Sales Success Stories - 60 Stories from 20 Top 1% Sales Professionals

Published by: Top 1% Publishing, Austin, Texas

top1.fm/publishing

Copyright © 2018 by Sales Success Media, LLC

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Disclaimer: The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

Cover design by: Tomsha Design

Book design by: Alex Head

ISBN: 978-0-9906059-4-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ingram, Scott M., author.

Title: Sales success stories : 60 stories from 20 top 1% sales professionals / by Scott Ingram.

Series: Sales Success Stories.

Description: Austin, TX: Top 1% Publishing, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018910378 | ISBN 978-0-9906059-3-5 (Hardcover) | 978-0-9906059-2-8 (pbk.) | 978-0-9906059-4-2 (ebook) | 978-0-9906059-5-9 (audio)

Subjects: LCSH: Selling. | Success in business. |Executive ability--Case studies. | Leadership--Case studies. | BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Sales & Selling / General | BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Personal Success

Classification: LCC HF5438.25 .I538 2018 | DDC 658.85--dc23

Sales Success Stories is available at a discount when purchased in quantity for sales promotions or corporate use. Special editions, which include personalized covers, excerpts and corporate imprints, can be created when purchased in large quantities. Send inquiries to scott@top1.fm

D2D101518EB

Dedicated to the profession of sales that has given all of us so much.

With a very special thanks to those who went above and beyond with their contribution to the crowdfunding campaign that made this book possible:

Chris McNeill, Jerald Welch, Nader Shwayhat, Caitlyn Boger, M.K., Troy Odenwald, Andy Jaffke, Eduardo Eddie Baez, Sandra Thomas, Jeff Bajorek, Vlad Polikhun, Renee Tarrant, Kyle Porter, Todd Venable, David Scher, Lynda Dahlheimer, Aaron Johnson, Christie Walters, Greg Drose, Jim Riviello, Ron Masi, Karl Rego, Kevin Hall, Johnathan Johnnie Rudloff, Rachid Zidani, Colin Specter, Scott Lawrence, Dave Schwartz, Mary Jo McCarthy, Andrej Spisiak, Ernie Baer, Leila Mozaffarian, James Christman, Vito Fabiano, and Ed Roberts

