Join us next Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 12 pm Eastern for Ascender Live

Jim "Pouli" Pouliopoulos will join us to lead a discussion around advice for young sales people, what to look for when looking for new roles, and the impact of positive thinking for salespeople. We'd love to see you there and encourage you to invite any young sales professionals you know since this event is open to the public! You can add the event directly to your calendar by clicking here.

Ascender referral program

Did you know that Ascender has a referral program? Under your Ascender profile (click on your avatar in the upper right of Ascender), click on "Refer a Friend" and we'll automatically copy your referral URL to your computer's clipboard. Send that code to a friend and if five friends become subscribers by the end of 2022, then you'll get your next year's renewal subscription of Ascender for free.

Breaking into new accounts: Four things to do before you reach out

This article has tips on things you can do to help make an impression on a new account. Check it out for actionable tips!

What courses do you want to see? Let us know!

Head of Product, Julie Leonard, wants to hear from YOU! What are some courses that you'd like to see? What can we offer to help you elevate yourself in the sales discipline? Let us know in the comments of this post or in the Discussions for Enroll forum.

November's Curriculum of the Month

Our course of the month, selected by Head of Learning, Brady Locher, is the Sales Fundamentals: Objection Handling course. As our first of seven courses in the Sales Fundamentals series, Objection Handling will discuss a range of strategies for dealing with objections from potential customers and their gatekeepers. You won't succeed if you can't negotiate the obstacles!

When did it click?

This community post from @Robert Smart has a few responses, but could use some more insights. Please share your experiences and let us know when things started to make more sense that sales was the career for you.

Champion Letter

This community post from @Vijinder Mahadew has an answer from @Rachel Clapp Miller, but we'd love to hear from you! When do you use the Champion Letter? How do you use it most effectively? Do you have a specific win that you can share? Let us know!

Join us this Friday, November 4, 2022 at 11 am Eastern for the first-ever Ascender Live

Ascender Live is a way for us to combine education and community together. Patrick McLoughlin joins us to share insights into the paper and decision process so you're working to close more deals and negotiating the whole sales cycle through. If you can't join us live and have a specific question for Patrick, drop me a DM and I'll make sure we get to it ahead of time. Add the event to your calendar using this link.

Cold Calling: Reluctant to Confident

Jason Bay, CEO at Outbound Squad, gives us a rundown on how to approach cold conversations on this episode of the Audible Ready Sales Podcast.

Ascender Spotlight on Mateo Tedeschi

Mateo Tedeschi is our October 2022 Ascender Spotlight! Mateo shared his bio, some trends he's seeing, and more. Be sure to check out the post and say hey to Mateo!

How to recap what you've heard in your next sales conversation

Providing the right context in your sales conversations is important, especially when you’ve had previous conversations with other decision makers. Antonella O’Day goes through how best to recap “What You Heard” in future sales conversations.

Get MEDDICC Certified in the Enroll tab

Don't forget to take your MEDDICC Certification courses and apply the learning to your LinkedIn profile.

Ascender referral program

Did you know that Ascender has a referral program? Under your Ascender profile (click on your avatar in the upper right of Ascender), click on "Refer a Friend" and we'll automatically copy your referral URL to your computer's clipboard. Send that code to a friend and if five friends become subscribers by the end of 2022, then you'll get your next year's renewal subscription of Ascender for free.

Join us on November 4, 2022 at 11 am Eastern for the first-ever Ascender Live

Ascender Live is a way for us to combine education and community together. Patrick McLoughlin joins us to share insights into the paper and decision process so you're working to close more deals and negotiating the whole sales cycle through. If you can't join us live and have a specific question for Patrick, drop me a DM and I'll make sure we get to it ahead of time. Add the event to your calendar using this link.

Ascender Spotlight on Mateo Tedeschi

Mateo Tedeschi is our October 2022 Ascender Spotlight! Mateo shared his bio, some trends he's seeing, and more. Be sure to check out the post and say hey to Mateo!

