The first of many employee spotlights to come, here’s some advice and nuggets of grand sales wisdom from Bizness Apps VP of Sales, Mike Jacobsen.
Q: To start, has sales always been in your blood?
A: I grew up on horse property in the East Bay town of Clayton, CA, nestled under Mt. Diablo. Thinking back on my childhood, I can remember some industrious things I took on around the age of 12. I went door-to-door offering the services of the neighborhood kids to do odd jobs like garage clean-up, weed-whacking, brush removal, etc. I was placing a bid for the work, paying my friends hourly to do it, and was also willing to guarantee the service. I look back and now realize I might have been breaking labor laws by paying my friends $2/hr. for hard manual labor. At age 15, I moved onto buying and selling cars, which I’m sure my mother didn’t like, since they were stored all over our yard (luckily we had 5 acres). My mother used to refer to me as “The Horse Trader.” Apparently this an old saying that nobody today has ever heard of…
Q: Can you cite a couple qualities or experiences that have made you so successful in sales?
A: To succeed we must first know what it’s like to fail. I like to assess the situation and pull the trigger quickly to move on to the next issue and learn from the results. I also encourage my reps to dig deep and find the reason behind the reason.
Q: If you could pass along a word of wisdom to someone who dreads the cold call, what would it be?
A: It’s important to understand why the person answering the phone would help you land an appointment with the decision-maker. How does my product directly or indirectly help the gatekeeper? If you have a solution to make the gatekeeper happy, you will land a meeting.
Q: Any common sales advice out there that’s just plain bad?
A: Over time, I’ve heard a lot of reps tell prospects they’ll be the “one point of contact” for them once they onboard, which generally isn’t the case. Salespeople need to lay out the facts: the support team behind them is more knowledgeable in handling support-geared questions, and also have the time allocated to deal with any technical issues. The skill set of the salesperson is to onboard and give a clear expectation of the process that follows.
Q: How has sales transformed over the last 10 years or so? With the entrance of new technology and a more digitalized sales process, has the in-person sale become obsolete?
A: Sales today is a world apart from where it was 10 years ago. Nowadays, there’s a great deal of research happening before the salesperson gets an opportunity to present the product. Prospects know the history of the company via Crunchbase or even Glassdoor. That’s right—prospects are reading Glassdoor reviews to see what the employees think of the company and product. Sales cycles have also been shortened with technology like screen-sharing and collaborative software. If you’re wondering if in-person sales are obsolete below the enterprise level, go to Jack in the Box and order your food through the touchscreen kiosk next time.
Q: What’s the most rewarding part of your workday?
A: Seeing reps get outside their comfort zone and try something new, and consequently get the sale or learn from the experience.
Q: What about the most exciting part?
A: The end-of-quarter sales push is like Mardi Gras, the World Cup, and skydiving rolled into one week!
Q: Is it true? Can you sell ice to an Eskimo?
A: To put myself through college, I drove a tour bus in and around Death Valley during the summer months. We catered to Eskimos wanting to experience the “Real California” and I bought into a shaved ice shop located at the only stop on the route. (If you believe this, you might be interested in the Arizona beach house I have for sale.)
We’re always here to help with sales & marketing tips! Our Reseller Success Coaches help pave your way to success once our sales team brings you on board. (Just stop listening if they mention shaved ice or beach houses…)
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