Barbara Giamanco

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Driving Innovation, Growth and Revenue Through your Employee Experience w/Hilda Kwa, VMware

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Your employees are your company “brand ambassadors”, as such they are your organization’s greatest asset. Too often companies forget that employees drive the customer experience – either positively or negatively – and that impacts revenue in the same way.

In this interview, I was joined by Hilda Kwa a Regional Director at VMware. Hilda is responsible for growing the End User Computing business in the Northeast. By focusing on the “end user” she works with companies to optimize employee experiences through intelligent technology solutions.

As Hilda and I talked about how companies attract and retain employees and how that translates to growing revenue, we will also discussed how to adapt to a workforce that is constantly transitioning and transforming.

Topics we covered include:

How the workforce has changed throughout Hilda’s career.

The current expectations of today’s workforce – on the employee and employer side.

The challenges facing organizations to attract and retain talent.

How organizations can address these challenges. Onboarding tips, leadership strategies and more.

Watch this video to see how VMware delivers great employee experiences for customers.

Listen and enjoy the interview with Hilda!

Subscribe on iTunes and never miss a podcast episode! If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review and a 5-star rating. Also listen on Spotify, Stitcher

Or listen to the interview on the podcast page.

About Hilda– Connect with her on LinkedIn

Hilda Kwa is a Regional Director at VMware. Hilda is responsible for growing the End User Computing business in the Northeast. By focusing on the “end user” she works with companies to optimize employee experiences through intelligent technology solutions. Hilda has been leading teams for over 20 years and has worked at major corporations such as Microsoft, Gartner and Avaya and supported global companies such as GE and Citigroup. She is a wife and mother of three, ages 12 to 21, and resides in Connecticut. 

Feature header blog post photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Demystifying Executive Presence for Women in Sales w/Julie Hansen, Performance Sales & Training

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Julie Hansen was my guest in this interview. She is a sales presentation expert and the founder of Performance Sales and Training, helping sales professionals communicate with greater confidence, clarity, and influence.

I’ve done a women’s program at a number of corporations called The 5 Behaviors of Sales Sabotage and What You Can Do About It. Women, more than they may realize, often sabotage their own efforts with unconscious behaviors that hurt them more than help them.

Executive presence is a key requirement for success inside and outside your company, and if you are in a sales role, presence and the ability to “influence” conversations has never been more critical to achieving revenue goals.

In talking with Julie, we covered the following topics:

How Julie defines executive presence.

Why women in sales must invest the time to develop their executive presence.

Whether or not, executive presence is assumed to be a natural strength in men versus women.

How women can maintain their own style and personality but also be savvy to times when adapting leads to greater success.

The things that can undermine credibility for women in the workplace.

Strategies to consider when speaking up in meetings matters or when women feel they are not being heard.

Finally, we talked a few specific things that women can do – besides investing in one of Julie’s Programs – to improve their presence now.

Listen and enjoy the interview!

Subscribe on iTunes and never miss a podcast episode! If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review and a 5-star rating. Also listen on Spotify, Stitcher

Or listen to the interview on the podcast page.

About Julie – Connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter

Julie Hansen is a sales presentation expert and the founder of Performance Sales and Training, helping sales professionals communicate with greater confidence, clarity, and influence.

Julie is also the author of two books on sales:  Sales Presentations for Dummies and ACT Like a Sales Pro!  and she was recognized as one of the “35 Most Influential Women in Sales” by SalesHacker.

Julie spent 20 years as a sales contributor and leader. She also worked as a professional actor, performing in over 75 plays, commercials and television shows including HBO’s “Sex and the City.” 

Feature header blog post photo Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Authenticity: A Recipe for Success with Marietta Davis, IBM

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My interview with Marietta focuses on authenticity – being who we really are in all walks of life.

For many women, including me, shedding the mask to be our authentic selves, especially in business, isn’t always easy. Women more than men are taught from an early age to “fit in”. Be nice, include everyone, don’t get too big for your britches.

