The Thoughts on Selling™ Podcast Lee Levitt

Mike Conrad and I dive into the nuanced world of inside sales. Mike, a seasoned sales professional with extensive experience in inside sales management, shares his lessons learned.

We explore the evolving landscape of inside sales and the importance of strategic leadership and development within inside sales teams. We discuss the transformative impact of thoughtful sales approaches, mentorship, challenges of adapting to modern sales tools, and advice on career pathing.

Mike and I share our experiences with inside sales teams at a variety of tech companies, highlighting the balanced approach between human interaction and technological advancements in achieving sales success.

Jim Schaffer and Lee discuss the role of mindfulness and awareness in sales. We explore the relevance of being present, the power of emotional intelligence (EQ) in sales interactions and the importance of understanding the context of who you're selling to.

Jim shares his personal journey of discovering mindfulness and how it transformed his approach to sales. We discuss the benefits of being present and reframing perspectives to find joy in any situation.

We also highlight the role of managers in supporting mindfulness and integrating it into sales organizations. Jim discusses importance of individual practice and self-awareness in sales success.

Takeaways


Embrace impermanence and reframe your mindset to reduce stress and increase joy in the sales profession
Practice radical responsibility by owning your response to events and handling them without drama
Make a daily decision to be present and fully engaged in your work, embracing the four pillars of mindfulness: be still, be here, stop weaving stories, and embrace impermanence

In this episode of the Thoughts on Selling podcast, we sit down with Deb Berman, an experienced sales consultant specializing in assisting early-stage tech startups, and a fellow Colgate alum! Join us as she shares her insights on building successful sales organizations, navigating the transition from startup employee to consultant, and the key elements for effective B2B sales.

Discussion Highlights:


Transitioning from founder-led sales to fielding a successful sales organization: Deb sheds light on the challenges founders face in growing the business and letting go of the founder-led sales process.
Building Buyer Personas and Effective Discovery: The significance of understanding the buyer's needs and building accurate personas in the B2B sales process.
Balancing People, Process, and Technology: Deb emphasizes the need for a harmonious investment in these three elements to create a thriving sales organization.
The Power of Warm Introductions and Referrals: Discussing the value of leveraging personal networks for warm introductions and referrals in sales.
Onboarding and Setting Clear Expectations: Highlighting the importance of a structured onboarding process and clear communication when bringing new salespeople on board.
Structuring Sales Teams with Flexibility: Deb advocates for flexibility in designing sales teams to meet the specific needs of customers and the company.
Preparation in Sales Calls: The crucial role of preparation in sales calls and its profound impact on the outcome of the sales process.
Common Mistakes: Assigning Homework to Buyers: Deb discusses the common mistake of burdening buyers with homework and emphasizes simplifying the sales (buying) process for them.
LinkedIn as a Sales Tool: Insights on leveraging LinkedIn for sales, focusing on engagement with prospects and participating in relevant conversations.
Caution Against Relying Solely on Social Selling: Deb provides a balanced perspective on social selling, urging listeners to complement it with other effective sales strategies.

Key Takeaways:


Flexibility in Sales Roles: Adapt to the specific needs of the company.
Preparation is Key: Significantly impacts the outcome of sales calls.
Simplify the Sales Process: Avoid assigning homework to buyers; make it easy for them.
LinkedIn Engagement: Use LinkedIn for engagement and conversations, not just promotion.
Strategic Use of Social Selling: Complement social selling with other effective sales strategies.

As we conclude our conversation with Deb Berman, we're reminded of the vital lessons in sales strategy, team building, and the nuanced use of tools like LinkedIn. Join us in implementing these key takeaways to elevate your approach to sales and drive more revenue!

To follow up with Deb, you can reach her on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or via her company website.

To follow up with me, you can reach me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠or via the Acelera Group ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠.

To provide feedback on this podcast or to suggest additional topics or guests, please visit The Thoughts On Selling™ podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

I would appreciate your sharing this podcast with one or two coworkers or peers. And I would very much appreciate positive reviews on the Apple podcast site or wherever you get your podcasts. Positive reviews help others to find this podcast!



Thank you!



Lee Levitt

Nancy Maluso, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Edgio and I take a deep dive into the power of curiosity and authenticity in the customer engagement process, and the practices of value selling to ensure positive outcomes for all.

