Crystal Washington: Looks at the Future of Technology as a technology strategist and certified futurist, she explains aspects of how technology will impact our future and how to be using it more effectively. As we see more and more the integration of artificial intelligence (AI’s), smart speakers and other technology applications; Crystal explains methods and strategies for utilizing technology to increase human effectiveness.

Sales Expert Interview covers:

• Is AI taking over sales industry
• Is social media properly used for sales
• Beyond AI
• Strategies to simply relevant information

Is Artificial Intelligence taking over the sales industry:

Artificial intelligence is a useful technology for setting up appointments and other applications however the sales industry remains about creating genuine human relationships. Crystal shares strategies to be effective in creating a human relationship with customers based on technologies available.

Should companies let their customers know when they are dealing with bots:

Depending on your market as the answer is not a one size fits all answer. Is the process being slowed down or is it making the process more efficient for the customers, does it remain good customer service?

Have people have reached a point where they know how to use social media properly for sales:

A small percent of salespeople use social media effectively. Salespeople often focus on the numbers rather than what can you do by leveraging the information available with social media. Crystal shares how to use technology to connect with people on a human level. Social selling is not a numbers game. This is an opportunity to make an impact and impression.

Beyond AI

Artificial intelligence and social media, what technology will be impacting us in the future. Cyborgs, by definitions we are becoming the cyborg of the 1980s, fitted with our mobile devices. How do you get through to people now involves getting through to external brain (devices) and internal brains.

Often overloaded with technology and information, strategies to simply relevant information.

Do not highlight the technology but highlight the benefit of technology. How do you make it easier for the customer? Figure out if the technology makes you more efficient, effective and connected and throw away the rest. It’s not always about adapting to something the “new”. What benefits your customer? Does the technology align with your company culture and employees?

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.

Organization design involves the options and implications around how to make sound decisions to structure your organization. Amy discusses how in the past organizations were fairly simple. Today, leaders and leadership teams can make a smart decision about their organizational structure to grow so people can come to work and do their best.

Sales Expert interview covers:

• What is organizational design
• Move from structure to execution without parts
• Organizations transition into increased AI
• Flexibility and fluidity is not chaos

What do you mean by organizational design:

Consider how you want to configure your organization so that people can connect the right way in every way (horizontal and vertically). An organizational structure set after organizational strategy to design how to get work done. Organizational design should match the complexity of the organization strategy.

What happens when an organizational structure moves from strategy to execution without the design part.

Organic organizational structure often starts with the people rather than the process taking a strategy directly to organizational chart; designing around people and the people that we have as opposed to an organizational model that can last. By starting with the organizational strategy and look at capability, what is the model we want to organize toward and then let’s build a road map to get there?

How do you help organizations with the transition with of increased of artificial Intelligence, bots, how to combine it with the people:

A strategy is still important. Old business models are being challenged. Create organizations that can sense the environment. Make good decisions around a portfolio of opportunities.

How do you take a very traditional organization to be more flexible and fluid?

Flexibility and fluidity is not chaos. More leadership, more discipline more process in order to be fast and adaptable. It has to start from the top as well as from the bottom. An organizational capability is something that is done together over time.

Leadership of the past transitioning to organizational design:

Modern leadership is not an abdication of decision making. The change is not command and control and tell me what to do but rather providing the framework so that employees can come to work to spend their energy in the right way. The speed of expectation has changed. Pressure to make good fast decision is what drives organizational change. How do we reconfigure to get the right connections to make better faster decisions?

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 av

Data visualization is essentially the story behind the data. Visualization helps show what the numbers are saying and interpret the data quickly. Data in itself can be difficult to consume on its own. Visualization is a translation of the numbers with the use of design and aesthetics; the communication of the data in a visual context for the audience. Communicate with integrity; keep data real, authentic and still consumable.

Sales Expert Interview covers:

• visualizing thought leadership
• Consumable visualized data
• What data is critical to know

What is the idea of visualizing thought leadership:

Research-based information and research-driven ideas. It’s visualizing the data that thought leadership is based upon.

Why is it a difficult process for people to take data to visualization to something that can be consumed?

