WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:03.799 When I engage someone with that kind of expertise or skill set that I don't 2 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:07.799 have, I should be taking things away from that that allow me to up 3 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:16.039 level my skill. You're listening to the Audible Ready Podcast, the show that 4 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:21.000 helps you and your teams sell more faster. We'll feature sales leaders sharing their 5 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:25.199 best insights on how to create a sales engine that helps you fuel repeatable revenue 6 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:29.039 growth, presented by the team Afforce Management, a leader in B to B 7 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:35.479 sales effectiveness. Let's get started. Hello and welcome to the Audible Ready Sales 8 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:40.759 Podcast. I'm Rachel clap Miller. Today we are going to take on an 9 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:45.479 important topic for all of us, especially if we are struggling this quarter this 10 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:49.520 year, having a tough go of it, and it's about asking for help. 11 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:52.960 Brian Walsh joins me today to talk through this. Hi Brian, Hello, 12 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:59.079 Rachel. I like taking on this topic because I feel like sometimes as 13 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:02.439 salespeople, we may be hesitant to ask for help. We don't want to 14 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:04.799 show our weakness, we don't want to show where we might be weak. 15 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:11.120 So this will be a good conversation today. I would just also add I 16 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:15.719 just think sometimes we get so caught up in the moment or the day to 17 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:19.319 day, because you know, there's so much attached to what we do as 18 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:23.480 sellers, like we've got to bring business over the line, right, so 19 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:26.879 we get so wrapped up in that that we can forget some of the other 20 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:30.959 important stuff. It's one of those topics, right, Yes, And it's 21 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:37.519 important to know how to ask for help and get it from the right people 22 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:41.480 in your sales organizations. So let's just take this first, Like I'm sitting 23 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:45.120 here, I'm struggling. I need some help, whether that be on a 24 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:49.280 deal pipeline, whatever it is. Where do I start? Okay, great 25 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.959 question. I think you always go back first and foremost too, like what 26 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:57.719 have we already put in place as an organization? So you know, let's 27 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:00.319 go back to the one thing that most people prop we have in some form 28 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:05.959 of fashion of their company, which is some sort of documented sales engagement process. 29 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.400 That's not only what do we do internally about how do we engage with 30 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:12.639 customers? Right? And I would say that's always the first place to go 31 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:17.159 because somebody put some thought into that and took some time to define by different 32 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:22.280 sales stages. Hey, here are all the different players inside of our company, 33 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:25.280 who are typically going to be engaged at one given stage of the customer 34 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:30.439 journey or another. So for example, you know early stage discovery versus mid 35 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:35.719 stage solution, architecting and engineering, those kinds of things. So who are 36 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:40.159 those different roles in those different moments and what roles do those people actually play, 37 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:46.199 meaning what are they responsible for bringing to the table. That's I think 38 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:50.520 always the best place to start. And as we know, those sales engagement 39 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:54.240 processes customer engagement processes depending on our company, can be very detailed, or 40 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:59.199 they could be not so much and you might not find them to be helpful. 41 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:02.000 So what do I do if I don't feel good or I can't find 42 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:07.199 the answers in that engagement process? Help me get my mind right about where 43 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.080 to go for help? Okay, so great second question. And even if 44 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:14.680 you do have an engagement process, I think this applies, which is you've 45 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:16.560 got to remind yourself that, Okay, I am the tip of the spear, 46 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:21.120 right, My job is to do certain things specifically, but also to 47 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:28.039 lead the entire engagement. Why I may not be leading specific actions are executable 48 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:32.280 things, I am still the general of the opportunity, right, So if 49 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:38.439 that's true. For example, I've got responsibility to lead great discovery and expand 50 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:42.240 the customer's mindset and get more people from the customer involved, help the customers 51 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:46.840 see the value of getting multiple players into the conversation, understand the pain, 52 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:51.240 help the customer think about outcomes and metrics that are going to be important for 53 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:54.680 success, and get people to be willing to move an engagement forward. But 54 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:59.599 I should also be thinking about, right, well, what are the other 55 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:02.599 resource versus I have in my company. I don't need a sales engagement process 56 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:06.520 to tell me that. I can look around right the universe of my organization 57 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:11.000 say, okay, who are those different folks, what roles do they play? 58 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:14.680 How do I pull them in? And maybe more importantly, not only 59 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.199 how do I pull them in and what role are they going to play, 60 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:21.279 but how do I get them prepared to enter the customer conversation in a way 61 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:26.680 that brings value to that customer and then to the customer overall. Right, 62 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.279 so you know, I've got some product expertise over here, and those folks 63 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:34.279 should be really great at helping me defind requirements and metrics and talking about how 64 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:41.319 we do those things and how we do them better than others, and how 65 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.439 because of the way we do them, the customer has a better chance of 66 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:47.759 getting two outcomes right, those kinds of things. So I think you've got 67 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:51.920 to be thinking about how do I overlay the different types of expertise we have 68 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:57.920 in the company at the right time and place and you know, when I 69 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:00.040 want to get them involved. And I I do think that's kind of the 70 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.759 trickier part to this. Knowing who you've got and what expertise they have and 71 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:09.199 what roles they can play is typically pretty self evident. But I do think 72 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:14.879 the art in this is helping think through, Okay, who am I taking 73 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:18.120 on a first call? Maybe nobody by the way, versus who am I 74 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:21.800 taking on the fifth or the sixth or the seventh call? And how am 75 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:27.399 I going to do that? Because I think you've got to think about a 76 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:31.560 is this the right time and place to bring this resource in based on the 77 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:35.399 objective we have in the moment, Like first calls are a great example. 