“Why I’m So Interested In Selling,” Jose Andrade

Preface: Jose Andrade is a thoughtful sales leader with one of the most varied backgrounds I’ve seen. In working with Jose, I’ve come to deeply appreciate how he thinks about driving growth and performance improvement in the teams he leads, and his general approach to selling.

He sums it up, “Although I enjoy developing successful sellers, I am still most satisfied when I see that what we sell to customers meets or exceeds their expectations.”

Why I’m So Interested In Selling

I worked as a sales engineer and trainer for a technology company, where I was exposed to fascinating technology. We represented companies like PTC, Bentley Systems, and others. Although the technology was intriguing, I was more interested in what these technologies could do for our customers.

Early on, I realized that it was essential to understand our customers’ needs and challenges before showing them the bells and whistles. Once I understood their challenges, I would build presentations that matched their requirements.

I was lucky to have great mentors who taught me how to guide customers in building their decision criteria based on their future state vision. We focused on the journey from the “As-is” to the “To-be” scenario with well-documented metrics. Seeing our customers exceed their “To-be” scenarios was my most enormous satisfaction.

After running the entire sales process successfully, I became addicted to it and moved entirely into sales. I consistently exceeded my quota and got promoted to sales manager, where I coached and mentored sellers to help them focus on customer outcomes more than our product features.

Today, I enjoy building or transforming sales organizations to exceed their goals by addressing three major areas: Talent, Process, and Technology:

• I hire and develop people to acquire the best-in-class sales skills and competencies. 
• I ensure that the right processes are in place to help sellers focus on their selling time and minimize non-selling activities. 
• I use the available technology to plan and execute most optimally.

Although I enjoy developing successful sellers, I am still most satisfied when I see that what we sell to customers meets or exceeds their expectations.