10 Sales Tips From Top Sales Professionals

What defines a good salesperson? Some may say it’s not only about hitting quotas, but smashing past them. At the end of the day however, being a great salesperson is so much more than that. It’s about being confident yet approachable, enthusiastic yet empathetic, committed yet flexible. Great sales people are excellent at reading people and understand the importance behind a great first impression.

However, the current economic state and recession are beginning to have serious implications on an individual’s ability to effectively sell. Recent studies show that more than half of salespeople believe it’s more difficult to get in front of prospects than it was five years ago. Inflation, shortages in the supply chain and rapid market changes are all contributing factors to this. This calls for not only a newfound sense of creativity in selling, but also for ways to stay inspired. Research begs you to not give up, just because your clients say no at first, doesn’t mean the window of opportunity is shut for good. In fact, 60 percent of customers will say no four times before they agree to a deal, but only 12 percent of sales reps are willing to keep trying after the fourth no.

So what can you do to become a better salesperson? Regardless of the industry you work within, you know that oftentimes the most valuable insights come from others sharing their challenges and successes – particularly if they’ve made a name for themselves. We’ve scoured the web and found ten of the best and brightest sales professionals in their industries to help motivate and inspire you.

Without further ado…and in no particular order, here are ten sales tips from some of the top sales professionals!

Alex Alleyne

Alex is an award-winning sales professional that helps educate aspirational sales talent through the podcast he has founded and hosts, “The Elite Level Podcast.” As a child, Alex would sell candy to kids on the playground, and now? He’s accrued more than $30M in annual recurring revenue for the world’s most disruptive organizations. Alex has also been recognized by LinkedIn as a Top 10 thought leader twice. Alex knows that the road to success is not an easy one, which is why he often works with aspiring sales professionals to kickstart their careers and act as a valuable mentor.

Alex’s pro-tip: “Remember what motivated you earlier on in your career. Attaining target numbers is a huge motivating factor, but so is feeling a sense of connection to your team and role along with the recognition of a job well done.”

Linkedin | Website

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur, and serves as the Chairman of VaynerX and the CEO of VaynerMedia. Known as “GaryVee,” he is described as one of the most forward thinkers in business today and is passionate about helping build businesses. In addition to being a five-time New York Times Best-Selling Author, Gary acts as a mentor to others by sharing meaningful industry insights through his podcast, “The GaryVee Audio Experience.”

Gary’s pro-tip: “You have to understand your own personal DNA. Don’t do things because I do them or Steve Jobs or Mark Cuban tried it. You need to know your personal brand and stay true to it.”

Linkedin | Website

Daniel Disney

No, he’s not related to Walt Disney…but that doesn’t make Daniel any less impressive as a sales professional! Considered to be the “King” of LinkedIn and social selling, Daniel has amassed more than 800,000 followers on LinkedIn and 25 million pounds (GBP) in sales from LinkedIn alone. Some of his customers include Canon, Salesforce and Amazon among many others. When he’s not helping companies, sales teams and sales leaders sell more with LinkedIn, Daniel is helping to inspire and guide professionals through his podcasts, blog posts, webinars and books.

Daniel’s pro-tip: “Don’t be a sales crocodile, big mouth and no ears! Listening is genuinely the secret to most sales success.”

Linkedin | Website

Anita Nielsen

One of the great things about Anita is her ability to pair sales with psychology. Early on in her career, she recognized that sales people have one of the most difficult jobs due to far too many sales methodologies and trainings that adopt a “one size fits all” approach. Thus, Anita became passionate about helping other sales leaders and teams find success and with over 20 years of experience, she’s become known as the “B2B Sales Sensei.” Anita is also dedicated to empowering women, helping them to become visionary sales leaders.

Anita’s pro-tip: “Remember, people love to talk about themselves. More than that, though, people love to feel really heard. Are you really listening to your buyers?”

Linkedin | Website

Jill Konrath

Speaker, thought leader, and best selling author, Jill’s career is defined by her relentless search for fresh strategies that actually work in today’s sales world. In addition to being named one of the 7 Most Influential Sales Thought Leaders of 21st Century by Salesforce, a Top 100 Sales Leaders Globally by Hot Topics and a Top 20 Social Sellers by Forbes, Jill was inducted into the Sales/Marketing Hall of Fame, among many other achievements. Her prestigious career has afforded Jill the opportunity to serve as an advisor to high-growth companies like HubSpot, Xvoyant and Modus.

