The Sales Evangelist: Sales Training|Speaking|Business Marketing|Donald Kelly

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host Donald Kelly goes into three changes he’ll make going into 2023. These three changes will help YOU to make more sales and perfect your craft as a seller. The first major change of 2023: The first upcoming change is a slight shift in branding. The podcast’s name, logo, and design will ALL remain the same. However, there will be a slight shift in branding as well as the podcast’s cover. The second major change of 2023: The second major change coming up will be the podcast emphasizing the PIPELINE, both building your pipeline and converting sales from your pipeline. The third, and final, change of 2023: The final change you can expect to see is the shift in the community. In the past, we’ve promoted our Facebook and LinkedIn communities, but those platforms will be taking a backseat. Instead, TSE is going to promote its community on a new platform called Circle.so. How do these changes help you as a seller? Learning to build a pipeline and close a pipel

Going into 2023, with a changing business landscape, buyers are looking for something DIFFERENT. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly goes into what buyers are now looking for, and how you can meet their needs. What are buyers looking for in the upcoming year? According to the State of Sales, from Salesforce, 57% of buyers prefer engaging with companies and sellers through digital means. Along with preferring digital communication, buyers have also said that they prefer YOU to go where THEY are. You have to appear wherever your buyers are, whether that’s on social media or platforms like YouTube. How to take advantage of this knowledge and meet buyers’ wants: Since buyers are actively WANTING to talk to your company through digital means, provide SOME WAY for them to actually talk to you digitally. Platforms like LinkedIn are perfect for this. But beyond LinkedIn, you can also use social media platforms to communicate and market to buyers. UTILIZE A DSR. A DSR, or digital salesroom, is

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly discusses why 2023 will be a difficult year for sellers. He also discusses how, despite the upcoming challenge, how you as a seller can continue to succeed in your field. What exactly is going to be different about 2023? Ever since the pandemic, inflation rates and the general cost of living have STEADILY increased. This makes people far, FAR more hesitant to actually spend money. Why should someone buy your product or service when money is already tight? Alongside higher inflation rates, the feds have also hiked up interest rates to curb inflation. Since there are higher interest rates, people are less likely actually to borrow money. This means that businesses will be slower to grow. Here are some quick facts, from Donald’s personal experience and the State of Sales report: 69% of sellers are saying that selling is actually becoming HARDER for them. 92% of sellers claimed that they’ve had to start using a NEW method of selling their product or serv

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly meets with Paul Owen, the owner of Sales Talent, to discuss the importance of planning when it comes to sales, and why all salespeople should have some sort of a plan to maximize their performance. The importance of planning in the world of sales: Many salespeople will go into a deal without a plan in mind. Instead, they simply rely on their past experiences and instincts. This CAN work in some instances, but having a plan is always better. When you approach each sale with a structure in mind, you can replicate success more reliably. Instead of winging it and simply having one-off successes, a plan gives you the framework and tools you need to consistently make a profit. Why don’t salespeople utilize planning more? A lot of salespeople believe that going off of a plan is too RESTRICTIVE. One big misconception sellers have is that sales are too dynamic and unique to utilize one sales plan. Sales are unique, yes, but they still have some commonalities.

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald talks to the owner of 1 Call Closers, Richard Mugica, about the top three issues sellers face when finalizing a sale, and how you can overcome them to help increase your sales to potential buyers. The top three challenges sellers face when finalizing a sale: The first challenge that sellers face is focusing on the SCIENCE of closing, instead of the ART of closing. The second biggest challenge that sellers face is being too nervous.  The third challenge that plagues sellers is focusing too much on handling objections and not enough on rapport building, or the discovery phase. What these three challenges actually mean, and how you can overcome them: The science of closing is the script you read, the words you use to help finalize a sale and close the deal. The ART of closing, however, is the WAY you say those words. The art of closing lets you connect with your client and build trust in your product or service. Mastering the art of sales is critical for beco

Video can be a crucial part of the sales process. People love stories. Video is a great way to share your service or products story. Chad Laken joins Donald today on how to utilize videos throughout the whole sales process. Video is powerful Video can be daunting and somewhat intimidating. Using video in emailing a prospect adds a deeper touch. It takes 8-12 touchpoints. Video expands your ability to build trust. Individualize your video for a stronger impact. Your video is a great way to introduce you and your company to all decision makers. Personalization at the top of the sales funnel. Create helpful content for your prospects Developing the business relationship with video will launch you further than the funnel. Rinse and repeat your bank of video content. Make a video answering commonly asked questions from your prospects. 95% of retention is increased when you use a video. Top use cases to utilize video Put context to your video to make a lastly impression Send a video when you are being ghosted

