Accelerating Sales with Pete Essex

Pete Essex is the Outscored VP of Sales at Sales Xceleration, a business and consulting services company and pioneer in outsourced sales leadership. With over 25 years of experience as a Vice President of Sales for Fortune 500 and start-up companies, Pete has established and rebuilt sales teams from the ground up. Using the Sales Xceleration process, Pete helps sales organizations identify trends and enhance and develop sales teams and sales strategies to execute their sales growth metrics. Pete holds a BA in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and earned his MBA from Jones International University. He is a veteran who formerly served as a Captain, Commander, and Communications Electronics Staff Officer for the US Army.

Pete joins me to discuss how companies can accelerate their sales. He explains how he got into sales in the corporate world after serving in the military and how having the mindset to help and serve customers, as opposed to selling, can help a business. He describes how sales leaders can help companies navigate through an economic downturn. He also highlights the importance of individual coaching, offers his advice on hiring and retaining the best salespeople, and shares why he is passionate about scuba diving and flying.

"There are all different kinds of salespeople, but the really good ones listen well, formulate in their head what needs to happen next, and have their set processes." - Pete Essex

This week on Priorities Lifestyle:

• The importance of sales

• Pete's background and life in the military

• His 'sales infrastructure' concept and how the fundamentals of sales can turn around a small business

• The disconnect between owners, management, and salespeople

• The Sales Xceleration process

• The difficulty of finding excellent salespeople

• Creating compensation structures for salespeople

• Diagnosing and recession-proofing the sales of a company

• The power of leadership and communication skills

• How to motivate salespeople

• How to turn around an employee in a rut

Resources Mentioned:

• Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

• Book: The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded by Michael D. Watkins

• Salesforce

Our Favorite Quotes:

• "If you can't sell, you're out of business." - Rob Schulz

• "We talk a lot about getting financial books in order or building financial statements, but we don't talk about how the fundamentals of sales can really move the needle for a business." - Rob Schulz

• "Sales is the engine that makes companies go." - Pete Essex

Connect with Pete Essex:

• Sales Xceleration

• Email: pessex@salesxceleration.com

• Sales Xceleration on LinkedIn

• Sales Xceleration on Facebook

• Sales Xceleration on Twitter

• Pete Essex on LinkedIn

About Rob Schulz and P&L Priorities & LIfestyle Podcast

The P&L: Priorities & Lifestyle Podcast is a show for business owners. In each episode, host and financial planner Rob Schulz sits down with business owners and the professionals that serve them to talk about business building, life, money — and the all-important transition out of the business, which inevitably happens to everyone who has ever founded a company.

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*You're listening to P&L: Priorities & Lifestyle with your host Rob Schulz. Rob is the Founder and President of Schulz Wealth. All opinions expressed by Rob and his guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Schulz Wealth. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. Please refer to our website for more information: schulzwealth.com.