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

We are still in the discovery stage and in this episode, let’s talk about the importance of leave-behinds after remote discovery meetings. Join Donald and David Keesee as they discuss more about leave-behinds.  The beliefs in Sales Salespeople don’t come from a place of selling. Rather, we come from a place of serving.  The leave-behind frames the clients so that they would feel like they are being served, they have a good understanding, and that there is clarity and simplicity to your offer.  The frame is a context. It’s a way of looking at something. In whatever conversation you’re having, it’s always important to set a frame. In sales, you need to set a frame in a way that clients see a positive context on things so that it becomes easier for them to say yes.  The use of questions is critical in sales. The way you ask questions builds up authority and credibility.  Before the leave-behinds You can visit Beautiful.ai. It’s a site where you can create amazing pamphlets and slides to give to people before

We already know that the discovery meeting is an important part of the sales process. In this episode, we’ll talk about the best ways to structure your discovery calls and improve outcomes.  Structuring your Discovery Calls Salespeople accomplish more selling by how they structure and conduct the discovery meetings. You accomplish more by how you ask and how you pitch.  Discovery precedes presentation. We first need to understand why we’re doing this.  You need to get the customers comfortable with you. You have to build credibility so that the customers and potential clients are willing to talk to us.  Salespeople are not “Yes-man” people. We need to level the playing field. We can’t go thinking that we’re winning the deals by scoring obedience points.  It’s critical to understand the purpose of discovery.  Salespeople have two missions:    To produce the most value and the best outcome for the customers To give ourselves the best chance of winning the deal   There’s this obedient salesperson in us th

This episode is sponsored by: Skipio - Get one month free on an Individual plan with code TSE, or, 2 free seats/licenses on Teams. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. NetHunt - NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  We’ve talked about the importance of the discovery meeting in the previous episode. This time, Jeff Bounds talks about the powerful questions to ask during your discovery meeting.  The discovery meeting conversation  The drama Glengarry Glen Ross and all the other movies impressed on many the importance of closing. People are buying closing books and closing materials because that’s how we have been preconditioned.  People see the close because it's part of the exchange. It’s the part that you see below the tip of the iceberg.  Without discovery meetings, salespeople are just seeing the clip and not the story.  Jeff talked to hundreds, if not thousands, of salespeople and he

In today’s episode, Donald Kelly talks about the reasons why your discovery meeting is the most critical of all when it comes to sales.  The challenging part of the sales process Many people make the mistake of taking discovery meetings for granted during the sales process.  There are typically two sides of the sales process: the prospecting side and the closing side.  The prospecting side is the hustle part that many salespeople don’t care for as much.  The closing side is when the transaction is completed.  Another critical part of the sales journey is the discovery meeting.  Sometimes, salespeople assume things about their clients and prospects without checking in with them. They go to the presentation right away and do it beautifully, too. They are taken aback when the prospect doesn't close the deal with them.  For Donald, the discovery part of your sales process is more important than the close.  Without discovery, you won’t be able to close.  You have prospects that do not fit your product and service

This episode is sponsored by: Skipio - Get one month free on an Individual plan with code TSE, or, 2 free seats/licenses on Teams. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. NetHunt - NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse Diversity is a result of numerous kinds of efforts, and we’re focusing today on underrepresented sellers. As a sales leader, how can you offer a hand up to underrepresented sellers? Marchello Arcelay is a waste stream analyst in Metro Atlanta and he works with small to medium sized companies to provide them with sustainable waste solutions. He helps small to medium sized restaurants or Fortune 500 companies who want to reduce their carbon footprint. He also has a show called Cocktails with Chello and he streams it live on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.  Helping new and underrepresented people  You have to exercise caution whe

The conversation about building a diverse sales team is an important one, and in this episode, Donald Kelly hosts a roundtable discussion about why a diverse team should be built.  The importance of a diverse team Without a diverse team, you are missing out on the insight that you need to work with the diverse buyers out there.  There’s not just one type of buyer; there are diverse types of buyers especially in the technology space. A company with just one type of person misses out on the connection with so many different people.  Driving for maximum outcomes means capturing the perspective of diverse buyers and relating to them.  Without diversity in your organization, you are limiting the creativity, flexibility, and performance of the team.  The same is true for sports managers who aren’t open to diverse talents, backgrounds, ethnicities, and more.  Diversity allows everyone to learn from each other. Women, for example, are socialized differently.  It’s necessary to have an open mindset and to believe tha

There are many black women in sales and despite the challenges, they keep on moving forward to have success. Tune in as today’s guest, Cynthia Barnes, speaks of the challenges affecting black women in sales.  Cynthia Barnes is the founder and CEO of the National Association of Women Sales Professionals. It’s a member-based organization of women who sell B2B services in a male-dominated industry such as SAAS (Software as a Service), tech, cloud, and others. The organization provides two things to its members: access to laser-focused companies on achieving parity for women in sales and training created by women for women to reach the top 1%.  Women’s’ participation in sales Anytime there’s an underrepresented population, there will always be challenges that are specific to them and vice-versa.  When women are working from home, they aren’t only employees. They are also mothers and wives. They juggle three or more different roles all at the same time.  These women are doing a good job of making sure that they’r

