May 8, 2025 • 22 mins
Most accountants run from sales - Vanessa ran toward it.
After 9 years behind the books, she pivoted into a full-time sales role and never looked back. In this episode, we unpack her journey from accountant to closer - and the mindset shifts that made it possible.
We get into:
– How to make a career leap without starting over
– Why mindset > tactics in outbound sales
– What to do when the leads don’t say yes
– How to stay sharp, take feedback, and actually enjoy the game
Whether you’re scaling your firm, shifting roles, or just want to get better at closing—this one’s a must-listen.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's episode is a masterclass in career pivots,
mindset and making moves.
I'm joined by Vanessa, anaccountant turned sales pro,
who's rewriting the playbook onwhat it takes to succeed in
outbound sales.
We talk about how she made thejump from numbers to
negotiations, why mindset iseverything in sales and how
staying open to feedback canturn a good salesperson into a
(00:22):
great one.
Plus, we dig into realstrategies you can use if you're
thinking about making a leap inyour own career or if you're
just trying to sharpen yoursales game.
Oh, and stick around till theend, because Vanessa shares some
amazing book recommendationsand her go-to methods for
constant self-improvement.
Let's get into it.
I'm so excited for this episode.
We have a very special guest onwho is going to dive into the
(00:45):
world of sales, an area that Iknow many CFOs and accounting
firms aren't super comfortablewith.
But before getting to the guest, I have some very exciting news
I want to announce.
We have a new sponsor of ourpodcast, universal Accounting
Center.
They are a post-secondaryschool for accounting
professionals working withowners of bookkeeping,
(01:06):
accounting and tax businesseswho help offer quality services
and get paid what they're worth.
They've been so generous toshare a couple of resources to
help all of the listeners thatwill drop in the show notes.
Make sure to check them out.
Roger and his team are amazingat what they do.
Thank you so much.
Universal Accounting CenterReally appreciate your support
To our guest, vanessa Evansonfrom Orba Cloud CFO Services.
(01:31):
Vanessa, thank you so much forcoming on the show.
I'm so excited to dive into theworld of sales, especially your
journey going from accountantto the sales side of things.
That's not a transition thatmany seem to make, so I can't
wait to dive into that a littlebit more.
But thank you so much forjoining the show.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, thank you for having me.
Yeah, I don't think it's supercommon, but I'm really enjoying
it.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
So talk to me a little bitabout how that transition
happened.
How long were you behind thedesk doing the day-to-day
accounting?
And then let's move into whenthe offer was made or the
opportunity came up to get intothe sales role.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, so in general I've been doing accounting work
for over 90 years before Itransitioned to this sales
position and, to be clear, I'mstaying with the same company
just doing sales within the samecompany that I was also doing
accounting work for and this isa public accounting firm, so
everyone's also doing accountingand what else?
(02:39):
Yeah, so it was like roughlynine years I had worked in
companies privately as theirinternal accountant before
working in a public firm andI've always loved accounting and
I still love accounting.
And in terms of the opportunity, really our firm has some major
(03:00):
growth goals.
So we realized we can't justrely on our referrals anymore.
We need dedicated sales staff.
So our essentially ourdepartment COO she took the lead
initially building out thesales role, but she realized
that that's not her.
(03:20):
You know her love in terms ofwork.
Although she was good at it,she wants to continue being
operations focused.
So we had originally planned onhiring an external person like
season sales person to take onthis role and then just learn
the accounting business.
Not that they would learn allof accounting, they would just
(03:43):
learn the business of accounting.
And they announced that to theteam and I just simply
volunteered and I just said Iwould love the chance to learn
sales, and they didn't eventhink that anybody on the
accounting team would want tolearn sales.
You know this big scary thing.
But I was like, yes, please, Ivolunteer.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You volunteered as tribute.
Yes exactly that's so cool.
What is?
What's the I guess, day to daylike now, where you're, I'm
guessing, probably pretty in theweeds and doing a lot of the
strategy and, obviously, theaccounting work for your clients
(04:25):
?
