To Achieve Modern Sales Success You Have To Become A Modern Seller, with Amy Franko, Episode #90

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The modern sales environment is changing constantly. If you’re going to be successful in it, you’ve got to be growing and adapting so you can navigate the changes successfully.

My guest on this episode of #SellingWithSocial is Amy Franko. As a sales leader, Amy built a successful and lucrative B2B sales career with global tech giants IBM and Lenovo. She then pivoted 180° into entrepreneurship, launching a training firm – Impact Instruction Group. She has successfully built and scaled a book of business that includes some of the world’s most recognizable brands. Her book, The Modern Seller, has just launched – so in this conversation we take our cues from its pages to discuss how modern sales success requires that sales professionals learn what it means to become a modern seller.

Join Vengreso at STAR, February 11-13, 2019 to mix and mingle with forward thinking sales executives and thought leaders. We’re extending a $250 savings to all Vengreso subscribers. For full details visit: frost.com/vengreso and use discount code MARIO at registration.

Self-Assessment. Are You Aligned With Amy’s 5 Dimensions Of A Modern Seller?

Amy’s new book – The Modern Seller – highlights the practical characteristics sales professionals in the modern sales environment must develop in order to succeed. In our conversation she highlights each of them in turn:

• Be Agile
• Be Entrepreneurial
• Be Holistic
• Be Social
• Become An Ambassador

I was particularly intrigued by a couple of these – holistic and ambassador – and we took the time to dig a little deeper into each of them during our conversation.

Amy’s insights confirmed what I’ve been learning from my own experience: The way buyers are making decisions these days requires a more integrated overall approach to prospecting, lead nurture, sales, and ongoing relationship development than ever before. The modern seller is highly developed as an individual and employs a diverse skill set.

Listen to learn more about Amy’s 5 dimensions of a modern seller and to assess whether you measure up.

The Modern Sales Environment Is One Of Sameness – So Differentiate

Since Amy works with sales organizations in a variety of contexts I was curious to hear her observations about trends sellers are encountering these days. She pointed out that one of the most common mistakes being made by sales professionals and organizations alike is that their messaging doesn’t contain anything noticeably different than their competitors. She calls it a “world of sameness.”

She recounted her own experience when looking to purchase a new piece of software for her own tech stack. Every one of the services she considered could do what she needed it to do, and their overall messaging was the same. What did she do? She chose NOT to make a decision and waited. That is NOT what sales professionals want to happen, so find out how Amy suggests you can avoid becoming part of the world of sameness by differentiating your services and approach, on this episode.

Learn to Leverage 90 Day ROI To Get The Attention Of Buyers

Here’s a very practical modern sales tip for you that is a nuance of a tried and true sales principle. To succeed, you’ve got to learn how to address what your prospects are truly concerned about – and the timing related to that concern. For example, every buyer you speak with will be concerned about return on investment relating to the purchase of your product or service. That’s nothing new. But what has changed in regard to ROI is the timeframes involved.

Amy told me a story of how a recent sales conversation she was engaged in taught her this lesson. After many conversations, she and the buyer had moved well down the path toward the sale. Amy expected the next meeting would be to work out the details so they could move forward and close the deal. What she discovered was something she didn’t expect.

The buyer wanted to have a 90-day ROI projection to present to her manager. 90 days. One quarter. That’s a common time frame companies are working within these days. As modern sellers, we need to be ready for it. Amy shares what she learned and how to apply it to your sales conversations, on this episode.

To Experience Modern Sales Success You Must Become An Ambassador

Buyers in today’s world are better informed and more prepared for sales conversations than ever before. That means the sales role has changed and Amy says the modern seller needs to take on the role of an ambassador as a result. It allows us to stand out in the “world of sameness” buyers are experiencing.

She says in order to serve your organization and your customers as an ambassador you need to do 3 things.

1. Embody the values of your organization. This can be difficult if you don’t resonate with the organization’s values to begin with.
2. Offer unique thought leadership. YOU have to stand apart as someone knowledgeable n trustworthy in your industry.
3. Champion client wins. When your solutions work for a client, make the most of it. You can add value to them in a variety of ways that can result in lifetime loyalty.

Amy explains these in more detail in our conversation, don’t miss it!

Join Vengreso at STAR, February 11-13, 2019 to mix and mingle with forward thinking sales executives and thought leaders. We’re extending a $250 savings to all Vengreso subscribers. For full details visit: frost.com/vengreso and use discount code MARIO at registration.

Outline of This Episode

• [2:04] The history behind the launch of Amy’s new book – The Modern Seller
• [6:00] Why Amy wrote her book and who it’s for
• [9:20] How to define the modern seller
• [17:50] What has changed for sellers in recent times?
• [20:33] Clients are more sophisticated and need better ROI numbers quarterly
• [23:57] 5 dimensions modern sellers need to integrate into their sales skills
• [26:49] Why a modern seller or sales leader must be an ambassador
• [33:44] Learn to add a culture-building strategy into your sales leadership
• [37:30] A few strategies for sales enablement professionals

Resources Mentioned

• Amy’s website: https://amyfranko.com/
• Amy’s book, “The Modern Seller” : https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Seller-Increase-Impact-Economy-ebook/dp/B07JNH293P/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1540903314&sr=8-1
• Amy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyfranko/
• Amy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amyfranko
• Dreamforce 2018: https://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/
• Jitterbit: https://www.jitterbit.com/
• Amy’s all-time favorite movie: Back To The Future: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/
• Social Business Engine Podcast – Bernie Borges

Connect with Mario!

• www.vengreso.com
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On YouTube
• On LinkedIn

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