The Renaissance Network, Inc.’s Post

How did I end up here? With a degree in education, you’d think I'd be in a classroom, but I’ve found my groove in sales development. I’ve been with Whistle for over 3 years now, and it’s been an amazing ride. So, was my 5-year journey to get an education degree a waste? Absolutely not, and here’s why. Despite the apparent differences between the roles of a school teacher and a sales professional, there are several common areas where skills and attributes overlap: 💟 Communication Skills Both roles require excellent communication skills. Teachers need to clearly explain concepts to students of varying abilities and backgrounds, while sales professionals must articulate the benefits of their products or services to potential clients. 💟 Interpersonal Skills Strong interpersonal skills are crucial in both fields. Teachers must build rapport with students, parents, and colleagues to foster a supportive learning environment. Similarly, sales professionals need to establish and maintain relationships with clients to facilitate successful business transactions. 💟 Persuasion and Influence Teachers often use persuasive skills to motivate students and encourage positive behavior and engagement with learning material. Sales professionals similarly use persuasion to convince clients of the value of their offerings and to close deals. 💟 Adaptability and Flexibility Both teachers and sales professionals must adapt their approaches based on the needs and responses of their audiences. Teachers adjust their instructional strategies to meet diverse learning needs, while sales professionals tailor their sales pitches to suit the specific interests and objections of each client. 💟 Goal-Oriented Both professions are driven by goals—teachers aim to achieve educational objectives and improve student outcomes, while sales professionals focus on meeting or exceeding sales targets and expanding their customer base. These commonalities highlight that while the contexts and end goals of teaching and sales are different, the fundamental skills and approaches required can be quite similar. This makes skills transfer between these fields possible, with many professionals successfully moving from one to the other during their careers. #sales #education #salesskills

🏫 Selling to #schools and MATs in the UK is no easy feat. The competition and complexity of the market can be overwhelming, but there’s a thing that sets successful salespeople apart: a genuine passion for education. In my experience, you can have all the #Sales and #CustomerSuccess skills, knowledge and ability you could ever need, but if you don’t have a strong drive to make a real difference in the lives of those who teach our children, then your sales will ultimately suffer. 🧑🎓 Having this passion and dedication to improving education is what allows sales teams to form meaningful relationships with headteachers, teachers and other school staff. When these connections are made, it’s much easier to understand the problems a school is facing and offer up timely meaningful solutions. Simply put: if you don’t have that inner drive to make an impact in education, your sales won’t be as effective. So, do yourself a favour and focus on making a real difference. It’s the only way to truly succeed in the EdTech and Education service space.

📚 Navigating sales in the education sector requires a deep understanding of the unique dynamics and challenges that schools face. Having worked closely with educators and school administrators, I've come to appreciate three crucial considerations that can make a significant impact on successful partnerships: 1️⃣ Understanding Educational Needs: Each school and district has its own set of priorities and challenges. Do your research, understand those needs before you start and it will give you a much better jumping off point wo work with. 2️⃣ Make sure you're not just giving teachers more work! Professional Development is great, and something teachers want- but many understandably see PD initiatives as something that adds to their workload. Show them how you're product can create less work for them- not more. 3️⃣ Make Technology approachable: Personally, I'm excited about all the ways integrating technology will change education. Many educators are as well but there are also a large section of those that are extremely wary. Technology evolves rapidly, and teachers have a wide variety of experience with it. Show them how this is just a tool that can support or enhance what they already know and does not replace the skills they have spent years fostering.

Three years back, at the age of 44, I made a leap into Learning and Development (L&D), drawn by a job description that seemed too engaging and quite frankly too fun to pass up. The twist? My resume was heavy on sales experience and light on anything L&D, including the basics like what an LMS was. 🤷♀️ Faced with skepticism from someone at ELB Learning about my lack of L&D experience, I responded with a perspective I've always held dear: my strength lies in understanding people and building relationships. When I started sales in Industrial/manufacturing sales - I did not have prior industry experience (I wore heels to my first plant visit)- never happened again 🤦♀️ . When I started in Consumer sales - I did not have prior industry experience. And you get the theme now, I did not have Healthcare Sales when I started in that industry. However I understand people and relationships. The hiring manager's response? A succinct "Touché." Now, three years later, I'm still with ELB Learning, and my appreciation for the L&D field has only deepened. It's been an enlightening journey, learning the mechanics behind effective training and seeing the impact from a new angle. Not usually one for social media posts, I guess the simplest way to sign off is the traditional way—bye! Katie 😁

let's talk sales and Teaching. I am one person who does my work with alot of passion.For people who saw me holding my receipt books in sales could never imagine that i would be this happy in class.. Awwhhh Both roles have had a great impact in my life.Some of the shared impact for both roles include ; 1.For sales if you can't communicate effectively and build relationships forget about repeat sales and in Education I mean if you can't communicate effectively what will you do in class(take note all teachers be mindful of what you say otherwise you may cause wounds forever). 2.I am telling you that customers and students share common characters so you may need to Elevate your adaptability and resilience levels before you join any of the two, otherwise one student may make you hate school. 3. Besides making sales, being that I was working with farmers and I am from a farming background I looked so much at any impact I would create rather than just making sales, what more can you do as a teacher if not creating impact? 4.What is greater than learning and improving yourself? Yes in sales almost I would a get lesson daily from customers, colleagues and the whole situation. In Education we are learning everyday especially with the new curriculum. Rovisa do you regret joining sales? No I Do Not Do you like the teaching? "like" is an underating word for this role . I teach with a big smile and I am grateful for the experiences and skills I got from sales, they have enhanced my teaching practices. Honestly it feels nice to see yourself in a position of inspiring young minds.

