Sales Mastermind: Interview w/Katie Moulton
For the month of December 2020, I’m setting out to become a sales expert.
As it is important for people in all careers, as an aspiring SDR it’s crucial to seek advice from people that are where you want to be.
I decided to interview a current salesperson to get their two cents on how to become a more effective sales representative and launch my sales career.
The first person I interviewed for this week was Katie Moulton. Katie is currently a SDR at Sezzle.
Katie is in the early stages of her sales career. In fact, this past November marks her one year anniversary in the world of sales.
Like me, Katie is in search to become a sales guru and has been avidly researching the subject since her time in the apprenticeship program Discover Praxis. She even hosts a podcast called Brain Share: All Things Sales where she explores tips and tricks used by other sales professionals.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
Salespeople Come In ALL Types
Contrary to popular belief, there aren’t any prerequisites in regard to character traits in order to work in sales.
Katie is a living testimony of this.
Before embarking on her sales journey, Katie did not like sales. As an introvert, talking to people wasn’t her cup of tea. It made her very uncomfortable.
Being the ambitious person she is, however, she decided to face her fears of sales.
From her experience, here’s some key traits that she said help an SDR do well in the role:
- Ability to handle rejection
- Ability to listen
- Ability to stay organized
- Ability to talk to others
Katie stressed that even if you aren’t inherently good at any of these things, you can always develop skills! After all, practice makes perfect!
Tech Tools? It Depends
This one is more difficult to answer.
Katie said that the tools you’re using depends on the nature of the company.
However, the tool she suggested to learn was Salesforce — the most popular customer relations management tool in the startup world.
“It’s a beast, but knowing it can help you anywhere.”
Luckily, I plan on learning this tool throughout the month!
Biggest Piece of Advice — Be Creative and Apply
“Be creative. What works for you might not work for someone else.”
Katie routinely made the point of continuously experimenting with different sales techniques and seeing what works best for you. However, the effectiveness of this advice lies in the fact that you must constantly adapt to the situation. This way, you can apply the appropriate methods when necessary.
In Conclusion
Sales can be intimidating. No doubt. However, with practice, virtually anyone can begin to improve their craft. Keeping the following in mind can help:
- Learner/practitioner’s mindset
- Learn Salesforce
- Ability to be extroverted when needed and listener when necessary
- Can handle rejection
I definitely learned a lot during the interview. I’m excited to see what’s successful through trial and error!