Add more value to the sales process

All the best professionals find ways to add value from the first through the final call. It's how you're able to set yourself apart from the competition. This article in the Explore tab gives you five tips to make sure you're not making value adds a one-time event.

Get MEDDICC Certified in the Enroll tab

Don't forget to take your MEDDICC Certification courses and apply the learning to your LinkedIn profile.

Get your customer to see the importance of your differentiation

Antonella O’Day talks through how best to get your differentiation on the table with your customer in this easy to digest video.

Ascender referral program

Did you know that Ascender has a referral program? Under your Ascender profile (click on your avatar in the upper right of Ascender), click on "Refer a Friend" and we'll automatically copy your referral URL to your computer's clipboard. Send that code to a friend and if five friends become subscribers by the end of 2022, then you'll get your next year's renewal subscription of Ascender for free.

Schedule time for a one on one with me

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Schedule time with me to let us know how things are going and how we can improve this experience. We're still very early into Ascender, so your feedback will go a long way!

John Kaplan offers valuable insights

There was an excellent question from Robert Smart got a detailed, actionable reply from John Kaplan! We think this message is really special and worth checking out. If you have tips for Robert (or a question for John) check out the Deal Desk post!.

Join us on October 19, 2022 at 2 pm Eastern for the Ascender Book Club

Register for the Ascender Book Club event taking place next week and join the group ahead of time. We'll be reading "The One Thing" by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan. We have special guest Matt Curtin, CRO at Forcura, leading the discussion. Lots of amazing themes from focusing on what's important to trying new things to leadership.

Ascender Spotlight on Mateo Tedeschi

Mateo Tedeschi is our October 2022 Ascender Spotlight! Mateo shared his bio, some trends he's seeing, and more. Be sure to check out the post and say hey to Mateo!

Get MEDDICC Certified in the Enroll tab

Don't forget to take your MEDDICC Certification courses and apply the learning to your LinkedIn profile.

Highlights from the Explore tab

There's a lot of content in Ascender. This article is all about what you've missed, what's coming up, and has a great round up for anyone that's short on time.

Schedule time for a one on one with me.

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Schedule time with me to let us know how things are going and how we can improve this experience. We're still very early into Ascender, so your feedback will go a long way!

Networking and roleplay opportunity

The Roleplay Center group has its first taker in @Robert Smart! Check out Robert's post on looking for a sales roleplay partner centered on cold calling, discovery, and negotiation. Join the Roleplay Center and share if you're also looking for people to network and practice alongside.

Ascender Spotlight on Luke Page

Luke Page is our September 2022 spotlight! Luke shares some great insights and tips for others in the sales game. Check out what he's got to share, say hey, and share some of your own tips!

Book announced for October 2022's Book Club

After a great September Book Club event (check out the recap here), we're ready to start reading for October! We'll have more information on the event details soon, but the book we'll discuss is "The One Thing" by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan. Check out the announcement and join the group!

New course in the Enroll tab

If you find yourself looking to build a convincing argument that shows the value, benefits and effectiveness of implementing your business solution, this is the course for you. It's 8 lessons and takes about 40 minutes to complete the entire course. When you have some time, enroll in the course and find yourself selling better and selling more. Brady Locher has some more info in his community post.

Enabling the internal sell

The latest episode of the Audible Ready Sales Podcast is up. This is a great one to find out how you can enable your prospects to sell internally, even when you're not in the room. Help your coaches and champions sell on your behalf by checking out this episode.

Schedule time for a one on one with me.

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Schedule time with me to let us know how things are going and how we can improve this experience. We're still very early into Ascender, so your feedback will go a long way!

Ascender Spotlight on Luke Page

Luke Page is our September 2022 spotlight! Luke shares some great insights and tips for others in the sales game. Check out what he's got to share, say hey, and share some of your own tips!

We held our first ever Book Club

Check out the recap from our book club, which featured John Kaplan as our special guest! Be sure to join the group itself to catch our next event.

