ve hit on a process that works, and what do you need to do to customize it or improve on it for your situation?
Today’s guest is Scott Leese. Scott is the Senior Vice President of Sales at Qualia, a settlement platform for real estate professionals. Scott has also written a book about the sales process. Scott has an interesting background even before he got into sales, and this helps inform his success in the field and interest in process. Listen to the episode to hear Scott describe his history and talk about how he settled on a sales process, why he believes in the importance of delegating, and how to handle stress and pressure in a sales leadership role.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
It’s easy to be suspicious or hesitant about the rapid advances in technology, especially in the field of artificial intelligence. Many people worry about being replaced in their jobs by some type of technology, and for prospectors, the idea of artificial intelligence can seem like a direct threat to their jobs. But it turns out, AI is not the threat to prospecting jobs that it might seem. In fact, AI can actually be used to improve prospectors chances of getting great leads and closing deals.
Today’s guest is Robert Käll, the CEO and cofounder of a company called Cien. Cien produces an AI-powered sales productivity app. Far from taking opportunities away from prospectors, Robert explains how Cien can be used to empower prospectors and help them increase their opportunities and ability to close deals. Listen to the episode to hear what Robert has to say about AI and how it figures into the future of prospecting.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
What skills and attributes make for a good prospector? When companies are looking to hire prospectors, what traits are they looking for? Today’s guest has a good idea, and has had great success in hiring and training for his business.
Phill Keene is the Director of Sales at Costello. Over the course of his career, he’s had the opportunity to get familiar with every part of the pipeline. Listen to the episode to hear Phill talk about the importance of self-learning, how pattern recognition relates to business, and the hiring process that Phill uses to bring on new prospectors at his own company.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
Phill’s Email: phill@ncostello.com
The sales machine is constantly changing, which means that sales professionals need to be constantly learning to keep up with the changing environment, especially at the top of the funnel. Today’s guest is an authority on sales training with some interesting insights on the education side of selling.
David Priemer is the Founder and Chief Sales Scientist of the sales training company Cerebral Selling. Listen to the episode to hear what David has to say about what he calls the “sea of sameness” and how sales professionals can differentiate themselves in that sea.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
For prospectors, referrals are important. When you’re a business developer, it’s helpful if you can engage clients to the point that they’re willing to refer another business to you.
Today’s guest is Brandon Bruce, the COO and Co-founder of Cirrus Insight. In today’s episode, Bruce will be talking about the top of the funnel. Listen to the episode to hear what Brandon has to say about referrals and about the tips, techniques, and strategies that he’s using in his own company that may also be useful for you.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
brandon@cirrusinsight.com
There are a lot of different things that you can try when you need to make more sales. But one of the most effective things that you can do to become a great salesperson is work on your leadership skills.
Today’s guest is Deb Calvert, President of People First Productivity Solutions. In today’s episode, she’ll be talking about her new book, Stop Selling and Start Leading: How to Make Extraordinary Sales Happen. Listen to the episode to hear what she has to say about what buyers really want and how sellers can make sure that they deliver, and stay tuned for a special offer at the end.
Episode Highlights:
Resources:
People First Productivity Solutions
Stop Selling and Start Leading
For free access to Deb’s online e-learning training course, Workplace Conversations, email a receipt for Stop Selling and Start Leading to Deb at deb.calvert@peoplefirstps.com
You may not think of yourself a performer, but prospecting and performing have some important things in common. In both cases, it’s important to get yourself noticed and stand out from the crowd. Today’s guest is an expert in the art of getting yourself noticed.
Tsufit is a former lawyer who left the legal profession in order to become a performer. She has performed as a singer and a comedian, in the theater and on television. Now she is an author, speaker, and PR and marketing coach. Listen to the episode to hear what Tsufit has to say about getting noticed, attracting people, and the importance of a good story.
Episode Highlights:
Resources: