Learn from Tony Hughes - a Sydney based based best selling author, sales leader and speaker on all things sales - and Alex McNaughten, Auckland based sales trainer, advisor and virtual Chief Revenue Officer speak all about selling in a down market, how technology is changing sales and how to do effective sales outreach in 2020!

 Tony has been the most read person in LinkedIn on the topic of B2B sales leadership. He has more than 500,000 followers of his blogs and his most recent book, COMBO Prospecting, is published by HarperCollins and the American Management Association.

Find Tony here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hughestony/

Check out his book Combo Prospecting here: https://www.tonyhughes.com.au/combo-prospecting-book 

Learn from Todd Caponi, a Chicago based best selling author, sales leader and speaker on all things sales! Prior to writing his book Todd spent 4 years building the tech company PowerReviews from the ground up as their Chief Revenue Officer into Chicago’s fastest-growing tech company and before that led a company to a $2.7 billion exit! 

Check out Todd - https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddcaponi/

Check out his book - https://www.amazon.com/Transparency-Sale-Unexpected-Understanding-Transform/dp/1940858801

Discussion between Alex McNaughten from Sales Leaders and Anthony Baxter, founder of Firefly Digital talking about how to approach sales & marketing in the post Covid19 environment for proven revenue results. 

Check out Firefly Digital here - https://fireflydigital.co.nz/

Culturally, ‘Sales’ is a dirty word in New Zealand. Kiwi salespeople often refuse to admit they are in sales as if there is terrible shame in the profession. Companies add to this stigma by disguising sales roles under ridiculous psuedonems like ‘Business Development Professional’, ‘Customer Solution Specialist’ or a ‘Marketing Representative’.  One of the most ridiculous titles I had prior to starting my consultancy was ‘Brand Development Partner’. This attitude is particularly pervasive in the startup community with many Kiwi Startups treating sales as an unpleasant afterthought, instead focusing 99% of their efforts on tinkering and tweaking their product.

As a result of this aversion to selling, many startups put-off thinking about revenue generation for as long as possible, whilst focusing on product development. They are then left very unprepared, with no sales strategy for when their product is ready for market...

An often overlooked part of selling, whether it is pitching to potential investors or trying to close a key deal is your mindset. You can have the best strategy, sales skills and tools in the world but still not be winning if your state of mind is negative. Here are 3 crucial tips to get yourself in a positive frame of mind to increase the chances of winning!

1. Let go of your emotional attachment – Stop going in to meetings or sales calls with preconceived desires and expectations. Let go of any feelings like ‘I need to win this deal’ or ‘That last call went terribly’. You may not realise it, but negative feelings such as desperation can be felt by prospects and can drive away potential business without you even realising. Let go of past mistakes and future concerns and instead focus your energy and attention on what you can control in the present. In this way you will stay more focused, productive and grounded. This will ultimately help you...

Sales is about the customer not about you!

A lot of startups (and bigger companies too) get caught up in telling the world how great their product is, listing new feature after feature but then wondering why customers aren’t flocking to buy. The reality is no one really cares!

iPhone’s aren’t bought because they have the fastest processor or the highest resolution camera – there are plenty of other phones with comparable or better technical specifications. iPhone’s are bought because of the way they make you feel, the prestige they give and how they make life a little bit easier!

Instead of defining each feature your product has on your website and in your sales presentation, start articulating the actual results that your product can provide your customers. Here is an easy process to go through that immediately helps you to think more customer centrically:

• Think about and find a pain point your potential customers have or an area that you can add...

The skills required to make a great sales pitch and consistently win business has changed over the years. Through technology and such easy access to information your buyers today are typically already educated about your product or service before you are standing in front of them. Because of this they are often already much further along the buying journey than you think. As a result of this your approach needs to change to ensure you capture their attention and ultimately secure the deal. Here are a few good tips to ensure that you make the most of your presentation time.

1.    Do your research, understand your prospect and personalise your pitch

In order to empathise and connect with your prospect you need to do your homework before any pitch. This Is usually a mixture of online research and discovery conversations with them. Always put your prospect before your product.

·     Firstly understand exactly who you are...

As a founder or sales professional, it isn’t easy to create strong and succinct sales messaging that describes what it is you do or sell. Having a really powerful story is imperative whether you are raising money, selling to customers or even trying to attract the best talent - people won’t give your company the time of day if you don’t have a simple, compelling story that you can articulate.

It is also crucial that your messaging is aligned across every touchpoint someone might have with your company. This is important because throughout each and every interaction they have, they will be forming their opinion on you! In this article you will find the two biggest mistakes to avoid when thinking about your sales messaging and the five key things to consider to ensure your company story is impactful and helps you to win more business!

Firstly here are two of the biggest mistakes to avoid with your sales messaging:

1.    As a founder who is...