The Sales Evangelist: Sales Training|Speaking|Business Marketing|Donald Kelly

Even the best sellers must overcome the feeling of burnout at one point or another. But how can we maintain performance while finding time for our physical and mental health? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Chris Prangley to discuss his own experience with burnout and how any seller can maintain success and momentum in their careers. Making good money can also come with stress:  Review your ‘why’ to maintain motivation toward your financial goals or realign with your company mission and personal goals.  If you don’t maintain your health and well-being, you’ll eventually burn out. How do you determine why you do what you do? Making a certain amount of money is a great goal, but it is not a ‘why.’ Instead, it should be more profound and connected to who you are. You'll find the most success at the intersection of your why and the company’s mission. Try journaling about your traits and values to determine what you care about and continue to explore that. Look for the niche that

Sales isn’t rocket science. However, we want to cover our bases just in case. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by former NASA flight control engineer and CEO of ElevenPoint2, Kristin Taraszewski, to learn how sales organizations can adequately train their employees with technical knowledge to close more sales.  Many sellers require technical training to sell their products, and that training has become more scarce. In 2021 alone, 39% of all salespeople switched jobs. Unfortunately, that shift led to a huge need for training that hasn’t been fulfilled. It’s difficult to keep up with the rapid changes of the world as quickly as the solution is needed. Many companies don’t have a definitive onboarding and training program beyond a few online courses. It’s expensive to pull salespeople out of the field to train, and lecture-based training historically has a 10% retention rate, making it challenging to implement successfully. Give sellers a clear map. When training sellers, a clear p

Your personal brand and image impact everything about your sales process. Creating and maintaining a professional self-care routine is necessary to put your best foot forward to make the most money and foster the most connections. In today’s episode of the Sales Evangelist, Donald shares some quick tips for any seller to improve their confidence and build a personal brand that reflects the hard work you do each day. Sometimes, we neglect the emotional for the physical: Sure, scoring that meeting or closing the deal can be nice. However, it’s not as nice when it comes at a cost for our own physical and emotional needs as human beings. The Sales Evangelist is launching a course to build your professional self-care routine; check out the information here: thesalesevangelist.com/free-sales-training Build a positive attitude and confidence: One of the biggest things to help you be more effective is confidence.  Even if you don’t know a lot about the industry or individual, learn the company basics. Research the

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by frequent guest and CEO of Sales Gravy, Jeb Blount, to discuss an important (and often avoided) topic: selling a price increase to clients.  The price increase conversation is awkward, especially if you’ve never done it before. A seller’s main priority is to get the increase without losing the customer or order. Increases are good for the health of an organization. They’re essential to ensure you get the resources to sell more deals, help prevent layoffs, and service quality initiatives.  Understand what kind of price increase is occurring: Defensive increases are smaller and leveraged across the entire company. In addition, having a relationship with the customer makes discussing a price increase easier. The status quo means it takes a lot of work for a buyer to leave - many customers are likely to stay with you despite the price increase.  Popular narratives sellers can use to discuss: In an inflationary period with supply chain issues, pri

Many buyers see sellers as a commodity. While the goal of every seller is to close more deals, how are you supposed to do that without being memorable to the buyer? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by a sales coach and expert, Casey Jacox, to learn how sellers can stand out and be memorable to their prospects. Sellers are under a lot of pressure: Whether that pressure is to hit KPIs, increase quarterly figures, or just contribute to company growth, sellers have a lot to worry about. However, sales leaders are unlikely o slow down and contribute to sellers’ foundational skills (AKA building relationships.) The ultimate goal? To make internal and external connections that help sellers improve their close rate while enjoying their position more than before. Six things sellers can do to be more memorable: Bring a positive attitude to your team Manage expectations of your team and prospects Understand the difference between listening and hearing Document and record interactions, goal

The modern seller is exceptional in their industry and knows what to do to add value to prospects, keep a full pipeline, and close more deals. But how exactly can we be modern sellers? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by sales consultant Amy Franko to discuss what she believes makes modern sellers stand out in today’s market.   The modern seller excels in three things: Their value is an essential part of the conversation; they look to be a part of the equation that closes a deal.  They are seen as difference makers in the eyes of their clients and others in the industry. Prospects and buyers believe modern sellers have a competitive advantage over the other sellers in the industry. Anyone can be a modern seller: Understand the makeup of your territory and what you’ve been assigned to sell. Then, take a strategic view of what makes up your territory. Determine if you have a business plan for your inventory, revenue, and profit. The hallmark of a modern seller is the ability to ta

Creating and maintaining a full and robust pipeline of high-quality leads and sales is dramatically easier when utilizing a trust-based sales strategy. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by professional sales coach Chris Morrison to understand how making yourself irreplaceable is the key to securing more high-quality clients. Why be irreplaceable? The name gives it away, but memorizing a sales script isn’t a scalable long-term solution to making more money.  To make yourself irreplaceable, you have to make yourself known. Command trust as a trusted advisor to those around you, whether coworkers, managers, or customers. Have a following or community of people who take your word as trusted advice.  Many sales reps get comfortable and fall into repetition. Understand that salespeople have two battles to fight - one with prospects and one with their company.  Building trust with clients: The two most common outreach methods are still phone and email. However, understanding the best wa

