The cut-throat perception of sales people is widespread, but the reality is 99% of people selling something aren’t competing with 99% of other people selling something. Basically, every sales person could help another sales person and not cannibalize their existing business. As I have seen this sense of give first community amongst bay area entrepreneurs, I think it’s appropriate to assert #GetUnStuck is shifting the job from salesperson to salespreneur.
The GetUnstuck.Club informed me they will be releasing 3 new micro-sales mentorship videos everyday. Branko Cerny, #GetUnStuck leader & CEO @ Immediately, summarized the movement as:
“uniting top sales leaders to share sales wisdom for the next generation of salespreneurs.”
You can contribute to the movement by uploading a video of how you got unstuck from a sales deal with the hashahtag #GetUnStuck. Here’s a teaser from dozens of people who are already sharing how to get your sales deal unstuck.
I’ve been running my own business for about a year, and part of is making cool shit and part of it is selling to clients. From my top publications (“ART + marketing” & “Hacker Daily”), I’d like to share 8 of most helpful excerpts for salespreneurs.
4 Universal Laws To Successful Sales Prospecting_Frequency: I hear this one a lot: How much is too much follow up? Or: How many times should a call someone before I…_medium.com
“Most importantly, make sure to test what you are doing. If what you are trying is not producing the results you are looking for, change it up. Don’t be afraid to kill the sacred cow! True validation in prospecting should result in an appointment, demo, or sale.” — Sean M Mitchell.
How to cold call._I am going to keep it in bullets and avoid any flourish or long narrative, I think this way it can make lasting creases…_medium.com
“You must know your competition and be honest about the differentiators. Prospects hate industry jargon. Prospects also do not differentiate vendors by relatively small nuances, most likely the difference that you think is HUGE is unimportant to them and at worst can be worked around.” — Adam Townsend.
5 Tactics That Really Shorten The Sales Cycle_I recently read an article by Tomasz Tunguz called The Number One Objection in the Sales Funnel._medium.com
“(Problem Resolution Timeline) is the most important tactic that a sales team member should get good at. You’ll want to identify the problem, how critical the problem is, and when the problem needs to be fixed by.” — Alex Lopes.
9 Costs of Not Investing in a Sales Trainer_Sales people are supposed to bring your company money, but for many companies this is just not a reality. The worst…_medium.com
“Think of the best salesperson you know, do they have an MBA? Probably not. Great sales people become great from learning and putting into practice what they learnt, not from reading a book about management operations!” — Ali Mirza.
5–6 Years Is About As Fast As You Can Mint a True VP of Sales_We’ve talked a lot about hiring a VP of Sales at SaaStr, and if you hire a stretch VP of Sales (as most of you will) …_medium.com
“The VPs of Sales I know that skipped steps almost all end up stumbling later. They don’t really know how to recruit. Or, they don’t really understand competitive sales. Or, they don’t really understand how demand gen. really works (a common problem).” — Jason M. Lemkin
How to Optimize Your SaaS Sales Cycle and Boost Customer Retention_In SaaS, generating, qualifying, and closing leads is an exhaustive process. Before a company settles on a SaaS…_medium.com
“Lead qualification: Unfortunately, most SaaS companies get this crucial step wrong. Too many sales reps optimize for quantity because they see it as a direct reflection of compensation potential. But by assigning every lead equal weight, you’re wasting precious resources on unqualified leads. Instead, align the compensation structure with actual conversions, and provide sales reps with criteria to qualify a lead.” — Tianxiang Zhuo.
22% of B2B Salespeople will be Replaced by Search Engines by 2020 #SocialSelling_Taxi for the B2B Salesperson?_medium.com
“With people getting more used to, and more comfortable with, buying (high value) B2B products over the web. With technical details, pricing, and product demos all available over the web, I can see a continuation of the commoditization of the buying process. Salespeople need to raise their game and while not be Thought Leaders they need to be a “beacon” in their given niche and or industry.” — Tim Hughes.
6 Tips to a Happy Life as a Salesperson_Within the last 12 months, I’ve closed over $250k worth of deals. And now, I’m living the “4-Hour Workweek” lifestyle…_medium.com
“Listen with the intent to unite and build a genuine relationship. Slow down your rate of speech and validate others with a thoughtful response. Suspend your ego by neglecting your need to share — let the other person fully express themselves. Be a storytelling trusted advisor — educate don’t sell. Clarify the ‘next-steps’ and reconnect with quid pro quo. Set realistic expectations of how you’ll meet the customer’s needs.” — Zen Cachola