The Sales Evangelist: Sales Training|Speaking|Business Marketing|Donald Kelly

Staying curious is one of the top skills a sales professional must have in order to succeed in this industry. But why is it so important? My guest, Denise Murtha Bachmann, a sales coach and founder of the Sellovatorz programs, is here to tell you about it in this episode. She's going to share how to flawlessly conduct a discovery call and get to the root cause of a problem to help close a deal. Meet Denise Murtha Bachmann Denise Murtha Bachmann is a sales strategist, coach, and fractional sales leader who helps businesses humanize their sales approach while leveraging AI for smarter selling. With a deep focus on relationships, curiosity, and uncovering the probable root cause, she empowers sales teams and founders to build predictable pipelines and close more deals with authenticity.  Through her Sellovatorz programs Denise is redefining modern sales by balancing cutting-edge technology with the human touch buyers demand. Take a Step Back and Slow Down Most sellers try to rush through the sales

We are going old school today. I’m sharing a past episode of my conversation with Tim Riesterer, co-author of The Three Value Conversations, where he shares details of his book. Check it out to learn the conversations you need to be having to master your sales craft. Meet Tim Riesterer Tim is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer of Corporate Visions. He has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and sales and is a co-founder of Customer Message Management. Tim also worked with Corporate Visions LLC, where he was the CEO until it was acquired by Corporate Visions in 2008. He brings a lot of great insights to a sales conversation, and during this episode, he offers some great thoughts relative to his book.    Importance of Value Conversations Being a sales professional is hard! You have to provide a solution that isn’t complex and too difficult for your prospects to understand. How can you do this when you’re stuck at the proposal stage, getting caught up on prices, and unable to buil

Hey, hey, hey! I’m back on the road again and here in Dallas celebrating the Sales Kick-Off Season. While here, questions on multi-threading kept popping up, so I’m here to share the four characteristics you must know about your prospects to help you out with this sales challenge. Also, don’t forget to reach out to me on LinkedIn! Individual’s Title Yeah, I know, a pretty obvious thing to know about your prospect. But it’s so important to know this because each individual you’re dealing with must be able to move a deal forward in the pipeline.  If their job role is unable to do this, then you’re not talking to the right person. Look at their LinkedIn profile or ask other individuals within the organization to learn more about their title. Know Their Responsibilities Sometimes a job title can mean nothing, and a person can just be filling a specific role until the right person comes along.  If you’re getting nowhere from learning about an individual’s job title, learn what their responsibilitie

No, guys, this episode has nothing to do with you switching professions and becoming an auctioneer. However, you will learn four core principles from the industry that will help you become a better sales professional. My guest, Dia Bondi, leadership communication coach and author of Ask Like an Auctioneer, is going to share how to articulate the offers you bring to your clients in a unique way. Also, don’t forget to download the hidden gems she shares at the bottom of these show notes. Meet Dia Bondi Dia has an exciting background as a leadership communications coach with over 20 years of experience. She has worked on high-profile projects, including helping Rio de Janeiro win the bid to host the 2016 Olympics.  With a unique love and hobby for fundraising auctioneering she became inspired to write the book "Ask Like an Auctioneer," which focuses on making impactful asks.  Paddle Through The No Auctioneers have a tendency to speak fast, or maybe they’re just good at doing a special chant.  The c

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a handy tool to help you find prospects, but if you’re not using it right, you won’t be able to target the ones who have the say in closing a deal. How can you learn to use it to get in touch with C-suite executives? Find out in this episode with my guests Mike and John Murphy, the father-and-son duo of Text Tonality, and learn their three-step strategy for using LinkedIn. Where Did Their Passion for LinkedIn Come From? After struggling to find new clients, John turned to his son Mike for help. Mike had a unique strategy that helped his father find high-stakes clients in no time. Thanks to Mike’s method, he and his father are now the proud owners of Text Tonality. Understanding What Filters Are When you first use LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you’ll notice the many different filters within the tool. Mike noticed that people usually use the filters incorrectly in two different ways: either using too many or not enough filters. There are a certain number of filters you can

You're having a wonderful time speaking with a prospect and believe they're going to take the deal. But when you go in to offer it, they quickly shut you down with the most disappointing sales objection: "not interested." Instead of tackling the objection with different common sales methods, try this unique strategy that I share in this episode. What is the Go Around The Block Principle? Inspired by one of my trips, I created this concept to help tackle a sales objection that most reps seem to struggle with the most.  The idea is for you to prepare before the meeting by doing research on the prospect. You can use what you learn about the prospect to help connect with them better before pitching the deal again. Deflect the Sales Objection I share a short story on how I used a prospect's area code to help build a better connection with them before closing a deal.  Of course, you won't always get this lucky, but try going on their LinkedIn profile to see if you can find a specific person, job role,

