Colorado’s Most Powerful Salespeople: Sharyl Davis

ColoradoBiz Staff //February 13, 2013//

Colorado’s Most Powerful Salespeople: Sharyl Davis

ColoradoBiz Staff //February 13, 2013//

Sharyl Davis, 50

Senior account executive, Dean Evans & Associates, Denver

WHAT SHE DOES: Sells room- and resource-scheduling software to higher-education and health-care customers. She is also responsible for managing relationships with her 200 client accounts.

SALES PRODUCTION: Last year Davis became the first salesperson at Dean Evans & Associates to sell a single million-dollar-plus deal. It is also the largest single sale to a higher-education client in the company’s 26- year history and includes a statewide system of 37 colleges and universities. She is also the first DEA salesperson to book more than $2 million in revenue in a single year. Her year-over-year sales growth in 2012 was more than 400 percent.

SALES ADVICE: “One of the keys to my success has always been consistent and thorough follow-up,” Davis says. “I think a lot of salespeople aren’t as successful as they could be because they stop making the calls to check in with a prospect or customer. Perhaps they’ve already moved on to the next deal. Continuing to touch base with someone has always served me well, as many times something has just happened and now they’re ready to start looking at software, and because I’m top of mind, they’ll reach out to me.”

SALES PHILOSOPHY: “My goal is to always listen closely to what a customer is saying and also what they’re ‘not saying.’ For many people it’s difficult dealing with salespeople, and I think often they just want to be heard. It’s my job to ask the right questions, and they’re often the questions they might not be expecting. The answers might be surprising and could lead to the real reasons they’re looking to buy scheduling software or something else.”