Do you want to advance in your sales career but are uncertain of where to begin? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Get the free courses that teach sales skills coming from the experts.
These experts will help you learn to:
- ask great questions
- identify sales growth opportunities
- use LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- effectively manage your sales pipeline
Check out their courses on LinkedIn Learning and be sure to follow them on LinkedIn. Stay connected with the experts and be notified when they share their perspectives on the sales skills that matter most.
1. Asking Great Sales Questions
Advice on taking the next step in your career: Problem solvers rule the world. The post-pandemic world prompts you to think about moving your mindset from “selling” to one of “serving by solving.” That can be solving your customer’s problem or, if you’re interviewing for a new job, what problems does the hiring manager have that you would be the best “solution” to solve based on your experience? The stories you can tell that show your empathy and connection to the audience you are engaging will create an environment of trust that will allow you to help in a more meaningful way.
Where you get your inspiration: I love observing innovators and entrepreneurs. I thrive on the creative process so watching how really creative people communicate and how they simplify the complex is very inspirational to me.
The most important skill of 2021: Communication effectiveness. It’s easy to say “resilience” or “perseverance” etc… but in the end, those that can communicate with purpose, power, and impact are the ones that leave the most sustainable mark on the world.
Follow Jeff on LinkedIn. Check out his course Asking Great Sales Questions.
2. Learn LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Advice on taking the next step in your career: Never underestimate the power of an ally. Early in my career, a senior (former) colleague took me under her wing and it completely changed my life. She is still my cheerleader and acts as an objective sounding board for both big career and life decisions.
Best time management or productivity hack: Especially in the pandemic, it’s important to practice good self-care. If I know my call does not have video, I will throw on a hydrating foot mask or even my LED face mask while working!
A passion project that energizes you: Cooking! I love to celebrate diversity through food and will try pretty much anything once. My most recent scratch-made culinary adventures include Southern (pulled pork with baked mac & cheese), Jewish (matzah ball soup with brisket), Italian (calzones), Cuban (Mojo pork and frijoles negros with cornbread), and Jamaican (jerk chicken and rice & peas.)
Follow Donna on LinkedIn. Check out her course Learn LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
3. Identify Sales Growth Opportunities
Advice on taking the next step in your career: The key to success in any area is to learn at a rate faster than the rate of change. That means: never let a year go by without developing some part of your professional competencies, broaden your learning into functional areas that are adjacent to yours, and take on new assignments that stretch your abilities.
A passion project that energizes you: I have two passions: creativity methods (I’m the world’s leading expert on a creativity method called SIT.) The second is building handmade acoustic steel string guitars (I studied for five weeks with one of the world’s leading guitar makers – Sergei DeJonge in Canada.) Recently, I’ve combined the two passions to create something completely new-to-the-world: The Guitar Innovation Experience. It’s a two-day intensive program to learn creativity, apply it to a guitar, then have me build a unique guitar with their invention inside of it. Fun!
Favorite topic to nerd out about: Skyscrapers! I love reading about them, studying their architectural plans, history, and construction methods. Geek!
Follow Drew on LinkedIn. Check out his course Identify Sales Growth Opportunities.
3. Sales Pipeline Management
Advice on taking the next step in your career: These times are not easy for all of us and it looks like a good percentage of 2021 will be that way too, but we must always keep on our priority list the objective of finding ways to enhance our skills, believe in our abilities and network. We sometimes cringe at the word “network” but it is something that I believe has helped shape my career. Meet others, share ideas, provide support to those who need it, and I can guarantee it will pay back in dividends both for your career and personal life.
The most important skill of 2021: Now more than ever, salespeople need to have strong emotional intelligence showing our ability to be aware, providing empathy, and listen with real purpose. So many of our clients and customers are going through turbulent times and we need to be able to understand and relate to those issues as we assist them to provide solutions to their pain points.
Best compliment from a LinkedIn Learning learner: One of the things I love about being a LinkedIn Learning instructor is hearing feedback from sales professionals from around the world. From Russia to the Czech Republic and from Australia to Ireland receiving compliments from those who have watched my courses is such an exhilarating feeling. To hear, “Dean, you’ve helped me become a better salesperson,” makes me feel so fortunate to be an instructor.
Follow Dean on LinkedIn. Check out his course Sales Pipeline Management.