Steven Souma’s Post

Here's what Tech Account Managers are confused about the most: What are they supposed to actually know? They're not Technical and aren't meant to be, so where do they add value? By knowing their customer so well that they can pull all the resources they need inside their sales team to solve their customers problem. The knowledge of a great Account Manager is a mile wide and inch deep - enough to carry intrigue and develop the conversation. Then they bring their 'nerds' in to bolster the opportunity, and lead the conversation into a solution. Job done ✅ The T-Shaped Skillset is something I teach in Tech Sales Academy - custom-built to meet the needs of the 'People' people of Tech - Account Managers/Executives/ BDMs/SDRs. It's coming in March - save your seat by joining the community below! P.S I also formally apologise in advance to any offence caused to 'nerds' 😆 --- Found this useful? Follow me for Tech Sales & Performance Tips daily! Aspire to be a Top 1% Tech Seller? Join my elite community here: https://lnkd.in/gCrGKKXr

"I SOOOO WISH I HAD THIS WHEN I STARTED OUT" What 100% of our enrollees say when they dive into the Tech Sales Accelerator course for professional and sales development. During a coaching yesterday a client shared "it took me about 6 months to just figure out the distribution part of the sales process" ☝ Right?!! The course was created for technical salespeople coming into the industry and needing to understand and navigate what can seem like a complex sales process. So many moving parts, deal registrations, margin protection; not to mention the outreach communication and where to start on LinkedIn. So, whether you're building or scaling a team or looking to develop your salespeople this course is packed FULL of actionable steps to implement whilst learning. Did I mention that there is LIVE monthly calls to get coaching and questions answered. For more info visit: https://lnkd.in/gn-dBP74 #salescourse #techsales #salestrainer #salescoach #salesenablement #salesdevelopment #leadgeneration #salesonboarding

Sales Pro Tip: Simply accumulating a list of leads doesn't make you excel in sales. Who you’re learning from makes a huge difference. And if you want to get thousands of leads, you’re going to need to follow the top Sales experts on LinkedIn. The good part? All this education is FREE. I am sharing a list of 29 Sales experts (compiled by Salesforce), some of whom have shared gems that have helped me scale my company to millions of dollars in rev. You can find the more detailed list here: https://lnkd.in/dKy_BqbT If you have a folk account, you can analyze + extract data from this list by duplicating it.

Most sellers posting on LinkedIn sell to sales leaders. If you sell to CTO’s & CDO’s peep this👇 Biz acumen will only take you so far. You have to be SOMEWHAT technical. Yes I know we have engineers to help. But AE’s who rely 100% on engineers will never become fully trusted. So how do you improve technical acumen? Do this 👇 1. Learn the language 🗣️ With Databricks leaning into LLM’s I’ve had to: 📺 Watch YouTube videos to understand: -What is a vector database -What is an embedding model? -What does it mean to “fine tune” a model? What ever you sell, learn the technical jargon so you can speak to it in conversations. 2. Research the competition 👀 📕 Learn what your competitors do 📕What capabilities do they offer that you don’t? 📕In what situation is your offering better/worse? Speaking intelligently to what you do vs. what the market does will increase credibility. 3. Know the use cases 📁What are the outcomes your tech produces? 📁What are the common reasons people start? 📁What are the problems they’re trying to solve? If you’re only relying on your company’s enablement, you’ll be behind. So study up on the tech. Be a student. & don’t rely 100% on the engineers. Hope this helps Mike Goulis 🤝🙏 P.S.- for more tips on how to be a stand out AE, hit the link in the comments 👇

As a sales professional, it's essential to understand the technical aspects of the products we sell. As mentioned in my previous post, I want to dedicate time this year to continuous improvement and professional skill strengthening! That's why I recently completed a course by Google in #generativeai. This course was a game-changer for me as it taught me about how it is different than #machinelearning. With this knowledge, I can better serve my clients and make their lives easier, especially on the more technical calls. I encourage all AEs and sales professionals to consider taking technical courses to enhance their understanding of the products they sell. #sales #technicalskills #professionaldevelopment