Believe it or not, changing your sales communication strategy can be all you need to close more sales! In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CEO and Founder of Ajax Union, Joe Apfelbaum, to learn how he changed his sales approach to land more deals with larger accounts. Break into larger accounts without wasting too much time: Everyone says to go on LinkedIn, but many people don’t understand how to use LinkedIn effectively. Anyone will see through a counterfeit pitch, even if it's just a mutual connection request.  Don’t waste time talking to unqualified leads by creating a strategy to guide your connection requests. Know the buyer, their issues, and their goals to sell effectively. Features tell, stories sell. Become a storyteller to motivate and inspire people to create positive interactions on LinkedIn.  Coaching without permission is criticism, so build rapport (through storytelling) to build the relationship beforehand. When you get a referral, the buyer or prospect doesn

Some salespeople say LinkedIn doesn’t work for their industry. But LinkedIn is effective! (Chances are, you’re simply not using the platform correctly!) In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald explains the different LinkedIn features available to help make anyone a LinkedIn success. Connect with Donald on LinkedIn to share what features are effective for you that everyone should know! Name Pronunciation By enabling pronunciation on your LinkedIn profile, people can listen to you explaining how to say your name. While simple, this powerful tool will foster better communication and greetings, especially when utilizing cold outreach in the sales process. If your name is easily pronounceable, it’s still a quick intro to your personality and how you approach greetings. Utilizing video in messaging: The video introduction feature on LinkedIn is an opportunity for a more in-depth look at who you are, what you do, and what motivates your professional pursuits.  Engage your audience, direct them to a web

In pretty much any team dynamic, some will perform at their best and some less than up-to-par. So how can we utilize our tech stack to help low-performers blossom into the great sellers we know they can be? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CEO of Logik.io, Chris Shutts, to understand how to best manage and create strong sales teams. It’s commonplace for new sellers to struggle in complex industries. There’s often a massive difference between an experienced rep and a new hire, beyond what experience alone can account for in productivity and time-to-value ratio. Logik.io helps standardize sellers’ effectiveness to help everyone reach quotas and KPIs.  Buyers are becoming very particular in the way they interact with tools. In B2B transactions, people put up with complications. However, that impatience found in B2C transactions are moving into B2B. If your company can respond faster, your margin will grow. Technology helps guide the user. With Logik.io, they want feedback fr

Believe it or not, anyone can go from small-scale deals to multi-million dollar closes. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by sales and mindset coach Cheryl Parks to discuss how she gets the right people in the conversation to close large-scale deals. Believe in your own story: You don’t need to be the best salesperson; you need to be the best thing your customers dictate. If you don’t know the answer to something, toss the answer to someone else. Be honest and approach situations as needed. Starting the conversation with larger accounts:  In today’s environment, there are so many more opportunities. Sales is a treasure hunt, not a linear scenario. The insights you provide to a CEO or CFO mean more than just sending a case study or book; be the extra set of eyes and ears that provide concise thoughts. Large deals don’t happen overnight - you need to have conversations, talk to new people, and determine where they spend their time. Go to the companies you are loyal to, because you’

Unsurprisingly, most people work to get paid (a wild concept, I know.) Despite that, navigating and creating a proper pay scale for sales teams is a seemingly complex and difficult process. How can we create a pay scale that works for the organization and the workers themselves? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CRO of LinkSquares, Steve Travaglini, to discuss what he does to strike a balance between these two sides.  Salary open for negotiation in sales roles doesn’t make sense. If you have two people doing the exact same job, they should be paid the same. Pay isn’t the way to motivate people. If you pay people differently, that will eventually get out and will result in a lack of trust in the organization. Base salaries should be standard across a job title, but allow the variable income (i.e. commission) to determine how much a seller’s skills allow them to make.  There should be no questions or ambiguous items when an employee signs a compensation agreement. Set the rule

Sellers often look for the newest tool, software, or strategy to find success and increase performance. However, improving the core elements of sales is often overlooked. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Dan Zavorotny, the co-founder and COO of Nurtisense, to learn what elements every great sales team should integrate into their culture. Flexibility Culturally, you have to portray the values that work for your company. However, they might not fit other people. People operate differently. If you are a self-motivated individual and you know what will make you perform your best, you should have the flexibility to do that. People who like flexibility can find a balance in life that drives people’s ability to perform at their best time rather than the company’s best time. Transparency Many employers sell potential employees on the dream of working with the company rather than the reality. Being straightforward with the reality of working with the company saves time interviewing, o

