Macaulay: What it Takes to Succeed in Tech Sales

In this interview with Sunday Ehigiator, Co-founder of Tech Sales and Partnership Community, Titilope Macaulay digs into the importance of community for tech salespersons and what it takes to succeed in the profession. Excerpts

How does the Tech Sales and Partnership Community support the professional growth of tech salespeople in Nigeria?

Knowing how lonely the journey was for me when I ventured into tech sales, the plan was to have a safe space where other tech sales professionals and even enthusiasts could meet people like them, share their daily experiences, share their wins and frustrations so they know these struggles are not peculiar to them. They can also learn about how others are navigating their struggles. The community is hosted on Slack and we have various channels for different communication. People ask questions about tools, companies they want to pitch to and different things. 

Not only do we encourage peer-to-peer learning, but we also have various monthly learning programs one of which is our info session where we bring in leaders in the industry such as Leila Omo-Ikirodah, the Country Manager at Lipalater Nigeria, Adetola Oloke, the Head of Sales and Partnerships at Korapay, Benjamin Dada, Head of Partnerships at Pastel and so on.

We also have our mentoring sessions where we’ve had experienced tech sales professionals such as Charles Idem of Paystack, Nicholson Aleke of Interswitch, Juliana Mwangi of Safriex and so on teach topics that affect mid-level and senior-level sales professionals.

Every last Thursday of the month, we have sessions where everyone shares their wins and challenges in that month and we share advice in areas people need them

We also have partnerships with a sales academy, Revwit and an international recruiting startup, TalentPoel to help our members who are looking for opportunities to upskill and also land better or even international jobs. And we are working on more partnership opportunities to help our community members grow.

In your opinion, why is it important to create a dedicated community for tech sales professionals, and what advantages does it bring to both individuals and the industry as a whole?

Communities play a great role in helping people access better opportunities and even enhancing the growth of an industry. I have never seen a thriving career path that doesn’t have clusters and communities where people of like minds and people with similar career goals come together to help one another. I am one weird extrovert who barely steps out of my house without a strong motivation but once I’m out, it’s all fun. Virtual communities have played an amazing role in my career growth. I’ve made life-changing friendships, and I have had access to information that I probably wouldn’t have had if I had been isolated from that community. I have had major career wins because of the access to a member of a community. These benefits are endless. 

What are some of the challenges that tech sales professionals face in Nigeria, and how can a community like yours help overcome them?

A lot of tech sales professionals are isolated and so access to information is a luxury enjoyed by very few people which is one of the reasons we started TSPC. This one challenge affects so many areas of people’s careers; lack of access or knowledge about better work tools, their productivity at work, exposure to the information about the market they are selling to and even information about better work opportunities with better pay and benefits.

How do you stay updated with the latest trends and developments in the tech sales industry, and how do you encourage continuous learning among community members?

Reading relevant sales books, and blogs, and listening to educational podcasts one of which is, ‘Hunters and Unicorns’. I also spend time connecting with other professionals in the industry. This has been very helpful. I have a habit of setting up catchup calls with people I meet in the course of my work just to listen to them and also share things with them. You can’t imagine how much you can learn by listening to others talk. Just one sentence can change a lot of things. It also shows how much I don’t know. It’s a humbling and educating exercise I like to do when I find willing partners.

In the community, we have started to recommend books to read every quarter and we review them together. We share links and learning resources in the community; links to blogs, podcasts and even recordings from our community monthly educational events.

What advice would you give to aspiring tech sales professionals in Nigeria who are looking to enter or excel in this field?

Be ready to work hard. Sales aren’t always about ‘special techniques and mind-blowing strategies’. A lot of times, the secret is to do the boring things consistently. Prospecting is boring, lead generation is boring, and lead qualification is boring but they form the foundation for your big, shiny wins.

If you don’t bend your back and daily do these things that no one sees or applauds you for, you won’t get consistent big wins that everyone will applaud you for.

Also, invest time in learning about the work your target audience does especially for professionals like me who are in the B2B space and in your product knowledge too. For example, you can’t sell a cloud computing product if you don’t understand a thing about it. The people you are speaking to need to know that you are in the best position to recommend a service or product to them. You can’t hold sales conversations with the CTO of a company you want to sell to if you don’t know what you’re talking about. 

Lastly, sales is 80 per cent listening and 20 per cent talking which is contrary to what everyone on the outside thinks sales is all about. It’s not about the shiny presentations or smooth talks and all.

You need to be able to listen to not just the words that are being spoken but most especially the unspoken words. You need to be able to read body language, even expressions that are not very obvious even over virtual meetings. You should be a student of psychology because you need to understand the humans you’re dealing with.  It’s not an easy career but it’s worth it if you’re great at it.

QUOTES

“Communities play a great role in helping people access better opportunities and even enhancing the growth of an industry. I have never seen a thriving career path that doesn’t have clusters and communities where people of like minds and people with similar career goals come together to help one another.”

“Be ready to work hard. Sales aren’t always about ‘special techniques and mind-blowing strategies’. A lot of times, the secret is to do the boring things consistently.”