Info

Sales Reinvented

We at Sales Reinvented are on a mission to change the negative perception of sales people. Each week we will be interviewing experts in the field of sales and sharing their knowledge, ideas and expertise with our listeners. They share with us in our vision of a world where selling is a profession to be proud of. The aim of our formatted show is to provide ‘snackable’ episodes that are short enough to listen to in one sitting but long enough to provide real value that will help you in your sales career. Welcome to the Sales Reinvented Podcast.
RSS Feed
2024
April
March
February
January


2023
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2022
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November


2017
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November


All Episodes
Archives
Now displaying: 2019

At Sales Reinvented, we are on a mission to change the negative perception of selling. Welcome to the Sales Reinvented Podcast.

Dec 18, 2019

Everyone can benefit from adopting more productive habits into their day, most especially salespeople. Meeting quotas involves staying on task and focused. They cannot afford the liability of distraction. To learn some key ways to develop productive habits, listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented with special guest Chris Croft!

Chris Croft hails from the United Kingdom and offers in-person training in project and time management. If you’re not native to the UK, he offers courses on Lynda.com and has a popular YouTube channel. He’s been a management coach for over 16 years, is an author, and an all-around expert in the field of time management—a core competency of productivity!

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:20] Paul introduces Chris Croft
  • [1:05] What is productivity?
  • [2:30] Why aren’t salespeople productive?
  • [5:10] How to improve day-to-day productivity
  • [9:35] 7 tips to overcome procrastination
  • [13:05] Productivity tools to embrace
  • [17:00] Top 3 Do’s and Top 3 Don’ts
  • [19:50] His favorite productivity story

Time management is a core habit sales professionals must develop

Salespeople are constantly barraged with choices. What activities that they engage in can vary greatly day-to-day. It’s important to focus on the important things and do those well. But many sales professionals are flexible opportunists that are easily distracted—it’s the nature of the job. So having a grasp of time management is essential to being productive.

Chris illustrates his point with a color-based time management model:

  • Red = Key time that you are doing productive things essential to your job.
  • Black = Administrative tasks that you want to minimize.
  • Blue = Things that are forgotten which may include planning, creating, thinking. Anything that is future-based. 

The goal to being productive is finding a balance—a blend—of the three colors. All are things that do fall on your to-do list, but each with differing importance. 

Productive habits begin with decluttering the mind

Chris advocates for completely emptying your mind so you can focus on the present moment. No one wants to be thinking about a project they need to work on while in a meeting with a client. So what do you do? Get a diary, journal, planner, etc. and write everything down. Write down every appt., every promise made, every follow-up call, and any tasks you need to remember. 

In that same planner, Chris recommends creating an appointment with yourself every day. A half-hour time-slot for you to plan. His second tip is to never allow your calendar to get full. Save yourself an hour each day for small tasks (such as emails) that crop up throughout the day. Lastly, note whenever you need to complete a follow-up action such as calling a prospect back. 

Chris talks about creating a master list and a daily to-do list and why it’s important they must be different. Keep listening!

7 ways to beat procrastination

Chris believes a characteristic of a great salesperson is discipline, and disciplined people know how to overcome procrastination. He details 7 things you can begin to implement to procrastinate less:

  1. Write a task in your planner so your mind isn’t cluttered with trying to recall what you were supposed to do.
  2. Leave whatever it is that you need to complete visible on your desk, so it’s not “out of sight, out of mind”. 
  3. Break a large task into smaller chunks so it’s easier to complete. 
  4. Have a fixed work routine. Perhaps you call 5 people immediately every day.
  5. Start the day with whatever is hanging over your head. Make the rest of the day easy.
  6. Reward yourself when you knock out a difficult task! Chocolate, anyone?
  7. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep! A lack of energy will impact your productivity.

Chris outlines some other productivity tools he recommends, habits to develop, and his top 3 do’s and top 3 don’ts. Don’t miss his insight into productivity. 

Blurring the lines between work and home is allowed

Chris was on holiday in the Lakes District (in England) with his wife. They were walking their dog, and he got a work phone call. He answered it and happily scheduled some training courses. He wrote it in his planner, pocketed it, and continued with his vacation. 

Many might criticize him for taking a work call while on vacation. 

But to Chris, it was a complete win. He took a few minutes and scheduled something that he loves doing. Blurring the edges between home and work is okay! If you have to completely separate yourself from the work you do, maybe you’re in the wrong job.

Because if you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. 

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Chris Croft

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Dec 11, 2019

Following the right productivity tips can make or break your sales performance. When your entire job revolves around generating revenue, it’s important to be as productive as you can be. So what steps do you need to take? If you’re looking for some great tips to propel you in the right direction, this episode of Sales Reinvented is the one for you!

Noelle Leemburg joins Paul in this episode to deliver some of her top tips from years of experience. She is a coach, co-author of a book, and an experienced saleswoman. Her enthusiasm, energy, and authentic desire to help others reach their goals shines in this episode. Don’t miss it!

Outline of This Episode

  • [1:20] Paul introduces Noelle Leemburg
  • [2:00] Why aren’t salespeople productive?
  • [3:00] How to become more productive
  • [3:45] Improving day-to-day productivity
  • [5:30] Attributes of a great sales professional
  • [6:10] Tools to have in your arsenal
  • [7:40] Top 3 Do’s and top 3 don’ts
  • [11:00] Noelle’s favorite productivity story

What keeps sales professionals from being productive?

Noelle believes productivity begins with doing impactful tasks effectively and efficiently. The key word is impactful—whatever task you’re doing needs to clearly be working towards generating revenue. So what keeps a salesperson from those tasks?

The #1 answer tends to be there are too many things on their plate.

If you’re getting tasks sent your way or requests are made of you that fall outside of your role, they need to be set aside. Don’t let “shiny penny syndrome” distract you from what generates revenue. 

Improving day-to-day productivity by prioritizing your time

So how does a sales professional become more productive? Noelle advocates being protective of your time. She refers to this as “Tiger Time”. You must fiercely protect your schedule. So start tracking where you’re spending your time. Then narrow down what activities you’re doing that are wasting your time.

Intentionality is a large part of what makes someone successful. If you know what your quarterly goals are, you can then plan monthly, weekly, and daily tasks to reach those goals. You can take those goals and plan them into your calendar so your precious time is not being wasted. 

To hear the attributes Noelle believes a sales professional must cultivate—keep listening!

Focus on impactful activities first

A goal-oriented and focused salesperson will focus on their most impactful tasks and knock them out first. Noelle helps further define impactful activities by noting it’s the things that make money. This can include—but is not limited to—prospecting, conversations with clients, face-to-face proposals, and phone calls. 

Noelle states that one way you can get a leg-up on your day is by coming in 10 minutes early. Investing an extra 10 minutes is an extra 40 hours a year spent in impactful activities. Think of what could be achieved in that extra time! Not everyone is a morning person, so connect with prospects when you’re at your best (even if it’s in the afternoon).

Noelle’s top productivity tips

Take Noelle’s top tips and make them your own. You’ll begin to take steps towards becoming a more productive sales professional:

  1. Plan your work and work your plan. Be organized, build routines, and do the work.
  2. Use your energy wisely. Get in front of your prospects when you’re at your best. 
  3. Win the morning! Get up early and get a headstart on your day.
  4. Eliminate distractions. Checking Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are NOT hourly tasks. Stop making them important!
  5. Stop multitasking. It’s hurting you, not helping. Get into a zone and stick to the task at hand. It’s proven to equate to higher productivity. 
  6. Learn to say no to anything that isn’t a high-value task or activity. 

Noelle wants sales professionals to focus on What’s Important Now (WIN). If you begin to do that and follow her productivity tips, you will start to win. Don’t miss listening to this whole episode for some great stories and productivity strategies. 

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Noelle Leemburg

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Dec 4, 2019

Are you ready to improve your sales performance? There are so many factors in play that affect reaching your quota, but something you can easily start to remedy is your productivity. What can you do to drive your progress? How do you improve your productivity? Meridith Elliott Powell answers these questions and more in this episode of Sales Reinvented. 

Meridith is a business growth expert, motivational speaker, and successful author. She understands the constantly changing economy and knows how to help you grow your business. One way to accelerate growth is by making sure your salesforce is as productive as possible. Be sure to listen to this episode to hear her advice!

Outline of This Episode

  • [1:05] Meridith Elliott Powell on productivity
  • [2:10] Why aren’t they productive?
  • [2:55] How to improve day-to-day productivity
  • [4:30] Attributes of a productive person
  • [6:05] Tools and resources she recommends 
  • [8:00] Top 3 Do’s and top 3 don’ts
  • [9:45] Meridith’s favorite productivity story

Don’t romanticize past success

Everyone has their own philosophy on the sales process and what works for them. More often than not, those strategies are based on what worked in the past. Meridith states that you must stop living in the past. What worked then won’t always be the best strategy for the here and now. 

The marketplace, customer, and competition are constantly changing. 

So you must grow and adapt with those changes. Behaviors drive results. So you must decide which ones move you forward. If romanticizing past success is holding you back from reaching your goals, it's time to move on. 

Reflection is the best preparation

Meridith believes improving day-to-day productivity begins with reflecting over your week. Every Friday, she takes time to look at the last four days. She recommends looking at your emails, phone calls you made, proposals you wrote, and even networking events you attended.

What moved the ball forward? What didn’t?

You are your efficiency expert. You must be the one to look at your week and make adjustments moving forward. Meridith knows she is more productive when she takes 15-20 minutes to keep herself accountable to move towards her goals. That means eliminating activities that don’t. 

The marketing team isn’t working against you

Sometimes it’s hard for sales professionals to recognize or admit that the sales process truly begins before salespeople ever connect with a potential customer. Customers Google, they do research, and likely know about your business or product because of your marketing team doing their jobs right.

Let marketing do the heavy lifting and provide the data you need. That allows a sales professional to do what they do best—build relationships. Salespeople are the ones who bring emotional intelligence to the process. Remember that the marketing process doesn’t steal your leads, but softens them for the sale. 

Don’t fight tools that will help you

Meridith loves every part of the sales process. She is very outgoing and loves the thrill of the hunt. Because she was very good at what she did, she fought every tool or resource ever introduced to her. She was meeting her goals, so why did she need them?

When forced to implement a system of questions to gather information, she found out how wrong she was. She thought she knew everything about a long-time client. But after she had asked the required questions, she realized she missed important and necessary information.

From that moment on, Meridith became a staunch advocate for embracing a CRM and any tools or resources that would propel her towards her goals. The moral of the story? Keep your ego in check. She continued forward and consistently closed $1 million a month in sales.

To hear in full detail her productivity process make sure you listen to this episode in its entirety!

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Meridith Elliot Powell

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Nov 27, 2019

If you’re ready to move away from destructive habits and become a productive sales professional, where do you start? Are there daily nuisances distracting you and dividing your focus? In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Barb Giamanco joins Paul to help you get down to the root of your struggles and delivers some tips to get you started!

Barb Giamanco is the founder and CEO of Social Centered Selling. She’s all about helping salesmen and women find transformation and start reaching sales goals. One of her career goals is to encourage more women to become sales professionals. If you’re looking to jumpstart your sales productivity, listen to this transformative episode!

Outline of This Episode

  • [1:05] What is productivity?
  • [1:45] Why is it important?
  • [2:45] Sales Technology: Less is More
  • [6:50] Steps to improve day-to-day productivity
  • [8:45] You NEED to know your numbers
  • [11:50] Top productivity tools
  • [14:45] Top 3 Do’s & Top 3 Don’ts
  • [17:35] Barb’s favorite productivity story

When it comes to technology—less is more

Barb points out a stunning statistic: Salespeople are only using 15-20% of their time to engage in the sales process. Why? One reason is that companies expect their sales force to be data collectors. But should that really be their job? Probably not. If you’re in a leadership position, Barb advises reducing the administrative duties carried out by your sales staff.

She also notes that there is too much focus on a tech stack.

Eliminate apps, systems, and tools that don’t integrate well into your CRM. Stop using unnecessary software that makes you constantly shift between platforms. A sales team needs to be allowed to focus on making phone calls, sending emails, and connecting with people on LinkedIn. If something distracts them from that, it’s not worth using. 

Knock out what you find most difficult

Are you ready to improve day-to-day productivity? According to Barb, it’s all about planning. You must go into every day knowing what you’re going to accomplish. Scheduling time to complete specific tasks is how you drive results. She takes Sunday evenings to plan each day of the upcoming week—and blocks time in her schedule

She does not let anyone interfere with that time. She advocates protecting your calendar.

You need to prioritize your focus on what gets you closest to the cash. One way to do that? Knock out the difficult things first. Stop focusing your time and energy on the easy things that don’t drive results. They can fall into place later—or even be delegated. 

You better know your numbers

A good salesperson is focused, committed, and carries out the plans they’ve made for their schedule. Because in reality, if things don’t get done, you only have yourself to blame. This is why it’s beyond important to know your metrics.

How long does it take you to close a deal?

What is the average value of each opportunity?

How many opportunities do you need to hit your quota? 

Barb has run into many sales professionals who don’t have answers to those questions. There is no excuse!You need to know on average how many calls, appointments, demos, etc. will get you to a sale. Take ownership and learn your numbers.

Barb’s top suggestions to be successful

Here are Barb’s top tips:

  • Eliminate distractions: Expounding on the “less is more” philosophy, one of Barb’s “Do’s” is eliminating unnecessary distractions. Remove all non-essential apps from your phone. Turn off notifications that drag you away from work you need to be focusing on. 
  • Block similar activities: Do batch work for sales activities. You will be more productive when you aren’t shifting focus from one task to another. 
  • Use Templates for personalized outreach: Take advantage of templates that you create that can be used for personalized outreach. It will take some research, but gives you a handy framework.

Being a successful salesperson involves knowing how to solve the problem of your target market and offering them the solution. It takes time and diligence to learn how to do this well. Becoming more productive is one of the best things you can implement to become more effective. 

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Barb Giamanco

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Nov 20, 2019

Everyone uses a different productivity process in their daily work, but some maximize it more than others. If you’re ready to move beyond just completing checklists and want to efficiently generate revenue, you need to focus on productivity. So what should that look like?

Scott Ingram—Account Director at Relationship One and host of TWO podcasts—is here to chat with Paul about the process of productivity. Scott has a lot on his plate but manages to handle everything efficiently and effectively. How does he do it? Listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented to find out!

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:20] Paul introduces Scott Ingram.
  • [1:00] What is productivity?
  • [2:45] Eliminate the “endless scroll”
  • [4:55] The 4P productivity process for producing profit
  • [8:45] A great salesperson must embody a maniacal focus
  • [12:10] Be minimalist with the tools you use
  • [13:55] Top 3 Do’s and Don’ts
  • [15:00] Scott’s favorite productivity story

Overcome the distraction of the “endless scroll”

Scott defines productivity as “the amount of meaningful work you can get done in a given period of time”. What does meaningful work mean? Anything that pushes you towards generating revenue. How much revenue can you generate in one hour of meaningful work? If you’re questioning the level of meaningful work you’re able to knock out, it might be time to eliminate some distractions.

Scott notes that the world of technology seems to be conspiring against us.

You get notifications from your email, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn—the list is endless. Everyone knows it’s easy to get sucked into the rabbit-hole. Technology promises efficiency and delivers distraction. Scott recommends becoming more vigilant with your time. Leverage technology, don’t let it leverage you. Keep listening to find out what that looks like. 

Scott’s 4P Productivity Process for Producing Profit

Scott recently gave a presentation on productivity and was kind enough to summarize it (for the full walk-through of the topic, we’ve linked it in the resources below). If you’re ready to improve day-to-day productivity, consider this process:

  1. Purge: Get rid of unnecessary distractions. Turn off app notifications and unsubscribe from emails crowding your inbox. Set a foundation for your day. 
  2. Process and Plan: Develop a system that works for you. Put a checklist in place that covers your calendar, your pipeline, territory or whatever it is that contributes to meaningful work. 
  3. Prioritize: What are you actually able to get done? What needs to get done now versus later? 
  4. Perform: With the other 3 steps in place, go out and execute. Be consistent with the first three P’s and things will begin to fall into place.

Do you have the maniacal focus required to be successful?

