“Ask for permission” companies place the solution to customer problems in the heart of a red taped jungle And since their employees don’t want to get buried, lost in the brush, contract malaria, and/or get mauled by a tiger, few attempt to solve real problems. Better to be an “ask for forgiveness” company that empowers actual problem solving. There will be errors of exuberance- the sales guy offered too much, the CSR gave too big a credit, etc…. But the net trade-off is worth it.

She is correct I work for a fortune 200 company and have hired 4 reps with no sales experience. All have perfect quota records Sales is the most obvious expression of an ability to influence, but it’s not the only one Coaches, event planners, police, teachers, etc. all have it If your candidate’s job is to get people to behave differently than they otherwise would, they are a viable sales prospect. It’s all about influence From there it’s just a matter of the level at which they influenced and for how long. It really is that simple

While we are on this topic, here’s a disturbing trend I’ve noticed about female breadwinners. As I’ve said before, I work for a company that puts a premium on its salespeople. The average rep on my team will make 300K+. My top performer will make over 1M. I’ve been here for 14 years. Every year I hear about various employees going through divorce. Seen it at least 15 times, maybe more. Always sad In 14/15 instances I’ve observed, it’s a female employee who is out-earning her husband. I know correlation is not causation, but dang. I’m not anti-women in the workplace. I’ve hired several women & they are all great. I also know it’s hard to be a sole breadwinner these days. Stuff is expensive. But this trend does seem to speak to the reality of traditional gender roles with men as the primary breadwinners being a family’s best shot at thriving.

Great questions to ask in an interview. I would add: -Whats your competitive advantage? -What is the average tenure for reps? -What do customers complain about the most? -What kind of activity metrics do you track? -What is your culture like? -What about this business keeps you up at night?

🎯🎯🎯 If you are in a sales interview process that requires any sort of role play or sales scenario, SPIN Selling is your Bible If you study & apply the SPIN framework and still bomb the interview, you probably need to be wearing a helmet Makes it almost too easy

Nice job holding price Most reps don’t understand procurement is usually evaluated on how much $$ they save. Which is why, in addition to using these tactics, reps should anchor price higher than they intend to sell. My team uses this strategy to insulate themselves from price increases in long deal cycles. When we eventually come down to intended selling price, we make procurement look good They get to feel like they are tough negotiators & be heroes to their org Almost every time, it’s not about what you do for people- it’s about how you make them feel.

Trade show vet here Look at it like this- you can go out in the wild and see all the animals, or you can just go to the zoo. If you find the right trade show, you are in the zoo. First understand who is going to be there. Call other vendors tangential to your space (not direct competitors obviously) and see if the show is worth it first. See if the attendees are actual decision makers, end users, or just ppl who work at the companies you sell to. Last thing you want is a grown up trick or treating situation where attendees just take your candies and pens Have a goal in mind- even if you only make one contact, if it’s the right one the whole show could be worth it. Also understand this is about sowing value into the market. It’s a long game. Bring a squad. Multiple people means some can work the room while the others man the booth. Highly recommend this approach Make sure whoever you bring is unencumbered by other work. Very common to see reps doing admin while customers walk on by Also make sure you bring salespeople, not just marketing. You need people who have direct incentives to be there. Plus marketing needs to hear how sales asks questions & pitches Lastly, and maybe most importantly- make it fun This is where you can get your people together, build team, culture, etc. Also a great way to connect with your org if you are a leader. When your ppl are enjoying themselves, it creates a type of halo effect with customers. They naturally flock to you So you may not get a direct sale from the show but if you do the above you have: -gotten in front of your audience in person, establish the brand -create leads, contacts, or something that could lead to future opportunities -had a good time with your team Context is king obviously but in general highly recommend trade shows

Had a rep ask me one time if he should put "MBA" in his email signature. My answer was "absolutely not" Had another rep make a huge amount of money, then buy a $100K Porsche, which he drove to visit customers. I told him to quit driving it to accounts. Either sell it or buy another more modest vehicle. Another rep wear his $20K Rolex on customer visits. I told him to leave it at home going forward. Why? It's not because those things are inherently bad. It's not wrong to have nice things But we sell products to first responders The first responder is a servant. They are humble & modest. They are no nonsense. Authenticity & materialism are opposites in their view. Flashiness will do nothing for them but make them feel alienated. The best salespeople are the ideal reflection of their call point. The way they carry themselves & behave says "I'm one of you, but I'm the best version of you." They will dress like the customer, but maybe 10-15% nicer. They are the person who relates to the call point, but their goal is to elevate their thinking, with the endgame of influencing their behavior. Projecting status to your customers is a trap that I've seen many fall into. You gotta meet them where they are and help bring them up, because at the end of the day they are supposed to have the solution

I’ve interviewed hundreds for sales roles The most telling part to me is the questions the candidate asks at the end. Posted some of my favorites below, but there are bad ones Here’s the worst questions to ask: -What’s your training like? -How much money will I make? -What is the specific geography or accounts I’ll cover? -How do I get your job?

