YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF ALLUVIANCE!
Let's get tactical about mastering the craft of sales.
This newsletter goes deep into what it means to be a true Sales Professional and the clear distinction from a Sales Rep.
(Quick note: we've spent a bunch of time in the last few newsletters on the other half of the equation. If you want to get caught up on the inner game work, you can view all of our old newsletter editions here.)
The Sales Professional is seen as a leader for clients, prospects, peers, and cross functional teams needed to drive deals home. They also support mentees, new hires, and even leaders of their organization. And most importantly, a Sales Professional leads themselves FIRST.
The distinction between professional and rep goes well beyond leadership though. It includes:
Expertise:
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Sales Rep: Expert on their product
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Sales Professional: Expert on their industry
Flow of a demo:
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Sales Rep: Talks majority of time
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Sales Professional: Creates a powerful conversation that includes the prospect and themselves as an expert
Intention with Discovery:
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Sales Rep: Discovery to figure out how to pitch the product
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Sales Professional: Discovery to understand key problems / initiatives
Competition:
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Sales Rep: Views the competition as a threat
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Sales Professional: Helps the prospect create the lens with which to evaluate the competitive landscape
Relationships:
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Sales Rep: A means to an end – help close more deals
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Sales Professional: You're an advisor and partner to the prospect's problems
Response to a "No":
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Sales Rep: Either take it personally, see it as rejection, or just plow through it to try to get to a yes
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Sale Professional: Uses it as feedback and opportunity to learn more either to help turn around this deal or to help in the future
The inner game:
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Sales Rep: that's for losers and people who are weak
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Sales Professional: knows that the inner game just is as important as mastering the craft of sales
And so we arrive at the definition of a Sales Professional:
Sales Professional = a master of connection and leadership who delivers results at the highest level through their commitment to their own personal and professional development
A Sales Professional transcends the limiting beliefs and mindsets of the sales rep while also including the best parts of it. As we help pave the way for the future of sales, we strive to embody more of what it means to be a true Sales Professional in all that we do.
1. The Rising Leader Podcast:
[
](https://www.alluviance.co/post/leading-with-joy-with-cassie-pless)
Leading
with Joy with Cassie Pless Cassie Pless,
Alex Kremer