John Golden spoke at the Sales POP! & Pipeliner CRM Power Breakfast in Vienna on October 2nd 2018.

John Golden talked about how to prepare for any professional engagement whether sales-related or other. What to do when you actually engage, plus what pitfalls to look out for and how to ensure you leave a positive, lasting impression. These 5 ways are simple and easy to implement and will lead to more successful, productive and valuable engagements.

John Golden, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer (CSMO) with Pipeliner is the best selling author of two books “Social Upheaval: How to Win @ Social Selling” & “Winning the Battle for Sales”. An acknowledged thought leader and speaker on sales and business strategy, he is the former CEO of Huthwaite (SPIN Selling) and Omega Performance, both global consulting companies and Focused Revenue Results, a management consultancy group. John has spoken to audiences across the globe on various business topics and continues to write prolifically for Sales POP! magazine.

Learn to Thrive, not Survive: Part 1

There is no doubt that we are going through massive disruption, no matter what industry. The status quo is not only being shaken, but it’s also being shattered. We all must find new ways to carry on. Interviewed by John Golden, Mike Lipkin’s explores his suggestion for how to thrive: dancing with disruption.

This expert sales interview explores: 

• Defining dancing with disruption
• Being the person who really knows
• Being an audacious dreamer
• The importance of being simultaneously creative and analytical

Dancing With Disruption:

“There’s a big difference between surviving and thriving,” said Lipkin. One of the biggest common denominators between those who survive and those who thrive is that the thrivers relish their challenges, enjoy big problems, and overcome disruption with enthusiasm. “They’re not just managing life, they’re dancing with it,” said Lipkin. “If you’re someone who dances with disruption, it means, not only do you manage disruption, not only do you solve issues, but you do it in such a way that you motivate, inspire, and enable other people to raise their game and to help them dance with disruption as well.”

Seven Steps to Dancing with Disruption: 1-3

1. Be the person who really knows:

Especially in an age where people are afraid of fake news, it’s crucial to become known as the domain expert. When people talk to you, demonstrate how deeply you understand your subject matter. You want to show your customers that you are experienced, that you understand the market, know details about your product, and are invested in getting to know the needs of your buyer.

2. Be an audacious dreamer:

Be someone who has a dream. Have a dream that is so inspiring, that every time you thinking about it, or ever time you share it, it re-inspires you. Tell your dream to as many people as possible, and trust that at least one person will support you in trying to make it happen.

3. Be simultaneously analytical and creative:

We have to toggle back and forth between analytical thinking, and creative thinking, in order to stay grounded in fundamentals, while also exploring the big picture. How can you find the granular opportunities, and then be creative enough to put them together in unique and innovative ways?

To learn the rest of the seven steps to dancing with disruption, check back on October 28th for part 2 of this expert sales interview! You can also learn more in Lipkin’s book, Dancing with Disruption: The 7 secrets to thriving on massive change so the best people want to partner with you, available on November 27th.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

How to Become a Better Version of Yourself, Every Day

What do the most successful people in the world do differently and better than everyone else? There are successful people in many fields, like sales, and sports, and leadership. What do the elite class, the top 20% of the top 20% do differently and better? These were the questions that Michael Altschuler asked himself on a regular basis – until he discovered an even better question. It’s not what they do, but rather why they do it. What drives these successful people past their comfort zone to become the best or better version of themselves? Altschuler, interviewed by John Golden, discusses how to become a better version of yourself and achieve true peak performance.

This expert sales interview discusses:

• The importance of values
• An easy value assessment
• Fixed mindsets vs. growth mindsets

Knowing and Living Your Values:

Part of achieving peak performance and being the best version of yourself involves knowing your values. “We want to make sure that whatever we achieve, we’re achieving the right thing,” said Altschuler. If you don’t know your values, you could end up taking the wrong path, which will just get you to the wrong place, faster. To avoid this, get a clear picture of your values. Who do you want to be? What do you want to stand for? Develop a moral compass that guides you towards being better. “The world is upside down. It will have you valuing things you shouldn’t, and not valuing things you should,” said Altschuler.

