cacoethes

buisness development manager

Tips on replacing a colleague?

Hey everybody,

I tried searching this topic and didn't see much. hope you can help.

I just found out my sales team (2 folks) has been axed, and I, inside sales, am getting a battlefield promotion to an outside role.

I've done outside roles before, and have been angling to get a shot at outside role at current company for a while. so I view this as a good opportunity. I'm currently taking a look through the threads on transitioning from inside to outside.

I've never taken over a deal(s) that were in progress from a recently departed colleague before. any tips on how to handle that transition properly? right now the sales environment is tough, we're underperforming but have a good/decent product.

possible relevant info: enterprise level deals, technical product, have a decade of experience in the industry, been at current company going on 3 years.

any help appreciated

14

16 comments

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detectivegibbles

Politicker

8

Sales Director

"Hey customer, cutting through the awkwardness of being a new face in the midst of this project. I'd love to hear where your head is at and where you need me to jump in.

Is it unreasonable to schedule a call to introduce myself and ensure we're up to speed together?"

You know the product, it just sounds like you need to get cozy with the current customers. I could be off but I'd just immediately start contacting the current deals you're taking over and build a relationship.

cacoethes

Fire Starter

2

buisness development manager

Thank you, I appreciate it. Identifying all the open opps as we speak and discussing plan with vp of sales. Will def use a variation of this

Beans

Big Shot

0

Enterprise Account Executive

Love that word for word.

oldcloser

Arsonist

4

💀

Yeah, what @detectivegibbles said, and bring some attitude with you. Come in strong and authoritative, from a perspective of “here to help get your needs met and get the deal across the line.” Or whatever fits in the mold. You want to be anything but “I'm the next guy because the other guy got shot.”

If it’s just you, ask for a title that supports the attitude. Then get helpful AF with those peeps. Not a bad spot to come in as an authoritative SME/helper.

cacoethes

Fire Starter

2

buisness development manager

Thank you! That attitude shift is something I have to work on. One of my weaknesses working in inside sales is always having someone to deflect to. Need to reframe that in my mind.

oldcloser

Arsonist

2

💀

Ride tall on that white horse as you gallop in to save their world!

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Get comfy with swinging big and occasionally missing. Great advice OC.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

4

🦊

I do have a question - are you getting a raise to do this extra work?

cacoethes

Fire Starter

1

buisness development manager

As of right now no base raise, but I will be getting on the outside bd comp and bonus plan which is a step up

jefe

Arsonist

3

🍁

You should also get a bump in base.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

^^moving into the field. Grab that title and that bump.

Justatitle

Big Shot

2

Account Executive

Having gone through this 3 times, theres a greater than 95% chance the prospect doesn't care and the statement "No longer with XYZ company" is completely valid. If they ask why you have plausible deniability to say you are not sure but want to not lose out on earning their business and don't want to leave any gaps from the previous rep.

cacoethes

Fire Starter

1

buisness development manager

Thank you! I do agree BD turnover is quite frequent in my industry and don’t think the client cares too much as long at the operations aren’t affected

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Be humble. Approach the top performer about shadowing them a bit and "picking their brain" on occasion. Work hard until you learn to work smart.

Armageddon

Opinionated

1

Enterprise Account Executive

Take all of their notes and put together a slide outlining their key initiatives and challenges they are looking to solve. go through the slide with your champion and say, Instead of making you repeat yourself, I've gone through all of my colleagues notes and summarized them here, I want to make sure I am understanding your current and ideal state.

Then as you go through the slide, pause for their feedback. Ask for additional context where necessary.

I think this takes a lot of the work off of their plate and saves them from repeating themselves, while giving you an opportunity to identify risk in the deal before the meeting and address it on the call.

Beans

Big Shot

0

Enterprise Account Executive

Honestly inheriting opportunities is a strong position, you can reset expectations and level set.

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