I help organizations create modern learning strategies for their people, partners, and customers | AE @ Docebo | 🎙Host of Stories of Selling Human

Sometimes in your life it feels like you lose everything.  

Like the year I was laid off.  Interviews pushed from COVID 19,  But then the real bomb hit,

My Dad got diagnosed Leukemia.

Just 5 months later, unfortunately my Dad passed away.  Despite losing so much, I'll never lose what my Dad taught me about life.  Things like selflessness, a relentless work ethic, and a thirst for knowledge.

His best lesson was how to create genuine connections with everyone in your life.  I've taken that approach to sales my whole life.  I’m still the 8 yr old kid who loved meeting people so much that he went door to door selling Ham and Cheese out of a catalog.

I got genuine connections out of it and the Sony Boombox I won wasn’t half bad either!

Highlights from 15 years in professional sales:

🔥 I launched a new team where I successfully recruited financial producers for a firm owned by Fran Tarkenton, Hall of Fame QB.

🔥I was named the top sales rep in an office of over 50 media sales people.  Judged not just by sales attainment but also by activity.

🔥At Monster, I sold the biggest partnership contract in the history of our team. $300k ARR, 3 year deal. 

What am I most proud of professionally?

A 15 minute meeting.  I drove 3 hours to Chicago to meet a client I’ve never met in person.  For 15 mins to say hi and drive back.  It wasn’t to close a deal.  It was just a Tuesday. 

Those “Just Tuesday” moments are why I love this gig.

I’ve had success in my career because I genuinely seek to understand people. 

An understanding strategy IS my sales strategy.

My relentlessness isn’t driven by my product or a sales number. I'm motivated by digging deeper to discover the “un-discovered” problem.   Sales is something that happens for and with your buyer not to them.  You're a guide on a discovery together with the intention to help and add value.  ALWAYS.

The best feeling in sales isn’t ringing a bell, (even though that’s always fun). 

The real joy is in being told three simple words.

“I trust you.” 

That’s what really lights me up and what I'm going for.

Finally, my approach in sales is guided by attuning yourself to what someone’s entire world is like, actively listening without any agenda, being genuine, and putting them first.

I call these things, “Selling Human”.  I practice it daily.  I think we can all do it.

I choose to study it.

If you want to learn it with me, listen to my podcast:  Sell By Being Human 
(wherever you get your podcasts)

AND for more,

Follow #sellbybeinghuman

Alex Smith

Ian Koniak

I help tech sales AEs perform to their full potential in sales and life with coaching, courses, and community | Sales Coach | Former #1 Enterprise AE at Salesforce | $100M+ in career sales

I help B2B Account Executives perform to their full potential by mastering their  mindset, habits, and selling skills. 

As the former #1 Enterprise AE at Salesforce globally, I teach you what works. I've sold over 100M in my career, hit quota 16 of 19 years, and broken 7 figures 3 times. 

My coaching programs help sales professionals achieve the results they know they are capable of, while also finding joy and fulfillment outside of just their work. This program is built specifically for SaaS AE's and provides the training which you likely aren't getting from your company or manager. 

Prior to starting my own business, I worked in B2B technology sales for 19 years at F500 tech companies as an individual contributor, Sales Manager, and Director of Sales, with over 100M in career sales and numerous finishes at #1 nationally, including finishing #1 in the US Enterprise Select Division of Salesforce.

Most recently I worked as a Strategic Account Director for the Enterprise West Sales team at Salesforce, where I partnered with our largest customers to help them drive growth, innovation, and success on the Salesforce Platform. At Ricoh, I led a team of 10 Sales Managers and 70 reps responsible for 60M Annual Revenue across hardware, software, and services. 

After a near death experience, I started a coaching business to serve others and help them achieve incredible success by mastering the mindset, habits, and skills needed to perform at the highest level. I've also had to overcome numerous hardships in my personal life, including nearly losing my family to addiction. 

My mission is to share my learnings over 20 years in tech sales to help AE's perform their best without sacrificing their personal time, families, or health. To hear my full story, visit www.iankoniak.com or visit https://untapyoursalespotential.com

When I'm not coaching, I enjoy spending quality time with my wonderful family, running, and traveling.

Founder & CEO

We help Account Executives perform at their full potential by mastering the mindset, habits, and skills needed to perform at the highest level in sales with our sales coaching programs and online courses.

We offer private, group, and online sales coaching programs. We teach the exact playbook Ian Koniak used to become the #1 Enterprise AE at Salesforce and close over 100M in his career. 

Through a combination of live coaching calls, online training videos, live events, and a vibrate community, we help sellers perform reach the top 1% and change their lives and their families lives forever by maximizing their impact and impact. 

To learn how to get started, book a free coaching strategy call here https://calendly.com/tanveermostafa/30min-1

What’s the difference between how a consultant sells, and how a typical software AE sells?

In one word: EVERYTHING!

My first four years at Salesforce, I spoke to customers like many AE’s do.

I was friendly, charismatic, and asked a lot of questions about their current situation.

If I thought we could help the client, I shared our value proposition, overview of the software, and asked for next steps, such as a demo or deeper discovery.

I worked hard and considered myself a good “closer,” who could reel in any fish I had on the line using discounts, incentives, and old-fashioned persistence.

Overall, this approach worked okay, and allowed me to make 200K-300K/year on average.

Pretty good living, right?

I thought so too.

But I never BLEW IT OUT of the water.

While my income was decent, I felt like a failure compared to many reps selling over 200% of quota and making BIG money at Salesforce!

I wanted to know what they were doing differently.

One thing I consistently heard is that the top performers were using a “consultative selling” approach, and many of them engaged a group at Salesforce called “Ignite.”

This group only worked with the most strategic accounts who wanted to transform their business, and their approach centered around design thinking to drive digital transformations.

I was determined to run an Ignite in one of my largest new logos: Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.

I engaged my Ignite Partner, a man named Noah Flower

I was fortunate to book a meeting with the COO of BHHS, and invited Noah to join me.

When I saw how Noah interacted with him, my mind was blown.

He asked strategic questions focused on the COO’s highest priorities, biggest challenges, and long term vision for the company.

He listened attentively, dug deeper to understand everything the COO shared, and was deeply curious and interested in the clients business.

Not once did he mention anything about our Salesforce or our solutions.

At the very end of the meeting, he said that he believed we could help, and shared more about Ignite.

For this to work, we would first need to gain consensus from the C-suite, and Noah offered to help our COO prepare for an internal stakeholder meeting.

Within a month, we had 1:1 interviews with their CEO, CFO, and CIO.

Within 6 months, we had closed the largest deal of my career after running an Ignite.

That year I finished #1 at Salesforce, and made club every year thereafter.

Noah changed my life by showing me a much better way to sell.

The reason Noah was so effective in front of customers is because he was not a “seller.”

He was a consultant, who spent 7 years at Deloitte prior to joining Salesforce.

And now, I’m thrilled to share Noah’s wisdom with you in a Fireside Chat. 

For AE’s looking to shift from transactional selling to consultative selling, this interview is worth its weight in gold.

You can find the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gqESPGgK

I help tech sales AEs perform to their full potential in sales and life by mastering their mindset, habits, and selling skills | Sales Coach | Former #1 Enterprise AE at Salesforce | $100M+ in career sales

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The Battle

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Engagements

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