Sign of a good company: they have a culture that favors action over permission

This is the #1 reason interviews don't go well, esp sales interviews Long winded answers prevent the interviewer from getting through all the questions. Why should I hire someone who doesnt allow me to get to know them? Also signals low awareness, self importance, and/or thoughtlessness. Ironically, the longer the answer, the lower the probability they actually even answered the question at all. Been a part of 300+ sales interviews. Not once did I or any other hiring manager get upset with a candidate for being too brief. The candidate who has learned to simplify the message is the one who wins

Anyone looking to get a sales job should follow @BowTiedCocoon. One of my favorite follows as a hiring manager of sales reps, even though I work in Medtech & not Tech sales This thread reminds me of a candidate I had for an Account Manager opening (AM = Medtech’s AE) She was a slam dunk. Internal transfer. Proven in her business. Beloved by her teammates & customers. Her story for why she wanted to transfer even made a lot of sense- she was pregnant & this job was more mom friendly than her current rigid OR-based job. My team all loved her & so did I. Everything checked out, so I fast tracked her through the process. Then she interviewed with our VP of sales. Final step. The VP asked her why she wanted to leave her current business. She gave her mom-based reasoning, but added something new we had never heard before: “Also I disagreed with the strategic vision of the marketing and portfolio team” And just like that all her momentum in the interview process hit a brick wall. The VP called me after the interview & was a hard pass. I called her to give her the bad news… there was much weeping/gnashing of teeth. Now she was alienated in her current job (who wants a rep who’s actively trying to leave?) as well as our business. And it literally all came down to those 13 words But he was right Salespeople are not here to question the strategic vision of the business. They are here to sell. They are the front line representatives of the business to the customer. And she just revealed that she thinks what the business is doing is stupid. Maybe she just had a candid moment, but we can’t take that chance. Would you? If she’s willing to voice her disagreement to a VP, who’s to say she won’t do the same to customers? How does it help a VP of sales to have reps in his org that could be willing to criticize the company in front of the customer? Note- he didn’t ask her “what’s one thing you would change about your business?” (Even that question should be answered with extreme caution). He just asked “why are you trying to transfer?” Leaders at the VP level want reps that will add value, demonstrate resourcefulness, & assimilate to the culture & vision of the business. Ultimately it’s about trust…this is where she blew it. Do not mess this part up, because if you do it’s impossible to recover.

Biggest mistake new sales managers make is acting like they are reps still They have all this energy & activity that made them successful as individual contributors. But it backfires almost every time in the manager role when the reps feel absolutely suffocated Less is more

@VPBigCatCorp_ You’re a credit to the organization

It kinda blows my mind how common this indirect approach is. Sales isn’t some Jedi mind trick where the customer says yes without you ever having to ask.

@BowTiedSalesGuy this is why selling door to door was so hard - you quite literally are in someone else's house

He gets it How to manage up: -get them everything they asked you for on time or early (this is a big one that so many sales reps miss) -be resourceful & solve problems -help your teammates, don’t be a lone wolf -don’t get customer complaints -don’t get internal complaints Outside of hitting quota, this is the best way to career longevity

AI isn’t going to replace sales people- the salespeople who are skilled with AI will replace salespeople

Papa bear nails it here Think about how much you deceive yourself internally every day, with thoughts like- I’m focused on the right things I’m doing my best work This is the only way to solve my problem What if you had someone to challenge you? If you were healthy & honest, wouldn’t you be grateful? Why should customer interactions be any different? I recommend using his exact lines, however if you are scared it’s too confrontational, try these 2 slight tweaks: 1. Add a question: “I don’t believe that, do you?” “It seems like there’s more to the story, am I wrong?” “I’m not convinced, can you understand why?” 2. Get your fear out of the way: “Please forgive my skepticism, but I’m not sure I believe that” “I don’t want to come across untrusting here, but I think there’s more to the story” “I want to be honest with you without sounding combative, but I’m just not convinced” You have to pressure test customer answers before you can allow yourself to believe them. Chances are they don’t even believe them