Thinking like a strategist when selling to corporate deals will get you to the closing table. The order taking days are gone! Donald chats today with Douglas Cole who is a sales leader at LinkedIn, an advisor with start-up accelerators in North America, and a part-time university lecturer at The Rotman School of Management and The Schulich Executive Education Centre in Toronto. Author of The Sales MBA. Dominant Themes in the Sales Process Sales Strategist - the company's competitive position and its market facing position. Change Agent – the organizational dynamics, happening within the company, at any given time. Decision Architect – interpersonal (human psychology) and how that affects your interactions with that prospect. Strategist: Precise understanding of where this company competes and how do they win. Being able to make the connection between your product and how it benefits your prospect. Research is critical to be able to have these conversations. Change Agent: Being able to find the catalyst t

More than 50% of the workforce are millennials. Millennials are now the predominant decision-makers in B2B purchasing decisions. Tom Burton, author of The Revenue Zone joins Donald to discuss the top three rules for effectively selling to millennials.  Change is Inevitable  Younger buyers have no tolerance for the traditional B2B model. They want to do their own research and control their buying journey. Preference is to avoid talking to salespeople. 80% more millennials are likely to buy if the sales process is consultative.     The Three Rules The mindset of a salesperson needs to be different. The buyer wants to be in control of their journey. Today’s salesperson needs to be flexible. Make your content accessible to your buyer – (non-gated). Create relevant content that is frictionless. Enable the buyer experience to be guided step-by-step. Takeaways Confused prospects don’t become buyers. Answer the first questions of your prospect of what is the value proposition. Share the recommended journey. Buye

Relationships are important Doing business in Europe has some similar characteristics to doing business in the United States. Data privacy is one of the critical aspects of doing business effectively. Need to understand the payment platforms and the rules. Sensitive to the borders and cultures. Getting down to business is totally acceptable – don’t be offended. What to be aware of in selling to Europeans You have to be GDPR compliant to avoid a deal going south. Germany is extremely strict on GDPR. Navigating the potential language barriers of each country takes research. Consider investing in salespeople that can speak the language of the country you are prospecting too. Being aware of slang and how that can impact your ability to communicate. Stay aware of how the currencies rates are changing from day-to-day. Messenger tools are valuable in assisting your sales efforts Apps that have the ability to translate your marketing campaigns are key to your success. WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber are some powerf

Problems facing salespeople today Salespeople are struggling to make sales quota more today than ever.  Technology isn’t necessarily closing more deals.  Training is more focused today on tactics. Sales strategy needs to be the focus. Sales system to fill the gap Being willing to call an audible when in your sales process - being willing to adapt. Great quarterbacks do this. Changing your pitch based on who you are selling to. Pro-baseball pitchers do this. Taking time to be prepared before the call. Consider Pro-golfers. Identify the persona of your prospect. Focus on the value to your prospect What’s important to the prospect you are talking to at the moment? Map your strategy to the strategic growth objectives of your customer.  Align your product to the needs. Focus on the value and how you meet it. Go to the website of your customer to find how to align your offering. “Sales can be fun if you make it about strategy and you know how to deliver value to your buyers” – John Stopper     Check out John

On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald speaks with professional speaker, author, and sales trainer, Paul Reilly. They discuss Paul's book “Selling Through Tough Times”, how to thrive through a downturn, and 6 steps to staying mentally strong.  A “Tough Timer” mindset A tough-timer mindset is about finding the opportunity in a struggle, being steadfast, and staying humble.  During tough times, progress is more important than performance. When you are facing tough times you need to continue to progress toward your goal, this will help you to stay motivated.  Daily mental flex Paul has developed six steps to help you stay mentally strong.  Gratitude Continuous improvement Self-discipline Positive reframing Pruning negativity and planting positivity Make success easier tomorrow by taking action today Anyone can utilize these six steps no matter how much experience you have as a seller.  What do buyers think during tough times? Customers buy differently during tough times and you need to understan

