February, 2018

C-Suite Chats with Christian Valiulis, February 2018

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C-Suite Chats With Christian Valiulis, February 2018

Our very own CRO, Christian Valiulis, is a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. Once a month, these members come together for Q&A sessions about relevant, important topics in the business world. Here’s what Christian had to say about sales management:

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1. What one habit have you incorporated into your daily or weekly routine that’s directly impacted your company’s sales success?

Christian: We start our weekly sales meetings by spotlighting the black-and-white numbers. Salespeople are masters of manipulating their circumstances; they know how to spin a situation so they are standing on the higher ground. By discussing results outright, salespeople are held more accountable for their responsibilities to the pipeline. This strategy has helped grow a culture of accountability, not only within the sales department, but at our company as a whole.

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2. Content has become a big factor in driving sales. What’s one way you and your sales team use content to drive leads?

Christian: We use our articles to educate leads and potential customers about our industry. We often highlight topics related to a specific time of year to add value to the reader. Our content helps us establish trust with leads in every stage in our pipeline. Building trust is our ultimate goal in creating relationships with leads, and establishing credibility in our industry gives leads confidence in us.

Check out this Forbes article, 10 Ways Sales Professionals Can Use Content To Drive Leads, to see what Christian and other Business Development Council members had to say.

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3. What’s one unconventional but effective approach you’ve taken to training your sales staff?

Christian: We build failure into our training process as early as possible. It’s a low-risk, low-impact process that allows for discussion and growth. Baking little failures into training forces salespeople to think ahead and think for themselves. Our goal is to equip our salespeople to stand on their own two feet — letting them experience a couple of skinned knees at the start will build their strength.

Check out this Forbes article, 10 Unconventional But Effective Ways To Train Your Sales Staff, to see what Christian and other Business Development Council members had to say.

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4. Automation has become a hot topic, but some are concerned that it takes away from establishing relationships with customers. What’s one way you implement automation for efficiency that doesn’t take away from that personal connection?

Christian: Brands need to anticipate scenarios where consumers will interact with automated systems and offer the option to speak with a company representative based on their need and preference. This is a high-risk development process with large amounts of overhead costs involved, but the reward of a well-designed automation system with a parallel human connection option will create a positive customer-brand relationship. At the end of the day, customers are establishing relationships with brands, so the companies need to ensure positive customer experiences to keep the value of personal connections in an automated system.

Check out this Forbes article, Can You Automate Your Business Without Losing That Personal Touch?, to see what Christian and other Business Development Council members had to say.

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5. What’s your best tip for organically optimizing social media platforms for prospecting?

Christian: Share and tag other influencers in your market space on social media. They will be more inclined to re-share and respond to your social postings, exposing your message to a larger pool of prospects. When you engage other companies, partners, and influencers, they’re more likely to return the engagement.

Check out this Forbes article, 7 Ways To Organically Use Social Media For Prospecting, to see what Christian and other Business Development Council members had to say.

About Forbes Business Development Council:

Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only organization for senior-level sales and business development executives. Find out if you qualify at forbesbizdevcouncil.com/qualify.

About Christian Valiulis

Chief Revenue Officer Christian Valiulis at APS is a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. As a national human capital management and full-service payroll processing company, APS delivers a unified cloud solution backed by guaranteed payroll tax compliance services. Christian oversees marketing and sales, channel partnerships, and strategic product and service alliances. Connect with him on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with his most recent publications.