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athlete2sales

BDR (Business Development Rep)

Fire Starter
Contributor

New to Sales

hey Y'all,

I'm about 6 months in to my sales career and looking for some advice. my background is in athletics. I was a professional baseball player for the last 8 or so years and have finally gotten out of the game and into the "real world." I'm coming up on 30 years old and I feel like I've gotten a bit of a late start as it comes to my career. does anyone have any books, people to follow, podcasts, etc to help me make the most out of my sales career. I've got a decent sales position (selling what is essentially insurance on medical equipment,) and I just want to make the most out of my career.  

send help 
🧠 Advice
🎯 Career Development
🚀 Career Goals
17

28 comments

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Sunbunny31
Politicker
9
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Hi there and welcome! (unless you were a Dodger). (kidding).
This is a great question, and has been asked many times - so one of the first things I'd do is check the search bar. Sales book recommendations come up a lot - and there's even a book available in the commission store here.
There's a sales academy here that you can get into - check the left nav on your desktop. I believe there's a deposit required, but it's refunded when you complete the course. It may be for tech sales only, but maybe someone who has taken the course can chime in on that.
Another thing you can do is ask questions of the group. The best kind of question has some context; it isn't just "I need help" but instead explains the scenario so that the experienced people here can provide some advice and guidance.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
4
Bravado's Resident Asshole
You covered all of the bases. way to be awesome @Sunbunny31
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Pun unintended, of course.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
2
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Glad we are on a similar wave length. BTW, Tigers are the team to root for.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Pssssh. American League.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
2
Bravado's Resident Asshole
I'm a Michigan everything sport guy. so take that.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
It all becomes clear.
athlete2sales
Fire Starter
2
BDR (Business Development Rep)
UM or MSU?
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
2
Bravado's Resident Asshole
UofM
athlete2sales
Fire Starter
2
BDR (Business Development Rep)
Sorry to hear that. Go Frogs
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
TCU?
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
2
Bravado's Resident Asshole
LMAO, poor frogs got squashed by Bulldogs. UofM gave TCU the game.
athlete2sales
Fire Starter
2
BDR (Business Development Rep)
Just bustin chops. I grew up in the Midwest and had a couple of buddies that played at Michigan. Actually took a visit there myself and really liked it. Realized quickly that I wanted to be as far south as possible though and came down to TX
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
3
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Ha all good man! I left the Midwest myself, so no shame.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
2
Rolling 20's all day
Sunbunny shedding that light for the newbies <3
Mobi85
Politicker
4
Regional Sales Manager
Understand that sales at times has many similarities to baseball. You will fail more often than you will succeed in sales (same with baseball). Repetition will be the name of the game and you will have to spend countless hours perfecting your craft and continuously get beat up but expected to keep coming back for more. You also will have the rapport building side down from having to make the blue like you enough to hopefully give you some sway around the plate and their "zone".
I never got really big into following or reading any specific sales book because many of the people that wrote those books are blowhards and just wanted to hear their own voice but find some mentors within your own business that you can learn from. They hopefully will help with understanding the subtle nuances within your industry.
braintank
Politicker
3
Enterprise Account Executive
30 minutes to president's club is a great podcast
Pachacuti
Politicker
3
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Welcome to Hell.... I mean Sales.
The Academy is a good start here for basics.Use the Search bar for lists and lists of books. GAP Selling by Keenan is a good place to start. Solution Selling by Bosworth is another I like.Find a mentor, or a top performer to shadow.
Good luck!
Maximas
Tycoon
2
Senior Sales Executive
Welcome on board, Search Bar would offer a Big help in this regard, any questions you didn't find an answer for though, please feel free to reach out the community.
Much Of Luck in your New Sales Path.
HVACexpert
Politicker
2
sales engineer
Welcome! I think the best thing you can do is talk to your colleagues. Do you have any ‘assigned’ mentor? (Some companies assign them for new people to the business). Regardless go buy a coffee for someone and pick their brain a little. make sure to get 1-on-1 time with your manager and make the most of it. bring a customer or scenario to them to review a plan of attack or to go over a recent call you had. Make sure you know your product front and back and take the time to learn the in’s and outs to be that ‘one throat to choke’ for your customer. Podcasts, books, classes, etc are helpful but the BEST way to learn sales is to a) do it, and b) learn directly from people who have. Lastly, and you are already doing this, is to not be shy! Ask questions, and don’t be afraid to say ‘I don’t know’. As long as you’re responsive to your customers you will do great. Good luck and welcome to the War Room!
athlete2sales
Fire Starter
2
BDR (Business Development Rep)
No assigned mentor but I’m leaning on a few of my coworkers that have been here a while. Little tougher to do remotely but still trying to pick their brain as much as possible
HVACexpert
Politicker
1
sales engineer
Being remote can be tough for this reason. Is there any local industry organization you can get involved in ? Those were great for me for both networking and learning.
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
It’s never late, there are resources everywhere. As many suggested, bravado academy can be a place to start so you can learn things in an organized way without getting entangled.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
2
Rolling 20's all day
Welcome! I'll add that one of the only podcasts I actually find helpful for tips and trick, and thinking about the process of the sale is 30 minutes to presidents club.
punishedlad
Tycoon
2
Business Development Team Lead
Welcome to the shit show! Can't recommend @Sunbunny31's comment enough.
nomdeguerre
Executive
1
Account executive
Plug for my m John Barrows. Great content and podcast
AnchorPoint
Politicker
1
Business Coach
1. New Sales Simplified by Mike Weinberg - Hands down one of the best books on selling out there. Start here.
Justatitle
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
what @Sunbunny31said

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