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

How To Partner With Resellers To Experienced Repeatable Sales Growth   Sales is not just about growing your customer base but also about partnerships with a variety of people. If you want repeatable sales growth, these partnerships include businesses, other salespeople, and resellers.     Todd Rychecky is the VP of Sales  Americas in Latin America and has been with the company for the past 12 and a half years. Todd got into sales in 1991, when he was studying was pre-med in college but didn’t get in. As a result, he joined the sales force when he was 23 years old and made a huge move from Nebraska to Dallas where he worked for Whitmire Distribution, a drug wholesale company. Later on, the company was acquired by Cardinal Health and Todd continued to work for them, traveling by car, calling on hospital pharmacies, home infusion, retails stores, and retail chains.    Todd never imagined he’d be in sales but his college roommate was very passionate about becoming a salesman and Todd was intrigued by someone who

5 Ways New Sellers Can Sell Like Pros New sellers struggle because they lack the skills and experience to ask well-crafted questions and build rapport with prospects.  In this episode, Tony Morris talks about the five ways that new sellers can sell like pros. Tony Morris is a speaker for sales conferences around the globe, and an author of several books, a podcaster, and an entrepreneur who runs a sales training business called Tony Morris International.    The 80/20 Law  Tony believes that sales reps should apply the 80/20 Rule. This means salespeople should listen 80% of the time and speak 20% of the time.  As Tony points out, we have two ears and one mouth so we should use them in that order.  Unfortunately, most salespeople are in fact doing 80/20 but they’re doing it the wrong way round. The first tip for new sellers is to get the customer or prospect to talk more than you.    People generally love to talk about themselves. When you encourage your prospect to talk more, it allows them to become comfortab

5 Things I Learn About Sales Doing 1,300 Episodes It’s been a long and amazing journey for The Sales Evangelist. Content creation and podcasting have been the core of TSE and after 1,300 episodes, there are several lessons that Donald has learned. This episode will be about all the top lessons that have come from producing The Sales Evangelist since starting seven years ago. TSE has now been able to reach halfway around the world and has been mentioned and recognized in some of the most recognized business publications such as Entrepreneur and Forbes.     We all have moments in our lives where we give up an idea. Donald is grateful that he didn’t give up on podcasting even though he came close. Having TSE has allowed him to serve people in sales and by doing so they are better able to navigate the struggles they face in their industry. He summarizes these top lessons in Five Sales Principles:   You can’t sell higher than your level of belief. Nothing happens until you prospect. Value is in the eye of the beh

Keys to Making the Sales Process ENJOYABLE for You and the Customer   The sales process is a journey that can vary in the amount of time invested. Regardless of how long it takes, it’s within your control to make it enjoyable for you and the customer!     Tasha Smith is with Emerge Sales Training and they help entrepreneurs become great at selling. Their goal is to make the journey enjoyable for both the sellers and their customers. Tasha’s company wants to ensure that the selling experience is in line with the sellers’ values and personalities. They offer one-on-one coaching with entrepreneurs to figure out what their best offers are, how to unlock their superpowers, and how they can communicate in an honorable way. They call it good human sales.    Unfortunately, not all salespeople are selling with the buyers’ best intentions. Some are tricking them into a one-sided experience where they win and the buyers don’t. However, when you’re selling for the benefit of the consumer, then you elevate the transaction

Three Things I Learn From Jordan's Last Dance To Dominate Sales   Donald Kelly’s knowledge has come from a variety of sources -- books, podcasts, training, sales seminars, documentaries, and more recently, the docuseries, Michael Jordan’s Last Dance. The natural seller in Donald caught key principles from the series that will help salespeople to dominate sales.    The Last Dance is a docuseries featuring the last year Michael Jordan was with the Chicago Bulls. It’s a revealing 10-part series that shows why Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players of all time.  As Donald watched, he could see the lessons that are revealed are applicable to Donald in every role: as a father, a husband, a business owner, and as a sales professional. Here are the top takeaways for Donald from the Last Dance series:    Have a win-at-all-cost mentality You need a mindset and belief system of success  Be a perfectionist in the details   Win-at-all-cost mentality To Michael Jordan, a win-at-all-cost mentality, meant he