Diversity and inclusion are important in sales but what do these things mean exactly?  In today’s episode, Stephen Hart and Sharon Manker are joining Donald in talking about what diversity and inclusion mean in sales.  Diversity and inclusion in sales Diversity is being invited to the table and inclusion means having a seat at the table to participate in whatever opportunity there is.  It’s not just about getting the seat at the table but it’s also about having the equity component. We need to break down the unconscious biases that we have. We need to employ true diversity, equity, and inclusion not only in the sales team but also in an organization as a whole.  For the black men and women, what the media portrays of us doesn’t really represent who we are.  Growing up, you may have developed a certain mindset towards people of color and that translates into the workplace. Naturally, you gravitate towards the things that you know and what you’ve been taught.  There are biases that we were brought up with that

In matters of diversity, salespeople can’t help but sometimes ask,’Do Americans have racial bias with who they buy from?’  Kwame Christian has both a law and business background. He understands the issue of whether Americans have a bias from who they buy from, and he is doing bias training to help companies understand the importance of knowing humans on a deep fundamental level.  The existence of bias In truth, everybody has biases. It is a by-product of a naturally functioning brain.  Bias doesn’t make you bad.  It only becomes a problem if you are aware of your biases and you don’t do something about it.  It’s important to raise awareness to help people make better decisions.  Americans have biases with the way they buy. Salespeople need to determine what those biases are and create strategies to try to work around them.  Biases cut both ways - there are positive biases and negative biases.  You are more likely to know, like, and trust people who are like you and people who are represented frequently in th

The sales space is a huge industry but it needs more diversity. In this episode, DeJuan Brown talks about how we remove the barriers to sales for people of color.  Studies show that 78.9% of salespeople in all industries are white, 11.2% are tan, and the remaining percentage is divided into various ethnicities. There is so much success in sales but there are barriers - both visible and not so visible to many.  The barriers in sales Job descriptions can become a barrier, especially for black people. These are individuals who do not have much experience in a specific space. Some jobs need 7-10 years of experience before one can even get a nod for an interview.  There’s also the perception that sellers don’t make money and that a career in sales is just a plan B, C, or D.  In some communities, there’s still a stigma on salespeople. They’re the ones you shut your door to, they are the car dealers, the door-to-door insurance man, and other undesirable roles.  Changing the mindset Sales leaders and professionals

For an organization to succeed, it is important for sales leaders to see the benefits of building a diverse sales team. In this episode, Donald talks about three reasons why diversity and inclusion are important.  The sales statistics The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2019 that 86% of sales managers were white and 80% of people in the sales occupation are white as well.  Sales is a great field and a huge one. There is still so much space and room for more people.  Three reasons why diversity and inclusion are important It helps you understand your clients better.  A study of the Harvard Business Review in 2013 showed that organizations with sellers who share the same ethnicity as their clientele were  152% more likely to understand their clients’ needs better.  Putting people of the same culture and ethnicity creates a  connection that would help the sales progress. Clients and prospects are more at ease and relaxed when they speak with sales reps who share their culture.  It improves emplo

In this day and age, how can salespeople schedule appointments when so many people are working from home? Tune in as Maddy Martin talks about prospecting in the modern sales world.  Scheduling appointments in the remote working scene The work-from-home setting has a huge impact on sales especially in website chat messages, missing calls, and others. The impact is also apparent with what your next steps will be for the leads that are coming through.  Every single call and chat is precious. This truth makes you realize that how you do in that first conversation is the most critical step.  It’s important to take that first incoming call or you do something about the first message. Salespeople have to be ready to respond and answer the calls at all times because your follow-up and other efforts will be in vain when you don’t take the first opportunity that prospects present to you.  There is a debate between profit and productivity. There’s a question of whether you can interrupt your day for every inbound new l

Sales reps can’t spend all their time nurturing a prospect. It is difficult, however, to just decide to stop. In that case, you may ask, “How can I tell when it’s time to consider a prospect close-lost?”  Learn more in this episode.  A close-lost deal For Guil, a deal is never lost in the sense that once you start building a relationship with someone, you should keep that relationship alive for as long as it takes.  Some prospects need more work and time than others.  It’s not a closed deal when the prospect has been qualified after you’ve done your discovery call and you’ve seen that there’s a huge opportunity there. It may only mean that the prospect needs more time and push to get converted.  In this case, it means that as a sales leader, it’s your responsibility to take the lead.  Salespeople must be clear of their next steps. It’s not enough to hop on a call with a prospect and just bid them goodbye with a promised email sent to their inbox later on. You need to be clear of what you’re going to do next

Not all deals come to a close, so when a deal doesn’t close, how long should you wait before re-engaging the prospect? David Perry speaks in length about closing in today’s episode.  Re-engaging the prospects David is a big fan of value selling.  Value selling is part of the training that enterprise sellers can go through. It is a value-based approach which is a seemingly simple framework on the surface but with a lot of power behind it.  Looking at frameworks is helpful when conversing with other salespeople or whoever is involved in the deal.  The more you look at the framework, the more you are able to see the things that are taking priority in the organization at a given moment.  There are top three reasons why deals don’t close:  The lack of access to power Timing The lack of articulation of value or tying it to the key master sector business issue Sales reps, however, have a whole array of reasons why deals don’t close.  Value selling is very difficult since every customer has their own view and pers

