Home > NewsRelease > Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years
Text
Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years
From:
Elinor Stutz  --   Top One Percent Influencer and Sales Performance Guru Elinor Stutz -- Top One Percent Influencer and Sales Performance Guru
For Immediate Release:
Dateline: Washington, DC
Wednesday, August 21, 2024

 

Attract the Right Job Or Clientele

Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years

Our guest blog today is from Andrew Barbuto, a successful sales professional who has built an impressive career in ad tech sales. His journey is a testament to perseverance, continuous learning, and the relentless pursuit of improvement. Andrew’s story offers valuable insights for salespeople, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to grow their business.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years

Starting: The Drive for Improvement

I began my career in ad tech sales eight years ago. My initial experiences were far from smooth, filled with challenges and setbacks. When I started, I thought I would be trained to sell, but I never was and had to learn independently.

I could have been better at first. I sounded robotic, cut off customers, and listened to respond rather than understand. However, I knew I would become obsessed, had a passion for helping customers, and was willing to request feedback to learn and improve proactively. My early struggles ignited a desire to find a way not just to survive but to thrive.

Facing Challenges and Learning Lessons

One of the toughest challenges I faced was building a book of business from scratch at two different digital media companies, starting with no clients or established reputation. The fear of failure was ever-present, but it also fueled my determination to succeed.

I immersed myself in learning, reading over 50 sales books and interviewing top sales reps. I analyzed my failures and successes, constantly tweaking my approach. I also set up mock sales pitches, requested feedback, and listened to the recording while continuing to work hard and improve.

After my first six months, I still hadn’t closed any new business despite reaching out to 100 prospects per day and setting up 5+ meetings per week. 

However, after six months, the first new service client deal came in, and the business became more understandable. I learned from each experience and improved with each new deal.

Over the next three years, I won 20 clients per year, growing my book to $10MM to become the top-grossing sales rep at my company. I got the service sale down to a science, but the industry was moving towards self-service software, so I decided to pursue a new opportunity where I could learn to sell SaaS deals. 

Selling software was a completely different ball game. The sales cycles were longer, and there were more decision-makers and change management involved. 

Three months into my new job, the director who recruited me left, so learning was once again in my hands. I repeated the same learning process by setting up one-on-ones with top sales reps and reading books on selling software.

After six months, it all began to make sense, but then the Pandemic happened. Many of my clients were furloughed or laid off, and my budget was cut, including a $5MM deal with my largest client, who said we couldn’t work together anymore. 

However, even if we couldn’t do business, I wanted to help, so I provided LinkedIn referrals, WFH records, and updates on the country’s reopening.

I continued to improve at selling software and started to win new clients. Once things improved, my clients remembered, and they all came back. Over the last five years, I’ve amassed 40 software contracts while becoming the top-grossing salesperson at my company out of over 100 reps. 

Actionable Steps for Success

  1. Build a Strong Foundation: It’s crucial for new salespeople to understand the fundamentals. Invest time in learning the basics of your industry and the sales process. This knowledge will serve as the foundation for your growth.
  2. Continuous Learning: Never stop learning. Read books, take training, and seek mentorship. The more you learn and know, the more you’ll be able to adapt and improve.
  3. Networking: Build relationships within your industry. Networking can open doors to new opportunities and provide valuable insights to stay ahead of the competition.
  4. Customer-Centric Approach: Always prioritize the customer’s needs. Understand their pain points and tailor your solutions to address them. This approach builds trust and long-term relationships.
  5. Resilience: Sales can be challenging, filled with rejections and setbacks. Develop resilience and keep pushing forward, learning from each experience.

Where I Am Today and My Vision for the Future

Today, I manage over $80 million in digital media revenue across 30+ clients, the most annual revenue in my company’s history. I’ve closed $250MM in revenue in my career. 

My journey from struggling to becoming a top sales rep has been enriching, but I’m not stopping here. My vision for the future is to share the knowledge and strategies I’ve developed with others. 

This fall, I’ll release a book that is a step-by-step guide to my successful sales method. It is designed to help new salespeople expedite their ramp-up period and provide unique tips for experienced salespeople to close faster, more profitable deals while crushing their quota.

It’s the “How to” guide I wish I had when I started, including exactly what to say and do from day one while reviewing each stage of the sales cycle that includes:

  • Effective Onboarding 
  • Prospect Research/Qualification
  • Prospecting 
  • Sales Meetings – Questions and Script Writing 
  • Demos 
  • Advancing the Deal 
  • Proposals 
  • Financial Analysis
  • Contract Negotiation 
  • Closing Deals 

Conclusion: Building a Sales Career: From $0 to $250MM in 8 Years

My story is a testament to the fact that you can overcome any challenge and achieve your goals with determination and the right strategies. I continue to use this exact sales method successfully today to win and retain clients, so I believe these strategies help anyone selling in today’s remote working, AI-powered, data-driven world.

Anyone can achieve sales success by focusing on continuous learning, building strong relationships, and maintaining a customer-centric approach. 

For more insights and tips, visit my website, www.AndrewBarbuto.com and join the waitlist for my upcoming book to receive a FREE download of my Meeting Hack for how to secure next steps in 5 minutes.

Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn at www.LinkedIn.com/in/andrewbarbuto. My content can help you on your sales journey to maximize your commissions in a long and successful sales career!

