TennisandSales

Head Of Sales

AMA with me! @tennisandsales is live!

ok ya'll! let's get it!

I've re-gripped the racket, canceled all my meetings, consumed a stupid amount of caffeine and I'm ready to see what everyone wants to chat about.

shout out to all the over achievers who sent some early questions in yesterday i will get to those first.

I'll have each question as a comment from yesterday and then respond to other comments as they come in (best i can).

LETS GOOOO!

🤴 AMA

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TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

@js2458 and @HVACexpert wanna know about the ADHD so let’s dive in!

I’m in my 30s and was diagnosed only 3 years ago. This has been a major unlock for me and helped me understand what i need to do, to find success.

Besides getting meds to help me actually focus on a fucking task, I’ve just learned what helps me be productive. Like what environment do i need to be in, what times of day do i like to do certain tasks at, what times of day are hard things like that.

And the big thing I’ve worked through in therapy is to lay attention to my self more and understand that if i don’t like doing something, don’t fight that but lean in and figure out why.

So for example I’ve found that i NEED to wear headphones when i work and have music playing and that really helps me focus on the tasks at hand. If i don’t wear headphones i can’t focus and get irritated.

I have told my bosses about it because i wanted to let them know that it’s a thing and can be a reason why i do certain things. The conversations are normally like
“Hey idk if this is important to you but i do have ADHD Combined which for me, means i struggle with (insert items). And because of that sometimes ppl think im lazy, don’t care, or am not paying attention and that’s normally not the case. Here are a few things i do that others might not do:(fill in the blanks). But if you notice things that i do please just talk to me about it im totally cool with that.”

Those convos have always gone really well and I’ve even been given certain things at work to help.

Happy to expand on this!

Great questions homies!

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

How did you know it was time to go to the doc and get it checked out?

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

i was having so many issues in my personal life and work life that i did not understand why they were happening. and honestly i saw a video on instagram that resonated with me so strong that I realized the core of my issues could be becuase my brain just operates differently.

So i went and met with a phycologist and had to take a fairly extensive assesment to see if I met the criteria and it came back that I checked all the boxes for ADHD combined.

mental illness is a big thing now a days and many ppl say they are neurodiverse but not many ppl actually go and have a medical professional specifically test for a diagnosis. I would HIGHLY encourage ppl to take that step.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

I relate to this to the 100000th power. Holy fuck. Thanks for sharing.
Quick question @TennisandSales - in what order did you approach this? Was it going to Doc, then getting into therapy, and then a deep dive into what your day looks like?

I was on vyvanse in high school and college but came off as an adult because of insurance reasons. I've been noticing every single thing you mentioned around irritability.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

were you diagnosed with ADD/ADHD as a kid? is that why you were on Vyvanse? that shit is wicked expensive for me too.

I started to be more observant of what the challenges are that i am facing, and see if its showing up in more than 1 area of my life.

Then connected with a phycologist to get a professional opinion and they suggested we do an assessment.

Following the assessment i continued to go to therapy to unpack certain things. it was for sure not that I just started taking meds and everything was fine. its a piece of the puzzle but not the answer.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

Yep. For my entire life, focusing on one specific task has been an uphill battle while pushing a 1000lb boulder.

The analyzation aspect of your day is so intriguing to me. How do you optimize certain tasks that can be completed "better/more timely" by doing them at certain points of the day...so good!

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

yeah man its a nice unlock for me. for instance, in the morning 8-11:30 ish im for sure in "Go" mode, i can crush a list of todos at work. so this is a great time for follow ups, pipe review, prospecting, ect.

i hate doing these things between 2-5pm so thats a great time for meetings because it forces me to stay on task and has a specific goal.

I also try to make sure i have a very specific thing to start my day with or else ill just do nothing.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Amazing how common this is. I'm a card carrier myself. Been on the focus meds for 20 years. I manage my own clock also. I know that I'm useless on the phone early, either with prospects, clients, or employees. I'm best in the afternoon with demos and such. So that's where I try to keep them. Thanks for opening this door.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

glad you are able to have that flexibility. i think one reason i really struggled as an SDR at the company i was at was because I was forced to do certain tasks at certain times of the day.

Structure can be super helpful, but too much structure is never a good thing for anyone and especially us ADHD folks.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Amen- if I don’t have autonomy I can crumble easily.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

Next up my guy @antiASKHOLE

“How have you found success going back to your former employer? I know that I did the same thing, and had pretty good results so far. Inform us on your transition back.”

This is kinda of a long story but I’ll get to the good stuff.

When i left, i was just an AE and was on really good terms with the senior leadership. I left because they were trying to decide if they were going to go full PLG with no sales team or not. I saw the writing on the wall (although not involved with the discussions) and decided to get out ahead of it and leave.

A few months after i started with a new company the General Manager (this is like the CEO of the division i was in, since it’s a huge company) reached out and said they decided to not go full PLG and they really needed a head of sales to help build the sales function from the ground up. So with the higher level responsibility and clear direction i decided to come back and it’s been really great.

I’ve been really successful and have a seat at the table with our VPs and have been helping to shape pricing and new product offerings.

