I recorded the first episode of the Next Level Live Podcast today!
Hop on the email list and join us live on the next one and/or get notified when future episodes come out.
Looking for more content like this, but more in depth? Check out the talks from the Next Level Sales Leadership Summit 2020.
Download the episode on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or Listen Notes–or listen below. See all the places you can get the episodes here.
Here’s the link to stream it now.
Here’s the transcript:
Episode 1 with Nick Sutedjo
Derek: [00:00:00] let’s just, let’s jump in. Can you tell us, go back to the beginning of your leadership career. How did you first get promoted to a management spot?
Nick: [00:00:13] Yeah. So, I got into management. Yeah. Actually, before I was working at my current company, growing up, I was play, I was a huge basketball player, so I was buying a lot of sneakers and gear, getting ready to play ball.
[00:00:25] And, I worked at champs sports, similar to like foot locker in the mall. And after I graduated college, I ran a store in Rochester where I’m originally from Derek got promoted to run one in Buffalo in Syracuse, and then got promoted to run the fifth biggest one in the entire Northeast. in long Island at the time.
[00:00:40] So my management experience actually dates back a little differently to just being in SAS and tech and sales, where I was doing retail management before. And funny enough, one of my old assistant managers that used to work for me in Buffalo. Had asked me to be a reference for him for this small sports technology company called league apps that, I’m with now, I was a reference for him and the head of sales at the time was like, Hey, you should, come check this place out, Nick.
[00:01:04] And I was like, listen, I just upgraded my life. I’m on this like executive development path at champs. and then sure enough, a couple of months later, I fell in love with the product, the team and everybody at the company and ended up joining. So I was an individual contributor for about a year and a half.
[00:01:20] And I kind of raised my hand and said, Hey, I see an opportunity to take some of the processes that I’ve been doing and teach others and help us scale the sales team to be more efficient. so they gave me a shot. They gave me three of like the younger, inexperienced reps that were being promoted from SDR.
[00:01:38] And, I helped them have some early success, built out a little process and a playbook at, as a result of it and then moved into full time management. And then, as of the earlier this year, Derek, moved into full time director of sales, at my company league ups.
[00:01:53] Derek: [00:01:53] Awesome. I got a bunch of questions on that for here, but what does director mean in the case that they use it here?
[00:02:01] Nick: [00:02:01] Sure. So, currently I report directly into our CEO and I oversee both our like SDR demand generation function, as well as our account executives. We call them sales consultants, but the industry typically knows them as account executives.
[00:02:15] it’s a team of 11 of us.
[00:02:19] Derek: [00:02:19] Wow. So do you have 11 people reporting to you?
[00:02:22] Correct.
[00:02:22] Derek: So many. Wow. Okay.
[00:02:25]Nick: [00:02:25] one manager in there that, that oversees some of the demand function. Okay.
[00:02:30] Derek: [00:02:30] Gotcha. And there over some of the SDRs or indifferent. Okay. All right. Well that makes it easier.
[00:02:37] Nick: Definitely.
[00:02:38]Derek: [00:02:38] so when you came in, were all of the salespeople reporting to the CEO?
[00:02:44] Nick: When I came in, so we went through a couple of different stages of growth. Well, when I first came in the, a couple of like the head sales salespeople, like the senior guys were reporting directly into the CEO and then we had an SDR manager.
[00:02:55] So that’s where I saw a void, an opportunity to say, Hey, there’s an SDR manager who built a playbook and has some scalable repeatable processes where I think I could do the same thing on the account executive side. So there was like a good opportunity to raise my hand and go into that role. Cool.
[00:03:13] Derek: And so you were a player coach for a minute. Managing your own pipeline and helping these recently promoted AEs or, or, sales consultants sounds like, get ramped up and then you, what, so the next step was manage the A’s full time. And the next step up for that was now the SDR manager reports to you.
[00:03:33] Nick: [00:03:33] Correct.
[00:03:34] Derek: [00:03:34] Cool. Okay.
[00:03:37] Nick: It was, it was interesting. I, I get the question about, do you believe in like the player coach role a lot? Can I go back and forth on that? Because I remember having the conversations with our leadership team at the time at time, there was a VP of sales in between the CEO and I, and. This is probably typical of a lot of them.