What's that transition beenlike?
Now, where you're on theprospecting side, the sales
front, you're chasing proposals,you're doing the follow-ups.
I've never been on theaccounting side of things, but I
can only imagine it's just twocompletely different ends of the
spectrum.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yes and no.
It is a very different type ofwork, but a lot of the cadences
are actually really similar.
So when you're doing accountingwork, whatever level you are,
whether you're a bookkeeper,senior accountant, controller
there's always these daily coretasks that always have to get
(05:02):
done or you're not going to meetyour deadlines.
And when you look at sales,sales is incredibly deadline
driven everywhere, in everystage of it.
So I'm very used to kind of thehigher pressure environment of
public accounting and therealways being another deadline
(05:24):
you're working on in sales isthere's always the next proposal
to, always the next call.
Um.
So in terms of like structuringmy day, there has been a bit of
a learning curve in like whatthose core activities are, but
I'm used to kind of having toindependently motivate myself to
(05:45):
stay on track and in like theday to day now is, you know, I
start at the beginning of my dayeither with sales calls or, if
I don't have any schedules,making reach outs in whatever
form, whether it's LinkedIn,email or phone calls, so that I
can have more of those callsscheduled.
And then the rest of the day iseither, you know, doing the
(06:10):
work to to push deals along, orjust admin work to support the
team.
I still do some accounting workhere and there to fill in for
the team, but that's gettingsmaller and smaller and smaller.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Interesting.
What keeps you motivated,Vanessa, to keep going out and
getting no's and just gettinghit with rejection nonstop?
Because that is the world ofsales.
There's so much rejection and Ithink so many are fearful of
that, but it sounds like you'vereally taken this role and
you're running with it.
(06:44):
But what gets you motivated,like you said, to come in?
You're making calls, you'redoing the outreach, you're
following up on proposals dayafter day after day.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So I guess I don't really see things as no.
I guess I don't really seethings as no.
But I guess I should alsoclarify we don't have a fully
operating outbound process, butI'm working on incrementally
growing that.
So maybe I'm not hearing thatas much as maybe people doing
heavy, heavy amounts of coldcalling.
(07:20):
We've had a really successfulinbound sales process and I'm
slowly growing the outbound one.
But I mean, even with aninbound sales process when
digital leads have already beenfamiliar, you know it's never
like perfect.
Yes, we're on board, right.
There's people who do say no, um, I guess I just know that if,
(07:45):
if I am communicating our valueand being as available as I can
for those people and doingeverything in my control, then
it just wasn't the right fit.
Like I don't personally takethat as any sort of rejection.
It's, you know, like I knowthat I've done everything in my
(08:10):
power and I you know if, if itwasn't the right situation for
them, then that's fine.
Like they're gonna findsomebody who's gonna serve them
better.
But when, when I do communicateour value and I do make myself
available and I am patient anddescribing everything that will
(08:33):
do for these clients, the peoplewho it is absolutely the right
match for is an enthusiastic yes.
So I very much look forward tothose and I know that they are
coming.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, not everyone can be a yes, and I think that's
what I'm hearing from you.
What's been one of the biggestchallenges getting into the
sales role?
Because there's a lot oflisteners who would be thinking
they are relying on referrals orin there and they're closing
all of them as they should.
They're coming over on a silverplatter like those should be
(09:10):
closed pretty easy.
Likes and trusts.
You has said go work with youknow Vanessa, go work with Bob
Um.
But what's been working withinbound or outbound leads?
What have you found to be oneof the biggest challenges that
you're either still trying toovercome or you have been able
to overcome?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
I think the hardest part of sales is your mindset.
Sales is what I.
This is what I love about salesso much is that it is extremely
merit-based and you know, evenin accounting, like, of course,
talent and skill shines through.
(09:54):
But sales, more than any otherrole, like if you aren't doing
what you need to do and showingup the way you need to show up.
People are brutally honest, butI love that because I want to,
you know, be the best version ofmyself, be the best
professional I could be.
