When was the last time you basked in inspiration? For me, it was last week at the AfroTech conference in San Francisco, CA organized by the talented folks at Blavity. Being in a room filled with black executives, techies, creatives, movers, shakers, leaders, and learners felt right. I couldn’t have envisioned a better return on my time. I attended a few sessions in between networking and recruiting for Amazon. Below are 16 lessons I captured:
1. Daymond John, star of the hit TV Show – Shark Tank, delivered the closing keynote. He shared his 5 Shark Points inspired by his journey in building FUBU and his other successful ventures. Below are the summarized versions of the five points:.
Set a goal. Goal setting is a tried and tested method of achieving great results. Goals give you direction and the ability to say no to things that don’t align with your goals. When you have clear goals, you can also come back to them when things get fuzzy or you take a wrong exit.
Do your homework. Innovation can be finding new ways to deliver something so it’s better, faster, or lighter that what exists in the market today.
Love what you do. When you love what you do, you make sacrifices. You also tend to take a long-term approach.
Remember you are the brand. Can you summarize your personal brand value proposition in 2-5 sentences?
Keep swimming, and remember to take care of your health. Get your health regular checkup because health is wealth. It’s hard to run the world from a sick bed.
2. In Everette Taylor’s talk, he encouraged the audience to resist impostor syndrome. He challenged everyone to believe in themselves, and just start and iterate as they grow.
3. According to Everette, one of the biggest mistakes startups make is forgetting to build a great product that solve specific customer problems. If you’re pushing a crappy product, no matter how good of a salesperson you are, you will not be successful in the long run.
4. Surround yourself with the right people because you’re only as strong as the people around you.
5. Do not underestimate the expertise you’re building in your current role. Find ways to turn your expertise into consulting engagements and start building clients on the side.
6. You know what’s as cool as entrepreneurship? Intrapreneurship. According to Wikipedia, Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization. Rovina and Kim from Amazon captured this in their talk of how they built Amazon’s Textures and Hues by obsessing about the customer and applying Amazon’s leadership principles along the way. If you’re looking to embody the intrapreneurial spirit, they suggest you consider these thought starters to help you come up with ideas:
What is a customer experience that you repeat often?
Where are the pain points in the process?
Try to list ideas to eliminate these challenge
One of those ideas could turn into a thriving business
7. The founder of CodePath.org, Michael Ellison, implored the audience to work with people who are so good they intimidate you. And if an experience intimidates you, that’s a good thing.
8. Persistence is key to enhancing your ability to have more luck..
9. Paris Benson, founder of Wizely Financial, stressed the importance of having a board of directors. As a founder, the board is meant to hold you accountable not to be your friend. When selecting your board, strive to get diversity in thought which should include a mix of technical, operational, and financial experience.
10. It’s good idea to have a board member who is not an investor so they can provide an un-biased view.
11. Entrepreneurs should not trade equity for a short-term gain. Long term thinking is key to building lasting value.
12. It was encouraging to see the number of companies that attended AfroTech with the goal of recruiting. According to Sacha Thompson, Inclusion Marketing Lead at AWS, companies should go where diverse talents are. If you don’t have the pipeline, build the pipeline.
13. Many of the speakers had a common theme of defining what success means to you and not what the world says. Success shouldn’t come at the expense of your health or personal relationships.
14. Learn how to delegate so you don’t feel burnt out.
15. If you ever find yourself being the only one that looks like you in a professional setting, it’s your responsibility to do something about it. For example, you could find someone to mentor or refer someone to your company.
16. Hip hop is good for business. According to one of the attendees I spoke to, it was refreshing to hear a Drake song next to a Microsoft recruiting booth, and it wasn’t weird to dance up to the booth with your resume.
See you next year at AfroTech 2019 in Oakland, CA.
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, then you don’t know what you are doing.” W. Edwards Deming
Some book titles simply give away the content of the book which often impedes our motivation to read the book in its entirety. This book title is not that. Competing Against Luck: the story of innovation and customer choice was a recommendation from a colleague that I admire who spends his time working with some of the most innovative startups in Silicon Valley. I asked him to recommend a book to me so I could learn how startups innovate, and this was one of his recommendations. I used to think innovations were mostly by luck, but after reading this book, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that many of the best innovations emerged out of a process.
The author, Clayton Christensen, introduces the concept of Jobs to be done (JTBD) theory. The JTBD theory explains that “we all have jobs we need to do that arise in our day-to-day lives and when we do, we hire products or services to get these jobs done.” As an innovator or company, “you have to understand the job the customer is trying to do in a specific circumstance.” The author goes on to define a “job” as the “progress that a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance.”
I read most books through the lens of an Account Manager. My goal is to extract insights that I can apply in my daily sales motion, and share them with you. Below are my four takeaways:
Understand the job your customer is hiring you to do as a salesperson. Have you ever paused to get clarity on why your customer is hiring you as a salesperson, not your company or product, but you, the salesperson? Are they hiring you because you would ask the right questions? Are they hiring you because they want to negotiate a complicated deal with you? Are they hiring you because they have issues that only you can address? Are they hiring you because they know you would introduce them to someone else in your company? Maybe they are hiring you for all of the above or maybe they have no choice since they are in your territory. 🙂 This book has changed my perspective on why customers hire me as a salesperson. The more clarity I have, the more I can help the customer make progress towards completing the job. If there is a misalignment in the requirements of the job, it would most likely be a frustrating experience for me and the customer.