Fail fast to sell better. When I first started as a sales specialist at Microsoft, I was selling Azure before "the cloud" was really on customer's radars. I probably sound like a dinosaur but 2014 wasn't THAT long ago! I didn't have a technical background. But I did have a "can do," learn it all mentality. At the time, our sales training wasn't super robust so I pushed my manager and team to let me join customer calls and then start leading those calls as quickly as possible. I always had a shadow or a mentor who could jump in if I didn't know an answer. And I did mess up and make mistakes, but my team was there to help. After the calls, we'd regroup and talk through learnings. Joining those calls, hearing what customers cared about, the questions they were asking, and then debriefing afterwards accelerated my learning more than any pitch practice ever could. At the end of the day, it's all about what the customer cares about. Not what your marketing team thinks they care about, not what your manager cares about. Figuring out how to solve their tangible problems through your offerings and becoming a partner to them in the process. So next time you join a new team, get in front of your customers as quickly as possible and listen to them. Frankly, every role can benefit from this - not just sales. Marketing, engineering, and operations all benefit from customer feedback. I'm forever grateful for my teammates letting me fail, it made me a better seller, and they were there to help me learn. Do you have any favorite questions you ask in a customer discovery call? Have you failed fast to accelerate your learnings?

𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬! I recently discovered the power of asking the right questions in tech sales thanks to SalesPlat Technologies amazing TechSales training program. Who knew a simple conversation tweak could unlock so much hidden customer value? A huge shoutout to Olatunde, Victor Adeoluwa the director, whose expertise has been truly transformative. His insights have been invaluable! Thanks also to Kingsley Obika for his seamless coordination – it's been a smooth learning experience. I'm excited to document my progress and share key learnings here on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for more insights! What's the one sales skill you wish you could improve? Let me know in the comments!

New or budding BDRs/SDRs are faced with an avalanche of learning resources and this can be quite daunting. This makes it imperative to start out on the right footing by getting the most relevant and useful information to guide newbies on how start out by putting the best foot forward. Patrick Dang in this youtube video https://lnkd.in/dhYssZvM spelt out what a new BDR should focus on as they begin their career. His points are summarized below. 1. Understand the foundations./fundamentals of sales. At this stage, leave out the techniques and technicalities and focus on things like what motivates people to buy, how to solve their pain point etc. 2. Master your industry. In the sales world, it is advisable to focus on a domain or a niche area and be knowledgeable about it. Read as much as you can on your preferred domain area. This way, you can command respect. 3. Find a mentor. This can be someone who is more knowledgeable than you in the sales field. It could be your manager or an online resource person. This gets your learning on a fast track. 4. Practice. You could read up all you want and still be on the same spot if you do not practice what you've learnt. 5. Reflect and improve. Go over your previous work and engagement to observe areas that need improvement or a complete change of strategy. This way, you are sure to record steady improvement in your new found role as a BDR/SDR

🚀 Unlocking Success in SaaS Sales: The Power of Technical Knowledge 💻 I was speaking to an enterprise hunter yesterday who talked about the benefits of getting close with the product team, understanding the technicalities of your product in depth: 1️⃣ Speak the Language: A technical knowledge lets you dive into the nitty-gritty of the solution. You can articulate the real nuts and bolts 🔩, fostering a deeper understanding with your clients. 2️⃣ Empowerment in Startups: In a startup environment, self-sufficiency is key. With a technical understanding, you can create your own sales collateral. No need to burden busy SEs – you become a one-person powerhouse 🔋 3️⃣ Maximizing SE Impact: When you bring in a Sales Engineer, your technical foundation allows you to maximize their impact‼️. Efficiently align their expertise with customer needs, ensuring every interaction counts. Technical prowess in SaaS sales is a force multiplier. It's not just about selling; it's about creating a seamless, impactful journey for both you and your customers 🛒 #tech #martech #saassales

I came across an old article from Harvard Business School that sheds light on the challenges sales teams face in the tech industry during a down market. While the article may be from 2006, it still holds relevance today. We can learn from past down cycles and apply those lessons to our current situation. I'm sharing this article with the LinkedIn community in hopes that it can provide some valuable insights on how to thrive in a storm. Check it out! Link: https://lnkd.in/ddAXRibU