ItsClosingTime

Account Exec.

Not Very Good At Sales

Got this sales position immediately out of college. Was pretty lucky to land with a small 3PL company that is generally laid back and mostly low stress. With that said, there was no formal training and I don't have a manager or mentor. Not many resources or support to lean on either which can be overwhelming at time. I'm struggling to build my book and have left a lot of good potential business on the table due to my own mistakes and inexperience. I keep being told to trust the process and keep ripping dials to get QLs etc. But I feel like I'm becoming stagnant, or even regressing. Does anyone have advice or resources that I can take advantage of to nail down the mechanics and build a solid foundation to stop sucking?

🥎 Training

22 comments

Sort by:

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Check out the academy tab here, as well as the Megathread on sales books.

https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/sales-books-megathread

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Also, if there are any top performers in your company it's always good to try and learn from them.

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

^^ This. Shadow other reps, check out the Academy, click jefe's link.

Good for you for recognizing your own potential, and interest in reaching it. It's a process, and there are many of us here who weren't formally trained at first.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

The academy tab and the search bar via the web version will be a great start.

khiz

Fire Starter

Account Manager

Google and your online network are your best friends.

Try to connect with individuals on Linkedin who has been at your position and seek their advice. Think of how you can do your tasks differently and have a 1 on 1 with the manager.

All managers appreciate some initiative, hope that helps

ItsClosingTime

Fire Starter

Account Exec.

I really would like to take initiative however I don't have an actual manager. I haven't actually ever received any first hand feedback on performance or constructive criticism which I desperately need.

I report directly to our VP of sales and when I do try taking that initiative with him he isn't interested in having a sit down. Only a couple of sentences which, I'm grateful for but doesn't really even scratch the surface. Ultimately that's not his responsibility though and he has plenty of other responsibilities to address.

Thank you for the LinkedIn tip I will definitely start looking through my network and reaching out.

mwilly

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

Read “You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar”

SoccerandSales

Big Shot

Account Executive

Books and podcasts are always good external resources.

Internally, I would look to reach out to top performers to see what they are doing differently, what their mindset is it, and ultimately hear why they are doing so well

ItsClosingTime

Fire Starter

Account Exec.

Do you have any recommendations for either? Will definitely keep trying to reach out to those guys for advice thank you

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

ERP Sales

30 Min to Presidents Club is my favorite

SoccerandSales

Big Shot

Account Executive

Never split the difference is an awesome book. 30 min to president club is my fav podcast

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Do a search here and online for best sales books. Pick 3-4 of them. Study them like they're a college class.

TheHypnotist

Executive

start following these two people on linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/revopsecosystem/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamindennehy/
You show promise - you've realised you want to up your game and are capable of learning.

FranchiseSalesQB

Politicker

Franchise Sales QB

I recently left a 3PL and my experience was that industry is EXTREMELY saturated and they have 30 backups so, my feedback is just keep grinding and try and have some fun.

ItsClosingTime

Fire Starter

Account Exec.

Yeah, have definitely noticed that. Feels like we're competing against ourselves more often than not.

ego

Politicker

Bartender

Cross-training. Take a step over to another industry and go where there’s less resistance. Sales wasn’t my thing at first either.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

Do you want to continue doing Sales?

BlueJays2591

Politicker

Federal Business Dev Director

Fanatical prospecting is a great book to read when getting into sales.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Read Chris Voss, Marcus Chan, invest in coaching or a mentor. Shadow the best. Work on EQ. Take it upon yourself to invest in yourself. Best of luck.

JDialz

Politicker

Chief Operating Officer

Damn, did the Edward Jones recruiter trick you?!

Bearmachine

Contributor

Regional Sales Director

Probably not bad to read a sales book or two or listen to the audiobook.

But if you have to start producing then really work out your presentation and the prospect you are targeting:

- Understand what the product you are selling is doing, where it is used, who is using it and what problems it solves.
- Create your own Power Point Slides to ensure you know what you are talking about.
- Go out there and call, email, and target message people on linkedin who need your stuff. Make sure your messages are targeted and not just copied and pasted.
- keep doing this, schedule meetings and more meetings. --- Aim to set up meetings to understand your prospect his needs and how your product aligns with his needs
and the sales will come if you have a sellable solution.

ER0173

Opinionated

Sr. Business Development Manager

In addition to the Academy tab here, go to You Tube and search Miller Heiman. It is an excellent sales methodology.