Understand what “progress” means for your customer, from their perspective. This point is closely related to the one above. If a job is progress that a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance, gaining agreement on what progress means for you and your customer would only ensure a successful outcome. According to the author, “you’re selling progress, not products.”
Competing against inertia is often your biggest competitor. It may be easy to think the incumbent or a disruptive new provider is your competitor, which may be the case. However, what if your true competitor was “doing nothing?” How would that change your approach? In the book, Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings, was asked about one of his competitors. His response was brilliant. He said “we compete with everything you do to relax. We compete with video games. We compete with drinking a bottle of wine. That’s a particularly tough one! We compete with other video networks. Playing board games.” As a salesperson, it’s important to have clarity on whom you’re truly competing against and the job to be done. One parallel a salesperson can draw from companies that successfully enter markets that seem closed or commoditized is that “they do it by aligning with an important job that none of the established players has prioritized.” The best salespeople I’ve had the opportunity to learn from usually focus their energy on educating decision makers on important jobs that they didn’t know were possible and aligned their solution as an accelerator for progress.
Measure the metrics that are important to your customer. The author reminds us that what gets measured, gets done. He went on to share the example of how Amazon measures when orders are delivered, not when they are shipped. It makes sense because when I order anything online, I don’t care when it’s shipped, all I care about is when it is delivered. As a salesperson, focus on the metrics that are a priority for your customer. If you find ways to optimize these metrics for your customer, the result should positively impact the metrics you care about such as revenue, profitability and customer lifetime value.
If you have additional insights that resonated with you, please share them with me on twitter @ozisco or email ozisco @ gmail.com
“Learning is repetition”. These are the words from the Head of Sales of a $6 billion software company. This was his answer after I asked why he reads so many business books. He went on to explain that although these books may tackle similar themes, he still enjoys reading them because by repeatedly exposing himself to the different, and sometimes, conflicting perspectives of the authors, he can gain a deeper understanding of the concepts in the books. Inspired by the words of this sales leader, I’m introducing a new series where I plan to share three actionable insights from a book I’m reading every month.
To kick things off, my book for October 2018 is “How to become a Rainmaker: The rules for getting and keeping customers and clients” by Jeffrey J. Fox. The publisher describes the book as “a winning handbook filled with short, pithy advice that will raise some eyebrows and, no doubt, some income levels as readers follow the suggestions to make it rain.” The book is only 165 pages long which means you could read it in about four hours if you average 1½ minutes per page or in less than 2 hours if you listen to it at 2X speed on Audible.
This book has a lot of insights, and below are three that resonated with me the most:
1. Find a “point system” that works for you: In Chapter XXXVII, the author encourages salespeople to use a point system every day. He breaks down the point system into four parts:
1 point for getting a lead, a referral, an introduction to a decision maker
2 points for getting an appointment to meet the decision maker
3 points for meeting the decision maker face-to-face
4 points for getting a commitment to a close or an action that leads to a close
The goal is to get 4 points every day in any combination. If you do this consistently, you will not run out of prospects, you will have a full pipeline, and you will always be making rain. I like the practicality of this because it doesn’t take much effort to get started doing it and seeing the results. Also, don’t wait till the last day of the week to try to get 20 points.
I added my variation to the point system by color coding my calendar:
Green is meeting with clients and decision makers
Orange is internal meeting
Purple is internal training
Light purple is personal development time
My goal is to have more green in my calendar every week. If I’m spending more time with clients, it means I’m helping them solve their challenges, which means I’m making it rain, which means my pasture is going to be very green. Whether you are in sales or not, define what “green” looks like to you and do more of it every week.
2. Welcome customer objections: In Chapter XV, the author explains that “rainmakers turn customer objections into customer objectives.” The play on words is brilliant. Let’s see how the dictionary defines objections and objectives.
Objection: an expression or feeling of disapproval or opposition; a reason for disagreeing.
Objective: a thing aimed at or sought; a goal.
When you examine both definitions closely, you realize a subtle relationship. For you to achieve any goal, you are bound to face opposition. Understanding this relationship as a salesperson should get you excited to hear your customer objections. These objections mean that they are trying to achieve a goal and they need your help to remove the oppositions in their way. One question the author encourages us to ask if a sale is not made is “what else may be prohibiting us from moving ahead?” If you’re a salesperson asking for a deal, this question works. If you’re an entrepreneur asking for funding, this question works. If you’re the president of a non-profit asking for a significant donation, this question also works. Give it a try this week.
