In the words of writer and thought leader Dave Frankland, today’s customers are entitled. And since we are all consumers, we are all entitled – which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Frankland’s book The Entitled Customer tells the story of the modern-day consumer. With technology at our fingertips, we are more informed than ever before. And we crave information – hard data, genuine reviews, and so on.

What’s more, our exposure to information is, for the most part, curated. We use ad blockers and spam filters to tune out the noise from the never-ending stream of ads. We choose who we follow – and unfollow.

The Entitled Customer got me thinking: how can we, as business owners, marketers, executives, and employees, meet today’s consumers’ expectations without assaulting their senses? And how can we leverage the social listening power of LinkedIn to achieve just that?

Is less really more?

A few months ago, LinkedIn launched a feature that let you see how often your connections publish posts. It was likely designed to use the time-tested power of peer-to-peer competition to get us to post more often. And besides, who doesn’t love a good snooping tool?

Out of curiosity, I had a look (you can too, here). To my surprise, I discovered that some people were creating 80 pieces of content a week!

While it must be noted that this calculation includes Stories as well as other forms of content, to me, this seems excessive. Publishing content on LinkedIn is about providing value to your network in a way that positions you as an industry authority. Surely, no person has 80-plus interesting, informative, original thoughts to share each week. Certainly, no person has the time to carefully consider and compose high-quality copy that speaks to their target audience’s pain points.

Less is more – and that’s not just a hunch. According to Frankland’s book, during GDPR in the UK, many companies put their marketing on hold and slimmed their mailing lists to comply with the new privacy act. As a result, sales went up.

Here’s how you can put this mantra into practice on LinkedIn:

Quality over quantity – always

Posting content on LinkedIn is key to unlocking the platform’s full potential, but like most things in life, quality trumps quantity every time. As a general rule, aim for three posts per week. If you can only manage one or two, that’s fine, too.

Add value

Your posts should contribute something of value – your take on an industry trend, your top three tips, or a how-to, as examples. Don’t just post for the sake of posting; instead, be generous with your expertise. No one ever loses out by being helpful.

Don’t spam people’s inboxes

Think of LinkedIn as a town square. If you’re going to wave billboards in people’s faces, they will not respond positively. But if you build relationships and engage in meaningful conversation, your time, effort, and kindness will repay dividends. Only message people privately with a podcast link, article or insight you genuinely believe they will find interesting. Unless solicited, don’t go in for the hard sell.

Creating bespoke experiences

If less is more, how can we make what remains impactful enough to nurture relationships, drive new sales, and hold onto loyal customers? The answer could lie in creating bespoke experiences.

Here are three stats to get you thinking:

• Eight in 10 consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that create personalised experiences.
• Seven in 10 consumers say they exclusively engage with personalised messaging.
• Brands that create personalised experiences see revenue increase by 6 to 10%.

How can you create bespoke experiences for your customers here on LinkedIn? How can you win them back day in and day out?

Here’s my advice:

Write for your target audience

In case you weren’t already aware, you are not your customer. What you might find interesting or helpful may not align with what your customers want to read. Imagine you’re face-to-face with a client. What questions do they have? What are they worried about? How do you make them feel heard and understood? Mirror this in your posts, and the authenticity will shine through. Guaranteed.

Reply to comments on your own posts

I recently saw someone on LinkedIn draw a parallel between not responding to comments on your own posts and not working the room at your own party. Engage with the people who take time out of their day to add their two cents – remember, relationships are built one sentence at a time.

Flatten the path to purchase

Bespoke experiences answer customer questions before they can even ask. Consider what you can do to flatten the path to purchase. A big one: include your contact information in the (tricky to find) Contact Info section and your About section. Don’t make it difficult for a profile visitor to reach out – make it so easy it’s almost irresistible.

Relationships matter – a lot

Ever met someone for the second or third time only to be greeted with a blank look? They don’t remember who you are, because the two, three, four conversations you’ve had failed to add value to them.

That’s one extreme. The other is catching up with an old friend. I live in Sydney, but my childhood friends are scattered across the country and world. When we talk, it’s like no time has passed. They know me, and they understand the context of what I’m saying. They can fill in the blanks with ease.

You don’t want to be the me, me, me person on LinkedIn. Greed isn’t good, and you should not be looking to spam or one-up every person you interact with. You want to listen actively and grasp the bigger picture of your target audience’s wants, needs, and challenges. It takes time and effort to truly listen, and shortcuts don’t work.

You can’t and shouldn’t automate relationships on LinkedIn. Not only is it against their user terms, but it’s also a sure-fire way to be ignored. Instead, create meaningful touchpoints that feel personal:

• Comment on people’s posts
• Personalise your invitations to connect
• Share podcast episodes, relevant posts and articles with your contacts
• Use voice messages

Little actions build big reactions. In an era of hybrid events and less face-to-face interaction, authentic digital connection has never mattered more.

Let’s get personal for a minute

My dad died in late 2019. It put things in perspective. People are everything, and relationships are not to be undervalued. In 2020, I vowed to do better, be better for my clients, to keep in touch and personalise my service. But I was in the lucky group that benefited from the shift to online in the wake of the pandemic. Busier than ever, I couldn’t fit one more thing into my schedule.

As we pass the mid-point of 2021, I’m reviewing my new years resolutions and realising that my resolution has slipped a bit. I am back to actively split-testing what I do, managing my time so that I can focus on quality, not quantity.

Because for me, less is more.

The post Why Less On LinkedIn Is So Much More appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Our newly hybrid world and the massive adoption of LinkedIn presents a greater opportunity to cast your net wider and network online. Why? Because that’s where we are all spending the majority of our time.

Without peers sitting behind us, less rushing from here to there for meetings and reduced travel, decision-makers are more accessible and more open to communication. Periods of social isolation has been tough and we are all yearning for connection and collaboration.

How can you improve your online presence to bolster your networking efforts? By giving your LinkedIn profile an overhaul!

Before we start though, click on the edit pencil in whatever section you are working on, scroll to the bottom and ensure that the slide bar is set to ‘Off’.

Check this setting every time you save changes, noting that notifications are very good announcements if you have changed roles, been promoted, recently completed an MBA or some other significant studies.

(1) Headline

Aside from your name and picture, your Professional Headline is the only part of your profile that is instantly visible in LinkedIn search results. It also follows you everywhere on LinkedIn, when people find you in searches, when you comment, in companies and on the top of your posts. This is why you have to use these 220 characters to grab people’s interest, so they’ll want to click on your profile.

Your headline should sum up who you are and the problems you solve, but there’s no need for it to be bland. Most users (approximately 70%) simply have their name and company here, as this is what LinkedIn defaults to. However, you’ll stand out from the crowd by being a bit more creative with your headline.

Firstly, it’s important to think about keywords. Just like Google, LinkedIn uses keywords to determine how highly your profile will rank in search results, so you need to be thinking about the keywords that are most relevant to what you do. Try to put yourself in the mindset of your ideal client or prospective employer – what search terms would they use if they were searching for someone to solve their pain?

Once you’ve established the most relevant keywords to use, you can start thinking of more creative ways to put them together, such as giving yourself a catchy slogan. Think of yourself as a brand and consider how do you want to sell yourself?

As LinkedIn is highly visual with almost everyone having a background banner these days, you should consider making your profile more graphically appealing and memorable by separating your keywords with emojis rather than just writing them as a list.

Pipes are okay – but having been abandoned by LinkedIn and other sites a few years ago, they may look old school…

(2) Background banner

Your background banner has a lot of prominence on your profile so if you have not yet replaced the LinkedIn default blue background, you’re not going to stand out and you will not get noticed.

The image you choose should depend on what you want your LinkedIn profile to achieve. If you want your employees to increase the company’s brand reach, offer each employee the option to upload an image that has a company logo – as all the best companies do.

