Pieterjan Bouten, Co-founder and CEO of Showpad, joins me on this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Buyers are empowered, creating the biggest challenge for the seller of today, which is how to add value for the buyer. Andy calls readiness, relevance, and resilience the three traits sellers need to be successful in sales.
• PJ (Pieterjan) discusses the coming together of marketing, sales, and IT departments and their digital strategy. PJ often asks CEOs how they equip their salespeople to become more relevant.
• Most sales tools are not built with the sales rep or the buyer in mind. Showpad delivers seller experiences, linking presentation with AI for a better buyer experience.
• Sales enablement uses content, coaching, and training, and technology to fit the buyer journey. The buyer experience is essential in the purchase decision.
• Start with the buyer to discover the level of technology you need to use to connect with them. Put that into the perspective of marketing and sales and apply the technology to deliver the buyer experience.
• PJ discusses Showpad. It combines content, readiness, and engagement. Engagement tools facilitate interaction, creating a collaborative environment with your buyer.
• Showpad considers the use case of the sales rep — their selling channels and whether they sell in the field or inside. Personalization only happens with a personal touch; an email works if it adds authentic value.
• Sales is a team sport. You need to build connections within your own organization as well as with your buyers. Use sales engineers and other officers to help build your buyer connections with value.
• Reps need to learn the content and not rely on its availability with only a vague knowledge of it. Sales reps need to be trained and coached on the content they need for their buyers. Showpad acquired LearnCore for this.
• Education helps salespeople be smarter about sales. Reps tend to sell to the metrics rather than striving to be the best version possible of themselves. Sales reps leverage their networks and use data to become trusted partners.
• Activity alone does not bring the desired results. The personal connection builds relationships that yield results. When reps understand how value ties into engagement, they have a better vision of their job.
• PJ talks about a sales experience in Bosnia, where the buyer spoke for an hour about their needs before PJ talked to provide value relative to those needs. PJ had accompanied a new sales rep who asked good questions.