Jun 23, 2020
This is episode 245.
Read the complete transcript on the Sales Game Changers Podcast website.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We conducted this interview in February 2020. Since the show was released during the pandemic, we asked Todd what his advice is for sales professionals now. He offered the following:
- Show empathy in all your communications— As a sales leader, you need to give your teams ample oxygen to sustain life in the new normal. This includes being human. Some tactics to consider might include doing weekly, high-touch videos (that show you with your family) so your team sees all of you, and is reassured that we’re all in this together. Additionally, be transparent. We’ve found that our employees like to hear from our leadership frequently, and that they appreciate the candor and open lines of communication.
- Remain tech-savvy—As sales professionals, we’re all 100% inside sales reps now and there are incredible technologies we can quickly adopt so that we still can maintain intimacy with our customers, who by the way, are all feeling and experiencing the exact same things we are as sellers and company officers.
- Redefine success—We all want signed orders and uninterrupted revenue flows. However, we also need to adjust to this unprecedented time by adapt our definitions of success. Of course, sales is about bookings, but it’s also about the ‘building blocks’ of bookings, including forging new customer contacts, implementing smart outreach campaigns, providing demonstrations of new features, and reminding people of the essence of your product’s value. It’s basic stuff, but it is authentic, and plants the seeds for eventual growth.
- Be pithy— Right now, people are starved for time, so cut to the chase. Nobody—not a single professional—can recall a time where you’re simultaneously a) making the kids breakfast, b) responding to a forecast request from the board, all while c) trying to jam in a last-minute home-delivered grocery order (before your window closes). Be kind, be relevant, be brief.