If your employer has not yet provided a background banner, the image you use should reflect your value proposition. If you’re promoting services or products, it’s a good idea to reduce barriers by including contact details in the image – if this doesn’t make it too cluttered. Tag lines or a description of what the company does is also helpful in converting your audience to buying customers.

Do not have a beach scene or something that infers you wish to be on holiday! LinkedIn is a professional platform and accordingly, your banner needs to further your professional goals.

(3) About section

Your About section really needs to start as strong as possible, as only the first 270 characters are visible on desktop before the person viewing your profile has to click on “See More”. Of course people only click when they are interested, so you must ensure your first 270 characters form a hook, and make a real impact. A great way to do this is to start with a question, or an intriguing statement.

If your initial sentence or two are interesting enough, you should be expecting users to click on “See More”. This is why it’s important to have something extra to offer those who do. You should then explain not just what you do, but why you do it.

With a total of 2600 characters (approx 360 words), it’s vital that your About section contains information about the value you can offer clients or prospective employers, that your competition can’t. State clearly how you can make their lives easier, for example, by explaining how you solve problems using your particular skills and experience.

Employers are always looking to recruit new employees whose values align with those of their business, and similarly clients want to know that you are genuinely committed to solving their problems. It’s important to let readers know your why, what makes you tick, and what made you choose your particular field – because we all connect more easily with people who care about the same things as us.

Crucially, be authentic and reflect who you are in a realistic way, rather than simply aiming to please the people you’re hoping to attract. By being yourself and highlighting your skills and interests to your best advantage – you will attract people you truly want to work with.

Never use third-person perspective (referring to yourself by name), and instead use I and You to give readers the sensation that you are speaking to them directly. It will appear aloof and distant to talk about yourself as if you are not yourself. If you are not convinced that you should use I and you then check out this 1.22 minute video on how our language needs to match current trends in leadership style…

(4) Skills endorsements and recommendations

Your Skills section is all about proving that you have the know-how to do the work you do. It also appears to feed the ranking when someone searches for your skills, so as much as it pains me to say this, more is currently better… Just be careful you don’t dilute your number of endorsements by mentioning similar skills twice (Eg Management and Leadership).

Keeping in mind that only three of your skills are immediately visible on your profile, it’s important to make sure those skills are the ones that best align with your goals and describe strengths that are most relevant to the job/client/industry you are pursing. You can reorder your skills by unpinning, clicking and dragging on the four lines on the right of each skill as pictured and shown in the video here and pictured below.

You must have your skills endorsed by others if you want people to feel they can trust you. Try pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and casually ask for endorsements every time somebody praises your work. You don’t have to be pushy, as people are often grateful to have a way to help – if you approach them in a friendly and low-pressure way.

Similarly, don’t be shy. If you are looking for a new role, and you know your peers are too, consider asking (gently) if you can write each other a recommendation, being specific in what you would like mentioned.

Personally, I find that giving recommendations feels good. If you are a leader in an organisation, consider normalising both recommendations and endorsements by monthly reflecting on the performance of individual team members and endorsing their skills, writing recommendations for specific projects and accomplishments. Why should you do this? Because these days, few people care about acknowledgements unless the whole world sees it… Take comfort that you can always delete recommendations at a later date if the employee does something terrible.

Concerned that your employees will leave if you endorse them? That is like the cartoon below…

Recommendations and skills endorsements demonstrate trust and foster employee loyalty and commitment in a way that few reward and recognition programs can achieve. All at no cost. Plus, a higher number of endorsements and recommendations will lift clients perception of the quality and talents of your team members – growing sales conversions.

(5) Experience section

Don’t ever cut and paste your resume to your LinkedIn profile, instead stop and consider again your LinkedIn objective. If your goal is to attract more clients, it will look weird for your profile to read as a resume – and certainly few clients will want to hear about your successes in sales. Instead clients want to hear that you are skilled in solving their problems.

If you are sprucing up your LinkedIn profile to attract a new employer, or influence how your peers perceive you, cutting and pasting your resume into your LinkedIn profile gives the reader no reason to contact you with questions. Instead keep your statements short, strongly action-orientated and focussed on the difference you deliver.

