what skills are required to succeed in enterprise sales?

Learning sales - and how to do it - is not something that can easily be summed up in a few sentences. I've been writing a blog on it for over a year (www.quotacrush.com), and I haven't even scratched the surface.

There doesn't really exist a badge like "Six Sigma" that proves any type of success either.

If I had to quickly sum up some of the skills you need (not completely inclusive): - ability to listen and understand your prospects problems and be able to figure out how your solution solves those problems in a concise way - ability to understand people. People buy from people. you need to be able to relate to people. This is about relationship building, not just buy my widget and go. You should be establishing relationships for the long haul - not just a single win. - Negotiation skills: craft win-win solutions, and get them to close - understanding of corporate buying processes: you need to know how to navigate an organization, understand how large corporations buy - writing skills: a lot of enterprise sales involves crafting tons of emails, RFI and RFP responses, proposals, and more - patience! enterprise sales can take a LONG time. - resillience. You will fail A LOT and get rejected A LOT. It may take months to get people on the phone. You can't take it personally and have to keep trying. That said, you have to know when to ease-up and not over-contact people.

These are the skills that come to me right away.

Most sucess

Great advice, Mark.

The four most important factors to success in enterprise sales are, in my mind:

1. The ability to manage relationships. Enterprise sales requires you to collaborate with and sell to multiple decision makers simultaneously within the same company. Do you understand how large companies purchase enterprise products? Are you patient, diplomatic, and a good listener? Can you ensure everyone's needs are met?
   

2. The ability to sell to C-level decision-makers. Can you understand the concerns and anticipate the needs of the CFO, CEO, and COO? How do they make decisions? How would you address them differently? Can you find a solution everyone can agree upon?

3. The ability to manage a pipeline. As Mark mentioned, enterprise sales often moves incredibly slowly. Few managers will be impressed if you report two phone calls and a lunch meeting as a month's progress. Can you be satisfied with the pace and cycle of the sale? Can you handle the rejections necessary to find the right advocate for your product?
   

4. Drive. This goes without saying. What gets you out of bed in the morning? How will you set, meet, and exceed your quota? How will you ensure that everyone loves your product as much as you do?

I see a few advantages that you have as a product manager looking to begin a career in enterprise sales:

• Experience working with multiple stakeholders
• Experience with cyclical customization and iteration
• Experience with complex processes

Know your strengths and weaknesses and do your research. Talk to as many people as possible to get a better understanding of the process. And definitely keep an eye on Mark's blog - he's got some great tips!

Best of luck!