The_Sales_Badger

Account Executive

What skill or habit took your sales game to the next level?

Ive been doing a ton of research with top-reps, trying to determine what skills or habits took an average performer to the top.

What was the biggest change agent for you to go from zero to hero?

🎯 Career Development

💆‍♂ Mindset

💪 Motivation

57 comments

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HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

I learned the product front and back. I became their go to expert for questions and therefore they always started calling me first for opportunities, since they could trust me to find the right solution for the application.

ExtremeVibeChecker44

Arsonist

Inside Sales

This feels tough with really technical products. There's always more you could learn, and it can be a lot to keep in your head.

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

Agreed, I’ll never know everything. But I know enough to be dangerous. But if you can be knowledgeable about something highly technical , it’s a nice way to set yourself apart

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

I don't really think there was one or even two things. Honestly it was a list of things that I was doing before ever getting into sales that prepared me. Reading people skills books and having a mentor outside of work allowed me to be open to work with my manager and leaders to absorb the process.

anothersalesgiy

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

Any book recommendations?

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

There are so many threads in the search bar that might be better for you.

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

Becoming an expert in your field, not your product.

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

Industry knowledge is key. I agree, the product is important, but understanding the value your product brings to the industry you cover is mandatory for an effective sales cycle.
Thanks for sharing.

Coastal_crusher

Politicker

Sales Director

Preparation. Preparation. Preparation.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Yes! Totally agree. Simply cannot have enough information about an account or the people involved in a deal even in advance of speaking with them the first time. Then constantly updating and being ready for the next stage or step.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

But what about preparation 😏

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Seems like there should be some.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

working for a company with a good product, and working with a company with good leaders.
i know thats not EXACTLY what you are looking for but man those two things make a HUUUUGE difference in the success you can have

MaverickSF

Co-Founder, VP Sales and Marketing

☝️ this.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Curiosity. 🦊

starson

Good Citizen

Senior Sales Manager

Yes, yes and yes :-)

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

In short persistence for me

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

books on understanding human nature

anothersalesgiy

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

What’s your top book recommendation?

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

My top 3:

- 48 Laws of Power- Never Split The Difference
- The Art of Thinking Clearly

anothersalesgiy

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

🙏 have not read the last one. It’s now on my list

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

IDK, if I knew I would be doing it

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

That's fair. If you don't mind me asking - what skills or tools would you find beneficial to help your growth?

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Learning to actively listen.

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

what? jk jk - this is a huge one.
How were you able to make that change?

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

I’m still learning it.

AnchorPoint

Politicker

Business Coach

Understanding the importance of Discovery.

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

Good answer - Do you have a "go-to" discovery question that you use in every discovery?

Account Executive

Time management and... oh yeah... actually working my ass off and not just telling myself I do.

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

Doing the prep work, anyone can demo or ask basic questions but if you show prospects that you get their pain and can talk about it with them the conversation shift is incredible

Nairobi

Politicker

Knowing how to write a good email. Prospecting becomes easy once you know how to write emails.

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

I would LOVE for you to share more on this. Maybe a template.
Not to put you on the spot, I just think its worth sharing.

Nairobi

Politicker

All good, happy to share! I always keep my emails short and sweet. I have numerous templates because I’m always changing my emails, but my most successful template is something like this:

First line is personalized on something I saw about the company.

Second line is what my company can do to help them (related to my observation in my first line)

Third line, I name-drop a similar company or name their industry (i.e., fintech companies) get X results.

Are you interested in discussing this further?

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

@Nairobi- great stuff. Thank you for taking the time.

punishedlad

Tycoon

Business Development Team Lead

I like this question, but I can't really answer it. I think I've just become a much more well rounded sales person over the years and can't point to any one factor.
Persistence and good coaching from my manager has been huge. It's really important to not get discouraged when you have a down week/month/however the hell long.

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

In regards to coaching, has your manager steered your focus at something specific that’s proven successful??

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

Mindset shift from pitching to understanding. Feature dumping vs pain finding. Aggression vs empathy

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

Unfortunately it's the same approach as a start up. You have to have the work ethic to "work when you aren't working". That can mean studying the product, networking, building campaign material, follow up, etc. beyond just outreach. You also have to not be impacted by failure because you will fail often, no matter what.

ChumpChange

Politicker

Channel Manager

Outside of the usual "listen to what your customers are telling you" advice. I would say two questions have massively impacted my success.

"Are you married to __________?"

Easily tells you how committed they are to what they currently have. This is usually my... are they bullshitting or are they for real question. It just saves you so much time and energy.

" How would you like to proceed?"

A frictionless closing question that either wraps up the deal or brings to light any other blockers or concerns that were not previously identified.

I hope this helps y'all!

Hotlead

Politicker

Producer

Probably just my addiction to caffeine and nicotine

goose

Politicker

Sales Executive

Change agent?

ade

Contributor

AE (Account Executive)

Learning how to truly actively listen and not interrupt people when they’re talking was a game changer for me professionally.

Sales_Yoda

Sales Leader

Learning to quiet my mind and listen fully to what a prospect is saying (or not saying). Then, asking questions about what you heard and shutting up to listen. You learn nothing about the other person while you are talking.

senior sales executive

never stop believing and trusting the process of touches per day

AnchorPoint

Politicker

Business Coach

Increasing my understanding and skill of Discovery.

kittychachas

Valued Contributor

VP/Director of Sales

Patience and working as a partner with the client. Allow time to work as your friend and continue to develop the opportunity and deal size.

RandyLahey

Politicker

Account Executive

Product knowledge for me always led to great confidence on calls. Confidence leads to better structure, preparation and execution.

Groundskeep

Personal Narrative

Sales Development Representative

Now days. Being thoughtful and using your human qualities (improvising etc.) to clear the tech fog your prospect or customer gets. Being intention, thoughtful, mindful, curious.

Hotlead

Politicker

Producer

Staying up to date on industry changes has been key for me, it is constantly changing and if you are not up to date you will be left in the dust!

kneehigh

Politicker

Senior Enterprise AE

Doing the initial qualification correctly and getting as much data as possible to leverage further down the road in the sales process - really drilling down onto prospect pain points, requirements of the business, how they will evaluate the software, decision markers etc.

SaaSguy

Tycoon

Account Executive

1) Get technical, don't need to rely on SE's or anyone to get prospects quick answers. Builds a lot of respect between technical buyers and myself because they dont think im an idiot/order taker.
2)Explore every avenue on every opportunity - run through a checklist:-Do I have executive alignment?-Do we have a partner that can influence this in any way? etc.
3) Ive fallen out of the habit, need to get back to it but have a very thorough follow up process. If you speak to a team of 4 people, send an email after summarizing the conversation, next steps, and making sure they have had their questions answered or requests for documentation satisfied.
When I commit to doing these 3 things its hard for me to lose a deal.

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The_Sales_Badger

What skill or habit took your sales game to the next level?

57 comments

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