78 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:39.560 Once you're comfortable. Obviously, when you're newer, you're going to probably want 79 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:43.079 some resources, but once you're comfortable with who your company is and how you're 80 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:46.519 relevant to your customers, there's a lot of value in going on a first 81 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:51.920 call alone because you actually can start to use your resources as a negotiation give 82 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:58.399 get tool right. Rachel is my subject matter expert in this space. Customers 83 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:01.199 always want to meet her, especially the technical buying audience, because they want 84 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.680 to get into the deep dive conversation. But really I want to hold Rachel 85 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:11.680 back. I want the customer to earn Rachel's expertise. So and at the 86 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:15.839 same time, I don't want bringing Rachel to the table to take a conversation 87 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:18.600 it's supposed to be at about the customer and their business and give the customer 88 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.519 the ability to turn it all into a dog and pony show that we have 89 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:25.879 to put on right. So I think that's a really important thing. So 90 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:30.680 that's I think the most important thing to be thinking about here is it's how 91 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:35.720 do I use the people that I have in a moment that creates more value 92 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:41.480 and serves the objective that we have in that moment, not just a show 93 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:45.480 of force. You know, we've got some expertise and some some people in 94 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:49.199 the company who are really smart. That's like it's almost a wasted opportunity when 95 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:53.319 you use them like that. Yeah, I loved it when you said that 96 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:58.000 there's an art to knowing who to ask or who to bring with you on 97 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:02.199 certain steps in sales process. We've all been in those situations where we've brought 98 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:06.279 somebody and they're doing the best job that they can and we did it on 99 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:11.639 a good faith and they've kind of take us down a completely different path on 100 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:15.120 the call and it's gone completely sideways. So I think the next thing to 101 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:19.120 remember is that when you ask for help, it really is a learning experience. 102 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:24.360 When you do it, you should be able to identify what worked and 103 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:26.920 what did and what you don't want to do again. I like that, 104 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.279 and I'll expand on that because I think you're right there. I have a 105 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:33.720 responsibility if I'm asking for help to use that help wisely and get something out 106 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:36.120 of it. And so what I mean by that is you got to be 107 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:42.399 on the lookout for what am I going to learn from this person when I 108 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:46.319 put Rachel in front of my customer. What is it that she's doing that 109 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:48.519 I can start to learn to do by myself. You know, if you 110 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:53.199 think about that, there's a couple of reasons. One is I'm constantly thinking 111 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:58.519 about up leveling my own skill. Right. I saw a video yesterday that 112 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:00.920 I've seen a few times over the years of guys sitting in front of a 113 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:03.839 college classroom, and he said, listen, the worst advice you're going to 114 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.319 get over the next couple of years is from people who come to this class 115 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:09.879 and sit in this chair, because a lot of them are going to feed 116 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:11.600 to the line that says you should follow your passion. And he said, 117 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:16.040 that's not your job. Your job is to find out something, find something 118 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:20.480 that you're good at, and then put the time and effort into becoming great 119 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:22.399 at it. Right, that's when you'll earn the right to sit in a 120 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:26.399 chair like this. He says a lot more pointedly, and I really like 121 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:31.000 his point of view, and I think it applies here. When I engage 122 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:33.720 someone with that kind of expertise or skill set that I don't have, I 123 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.759 should be taking things away from that that allow me to up level my skill. 124 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:43.279 And that way, one Rachel starts to stop feeling like every time I 125 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:46.080 engage her, I'm asking her to do my job for me. Right, 126 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:50.320 that's the first thing. The second thing is Rachel starts to see that I'm 127 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:54.480 valuable in terms of spending time with because she sees, Oh, when I 128 00:08:54.679 --> 00:08:58.879 spend time with that person, they actually start to do these kinds of things 129 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.919 or try to do these things on their own so that they can constantly bring 130 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.000 me in at another level, a higher level. I don't mean hiring the 131 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:09.600 customers organization. I mean higher in terms of value and I am setting up 132 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:13.559 her ability to do that because of how I interact with the client when she's 133 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.679 not in the room. So there's a whole lot going on here, Like 134 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:20.600 there's learning for me, there's relationship building for me, and those kinds of 135 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:24.240 things. So that's kind of how I view the tea up of that question 136 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:28.559 about this being a learning experience. It's a great way to be accountable for 137 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:33.480 what you're bringing to the table as tip of the arrow. As you said, 138 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:35.799 I love that be accountable for asking for help, and you want to 139 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:41.320 ask for help in a good way, Like there's ways to do it that 140 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.639 will benefit you, Right, help me help you? As the old adage, 141 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.960 So how do I help people help me? What tips do you have 142 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:50.440 here? One be specific in your ask, right, what do I need 143 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:54.399 from you? And what can I do to make that easier for you? 144 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:58.440 Right? So that's the first thing. I think the second thing is there's 145 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:03.519 I think following up on both the front end and the back end is important. 