Top Apps for SaaS Salespeople That Promote Productivity and Wellness

The coronavirus has ushered in a lot of change over the last year. Despite initial economic fears of a global shutdown, those in the sales tech industry actually saw a lot of opportunity open up in front of them as companies were scrambling to set up remote workforces. Suddenly, those who were initially hesitant began seeing the value crystal clear as circumstances changed and industries pivoted to meet new consumer and business needs.

This surge in opportunities for SaaS sales might leave employees feeling stuck in overdrive, as if they should continue to strike while the iron’s hot. Couple this with all the transformations in the work environment and our daily lives and it can shake even your best workers. Finding ways to avoid burnout should be a top priority among workplaces today as it is not only crucial for your own individual health, but for the health of the company as well.

In most instances, you know there’s some kind of solution you could implement to help improve your day or a particular pain point. Cutting through the clutter to find what you truly need can be just as daunting a problem in itself, so you end up just tackling it all head on. Luckily, we’ve rounded up a list of apps that can help improve both your overall wellness and productivity so you can remain a sharp salesperson.

Wellness

Not only does the pandemic put people at risk for catching the virus itself, but at this point, it’s been an emotionally taxing issue for more than a year. Many people who did not sign up for remote work are coming up on a full year of isolation from their coworkers. Some people have already made the transition back to the office, or it is coming up soon, as the vaccine continues to be administered.

All this to say, finding ways to take care of yourself has become even more essential. You never know what curveball is going to come next and the stress can really take a toll on your body, which will have an impact on your productivity.

goPuff

Staying nourished and meeting your daily vitamin needs has never been so important. One of the detriments of a busy lifestyle can be a lack of time to devote to your nutrition and the wear it takes on the body over time. Pre-COVID, you might have been used to meeting up with clients or prospects during lunch, but over the last year this might have changed quite a bit.

Downloading an app like goPuff may just help you keep your edge. Not only does it come in handy when you need a midday pick-me-up, but it is a hassle-free way to get the energy and nutrients you need to make a lasting impression on a prospective client. Plus, this delivery service offers contact-free options.

It’s also helpful on those days when it feels like you’re coming down with something, but need to power through back to back meetings. When this happens, you can get over-the-counter medicine delivered so you don’t have to miss a beat. For other creative, time-saving hacks, browse through what other customers had to say in their goPuff reviews about the delivery app.

Balance the busiest of schedules, without completely sacrificing your personal needs.

FitOn

With so many people new to remote work over the last year, the internet has been abuzz with jokes regarding poor posture due to inadequate furniture to work from. But let’s face it, even a few hours in the best ergonomically designed chair still warrants some break time.

Especially for SaaS sales, you may have small windows during the day in between meetings with your manager or client calls. Getting up and taking a break to get the blood flow going again might just be the refresher your day is missing.

With FitOn, you can choose from a number of different stretching exercises that vary in time and intensity. This is perfect for choosing the best option that fits within your individual schedule and physical needs. Then at the end of the workday, you might want to consider perusing all of the other exercises they have available, from workouts designed to incorporate children to exercise plans that can be done right at home.

Headspace

Whether the pressure is on at work, or you’re feeling anxious from any number of things going on in the world today, one great way to stop and refresh yourself is to meditate. Meditation can be particularly helpful, especially now with resources available like Headspace.

Choose from their large selection of guided meditations tailored to your specific needs. It doesn’t matter if you’re new, or have been practicing this exercise for years. Their clips each have someone calmly guiding you through the process step by step.

We’ve all been there, in the middle of a frustrating quarter, and you’re finding it hard to focus or feeling irritated because leads aren’t converting. With guides surrounding focus, anger, creativity and many more, you can have a quick session to work through these moments to renew yourself and pivot your momentum. If you’re unsure if meditation is for you, consider checking out what other users had to say about their experiences using Headspace.

Talkspace

Another impactful part of our health that can interfere with performance is our mental health. Reports of anxiety and depression are reaching new highs, so if you share these concerns know you are not alone. Your mental health shouldn’t just be a priority because it is affecting how productive you are in a day, but because it is our system of coping mechanisms for taking in not only our job but everything else going on around us everyday.

