#40: Listen as Dylan Wickliffe, the Director of Sales at Media Junction, speaks about how he landed his new sales role and had a record-breaking 1st year. We discuss the importance of laying a good foundation, streamlining the sales process, and how a human-centric approach can set you apart.
Listen to the episode by clicking play below OR search “the sales lift” wherever you get podcasts.
Important Links:
Dylan Wickliffe’s LinkedIn Profile
Don’t feel like listening? Read the Episode Cliff Notes instead below:
Laying a Foundation (0:38)
Within 45 days of Dylan signing on to Media Junction, he was thrust into a position to lead a sales team which he wasn’t initially hired to do.
The first step to laying a good foundation was to look at what his team was doing. Dylan reviewed their proposals, the language the team used, the CRM, and how the team was/wasn’t implementing the tools they had at their disposal.
They began tightening their proposals, not writing everything down, and highlighting key deliverables. Ironing out the process helped cut down his team’s sale cycle by nearly half through keeping to a monthly quota.
Dylan attributes much of his success in his role to simplifying everything and making clear next steps.
Clear Next Steps (9:06)
You have to know your process from the very first phone call all the way to the completion of any engagement.
Focus on working the sales cycle while priming businesses for this new shift in their way of thinking regarding marketing. Demonstrate to them that you do this all day, every day, and what is really complex and mysterious to them is where you live, nine to five, Monday through Friday.
Every marketer on the team should be doubling as a salesperson and always looking for opportunities to continue helping clients more and more.
Media Junction is still a relatively young company and still in the pioneering stage. So, Dylan has to know a little bit of everything. That helps when the whole team can have that same mindset.
Human-Centric Approach (15:09)
Knowing why a prospect should work with you and not a competitor is critical. Dylan takes the approach that all of these companies, including his competitors, will do a great job servicing the client. However, the client will enjoy working with Media Junction more than their competitors.
Identify the culture a prospective client wants in the company they work with. What they are hoping the company can do.
Dylan doesn’t try to be someone he’s not. He enjoys showing clients that they’ll be working with a real human and a sharp marketer and really putting that humanistic side out there for them to see.
Everyone has their own individual style and approach, which works for them, but doesn’t necessarily work for everyone else.
Handling the Money Conversation (20:07)
This is the most sales part of the conversation. When you’re qualifying a prospect, you’ve got to get their budget, or you’re not doing it right.
Dylan tackles this in a very up-front manner, acknowledging the part of the conversation for what it is and that he doesn’t want to make it weirder than it needs to be.
There are many ways to get to their budget, but you can’t solve that part of the problem if you don’t have that part of the conversation.
No one calls your business thinking they’re going to get your services for free. They are expecting to have the money conversation in some way, so the key is to keep it as straightforward and comfortable as possible.
Dylan Wickliffe’s Bio:
Dylan Wickliffe is the Director of Sales at media junction® and the first team member in our Nashville office.
With eclectic experience ranging from the Marine Corps, to ministry, to SaaS, and even entrepreneurship, Dylan has learned to take pride in his unique approach to sales: “Be human, work together, and figure it out. The rest will work itself out.”
Prior to joining the MJ team, Dylan was a HubSpotter and helped dozens of Solutions Partners and their hundreds of clients utilize technology in order to solve problems and grow better. He was also one of the most prominent advocates in the “RemoteSpot” community.