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Bios

Scott Ingram

Mike Dudgeon

Justin Bridgemohan

DeJuan Brown

Jacquelyn Nicholson

George Penyak

Debe Rapson

Kyle Gutzler

Florin Tatulea

David Weiss

Trong Nguyen

John Hinkson

Jelle den Dunnen

Kevin Walkup

Trey Simonton

Camille Clemons

Dayna Leaman

Phil Terrill

Paul DiVincenzo

AJ Brasel

Mindset

1. Ditching the Salesman Mentality - AJ Brasel

2. Determination and Persistence - Dayna Leaman

3. The Mindset of a Champion - Kyle Gutzler

4. Don’t Take it Personally; They Just Didn’t Want to Buy From You - David Weiss

5. Creating Success with the Customer First - John Hinkson

6. Being Comfortable with the Uncomfortable - Dayna Leaman

7. On Competitiveness - Justin Bridgemohan

8. On Confidence - Justin Bridgemohan

9. On Charisma - Justin Bridgemohan

10. Giving Back and Growing - John Hinkson

11. Courage Drives Positive Outcomes- Debe Rapson

12. Differentiating Yourself Through Goal Setting - AJ Brasel

13. Mindset Consists of Multiple Key Factors and Can Have a Massive Impact! - Jelle den Dunnen

Relationships

14. I’m 6’4" and Devilishly Handsome - Trong Nguyen

15. Build Rapport - Jacquelyn Nicholson

16. My Dad was Right! - Dayna Leaman

17. People to People Sales - Paul DiVincenzo

18. The Playa - Trong Nguyen

19. Unprecedented, Impossible to Top - Camille Clemons

20. What Are You Scared of? - Trong Nguyen

21. Sell High - Jacquelyn Nicholson

22. Ask for Referrals Often and Always - Kevin Walkup

23. Make a Habit of Biting Your Tongue, so the Client has Time to Speak - Trey Simonton

24. Your Network is Everything - Kevin Walkup

25. Why Lunch Doesn’t Matter - Trong Nguyen

26. Avoid the Single Thread - Never Fail Alone - Jacquelyn Nicholson

27. Success from Relationships and Trust - Paul DiVincenzo

Sales Careers

28. Choosing a New Path in Sales - John Hinkson

29. Just F@#$ing Kill Me - David Weiss

30. Love the Product You Sell - George Penyak

31. A Rapid Rise, an Epic Fall, and Getting Fired-Up - Scott Ingram

32. Momentum Selling - Kyle Gutzler

33. Career Momentum - Kyle Gutzler

34. Performance Enhancement Plan – Going from Underperforming to Overperforming - Mike Dudgeon

35. Getting Promoted in Tough Times - Paul DiVincenzo

36. Be Specific About What You Want - Scott Ingram

37. Don’t Forget to Add the Personal into Business Relationships - Jelle den Dunnen

38. Best Practices vs. ONLY Practices - Paul DiVincenzo

39. Run Your Sales Career Like a Franchise - Mike Dudgeon

40. Getting It Done & Doing It Right – Recipe for a Great Sales Culture - Scott Ingram

Sales Process

41. Why is Why Better than What? - DeJuan Brown

42. Set Your Goals at 2x to 3x Your Quota and Build a Daily Routine to Over Achieve - Trey Simonton

43. Differentiating Yourself From the Average Sales Development Rep (SDR) - Florin Tatulea

44. Creative Prospecting - Scott Ingram

45. The Art of Persistence and Knowing When to Quit - Florin Tatulea

46. The Janitor Knows More than You - DeJuan Brown

47. Always be A / B Testing - Florin Tatulea

48. F*@# the Status Quo - Do You - Phil Terrill

49. Over-delivering on Value - George Penyak

50. Who Knew selling Looked Like this? - Camille Clemons

51. Discovery Is Not Just One Step In The Process - Debe Rapson

52. Deal Qualification. How I Used to Lose ~40% of my Deals to a Single Competitor - Jelle den Dunnen

53. The Year I Doubled my Income - David Weiss

54. Well that Sucked - Camille Clemons

55. Take Time for Research and Always do a Dry Run - Trey Simonton

56. Understanding an Opportunity’s True Value - George Penyak

57. The Four Fs to Building the Right Momentum with Customers - Phil Terrill

58. Overcoming the Price Objection - AJ Brasel

59. Let Me Know if Anything Changes - DeJuan Brown

60. I Love S.A.L.E.S. - Phil Terrill

Conclusion

Foreword

By Lee Bartlett

The phone rang, and a headhunter promptly introduced himself. Our paths had crossed, and we knew each other by reputation. He explained his agency had been awarded the mandate to build a world-class sales team of A-players and launch a new product line for a large enterprise. It is the same script all headhunters use—part flattery, part self-promoting, and short dialect to demonstrate they are cut from the same mold.

I was crushing it in my role and declined interest, when he unwittingly said something that caught my attention. He said the new CEO specifically told him to find someone imbalanced.

When you have worked in the sales industry for long enough, you can appreciate the deeper connotations of this request. This leader understood the best salespeople are different. He sought to hire people with an unparalleled work ethic driven by a greater sense of purpose, because this can be harnessed. Indeed, it is a trait he likely possessed himself.

It takes many years of experience to understand the profile of a true top performer, and longer still to know how to manage them. To proactively seek imbalance meant the CEO was confident in his leadership and ability to align complex, individual personalities with the company’s specific goals. This candidate profile doesn’t lead to an easy life, but if you get it right, it leads to immediate market share and revenue.

Being a top salesperson is not just about customer-centricity, but also a mastery of fundamental sales skills, a commitment to continuous learning, the emotional intelligence to find opportunity in the smallest of triggers, and the ability to constantly adapt to the bigger picture. The psychometric tests used by companies to identify top performers are, in my experience, rarely accurate and therein lies the puzzle few sales leaders solve.

