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How to Be a Better SALES PROFESSIONAL Professional Development Guides from

The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

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Are you a salesperson who wants to be even better at your job? Or, just wondering what it takes to have a great career in the sales world? Look no further. The Muse asked some of the best sales professionals out their for their secrets to success, and brought it all together in one place. Flip through for their practical tips and resources for upping your career game. For exciting job opportunities, expert advice, and a peek behind the scenes into fantastic companies and career path check out the http://www.themuse.com. Everything you need to find a job and kick ass in your career.

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Page 1: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

How to Be a Better SaleS

ProfeSSionalProfessional

Development Guides

from

Page 2: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

We know you want to

BE AWESOMEat your job!

Page 3: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

So, we picked the brains of a team of sales experts to find out how they've gotten so good.

ekaterina SteubeSales Associate at The Muse

Catherine Van HershHead of Sales for Chartio

fernando CamposDirector of Sales &

Business Development for Anyperk

ellen HuertaFormer Senior Account Manager at Google, Founder of Mend

Page 4: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

And compiled it all into the

UlTiMaTe GUiDe To ProfeSSional DeVeloPMenT FOR SALESPEOPLE.

Page 5: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Are you ready for it?

it'll be a HUGe help to your career.(And only take a little time to flip through.)

Whether you’re just getting started or you’re ready to move to the top,

Page 6: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

First, we’ll talk about the skills you need.

And then we’ll give you the resources to make it happen.

leT'S GeT STarTeD.

Page 7: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

So what skills does one need to develop to be a superstar salesperson?

Page 8: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Well, there are

THe oBVioUS oneS.

Page 9: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

You definitely need to know e v e r y t h i n g you can about

S a l e SSTraTeGieS.

Page 10: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

There are no silver bullets in sales, and becoming as educated as

possible in methodology is important in forming the style

that works best for you and your product or service.

Page 11: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

You should also know everything you can about

wHaT yoU're SellinG.

Page 12: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

If you've just begun a career in sales, learn the ins and outs of what you're

selling. One of the best ways is to use it yourself if possible. Even if you're comfortable working with

clients, you won't get very far if you don't have a strong foundation as a

product expert. When you understand both your product and your client,

"sales" becomes "consulting" and you become a "partner," not a "vendor."

Page 13: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

But there are other skills that people tend to

oVerlook.

Page 14: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Salespeople have to understand how to effectively analyze

DaTa.

Page 15: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

You must:

Use numbers to prove your

product

Analyze the effectiveness of sales strategies

Understand personal performance data

Page 16: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

"What gets measured gets done"—I've always loved this quote

because it really talks about the power of data. Measure everything you can, and test new approaches

to optimize your strategy.

Page 17: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

You also must have pretty solid reSearCH Sk illS .

Page 18: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

You’ll often need to learn about new clients

and industries at the

DroP of a HaT.

Page 19: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

The most important reading I do pertains to my customer. What are the business

challenges my customer is facing, and how can my service solve those problems?

Ultimately this feeds into a larger goal of better understanding how to grow into

new markets and create new opportunities for Chartio.

Page 20: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Having excellent PreSenTaTion SkillS is a must for pitching.

Page 21: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Being comfortable with speaking to

groups of 1 to 100

Knowing how to tell a compelling

story

Designing decks that help—and don’t

hurt—your pitch

Page 22: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

At Google, my team had the fortune of @avinash reviewing one of our client presentations, and he ripped them to

shreds for being too cluttered. It was a little jarring at the time, but what he told us was true and I'll never forget it: If you really know your stuff, you don't need slides (except in some cases, like when data must be displayed). Slides often end up being a crutch to the presenter

and a distraction to the listener.

Page 23: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

And while you have to know

how to talk well, perhaps more

important is the ability to

liSTen.

Page 24: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

It's so important to ask questions and really listen to your client: what their goals are, what keeps them up at night, how they make money, what

they're really happy about. If you don't understand these things, you can't offer the right solution.

When I first started at Google, I would often dive right into my presentation when I met with clients.

I quickly learned to let them kick off meetings. I would ask my clients several open-ended

questions, and their answers always helped inform the rest of our conversation.

Page 25: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

No matter what, you always have to keep

learninG & innoVaTinG.

Page 26: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Don't get complacent. I have seen some very talented salespeople fail because they thought they already knew it all. Keep developing your

skills, keep practicing, and keep asking for advice. Most importantly, don't be afraid to try out something new that no one in your company is doing yet.

You need to make your ownniche to get ahead.

Page 27: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Now that we're on the same page about what skills you need, let's talk about

How To GeT THere.

Page 28: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

We asked our experts what resources have been helpful along the way,

and pulled together an

offiCial reSoUrCe GUiDe for your sales development.

Page 31: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Instead of sales focused literature, I read a lot around current affairs.

You never know who the next person you will meet is, or what their interests might be, so I like to be prepared. Whether you like it or not, keeping up to date with

sporting events is also key.

Page 32: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

ConferenCeS To aTTenD

It's important to be inspired and surround yourself with creative

thinkers. SXSW is a great way to network and learn more about

how others are taking their business to market.

Page 33: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

ClaSSeS To TakeSales & Leadership

SPIN SellingCEO Summit Videos

HBR IdeaCast

I took a SPIN selling class earlier this year, which illustrates the difference between implicit and

explicit client needs.

Page 34: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

ClaSSeS To TakePersuasion & Presentation

Sales and Persuasion Skills for Start-ups

Storytelling for Business

Pitch Perfect —Powerful Presentation Skills

Page 35: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Sometimes just sitting down once a month with the other salespeople in

your company and swapping tips and ideas is the best kind of workshop.

Page 36: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

eXPerTS To follow

Kevin is an expert in inside sales, and frankly, a guy I look

up to. He knows his craft better than anyone I know.

Page 37: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

Now—it's time to go out into the world and get better at roCkinG yoUr Career!

(We know you can do it.)

Page 38: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Sales Professionals

And, if you want a little more help along the way?

Keep up with for the advice you need to build the career you've

always dreamed of.

Get Career Advice

Browse Sales Jobs

Sign Up for Classes

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