Selling the Cloud

Mark Petruzzi

• Publisher: M4 Advisory, LLC
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781087942575
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business generale
• Index: Business

Mark Petruzzi, an innovator in enterprise and cloud software product and services sales, channel/alliances strategy, and M&A deal advisory, and Paul Melchiorre, a vanguard leader in enterprise software product sales, pioneered the innovative strategies that have made enterprise-level cloud software sales a holy grail of B2B selling. In Selling the Cloud, the pair share the key methods they developed, refined, and applied for the past twenty-five years to become enterprise cloud software sales leaders. These concepts are designed for enterprise cloud software sales leaders and reps, but they are a solid reference for anyone involved in any type of B2B sales.

Mark and Paul both came from modest means, attended college as first-generation college graduates, and went on to forge unique paths in software sales leadership. Over 25 years later, the two have been on every side of enterprise software sales and have learned the fundamental principles that set top performers apart. In Selling the Cloud, Mark and Paul share practical lessons and key characteristics needed to succeed in the sales climate of tomorrow: passion, velocity, grit, empathy, authenticity, creativity, resilience, trust, strategic thinking, and technology leverage.

Throughout the book you will hear not only from Mark and Paul, but also from well-known titans of software sales from companies like Salesforce, Oracle, Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Zoom, SAP, and DocuSign. The book brims with strategies individuals and organizations can apply to boost sales performance, help customers succeed, and grow careers and businesses. The fusion of enterprise software service sales, product sales, and executive leadership expertise in this book delivers a unique distillation of proven strategies to thrive in not only software sales but in sales at large. #1 Amazon New Release in Sales and Sales Management.

#1

PASSION & MINDSET

DETERMINATION AND DRIVE WILL SET YOU APART

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.”

– Simon Sinek

Most people do not grow up dreaming that they will one day work in sales. In fact, “sales” is a deterrent word for many. People shy away from the career path because they correlate it with smarmy used car salesmen, impersonal spam emails, and unsolicited phone calls. But the sales stereotypes of yesterday are evolving. Rather than being associated with disingenuous tactics, sales is increasingly associated with drive, determination, and high emotional intelligence levels. Success in sales requires a certain level of natural inclination, resilience, and—perhaps most importantly—passion.

Throughout this book, you will hear stories from Mark and Paul’s seasoned experience in sales and business. The lessons in these stories clearly impart the importance of passion and emotional intelligence in sales. Not only that, you will hear lessons from colleagues and friends they grew up with in cloud software sales. Those friends just happen to be some of the most successful and respected technology leaders on the planet, from companies like Salesforce, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Zoom, SAP, and DocuSign. A common thread you will see among them is their focus on doing what is right for the people they serve and maintaining the passion to continue innovating along the way.

The powerful thing about passion is that it is contagious. Our customers can sense when we are not genuinely excited about what we are selling. If you want your prospects to be enthusiastic about what you offer, you need to authentically believe in the solution you provide. Otherwise, your customers will see right through you. The modern customer is savvy. They have more information at their fingertips than ever before. They do not need a list of bullet points telling them why your solution is better; they need an advisor dedicated to helping them fit the solution to their needs. This requires more nuance and passion on our part as salespeople.

The future demands salespeople who are resilient, passionate, and genuinely invested in serving their customers. The enterprise software sales organizations that will thrive in the future will not be bare-minimum organizations. They will be those who develop and nurture a genuine passion for serving their customers and offering an excellent solution—such as the organizations our sales titans, featured throughout this book, lead.

So, how do you develop, embrace, and nurture a passion for sales?

KEEP THE SPARK ALIVE

Cloud software sales is a wonderful way to live a great life and make a great living. Especially now, in our post-COVID-19 world. People embrace technology more readily than ever before, and stocks of successful cloud software companies like Salesforce, Workday and Adobe are trading for 11-18 times revenue. That’s revenue, not earnings.

We were taught in business school that stocks should trade at 11-18 earnings, not revenue, but the ticker doesn’t lie. Opportunity for financial gains in this industry have never been higher. Valuations are high and plenty of opportunity awaits. But, success does not come without great effort. Even the most talented sales people hear “no” more often than they hear “yes.” The work it takes to thrive in sales can be likened to what it takes to maintain a flourishing marriage: a positive mindset, commitment, an ability to learn from adversity, and the ability to be flexible.