On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald talks with the head of sales at Transcend, Mike Orlick. They discuss the importance of use cases, how to effectively utilize them, and how to better provide value to your clients.  What is a use case and how do you utilize it?? A use case comes down to the business outcome and what they mean for your client.  Mike suggests getting quotes from previous clients who have had success with your product and then target similar individuals in your ICP. This helps to validate your product.  You can utilize use cases when new protocols impact your industry. When you understand a prospect's situation they are more likely to trust you with a solution.  Become an investigator and problem solver You get into enterprise sales by going deep and helping companies improve their business.  When you join an organization who has already started to prove use cases, you can go in with a use case and become a trusted advisor to a company by asking the right questions and truly w

On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly, talks with Matt Dixon about how top performers overcome customer indecision. At the beginning of the pandemic, sales went entirely virtual overnight. Matt, and his team, studied 2.5 million recorded sales calls to answer the questions: what possesses a customer to go through an entire sales process and then not follow through, and what do the best salespeople do to avoid that happening to them? The answer is the JOLT effect. What do most salespeople do when customers get cold feet? Many salespeople are taught that the reason this happens is that you haven’t beaten their status quo.  They dial up the FOMO. Matt found that this increases the odds that the customer will do nothing.  Two reasons that the deal could be lost to no decision The customer still feels the pull of the status quo and they believe what they are currently doing is good enough. They don’t see that switching to your product is a better alternative.  They are indecisive ab

Right now, more so than ever, it is critical for salespeople to learn how to navigate in a tight economy. On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly, talks with the co-founder of DocSend, Russ Heddleston, about how to listen more, use the prospect's language, and how do ONE thing well for them.  Why won’t order-takers survive in a tight economy? Over the last few years, more and more order-taking roles are being pushed to automation. The role of the salesperson is changing because of the amount of competition and vendors. What can we do? Be curious and listen more Your first job is to listen and understand why you are having a conversation and how you can help your customer.  Look up who you are talking to ahead of time. Russ says that very few of the salespeople he talks to have done their research ahead of time.  The process will move faster if you are more patient on your first calls.  Bridge the gap between value and the company's goals Companies have been through the ringer i

If you are a BDR, SDR, or AE you are going to benefit from today’s podcast. In today’s show, Donald talks with Jenner Smith about three ways to train and ramp your team in half the time.  What problems arise when training a sales team? Productivity. Jennifer says that it is all about spending as much time as possible doing the thing that drives the most impact.  Scale yourself Scaling yourself is all about figuring out the core things you are good at and spending as much time on them. Take the other tasks that are filling your time and reduce them, automate them, or delegate them.  Jennifer challenges you to track how many interruptions you have and the time you spend doing various tasks on an average day. They add up.  Get people the things they need Get information to the right people at the right time so that they can be effective with their time. Scale your best rep Have your best reps, the folks who have been there a while and know what they are doing, record how they do what they do.  Share t

On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald talks with Greg Nutter about three critical pillars of effective selling. Greg has been a consultant for 17 years and is the author of his book P3 Selling.  Three areas that B2B salespeople need to understand   Problem   Understand the problem, influence the perception of those problems, and message back to those problems about how well their solution addresses it.  Greg sees salespeople constantly talking about the product. Without the context of the problem, a customer wanting to solve any discussion around product features makes no sense.  Businesses don’t buy products, they buy solutions to problems.  How can you identify the problem? Ask questions to your customers.   People   Understand who is impacted by those problems, their perspective, and their decision influence.  Over the last 10 years, we have gone from 3 or 4 people involved in a B2B purchase, to 10 to 15. Try to understand everyone's perspective so that you can message them.  “The race doe

The sales process seems to be getting more difficult and if you don’t know what you are doing it can be scary. On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald talks with salespeople Ari and Kristen about how to overcome the fear of cold calling.  What makes cold calling scary? No being prepared to have conversations with high-level executives and to overcome their objections. If you learn what the prospect is selling and who they are selling to you will have a better chance. The fear of sounding stupid. If you haven’t done your research you will sound like you don’t know what you are talking about. The conversation will be more organic and authentic if you have done research beforehand.  The fear of hearing no. Once you accept that a majority of the people you call are going to say no, it is easier to handle it. Reframe your thinking and realize that the prospects who say no aren’t the ones you are looking for.  How do you effectively do research and still maintain volume? As you get better at research,