The Oxford dictionary defines the word ‘Maniacal’ in its non-formal sense as someone “exhibiting or denoting obsessive enthusiasm”. Scott believes this is the #1 attribute of a great sales professional. Do they have the obsessive drive and focus needed to be the top salesperson in your company?

Scott runs a podcast in which he only interviews the top-performing sales professional in any given company (or top 1%). These men and women have proven to be the best of the best and have mastered the productivity process. 

He gives an amazing example of someone who is 200% more productive than the second-best salesperson in his organization—listen to hear his story!

It pays to be a minimalist

When asked what tools individuals could use to increase productivity, Scott noted that it is better to be a minimalist. Keep it simple. A few tools that are a given include Gmail and your calendar. Scott also enjoys using:

  1. Evernote: A note-taking app that helps you stay effortly organized.
  2. Todoist: an App Scott likes that helps you organize tasks and schedule deadlines to keep you on-task.
  3. Brain.fm: Music that claims to improve focus and therefore productivity. 
  4. Inbox Pause: an extension that stops emails from entering your inbox until you want them to. 

Above all, it’s about developing a process that you can execute consistently. To hear Scott’s top three “Do’s and Don’ts” make sure to listen to the whole episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Scott Ingram

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Nov 13, 2019

How can the average sales professional leverage their time to maximize their sales productivity? There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done and manage to meet their sales quotas. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Brynne Tillman is here to share what productivity looks like for her. 

Brynne is the CEO of Social Sales Link and has mastered the art of marketing and sales on LinkedIn. She’s transforming the way professionals grow their business by taking social media sales to a whole new level. Her unique insight into the social world will leave an impact on you—so don’t miss this episode!

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:20] Paul introduces Brynne Tillman.
  • [1:20] What is productivity?
  • [3:30] How can a salesperson improve day-to-day?
  • [6:00] Characteristics of a productive person
  • [8:15] Tools, tactics, and strategies to put in place
  • [11:30] Top 3 Do’s and Don’ts
  • [14:20] Favorite Productivity Story

Do what you love—and everything in-between

Brynne points out that the average salesperson usually has an engaging personality. They can be charming, can build relationships quickly, and excel at small talk. But they don’t always know how to make the best use of their time. Many focus on the aspects of the job that they love but struggle to engage in the part of the process that converts to money.

So how does one remedy that? 

Start by identifying what you love and excel at. Then identify the gaps—where do you struggle or lack confidence? Schedule time to learn and begin to excel at the items on your to-do list that are a downfall. Get organized, schedule everything, and find someone to keep you accountable to do those things. 

Maximizing sales productivity day-to-day

Brynne’s number one tip? Live and die by your calendar. Schedule everything from meetings to simple follow-up calls. If you don’t schedule it, you’ll likely forget it. She recommends a nifty tool, Boomerang for Gmail. You can mark certain emails to get moved to the top of your inbox at specific dates and times. It’s one of her favorite productivity tools. 

Not everyone is gifted with the traits needed to be project managers, yet we are all project managers. She recommends making small behavioral changes. If you’ve already identified what you don’t excel at, don’t shout it to the world. Don’t let your negative words become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, be open to learning, growing, changing, and adapting. 

You aren’t a real company until you incorporate a CRM!

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System is something Brynne strongly believes every business needs to have in place to be productive and profitable. Don’t underestimate the usefulness of a great system—it can be your biggest productivity asset. They usually incorporate tools to give you reminders and help keep you on task for every step of the sales process. 

Find the right tech that supports the habits of a salesperson. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Brynne recommends Nimble as an affordable CRM for any business to start with. Her favorite CRM is SharpString, which has a Chrome plugin you can integrate to keep you on task. 

For more tools, tactics, and strategies—listen to the whole episode!

Stay in front of your prospects

Bookmarks are something that everyone is familiar with and uses to some extent, but Brynne takes it to the next level. As she comes across connections or prospects on LinkedIn, she’ll add their information into a bookmark folder. At any given time she could have up to 80 people added into the folder.

If she comes across an interesting blog post or article, she’ll open every single one of the profiles that are saved in the bookmark. She writes a short but personal note and sends the article their way. It’s a unique way to provide value and allows her to stay at the forefront of their minds. 

