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What does personal brand mean, how do you build one… and do you need it to sell software?The idea of ‘personal branding’ doesn’t seem to fit naturally into the software sales space at first. Personal branding for, say, a life coach?Sure. Life coaches are what they sell, so it stands to reason that they work hard on building their own reputation as much as that of the service they offer. Software sales rep? Perhaps not so obvious.Sales reps concentrate on promoting an existing brand – that of the software manufacturer whose product they’re representing. Why would they need – or want – a brand of their own?And yet some of the world’s greatest brands (many of them in tech) are closely linked to the reputations of the key individuals who are behind their success. Apple had Steve Jobs, Microsoft and Bill Gates are inextricable for many, and the visionary leadership of Jeff Bezos continues to push Amazon to new heights. In these high-profile instances, personal brand and corporate success intertwined to create an enhanced reputation and ultimately drive spectacular results. In the era of social selling, can sales reps learn from this marriage of personal and commercial brand-building pioneered by entrepreneurs, and what benefits can it bring?What is a ‘personal brand’?It can be helpful to start by clarifying what personal brand is not. Despite the efforts of many would-be internet entrepreneurs, a personal brand is not about working meticulously to create a public-facing image which is at odds with a concealed reality. Instead, personal branding is about taking action to ensure that your passions, values and experiences are clearly and authentically communicated to an audience – ideally a targeted audience that moves within your commercial field and will derive value from being included in your network. In it’s simplest form, personal brand is how others see us. While sales reps may work for someone else’s organization, represent a product they didn’t build, or earn a living by selling a solution they didn’t design, each person is an individual with a unique trajectory and set of experiences. Throughout their careers, sales reps (while following a broadly similar career pattern):Help different customers in different marketsEncounter and solve different commercial challenges Read, analyze and react to different news sourcesNetwork with different peers, managers and out-of-industry contactsAttend and learn from different events, conferences and trainingsDevelop different methodologies, approaches and valuesThe sum of these factors – plus many others – creates a unique profile. If the prominent characteristics of this profile can be accurately and regularly shared with a relevant community, the result is the development of a personal brand. How does it help?The way we develop our professional personas can have a direct impact on our ability to exert influence, attract opportunity and ultimately drive sales.An easy way to understand personal brand in action is to take a moment to think about the people we would turn to in our personal lives for guidance or advice.They often have a lot in common with one another.They’re usually people we trust, people with integrity, experienced in the field in which we’re asking for assistance, and – if they’re outside of our immediate circle – people we’ve heard positive things about from our own close contacts.Personal brand in business replicates this pattern, and helps professionals in all disciplines to establish a reputation in their domain which draws business and opportunity towards them. That reputation can differ greatly from one individual to the next.One person’s personal brand may be anchored in work ethic, another’s in innovation.Someone else may build their brand around thought leadership within a niche field.Whatever the foundation, personal brand provides people with a platform from which to communicate with an engaged audience – ultimately creating the opportunity to impart advice, generate discussion, facilitate introductions, share content or recommend a purchase.How do you build your brand?Although the power of personal brand lies in its authenticity, it does require careful definition in order to be consistently communicated.  As with any brand, this exercise involves some fundamental categorization:Your audienceWho is it that you help, what is the market sector in which you hope to attract a following and develop a reputation?Your valueWhat core problem do you solve, and what value does your network and audience derive from their connection to you?Your authorityWhat is your credibility founded on, what is your experience and what have you accomplished?Your identityWhat’s your story, what are you passionate about, and how does this fit your brand narrative?Defining and brand and inventing a brand are not the same thing.Where inventing implies plucking a set of values from thin air in order to create a desired (and unsubstantiated) veneer, definition means working out what’s at the heart of your professional identity and making sure brand-building activities are aligned with this. ***Once you’ve defined your personal brand, it’s time to put yourself out there and engage with your audience. Opportunities to develop brand identity are all around, as long as activity supports brand objectives by sharing relevant value with a target audience.Common steps to build personal brand include:TwitterLinkedIn (articles, vlogs, groups and thread discussions)Podcasts (personal and guest participation)YouTube channels (explainer videos, Q&As, tutorials, reviews)WebinarsBlogs (corporate blogs, Medium articles, industry publication guest blogging)Meetups and networking events (hosting, organizing and attending)Conference and event participation (panel moderation, roundtable participation, keynote speaking)Whether it’s solving a specific business problem, reposting an article or patting yourself on the back by sharing positive customer feedback, there are abundant opportunities to connect your daily professional experience with your target audience in a way that creates value for them while strengthening your persona. Telling stories, teaching and entertaining all help to reflect your values and interests.Build the right connections with the right people, and the rewards will soon follow. ***Adaptive Tech recruits on behalf of high-growth SaaS vendors, filling roles at all levels including SDR, CSM, AE, Sales Engineering, VP and more.You can check out Adaptive Tech's SaaS sales vacancies in our job listings here.

