Episode 159: Jon Ferrara
Meet
Jon Ferrara
John is a CRM and relationship management entrepreneur and noted speaker about social media’s effects on sales and marketing. He has re-imagined CRM by building a simple smart CRM for G suite and Office 365, his most recent venture, Nimble.com. It is the first CRM that works for you by building and updating contact data for you. Then works with you everywhere you work. Ferrara is best known as the founder of Goldmine Software Corp, one of the early pioneers in Salesforce automation and customer relationship management. He has recently been recognized on Forbes as one of the top 10 social CEO’s, top 10 social salespeople in the world, and top 100 marketing influences.
Our Mission Is To Change The Negative Perception Of Sales People
Our Vision Is A World Where Selling Is A Profession To Be Proud Of
[01.48] Jon defines the term ‘Sales Technology Stack’ –it’s the tools of sales success, it all kind of started back in the stone age with stone tablets and kind of moved on to Rolodex and then became more sophisticated with six by nine index cards that people used to use to log notes on calls and schedule next tasks and then order them on date of recall date. And that was really the precursor to what we invented with Goldmine. Ultimately all that evolved into CRMs, however CRMS weren’t really enough. You needed tools for sales intelligence and sales enablement outreach and that there built the stack.
[03.13] Jon explains why salespeople resist taking on new technologies as part of their day-to-day sales roles –It’s not just sales people that are creatures of habit but humans too, and we are reticent to try new things. Jon thinks that we need to be open to new things as human beings and salespeople.
[03.52] Jon discusses some sales technologies that modern sales professionals be using as a minimum Well, I think that all of this outreach software is really gotten over-used. Jon thinks that the best sales tool that any human being can use is their heart and soul, if a salesperson really truly enters into every engagement with the desire to serve that person and help them grow, then that’s the best tool that you can use. Jon is a big believer in human engagement.
[05.23] What are the attributes of a good sales professional – Jon feels that the best attribute you could have is the desire to help other people to grow. And you do that by listening and learning who they are and what they’re about and figuring out ways you could add value.
[06.18] Jon shares his top three Sales Technology Stack Do’s and Don’ts – Best technology stack do’s, three is do your homework. Before you engage, learn who somebody is and what they’re about and determine how you might be able to add some value. Two is engage with relevance and authenticity and be clear about how you might add value to that person. And three, don’t be spammy. Don’t use those tools to basically just blast at people in a one-to-many way that isn’t really one-to-one. I think empathy is a great skillset for a salesperson. Because you really are more caring about them than bagging and tagging them. Don’t bag and tag.
[08.25] Jon shares his favourite sales story that incorporated the use of Modern Sales Technology – using an example of Nimble, a software that understands who is engaging with you and is able to surface the ones that matter the most, that resonate the most, that match the DNA and fingerprint of people that you should engage with.
[11.29] 30 second Pitch Slap – Jon pitches his sales technology called Nimble.
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More About Jon
What was the last book you read?
Marketing Rebellion by Mark Schafer
Who / What inspires you?
The beauty and possibility of humanity and my ability to contribute to its growth.
What aspect of your Sales Technology Stack are you most focused on at the moment?
We currently focus on understanding the nuances of our customer journey and learning how to enhance it for our growth.
Hobbies, Interests?
Astronomy, backpacking, photography, music, ancestry, history, geography.
How can our listeners contact with you?
You can reach out to me on Twitter at @Jon_Ferrara.
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