How to Land Your First Sales Job With No Previous Experience   A loaded resume is important to many employers but when you’re brand new, how do you land your first sales job without any experience? In this episode, we’re going to learn how to jump the line even before your first close.   Mitchell Earl had his life planned out; however, a year into college, everything changed for him. He got involved in a startup that took off in his sophomore year of college. It started with a small team over the course of three years, the company grew to thousands of people. Working for the startup early on allowed him to work many different positions within the company.   Mitchell eventually met the founder of Praxis and quickly became a valuable member of the team. Mitchell is now the COO. Praxis helps people take the first steps into the real world whether their clients are fresh out of high school, college, or they’ve left school before graduation. The goal is to help them begin their first careers, many of which are in

How To Build Your Career In Sales    The road to building a career in sales may be difficult but certainly not impossible, especially if you have a great road map, the right character, and key people in your life who help you move forward. In this episode, we’ll outline what these may look like.    At 22 years old, Mary Grothe started with a Fortune 1000 payroll and HR company. She became an administrative assistant supporting eight salespeople and the number one sales manager in the country. Within a couple of months, she realized she wanted a spot on the mid-market sales team. She asked her sales manager what she needed to accomplish in order to be considered for the position when it became available. For two years, she worked hard and became number one in her role. Looking back to heer first phone call, she was like any other sales rep, very nervous, and was sweating hard, but she also had a strong desire to surpass all expectations.  She certainly accomplished what she set out to do.    Mary eventually to

Mindset vs. Skill Set - Which Is More Important In Sales?   As a salesperson, which do you think is more important, a mindset or a skill set? What are the differences between the two? In this episode, Donald will explore the value of both.     Defining mindset and skill set Mindset is your established attitude or beliefs. Mindset has two parts -  a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. A fixed mindset settles into what is working and doesn’t change.  A growth mindset can see the opportunities to improve.   A skill set, on the other hand, is your range of ability. What training and skills have you mastered to be able to execute the work you need to do well in your business?   Donald Experiences the Difference Between Mindset and Skill Set  A salesperson should have both a great mindset and the relevant skill set.  When Donald was a young man his friend’s father, who was like a  second dad, gave him the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. He read it and internalized the information so he believed he would

How To Easily Track Your Leads From Prospect Status To Closing the Deal Salespeople track leads from prospect status to closing the deal because that’s how the sales process flows. But how can we keep the information organized so we take action in a way that’s best for a potential client?   For the last six years, Toni Panea has focused on his role as a sales engineer. Before that, he was running a real estate business and wanted to track all his leads and how they flowed through his business.  He wanted to organize information in a way that let him know how many clients he had when the next appointments should be, and how to prepare for meetings. However, when Toni looked for apps and software that could help, he found there were no available tools that existed. When Toni realized this was a critical need that was missing, he filled the void himself by creating his current business, Crmble. This business would provide what he’d been looking for and it’s helping others as well.  Tips on tracking your leads  S

Learn To Prospect Like An Expert With Steve Kloyda   Prospecting isn’t to be taken lightly and there are skills needed before you can prospect well. In this episode, Steve Kloyda helps us figure out how to prospect like an expert.    Steve Kloyda has been creating unique selling experiences for over 30 years and has been able to transform the lives of countless salespeople. In addition to facilitating thousands of workshops across the country, he personally made more than 25,000 sales and prospecting calls, listened to and analyzed more than 25,000 sales calls, and facilitated over 6,000 one-on-one coaching sessions. He has clearly earned the title expert! Steve’s insights have provided clients with a powerful learning experience for anyone who wants to transform their sales and dramatically grow their business. His aim is to help salespeople attract more prospects, retain more clients, and drive more sales.    Steve also remembers unforgettable customer service. One of his coolest sales experiences was at Hi