Money-maker or deal-breaker – is your LinkedIn profile optimized to help you sell?A busy sales rep’s LinkedIn profile gets views from hundreds of people for hundreds of different reasons, reaching far beyond direct prospects checking them out online.Every post, comment, like or share reverberates through the online community of 500m+ members, and building a powerful profile that pro-actively contributes to pushing new and existing prospects along the sales funnel can be an investment worth many thousands of dollars in its cumulative impact.Looking to turn your LinkedIn profile from a static bio into a lead-gen engine?Here are the essentials:1. PhotoOK, let’s get through this one fast - LinkedIn profile photos have the simple purpose of presenting you as an approachable professional.You might be amazed that this point even makes our list, but… let’s just say that there are some wide-ranging interpretations out there of what this concept might mean.Remember, the function of your photo is to help bridge the gap that exists from not meeting your customer in person.So, if your picture shows you cropped out from a blurry wedding group photo, behind reflective ski goggles or zoomed out to 1,000 yards on top of a mountain peak, you’re creating a needless barrier that can be solved with a neutral background and a cell phone camera.Easy fix.2. Banner imageYour profile’s banner image is freely available advertising space – why not make use of it?As a minimum, it should represent your brand for top-of-mind awareness – ideally with your company’s tagline.At best, have your marketing team create a banner image that delivers an elevator pitch of your offering, compelling headline sales data, an engaging screen capture or a client quote. What’s likely to move prospects down the funnel faster – a generic cityscape backdrop or a powerful customer testimonial?3. HeadlineLinkedIn offers you the chance to customize your ‘headline’. This is not the same as your current job title – it’s what sits at the top of your profile, and what people will see when you pop up in their news feeds.To get the most out of it, tell people about the results you create, not your job function.Who’s going to get a foot in the door faster with target prospects in the video adtech space?'Account Executive' or 'Helping marketers improve ROI on video ad spend'Quick hint – it’s best not to go overboard here. Remember to keep it intelligible and relevant. You’ll see plenty of quirky and well-intentioned headlines that actually confuse more than they help, e.g. "Delighting customers with awesome user experiences"OK... so what do you do?4. SummaryYour summary sits right under your photo and is the centrepiece of your profile.This is your chance to promote your solution - not yourself.As well as an engaging overview of your product and how it helps customers, remember you can drive prospects to even more compelling sales materials – product overview videos, customer testimonials etc.Use specific page links - don’t make prospects work to find good information about your offering.If you want to frame your solution with some context about the company behind your product, try and keep it concise.A deluge of stats about growth, investment, awards etc. can obstruct your key message – the problem you solve for your customers.5. ActivityThis is where prospects can see what you’re up to on the LinkedIn platform.If you’re a real solutions expert in a niche community, that should shine through – what do you like, what do you share?What do you comment on, what do you say?Who do you engage with?Details like this can be the difference between prospects returning calls or answering emails… if they look for evidence that you’re engaged with your community but your profile is a ghost town – you have to work that much harder.6. ExperienceWhen top sales reps summarize their experience, they find a way to intertwine their experience with results they’ve achieved for their customers.You can still showcase your personal performance, but take a look at the difference below:'Exceeded sales quota by 15% for 3x consecutive years' vs 'Exceeded sales quota by 15% for the 3x consecutive years, helping over 120 accounting firms save an average of 30% on payroll processing costs'7. MediaAttaching media to your profile (in the form of flyers, product overviews, data sheets etc.) is a chance to get any visitor who lands on your profile to explore your product.It often takes weeks of emails, calls, voicemails and old-school prospecting to get a chance to show a prospect the highlights of your solution – why miss the chance if they’re on your profile, ready to learn?Just make sure it’s up to date, and work with marketing to ensure content is evergreen. Outdated market reports, product releases or company news