Keep in mind that you can use symbols instead of bullets in your all-important experience section of your profile, as demonstrated in my friend Robert’s, who in having permitted me to use him as an example years ago of how a profile could be arranged, was subsequently approached about a new role because of his profile on LinkedIn. Robert was not, and most certainly is NOT looking for a job – but he kindly permits me to still use him as an example.

(6) Adding media

A frequently underutilised area of LinkedIn is Media, and Featured. A great profile is far more sophisticated than a résumé on steroids — it is your digital reputation, validating who you are and the expertise you hold.

However we often connect with people who simply don’t know all that we have accomplished, causing the undervaluing of our skills, talents and services.

You can build on how others think of you without constant bragging and hero statements by adding media. Sitting in the Experience section of your profile and relevant to each job, these are evidence of previous successes, awards and presentations in the form of external news articles, photos, website links, videos and SlideShare presentations. 

To ensure these show to those that are just skimming your profile (and who do not scroll down to the experience section), it is crucial that you use the Featured tool to highlight key messages and achievements.

As you can see pictured here you can highlight articles, landing pages or company websites in the Featured section. 

These additions are powerful evidence that you are a specialist and a subject matter expert!

Noting that only a little over two are immediately visible on desktop and only a little over one on mobile, just ensure that you change the order so the most relevant is first.

(7) Customising your URL

Lastly, if you want to make an impact – you will need to be memorable and easy to find. A custom URL makes you look like you take care of the online image you’re presenting – something that is even more critical in this Covid-impacted time.

If it seems like too much effort don’t be fooled – the more memorable you are, the more job offers, clients and opportunities you can expect to get!

Remember, everyone under 30 has grown up digitally literate and millennials don’t even have to think about presenting themselves as tech-savvy – they do it automatically. No matter what age or level, you need to keep up to look relevant.

Don’t worry if someone else on LinkedIn has the same name as you – you can use your URL as an opportunity to stand out even further in your field, by adding your job title or industry sector after your name, for example Joe-Bloggs-Accountant or Joe-Bloggs-Supply-Chain.

While this modification will look especially great on your resume, if you use business cards don’t forget to have your URL printed underneath your phone and email address because we all need to remember that LinkedIn is where your customers are increasingly searching for the services and technical expertise they need!

To point out the obvious: While LinkedIn is a personal branding tool where you control what is said about you, in this new world where we are unable to meet face to face, it is crucially one of the few places where you can generate job and business leads, represent your company, or find and reach out to old contacts to explore new opportunities.

As LinkedIn is a social selling and recruitment tool that works on the basis of relationships, when you craft your LinkedIn profile, it is important to think about who you are and how you want to be perceived.

Be authentic and let your character show through because we need to see who you really are to connect, communicate and collaborate…

The post LinkedIn Hacks – 7 Practical Steps To Overhaul Your Profile appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Customer-attracting elevator speeches must convey TWO main ideas. They must specifically define your target customer. AND, they must help prospective customers understand the value they can receive from your product or service.

Follow these guidelines to create your personal elevator speech.

Talk Results, Not Products or Process

Customers don’t care what you do. They don’t care how you do it. But they do care deeply about their business. They’ll be extremely interested if you can do things such as:

● Solve a pressing problem.

● Improve operational efficiency.

● Eliminate bottlenecks.

● Increase sales or cut costs.

● Enhance customer loyalty.

● Open new markets.

This is the most important thing to remember as you develop your own elevator speech. Focus on what the customer gets – the outcomes – not on what you do.

Make Sure It’s Conversational

An elevator speech is not an ad or a slogan or a tagline, so avoid words you wouldn’t normally use if you were talking to people. You don’t need to sound “catchy.” Remember, when you’re talking to people you use lots of contractions. You don’t say “are not”, you say “aren’t” in everyday conversation.

