Jill Konrath's Blog, page 14

What's Your Sales Acceleration Formula?

Last February I was in serious discussions with Mark Roberge, Chief Revenue Officer at HubSpot, about co-authoring a book. At my request, he sent me several lengthy articles he’d written.

The minute I saw them, I realized the man was brilliant – and needed to write a book of his own. And he has – The Sales Acceleration Formula just came out!

Here’s the fascinating part. Mark’s an engineer and MIT grad. He’s never been in sales. Yet HubSpot’s two founders brought him in to develop “scalable, predictable revenue growth.” In just a few short years, this start-up grew to $100 million in revenue.

Mark’s unconventional strategies played a big role in making that happen. Every sales leader and entrepreneur can learn a ton from his approach. I hope you enjoy my interview with him.

Crucial Sales Skill Every Salesperson Needs (It's Not What You Think)

AGILE SELLING Mini-Course #1

Welcome to my new 7-part series on how to use agile selling strategies to master LinkedIn. This program is based on my newest book, AGILE SELLING – which is all about how to quickly get up to speed in today’s ever-changing sales world.

After writing SNAP Selling, which reveals how to sell to today’s crazy-busy prospects, tons of salespeople came up to me (or emailed me) and said, “I’m crazy-busy too, Jill. Can you help me?”

Initially, I didn’t have an answer for them. It sounded like they needed a time management course – which has never been my strength.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the issue went way beyond that. Everyone had too much to do – including me. We’re totally overwhelmed. Our work spills into our holidays, weekends and evenings.

Rapid Learning is Critical for Sales Success

Rapid Learning Mini-Course Video #1

Welcome to my new 7-part series on how to use agile selling strategies to master LinkedIn. This program is based on my newest book, AGILE SELLING – which is all about how to quickly get up to speed in today’s ever-changing sales world.

After writing SNAP Selling, which reveals how to sell to today’s crazy-busy prospects, tons of salespeople came up to me (or emailed me) and said, “I’m crazy-busy too, Jill. Can you help me?”

Initially, I didn’t have an answer for them. It sounded like they needed a time management course – which has never been my strength.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the issue went way beyond that. Everyone had too much to do – including me. We’re totally overwhelmed. Our work spills into our holidays, weekends and evenings.

#SocialHangout: Sales Queen Talks Industry Change

Thought you might want to listen in to my recent interview with the #Fab4 SocialHangout team of Eric Mitchell, Kevin Thomas Tully, Gabe Villamizer and Jack Kosakowski.

One after another, they grill me on what it takes to be successful today. And, I've been accused of dropping some #KonrathBombs. I don't know if that's good or bad!

You can read about it here: Sales Queen Jill Konrath Talks Industry Change. Or, you can watch the video. It's fairly entertaining.

Prefer listening? If so, it's on iTunes (#SocialHangout #11) or SoundCloud.

Can You Learn How to Sell – Or Do You Need Innate Ability?

I want to get you thinking today, so here’s my question:

If research showed that sales was 100% a learned skill, how would that impact your perception of your own success – or lack of it – today?

I know that sounds strange to ask, but bear with me. If it was true, how would it impact how you reacted to a competitive loss or when your prospect decided to not do anything?

Would you be more curious in terms of where you blew it or what went wrong?
Would you look at your own culpability in losing the deal?
Would you have tried to figure out a better way to help your prospects see the value of changing from the status quo?

True Story: Sales Seduced Me

On Valentine's Day, everyone's thoughts turn to love. That's why I thought it would be fun to share why I'm so passionate about this crazy profession.

The truth is, Sales seduced me.

I never expected to like it. It had a bad reputation and I didn’t want to be seen as one of “those kind” of people. I took the job at Xerox so I could learn how to sell. I committed to doing it for one year. It didn’t take me long though to discover that my perception was totally inaccurate.

But love? I can assure you it was not love at first sight.

Coming Soon! SNAP Selling—The Movie?

It was early Tuesday morning. I was triaging my email, quickly deleting everything I could. Irrelevent or boring newsletters were zapped in a flash. Then I hit one from HubSpot: Lights, Cameras, Sales! SNAP, SPIN & Other Popular Sales Methodologies Imagined as Movies.

Lost Art of the Quick Start: An Unusually Enlightening Story

With the year-end push behind him, Matt wasn’t looking forward to rebuilding his pipeline. Yet he knew that his boss would be on him to “pound the phones” as soon as he got into the office.

More, more. Faster, faster. Close, close. It was an endless cycle that sometimes made him question why he stayed in this profession.

At least the traffic was light as he drove into work. Perhaps it was a positive omen, something he desperately needed after that weird dream that had been haunting him for days.

He decided to treat himself to a latte at Starbucks before starting his prospecting marathon. On entering, he saw Danielle, the team’s perennial superstar, tucked away in a corner table. She made selling look easy.

And, he realized with a start, she’d been a key player in that dream. Maybe she’d have some insights into it’s meaning.

I Sell #LikeAGirl—and I'm Proud of It!

The minute I heard this Always #LikeAGirl ad during the Super Bowl, I knew I had to write today's post.

I’ve been rebelling from the day I entered this (still) male-dominated profession. I didn’t intend to. In fact, when I first started out, I tried really hard to do what the guys did.

But being pushy, wasn’t part of my nature. I hated pitching; it felt so self-serving. I detested anything that smacked of manipulation. And I never was able to bring myself to use the trite closing techniques that my male colleagues claimed were so effective.

I was repeatedly told that I needed to “play with the big boys” and to “get in bed” with my customers. I learned that it was a “war” out there; that my competitors were the enemy and my job was to destroy them.

How I Find the Right Words to Attract Perfect Clients

I am pulling my hair out. Banging my head against the wall. Writing... erasing... writing again. I just can’t seem to get it right.

What’s causing me such distress? Words. My value proposition. How I entice people to do business with me.

I’m in the process of changing my website to emphasize my speaking. When my targeted prospects pop onto those pages, I want them to say,

“Wow. She totally gets the challenges we’re facing. That’s exactly what we want our salespeople to do. We need to bring her in to our next meeting.”

If only it was that easy. Here I am, a wordsmith and sales expert, yet everything I write feels wrong. Awkward. Clunky. And, as much as I hate self-serving words, I still catch myself using them.