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cdankowski.bsky.social
Strategist at Salesloft by day, career coach to sales reps by night. Former AE at Evernote, Outreach, and HubSpot
131 posts 113 followers 485 following
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Why don't all of these efficiency gains ever equate to more time?

BDRs and AEs should never ever have to touch Clay or any other solution like it. It's not their job, and is a gross misallocation of resources.

Enablement and leadership are always preaching at reps to sell in a certain way that's usually in direct opposition to what reps need to do to hit the number that leadership gave them.

If you drive a truck but never use it for truck stuff, then you're just doing big boy cosplay.

LFG!

Listening to an audiobook isn't reading a book. Don't tell me you're reading a book if you're just listening to someone read it to you.

Most sales reps will never go to Presidents Club, and that's OK.

Don't model yourself after the top rep at your company. They're usually a freak and you won't be able to get the same outcomes as them when you copy their methods. Copy the process of the top 2-3 most consistent reps instead.

99% of the time equity is worthless. Negotiate higher base, commission, severance or signing bonus instead.

If you want more interviews, approach your job search like you would prospecting into a key account. Identify your decision makers. Warm them up on linkedin. Then reach out to them via phone and email with your resume and 2-3 compelling reasons for them to talk to you.

Slow down to speed up. #mindset

POV: Being over 100% attainment heading into the last week of the month. #techsales

OK, but how much shareholder value did they create? Losers! Enjoy your socialized healthcare, chemical free foods, robust paternal leave, and lack of gun violence. Y'all still haven't won a single Super Bowl. USA! USA! USA!

❌ “Will you be able to move forward by the end of the month?” ✅ “Level with me, am I safe to put that deposit down with the pool contractor?”

Derive outcomes by winning the inner game. #mindset

Chances are that whatever it is that's stressing you out probably won't be important next week/month/year. Pause to ask yourself if you should care. #mindset

POV: You remember that you're an eternal spirit that has existed before time who's driving a skeleton covered in meat on a tiny particle of dust flying through a barely microscopic universe, and that quotas don't matter. #techsales

❌ “Will you be able to move forward by the end of the month?” ✅ “We only have capacity for one new client this month. Should I hold the slot for you or are you not really that serious about your business?”

❌ "I hope this email finds you well" ✅ "I hope this email reminds you that we're all spiritual entities having a human experience, and that we have no beginning and no end and are all made from the same invisible energy and molecules and that time is a flat circle”

One of my first sales mentors was really big into mindset. He'd tell me things like... - Even when you're doing great at this job, you're still failing 99% of the time - It's all mental. You can't let yourself get too high with the highs, or too low with the lows. You've got to stay in the middle

Do what you can with what you have. #mindset

Quitting and restarting or changing direction are not the same thing. Sometimes taking a step back allows for two steps forward. #mindset

Do you know exactly what you need to do to hit your quota? I bet you don't 😁 This episode talks about a simple framework you can use to create a clear and predictable path to quota for yourself

Right now, a sales rep just hit 'send' on an email that took them 30 minutes to write, that their prospect will never see.

Take it easy today. #mindset

It's OK to slow down. Art by Dylan Murphy

❌ "I hope this email finds you well" ✅ "I hope this email reminds you that we're all spiritual entities having a human experience, and that we have no beginning and no end and are all made from the same invisible energy and molecules and that time is a flat circle”

You've got to work through the bad dials to get to the good one's. After a rough day, or week, of "no"s, I'd always tell myself "I'm due" and enthusiastically pound the phone. That's how I tricked myself into being resilient. It's also how gamblers hit rock bottom so.... 🤷‍♂️

More deals are lost to optimism than anything else. When you look at your pipeline, do so with a skeptical eye and analyze each Opp in terms of what could go wrong. List every risk scenario and what you can do to mitigate each risk. Fold risk mitigation into your next steps.

I would love for us to embrace new and different email sign-offs collectively. Here are a few I'm kicking around... - Later - Bye - xoxoxoxo - I wish you well - Toodaloo - Until next time What else?

1) Prioritize your health 2) Prioritize relationships 3) Be a billionaire 4) Spend time in nature

Keep going! Don't give up before the magic happens. #mindset

Charlie Cruz is an awesome dude with an awesome career story. He started out selling cell phones in a mall kiosk and worked his way up to becoming an Enterprise AE. How the heck did he do that!?!?! You've got to listen to find out :-)

When the email to your champion to follow up on the DocuSign bounces back #saleshumor

Do you want to make a real impression on your prospect, and distinguish yourself from the competition? End your next Zoom meeting by blowing a kiss and then immediately exit the meeting. They WILL remember you. 😘

You’d be surprised how many reps I talk to who do this. Or maybe you wouldn’t! IDK. It’s crazy to me. They’re amateur email marketers pretty much.

"Pain is life. Life is pain" - Katherine Applegate (obviously a full-cycle AE)

❌ "I hope this email finds you well" ✅ "I hope this email finds you one step closer to your dreams and aspirations of becoming a full-time ventriloquist in Branson, Missouri"

The best deals are referrals, hands down. It's not even a contest. Cost of acquisition = $0 Close rate = 50-70% Lifetime Value = 16% higher than a non-referred customer Plus, they tend to close quicker and easier than cold prospects.

There's no mystery to financial success. It really is as simple as: - Make coffee at home - Get a side hustle - Have a father who owns a diamond mine - Stop buying avocado toast

If you’ve been in sales for more than a minute, then you’ve absolutely been lied to in a job interview before. If you’re early in your career and things just sound too good to be true during the interview process, be sure to do your research.

Companies put so many resources into building BDR orgs, and do absolutely nothing to train AEs on how to collaborate with BDRs. You absolutely need to create enablement around AE and BDR collaboration that includes targeting, prioritization, swimlanes, and meeting cadence and agenda.

They doubled his quota the next year.

You're more than your career. #mindset

What’s the first thing to look at when evaluating a cadence's effectiveness? If you said opens, replies, or clicks you’d be wrong. The correct answer is steps completed on time, and skipped steps. You can’t truly gauge how well a cadence is doing if it’s not being used correctly.

Expect less, enjoy more. #mindset

Hint... nobody wishes they would have worked more.

When I first started in sales, there were two things at the front of my mind that set me up for success: 1) I don't have to know everything. I just have to sound like I know more than the prospect. 2) It doesn't matter how bad I sound. If I call 100 people every day, someone will buy something.

❌ “Will you be able to move forward by the end of the month?” ✅ “Honestly, if I don’t close this by EOM I’ll probably be let go. I don’t want to pressure you, but would you say it’d be a good idea for me to update my resume? NO PRESSURE!”