In sales, it’s hard to find something Amy Volas hasn’t done.
She’s personally closed more than $100 million in deals, selling for companies like Yahoo and Indeed. She has founded three companies and has been part of two exits. With her third, Avenue Talent Partners, she helps emerging startups hire their sales leaders.
On top of all of that, she’s been named a LinkedIn Top Voice in sales.
So, what has Amy learned in her 20+ career, and how does she sell? Let’s dive in:
1. What do you love most about selling?
It's iterative, there is no one-size-fits-all. So, I have to use my brain, and it's a special opportunity to meet people where they are while understanding what makes them and their businesses tick.
Bringing all of that together to confirm or deny if I can be helpful is what gets me up in the morning. And when it does come together in the way of an opportunity, it's magic. That's what's kept me in the game for 20+ years.
2. What's your sales philosophy, in 3 sentences or less?
What I put into my career, my team, my pipeline, and my customers is what I get back. Good begets good and I try to always be the good... even when it's hard or it doesn't immediately materialize. The long game for the win!
3. Is there anything that makes your sales process unique?
Ultimately, we all want to be seen, heard, understood, and valued. My buyers are no different. I challenge myself to seek to understand while knowing my ICP like the back of my hand.
When I'm clear, they're clear and because of this, I can respectfully qualify to "no" quickly while leaving the door wide open for the future.
So many show up to just sell and talk "at" their buyers, I show up to understand and talk "with," to see if the dots can truly connect (or not).
4. What research do you do to prepare for a sales call?
First and foremost, I review the agenda to get my head around what they want to talk about and reconfirm ahead of time in case something has changed. Then I look at what they're talking about online, articles they've written, postings they've created, webinars they've hosted, comments they've made on social, podcasts they have participated in, and people we have in common.
From there, I peel back industry insights, websites that focus on their domain, do a Navigator Search to understand what's happening inside of their company and competitive landscape. Going down this rabbit hole is one of my favorite things to do.
5. What's your favorite discovery question?
What's important to you and why?
6. Is there any habit you have that you believe helps you sell better? Examples – meditation, exercise, waking up at a certain time?
Therapy and Reiki. When I'm in tune with my own self, I'm a better person for anyone or thing around me.
These two things have been a gift in my life to help me understand myself and others better.
7. How do you use LinkedIn when selling?
LinkedIn is the backbone for my ability to keep my finger on the pulse of what's happening with my clients, their businesses, and key targets. It's a powerful platform to help me stay top of mind and be part of important conversations showcasing my expertise.
8. What's the biggest lesson you've learned in your sales career?
The pipeline and customer trump all.
9. What has been your biggest failure in sales and how did that experience transform you?
When I was coming up in sales, I was thrown into the deep end of enterprise sales without much training or guidance. I fooled myself into thinking that just because I could get a lot of meetings or fancy meals with executives, that business would just come my way because they liked me.
And boy oh boy was I wrong. While I had a strong pipeline of meetings, it fell short for real business opportunities.
When I lost a deal that I had been working on for 6+ months because I wasn't multi-threaded and assuming my contact would loop me in, I only had to make that mistake once.
The biggest lesson learned from this was the power of doing the RIGHT work consistently to build a solid pipeline for the short, near, and long term. Without a pipeline, there is no customer and without a customer, there is no business.
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Topics: How I Sell interviews
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