Podcast Episode 2 - Stuart Taylor

From Struggling to Sales Director: Stuart Taylor's Journey Of Resilience, grit and determination

It's the second episode of "I Used to be Crap at Sales"!

Join MySalesCoach Co-Founder and Head of Sales, Mark Ackers, as he chats with Stuart Taylor , Sales Director at Allego.

Stu began his career in sales over 15 years ago at Barclays Bank. As a young man fresh out of school, he fell into a role in outbound telesales without really understanding what a professional sales career entailed. He struggled immensely in the early days, admitting he was "ignorant and crappy" and contemplated leaving the industry altogether.

Stu went on to hold sales roles at Sunderland Football Club and a car dealership, bringing his high-volume call center approach to different industries. While he achieved some success, he felt he was repeating the same mistakes for many years without truly improving.

It wasn't until Stuart joined Refract, a SaaS startup, that things changed.

Surrounded by passionate sales leaders, he had an epiphany about how much he had to learn. For the first time, Stu immersed himself in coaching, listening to calls, and continuously developing his skills. He saw massive improvements in just two years.

Now a respected Sales Director at Allego, Stu coaches and mentors teams to achieve their potential. One seller went from £10k to £60k commissions through Stuart's guidance.

He takes pride in helping others avoid the struggles of his early career and is a huge advocate for the power of coaching in aiding sales career development.

He firmly believes that sales can be a hugely rewarding career when done the right way. 

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Highlights from the episode:

13:23 Early struggles in his sales career at Barclays

26:45 Difficult mental health period and considering leaving sales

35:47 Improving his sales skills through coaching

38:36 Realising his potential for growth after years of repetition

44:02 How he rates his sales skills now, and areas for improvement

51:09 The opportunities Sales provides

59:41 Impact of coaching on sales team performance

1:11:15 Advice for those struggling and importance of taking action

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