How Do I Stand Out From The Competition?   Are there still ways salespeople can stand out from the competition? This is an age-old question that was posed by a recent college graduate. If so, how?  In this episode, Donald will share four ways he’s learned, through his personal and professional experience, to stand out from your competition:    Be persistent Personalize Use your CRM and bring value Have energy and drive   Be persistent Studies have shown that many sales reps give up making contact after one or two attempts. In reality, it takes 8 - 12 points of contact before a potential prospect may respond. If you want to stand out from your competition, be consistent and persistent. Of course, this doesn’t mean sitting and calling eight times in a row within a day. You have to ensure you have an organizational flow process. This is the process that moves through the buyer’s journey to get to the interest and awareness phase within the organization.    Use an omni channel approach when strategically making

How To Leverage LinkedIn For Better Networking   LinkedIn is an important social platform for people looking to broaden their network. In this episode, Bobbie Foedisch will be talking about how to leverage LinkedIn for better networking.    Bobbie Foedisch is the founding partner and Chief Social Selling Officer at All About Leverage. The company develops social selling, lead generation, and networking processes. Bobbie has been in the business development space for most of her career. She’s seen the power of leveraging social media and now, along with her team, they have cultivated a lead-generation process that they offer to their clients as a voluntary benefit business.   LinkedIn now has over 413 million users and they are growing daily. This makes LinkedIn a perfect platform for you and your business. You can use it to leverage your online and offline marketing presence.    Use LinkedIn Strategies available One of the best ways to start your LinkedIn experience is by using a picture of yourself as your p

How To Overcome Your Fear of Selling During Challenging Times   Fear can be common for salespeople regardless of where you are in your career. The fear of rejection can paralyze us and impact our performance. In the current climate of a pandemic, one fear that salespeople are dealing with is that customers won’t be interested in what we have to offer.  In this episode, we’ll talk about how to overcome fear of selling during challenging times.    Nina Cooke works with entrepreneurs, their coaches, consultants, and sales specialists. Her task is to help them overcome their fear in order to get them to move toward sales conversations. Nina helps salespeople overcome their negative thoughts and the lies people tell themselves. Nina’s goal is for her clients to see how powerful and magnificent they can be as they run their business.    The origin of fear The origin of a lot of our fears occur in childhood. We were all born with a blank slate and then picked up the programming of other people over time. From a very

What I Wish I Knew Before Going Into Sales   To benefit the many new graduates and new sellers entering the sales arena, I’ve spent time thinking about the things I wish I knew before going into sales. This episode goes out to my buddy Isaac, who is just entering sales, as well as the other new graduates and new sellers. Many sellers have initial experiences that leave them wondering if they made the right career choice. This month on The Sales Evangelist, we’re focusing on the class of 2020, but our messages will resonate with those who are entering the sales world for the first time as well as veterans who have been selling for a while.  Believe in yourself and starve your doubts Mindset is incredibly important, but I didn’t understand that initially. I remember watching movies like Boiler Room that portrayed a charismatic sales rep who would sweet-talk buyers and say anything necessary to land a sale. I figured sales was entirely about skillset. When I came into sales, though, I realized that mindset is pr

Why Giving Your Prospects An Out Upfront Will Help You Win In The End Sometimes we need to lose a customer before they become a client. In the current climate of a pandemic it’s important that we give a client an out in order to be sensitive to their struggles but we still want them to know we’re open for business, right?  How are these two needs served in the way we communicate?   Jeff Kosser is the CEO and the founder of Zebrafi. The company is often known for its top-selling book, Selling Zebra, seeing the Zebra as the perfect prospect. The company’s philosophy is pretty straightforward. When people see Zebras, regardless of where that might be, they always know what it is. The simplicity and the purity of this fact  is the philosophy behind what keeps their business running.    Jeff Koser has also built a software business based on software-guided selling. It’s a tool that guides B2B salespeople through the best practices of how to communicate and collaborate with the prospects and customers to ensure bot