With that being said, you may not have even been aware you were struggling until it started seeping into your workday. Whether or not it gets that bad, its best to try to connect with a professional. For a SaaS salesperson, you might typically find it difficult to add in a commute or a non-work appointment with a counselor to address these concerns of yours. Luckily, with an app like Talkspace, you can have 24/7 access when you need it, and eliminate an extraneous commute altogether.

Talkspace is covered for many by their insurance provider or as part of their company’s employee assistance programs (EAP). Check out your own eligibility to get started on your mental health journey.

Productivity

Once your mind and body are well cared for you can get into the nitty gritty of your individual workflow. As a SaaS sales professional, you’ll need to be keeping tabs on the burgeoning tech trends and also be able to converse with business professionals speaking to some of their more general business interests. Here’s our roundup to fine-tune your productivity.

Evernote

Spend a day in the life of a SaaS salesperson, and you’re sure to want something to help keep your thoughts organized. Each meeting has a different string of thoughts. Being prepared for a meeting with your manager is quite different than a meeting with a prospective client, not to mention how different your clients might be from one another.

With an app like Evernote you can sync your project and meeting notes across your devices. You also have the capability to add in photos or pertinent documents. Or maybe you want to record the meeting so you are actively engaged in the conversation without the distraction of note-taking. You can add the audio file right to your meeting notes and go back through later to jot down any highlights you may want to circle back to.

There are various note templates available to get you started that can keep even the most scattered of note takers end up with an organized record for each meeting, project, or client.

Flipboard

Working in tech sales means keeping tabs on the industry as a whole. When a prospect asks how your product will fit into their established workflow, you’ll need to be able to speak to how it will improve, supplement, integrate or replace any number of their existing systems.

Staying informed is essential to your on-going success. Every tidbit you pick up is preparation for getting that lead all the way through your sales funnel. While we certainly don’t live in a time with a shortage of information or information sharing, this usually just makes finding the most pertinent resources difficult.

With an app like Flipboard you can cut through irrelevant news to create your very own curated feed of tech and software updates and insights. Not only can you get this customized news, but you can browse through flipboards when brushing up on other industries. Looking for talking points for a prospective sale? Check Flipboard to see if anything of relevance is up and coming in their field and connect it back to your software’s capabilities.

SmartUp

Taking a step back from the tech and software specifics, another great tool at a salesperson’s disposal is being able to touch on the value of the product to their more general business interests. It’s also likely that as a salesperson, you’ll come across young businesses, start-ups, or companies that started out as such. Being familiar with venture capital could really step up your pitch.

With SmartUp, you can dive into the knowledge sharing space and either build upon your business wits or start totally from scratch. This app gives you access to learning communities of your choice where you can share what you learn, ask questions, and make yourself a stronger overall salesperson.

Final Words

As any good sales professional knows, having the ability to be flexible and make the most of opportunities is absolutely essential to your day to day and long term success. However, investing in yourself is also crucial to that success. Being your most productive and valuable self comes from a place of balance and setting aside time to make your health a priority and leaving time for personal development.

March 15, 2021/by Michael Ferguson

Personal Branding

Why Every Salesperson Should Blog and How to Start from Scratch

Maybe you’re unaware of this fact, but working as a salesperson ranks among the most common professions in the world.

More than 21 million people worldwide qualify to be known as a “salesperson,” according to a report by the professional networking website, LinkedIn. Understandably, the designations may vary according to the company and your location.

Across these 21 million people, half are women and a small percentage are also underage or minors, depending on labor laws of the country.

What This Means?

The sheer number of salespeople around the world clearly points to one thing: that almost every business on this planet requires people to promote and sell their products or services. As more companies emerge across the globe, especially startups with innovative products and services, the number of salespeople will rise exponentially – to about 25 million – by 2025, say industry experts.

This means hiring a salesperson is extremely vital to every business that’s serious about staying in business. And thanks to the internet, salespeople are no longer required to physically call upon potential and existing customers. Instead, they can work online by sending emails nurturing business and chat online with potential leads, all while and performing other functions at the same time.

Therefore, making an online presence is becoming increasingly important for every salesperson. If you’re a salesperson that’s serious about your career, it is high time you also craft an excellent online presence that aligns with your personal and professional goals.

One of the best ways to create an online presence as a salesperson is by starting your own blog, and here are some of the undeniable reasons why:

Why Should Every Salesperson Have A Blog?

