In our 42nd episode of #NutsAboutSales, we heard some nuggets of sales wisdom from Anna Talerico, the CEO at Corporate Finance Institute and an operating partner at Arthur Ventures.
Watch this brilliant episode to learn why it’s important to always tailor your demos, understand why it’s all about getting back up when you fall down, and hear about the time she got in trouble with a major stakeholder.
Watch the video or read the transcripts below:
What’s your name and where do you work?
Anna Talerico and I’m the CEO of Corporate Finance Institute. I’m also an operating partner at Arthur Ventures, which is an early stage growth venture firm.
What’s your most embarrassing sales story?
I was pitching a multi-million dollar deal to Office Depot, and I showed up for our first in-person meeting and pulled out my Staples notepad and got through the whole meeting.
And at the end of the meeting, the stakeholder pulled me aside and he was like, “Not a good look. Don’t do that again.”
So I learned a big lesson that day.
What’s the craziest thing that happened to you during a demo?
It happened to someone on my team. He was doing a demo, and he leaned back in his chair, and the chair broke. And he fell back into the cubicle wall.
Everybody on the sales floor got up and gasped, and he just stood up and kept demoing like he never missed a beat. It was the most beast thing I’ve ever seen.
What’s your biggest challenge when demoing?
I think there’s actually two.
One is when you do a lot of demos, you just can get into a rut and it just sounds like you’re going through the motions. The prospect can feel that for sure.
I think the other thing is just making sure it’s really tailored. Because we just want to show them everything, but what they need to see are just the things that are going to solve their pain or deliver the biggest value.
What do you love the most about sales?
When you have the perfect fit of what a buyer needs and what you deliver. And you just know that you’re really going to solve an acute business problem.
There’s no better feeling than that.
What’s the worst mistake to avoid?
Pitching your product before you know anything about the buyer.
Biggest superstition before you close a deal?
No congratulations, no high fives, no celebration of any kind until the ink is dry.
Sell me a walnut!
I’m not sure a walnut is right for you. Do you mind sharing a little bit about what you like to eat? What are some of your favorite foods?
Well that’s easy then! How many do you want?