[00:03:59] There’s high-tech or high growth SAS companies as well, that people are scared to take a top individual performer and making them a manager. So I thought for me, it was a low risk way to still drive results as an individual contributor. But see if I could manage some people and teach them how to be effective as well.
[00:04:19] So, I like the role personally, I have, that’s my perspective on it. I don’t love it for a long extended period of time because it can be exhausting carrying a bag in quota, but also, trying to help and manage and develop people at the same time can be difficult and really time consuming.
[00:04:36] Derek: [00:04:36] Yeah. I’m pretty much in the same boat. I, I like it as a transition, not as a defined role. Did they reduce your quota on the contributor side?
[00:04:51] Nick: [00:04:51] At the time? No. so like the full quota, so I was responsible for what everybody else was responsible for as well. and I have a theory, like I know that their audience for this Derek is new and inspiring managers and a lot of people tell me that they want to get into management, especially if they’ve been an individual contributor in AEU, whatever it may be.
[00:05:11] I think you have to figure out a way to be more effective. And efficient at your job to show and earn the right to actually accept more responsibility. I think that’s like a big, important piece where I figured out how to hit quota in 60% of the time. And then I could, I earned the right to say, Hey, I have this other time.
[00:05:32] I would love to invest it in other members of our team to help bring them along as well. So, that’s kinda how I see it. I perspective, as well.
[00:05:41] Derek: [00:05:41] So what tips could you share with somebody who’s in that situation. Right? How did, how were you able to become so much more effective?
[00:05:51] Nick: [00:05:51] Yeah, I think that the first important thing that I would say is for managers and leaders that have like individual contributors that are telling them that they have to be able to follow the process because there is risk involved though, with taking a high performing individual contributor and then bringing them into management.
[00:06:10] So the fact that like, you’re somebody that can follow a process and take feedback, but. Not only accept or take the feedback, but accept it and implement it, I think is a huge piece because going from that individual contributor role to then managing, you’re going to learn a lot as an individual contributor, you know, how to close a deal, generate pipeline, all the individual contributor things, but there’s a whole added layer of managing people that you have to do, be receptive and open to that feedback and be able to implement it, which I think those are key critical things that.
[00:06:41]I had to learn as I was going and I got some guidance from mentors and other people around me. but I think that’s just a critical piece of it.
[00:06:51] Can I just add one other thing as well in there I have I’ve in my time, I’ve had like a couple of VPs of sales that I’ve reported to directly into my CEO as well.
[00:06:59] And one thing I thought a lot about as well, and this is like a pro tip, I guess, for others that are thinking about getting into leadership is you can just directly ask your manager or a leader. Like what’s one thing I could take off your plate to make your life easier. And this way you build some trust and credibility and you add value to your manager.
[00:07:19] Well, increasing your workload, immediately. And that for me was a form of raising my hand and say, Hey, I’d like to help these new. account executives that are ramping up, teach them and train them some of the ways. And me I’m an early morning person. So I used to come into the office at eight o’clock and do like a, I called it like a league app sales university, which is the name of our company.
[00:07:39] So it was almost like a mini boot camp. And I was seeing who was going to take the initiative to take me up on that and help develop them at the same time. So I think that initiative, after you’ve earned the right to ask for more responsibility, plays a huge role in helping get to that next level as well.
[00:07:53] Derek: [00:07:53] Okay. I love that. I love that question is go to your boss and ask for the thing that you can do. I think that happens so rarely that you’ll stand out just for asking it,
[00:08:04] Nick: [00:08:04] right. I mean, how many times have you been in a one-on-one and somebody says at the end of it, Hey, what’s one thing Derek, I could take off of your plate to make your life easier.
[00:08:12] Derek: [00:08:12] It’s never happened.
[00:08:16] Nick: [00:08:16] So I think that that pro tip right there immediately is one that, helped me help give me, put me in a position to take that next step and execute on some of the things that I want to do.
[00:08:27] Derek: [00:08:27] I think it’s a good segue into something I wanted to ask you about, which is like, okay, so say, say somebody asks that question and now their boss gives them something.
[00:08:38] How do they, what should they do next? How do they, how do they manage that on top of their day job? and effectively, I guess I’m going to call it managing up. How, how do they tie all that, all those things then what’s your recommendation.