This is a conversation we need to have. Cold outreach is one of the core tenants of successful sellers, right? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the founder of Blueprint, Jordan Crawford, to discuss why there might be a better strategy. Every job Jordan has, he’s either been fired from, or the company went under. He ultimately found his place helping startups scale and grow for long-term success, and it was through this endeavor he found a better methodology than personalized cold outreach. The ‘spray-and-pray’ method was the initial online sales foray. However, that soon led the way to personalized outreach. So, is a new method taking the lead? Personalization has its uses, and there are times it is still functional. However, there are some where it isn’t. Personalization helps grab a prospect’s attention. But as a B2B seller, you should only want their attention if their company has a problem your solution can help solve. If you aren’t making a commercial transaction, person

Not all companies are created equal. Five key differentiators separate the cream of the crop for sales and sale-focused companies. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald discusses the five key components that successful sales-focused companies have in common. Everyone in the organization is selling. This doesn’t mean every position in the company is a salesperson; we still need our accountants and other critical roles.  Instead, this means that the employees believe in the organization's mission, and they sell the organization because of its powerful mission. Adjust your focus and mission to ensure it is clear and something everyone can get behind. Salespeople are treated as the best in the company. Salespeople are the front line of the people giving money to your company. Salespeople are crucial to bringing money into the organization. If you treat your sellers poorly, you’ll have high turnover (and thus lower sales.) The key? Treat sellers like they’re needed and appreciated. (And you should

Closing your next sales deal can be as easy as eight steps! In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the founder and owner of Closers.io, Cole Gordon, to discuss his eight-step process to close every deal you have (or at least come close.)  Cole’s beginning sales experience was not what he expected: Cole’s original sales team was exceptional. However, their end-of-sale closing conversations were not what he expected. He realized that every sale depends on meeting the beliefs of the buyer before you pitch them on the deal, and they'll create an objection-less close themselves. Cole's eight-step plan is based on the relief ladder concept but applied specifically to sales.  Step 1: Pain There are two problems: actual pains and unfulfilled desires. The prospect might not have pain, but there’s a gap between where they are now and where they want to be. Establish the pain; because all sales are conducted based on solving a problem. The following six steps are all predicated on the initial

When you have the intention to change your sales approach, the behavior follows suit. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Scott Savage, Managing Director at Franklin Covey, to learn how sellers can increase their close rate by winning more deals.  Salespeople tend to think we close more than we do. In actuality, the close right is only around 17%. But imagine what it could be if that close rate were higher. Why are win rates so low? Many would say the pandemic, but it’s not one sole factor.  42% of the time, decision-makers could not tell the difference between vendors. Sellers almost always think they're different. But it doesn’t matter how different you are if the buyer cannot differentiate between sellers. Talk less, question more: Executives and other buyers judge sellers based on their questions, not necessarily their answers. Clients don’t want sellers to just talk at them; they want a discussion to know their problems are being addressed. It’s not that a seller is dislike

Most modern sales methodologies focus on building rapport and trust with the prospect; challenging the prospect’s beliefs to make better deals is a hallmark of that perspective. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the Chief Evangelist of Challenger, Jennifer Allen, to discuss her company’s methodology that drives relationships with their prospects and customers. Jennifer started as an entry-level seller in account management: A relationship-builder through and through, she worked hard to gain client trust. (Which worked well for a long time.) During the 2008 recession, her peers and customers laid off teams and cut back budgets; that’s when her corporate exec board launched a report detailing what maintains relationships with customers. Jennifer was shocked to see none of her current sales components in that report. What worked once now no longer works. Why focus on the relationship side? Jennifer never wanted to be one of those salespeople, but it was also how she was coached -

Marketing and sales alignment is pivotal in the modern era of sales, and building credibility and rapport in your communication for all departments is essential. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the CMO of Growth Stage Marketing, Mark Donnigan, to discuss his take on building rapport while unifying departmental collaboration. Good CMOs think about marketing campaigns. Great CMOs bring value to the enterprise. Between the evolution of technology and the pandemic, sales has completely transformed. Buyers no longer attend trade shows to talk with peers; they organize entirely through online forums. Buyers are 50% or more through the buying process before reaching out to their first vendor. A seller’s job is no longer to get the first meeting; it’s to state the problem that the solution solves while differentiating from competitors. CMO turnover is almost exclusively because they repeatedly try the old playbook rather than embrace these new changes. Credibility plays into rapport

An alignment between sales and marketing inspires the competitive collaboration needed to develop consistent business growth that is scalable across the departments of the organization. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist Donald is joined by Gregg Ames, CCO of Act-On Marketing Automation, to discuss his take on building a proper sales and marketing alignment. Great solutions occur when sales and marketing stop acting as separate processes.  Companies start fragmented. Sales and marketing do their things, but unifying the entire sales funnel leads to a guide for better messaging.  People process information with technology, and that behavior has not shifted. That processing starts with an integrated flow between departments.  Every company has good salespeople. But, when equipped with marketing to canvas a broader market, brings more high-quality leads to allow a focus on later-stage selling. Sellers are (historically) not great at generating demand. Getting marketing to take this role will bring more