The Sales Manager's Guide To Greatness!    You may have been a top salesperson, and still continue to be, but that doesn’t always qualify you to be a top sales manager. Both have very different skill sets and require mastery in very different skills.    Kevin F. Davis is the author of the book The Sales Manager’s Guide to Greatness: Ten Essential Strategies for Leading your Team to the Top. Kevin started his career in sales at an entry level position and worked hard to become a general manager. His new role gave him the opportunity to train and coach 250 sales people and directly manage the sales team and sales managers.    He also founded TopLine Leadership, Inc. where they have offered sales coaching and leadership workshops to corporate clients and groups of sales managers for the last 27 years. Other books Kevin has written include Getting into your Customer’s Head and Slow Down, Sell Faster.   On writing the book  There aren’t a lot of books written about how to effectively manage sales people so Kevi

Why Every Seller Needs To Create An Ideal Sales Profile    It is imperative for all businesses, no matter the size, to be able to describe their target customer. It is equally important for businesses to create an ideal sales profile. This will help you identify the right hire for your sales team. In this episode, Donald will talk about the  importance of defining the ideal sales profile in detail.    Oftentimes, as salespeople, we start our days with a list of things we want to accomplish in our day. By the end of the day, however, we realize we didn’t get to do what we set out to do. As a result, you come up with excuses for why you didn't get your tasks completed. You can avoid that by creating the ideal sales profile. This is about the picture you’ve set in your mind about how you will conduct yourself in each activity throughout the day, long before they happen.   Visualize your success The greatest swimmer of all time, Michael Phelps’ was taught by his coach about playing tapes to watch his performance.

We all experience pain and grief and in these seasons, we can feel depths of emotion that are hard to resolve.  How does unresolved grief affect your sales potential? Let’s learn about dealing with unresolved grief today with Herdyne Mercier.    Herdyne Mercier is the Chief Grief Crusader and host of  Redefining Grief Podcast with Herdyne Mercier. Her job is to create safe spaces so that broken hearts can be seen, heard, and validated. The process helps you get unstuck from your unresolved grief and get you to a place of purposeful living.    Redefining grief  Herdyne defines grief as experiencing any kind of loss. This isn’t limited to losing a loved one to death. Grief can also be felt when you move to a new place, experience job loss, go through divorce, or when filing for bankruptcy. Herdyne had the exact feeling when along with her husband, they filed for bankruptcy back in 2007/2008. The real estate market crashed and they couldn’t sell their home. Her husband, James Mercier, could not find a job with a

Why Your Brain Lies To You: Cash Is NOT The Best Motivator   Although money is one of the indicators of growth and success, it’s not necessarily the best motivator when it comes to incentivizing a sales team.   Tim Houlihan and Dr. Kurt Nelson are consultants who have spent more than 20 years working with companies to design incentives that will increase productivity within sales teams.  Just a few years ago, they started a podcast that provides practical applications in the real world. One of their topics, motivation through incentivizing, is especially helpful for sales managers.    People tend to make decisions based on an emotional gut response, even though we mistakenly think these choices are made based on rational thought. Emotion and motivation come from the same root making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. Money has less of an emotional connection than we realize and because motivation is tied to our emotions, money can be a poor incentive for a sales team.    Human beings as emotional

Building A Successful SDR Team From The Ground Up    The sales team is the backbone of a business. It’s composed of both SDRs and BDRs, both working to make sure the business is thriving through a steady flow of consumers. For this episode, we’ll discuss SDRs and how you can build a successful SDR team.    Kyle Coleman started his career in B2B tech in 2012 at an advertising agency in San Francisco. He supported clients such as Dell, VMWare and other large companies; however, Kyle eventually realized that advertising wasn’t where he wanted to continue his career.  In a timely move, he was able to pursue an exciting new position in sales and marketing with a start-up called Looker, a data analytics company based in Santa Cruz. Kyle was recruited and became a member of the Looker team in 2013. He stayed with Looker for six years and was able to experience firsthand the growth of the company from six people to roughly eight-hundred sales reps and 100,000 ARR to over 100 million in ARR.    In 2019, Kyle made the