How do you spot a fake Sales Guru?

I have been thinking about this for a while now. There seems to be a lot of individuals on LinkedIN and other platforms selling themselves as "Sales Gurus", which got me thinking how do we as real life sales savages tell who is legit and who is just spinning theoretical BS?


Interested to hear the thoughts of the War Room...

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12
Prizrak
Politicker
6
Disruptor of worlds
I wouldn't even bother with pretty much any of them. Look at your highest performing rep at your company and go ask him how he does it.ย 


If all you want is to see how to get the lowest hanging fruit on LinkedIn go after the sales gurus.ย 

I've seen these jokers say everything from how emails should start with dear not hi. To the jackass saying make 1000 calls a day. In 2021. For B2B. I haven't seen one yet I really agree with let alone would pay for his services.

Ask your sales questions here. I betcha you'll get a lot better responses.
DonDraper
Politicker
1
National Sales Manager
Oh I agree 100%, it just makes me question why people would ever engage with their tactics or spend money on courses / books etc?
Prizrak
Politicker
0
Disruptor of worlds
They're desperate and this guy seems like he knows whats up. He says things like make calls or emotionally connect with your customer. And nobody can tell him hes wrong because hes not. The advice he gives is super vague and applies to a vast amount of situations. They are the new version of a psychic.ย 

I'm not convinced any of these guys have even done anything notable in sales. The same reason you don't see guys from the Metzdowd list teaching crypto......
Salespreuner
Big Shot
1
Regional Sales Director
Agree 100% with this framework and thought process. Does much better results this way
Chep
WR Officer
0
Bitcoin Adoption Specialist
Spot on Prizrak. Asking the top performers at your own company has got to be the best way to learn. They're selling the same product and know exactly what it feels like to pitch the same thing you do. I'm not saying all Sales gurus are fakes, but I doubt a "Sales Guru" can give you the insight and tips a top performer at your company can give. If you're not close at all with the top performer ask if you can buy them a coffee because you want to pick their brain.
KPIMaster
Politicker
2
Enterprise Account Executive
They never speak in terms of how actual deals get done, unless of course your industry is entirely transactional. Never about an actual sales process. ย Seems most of them focus on โ€œmindsetโ€ or โ€œbeing ultra confident.โ€
Prizrak
Politicker
0
Disruptor of worlds
Bingo.ย 
TheRealTommyCallahan
Arsonist
2
President of Callahan Auto
Look at their profile pic. You can always see who's a douche lol
DonDraper
Politicker
0
National Sales Manager
Hahaha that one made me laugh!
SheWOLF
Opinionated
1
TC Sales
Great sales people donโ€™t talk about being great sales people lolย 
braintank
Politicker
1
Enterprise Account Executive
They walk around filming goofy videos with a selfie stick...
Salespreuner
Big Shot
0
Regional Sales Director
Ones who are real say realtime experiences that strike chords
One who ain't, keeps motivating people without use cases.ย 
AinslieStreet
Politicker
0
Sales Consultant
Your first clue should be that they refer to themselves as a Sales Guru.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
0
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Someone that isnโ€™t actively doing what they are telling you to do. At that point, they are just hypocritesย 
ButWaitTheresMore
Politicker
0
Senior Sales Engineer
Anyone who parrots something vague that you could learn by cracking into the first few pages of any sales book; like make more calls, qualify your leads to make sure you are talking to the right person, tailor your outreach, etc. It's generalities like these that create just enough of a skeleton of content to build around a generally charismatic guru who just sells their conviction to hungry sales reps (though their success alone should be a good pointer on selling with confidence).

If it isn't good advice in written form, it's probably just fluff stilted by charisma.
Aaronlovessales
Opinionated
0
Financial advisor
Arenโ€™t they all fake?
dryspongebob
Opinionated
0
Business Development Manager
How to easily spot them: their headline is > 5 words. Bonus points if it starts with "Helping".ย 

Now don't get me wrong, there's some people posting genuinely helpful content on LinkedIn, but 90% of it is just noise.ย 
Cyberjarre
Politicker
0
BDR
The hardest part was separating myself from the social aspect.
36
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