Scott Ingram has done something special with this book and the Sales Success Stories Podcast. He wanted to understand what makes top salespeople tick, and rather than turn to vanilla research for answers, he proceeded to interview the top 1% of salespeople in different industries. He asked the interviewees to explain, in their own words, what differentiated their results from average performers. The outcome is an unfiltered, precise interpretation from leading practitioners in their field. As you read each story in this book, try to delve deeper into the mindset of the salesperson by asking these questions:

What drives this salesperson?

What skills have they mastered to make the decisions they made?

Who are they working for, the customer or themselves?

Is their process repeatable, and if so, why?

How did they control their emotions in each situation?

When you understand what each salesperson believes, you can replicate their mindset and approach. It will become quickly apparent that no one thing is happening in isolation, and you’ll see patterns of behavior begin to emerge. You might also notice that certain industries suit different character traits and skill-sets. Try to separate the common and unique traits in each situation, and decide for yourself what makes these top 1% of performers consistently successful.

You will read stories from my friend, Kyle Gutzler, who describes the importance of sales momentum, and the inflection point in a previous role that led to his accelerated success. Others discuss the soft-skills employed by only the best salespeople, such as the importance of not burning bridges, courage, managing discomfort, competitiveness, and when to move on. These skills are difficult to teach in a classroom but are often differentiators that drive success.

A common theme throughout the book is salespeople referring to their mentors. The only way to lead top salespeople is to earn their respect, demonstrate integrity and remove all the obstacles to let them thrive. It is a thankless task that requires a leader to control their ego and propel the best people forward. However, as I found when referring to mentors in my book The No.1 Best Seller, the thanks comes years later, when salespeople reflect on the positive impact these mentors had on their careers. Consider each reference a homage to the crucial role these people played.

The beauty of this book is you can compare your own experiences and approach to those of the top 1% and decide what makes the difference between good and exceptional. Each story is a lesson learnt from years of trial and error. Whether cause or cash-driven, the motivational drivers of top salespeople are not important. What is important is how they align themselves with their employer and customer, and you are about to read several masterclasses in enterprise selling that will shave years off your learning curve.

I was delighted when Scott asked me to write the foreword to this book. He was the first person to read my book on the day of release. When finished, his question remains the most poignant to date. "Lee, why did you write The No.1 Best Seller? You didn’t need to.... My answer was I don’t really know. I just wanted to tell people how I came to be a consistent top performer, and show them it is not luck." I intended to publish the book and go back to work, because I knew that past successes have no bearing on the future. I would guess the people who wrote the stories in this book feel the same. They have given something back, but they also understand it’s about looking forward and continuous execution, not congratulating yourself on previous successes. The people who contributed to this book are still crushing it in their sales roles, and the next pages will tell you how and why.

Introduction

By Scott Ingram

This is a book about stories, so it only makes sense to start the introduction with the story of how this book got started.

After the first ever Sales Success Summit that featured over a dozen guests from my Sales Success Stories Podcast, there was a secret gathering of some key presenters (Thank you Jacquelyn, DeJuan, David, Debe, Paul, and Luke) held in order to brainstorm a collaborative book project. If you’re not familiar, my Sales Success Stories Podcast exclusively features quota carrying, individual contributor, sales professionals who are either #1 or at least in the top 1% of their respective sales organizations. I knew I wanted to do something like this ever since my pre-interview conversation with Robbie Siegel in a Las Vegas hotel room. Here, he said that there aren’t any books written by active top sales professionals because we’re all too busy selling. I knew I wanted to change that and allow for a large number of top sellers to contribute to a sales book because many hands make light work.

As the group got together to discuss the book project, I asked them two questions. ‘Where is the gap in the marketplace with the sales books that all of us are reading?’ and ’What’s the overarching umbrella, theme, and ideally working title that we can collectively bring our unique experience together into?’

Now, to be clear, I came into the discussion with a couple of ideas but wanted to see what would come out of this mastermind without too much of my own bias and preconceived notions.