[00:08:54] Nick: [00:08:54] Yeah, that is a, it’s a, it’s a good question. And I think. The important thing is like, you want to get context of like why that leader is asking and it’ll help you probably see a bigger view of the company, as opposed to just like your narrow, straightforward path on how do I hit my own goal or reach my own quota.
[00:09:13] And if they’re asking you to do something, it’s something that they’re trusting that you are capable of doing like it’s within your competencies, but also that, like it’s giving you a greater perspective instead of like just your own individual responsibility. So I think. Typically then if you’re going to be able to see like the larger view of something going on in the company, whether it’s a working with a partner in marketing or within the product team or within customer success, which those are some of the projects that I’ve given some others to work on that have asked me those similar things, Derek.
[00:09:43] Getting the perspective of the other people involved that this process or this initiative that they’re working on and how it impacts the greater good of the company. That is a huge benefit, because then you start learning more about the whole company and the initiatives and the processes that go into that outside of just the sales lens.
[00:10:03] And then you’re able to attack the problem or the initiative from the lens of. Learning more about the company at the same time. So I would say, that’s a, that’s a, a key piece of it right there. And as you’re going through that, you have to manage up to your, your direct manager to be able to make sure that you’re setting the right expectation for when the project needs to be done by or the initiative or whatever it may be, to deliver on it.
[00:10:28] Derek: [00:10:28] Okay. can you tell us about. What mistakes did you make as an early leader?
[00:10:38] Nick: [00:10:38] Yeah. no, it’s funny, man, because like, when you get, when you get thrown into the fire, especially as you’re a high growth company, you learn a lot and you learn a lot quickly. And I think those have been some of the biggest. Teachers for me that like, I like sharing with others. So I remember my first full year of managing, I received the plan from our management team that they kind of like handed me the deck and they said, Hey, Nick, here’s the plan for this year.
[00:11:04] Let’s go out and. Hit the number. And at the time I, I remember some of the conversations I was having and I was nervous to like tell the CEO, like, I don’t think this is realistic. Right. And I came at it from lens of here’s. Every reason why we can’t do this, instead of now I’ve learned to kind of shift that narrative.
[00:11:26] Right. So I think the mindset in how you approach it and manage up at the same time are. Super super important. And when I say, like I said, I said, here’s all the reasons why we can’t achieve this quota, Derek. I think though the appropriate way to attack that as saying, Hey, mr. Or mrs. CEO, here’s what I need to.
[00:11:48] Hit the number. Here’s what resources I need. Here’s what needs to happen for us. And for me, that’s like a shift of a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset and how you approach and, and that’s tough to do as a new leader or manager and telling somebody you need more resources, or these are the things that need to happen.
[00:12:07] One, because you don’t have the. Experience and two it’s like, you’re just into this new role and you have like bright eyes probably, and you’re just ready to attack the number at the same time and show them why you can do it. So I think as a, as a new manager, that was one mistake that I’ve made. And it’s, it’s tough to, to overcome that without some of that experience of, of going through the fire.
[00:12:30] Derek: [00:12:30] Yeah, I think that’s, that’s an excellent, it’s an excellent story. Excellent point, man. what’s something else that you wish you had known earlier,
[00:12:39] Nick: [00:12:39] I think the, the, the main root of that is like communication. What I just alluded to and managing up. And when you get promoted from individual contributor to manager, you’re so focused on your own number, and then your direct number is the output of the entire team, which you’re just focused on, like, okay, I gotta hit the team’s number.
[00:13:01] And you’re then very focused on managing down. So you add this component of managing down to the team, which there’s hiring, training, recruiting, developing, onboarding, firing all those assets, excellent. Managing down, but you have this new level of like managing up and expectations, but there’s also the added component of.
[00:13:20] Managing cross departmentally as well. And working with your peers and stakeholders that, you’re aligned with in the, in the entire organization, whether it’s like the marketing leader or for the sales development leader, or if you are a sales development leader, the sales leader, or the customer success leader.
[00:13:37] There’s so many elements to be able to have communication flow in the right ways, both up, down and across. And I think that’s just such an important piece to keep in mind for new leaders is how you’re developing relationships, not just down, but up in, across the organization.
Derek: Well, yeah, there’s so much more though, on your
[00:13:59] [00:13:59] plate as a leader. And I think rats just don’t don’t know, we don’t talk about that in these career conversations.