(10:15):
But you have to be very readyto be very honest with yourself,
very vulnerable with yourself.
Did I show up in the right way,like it?
You have to be ready to changeyourself.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
That's so powerful.
I love the the piece about youknow it's all merit-based.
I don't think anyone gets into,or shouldn't get into sales if
you're just looking to kind ofcoast by and check the boxes on
a day-to-day basis.
I haven't met anyone successfulin sales who just goes in to
check the boxes.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
But sales is a beautiful role because it's one
of the few roles that you can dowithout any credentials,
without any degree.
But you do have to be educated.
You just don't have to have anyformal sign up on your
education.
You have to make sure that youare truly understanding the
(11:19):
sales flows.
Even though I came from anaccounting background, I've
always had an interest in sales,at least a little bit, but
there was never really anopportunity.
So I've read several, severalbooks and really enjoy them, and
I think why I've had theinterest in sales is I just
(11:41):
really enjoy connecting withother people and when you can
make that connection andactually help somebody where
your, your service, your productcan make a substantive
difference in their lives, thatis very meaningful to me and
that also keeps me going with it.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
That's so good.
You touched on a reallyimportant point there.
It's about helping them.
It's not about you in the salesrole, and I think too many who
are getting into sales don't seeit that way and they think how
can I make a sale versus how canI help someone.
And when you're thinking abouthow you can help someone, it
really changes the whole mindsetand the conversation that's
(12:21):
taking place and it removes thatlike kind of use car salesman
stigma that a lot of people have.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yeah, I feel like if I'm addressing everything that
they're asking for, whetherdirectly or indirectly, like I
don't have to hard sell anything, you know, when it gets to
closing time they're just likewhere is?
Where's the dotted line, youknow?
Because they feel hurt.
(12:49):
Everything that that they'vewanted is already there.
And that makes me feel reallygood that people are getting
truly what they need.
And I think also that's why Idon't feel so bad if I do hear a
no, because we also want tomake sure that clients are the
right fit for us.
We really genuinely don't wantto sign every single client.
(13:13):
We want to make sure we canactually support them and that
they're going to get the mostvalue from us.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
That's so good.
What are you doing?
You mentioned you read.
You've read a couple books.
What else are you doing?
To you know, keep sharpeningyour sales skill, your sales
acts, for lack of better words.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Well, several things.
You know I go to weekly salescoaching.
I just routinely put myself outthere.
I'm okay, making mistakes.
I know I'm not going to beperfect, but if you can get,
it's so hard for people in mostblocks of life to give you truly
candid feedback.
(13:58):
And if you've ever tried to getcandid feedback, you know how
hard it is to really get peopleto be honest and direct with you
.
So I feel like when you go andput yourself in situations where
it's people are more strangersthan friends, even though they
may be friendly, you can getsome of the most candid feedback
.
And that is like such crucialinformation to know because when
(14:22):
I'm putting myself out there infront of new prospects, I want
to know, I want to be sure thatI'm Putting myself out there in
the way that I need to toattract the right kind of client
and make sure that they'reclearly understanding what I can
do for them.
So, yeah, yeah, coaching, putmyself out there.
(14:44):
When I say put myself out there,I mean often that's like
in-person networking eventswhere I'm trying different quick
pitches and things, differentquick pitches and things and
just generally asking otherpeople that are in my network
that have a longer salesexperience than me.
I'm still relatively new insales.
(15:04):
Although I have seen somesuccess, I don't want to think I
know it all.
That's why I'm very muchreaching out in so many
different ways to get feedback.
Am I on the right track?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
That's so good.
I'm hearing a lot of justhaving a constant learner's
mindset and just being open toknowing you can always improve
regardless how much successyou're having, so that's so good
.
What would be a piece of adviceyou would give someone either
in sales now or who's looking toget in sales to grow their own
(15:39):
firm?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So I feel like, for people who are employees that
want to be a sales person, justI would do everything you can
right now in your currentposition to put yourself in an
opportunity where, if a salesrole comes across your desk or
you see a job ad online, thateverything you've done makes it
(16:06):
really easy for that employer tosay absolutely, yes.