Some may consider sales a profession that doesn’t require or merit blogging, so you may be wondering why I’m suggesting it.

In fact, blogging is essential for every salesperson, whether they are working for a neighborhood brick-and-mortar or selling online for a large multinational company with global presence.

Here’s why:

Blogging Makes You Popular

As a salesperson, you’ll be familiar with this scenario: some people will buy from you regardless of anything. And some people just won’t convert as customers despite your best efforts and excellent service. This is part of human psychology; nobody can predict why a person trusts someone while distrusting the other, though both are perfectly honest.

However, it’s common knowledge that people will always approach a popular person when they wish to buy something. This flock-mentality, as we call it, leads people to believe that a person is popular due to their honesty, integrity and skills.

Blogging helps you to develop this trust factor among customers and potential leads. They’re curious about what you’re offering and would like to try working with you.

Honesty Breeds Loyalty

Understandably, not everything that your employer sells in the market will match customer expectations.

Blogging provides you excellent opportunities to write honest reviews about products or services you’re selling, and with some good writing skills, you can present pros and cons of whatever you’re selling in a very positive light that doesn’t harm your employer or customer.

When you’re honest about what you’re selling as salesperson through a blog, it’s natural that customers and potential leads will be drawn to you. They’ll be interested in knowing more about a product or service, as well as about you as an individual. Because your honest blogposts and reviews are a clear indicator that you’re there to serve the customer’s interest too it makes it easy for them to pinpoint you as a potential resource.

Interaction with Customers & Leads

Frequent, healthy interactions with existing customers and potential leads is the secret behind the success of every salesperson. Blogging increases the reach of potential leads you can work with more than just cold calling and emailing alone. People interested in your products will ask questions before they buy. When you respond to their queries honestly and resolve every doubt, there’re excellent chances of converting these lead as customers.

You can also make discreet special offers to convert a lead into a client. And that works wonders for your career. That’s exactly what happens when you blog as salesperson. Customers can post questions and comments about the product or service you’re promoting. Responding to concerns immediately by taking proper measures instead of allowing an issue to magnify will make your life easier as a salesperson and you will be thankful.

Starting Blog from Scratch as Salesperson

If you recognize how these three advantages can help your career as a saleperson, you might now be wondering where to start if you need to make one from scratch.

Here are some basic tips on how to get started:

Read or Watch an Excellent Tutorial

I’ll start by assuring you that starting a blog from a scratch isn’t difficult. Obviously, you’ll have to exert some extra efforts. There’re several outstanding tutorials online about how to start blogging. Read a good article written by any successful blogger. Most successful bloggers also have their own YouTube channels. Subscribe to this channel to learn a lot about creating blogs that cater to large audiences.

YouTube Videos on Blogging

Usually, every successful blogger shares their knowledge with people like us through their own YouTube channels. Look for these video tutorials from any excellent, celebrity blogger from any country. Subscribe to their YouTube channel to get updates on what’s going on in the world of blogging and keep an eye out for trends in content or styling that can help you stay ahead of the curve.

Learn Basic Digital Marketing

Digital marketing consists of various processes that enable you to reach a broader audience that’s looking for something specific such as your product or service. Nowadays, excellent digital marketing courses are very affordable and available online. As salesperson, understanding digital marketing will help you be successful in marketing yourself as well as the business you are representing.

Invest In a Paid Website

You can open a free blog or invest a little money on a paid website. Nowadays, you can get a domain name and hosting for as low as $99 per year using websites like Squarespace or Wix, which is fairly affordable for every salesperson to start a blog from scratch. We recommend you opt for a WordPress website since updating it frequently and performing digital marketing processes are much easier on this hosting platform. There are also free options like Medium.

Use Social Media

No salesperson can afford to ignore the importance and relevance of social media. Maybe your employer already has an excellent social media page on Facebook, a Twitter account and some presence on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and other platforms, but you can and should too. Promoting your personal blog by leveraging social media to get more followers that eventually translate into leads and sales is probably one of the easiest methods of reaching a largest audience.

In Conclusion

Now that you know how to start a blog from scratch, we suggest you get started right now. Blogging also gives you the potential to make money through online resources such as Google AdSense, sponsored posting and affiliate marketing. Add to the success you aim to achieve as a salesperson by taking advantage of the many benefits of starting a blog. Good luck!

