ThatNewAE

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

What’s one sales hack / lesson you always hold on to?

It's my 3rd month of closing. I am loving it, truth be told. sometimes the pressure is too much. but in all, I want to know what's that one sales lesson or hack you always hold on to ?

🧠 Advice

🤠 Culture

☁️ Software Tech

24 comments

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TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

never trust the buyer.

make them prove almost everything.
"i know all about your product"
"I have budget for this"
"no one else needs to sign off but me"
"we are not looking at competitors"

never take anything they say for granted and find a way to make sure they are telling the truth or else you cant help them in the best way and you will get screwed.

Telehealth_2the_Moon

Notable Contributor

Director of Business Development

This is pretty key. Don't be scared to ask tough questions so you can have actual information rather than assumptions.

For example, a leadership team told me yesterday that they are developing a project plan across their division and that will inform their needs assessment that will be used to develop a proforma. Follow that information up with questions about the type of roles on the committee, the timeline for the next steps, etc.

Best case, you have a lot of helpful information about their buying process. Worst case, they stumble over themselves and make it clear they wanted to make it seem like actions were happening that actually likely aren't going to happen anytime soon.

Either way it's helpful information!

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

That's an amazing advice. I sometimes shy away from asking uncomfortable questions. or I am scared that I'll shoo away the buyer. But then, during negotiations; I have to dive in with assumptions that makes my job negotiating harder than asking questions right up.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

for sure. ive made the mistake sooo many times. i dont want to ask the hard questions in fear of "scaring them off" but in all reality, if they get scared during discovery they were NEVER going to buy.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Huge tip!!

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

always be doing Discovery until you discover the signature on the contract

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

Oh wow !

SaaSam

Politicker

Account Executive

Don't say more than you have to, show more than they need to see, or try to explain what you don't understand.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

Ah, goes against the famous notion: Sales people talk a lot. They never stop. :)

GALACTIC

Politicker

Account Executive

i still struggle with this one - telling ain't selling, but i still tend to kind of ramble at times

SaaSam

Politicker

Account Executive

That's why discovery is so important. You should never start a demo without first understanding their pains and how your product or service can solve them.

If someone inbounds and just asks you to feature dump, let them know that in order to make better use of both of your time you need to understand their situation first. Do a quick disco and then show them what they need to see, never give away the farm.

Another thing you risk doing by covering things that you don't need to go over is the prospect thinking you're too expensive because of all of the features they won't be using.

Sell me this pen: "It has blue ink, you twist it to open, the ink doesn't smear, oh and you can write upside down because it's a space pen."

Now all I'm thinking is that I have no need to write upside down. I'll be better off finding a different pen so as not to pay for features I'll never use.

CatMom

Politicker

Account Executive

Be human, authentic, and as honest as possible. The more you can get on their level, relate to them, and consult them - even if it means telling them your product/service isn't a good fit for them - good karma truly does come back around and they will remember you and remember having an amazing experience working with you! At the end of the day, I want to be able to feel good about what I did that day and go to sleep not feeling like a scum bag. It's always worked well for me. Might not get you a million dollars in sales in a couple of months and this isn't saying you cant be bold and take chances. Its just a good balance between being a good person and still performing well.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

Such a good sales mantra. I am all in for the "be yourself". I'm learning still on the 'tell them the truth' part. :')

BluecollarRep

Good Citizen

BDR (Business Development Rep)

Pick up a book titled: never split the difference by Chris Voss. Has great tips for all types of conversations but specifically negotiating. Also take an improv comedy class if you can, will unlock so many doors for you when it comes to easing the tension of awkward calls and conversation in and outside of work. Honestly it’s pretty helpful for almost any situation in life.

1st personal bit of advice, qualify for time. I do a lot of prospecting and qualifying leads in my current role. I truly believe that taking advantage of catching a DM at lunch or squeezing in a quick pitch after they expressed to you it’s not a good time will not help you over time. I always give them space call 1 sometimes even call 2 if it’s a cold call and I need to still qualify the business. I think it makes you stand out from everyone else trying to get their attention. Also gives you leverage to be more aggressive when asking for time calls 3 and beyond.

Labeling their pain is one of the best ways in my current role to really control the direction of the conversation. “It sounds like…” “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like…” “Im hearing…. Would you say this is true”

Also, always focus on getting the info you need from them to be able to push your product as a solution to their business needs intelligently.

“You can never compare yourself to anyone else but the person you were the day before.” -someone

I find this quote useful after dogshit days on the phone.

Best of luck
BCR

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

it's about them

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

Good one.

AnchorPoint

Politicker

Business Coach

Discovery is everything.

Telehealth_2the_Moon

Notable Contributor

Director of Business Development

My advice is to set you own goals and standards that you know will be helpful in being successful at your job, and then stick to them. This helps you have a process for when the pipeline is full and keeping you busy and at the same time keeps you moving forward when things dry up and motivation can be hard to come by.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

My org lacks a process for AEs. This has taken a hit on my ways of operating as well. So I am working to. create my own process, goals, expectations looking at other successful AEs.

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

Sales

Take highly detailed notes and confirm understanding by email.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

Sounds good! I take notes, but I will start confirming them through an email now on.

realname

Valued Contributor

Grocery Clerk

One of the first things I learned when studying communication theory was this:

Every message must be both sent and received, and everything that happens in between is interference.

- Language and culture barriers
- Background noise
- Poor connection
- Education level
- Emotion
- Disabilities

All that shit creates a filter for incoming communication and guarantees that what the receiver understands is rarely 100% of what the sender intended.

When money is on the line, clarity is ultra important.

Don’t assume that the buyer is totally understanding what you’re saying or vice versa.

Clarify, clarify, clarify. Nothing kills a deal like a misunderstanding.

AEjordy

never eradicate neediness.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Detach from the outcome, and focus on the process.

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ThatNewAE

What’s one sales hack / lesson you always hold on to?

24 comments

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