Living Your Value Assessment:

There is a simple, actionable technique to help you decide if you are knowing and living your values. This technique involves asking yourself two questions and rating the answer on a scale of one to ten. The first question is: Am I thinking about my values with everything that I say and do, or don’t do, and the matter in which I say and do them, or don’t do them? The second question is: Am I actually living my values? Striving for a 10 rating will ensure that you truly are living your values, and are on your way to becoming a better you.

The Detriments of a Fixed Mindset:

One of the most significant differences between those who achieve peak performance and those who don’t is their mindset. There are two kinds of mindsets: a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. Those with fixed mindsets believe that the skills, talents, and abilities that they’re born with, plus the circumstances and conditions that comprise their life, totally define who they are. They believe that they will never get better or improve, and often lead rather average lives. These people don’t live up to their potential, and often don’t become the best version of themselves.

The Possibilities of a Growth Mindset:

People with a growth mindset also believe that they are born with a set of skills, talents, and abilities, and circumstances and conditions that make up their life. But, the most significant distinction between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset is that growth-minded people don’t believe their situation defines them. They believe their situation refines them. Through effort, persistence, and resilience, these people overcome obstacles and things outside of their control, and continuously strive for success and personal betterment.

For more information and actionable insights on becoming your best self, watch the full expert sales interview!

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

The Benefits of Being an Outrageously Authentic Salesperson

Most people would probably agree that authenticity is a good quality, especially for salespeople. Yet, many sales professionals struggle to embrace genuine expression of their thoughts and feelings with others. In reality, there is a fear of being outrageously authentic that is keeping sales professionals from engaging with their customers in real ways. Leigh Brown, interviewed by John Golden, explores what it means to be a salesperson that is outrageously authentic.

This expert sales interview discusses:

• Defining outrageous authenticity
• The benefits of outrageous authenticity in sales
• How to encourage outrageous authenticity

Outrageous Authenticity:

What is outrageous authenticity? It involves saying what you think, without being hateful, and owning your own beliefs and opinions. “The outrageous part makes my heart a little sad,” said Brown. “People are so afraid to say what they think, and we’ve come to this point where if someone is blunt and honest with you, it can be perceived as outrageous behavior. We’ve come to a point where authenticity has to be outrageous in the world that we’re in.”

Outrageous Authenticity in Sales:

Buyers are craving authenticity on behalf of salespeople. They are sick of being sold to, or feeling like the salesperson doesn’t have their best interest at heart. Consumers have access to a lot of product information, especially in this new age of technology. Part of why they seek out a salesperson is for an authentic interaction with someone credible who can help them make decisions. Without this outrageous authenticity, salespeople end up shortchanging the customer.

Building Credibility Through Authenticity:

Being truly authentic and genuine with your buyers is a great way to establish yourself and your opinion as credible and trustworthy. “Look at online reviews as an example. If you see a company that only has 5-star reviews, you’re immediately skeptical about the legitimacy of the results,” said Brown. By the same token, if you’re a salesperson that says every product looks good and will be a perfect fit, but never discuss the pros and cons, you’re not painting the full picture. The customer will know that, and be more hesitant to trust your recommendations. Being authentic increases your credibility, differentiates you from your disingenuous competitors, and can help you be more successful in your selling prospects.

Encouraging Authenticity:

Considering the sometimes negative reaction to sharing blunt opinions, it can be challenging for people, especially sales and business people, to be outrageously authentic. But the benefits of being forward in sales are obvious, and consumers want genuine, honest salespeople who openly share their real opinions. Encouraging authenticity begins with knowing people might disagree with you, and might end up disliking you. “It’s important to remember that you don’t have to please everybody,” said Brown. “Everybody is not supposed to like you. We’ve built this sad world that says we’re supposed to be homogenous with the same beliefs, but that’s not who human beings are.”

