Chris Hays is Not a Stereotypical Salesman

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Transcript

Stephanie Tonneson: Chris Hays is the COO and President at ZoomInfo, however as a result of he isn’t the stereotypical salesperson, it took him some time to hit a stride.

Chris Hays: Prefer it took gross sales, transferring to a extra science operational piece for me to have the ability to discover a groove in gross sales that allowed me to get to the place I’m.

Stephanie Tonneson: On this week’s episode, Chris talks about how gross sales has modified over time.

Chris Hays: So I believe we gained velocity and pace, however we misplaced a few of that intimacy of being in the identical room.

Stephanie Tonneson: A deal that obtained far more private than he thought it might.

Chris Hays: There was so much at stake there.

Stephanie Tonneson: And the persistence that helped him win it.

Chris Hays: I confirmed up and handled it prefer it was a$600,000 deal.

Stephanie Tonneson: That, and extra on this week’s episode of Fairly Huge Deal. So yeah, that’s just about it. So, if you wish to begin me off with the way you first obtained into gross sales.

Chris Hays: After I graduated from school, I graduated out of SUNY, Albany. And on the time, it was a reasonably dangerous recession. So popping out of school, there wasn’t lots of alternatives on the market. So I labored building by school and I labored a yr after and I obtained a possibility to get my first gross sales job. It was truly promoting termite inspections for Terminix. I did that for a couple of yr. After which from there, I used to be in a position to transfer over to promoting pagers, which most individuals don’t even bear in mind what pagers are. After which from that gig, I ended up getting a job with AT& T. And it was earlier than AT&T, the landline and the tools firm divested. And that was a pivotal second. That was an enormous job for me, an enormous step ahead. I went from making fairly small cash to creating an honest dwelling and a possibility to… I used to be with AT& T up till I left and began a enterprise with my brother in Buffalo, New York. It was a reasonably profitable profession and a reasonably profitable final result.

Stephanie Tonneson: Okay. So is that the place you have been, when the deal you’re going to speak about occurred?

Chris Hays: Yep. Truly, I used to be working in Syracuse, New York. I used to be promoting on the time PBXs and key methods, which have been cellphone methods for companies. And lots of that on the time, that was a area gross sales job. You have been bodily happening web site, you have been assembly with folks. It was very old-fashioned.

Stephanie Tonneson: Fairly totally different than what you do right now.

Chris Hays: Yeah. It’s humorous. And one of many issues that you simply don’t have, otherwise you don’t expertise anymore as a vendor is the bodily act of sliding a contract throughout the desk and really having any person commit and signal the deal proper there in entrance of you. Now, it’s simply ship a DocuSign. It’s a reasonably steely second while you slide the settlement throughout and the individual’s obtained a pen and so they’ve obtained to signal it. Gross sales has misplaced that, however I imply, it’s gained much more than it’s misplaced.

Stephanie Tonneson: Like what?

Chris Hays: I imply, we’ve obtained velocity now. So like all of the outdated analog issues, me touring an hour and a half to get to 1 appointment, now, I can sit in an workplace, a front room, a lodge room and canopy far more floor and transfer issues alongside so much faster. So I believe we gained velocity and pace, however we misplaced a few of that intimacy of being in the identical room. And like whoever speaks first loses that kind of old-fashioned stuff. That may be a little bit misplaced within the digital world.

Stephanie Tonneson: Just a little little bit of just like the human facet of gross sales.

Chris Hays: Yeah. Yeah. And I believe gross sales is best for it. I imply, I believe like for me, the best way that I function and the best way the individual that I’m, I’m not the outgoing, gregarious salesperson. I’m fairly low key. I’m what I’d contemplate to be an operator. And 15 years in the past, that’s not what gross sales was. Gross sales was the gregarious, the one who would go and play golf and that form of issues that’s stereotypical stuff. And whereas I used to be a profitable salesperson in an setting like that, I don’t I’d’ve been a profitable of a gross sales chief. Prefer it took gross sales, transferring to a extra science operational piece for me to have the ability to discover a groove in gross sales that allowed me to get to the place I’m.

Stephanie Tonneson: Would you contemplate your self an introvert?

Chris Hays: Yeah. I’m positively not a outgoing individual.

Stephanie Tonneson: How do you employ that to your benefit?

Chris Hays: That’s a fantastic query. I don’t know that if I truly use it to my benefit. I believe it permits me to pay attention higher to be current within the second. I suppose that’s in all probability the best way that I’d take into consideration that it really works to my benefit.

Stephanie Tonneson: I’d say that’s an enormous benefit in gross sales. Isn’t gross sales principally about listening?

Chris Hays: Yeah. Gross sales is generally about listening, understanding. Yeah, for certain.

Stephanie Tonneson: How lengthy had you been in gross sales when this deal occurred?

Chris Hays: It was about 5 years, I imply, 5 years on the Lucent- AT& T gig. And earlier than that, three extra years in gross sales. So, a complete of eight years.

Stephanie Tonneson: Okay. So inform me what occurred.