If I didn't have the same sortof mindset with my accounting
work, if they saw me as somebodyyou know, just checking the
boxes, just punching my timecard, they would not have
allowed me to trial the salesrole and I trialed it and was
(16:29):
successful.
So they're like yes, stay here.
You know I've never started myown firm, but I imagine it can't
be too different if you are afirm owner, essentially your
salesperson number one, and youknow you're setting the tone for
yourself, for future employees,and I think just putting
(16:52):
yourself out there, getting asmuch feedback as rapidly as
possible whether it's running afirm or learning absolutely
anything new the most feedbackyou can get as fast as possible
is the way you're going to getthe most progress of knowledge
towards your goals.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
That's so good.
There's so much valuableinsight there towards your goals
.
That's that's so good.
There's so much valuableinsight there.
Last question for you, vanessawhich book would you recommend?
Or books would you recommendfor the sale, for the sales role
, or just learning more aboutsales, or just again sharpening
that ax.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I'll recommend two particular books and then just
in general.
Um, two particular books andthen just in general.
So a book that I've absolutelyloved recently is Jeb Blunt's
Fanatical Prospecting.
I think almost everysalesperson has probably seen it
, but absolutely read it, readit like five times until it
fully sinks in.
(17:48):
I'm on my second read right nowand, yeah, it's just going to
be on repeat until I know everyword.
Um, and then second book I'drecommend.
It's not really a sales bookand it's very um.
It's written very differentthan most books.
(18:09):
It's very much a mindset book.
This, this book is called theFour Agreements.
By what is it?
I think it's Don something Jr.
I have to look it up.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
It's all good.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I don't remember the name.
That book is very, veryunconventional, so you have to
put your ego aside when you'rereading it, because it doesn't.
It's not prescribing anything,it's more of that how you
(18:43):
operate in life, and that verymuch focuses on your own circle
of control.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So it's easier to not take things personally that
other people are doing becauseit's not about you everybody's
operating their own life yeah um, but just in general, anything
by jeff blunt is amazing too, sovery good again, just that
learn constant, the constantlearner's mindset and a lot of
(19:15):
ego checking, and everyone's toobusy worried about themselves
anyway, so no one cares whatyou're doing anyways, or the
potential mistakes you're making, or how you look or sound.
Everyone's so hyper-focused ontheir own bubble.
So that's a lot easier saidthan done.
But if you're intentional aboutit in practice, it can go a
long way, so that's great.
(19:41):
Thank you so much for coming onthe show, vanessa.
This was incredible.
The insights you shared, thebook recommendations, the
conversation around mindset, howto get into sales, how to, you
know, run those conversations.
I hope everyone gets a ton ofvalue from it.
Where can everyone get in touchwith you if they want to
continue the conversation?
Or just, you know, just reachout in general.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Probably.
There's two ways that are bestto get a hold of me.
One through my.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
You know my name is Vanessa Evanson on LinkedIn and
my handle is the LinkedIn andthen it's
Vanessa-Evanson-Loves-Accounting.
Or you can reach out to me atmy work email, which is
vevansonatorbacom.
(20:25):
V-e-v-a-n-s-o-n at O-R-B-Acom.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Perfect.
We'll make sure to have allthose links in the show notes so
people can get in touch.
I highly recommend they do.
Again, thank you so much forcoming on, Vanessa.
This was great.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Yeah, thank you very much, James, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Thanks for tuning into this episode of CFO
Chronicles the secrets behindsuccess.
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(21:08):
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(21:29):
Until then, keep pushingforward.
Your growth is just onestrategic move away.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Thanks for listening to.
Until then, keep pushingforward.
Your feedback helps us bringyou the best insights in finance
and marketing.
Until next time, keep strivingfor success and unlocking your
business's potential.
Today's episode is a masterclass in career pivots,
mindset and making moves.
