Patrick’s Profile

Patrick is the Managing Director for Asia Pacific Region at Insider, one of the first integrated growth management platforms in the world, used by companies like Singapore Airlines, Uniqlo, Ebay, Toyota, Domino, and hundreds of others.

Prior to that, he worked at ZALORA Southeast Asia for 4 years. As Regional Director, he was responsible for product and marketing innovation across all platforms in 9 different countries.

Originally from Germany, Patrick has been staying and working with great talents in SEA since 2012.

Patrick is the curriculum advisor and instructor for RevoU Business Development/Sales in Tech program, bringing his passion for tech and years of experience on the table.

Many love his charismatic personality and positive attitude, which are the two amongst many skill you can learn from him.

More on Patrick

https://www.marketing-interactive.com/understanding-the-smart-consumer

Questions and Answers

#1 Can you explain to us what your typical day looks like in your current role at Insider?

Before work:

• Exercise in the morning and grab breakfast & tea before I check email or work messages - I believe in booting up before getting into it to make sure I have a good and strong mindset when I get started
• Check OKRs & task list for the day and get going!
  

Regular days would include:

• Weekly alignment with our founder and VP or growth
• Sales calls with countries - review the ongoing deals and discuss what we can do to help them move along
• 1on1s with some of my reports to see how I can support them and share my feedback and priorities with them
• Two interviews (often at lunch time) to find the next heroes who can join the team
• Meeting (prospective) business partners for lunches, coffees, dinners
• Joining some meetings with existing and prospective clients where my expertise can be of use
• Spend some time on LinkedIn, emails, calls, networking to connect with interesting people for joint opportunities
  

After work:

• Running in the evening helps me to clear my head and think about larger strategic initiatives and unstructured problems
  

#2 Biggest myths and misconceptions about Sales/ Business Development in the Tech industry?

Many. Some major ones that come to mind:

1. That sales is ‘simple’-- It’s a remarkable profession that takes discipline, methodological skill, creativity to stand out, problem solving skills, a strong healthy positive mindset, communication skills, and curiosity and willingness to learn and succeed. And a very closely related myth:
   
2. That you are ‘born for sales’-- All the skills I mentioned are coachable and can be learned. Even something like communication skills or problem solving skills. One of the things I found fascinating about sales is that once you zoom in, you see that these skills can be broken down into clear steps, concepts, and trainable chunks that can be learned by anyone who’s eager to do so.
   
3. A last one that comes to mind is that people seem to think that sales produces win/lose situations: sales ‘wins’ and makes the sale, the customer ‘loses’ by buying-- People still have this wrong connotation of the outdated annoying sales guy who goes from door to door trying to trick anyone into buying what they sell (in all fairness, there used to be insurance or vacuum cleaner sellers like this in the past..).
   
   We are connected, online, and cannot be short term oriented,. Word of mouth travels wide and fast. The relationships you build will define your success. Your customer’s success will translate into your success.
   

Tech Sales (and frankly, good sales in general) is about (1) identifying the people who can benefit from your product, (2) approaching them, (3) understanding their needs and problems, and then (4) helping them to successfully address them through your product.

Sales is inherently about win/win situations, not win/lose. Only win/win sales people succeed in the long term as your reputation will follow and precede you.

#3 Your proudest professional achievement at Insider?

Many.

But the greatest ones are always those times when I see someone grow beyond their own expectations by continuously working together through coaching and feedback to help them grow.

Oftentimes people don’t realize how much they have grown until you ask them to remember where they were 6 months ago but once they slow down, they put this big smile on their face when they realize what they have accomplished.

I recently had this situation where one of our guys was working really hard on his pitch after he had some troubles to get it right in the beginning. He now delivers one of the best pitches in the company and success followed. I love it when I see something like this.

#4 What are things you wish you could have learned earlier in your career?

How to listen and how to take feedback.

Regarding feedback: there is so much learning in what people tell you - but oftentimes people just shrug it off or become defensive when they hear it.

Feedback is a gift - it took me a while to see it that way and now I am grateful to anyone who cares enough to share it with me. I now actively ask for it and it helps me grow every day.

Regarding listening: truly listening to someone and understanding why they are saying what they are saying, what they are trying to say, and how they are feeling is probably the most powerful super power that good sales people cultivate.

It helps us to genuinely connect with people and to - both personally and professionally.

#5 Books / Online resources you follow to remain on top of the most important industry trends and keep improving in your field (blogs, podcasts, newsletters)?

For sales:

• The Challenger Sale (here)
• Fanatical Prospecting (here)
• The Perfect Close (here)
  

Others:

• Tim Ferriss podcast (for whatever you are interested in - he has great guests from all disciplines of life)
• A guide to the good life (great attitude towards life)
• Radical Candor (how to work in teams)
• Extreme Ownership (taking charge of your destiny)
  
  

#6 Your tips for someone who is interested in starting his career in Sales/ Business Development in the Tech industry and doesn’t know where to focus on (aside from applying to RevoU :)?

Don’t get discouraged if you feel you don’t have some of the skills that you think are required to succeed - most likely you can learn them (like communicating effectively) or you don’t need them (like coding).

Set yourself a clear goal on what you want to achieve and make sure you feel strongly about that. That will help you get there.

Talk to those who have had the success you are looking to achieve and ask them how they did it. Ask them for their advice. Reach out to people you admire and buy them a lunch or coffee to learn from them.

#7 What distinguishes the goods from the greats in your Sales/ Business Development in the Tech industry?

Customer centricity paired with relentlessness. The best people are persistent and relentless with their customers.

They can be relied on 100% of the time and become a source of information, expertise, and general value for their clients (beyond the product they sell). They have learned to love what they do and are passionate about bringing it out into the world. They will not stop until they have made sure that the prospect has truly understood the product and how it can help them.

They know not to force a sale if it won’t benefit the client and wait until the time is right so that their clients will be happy about them and refer them to their friends. They always focus on the value they bring to the client. They will not stop until they have added value for them.

Learn from Patrick and other great instructors by applying to RevoU Business Development/Sales in Tech program

Looking to kickstart your career in BD/Sales in Tech but don’t know where to start? Apply to RevoU 3-months Business Development Program

How RevoU works:

✓ Live daily interactive online classes for 3 months (7–9pm WIB)

✓ Learn from the best instructors in the industry (such as Patrick)

✓ Personalised career coaching with 1:1 mentorship sessions

✓ If you are looking for a job and don’t get one at the end of the Program, the entire course is FREE