It’s a genius way to leverage the tools available. She landed a new client within 20 minutes of giving the tactic a shot. Don’t be afraid to try something new and innovative, you never know if it will help you land your next customer!

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Brynne Tillman

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK

Nov 6, 2019

Productivity can be defined as efficiency multiplied by effectiveness. It’s about doing things right and doing the right thing. Too often, salespeople only focus on efficiency. You can do many things efficiently—but still be ineffective. So what’s the key? Listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented with guest George Brontén to find out!

George is the founder of Membrain, a multiple award-winning Sales Enablement CRM. He specializes in helping to train sales professionals to become more effective. The goal is to bridge the gap between sales strategy and execution. His expertise is a welcome addition in this episode. 

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:30] What is productivity?
  • [1:30] Faulty assumptions about sales professionals
  • [3:10] Steps to take to improve day-to-day productivity
  • [4:35] Attributes that make a great salesperson
  • [5:45] Tools, tactics, strategies
  • [6:40] Top three Do’s and Don'ts
  • [9:50] How Paul defines efficiency
  • [10:35] George’s favorite productivity story

Salespeople are not born—they are taught

There’s a faulty assumption in the sales industry that anyone in sales was born with a special knack for the industry. In some cases, those people do possess the traits that naturally make them a good salesperson. But George believes it’s a process that can be taught and learned.

You can’t just hand someone a goal and expect them to reach it.

You must train them and give them the guidance and resources needed to be efficient, effective and productive. A sales professional must be allowed to grow and learn just as in any other profession. Give your team the tools they need to reach success.

What is important to the potential client? 

Sales isn’t only about selling. To sell well, you need to understand your potential clients and their needs. You need to be able to pinpoint what is important to them and actually engage with them. 

Most people can recognize when they’re being sold. 

But if you take the time to understand the customer’s needs and connect with them on a deeper level you will be more likely to make a sale. 

What does the productivity formula in action look like?

George points out that you need to know your craft well. Know the product or service you’re selling inside and out. He shares one of his favorite stories in which a sales team was always falling short of closing. He finally realized that they were afraid to talk to the tech people and didn’t know how to engage them.

They had to learn to speak their language.

They had to learn the problems that needed to be solved and be able to communicate that they could solve the problem. Their software would resolve an issue that was forcing the tech force to work overtime every single week. Once they figured that out, they tripled their success rate.

Problem-solve and systematize

George recommends seeking out the friction points in the sales process. Where is the ball being dropped? At what exact point is the sale lost? More importantly—has your best salesperson already solved the problem? Those who are struggling with the sales process can learn and benefit from other peers and managers. 

Once you identify the friction points and solve the issues, you can then systematize the process. This is what leads to efficiency, effectiveness, and therefore productivity. It allows your business to train sales professionals properly and not simply expect success. You begin to create it. 

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with George Brontén

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Oct 30, 2019

Productivity improvement is what every sales professional is trying to reach. Struggling to reach quotas and long work days seem to be the bread and butter of the sales industry—but it doesn’t have to be that way. Carole Mahoney is here to chat with Paul about improving productivity and the positive impact it makes on every part of your life. 

After graduating with a degree in Marketing & Business Management, Carole dove into a sales and marketing career. In 2014 she founded Unbound Growth—a business dedicated to coaching start-ups and experienced entrepreneurs alike to reach their goals. Carole knows how to help you move from struggling to make quotas to becoming top salespeople in your company. 

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:18] Carole Mahoney of Unbound Growth
  • [1:20] Carole’s take on Productivity
  • [2:30] Improving day to day productivity
  • [5:20] Set personal meaningful goals
  • [7:00] What attributes lend well to productivity
  • [8:20] Productivity tools, tactics, and strategies
  • [11:20] Top 3 dos and top 3 don’ts
  • [12:50] Favorite productivity story
  • [14:55] Productivity leads to a clear mind

Productivity improvement is about goal alignment

Many people struggle with productivity because they do not have clear goals set for themselves. This doesn't just apply to the workplace. A person needs to set deeply personal meaningful goals for their life that productivity at work helps them achieve. This typically goes beyond meeting your basic needs and providing for your family (though important). 