I'm joined by Vanessa, anaccountant turned sales pro,
who's rewriting the playbook onwhat it takes to succeed in
outbound sales.
We talk about how she made thejump from numbers to
negotiations, why mindset iseverything in sales and how
staying open to feedback canturn a good salesperson into a
(00:22):
great one.
Plus, we dig into realstrategies you can use if you're
thinking about making a leap inyour own career or if you're
just trying to sharpen yoursales game.
Oh, and stick around till theend, because Vanessa shares some
amazing book recommendationsand her go-to methods for
constant self-improvement.
Let's get into it.
I'm so excited for this episode.
We have a very special guest onwho is going to dive into the
(00:45):
world of sales, an area that Iknow many CFOs and accounting
firms aren't super comfortablewith.
But before getting to the guest, I have some very exciting news
I want to announce.
We have a new sponsor of ourpodcast, universal Accounting
Center.
They are a post-secondaryschool for accounting
professionals working withowners of bookkeeping,
(01:06):
accounting and tax businesseswho help offer quality services
and get paid what they're worth.
They've been so generous toshare a couple of resources to
help all of the listeners thatwill drop in the show notes.
Make sure to check them out.
Roger and his team are amazingat what they do.
Thank you so much.
Universal Accounting CenterReally appreciate your support
To our guest, vanessa Evansonfrom Orba Cloud CFO Services.
(01:31):
Vanessa, thank you so much forcoming on the show.
I'm so excited to dive into theworld of sales, especially your
journey going from accountantto the sales side of things.
That's not a transition thatmany seem to make, so I can't
wait to dive into that a littlebit more.
But thank you so much forjoining the show.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, thank you for having me.
Yeah, I don't think it's supercommon, but I'm really enjoying
it.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
So talk to me a little bitabout how that transition
happened.
How long were you behind thedesk doing the day-to-day
accounting?
And then let's move into whenthe offer was made or the
opportunity came up to get intothe sales role.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, so in general I've been doing accounting work
for over 90 years before Itransitioned to this sales
position and, to be clear, I'mstaying with the same company
just doing sales within the samecompany that I was also doing
accounting work for and this isa public accounting firm, so
everyone's also doing accountingand what else?
(02:39):
Yeah, so it was like roughlynine years I had worked in
companies privately as theirinternal accountant before
working in a public firm andI've always loved accounting and
I still love accounting.
And in terms of the opportunity, really our firm has some major
(03:00):
growth goals.
So we realized we can't justrely on our referrals anymore.
We need dedicated sales staff.
So our essentially ourdepartment COO she took the lead
initially building out thesales role, but she realized
that that's not her.
(03:20):
You know her love in terms ofwork.
Although she was good at it,she wants to continue being
operations focused.
So we had originally planned onhiring an external person like
season sales person to take onthis role and then just learn
the accounting business.
Not that they would learn allof accounting, they would just
(03:43):
learn the business of accounting.
And they announced that to theteam and I just simply
volunteered and I just said Iwould love the chance to learn
sales, and they didn't eventhink that anybody on the
accounting team would want tolearn sales.
You know this big scary thing.
But I was like, yes, please, Ivolunteer.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You volunteered as tribute.
Yes exactly that's so cool.
What is?
What's the I guess, day to daylike now, where you're, I'm
guessing, probably pretty in theweeds and doing a lot of the
strategy and, obviously, theaccounting work for your clients
(04:25):
?
What's that transition beenlike?
Now, where you're on theprospecting side, the sales
front, you're chasing proposals,you're doing the follow-ups.
I've never been on theaccounting side of things, but I
can only imagine it's just twocompletely different ends of the
spectrum.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yes and no.
It is a very different type ofwork, but a lot of the cadences
are actually really similar.
So when you're doing accountingwork, whatever level you are,
whether you're a bookkeeper,senior accountant, controller
there's always these daily coretasks that always have to get
(05:02):
done or you're not going to meetyour deadlines.
And when you look at sales,sales is incredibly deadline
driven everywhere, in everystage of it.