Data analysts are often focused on the numbers and have difficulty communicating the story. Marketing analysts can have difficulty seeing past the numbers and have difficulty translating the story. Behind every set of data, there should be a story or the data is not helping you.

Understanding which part of the data is critical so you can present the story:

Design plays a critical role in helping the process. Data analysis and graphic representation are critical sides of the same coin. Present the data in a way that the audience wants to consume it or it’s a waste of time.

What has changed, why is the work you are doing become so important to an organization.

With more and more data available and sources of information are being trusted less the attitudes about design have changed. The world of visualization has sky rocketed. Users expect different data communication. The bar has been raised and organizations need to realize and deal with it.

Data is relevant to you and what you are doing:

Businesses have always taken data seriously, now you see an appreciation for visualization communication. It’s easier and more common for smaller and less sophisticated organizations to produce materials that are better quality however it remains difficult to capture what are they really trying to say and this is where design and visual communication helps organizations.

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.

Alan Stein Jr.: As a performance coach this interview looks at the benefits of a coach from a business perspective. Coaches are essential in an athletic context and should be from a business perspective as well. To perform at a high level, to have the confidence to know that they have put in the work to deserve to be successful; blended with the knowledge that they can still get better and there are people that can help them get better. Performance coaching will build confidence in yourself, your team and be demonstrated in performance. Master the basics and you will raise your performance and raise your game.

This Sales Expert Interview covers:

• What is holding your back to be the best
• How to help others gain self-awareness
• What is coach-ability
• Sales effective coaching

In a corporate context, what is holding people back from being the best they can be?

A world-class sales professional should be similar to a world-class athlete in the things practiced daily: mindset, habits, routines, rituals and discipline.

How do you help people with gaining self-awareness?

The key to self-awareness is acknowledging your blind spots. How you view yourself is it in alignment with the way the rest of the world sees you? Self-awareness is not an arrival but rather a process of continuous development.

What is coach-ability:

Humility and openness are the keys to being coach-able. A good coach can see what you can’t see. Elite performers crave the feedback that improves their craft.

Sales manager/ sales leader: no one teaches you to be a coach:

A critical piece to being an effective sales manager or leader is to be a coach to your team. The best tools are the ability to listen and ask the right questions so they find the right answers within themselves. Doing that enough teaches decision making and builds confidence.

Investing in yourself:

If you want your team to be better, you need to also be prepared to get better. People often do not know how to practice to get better at sales and work on the basics. Best coaches make their practices as close to game situations as possible. The best player in the world says the reason he is the best is that he never gets bored with the basics. The basics work. Just because something is basic does not mean it is easy.

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.

Lee Salz: Founder and CEO of Sales Architects, author of several books including Sales Differentiation which was awarded by Top Sales World the silver medal for top sales book of 2018. The philosophy of the book was developed by Lee over the last 30 years and is applicable to any industry and company of any size; the more effective you are at differentiating the more effective you will be at protecting your price margin.

Sales Expert Interview covers:

• Meaning of Differentiation
• Getting to know how Differentiators are used
• Shape and education the buyer decision

What do you mean by differentiation:

Lee breaks this down into two components of what you sell and how you sell it. Are you effectively projecting your passion or belief for the product to your customers? How are you demonstrating your value, how your service or product is of value to the customer? A positioning question, used as an open-ended question, designed to help someone think differently about the solutions they have or could have. Positioning questions are also used to align your particular differentiator statements as part of a solution.

How do you get people to understand and know how to use differentiators:

Who knows more about the world of potential solutions in your industry? A salesperson understands their obligation to help people make an informed buying decision and approaches in a way to help purchasers see solutions. A salesperson also understands the opportunity to shape buyer decision criteria.

Shaping and educating the buyer decision criteria:

do not assume buyers already have their decision criteria. Guide them by asking questions. Lee discusses how to create value in differentiation. Ask questions on things they might not have thought about or thought enough about. Demonstrate expertise, demonstrate care and help make an informed buying decision.

What is the irrefutable differentiator:

you! You are part of the package when a buyer decides to buy the product. The personal value differentiator supports the need to consistently invest in yourself.

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.

