#22 Bringing the Discipline of Ops Into Sales

ABOUT THE GUEST: ALFRED “AP” PARKER IV, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT DUPRÉ LOGISTICS 

Alfred “AP” Parker IV is a self-described servant leader who has leveraged his time in multiple operations roles to become a successful complex logistics sales and marketing leader. AP recently started a podcast called "The Driving Force Podcast" for aspiring logistics, transportation, and supply-chain professionals. AP along with Matt Loggins, interview guests to share their journeys of success, and to share things they wished they had known early in their careers. AP recently celebrated his 11th wedding anniversary to Kelly Parker. They are the proud parents of Quinn, Aldynn, and Kaden. 

You can find AP on LinkedIn here: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparkeriv/
 
Learn more about his company Dupré Logistics here: 
https://www.duprelogistics.com/
 
Or check out his podcast called “The Driving Force Podcast” here: 
http://thedrivingforcepod.com/
 

ABOUT THE EPISODE  

Our guest this week, AP, had a very non-typical path into sales. Prior to taking on a sales role, AP was part of the sales operations team at Dupré Logistics, which is an asset-based provider of transportation and logistics services. In this episode, AP talks about how his background in operations set him up for success in a direct sales role, and how an operations-oriented perspective can help all of us who drive revenue to do so more effectively.  

0:59 - What’s the best piece of sales advice AP ever received?  

3:10 - What’s the worst sales advice AP ever received?  

4:37 - AP talks about Dupré Logistics to offer some context for describing his operations and sales roles later in the episode  

5:01 - AP gives an overview of his operations roles as context and contrasts that with his current role in complex sales  

6:15 - AP starts to talk about the contrast between operations roles and sales roles and what were some of the early big differences that AP noticed between the roles  

9:03 - What were some of the early challenges that surprised AP when he moved from sales to sales operations?  

10:43 - What are some of the elements of sales operations that have been a big benefit to AP in his direct sales role?  

13:03 - Why is it a problem that many managers and VPs of sales are not strong enough in operations?  

15:57 - AP talks about the importance of lining up internal stakeholders with their external counterparts to ensure a smooth deal flow before and after the contract is signed  

17:45 - David talks about The Border and the importance of getting all of the questions answered before a proposal is put on the table  

19:29 - How can an organization create a better synergy between sales and sales operations?  

22:40 - What does AP know now that he wishes he knew when he started?  

24:58 - How to reach out to AP and find him online