3. Dress to impress for success: In Chapter XLV, the author advises us to “be the best-dressed person you will meet today.” It’s a simple but powerful concept. According to the author, “Rainmakers do not dress down, nor do they necessarily dress up. They dress better than the customer they will meet that day.” In Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach where T-Shirts, shorts, and sandals are the norm for Founders and Technologists, it’s easy to dress to impress without much effort. One way I’ve been able to differentiate my style is to wear a fitted blazer with matching pocket square over my customer’s branded T-Shirts, which my customers love because it makes it seem like I am part of their team, which I am. Even in intense negotiating situations, having their T-Shirt on makes it look like I’m on their side, which I am. I also like to remind my customers that I technically work for them, but my employer’s name appears on my paycheck. 🙂
One experience that reaffirmed that wearing my customer’s T-shirt to meet with them is the right thing to do was an encounter I had at the airport in San Francisco on my way to negotiate a deal. A stranger approached me and asked if I worked at the company on my T-shirt. I said technically Yes, and we had a good laugh. He then shared some feedback with me about my customer’s product. I jotted down the feedback and shared them with my customer when I met with them. The Executive in the meeting was appreciative of this feedback, and it helped me gain trust and respect with the rest of her leadership team. Oh yea, the Executive signed the deal. 😉
I highly recommend this book as it may remind you of concepts you may have forgotten and introduce you to other concepts that may improve your sales motion…and help you become a rainmaker.
It’s impossible to ignore the way technology is shaping how and what we do every given second. You are most likely reading this article on your phone or computer screen, or listening to the audio version thanks to Amazon Polly and cloud computing. In fact, according to a CNN report in August 2018, technology helped America’s economy way more than we thought because the Bureau of Economic Analysis revamped its gross domestic product calculations. The agency incorporated new information about cloud computing, cell phones, and other rapidly evolving technologies. As technology continues to reshape our future as we know it, equal access to this change agent remains unmet for billions of people. This is where Zakiya Harris, and the team at Hack The Hood hope to make an impact. Zakiya is the co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Hack The Hood, a non-profit that introduces low-income youth of color to careers in technology by hiring and training them to build websites for real small businesses in their communities. Hack The Hood wants to equip graduates of their Bootcamp with the skills and resources to find work and earn an income that enables them to live in the community where they grew up. In 2017, they saw a 92% completion rate of their Bootcamp attended by over 330 youth that built over 250 small business websites.
Zakiya is a seasoned leader and is a part of nationally recognized projects such as Impact Hub Oakland, Grind for the Green, and is a Fellow of Green for All and Bold Food. She is also a singer and author. #BlackGirlMagic #BlackExcellence
1. What is your morning routine and how has it contributed to your development as a leader?
My mornings are the most sacred part of my day. I genuinely believe that a strong start leads to a strong day. My morning begins with meditation, working out and setting intentions for the day. I also try to squeeze in a healthy breakfast and a lot of water. My practice has contributed to my development as a leader because, like most people, my day involves giving a lot of energy to others in the form of speaking, emailing, brainstorming, etc.. To do this my cup has to be full. My morning routine is how I fill my cup so that I can support others.
2. What compelled you to start/join Hack The Hood and what has surprised you the most about your journey thus far?
I was compelled to join Hack the Hood because I wanted to give Oakland youth and youth across the Bay Area the opportunity to access the tools that were shaping their future. What has surprised me most about my journey thus far is how quick this project took off. As a co-founder, I don’t think any of us realized how large the void was in the market. The reality is that mainstream education is failing everyone, especially underserved communities. More organizations and companies like Hack the Hood are going to step in to fill this gap to ensure that all young people are on track to obtain the 21st-century skills needed to thrive in the current economy.
3. Why is the cause you are pursuing or problem you are solving the most important for this generation? How would future generations benefit if it’s successful? What is at risk if you do not succeed?
If we as a country and a planet don’t create a world where all young people have access to the tools to navigate their future, we all fail. Technology is a critical component in the future of work. No matter what job/career young people today aspire to, technology will be at the center of it. Everyone is an expert in something and technology gives you the opportunity to use your expertise and combine it with technology to solve problems. For example, foster care students are going to feel more empowered to create technology solutions for the foster care industry, African Americans are going to feel more empowered to develop technology solutions to address police brutality, etc. If we don’t give everyone the tools, we risk not solving significant problems in the world. We risk not having a planet for future generations to live in.
4. Reflect on all of the key milestones/proudest moments you’ve had so far in building Hack The Hood to what it is today. Which of these milestones/proudest moments would you say is the most pivotal and why?
Our biggest milestone hands down was winning the 2014 Google Impact Challenge. After only one summer and 19 students, we beat out hundreds of other organizations and were awarded $500,000 from Google. That single act accelerated our work, allowed us to scale in 7 cities and build a community of local small businesses, tech companies, community members and youth. We are still benefiting from the social cache and ripple effect of that award.
5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continues to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?
A mantra that I live by is a quote from Nelson Mandela who once said: “It only seems impossible until its done.” That is something that I live by. It reminds me that regardless of appearances, if you have a dream, you have to just go for it. His life like so many others was a true testament to that fact. Whenever I am facing a challenge personal or otherwise, I turn to that quote to remind me that anything is possible.
