In this episode of the DevReady Podcast, Andrew and Anthony talk with Rashid Kotwal, a sales coach and mentor, about how companies can optimize their teams for proficiency and profitability. Through his consulting firm, Revealed Resources, Rashid is sharing lessons gleaned over 30 years. He has over his career executed complex deals, bringing to bear expertise in both tech engineering and identifying key patterns of human behaviour.
“It always comes down to, people will buy when they’re ready to buy; not when you’re ready to sell.” – Rashid Kotwal
While technologists love to sell technology, Rashid explains that it’s “a huge mistake” to shift the focus away from what is ultimately the heart of solution selling: Making the business case. Sales cycles can be short or long, but in all cases, it’s important to identify the right decision-makers, articulate their pain points and propose a strategic response. And, of course, the fourth leg of the stool is always buy-in up and down the ranks. Successful implementations require effective communication and a clear understanding among all stakeholders that what you’re selling will ultimately make their lives easier and better. Says Rashid: “It’s not about winning the deal. It’s actually very often about removing barriers to the deal.”
Rashid explains that sales success is about more than persistence and timing. It’s also about putting the right people in the right roles and getting clear about your audience (i.e. “who’s who in the zoo”). Sales and marketing, he says, are two sides of the same coin. Reaching a wide audience of prospects with compelling marketing materials sets the stage for closing deals. Even if you don’t close a sale today or tomorrow, thoughtful and consistent messaging will bring your product or service to mind when the time is right and the client’s need is there.
“Most people don’t realize how many touches it takes,” said Rashid, who brings to this episode a keen understanding of how to make tech sales a win-win-win. Framed correctly, your client recognizes the value proposition, their organization realizes a benefit and the sales team brings home both the deal and a new relationship to be cultivated in sales cycles to come.
Enjoy this fascinating conversation about all things sales. Rashid Kotwal provides a template, explaining what it takes to set the stage for your company’s long-term growth and bottom-line numbers that will keep improving … year over year.
Topics Covered:
● The importance of buy-in.
● The art of identifying opportunities and key players to accelerate sales cycles.
● Marketing and sales: Two sides of the same coin.
● Are salespeople born not made?
● The 3 pillars to growth
● Go to strategies for engaging stakeholders, locating pain points and creating a win-win-win scenario that closes sales.
