Regardless of which industry we work in, all sales reps have a few things in common. While the companies or products we’re selling may differ, enough aspects of our jobs are the same to create an overlap in our likes and dislikes.
The following eight things are universally loved by salespeople.
1. Leads
This might be a little obvious, but the number one thing every salesperson loves is leads. If you ask anyone in a sales role what their favorite thing is, “leads” will be their answer. Everyone wants good, high-quality leads to spark a conversation with.
2. Good Quotes
Especially in B2B sales, we appreciate quotes from anyone who has been a successful business leader, like Steve Jobs. The quotes don’t have to be purely business-related though — they can be about topics like teamwork, motivation, lifestyle or how to spend your day-to-day time more effectively.
3. Industry-Relevant Publications
Salespeople love to educate themselves, so publications like Inc. Magazine or Forbes that give quick tidbits on the industry are great. Beyond that, we like to follow publications relevant to the industry we work in.
As someone who works in the marketing industry, I follow thought leaders like HubSpot professionals on LinkedIn and Instagram. Sales reps who work in other fields, such as AI, would follow their equivalent publications and thought leaders.
4. Resources to Improve Effectivity
Salespeople are typically strapped for time, working more than eight hours a day, so books or audiobooks that’ll help us be more efficient with our time and a more effective salesperson are super beneficial.
I recently read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” to help with day-to-day skills. I also enjoy books about communication and selling to certain personalities to help inform my sales methods.
5. Metaphors
Salespeople love metaphors. We appreciate it so much when someone gives a good metaphor or tells a story that we can relate back to our business. Metaphors help make things real and help us connect with people on a personal level while fostering better understanding.
I may be talking to somebody about business, and we’re hashing out the details of a deal, but I don’t feel like I’m conveying myself very well or that they completely understand me, so I’ll use a metaphor to clarify. Bringing in a metaphor can highlight the human connection: we’re both just people talking.
6. Podcasts
Podcasts are quick, entertaining and perfect for when you want to learn or enjoy, but you don’t have time to sit down and read. As I mentioned earlier, salespeople are really self-educating; they want to learn about things, but their sales jobs keep them so busy that they don’t have a lot of time to do so.
Podcasts are easy to fit into our days so we can still learn or be entertained. They’re especially useful when used educationally because they’ll give you one sales or communication tip which you can immediately put into practice over the next couple of days. Then you can listen to the next podcast and get the next tip so your skills are constantly evolving.
7. Motivational Items
Vision boards, pictures of travel destinations or pictures of families are great reminders of why sales reps do what they do. Representations of why we want to be successful help motivate us and keep us on our A-game.
8. Winning
Closing a deal is the best feeling ever. Customs like win songs that celebrate successfully closing can build upon the joy of winning by firing up everyone else in the office too.
At New Breed, each sales rep has a dedicated win song that plays over the TVs. These songs are typically exciting and happy or very hardcore, though songs about money or winning are also pretty popular. Because we each pick our own song, we can recognize who closed a deal. For example, my song is “She’s a Bad Mama Jama” by Carl Carlton, so when people hear that playing, they know I just successfully closed a deal.
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