Kare Anderson shares her knowledge and experience regarding mutuality in the workforce. The meaning of mutuality in today’s world, when technology is getting increasingly complex, and we can’t all be experts at everything there is a benefit to creating allies. There are benefits to the more diverse your allies are; the more sides to a situation you can see. Discussing how to be specific about what you can offer in an alliance and what you specifically need.

Sales Expert Interview covers:

• How to build allies in the workplace
• Overcome the competitive element in the workplace
• Being specific in what you need
• 2 things to get greater mutuality

In the workplace is not always natural to build allies:

People often feel like they should know everything: encourage people to seek each out and use their best talents with each other and be candid about it. The concept of candor: Culture that promotes candor in the right way; where people feel like they can be honest and open.

How to make allies in the workplace and overcome the competitive element:

A company that characterizes its values; specifically about sharing talents and skills will create that culture. Healthy relationships are based on an ebb and flow of mutual support done over time. Find ways to be helpful and be specific.

Specificity:

Have to know what you need. What do you actually need: take the time out to establish what you actually do need. There is power in being specific. People have forgotten how they come across to other people, be conscious of how you present yourself. Positivity in a work context starts with yourself and your own relationship. In a work context, you have to build a coalition of like minding people.

What are one or two things a person could do differently to set themselves up for greater mutuality:

Get specific on your top three properly interrelated talents. Communication; notice how you speak, the words, notice the melody of the words in keeping others involved in the communication.

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 Be a Top Sales Performer

We’re already into the third month of 2019! How is Q1 looking for you so far? Maybe it started off with a bang. Maybe it has been a slow start. Either way, you don’t want to miss this #SalesChat. Host John Golden interviews Ago Cluytens on how salespeople can better leverage their sales potential and stay motivated when goals seem unreachable. Cluytens will share secrets that have lead to success for him and so many other top sales performers.

Be sure to mark your calendar for Thursday, February 14th at 9am PT and join John Golden, Martha Neumeister and Ago Cluytens to set yourself up for success in Q1 and beyond.

Recorded 7th March 2019 9am PT/Noon ET

Episode Questions

1. What are the top sales secrets that make high performers so much more successful than the rest?
2. What are top sellers doing to be always focused on reaching their sales goals?
3. How salespeople can maximize their own sales motivation and leverage their sales potential?

Our Guest

Ago Cluytens

Ago Cluytens is Practice Director EMEA at RAIN Group, and a recognized global B2B sales thought leader on understanding the buyer’s perspective in sales, Insight Selling, and selling to the C-suite.

Links › rainsalestraining.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.

In this expert sales interview, Kris Boesch explains workplace culture, the costs associated with not having a good workplace culture and what can be done to change or improve your workplace culture. Her strategies are applicable to anyone who is leading or managing a team in any industry.

What do we really mean by culture in the workplace:

The contexts in which your people are working; is your work environment soul-sucking or it does it create vibrancy where people are excited to be there? When there is a good workplace culture employees have improved focus, have the experience of winning and accomplishing. Workplace culture does not mean that leadership is responsible to make people happy. In leadership, you are responsible for creating an empowering context that people can be happy. That will significantly boost your bottom line.

How do companies achieve extraordinary workplace culture:

there are three pillars for companies looking to go from a good to extraordinary workplace culture. People need to feel known in their workplace. People need to feel like they matter and they need to feel included. If you are starting with a toxic or unhealthy workplace environment, work needs to be done to first acknowledge and rectify the toxicity.

How do you achieve a good workplace culture for a distributed or remote workforce:

When the intentionality of the organization is to support the priority getting to know one another, acknowledge accomplishments and support when people are struggling. In a remote workforce, out of necessity you simply communicate more and use different technologies. You end up getting to know people more and creating comradery.

What is emotional intimacy and why is it critical to a winning culture:

emotional intimacy is similar in concept to increasing comradery in the workforce. Why does that matter? There is a financial return on investment on happy employees. An unhappy person is costing you money; from how they show up to your clients to absenteeism. There is also an emotional return on investment when people feel good about being at work, they go home and are happier and better citizens creating a ripple effect in our communities. The emotional investment is about what are we creating in our society.

One thing to start doing today to improve your workplace culture: Evaluate where you rate as an organization. Depending on your rating, you have a few options to move forward and Kris provides an outline on where to start in this interview.

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.