For those of us who wanted corporate careers for ourselves, we were signaled subliminally or told directly, that to succeed in a man’s world we had to be like the men. That meant dressing like them too! As you’ll hear in Marietta’s interview, in her first stint at IBM early in her career, she wore ladies Brooks Brothers suits, white shirts and wing tips like the guys.

Authenticity is a word thrown around a lot but what does it really mean. There are varying definitions like something proven to be real or legitimate but I like this definition best.

Authenticity is about presence, living in the moment with conviction and confidence and staying true to yourself. An authentic person puts the people around them at ease, like a comforting, old friend who welcomes us in and makes us feel at home.

Being who we are and standing strong in our personal power is tough when faced with pressure to conform. Yet, living and leading authentically, as Marietta does, naturally draws people to you. Authenticity isn’t something you can fake, though many people do try. We can feel it when people are being true to themselves because they exude self-confidence, passion and trustworthiness. As a leader, bringing your whole self to work, inspires your team to follow your lead.

During the interview with Marietta we…

Talked about her passion for non-profits such as the Posse Foundation and why it is important to her to give back to her community.

Her career progression working in high impact roles in major technology companies and what her role at IBM entails.

What Marietta means by authenticity and why it is important, especially as an executive leading teams.

Talked about the “authentic Marietta”. We also talked about whether or not we can learn to “let go” and be our authentic selves if we choose too.

Finally, we wrapped up talking about when Marietta might have tried to lead as someone other than her “real self”, and what happened as a result. Her answer might surprise you!

As we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History month all throughout March, be inspired by women all throughout history who had the courage to live authentically and change our world for the better!

Listen and enjoy the interview!

Subscribe on iTunes and never miss a podcast episode! If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review and a 5-star rating. Also listen on Spotify, Stitcher

Or listen to the interview on the podcast page.

About Marietta

My guest today is Marietta Davis, VP North America Communications and CSI, IBM Global Markets. Marietta is a seasoned sales executive with an extensive career in the technology industry holding high impact positions at IBM, Lotus Development, Ameritech, and Tata Consulting. I first met Marietta in her role as Vice President of U.S. Dynamics at Microsoft Corporation. The highest ranking African American in North America, Canada and Latin America, Davis led an organization of more than 400 sales, marketing and technical experts serving Microsoft’s business customers with Dynamics ERP and CRM Solutions. While at Microsoft, Davis successfully managed and grew multiple businesses to $1B and triple digit growth milestones. Her diverse leadership portfolio extends to mentoring strong leaders into key roles and acting in an advisory capacity to incubation and small startups.

Marietta gives back in a number of ways and currently sits on the National Board of Youth Villages, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families. Recently inducted into the Spelman College “Game Changer” Hall of Fame for her work in 2015, Marietta is also a sought after speaker on leadership topics and is a published author, writing for the Huffington Post and Thrive Global.

Feature header blog post photo by Chris Murray on Unsplash

Your Sales Kick-Off Meetings Are a Waste of Time!

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As sales teams mount their final push to finish 2019 strong, someone in a sales enablement, marketing or sales support role is planning what has become status quo in sales. The annual sales kick off (SKO) meeting.

As the term implies, a sales kick-off meeting is meant to be a sales reset. An opportunity to review what worked and what didn’t in the prior year while also creating the positive momentum needed to achieve sales goals for the year ahead.

But let’s get real. Most SKO’s are a complete waste of time and money.

Throughout my sales career, I’ve attended plenty of these meetings and usually left them feeling ticked off that 3-5 days of my selling time was wasted, and I was away from my family to boot.

Though the “goal” is to set the stage for sales success, SKO agendas are dominated with things that do not help salespeople be better at the craft of selling. That includes new product announcements, product feature training, product demos, reviews of marketing materials, or execs who feel their title justifies air time with the sales force when it doesn’t.

Use your SKO time to train your sellers how to be better at selling; otherwise scrap the meeting.

