Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Know Your Customer: Mastering Buyer Personas in Modern Sales – Episode 48

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Know Your Customer: Mastering Buyer Personas in Modern Sales – Episode 48

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

Welcome to another episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales with your hosts, Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey. In this riveting episode, we take a deep dive into the often talked about but seldom mastered topic: Buyer Personas. Whether you’re listening on a Tuesday drive back home or on a Wednesday morning commute to work, this episode is packed with actionable insights to set you up for the rest of your week, month, and quarter. Tune in to find out how to create accurate buyer personas that can help you make smarter sales and marketing decisions.

📝 Key Topics Discussed:

  • Defining Buyer Personas: Kevin and Sean explore what a buyer persona really is and why it’s crucial for sales success.
  • The Importance of SWOT Analysis: Kevin explains that creating a buyer persona isn’t a one-off task; it begins with understanding your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis.
  • Ideal Client Profiles & Unique Selling Proposition: Why understanding these can help fine-tune your buyer personas.
  • Digging into Demographics and Psychographics: How to gather and utilize this data to develop detailed buyer personas.
  • Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs): Sean shares insights into who should be involved in these reviews and the type of questions that can help enrich your buyer personas.

🗨️ Key Quotes:

  • “If you’re out there and wondering how to get this process started, thinking that you’ve already done a SWOT analysis…now’s the time to talk about buyer personas.” – Kevin Lawson
  • “Salespeople are valuable. Salespeople are important to the sales process. And it is your job to teach your company about your customers.” – Sean O’Shaughnessey
  • “Salespeople are great people day in day out. We shouldn’t have to pay a tax because of bad salespeople doing bad things in the marketplace.” – Kevin Lawson

📚 Additional Resources:

🎧 Why You Should Listen:

Crafting an accurate and effective buyer persona isn’t just a task; it’s an art. This episode provides not only the theory but also the actionable steps you can take to create buyer personas that resonate with your target market. From initial concepts to understanding your customer needs during a QBR, Kevin and Sean have packed this episode with tools you can use immediately. Listen now to avoid the pitfalls and fast-track your way to sales success.

Ready to revolutionize your sales approach? Hit that download button and tune in now! 🎧

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Mastering the Competitive Landscape: Insights and Strategies for Sales Success – Episode 47

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Dive deep into the world of competitive analysis with Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey in this engaging episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales. In the fast-paced world of sales, it’s not just about knowing your product, but about understanding your competition, your customers, and the nuances that drive decisions. Let Kevin and Sean guide you through actionable insights to elevate your sales game.

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. The Power of Competitive Analysis: Unlock the benefits of understanding your competition and how it empowers you as a sales leader.
  2. Understanding ‘No Decision’: Learn why some prospects choose to remain indecisive and how you can navigate this challenge effectively.
  3. The Role of SWOT in Sales: Deciphering how SWOT, PESTEL, and SOAR analyses can help shape your sales strategies.
  4. Unpacking Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Knowing your USP and leveraging it against your competitors is important.
  5. Importance of Feedback in Pricing: Sean emphasizes the need for real-time feedback, especially when your price points are met with resistance.
  6. The Salesperson as a Guide: The role of a salesperson is to guide clients, understand their needs, and sell existing products confidently.

Key Quotes:

  • Kevin: “No decision comes, in my opinion, when you haven’t done a good job qualifying the prospect.”
  • Sean: “Looking at companies that are massively successful… It’s just a good way for a company to get better. Looking at those people and learning from them is really, really important.”
  • Kevin: “If you’ve already thought through how they measure value, you know how to talk to them. You become a better salesperson because you put in the work.”
  • Sean: “Your job is to sell the product that exists today, not the product that you wish they would hurry up and build.”

Additional Resources:

Summary:
In the competitive realm of sales, it’s not just about standing out, but about understanding every piece of the puzzle. Whether it’s diving deep into SWOT analyses, ensuring that your pricing strategy aligns with market expectations, or guiding your client toward a mutually beneficial decision, every step matters. Join Kevin and Sean as they unpack these topics and more, providing you with actionable strategies to ensure your sales pitch stands out. If you’re serious about mastering the art of sales, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Dive in now!

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – From SWOT to Success: Navigating the Competitive Sales Landscape – Episode 46

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – From SWOT to Success: Navigating the Competitive Sales Landscape – Episode 46

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

In this invigorating episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey dive deep into the realm of competition in sales. From understanding the various forms competition can take to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in competitive analysis, this episode is packed with insights and actionable advice for sales professionals at all levels.