Choose the simplest words possible for your elevator speech. “Use” is better than “utilise.” “Get” is better than “obtain.” “Turn” is better than “transform.” These are the words you use (not utilise) when you’re talking to someone. Also, I recommend using 8th grade language to ensure your elevator speech is understandable to all. Don’t use acronyms, impressive-sounding words or complex descriptions unless your target market is people who know the meaning of everything you say.

Strive for Repeatability

If your elevator speech is easy for you to say over and over again, then you have it right. Plus, those who hear it can easily repeat it when you’re not around – spreading your message to others who may benefit from what you offer.

Developing Your Elevator Speech

Crafting your elevator speech is a challenging exercise. It may take you months to achieve the clarity and simplicity that you want in this marketing message. The key to coming up with a great one is this – create the best elevator speech you can right away, practice it, and then use it. When you see how people respond, refine it over and over again till you are confident that it’s clear and that it will attract just the right customers to you.

Every word you use in your elevator speech is critical. Your prospective customer either understands what you do or he doesn’t. She’ll be interested in learning more about your offering or she won’t. That’s why finding the right words is so important.

Getting Started

This is probably the hardest part for many people. If you’re an entrepreneur, independent professional or small business owner, what you do is closely attached to who you are as a person.

Lots of soul-searching may be needed to clarify the true value you bring to your customers.

If you work as a salesperson for an established firm, your management may have already told you what your “elevator pitch” is and they expect you to follow the company line.

However, most companies have messages full of words that either convey no value to customers or are discarded as self-promoting puffery. No one in today’s market puts any credence in words like “best” or “state-of-the-art.” Your challenge is to find the real value in your offering.

How can you find out what customers think your biggest value is? There’s only one way. You have to ask. I strongly recommend interviewing:

● People who you’ve worked with before.

● Users of your products, services or solutions.

● Other consultants and independent professionals who know your strengths.

Explore with them the value you, your products or your services bring to their business. Ask questions such as:

● From your perspective, what difference did my product/service make for your business?

● In what ways could you quantify the value of my solution?

● What were the primary problems, difficulties, bottlenecks or challenges that my offering solved for you?

● Can you explain to me the business implications and ramifications of these problems?

Whatever answers you get, explore them in greater depth. Aren’t you curious about the impact of your products and services? I always am. It’s always interesting and incredibly valuable to get a perspective that’s different from your own

Step 1: Specify your target market.

Be clear and explicit in your target market definition.

For example:

● Government

● Human resource departments

● Manufacturing plants

Step 2: Write down the problems/challenges faced by your target market and solvable by your product or service.

These are common problems and challenges faced by many organisations today.

For example:

● Inefficient processes

● Employee turnover

● Customer turnover

● Declining profitability

● Increased competition

● Lack of innovation

● Bottlenecks in workflow

Step 3: Describe how your target market “feels” about these problems or challenges.

A compelling elevator speech has an emotional component. It appeals to the heart of the prospective buyer. Here are some highly effective words you might want to use in your elevator speech.

For example:

● Struggling

● Concerned

● Frustrated

● Having trouble

● Constrained

● Difficulties

Step 4: State the results or outcomes your customers get from using your product or service.

Remember, people don’t care about your product, what you can do or how you do it. They’re only concerned about what’s in it for them. How can you help your customers improve their business? That’s what’s important. Know what they want to achieve! Use them to trigger ideas for your own elevator speech.

For example:

● Increase cash flow

● Increase customers

● Acquire profitable customers

● Decrease turnover

● Stimulate new business opportunities

● Improve customer loyalty

Notice how each of these results starts with a word that shows movement. As an outcome of working with you, bad or costly things are reduced, eliminated or minimized. Conversely, outcomes people want are improved, enhanced or ensured. That’s what’s in it for your customer.

That’s what they want to hear. And, the more specific you can be the better. How much can you reduce turnover? What percentage of improvement did your customers receive? Telling people a range is fine – no one expects their company to achieve exactly the same outcomes as other businesses.

Step 5: Refine your lists.

