There are many ways to find success and job satisfaction in the world of sales but often this comes through being inspired by the experts.
That’s why we caught up with Gerald Deighan, who works at CoStar where he leads their sales and client service teams in Scotland and the North East of England.
A $17 billion company with 4500 employees, a HQ in Washington DC and more than 70 offices worldwide, CoStar offer the world’s leading commercial real estate research, data, and analytics platform.
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So how did your sales journey begin?
I’ve been in technology sales for more than 15 years. I took an entry-level sales role as a summer job between third and fourth year at university and ‘hit the ground running’.
I quickly realised I was earning more than I would be finishing an honours degree and then going into a graduate training scheme. I deferred a year to make sure and graduated with a pass degree 12 months later and ultimately spent 10 years at the company.
Can you describe a typical day?
We’ve recently set up our new team and are still hiring so my days can vary considerably. I spend as much of my time as possible visiting clients to better understand them and their business, attending events or pitching for new business alongside the account managers.
What do you see as the key skills of a sales manager?
Humility, self-awareness and the ability to make good hiring decisions.
How do you motivate yourself and your team?
I don’t believe you can truly motivate another person – people either want to do something and believe they can or they don’t.
What you can do is help create an environment where people have all the tools and knowledge to succeed. It’s up to each of us individually to bring the desire to achieve our goals.
Have you seen many changes in the sales industry?
I’ve been selling for some time and it has changed dramatically. The explosion of the internet and availability of information has made clients and prospects much better informed. They no longer rely on a salesperson as their primary source of information. In fact, much of the decision-making process is already made prior to engaging with a salesperson now.
The challenge is to shape a prospect’s perception of you as a partner or supplier, way before they feel they want or need you. In fact, often it is to create awareness of the need in the first place.
The top performers have had to evolve their approach to ensure they’re able to deliver value, provide insight and continue to win new clients or retain current ones.
How does a sales manager help a company like CoStar Group achieve their long-term ambitions?
CoStar is essentially a utility to our clients. Anyone who operates in commercial property should be working with CoStar. If they’re not, they’re at a disadvantage. The sales manager’s role is to ensure we hire the right people, to get the right message to the right prospects, and to enough of them, in order to get the job done.
A big part of this is to lead the ethos of “clients first”. Sales managers are accountable for a small cog in a big wheel and they must make sure it works.
What was the best advice you ever took?
Everyone is different. There is no one-size-fits-all approach and that goes for dealing with prospects, clients, your manager, people in your team and anyone else you encounter. You are always influencing, even if you don’t realise it.
Finally, what advice would you give to anyone looking to start a career in sales?
Do it. If you’re resilient, a person who wants to win, is willing to learn every day and will not give up, no matter what, do it!
It’s a journey and it can be tough at times but, given the right environment, you’ll learn so much and the rewards are considerable.
You truly are in control of your outcomes in a sales role. You get out what you put in . . . and every other cliché applies!
If you’d like to begin your own journey in Sales, take a look at the latest vacancies on s1jobs.