About This Episode

Authentic customer conversation.

It’s what’s at the heart of sales engagement.

It’s engaging and communicating with customers and prospects in a way that is effective and successful, while also providing that human touch found in genuine interactions.

Outreach recently launched an amazing new podcast called The Sales Engagement Podcast, which covers the category-defining elements of sales engagement, while providing helpful insights and practical strategies for creating that authentic connection.

Our first guest was Manny Medina, CEO at Outreach. In this first episode, Manny and Max dive deep into the topic of sales engagement and its essential fit in the modern sales stack.

Here’s a quick look at what they had to say.

The Art and The Science of Sales Engagement

The ability to communicate effectively and authentically is truly an art form.

It’s an ability to convey to your customers that their problem is also your problem and it’s your job to see that you figure it out together as a team.

Not only are you engaging with your customer or prospect mentally, but you’re also connecting on an emotional level, all in the name of progress. It’s a dance that’s ever-changing, moving along with the nuances that come with each customer’s unique situation and need.

But it can’t just end there.

There’s the science aspect that needs to measure and define what makes your sales process successful. It should be both about authenticity and delivering results on a regular basis.

Sales engagement is a unique (and necessary) category as it’s not only the management of communications, but it’s also the measurement of how that communication is going.

It’s completely dedicated to and driven by the overall sales experience.

Sales Engagement Is Creating New Scenarios In-step With Advancing Technology

Sales engagement is leading the way for the next generation of sales reps who are technologically savvy, but nuanced enough to understand genuine connection.

In fact, reps who will absolutely launch their career are the ones who know how and when to use tools for connection. For example, they’ll know which customers respond best through LinkedIn versus those who prefer a one-on-one video connection.

They’re also the ones who understand the analytical side and can marry the two–knowing how to connect with the customer AND knowing how to record and read their metrics. If you can’t measure your success rate, there’s no possible way to institute and replicate best practices.

The whole idea of sales engagement is kicking off new opportunities for growth–for both revenue and new sales careers. There is a growing need for an expertise and skill set that hasn’t really existed until the last few years.

It’s creating jobs for sales researchers, sales content writers, and especially sales engagement trainers who can bring together the communications and analytics side of the same coin.

At the end of the day, sales engagement is a conversation about efficiency, while keeping the customer preferences in mind.

This post is based on a podcast interview with Manny Medina from Outreach. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast.

If you don’t use iTunes, you can listen to every episode here.