The Sales Evangelist: Sales Training|Speaking|Business Marketing|Donald Kelly

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Every time the marketing team sends you a new lead, they end up not showing up. Why do they keep sending prospects who won't even come to a meeting? When will they ever do their job right?Maybe we just need to help them out a bit. Join me in this episode with Alisha Conlin-Hurd, marketing and sales expert, where she shows us how to work with the marketing team to get the right leads to book appointments.Meet Alisha Conlin-HurdAlisha Conlin-Hurd is the Founder of Persuasion Experience, a 7-figure marketing agency helping 7- and 8-figure businesses turn paid ads into predictable lead machines.She’s launched over 600+ funnels across 120 niches, generating tens of millions in client revenue. Her proprietary frameworks—DNA Blueprint Method™ and Endless Leads Framework™—have helped countless businesses double their revenue in under 90 days. Alisha now runs her business remotely while traveling the world full-time.Why Do No Shows Happen?I've listed several reasons why prospects often ghost us:Not showing enough

Thank you, Martin, for going back in time with The Sales Evangelist podcast. Thanks to him, we're going back to episode 1177 where I deep-dived into why leads are creating more work for us.In this episode, I share why many small organizations struggle with their inbound sales and how to fix it. The challenge is always deciding who should follow up on them and how to do it effectively.The Sales TeamAssume that a sales team is composed of three people: the marketing person who does almost everything, the junior assistant who helps with content creation, and the outsourced person who does the marketing strategies. Among the three, who should follow-up the lead? Not all leads are created equal. This means that before deciding who will follow up the lead, the lead should be evaluated first.You don’t want your salesperson pitching to a lead that in the end would go to another competitor.Do a Pre-QualificationDo a pre-qualification in your organization to know if the people you are going to have the conversatio

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I’ve made it 1,900 episodes of The Sales Evangelist podcast. Not quite at 2,000 yet, but I’m close.But since I’m still going strong, I thought it would be a good idea to share the nine biggest sales lessons I've learned from hosting this podcast. Hopefully, one of these lessons will help you grow your sales pipeline too.1. There's No One Way of SellingEveryone is always asking me, “What’s the number one method of selling?” If you want my honesty, there isn’t one.From all of my interviews, I've found that it’s best to focus on who you’re going to sell to and how to break through the noise to grab their attention.I also recommend just testing out the different sales methods we share on this podcast. If it works for you, great; if it doesn’t, then try another one.2. Always Be ProspectingI’m a firm believer that a seller should always be prospecting, even when you’re closing deals. If you have options in the sales pipeline, great. But you should also always be figuring out how you can do a better job at sale

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For this episode, we’re going back to episode 1431, featuring my chat with Ollie Whitfield. He shares how you can use LinkedIn features to your advantage. Listen to learn how to use LinkedIn voice messages and videos to schedule more appointments.Using LinkedIn Voice Messages for Effective AppointmentsThe LinkedIn voice message is something new and not many people have seen it before. That’s why many are prompted to open it and listen to it.LinkedIn voice messages show that you’re giving effort; it’s a slightly elevated way of showing your desire to build a connection with others.Showing your face or letting other people hear your voice improves your outreach. A mere text cannot convey your body language or your tone.A video message allows the prospects to see your mannerisms and that helps in building trust between people and implores them to do business with you.Improving Your Video Messages or Voice Messages on LinkedInThink of it as a very targeted approach. You can’t send video messages or voice messages

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I’m a strong believer that you should sell to B2B buyers the same way you sell to B2C prospects. If you don’t believe this, you should listen to this conversation with B2C expert, Josh Koplin. He’s here to share why B2B prospects want the same experience as B2C customers and how you can give it to them.Meet Josh KoplinAs Co-founder and CRO of EDEN, a home services SaaS startup, Joshua Koplin spearheads the company's mission to equip contractors with innovative technology, fostering business growth and exceptional customer experiences. His extensive experience in finance, innovation, and business development includes leading the IPO for Japan’s largest renewable energy developer, RENOVA Inc., and previous roles in investment banking and M&A at J.P. Morgan.Adopting a B2C Experience into the B2B WorldThe B2B prospects in the fancy offices are also the same ones doing B2C buying. They see what it takes to make someone buy, and they want that same experience when a B2B seller is offering them a service or

