151. How to Survive the Acquisition, with David Farrell

Acquisitions can be a whirlwind of emotions and uncertainty for sales teams. It's essential to maintain focus and clarity to ensure a smooth transition and continued success. David Farrell, a seasoned sales leader with over 24 years of experience, shares invaluable insights on what to do and not do when your company is about to be acquired. Key strategies include maintaining a replicable process that is attractive to potential buyers and ensuring your team is performing at its best to secure job security. Transparency and honest conversations with your team about their career paths and the organization's future can help mitigate anxiety and maintain morale. Above all, it's crucial to focus on your results and reputation—these will be your strongest assets during and after an acquisition.

David Farrell brings a wealth of experience in the human resources technology space, having sold to companies ranging from one employee to 125,000 employees. Starting his career in media and entertainment, David shifted to sales to better support his lifestyle. He quickly excelled, moving up from selling to small businesses to leading large market sales teams. His career includes roles such as Chief Sales Officer, where he successfully navigated multiple acquisitions, ultimately becoming a leader of leaders at his current organization, overseeing three different divisions, including one in Canada. David's journey is a testament to the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and strategic thinking in sales leadership.

What you'll learn:

• How can you maintain team focus and performance when rumors of an acquisition start circulating?
• What are the key considerations for a sales leader during the middle of an acquisition process?
• What should sales leaders do post-acquisition to ensure their team and themselves are positioned for success?

We want to hear from you!

Sales leaders: What are the challenges you are faced with? Would you like some ideas on how to solve them? Hamish will shortly be releasing our first "Listener questions" episode and we want to hear from you! What's the burning question you want an answer to? What do you think of the show? Whatever your questions, comment on social media or email us at the address below, and we will possibly add your questions to future episodes. 

Please submit your questions at: https://share.hsforms.com/1bauMW6liRNKbrZR0w6FPNwbn9ta

Resources: 

Who Moved My Cheese - by Spencer Johnson

The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision - by Matthew Dixon, Ted McKenna

---

Connect with Hamish on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishknox/

Meet Hamish at a Sandler Summit: https://www.hamish.sandler.com/orlando

Fathom: https://fathom.video/invite/72CZPA

Humanic: https://app.humantic.ai/login/?referral_code=HamishKnox_SA