Listen to the audio version of this article brought to you by my accent 🙂 😉
The Status Quo: A few weeks ago, I came across an article written by Dr. Travis Bradberry, President of TalentSmart, on what successful and happy people focus on. I recommend you take a few minutes to read it. One behavior stood out for me. Dr. Bradberry’s research found that “successful and happy people live outside the box. They haven’t arrived at where they are by thinking in the same way as everyone else. While others stay in their comfort-zone prisons and invest all their energy in reinforcing their existing beliefs, successful people are out challenging the status quo and exposing themselves to new ideas.”
The Problem: As a sales professional, my thought process naturally transitioned to how I could apply this concept to improve my sales motion. After reflecting on the behavior Dr. Bradberry described, it was clear certain comfortable assumptions were preventing me from experiencing new ideas for myself and my clients. I had fallen victim to making excuses on behalf of prospects as to why they wouldn’t respond to my email, phone call, or voicemail, let alone, buy from me. Their silence had to be validation that they weren’t interested. And that was the problem. It was me telling myself this, not the prospect.
The Idea: The concept of challenging the status quo and exposing oneself to new ideas can be scary. You could be criticized, rejected, or ridiculed. I had gotten comfortable hiding behind emails, phone calls, and voicemails. It was easy to show management and anyone that cared how many emails I had sent, phone calls I had made, and voicemails I had left. What I couldn’t show were results. A good measure of a decent sales professional is his or her ability to deliver results, not excuses. I needed a new approach. Inspired by Dr. Bradberry’s article, I was compelled to escape out of my comfort-zone prison. The concept of living outside the box propelled me to come up with the idea of visiting my prospect, unannounced, to get some face time. I was confident in the value I could deliver. The reality is, having an idea is like the regular season, everyone has a good idea, so all teams are in; executing on the idea is like the playoffs, the stakes are much higher, so not all teams can make it. I had to make the playoffs and go all the way.
The Visit: The day came to visit the client. It was a rocky start as I missed the entrance to the parking garage and had to park in the next building. I thought about reparking but decided not to, instead, I got excited about getting a few extra steps counted towards my steps goal. I was too focused on the bigger goal of getting face time with the CTO. So I marched towards the elevator as “what if” questions and thoughts raced through my mind. What if he is not there? What if he refuses to see me? What if he is genuinely not interested? What if I am rejected and publicly humiliated? I marched on, believing my mission, and welcoming the outcome that lay ahead. If nothing else, it would make a good story.
The Result: As fate would have it, the CEO of the company was exiting the elevator seconds after I walked into the building. I immediately recognized him from the countless hours I had spent studying his profile and the profile of his leadership team. Missing the parking lot started to seem like a blessing. I called out to the CEO with enthusiasm by his first name as if we had known each other for years. He paused, perplexed, and turned towards me. I walked up to him and introduced myself and flawlessly delivered the elevator pitch I had been practicing for weeks. Actually, it wasn’t 100% flawless, I was nervous, and my accent may have caused some words to sound way too melodious, but that didn’t bother me, my message got across. The CEO was appreciative of how much I knew about his company and was intrigued by my ideas of how to help him scale. We chatted for a few more minutes, and then I asked if he could introduce me to the CTO. He said Yes, got out his phone, called the CTO, and asked him to come down to meet me. Boom! When the CTO arrived, the CEO made the introduction and moved to his next appointment. The CTO apologized to me for not responding to my messages, thanked me for stopping by, and informed me they were interested in doing business with me. That day was the start of a great partnership. #Results
The Result…again: I shared this story with one of my mentees who was struggling to make some progress with one of her clients. I encouraged her to step outside of her comfort zone and attempt a new approach. She decided to pay the CEO and CTO a visit, unannounced. Although the CEO and CTO were not in the office the day she visited, she left her business card with the receptionist. A few days later, the CTO emailed her and asked her for a proper meeting. She ended up closing a major deal with the customer. #Results #Again
The Conclusion: Be bold. Pursue new ideas. And remember, actions precede results.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” Henry Ford
Salespeople enjoy reliving their victories play by play; in fact, it’s hard to contain their enthusiasm when they get going. However, when talking about a lost deal, the story tends to get abbreviated. I’ve been guilty of this! 😉
Losing is tough, and one could lose twice if no time is spent learning how and why it happened. As such, it’s important to be deliberate about your next moves following a lost deal. Here are three common actions I’ve observed successful salespeople take after losing a deal:
1. They Reflect: Taking a few minutes to reflect and process the events that led up to the loss allows them to draw insights while the event is fresh in their minds. The process of reflection is two-fold:
Self-reflection: The key is to not sulk in the loss. Rather, with self-compassion as guard rails, they jot down their mistakes, trace every step, and commit to refining their approach the next time. This simple act of self-reflection can be the difference between winning sporadically versus winning consistently. An example of the power of self-reflection occurred with a top salesperson I interviewed. After losing a deal she worked hard to win, she felt defeated and decided to do some self-reflection. After reflecting, she realized she didn’t spend as much time as she should have on enabling a key influencer who at the last-minute swayed the decision in favor of her competitor. Following this realization, she committed to creating stakeholder maps to ensure she invested adequate time with all the key decision makers and influencers.