You can always get the best sales secrets from the top companies in the industry. In this episode, I’m chatting with Josh Garrison, the Vice President of Apollo.io, about the top three sales practices you must stop doing in 2025. Even if you don’t use this sales enablement AI platform, these tips will help you boost your performance and close deals faster. Meet Josh Garrison Josh Garrison oversees product growth, content marketing, and customer education at Apollo.io. He has 15 years of experience founding companies, leading teams, and writing the bestselling book Outbound Sales. As a two-time founder, he created the “full-cycle selling” framework to share a proven approach to B2B sales. Only Let AI Do Some of the Work Are you still making the mistake of using AI to do all your work? If you haven’t realized it yet, people want a human touch, and too much AI can damage their trust in a company. Josh shares that it’s better to use AI for specific tasks.  For example, AI tools have gotten bette

You want to move your deals through the pipeline, but you have no idea how to do it. In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Bob Spina, a successful sales expert known for building and advising high-performing sales teams, on deal acceleration. Join us to hear his strategies on how to slow down and achieve greater success. Meet Bob Spina Bob is well-known for working with Gong and scaled it from under 21 million in revenue to the empire they are today. His focus lies in enhancing revenue processes and strategies, offering his expertise across various companies to drive successful outcomes.  Currently, Bob is dedicated to advising company leaders, sharing his deep knowledge of accelerating deals and navigating multi-stakeholder environments. The Importance of Focusing and Understanding the Industry We discuss the necessity for sales reps to go beyond tool training and understand the industry trends and challenges faced by their target markets.  Having business acumen and understand

Is it possible to get multiple appointments on LinkedIn in just one week? Guys, I'm telling you that it is, and in this episode, I'm going to show you how I got eight appointments in five days. I promise it's no influencer trick and has everything to do with prospecting. Take a look at your LinkedIn Connections Go through your LinkedIn connection list and group them into potential customers, past customers, and people you know but don't know what you do. For the ones grouped in "people you know," try booking a 5-7 minute meeting by doing the most simple thing: ask permission to ask a question. Appointment Influencers Past coworkers could be your connection to getting appointments for a specific organization.  You may have to set up an appointment with them, but at least they can probably influence a deal for you. Look for Partners Sometimes you have to provide opportunities to others to help you set appointments. I share how I did this with a recruiting firm and some of my sales reps. If yo

While working with a fellow sales rep, I noticed the many phone calls he was making and how many of them weren't turning into appointments. Does this often happen to you?  In this episode, I show you how to fix this common sales mistake and turn those phone calls into deals. If you'd like to try my tips, connect with me on LinkedIn and send me a message. Have The Right Offer  You’re getting connections, but it’s just not going the way you want it to.  To change this, start with having the right offer to provide to your prospects.  You know you have a tailored offer when some sales team members are getting appointments. Articulate The Message  Thanks to my speech debate days, I tend to speak fast. I’m sure you noticed on this podcast.  But when dealing with prospects, I slow down to help articulate the offer value to them. You can practice this with someone not in the sales industry to see if it makes sense to them. Stop Rushing  Phone calls are not a race to the finish line, so don’t

I’m being like Edgar Allan Poe in this episode and providing you guys with my top five sales predictions for 2025. Will there be an increased use of AI tools in the sales industry? Are consumers wanting more human connection? Tune in to find out! Sales Prediction 1: Increased AI Technology Use  Yes, it’s true. AI tools are not going anywhere, and more than likely, you’re going to use them more and more this year. You’ll probably even find yourself not even realizing that you’re using them.   The downside is that 55% of consumers don’t like for companies to rely so heavily on AI technology. They believe it lacks authenticity and transparency. So, keep this in mind when you’re sending your automated cold emails to prospective customers.   Sales Prediction 3: Old-School Networking Is Winning  I also share another statistic on how AI-generated content provides a negative brand image. What’s the point of using it if your audience is going to see it as a bad thing? This is when old-school sales methods

