#32 Anatomy of an Epic Sales Hire

ABOUT THE GUEST - JACOB GEBREWOLD, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AT KLUE

Jacob Gebrewold's claim to fame is that LinkedIn's CEO shared his update rap about getting his job as an AE @ Klue. If you asked him for the Coles Notes of his story, he'd tell you "Two Ethiopian refugees raised a rapping competitive debater who went into tech sales.”

For a story of how an unconventional background translated into a tech sales career, how a creative millennial leverages 2020-era prospecting strategy, and one of the craziest interview stories you've heard in a long time, tune into David's chat with Jacob.

Here are some links about the hiring process that Jacob orchestrated:

The LinkedIn post

A map of the process on Google Docs

Here is where to find Jacob on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobgebrewold/


ABOUT THE EPISODE

Finding a sales job in the era of Covid is rough. Full stop. Lots of salespeople looking, fewer companies hiring. So how do you stand out?

We don’t have a lot of individual contributors here on The Driving B2B Sales Revenue Podcast, but Jacob Gebrewold put on a masterclass in modern sales technique when pursuing his new AE job at Klue, and it was so epic that it had to be shared here.

Enjoy the episode and hear this sharp and articulate young sales professional map out what he did, how he did it, and the lessons that can be gleaned for sellers everywhere in this new decade in front of us all.


0:39 - What is the best piece of sales advice that Jacob has ever received - it’s about what to do after a sales call

1:32 - What’s the worst piece of sales advice that you ever received - it’s about what a salesperson should and shouldn’t care about

4:08 - David introduces the episode theme - Jacob’s hyper-creative approach to the pursuit and acquisition of his newly minted AE role at Klue

4:49 - Jacob explains what he means by “A Zombie Hire” and how he brought himself back to life in the hiring process

6:17 - How Jacob added some special elements into the hiring process that helped to differentiate him from other applicants and also to overcome some of the differences between the job spec as written and his relevant work experience

7:55 - How Jacobs approach to getting hired is a reflection of not only very modern and creative best practices in getting hired but also sales - and how that’s why it makes so much sense for both

10:38 - How differentiation in sales and hiring needs to go beyond generalizations at the ICP or job description level and into hyper-specific characterizations about the person or solution in front of you right now

12:24 - How the process of getting hired took an abnormally long time because of the Covid interruption and how Jacob remained visible and relevant during that time

14:10 - How did Jacob keep the opportunity warm without being obnoxious

16:02 - Did Jacob have a grand strategy for this creative approach to getting hired or was he just making this up as he went along?

18:35 - The power of showing rather than telling about sales skills in a sales interview

22:52 - The importance of guiding your prospect to say what it is that they need to hear in order to advance your cause - whether it’s a sale or a job interview

25:55 - The value of not worrying about the close, but rather about what leads to the close

27:52 - Where to find documentation of the entire getting hired process that Jacob posted on the web (see above for the links)

28:46 - What are some of the things that Jacob is struggling with right now?

31:53 - Where can