Sales Isn't Only About Skill and Will
Chris Taylor
Founder B2B Software GTM Consultancy | Operations Executive | Scaling Hyper-Growth | US Navy Veteran | Angel Investor
One positive about getting older is the way your life's experiences begin to establish predictable patterns in your mind. These patterns are incredibly useful in quickly (but wisely) assessing situations and coming up with appropriate responses. With enough experiences and awareness, we get much better at pattern matching than our younger selves. At least it should work that way.
All of this to say that there's a pattern that I've struggled to understand for as long as I can remember (and, critically, this is cornerstone to what my company does). My question has been this: "What separates the best, most consistent sellers from the rest?" I've come up with a kaleidoscope of possible answers over the years and that's the problem; improving the go to market motion, and sales in particular, requires a clear, actionable opinion on this.
I've settled on my view and it is a market-driven one and goes like this: Money doesn't come easily and no one wants to give money away without a clear return. Logically, best return on investment is where the highest compensated work is found. But that work doesn't come easily and is the most selective in choosing it's people (or at least should be). I think company founders and great political leaders are in this bucket but also great sellers. These are, without a doubt, highly capable people. Then the question becomes, "What traits makes these people more capable and thus more successful?"
What Makes Highly Capable People?
Here it goes; the most competitive people, especially in sales, are the ones who exhibit three characteristics:
Of course, skill and will have long been part of the discussion in sales. We train people on the work and we carefully track their activity levels. Still, deals fall into the abyss because for all of the knowledge and activity, people are either more or less effective at convincing other people to take an action toward an outcome. Success in sales is getting people to act and that requires a consistent drive to compel people toward a favorable outcome in a deal.
When outcomes are added to the mix, the equation changes. No longer are you looking just for smart and hard working folks, but also for people who talk to and have references that can attest to the ability to be:
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Imagine your seller interview process/reference checks with this added line of questioning. You might find fewer candidates can pass the bar, but you'll also have fewer regrettable hires.
Great sellers are hard to find because these skills in combination are in very short supply.
Enterprise PMO Project Support Manager & Process Improvement Manager at UPS
8 个月Hi Chris! Great article!
Provide GTM Teams w/ Account & Executive Insight to Drive Growth
8 个月Great article, Chris. Agree on all points.
Enterprise Account Executive with experience working on large initiatives that span across client teams and in partnering with ecosystem partners like GSI's, hyperscalers, technology alliance partners and resellers.
9 个月Great insights Chris! I think you've hit on a big part of the Sales role. That is keeping client contacts and partners focused on achieving an outcome sooner rather than later. Clients are very distracted with lots of simultaneous initiatives, internal org changes and other distractions. It takes a lot of effort to keep them focused on seeing an initiative through to completion.
Chief Revenue Officer | Experienced Senior GTM Leader | Climatech Executive
9 个月Love the thinking here, Chris. The line that resonated most with me is "convincing other people to take an action toward an outcome." I often tell my teams, who can be anxious to please prospects and give them everything they ask for, to ensure you're getting something - even if it's really small - at the end of every interaction. This "give-get", forms the basis for establishing mutual trust between a seller and a prospect, and gives you a chance to form a mutual action plan to "create an outcome." If a prospect won't return your "gives" with their own, it's good to question whether they are really interested in buying or they are just kicking the tires. The more mutual trust is established, the more likely the prospect is to be a willing participant in a mutual action plan and the more likely they are to be an outstanding customer and advocate in the long run. Kuddos on another great post!
Financial Services Technology Leader / Regional Sales Director Databricks / Board Member
9 个月Creating and directing an outcome with timelines for mutual benefit is everything! And you can't do it without trust. So often these days Enterprise sales at many companies are swapping teams in and out as they double down for growth - but this jeopardizes the human "super-size" factor that drives deeper/larger partnerships faster. Great read Chris Taylor!