SKO’s are expensive! Studies suggest that the average per head cost is between $1,500-$3,000. Conservatively, it can cost $75,000+ for a 50-person sales team to attend your SKO plus the cost of other people in your company who attend too. That doesn’t even account for event planning costs, or the lost opportunity cost due to non-selling time while salespeople attend the event.

Companies are literally burning cash on SKO activities that do not advance sales performance.

Given the expense of these meetings, it is a huge miss to waste time on anything that does not directly impact a salesperson’s ability to sell more effectively to today’s modern buyer. As Salesforce reported in the 3rd annual State of Sales research, “winning deals still requires human to human interaction.”

And, it isn’t just any human interaction that will get the job done. It must be the right interaction that happens at the right time and in the right way.

Buyer expectations keep rising. How does your SKO prepare salespeople for this ongoing reality?

The surprising thing is that this is NOT a new revelation. What is surprising is how many companies remain mired in their own status quo, and as a result, they fail to adapt and act on what B2B buyers keep making clear. The salespeople they will give their time and attention to are the rare ones who demonstrate that they operate differently from other salespeople.

Nowhere on this list does it say that buyers want sellers coming at them with generic, product feature driven sales pitches. They certainly don’t care if you redesigned your marketing materials.

Buyers do say they have higher standards for salespeople, can take their business anywhere, expect vendors to personalize their approach, and that they will work with sellers who act as trusted advisors.

Use your SKO as an opportunity to train salespeople to be what buyers want them to be!

If buyers want to work with salespeople who are trusted advisors, what does that mean?

Trusted advisor defines the salesperson who has exceptional, targeted knowledge about specific business problems that decision makers in certain roles and industries face. These salespeople solve problems and put the needs of the buyer FIRST. Sales reps don’t become trusted advisors without help and that means training.

With that in mind, how is your SKO agenda training your salespeople to:

  • Engage rather than repel buyer interest with sales messaging and approach?
  • Conduct sales meetings using business acumen & insight vs. feature dumps & demos?
  • Manage multiple relationships with “buying teams”?
  • Compete with buyer status quo?
  • Reduce the sales cycle length and close deals more often?

A better playbook for designing that sales kick-off meeting.

  1. Planning beyond the event. Your plan must include what happens prior to the SKO, during the event, and how the training you deliver will be adopted and acted upon after the event.
  2. Clearly define the behavior you want to change. Be specific. After the SKO we want our sales reps to demonstrate competency in the 3 key traits of a trusted advisor. Then go deeper. What specifically does or will hinder our ability to evolve our salespeople into trusted advisors? Lack of training? The activity KPI’s we set today, which incent the wrong behavior? Are there internal systems, processes or even management biases getting in the way of the objective too?
  3. Plan pre-work prior to your kick-off event. Brainshark’s research found that “more than six out of 10 organizations (62%) don’t deliver pre-work to sales representatives in advance of their SKO, and 84% don’t conduct training in advance – neglecting to provide a foundation on the skills and topics that will be covered.”
  4. Create and block plenty of time for role plays at the event. Sports teams don’t show up on the field once a week expecting to win the game. They run plays and practice possible game day scenarios every day. Sales teams should operate the same way. Practice improves skills, turns them into ingrained habits and builds confidence.
  5. Reinforce. Your SKO sales training establishes the foundation for better sales results, and behavior will not change after one training. For salespeople to embrace and act-on the new skills they’ve just learned, coaching and management reinforcement must happen consistently after the event concludes.

Conduct your SKO with the right “end in mind” or don’t bother to do it all.

A sales kick-off meeting has huge potential if done in the right way.

The end goal should be that salespeople leave the event having improved their selling skills. The skills that decision makers expect of them. The skills that position your sellers to achieve their quota and deal profitability objectives in year ahead.

Everything else is a waste of money and time that can be better spent elsewhere!

Constructing Sales Success – Tips for Women in Sales

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The many sales challenges faced by men and women in sales roles are largely the same.

