Cerebral Selling

If I asked you, "Who was the BEST sales leader you ever had?" Who would you point to? In many of my circles, EVERYONE points to this man. The one and only, Tony Rodoni! Tony was the EVP of Commercial Sales at Salesforce, responsible for thousands of reps and 9 figures worth of revenue over the years. I was lucky enough to be part of Tony's team during my time at Salesforce. In fact, without the opportunity he created for me, I may never have started Cerebral Selling. Tony is a special leader. He's kind, genuinely cares about his people, and is a wonderful person. But perhaps his greatest superpower (IMO) is the incredible balance he strikes. - Wise and collaborative without telling you what to do - Honest and transparent without needlessly oversharing - Pragmatic and data-driven without losing sight of the big picture - Holds people accountable without needing to invoke the fear of consequence - Knows how much top-down pressure to transmit to his team and how much to shield them from He's the type of leader you try so hard for because you don't want to disappoint them! But also one that effortlessly shapes the leaders under them in the same way. Inspiring an army of sales leaders whose teams would fight to work with again! That's why when it came to writing the foreword to *The Sales Leader They Need*, there was no other choice for me of whom to ask. Grateful for Tony and the impact he's had on me and thousands of others! I hope you enjoy some of the wisdom he shares in the book 🙏

What can I say besides a massive THANK YOU for yesterday!!! Because of your incredible support, my new book launched as a #1 bestseller! But that wasn't the best part of yesterday's official launch. It was the incredible notes and posts from amazing friends and leaders I respect so much! Because in many ways, a book launch is like a birthday. It's a celebration. But also a rare opportunity to pause. To remind yourself of what's important, why we do what we do, and reflect on the journey of getting here. Thank you for that gift 🙏🙏🙏 I appreciate you all a TON and can't wait to continue on this journey with you!

Release day for my new book is OFFICIALLY HERE!!! After spending a year and a half on *The Sales Leader They Need* I'm SUPER excited that you can finally get it on Amazon TODAY! No pre-order! No waiting! Links here: https://buff.ly/3P6bJwk I wrote this book because after two decades in sales leadership roles across four high-growth startups and five years as a Vice President at Salesforce, I learned 3 things: 1. Having responsibility for growing both revenue and people is one of the toughest jobs in business 2. What made you great at sales isn't what will make you a great sales leader 3. The skills that make great sales leaders aren't what you expect. So I packed this book with research-based strategies, winning frameworks, and stories from some of the best sales leaders in the world! Whether you're a new, experienced, or aspiring sales leader looking to become the type their team would FIGHT to work with again, I promise you'll get a ton of value from it! Grateful for the awesome support from this incredible community and to all the amazing leaders who lent their voices to this book 🙏🙏🙏 More on them to come shortly 😉 #Sales #Leadership

If you want customers to ignore & ghost you 👻 ❌ Act needy ❌ Don't listen ❌ Lead with your product ❌ Share robotic sound bites ❌ Push for big, scary next steps ❌ Send them a generic drive-by pitch ❌ Pressure them to close on your timeline ❌ Politely interrogate them with your discovery questions If you want customers to lean in and engage consistently 👍 ✅ Be calm & human ✅ Do your homework ✅ Lead with their problem ✅ Make it ok for them to say "no" at any point ✅ Describe their problems better than they can ✅ Mindfully listen and take notes when they speak ✅ Prescribe helpful next steps that move the conversation forward ✅ Ask thoughtful, opinion-based questions tailored to their role/industry Being great at sales isn't hard. It just takes mindful practice.

As a business owner, people try to sell me things ALL the time! And one of the worst prospecting and discovery behaviors I see is something I hope you never do. Asking *leading questions*. In other words, "logic trap" questions designed to force customers into answering a certain way. For example: "David, is saving money important to you?" "David, can you use 20 more HOT sales leads a month?" "David, would you like to be the top performer on your team?" Some salespeople think these questions are clever 😒 But they actually trigger an avoidance response in the minds of their customers! Because saying 'no' makes customers feel stupid. But saying yes is like giving the salesperson consent to continue their horrible drive-by pitch! And no one (including me) wants that to happen. Be mindful of how your questions make your customers feel. Let's stamp these bad behaviors out of our profession! #Sales #SellTheWayYouBuy

STOP adding the phrase "Does that make sense?" to the end of your statements 🛑 You might do it innocently enough but it can subconsciously be interpreted in one of two negative ways: 1. As an insult to the other person's intelligence: e.g. “Does that make sense? I ask because I’m not quite sure how smart you are so I’m afraid this concept, no matter how intuitive it may seem to me, simply isn’t something your puny brain has the ability to understand.” 2. A self-deprecating comment implying that you're not good at explaining things: e.g. “Does that make sense? I ask because I’m not very good at explaining things and my words often leave people with a sense of confusion and bewilderment. I just want to make sure I didn’t do that to you.” Better alternatives: - What do you think? - How does that sound? - Are you with me so far? - Any questions about that? - Does that resonate with you? Any other alternatives you'd suggest?

VP Sales: Budgets are tighter than ever! All our customers demand that we put together a SUPER solid business case to move deals forward. No fluff. Me: And are you doing that? VP Sales: Every time! Our solution has a very compelling ROI. Me: And are you winning the majority of those deals? VP Sales: No. A good business case is NOT ENOUGH to win customers! In fact, it never was. It was only hidden by the fact that customers had more money to spend. The way people buy has always been the same. Emotionally. To connect with customers on an emotional level: - uncover their hidden pains - deliver a top-notch buying experience - describe their problems better than they can. Build your case on a solid foundation of emotional alignment and you won't lose!

People don’t love companies because of their physical products. They love them because of the experiences they create. Product → Experience Uber: transportation → frictionless ride Amazon: everything → one-click checkout IKEA: furniture → easy transport & assembly Ritz Carlton: rooms → personal care & attention Disney: rides + movies → magic and enchantment Remember, it doesn’t matter what you sell or who you’re selling to. Your customer’s experience IS your product.

No joke, last week 3 of the companies I train told me they've been struggling with the same deal-blocking issue! So today I wanted to explain and address it to help you close more deals, faster, and with less drama. I call it "Preparing for the Puppy Conversation" 🐶 Here's how it plays out... 1. Your customer/champion loves your solution 2. They want to buy it and you start to celebrate 3. Then they try to get their company/stakeholders/boss on board 4. That's when they get slammed with questions and objections they weren't prepared to answer “How many alternative options have we explored?” “How many customers like us are using this?" “Have we spoken to any references?" "Can't we start with a free trial?" “Why is it so expensive?” 5. Their lack of insight creates internal uncertainty, causing your deal to slip away All because the customer wasn't prepared to sell your solution within their own organization. It's exactly like what happens when a kid asks their parents for a puppy and they get bombarded with questions like: "Who's going to feed it?" "Who's going to walk it?" "Who's going to pay the vet bills?" "Do you even know what it takes to own a puppy?" Bottom line: your customers may REALLY want to buy from you, but if you haven't prepared them to sell your solution to their own organization, you will lose! If you want to dive deeper into this issue and see the 3 approaches I share to address it, check out this post👇