If you’re a salesperson looking to jump start your career or make the next big move, Rainmakers can help connect you with companies seeking a skilled sales rep just like you. To join our career market place, visit www.Rainmakers.co

February 14, 2020/by Michael Ferguson

Personal Branding

Personal Branding Roadmap Template For 2020 Sales Job Seekers

The importance of personal branding for career development is more vital now than ever for career salespeople thinking long-term. Your online reputation is now your resume and the key to future career growth.

Having a personal brand gives you tremendous leverage when it comes to landing great career opportunities. For example, you might lack the job experience requirements for a role you really want, but having a strong personal brand may be able to compensate for that.

5-10 years ago, finding a new job worked heavily in the employers’ favor. Fast-forward 5-10 years later and digital transformation has shifted the advantage to the candidate. The MRI Network stated:

“86% of recruiters and 62% of employers felt the 2016 labor market was candidate-driven.”

Take a look at Tim Ferris or Gary Vaynerchuk as some key self-branding examples. Of course, they are at the extreme end of the spectrum, but they are the poster children for what you can achieve building a personal brand at scale.

Before diving into actionable personal branding techniques for job seekers (especially those in sales), it’s important to point out a hard reality. It isn’t going to be easy.

Building a personal brand is going to be a huge time commitment and will show little return in the short-term, but the long-term gains for the future of your career are limitless if you put in the blood, sweat, and tears in the beginning.

To get started you need to start asking yourself the questions below and write them down inside a google doc sheet or piece of paper.

Answer these questions to help you build out your personal branding roadmap in 2018:

What is your “value” differentiator?

Who is your target audience?

What channels does your target audience live?

What outcome are you trying to achieve short-term?

What outcome are you trying to achieve long-term?

What is your motive for building a personal brand?

What keywords do you want to be found for?

What is your content strategy?

What KPIs are you going to commit to (daily/weekly)?

1 – What Is Your Value Differentiator?

The importance of personal branding for career development all starts with understanding your “value” differentiator.

This will sound like a daunting task in the beginning. The easiest way to understand this is by understanding your strengths and weaknesses.

What makes you standout amongst the noise as a candidate every employer would want to hire?

What makes you the expert in your field?

This is the key to getting started with your personal branding plan.

Determine Your Strengths/Weaknesses:

Take out a piece of paper and start writing down your strengths on one side of the page and weaknesses on the other. What wisdom do you have in your field that others don’t? Where do you lack wisdom?

If you get stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to your co-workers and managers from your past and current jobs.

Really challenge yourself to understand your weaknesses because these will show you areas that need improvement.

You should consistently thrive to optimize your value differentiator.

2 – Who Is Your Target Audience?

To capture the right employer’s attention, it’s imperative that you understand your personal brand target persona. This is comparable to understanding personas in sales and marketing.

Make a list of all the influencers, employers, or decision makers you are trying to start conversation with or get attention from. This should help you build out your target audience.

Industry: Thinking long-term about your career what industry do you want to work in for the rest of your career? Narrow this down to your niche as much as possible.

Seniority Level: Do you speak to executives, mid-management, or practitioners?

Job Function: Do you speak to marketing, sales, IT, or accounting?

Industry Influencers: Who are the experts in your field?

3 – Which Channels Actually Matter To Your Target Audience?

This part should be easy. The importance of personal branding for career development starts with not only understanding who your audience is, but even more important, is where do they live?

For most B2B professionals, LinkedIn is the best place to build your personal brand.

In most cases, your target audience will be engaged on multiple channels. Pick two channels (three at most), in the beginning, and really focus on those as you are getting started.

Twitter

Quora

Facebook

Instagram

Snapchat

4 – What Outcomes Are You Trying to Achieve Short-Term?

In the beginning, when building out your personal branding plan, it’s vital to understand what outcome you are trying to achieve.

What are your short-term goals? These are outcomes you can achieve as little wins in a short-period of time. Most of these will be around audience growth and engagement metrics.

Some recommended short term goals to help you get started:

Grow targeted following

Create 1-1 conversations

Content creation

Content curation

Profile views

Connections

5 – What Outcomes Are You Trying to Achieve Long-Term?

Short-term wins over time will help you get to your long-term goals. Your goal here is to turn your short-term wins into habits that help you get to your long-term goals faster.

