David Priemer is the Founder and Chief Sales Scientist at Cerebral Selling.

He started his career tinkering with test tubes and differential equations as an award-winning research scientist before spending the next 20 years leading top-performing sales teams

The first half of our interview we embark down the path of David’s journey from VP of Sales to starting his own practice.

One of the most inspiring stories I’ve heard since starting the podcast is his story of overcoming cancer and what it taught him about sales.

He also shares actionable tactics, including his concept of hidden pains, fixing asymmetry, and using polarizing statements to move sales conversations forward.

Overall, this interview provides valuable insights and inspiration for anyone interested in sales, entrepreneurship, or consulting.

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Time Stamps:

[:30] David talks about leading and growing sales more than 400% admits being acquired by Salesforce. David was VP of Sales at Rypple in 2012 when the company was acquired by Salesforce. He shares the celebration phase but how that faded quickly as he entered a massive organization. He had to learn how to be successful all over again. “It was a great lesson in agility". he says.

[3:45] I ask why he left Salesforce. For someone who grew up in the Bay Area, I’ve always viewed Salesforce as an ideal place to work.

[7:40] David shares the origin story of Cerebral Selling, the company he started shortly after leaving Salesforce. The idea was born back during his days at Salesforce while in a new specialized role where he was running internal and external educational events. As part of this he would write a lot of content for Salesforce and it was this that rolled into his Cerebral Selling content. It’s a great story - you have to check it out. It’s super inspiring for anyone who’s interested in parlaying their sales career into consulting or training.

[12:23] He explains his belief that people tend to overestimate the risk associated with following their heart and doing what they love to do.

[13:30] Talks about how he acquired his first clients and gives advice to anyone who might be in that position now. He goes on to explain his ‘comedy club’ concept for new entrepreneurs. He essentially says to start in your backyard and practice your pitch and work streams to help you refine your message/offerings. This part of the interview is punched full of wisdom on how to build your consultancy business. Including his perspective on nitching down and owning ‘your thing’.

[19:34] I ask David how writing his book, “Sell The Way You Buy”, helped to shape his practice. He unpacks his ‘why’ for writing the book. He wanted to write a book that stood the test of time. In terms of how it helped shape his business he says it a) forced him to crystalize his ideas, b) gives him authority in the space, c) creates opportunities, and d) provides a stream of revenue.

[29:00] David talks about fighting two bouts with cancer during his time with Salesforce. I was blown away when he basically says the stress at Salesforce may have caused the cancer. That’s why he said this was “the worst time of his life” at the beginning of the interview.

[32:00] He says that when he was getting ready to make the leap and start his business he told himself that he would be ok with making less than he was making at Salesforce because he knew he would be more fulfilled. Funny thing is though… he made more in his first year than he was as a VP of Sales.

[33:00] We transitioned into what having cancer taught him about sales. He actually wrote a blog about it. Click here to check it out. Here are a couple things: “Humans crave certainty.”, “Our brains are prediction machines.”, and “Bad salespeople are not bad people.” (CLIP THIS)

[39:10] We transition again.. This time to the Discovery phase. The question is why should or shouldn’t we show the product when we are early in the sales process. His advice on this might be a mind-shift for you. A good mind-shift. If you’re looking for some super actionable tactics that you can implement now… ⏩ to here. “The product isn’t that transformative until we’ve deepened our customer’s awareness of the problem they have and why they can’t solve it themselves.”

[43:35] We unpack his concept of the hidden or unspoken pains. The problems that you have that you're not holding back. You’re just not in tune enough with what those things are. He references a video that he put out called, “The Ninja Pitch” that you gotta check out.

[48:00] Talks about: “How Younger Salespeople Can Win Over Older Customers” which is also the title of an article that he wrote in Harvard Business Review. The premise of it is on fixing asymmetry.

[52:12] David breaks down a technique that he teaches sales teams called, “Polarizing Statements”. This is another gem that you can start using today to move sales conversations forward. In his article, “Three Principles Scientifically Proven to Help Your Message Break Through Your Customer’s Armor” he breaks it down.

Mentions:

Book: “Sell The Way You Buy” - https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Way-You-Buy-Approach/dp/1989603203

Blog Post: “What Cancer Taught Me About Sales” - https://cerebralselling.com/what-cancer-taught-me-about-sales/

Video: “The Ninja Pitch” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTEVidWsXvU

Article: How Younger Salespeople Can Win Over Older Customers - https://hbr.org/2019/04/how-younger-salespeople-can-win-over-older-customers

Blog Post: “Three Principles Scientifically Proven to Help Your Message Break Through Your Customer’s Armor” - https://cerebralselling.com/principles-that-help-messages-break-through/