The Sales Polish Podcast: Recent Episodes
Arlina Allen
Hungry to close more deals and advance your high tech sales career? Then you are in the right place with http://SalesPolish.com. Arlina Allen interviews top sales performers in the high tech industry. These are the people who are consistently in the top 20%. Discover selling secrets straight from the highest producers who are currently crushing it. The goal from these interviews is to deconstruct world class sales professionals and reveal daily habits, lessons learned, and practical strategies that you can implement TODAY.
In this episode, I speak with Ryan Stewman about how he got his start in sales and how he went from a cellblock to the penthouse. Ryan has created a very unique brand that not only educates and helps sales people make more money, but he also has a lot of fun doing it.
Highlights of this conversation include:
- Finishing What You Start
- How To Write Viral Blog Posts
- Building A Facebook Page with 50K Active Members
How to Listen:
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
For more resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com
I hope you enjoy the podcast. And don’t forget to subscribe and share! 😉
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen
Highlights: How to Gain Trust, The Two "Perfect Close" Questions, and His 10M Big Win Story
James Muir is best selling author of "The Perfect Close", Sales Trainer, Coach and VP at NextGen Healthcare.
In this conversation, James goes over some of the most simply brilliant questions I've ever heard, I can't believe I haven't thought of them already! He has such a great way about him that naturally makes you trust him and want to work with him. We go into detail about his book, the methods of establishing trust and winning the big deals.
James also shares some insights and practical strategies including:
- How to adopt the Right Mindset
- The Critical Advance
- How To Set Call Objectives
I am very grateful to James for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to share his experiences and success so that we can improve our sales skills and careers. I sincerely hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
You can reach out to James here: http://puremuir.com/
To your success,
Arlina Allen
David Hoffeld - CEO of The Hoffeld Group and Best Selling Author "The Science of Selling"
The Revolutionary Sales Approach Scientifically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Sales and Business Success
In today’s fiercely competitive marketplace you can’t afford to lose sales that should be yours. But with so much conflicting advice from self-proclaimed “gurus,” how do you know which sales strategies actually work?
Leading sales trainer, researcher and CEO of Hoffeld Group, David Hoffeld, has the answer. Blending cutting-edge research in social psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics, The Science of Selling shows you how to align the way you sell with how our brains naturally form buying decisions, dramatically increasing your ability to earn more sales. Unlike other sales books, which primarily rely on anecdotal evidence and unproven advice, Hoffeld’s evidence-based approach connects the dots between science and situations salespeople and business leaders face every day to help you consistently succeed, including proven ways to:
- Engage buyers’ emotions to increase their receptiveness to you and your ideas
- Ask questions that line up with how the brain discloses information
- Lock in the incremental commitments that lead to a sale
- Create positive influence and reduce the sway of competitors
- Discover the underlying causes of objections and neutralize them
- Guide buyers through the necessary mental steps to make purchasing decisions
Packed with advice and anecdotes, The Science of Selling is an essential resource for anyone looking to succeed in today's cutthroat selling environment, advance their business goals, or boost their ability to influence others.
Julia Kline - Author "Heal Your Sales Wounds" sales, sales training, high tech sales, marketing What are Sales Wounds™? Sales Wounds™ are the fears & self-limiting beliefs that we all hold deep down inside that prevent us from selling more of our products and services, earning more money and growing our businesses. They’ve been inflicted on us by our parents, our culture and our own experiences both as consumers and as salespeople or business owners ourselves. The good news is that Sales Wounds™ are easy to heal, once you know you have them! What follows is a description of the 6 primary Sales Wounds™, along with links to help you figure out which ones you’re suffering from most & steps to take to immediately begin to heal them. Keep in mind that while you often suffer from more than one of the Wounds, there’s always one Wound that is your primary blockage or obstacle. IF YOU ARE NOT MAKING WHAT YOU THINK YOU SHOULD, THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU. Julia Kline Is an accomplished Sales Professional, Sales Coach, Speaker and Author. Julia has helped many sales reps reach their goals by utilizing specific mindset coaching and by removing the real obstacles to success—namely, the ones inside yourself. Her motto is, “Increase sales by increasing your authenticity.” ALBERT EINSTEIN SAID: A PROBLEM CAN’T BE SOLVED WITH THE MIND THAT CREATED IT. Review your thinking process with someone who knows how to get results. In this conversation, Julia shares some great stories of success and her new book “Heal Your Sales Wounds”. From our conversation, I can see how she helps to identify the hidden internal conflicts we all have and what to do about them so we can experience the feelings of success we are all working so hard for. Julia also shares some practical strategies to healing "sales wounds" which have their roots in fears like: The Money Wound™ … is the fear that no matter what you do, money will always be your enemy. The Love & Money Wound™ is the fear that you can’t have both money and love, freely and in abundance. The Selling Wound™ is the fear that successful sales requires you to be obnoxious, pushy and rude. And many more! I found this to be very insightful and helpful to unlocking potential that is hiding behind unconscious fears. Thank you to Julia Kline for being so generous with insights and strategy to help us all convert authentic connection into life changing events. QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments. Scroll down for show notes… I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe and share ;) Happy Selling, Arlina Allen How to get in contact with Julia Kline: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakline/ Twitter – @Julia_Kline Website – bit.ly/2gPHDhD Resources: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sleaze-Free Selling: The 3-Step Sales Formula for Growing Your Business ... Without Being Obnoxious, Pushy or Rude - http://amzn.to/2l0EfQE
Stu Heinecke - Best Selling Author "How To Get A Meeting with Anyone"
Stu Heinecke Is a Wall Street Journal cartoonist, Hall of Fame-nominated marketer, best-selling author of "How To Get A Meeting with Anyone" and President of CartoonLink, Inc.d/b/a "Contact." Dedicated to producing unfair advantages for B2B clients using "Contact Marketing," a fusion of marketing and sales that supports Account Based Marketing strategies by enabling reps connect with virtually anyone.
