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

Building rapport with prospects is the bridge that fosters trust needed to move through the sales process. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald introduces our newest season of content centered around building rapport with prospects. So what are three things that sellers get wrong with rapport-building? Find out in today’s episode. Sellers put on their fake corporate persona. Just because you represent a company doesn’t mean you need to sound like their answering machine. Avoid fake, salesy language that isn’t your authentic self. Whether speaking to your next prospect or your close friend, you should sound the same. Sellers aren’t interested enough in their prospects. Be interested, not interesting. You should want to listen to your prospect, not try to inform them about yourself (beyond what’s necessary.) People love talking about themselves. So allow your prospects to do that by talking about their interests, career, and company goals. Sellers don’t create a dialogue with their prospects.

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by author, speak, and co-founder of Gap Wireless, Glenn Poulos, to discuss five ways to know your customer’s ecosystem. This conversation is based partially on Glenn’s recently published book, Never Sit in the Lobby, available now on Amazon. Understand your key stakeholders. Some salespeople sell simple things, and some people sell multi-million dollar systems. Whatever the product is, know what you’re talking about. And, more importantly, learn how to explain it to others. Too often, salespeople are very technically proficient at explaining their solutions. However, this is potentially too descriptive for the prospect to understand your solution's clear benefits.  Recognize who you need to speak to, identify their level of understanding, and adjust your speech to accommodate the stakeholder. Isolate the prospects Who are the people that will use and derive benefit from your solution? Those are the people you need to demonstrate to. Showing the

No matter what level of sales you’re in, you are bound to encounter objections. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, host Donald Kelly is joined by the co-founder and former owner of Solo Stove, Spencer Jan, for an in-depth look at Spencer’s experience handling his biggest sales objection. But first, what does Spencer consider an objection?  In general, Spencer sees sales objections as a lack of communication; the disconnect of not understanding the other person. When objections arise, it’s not that they’re rejecting you, there’s simply a gap between you and the prospect. In 2016 Spencer and his brother decided to sell their business. When they went to sell, investment bankers and brokers told them their company wasn’t sellable.  They were surprised because the business was very profitable. However, Spencer and his brother didn’t understand their buyer. They realized a buyer wants to invest in a company, not necessarily run it. They aren’t looking to deal with day-to-day problems. And that was the o

Objections can strike fear into the hearts of salespeople everywhere. But what if there’s a simple formula to handle objections with confidence? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, our guest Ryann Dowdy explains how we can integrate this sales strategy into our sales methodology.  Ryann’s feelings on objections: It’s about asking questions - focusing on the human to human connection and seeing the value in that connection We think of a “closing problem,” but the “opening problem” can be just as essential to overcome. Help people get what they want by using information they’ve already shared. Overcome objections from the beginning: It’s a simple philosophy: Jeb Blunt’s book Sales EQ explains that we have a physiological response (like increased heart rate) when someone raises an objection.  When you get an objection, have a script to follow immediately after the objection to have time to collect yourself. For Ryann, she likes to empathize and understand more about the objection to determine where i

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by COO of People.ai Art Harding. With twenty years of experience in the industry, he’s had plenty of practice overcoming B2B objections through digital transformations. What is a digital transformation? Sure, it’s Uber and Netflix. But it is not solely a technology play; it’s reimagining the customer experience and using technology to facilitate those changes. Uber didn’t invent cars, apps, or driving strangers. They just combined those elements in a unique way to make something new. The classic go-to-market functions had relatively siloed expectations. Marketing was responsible for branding; sellers were responsible for closing deals, etc. Those transformations affected these elements at different rates to unlock new digital journeys. Digital transformations start from the inside out.  Younger generations use the tools and data they expect from a professional (or implement themselves as they grow in their careers.) Enterprise sales have dramatic

The pushy salesperson is still the preemptive perception many people think of when they think of salespeople, but in today’s world, that image is no longer accurate. Instead, closing a sale is best accomplished by overcoming objections by selling with a servant’s heart. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Jim Doyle to discuss why this is so important. What exactly is the term “selling with a servant’s heart?” It is being obsessed with the customer outcome. It’s more than a win-win because if it’s right for the customer, it’s right. A short term might not be in the seller’s best interest if it means the customer wins in the long term. You’re here to serve, not to sell.  This should be the default mentality of salespeople. As you embrace it, you’ll see more success with this mentality. A servant’s heart can help overcome objections. One of his book chapters is, “ask a million questions.” Salespeople are taught to answer questions without focusing on uncovering the seller’s needs.