So I'm very used to kind of thehigher pressure environment of
public accounting and therealways being another deadline
(05:24):
you're working on in sales isthere's always the next proposal
to, always the next call.
Um.
So in terms of like structuringmy day, there has been a bit of
a learning curve in like whatthose core activities are, but
I'm used to kind of having toindependently motivate myself to
(05:45):
stay on track and in like theday to day now is, you know, I
start at the beginning of my dayeither with sales calls or, if
I don't have any schedules,making reach outs in whatever
form, whether it's LinkedIn,email or phone calls, so that I
can have more of those callsscheduled.
And then the rest of the day iseither, you know, doing the
(06:10):
work to to push deals along, orjust admin work to support the
team.
I still do some accounting workhere and there to fill in for
the team, but that's gettingsmaller and smaller and smaller.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Interesting.
What keeps you motivated,Vanessa, to keep going out and
getting no's and just gettinghit with rejection nonstop?
Because that is the world ofsales.
There's so much rejection and Ithink so many are fearful of
that, but it sounds like you'vereally taken this role and
you're running with it.
(06:44):
But what gets you motivated,like you said, to come in?
You're making calls, you'redoing the outreach, you're
following up on proposals dayafter day after day.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So I guess I don't really see things as no.
I guess I don't really seethings as no.
But I guess I should alsoclarify we don't have a fully
operating outbound process, butI'm working on incrementally
growing that.
So maybe I'm not hearing thatas much as maybe people doing
heavy, heavy amounts of coldcalling.
(07:20):
We've had a really successfulinbound sales process and I'm
slowly growing the outbound one.
But I mean, even with aninbound sales process when
digital leads have already beenfamiliar, you know it's never
like perfect.
Yes, we're on board, right.
There's people who do say no, um, I guess I just know that if,
(07:45):
if I am communicating our valueand being as available as I can
for those people and doingeverything in my control, then
it just wasn't the right fit.
Like I don't personally takethat as any sort of rejection.
It's, you know, like I knowthat I've done everything in my
(08:10):
power and I you know if, if itwasn't the right situation for
them, then that's fine.
Like they're gonna findsomebody who's gonna serve them
better.
But when, when I do communicateour value and I do make myself
available and I am patient anddescribing everything that will
(08:33):
do for these clients, the peoplewho it is absolutely the right
match for is an enthusiastic yes.
So I very much look forward tothose and I know that they are
coming.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, not everyone can be a yes, and I think that's
what I'm hearing from you.
What's been one of the biggestchallenges getting into the
sales role?
Because there's a lot oflisteners who would be thinking
they are relying on referrals orin there and they're closing
all of them as they should.
They're coming over on a silverplatter like those should be
(09:10):
closed pretty easy.
Likes and trusts.
You has said go work with youknow Vanessa, go work with Bob
Um.
But what's been working withinbound or outbound leads?
What have you found to be oneof the biggest challenges that
you're either still trying toovercome or you have been able
to overcome?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
I think the hardest part of sales is your mindset.
Sales is what I.
This is what I love about salesso much is that it is extremely
merit-based and you know, evenin accounting, like, of course,
talent and skill shines through.
(09:54):
But sales, more than any otherrole, like if you aren't doing
what you need to do and showingup the way you need to show up.
People are brutally honest, butI love that because I want to,
you know, be the best version ofmyself, be the best
professional I could be.
(10:15):
But you have to be very readyto be very honest with yourself,
very vulnerable with yourself.
Did I show up in the right way,like it?
You have to be ready to changeyourself.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
That's so powerful.
I love the the piece about youknow it's all merit-based.
I don't think anyone gets into,or shouldn't get into sales if
you're just looking to kind ofcoast by and check the boxes on
a day-to-day basis.
I haven't met anyone successfulin sales who just goes in to
check the boxes.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
But sales is a beautiful role because it's one
of the few roles that you can dowithout any credentials,
without any degree.
But you do have to be educated.
You just don't have to have anyformal sign up on your
education.