Keeping emotions in check

Emotions are a natural part of the sales process, but how can we best control those emotions and keep them in check? This article shares some of the best tips on how to keep your cool and close those deals.

What to do when your customer is pushing for a demo

Antonella O’Day goes through how you back the customer up so you can align better with the problem they’re trying to solve.

Curriculum to check out

The MEDDICC Essentials course is listed as our Curriculum of the Month, so be sure to enroll in the MEDDICC Essentials course and get started on your MEDDICC Certification! This course is a foundational part of the certification process and has lots of baseline information that's great even for seasoned sales professionals as a reminder.

Schedule time for a one on one with me.

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Schedule time with me to let us know how things are going and how we can improve this experience. We're still very early into Ascender, so your feedback will go a long way!

RSVP to the September Book Club.

Join us on Wednesday, September 21, at 12 pm Eastern time for a live discussion around our book of the month! The September book of the month and our guest moderator will be announced one week before the event in the group itself. We hope you can join us!

Influencing Your Customer's Decision Criteria

Good salespeople know how to find out exactly what requirements the client has for their purchasing rubric. Elite salespeople know how to find it out and then influence the requirement set to help their product differentiate itself in the marketplace. Check out this episode of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast where they give you tips on how to win more and win bigger.

What’s the Best Way To Test My Champion?

Champions are critical to your success as a seller. In addition to identifying them, you need to have a mechanism to continually test that they are indeed a Champion. Learn more in this article on Ascender about how to ensure you have a Champion and not a Coach.

September 2022's Curriculum of the Month.

Head of Learning, @Brady Locher, shared September's curriculum of the month. He chose the MEDDICC Essentials course. Let us know if you take the course and what you're learning along the way!

Schedule time for a one on one with me.

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Schedule time with me to let us know how things are going and how we can improve this experience. We're still very early into Ascender, so your feedback will go a long way!

Patrick McLoughlin joined us for an Ask Me Anything (AMA).

The AMA featuring Patrick McLoughlin was amazing! We had some great questions come through. Patrick is still around, so be sure to tag him if you want to ask him a question!

@Patrick McLoughlin has 25+ years of sales experience and is an expert on all things MEDDICC. Any insight you're seeking can be found at this fountain of knowledge!

RSVP to the September Book Club.

Join us on Wednesday, September 21, at 12 pm Eastern time for a live discussion around our book of the month! The September book of the month and our guest moderator will be announced one week before the event in the group itself. We hope you can join us!

What Airline Captains Teach Us About MEDDICC

This article from Rich McGhee sparked some great comments in the Explore tab. Be sure to check out the article and share your own insights!

Join the Founding Ascenders group.

For anyone that joins us in 2022, we'll be hosting special events and more in the Founding Ascenders group. You can request to join, but you will also receive an invitation, shortly.

September 2022's Curriculum of the Month.

Head of Learning, @Brady Locher, shared September's curriculum of the month. He chose the MEDDICC Essentials course. Let us know if you take the course and what you're learning along the way!

Schedule time for a one on one with me.

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Schedule time with me to let us know how things are going and how we can improve this experience. We're still very early into Ascender, so your feedback will go a long way!

Here are some things you might have missed last week in the community!

Patrick McLoughlin joins us for an Ask Me Anything (AMA).

Tomorrow is the last day to catch the AMA featuring Patrick McLoughlin!

@Patrick McLoughlin has 25+ years of sales experience and is an expert on all things MEDDICC. Any insight you're seeking can be found at this fountain of knowledge!

RSVP to the September Book Club.

Join us on Wednesday, September 21, at 12 pm Eastern time for a live discussion around our book of the month! The September book of the month and our guest of honor will be announced tomorrow, September 1, in the group itself. We hope you can join us!

Join the Founding Ascenders group.

For anyone that joins us in 2022, we'll be hosting special events and more in the Founding Ascenders group. You can request to join, but you will also receive an invitation, shortly.