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It's undeniable that B2B prospecting has changed, and what used to work probably isn't working for you anymore.That's why I invited my guest, Yoni Tserruya, the CEO and co-founder of Lusha, to share insights on what's changing in the B2B prospecting world and what you can do to adapt to these changes to keep closing deals.Meet Yoni TserruyaAfter noticing how easy it was to connect with anyone in the world thanks to social media, Yoni also observed that customers were becoming more accustomed to generic outreach. He created the company Lusha to help sellers craft messages that prevent their customers from ignoring their outreach attempts.Personalization Matters in SalesA friend of mine shared how some of their reps are getting 50 booked appointments per month. However, they’re sending a crazy number of emails to get those appointments. Even though they’re closing deals, it’s happening at such a slow pace that it seems pointless.Yoni shares how more personalization in emails is important and how it helps s

Selling a product to a single customer can be challenging, but what happens when they need to advocate for your product within their organization internally?Their internal selling efforts often fall short, causing deals to stall or fail. That's why I've brought in Todd Rychecky, General Manager and Head of Out-of-Band Management Solutions at Lantronix. In this episode, he'll share strategies for how sellers can empower their customers to effectively champion products to their teams, thereby keeping deals progressing through the pipeline.Meet Todd RycheckyAt Lantronix, Todd provides strategic leadership, financial management, operational oversight, cross-functional collaboration, and team development.  Before Lantronix, he was VP Sales Americas for Opengear and was responsible for developing and executing sales strategies, business development initiatives, and hiring and developing an award-winning sales team. For 13 consecutive years, Rychecky and his Opengear sales teams experienced year-

Discovery calls can be just as nerve-wracking as cold calls. What if something goes wrong and makes the deal collapse?In this episode, I’m going to tell you how to keep that from happening. Fixing this one mistake will ensure every discovery call goes smoothly.What Sales Mistake Did I Make?During one of my discovery calls, I made a simple mistake: assuming that everything would go well. I thought it was going to be so easy to close the deal that I forgot to make sure all the right people attended the meeting with me.The deal didn’t move through the pipeline, all because I assumed that the person I was meeting with had all the control over closing it.How to Fix the Sales Mistake?Here’s what I learned from this sales mistake: instead of guessing that the person I’m meeting with is going to bring the right people along, I let them know upfront.As a consultant, it’s my moral obligation in the discovery call to paint the picture of what needs to happen.Typically, I’ll let them know I need these three people on the

Ever lie awake at night wondering where your next deal is going to come from? Does the constant stream of rejection fill your future with uncertainty?Hearing constant "nos" can cause you to develop a scarcity mindset, and honestly, it's not only destroying your pipeline but also your company's potential.Authentic sales expert Scott Ramey joins us in this episode to guide you through the essential shift from scarcity vs. abundance. He's here to lead and inspire sellers, leaders, and businesses to build trust, take action, and drive results by adopting an abundance mentality.Meet Scott RameyScott Ramey, an authentic sales expert and former Fortune 500 C-Suite Executive, brings over three decades of corporate experience and more than $100 billion in successful sales. As the Founder of The Ramey Group, he is a seasoned leader, speaker, and mentor. Notably, Scott served as an EVP at Transamerica, Nationwide, and Corebridge Financial, where he raised hundreds of billions of dollars and led large teams. Hi

Tired of endless voicemails and angry prospects? Even studies show that the most troubling part of the sales process for sellers is prospecting. I have four tips in this episode to help you out. Go ahead and give it a listen, it’ll give you the strength to keep pushing through and land more deals.Stay MotivatedWhat I like to do every morning is say a little prayer. This helps me get ready for the day and work on getting more clients.Even if you’re an atheist or practice a different faith, you can still do affirmations to help send out positive vibes.Set a goal in the morning to pray or say mantras to set a positive focus on your subconscious thinking.Have a ChecklistI like to use my sales planner to create a goal to help me push through prospecting. For example, I might say I want to do 20 meaningful outreach activities and get at least five conversations with the end goal of gaining at least one appointment. This simple task keeps me focused on prospecting to reach my goal.Try reading the book Go for No