The importance of keeping the spark alive doesn’t stop with your relationship with your sales career. It also applies to keeping the fire burning in your relationships with prospects and colleagues. Sales gives us the wonderful gift of a network of lasting relationships. It also gives us the opportunity to help our customers and colleagues succeed.

No matter how high the stakes are, our business is not about money; it is about people. Our profession is listening, learning, and positioning our solutions in a way that benefits the people we serve. Remember, the customer is not the company, it is the individual person you are serving. Individuals often stay in the same industry but work for different companies over their careers. You never know when you might have the opportunity to work with a former prospect, customer, or colleague again. That is why it is incredibly important to keep relationships positive and to continually check your network to learn how to better serve customers, colleagues, and competitors alike.

OWN YOUR MINDSET

“The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”

- Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

Lighting the fire for your prospects starts with lighting the fire within yourself. When is the last time you set aside time to think about what you do and why you do it? Ask yourself:

• Do I enjoy my profession?
• Why do I do what I do?

If you never take the time to think about what you do and why it brings you joy, burnout is inevitable, and your relationships and quotas will suffer along with your mental health. You will spend over 1/3 of your life working, so make it something you are passionate about doing. Not to mention that if you find passion in what you do, you are much more likely to succeed in the profession, especially in a profession like sales that consistently knocks you down. Keep your mindset positive and focus on what brings you joy in your work.

When challenges come up in sales, it is common to feel defeated and try to sidestep the hurdle. However, you have another option. You can immerse yourself in the challenge and learn something new. The latter approach typically helps you earn respect among your colleagues and customers, contributes to a better bottom line, and helps you develop a deeper and fuller sense of purpose. The ability to thrive through adversity is what separates the most successful from the least successful.

The future of enterprise software sales has a growth mindset. This means believing that your most basic abilities can evolve through dedication and hard work. In other words, book smarts and natural talent are just the tip of the iceberg. The true differentiator is being willing to lean in, learn, and overcome adversity.

EMBRACE THE SKIN-IN-THE-GAME NATURE OF THE WORK

To some, a sales quota is as anxiety inducing as a final exam. To those with a passion for sales, we don’t think a whole lot about the quota. We focus on doing the right things for the right reasons—crushing the quota is an added benefit. We are not deterred by the fact that we have skin-in-the-game. Instead, it is invigorating and inspiring. In sales, we have the unique opportunity to be connected with the public-facing and internal-facing aspects of the company we serve. This gives us the power to make an impact far beyond our sales totals. A thoughtful and passionate salesperson does a lot more than sell; they bring innovative ideas back to leadership and operations based on the feedback received from prospects and current customers and have the power to help shape the evolution of a company.

GET COMFORTABLE LIVING WITHOUT LIMITS

Sales is not just a job. Those who want to clock in and clock out at a nine-to-five job need not apply. Sales is a lifestyle. This does not mean you must be chained to your iPhone or desk all day every day. However, it does require you to be available outside of business hours. The tradeoff for that sacrifice is the opportunity to live more freely than your contemporaries with desk jobs.

As a salesperson, you are in control of your own destiny. Whether you sell $10,000 or $10,000,000 a month, you have not reached your limit—only your limit to-date. You own your own productivity and efficiency levels, and it falls to you to ensure you are doing the right things for the right reasons to move the needle. If you get out of sync working too much or start focusing on the wrong accounts because you are struggling or trying to build your pipeline, you will flounder. If you hone your craft and optimize how you spend your time, you will soar.

The limitless nature of sales does not stop with income level and work hours, it also applies to the scope of your network. In sales, you will not go into the same office every day and see the same 30–40 people. You will travel the country and world and meet many people from a variety of backgrounds. As a salesperson—especially in enterprise softwar...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• About Mark Petruzzi
• About Paul Melchiorre
• Foreword
• Chapter 1: Passion and Mindset
• Chapter 2: Velocity and Grit
• Chapter 3: Empathy
• Chapter 4: Authenticity
• Chapter 5: Creativity and Problem Solving
• Chapter 6: Resilience
• Chapter 7: Trust
• Chapter 8: Trust-Based Go-To Market Models
• Chapter 9: Hiring Right
• Chapter 10: Customer Success
• Chapter 11: Technologies: Sales Stack
• Chapter 12: Sales and Leadership through Crisis
• Postscript
• Acknowledgments
• Back Cover