You have to make sure that youare truly understanding the
(11:19):
sales flows.
Even though I came from anaccounting background, I've
always had an interest in sales,at least a little bit, but
there was never really anopportunity.
So I've read several, severalbooks and really enjoy them, and
I think why I've had theinterest in sales is I just
(11:41):
really enjoy connecting withother people and when you can
make that connection andactually help somebody where
your, your service, your productcan make a substantive
difference in their lives, thatis very meaningful to me and
that also keeps me going with it.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
That's so good.
You touched on a reallyimportant point there.
It's about helping them.
It's not about you in the salesrole, and I think too many who
are getting into sales don't seeit that way and they think how
can I make a sale versus how canI help someone.
And when you're thinking abouthow you can help someone, it
really changes the whole mindsetand the conversation that's
(12:21):
taking place and it removes thatlike kind of use car salesman
stigma that a lot of people have.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yeah, I feel like if I'm addressing everything that
they're asking for, whetherdirectly or indirectly, like I
don't have to hard sell anything, you know, when it gets to
closing time they're just likewhere is?
Where's the dotted line, youknow?
Because they feel hurt.
(12:49):
Everything that that they'vewanted is already there.
And that makes me feel reallygood that people are getting
truly what they need.
And I think also that's why Idon't feel so bad if I do hear a
no, because we also want tomake sure that clients are the
right fit for us.
We really genuinely don't wantto sign every single client.
(13:13):
We want to make sure we canactually support them and that
they're going to get the mostvalue from us.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
That's so good.
What are you doing?
You mentioned you read.
You've read a couple books.
What else are you doing?
To you know, keep sharpeningyour sales skill, your sales
acts, for lack of better words.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Well, several things.
You know I go to weekly salescoaching.
I just routinely put myself outthere.
I'm okay, making mistakes.
I know I'm not going to beperfect, but if you can get,
it's so hard for people in mostblocks of life to give you truly
candid feedback.
(13:58):
And if you've ever tried to getcandid feedback, you know how
hard it is to really get peopleto be honest and direct with you
.
So I feel like when you go andput yourself in situations where
it's people are more strangersthan friends, even though they
may be friendly, you can getsome of the most candid feedback
.
And that is like such crucialinformation to know because when
(14:22):
I'm putting myself out there infront of new prospects, I want
to know, I want to be sure thatI'm Putting myself out there in
the way that I need to toattract the right kind of client
and make sure that they'reclearly understanding what I can
do for them.
So, yeah, yeah, coaching, putmyself out there.
(14:44):
When I say put myself out there,I mean often that's like
in-person networking eventswhere I'm trying different quick
pitches and things, differentquick pitches and things and
just generally asking otherpeople that are in my network
that have a longer salesexperience than me.
I'm still relatively new insales.
(15:04):
Although I have seen somesuccess, I don't want to think I
know it all.
That's why I'm very muchreaching out in so many
different ways to get feedback.
Am I on the right track?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
That's so good.
I'm hearing a lot of justhaving a constant learner's
mindset and just being open toknowing you can always improve
regardless how much successyou're having, so that's so good
.
What would be a piece of adviceyou would give someone either
in sales now or who's looking toget in sales to grow their own
(15:39):
firm?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So I feel like, for people who are employees that
want to be a sales person, justI would do everything you can
right now in your currentposition to put yourself in an
opportunity where, if a salesrole comes across your desk or
you see a job ad online, thateverything you've done makes it
(16:06):
really easy for that employer tosay absolutely, yes.
If I didn't have the same sortof mindset with my accounting
work, if they saw me as somebodyyou know, just checking the
boxes, just punching my timecard, they would not have
allowed me to trial the salesrole and I trialed it and was
(16:29):
successful.
So they're like yes, stay here.