Your next step is to review all the problems and challenges you identified in Step 3. As you look over all the ideas you wrote down, try to determine which are the most appropriate and relevant to what you can do for your customers. Pick out 2 or 3 to start with.

Next, look at your list of words that describe how your targeted customers feel about these problems and issues. Which two words are most descriptive of how your ideal prospect feels?

Finally, review your benefits. From your customer’s perspective, which are most important and compelling? Again, pick out 2-3 that you can try out in your first elevator speech.

The Problem-Centered Elevator Speech

Research into sales success shows that customers respond much more to problem-centered approaches than to benefit-oriented ones. Why? Problems usually have top-of-mind awareness.

No one likes to deal with aggravations, frustrations, major issues and bottlenecks. These things can cause massive headaches and people want to get rid of their headaches as quickly as they can.

Here’s the formula to use for creating a problem-centered elevator speech:

I/we work with (insert target market)

… who are (insert feeling word)

… with (insert problem/issue you solve).

Example

Before: I’m a sales development specialist.

After: I work with small-to-medium sized manufacturing companies who are struggling with unpredictable revenue streams and profitable growth.

As you can see, the “After” versions clearly identify the target market, the feelings prospective customers are likely to experience, and the problems or issues that have caused them to feel this way.

The Benefit-Centered Elevator Speech

These elevator speeches are focused on what customers want to achieve. Sometimes it’s their personal dreams. Or, it could be specific business goals. But it’s out there in the future and your customers haven’t arrived at their destination yet. There’s a gap between their current reality and their desired future state.

Here’s the formula to use for creating benefit-centered elevator speeches:

I/we work with /help (target market)

… who want to (describe what your customers want).

Example

Before: I’m a mortgage broker.

After: I help first-time home buyers get financing for the home of their dreams.

As you can see from these sample elevator speeches, the focus is on the future – a highly desirable

Final Thoughts

Being able to describe your product or service offering in a manner that everyone understands is one of the most important marketing skills you need to master. It takes time and effort to work through the many iterations that you’ll try before you arrive at one that works like a charm. But the challenge is worth it. Enticing is good!

Just think how you’ll feel the next time someone asks, “What do you do?” Your heart won’t beat rapidly in your chest as you stumble and bumble through your clumsy, poorly worded, nonappealing elevator pitch.

Instead you’ll look at your prospective customer with a winning smile on your face and very confidently say, “I help small businesses win big contracts in the corporate market.”

If you missed part 1 – here it is:

An Expert Guide To Elevator Pitch Mastery – Part 1

The post 5 Steps To Create An “Elevator Speech” That Attracts Prospects To You – Part 2 appeared first on Head Of Sales.

As someone who believes there is definitely such a thing as too much social media, I want to discuss why you need to ration and structure your time on LinkedIn and how to prioritise quality over quantity to get the most out of the experience.

Why too much LinkedIn is not a good thing

I’m an independent LinkedIn trainer. I know exactly how important this platform is for individuals and businesses wanting to grow their online presence and achieve greater successes. But because LinkedIn is aimed at business professionals, it can be easy to forget that it is still a social media platform.

We’re hearing more and more about how too much social media is dangerous for us, and I agree. This year in particular, when we have been confined to our homes for long periods of time, there has been a huge temptation to spend large portions of every day connecting and conversing online.

However, this is exactly what social media is designed to do – clever algorithms, driven by artificial intelligence, are continuously refining and improving our experience online to meet three core objectives.

These are objectives all social media platforms have:

1. Engagement goal, keep us plugged in for longer
2. Growth goal – gain more subscribers (for LinkedIn the goal here is to transition free subscribers to paid accounts such as LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator)
3. Sell us advertising (largely Facebooks goal, however we have seen elements of this appearing on LinkedIn in recent years with sponsored posts)

Many people also don’t realise that the user experience design of social media platforms is actually based on ideas that originally came from the gambling industry. Scrolling through the newsfeed triggers similar responses to slot machines, and “likes” give us a rush far more addictive than a “win” could ever be, making us feel validated and successful, all while tapping into that caveman desire for belonging, acceptance and social connection.

