The Steak Problem in Sales Ops with Don Turner, Director of Sales Operations at Lark Technologies

This week, we are joined by talking to Don Turner, Director of Sales Operations at Lark Technologies. Don shares the sales KPIs which he uses to train reps for high performance. 

In conclusion, Don shares how communication and lead rationalization can help grow sales.

• Don Turner’s LinkedIn

Business leadership at its best 

Don is an active business leader who delivers thoughtful and productive sales enablement plans and strategies to refine sales operations. He grooms his sales teams by training them on KPIs and equipping them with the most desirable attributes like accountability, communication with the customers, resources management, and technology understanding. 

“Relationship building is crucial” 

Don develops meaningful, healthy business partnerships with vendors, clients, and executive teams to grow revenue and achieve sales targets.

From the US Navy to sales operations 

Don joined the United States Navy at the age of seventeen. After four years of service, Don opted to work odd jobs to gain experience until he finished college and decided to move into the world of sales and operations. 

Don’s experience in the US Navy taught him discipline and several other core skills that have helped him a lot in his sales operations journey. 

Starting small can lead you to greatness: keep learning 

Don says that he has learned a lot from working with SMEs and entrepreneurs. The training and effort he put into working in small teams helped him develop the necessary understanding to strategize sales operations. 

Learning to use provided headcount and resources efficiently is an art, which eventually helps to streamline sales operations and to ensure business growth. 

Lark Technologies, Don’s current employer, has been extremely supportive in providing necessary resources and personnel.

The steak problem in sales ops 

Efficient resource utilization can serve as a make or break for an organization. Learning to use provided headcount and resources efficiently is an art, which eventually helps to streamline sales operations and to ensure business growth. 

Don defines the gap between resource utilization and strategy for sales ops as a “steak problem of sales ops”, people need to understand that it’s not just about how you strategize your sales operations and sales but it’s about effective utilization of all the give resources in a holistic view

Lark Technologies, Don’s current employer, has been extremely supportive in providing necessary resources and personnel.

A $500,000 increase in revenue through leads rationalization 

Rationalize leads and filter out the best ones with an increased probability of being productive. This will save you time, energy, and money that otherwise would be spent on non-productive leads. 

Implementing thorough rationalization practices can both boost pipeline and increase rep morale. 

Step back and re-examine the communication in your organization

Don implemented a filtering process for effective communication through: 

1. Creating a Google Drive structure consisting of ten folders, each with a unique set of instructions so that people can study these resources in their spare time. 

2. Creating two Slack channels, one for the new customers and the other for the commercial teams.

This action reduced internal email traffic, making it easier for people to communicate, this saved a LOT of time, according to Don.

Who in the sales operation world would Don Turner like to take out for lunch?

• Ted, CEO of Lark Technologies; a friend of Don who saw sales operation in him and had been his mentor

Subscribe To Sales Ops Demystified:

• Apple
• Spotify
• RSS