Team reflection: According to research by Alison Reynolds and David Lewis published on HBR, the best problem-solving teams treat mistakes with curiosity and share responsibility for the outcomes. The idea is to be solution-oriented in the reflection instead of pointing fingers. Successful salespeople realize that one should never lose a deal alone. And if a loss does occur, the team collectively comes up with ideas to improve and hold each other accountable.
2. They Research: Successful salespeople connect with customers to understand their decision to go with an alternative solution. These top salespeople are diplomatic in their request and make it a point to understand the perspectives of all the key stakeholders involved in the decision. This process is difficult, but it’s also rewarding, especially when the customer is candid with their feedback. If it’s a product, service, or pricing issue, the salesperson can route the feedback directly to the team responsible which could be the catalyst for change within their organization. Research is especially valuable in technology sales because if a customer decides not to select your solution because of a missing critical feature, the salesperson can work with the product team to influence the product roadmap which could help win back the deal.
“Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers (and salespeople) ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” – Zig Ziglar
3. They Re-engage: Change is the only constant in business, and if the customer chooses a solution to solve a problem they have today, the successful salesperson anticipates problems the customer could face tomorrow. They re-engage the customer with new business models, industry insights, case studies, and innovative ideas to improve the customer’s business. They add value in their follow-up and follow-through, which often leads to them winning back the business. A good example of this was a Sales Leader who always followed up at least once a month to ask how things were going with the vendor the customer selected. He asked questions such as: are you achieving the goals you intended, is the vendor delivering on what they promised, are you achieving the right business results, is your team happy with the decision, and where / what are the gaps in the current solution. This Sales Leader has won back multiple deals by being persistent and consistent in delivering value even after losing the initial deal. He encourages salespeople not to assume everything is okay with the customer; instead, focus on anticipating challenges and positioning your solution to solve those challenges.
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
When next you lose a deal, don’t fret, just remember the three R’s: Reflect, Research, and Re-engage!
Selling technology to technology startups is an adventure. Imagine this; you’re selling cutting-edge technology to technologists trying to disrupt the cutting-edge technology you’re selling them. Wow. I find this exciting because there’s always an opportunity to learn something new and discover a different or more strategic way of solving complex problems. So how exactly should you approach selling to these technology startups?
One thing I discovered about selling to startups is they move fast, so you have to move faster. As a salesperson, you need to define what “faster” means to you and your organization. If you feel your organization or team isn’t moving fast enough, then you need to be the catalyst that disrupts the inertia by exemplifying speed and results. If the internal process is taking too long, find new ways for it to be streamlined and share it with the different stakeholders within your organization. If your extended team has a “can’t do” attitude, don’t stop until you find someone with a “can do” attitude willing to partner with you to accelerate success for your customer.
If the only thing constant in business is change, the only thing not constant is time. Time keeps moving whether you’re standing, walking, jogging, or sprinting. When next you’re selling technology to a technology startup, make sure you’re sprinting even if they may be walking or jogging. And if they’re sprinting, get some lighter shoes and sprint faster!
Happy Selling! I’d leave you with these parting words…
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” – Christopher McDougall
I had coffee with the CEO/Co-founder of a Silicon Valley based tech startup that has raised well over $50M and asked him:
“What needs to happen before you take a meeting with a salesperson for the first time?”
He said he looks for three things:
1. The salesperson was referred to me by someone I know and trust
2. The salesperson intends to share something new and innovative that could help me accelerate my roadmap
3. The salesperson needs me more than I need them
I was struck by #3, so I probed further.
He went on to explain that it’s always good taking a sales call when you’re not desperate for the solution/service they’re offering. He only takes meetings with salespeople representing something that is a nice to have. He prefers to have ‘must have’ conversations under his explicit control.
Someone on responded to the above post on LinkedIn with the following:
“Interesting…smells of “group think” and “yes men” mentality. Would you like feedback? If there are any sales folks feeling a bit discouraged, here are my thoughts: #1 Um no. I’ve worked directly with C-suite execs for a long long time. They’ve all been open to meeting me for the first time without a personal referral…unless I count some great EA’s who’ve booked us meetings. #3 Wut? A bit creepy. Good thing I’m a sales professional who works with buyers who need solutions, because I’m a horrible co-dependent. Here’s the rub…startups need to do a lot of selling themselves to make good on their funding…most veteran sales professionals will pass on calling a startup based on their employer count (easy to find online). Who “sells” on the first meeting anyway? 🤔 Don’t worry, I’ll wait…😴 That said, Veteran C-suite execs understand #2, because this is where a conversation/dialogue starts to establish whether a solution is worth evaluating.“
Below is my response to their comment.
Thanks for taking time to read this and reply with your thoughts. You make some very good points. I believe one should feel inspired rather than discouraged. Here’s why:
In the book “Selling to the C-Suite” by Nicholas AC Read and Stephen Bistritz, their research confirms that “a full 84% of Executives said they would usually or always grant a meeting with a salesperson who was recommended internally.”
On the other hand, “Cold calling ranked the lowest, with only 20% of participants (Executives) saying they would usually grant a meeting as a result, while 44% said they would never respond to cold calls.”