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. The Essence of Competition in Sales: Why understanding and overcoming your competition is crucial.
  2. Recognizing Different Types of Competition: Beyond direct competitors, why the ‘no decision’ outcome is the hidden enemy.
  3. Leveraging SWOT Analysis: Sean and Kevin’s take on its relevance and how to use it effectively for competitive advantage.
  4. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Sales: How tools like Chat GPT can help get a leg up on your competition.
  5. The Importance of Competitive Awareness: Why 57% of companies are at a disadvantage and how not to be one of them.

Key Quotes:

  • Kevin: “Every professional sports team watches game film… we’re sales professionals. We should be watching the game film of sorts.”
  • Sean: “Who is your prospect talking to? That is your competition.”
  • Kevin: “Doing nothing is unacceptable. It’s like prospecting. If you don’t prospect, that is an unacceptable behavior.”
  • Sean: “If you’re in a small company right now, you need to figure out, you need to be one of the 43%, not one of the 57%.”

Additional Resources:

Don’t be a part of the 57% that remains oblivious to their competition. Whether you’re in the early stages of your sales journey or a seasoned professional, Sean and Kevin’s insights from this episode offer invaluable strategies and tools to elevate your game. Tune in to “Two Tall Guys Talking Sales” to get the upper hand, understand your market better, and, ultimately, eliminate your competition.

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Driving Sales Success: Why KPIs Are More Than Just Numbers – Episode 45

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Driving Sales Success: Why KPIs Are More Than Just Numbers – Episode 45

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

Get ready to unlock the secrets of mastering the sales game with Two Tall Guys Talking Sales! This episode delves into the nuances of key performance indicators (KPIs), their significance in measuring sales efficiency, and the art of mentorship among salespeople. Listen as our hosts Sean and Kevin uncover the analogy of KPIs and share insights about setting the right measures for salespeople at various career stages.

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. Understanding Leading vs. Lagging Indicators: Foreseeing future trends and not just measuring past achievements is important.
  2. KPIs and the Marriage Analogy: Setting the right measures to cultivate relationships, just as one nurtures a romantic relationship.
  3. Differentiating KPIs for New vs. Veteran Salespeople: Tailoring strategies for those new to the profession, the company, or the industry.
  4. The Power of Mentorship: Leveraging the experiences of veteran salespeople and fostering growth among younger salespeople.
  5. Sales Training and Coaching: How combining formal sales training with hands-on coaching can amplify results.

Key Quotes:

  • Kevin: “KPIs are not about only the number of deals you sold. It’s about, ‘Am I doing the right behaviors over time?'”
  • Sean: “Those KPIs can’t be a hundred percent looking backward. We need to look ahead and say, what are we doing to generate business?”
  • Kevin: “Activity measures for new salespeople are different. I’m talking about doing the well-researched, planned prospecting call.”
  • Sean: “The real advantage of The RAIN Group is its training combined with my coaching.”

Additional Resources:

With a blend of engaging analogies, actionable insights, and personal experiences, Sean and Kevin illuminate the complex world of sales KPIs. Whether you’re a seasoned salesperson or just beginning your journey, this episode is packed with nuggets of wisdom that can transform your approach to sales. Dive deep into the essence of mentorship, discover the right measures for tracking success, and unearth the significance of forward-looking indicators. Don’t miss out on this chance to elevate your sales strategies and metrics. Listen now and redefine your sales mastery with Two Tall Guys Talking Sales!

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Sales Leadership Mastery: How to Coach, Not Micromanage, Your Team – Episode 44

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Sales Leadership Mastery: How to Coach, Not Micromanage, Your Team – Episode 44

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

Welcome to another riveting episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales with your dynamic hosts, Sean O’Shaughnessey and Kevin Lawson. In this episode, our duo takes on a subject that stirs strong emotions in the sales world: micromanagement. With a combined experience of several decades in sales, Sean and Kevin delve into their philosophies, personal experiences, and provide actionable insights on transitioning from micromanagement to effective leadership. Whether you’re a salesperson, a manager, or a business leader, you’re going to find value in their candid conversation.