[00:14:08] Nick: [00:14:08] Correct. And, That I’ve been lucky because the company I work for, we have like structured career conversations three times a year. They’re kind of like reviews that we call them. Conditioning’s on like a sports theme where we’ve kind of like structured them in three times a year.
[00:14:23] And it like forces the conversation and forces you to be prepared, as well coming into those conversations. And, that was one benefit I have. And if. If you’re a company for those that are listening are going to listen to this recording, don’t have that. Maybe that’s something that you Institute on your own as a way to align your direct reports, direct reports, career initiatives with the company as well.
[00:14:46] And that’s one way to help drive success from your team that reports to you that I’ve seen work.
[00:14:52] Derek: [00:14:52] Yeah. And I imagine that really helps with attrition. Especially, you know, the, the young as I’m gonna sound like an old guy, the younger generations, whether you’re a millennial, I don’t know what the heck is.
[00:15:06] Gen Z. The next one. I don’t remember the hoarder, but, is it, you know, we’re much more focused on career growth and everybody wants to see a path. Even if the path
[00:15:18] I feel like, tell me your experience, but I feel like it’s. People, if people can see that path into the future, it’s, it’s, it’s still really exciting. And a lot of companies don’t offer that.
[00:15:31] Nick: [00:15:31] Go ahead. Oh, no, a hundred percent. I think that career growth is one piece. And then the one thing from my experience, this is people want to work for a company that’s doing like good stuff, you know, and like is aligned with their views and their mission as well.
[00:15:46] And another key piece to the development side of things and helping make sure you’re aligning the careers of the direct reports that are with you is like, Helping them understand how, what their day to day is do their, what their day to day entails, ties back to the overall company mission. And this goes back to the communication point, Derek, that I was kind of hitting on is a big piece of management I found is like, I like being able to have this information flow both up and down.
[00:16:16] Right. So, yeah. If you’re talking about with the management leadership level conference, flex initiatives, how can you distill that in a clear and concise way to your team so that it almost acts as like, A guiding North star for the team. And then what I’ve also found to be successful in my experience is just keeping repeating it and almost like beating the drum.
[00:16:36] One of my mentors always said is like every chance you’re standing up in front of the team or the company, or at an all hands meeting, whatever it may be, that’s your chance and initiative to continue to. Put put that perspective within the team and like communicate that on an ongoing basis to like cement that into their brain.
[00:16:54]and that’s been effective. And as much as you are a conduit from management down, you also have to do it the same way, where your echoing, the voices of the teams and the reps on your, on your, on the front lines to up to management so that they understand the perspective of what’s going on, on the phones with prospects and customers as well.
[00:17:13] Derek: [00:17:13] Right. It’s information awareness, get it, get it to people so they know what’s going on.
[00:17:19] Nick: Correct.
[00:17:20] Derek: for you, what, was the hardest thing about transitioning from individual contributor to a leader?
[00:17:30] Nick: [00:17:30] In addition to some of the things that I just mentioned? I think one of the more difficult things for me is I expected everybody to.
[00:17:40] Be just like me, you know, and for me, my father is actually an immigrant. He came from Indonesia. My parents met on a cruise line because my dad worked on a cruise. So, so my dad had a really strong work ethic. And to this day he still works two jobs. So that work ethic was installed instilled in me from like a very early age.
[00:18:01] It’s something that like has been a fuel of growth for my company. And that’s, that’s how I think. Right. and how I just am intuitively. So when I saw people that didn’t have that same work ethic and drive and things for me, it would get me really frustrated and I didn’t understand it. And I, I, I only wanted to work with people that work just as hard as I did.
[00:18:23] And, and the thing that I had to understand is like, okay, maybe that’s just my skill and how I am and what separates me and makes me different. But there’s other things that I may not do as well. That others can do to help me out. So as a, as a rep, I would, or as a manager, I would in the beginning try and find people that were just like me or relate it to me specifically.
[00:18:44] And I think where that, where that, where I would overcompensate for that Derek is if somebody wasn’t doing it up a way up to my standards, I would try and jump on a call with them and be. This super closer, which I think is a, a problem for a lot of early and young managers, especially in sales where they’re like, okay, let me just jump on this call with you, Derek.
[00:19:04] And I’m going to close the deal for you, which I think is such a short term solve instead of going through and understanding how that person learns. understanding what motivates them and helping craft a plan for them to be able to get to the same outcomes, but maybe in a different way than you’re able well, to get there.