  • Difficulty getting through to buyers.
  • Not enough qualified leads in the pipeline.
  • Too much administrative work and not enough selling time.
  • Trying to keep competitors at bay.
  • Keeping sales skills sharp.
  • The rapid pace of change.
  • And more.

Selling in today’s 21st century environment is more challenging than ever. That means that our ability to transcend obstacles to success is as much about managing our beliefs, mindset and attitude, as it is about being highly skilled at the various aspects of the selling process.

I’ve written about the business case for women in sales many times.

Research supports that a strategic focus on diversity and inclusion positively impacts revenue, the customer experience and fosters cultures that are forward thinking and innovative.

Volumes have been written about bro cultures, women being held back, gaps in pay. All truths that have merit. There is no question that there is work to be done. Progress has been slow to fix many of the pervasive problems that persist.

At the same time, I want women in sales (or in any role), to remember that there are times when we may undermine our success without even realizing it through some of these common behaviors.

Being Seen Not Heard.

I’m not the only woman who has felt seen but not heard in meetings. Many women don’t realize that they are more likely than men to “wait” to be called on to speak.

Women also have a tendency to downplay their certainty about their ideas, business opinions, or even the products they sell. They hedge their assertions making them seem less confident than they are. If you want to be heard, rather than fume at being overlooked or feel your ideas were dismissed, make it your business to assert yourself by speaking up clearly, confidently and concisely.

If you are in a sales role, this behavior is especially problematic. There is a gap in gender diversity in departments other than sales in many companies, which means that the buyers we are approaching are mostly men. If you appear to lack confidence in what you sell, these male buyers won’t feel confident in buying from you.

Leveraging Relationships vs. Building Them

Often, we hear that women possess the innate strength of building relationships. While I believe that to be true, I’ve also noticed that many women shy away from leveraging the power of the relationships they’ve built.

I’m as guilty of this behavior as anyone. As much as I talk with guests on the Conversations with Women in Sales podcast about how important it is for women to stop sitting on the sidelines waiting for others to notice their good work, reward them, promote them or help them when they need a favor, I find myself doing the same thing without realizing it.

For many of us this is a bias hidden away in our DNA that cautions us against asking for specific help from the people in the networks we’ve established. Adding to our concern is the judgment many of us have felt by other women who signal to us that our ask is selfish or overly ambitious. For the record, women who judge other women, and it happens far more often than you might think, are often unaware that they do it.

I have to give a hat tip to men here. They don’t usually fall into this trap. If they need help, they don’t hesitate to ask for it.

The TMI (Too Much Information) Trap

This sabotaging behavior isn’t new news. How you use your words matter and never is that truer than in selling.

It is important to note that the urban myth that women speak 20,000 words in a day while men speak 7,000 was debunked in a 2007 study.

It isn’t the number of words men and women use in a day; they are basically the same number. The core difference is in how words are used. Women are often tuned out because they take too much time to get to the point. And, yes, I’ve been guilty of this behavior too. Women often preface their suggestions with a lot of backstory and unnecessary background. Side observations obscure the main point, while over explaining the rationale behind the point they want to make creates a perception that they lack confidence in their abilities.

Tip: Get to the point and let people ask for more details as they need it!

Minimizing

Stop downplaying your achievements!

There is that old joke about there not being an “I’ in team, which always made me laugh. Look closely at the word, and you’ll see the word “me”. Not we, me.

Our male counterparts use “I” more often when speaking. Women, on the other hand, use “we” more often. On the surface “we” sounds inclusive. When we believe that our accomplishments came together as a result of a team effort, we are reluctant to call specific attention to our part in the process.

Research confirms that using “we”, especially if you are responsible for leading a team, creates confusion about your role in a specific effort. The higher ups wonder… Did you lead it? Were you essential to the outcome? What exactly do you mean when you say “we”?

Women are discouraged from “self-promotion” beginning at an early age. Promoting our own efforts is equated to bragging. Bragging equals bad. How we present our accomplishments may be the difference, but marketing how we contributed to the success of the business or any team project is part of the job.

