Leslie Venetz, Founder, Sales Team Builder

<p>JB: How’d you get into sales?</p><p>LV:</p><p>Didn’t think I was going to be in sales, but looking back in Model UN, Debate and the art of rhetoric and listen deeply I guess I had been practicing in sales much of my life, but didn’t know it </p><p>I thought I was going into non-profit management and boy is that different</p><p>At the end of the day the crux is HELPING</p><p>Been able to sell across products, sales cycles, price points and the end of the day one thread that has held through those different types of sales is the ability to HELP!</p><p>JB: Less hustle culture - what is the skill set needed for sellers today?</p><p>LV:</p><p>Moving towards a new culture in sales evolution, more empathy, ability to storyteller. Not just in sales, also happening in finance and other areas. </p><p>As a professional community we are all moving towards a way to connect authentically and engage.</p><p>Hustle Culture can be toxic. Sales historically has been seen as aggressive, I will close this at all costs. All about the 80 hours working hard enough and you win. Very dangerous narratives we need to LEAVE behind!</p><p>When I started in sales it was the SELLING JOURNEY, THE SALE PROCESS, now it’s the BUYING PROCESS and put it in the customer’s view. </p><p>Talking about soft skills, working smarter not just banging your head against the wall.</p><p>JB: Lots of burnout in sales. What does working smarter mean?</p><p>LV: </p><p>Conversation with friend Eric Smith - <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lowly-sdr-podcast/id1510238710">The Lowly SDR</a></p><p>Lots of newbies burning out in sales that don’t have the experience. </p><p>So common for SDR/BDR to be given list of names...or maybe no list at all...with the expectation that you go out and pound the phones making 200 calls/day or just send 500 emails/day and hope you get a couple of replies</p><p>Eric- ‘ If you do enough of the same thing you’ll find some success.”</p><p>When I think about the types of teams I want to work for, the types of sales peopl