Aaron Larson, CEPA®’s Post

What prepared you for a career as a business development representative? ✏️ I'd like to rephrase this question: "What prepared me to enter a business development role in the IT consulting and professional services industry?" My answer to that question is door-to-door selling. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for every single lesson, story, win, and loss that I experienced working in the field in a commission-only role selling high-volume, low-cost products to anyone and everyone who gave me a moment of their time to hear my pitch. Continuous face-to-face rejection helped me grow tough, thick skin. "Teflon skin" as I call it. I loved door-to-door selling so much that I interviewed, trained and grew / managed a team of D2D sellers. Many lessons were learned from managing people, the good and the ugly. Many days were spent training young, impressionable reps in the field in all types of weather. Losing team members because walking in 2 feet of snow wasn't something they cared for (and I don't blame them). Building the right attitude, the right mentality, and goal setting every day as well as making even a small difference drove me to shaping my team and moving them to the St. Louis market where I opened my own face-to-face direct sales and marketing firm. My company was open and running for one year and closed around the time the Pandemic started in 2020. I'm forever grateful for 3 years of "pounding the pavement" and that's why I chose a business development role at #InterVision because I knew I had the right foundation to learn in a new industry and make it work. Any questions, feel free to DM me. I enjoy meeting new people. 😊 #doortodoor #businesstobusiness #directsales #promotionalmarketing #mystory

You can retire from the corporate world 2 decades early. Being in sales is the ultimate accelerator. But most are missing out. Here’s why: The Chaotic Conformer: - Plays the game by others’ rules - Sells “to” prospects, not “with” them - Inflates lifestyle as income increases - Cares about being top of the leaderboard These keep you locked to the hamster wheel. The Purposeful Performer: - Guided by personal principles - Designs a stellar buying experience - Lives off base salary and invests rest - Cares about making an impact with clients These free you from the golden handcuffs. Remember: Sales is one of the few roles that allows you to: → Own your results → Be fully autonomous → Fire yourself from the job* *(when you want) But you have to play the game smart. Need guidance throughout your journey? Check out the links in my featured section. Let’s win together! 🐝

Meeting with a sales consultant can be like staring at a blank canvas. Unsure where to start? Here’s what founders and sales leaders have been asking me for insights on lately: → Feedback on their pitch and sales collateral → Closing deals that have been dragging for months → Setting realistic business and employee-level goals → Streamlining sales process → Pricing services effectively → Hiring strategies for their sales team If you’re looking for a sounding board for all things sales and agency growth, let’s strategize.

What others would you add? 🤔 Building a top-notch sales team isn't just about hiring the right people; it's about creating an environment where they can thrive and smash those sales targets! 🎯 Remember, a team that learns together, earns together. 📈 Share your tips or tag someone who's building their sales dream team! And if you're ready to craft your next-level business vision, check out MitchRusso.com. #SalesSuccess #TeamBuilding #BusinessGrowth Work with Your Mentor, Scale Your Profits and Finally Grow.

Sales leader doesn’t figure it out in the first 6 months? Fire em? What does it mean to “figure it out”... Hitting revenue targets that you drafted up on a spreadsheet? If you think hiring a vp of sales is your silver bullet to all revenue problems, there’s a good chance you’re wrong. If they aren’t smashing quota in the first 6 months, maybe take a more holistic view of what’s going on. I know quite a few sales leaders that saw little to no growth for 2,3,5 years then hit huge revenue targets, just here in Utah. Why are we so transactional with sales leaders sometimes?

📈Discovering New Revenue Opportunities for SMBs📈 As a fractional chief revenue officer, I often hear, "I just don't have time. I'm so busy. I cannot focus on new markets, expansion, or new revenue opportunities." I'm able to: 🕰️Give business owners the time to focus in and on their business. 🕰️The sales manager the opportunity to really concentrate on current sales with their sales teams. What do I do? Find new opportunities, revenue growth options, new market opportunities with research, strategies, tactics, and execution. If you're looking to grow your revenues and you just don't have the time, let's talk and discover together those new opportunities. Send me a DM if you want to chat... For more information and insights, check out the comments for the link. ——— I am a fractional Chief Revenue Officer that helps business owners discover new revenue opportunities in their current and in new markets. #Sales #CustomerRelationships #GrowthMindset #AlwaysBeConnecting #RevenueGrowth #SMB #MarketOpportunities #SalesStrategy #NewMarkets

“Calling all Direct Sales Leaders! 🌍 Ready to take your career to new heights? Join our thriving international business and seize the opportunity to connect directly with the owner and founder. 🚀 Let’s chat for a quick 10 minutes to discuss how we can align your experience and income goals with our company vision. Interested? Let’s make it happen! #DirectSales #GlobalOpportunity #FounderConnection”

I know you've all seen *that* video, but please stop sharing it. Some of you embrace and support her actions (but might have missed the detail about 4 mo employment in a sales support role with no deals closed). Others support the company (but aren't recognizing that different age and experienced staff have different expectations and career paths than yourself). The truth is that sales is still a "coffee is for closers" industry. Results speak volumes. Right now, rather than using this video as a way of creating division in our industry we should be looking to support everyone we know in need. All companies are contending with the brilliance of this economy. All I saw was proof that the world is failing to invest in a strong product and a newer employee that needs time to learn and grow. All around, nothing but room for improvement. If you know of a company you want to buy a product from, consider signing. If you know of an employee who needs mentoring, spare some of your time and expertise.

Sales? Oh, that’s just convincing people to buy stuff, right? Very easy right ? 🤑 What people think: "Just push the product—how hard can it be?" (Spoiler: Really hard.) 😎 What it really is: Building trust, solving real problems, and trying not to sound like a human pop-up ad. Sales is less about closing deals and more about not being left on read. 😅 #SalesReality #NotJustSelling #growth #Theaverageboy #job #sales

This really is - No time For Amateurs! If your #customers are buying and your #salespeople are #selling and the results are what you want; you’ve no need to read the rest, thank you for stopping by. But if your business isn’t where you want it to be and getting sales is a struggle, maybe we need to talk? Businesses and people fail because they are not hungry enough. Too many are in love with the idea of success but never the reality of what it takes. It takes Skill, Focus, Action, Accountability. I’m here to turn your business around, help those who need help, and deliver results. If you hire me, you get a straight talking, no nonsense professional. Effective at getting the job done, tough but fair, I set high standards and I don’t take prisoners. I’m not your ‘award winning’ coach or a franchisee with a worn-out regurgitated process. Neither have I done a course just before I ‘left’ my corporate job that now makes me an expert. It takes intelligence, an intimate understanding of sales, the ability to think and an instinct to find the solution and fix the problem. With over 35 years’ experience (which like many, isn’t 1 year 35 times); knowledge that’s second to none, a successful track record over and above the norm, you can be confident when working with me the results will come. As for my fees, the famous oil well fire fighter Red Adair once said, ‘If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait till you hire an amateur.’ I charge professional fees. Hire me. Don’t hire me. But if your business needs help and you need results let’s start with a conversation. Then you can choose what you do next. 07799 642272 Here is a video from a couple of years back. New videos on their way, thank you to the many over the past couple of years who have Liked, commented and reshared. Feel free to subscribe to my YT channel. Tim Coe, Natasha Cleeve, Velia Kietzmann, Grant Baker, Dave Huxley https://lnkd.in/dMMHnmN2