For more information on outrageous authenticity, watch the full expert sales interview, and check out Brown’s book, Outrageous Authenticity: You Are Your Best Sales Weapon.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

How to Hire Thriving Millennials in Sales

As millennials enter the job force, many of them are going into sales. There are new schooling opportunities, like the DuPaul University Center for Sales Leadership, that make a sales career even more viable for this generation of individuals. Robert Lambert, interviewed by John Golden, discusses hiring millennials in sales.

This expert interview discusses millennials in sales, including:

• The expectations of this generation
• How they integrate with technology
• The way that millennials like to be managed, and how they become managers
• The differences in how millennials like to be compensated

Millennial Expectations:

Millennials aren’t entitled, but they do have strong expectations. It’s not why they are looking for certain things, it’s what they are looking for and what they are expecting from the company that they work for. This generation typically wants to know what you are going to provide them in terms of development. They want to work for a good company, with a good reputation, that participates and gives back to their community. First and foremost, though, they want to make money, they want a solid career track, and they want to be poured into and developed as individuals and professionals. There is a tendency for companies to say, “why should I invest in someone who is only going to be with the company for a year or two years?” but the reality is that millennials will choose not to stay with a company for more than a year or two years if they aren’t invested in first. It has to be a two-way street. If an organization invests in an employee, they will happily stay at the company longer.

Millennials and Technology:

One of the benefits of this new generation and how they are being introduced to the workforce is that they are being trained on CRM and other sales technologies from the get-go. For many individuals who were already working in the sales field when the development of these new tools was released, there was a learning curve and difficulties adapting. However, for millennials, they are even getting trained in CRM systems while in school. Students at the DuPaul University’s center for sales leadership is going to be using Pipeliner CRM in their courses, preparing them to use this necessary tool in their careers.

Millennials and Managers:

70 to 80% of sales managers in this country have never had sales managers training. This includes hiring, recruitment, and onboarding, and continuing training for employees. Coaching is a major skill required for successful sales management, and it’s even more important for millennials who want to be developed. Also, as millennials are getting into sales leadership positions, they want more training for that role so that they can be most successful. Managerial training is vital as this next generation gets hired into the sales force, and promoted into leadership positions.

Millennial Compensation:

One of the biggest differences in millennial preferences is how they prefer to be paid. Newly onto the job market, most of the new hires want to put less at risk financially and prefer a larger base salary and smaller commission structure. This is quite different from how previous generations requested compensation plans. However, after the new generation has been in the job force for a while, they opt to receive packages with smaller bases, and larger commission structures. This initial risk aversion is something to consider when hiring and onboarding someone from this generation.

For more information about millennials in sales, and how to hire millennials for a sales career, watch the entire expert sales interview.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

6-Cs of Sales Chaos with Spencer Marona

As a salesperson, being able to roll with the punches and remain in control of any situation is vital. If you are unable to do so, being able to close the deal is nearly impossible. How do you stay in control when surrounded by chaos and how do you deliver value to your clients amidst the chaos? Spencer Marona talks with us about the 6 C’s of Sales Chaos and how to cut through the noise to close the deal.

Watch Live on 25th October 2018 9am PT/Noon ET

Episode Questions

1. How do you define sales chaos? Can you name some sales related examples?
2. To what should salespeople exactly pay attention to maintain a competitive advantage in order to master adaptabilities and to handle adoptions?
3. How can salespeople implement the 6-C´s of Sales Chaos in their daily workflow?

Our Guest

Spencer Marona

Spencer Marona is the founder and owner of Performance North. Through an objective, scientific, and measurable tool that shows how one’s thinking directly impacts their performance, he coaches and empowers leaders and sales professionals to learn how to utilize their best thinking to become elite.

Links › performnorth.com/ | twitter.com | linkedin.com

Our Hosts

About Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Martha Neumeister

Martha is social media strategist, responsible for all social media platforms of Pipeliner CRM. She is a communication expert with social media affinity, which she has been focusing on throughout her professional career. She has a bachelor´s degree in Entrepreneurship & Management and a master´s degree in Online Marketing which supports her in her career as Social Media Strategist.