For more Insights, Visit Elinor’s Amazon Author Page

Communicate to Attract Interest

Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results is an International Best-Seller and Evergreen: A Classic! https://amzn.to/39QiVZwHIRED! How To Use Sales Techniques To Sell Yourself On Interviews is a best seller. https://amzn.to/33LP2pv and has helped many to secure the job they desired.

Be A Story-Teller

“Believe, Become, Empower”

Related Blog Stories:

Data Can Direct Us to the Better Path
Dedicate Yourself to Your Purpose
Surpass Fear with Suitable Actions

Sales Tips: The Art Of Capturing Attractive Real Estate Photos

  1. Commit to your long-term vision for accomplishment(s) and to enjoy business success. 
  2. Review all strategies to realize where you may implement a better approach.
  3. Ensure you are current on technology and apps for quality and efficient delivery.
  4. Be open to all new ideas for consideration to uncover the better ones for your business.
  5. Take longer breaks during the weekend to allow your mind to wander and create new ideas.
  6. Consider what may further motivate you, the staff, and your community to benefit many.
  7. Always balance the bottom line with additional expenditures to ensure a solid footing.
  8. Stay current with industry news and research what the pundits say to realize better ideas for motivating the people you work with to new levels.
  9. ‘Don’t give up – find a better way!’
  10. Celebrate Success!

Today’s insights are provided to help you achieve the Smooth Sale!

 Advisorpedia  Publishes information to help advisors build their practice, and those interested in the markets choose investments and find inspiration.

BabyBoomer – A trusted media source that collects and curates all the news and resources, plus offers a wide variety of excellent courses for the Baby Boomer generation.

BizCatalyst360 Provides a life, culture, and biz new media digest as a hub of creative expression and personal growth.

CatCat: Build your future one skill at a time.

ContactOut is a web-based platform that enables users to search for contact information and uncover contact details, including email addresses, phone numbers, and other personal data.

Executives Diary Magazine Features leaders from varying fields sharing their inspiring stories, including Elinor Stutz.

Fedica, Realize your followers’ interests and create tailored content to encourage a returning and referring clientele.

Greg Jenkins Consulting LLC  – Helping organizations realize the value of diversity to build inclusive, evolving, high-performing cultures.

Growth Hackers – Helping businesses globally grow with lead generation, growth marketing, conversion rate optimization, data analytics, user acquisition, retention, and sales.

Humanology International Institute – The institution that develops and safeguards humanology as a discipline worldwide. 

Inclusion Allies Coalition: “Everyone is welcome here.” Learn more to train teams and join the advocacy program.

Internet Advisor: Find the right internet service among 2083 providers across 36,380 cities. Plus, Cellphonedeal compiles excellent phone deals, plans, and prepaid to furnish you with the best options in your area.

Inspired Movie Inspiration is a game changer for most; apply to an inspiring guiding light in conjunction with Producer/Director of the Inspired movie Patryk Wezowski,

Kred  Connect with top-rated influencers to learn from and grow your networks.

LinktoEXPERT  “It is not who you know – who knows you and what your expertise can do for them, plus understand the value of hiring you.” 

Lotus Solution LLC Helps organizations create diversity and inclusion to ensure fairness and work through customized consulting, training, and keynote speeches.

Onalytica: Find relevant influencers for your brand.

SalesPop!   Purveyors of Prosperity; How to Compete against Yourself to Excel in Your Career.
Simma Lieberman
, “The Inclusionist,” helps develop inclusive leaders from the inside out to champion diversity and build equitable, inclusive cultures at every level.

Yoroflow offers a comprehensive suite of digital workplace platforms to help you streamline your day-to-day operations, manage your finances, and grow your business.

Vunela  Provides a unique opportunity to view Videos and read articles by World Leaders.

Win Win Women is the world’s only interactive network and an international community for women. Women WIN when they receive solutions + Experts WIN when they provide solutions = Win Win Women.

 

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, delivers inspirational keynotes at conferences and authored: The International Best-Selling Book, Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results.” In addition to being translated into four languages, it reached the remarkable and unique level of being hailed Evergreen. Stutz’ commitment to community service led to the writing of her second best-selling book, HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews.”

Kred proclaimed Stutz as a “Top 1% Influencer for Social Media,.  CEO World Magazine named Stutz as one of “The brightest sales minds to follow on Twitter”.  Bizzhum and NowISeeIt both named the Smooth Sale Blog as one of the “Top 100 Most Innovative Sales Bloggers.”  Stutz consults and speaks worldwide.

Connect with Stutz:

Twitter: @smoothsale  
LinkedIn: Elinor Stutz

Youtube:  Elinor Stutz

Elinor Stutz (she/her/hers)
International Bestselling Author, Top 1% Influencer, Inspirational Speaker
Smooth Sale 
https://smoothsale.net 
https://ElinorStutz.kred


 

 

Pickup Short URL to Share
News Media Interview Contact
Name: Elinor Stutz
Title: CEO, Speaker, Author
Group: Smooth Sale
Dateline: Ashburn, VA United States
Direct Phone: 408-209-0550
Main Phone: 408-209-0550
Cell Phone: 408-209-0550
Jump To Elinor Stutz  --   Top One Percent Influencer and Sales Performance Guru Jump To Elinor Stutz -- Top One Percent Influencer and Sales Performance Guru
Contact Click to Contact