Nancy and I cover the practices that allow a good sales person to drive great results.

Key takeaways:

 - High performing sales people don’t provide information about products. Instead, they provide insight into how a company’s business can be changed by change in process, tech or people. They help the customer explore the “why change/why now” conversation and guide them through the change management considerations

 - Sellers have to be incredibly curious and interested…it’s not something they can fake.  They can’t cram a few minutes before a customer call and then truly engage the way they need to.  Instead they have to keep probing into what is going on in the customers environment including politics, goals and objectives, functional objectives, individual objectives etc. They have to understand a day in the life of their key stakeholders.

 - Know your customers at the organizational, functional and personal level. Be curious about their world and dig deep. help them to be successful even if not with your offerings.

To follow up with Nancy, you can reach her on ⁠LinkedIn⁠.

To follow up with me, you can reach me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠or via the Acelera Group ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠.

To provide feedback on this podcast or to suggest additional topics or guests, please visit The Thoughts On Selling™ podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

I would appreciate your sharing this podcast with one or two coworkers or peers. And I would very much appreciate positive reviews on the Apple podcast site or wherever you get your podcasts. Positive reviews help others to find this podcast!



Thank you!



Lee Levitt

Jonathan Mahon, cofounder of The Practice Lab and I take a deep dive into the value of discovery in the sales process, and the application of “deliberate practice” to improve selling skills. 

While some believe that discovery “belongs” in a discrete stage of the sales process, and is sometimes delegated to a presales engineer, Jonathan and I share a different perspective.

Discovery should start long before the first contact, with the sales person and presales engineer conducting background research on the company, key stakeholders, installed base, etc., to begin the development of business value, financial value and stakeholder hypotheses.

Jonathan shares significant insights on how to conduct effective discovery, approaches to powerful open-ended questions during demos and other engagements

Through this conversation, Jonathan also shares his overall philosophy to effective training, “deliberate practice” designed to improve actual performance while in stressful situations (engaging with prospects and customers) as opposed to making people “book smart”.

If you need to improve your (or your team’s) discovery effectiveness, spend some time listening to this podcast and then reach out to Jonathan and me to continue the conversation.

To follow up with Jonathan, you can reach him on LinkedIn or via his company website

To follow up with me, you can reach me on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn ⁠⁠or via the Acelera Group ⁠⁠website⁠⁠.

To provide feedback on this podcast or to suggest additional topics or guests, please visit The Thoughts On Selling™ podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To follow up with me, you can reach me on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn ⁠⁠or via the Acelera Group ⁠⁠website⁠⁠.

I would appreciate your sharing this podcast with one or two coworkers or peers. And I would very much appreciate positive reviews on the Apple podcast site or wherever you get your podcasts. Positive reviews help others to find this podcast!

Thank you!

Lee Levitt

Special guest Mark Goloboy brings an extensive background in both large and small companies driving demand using data, analytics, process improvement and elbow grease. Together we nerd out on the value of data and shared goals to help drive pipeline size and shape. We also dig into the processes that help to ensure success.

Some companies play the blame game (it’s your fault, no yours!) while others focus on the goals of driving revenue and customer value. This latter focus requires both good data and a partnership between sales and marketing executives to continually improve the demand generation function. With feedback, marketing can improve the lead quality, and with better quality leads, sales can close more business.

Key takeaways:


Improving conversion rates at the top of the funnel…or at any stage of the funnel, is vastly more impactful (and less costly) than adding more leads.
Aligned objectives and ongoing dialog drive continuous improvement in sales productivity
A voice of the customer perspective has to be pervasive in sales, marketing, product management and more.

To follow up with Mark, you can reach him on LinkedIn or via his company website

To provide feedback on this podcast or to suggest additional topics or guests, please visit The Thoughts On Selling™ podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To follow up with me, you can reach me on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn ⁠⁠or via the Acelera Group ⁠⁠website⁠⁠.

I would appreciate your sharing this podcast with one or two coworkers or peers. And I would very much appreciate positive reviews on the Apple podcast site or wherever you get your podcasts. Positive reviews help others to find this podcast!

Thank you!

Lee Levitt