In this conversation, Stu shares some great stories of success he has had over the years in sales and marketing, by infusing humor to his unique method of marketing and prospecting.
Patrick also shares some practical strategies including:
- How to turn an adversarial gate keeper into your co-conspirator
- Create instant report with Executive Assistants
- How to use contact marketing to change the scale of your career
If you only have 5 minutes, this is a must hear: *[23:00] By far, the 2 best times to email & 2 best times to call the CEO
Thank you to Stu Heinecke for being so generous with insights and strategy to help us all convert authentic connection into life changing events.
- QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
- Scroll down for show notes…
I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!
Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen
How to get in contact with Stu Heinecke:
LinkedIn – Stu Heinecke https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuheinecke
Twitter – @bystuheinecke
Email – stuheinecke@gmail.com
Resources:
Contact Marketing Radio - http://contactmarketing.podbean.com
x.ai - AI Personal Assistant - https://x.ai
For more resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com
“The Power of Contact Marketing 30 Day Challenge” http://nasp.com/program/power-of-contact-marketing
Show notes:
[2:25] Stu’s big win story
[6:45] Infusing your unique skill to break through the noise
[8:30] What you do when you only have a few acct
[11:00] How to team up with the Executive Assistants
[12:45] Best opener I’ve ever heard and how to use “Contact”
[21:00] 100% response rates, 75% meeting rates
*[23:00] By far, the 2 best times to email & 2 best times to call the CEO
[27:00] Why not to offer coffee and ask “Can I pick your brain?”
[29:30] “The Power of Contact Marketing” Training with Rod Harrison, CEO NASP – National Association of Sales Professionals http://nasp.com/
[32:45] AI Assistant - x.ai – Meet Amy - Your personal AI scheduling assistant
[35:00] Contact Marketing Radio Show – Available on iTunes Hosted by Stu Heinecke
Justin Barney is the President & CEO of ScaleArc, a startup in Silicon Valley that was recently included in the Top 10 Hot Big Data Startups to watch by CIO.com. He is also an investor and advisor to other technology based start ups. Justin shares his experiences from when he was a sales rep, including how he closed an 8 figure deal with Google, and his experiences dealing with sales reps since his move to the CEO role.
In this conversation Justin goes into depth about the dilemma that sales reps face today in this economy of competitive compensation plans, high expectations to make money and the high OTEs offered by public companies. He talks about some of the consequences of pulling the rip cord too soon and the HUGE commissions he would have gladly paid out.
Justin also shares some insights and practical strategies including:
- What CEO’s are looking for in an interview & what questions to ask (and not ask)
- What you should look for in a start up
- How to make the jump from Inside Sale Rep to Outside Field Rep
If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear: *[23:15] Interviewing with the CEO
I am very grateful to Justin for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to share his experiences and success so that we can improve our sales skills and careers. I sincerely hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
- QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
- Scroll down for show notes...
I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!
Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen
Show notes:
[2:05] Big win story – Google, from $200K to $19M
[6:25] Selling into Google
[8:15] How Justin came up through the ranks & what makes a good sales rep
[11:20] What a sales centered start up coulter looks like
[12:30] The challenge of holding onto talented sales reps
[16:00] $350K in unpaid commissions – Why he would rather pay it
[18:00] Go forward strategy & things a rep should look for
*[23:15] Interviewing with the CEO
[34:30] What happens after the interview
[37:10] Advise to those who want to make the jump to a field role
008 Amy Rueda - A $400K Deal, Mentorship, and Reaching the C-level In this episode, I speak with Amy Rueda about how she got her start in sales, how she moved into a field role and some of her most value lessons learned along her career path. Over her 23 year career in sales, Amy has achieved many awards and traveled all over on President's Clubs and Winner's Circles. She has successfully navigated the corporate world and is now a field rep at Gartner. Amy has a very intense schedule, but still manages to make time to give back and mentor others who are up and coming. In this conversation, we talk in detail about a fun "Big Win Story" where Amy was able to connect to the C level, and together they developed an enterprise enterprise deal of $400K. Pretty impressive considering the average deal size is $30K! Highlights of this conversation include: Team Deal Reviews How to Reach C-Level Executives Whitespace Exercises & Strategic Account Planning If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear: [22:00] Advise to younger self For more resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe and share ;) Happy Selling, Arlina Allen Show notes: [2:23] Path to the field [7:30] Position your offer [8:30] Strategic Selling [10:15] Whitespace & Account Planning [13:45] Team Coaching Calls [15:30] Time Management [19:00] Productivity Tools [20:30] Activity vs Productivity [22:00] Advise to younger self [26:30] Starting a skin care line Resources & Recommendations: OneNote Authentic Skin Remedies Books: Lean In Strategic Selling
Michael Zuber - Effects of Life Changing Money, Getting a C-Level Meeting, and Going it Alone
Michael Zuber has been in high tech sales since the late 90’s. While he has held positions from Solutions Consultant to Sales Director, he has spent the majority of his time in a sales leadership roles, including VP of Sales at HP. Michael is a prolific writer and at the time of this interview, he has 74 articles posted on LinkedIn, which are largely focused on sales performance and sales operations. Over the last 25+ years, Michael has worked with thousands of sales reps and has seen the good, the bad and the amazing. In this conversation, Michael shares about his role in 50-75 deals where the sales rep received “life changing money”, which is defined as $1,000,000 or more. The surprising truth that is revealed about a person’s character, is often revealed when commission checks of this size are received. The frank and honest discussion that follows is both a cautionary tale and source for motivation and inspiration. Equally important, was learning Michael’s perspective on the specific qualities possessed by really extraordinary sales professionals. We dig into some of the personality traits, the mindset, and the strategies that can be emulated by anyone wanting to take their craft to the next level. Michael also shares some insights and practical strategies including: Coaching sales professionals to 7 figure commission checks How to get a C-level meeting The value of “going it alone” and when do it, and when not to If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear: [16:00] What makes top performers different - Getting the C-level meeting I feel fortunate to have had such a great mentor in. I have called on my friend to share his thoughts on what has made him successful so that you can do the same. QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments. Scroll down for show notes... Recommendations: MEDDIC Methodology - As explained by Accent's Sales Enablement Blog Brian Tracy - LinkedIn Profile I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe and share ;) Happy Selling, Arlina Allen Show notes: [2:50] Life changing money stories, for reps, clients and partners [6:00] Managing emotions over a 2-3 year sale cycle [13:30] Coaching top performers – Dealing with Slumps [16:00] What makes top performers different- Getting the C-level meeting [24:00] Leverage your extended team to cover more ground [27:00] Evaluating your next opportunity [32:40] Motivation: Being coin operated vs being of service [35:50] Customer success stories [38:30] Recognition – Celebrating the wins [41:00] Sales methodology & motivation – MEDDIC & Brian Tracey [45:00] Effects of life changing money, both good & bad [48:00] Advise to younger self – Work smarter not harder & how to do it
Big win story: How a single question increased sales by $1.6M.
Victor Espino has been a high tech sales rep since 1997. He has held individual contributor roles as well as sales management roles. His diverse experience has lead him to insightful conclusions that he shares in this conversation.
Also in this episode, Victor goes into details of a $1.6M deal, and how we went from the bottom of the totem pole to a top rep at SAP.
Victor also shares some practical strategies including:
• How to land and expand
• The cash and prizes of a big win
• Valuable tools, books and resources every rep should leverage
If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear: *[6:30] Big win story – A simple question that took a deal from $50K to $1.6M
For more resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com
I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen
Show notes: [5:20] Asking for what you want
*[6:30] Big win story – A simple question that took a deal from $50K to $1.6M
[14:27] How the big win effected his year (so good!)
[22:00] Prospecting: Start Up vs Enterprise approach
[28:00] Critical sales tools
[40:00] Advise to younger self
Resources & Recommendations:
SFDC
Crunchbase
Marketo
Discover.org
Gmail plugin – Groove for email tracking & reporting
Books:
Spin Selling
Challenger Sale
Skip Miller – ProActive Selling & M3 Learning http://m3learning.com/
Ben Horowitz – The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Podcast: The Tim Ferriss Show
Time to polish your sales skills!
