The Science (and Art) of Sales
How leaders can coach the science and art of sales to win more deals
Science or Art?
Is Sales a Science or an Art? I think it’s a good mixture of both.
This week we take a look at a few selling points for each. The best sales reps I’ve been fortunate to work with follow a scientific approach while adapting an artistic style that can only be honed by years of practice.
In this week’s edition of Stretch Weekly -
Dan Martell talks with Jacco van der Kooij on The Future of Sales!
Michael Schneider says most of us aren’t natural leaders - we need to develop these 3 qualities…
See how your sales team stacks up with Dave Kurlan’s Sales Competency Assessment
Plus seven golden snippets to help you craft your own scientific + artistic approach to sales and become a better leader.
And lastly - as always, if you find this newsletter valuable- consider sharing it with someone who might as well 👊.
STRETCH SHARES
The Future of Sales is No Quota (?)
This was one of those podcasts where, no more than 10 minutes in I pressed pause, hit the favorite button and knew I'd have to come back and listen again and again to take notes. Jacco combines both a science and art for a new way to sell…
Dan’s intro is great: This is more than just two SaaS-obsessed guys chatting about business: It’s packed with sales lessons. Tune into this episode and you’ll learn: -
How anyone can use good sales techniques
Rational impact vs emotional impact
The secret to selling B2B: help them pitch their boss
Arming your internal buyer
Why B.A.N.T. is outdated and killing SaaS sales
How to change a customer’s priority with IMPACT
Don’t compete for commissions -Collaborate!
How SaaS sales success is measured in backend revenue
Why “the horse” doesn’t have the problem.
Jacco and Dan discuss the future of sales with so many great tips but here are a couple of my favorites:
Internal Pain vs. External Pain. You need to figure out BOTH and help find solutions to both.
"If they have budget - you are already too late"
Only 10 Percent of People Are Natural Leaders. The Rest of Us Have to Work on Developing These 3 Qualities
Great read from Michael Schneider with Inc Magazine on qualities we can develop as leaders to become better.
"Organizations with great bosses, on average, produce 147 percent higher earnings per share than their competitors." Definitely recommend the quick read, but the synopsis is that:
Great leaders have a growth mindset and project it onto their teams.
Great leaders leverage team diversity by creating safe environments where everyone feels comfortable.
They create clarity and energize their teams. “If a manager can't instill a sense of order by creating a clear mission and purpose, then competing priorities, individual agendas, and confusion will slow the team down. Plus we all want to know why we exist."
New: The 21 Sales Core Competencies for 2020 And Beyond
Want to geek out a bit? Enroll your team in Dave Kurlan’s free Sales Competency Assessment and see how they stack up to sales pros in your industry as well as sales people as a whole. I probably spent too much time digging in here but was fascinated seeing where sales people rank on certain qualities. A couple of interesting findings:
Three Categories:
Will to Sell. Judges whether a sales person CAN sell versus whether they WILL sell.
Sales DNA. Ability to execute sales process, methodology, strategy and tactics. - Room to train/coach/grow here.
Tactical Selling. Salesperson developing the required skills to be effective in an ever-changing world of selling?
Fun fact: Salespeople are 900% less likely to move the opportunity to close if they are not talking directly with the actual decision maker.
STRETCH SNIPPETS
☝️Cool series from Scott Leese on Becoming a Manager. Check out Part 1 HERE
✅ Andrew Mewborn shares a 4-point checklist to gauge which deals are real (or not).
🎧 Excellent 25 min podcast with Don Erwin (former Head of Revenue at Mixmax - now Director at Saastr) and Jon Barrows as they discuss authenticity in sales and why it's important - and so much more.
🏔 I registered for Sales Loft's Virtual Summit for Sales Leaders next Tuesday the 13th. You should too. Its free - Check it out now!
💌 Gong analyzed over 300k emails to give us the 7 Laws of Highly Effective Sales Emails. Save it, print it, send to your team. (I’ll quit sharing cool stuff from Gong when they stop sharing cool stuff)
📚Great summary by Justin Michael on the Best Sales books Every Sales Rep Should Read in 2020. How many have you read? I added a few to my list.
🗣As we head into Q4 - many leaders will be looking to ramp up their sales team. Learn from Amy Volas and Rob Jeppsen on how to get sales hiring right...[Podcast]
🧠 Leadership as a Mindset
Such a great video from Evan Carmichael on what makes a great leader. Hear excerpts from Robin Sharma, Steve Jobs, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek, Kobe Bryant, Ed Mylett, Robert Kiyosaki, Jocko Willink, Kevin O’Leary, Jim Collins, Jack Welch and Dandapani. Don’t ignore this one.
Thanks for reading!
My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).
— Grant 👋
About stretch vp: confessions, learnings and insights from sales leaders in SaaS
Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.
Are you a VP, Director, thought leader or content producer in the SaaS space? We’d love to have you contribute. Contact Me HERE.
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