As a podcaster. I have a tendency to record things and I can tell you definitively, because I just listened to the recording, that it took us less than an hour to solve these questions. The answer was so obvious that I wanted to smack myself on the forehead. First, the gap was simply that, with very few exceptions; there just aren’t any real stories from real sales professionals out there (Lee Bartlett’s book The No.1 Best Seller is one of the very few examples, which is why I asked him to write the foreword). Furthermore, why don’t we just call the book Sales Success Stories, because that’s what it should be made up of? For me, the lesson here is that sometimes you’re just too close to something to see the obvious answer. This is just one more reason to surround yourself with great people; ask them good questions and shut up!

We proceeded to spend the next few hours thinking about different ways we could structure the stories and the most important themes. Ultimately, we decided that the structure would probably present itself, and we didn’t need to force it. Instead, we just needed to start collecting the stories and focus on assembling them later on based on themes.

Growing up, I loved reading ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books, and I think that’s ultimately what we’ve created here. Although you’ll find a high-level organization structure whereby we’ve grouped the stories into the broad categories: Mindset, Relationships, Sales Careers and Sales Process, you can really start anywhere you like. Most of the time, I read books straight through, and that will certainly work here, but you can just as easily skip to the section where you’re currently facing a challenge or could use some advice. That will also serve as a great way to go back to a particular set of stories for future reference or just skip to a random page and start. With any luck, you’re going to walk away with some great value and a great set of lessons learned.

Continuing with the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ theme, the best way to make the most of this book is to focus on Your Own Adventure. In these pages, you’re going to find a lot of different perspectives and even conflicting advice. Just like with most things in life, you have to pick and choose what’s most relevant for you; whatever fits your style, your personality, and the way you sell the best. There are no right or wrong answers… only your answers.

Then, be sure to read the closing, where you’ll find a specific set of suggested next actions and some ways that you can participate in the next volume of this series. Since I’m currently interviewing about 26 new top performers each year, I have to believe that this book is just the beginning and that your input is going to be significant to even better future volumes.

Here is one way you can share some great real-time feedback with us: If you read a story that is particularly impactful and meaningful to you, take a picture of yourself with the book, then post it on LinkedIn with your specific insight, making sure to tag that story’s author and myself in the post. That will certainly keep us going, hopefully providing some value for your own network in the process. Thanks for sharing!

Finally, we’re all really proud of this book and hope you get a lot of value from reading these pages. We’re even more proud of the audiobook where all of the stories are read by that story’s author, where you can hear them emphasize the key points in their own words and hear the nuances in their voice. If you’ve already purchased both formats, please email your receipts to scott@top1.fm and I’ll send you something special. If you haven’t yet purchased the audiobook, you can also email me and I’ll recommend the best way to get it, as well as set you up with that special something.

The best possible outcome would be that these stories contribute in some way to your own success in sales. The results are up to you, but may these stories serve you well.

Bios

Scott Ingram

Professional history: ADP, Bazaarvoice, Eloqua, Oracle, Certain, Relationship One

Host of the Sales Success Stories Podcast

LinkedIn: top1.fm/LISI

Bio: Scott Ingram is the top account director at Relationship One where he works with about a dozen Fortune 500 companies to help them maximize their Oracle Marketing Cloud investments. Scott has been a part of two IPO’s in his sales career having sold for Bazaarvoice and Eloqua. Scott also hosts the Sales Success Stories Podcast where he ONLY interviews top individual contributors who are either #1 or at least in the top 1% if they work for larger organizations like LinkedIn, Paychex, Microsoft, ADP, etc.

Fun Facts:

Scott is married, has 2 daughters, too many cats to name (not by choice) and a Chiweenie.

Scott is Peloton obsessed and used to teach indoor cycling classes at the Townlake YMCA in Austin where he prided himself on offering the most difficult classes available.

Scott founded his first company, Grey Matter Technologies, when he was 20 years old. He was surprised to find the name pop up years later while binging on Breaking Bad.

