Becoming High Performance and Building A Sales Machine

by Scott

Below you’ll find the first ever “guest re-post” on Life-LongLearner as well as a new podcast with my buddy Ryan Denehy. The post + podcast combo effectively  makes this a Denehy centerfold.

Ryan is a close friend who most recently co-founded Swarm Mobile which was acquired by Groupon. In the podcast episode, we riff on the mental and emotion journey of getting there. In the post, you’ll see all the things he learned building the local sales machine that fueled their growth.

Enter Sensai Denehy….

Listen On Itunes

“Building A Startup Sales Machine: 64 Things I Wish I Knew”

Newsflash: I had no idea what I was doing when I first started running sales and distribution teams almost 10 years ago. Some would argue that I still don’t. But the …
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The Secret Weapon for Building Relationships With Thought Leaders

by Scott

You may think that building relationships with awesome and accomplished people is about having amazing interpersonal skills…

But actually, to get close the best and brightest, there’s something else that’s far more powerful…and the reason why this is the case might be hard to hear.

REALITY: Most people that have already “made it” probably have enough friends and people to hang out with. In fact, at the highest levels, probably the last thing these people want is another person trying to get a piece of their time…coffee date request anyone?

That’s not to say that you’re not unique or don’t have the capacity to add value to their lives, but at a certain point, being socially-skilled just doesn’t cut it in the bigs.

What …
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Break Into Biz Dev: The Do’s and Don’ts of Making Introductions

by Scott

Once upon a time, I was an introduction fool. I made every classic mistake in the book…and in the process probably pushed people away from me that I ultimately wanted to build a relationship with : (

Photo Credit: jo3design via Compfight cc

To demystify some of the mistakes I made, I’m sharing a 12 minute video on The Do’s and Don’ts of Making Introductions.

This is taken from the relationship building section of my new series on How to Land A Business Development Job and serves as a follow up to the last video I shared on the challenging realities of landing startup jobs.

Relationships are important for countless reasons, but within the context of landing a startup job, they’re incredibly value because they …
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Break Into Biz Dev: Realities of Landing Startup Jobs

by Scott

I get about 5 emails or facebook messages a week from people looking to get advice on landing startup jobs…

I guess playing excel like a concert pianist gets old pretty quick.

Photo credit: RateMyPlacement

To combat this inbound assault, I created a free 8 email series that includes some of my best tips on how non-technical people can break into startups (sign up here!).

Besides being a free resource overstretched startup folk can point their friends too, this email series is an introduction to apply for a 5 week program I created on how to break into startup business development.

2 Dynamics People Trying to Break Into Startups Must Understand

Today I wanted to share 4:38 of video from the 5 week program …
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I’m Teaching A New Online Course on How to Break Into Biz Dev

by Scott

A little less than 3 years ago, I decided I wanted to become an entrepreneur.

If I’m truly honest, the catalyst for this pursuit wasn’t motivated by seeing young people accomplish amazing things, but rather serious dissatisfaction with my first job.

My first job in a nutshell:

I was bored as sh*t. I felt like my ideas were never taken seriously and my capacity to create progress within the business was limited by bureaucracy.

I felt like I was wasting my life. It was terrible.

I wanted something more fulfilling  I wanted to have ownership of something. I wanted to feel the tangible impact created by my efforts. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and be excited about work each day.

These feelings …
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Using The Proof Approach to Land A Startup Job

by Scott

This post is part of the  series.

How the heck do you land a startup job as a non-technical person???

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked this I’d have like $2.65.

I want highlight one technique I call the “Proof Approach” that I’ve seen work time and time again.

When you have no prior startup experience, employers are taking a risk on you. They use your previous accomplishments and pedigree as a proxy to determine your capacity to be an effective team member.

If you created enough value at your last job to demonstrate everest potential, this might be enough to secure a gig. But many young people haven’t, and sometimes even major accomplishments aren’t enough to land a …
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The Simple Formula to Become an Opportunity Magnet

by Scott

This post was originally featured on Technori.com, a leading digital publication for the world’s best starters.

 

There are certain people out there that seem to always have amazing things come their way. NEWFLASH. It’s not a coincidence.

Your ability to attract great opportunities comes down to a simple formula:

Size and Quality of Your Network + Transparency + Perceived Ability to Create Value = Volume of Opportunities

Let’s dig in.

Network:

Your “true network” is not everyone you’ve ever met. Your true network is the group of people who’d gravitate towards helping you out given the opportunity (assuming the ask is appropriate).

The larger your true network, the larger the pool of people who might decide to send an opportunity your way. Network quality has implications …
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8 Simple Things You Can Do to Stand Out

by Scott

One thing I think a lot about is contrast; what things I can do in order to stand out. In my personal experience, standing out typically provokes the ideal response – this is why it occupies my thoughts. The last thing I want is to be “just another [insert role here]”. 

 

Here are 8 simple things you can do to stand out.

Inject Personality into Things That are Typically Mundane

Everyday we’re presented with digital canvases to have fun and make people smile. Email copy, calendar invites, and online profiles, amongst other digital mediums, all represent an opportunity to stand out. Most people just go through the motions during the interactions which occupy these elements. This is why injecting personality into them can be so powerful. …
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