The idea is not to feel discouraged but to use research to increase your odds of getting a meeting with CEOs. Also, it’s a better experience to work smarter than harder. The #3 point is not about co-dependency; it’s about control. To your point about “who sells on the first meeting anyway?” many have, and many will continue to do so. Every interaction is a “selling” opportunity…you’re selling an idea, a service, a reason for them to take a second meeting…you’re always selling, from the first meeting to the last meeting to the next meeting… 🙂
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Send me an email (ozisco at gmail.com) or a tweet @ozisco
As I reflect on what inspired me to pursue a career in sales, I’m reminded of some timeless Igbo proverbs I heard growing up in the bustling streets of Owerri in Imo State, Nigeria (#IgboKwenu). Fascinating tales of gutsy protagonists, crafty villains, and crazy plot twists helped contextualize these proverbs. I remember my siblings and I listening as my late grandma swirled our imaginations and skillfully imparted wisdom in our minds. Thanks, grandma!
Below I share seven Igbo proverbs that have continued to be a source of inspiration through my sales journey. I’m still learning about each skill and improving my mastery every single day.
1. O Re-Ere Bụ Eze; O Zu-Azụ Bụ Eze – The seller is King; the buyer is King. This proverb reminds us that we earn mutual respect. As a salesperson, the best way to earn respect is to prioritize understanding your customer. When a client believes you understand them, they reciprocate with respect and trust. If a sale goes as it should, no party should feel disrespected or misunderstood, simple as that. Plus, we are both Kings, let’s act as Royals since we have empires to govern.
2. Ejighi Ụtụtụ Ama Njo Ahịa – You shouldn’t measure the success of a day by what happens in the morning alone. In essence, you have to wait until the end of an allotted timeline to evaluate your performance. Often, we may have a rough start but finish with a positive result because of our perseverance. As my father always says, you can’t be triumphant without trying. On the other hand, celebrating too early may result in disappointing defeats in the end. Nonetheless, in every defeat, there is an opportunity to learn. And for every victory, there is a strategy that works; enhance and repeat it.
3. Ahịa Ukwu Armagh Na Otu Onye Abiagh – A big market does not miss someone that is absent. Essentially, if you don’t show up, your competitor will. If you fail to delight your customer, your competitor is around the corner ready to charm and convince your clients to forget you. So, show up. Be present. And do your best.
4. Izu Ahịa Wu Ezhi Ihe Ma Ewere Egwu Chineke – There should be a higher purpose to whatever you do. #Enoughsaid.
5. Erefu Otu, Erema Ọzọ – You sell your products (or do things), one after the other. This proverb goes at the heart of effective time management. Research cautions us that multitasking doesn’t work. When someone tells you they can multitask, they are just deluding themselves. The key is to prioritize not multitask for effective time management. Luckily, here are 15 apps and tools from Lifehack to help.
6. Ahịa Oma Na-Ere Onwe Ya – A great product sells itself. You have a great product when your customers purchase without any complicated sales pitch, and then proceed to promote your goods or services without you asking. Ultimately, these clients become some of your top salespeople and rarely ask for a raise or more commission. 🙂 The reality is not many want to be sold to, but everyone loves to buy.
7. Onye Nwere Mmadụ Ka Onye Nwere Ego – A person with a robust network of people is stronger than an individual with only money. This proverb encourages us to focus on building and fostering the right relationships. As a salesperson, a robust network leads to more customers, more referrals, more luck, more happiness, more mentors, and more attractive job opportunities. Plus, money can be finite, while healthy relationships last a lifetime. Here are five ways to start building valuable relationships now.
Bonus: Akwukwo juru n’ohia, ma a baa a choba okazi – There are various leaves in the bush, but people go in to look for okazi leaves. Okazi leaf, botanically known as Gnetum Africanum, can be used in two ways – edible consumption and medicinal purposes. It is considered a wild vegetable and available all year round, which means it’s also good source of income for rural farmers. As you can see, the leaf is multi-purpose and valuable to whoever is in possession of it, from the farmer, to the local doctor, to the person (me) enjoying a delicious plate of Okazi soup. In the context of selling, when a customer has a challenge or problem they are trying to solve, they are often overwhelmed by the various choices (or leaves) in the market. The most successful salespeople partner with their customers to sift through the noise (other leaves) and help them understand how their solution (okazi leaf) is differentiated and best aligned to surpass the customer’s most critical objectives and goals.
Thanks for reading. I hope one of the above proverbs serve as a boost or refresher to your sales acumen.
Happy Selling!
A very special thanks to my father, Chief Dan Obiyo, for his contribution to this article.
I’m excited to launch the “Find Insights Via Engaging™ (F.I.V.E) Questions with an Executive” series. This will complement the F.I.V.E Questions with an Entrepreneur series. Same as the original series, it will feature answers to five unique questions posed to an Executive. Their answers will enable every reader to learn how they advanced in their career, discover how they honed their unfair advantage, and gain from any piece of actionable advice that has continued to deliver dividends. It will be fun, insightful, and inspiring. The goal is that you are able to take away an actionable insight that you can apply to your career, business, or venture and get immediate results.