Long-term goals should incorporate building real expertise in your field that captures the attention from your employers based on association and wisdom.

Some recommended long term goals to help you get started:

Inbound 1-1 conversations with target employers/recruiters

Increase in number of qualified interviews

More opportunity in higher positions

More qualified connections with industry influencers

Interviewed on top industry podcasts

Guest posts on top industry blogs

Link to this podcast → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKeolScvBdI

6 – What’s Your Motivation For Building A Personal Brand In The First Place?

This one should be obvious, but it must be part of building out your plan, so you don’t lose track of why you are investing the time and energy.

For example, musicians build a personal brand so they can get booked for more shows and gain more fans.

For B2B professionals, you may be looking for thought leadership opportunities such as speaking at a conference.

This exercise might also help steer you AWAY from building a personal brand (and that’s okay).

Ask yourself these questions:

Why am I building a personal brand?

Who is going to benefit from my personal brand?

Am I doing this to give more than I receive (or vice versa)?

Will I be focused on building strong relationships?

If the answer to these questions seem to be more “me” focused than “we” focused, it might not be worth making the commitment.

7 – Which Keywords Do You Want To “Rank” For ?

Understanding keywords that you want to be found for will help drive the long-term success of your personal brand. Keywords play a major role when setting up and optimizing your social profiles (or website) to be found by employers in the short-term and long-term.

Using the “skills” section inside your LinkedIn profile will help you determine which industry keywords employer’s and recruiters search the most. This should be a pretty simple process, but you can also search industry hashtags using hastagify.me to get more granular in your search.

8 – What Is Your Content Strategy?

Want a little known secret to building your personal brand, FAST?

Content. Simple as that.

Content is the key driver when building a personal branding plan that captures attention at scale. The key here is to be super strategic with the content you curate, create, and share.

Aligning your “value” differentiator with your content is key to capture your target audience’s attention. Your keyword strategy will need to be integrated heavily into this strategy.

Focus on these two key areas:

Content Curation – Sharing other people’s content is vital (especially in the beginning) to driving more targeted connections, conversation, and attention. Who are the industry influencers in your space? Who are the key employers you are trying to get in touch with? Use their content to drive the conversation using a value vs ask approach.

Content Creation – Creating original content should be a priority. It’s the only way you will gain the reputation as the expert in your field. This should be a mix of video and blog content. Using LinkedIn publisher should be a key area of focus. This builds your credibility inside your profile and allows recruiters to understand your “value” differentiator. Eventually, building your own website will need to happen as well.

9 – Which KPIs Will You Commit To (daily/weekly/monthly)?

Consistency is the key to driving short-term and long-term success.

How many times a week are you going to curate content?
How many times a week are you going to create content?
How many times are you going to post on dedicated channels daily?
How many times will you engage daily? Weekly? Monthly?

Build out a posting strategy that holds you accountable and turns your activity into a habit. Using social publishing tools like Sprout Social, Buffer, or Hootsuite will help you automate the process to become more efficient.

NOTE: In the beginning, stay away from automation as much as possible. Really focus on the 1-1 conversation to build relationships that matter.

Putting Your Personal Branding Roadmap into Motion

This all might sound like its going to be a lot of work (and it will be), but start focusing on taking baby steps in the process.

After you start seeing short-term wins it will help you pick up momentum.

Think about the next 10-20 years of your career.

Visualize the opportunities that will come your way if you put in the time now, so you can reap the career rewards later!

September 19, 2019/by Jack Kosakowski

Personal Branding

Branding Tips for the Modern Salesperson

How do you keep up and stand out in an ever-changing job like sales? Whether you’re an industry veteran or a rookie fresh out of college, it’s important to create a personal brand that will position you as a cut above the rest in the modern-day salesforce. From professionalism and personality, to style and voice, there’s much to consider when it comes to properly branding yourself. The good news is, we are covering it all with these tips below!

Personal branding tips:

Professionalism is a must for any reputable and successful salesperson, especially if you’re transitioning from the role of a college student to a young professional. To send the message that you take your career seriously, and with pride, it’s equally as important to look the part as it is to act the part. Looking professional on the outside will help you feel confident and ready to take on anything sales may throw at you.