weaken your relevance and can do more harm than good.8. RecommendationsWhile you’re not in control of any unsolicited recommendations graciously bestowed by benevolent co-workers or customers, it’s common practice for mutually respecting peers or business associates to request recommendations to round out their profile.If you do pro-actively seek recommendations (plenty of people do), it’s worth asking if connections can reference your business impact as well as your personal qualities.Again, the difference can be powerful:'Helen was a pleasure to work with - responsive and professional' vs 'Helen was a pleasure to work with - responsive, professional, and helped us dramatically reduce the amount of time we spent finding key data across our organization.'***Adaptive Tech recruits on behalf of high-growth SaaS vendors, filling roles at all levels including SDR, CSM, AE, Sales Engineering, VP and more.You can check out Adaptive Tech's SaaS sales vacancies in our job listings here.

Could these mistakes be undermining your SaaS prospecting efforts?Successful software sales rep are hardwired to close opportunity – from identifying customer pain points to deftly managing price negotiations, the art of converting potential into revenue is the bread and butter of top-achieving sales professionals in all areas of the tech market.Building that pipeline of opportunity, however, is a different ball game.To close deals, you need deals to close – and creating the initial traction needed to get dialogue open can be a sticking point for reps trying to load up their sales funnels – especially those on the front lines of new customer acquisition.  Whether via email, social media, in-person networking or route one cold-calling – here are 5 prospecting blunders that keep valuable conversations from getting off the ground.Clickbait subject linesGetting busy prospects to engage with cold emails is a tough challenge, and innovative reps are often willing to try anything which generates the all-important open.However, there can be a price to pay on an emotional level if a prospect opens an email and immediately feels that they’ve been tricked or misled by what it contains.The below are just a handful of examples of common cold email titles that immediately arouse suspicion in the recipient:“Just for you…”[An offer for all email blast recipients – not just for me, at all…]“Re:”[Regarding… a conversation we’ve never had?]“The real reason you’re stressed out at work” [What if I’m not…?]As the sales rep, a bait-and-switch email subject line can be counter productive.You may have found right person, have a product of real value and have persuaded your recipient to open your email… but if your prospect’s immediate reaction is one of frustration then the opportunity dies right there.While it’s tempting to ‘get creative’ to drive open rates, integrity has long-term value – if your prospect loses trust upon opening your email, why would they believe the rest of its contents or your wider value proposition?Telling your prospect what their problems are“As marketing director, you’re well aware of the time drains X and Y can cause. You’re running from meeting to meeting, scrambling to keep pace with ABC…”Effective sales is about learning to understand your prospect’s pain points and working with them to find a solution.Here’s the thing – you don’t get to choose those pain points.You might have a very strong suspicion of what they are - and guide the conversation in that direction - but if you’re attempting to build a reciprocal dialogue with a customer then it’s important not to make sweeping assumptions.Why?Prospecting engagement is about encouraging someone to come and talk to you – the quality of your conversation and your ability to offer a solution will determine whether that discussion evolves into a sale.If you present yourself as a mind-reader who has it all figured out, you create the opposite dynamic.How can your prospect expect you to listen and learn in follow-up conversations if you start the relationship telling them about their life without even speaking to them?Information overloadWhether via email or in a call, blasting someone with every possible feature of your solution is typically more overwhelming than it is helpful.When unsure of exactly what a customer’s problem may be, it can be tempting for sales reps to load their email and demo pitches with every major product benefit to make sure they cover all angles, backed up with links to case studies and online resources.Instead of impressing the customer, this can cause them to lose focus in a mire of information.To better balance your initial approach, hint at what your product can do (a tight elevator pitch is key here!), then open the conversation up with some questions to probe for pain points and opportunity. There’s a reason terms like “lead nurturing” exist – prospecting involves the gradual cultivation of initial interest into targeted and detailed discussions around solutions to certified customer issues. Being too laid backSales reps with high emotional intelligence are permanently aware of the risk of pressuring a prospect too hard – excessive zeal to move the process along can drive potentially interested customers away.However, the reverse is also true. Some reps are so cautious to avoid hustling their prospects that their easy-going attitude can come across as indifference.While not pestering a prospect is crucial, it’s also important to establish a clear dynamic – customers need to feel that you truly believe that your solution will help them.If you don’t care whether or not they buy your product, why should they?Without that core belief as a foundation for the dialogue, there will be no pace and no energy in the process, and it may well die out.Not making the case for ROIThere’s often a perception that early prospecting engagements are no place to be talking about ROI – that’s a level of detail for when you’re further down the discussion path, right?Wrong.People need to understand from day one how your solution will help the bottom line – at least at a high level. Sure, they don’t need a complex mathematical breakdown, but entirely ignoring how your solution will pay for itself in productivity, revenue-generation or cost-saving benefits immediately positions it as a nice-to-have add-on.That’s a tough category to be in – you’ll need a prospect with surplus budget to even consider checking out your product.Keep in mind, when prospecting within large corporations you’re very rarely talking to the ultimate decision-maker straight away, so helping your initial contact feel confident that they can ultimately make a sound business case to get sign-off for your solution gives them the confidence that it’s worth exploring the offering in full.***Looking for your next SaaS sales opportunity? Check out Adaptive Tech's full list of sales jobs across the US and Europe here.We recruit for AEs, CSMs, SDRs, VPs and Sales Engineers across fast-growing and established SaaS vendors at all levels.

Many ambitious sales reps have a career goal of one day moving into a top leadership role – what does it take to get there?For many software sales professionals, achieving the coveted title of VP of Sales marks the pinnacle of career development.Arriving as VP means reaching the top of the ladder - no longer a mere member of the sales team but positioned firmly in the driving seat, taking make-or-break decisions and helming the entire organization’s top-line fortunes. Adaptive Tech’s global team has recruited VP roles with startups, scale-ups and established software vendors across a range of SaaS market sectors.Through conversations with CEOs, first-time sales managers and career sales leaders, our recruiters have a privileged angle from which to observe how successful VPs developed the right mix of abilities and experience to move into top-tier roles.For all aspiring future sales leaders - how do you build the skill set needed to land, retain and excel in the role of VP of Sales? It’s not about being number oneOne of the most surprising things for up-and-coming reps to process is that the path to one day becoming a VP doesn’t necessarily involve being a superstar individual producer.Of course, you need credibility.A respectable track record of making and exceeding quota is a key requirement, but focusing on personal production at the expense of developing other important skills can hold back your rise through the ranks.Just as the fastest or strongest girl or guy doesn’t always captain a sports team, solo performance isn’t enough to build a sales leadership career on.  A rockstar account executive who can’t teach, can’t analyze their own performance and hasn’t built rapport with the rest of the team isn’t an attractive prospect for senior management looking to appoint a leader.Your current manager can teach you more than you thinkOne of the simplest ways to start building a feel for sales leadership and the skills required is to actively observe your current manager’s goals and struggles.While it’s natural to think of a sales manager’s only real concern as hitting their revenue number, detailed assessment will show a more complex picture.See what else your manager is grappling with – maybe it’s raising team morale, integrating new hires into the group, re-engineering reporting structures or getting the best out of technology…Once you understand how your manager works, you can actively start to support them in their role. This places you naturally as a leader within your team - someone in tune with the key issues and aligned with leadership goals.A natural player-coach role can often evolve from this, leaving you well positioned for promotion opportunities as a key team member who understands the nuances beyond revenue production.Learn the leversWhile mid-tier sales managers may be able to run short-term sales promotions or experiment with new meeting structures, VPs have the full range of switches and levers at their disposal to drive activity and behaviors within the organization.To excel in the role, VPs need to:Know what their options areCommissions structures, bonuses, SPIFFs, contests, sales enablement resources, recruitment, training and onboarding, CRMs, territory divisions, team structures and hierarchies… VPs have the ability to adjust and configure multiple aspects of the sales organization and processes to increase results. Learning the full breadth of possibilities is key to the development of future sales leaders.Understand how they workIt’s not enough to know what can be tweaked, it’s crucial to have fully appreciate the possible consequences of each change. Sales organizations are delicate things, made up of a complex blend of people, emotions, ambition, technology and processes.Promoting team members may cause satisfaction for some, but resentment for others. Weighting incentive towards new account acquisition could leave renewals and upsells lagging. Lower quotas may make OTEs more attainable, but limit ambition…VPs need to be prudent strategists, aware of the impact any decisions may have both positively and negatively on their teams.Know when to use themTo run a sales organization effectively, VPs also need great awareness of how long each lever takes to ‘pull’, and how long it takes to impact.Faced with a looming quarter-end deadline, for instance, there’s little sense in cranking up outbound call KPIs which won’t be able to affect the short-term need. The goal is to focus on closing pipeline and bringing viable deals over the line – levers need to be pulled which switch focus to the right activity at the right time.Similarly, better content might be a vital solution to converting prospects, but it takes time to develop.Reps and mid-level managers with an eye on one day rising to VP should analyze their own environment on an ongoing basis – study the ‘levers’ being pulled, and watch what the consequences are.It’s surprising how much you can pick up even if you’re a few hierarchy rungs removed from your current sales leadership – the changes and impacts are there for anyone who’s paying attention to observe and learn from. Embrace the importance of dataWhile early sales management roles are often all about coaching a team to success, when it comes to moving the needle for an entire organization, data is the key.Mentoring, directing. training and incentivizing are the ways a VP will seek to drive behavior in a certain direction, but it all starts with understanding the stories in the data - this means how a sales group is currently operating, where the issues are and what types of activities need to be increased or reduced in order to raise the volume and conversion rates of prospects through the sales funnel.Even with powerful analytics tools, data isn’t always a neat picture or even drawn from the same source, so VPs need to build their own visualizations by understanding what they need to know, not just poring over out-of-the-box reports and hoping a solution will appear in front of their eyes.Reps without much exposure to working with data can pro-actively ask to get more of an understanding from their managers, and start to build an awareness of the key data points, ratios and relationships that allow for big-picture thinking and strategic decision-making.Take one step at a timeA true VP role is a unique position involving a wealth of decisions and responsibilities at a strategic level which are seldom within the purview of mid-tier sales managers.Although it’s important to develop an understanding of the challenges ahead, it takes time to build the bank of experience necessary to step up and lead the organization – so don’t worry about reading up on complex incentive structures of the theories of territory management if you haven’t got a solid track record of helping junior colleagues close deals or build pipelines.Those who rise quickly to VP focus on shining at every phase of their sales career, but play the game with their heads up - aware of what their managers and corporate leadership are doing, observing the impacts, and readying their skills for their next step forwards.***Looking for your next SaaS sales opportunity? Check out Adaptive Tech's full list of sales jobs across the US and Europe here.We recruit for AEs, CSMs, SDRs, VPs and Sales Engineers across fast-growing and established SaaS vendors at all levels.

Strong sales enablement resources can close the gap between potential and closed deals. How does your support measure up?Think about the last sales job you interviewed for – what kinds of questions did you ask?You probably asked about salary. Almost definitely asked about commission. Maybe requested some data or insight around product traction, or asked to learn more about close market competitors.Sales enablement?Probably not.It’s not top of many people’s lists when vetting a new opportunity to ask for details on a company’s sales enablement processes and resources - but the support you’ll receive in articulating the value proposition of a product to prospective customers can have a major impact on your ability to turn interest into revenue.In a career built around incentive compensation and ability to convert prospects to paying customers, sales enablement has a key role to play in equipping reps to be successful and meet (or beat) their numbers. A world-class sales enablement program works to continually optimize the processes, content and resources available to sales employees at all phases of the customer buying journey, ensuring that raw product functionality or salesmanship aren’t the only components driving the sale. This can give reps a critical advantage in the market, while under-equipped or poorly-structured enablement processes leave sales teams fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.So what does ‘good’ look like in sales enablement, and how does your current environment compare?Here’s how to spot the foundational pillars of an elite sales enablement program. - It’s comprehensiveA key function of sales enablement is to create content which educates, guides, inspires or reassures customers throughout their purchase journey. Anything from traditional product overviews, white papers, video tutorials or customer testimonials can fall under this heading.But effective enablement goes far beyond these marketing basics, and looks at the entire sales cycle from multiple angles for both new and existing customers.This means everything from optimizing CRM configuration and prospect data to ensuring sales reps are trained and informed on the resources available to them, and how and when they should be deployed. Leading sales enablement experts obsess over aligning an organization’s sales processes and tools to align perfectly with the journeys of both prospects and repeat clients.- It’s data-drivenThe key to building sales processes which deliver scalable and repeatable results is letting data do the talking.Sales enablement programs which fail to gather, analyze and learn from the data generated throughout the sales cycle miss invaluable information which should be used to shape the development of future resources and workflows in an ongoing feedback loop.In the fast-paced environment of many high-growth SaaS companies, it takes a cool head from leadership to override emotion and gut instinct and find the story contained within the data – but tracking and learning from this provides vital clues as to where and why prospects are failing to convert, and monitoring how effectively new resources resolve those issues.- It’s high-priorityHow high the sales enablement function ranks within organizational hierarchy gives some insight into how its importance is seen by executive leadership. In some companies ‘sales enablement’ is bundled in with corporate marketing (if it even has a name).In others, sales enablement leaders are key members of senior teams, highly-paid experts with substantial budgets and a high-pressure mandate to deliver tangible improvements to a company’s top line and per-rep revenue production.- It adapts quicklyGreat sales enablement needs to move fast.If a sales team detects a gap or obstacle in their workflow, a swift response to offer a solution can mean the difference between righting the ship or missed quotas all round.For most SaaS companies, prospecting is a high-volume activity engaging thousands of customer contacts per week, and an enablement team that takes eons to produce much-needed resources allows painful missed revenue opportunity to slip by unconverted while they deliver.- It’s innovativeThe sales support industry is a vast universe of technology and service-based solutions designed to help sales teams and individuals perform better.Top enablement teams are continually scouring this universe in search of tools and resources that will give their reps a leading edge.Whether it’s collaboration platforms, lead generation tools, prospect data sources, training, marketing or other areas, the sales enablement function should be under continual review and evaluation to see how it might be improved.This doesn’t mean frequent and wholesale change – most sales processes are finely balanced and don’t react well to constant tinkering.What it does mean is a high level of curiosity around exploring and evaluating new opportunities to give reps an advantage or better meet prospect and customer needs.How does your sales enablement environment stack up – world class, or bare-bones basic?Looking for your next SaaS sales opportunity? Check out Adaptive Tech's full list of sales jobs across the US and Europe here.We recruit for AEs, CSMs, SDRs, VPs and Sales Engineers across fast-growing and established SaaS vendors at all levels.

Actionable steps to improve quarter-on-quarter sales bookings...1. Make smarter use of contentWhether in the form of blog articles, videos, news & PR, case studies or customer testimonials, good content helps you to sell your product by articulating and showcasing its benefits.Reviewing your content use can be a great way to make a quick and easy impact on sales performance. Take stock of the resources available to you – what materials does your website include, what are the latest entries in your news and blog section, does your company have a YouTube channel, or has your marketing or sales enablement team created any new support materials?Once you’ve laid out your content tools, it’s time to make them work harder for you. Simple tweaks like adding a link in your auto-signature to your company’s latest piece of content can generate hundreds of additional high-quality brand engagements for the many prospects you correspond with each day. Adding testimonial links to your LinkedIn profile can have similar results, pushing curious potential customers straight to heartfelt product endorsements by key clients.Look for other areas of your sales process where including quality content could help shorten your discussion or consolidate your pitch and enhance your credibility.2. Embrace incremental improvementMany salespeople are so caught up in the ever-spinning carousel of prospecting, pitching and closing that they’re forever waiting for a chance to step back and make some wholesale changes to their sales process.In reality, that opportunity may never come, and you might not need it. Instead of waiting for an illusory ‘break’ on the horizon where you can overhaul your sales approach, try focusing on small daily or weekly changes you can make which will have a cumulative effect across the quarter.Just five more prospecting InMails or connections per day while you finish your morning coffee adds up to twenty-five new potential conversations in a week. That’s a hundred each month, and four hundred across the quarter.You might choose to spend a few extra minutes preparing for prospect calls, add a new layer of detail or personalization to follow-up notes, or send a higher-value ‘check in’ email to prospects who are between phases of the sales process.Whatever you decide, concentrating on simple bite-size improvements can keep you moving forwards and increasing your performance without suspending any improvement until you take time out for a major review.3. Switch it upWe’re all familiar with the much-used quote (usually attributed to Einstein) that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”While sticking to an established sales pattern doesn’t qualify as insanity (especially if it’s working), the old adage holds true with regard for the need to change something in a process in order to produce a different outcome.Consistency is good, and it’s a dangerous move to interfere with a workflow that’s producing steady results, but it’s always important to leave some room for experimentation in sales and to keep trying new things out.Whether it’s the way you deliver your pitch, the questions you ask in discovery calls, the length or tone of email you send, the case studies you reference or the way you conduct your prospect research, there are hundreds of points along the buying journey where you can adjust your interaction to impact the course of events.Don’t fix what isn’t broken, but equally don’t expect next quarter to crush this one if you do the exact same thing.4. Put yourself out thereWhat about creating some content of your own? It’s not only marketing who can talk expertly about your product, market or the challenges you help your customers overcome.LinkedIn articles (such as this one right here) are a great way to get in front of prospects by talking about what matters most to them. You might also consider a short video pitch, a guest blog entry or an article on Medium.If content production’s not your thing, you can make an effort to be more active on social media channels with likes, shares and comments, or get involved in relevant LinkedIn group discussions. The more visible you are (in the right places for the right reasons), the more you do to boost your pipeline.5. Review your network for leadsSocial and business networks grow at a rate of knots, and over the course of last quarter it’s likely that you made many new connections as well as accepting outreach from other professionals. To prep for the quarter ahead, review who’s new in your network (friends, colleagues and wider business associates) and score each one for lead potential. If they themselves don’t represent an opportunity, can they link you to someone that does? Have a look through their connections, check out their employers… It’s always surprising to find just how much potential is a few degrees of separation away.6. Attack a weaknessIf you’re serious about next quarter eclipsing the previous one, it’s not enough just to do a few things better - you need to get better too.We’re always keen to work on what we’re good at, but the easiest place to start to see quick improvement in your performance is pro-actively working to minimize weak areas of your sales process and skill set.Whether it’s establishing early rapport with prospects, asking effective qualifying questions, up-selling, cross-selling or closing, invest some time addressing aspects of your game where you know you’re not yet firing on all cylinders.Ask your employer what resources the company has for internal or external training, and supplement any support they offer with your own research. On top of the countless sales books on offer, resources like Quora can be a great place to pick up insight from industry peers, as well as leading sales blogs like HubSpot or Salesforce.7. Gather internal feedbackLast but not least, don’t forget to learn from those who know you best – your own team. If you’re lucky enough to have a hands-on VP who invests time in coaching his or her team, you may be getting some good input from your direct manager already.What’s less common is for sales reps to go their own team members to seek our constructive criticism. Your peers are the ones who’ve probably heard you make the most calls, who know your routine best and who are most clued-in about the ins and outs of each promising deal in your pipeline.While they may not offer it up uninvited, your colleagues can often provide some useful objective advice that helps you fix things you’re not seeing.***Looking for your next SaaS sales opportunity? Adaptive Tech has sales vacancies at levels across the US and Europe: LDR, SDR, Account Executive, Customer Success, Regional Director and VP+.We recruit for established industry leaders and red hot start-ups – explore our full list of job postings here.