146 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:05.000 And what I mean by that on the front end is prep right, 147 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:09.000 preparation. You know, I kind of mentioned that already by saying, tell 148 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.919 them what you need and get them ready, but do the work to get 149 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:16.159 that person ready and be specific in the ask. And on the other side 150 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:20.039 of it, I think the back end follow up includes a thank you. 151 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:24.480 I know that sounds almost doesn't maybe it doesn't need to be said, but 152 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:28.759 I think it's important. There's a thank there's a here's what I've learned from 153 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:31.080 that interaction, right, and here's what I'm going to do with that, 154 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:35.879 or here's what I'm going to do next. So it identifies that's the wrong 155 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:39.879 where I'll go with it. It identifies to that person that you just engaged 156 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:45.279 with, that you saw value in their time right. And again, I'm 157 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:46.960 trying to build a relationship with you that says when I engage with you, 158 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.519 I'm engaging with you for the right reasons, and I'm also learning from that. 159 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.960 I think you should be asking for feedback, Rachel. I really appreciate 160 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:00.360 you doing that. I appreciate you sending that email. I appreciate you making 161 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.360 that call. The next time I do that, i'd like to run point 162 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:05.759 on that, and if you're available, i'd like you to either attend or 163 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:09.799 help me prepare or give me you know, so I can get some feedback 164 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.879 on the other side. And then I think, last, but not least, 165 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:16.840 maybe it doesn't need to be said, but acknowledge was the word I 166 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:18.600 was looking for, So now we can say acknowledge here. I think you've 167 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:22.720 got to acknowledge that you have got to look for people who are worth your 168 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.480 time right when you're gonna ask for help. You got to find people with 169 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:31.519 two things. They've got to have the best skill, but they also have 170 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:35.440 to have the best will or attitude. Yeah, right, because, as 171 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:39.080 someone once said, you are a product of the people you spend the most 172 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:43.519 amount of time with, So spend time with people who are worth spending time 173 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.080 with. That's dead on. I almost I was going to ask you for 174 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:48.919 a bottom line, Brian. That might be your bottom line, but I'm 175 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:52.320 sure you have some other final thoughts you'd like to leave the listeners with, 176 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:56.639 Shay, Well, yeah, I think you're right. That's a big final 177 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:01.039 thought a couple of other things. I think there's nothing wrong with raising your 178 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:05.399 hand early, right and saying, hey, I'm thinking about or I'm dealing 179 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:09.120 with this opportunity. Here's how I'm looking at it. I'd really love someone 180 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:13.399 with some expertise and skill to take a look at it and help me think 181 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:18.639 through. Am I missing anything? Maybe there's something that a strengthened this opportunity 182 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:20.559 that I'm not even realizing or seeing, or a lever I could be pulling 183 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:24.039 that I'm not pulling. You know how, I lights to talk about the 184 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.799 trees versus the forest. I think the further we get into an opportunity, 185 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:31.840 the closer we get to it as account exacts. For example, we have 186 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:35.960 a tendency to start looking at that opportunity as a single tree and getting somebody 187 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:41.080 to help pull us back so that we can see the greater conversation or see 188 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:43.000 the forest. I think is a really good idea. I mean, maybe 189 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:48.600 said you know last Ali, it is we rarely if ever went alone. 190 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:52.320 Why would you lose alone? Right? Because if you get help early and 191 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.919 on, then you have a higher likelihood of winning, right, or at 192 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:01.960 least understanding. Wait a minute, maybe we don't even belong in this opportunity 193 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:03.919 because you've got another set of rise, another point of view. So that's 194 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:07.799 kind of my take on the wrap up. I love it. Thank you 195 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:11.440 Brian Walsh, thank you Rachel, and thank you to all of you for 196 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:16.480 joining us today. Ask for help, ask early, ask often, don't 197 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:20.200 lose Alan, and thank you for listening to the Audible Ready Sales podcast. 198 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:26.480 At Force Management, we're focused on transforming sales organizations into elite teams. Are 199 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:33.480 proven methodologies, deliver programs that build company alignment and fuel repeatable revenue growth. 200 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.000 Give your teams the ability to execute the growth strategy at the point of sale. 201 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:41.960 Our strength is our experience. The proof is in our results. Let's 202 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:46.720 get started. Visit us at force management dot com. You've been listening to 203 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:50.840 the Audible Ready podcast. To not miss an episode, subscribe to the show 204 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:54.360 in your favorite podcast player until next time.