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. Micromanagement in Sales: Sean’s personal aversion to micromanagement, his challenges, and how he navigated them during his 38-year career.
  2. Transitioning from Micromanaging to Leadership: Kevin’s insights into the delicate balance between engaging the team and inadvertently falling into micromanagement.
  3. Differentiating Between Green and Seasoned Salespeople: How to manage new salespeople who need structure versus seasoned reps who require trust.
  4. The Importance of Trust in a Sales Team: Bad examples of trust violations and the cultivation of a culture of trust within the sales organization.
  5. Becoming a Leader: Strategies and practical advice for transitioning from a micromanager to a leader, and the value it brings to the sales culture.

Key Quotes:

  • Sean: “I despised anybody who was going to drive me day to day, ask me every single thing, question every single deal just didn’t fit well with my personality.”
  • Kevin: “How can I help? That’s how the shift comes in my mind from a micromanager to an effective leader. Instead of asking detail, detail, detail, they’re asking about resource, resource, strategy, that’s the big shift for me.”

In this engaging episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, Sean and Kevin don’t just identify the problems associated with micromanagement but provide actionable insights and solutions for how to evolve into an effective leader. Whether you’re just beginning in sales or leading a team, their candid conversation will offer you strategies to avoid micromanagement, build trust within your team, and create a culture of success. Don’t miss this chance to learn from two seasoned sales veterans – tune in to this episode and take your sales leadership skills to the next level!

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Revamping Your Outbound Sales Approach: Value Proposition, Touch Points, and Tactics – Episode 43

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Revamping Your Outbound Sales Approach: Value Proposition, Touch Points, and Tactics – Episode 43

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

Welcome to another exciting episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales with hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey. This episode delves into the vital world of outbound sales in a post-COVID landscape. We discuss strategies for creating an effective outbound pipeline, reflecting on our experiences with trade shows, and how to nail your unique value proposition. Discover how to master omnichannel outreach and understand why persistence is key in today’s competitive market.

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. The Trade Show Experience: Kevin and Sean open up about the highs and lows of trade shows and how the pandemic has shifted the industry’s focus from this traditional method of sales and marketing.
  2. Creating an Effective Outbound Pipeline: Our hosts emphasize the importance of having a clear, unique value proposition and understanding how it can resonate with your potential customers.
  3. Omni Channel Outreach: Kevin and Sean highlight the significance of reaching out to prospects across various channels – emails, phone calls, social media, and even traditional mail. They discuss the need for persistence in reaching out and making numerous touches to get a prospect’s attention.
  4. Prospecting and Value Proposition: Sean shares insights on how a value proposition can differ based on the industry and target audience. They talk about understanding and tailoring your value proposition to your audience for better customer engagement.
  5. Leveraging Tools for Sales Outreach: The hosts discuss a range of tools that can assist in streamlining and tracking your outreach efforts, from LinkedIn prospecting tools to CRMs and even task management tools.

Key Quotes:

  • Kevin: “Trade shows in a pre COVID environment were the lifeblood of many sales organizations… But here we are in a post-COVID world, and what we saw in the midst of COVID was pipeline evacuation.”
  • Sean: “The first thing I tell everybody is, “What are you going to say, and what makes it unique and valuable to your prospects?”
  • Sean: “Your unique value proposition may be targeted to a specific customer and you might have a different one targeted to a different customer… but then you need to make unique messaging for every one of those and unique tries for each one of those.”

Additional Resources:

  • CRM Tools
  • LinkedIn prospecting tools
  • Task management tools (Asana, Trello, Monday.com)

Summary:

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey offer a practical, insightful guide to successfully navigating outbound sales in our new normal. They share their expertise in creating a compelling, unique value proposition, omnichannel outreach’s importance, and persistence’s role in sales. You’ll gain a wealth of advice, from understanding your value in a specific industry to leveraging various outreach tools to streamline and enhance your prospecting process. Listen to this episode for a deep dive into the tactics and strategies that can reshape your approach to outbound sales.

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Three-Legged Stool of Sales Success: Networking, Direct Prospecting, and Customer Referrals – Episode 42

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Three-Legged Stool of Sales Success: Networking, Direct Prospecting, and Customer Referrals – Episode 42

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Sean O’Shaughnessey and Kevin Lawson get tactical on sales prospecting. They dive deep into sales strategies and tactics, discussing how to build momentum for the latter half of the year and beyond. Whether your sales pipeline is currently thriving or needs a refill, this episode offers valuable insights that apply to all sales situations.