Start by revamping your wardrobe and style. If you’re a young professional, there’s no better time to get new, career-savvy clothes that fit the persona you want your personal brand to convey. A guaranteed way to look more professional is to own well-fitted clothing. Clothing that is baggy or long can appear sloppy and careless, so buy suits, dresses, or blazers that provide the perfect fit. Invest in custom tailor pieces that elevate your look beyond ready-to-wear clothes. This way, you can choose styles and colors that show off your personality while still looking professional. Nowadays you don’t even have to leave your house to get tailored. Places like iTailor make the process easy and stress-free right from your computer.

Then, be sure that your hairstyle matches your look for your new career. Your hair should always be brushed, tangle-free and neatly styled. If you have long hair, you might consider keeping it pulled back and out of your face for a clean look. For men specifically, it’s best to keep a clean-shaven face or a well-groomed beard ahead of an interview or your first day on the job. To achieve this look, always use a new razor blade and high-quality products to avoid any noticeable irritation or cuts that can cause a distraction from the rest of your professional look. Speaking of online ease, all of your necessities can be found in one place at Harry’s. You can order as often as you please or sign up for a subscription that guarantees delivery at a predetermined timeline that works for you.

Remember, it’s a good practice to dress for the job you want. Once you’re settled into your job, you may need to adjust your look slightly to fit with your fellow salespeople and company dress code standards. However, you can take it a step further by looking to those you admire at work and mimicking their dress, like adding a nice watch or wearing a tie every day. Contrarily, you may be able to alter your style with a more personalized touch like showing off your tattoos or having a longer beard, once you know what looks are appropriate at your company.

When you look good on the outside, you’re bound to feel good on the inside and to be successful in sales, it’s crucial to be friendly and outgoing, which is easier when you feel confident.

Authentically living your company’s brand:

When you start your position as a salesperson, it’s vital to start taking your company’s brand into consideration. You’ve mastered revamping your personal brand but embracing the brand you’re working for is just as important when it comes to selling. When engaging with others via email or talking over the phone, be sure to match your company’s tone, voice, and style, while still adding your personal flair.

To help you do this, first familiarize yourself with your company’s brand by heading to their blog and following their social media accounts. There is valuable information on exactly what your company does and how they do it right at your fingertips! Plus, the coworkers that are creating content on the blog know all about the proper voice for selling your company to the outside world, so it will be easy to mimic that when you see it in front of you. The more you know about your company, the better you will be at selling it to others because you can build more trust by knowing the ins and outs of what your company does every day.

To continue working on living your company’s brand make an effort to improve communication between sales and the rest of your company. This can help with knowledge transfer, brand awareness, and encourages cross-departmental training. You can do this by setting up casual meetings, going to employee events, or even getting lunch with someone outside of your team.

You can display this knowledge internally and externally to show that you truly care about who you work for; you should take pride in showing off your employer’s brand just as much as your own! Remember, it’s never too late to start doing this. Even if you have worked with a company for years, there is always growth and change happening, so don’t be afraid to branch out at work, get to know others and expand what you think you know about your employer.

How to keep your brand up-to-date:

If you want to be the best salesperson you can be then it’s about being able to be flexible with the constant change of the salesforce. Don’t be afraid to rebrand yourself if needed with the tips above, especially if your company is going through a rebrand as well. But no matter what the circumstances are, there are also some ever-green tips to keep in mind when it comes to being a great salesperson.

A lot of modern-day sales is done online and over the phone, so being personable, human, and sincere via the tech tools you may be required to use on the job isn’t an easy task, so showing off these skills is key in a sales position. Plus, being friendly and personable will never go out of style! Keeping an ongoing dialogue and friendship with your customers will only help keep the relationship strong and help retain them as clients. Let your client know that they are heard by actively listening to them and answering their questions to the best of your ability; don’t ever write a client off or act too robotic. In turn, don’t be afraid to ask questions! Dig deeper into their needs from you and your company because the more you nurture your relationships with clients, the easier it is to set yourself up for an up-sell or use current customers to attract new ones. Referrals to new clients become natural and effortless when you have a relationship of good stature with your customers. No matter the changes that your company or team is going through, keeping your brand, personality, and knowledge at the forefront of your work can help you succeed as a salesperson.

