The perspective of a...
VP Sales / Chief Sales Officer
Helen Adams
“Give me the briefing in 5 minutes and stick to the facts. Tell me what stage we reached, what problem are we trying to solve, what is the solution, what are the issues about this solution. Remember why you are there – why am I here, what are we trying to achieve. I don’t need the emotions in the brief: Tell me what happened, what they said, what the facts are. Don’t get overly emotional – this makes most people uncomfortable. If you’re trying to pitch to me a new product, show me the market need first.“
When trying to persuade others, most people don't understand other people's perspectives.
This means they are unable to make a compelling argument to persuade their audience.
We are featuring people and their jobs to promote understanding, collaboration and easier working relationships.
Role:
The main task is to figure out if the company is in the right markets, we have the right solution for those market places ; make sure we have enough pipeline, what blockers are in the way of specific opportunities or market places.
Communication is key between sales and engineering.
We are ensuring that the rest of the business understands we are only here because of the customer.
In this role you are also a negotiator trying to unblock problems and ensuring the business stays aligned with its core purpose.
When a company is growing as VP Sales your key problem is maintaining the level of growth you’ve had. Ensuring the emphasis is still on the customer whilst you are growing is difficult as it is a key part of this role.
Who Needs Your Buy-In and Why?
When engineering come to us with ideas of a product, the key things I will ask are: where is the marketing behind this product, where is the evidence that I can sell this to this market?
How Can People Get Your Buy-In:
Tell me up front what your plan is and walk through the logical steps you made to get to this point and also outline any assumptions you have made.
Whose Buy-In Do You Need and Why?
I have to get customers’ buy-in but also the CEO of the company. If I want to do something different, I go to the non-executive board and the CEO to say: we should focus on this new area and why.
Tips for Success from a Chief Sales Officer:
People who are genuinely empathetic will be more successful. Find the time to understand what the person on the other side is experiencing – genuinely try to understand what your customer or your staff are feeling.
Best salespeople understand there always is going to be a compromise. Understand that a good deal is when both parties walk away content, thinking: “I got something I needed but I didn’t get it everything, but I got enough”.
Make everyone feel this is a fair and reasonable transaction. If you have not done this, it will be difficult for you to guide a team to do this.
Sometimes towards the end of a deal, clients throw show stoppers - hold your position firmly. Progress step by step even if it looks like it’s going to be the end of the world, it’s not, in my experience this sort of last minute hesitation always happens in big negotiations.
If you mess up, you are forgiven if you do your due diligence and show you did your best to ensure this was the right thing to do.
You are allowed:
- to say “I need time to think” when people want to push you.
- to say: “Are we finished?” and leave.
- to leave. You’ve got to learn to take feedback, if it’s aggressive and personal and feels like abuse, you can always just leave.
- the privilege to say “no”.
If someone gives you negative feedback, say “thank you for your feedback” but do not respond , just go away and think about it.
Finally, if all else fails, silence is a fantastic tool.