“Think of a simple process that you know well,” Box Senior Director of Mid-Market Sales Raven Miles often instructs her sales reps.
She gives them a moment as they consider the minutia of their daily lives — it could be playing a morning round of Wordle, patching a hole in their well-worn sweater or wrangling the unwieldy straps of their two-year-old’s car seat.
“Now,” she says, after a beat. “Explain it to me.”
Some sales folks start at the beginning — explaining the origin of Wordle, for example — while others dive straight into the steps for playing the game.
“What I love about this exercise is it gives me insight into how they explain a process,” Miles told Built In. “When you really know something you should be able to explain it in a clean way to anyone — and selling is the same concept. It is easy to get so caught up in buzzwords that we forget what we are trying to solve and why.”
Sprout Social Corporate Sales Manager Prince Kwateng battles the buzzword by stoking a strategy-minded approach among his team.
“During our first meeting of the month, we go around the room and share one thing that worked or didn’t work from the previous month,” Kwateng said.
By dissecting the fate of compelling deals, Kwateng and his team create a shared index of sales strategies. This brand of knowledge sharing, Kwateng argues, is a hotbed for leadership development.
“It gives each rep the space to coach the group — which builds confidence and leadership skills,” he said.
As both Kwateng and Miles demonstrate, sales acumen can be grown in a variety of ways. Sales leaders must find the coaching strategies that resonate most with their salespeople.
Sprout Social offers deep social media listening and analytics, social management, customer care and advocacy solutions to brands and agencies worldwide. Sprout Social’s suite of solutions aims to enable organizations to create a connection with their consumers that drives their businesses forward. Corporate Sales Manager Prince Kwateng starts every career-development conversation by unpacking the “why” of his direct reports. “You have to understand the motives, goals and aspirations of every individual to best support them,” Kwateng said. “Once you’re on the same page, you can get to the core of what success looks like — and determine what they need to surpass their goals.”
In your experience, what are the traits that define a successful salesperson?
I look for coachability, drive and an entrepreneurial spirit. Salespeople who are coachable and thrive on feedback tend to be the most successful — they are always refining their craft.
Salespeople who are coachable and thrive on feedback tend to be the most successful — they are always refining their craft.”
Our top-performing representatives believe their best is always in front of them and have an insatiable drive to be successful, which helps them continue to stay on top of the leaderboard. Having an entrepreneurial spirit empowers you to think outside the box and be resourceful
How do you help your reps develop their own sales acumen?
I have the great fortune of working with some of the brightest salespeople I’ve ever been around. Because of that, I believe it’s important for me to foster an environment of collaboration.
We talk through the approach and strategy for interesting deals at deal reviews. This knowledge-sharing exercise helps the team identify trends they should keep in mind.
Additionally, I look for inspiration from outside of our organization, such as listening to the podcast “30 minutes to Presidents Club.” Each month we listen to an episode and discuss our learnings and identify ways to implement new ideas.
As a manager of salespeople, what’s a lesson you’ve learned that helps you bring out the best in your direct reports?
Whether it’s growing into a management role or hitting a new quota, having a clear understanding of their “why” can help me coach them accordingly. My goal is to help everyone I work with reach heights they never thought were possible.
Box is a single platform designed to empower organizations to manage the entire content lifecycle, work securely from anywhere and integrate across apps. When Senior Director of Mid-Market Sales Raven Miles coaches her sales reps, she encourages them to ditch the buzzwords and focus on the buyer’s experience. “It’s about making things relatable to the buyer and tying it back to what is important to them,” Miles told Built In Chicago.
In your experience, what are the skills that define a successful salesperson?
I look for skills I don’t have to teach. Four things I look for are accountability, curiosity, willingness to learn new things and good communication.
How do you help your reps develop their own sales acumen?
To me, sales acumen is less about buzzwords and more about how you communicate to the buyer. I do an exercise where I ask my reps to explain to me a very simple process that they know very well. For example, I asked a rep that played tennis to explain to me how to play as if I have never heard it before. Some people go all the way back to the game’s origin and others will start with the rules. What I am trying to demonstrate is when you really know something, you should be able to explain it.
To me, sales acumen is less about buzzwords and more about how you communicate to the buyer.”
As a manager of salespeople, what’s a lesson you’ve learned that helps you bring out the best in your direct reports?
As a manager of managers, what I have learned is that if I take care of them and provide a space for them to thrive as leaders, they will take care of their teams. Sometimes that means I have to get out of the way and let them lead. I have to be a sounding board and safe space for my team and make sure they feel comfortable trying new things — and making mistakes.
I learn just as much from my team as I hope they learn from me. I try to surround myself with people that have strengths where I do so that we are all growing together.
