Curious about what skills everyone is prioritizing when it comes to professional development. Do you seek out resources (webinars/newsletters) or just sign up as you see them?
Do you schedule time on a weekly/monthly basis to focus on upskilling? I find it can be an easy thing to put off to the side when day-to-day tasks fill up your time.
Hey @ben.fanjoy
Good question!
IMO, this is an everyday thing…which is actually easier said than done. The easiest way to describe it is by way of observation.
I constantly monitor and social platforms like LinkedIn and TikTok (yes I said it), to see how others are approaching thing.
As an example, LinkedIn…
from time to time you will see people posts “crap” prospecting notes and comment on voicemails AEs or SDRs leave for them. What I have learned is the following:
1.) Don’t assume they are having an issue unless you have done your research and know 100%
2.) When you use auto dial systems, there is a delay when the person picks up. Assume the person who picks up is the person you are calling
There is a ton of passive learning experiences out there…just have to train yourself to catch them.
yes I am crazy, I even look at movies, tv shows, etc to see if similar thought process would work in SW Sales.
Once example someone posted was the move AIR and the quote “A shoe is just a shoe…” The lesson learned there is, get personal with your pitch.
I always say, “We are a people business, product just comes along for the ride”.
I personally feel when you open your eyes to what is going on right in front of you, you develop constantly.
Hope my craziness make sense!
Lots of great points here Greg, appreciate the thoughtful reply. One of my AE’s actually sent me a pretty insightful Tiktok from Lavender on cold email success rates. I’ve avoided getting on Tiktok in the past because I know I’d spend a lot of time on it… but also see lots of valuable content coming from there.
AIR is a phenomenal movie, we actually watched that scene you’re referring to at a recent sales meeting.
Thanks @ben.fanjoy! TikTok can suck you right in, but I do get a ton of great ideas…not only sales but cooking & cocktail tips, etc.
@ben.fanjoy Listening to internal recorded sales calls is a great way to develop. Especially since it’s with peers in your own org, so there’s familiarity with the same types of convos you’re already having, and you can extract some tidbits on what to do more or less of (or how to rephrase things or get more succinct.
Another thing is you can get better at rebuttals. When you hear objections and can listen to how they were handled, it’s instantly valuable. Bets kind of training IMO.
I usually save 30-40 minutes of my day to read come books or watch a couple YouTube videos created by other sales professionals.
You can also get some decent up-skilling throughout the day by listening to podcasts while you do lead list building. Huge fan of 30 Minutes to President’s Club and Outbound Squad.
I find that it’s easier for me to commit to a live training of a certain course (typically over Zoom) like ones delivered by Pavilion. I have a cohort and I develop a sort of a relationship, so for those weeks I’m fully committed and block that time on my calendar. The next best thing is a live webinar on a topic of interest. I prefer ones that deliver actual tools, frameworks, etc. since they help me then apply them to our own framework and process (my role is building and enhancing our playbooks, methodology, and systems). This is to distinguish from more conversational webinars where 2 or more people have a conversation. I’ll pick up a few things, but I’m more of a visual learner and prefer structure.
I also subscribe to a lot of Sales consulting shops and sales tech newsletters - Clari, Gong, Skaled, Winning by Design, Corporate Visions, Force Management, Gartner, and of course Databook are a few notable examples.
The content being put out there for absolutely free is amazing. But that one is more sporadic. Every now and then I’ll dive into that email folder that keeps getting bigger and bigger and pick a few white papers or recorded webinars to listen to.
I’ll try and pick one thing and apply it into my work.
Hope this helps.
Thanks, Ran. Super helpful. I’m on some newsletters as well but haven’t thought about storing them all in one email folder to go back to. Definitely agree that there is some amazing content out there for free, for me, it just comes down to how much info is too much while balancing the need to stay up to date on the latest tools/processes.