[00:19:26] Derek: [00:19:26] Yeah, the super closer, it seems to be an epidemic.
[00:19:31] Nick: [00:19:31] I think it’s one of the biggest challenge because it’s such like a short term fix. And if you think about it, if somebody goes from a individual contributor to a manager, it’s what they were doing. So it’s what they resort to instead of. Coaching and teaching and helping them learn how to be effective or understanding what, what, what could work for them as well.
[00:19:51] Derek: [00:19:51] How did you get out of the super close remind side?
[00:19:55] Nick: [00:19:55] I think part of that also came with time when you’re, when you’re having to invest time in. Thinking further than just this month. I think that’s what makes a really effective leader is how you’re looking ahead of the, for the team to the next month and really planning and building process and making sure that you have the right people on the team as well.
[00:20:17] You’re able to look out ahead and invest your time in areas that are going to help the team longterm instead of just focusing on. The short term areas where you’ll yield that one extra deal and don’t get me wrong. There’s times where you have to jump on a call because it’s a big, meaningful deal, or they need a second voice.
[00:20:34] I’m not discouraging that. I’m just saying, think about the implications of just being a super closer and doing it for them, as opposed to helping them learn how to get to those same outcomes on their own end, investing time I’m in future initiatives and planning that will help the team longterm.
[00:20:51] Derek: [00:20:51] Right. Like, it’s a thing you might have to do sometimes, but it shouldn’t be your core strategy,
[00:20:56] Nick: [00:20:56] correct.
[00:20:57] Derek: [00:20:57] Yeah. Okay. And then you had talked about, wanting to bring in people who were like you in this specific way and then it’s work ethic. How did you get over that?
[00:21:08] Nick: [00:21:08] I think that’s really. So when you, when I really get to know people on my team, I’ve heard I’ve had, let me take a step back.
[00:21:16] I’ve had a lot of like early managers telling me, like, no, I really know my team and I can relate to my team and like, trust me, like I get them. And then I ask them like a simple question and say, okay, well what’s their significant others name. And then I get this like stare and it’s like, okay, maybe I don’t know them.
[00:21:36] You know, in like it, you start to realize that all of your conversations. Are focused on what’s your pipeline look like what’s closing this week and that’s not, you’re not a real human when you do that. Right? Like, so if you can get to know the people, the person, what motivates them, and I’m not just saying like what motivates them.
[00:21:57] Okay. I want to make, make money, but like, Okay. What do you want that money for? Are you trying to move out of your parents’ house? Are you trying to buy that engagement ring for your girlfriend? Are you trying to go and plan for a vacation? Do you really want to buy, excuse me, this, watch a roll at whatever it may be getting to know them and what motivates them.
[00:22:18] I think once you start connecting on that level, you get to know who they are, what they care about, and then you, you build trust and respect within the team where that no matter. How do they get to those outcomes? You have a relationship where you feel comfortable getting to those same outcomes. If even if it’s a different way. I think that’s a tough balance because at the same time, as a manager, you want to have structure and process and build the team. And like, I used to call them like my non-negotiables on things that like, you can’t waiver from these. So you want to give people autonomy, but also say draw the fine line on like, where are your non-negotiables at the same time?
[00:22:59] Derek: [00:22:59] Have you edited your non-negotiables a lot over time.
[00:23:04] Nick: [00:23:04] Yeah. I think you have to, if you stay, I’m a huge basketball, a huge basketball lover. And one coach that I admire is his coach. K. Yeah, of course. I would say that coach Kay’s philosophy on connecting with his players in building a strategy. For the players that are honest team is what may has made him so great.
[00:23:27] Like he never used to be a one and done coach. And then he saw like Kentucky doing it with Calipari. And then he got really good at finding players that were one and done that have helped him sustain his level of excellence. so I look for leadership. Traits and ideas from sports figures for me, like, like I said, I was a basketball guy, worked for a sports tech company.
[00:23:49] So for me, it’s easy to make those parallels. And I think that’s like one example of like, okay, what are your non-negotiables, but then how do you build a strategy for your team and plan based on the people on your, on your team?
[00:24:01] Derek: [00:24:01] Cool. Have you read, the score takes care of itself by bill Walsh?