August 2022's Curriculum of the Month.

Head of Learning, @Brady Locher, shared August's curriculum of the month. Let us know if you take the course and what you're learning along the way!

How to have the best conversations.

We have a great new article posted in the Explore tab, and @Rachel Clapp Miller has a great post about her favorite parts. Add your comments about how you craft better conversations with your prospects.

Schedule time for a one on one with me.

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Schedule time with me to let us know how things are going and how we can improve this experience. We're still very early into Ascender, so your feedback will go a long way!

We're so thrilled you're here at the literal start! Since there's not much to "catch up on" at the launch, we wanted to share some things that we think you'll be able to get value out of on Day 1.

Ascender Book Club Group

The Ascender Book Club will host a monthly event both in the community and live on a virtual call to help one another break down some of the best books out there. What the reading means to you and how you're layering it into your daily process will be topics that you're wanting to learn more about. Join us for the first ever book club in September of 2022!

Roleplay Center Group

If you're looking to practice your sales skills with others that will be able to deliver honest feedback, this is the place for you. Join the group and link up to develop and grow together.

Introduce yourself in the Introduction Megathread

There are so many great people that will be joining Ascender, so kick things off by letting others know you're here and what you're all about!

Peer Assist Forum

You're here because you're elite and know that iron sharpens iron. The Peer Assist forum is a great place to workshop ideas and search for solutions. Share your wins, detail how you're using new techniques, and help one another reach new heights!

Networking and Connection Forum

When you're looking to meet others, the Networking & Connection forum is ready for you to build, expand, and strengthen your network. Find other salespeople that speak the same language and know the industries that you're a part of or ready to explore.

Navigating Ascender Discussion & Ascender Support Forum

As you get started, you might be looking for help. You can get started with the Navigating Ascender discussion that will be a great guide and starting point.

If you're still having troubles, please don't hestitate to let us know in the Ascender Support Forum.

Here are some things you might have missed last week in the community!

Forgotten Step in Cold Calling.

@Rachel Grimm shared her take on power poses and the importance of confidence in a sales call. Share what you do to gas yourself up before jumping on a call!

This is the last week to join the Beta Testers Group.

Even if you don't plan on joining Ascender when it launches, this is the only time to access this group. We'll have special things for our Beta users that do sign up for Ascender, eventually. Join the group now to check out what's been happening and to share your feedback.

Ascender Beta Celebration Recap.

Thanks to the Ascender Beta Users that showed up to chat with us and meet one another! It was a great time and we learned a ton. You can check the recap notes to see what you missed.

Deal Desk.

This week's deal desk is live, but without any comments. Is there anything you're working through? Anything that you care to share around your wins? Additionally, if this is just something that you don't think Ascenders will be interested in, long-term, why is that? I'd love to hear from you!

What is valuable to you?

As we exit Beta, I wanted to give a final shot at describing what you think will make Ascender even stronger for our users when we go live. Check out this post to share your take!

Final call for one on ones!

I love meeting the community and I love doing that in one on one coffee chats. These are more relaxed and all tailored to your experience. Thank you to the several Beta Users that have jumped in on these! Send me a PM and we'll set up a time!

Here are some things you might have missed last week in the community!

Our first ever event is tomorrow, August 9th at 2:00 pm Eastern!

Join us for the Ascender Beta Celebration that's going to have some networking, conversations, and prizes! RSVP in the group and use the add to calendar link to have the event directly synced to your day.

The Deal Desk

We'll be introducing a deal desk megathread each week designed to create space for anyone that's looking for help on moving a deal from "In Progress" to "Closed - Won".

Favorite Part of Force Management?

Ascender, @Casey Dupuis, asked the question about what people love from Force Management's trainings. Share your opinions and check out what Casey and others had to say in the thread.

Have you introduced yourself, yet?

If not, head over to the introduction megathread. I've been sending personal messages to everyone, but want to hear from you if you think those welcome messages are better private or in that thread? Let us know in the comments!