It’s not uncommon to have unresponsive prospects. In situations such as that, what are the best sales strategy for engaging unresponsive prospects? Engaging unresponsive prospects Fred is a one-call closer and while he could write a book on different strategies, he thinks that unconventional closing is not for him.  Fred suggests for salespeople to relax and stop stressing themselves out looking for the right strategy and method.  He uses the acronym WIIFM or What’s Iin Iit Ffor Mme. This is his magic in selling anything to anybody.  Nobody wants to be sold but everybody wants to buy. You need to first and foremost figure out what your prospect wants.  As salespeople, we need to stop looking at prospects as prospects;, we need to start looking at them as potential friends.  Most salespeople are educators because they we need to show the prospects why the service or product is to their benefit.  People who want what you have won’t run from you.  Every salesperson needs to have an elevator pitch. You have to s

As a salesperson in sales, have you asked other successful salespeople this question, “Is there magic involved in grabbing the attention of your prospects?” If yes, how did they respond? In this episode, Daniel and Eliott talk about how you can grab your prospects’ attention.  Prospecting the right way It’s the basics that help you win the fight and remember that you never train hard enough on the basics.  People use their mailbox the least. Their email inbox, Facebook ad LinkedIn messenger, and their text threads ate all blown up with messages. It’s too crowded.  Sending something to people via their mailbox is an attention-grabbing technique.  Presenting things in a different way disrupts the regular pattern and prompts people to pay attention.  Donald and Elliott sent Donald their book but instead of just a book, it was their book in a box. There was a jiu-jitsu white belt in it, a note, and other information related to the book.  The mailbox is another perfect way to create curiosity. Sending out somethi

We are welcoming the new year with a new podcast entitled, ‘Selling in Color.’ It’s a new podcast designed to help salespeople weather the challenges in the sales world.  Looking back The Sales Evangelist podcast started eight years ago and we’re now at about 1,400 episodes. TSE has also produced about 3.45 million downloads to the podcast.  All these episodes have helped many people, organizations, and families to progress. The podcast is a powerful avenue to share ideas.  Martin Luther King said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.’ Sales is difficult because sometimes, people don’t accept the solutions that you offer them or they don’t realize the problem in the first place.  There are so many different opportunities available to us when we come together.  2020 was a tough year: the pandemic happened, George Floyd happened, and others. After Floyd, many people have asked where the black people in sales are.  There are black sales leaders and sales reps out there

LinkedIn is a good place to prospect. In this episode, listen and learn as Brynne Tillman and Donald talk about how to convert your LinkedIn connections into meaningful conversations.  When is LinkedIn ineffective? Back in the early months of 2020, people connected with others and then threw their pitch in. This was ineffective.  Today, salespeople are so desperate that they put their pitches in their connection request message.  Salespeople are becoming more and more desperate that they no longer know how to get other people’s attention.  Brynne calls it  pitch slapping, and it’s not a good approach because  it turns people off.  LinkedIn has become a platform where people are getting all kinds of notifications left and right.  This approach is not only ineffective, it’s also damaging.  We all want to have as many conversations as possible on LinkedIn but what we don’t want to do is sell on LinkedIn.  When connecting with people on LinkedIn, treat them and talk to them as if they’re on the other side of the

Are you one of the many sales reps who suffer from imposter syndrome? If so, how can you keep imposter syndrome from destroying your cold-calling efforts? Join Donald as he talks about the subject.   Defining imposter syndrome  Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where an individual doubts his/her own abilities to do something. This then prevents them from acting or doing what they’re supposed to do.  One would usually feel the imposter syndrome when they’re doing a task that’s new to them. For example, if you are new to a selling marketing services role but you have very little experience in sales, you may feel overwhelmed when selling your services to large companies.  You may feel like a fraud when speaking with Chief Marketing Officers and others.  As mentioned, it’s a psychological pattern. It’s a way of thinking that you’re not capable of doing something and that you’ll always be seen as a fraud.  The truth about imposter syndrome Imposter syndrome is a belief.  With imposter syndrome, your

2020 has gone and now we’re making our way into yet another year. In this episode, Donald talks about the 5 trends that you should know about prospecting that we can use to improve our sales game this year.  Know the sales stats 40% of businesses did not meet their revenue targets last year.  81% of non C-suite employees have some influence in the final purchase decision.  Important sales trends about prospecting   #1 - 40% of businesses did not meet their target revenue in 2020.  The implication: 64% of sales leaders who doubled down on remote selling said that they met or exceeded their revenue targets in 2020. The pandemic has helped us move 30 years into the future in the way we perform and operate the business.  The idea of remote working wasn’t a huge thing in the beginning of 2020. The pandemic, however, forced the global workforce to work remotely.  More and more prospects are now working from their homes, and it’s your job as a sales rep to grab their attention.  Showing empathy is even more imp