You know I've never started myown firm, but I imagine it can't
be too different if you are afirm owner, essentially your
salesperson number one, and youknow you're setting the tone for
yourself, for future employees,and I think just putting
(16:52):
yourself out there, getting asmuch feedback as rapidly as
possible whether it's running afirm or learning absolutely
anything new the most feedbackyou can get as fast as possible
is the way you're going to getthe most progress of knowledge
towards your goals.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
That's so good.
There's so much valuableinsight there towards your goals
.
That's that's so good.
There's so much valuableinsight there.
Last question for you, vanessawhich book would you recommend?
Or books would you recommendfor the sale, for the sales role
, or just learning more aboutsales, or just again sharpening
that ax.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I'll recommend two particular books and then just
in general.
Um, two particular books andthen just in general.
So a book that I've absolutelyloved recently is Jeb Blunt's
Fanatical Prospecting.
I think almost everysalesperson has probably seen it
, but absolutely read it, readit like five times until it
fully sinks in.
(17:48):
I'm on my second read right nowand, yeah, it's just going to
be on repeat until I know everyword.
Um, and then second book I'drecommend.
It's not really a sales bookand it's very um.
It's written very differentthan most books.
(18:09):
It's very much a mindset book.
This, this book is called theFour Agreements.
By what is it?
I think it's Don something Jr.
I have to look it up.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
It's all good.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I don't remember the name.
That book is very, veryunconventional, so you have to
put your ego aside when you'rereading it, because it doesn't.
It's not prescribing anything,it's more of that how you
(18:43):
operate in life, and that verymuch focuses on your own circle
of control.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So it's easier to not take things personally that
other people are doing becauseit's not about you everybody's
operating their own life yeah um, but just in general, anything
by jeff blunt is amazing too, sovery good again, just that
learn constant, the constantlearner's mindset and a lot of
(19:15):
ego checking, and everyone's toobusy worried about themselves
anyway, so no one cares whatyou're doing anyways, or the
potential mistakes you're making, or how you look or sound.
Everyone's so hyper-focused ontheir own bubble.
So that's a lot easier saidthan done.
But if you're intentional aboutit in practice, it can go a
long way, so that's great.
(19:41):
Thank you so much for coming onthe show, vanessa.
This was incredible.
The insights you shared, thebook recommendations, the
conversation around mindset, howto get into sales, how to, you
know, run those conversations.
I hope everyone gets a ton ofvalue from it.
Where can everyone get in touchwith you if they want to
continue the conversation?
Or just, you know, just reachout in general.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Probably.
There's two ways that are bestto get a hold of me.
One through my.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
You know my name is Vanessa Evanson on LinkedIn and
my handle is the LinkedIn andthen it's
Vanessa-Evanson-Loves-Accounting.
Or you can reach out to me atmy work email, which is
vevansonatorbacom.
(20:25):
V-e-v-a-n-s-o-n at O-R-B-Acom.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Perfect.
We'll make sure to have allthose links in the show notes so
people can get in touch.
I highly recommend they do.
Again, thank you so much forcoming on, Vanessa.
This was great.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Yeah, thank you very much, James, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Thanks for tuning into this episode of CFO
Chronicles the secrets behindsuccess.
I hope you found value intoday's conversation.
As we wrap up, I'd love for youto do two things.
First, make sure to subscribeto this podcast so you don't
miss any future episodes.
If you enjoyed today'sdiscussion, please rate and
review the show.
It helps others discover theinsights we share here.
Second, if you're ready to takeyour business to the next level
(21:08):
and attract the high-endclients you deserve, head over
to accountingleadsnowcom orclick the link in the show notes
to book your strategy.
Call it's time to positionyourself as the advisor your
clients need.
And don't forget you canconnect with me on LinkedIn to
stay up to date on what'shappening in the world of
accounting and financial growth.
We've got exciting topicscoming up, so stay tuned for the
next episode of CFO Chronicles.
(21:29):
Until then, keep pushingforward.
Your growth is just onestrategic move away.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Thanks for listening to.
Until then, keep pushingforward.
Your feedback helps us bringyou the best insights in finance
and marketing.
Until next time, keep strivingfor success and unlocking your
business's potential.
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