About SalesChats

#SalesChats is a fast-paced (no more than 30 minutes) multi-media series that provides leading strategies, tactics and thinking for sales professionals worldwide. It can be found on Twitter (#SalesChats), as a live Google+ Hangout, and as a podcast available on iTunes, SoundCloud and right here on SalesPOP! If you think you would make a great guest for #SalesChats, please contact co-host Martha Neumeister.

#SalesChats is co-hosted by John Golden, CSMO Pipeliner CRM, and Martha Neumeister, Social Media Strategist Pipeliner CRM.

How Mindfulness in the Workplace Brings Happiness and Success

Mindfulness is not just one thing, just like having good health isn’t just about one thing. Being healthful involves eating right, getting enough sleep, proper hygiene, and a variety of other things. Mindfulness is the same way. There are many different aspects and components that go into utilizing a mindful way of thinking and operating. Pandit Dasa, interviewed by John Golden, discusses the components that bring mindful leadership and wellbeing into the workplace.

This expert sales interview explores mindfulness in the workplace, including:

• Being aware of biases
• How to moderate your ego
• Using self-awareness

Mindfulness Through Awareness:

One aspect of bringing mindfulness into the workplace is helping others become more self-aware of their own unconscious biases that they might have. These biases could be directed towards different ethnicities, or genders, or races, and becoming aware of these biases helps sales professionals ensure that they are listening carefully, and not dismissing someone’s ideas just because of these biases. “The moment we see another human being, there are triggers that go off in our mind or in our head that make us feel comfortable or uncomfortable or neutral towards someone,” said Dasa. “Part of being mindful at work is to be aware of that.”

Mindfulness Through a Moderated Ego:

Another component of being mindful at work means understanding our own ego’s, and not letting that get in the way, especially if you’re in a leadership position. If someone communicates an idea, and there is resistance to that idea, don’t let your ego get in the way and get inflamed by it. Instead, have the thoughtfulness and the calmness to hear the other person’s objections, hear their point of view, and understand where they are coming from. Otherwise, ideas will never flow in a consistent manner and quality ideas might be dismissed. “Our ego will always get in the way, thinking that we will always have the answers, and everyone should be listening to me,” said Dasa. Moderating this tendency is an important part of using mindfulness in the workplace.

Mindfulness Through Self-Awareness:

When someone believes that they’re really good at something, and people from the outside can see that they’re not, it’s difficult to have that individual notice their own flaws. “Being self-aware starts with being honest with oneself. It starts with having the desire to learn about oneself and to understand one’s weaknesses,” said Dasa. “If you don’t have an honest desire to learn about your own pitfalls, then it’s not really going to happen.” We all know our strengths, or at least what we think our strengths are, and we can see other people’s strengths and weaknesses, but it’s more difficult to appraise and evaluate areas of improvement. “The only way to really have grown in one’s personal life and professional life and career and our ability to cooperate and get along with one another is to have that self-awareness,” said Dasa.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Nikolaus Kimla spoke at the Sales POP! & Pipeliner CRM Power Breakfast in Vienna on October 2nd 2018.

Digital Automation is the biggest disruption since Cloud Computing (and may even be bigger) yet most people do not yet understand the magnitude of its impact. Nikolaus Kimla will explain how Digital Automation will finally enable systems to work seamlessly together and for businesses to achieve levels of efficiency never seen before. All this without relying on expensive systems integrators, consultants, and IT resources – a real revolution!

Nikolaus Kimla is the CEO of Pipelinersales Inc. and the mastermind behind the development of Pipeliner, a revolutionary sales CRM software. He is also CEO of the Austrian company uptime ITechnologies, which hosted and led the development of World Check, the largest banking compliance solution worldwide, for Thomson Reuters. Nikolaus is the founder of the independent economic platform GO AHEAD!, which orientates itself to the principles of a free market economy and social responsibility. Since summer 2012 Nikolaus Kimla and his family has been living in Los Angeles. He is the author of the books Die IT-Revolution, as well as Salespeople Embracing it All.