People Pleasing and the Perfection Trap

Many women, including me, suffer from the disease to please. Voltaire wrote that “Perfect is the enemy of good.” A manager I worked for gave me that feedback once, and at the time, it really annoyed me. When I thought about it later, I understood what Voltaire meant. He meant that perfection is an illusion. Not everyone will like us or agree with us but trying to navigate our careers through the lens of trying to be something we aren’t doesn’t make much sense. It certainly leads to more heartache than needed.

In closing

External factors that can block our path certainly exist.  I began my sales career in the macho, male dominated world of tech, and enjoyed great success all through the years. And like so many women, I’ve dealt with my share of biases that presented obstacles I felt were unwarranted or unfair. At the same time, I recognize that there have been times when I let my own insecurities and behaviors work against me. I know I’m not alone.

I’ve always been inspired by Viktor Frankl and his story. In the most horrific of circumstances, he came to the realization that no matter what the circumstance, WE HAVE A CHOICE! If where you are today is not where you want to be, what choice will YOU make to turn things around?

NOTE: A similar but shorter version of this post was originally published as an article in the Top Sales World Magazine in June 2019 – Women in Sales Edition.

Making It Rain in 2019

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Last week, I was making it rain opportunities through networking and education with over 1,000 sales professionals at SalesLoft’s Rainmaker 2019 conference. SalesLoft, a hometown tech success here in the ATL, launched Rainmaker in 2014. As I was putting this post together, I hopped into my time machine and zipped back to 2015 when I first attended Rainmaker and wrote about my experience that year.

What I realized in reading that 2015 blog post was that the more things change, the more they actually stay the same. Priorities important in 2015 are even more important today, in 2019. For example…

If you are in a sales role, you simply cannot wait around for others to give you everything you need to succeed. Don’t rely solely on your marketing team to understand the characteristics of your ideal buyer. You, the sales rep, need to own and understand the target buyer persona too. More importantly, you should be spending the bulk of your networking/prospecting/sales call time with ONLY those people! Success also relies on honing your skills, so that you can be the best at your craft of selling. That means you need to invest in your own learning and development every single day! Always keep in mind that learners are earners!

Message matters. If you want your outbound sales activity to convert to more sales conversations, YOU MUST PERSONALIZE your messages. Sales pitches fall on deaf ears. If you want a buyer to give you valuable time on their calendar, you better be focused on what they care about more than what you are trying to sell. That means doing your homework, and this is where tools like LinkedIn, the internet, company websites, Twitter, or InsideView can play a huge role in more effective sales messaging. Bottom line – if your message is all about YOU and what YOU SELL, you are doing it all wrong!

The best sellers DO NOT talk about products and services (see my point above).  These sellers don’t ramble on about the features of the products and services they sell. They don’t put buyers to sleep during demos talking about how they do this and why they do that. Especially in the beginning of a new sales relationship, much of that stuff doesn’t matter. Top sellers focus on helping buyers solve business problems that they will pay money to solve. Top sellers know how to ask the RIGHT questions and how to shut up and LISTEN to the answers.

The best sellers understand human behavior. They leverage their ability to clarify and confirm what they know based on up front research before talking to prospects. Validate what you know but don’t “interrogate” buyers during sales calls. Trust me, interrogation is exactly what it feels like to buyers when you insist on walking them through your lengthy discovery process. Instead, respect their precious time by learning much of that information ahead of the meeting. Your sales call will yield much better results!

Top sellers follow a sales process but are smart enough to adapt their approach to fit how the buyer makes purchasing decisions. You might need to eject your assumptions about the buyer’s journey. Even in similar industries, every company has decision making criteria unique to them. If you simply try to force a buyer/buying team to fit your sales process instead to adapting to their purchasing process, you’ll lose more deals than you will win.

