Key Traits to Look for in Elite Sales Reps | Andrew Johnston | Ep 275 (Lead)

FOUR ACTIONABLE LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS Designate specific people to cover very specific topics in the interview process so they can get really good at those core competencies. Leave the generic questions to another company. When you got them hooked, talk them out of it. If you can talk them out of it, they wouldn’t have worked out anyway. Sell early, grill after. Get someone to opt in by selling them on your goals and your mission. Then, gain their respect by grilling the heck out of them. Each step in the process should test for different dimensions of sales and should be handled by different people with that expertise. RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

25 Apr 202429min

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS If you feel like you have leverage in a deal, but haven't gotten in front of the right stakeholders to progress the deal, use that as a non-negotiable to begin negotiations Sit down and write down your own "Gives" and "Gets" that you can trade with your buyer during a sales cycle Someone liking your offering does not make them an effective champion, ask questions like "Is {title} aware of these conversations?" to test them When trying to get access to power use labelling statements like "I often hear {title} likes to weigh in, is that the same for you?" PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Account Executive @ Webflow Account Executive @ SafeGraph Account Executive @ Procore Technologies RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

23 Apr 202429min

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Start with a menu of pain: the 3 biggest problems that any given persona can face. Once you align on the problem, ask, “What’s prompting that need?”. You can start talking about solutions once you have an executive-level problem (e.g. down round, churn problem). Use individual contributors, like AEs, for inside intel on the organization. Then use their quotes on 1-2 slides when meeting with VP or CXO. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Enterprise Account Executive @ UserGems Enterprise+ Account Executive @ Outreach Enterprise Accounts, Financial Services @ Tableau Software Strategic Accounts @ PowerSchool RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

22 Apr 202430min

FOUR ACTIONABLE LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS Name and define your competencies Be extremely intentional about how you are going to interview those competencies. Get into the nitty gritty about how you are going to assess for work ethic. Test for traits like IQ, EQ, coachability, and work ethic earlier in the process as they are the hardest to teach. Industry domain expertise and even skills like prospecting are much easier to teach. Match sales cycle and sales environment. Don’t put an SMB rep into an enterprise role and don’t put an Oracle rep into the first sales hire role at a startup. RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

18 Apr 202422min

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Break into prospects when they are speaking at conferences. If you see somebody from the really-tough-to-break-into account speaking at a conference, go to their talk and sit in that talk. At the end, introduce yourself to the speaker and make a point of connection with them. Avoid name-dropping obscure customers. When you are prospecting into more sensitive industries, don't name-drop non-publicly referenceable customers. Your goal is to get into the talk-to folder. You want to be in that folder so that they know who to contact when something bad happens. Think creatively with your outreach. We are not just limited to emails and phone calls and DMs. Be present where they're coming together. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Strategic Enterprise Sales @ Rubrick, Inc. Strategic Enterprise Sales @ People.ai Enterprise Sales @ App Dynamics Enterprise Sales @ Xactly Corp RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

16 Apr 202433min

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Start your email with research personalization to stand out in the inbox (vs generic greeting). Quote the prospect/company directly by researching where the company is investing its money (e.g. in job postings, funding announcements). Use a more humanized approach when prospecting. Sharing something you both have in common in the P.S. is a great place to add a human touch. Reach out to your prospect immediately after they engage with your content - no need to wait for the next sequence step. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Senior Account Executive @ Salesloft Team Lead, Sales Development @ Integrate SDR @ Akkroo, an Integrate company Enterprise SDR @ PatSnap RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

15 Apr 202430min

FOUR ACTIONABLE LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS The best reps never ask the same question twice. Turn pressure to productivity. Our job as leaders isn’t to pass pressure; it’s to use pressure to get more out of our reps. Ask your reps, “I look forward to seeing how you answer that question.” Listen early, join late. Pre-prep and game planning will save you some time in the long run. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Manager, Commercial Sales @ Gong Mid-Market Account Executive @ Gong Senior Commercial Account Executive @ Gong Commercial Account Executive @ Gong RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal Want more Gong x 30MPC Content? Check out the Masterclass we filmed.

11 Apr 202431min

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS To learn about what’s going on in other parts of your organization, get on the email alias distribution lists. Build out your go team of people that you can rely on in legal, product, marketing, deal desk, etc. so that you’re never stuck trying to figure out how to get a function to help you with a deal. To determine the next steps and what’s important to a buyer, ask, “Say you’re evaluating a few technologies, and they’re similar. What are the things that make you pick one over the other?” When dealing with technical buyers, always under promise so you don't lose credibility. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Named Account Manager - Digital Natives UK @ Databricks Named Account Manager - Digital Natives @ Databricks Snr Manager, Commercial Sales, ANZ @ Databricks Enterprise Account Executive @ Databricks RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

9 Apr 202433min