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 his stride. As an introvert, he struggled with the expectation that salespeople are outgoing and gregarious. However because the gross sales course of turned extra of a science, he was in a position discover a groove. On this week’s episode, Chris talks about how gross sales has modified over time, and a deal that received far more private than he thought it will.
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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 velocity, however we misplaced a few of that intimacy of being in the identical room.
Stephanie Tonneson: A deal that received far more private than he thought it will.
Chris Hays: There was rather a lot at stake there.
Stephanie Tonneson: And the endurance 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 Large Deal. So yeah, that’s just about it. So, if you wish to begin me off with the way you first received into gross sales.
Chris Hays: Once I graduated from faculty, I graduated out of SUNY, Albany. And on the time, it was a reasonably dangerous recession. So popping out of school, there wasn’t a number of alternatives on the market. So I labored development by faculty and I labored a yr after and I received a chance to get my first gross sales job. It was truly promoting termite inspections for Terminix. I did that for a few yr. After which from there, I used to be capable of transfer over to promoting pagers, which most individuals don’t even keep 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 gear firm divested. And that was a pivotal second. That was a giant job for me, a giant step ahead. I went from making fairly small cash to creating an honest dwelling and a chance 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 consequence.
Stephanie Tonneson: Okay. So is that the place you had been, when the deal you’re going to speak about occurred?
Chris Hays: Yep. Really, I used to be working in Syracuse, New York. I used to be promoting on the time PBXs and key techniques, which had been cellphone techniques for companies. And a number of that on the time, that was a area gross sales job. You had been bodily occurring website, you had been assembly with folks. It was very old-fashioned.
Stephanie Tonneson: Fairly completely different than what you do at the moment.
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 someone commit and signal the deal proper there in entrance of you. Now, it’s simply ship a DocuSign. It’s a reasonably steely second once you slide the settlement throughout and the particular person’s received a pen and so they’ve received 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 received velocity now. So like all of the previous analog issues, me touring an hour and a half to get to at least one appointment, now, I can sit in an workplace, a lounge, a resort room and canopy far more floor and transfer issues alongside rather a lot faster. So I believe we gained velocity and velocity, however we misplaced a few of that intimacy of being in the identical room. And like whoever speaks first loses that sort of old-fashioned stuff. That could be a little bit misplaced within the digital world.
Stephanie Tonneson: Slightly little bit of just like the human side of gross sales.
Chris Hays: Yeah. Yeah. And I believe gross sales is healthier for it. I imply, I believe like for me, the best way that I function and the best way the person who I’m, I’m not the outgoing, gregarious salesperson. I’m fairly low key. I’m what I might think about to be an operator. And 15 years in the past, that’s not what gross sales was. Gross sales was the gregarious, the one that would go and play golf and that type of issues that’s stereotypical stuff. And whereas I used to be a profitable salesperson in an atmosphere like that, I don’t I might’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 think about your self an introvert?
Chris Hays: Yeah. I’m positively not a outgoing particular person.
Stephanie Tonneson: How do you utilize that to your benefit?
Chris Hays: That’s an incredible 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 most likely the best way that I might take into consideration that it really works to my benefit.
Stephanie Tonneson: I might say that’s an enormous benefit in gross sales. Isn’t gross sales principally about listening?
Chris Hays: Yeah. Gross sales is usually 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 fascinating story due to the end result right here. Elite got here in for a corporation in Syracuse, New York referred to as Syracuse Provide. And I received 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 with the ability to join all of these places and permit them to have a greater communication car, each extra environment friendly and less expensive was finally her imaginative and prescient. I used to be lucky sufficient to be technical sufficient to carry up and have that dialog together with her. There was a brand new know-how, it was referred to as Body Relay on the time. It’s truly come and gone, however then it was fairly leading edge. A part of getting folks snug with this with a brand new know-how is knowing the advantages, explaining it. Like I needed to meet with their government group and discuss Body Relay in a method that made it from sophisticated and technical to a method that they might 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 know-how was truly going to have the ability to ship on this was type of a turning level. To get him snug, that we knew what we had been doing, that the know-how whereas new was examined and it might ship the end result, that was a turning level within the transaction.
Stephanie Tonneson: Have been you nervous?
Chris Hays: I’m at all times nervous.
Stephanie Tonneson: Actually?
Chris Hays: Yeah. At all times. You’re not at all times nervous?
Stephanie Tonneson: Nonetheless at the moment?
Chris Hays: Day by day.
Stephanie Tonneson: No, I’m at all times nervous. But it surely’s humorous, as a result of I really feel like I ask salespeople that query rather a lot and lots of people are like,” No.” And I’m like,” How will you not?” You suppose they’re mendacity?
Chris Hays: I imply, once you’re moving into and also you’re negotiating and also you’re sharing with folks, I imply, you get nervous. You’re nervous that possibly you’re not saying the appropriate factor. Possibly you’re not listening to it. I suppose, I simply fear about all the things. 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. Once 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 cut-off date, the deal’s roughly executed. Now we’ve received 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 just a little bit over$ 800,000 transaction, which for me was a extremely sizable transaction.
Stephanie Tonneson: So was that the largest deal you’d signed at that time?
Chris Hays: Largest deal I signed. Yeah. That was the largest one.
Stephanie Tonneson: Yeah, large win.
Chris Hays: It was a giant win. Yeah. It was a giant win.
Stephanie Tonneson: So what was the end result of the story?
Chris Hays: Effectively, so that is an fascinating one. That is possibly 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 had been transacting this deal, we began to get to know one another just a little bit higher. After which we ended up doing… That they had a charity occasion that they had 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 sort of transition from we’re very skilled, we’d at all times been very skilled to now, we’re like in our first actual social scenario. 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 received a number of shit for that after the actual fact like,” Hays will do something for a sale. Have a look at this, what Hays did.” It was a joke for a few yr at Lucent on the time. So actually good consequence.
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 received that bullet to fireplace one time. That’s true.
Stephanie Tonneson: So what’s it about you as a salesman that you simply suppose led to this consequence?
Chris Hays: I believe the primary factor was simply taking each alternative critically and exhibiting up as finest as you may 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 most likely would’ve received a$ 10,000 transaction out of it. I most likely nonetheless would’ve gained it, however I might’ve clearly misplaced rather a lot. I might’ve misplaced that transaction and I might need misplaced my spouse. So there was rather a lot at stake there.
Stephanie Tonneson: This episode of Fairly Large Deal: Tales From the Gross sales Ground featured Chris Hays from ZoomInfo and was produced by me, Stephanie Tonneson. You probably 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.