31. A Rapid Rise, an Epic Fall, and Getting Fired Up

36. Be Specific About What You Want

40. Getting It Done & Doing It Right—Recipe for a Great Sales Culture

44. Creative Prospecting

Mike Dudgeon

Professional history: DDB, OMD, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, LinkedIn

Star of podcast episode: 1 (top1.fm/1)

LinkedIn: top1.fm/LIMD

Bio: Mike’s career started in college in a small marketing department at Hoosier Down where he performed on the weekends as a horse mascot called Hoosier Buddy. Since hanging up the horse shoes, he’s hung close to marketing by working at global ad agencies (OMD, DDB) and now selling into Enterprise Technology companies. Mike is fortunate to lead some of the top talent as a Sr. Manager on LinkedIn’s Key Accounts for their Marketing Solutions business.

Fun Facts:

Mike is married with two children and a third on the way.

Mike thought it was wise to live through a seven month renovation project and have a baby in the middle of it. His wife is not to blame.

When not trying to setup adventures for his family, Mike enjoys mountain biking and road cycling.

34. Performance Enhancement Plan – Going from Underperforming to Overperforming

39. Run Your Sales Career Like a Franchise

Justin Bridgemohan

Professional history: BeneFACT Consulting Group, Intelex Technologies, Influitive, Total Expert

Star of podcast episode: 3 (top1.fm/3)

LinkedIn: top1.fm/LIJB

Bio: Justin has spent his entire career in software sales, and now focuses on the enterprise market. Justin honed his sales craft from the ground up; starting off cold-calling in the SMB space and eventually working his way into focusing on key accounts. Justin studied Political Science at Carleton University and Business Administration at Heriot-Watt University.

Fun Facts:

Justin is an avid reader and typically reads 3 books per month.

Justin has recorded an album as a musical artist.

Justin is a huge basketball fan and has a goal to watch an NBA game in every arena.

7. On Competitiveness

8. On Confidence

9. On Charisma

DeJuan Brown

Professional history: Intuit, Bloomberg BNA

Star of podcast episode: 6 (top1.fm/6)

LinkedIn: top1.fm/LIDB

Bio: DeJuan has more than 15 years of experience in sales and consulting, spending the last several years serving clients in the Tax & Accounting, Corporate and Legal markets. DeJuan cut his sales teeth at Intuit, where he spent nearly 13 years across multiple business units learning the art and science of selling. DeJuan studied Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Mary Washington.

Fun Facts:

DeJuan is the husband of one amazing wife, and father to six children, ages 4-21.

DeJuan is a foodie whose sole purpose for travel is the exploration of new culinary experiences.

DeJuan is an avid Crossfitter, which helps enable his love for food.

41. Why is Why Better Than What

46. The Janitor Knows More Than You

59. Let Me Know if Anything Changes

Jacquelyn Nicholson

Professional history: Johnson & Johnson, Sun Microsystems, I-Many, Gerson Lehrman Group, Percolate, Leadership X University, AlphaSense

Star of podcast episode: 8 (top1.fm/8)

LinkedIn: top1.fm/LIJN

Bio: Jacquelyn has over 25 years of experience in building and supporting the best brands in the world. Her specialties include global business development and account management including an extensive background advising and serving the life sciences and technology industries. Jacquelyn is outspoken and irreverent towards avoidable mediocrity, possessing decades of solid client relationships and expertise in building businesses in new markets from scratch. She’s passionate about wine, coaching, and mentoring. Jacquelyn and her husband laugh and love their way through Sonoma county life with kids, outdoor ranch dogs, and a few bottles of wine.

Fun Facts:

Jacquelyn is a trained sommelier, half marathoner, and avid competitive sharpshooter.

Jacquelyn would practice constitutional law in front of the Supreme Court in another life.

Jacquelyn is a huge fan of diabolical Sudoku puzzles and doing crossword puzzles in ink.

15. Build Rapport

21. Sell High

26. Avoid the Single Thread – Never Fail Alone

George Penyak

Professional history: