This week on SalesTV.live we welcome Bill Becker, a seasoned sales professional turned author. With over 35 years in marketing and technology sales, Bill has mastered the art of breaking into sales without traditional experience. In fact, he wrote the book on it!

In this episode, we'll discuss:

* How to land your first sales job

* The myths surrounding sales careers

* How to secure a sales job even if a company isn’t hiring

* Practical steps to create your own sales job and present it to companies

Bill’s extensive sales experience and proven strategies have opened new markets and secured multi-million dollar clients. His unique approach has empowered many aspiring sales professionals to successfully launch their careers, regardless of their background. His actionable insights will provide you with the tools you need to confidently enter the sales field and thrive.

Facts, the latest thinking, chat, and banter about the world of sales.

Come and join us for some lively discussion and debate.

This week's Guest was -

• Bill Becker, a seasoned sales professional turned author

This week's Host was -

• Rob Durant, Founder of Flywheel Results

This week's Panelist was -

• Adam Gray, Co-Founder of DLA Ignite

Transcript of SalesTV.live Mid-Day Edition 2024-06-04

Rob Durant [00:00:02]:

Good morning, good afternoon, and good day wherever you may be joining us from. Welcome to another edition of Sales TV live. Today, we're learning how to land your first sales job even without experience. We're joined by Bill Becker, a seasoned sales professional turned author. With over 35 years in marketing and technology sales, Bill has mastered the art of breaking into sales without traditional experience. In fact, he wrote the book on it. Phil, welcome.

Bill Becker [00:00:37]:

Thank you, Rob. Happy to be here.

Rob Durant [00:00:40]:

We're very glad to have you here. So, Bill, let's start by having you tell us a little more about you, your background, and what led you to where you are today.

Bill Becker [00:00:50]:

Alright. Well, since you said that I have 35 years of experience, I'd like to point out I started out when I was 9.

Adam Gray [00:00:56]:

So we we gathered. We gathered. It's fine.

Bill Becker [00:01:01]:

So yeah. That, I was a salesperson my entire career that, I grew up wanting to be a veterinarian and then realized I have to go to school how long? And said, alright. Well, I'm gonna take my love of music and become a radio DJ. Then I discovered they didn't make any money. So I did the next best thing, which is went into radio sales. Still got to hang out in the radio station every day and, you know, still be creative. And I did that for about 16 years and then segued into technology sales. And right after 9/11, I I was selling computer training at the time, and I had this state contract to retrain all the workers that had been laid off.

Bill Becker [00:01:43]:

Here in Oklahoma, there was really heavy on telecommunication workers. I was just thinking, like, you know, salespeople aren't getting laid off. Now that that that does happen today, I mean we Gray get into that. But I just started thinking like no one grows up wanting to be a salesperson. So that's when the idea of the job nobody dreams of first came Abbott. And I would talk a little bit about that. I spoke at a a national workforce convention in DC, but it wasn't until I got done raising 5 kids and retired that I really wanted to get out there and evangelize about sales careers because I'm a big believer it's the most equitable career out there. Why? Because there's no barriers to entry, no experience, no education requirements.

Bill Becker [00:02:35]:

And part of me evangelizing is getting rid of the myths about sales careers. You know, it's not about tricking people, high pressure sales. It's having conversations. That's it.

Adam Gray [00:02:48]:

That's that's what we preach to people. It's all about having the conversation. And and I think it's really interesting sales because it's largely it's one of the few, I was gonna say professions, but careers that that's a meritocracy, isn't it? You know, generally speaking, your your success is based on how well you can do the job rather than how much you know and who you know.

Bill Becker [00:03:12]:

That's why I loved it because and I never wanted to be in sales management. I mean, you go into sales to control your own destiny. Right? If you're a sales manager, you got 6, 12 other people that you're managing and they are controlling your future. Andy also, sales is the one job that you can make more money than your boss. Yeah. I mean, sales managers have a base and bonus planes, salespeople, base commission. And outside my very first job, the very first sales job, you know, my hometown radio station, I've always made more money than, you know, my boss.

Rob Durant [00:03:55]:

No. So, Bill, you've mentioned it. Your your book alludes to it. How can someone with no previous sales experience get hired in a sales job?

Bill Becker [00:04:08]:

Sure. That's that's that's one of the beauties of it is. So, again, I'm gonna talk about, you know, what what is sales? It's simply having a conversation. So I I was in IT sales for many, many years. And I'm I'm a dork. I I you know, obviously, I knew more about the product when I retired than when I started, but I'm smart enough to know that, you know, what I don't know, I go ask. And Andy I always told people, I never sold anything. I found people who are already in the market for our service and then show them why I was the best choice.

Bill Becker [00:04:49]:

And when you you're gonna have conversations Andy you have you know, and if you're selling something technical, you're gonna have technical engineers. You're you're you have to have some product knowledge. I don't mean that that it's totally beyond that. So but the idea of getting the job with no experience, and this is what I preach a lot to in, you know, part of my, you know, my my speaking Andy my writing is today, you have both unemployment. You also have underemployment. Andy I can make a Gray, not a great case, I can make a case that sometimes underemployment is worse than unemployment. If you don't have a job, at least you have some hope that, you know, hey, I'm gonna I'm gonna get a job at some point Andy everything's gonna be alright. And if you're working 40 hours a week and you're busting your butt and you're just having problems making ends meet and you just don't see a great future for you and your family, that that's soul crushing.

Bill Becker [00:05:52]:

Yeah. And and and and so situations where you can go and do that. So the idea to go get a job that, you know, without experience, to first figure out what do you want to sell? That you, your your interest, your whatever. I will say, you don't have to love, be passionate about what you sell. Andy I Hughes myself a little bit. I lived with this earlier. Almost 20 years in IT sales. I I'm not I'm not a propeller head.

Bill Becker [00:06:21]:

I don't, you know, I I could barely spell SQL. But I love being, you know, representing cutting edge technology. And I knew questions to ask. So whatever. You figure out what you want to sell. The next thing is, how do you go about doing it? You're not gonna apply online. You're not gonna talk to recruiter. You're not gonna go through HR.

Bill Becker [00:06:45]:

Why? Because you don't have any sales experience. They're not going to talk to you. They can only say no. You got to figure out someone who can say yes. And so that you're you're you're selling now. You're looking for a decision maker. And there's all kinds of ways to do that, especially today, with the Internet. Although I do talk a lot about sending a letter, going old school.

Bill Becker [00:07:10]:

Because if you send a letter to a decision maker, especially in a priority envelope, it's gonna get read. And once you get in front of this person, I call up my my come to Jesus speech. As you go, you know, Rob, this is what's been going on in my life. You can either talk about past mistakes or missed opportunities. It's like, I don't I I just don't see a future for me what I'm doing right now. I do see a great future for myself selling your product or service. All you need is one person to sit there and go, wow. I just hit the lottery.

Bill Becker [00:07:49]:

This person is gonna be so motivated. Abbott they don't know on product knowledge, I can teach them. But they're gonna they're gonna all the things you have to go through, they're gonna go through it because they are dedicated. And you're gonna you'll have to produce at some point, but you're gonna get a chance. That's all you can ask. And you just proved you can get in front of a decision maker by doing that, by by getting your job.

Rob Durant [00:08:16]:

I wanna pick up on that, but first, I wanna share, from our audience. Bob Britton says, regarding sales management, John d Rockefeller said, I would rather earn 1% off of 100 people's efforts than 100% off of my own efforts. So there's the counterpoint to sales leadership, I suppose.

Bill Becker [00:08:36]:

I can't imagine managing a Hough people.

Rob Durant [00:08:38]:

No. No. So picking up on what you were saying, what are some examples of people in other careers who successfully transitioned to sales? Do you see any particular careers where that is a trend and and where success tends to happen?

Bill Becker [00:08:56]:

Sure. Project management is 1. I mean, because that's kind of what sales is, especially when you're in everything I talk about is professional selling. So if you're talking, you know, business to business that you're talking, you you could have up to over a year that the the transaction takes place. So what I sold IT services, you know, talking to the decision maker. But in parallel, you had to talk to legal. You had to talk to security. You had to talk to data privacy people.

Bill Becker [00:09:32]:

You had to talk to purchasing. And so you're actually managing a small project. And so I've seen people come in that have no sales knowledge, no, necessarily, product knowledge, but they were great project managers. Another career field, and I'm really been promoting this, are teachers that I would try to to try to keep this non political, Abbott, you know, teachers are going through a rough time right now across the country, and they're leaving the profession in droves. But they have amazing skill set. They're great communicators. They're great project managers, time management. They they are great, to go into sales.

Bill Becker [00:10:17]:

Another part, a group that I'm working with are people who've been incarcerated. And the reason that sales is good so they already have a Hough, go finding a good job. Right?

Adam Gray [00:10:29]:

That's true.

Bill Becker [00:10:30]:

But if that person gets in front of a decision maker and says, you know, hey. These are some mistakes I made in my life. And as you can imagine, I got very few good opportunities out there. You give me the shot, and this will be the best decision you ever made.

Adam Gray [00:10:52]:

It's a very compelling, argument, isn't it? Very compelling argument.

Bill Becker [00:10:58]:

It can change lives.

Adam Gray [00:11:00]:

Yeah. And and, you know, one of the things that that I often find when when we're coaching people is that young sales people feel that they haven't got anything to offer. You know, they feel that they haven't got anything that they can bring. Well, it'd be great if you were dealing with Bill because he's got 30 years experience of this, but it's my first kind of crack at this, and I can't use the experience card to to help me close the business. And I always think that that there's nothing more attractive than saying you're gonna be my first client. So you imagine how hard I'm gonna work to make you happy. I mean, that's an incredibly attractive proposition, isn't it? If this this kind of, I'm gonna be indebted to you. I'm gonna make this work no matter what it takes.

Adam Gray [00:11:41]:

Because one of the things that is largely missing from from people that are out there in the working world is that level of commitment, isn't it?

Bill Becker [00:11:50]:

It is. And and, Adam, you you really hit the head. It went on, I said earlier, when I I I don't sell anything, I find people who are already in the market and then tell them why I'm the best option. I really meant me more so than the company because that that's that's what I bring. I I I can't tell you the number of times that is I've focused on me Andy I'm gonna let the audience know Hughes the secret sauce, to being successful in sales. Replying quickly to requests. It sounds crazy, but every single week of my career, I got thanked. I got applauded for how fast I responded to an email or a voicemail.

Bill Becker [00:12:39]:

And I, you know, at first I'm going, this is strange. Kind of thought that was my job. But in the end, it's like, Gray. A lot of salespeople don't do this. This is the way for some dork to stand out, and I'm I'm happy to I actually had a separate folder in my Outlook to collect all these praises, if you will. And so to your point, if you're brand new, then you can talk about that because in the really thinking about it, there it's less than buying a product or service, but they're putting their faith in the salesperson that they have. That's why I'm I'm a I'm not a fan of what is happening in a lot of sales today where someone signs a client and then it goes over to another person within the company. Think about think it from the customer's point of view because they hate it.

Bill Becker [00:13:32]:

If you're working with Bill for 9 months and, you know, you you traded emails 3 times a day for 9 months, you signed, said I believe in Bill, I believe in the company, and then you get moved over to somebody else. Not that the other person there's nothing wrong with that.

Adam Gray [00:13:47]:

Well, there is. It's Rob. It's the other person.

Bill Becker [00:13:49]:

Yeah. Well, yeah, I didn't wanna talk about Rob. But but think because you know what? In the end, is and especially on on big enterprise sales, they're not buying the product or service. They're not buying the features or benefit. They're buying peace of mind.

Adam Gray [00:14:07]:

They're buying your promise. That's what they're buying because they only know whether the product does what you say it's gonna do at the point that they've bought it. So up until that point, it's just your words. And and, yeah, I mean, we are always saying to people, you are the secret sauce. You are the most attractive thing you have. And when people lead with, well, you should buy our product because it's got these features, it's like every company says Abbott this is the really important feature, and every company says that as well.

Bill Becker [00:14:35]:

Right. We're

Adam Gray [00:14:35]:

market leading, and every company says that as well. But when you say, it's me. Look me in the eyes. You know? I'm gonna help you sort this problem out. That's that's the thing, isn't it? That's the magic.

Bill Becker [00:14:47]:

It it truly is because you have I mean, think about this. We spend more waking hours at work than we do with our families. And I had customers become very, very close friends just as a national extension that, you know, I talk in my book that, you know, I Adam dog who I had for 16 years. In the last 10 years of my career, I was able to work from home. So when I have a call video call with a client or a coworker, wasn't, hey, Bill, how are you doing? How's our boy doing? You know, here over the bed over on my left. And so they wanna feel good that because especially in IT sales. Right? It's not when. It's it's not if.

Bill Becker [00:15:26]:

It's when something goes wrong. You know what? And that's are am I gonna feel good? Is Bill gonna disappear on me? Is it are we gonna and so yeah, it's it's that's why the the the personal touch that's why salespeople are never gonna be replaced by AI.

Rob Durant [00:15:46]:

So if sales is a job that nobody dreams of, what are some of the myths about being in sales that, we should probably start to, break down?

Bill Becker [00:16:00]:

Well, as I said earlier, the first thing is it's it's not high pressure. It's not you're not trying to trick people into buying something they may or may not need. You know, I you think of boiler room, you think, you know, other movies and TV shows that, that's just, that's not how real sales happens today. Kind of, you know, on an extension of that is how sales different today than it, you know, it was 5 years ago, 10 years ago. Prospects are a lot more educated. And so when they come to you, they've already done their their their research. They want to talk to a human that can answer questions. And so there's again, that's why it's just a conversation.

Bill Becker [00:16:49]:

And one of the most important things you can bring to the table, cause they already know what your product can do, they wanna know what can go wrong. When I sold radio or when I sold computer training, my instructors did a lot of consulting on the side. They did a lot of SharePoint consulting, and most of the consulting was fixing someone else's mistakes. The guys came up with the verb to go, oh you've been share pooed. And Abbott when they talked about these things in the class, people really set up and listened. You know, like, hey, all right, I know the lecture out of the official Microsoft curriculum. But here, this is street knowledge on what not to do. And sharing what not to do is often way more important than sharing what to do.

Adam Gray [00:17:40]:

Yes. A really great comment from, Bob, the last one about show Glengarry Glen Ross to every seller as a caution retailer of how not to sell. It's funny because for many years, I thought that was the best sales training video. You know, it it it it's awful behavior, but it does show what true tenacity and and what battling adversity is like. But now, yeah, it's incredibly out of out of place. Andy I think because, nowadays, everybody is a click away, aren't they? So, you know, I can look at you. I can look at Rob. I can think, well, I I like you more than I like Rob.

Adam Gray [00:18:16]:

Therefore, I'll go with you. Even if even if going with you is just you being the starting point.

Bill Becker [00:18:22]:

Mhmm. The

Adam Gray [00:18:22]:

fact is that the people can make that that comparative analysis of you and your competitors very, very easily these days.

Bill Becker [00:18:30]:

For sure. But when you talked about tenacity, that's that's the beauty of it. That that is important, and anyone can do that. You can only lose if you give up. You get in front of a decision maker, you know, for your first sales Rob, and it it doesn't work out. Spoiler alert. No just means no today. They could call back next week.

Bill Becker [00:18:56]:

I my the biggest sale I ever made, they had told, higher ups. It's like, no. And so I came and reached out to them a few months later, told them why I was different. Kinda like the thing you were talking about, Adam. It's like, hey. This I'm not necessarily new, but this is how I'm different. And I knew one of the things that they had said why they went with someone else was the the quickness on the follow-up. So, yeah, I can't think of the number of sales I've I've made in my career that it just it didn't happen today.

Bill Becker [00:19:28]:

They just the timing wasn't right. Some internal things change. But if you don't get it's it's it's corny, but it's true. If you don't give up, you can never lose.

Adam Gray [00:19:39]:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Rob Durant [00:19:40]:

We have a comment from the audience. Jensen Abbott says, or no means next opportunity. Here we go.

Adam Gray [00:19:50]:

Yeah. Hi, Jensen. Yeah. And and and I think that that, you know, the reality of of sales is that, you you need to to you know, you're gonna get knocked down a few Tim, and you need to pick yourself up and dust yourself down. But, absolutely, you know, the the point of this is about having a conversation. You know, you have a chat to somebody, you see where it goes. If there's chemistry there, you're in with a shout. If there's no chemistry there, you're not in with a shout Andy you need to move on and look at the next opportunity.

Adam Gray [00:20:18]:

Because if you don't want to work with me, it doesn't matter how badly I want to work with you or how good the product is, you're not going to work with me. You know, I often think that this is like in the implementation phase of whatever it is that you're doing, you're gonna be locked in a meeting room with this person for 6 weeks straight.

Bill Becker [00:20:36]:

Mhmm.

Adam Gray [00:20:36]:

You know, that'd be the worst 6 weeks of your life if you hate them. Alternatively, it could be a joy being locked in a room with them for 6 weeks because they're they're someone that you really get along with Andy and you really enjoy their company. Andy, actually, life's too short to put up with the the the crap, isn't it? You know, you you wanna be doing stuff with you wanna be doing stuff you like with people you like doing it with.

Bill Becker [00:20:57]:

It's interesting that that how you share that, Adam, because you know what here's something people may not realize that there's times you're gonna say you're gonna say no to the prospect. The prospect or even a customer. We had a customer who was beating up our our help desk, and the help desk are my people. You know, I mean, they're the front facing of the company. So I said, you know what? We may not be the right fit for you guys anymore. And leaving us is not easy. It's not like you change paper company and go across the street. It's it's months long trying to find another platform.

Bill Becker [00:21:35]:

Well, this this client, you know, blew a gasket, hunted down our CEO, told Tim, you know, why Bill Becker was the worst person in the world. And, CEO talks to me, and I said, this person's a bully. And the bully got fired. And so it it it works both ways that, you you you wanna have a good relationship.

Adam Gray [00:21:58]:

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I and I think that so often, you know, the the problem with sales as a career is that so often people are it's about closing the business today, not about closing the business when it's right. And and that drives, both the customer and the salesperson into a very can drive them into a very uncomfortable place to be. So Bill, what can I do that will make you sign today? Oh, nothing. Because we're under contract for another 3 months. Or, no, we haven't got the budget. Or, no, it needs to happen next year or, no, we're still evaluate evaluating oh, yeah.

Adam Gray [00:22:36]:

But suppose we were to do you a really good deal on this. So, you know, it's like it's it's just really uncomfortable, belittling for both parties, isn't it? But Tim, so many sales managers drive that as being the behavior which is required.

Bill Becker [00:22:49]:

Well, it's so true. And we see this a lot Andy I see some threads on on LinkedIn. And you know, another great thing about being, you know, in sales, you can fire your company and go work someplace else. That, you know, there's things like you mentioned, you know, that are being driven. Rob it's it's more than, you know, the sales managers, usually ownership, you know, investors Andy things like that. So that's the beauty that, you know, I I had 2 totally different things. I sold radio ads and I sold IT services. And so you can sell whatever, and you know, you can and I talk about that in when I, I have a couple of things where I talk about getting your first sales Rob.

Bill Becker [00:23:38]:

But also sales, you can go out and create your own job and sell it to the company of your choice. And I did that in the second part of, you know, my career. Actually kind of in the middle of it Andy I transferred over from, you know, straight radio selling. So the idea is that, you know, maybe it doesn't work with the company or the industry that you're in. But if you're passionate, you can take that same skill set Andy it is a skill, it is a talent to another industry, to another company.

Adam Gray [00:24:09]:

So so how so how does one get their 1st sales job then? Because, you know, I've worked in organizations where the business development role is like the the thin end of the wedge Andy, you know, eventually, you get, you know, you move over the the the fence into the sales department. But I can't help thinking that often, you know, the the BD role, it's teaching people the wrong skills. And I've worked with loads and loads and loads of salespeople that are useless. And they're useless not because they can't sell or they can't administer or they can't close and they don't understand all of the methodologies, but simply because they're not good people people. You know, they're not able to actually form any kind of human bond with the person that engenders trust and love between the 2 of

Bill Becker [00:24:54]:

them. Well, I think a big part of that is mindset. And what I'm talking about is for a long time, sales has been positioned as the job of last resort. I think back, when we're raising kids, you know, so I'm I'm in my I I'm always interested in talking to different salespeople. Right? So I've interviewed, for some of the an article early on in different salespeople Andy talked to this this early twenties making a Gray. This is like 2002 selling cars. Just killing it. So when we went out to go find a car, my wife and I was talking to salesperson, probably early forties, really well dressed.

Bill Becker [00:25:38]:

He was basically apologizing. He goes, yeah. This is just something I'm doing until something better comes along. Yet someone across town is a guy half his age killing it. And so it's, but you don't have to be a people person. I I want to that's really important because as much as I'm self deprecating and and, you know, I I joke about it, you know, off of here, I I'm just I'm pretty quiet. And I'd mentioned project management. I I know a a good friend who's killing it in sales.

Bill Becker [00:26:14]:

Not as personable as a lot of people you would think, but he was a tremendous project manager and now he's just making obscene amount of money.

Rob Durant [00:26:25]:

Bill, this has been great. Thank you very much. How can people get in touch with you? How can they learn more?

Bill Becker [00:26:32]:

Sure. So a couple places, the job nobody dreams of.com. You got my backstory and and some more. You can also go to academy dot the Rob nobody dreams of.com. You can see a couple courses I have there. Both of them have the first lessons for free. You get to see a little bit more of my personality in in the opening videos. I make fun of myself.

Bill Becker [00:26:54]:

It, just like I did when I was selling. And, so, yeah, I would love it. Jobnobodydreamshave.comoracademy.thejobnobodydreamshave.com.

Rob Durant [00:27:06]:

Awesome. Thank you. We now have a newsletter. Don't miss an episode. Get show highlights beyond the show insights and reminders of upcoming episodes. Scan the QR code on screen or visit us at salestv. Liveforward/newsletter.

Adam Gray [00:27:24]:

This has

Rob Durant [00:27:25]:

been another edition of Sales TV Live on behalf of the panelists and everyone at Sales TV. To our guests and to our audience, thank you for being an active part in our show.

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