Key Topics Discussed

  1. The Art of Prospecting: Uncover practical ways to refill your sales pipeline effectively, leveraging both direct and networking-based prospecting.
  2. Direct vs Networking-based Prospecting: Understand the differences, subtleties, and strategies in both approaches and learn how to optimize them based on your business context and audience.
  3. Balancing Prospecting Behaviors: Discover the importance of inbound marketing, outbound sales force, and customer success models in driving a well-rounded prospecting strategy.
  4. Sales Funnel Structure: Explore the analogy of a three-legged stool representing a solid sales structure consisting of networking, direct prospecting, and customer referrals.
  5. Building Trust within Your Network: Learn the value of trust-building within your network for long-term sales success and how to ensure your network is well-informed about your product/service offerings.

Key Quotes

“Prospecting your network requires a different focus and a different type of how you present yourself because you’re not asking someone for business. You’re asking to have someone else introduce you to the right prospect for you.” – Kevin Lawson

“Don’t depend on any one thing to always work within your organization. In fact, you will be more successful if all three of those legs are just as strong and just as good because if you only have two legs working well, you don’t have that third leg, you’ve got a weak stool, you’re going to fall over.” – Sean O’Shaughnessey

Additional Resources

  • The Sandler training, particularly the KARE acronym (Keep, Attain, Recapture, Expand), was mentioned as a beneficial framework for customer strategy focus.

Summary

In the latest episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, Sean O’Shaughnessey and Kevin Lawson provide a tactical guide to refueling your sales pipeline. Drawing on their extensive experience in the field, they share the intricacies of direct prospecting and networking-based prospecting. They stress the importance of balance and resilience in a successful sales strategy, using the metaphor of a three-legged stool to represent a robust sales structure. Listen in to gain valuable insights on trust-building within your network, effectively prospecting your existing customers, and crafting an efficient sales strategy. No matter where you are in your sales journey, this episode promises practical advice and strategies to help you boost your sales performance.

Podcast, Sales Management, Sales Professionalism, Two Tall Guys Talking Sales
Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Creating True Value in Sales: Redefining Problems and Delivering Unique Solutions – Episode 41

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Creating True Value in Sales: Redefining Problems and Delivering Unique Solutions – Episode 41

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey delve deep into the salesperson’s value in the modern sales process. Our hosts discuss how the salesperson’s role has evolved with the advent of the internet and the importance of building trust with potential buyers. They also talk about redefining buyer needs and how to differentiate your product or service in the market.

Key Topics Discussed

  1. The Salesperson as a Value Carrier: With a wealth of information available online, the salesperson’s role is to add value to a buyer’s perceived problem.
  2. The Importance of Trust: Building and transferring trust from the seller to the buyer is the essence of a successful sale.
  3. Unique Selling Propositions: Every salesperson has a unique aspect of their product, their company, and themselves.
  4. Redefining Buyer Problems: It’s important for the salesperson to understand the root cause of the buyer’s problem to provide a tailored solution.
  5. Ask Better Questions: To create value separation and reframe buyer problems, salespeople need to ask insightful questions.

Key Quotes

From Sean: “Sales is nothing more than the transfer of trust from me because I trust my product… Transferring that trust to the buyer and having the buyer then have that trust that I can actually solve the problem that’s at hand is what sales is all about.”

From Kevin: “The salesperson and sales leader, their whole job is to become the differentiators. The salesperson has to become that value. And it’s not just a value of, ‘Hey, I’m different. Hey, I’m cheaper.’ We’re not competing on price here; we’re competing on actual customer-facing value.”

In the age of readily available online information, a salesperson’s job is no longer just about conveying product details. It’s about building trust, understanding the root of the customer’s problem, and providing them with unique solutions. Join Kevin and Sean in this enlightening episode as they redefine the role of the modern salesperson and provide actionable insights to excel in the evolving sales landscape. If you’re ready to take your sales skills to the next level, this episode is a must-listen. Remember, sales success is not just about selling a product but also about being the value a buyer seeks.

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Breaking Growth Barriers: When Should CEOs Stop Leading Sales?– Episode 40

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Breaking Growth Barriers: When Should CEOs Stop Leading Sales?– Episode 40

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

In this insightful episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey deep-dive into the crucial topic of assigning the right person to the sales leadership role within a company and the risks and opportunities that come with it. Leveraging their experiences in sales consultancy and drawing from the wisdom of thought leaders and successful entrepreneurs, they explore how CEOs can de-risk their company’s growth potential by stepping back from direct sales and fostering a culture of accountability, infrastructure, and high performance in their sales teams.