You're having wonderful discovery calls, but stakeholders are taking forever to get back to you. This tends to make deals move like molasses in winter. What if I tell you that you're going to have to get a bit creative to accelerate deals through the pipeline? Rebecca Kravitz, sales professional and co-founder of Meople, is here to share how games can grab prospects' attention and help increase deal velocity. Check it out and move deals faster with this unique method.Meet Rebecca KravitzThe concept of using board games to capture prospects' attention comes from Rebecca and her co-founder creating a game for her grandfather's 80th birthday. After seeing how amazed he was by it, they decided to build customizable gaming software for the B2B world.She believes that sales is all about active listening and understanding the challenges, needs, and persona of the buyer. Board games allow companies and sellers to listen to their customers and provide solutions to them. Bringing Gaming Into the Sales Pr

Sales and marketing teams? Sometimes, they clash like siblings, which tends to hold companies back from hitting their goals. Getting every single seller in the company to have that CEO-level drive? That's a whole other challenge.Is there a way to tackle both of these sales challenges with one simple move? My guest, Garrett Mehrguth, sales and marketing expert and founder of Directive, says yes. He's here to break down how getting sales and marketing on the same page can actually empower individual sellers to think and act like the CEO. Tune in to hear how this alignment can make some serious magic happen.Meet Garrett MehrguthGarrett Mehrguth founded Directive in 2013, which is the largest independent B2B performance marketing agency in the world. Today, Directive boasts a diverse team of more than 130 professionals, located around the world, including the USA, LATAM, Canada, and London, servicing brands like Dropbox, Wiz, AWS, and Gong.He believes true company growth only happens through sales and m

The first ten seconds of a cold call will have your heart racing faster than a cheetah on a hunt.What do you say to keep the prospect from hanging up? How about trying a cold call opener?You might have tried them, but they didn’t work out. You probably weren’t using permission-based openers, and I’m going to tell you how to do them the right way in this episode.Cold Call Openers Give Prospects a Way OutCold call openers do work, and I recently tried them out. Actually, I tried them out a few times, and they usually work out well.What I do differently is give the prospect an option to end the call. It helps them feel they have a way out when they decide to leave.Think of it as you’re at the movies and know the emergency exit is right beside you. Knowing this gives you comfort in case you have to hurry up and leave.Permission-Based Openers WorkIf you don’t believe me on permission-based cold calls, then believe the stats: It lowers resistance:Permission-based openers, such as “Did I catch you at a bad time

It's frustrating when you're trying to reach a key decision-maker, only to be stopped by their administrative assistant. It can feel like gatekeepers intentionally block your path to closing a deal. But what if their resistance isn't just about blocking, but about recognizing when your approach simply isn't up to par? In this episode, I speak with Natasha Bowles, a seasoned gatekeeper with over 25 years of experience, to uncover what truly gets her to engage with sellers. Tune in to get the inside scoop and learn how to improve your tactics to close more deals.Meet the Gatekeeper: Natasha BowlesNatasha Bowles is the Founder of Natasha Bowles Professional Services, a staffing agency specializing in virtual and in-house administrative support.  As an executive-level administrator for over 25 years, Ms. Bowles has been a gatekeeper for high-profile individuals like medical professionals, property managers, venture capitalists, and notable public figures.She's not offended by the term "gatekee

Salesforce recently surveyed 7,000 B2B professionals, and the results are clear: buyers prioritize value. A significant 76% aim to maximize the return on every purchase, and 78% are being more careful with spending than before.In this environment, how can sellers stand out and win deals? One powerful way is by becoming a better storyteller. This episode dives into why storytelling is so important in today's sales landscape and offers practical advice on how to use it to close your next deal.The Power of Storytelling in SalesWhen you hear "storytelling," you might picture something from a book. But in sales, it's about crafting a narrative that draws buyers in.  Think of it this way:The Buyer as the Hero: They're on a journey to achieve their goals.The Problem as the Villain: Something is blocking their path – maybe it's a lack of time, confusing regulations, or overwhelming complexity.You as the Guide:As a sales professional, you're there to help them conquer that villain with your solution.Effective sal