For years, I was a sales robot.

I didn’t know it at the time and thought I was doing everything right.

I mastered my pitch. I had an answer for every objection. I could explain every feature. I showed up to meetings determined to find an opportunity and advance deals. I was a great presenter.  I was persistent and closed hard. 

A sales robot is someone who shows up with a script instead of curiosity. They care more about their pitch than the customer’s priorities. They try to impress instead of understand.

That approach worked when I sold copiers, and helped me become the #1 Director of Sales globally at Ricoh. It was all I knew when I got to Salesforce. 

Transactional sales is largely a numbers game. You need a great pitch, sharp objection handling, and the ability to move quickly from conversation to close.

But enterprise software is a completely different game. 

Executives don’t buy software based on a polished pitch from a sharp seller. They work with sellers who deeply understand their business that they trust. 

After missing quota three years in a row at Salesforce, I finally admitted what worked in transactional copier sales didn’t work selling Enterprise Software. 

I had to change my approach if I wanted to succeed. 

Here are the key changes I made. 

• I stopped pitching and started having real conversations with Executives about their business.

• I stopped using slides in first meetings and started asking better questions.

• I stopped leading with my products and started leading with their business goals and priorities.

• I came with a clear point of view based on research, not a canned presentation.

• I started showing up as my authentic self and stopped trying to impress people. 

• I shifted my focus from selling my products to exploring whether or not we could help them achieve their goals or solve their problems, and if the problems were painful enough to warrant a deeper engagement. 

Everything changed that year. 

I made Club four years in a row, became the #1 rep at Salesforce, and built relationships that lasted for years.

Now I coach sellers on these same principles, and they are getting similar results. 

Research supports this shift.

Gong analyzed more than 800,000 discovery meetings and found that calls using slide decks were 17% less likely to earn a follow-up meeting. Sellers also talked more and asked fewer questions.

Linkedin’s State of Sales reports that 89% of buyers are more likely to consider a vendor when the salesperson demonstrates a clear understanding of their business needs.

The best enterprise sellers don’t sound like salespeople. They sound like trusted advisors who often understand a customer’s business even better than the customer, who works in siloes. 

If you’re still selling software like it’s a transactional product, this week’s video will completely change how you approach first meetings.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/t9EcmZMREn4