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. The Risk of CEO-led Sales: The episode starts with a discussion on the potential risks of having a CEO or owner-operator as the sales leader, emphasizing how this could constrain business growth.
  2. The Theory of Constraints: The hosts explain the theory of constraints using a compelling example from a book called The Goal, drawing parallels to how constraints can hinder sales and growth within a company.
  3. Building a Sales Organization: They delve into the necessity of professional salespeople and a dedicated sales manager to bring in new revenue, enabling the CEO to focus on larger issues within the organization.
  4. EOS and Right Person, Right Seat: Sean mentions EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) and the importance of having the right person in the right seat to drive growth, particularly once a company reaches a certain size.
  5. Building a High-Performance Culture: The hosts discuss how to build a high-performance sales culture that is systematic and repeatable, using examples from sports dynasties and successful companies.

Key Quotes:

  1. “What is the risk of the owner-operator being the only salesperson or the sales leader when the person is leading the company and leading sales? What you end up with is a business that is constrained by the amount of time that leader has.” – Kevin Lawson
  2. “If you want to know how we know this, it’s cuz we’ve done this a few times, we’ve worked with a number of businesses, and this is how we help people grow.” – Kevin Lawson
  3. “It’s okay to ask for help, but it’s also very important that you have experts doing the job as much as possible so that you can be very, very effective at driving performance and driving your company forward.” – Sean O’Shaughnessey

Additional Resources:

In this episode, Kevin and Sean break down the importance of implementing a well-structured sales team and the necessity for CEOs to delegate sales leadership. They highlight the risks of an owner-operator leading sales and how it can limit business growth. Using their experience and the wisdom of successful entrepreneurs, they provide valuable insights into creating a systematic, repeatable, and high-performance sales culture. So, if you’re an entrepreneur looking to streamline your sales process and drive your company forward, this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales is a must-listen. You won’t want to miss it!

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Bridging the Sales and Marketing Gap: Mastering MQLs and SQLs – Episode 38

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Bridging the Sales and Marketing Gap: Mastering MQLs and SQLs – Episode 38

By soshaughnessey0 Comments

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Sean O’Shaughnessey and Kevin Lawson delve into the crucial difference between a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). They explain how the two require different types of messaging and engagement and highlight the importance of refining the process of transitioning leads from one category to another.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Differences between MQLs and SQLs: Kevin begins the episode by comparing the difference in approach between MQLs and SQLs to the difference in speaking to a large group vs. one-on-one conversations. The messaging and engagement are distinct, and as an MQL transitions into an SQL, the engagement becomes more personalized and directed.
  • Avoiding Pipeline Clutter: Sean reflects on instances when leads aren’t adequately transitioned from marketing to sales, causing clutter and inefficiency in the sales pipeline. He emphasizes the importance of discerning when a prospect needs more time to be ready to progress in the sales process and re-engaging them through marketing efforts.
  • Sales-Marketing Synergy: Kevin stresses the need for sales and marketing teams to collaborate efficiently. Sales leaders should be grateful for the groundwork done by marketing teams as they set the stage for more specific conversations with leads.
  • Understanding Lead Progression: Kevin and Sean recommend salespeople understand a lead’s journey from an MQL to an SQL. Knowing how a lead has interacted with the brand helps salespeople improve lead quality and engagement.
  • The Importance of Problem Identification: Sean insists on the importance of early identification of the problem you’re solving for the lead. If the salesperson is convinced they can solve a specific issue, the lead becomes an SQL, and the task shifts to convincing the customer of the solution.

Key Quotes

  • Sean: “Sales brings in revenue. Customers get a product in return, and that keeps everybody employed and going forward.”
  • Kevin: “Marketing and sales all have the same goal, sell more. It’s how we stay employed.”

Additional Resources

  • ‘The Sales Acceleration Formula’ by Mark Roberge, mentioned by Kevin as a recommended read.

This episode is a must-listen for those looking to understand the crucial transition from MQLs to SQLs, how to avoid pipeline clutter, and the importance of a symbiotic relationship between sales and marketing. Whether you’re in B2B sales, a startup, or an established company, you’ll find invaluable insights to apply to your sales processes.

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