[00:24:06] I haven’t, but that’s one that I should read the 40 Niners coach.
[00:24:09] Yeah. Yeah. I think, I think he would like it a lot. the name tells you a lot. It’s like his, you know, at least one of the driving thesis of the book is you focus on, I’m gonna totally paraphrase and whatever, but focus on what you can control your process, getting your culture, right. You know, running, you know, your routes.
[00:24:30] Get good at that. Don’t worry about the score. When you worry about the scoreboard, you stress out and you start dropping the ball and you know, you, you know, you miss you start missing things that are important. anyway, I think you’d like, it
[00:24:44] Nick: [00:24:44] it’s a, it’s a good analogy. We’ve had a couple of those, like internally.
[00:24:48]with like the San Antonio spurs, one of the investors in our company is David Robinson. And he like helped us understand the spurs culture, which is, I think, similar to like the 40 Niners back in the day or the new England Patriots, the, they have this concept of pound, the rock where it’s like focusing on what you’re doing every single day.
[00:25:05] They in being the best that, and getting better at that. And then. To your point, the score will take care of itself. If everybody has that mentality, you’ll be the best at getting better every day. and that’s what yields like great longterm results.
[00:25:19]Derek: [00:25:19] what do you like or love about being a theater?
[00:25:25] My favorite part is seeing the growth and development of people on your team. Especially if you’ve hired them, recruited them, train them, onboard them, and seeing them get to whatever that. Respective next level is, has been the most fulfilling part of my career.
[00:25:44] And as a people leader and a manager, you, you deal with a lot like people, leaving, having to let people go. There’s a lot of tough parts of it, but the part that is the most fulfilling and, and I am the most passionate about is seeing people grow and develop and. I think I really learned that when somebody asked me in an interview, one time she had asked me like, what has been your best day at the, the company?
[00:26:08] And like I immediately said the day that my, my buddy that recruited me to the company closed his biggest deal. And I remember that day so vividly because he had worked so hard on it and he got to this point and it was like a milestone in turning point for him. So that development of people and helping them.
[00:26:27] Align their career with a company’s growth and success at the same time to me is, is by far and away. The number one thing I love about being a leader,
[00:26:37] that’s, I think that’s one of the things that makes leadership mindset different and Kevin Dorsey. And I talked about this where. A lot of people who get promoted shouldn’t if you’re, if you still have that selfish sort of mindset where your best days is going to be, when you did X, Y, Z, you probably shouldn’t go into leadership because leadership is about other people.
[00:27:02] Nick: [00:27:02] No, I couldn’t agree more. And yeah, for even people that are aspiring to be leaders, I think it’s a good audit in like, Check to see, like, do I even want to, or should I go because there’s a chance that you could end up being miserable and there’s nothing wrong with being a lifelong individual contributor.
[00:27:22]and I think it’s important to understand because ultimately whatever brings you happiness and makes you feel satisfied and fulfilled in your work is what you should do. And not leadership isn’t meant for everybody. But, if. Your best moments revolve around working with others and helping others get to a certain point.
[00:27:40]I would say that leadership probably should be the right path for you because there’s going to be days and moments that you remember that stick out, that are really, really satisfying.
[00:27:51] Derek: [00:27:51] can you talk a bit about the challenge? This comes up a lot, the challenge of managing people who were your peers.
[00:28:01] So when you, you had the three, they weren’t your peers, they were STRs. So then you got promoted and you’re managing the whole team. Was there some friction there? How’d you get through it? What are your thoughts on that?
[00:28:13] Nick: [00:28:13] There’s definitely a challenge in doing that. And I think your approach and hitting it head on instead of shying away for it is like an important factor in this.
[00:28:24]so those initial three that I had mentioned, those were all people that had started with the company just started at the company after me. And they had respected the work that I had done there is also after I took on the entire sales consultant team or the account executive team. There was somebody that actually trained me on how to do the job.
[00:28:43] And they were there two years longer than me. And he’s my great friend to this day. I love him, that I had managed and there was, there was no way I was going to manage and work with him and have the same relationship that I had with him as I did some of the junior reps that were just getting started.
[00:29:00] So one thing I. I used to say at nauseum and like going back to the theme of the communication and managing in, getting the most out of people is I told them, look, my job is to help remove roadblocks barriers to make your job easier. And then two is to help you make more money. And I think every sales person can relate with that is like, how do you remove roadblocks and barriers, help them make more money.
