How Equifax's CRO Sells: We’re Not in the “Pretty Please” Business Anymore

Joy Wilder Lybeer entered sales in 2002, on advice from her preteen daughter.?

The story begins a few hours before their talk. At that point, Joy felt like she had “reached the pinnacle” of her career, leading strategy for SunTrust Bank.?

But on that fateful day, the SunTrust CEO invited Joy into his office. There, he asked her to lead the bank’s largest retail banking operation – effectively, a sales leadership role.?

She left his office stunned and unsure, as she never aspired to be in sales. Seeking counsel, that night she asked her 12-year-old daughter if she should switch careers.?

Her daughter’s blunt advice: “Mom, you're used to thinking up really big ideas. But now you need to learn how to act them out.”?

Those words hit Joy like a brick. The next day, she marched back into her CEO’s office and took the role.

Success has followed. Flash-forward two decades and Joy is the Chief Revenue Officer and SVP of Global Partnerships for Equifax, a $5-billion-a-year company.

More importantly, she loves what she does.?

“Once I tasted revenue, I never wanted to go back,” Joy said. “Owning the money, having responsibility for the P&L, and driving to a goal is what gets me going.”?

We saw that, as in our 40+ How I Sell interviews, few subjects showcased more passion than Joy. Let’s dive into the fundamentals that have made her so successful and the advice she has for anyone who’d like to match it.

1. What motives you each day, even when you aren't feeling it?

I think it boils down to my drive to win.

I’m really competitive. I strive for high performance. I also know that I can help other people achieve their best as well. I thrive when helping other people – and consumers, frankly – achieve their financial best.?

That drive to win and the ability I've developed through the years of helping people achieve beyond their current capabilities is super important to me.

2. What's your sales philosophy, in 3 sentences or less??

Instead of three sentences, I’ll give you three principles of our success triangle: clear, capable, and motivated.?

Sales teams must be clear on the vision and equipped with the competencies they need to be successful, which is the capable part.

Building off that, we must have a robust operating model, so those competencies are consistent. We don't need to run the place with a cookie cutter, but we need an operating model that we vigorously deploy. No freestyling.

Finally, I would say that value selling is not inconsistent with campaigning and sales targets. You must operate within a framework that allows for both, which keeps sellers motivated.

That’s how I run the place.

3.?How are you seeing buyers changing today, and how are you coaching your sellers to adapt to that change???

Let's just say I don't believe we're in the “pretty please” business anymore.?

Gone are the days when I could rely on my strong relationship with the buyer and convince them to buy my solutions and insights exclusively because of who I am.?

People still buy from people, yes. But we must be equipped with an ROI fact base that helps the buyer understand how they'll either save money or make money – almost to the point of being fiscally irresponsible if they don't move forward – with my solutions and insights.?

I'm also doing more coaching on the notion of relevance. Meaning, if you're digital IQ isn't higher than it was 18 months ago, you stand the chance of being less relevant than you need to be to be successful.

4.?What excites you most about the future of sales???

My CEO often uses the phrase, “We're just getting started.” At first, that kind of annoyed me honestly, because we're in Year 3 of a tech transformation and he keeps saying we're just getting started when in fact we want it to be over.?

But he's right about that. We're just getting started unlocking the value of a cloud environment and what is possible now with all the disruption and innovation that's happening in our space due to cloud technologies.

That is super exciting. And revenue officers, by the way, are excited too because that means more money and more revenue.?

5.?What's the best piece of sales advice you've ever?received??

I used to work for an individual named Scott Wilfong at SunTrust Bank. We were involved in a sales competition, and I marched into his office and said, “Based on the analytics and my pipeline, I just can't win the SunTrust Cup this year.”?

He picked me up by the proverbial lapels and said, “You know what — the facts do not count.” What he meant by that was I needed to stay on the field for as long as I had breath.

And no, we didn't win the SunTrust Cup that year. But guess what? We won it the next year.?

That taught me an important lesson about having a “never give up” mentality that still serves me and my teams very well. We just don't give up.

6.?What do you look for when hiring a salesperson???

Some people look for specific competencies or specific industry experience and some people look for raw talent. I would put myself in that latter category.

I look for athletes with raw talent, versus any specific domain expertise. I want natural problem solvers. People who find a way. People who are disciplined and driven to win.

And, of course, you must be open to constant learning. If you're not committed to learning something every day, it's not going to work out.

Lastly, you must be all about the team. Which is a unique characteristic for gunslingers, right??

People who are driven to be at the top of the sales domain, you might think they're all about themselves. But you must find those high performers who are all about the team.

7.??Is there any habit you have outside of work that you believe helps you perform better??

I approach my work and my personal life with the same joy, energy, and drive to help people.?

I'm generous with my life on purpose. That is a mantra in my personal life that I use in my work life as well.?

I've often said that I want to die empty, which means I don't want to have anything left. I want to have been so generous with my capabilities and my talents and my life that I don't have any regrets.?

8.?What has been your biggest failure in sales and how did that experience transform you???

I don't remember the exact failure, but I vividly remember the exact consequence my boss – Rudy – had for me.?

I messed up with an account back in my early days here at Equifax. In response, my boss transferred that account to someone else, but made me continue to hold the quota responsibility. So, he took away my opportunity to make it right and grow the relationship, but left me holding the bag.?

I think the moral of the story for me is that we must all be held accountable for our actions, and there must be consequences, both positive and negative, that drive performance.?

This isn't a hobby job. This isn't a family. There are accountabilities.

It's a community. Yes, we love the people we work with. But it is not a family because that implies unconditional participation and membership.?

This is a caring community of teammates where there are consequences, both positive and negative, for performance. And Rudy helped me remember that.

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