Anyone in here a Software Sales rep?
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It's kind of what I did a while ago before moving on to Pre-Sales Architecture 
. I'm also in Cybersecurity software (Endpoint protection, DLP, Anti-Spam...)
To me, employees should have an IT background or worked in IT Sales for at least 5 years. Nowadays, there's a huge push from vendors and I was always able to seperate myself from the bunch by knowing what a terminal server is or what are the vulnerability zones for a company
IT guys hate sales people so if you're gonna approach one, you better be on top of your shyt.
Besides the background, ability to connect to people and continuous learning approach are the top qualities to me
. I'm also in Cybersecurity software (Endpoint protection, DLP, Anti-Spam...)To me, employees should have an IT background or worked in IT Sales for at least 5 years. Nowadays, there's a huge push from vendors and I was always able to seperate myself from the bunch by knowing what a terminal server is or what are the vulnerability zones for a company
IT guys hate sales people so if you're gonna approach one, you better be on top of your shyt.
Besides the background, ability to connect to people and continuous learning approach are the top qualities to me
It's kind of what I did a while ago before moving on to Pre-Sales Architecture
To me, employees should have an IT background or worked in IT Sales for at least 5 years. Nowadays, there's a huge push from vendors and I was always able to seperate myself from the bunch by knowing what a terminal server is or what are the vulnerability zones for a company
IT guys hate sales people so if you're gonna approach one, you better be on top of your shyt.
Besides the background, ability to connect to people and continuous learning approach are the top qualities to me
Exactly, so many completely ignore my emails/calls
Thank you once again - yeah that seems to be the biggest problem is finding someone who understands the technical parts. Looks like I need to find someone whose has a history of security but works in sales now, sounds like a goldmine
Exactly, so many completely ignore my emails/calls
Thank you once again - yeah that seems to be the biggest problem is finding someone who understands the technical parts. Looks like I need to find someone whose has a history of security but works in sales now, sounds like a goldmine
Whoever you get, you have to train them and from my experience, Anti-Spam is the easiest product to understand for most people.
Hire a senior and some juniors : Let the senior coach them on the sales process and then train everybody on the tech side
Thats what I would do if I were you
Alright will do that, let's say you ran a sales team what are the major factors/key tangibles/intangibles you would need. So I have to teach them the basics on security so they can relate with what they are selling but find a senior to teach them how to sell the product.Whoever you get, you have to train them and from my experience, Anti-Spam is the easiest product to understand for most people.
Hire a senior and some juniors : Let the senior coach them on the sales process and then train everybody on the tech side
Thats what I would do if I were you
In terms of factors, it's a wide range and really you need to answer lots of questions :
- What city are you in ? What's the price range that companies can afford ?
- Who's your competition ?
- How's the market ? What product is the most in need ?
- What industry are you targeting ? I would recommend for now to target whatever your senior sales person is familiar with
Where should I start in learning more? Books, Blogs, Online courses would help a lotIn terms of factors, it's a wide range and really you need to answer lots of questions :
Really your sales team is all your tangibles and intangibles at the same time. Whoever the leader is, can be a defacto sales manager without the title and the pay
- What city are you in ? What's the price range that companies can afford ?
- Who's your competition ?
- How's the market ? What product is the most in need ?
- What industry are you targeting ? I would recommend for now to target whatever your senior sales person is familiar with
thanks again man
I want to find someone by the end of next monthWhere should I start in learning more? Books, Blogs, Online courses would help a lot
thanks again man
Cannot really help there, most stuff I know is from my little experience. The only sales book I ever read is this :
Pitch Close Upsell Repeat: A Practical Guide to Sales Dominance by David Anderson
Sales is not my passion so I never really got into it that deep. I'm just in it now to understand it before taking the next step.
Good luck !
Right now I am using a representative but with time, I want to hire 2 people to do sales/marketing for me. What should I look for in employees
My specification is in Security.
Do you have a policized sales strategy from cold call through to objection handling to presentation ?
Finding salespeople is one thing, creating superstar closers out of the bunch is another.
Again this depends on how big you want to become...
No cold calls - does not work well in my field; through vendors
Where should I start in learning more? Books, Blogs, Online courses would help a lot
thanks again man
Get this book. The key is selling the appointment NOT your product/service.
Coldcall works in all industries except government tenders. If it works
with selling pre-iPO shares to HNWIs & closing marketing deals with attorneys. It will work in your industry.
If you are timid then try direct mail.
Can't see the book so I am quoting you. Thanks, I appreciate it.
It's pretty dead in my field, I've tried it numerous times with different sales companies and individuals who do it on the side.
Majority of the current sales comes from vendors and emails
(My main goal) For manager will be focused on improving emails sales, building better relations and marketing. Like you are saying I think of advertising too much has selling the product. How should I go about cold calls and seeing what works and doesn't?
Don't worry I'm not doing any cold calls (myself), not for me I like the technical aspect w/o all the human interaction
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Successful telephone selling in the 90s... is the name of the book.
Martin Shafiroff had $10 billie under management off of cold calls alone
It works ... but the missing piece is the skillset and volume. If you hire someone from wealth management/oil sales
they already have the skills and experience but they can be pricey or command a huge cut.
Which is fine because you can record them and document what works in opening calls/handling gatekeepers etc
and then use that as a template for all new hires. From there you can split test what works and what doesn't.
(3 day trial period ... They better bring you appointments or GTFOH)
I used to live and breathe client acquisition and handwritten snail mail would out perform email every time .