Stop listening to experts who are legends in their own minds. Not everything about selling is dead. Nor is there one right way to be successful in selling. I don’t like making ice cold sales calls to strangers not expecting my call. I prefer to use other means to engage buyers first because that is what works for me. But hey, if your cold call activity is converting to a high number of sales calls with qualified buyers, then by all means… DO IT. Every sellers world is going to be unique. You must test, adapt, and test again to determine and consistently utilize what’s right for you.

Relationships in selling STILL matter! This point dovetails the one above. Believe it or not, more than a few self-proclaimed “experts” promote the idea that relationships in selling is dead. During the session I moderated on Social Selling, I asked panelists Samantha McKenna, Kat Charlot and Morgan J. Ingram what they thought about relationships and selling. They all agreed, as did the audience, that developing trusted relationships with targeted buyers is more important than ever. Mock experts trying to get their 15 minutes of fame by trying to be edgy and controversial are not good for our sales profession. In B2B sales, people still buy from people. Regardless how sophisticated technology becomes, I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Building exceptional sales teams drives exceptional sales results. On the morning of Day 3, the panel discussed the elements of building exceptional teams.  These panel leaders didn’t talk about squeezing one more millisecond of productivity out of people with another piece of technology. They talked about being human, embracing change and paying attention to the foundation of sales basics. All three leaders talked about being authentic, genuine, vulnerable human beings who hold themselves and others accountable. And during the conference they were not the only leaders to make clear that a people first focus is what drives success now and in the future.

I will close by giving high praise to the SalesLoft team for their focus on speaker diversity at Rainmaker! Other conference organizers… are you listening?

I am not the only woman in sales tired of virtual sales events, webinars and conferences that are dominated by white guys – of any age – on the speaking stage. Highly engaging, well qualified, diverse speakers are not difficult to find. Event organizers simply must make it a priority to better balance the scales.

There is a lot of chatter right now about “women in sales”… why we need to see more women on sales teams and in leadership roles and why diversity and inclusion initiatives are good for business. But talk is cheap! As my mom said often, “Action speaks louder than words!” I learned that SalesLoft set a goal of 51% speaker diversity for Rainmaker 2019. They achieved 54% with 46% of the conference speakers being women! And for the second year in a row, I moderated the panel discussion at the women’s breakfast that SalesLoft made a part of the conference last year. More on that experience in a separate post. A bias toward action is a core value at SalesLoft, and at Rainmaker 2019 they demonstrated that when it comes to excellence in selling, as well as diversity and inclusion, they walk their talk!

Opening Executive Level Doors with Caryn Kopp

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In this episode, I talked with Caryn Kopp AKA The Chief Door Opener at Kopp Consulting, an Inc 5000 winner, recognized for the Door Opener® Service where they get their clients meetings with high level decision makers in almost every major company. If you want to know how to open doors at the executive level, this is the interview for you!

We covered these questions during my conversation with Caryn:

  • Getting in the door with executive level prospects is one of the most difficult part of the sales process, bar none. I asked Caryn how her team, known for getting executive level meetings for your clients, does it. She shared her success secrets for prior open those doors when other companies and salespeople struggle.
  • Caryn will tell you how to figure out what to say to pique the interest of busy, high-level prospects when they get so many calls and emails from competitors.
  • Personalization is a big buzz word now. Caryn shares her opinions on what works and doesn’t work when it comes to crafting messages that open doors to your targeted prospects.
  • You will learn about the two important elements that have to do with sales that most business leaders get wrong.
  • We also discussed tips on how to hire the right Door Openers for your company.
  • Finally, we talked about a question that comes up all the time…at what point do you just give up on a prospect? Listen to the interview to hear what Caryn has to say about that important question.

Listen and enjoy the interview!

 

Apple Podcasts  – Please subscribe so that you never miss an episode! Write a review for the podcast if you like the interviews.

Spotify  Stitcher  Google Play   Don’t use any of these platforms to listen? Listen to Episode 43 with Caryn above.