Chris Hays: Yeah. It’s an attention-grabbing story due to the result right here. Elite got here in for an organization in Syracuse, New York known as Syracuse Provide. And I obtained the chance to go in and discuss to the CIO there, Pat Franz and talked to her about what she was making an attempt to do. And on the time, I believe I had about 15 branches. So having the ability to join all of these areas and permit them to have a greater communication car, each extra environment friendly and more economical was finally her imaginative and prescient. I used to be lucky sufficient to be technical sufficient to carry up and have that dialog along with her. There was a brand new expertise, it was known as Body Relay on the time. It’s truly come and gone, however then it was fairly leading edge. A part of getting folks comfy with this with a brand new expertise is knowing the advantages, explaining it. Like I needed to meet with their govt crew and discuss Body Relay in a approach that made it from sophisticated and technical to a approach that they may perceive it and perceive the worth of their enterprise. So being in entrance of them and presenting to her CFO, Mark on the time about why this wasn’t going to be dangerous and why this expertise was truly going to have the ability to ship on this was form of a turning level. To get him comfy, that we knew what we have been doing, that the expertise whereas new was examined and it might ship the result, that was a turning level within the transaction.

Stephanie Tonneson: Had been you nervous?

Chris Hays: I’m all the time nervous.

Stephanie Tonneson: Actually?

Chris Hays: Yeah. At all times. You’re not all the time nervous?

Stephanie Tonneson: Nonetheless right now?

Chris Hays: Each day.

Stephanie Tonneson: No, I’m all the time nervous. Nevertheless it’s humorous, as a result of I really feel like I ask salespeople that query so much and lots of people are like,” No.” And I’m like,” How are you going to not?” You suppose they’re mendacity?

Chris Hays: I imply, while you’re entering into and also you’re negotiating and also you’re sharing with folks, I imply, you get nervous. You’re nervous that perhaps you’re not saying the correct factor. Possibly you’re not listening to it. I suppose, I simply fear about every part. It retains an edge on for me.

Stephanie Tonneson: Yeah, me too. I do really feel like I carry out higher. I do higher when I’ve that nerve.

Chris Hays: Yeah. After I’m enjoying from behind, I really feel like I’m enjoying the very best.

Stephanie Tonneson: So that you current to the CIO and the CFO. They’re each on board at this level. After which what occurs subsequent?

Chris Hays: So at this time limit, the deal’s kind of achieved. Now we’ve obtained to go and present how we’re going to roll this stuff out and the way we’re going to make these connections occur. That chance over the course of seven months, grew from$ 10,000 to a bit bit over$ 800,000 transaction, which for me was a very sizable transaction.

Stephanie Tonneson: So was that the largest deal you’d signed at that time?

Chris Hays: Greatest deal I signed. Yeah. That was the largest one.

Stephanie Tonneson: Yeah, huge win.

Chris Hays: It was an enormous win. Yeah. It was an enormous win.

Stephanie Tonneson: So what was the result of the story?

Chris Hays: Properly, so that is an attention-grabbing one. That is perhaps going to make folks suppose I’m not nearly as good of a salesman, which is okay. So the factor about this story is Pat Franz is now Patty Hays. In order we have been transacting this deal, we began to get to know one another a bit bit higher. After which we ended up doing… They’d a charity occasion that they have been sponsoring for the Boy Scouts of America. And I purchased tickets to that to go. I believe it was on the Service Dome for Syracuse College. So we purchased a desk there and it was like this type of transition from we’re very skilled, we’d all the time been very skilled to now, we’re like in our first actual social state of affairs. That opened up a door for us to really begin courting. We’ve been married now for 20 years.

Stephanie Tonneson: Wow.

Chris Hays: I obtained lots of shit for that after the very fact like,” Hays will do something for a sale. Take a look at this, what Hays did.” It was a joke for a couple of yr at Lucent on the time. So actually good final result.

Stephanie Tonneson: That’s wonderful.

Chris Hays: Yeah.

Stephanie Tonneson: That’s wonderful. However no person can suppose that you simply’re not nearly as good of a salesman for it as a result of that may solely occur as soon as.

Chris Hays: Yeah. You solely obtained that bullet to fireside one time. That’s true.

Stephanie Tonneson: So what’s it about you as a salesman that you simply suppose led to this final result?

Chris Hays: I believe the principle factor was simply taking each alternative critically and displaying up as greatest as you possibly can for each alternative. Like I stated, this began off with only a tiny little cellphone system in some podunk county. And I confirmed up and handled it prefer it was a$ 600,000 deal. And I believe that made all of the distinction. If I had confirmed up and simply given her a quote for like, right here’s your cellphone system, I in all probability would’ve obtained a$ 10,000 transaction out of it. I in all probability nonetheless would’ve gained it, however I’d’ve clearly misplaced so much. I’d’ve misplaced that transaction and I may need misplaced my spouse. So there was so much at stake there.

Stephanie Tonneson: This episode of Fairly Huge Deal: Tales From the Gross sales Flooring featured Chris Hays from ZoomInfo and was produced by me, Stephanie Tonneson. If in case you have a fairly large deal you wish to inform us about, tell us by writing in to prettybigdeal @ zoominfo. com. In any other case, we’ll see you within the subsequent episode.