As time goes on, the hardest thing about sales can be keeping your personal brand up-to-date. This can be anything from your style, and language, to utilizing your company to gain knowledge. Using your employer and coworkers to live your company’s brand will always help you sell successfully. From the online blog to sales analytics, the more knowledge you can gain to become an expert in the sales field will only ever help your career. Being in sales, you are the first look into your company from the outside, so being confident in yourself and aware of your company’s brand are two small things that will always help you stand out.

Remember, sales is a market thats always changing so it can be difficult to brand yourself to stand out. With these tips on how to establish your personal brand and live your company’s brand, you are sure to keep-up with the salesforce regardless if you’re a seasoned salesperson or new on the market. To further your knowledge on sales, check out the Sales Classes on our blog for more in-depth tips on how to be a great employee!

August 30, 2019/by Zach Share

Personal Branding

Becoming a Rainmaker in Your Sales Career

What Does it Mean to be a Rainmaker?

In sales, a rainmaker is somebody who brings in an abundance of income into the business. Rainmakers are A-Players that perform above any expectations placed on them by the company, and in many cases themselves. Becoming a rainmaker is nothing magical, it simply requires a clear and diligent focus on the task at hand.

The first step to becoming a rainmaker is asking the question, “How do I become a rainmaker?” Top performers in sales are constantly asking the right questions. Asking the right questions leads to getting the right answers, which is absolutely necessary to become successful.

Most rainmakers have a range of skills and abilities used to understand and form alliances, as well as challenge and push for the right outcomes to create success. Those who can make this happen are not only top performers in sales, but they quickly climb the career ladder.

The Winning Mindset

Many people think becoming successful has to do with where you are born and how privileged your childhood was. It’s a way of shrugging off their own opportunity to achieve the heights of economic success.

Anybody with the right mindset can become a rainmaker, never forget that.

Speak to people like the valuable interesting human beings they are. Often in sales people are just looking for the next client. They can only see people as wallets with feet. This is the exact wrong way to become successful. Treat people with respect and love, make connections without having the expectation of getting paid. This is why it’s very important to focus on areas that you are actually interested in.

Working in a sector you enjoy will make all the difference. Work will become a labor of love instead of a service to a soulless taskmaster.

The Skillset

To be successful in sales you need to have an understanding of these 4 fundamental skills:

Listening
Expertise
Asking The Right Question
Control

The emphasis today on personal and professional development has never been higher. There is so much free content out there that you would be foolish to ignore.

During your day while your commuting, working out, or walking your dog, you can be listening to valuable content in audio form. There are thousands of hours of books, lectures, and discussions about sales and how to rise to the top.

If you have time to read, check out these essential sales books for building a rock solid foundation in your career.

Listening

Sometimes we simply forget to listen. We are so busy trying to figure out the best way to respond to an objection that we don’t hear the individual’s actual problems. Most people will be happy to pay you if you can solve their problem, but what exactly is their problem? Locate what’s causing them the pain in their life and do your best to help. If you can’t, simply refer them to somebody who can. Use that as a stepping stone to build a network with other people in your industry who provide services you don’t.

Become An Expert

Again this is why it’s important to love your area of sales. It will be a painful journey to become an expert in something you don’t care about. Also, people in need will be coming to you for help, if you sell them your product or service, and it’s not the right fit, then you just caused even more problems for the individual.

Actually helping someone requires skill, knowledge, and experience. If you feel you lack any one of those 3 factors, do whatever you can to build on them as soon as you possibly can.

Questions

Asking the right question is the only way to truly know what your client, or potential client, really needs. Preparing some thoughts before a call can help, but you never know what somebody will actually say.

Keep an open mind, relax, and remember what you have to offer. That is the best way to allow the right questions to surface while you’re in an important conversation.

Control

Maintaining control during a conversation is incredibly important. This should come easily if you are truly an expert in your field. No client should be able to tell you how to do your job better than you’re already doing it, even though they may try. Once you lost control of the conversation the client will no longer see you as an expert and it will be harder to convince them that your service is right for them.

Conclusion

Maintain a high degree of skill and understanding in your field will instantly attract clients. The good news is that most people won’t bother putting in the hard work that will get you to the top. If you really want to blow away your competition in sales, simply follow the basic advice above, and don’t stop working so you can confidently call yourself a rainmaker!

November 12, 2018/by Michael Ferguson

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