About Caryn:

Caryn Kopp is the Chief Door Opener® at Kopp Consulting, an Inc 5000 winner, recognized for the Door Opener® Service where they get their clients meetings with high level decision makers in almost every major company. A best-selling author, speaker and an expert in Business Development, Caryn can be seen in Inc., Forbes, Newsweek and is a faculty member of Verne Harnish’s Gazelles Growth Institute. Caryn is also the co-author of the best seller Biz Dev Done Right.

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Thanks to our Sponsors!

This podcast is presented by our Elite Sponsor, Microsoft. Corporate Vice President and Channel Chief Gavriella Schuster, along with other female leaders in the company, are driving for change, trying to bring more women into the technology industry. Gavriella and Microsoft are committed to giving “young women better role models and a stronger voice to all women.” You can hear more from Gavriella and other Microsoft leaders, on the Microsoft Partner Network podcast. Or visit partner.microsoft.com 

SalesLoft, the leading sales engagement platform. Join them this March in Atlanta for 3 days of learning, networking, and inspiration at their annual Rainmaker conference! With over 100 speakers and 40 track sessions, their annual Women’s Breakfast and a performance from Grammy winning band Blues Traveler, this conference is not one to miss. Get your tickets today at rainmaker.salesloft.com.

Thanks to our Media Sponsor. Women Sales Pros has a vision for more women in B2B sales and sales leadership roles where there are currently male-majority sales teams. We help educate companies on how to do this, and we champion women on what a professional sales career can be. We also showcase the very top women sales experts who are speakers, authors, consultants, trainers and coaches. People can sign up to get updates HERE and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WomenSalesPros

Getting to the Top 1%

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In this interview, I talked with Cynthia Barnes who is recognized as one of the world’s most influential Women in Sales Thought Leaders. The former Top 1% saleswoman founded the National Association of Women Sales Professionals, the world’s only organization dedicated to helping its members reach the Top 1% and Dance on the Glass Ceiling™.

Cynthia is someone that I’ve admired for some time now. I admire her positive, fearless, can do attitude, and I very much appreciate all the work she does to support women in business.

When I talked with Cynthia I wanted to find out:

Why we need women-centric sales training and professional development.

What the biggest mistake Cynthia sees women sales professionals making.

What can managers and leaders can and must do to create a workplace where women in sales thrive.

Why Cynthia started started NAWSP (National Association of Women Sales Professionals.

Finally, we closed by talking about what Cynthia believes the future holds for women in sales and leadership roles.

Cynthia and her organization host #WomenInSales events around the country. To check out upcoming events in your city or one near one, check out the Ascend 2019 schedule HERE.

As always, another insightful interview! Listen and enjoy!

Apple Podcasts  – Please subscribe so that you never miss an episode! Write a review for the podcast if you like the interviews.

Spotify  Stitcher  Google Play   Don’t use any of these platforms to listen? Listen to the recording above.

About Cynthia:

Cynthia Barnes who is recognized as one of the world’s most influential Women in Sales Thought Leaders. The former Top 1% saleswoman founded the National Association of Women Sales Professionals, the world’s only organization dedicated to helping its members reach the Top 1% and Dance on the Glass Ceiling™.

Cynthia’s unique understanding of what it takes for women in sales excel has made her a sought-after influencer on women-centric sales training and coaching, having appeared in over 250 major media outlets around the nation – including appearances in the Wall Street Journal.

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Thanks to our Sponsors!

This podcast is presented by our Elite Sponsor, Microsoft. Corporate Vice President and Channel Chief Gavriella Schuster, along with other female leaders in the company, are driving for change, trying to bring more women into the technology industry. Gavriella and Microsoft are committed to giving “young women better role models and a stronger voice to all women.” You can hear more from Gavriella and other Microsoft leaders, on the Microsoft Partner Network podcast. Or visit partner.microsoft.com 

SalesLoft, the leading sales engagement platform. Join them this March in Atlanta for 3 days of learning, networking, and inspiration at their annual Rainmaker conference! With over 100 speakers and 40 track sessions, their annual Women’s Breakfast and a performance from Grammy winning band Blues Traveler, this conference is not one to miss. Get your tickets today at rainmaker.salesloft.com.

Thanks to our Media Sponsor. Women Sales Pros has a vision for more women in B2B sales and sales leadership roles where there are currently male-majority sales teams. We help educate companies on how to do this, and we champion women on what a professional sales career can be. We also showcase the very top women sales experts who are speakers, authors, consultants, trainers and coaches. People can sign up to get updates HERE and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WomenSalesPros

Sales Success Requires Listening

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In this interview, I talked with Dana Dupuis – the founder of ECHO Listening Intelligence.  Dana is also the co-creator of a proprietary listening assessment called the ECHO Listening Profile (ECHO = Effective Communication for Healthy Organizations), which has been instrumental in reshaping communication with sales teams, executives and across full company cultures.

The old adage about having 2 ears and 1 mouth makes a lot of sense, especially when it comes to selling. Since our job as sellers is to solve problems for our prospects and customers, listening is a key component of being successful in selling. Unfortunately, too often salespeople talk more than listen. That can happen either because salespeople are new, nervous or not properly trained. The great art of listening is not the same as hear and how listening works is largely misunderstood.

Dana will be joining me for a webinar about listening on March 5. Get details and REGISTER HERE for this complimentary session!

Okay, on to the podcast interview. Dana and I talked about:

Why is listening such an important component in sales.

What makes it difficult for salespeople to practice listening.

Dana’s background in building sales teams, why she left sales to study listening, and how that journey led her to bring back what she learned about listening and selling. Listen to the interview the MOST important thing you need to know about listening and sales.

How listening works. It may not be what you think! I know I was surprised.

Dana also talks about how all of us listen “to” and “for” different information, as well as the many different ways we listen.

Finally, I asked Dana why it is that you can been in a meeting with multiple people, yet everyone there may leave having heard something different. Dana told me why what we say is often misunderstood, misinterpreted or changed depending on the listener.

By the way, Dana made this SPECIAL OFFER Until April 2019: Dana offered my podcast listeners the opportunity to take the ECHO Learning assessment with her compliments.
Send her email to: dana@echolistening.com    In the subject line include: Women in Sales Podcast with Barb FREE Assessment Link

As always, another insightful interview! Listen and enjoy!

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About Dana

With over 20 years of experience in sales and management consulting, leadership development and building healthy corporate cultures, Dana Dupuis knows the importance of good communication.

Dana is the founder of ECHO Listening Intelligence and the co-creator of a proprietary listening assessment called the ECHO Listening Profile (ECHO = Effective Communication for Healthy Organizations), which has been instrumental in reshaping communication with sales teams, executives and across full company cultures. By understanding that each individual listens “to” and “for” different kinds of information, companies can greatly enhance their ability to communicate and collaborate effectively. It is upon this concept that Dana’s work is based.

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Thanks to our Sponsors!

This podcast is presented by our Elite Sponsor, Microsoft. Corporate Vice President and Channel Chief Gavriella Schuster, along with other female leaders in the company, are driving for change, trying to bring more women into the technology industry. Gavriella and Microsoft are committed to giving “young women better role models and a stronger voice to all women.” You can hear more from Gavriella and other Microsoft leaders, on the Microsoft Partner Network podcast. Or visit partner.microsoft.com 

SalesLoft, the leading sales engagement platform. Join them this March in Atlanta for 3 days of learning, networking, and inspiration at their annual Rainmaker conference! With over 100 speakers and 40 track sessions, their annual Women’s Breakfast and a performance from Grammy winning band Blues Traveler, this conference is not one to miss. Get your tickets today at rainmaker.salesloft.com.

Thanks to our Media Sponsor. Women Sales Pros has a vision for more women in B2B sales and sales leadership roles where there are currently male-majority sales teams. We help educate companies on how to do this, and we champion women on what a professional sales career can be. We also showcase the very top women sales experts who are speakers, authors, consultants, trainers and coaches. People can sign up to get updates HERE and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WomenSalesPros

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