Ben Straker

Sales Enablement Specialist - HVAC

Datasite

Sales Enablement Specialist

HD Supply

HVAC Sales Enablement Specialist responsible for improving communication, coaching, and training processes allowing both Inside and Outside Sellers to become effective and efficient in selling HVAC products.

Account manager for legacy Barnett brand and Home Depot Pro customers in the Northeast of the United States.

Account Manager

Sklar Instruments

Responsible for all V.A. accounts.
Trained in the Inbound Sales Methodology

Inside Sales Representative

Sales Enabler | Dad Joke Aficionado | Training & Coaching Systems That Empower Sales Teams To Create Sustainable Revenue Growth.

A pretty cool anniversary just passed for me last week.

No, it’s not my wedding or work anniversary. 

Let’s just say many years ago. 

Before I was an adult with responsibilities… 

I was awarded my Eagle Scout rank. 

While not an anniversary celebrated often as an adult. 

It’s fun to look at the case hanging on my wall that holds my rank and think back to the memories that shaped the adult and professional I am today. 

This is where I learned lessons like… 

- Perseverance.
- Patience. 
- Public speaking. 
- Goal setting. 
- Leadership. 
- Working as a team. 
- Communication. 
- Resourcefulness.
- Facing fears. 

…and each one sticks with me to this day.

This is what makes the Eagle rank special over any other achievement in Scouting. 

When you stand in front of your own Eagle Board of Review, and are assessed by a panel of strangers. 

They’re not looking at your ability to tie knots. 

They want to take a look at the type of adult you’ll become one day. 

As a parent this is why I believe in after school activities. 

It doesn’t matter whether it’s Team Sports, Scouting, or another club. 

Get your kids involved in something at a young age they can work toward. 

It pays dividends for their future.

I love being sold to… 


Said very few people in sales. 

It’s understandable too. 

Who would want to fall victim to pressure tactics, listen to a pitch of something you don’t care about, or have your day interrupted? 

It all makes sense. 

But to work in sales and say you hate being sold to?

Makes me scratch my head…

It’s like a football coach saying they hate playing football.

It’s absolutely the sales geek in me to examine your approach, strategies, tactics, and pitch. 

Did I see something I like?

Did a new approach catch my attention? 

Or have I seen something I need to make sure my sellers never do… 

If I have the time and you are not completely off base, I will listen. 

I have a lot of passion for this profession. 

This is just another way for me to study my craft and compete. 

#sales #salesenablement

What are the tactics to active listening? 

I think we can all agree that listening is the most important part of any sales conversion. 

So, how do we test active listening in a simulated environment? 

Other than scoring how a seller retains linear information they asked for, here’s two more tactics I use to assess active listening. 

1) Additional Detail - this approach is when you answer a sellers question with the info they asked AND one more piece of key detail they’ll also need. In this situation you’ll want to assess how they retain original information, if they recognized additional detail, and how they prioritized it.

2) Overwhelm - somewhat of an unconventional approach, but not uncommon in the real world to have customers who are very forthcoming with information. This tactic requires you to answer a sellers question with a bit of a monologue, providing them A LOT of information at once. With this you want to assess how they sort, recognize, and again prioritize the detail given. 

As a bonus, if you do have a seller struggling with active listening… 

The best way to improve this is by showing them what they missed, and giving them more at-bats to practice this skill. 

Yes, it’s a lot of fun to throw curve balls at sellers in simulated environments, but it’s incredibly important in helping them refine their approach. 

For me active listening is the biggest indicator that tells me if a seller is thinking on their feet. 

If they are in the moment and comfortable enough to think before speaking. 

They will have a higher probability of recognizing opportunities. 

#salescoaching #salesenablement

Use it or lose it… 

Muscle memory is a common saying in exercise fitness. 

Often carried over in sales or other intellectual activities. 

But, is there any truth to it? 

The short answer is yes. 

Scientifically it’s known as Cognitive Reserve. 

Anytime you learn a new activity brain cells are making connections with one another.

However, you have to maintain the use of these cells to keep their connection. 

Otherwise the connections will dissolve. 

So, how do you factor this into Sales Enablement? 

With Practice and Documentation. 

1) Practice - as sellers learn new processes or workflows, they need to practice it. Not just once, but enough times to comfortably complete it on their own. The more often they do it the stronger that brain cell connection is. 

2) Documentation - we have to also factor in additional processes they will not complete on a regular basis. These processes are subject to the use it or lose it challenge. With this we need to clearly outline and document all processes and make them readily available. This will reduce them from trying it on their own (without support) or a delay in productivity by waiting for help. 

How do you help your sellers build muscle memory? 

#salesenablement #salescoaching

Practice makes perfect… 

I’ve seen a lot of people in the Enablement community talking about practice. 

Honestly, it’s a good thing. 

Sales is a job you learn best by doing. 

But. 

Practice does not make perfect. 

As my high school coach would say, perfect practice makes perfect. 

Meaning you need to ensure your sellers are practicing correctly. 

This is done by outlining the correct demo or discovery work flow tailored to your specific business. 

Then developing a training environment that allows sellers to learn and practice that specific work flow. 

So, when aligning sales on the correct motion keep documentation and demonstration in mind. 

Document the correct framework. 

Then ensure sellers have demonstrated their ability to complete it. 

#salesenablement #salescoaching

If you google the definition of Sales Enablement the most common explanation you’ll see is… 

“Provide sellers with the training, tools, and resources to be successful.”

But what does that actually mean? 

How do you actually put that into practice? 

Here’s one example of my take: 


Convert what is tribal knowledge into a documented and repeatable process. 


It’s that simple. 

Enablement is not just a training intervention.  

#salesenablement #sales

Start of the week thought to ponder…

If you knew that everything you did, you did perfectly with no mistakes. 

How would you approach life? 

What projects would you take on?

Would the procrastination of perfectionism still take over?

Could you take action faster? 

Would you get closer to your goals? 

If there’s one thing that you can count on in life. 

It’s that mistakes are inevitable. 

So why not act as if mistakes don’t exist. 

Choose to take action on what you think is best for you, and those around you today.

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