Jill’s pro-tip: “People who focus on ‘getting better’ goals (also known as Personal Bests) as opposed to performance goals have a much better chance of success.”
Linkedin | Website

Amy Volas

Amy describes herself as an enterprise sales fanatic and startup junkie with over 20 years of experience under her belt. To date, Amy has amassed more than $100 million worth of deals closed. Her true passion is helping SaaS startups hire sales leaders and reach their full potential. In addition to being a strategic partner for companies like Spekit and QuotaPath, Amy is also the Founder and CEO of Avenue Talent Partners. True to her helping nature, Amy has also co-founded and co-hosts a sales-focused Happy Hour called Thursday Night Sales.

Amy’s pro-tip: “Closing more deals is NOT about: polishing up a slick closing technique, perfecting your pitch or nailing your demo. Whether a deal closes or not has little to do with that ‘closing call’ at all. Successful selling is about peeling back the layers of your buyer’s goals and problems to find a solution together.”
Linkedin | Website

Belal Batrawy

As a go-to-market (GTM) leader and advisor for early-stage startups, Belal has received a number of prestigious awards and recognitions, including being a Salesforce Top Sales Influencer and Salesloft REVstar Award Winner among many others. Belal is also the founder of DeathtoFluff, a resource for sales professionals to access real world examples on how to make your buyer the hero instead of your product or service. Belal is quickly becoming known for being an effective leader in change.

Belal’s pro-tip: “Don’t keep the conversation going once the cold call starts. After you’ve peaked their interest, you should be the first to hang up. ‘It sounds like this may be of interest to you, and I promised to be brief. Want to schedule something in the next few days to properly discuss this?’ Elite sellers know how to end the conversation as well as they know how to start one.”

Linkedin | Website

Ian Koniak

In addition to being a prolific ​​sales coach, sales trainer and keynote speaker, Ian is the founder and CEO of an Koniak Sales Coaching Inc., a company dedicated to helping people reach their full sales professional potential. Ian’s expertise comes from nearly two decades in the industry which has amassed him over $100 million in sales at top Fortune 500 tech companies including Salesforce and Ricoh USA, Inc., among others.

Ian’s pro-tip: “A major challenge in sales is that many reps show up as ‘needy’ because they are dependent on clients to hit their quotas. When customers feel like you need them, they will feel like they don’t need you. When they feel like you don’t need them, they will feel like they need you more. When I stopped showing up as needy and started understanding the value that I brought to clients, everything changed.”

Linkedin | Website

Cherilynn Castleman

Cherilynn is a leading executive coach as well as author, keynote speaker and influencer, among many other things. Cherilynn has over 30 years of experience as a Fortune 500 Global Sales Executive, and is passionate about empowering women, guiding others and helping to make your dreams a reality. As the Managing Partner and Executive Coach at CGI, a consulting and training firm specializing in sales training, leadership development and executive coaching, Cherilynn has had the opportunity to work with clients like United Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, and Salesforce to name a few. Cherilynn has also become a driving force of change in advocating for women of color in the sales industry.

Cherilynn’s pro-tip: “Whether you’re speaking to someone in the same room or on the other side of the planet, it’s all about communication and connection. Act the same way you would in a live, in-person meeting. Establish your credibility, showcase your warmth and human side, and be authentic and vulnerable. Clients want to connect with human beings, not robots.”

Linkedin | Website

Richard Harris

Richard uses his twenty years of experience to help you realize your full potential as a sales professional. In addition to being a leading voice in changing the sales industry, Richard is also an author, an accomplished speaker, award winner and mentor. As founder and CEO of The Harris Consulting Group, Richard aids your sales team on how to earn the right to ask questions as well as which questions to ask and when. Richard is also a co-founder of Surf and Sales, a one-of-a-kind micro sales conference, and serves as a strategic advisor for a number of companies. Some of his clients have included, Salesforce, Zoom, Google and Salesloft, among many others.

Richard’s pro-tip: “You need to be able to paint a picture in a conversation. The lost part of sales is the storytelling side.”

Linkedin | Website

Steve Jobs once said that “Customers don’t care about you. They don’t care about your product or service. They care about themselves, their dreams, their goals. Now, they will care much more if you help them reach their goals, and to do that, you must understand their goals, as well as their needs and deepest desires.”

So as a sales professional, particularly in this day and age, you have to not only think creatively, but also think of ways to help your customers and clients before the problem even becomes apparent.

We hope you’ve found this list to be inspirational – now get out there and get selling!

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