When most people think of objections, they think of what stops a deal from progressing. Today’s episode launches the next series on The Sales Evangelist covering the ins and outs of objections. How can you be well-equipped to handle objections with confidence and knowledge? Listen in to find out!  What is an objection? Many salespeople associate an objection with a worst-case scenario, but that’s not always the case. Instead, an objection can be anything that prevents a deal from moving forward, either permanently or just a few days. Objections tie back to the buyer not having enough information to move forward. When prospecting, come up with something so valuable they want to move forward. Remember, there are limitless reasons people might not want to move forward.  Identify the objections before they become issues. As an industry expert, you can likely know the top issues a prospect might have before purchasing. If you know the objections, address them before the prospect has an issue! It streamlines the

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Chief Revenue Officer for Service Express, Bill Golder, to learn his strategy to build pipelines and close deals.  Many sellers struggle with building a pipeline. A fully built-out pipeline is never a done deal, meaning you constantly have to adapt to determine what works the best. There are always new problems to address, and the best companies continuously innovate to meet those needs. What are effective pipeline strategies? They focus on understanding the dynamic between early-stage and late-stage pipelines. Many sellers think about a pipeline too holistically, but segmenting the idea of the “pipeline” into different timelines can result in more opportunities. To create an accurate forecast, you have to understand how many early-stage prospects will result in a late-stage pipeline. The dynamics between an early and a late-stage conversion might look entirely different. Bill’s guide to implementing new pipeline strategies: If salespeople a

We've learned multiple perspectives in our series over forecasting that help create a more accurate and beneficial forecast. But how can you take your efforts to the next level? In this episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the Director of Enterprise Sales at Envoy, Sarah Lash, to discuss proper forecasting techniques from both a selling and management perspective.  There are significant forecasting issues: Some people rely too much on the map and aren’t listening to what’s happening in the business. On the flip, some people listen too much to intuition without diving deep enough. From a management perspective, sales reps might provide you with a shadow pipeline (data entered into an incorrect pipeline), forcing you to identify those issues. There is also the problem of the intraquarter revenue - opportunities that open and close in the same quarter. How should we factor those into forecasting? Whether you’re a rep or a manager, lack of communication will distinguish the most accurate forecast

Forecasting (and really all parts of selling) grows more successful when you communicate value. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Tom “The ROI Guy” Pisello. As an entrepreneur, speaker, and author of the book Evolved Selling™: Optimizing Sales Enablement in the Age of Frugalnomics, Tom specializes in value to get the most out of your efforts.  Three big trends characterize the post-pandemic era of sales: First, there’s a tremendous amount of sales turnover. While the Great Resignation is not news, sales will struggle to retain top sellers in favor of faster-growing companies.  Second, the buyer is changing. They’re in control of the buying process, cautious of the seller, and more economically focused than ever - it’s the decision by risk aversion. Third, we’re in an environment where sales is understaffed, you need engagement, the buyer is more challenging to sell to, and predictable revenue is decreasing. How do we find (and retain) great talent? Growing a team will be chall

Creating a valuable and accurate sales forecast is dependent on your ability to anticipate the success of sales. So how does the founder and CEO of forma.ai Nabeil Alazzam motivate and drive his team to maintain momentum? Through sales incentives! Using sales incentives and data-driven forecasting, Nabeil encourages his salespeople to reach specific and measurable objectives. How Nabeil defines sales forecasting: It depends on whether the forecast is for a team leader or a representative. As a leader, it’s taking data across the team and using it to aggregate results. On the rep level, accuracy is critical. If you’re confident which accounts close, you can better visualize what else is needed to do to hit a target number. Common forecasting mistakes: Being overconfident with deals without a data-driven element to justify the belief. Instead, utilize checkpoints throughout the sales process to know if a prospect will move forward. Another common mistake is that a lack of nuanced checkpoints leads to overpri

Today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist launches a new series on forecasting! When it comes to forecasting, there are a ton of strategies and tactics you can use to develop a solid background on it. In this episode, Donald discusses the three things you must know about forecasting before starting. But first, what is forecasting?  In essence, it’s your ability to predict what will happen in the future. As a sales professional (and especially as a sales manager), you must be able to estimate how your team will perform throughout the week, month, and quarter.  Without forecasting, you’ll have no idea if you’ll achieve your sales goals! Know your data. How many calls lead to a conversation, a demo, and, ultimately, a sale?  Understanding your sales figures and statistics leads to an accurate forecast. Your pipeline is tied directly to your forecast, and if you put inadequate or insufficient data into a forecast, you’ll get bad predictions in the outcome. Respect the process. Some prospects might want to skip

While mastering closing is critical, understanding how to open with a data-driven approach is a powerful component to help find and complete more deals. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by author and founder of Win BIG Media Phillip Stutts to discuss the proper ways to begin prospecting.  The average American sees up to 10,000 ads every day.  Ipso facto, how is your messaging breaking out of the clutter? The correct entry point for salespeople is to create a deeper connection with the prospect and understand what moves them. Whether it’s a B2B or B2C company, Phillip makes each of his clients dive into their customer base to understand more about them and their values. The point isn’t to manipulate; it’s to use that understanding to create a deeper connection that closes more deals. What can a sales rep start to gain that understanding? Phillip partners with a major data analytics company to create custom data reports. If you have $7500-10000 to spare, this is high-quality data

The best way to have a great discovery call is by mentally preparing for the call beforehand. But what’s the best way to do this? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by sales and mindset coach Isaac Ho to discuss his strategies and tricks to prepare for a successful discovery call.  Mental preparation can be the difference between an okay and a great call.  People often make decisions that fuel a latent belief they’re not even aware they have. Sales is just a transfer of energy. If you’re unprepared for a call or meeting, you transfer the wrong energy to the prospect or client. If you’ve done no research or prep about a company before a meeting, you must spend time and energy learning about the org rather than come to the meeting with thoughts to the table. When you enter a meeting, be curious. While a prospect will give you an understanding of their problem, they could be missing something that completely changes the situation. How does Isaac mentally prepare for a discovery call?

