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The Lost Fundamentals of Sales in the Tech Industry
Delve into this episode's shownotes for
expert insights, actionable strategies,
and game-changing inspiration.
10 Episode Takeaways
- Sales in the tech and SAS space have become easier over the past 10 years due to over-engineering the sales process and relying on technology.
- The focus on growth and top-line revenue growth has led to skipping fundamental steps in sales.
- The ease of sales in recent years has created a sense of laziness and a false sense of success for new sales professionals.
- The reliance on technology and lack of fundamental skills has made sales reps vulnerable to being replaced by robots.
- The current generation of sales professionals lacks the experience of learning from failures and tough experiences.
- The fear of giving negative feedback and the inability to accept feedback has hindered the development of sales professionals.
- The virtual world has eliminated the opportunity for sales reps to learn from each other through osmosis.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has further disrupted the sales world by limiting in-person interactions and learning opportunities.
- The lack of direct feedback and fear of negative feedback has created a culture of complacency and avoidance of accountability.
- The current trend of using mental health and other excuses as a way to avoid hard work and accountability is diminishing the importance of genuine mental health issues.
Episode Recap
John shares his insights on how the sales industry has lost some of its fundamentals, particularly in the tech and SAS space. He discusses how the over-reliance on technology, blasting out template emails, and skipping important steps in the sales process has created a sense of laziness and a false sense of success among sales professionals. John also highlights the lack of feedback and the fear of giving constructive criticism, which has hindered the development of essential skills in the new generation of sales reps. The episode explores the impact of AI and the challenges faced in the virtual sales world, as well as the need to bring back the fundamentals and embrace hard work and genuine feedback.
Jump to Talking Points
- [00:38] Discussion on how the sales world has lost some of the fundamentals.
- [01:20] Over-engineering the sales process and relying too much on technology.
- [02:38] The laziness and lack of fundamentals in sales due to the focus on growth and revenue.
- [03:48] The negative impact of treating sales reps like robots and the potential replacement by AI.
- [04:02] The additional challenges brought by COVID and the shift to virtual sales.
- [05:52] The importance of learning from losses and tough experiences in sales.
- [06:23] The fear of giving negative feedback and the lack of acceptance from reps.
- [08:10] The impact of HR concerns and the avoidance of giving direct feedback.
- [09:30] The misuse of bro culture and the diminishing of real mental health issues.
- [11:31] Disagreement with Simon Sinek's perspective on work hard, play hard mentality.
Guest Bio (Who is John Barrows?)
John Barrows is a highly accomplished sales professional with 25 years of experience. He has worked with major companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Google. Throughout his career, he has witnessed the sales industry losing sight of the fundamentals due to over-reliance on technology and a lack of focus on the basics. In this podcast episode, Barrows emphasizes the importance of hard work and smart strategies for success in sales. He believes that the introduction of AI and the robotization of sales reps have further contributed to the decline of sales skills. Barrows also draws a parallel between this issue and the "trophy generation" mentality, highlighting the need for feedback and continuous growth. Overall, Barros's ethos/philosophy revolves around the importance of maintaining a strong foundation in sales, working hard, and adapting to the changing sales environment.
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