Carole recently coached someone and helped them break down their goals to the root issue: he wanted to earn $50,000 to pay for IVF so that he and his wife could build a family. That was the motivation he took to work every day to help him reach his sales goals. Carole emphasized that no goal is more important than any other—it could be as simple as a college student trying to reach independence. 

Be proactive about where your time is spent

When you aren’t able to be as productive as you think you should be, why is that happening? Are you starting your week trying to figure out what the week will look like? In sales, you are immersed in phone calls and emails. Stop letting them overwhelm you! Be proactive with your time

What does that look like with day to day work? 

The first step is setting goals, both personally and professionally. Then, set aside time to plan out what your quarter, month, and week will look like so that you dive into your day with clear objectives. Make sure those objectives line up with what you’re trying to accomplish and the goals you’ve set. Set 3 priorities that only you can accomplish and distribute or shelf the other work.

The attributes that lend well to productivity

Carole and Paul discuss some of the qualities that you should look for in potential hires that scream productivity:

Does the person take responsibility for the outcomes of any given situation?

Do they own their mistakes or make excuses?

Do they have a positive outlook?

Can they work independently or remotely?

What is their motivation?

You want to look for someone who realizes that everything they do is under their control. From the actions they take to the outlook they have when they start the workday. It all matters

Tools, tactics, and strategies to reach productivity

Carole recommends starting somewhere simple: purchase a planner or a journal to help you map out your time. There are planners geared entirely towards sales professionals, some that are completely customizable, and all simply practical.

Then, start blocking your time. Clear one or two hours in your schedule and group similar tasks together. In doing so, you’re not forcing your brain to constantly adapt to very different tasks. Alternate these blocks of time with 5-10 minute breaks to allow yourself to recharge. The genius is in the simplicity. 

Carole covers her top three “Do’s and Don'ts” and her favorite productivity story—listen on to hear the full conversation!

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Carole Mahoney

Connect With Paul Watts 

Subscribe to CLIENT PODCAST on
SINGLE LINK PLINK SUBSCRIPTION (must be iTunes/Apple before you can do this)

Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Oct 23, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 165: Steve Benson.

After receiving his MBA from Stanford, Steve worked in Sales at IBM and Google where he was Google Enterprise's Top Sales Executive in 2009. In 2012, Steve founded Badger Maps, an app that helps Field Sales People optimize their routes and schedules to save time and be on time so they can sell more.

Oct 16, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 164: Drew D'Agostino.

Drew is the CEO and Founder of Crystal Knows which is an artificially intelligent psychometric platform which accurately predicts the personality style of people from their social media profiles.

Oct 9, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 163: Wart Fransen.

Wart is co-founder and CEO of LeadBoxer which is a Lead and Customer Data Platform where he spearheads the growth and product development of the company. He has 2 decades worth of experience in SaaS, Software development and Online Marketing. LeadBoxer is the 3rd company he has founded.

Oct 2, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 162: Leeno Karumanchery.

Sep 25, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 161: Kevin Dixon.

Kevin is the founder of Boxxstep - Buyer Relationship Management, the Buyer Enablement platform for complex and enterprise sales which focuses on the before and after in opportunity management!

Prior to Boxxstep Kevin spent 20 years in executive sales leadership roles with global tech companies Ericsson, Siemens and Logica. Kevin was also EVP Sales and board member for successful software start-up elata who were the original pioneers of app download to mobile devices before Apple and Googles solutions.

Sep 18, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 160: Kate Chernis.

Kate is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lately: Marketing agency owner. 25 years brand-building, extensive CMS development, sales and national broadcast communications experience. Clients include Walmart and United Way Worldwide.

Sep 11, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 159: Jon Ferrara.

Jon is a CRM and Relationship Management entrepreneur and noted speaker about Social Media's effects on Sales and Marketing. He has re-imagined CRM by building the Simple Smart CRM for GSuite and Office 365, his most recent venture Nimble.com. It is the first CRM that works for you by building and updating contact data for you, then works with you, everywhere you work.

Ferrara is best known as the co-founder of GoldMine Software Corp, one of the early pioneers in the Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software categories for Small to Medium sized Businesses (SMBs).