John Aisien, Photo credit: BlueCedar.com
To launch this new series, I’m excited to introduce you to John Aisien. John is an experienced and result-oriented technology executive, with a track record of leading go-to-market functions or entities within high-growth software businesses. I connected with John a few years ago while I was at Oracle. At the time, John was a VP of Product Management for Oracle Fusion Middleware. After many successful years at Oracle, John left in 2014 to join Mocana, a venture-backed San Francisco based company with a focus on embedded systems & app security, as their President and COO. John is now the CEO of Blue Cedar Networks, which was spun out of Mocana in March 2016.
John’s trajectory is impressive. He continues to rise despite the numerous headlines about the lack of African Americans in leadership positions at tech companies in Silicon Valley. To put this into perspective, a USA Today article in 2014 reported that leading technology companies based in Silicon Valley vastly under-employ African Americans and Hispanics. These groups make up 5% of the companies’ workforce, compared to 14% nationally. The figures are even more alarming when you consider the even smaller percentage of African Americans in leadership positions. Those that achieve this milestone are often seen as superhuman. So it wasn’t a surprise last year when we were all intrigued by the public exit of the only black Twitter engineer in a leadership position. I remember thumbing frantically through my timeline to follow the discussion. #DiversityIsGoodForBusiness
This conversation with John is designed to provide actionable insights; it’s also designed to celebrate him as he paves the way and sets a great example of the art of the possible.
1. Provide a brief overview of what you do. What are some of the most exciting aspects of your role?
I am Co-Founder & CEO of Blue Cedar Networks. We are a new company, a new legal entity, but we are running a long standing business, because Blue Cedar is a spinout from an existing venture funded company called Mocana. For two years, I was essentially running the business that eventually spun out of Mocana into Blue Cedar. I originally became aware of the Mocana opportunity through a mentor and former boss, with whom I had long-standing personal & professional ties. We had worked closely with each other in the past and we successfully built and sold an enterprise security company to Oracle, during the middle part of the last decade. What excites me about what I’m doing right now? Well, three big things. One is the opportunity to not only sell into a market but help to also create that market and then sell into it. That to me is unique and exciting. Market creators generally generate unique returns and experiences. Two, it’s an opportunity at this stage of my career to work with a group of people that I have effectively cherry picked, because we spun out of Mocana together and I hired a good number of them. This brings a tremendous amount of trust and longstanding history between us. One of them & I actually co-wrote a blog about this. The third thing that excites me about what I am doing is that for the first time in my career, I own the ultimate responsibility for generating enterprise value for a company. I’ve been in leadership roles in small and large companies for over 16 years, but this is the first time that as the leader of a company, I’m ultimately responsible for creating enterprise value for the company. So, that’s exciting, and brings with it uniquely different dimensions of responsibility, compared to my previous experiences. One specific example is the experience of running a Board of Directors, with savvy & highly experienced board members.
2. Flash back and then fast forward to the present. What has surprised you the most about advancing in your career and what advice do you have for others looking to take a similar path?
Generally, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the degree of willingness that the vast majority of people have to help. Seriously, you read stories about office political machinations and people not always having one’s best interests at heart. Conventional wisdom creates an image of a very cutthroat, unforgiving corporate world. To be clear, I’m a realist and suspect that there could be some truth in this. And it’s highly likely that I’ve been an oblivious recipient of such bad experiences. But what I have consciously experienced is that the number of times I’ve asked for help from investors (even those who are not investing in my company), from customers, from partners, even sometimes from competitors, and others, and have received that help, has been way greater than my expectations, or conventional wisdom. I would say my biggest takeaway is – ask a lot more regularly than perhaps logic will suggest, because in more cases than not, you are likely to get a positive response from your ask. In terms of advice, I’ve focused on things I know I do well and I’ve been very honest and dispassionate about things I know I don’t do so well. And I’ve optimized my execution towards the things I do well because it has allowed me to stand out in every role I’ve had. Reflecting on it all, I would say that this is the positive side of the ledger, and is perhaps something I wish I had done a bit more quickly in my career. Looking back though, I think I could have achieved this milestone that I have achieved now if I had simply asked for or created the opportunity a bit earlier. I don’t feel ten times more ready today than I was ten years ago. So my recommendation for anybody looking to tread a similar path is – when you get the sense that you’re close to being reasonably ready, you probably are. And then at that point all you have to do is ask, or create the opportunity for yourself.
3. What is your unfair advantage and what would your colleagues or clients say are the main reasons that make working with you rewarding?