If you are in sales and have a passion for improving your sales skills to close more deals faster, you will appreciate this sales podcast. The focus is on B2B High Tech sales and deconstructing the habits and best practices of the top 20% currently in the role, so you can work smarter not harder, and 10x your productivity to make more sales.
Topics include selling strategies and methodologies like top down selling, strategic selling, sales coaching, sales mentorship, team selling, sales prospecting, cold calling, social selling, whitespace exercises, finding a deal champion, and sales negotiation. We also talk about resources and tools like LinkedIn Pro, Twitter, Discover.org, The Challenger Sale, SPIN selling, Gmail plugins, and other tools.
If you like Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Simon Senik, Zig Ziglar, Mark Hunter, Brian Tracy, Jill Konrath, TEDTalks, and podcasts like The Brutal Truth, The Advanced Selling Podcast, Salesman Podcast, then you will like Sales Polish.
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen
http://www.SalesPolish.com
Chris Sullivan has been in high tech sales in Silicon Valley for more than 25 years. In his current role as Director of Sales and Marketing, Chris contributes in a player / coach role. He has some very interesting methods to help his sales rep improve their presentation skills, build confidence and resolve hidden fears that may be holding them back. Over the last 18 months, they have implemented new training that has significantly increased sales.
In this episode Chris shares:
- A $3M Big Win
- Chris’ Scary Confidence Building Exercise
- Tactics for Increasing motivation
If you only have 5 minutes, this is a must listen: *[18:40] The 8 c’s Process – Resolving fears
- QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll down for show notes...
I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!
Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen
Books & Resources:
David Allen, Getting Things Done
Dick Schwartz (Richard) & IFS, The Center for Self Leadership
https://www.selfleadership.org/
Sigmund Freud – Sub personalities
Show notes:
[1:25] Intro to Chris
[4:30] Role of Inside Sales in 2016
[7:00] $3M Big win story
[9:45] Fun part of the win
[11:30] Acknowledging the wins
[14:20] Sales mindset
[16:08] Dealing with procrastination
[18:00] Mental framing for success
*[18:40] The 8 c’s Process – Resolving fears
[24:00] Landmark results of new practices
[25:00] Building confidence
[28:50] How to make them promote you
[36:00] Learning from losses
[37:44] Rapid fire questions
Patrick Blahosky has been a high tech sales rep since 1996 and has consistently been a top producer. During the time I worked with Patrick at HP, I was in a unique position to observe how he successfully ran his business and how he had a ton of fun doing it.
In this conversation, Patrick shares about the training he got at the beginning of his career, details of a $2.5M deal, and the guiding principles that have kept him a top sales rep for the last two decades.
Patrick also shares some practical strategies including:
- How to provide value to customers and become a trusted advisor
- Ways to manage difficult customers and complex deals
- The skill set required for effective customer presentations
If you only have five minutes, this is a must hear: *[25:08] $10M Sale = Worst website crash in history
I feel fortunate to have had such a great mentor in Patrick. I have called on my friend to share his thoughts on what has made him successful so that you can do the same.
- QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
- Scroll down for show notes...
Book Recommendations:
The Phoenix Project, Gene Kim
Spin Selling Training
Dale Carnegie Training
For more resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com
I hope you enjoy the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!
Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen
Show notes:
[3:12] Patrick’s background
[5:00] Dale Carnegie Training success story
[7:00] What to look for in a company when searching for your next career opportunity
[9:04] The importance of finding a good mentor
[12:00] Having a good team
[13:28] SaaS vs Perpetual, $2.5M deal
[17:40] Long term customer relationships
[19:30] Challenging customers
[23:35] Make yourself valuable to the customer
*[25:08] $10M Sale = Worst website crash in history
[27:00] Guiding values
[29:00] End of the year karma
[31:00] Rapid fire questions
[33:30] Staying current – Industry Trends & Networking
[36:15] Actual Goals & Activities
[38:00] Advise to younger self
This is a conversation with Steve Browne. Steve has been a successful Account Executive in high tech for about 30 years. In this interview, we discuss:
- How he went to extreme lenghts to get the biggest deal of his career
- The line he uses to break the ice
- Tactics that turn skeptical and resistant prospects into cooperative customers
We also discuss his book, "Traction" which which was used at Stanford Business school. It reveals:
- The three questions he uses to qualify deals
- The 10 steps of the sales cycle
- How to turn your pipeline spreadsheet into a crystal ball (aka the art of forecasting)
You can download for free here: http://www.innovatorstraction.com
For show notes, and additional selling resources, please visit: www.salespolish.com
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY:What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Don't forget to subscribe and share ;)
Happy Selling,
Arlina Allen