So my story is a it unique since i didn’t come back to the exact role in the same company , but I’ve been super happy.

Great question my dude!

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

That is a great story. Happy for your success!

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

🙏🙏🙏

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

@886GFl also hit on a topic i love to blab on about:

“would love to get your perspective on going from investment sales to tech. I did the same thing.”

A: i was in financial services for 4.5 years before getting into saas. I was commission only for 3.5 of those years and was a manager for 1 year.

Trying to get into saas was fucking brutal. No one wanted to take the last 4 years of experience seriously and i didn’t get any offers for closing roles.

I was pretty desperate and decided to take an SDR role for like $35k base to try and break i to the industry.

That was a HUGE shock to the system. The saas company was your typical high growth start up with tech bro culture at its peak. I kinda struggled in the role and was super fucking lucky to get out of that company into my first AE role after a few months.

If i were to do it again i would look specifically at software companies focused on financial services companies or for products that i used as an end user and see if my experience / knowledge would be more valuable in that way.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

First up is @886GFl :

“Why did you jump back to mid market? Did you like shorter deal cycles, target market etc?”

A: i really had to make a decision if i was going to continue to try and find the best place to work where i can close the biggest deals and make the most money, OR work for a company that i felt like was headed in the best direction and where i could get i to a leadership role.

I decided to take the second option and that pushed me into the midmarket space. So it wasn’t really anything against Ent Sales, although there are a few draw backs but it had more to do about career growth overall.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Love this! Too many end up in leadership that shouldn't be there versus understanding and pursuing.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

for sure!! i think for a long time leadership was a path to less work and less stress and ppl think they could put it on auto pilot and just manage spreadsheet for a few years.

I think especially at smaller companies, we will see the rise of leaders who stay involved in day to day sales in some capacity and that could help weed out some of the folks that should not be leaders.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

My girl @Sunbunny31 asked about my flux between ENT and MM sales but also wanted to know if i give her husband my blessing to pursue pickleball!

A: first I’m jealous of your husband that he played DI and gets to have that bragging right! Legit.

Also, many tennis players HATE pickleball and shit on it all the time. Here’s the thing, it’s wicked fucking fun!! I’ve only played a few times because i know that if i keep trying to play i will become absolutely obsessed with it (see the comment about ADHD)

I bet your husband will be a unit on the pickleball court.

I will say i dont have a ton of respect for pickleball players who think getting good is some sort of achievement 😬😬 sorry.

It’s just not that complicated of a sport and does not require as much athletic ability or expertise to become really good. So do with that what you will. I’ll for sure be playing though and your husband should for SURE play. He could even go pro probably 😂😂

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

LOL - he is just recovering from some severe issues with his legs and is more than a bit unsteady at the moment. He'd faceplant on a tennis court, hence the interest he's finally showing toward pickleball, overcoming his disdain. Something to do that could help get his strength back and yes, it looks really fun.
His claim to fame is coming within one match of playing McEnroe at a tournament. The player he lost to got clobbered.
He also played D1 baseball, which was fun to leverage whenever some know-it-all Little League parent or coach pushed their weight around and didn't know what they were talking about. :)

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

oh dang ok we are going back a bit! love it! and D1 baseball too??? dang im impressed!

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Yeah, he went to a small school that is known for athletics, primarily baseball and basketball. A few of his teammates made it to the MLB. :)

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing and especially for being so open surrounding the mental health and ADHD stuff. We need to normalize talking about this stuff.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

no problem! glad it resonates! i really think there is a VERY large population of sales folks that have ADHD. it think the line of work lends its self really well to ADHS folks (if management doesnt fuck it up) So always willing to talk more about this.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

How's it going friend? You doing ok? Haven't really caught up since your break ❤

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

What are the top things that you feel destroy a great deal opportunity?

What do your reps do that angers you the most?

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

things that I think destroy a great deal opportunity: - poor discovery: which leads to you not really understanding what the customer needs. this could cost you the deal upfront, or during an implementation they could realize they are not getting what they need. - not doing what you say you will do: follow up, additional information, references ect. if you prove to be unreliable the customer feels that. - sloppy sales process. if you keep having to ask for additional meetings that seem like repeats of the same meeting because you keep forgetting to discuss key items then thats a huge issue.

i do not have any direct reports right now but things that anger me the most that other reps do: - when reps try to be the hero. : you need to know when to loop in other ppl on the team (SME's, SC's, leadership ect) if you have those ppl use them! if you dont then its your own fault.
- treating discovery like an interrogation: its my goal for the ppl i speak with to not only understand if our product is a good fit, but to learn something besides what my product does. when i hear reps fire off questions it makes me want to smash another racquet into the ground.
- when reps ask questions that have no purpose: this makes you look like you dont know what you are doing.
- when reps use phrases like "totally agree" "thats awesome" statements that are like super positive when they are not needed. example:
Prospect: "yeah so we need the integreation to pass these data points from system a to system B" Rep: "100% agree! thats amazing to hear, we can totally acomplish that!"...........
all you need to say is "ok thats good to know many customers have asked us to do that."