I’ve actually thought about this a lot. One has to be dispassionate about answering a question like this. My unfair advantage is probably not what I would prefer it to be. I like to regard myself as a deep intellectual thinker who really understands in very great detail whatever topic or concept I’m required to understand. I still think that there is some truth in this, but others perceive me as primarily a very good communicator, both in written and in verbal form. This is the dimension across which most people would rank me higher than the mean. So it may not be how I would like to see myself, but it’s how others see me. I’ve learned to accept this over time and play towards this unfair advantage. As an example, over the course of the last three months, one of the big things we had to do to spin out and create this new business was intensively reach out, communicate with, and secure commitments from the entity’s founding investors. For this exercise, I played the role of primary communicator, but accepted that there was somebody better than me at representing the underlying concepts behind our technology. So I made sure I paired myself up with our CTO, Kevin Fox, and this combination ended up being way more powerful than me by myself, or my CTO by himself. So the takeaways are: understand your unfair advantage, accept this unfair advantage, and complement yourself with others who have other unfair advantages, to enable you to achieve your objectives.
4. Reflect on all of the key sacrifices and trade-offs you’ve had to make to get to where you are today. Which of these would you say was the most pivotal and why?
There are actually many that as I reflect fall under this category but if I had to select one, I would say it’s the number of times I’ve physically moved in my life, and specifically, in my career. Since 1991, I’ve moved 11 times. Nine of these times with my wife. I moved from the UK to Nigeria as a kid, and then back to the UK, and so on. Don’t worry, I don’t plan to go through all 11 moves in detail! I would say this, each of these moves have been increasingly difficult, particularly as one has gotten older and as one’s family has expanded in size and scope. The last move in particular from the UK to Silicon Valley five years ago obviously ended up being pivotal. If you want to achieve your potential as a baseball player, you want to play in the major leagues. If you want to achieve your potential as a chess player, you want to become a grandmaster. And ultimately for me, having a big objective and aspiration to become a leading technology executive, the best place to flex these muscles and achieve the art of the possible is in the Bay Area, here in Silicon Valley. So the number of times I’ve moved has been a burden on my personal life, but without these moves, it would have been difficult to achieve all that I have to this day. I’m in awe of the depth of family support I’ve enjoyed, and continue to enjoy.
5. What is the best piece of actionable advice that you’ve received that continues to be source of inspiration and further development?
It’s really difficult to select one so I’m going to cheat a bit and maybe select a couple.
A partner of mine at Blue Cedar told me this:
“Every day, you have to feed all three dimensions – physical, intellectual, and spiritual, of yourself as a human being.”
This may sound a bit metaphysical, but I practice this daily and it really works. Every day, you have to feed your physical dimension through some form of exercise. You also have to feed your intellectual dimension by acquiring some net new knowledge that you otherwise didn’t have, or enhance existing knowledge that you did have. Lastly, you have to feed your spiritual dimension. And this doesn’t mean some form of organized religion. It may not even mean religion. So every day I look back on what I’ve done and use these three axes as a compass to judge whether I’m living a balanced life and I can categorically say for me at least, it works. I always find some deficiency across one of these axes, daily, and this daily calendar entry serves as a compass to help me get conscious about the deficiency, and correct it before I go to bed.
Another actionable piece of advice is from my father, a man full of African wisdom. I come from Benin, Edo State (Benin City is capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria). The Benin people have this strong ethos towards the nurturing and establishment of self-confidence. And I’ve begun to practice this a lot more in my life. I’ve been a recipient of this gift from my parents. And now I’m beginning to impart this to my kids, as I’m increasingly aware of its impact on my life. I would say in summary, of all the innate attributes that one can have, I believe one of the most valuable long term is self-confidence. If you’re aware of this and you proactively nurture your self-confidence to maximize its benefits, while ensuring that it doesn’t spill over into conceit or unnecessary bravado, I think you maximize your chances of achieving the most in your personal and professional life.
“A focus on self-confidence, particularly in a crazy world where values evolve very quickly, is a very good way to maximize one’s own inherent value and the value of those around you that you love.”
John Aisien Biography
John graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the University of Benin, Nigeria. He is a chartered member of the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Early in his professional career, he performed a wide range of management training, strategy and IT consulting roles across numerous firms in the UK, including British Aerospace, Anglia Trains, Gemini Consulting and others. He then went on to earn his MBA, with a focus on Finance and Entrepreneurship, from Stern School of Business at New York University. Post Business School, he joined Thor Technologies, which ultimately became a leading enterprise identity and security management software company. At Thor, he ran marketing, product management, business development and strategic partnerships. He led Thor’s re-branding and market positioning efforts. Thor was acquired by Oracle in 2005. After 8 years at Oracle, John joined Mocana, eventually rising to the role of President and COO. He is now the Co-Founder & CEO of Blue Cedar Networks, which spun out from Mocana in March this year.
When John is not leading board meetings and running business operations for Blue Cedar, he is reading for pleasure, or leading the offense for his coed, over 40s soccer team. He is married with two children.
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When was the last time you basked in inspiration? For me, it was last week at the AfroTech conference in San Francisco, CA organized by the talented folks at Blavity. Being in a room filled with black executives, techies, creatives, movers, shakers, leaders, and learners felt right. I couldn’t have envisioned a better return on my time. I attended a few sessions in between networking and recruiting for Amazon. Below are 16 lessons I captured:
That is something that I live by. It reminds me that regardless of appearances, if you have a dream, you have to just go for it. His life like so many others was a true testament to that fact. Whenever I am facing a challenge personal or otherwise, I turn to that quote to remind me that anything is possible.
