Luis Buitrago
Business Development Representative at Braze
In this episode of Conversations at The Lobby, Luis Buitrago joined us to share his experience in the world of sales. He began his role as a BDR at Braze a couple of months ago and has been documenting every step of his journey on his social media. Due to this, we reached out to him to learn more about this process. The first thing we asked him was how he got started in the sales world. His answer was quite intriguing, as he linked it to his passion for entrepreneurship and shared how he decided to work for a family venture during his university thesis. For him, that’s where his journey into the world of sales began. Luis considers sales a high-performance sport, his greatest competitor is himself.
What did Luis Share?
Given his active presence on social media, we delved into his perspective on the role of these platforms in today’s sales landscape. According to Luis, creating content allows a salesperson to set themselves apart from others, not only within the company they work for but also when acquiring new clients. From his perspective, when prospecting on social media, a client is more interested in an active profile than an inactive one.
What are the Three Phrases or Mantras Luis Repeats to Himself Every Day?
We know that the world of sales is a tough and competitive field. For this reason, many salespeople repeat daily mantras that help them navigate the frustrations of day-to-day challenges. Here are the ones Luis lives by and shared with us:
- Done is better than perfect.
- You are prospect number 935,054,035 on their list of priorities. Therefore, there’s no need to stress too much.
- Execution, Execution, Execution.
Exploring the second mantra a bit further, we concluded that regardless of being far down the prospect’s priority list, they should never drop in priority in our own eyes. As salespeople, we should always keep our prospects high on our list of importance.
What is the Worst Mistake a Salesperson Can Make?
In Luis’s time in the sales field, he has learned a variety of lessons in this regard. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest mistakes in sales is overplanning and under-executing. This often leads to delaying the actions needed to close a deal. The second mistake, in line with the first, is not picking up the phone and making calls. Therefore, he considers the phone the best channel for sales. However, fewer and fewer salespeople are using it. It’s a challenging task, easy to postpone, but once mastered, it yields the best results.
“I believe I’ve always had that instinct and commercial drive. Furthermore, I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship and have always been highly competitive, especially with myself. On the other hand, I have colleagues who never saw themselves in this field, coming from varied backgrounds, but they perform well by having discipline. Hence, I believe it’s achievable.”– Luis Buitrago
We asked Luis: “What would you say to people who want to be salespeople but hesitate to take the leap?”
In response to this question, the advice he gave us was to do it only if it’s something you truly want to do. Nowadays, there’s a collective mindset that idealizes the sales sector. However, if you’re entering this challenging field, it should be because you’re genuinely passionate about it. If you feel it’s your calling, try it for yourself and don’t rely on someone else’s opinion.
Are Salespeople Born or Made?
In Luis’s specific case, he believes he has always had an instinct and commercial drive, coupled with his enduring passion for entrepreneurship. Luis describes himself as someone extremely competitive, where his main competitor is himself. On the other hand, he has colleagues who never envisioned themselves in this field but excel by maintaining discipline. Thus, he believes it can also be learned. With this response, Luis drew an analogy between sales and a high-performance sport. It’s a discipline, a commitment, a competition, driven by passion, and above all, a performance-oriented culture.
To conclude, we’d like to share the two lists promised in the interview: Luis’s favorite sales-related content on LinkedIn and podcasts.
- Kevin Hollingsworth
- Andy Laws
- Alex Alleyne
- Anthony Natoli
- Landon Meyer
- Christian Krause
- Mattia Schaper
- Jamal Reimer
- Nate Nasralla
- Jen Allen
- Brandon Fluharty
- Ian Koniak
- Marcus A. Chan
- Kyle Asay
Podcasts
- 30 Minutes to President’s Club.
- Outbound Squad (formerly Blissful Prospecting)
- Hunters and Unicorns
- Elite Level Sales Leaders
- The REAL SDR Podcast.
