145 | Steve Gruber | My Sales Playbook

In today’s show Chris interviews Steve Gruber, Founder, Venture Accelerator Partners. Steve provides sales, media, and social media services to organizations in niche segments.

We start this show with Steve recalling his life as a kid. Always entrepreneurial and driven, he credits his supportive family for setting him on the right path. However, like many of us, Steve was frustrated with his lack of clarity.

In the next segment of the show, Steve talks about this Student Works stint. Listeners will learn how Student Works can help you hone an entire gamut of skill-sets that lay the foundation for a successful career. 

Particularly, Steve talks about how he learned to sell while at Student Works. Additionally, we discuss how a process-driven and scientific approach is necessary for consistent success. You will also learn why persistence is the key to success in sales. Can you expect to scale up your business if you are easily dissuaded by rejections?

After Student Works, Steve worked as an account manager for Ovum in Boston. Ovum was focused on developing new IT technologies for telecommunications companies like AT&T and Lucent. Here, Steve shares how the leaders had a flawed understanding of the market as they attempted to market technologies with no potential revenue streams.

Next, Steve evolved to working in sales at Ovum's European Division. Here, Steve draws some interesting parallels between American and European organizations. When the economy hit a rough patch, all the senior employees led from the front and chose to take 30% pay cuts in a bid to avoid firing junior employees. This segment of the show will particularly resonate with those grappling with the COVID crisis.

However, later Steve had a bittersweet experience as he was tasked with managing the company’s operations in Canada. Here, Steve shares how he, ironically got into trouble for being “too successful”.

“I never worked so hard for so little in my whole life”.

Currently, Steve manages Venture Accelerator Partners, a business that he started at the height of the financial crisis in 2006. From earning grossing just $35,000 revenues in his first year, Steve has certainly come a long way.

We hope you enjoy this show!

Resources

Steve Gruber

Venture Accelerator Partners

Student Works 

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