Discovery calls are thought to be a challenging element for almost any salesperson. But what if we were to tell you there’s a way to see more success with them? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by the founder of 7th Level Jeremy Miner to discuss discovery call techniques that don’t scare away your prospect (because we don’t want that, trust me.) What makes a bad discovery? Sellers are taught the selling “ABC’s - Always Be Closing. But with today’s cautious buyers, this strategy doesn’t always come across well. To be great at sales, skip the C and learn the ABD’s of selling - Always Be Disarming. What triggers a prospect to buy or not to buy? Salespeople trigger behaviors by what they’re asking (and, more importantly, what they aren’t asking.) Salespeople frequently come across as too enthusiastic, talking about their solution too early in the conversation.  While you should be excited about what you sell, it shouldn’t be the point that it comes across as fake. Keep the joy inter

While setting up discovery calls is the first half of the battle, the other half is getting the prospect to show up. And a great solution to drive attendance is by using a text message. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by founder and CEO of Salesmsg Chris Brisson to talk about how you can use text messaging to increase meeting show rates.  SMS can be used for anything, from lead generation to conversion and engagement. Sales is a three-step process: sign up, show up, and pay up.  Creating a multichannel approach is the best way to drive attendance. A simple text message offers a simple last-minute reminder shortly before meetings. We are a conversational society, so short messages with an understandable motive won't’ be considered spammy or annoying. Implementing SMS software into your business: If you want to test SMS messaging without a monetary investment, manually send a standard text message an hour before the meeting. But to scale this process, a system is necessary. With

Discovery calls aren’t just the first part of the process - they’re where the close begins. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald will dive into seven common mistakes salespeople make when making discovery calls (and, more importantly, how you can fix them.)  Stop the lackluster pre-call prep. We know back-to-back zoom meetings can be tiring. But from the prospect’s perspective, you have just one meeting. So come prepared! It’s not just a discovery for you; it’s a discovery for the prospect to see if they’re interested in working with you. Consider creating an agenda for the prospect to review before the meeting to ensure everyone gets what they want out of it. Don’t ask what you should already know. Call the company ahead, speak to end-users, and get helpful information. Entering the discovery call with the intel you need will set you apart as a salesperson and demonstrate the qualities you want to convey. Talk less Salespeople should not be taking more than 40% of the time. Instead,

Prospecting is a critical element of the sales process. After all, how can you expect new business if you aren’t finding new prospects who can benefit from your product? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by entrepreneur and speaker AJ Vassar to discuss how to prepare yourself for better prospecting.  Salespeople need new clients in their pipeline.  Despite this, it’s an area where people are frequently challenged. In sales, we learn ABC - always be closing. But, just as important is the idea of the prospecting ABC - always be connecting. Connecting and establishing a network is integral to being a successful salesperson. But don’t just connect with random people; find people you can provide value to (and vice versa.) When you also focus on connecting people with others, you’ll be top of mind in all instances. And that is a critical element to have. What if a salesperson doesn't have time to connect with new people? You have to make time. Connecting people with other people makes

It’s no secret that mentors and coaches can be the extra push that gets us to the top. But how can we go about finding great mentors? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Gabrielle Blackwell (GB), co-founder of Women in Sales Club (which focuses on empowering and enabling women to succeed in sales), to discuss her tactics and strategy when finding and interacting with a potential mentor. The problem: There’s a need for mentors. When GB got into sales, she wanted to be the best. However, she needed to learn more first. After suffering a concussion from a car accident, she needed to revitalize her efforts and get back on her sales feet. So, GB talked to people to evaluate if she was moving in the right direction. Sales reps and leaders need to acknowledge that you don’t have to know everything. Admitting you don’t know something requires an environment where you feel comfortable. And, upon noticing the discrepancy between what you know and what you need to know, you can ask for help.

Many salespeople rely on assumptions about salespeople - think the cringe-inducing car salesman from movies. But while there’s truth in its origins, that description is no longer true to the modern salesperson. And while the modern salesperson embraces technology to achieve more, they often fall short. The takeaway? We aren’t getting better at selling. So how can we improve? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald brings on sales teacher, author, and consultant Andy Paul to discuss his strategy for revitalized selling. While there are commonalities, there is more than one way to sell well. The push to sales conformity is really for management, not the seller. Because management wants something predictable. However, the real world is more complicated.  You learn, take those learnings and apply them to life. And you become the sum of your experience and knowledge. We all end up doing things differently, even if they lead to the same result. Despite all the tools and technological advancements that b