How can you optimize your pipeline to ensure accurate forecasting and set your team up for success? Join me and my guest, Walter Crosby, as we explore how transforming ineffective habits can lead to better outcomes in your sales process. By the end of this episode, you’ll gain clarity on your pipeline and learn to identify which prospects are most likely to deliver the results you need. Meet Walter Crosby Walter Crosby is a seasoned sales expert and business consultant with decades of experience in helping organizations refine their sales processes and drive sustainable growth.  He specializes in developing tailored strategies that align sales pipelines with business goals.  His expertise lies in sales leadership, process optimization, and revenue forecasting. Accuracy in Sales Forecasting  Walter shares actionable tips for creating accurate sales forecasts.  The key takeaway? Quality over quantity.  Learn how to identify realistic opportunities and focus on meaningful data, ensuring your fo

Happy New Year! Let’s kick off 2025 with some sales tactics in this episode. Today, I’m sharing ten key insights from my experience coaching and consulting sales teams in 2024. Here’s five of them below, tune in to learn the rest of my sales tips!  Find Your Ideal ICP  Are you still working with different types of clients and struggling to figure out which one is the right fit for your business? It’s time to double down and define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).  Focus on what works and identify the best individuals who can buy from you. This will help you stop spinning in circles and spreading yourself too thin.  Also, create social media content tailored to this ICP to bring them to you. Cold Calls Still Work  Don’t listen to those who say cold calling doesn’t work, because it does. You need to spend more time on this sales outreach method. I share an interesting story with one of my classes about how cold calling still gets results. If you stay consistent, you’ll see success. So, don’t a

If you don’t build trust with your customers, you’ll never close a deal—there’s no way around it! You’ve already heard how companies can build customer trust, but how can an individual seller do this? Join me and my guest, Liesl Nel, in this live coaching session as we share strategies to help your prospects feel safe and confident in doing business with you.   Meet Liesl Nel  Liesl Nel is a seasoned sales professional in the yachting industry, specializing in working with charter agencies, particularly in the Mediterranean region.  Her expertise lies in navigating the complexities of B2B sales and addressing the unique challenges within this niche market.   Building Open Relationships Liesl emphasizes the importance of maintaining open and frequent communication with agencies.  This helps address challenges proactively and assures agencies that customer data will enhance rather than compromise the customer experience. She also shares how face-to-face interactions are better for building trust ins

Sometimes, we make the sales process harder than it needs to be. If common sales methods aren’t working for you, check out this episode with my friend and guest, Gail Kasper. She shares how going above and beyond—like overnighting an apple pie—can convince a prospective buyer to do business with you. And don’t forget to check the resource section for a freebie! (No, it’s not a free apple pie.)   Meet Gail Kasper Gail Kasper, a Master Sales Trainer and author of Unstoppable and Sell Like A Cockatoo, is renowned for customizing sales programs that boost revenues and revitalize even seasoned sales teams.  With experience working with Fortune 500 companies, she sets the gold standard in sales training.   As a seasoned TV host, Gail has shared her strategies on leading podcasts and local affiliates nationwide.   Why Another Sales Book?   With countless sales books out there, why did Gail write another one? Because so many people enter sales roles without understanding what to expect.   Gail shares inno

Just because you’re talking to a customer doesn’t mean you’re the only one making an offer. So, how do you stand out in a niche-specific market when there are so many competitors vying for your buyers? In this episode, I sit down with Pinar Erzin, Co-founder of Most Sailing, to discuss how startup companies can differentiate themselves in niche markets.   Meet Pinar Erzin Pinar is the co-founder of Most Sailing, a company specializing in the luxury yacht charter industry. Her role focuses on building meaningful relationships with clients and standing out in a competitive, relationship-driven market.   In our conversation, Pinar shares the challenges and lessons she’s learned in creating a unique value proposition in such a specialized field.  Together, we explore strategies for building lasting client relationships, standing out from the competition, and adding value beyond price to succeed in niche markets.   The Power of Relationships Success in niche industries often hinges on trust and perso

Trust is everything in the customer service industry. It’s not only essential for sellers to be trustworthy; businesses must also strive to build trust with their customers. If you’re unsure on how to create strong customer relationships, tune in to my guest, Martina Hršak, as she shares actionable insights on trust-building skills. Growing Up in Croatia and Entering the Yachting Industry During her youth in Croatia, Martina never imagined herself in the yacht business due to her tendency to get seasick. Yet today, she leads MMK Systems, a company that provides the Booking Manager System, the leading software for yacht charter businesses worldwide. The Importance of Trust in Sales   To build a successful business relationship in B2B sales, customers must trust the companies they’re buying from. Martina shares how businesses trust MMK Systems with their critical data, such as personal information and finances.   Key factors that can easily destroy trust in any industry include:   Misleading s