Our host, Donald Kelly, speaks with Carlos Oquendo Jr., a business application specialist at Microsoft. He shares his insights and experiences in developing strong relationships with internal buyers to increase sales success.

Carlos provides valuable strategies and examples to help sales reps navigate large organizations and achieve their sales goals. Listen to this week’s episode of the Sales Evangelist Podcast to help you become a better sales representative.

Understanding the Role of Internal Partners in the Sales Process

●     Carlos emphasized the significance of internal buy-in before making a sale.

●     He highlighted the challenges sales reps face when deals fall through due to the internal team's lack of support and understanding.

●     Carlos explained how, as a specialist, his role involved working closely with internal partners to build trust and gain customer introductions. Doing this increased his chances of closing deals and achieving sales targets.

Developing Trust with Internal Partners

●     Carlos shared his firsthand experience from his early days as a field sales rep at Bank of America, selling merchant services.

●     He recognized the importance of cultivating relationships with the financial centers he was assigned to to receive referrals and warm leads.

●     Carlos proactively approached the center managers and asked about their expectations, indicating his commitment to meeting their needs.

●     As a result of consistently delivering excellent customer service, Carlos earned the trust of his internal partners. The faith of his internal partners helped him gain an increase in referrals and success.

The Power of Follow-through and Integrity

●     Carlos stressed the importance of following through on commitments made to both customers and internal partners.

●     He shared his approach of promptly contacting customers who referred to him, ensuring a seamless experience and building trust.

●     Additionally, Carlos made it a practice to inform the referring partner about the referral's progress. This proactive communication helped maintain transparency and avoid surprises.

Maintaining Consistency and Repeating Successful Strategies

●     Carlos's success was not just limited to one instance. He shared how he replicated his approach in different financial centers, consistently showing up and establishing partnerships based on mutual expectations and trust.

●     By repeating these successful strategies, Carlos achieved remarkable results, earning recognition and accolades, such as being inducted into two Platinum Clubs at Bank of America.

Building strong relationships with internal buyers is crucial for sales success, as Carlos's experiences exemplify. Trust and mutual understanding can help sales reps secure warm leads, gain valuable introductions, and increase closing rates.

This week’s TSE podcast episode provides a valuable guide for sales reps looking to navigate large organizations effectively. Listen to their conversation to help you achieve your sales targets.

"I really need to stay connected to them and understand their world, what their goals are, what their priorities are, so that they are willing to introduce me to their customers." -Carlos Oquendo Jr.

Resources

Carlos Oquendo Jr. LinkedIn

Sponsorship Offers

1.    This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.

With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.

2.    This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.

3.    This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.

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Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.