[00:29:24] Is those two things? And that’s an easy way. To generate buy-in. And I think those themes of like saying that with them, and then also getting buy in when you’re doing planning or rolling out new initiatives and hearing their thoughts and feedback on it. If it’s something that they’re going to be instituting, or for example, if there’s a new comp plan coming out or whatever it is, that’s going to happen asking, and solicitating their feedback on whatever that may be to generate buy-in.
[00:29:54] Because if they’re in favor of it, it works with momentum that they’re going to help push those initiatives across as opposed to fighting you on them. so it’s really getting them to help support that instead of help in fighting you on it. And that’s where I think generating buy-in is critical on that side.
[00:30:13] And once again, that goes back to the communication and how you manage up down and across.
[00:30:18] Derek: [00:30:18] What if they’re not in favor of the change?
[00:30:21] Nick: [00:30:21] I think there’s. There’s tough decisions that, that you have to make at times. And I think every situation is different and that is where you have to learn to manage up as well and communicating with leadership on, and then using your resources to make sure that you have the right people on the team at all times.
[00:30:45] And they’re pushing the company and the direction of the company forward at the same time as well. So, yeah. Sometimes those decisions have to be made, but I think finding new ways to communicate to them and getting through and helping understand their perspective is critical. Before you jump to that tough decision, I would say.
[00:31:07] Derek: [00:31:07] Have you had a situation where, you had a rap you’re like this guy is great.
[00:31:12] Does. That’s interesting the company in mind, but when you socialize, you know, possible decision with them, they don’t like it, but you have to roll it out. Anyway, you have to do that.
[00:31:26] Nick: [00:31:26] Yeah, definitely. I mean, you, you, you hope that you generate buy in and then everybody is in favor. I think the important thing is, and this is, this goes back to the communication point.
[00:31:38] Again is every time there is a new. Initiative or process or comp, whatever the thing may be, whatever that may be. Explaining the context of why this is happening. This has been like, like a huge, like aha moment for me is when you can tie that back again to where the company is going or why it helps the company.
[00:32:00] Most of the time, they’re going to be like, Okay, I get, why we’re we have this new process and it makes me spend five more minutes in Salesforce filling out this information data, because it helps make sure the handoff from sales to customer success and smoothly so that we implement them and onboard them successfully to ultimately keep their revenue or get the revenue coming in.
[00:32:20] You know? So when you can step back and explain the context of where this process or initiative is coming from. That’s very helpful for them to connect the dots and see why this is happening. And more often than not. If they’re in favor of the company and enjoy working there, it should help them buy into what that is.
[00:32:41] Derek: [00:32:41] you’re you’re it sounds like you’re saying, Hey, they don’t have to agree with every decision they feel heard and understand the reasons they’ll go along anyway.
[00:32:52] Nick: [00:32:52] I agree with that. That was a much more concise way to say
[00:32:57] Derek: [00:32:57] that’s my super power. I take your smart words and just, yeah. And then I take credit for it.
[00:33:04] cool man. Any, any other advice that you would give? just somebody who is, trying to grab their first manager gig. Just got it. Or now they’re looking at, Hey, I want to get to that director level and have a manager report to me.
[00:33:22] Nick: [00:33:22] I would definitely say, find a mentor or other people that you can look to or talk with.
[00:33:28] And whether that’s finding somebody on LinkedIn being part of some kind of sales or revenue community, or just cold reaching out to somebody else or myself, whatever it may be. that has been one of the most helpful pieces for me in my career. Cause sometimes you just want to vent or ask for experience or help or, or, even listening to a podcast, reading books, looking for other resources to help you learn and grow your knowledge base.
[00:33:55]so that you’re not alone because leadership sometimes can feel lonely when you’re trying to figure out initiatives and communicate up and down and across, there’s times that it can definitely feel lonely. So if you have other resources that you can tap into to talk through and help you think through things differently, that has been supremely helpful for me in my career.
[00:34:14] Derek: [00:34:14] Cool.
[00:34:15] That’s that’s really, really excellent.
[00:34:17] Nick. Thanks so much for coming on, man. I appreciate you doing this and a lot of good info that we got out of your brains today.
[00:34:24] Nick: [00:34:24] Thanks. Thanks for having me, man.
