Meet Our Team! Miguel Tupas: To Work in Sales, You Have to Be Resilient
What does it take to work in Sales? Our Las Vegas-based Sales & Customer Success specialist Miguel Tupas says resilience is what matters most. Learn more about Miguel and how his experiences have lead him to work at ZeroBounce.
Your LinkedIn profile says you attended a university in Manila. What was that like? When did you move to the U.S.?
I was born and grew up in the Philippines but emigrated to the USA with my family back in 2013.
At this time, I was already studying at the Ateneo de Manila University, in the capital, and I did not want to transfer schools. So, for the better part of the 2013-2017, I was flying back and forth from the Philippines to the States to finish my Bachelor’s Degree in Economics.
While being in university, I befriended plenty of Management and Communications majors. They’d let me help them out with their projects and small-business ventures. And helping them out taught me a great deal about the importance of branding and getting the right message across to increase their sales.
Little did I know, this was my introduction to marketing. After graduating in 2017, I flew back to the States for good and found my calling to be in the Sales/Marketing industry.
How have you transitioned to email verification and ZeroBounce?
I first started as a Business Development Intern for an affiliate marketing and lead generation firm. There, I learned about the world of email marketing and the positive impact it has. Not only to further a brand’s recognition, but to help get their message across to people who might have never heard of them through other mediums of advertising.
Working for that company has helped me expand my knowledge about the behind-the-scenes process for different newsletters and promotions. I understood how much real effort people put into each campaign to ensure its success. Also, I learned how important email verification is and what a difference it can make!
After a while, I became a part of the Customer Success team for Zerobounce. I learned a great deal about what happens behind-the-scenes of email marketing. Furthermore, I discovered the importance of cleaning your email list before each mailing campaign is sent out, to ensure only the best deliverability. Email validation is an essential aspect of today’s marketing.
For a few months, I was primarily part of the Customer Success team. Then I got the opportunity to work in Sales, as well. Now, I get to communicate deeper with clients, to cater to their needs, and ensure they get the best value for our email verification service.
What is an essential quality for someone who works in Sales?
The one quality that I believe is crucial for working in Sales is to be resilient. This word itself seems so simple but actually has a lot of connotations.
To be resilient is to be thick-skinned. Not everyone you meet will treat you nicely, it’s a matter of fact. The best way to combat this is to be resilient in the way that you do not take anything personally. Whenever a customer is irate, you will have to keep composure and be professional.
To be resilient is to be persistent. Sales is a numbers game and the odds will sometimes be against you; you will face more no’s than you’ve ever heard before you got into the industry. But every “no” you get is one step closer to a “yes” that will keep you grounded.
To be resilient is to be focused on your goals. Without goals/metrics, you won’t have a measure that you would need to attain, and eventually, when the time comes, surpass.
How has the Sales industry evolved in the past decade, from your perspective?
The technology boom during the early 2000’s up to now has revolutionized the way we operate as people and the personal interactions that follow. The world has become so small that it’s now easier to connect with people from different continents and cultures than decades past.
The Advertising and Sales industries are part of this revolution in technology and practices. So much so that a company like ours wouldn’t have had the same reach and impact it does now than, say, 30 years ago.
Sales practices have become more precise and direct. With the aspect of automation and A.I. making sales interactions becoming less personal, it is less enticing for consumers to purchase when the transaction they are making feels artificial. This is why ZeroBounce is so keen to keep everything as human and as personal as possible.
Also, we want to ensure that the customers’ wants and needs always come first. We need a mixture of advanced email verification technology and updated sales methods to keep a healthy and growing customer base.
What are your personal do’s and dont’s in sales?
Do’s: Service with a smile! – It’s hard to convey your mood and intonation by email/chat, but by including emojis or even the simple “:-)” helps make sure that the conversation is light and allows the customer to be at ease.
However, if there are formal contracts that need to be signed, or when making bigger deals, keep the casualness to a minimum. This rule also applies to Sales calls: make sure that your voice is clear and your expressions are upbeat to ensure that the customer is comfortable (emotions play a big part in decision-making!).
Be persistent! – At some point, you will need to expand your skill set by doing cold email/phone call outreach to potential customers that are not yet familiar with your company. You will get a lot of rejections and no-replies.
The key to eventually getting the attention and trust of a future customer is to be persistent, but not annoying (there is a difference!). Make sure to follow up within 48 hours of initial outreach and if you get a rejection, don’t go after the same person, again and again. Respect their privacy and move on to a different set of people.
Read Sales books! – Some people are born to work in sales, they’re so good that they could sell water to a well. For most of us, it has to be learned through years of practice, trial-and-error, and learning from resources in-person, online, or through books.
Like any topic, there are hundreds of books to choose from that help us develop a mentality for sales and how to develop ourselves into great salespeople.
One book I recommend to get started would be “The Sales Development Playbook,” by Trish Bertuzzi.
Dont’s? The opposite of all the above!
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Learn more about Miguel Tupas by checking out his LinkedIn profile!