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Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years
Our guest blog today is from Andrew Barbuto, a successful sales professional who has built an impressive career in ad tech sales. His journey is a testament to perseverance, continuous learning, and the relentless pursuit of improvement. Andrew’s story offers valuable insights for salespeople, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to grow their business.
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Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years
Image by Geralt via Pixabay
Starting: The Drive for Improvement
I began my career in ad tech sales eight years ago. My initial experiences were far from smooth, filled with challenges and setbacks. When I started, I thought I would be trained to sell, but I never was and had to learn independently.
I could have been better at first. I sounded robotic, cut off customers, and listened to respond rather than understand. However, I knew I would become obsessed, had a passion for helping customers, and was willing to request feedback to learn and improve proactively. My early struggles ignited a desire to find a way not just to survive but to thrive.
Facing Challenges and Learning Lessons
One of the toughest challenges I faced was building a book of business from scratch at two different digital media companies, starting with no clients or established reputation. The fear of failure was ever-present, but it also fueled my determination to succeed.
I immersed myself in learning, reading over 50 sales books and interviewing top sales reps. I analyzed my failures and successes, constantly tweaking my approach. I also set up mock sales pitches, requested feedback, and listened to the recording while continuing to work hard and improve.
After my first six months, I still hadn’t closed any new business despite reaching out to 100 prospects per day and setting up 5+ meetings per week.
However, after six months, the first new service client deal came in, and the business became more understandable. I learned from each experience and improved with each new deal.
Over the next three years, I won 20 clients per year, growing my book to $10MM to become the top-grossing sales rep at my company. I got the service sale down to a science, but the industry was moving towards self-service software, so I decided to pursue a new opportunity where I could learn to sell SaaS deals.
Selling software was a completely different ball game. The sales cycles were longer, and there were more decision-makers and change management involved.
Three months into my new job, the director who recruited me left, so learning was once again in my hands. I repeated the same learning process by setting up one-on-ones with top sales reps and reading books on selling software.
After six months, it all began to make sense, but then the Pandemic happened. Many of my clients were furloughed or laid off, and my budget was cut, including a $5MM deal with my largest client, who said we couldn’t work together anymore.
However, even if we couldn’t do business, I wanted to help, so I provided LinkedIn referrals, WFH records, and updates on the country’s reopening.
I continued to improve at selling software and started to win new clients. Once things improved, my clients remembered, and they all came back. Over the last five years, I’ve amassed 40 software contracts while becoming the top-grossing salesperson at my company out of over 100 reps.
Actionable Steps for Success
- Build a Strong Foundation: It’s crucial for new salespeople to understand the fundamentals. Invest time in learning the basics of your industry and the sales process. This knowledge will serve as the foundation for your growth.
- Continuous Learning: Never stop learning. Read books, take training, and seek mentorship. The more you learn and know, the more you’ll be able to adapt and improve.
- Networking: Build relationships within your industry. Networking can open doors to new opportunities and provide valuable insights to stay ahead of the competition.
- Customer-Centric Approach: Always prioritize the customer’s needs. Understand their pain points and tailor your solutions to address them. This approach builds trust and long-term relationships.
- Resilience: Sales can be challenging, filled with rejections and setbacks. Develop resilience and keep pushing forward, learning from each experience.
Where I Am Today and My Vision for the Future
Today, I manage over $80 million in digital media revenue across 30+ clients, the most annual revenue in my company’s history. I’ve closed $250MM in revenue in my career.
My journey from struggling to becoming a top sales rep has been enriching, but I’m not stopping here. My vision for the future is to share the knowledge and strategies I’ve developed with others.
This fall, I’ll release a book that is a step-by-step guide to my successful sales method. It is designed to help new salespeople expedite their ramp-up period and provide unique tips for experienced salespeople to close faster, more profitable deals while crushing their quota.
It’s the “How to” guide I wish I had when I started, including exactly what to say and do from day one while reviewing each stage of the sales cycle that includes:
- Effective Onboarding
- Prospect Research/Qualification
- Prospecting
- Sales Meetings – Questions and Script Writing
- Demos
- Advancing the Deal
- Proposals
- Financial Analysis
- Contract Negotiation
- Closing Deals
Conclusion: Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years
My story is a testament to the fact that you can overcome any challenge and achieve your goals with determination and the right strategies. I continue to use this exact sales method successfully today to win and retain clients, so I believe these strategies help anyone selling in today’s remote working, AI-powered, data-driven world.
Anyone can achieve sales success by focusing on continuous learning, building strong relationships, and maintaining a customer-centric approach.
For more insights and tips, visit my website, www.AndrewBarbuto.com, and join the waitlist for my upcoming book, ‘Top Sales Producer: How To Crush Your B2B Sales Quota,‘ to receive a FREE download of my Meeting Hack for how to secure the next steps in 5 minutes.
Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn at www.LinkedIn.com/in/andrewbarbuto. My content can help you on your sales journey to maximize your commissions in a long and successful sales career!
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- Commit to your long-term vision for accomplishment(s) and to enjoy business success.
- Review all strategies to realize where you may implement a better approach.
- Ensure you are current on technology and apps for quality and efficient delivery.
- Be open to all new ideas for consideration to uncover the better ones for your business.
- Take longer breaks during the weekend to allow your mind to wander and create new ideas.
- Consider what may further motivate you, the staff, and your community to benefit many.
- Always balance the bottom line with additional expenditures to ensure a solid footing.
- Stay current with industry news and research what the pundits say to realize better ideas for motivating the people you work with to new levels.
- ‘Don’t give up – find a better way!’
- Celebrate Success!
Today’s insights are provided to help you achieve the Smooth Sale!
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