He has recently been recognized on Forbes as one of the Top 10 Social CEO’s, Top 10 Social Salespeople In The World and Top 100 Marketing Influencers.

Sep 4, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 158: Shawn Finder.

Shawn is the founder & CEO of Autoklose which is a sales engagement platform with a built-in B2B database. He is a former professional tennis player who has now bootstrapped multiple software companies to break even within 6 months of launch. Shawn is a top influencer in the sales community and speaks globally about prospecting.

Aug 28, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 157: Victor Antonio.

Victor is an author, speaker and business consultant. As a speaker he has shared the stage with some very big names from Rudy Giuliani, Zig Ziglar, Dr. Robert Schuller, Paul Ortellini (CEO of Intel), John May (CEO of FedEx Kinkos) and many other top business speakers.

He is the author of 13 books on sales and motivation and his latest book "Sales Ex Machina: How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the World of Selling" is a must read for anyone wanting to stay abreast of technology and sales.

Aug 21, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 156: Nancy Nardin.

Nancy’s been a salesperson since the early ‘80s, when she sold for the world’s first laptop computer manufacturer, GRiD Systems, in Silicon Valley.

During her 30 year career, she’s provided sales leadership at some of the most well-known analyst firms. Ten years ago, she launched Smart Selling Tools to track Sales Technology trends. Nancy has been recognized in Forbes as one of the Top 30 Social Sales Influencers in the World, and has won numerous top industry sales thought leadership awards.

Recently, she co-founded Vendor Neutral which helps companies more easily decide how to prioritize their needs, and which technologies to purchase to best meet those needs.

Aug 15, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 155: Chris Croft.

Chris has an Engineering Degree from Cambridge. He started his own training company in 1995, since when he has trained over 90,000 people face to face, and a thousand people a day watch his training courses on lynda.com and LinkedIn Learning.

He has courses on Negotiation skills and Sales Techniques, as well as Time Management, Project Management, and perhaps oddly, Happiness He has ten thousand subscribers on YouTube and a million views.

Aug 13, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 154: Lisa Earl McLeod.

Lisa introduced the concept of Noble Purpose in her best selling book, Selling with Noble Purpose. Her research, documents how organizations with a purpose bigger than money, make more money, and experience greater customer and employee retention. Her firm’s clients include Hootsuite, Roche, Volvo, and Dave & Buster's.

Aug 6, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 153: Allan Tsang.

Allan is a Negotiation Coach. His passionate is helping people master negotiation in order to stay safe. Startup to multi-billion dollar global corporations consider him their secret weapon, someone in their corner that they can count on.

Aug 1, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 152: Mike Inman.

Mike has taught negotiations in over 20 countries on 6 continents for the past 8 years. Prior to joining TableForce as an Expert Negotiations Trainer, Mike was a Head of Global Procurement at MGM Resorts International. He has also held procurement and supply chain management roles at American Airlines, General Motors, and Raytheon.

Jul 30, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 151: Mark Meincke.

Mark is a multi award winning author, a former professional sales trainer and serial entrepreneur. Mark has more than 12 years sales experience, since leaving the military.

Mark is the founder of the Okotoks Business Association, Host of the Meincke Show Podcast and has just released a NEW book called the Home Sellers Bible in which he helps people negotiate the best deals.

Jul 25, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 150: Melissa Hereford.

Melissa spent 18 years at the world renown sales negotiation training company BayGroup International and another 3 at Corporate Visions after the company was acquired.

Melissa continues to provide training to sales people, procurement and internal teams to negotiate like humans: to have more authentic and connected conversations, to use their voice for change and show up in their lives with intention.

She has worked with many Fortune 500 companies including Cisco, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard and many more.

Jul 23, 2019

Sales Reinvented Podcast Episode 149: Jeff Bajorek.

Jeff helps sales teams design and implement their sales strategies with a focus on the fundamentals. He believes the answers are often right in front of you, but you’re missing them because you’re searching for a silver bullet that just doesn’t exist.

Jeff is the author of Rethink The Way You Sell: The Five Forgotten Fundamentals of Prospecting, and co-hosts The Why and the Buy Podcast.

1 2 3 Next »