As my first fiscal year in sales comes to an end, here are 5 tips that I have taken from the classroom into my career in tech sales: 📚 Lesson 1: Understanding Your "Students" Similar to your students, understanding your clients' individual challenges and goals is key to building meaningful relationships. 🌐 Lesson 2: Effective Communication is Key Clear communication is the cornerstone of teaching - and it's no different in sales. 💡 Lesson 3: Patience Pays Off Patience is the bridge between understanding needs and delivering solutions. 🚀 Lesson 4: Embrace Continuous Improvement Embracing a mindset of continuous improvement, staying updated on industry trends, and refining your approach is the secret sauce to success. 🤝 Lesson 5: Building Bridges, Not Walls Collaboration, empathy, and a genuine desire to help others achieve their goals create lasting connections. I am grateful for the lessons learned in the classroom, shaping my journey in sales! 🙌 #SalesSuccess #TeachingExperience #TechSales #TransitionedTeacher #CareerJourney #TransitioningTeacher #WomeninSales

🎓 Excited to share insights on excelling in consultative soft sales for college admissions! 🚀 Key Tips for Success: 1️⃣ Build Genuine Connections: Focus on understanding students' aspirations. Genuine connections lay the foundation for effective guidance. 2️⃣ Effective Communication: Tailor your approach. Listen actively, articulate value propositions clearly, and address concerns empathetically. 3️⃣ Embrace Empathy: Put yourself in the student's shoes. Empathy builds trust and fosters a supportive environment throughout the admissions journey. 4️⃣ Stay Informed: Keep abreast of industry trends, college offerings, and admission processes. Knowledge is your strongest tool. 5️⃣ Adaptability is Key: Each student is unique. Be flexible in your approach, adapting to various personalities and circumstances. 6️⃣ Guide, Don't Sell: Focus on guiding students rather than pushing a sale. A consultative approach fosters a more authentic and long-lasting relationship. Thrilled to see the college admissions community thrive! 🌟 #CollegeAdmissions #SalesSuccess #EducationConsulting #ThoughtLeader

Want to know the 3 main ways of selling technology to educational institutions? (Early years / K12 / Higher Ed) 1. Know that you (the seller) are a very small part of their problem-solving journey. Our position as sellers of edtech solutions is now firmly rooted at the end of the sales cycle. You may have an opportunity to talk before then (during discovery) but if you're aware that your key role is to reduce risk of making a decision (via trust / knowledge / empathy) you'll make the most use of yours and their time. THEREFORE you have to... 2. Be a relevant giver of knowledge and value, via email or telephone. Share relevant information without asking for a repluy. Make educated assumptions about the issues the prospects are having that are related to your solution and share how others have solved them. Share a 5 minute online demo video so they can watch it themselves without commiting to a meeting. Send a testimonial video of an equal peer. Then, and only then...ask them what they thin? If they agree? Would they be interested in seeing a solution, now or in the future? SO THE ONLY WAY TO COMPLETE THESE 3 STEPS is to... 3. Be a polite, communicative and persistent human being. Be a real person. Use real words. If you were being sold to, ask questions that you would like to answer? Ask how they would like to be communicated with? Then contact them using that method once or twice a week with the information outlined above. Keep doing that. Then keep doing that. If you don't get replies, ask if you should keep doing it or not? If they opt-out, that's good. One less person to contact. Find another. You're a good human with a good solution.

One of the key reasons why transitioning from teaching to sales is a logical step is the natural connection between the two fields. As a teacher, the goal is to connect students with the resources they need to succeed. Similarly, in sales, the objective is to connect people with the information or resources that can help them achieve their goals. In essence, education is sales and vice versa. How do you see the connection between these two fields? #Education #Sales #CareerTransition

Sales is too hard? Go back to teach 11th grade math class. Here’s the thing: Teaching and sales have a lot in common. Years ago, post my epic presentation about the ATP energy circuit in the human body (biology nerd flex off), my teacher told me I should become a teacher one day. Limited earning potential?  Firmly installed career glass ceiling? Stuck with moody teens that don't want to learn? 🤔 Fuck no. Today, I don’t deal with puberty-induced angst.  Instead, I school folks in the art of closing the deal.  I’m that transformation guy turning “I don’t need this” into “Where do I sign?” Remember math class? “Why the fuck do I have to learn this?” sounds a lot like your prospect saying “Why do I need your product?” Sales is teaching. You’re the professor in the auditorium of commerce, transforming “I’ll think about it” into signed contracts. How? 1 Earn your prospect's trust. 2 Then prove your product has value for them.(IF it does not, don't even start.) 3 Then encourage him/her to go through the process of failing until it works. The cherry for you on top?You got to make her happily pay for the entire process. 😇 Every sales process is a process of change. No matter the product or service sold, it means that the buyer - individual or group - needs to be doing something different in the future. 🔄 Change their approach to a situation. 🔄 Change their process map. 🔄 Change their habits. Sales is Transformation. And just like that A in calculus, transformation ain’t ‘free' - it costs effort! Who’s been a great teacher for you? And why? #growth #b2bsales #transformation