Jim Brown: Why Sales People Need a Process to Profit

August 15, 2017

Just because you know your product doesn’t mean you can sell it

Stream below or right-click here to download the episode. 

Sandler Sales Tips you’ll learn in The Sales Podcast…

  • Former Marine turned sales trainer

  • Grew up poor, so he had to sell to have money for hot dogs with his buddies

  • Was a bookie since 7th grade

  • Talked his best friend’s dad into building a wrestling ring in his backyard

  • Got into the college of his dreams, but because they were poor, he joined the Marines

  • Took one company to Inc 58 status (from $1 million to $11 million in two years)

  • Grew Compendium and sold it to Oracle

  • Got too big for his own britches

  • Sought out to raise venture capital

    • Raised $1 million for a B2C app

    • It failed, and it crushed him

    • Didn’t pay himself for two years

  • The companies he interviewed all wanted a “good VP of Sales,” but they were dreamers

    • They thought they could raise money

    • They thought they could bypass the basics of sales training

    • He hit up five companies to train them, and all five took him up on it

  • 10 years ago, he had a Sandler trainer who gave him a sales process

  • He landed his five clients before he had the Sandler franchise

  • His sweet spot is technology companies with 2-10 salespeople in technology

  • There has been an explosion of software tech companies…but not salespeople

    • So they pay a lot of money to recruit these people

    • Or they recruit young college kids and try to train them

    • Product knowledge does not equal sales ability

  • Most companies are under-selling because you’re focusing on features vs. the pain of the customer

  • Stats show that content is free but only if the prospect knows the right questions to ask

  • When prospects meet a professional salesperson, they know it because they ask questions the prospect can’t answer

  • Give use cases

  • Negative Reverse Selling

    • Be skeptical

    • Talk you out of buying from me

  • Buyers will let a professional salesperson lead if you have a process

  • Buyers don’t know how to buy

  • Consumers are always wary of snake oil salesman

  • Technology companies all have a big button “Request a Demo”

    • Professional salespeople know they must learn something about them to do a proper demo

    • Consumers think they want a demo

  • How do you treat a competitor?

  • What do you say about competitors?

  • How do you negate a competitor without talking badly about them?

  • Turn on your video and have your prospects see you and you need to see them

  • Match their body language

  • Watch your tonality, so you don’t come across as condescending

  • Use your words carefully

  • Play the role of the dummy

  • Most sales managers believe they were hired to be a trainer, but they don’t have time

    • Product knowledge

    • Deal cycles

    • Etc

  • Sales reps are more open with an outside professional sales trainer

  • Most sales managers don’t believe they need help

  • Usually, the CEO of the company hires professional sales trainers

  • You need to understand your buyer profile

    • Acceptable clients

    • Typical clients

    • Ideal clients

    • Why would you tell each one “no”?

    • Tell the prospect that “at the end of this conversation I may have to tell you ‘no.’ Is that okay?”

    • Own why you would tell a prospect “no”

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