This interview is with Richard Harris, Founder at The Harris Consulting Group.

Richard Harris, Founder, The Harris Consulting Group

Welcome to SalesConsultant.io, Richard! Could you tell our audience a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a sales expert?

I've pretty much done most every job you can do in sales. From retail sales at The Gap to being an SDR, AE, Sales Manager, Sales Director, VP of Sales, and fractional CRO. I've run teams selling newspaper subscriptions, advertising, educational software, and large-scale SaaS solutions. Deals have ranged from as little as $6—yes, $6—that were a one-call close to six- and seven-figure-sized deals that took 12-18 months to close.

What initially drew you to the world of sales, and what were some pivotal moments that shaped your career trajectory?

I am one of the few who knew they wanted to be in sales. From an early age, my parents influenced me to understand the value of a dollar and that hard work truly pays off. Some of the pivotal moments included learning about stocks from my parents at a very young age, selling Jolly Ranchers in 6th grade, and closing my first cold call for a whopping $6 per week in a newspaper.

You've emphasized the importance of stage names and exit criteria in a sales process. Can you share an instance where clearly defining these elements led to a significant sales win or a valuable learning experience?

The biggest mistake organizations make is not having a strong sales process, and part of that process includes having the right stage names. Oftentimes, people create stage names like "Demo" or "Proposal." Those are not stage names; those are activities within a particular stage. The best stage names, from top-of-the-funnel to bottom, are Suspects, Prospects, Qualifying, Discovery, Selection, Negotiation, and Closing. This is every sales cycle in the world. Sure, you can try to consolidate something like Qualifying and Discovery; just make sure you have strong definitions for them.

You mentioned that an activity is never a stage name. How can sales professionals avoid the trap of confusing activities with stages, and what impact can this have on their overall process?

The best way to avoid this is to make sure you have clear exit criteria for each stage. This means each stage must have specific pieces of information that must be gathered or a task conducted before a deal can move from one stage to the next. For example, 1st call scheduled and 1st call completed or demo scheduled, demo completed, are both examples of exit criteria. Other examples might include pricing discussed and pricing with terms confirmed.

You've encouraged aspiring sales professionals to seek advice from those they admire. Can you share a specific piece of advice you received from a mentor or role model that has stuck with you throughout your career?

I was once struggling in sales. I have been known to have the "gift of gab," as people say. There are two pieces of advice I've been given over the years that are related to this. One is "Be brilliant, be brief, and be gone." The other one is simply "25% less." Whatever I need to communicate, whether it's verbally or in an email, do it using 25% fewer words.

You've highlighted the significance of identifying and understanding the skeptic in a sales deal. Can you provide an example of how you successfully navigated skepticism to close a challenging deal?

Identifying the skeptic and knowing what they are skeptical about are two very different things. So often, what they are skeptical about is not even the real reason. One example is when someone asks for an ROI. Rather than panicking, I simply respond with several questions, the first of which is, "When was the last time a salesperson gave you an ROI and you believed them?" The answer is never, which now means I can ask other questions around what bad ROI would look like, what good ROI would look like, and how will you know you can believe the ROI from the person you end up hiring? The simple answer is to ask for clarification and then go deep in getting them to explain their real concerns.

Negotiating salaries can be daunting. What strategies can you recommend for sales professionals to confidently determine their worth and negotiate a fair salary that reflects their skills and experience?

This comes down to doing market research on current salaries both inside and outside your geographic region. Reach out to friends, other leaders, and communities you belong to, and seek their advice as well. Then, when you get to a specific number, add 10%. And then justify to yourself why you deserve the 10%.

You've mentioned that leveraging customer testimonials can be particularly effective during the competitive stage of a sales cycle. Can you provide a compelling example of how you used a customer testimonial to address a prospect's concerns and ultimately win the deal?

I often get the question, "How do you compare with _____ company?" The simplest way to handle this is to acknowledge their concern and then use a customer story to sell for you. You can do it by saying the following, "Great question. Would you be open to hearing what our happiest and most successful clients have said their reason was for choosing us? And what did they discover after the engagement?"

Looking back on your career, what is one piece of advice you wish you had received when you were first starting in sales, and how do you think it would have impacted your journey?

The one piece of advice I wish I got was to read more about success. Not business books, simply success. Things about mindset, focusing on outcomes, and how to be a positive role model.