So it isn’t surprising that social media addiction has become a growing concern. These sites are actually designed to create addiction and compulsion. It is in their interests that we never sign out.

And, just like in the movie, if we don’t realise we’re plugged into The Matrix, how are we supposed to wake up?

This is why I always outline a number of steps people can take to make sure they don’t spend too much time on LinkedIn and that the time they do spend here is productive.

How to make your time on LinkedIn productive

Because LinkedIn is a business networking platform, just spending time on the site each day can make us feel productive. But you’re only productive if you’re actually achieving something. Scrolling mindlessly through the feed for an hour is not doing anything to further your business goals.

It’s essential to keep a number of things in mind when using LinkedIn:

1. What are your objectives?

The whole point of being on LinkedIn is to help you achieve your goals. You need to write these objectives down if you want to make the LinkedIn experience productive and positive. For example, do you want to:

• Attract new clients?
• Bring in investment?
• Find a new employee?
• Secure a better job?

Or you could simply be on LinkedIn to keep yourself memorable to your peers and stakeholders as this is much harder to do in these times when we can’t meet face to face.

Whatever your objectives are, your time on LinkedIn has to be concentrated on helping you achieve them!

2. What is your ROI?

Just like in any business campaign, you need to keep track of your return on investment when you are spending time on LinkedIn. These days, attention is our most important commodity, and we need to be careful where we spend it. Are we actually getting anything out of the time we put into LinkedIn? If not, you need to look at where you are putting your time and change your activities.

LinkedIn should be seen as a tool. Are you using it, or is it using you?

Ways to ration your time on LinkedIn

If you want to get maximum results from your time on LinkedIn, it is important to ration the time you spend on the platform and make every minute count. I always advise setting yourself definite tasks at specific times, so you can actually start to measure the results you’re getting from the time you’re putting in.

Daily:

• Check your notifications
• Scroll through your newsfeed (set an egg timer if you need to)
• Like and comment on anything you find interesting or useful, particularly if it is from someone who you would like to see more of in your newsfeed
• Unfollow those people who produce content you find annoying – you will still stay connected and they will not be alerted that you have unfollowed them

Weekly:

• Check who has looked at your profile and send them invitations to connect
• Check your diary and send connection invitations based on who you have met, or simply spoken to
• Post content

Fortnightly:

• Look up the people you are targeting
• Like and comment on their posts
• Look at whose posts they are commenting on, or the “people also viewed” sectionof their profile and consider if connecting with these people would further your goals

Monthly:

• Craft content for the month
• Download contacts and send direct messages to people you have recently connected with or who you want to stay top of mind with. DO NOT SPAM. Aim instead to give. Forward articles of interest; facilitate helpful introductions. Aim to serve.

Having a regular schedule like this will automatically help you cut down the amount of time you spend on LinkedIn.

How to prioritise quality over quantity

Connections

The number of connections you have on LinkedIn is not important. However, your connections need to be high-quality – you need to think about the people you are trying to reach, or people who might know these people. Every connection should lead to a potential opportunity. The opportunity might not be from the connection themselves – but from the people they know. I always advocate for being selective but open-minded.

2. Posts

LinkedIn now enables you to see how often the people you follow are posting. I discovered that some of my connections are posting 80 times a week! In my opinion, this is ridiculous.

Your posts need to show thought leadership and add value to your communities on LinkedIn. This does not mean endlessly sharing other people’s posts or posting content that is meaningless – the whole point is to start and contribute to conversations so you can demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in your industry.

It can take time to gain traction, and once a week doesn’t seem like very often to post. But if your content is thought-provoking and encourages comments, you will find you’re showing up much more prominently in people’s newsfeeds.

3. Comments

It is important to comment on the posts of the people you want to reach. Not only does this make you memorable and pull attention to your profile, but it also because comments are like smiles, you have to give them to get them back.

Conclusion

LinkedIn can be a tremendous force for good if you make the best use of your time on the platform. 

The post How Much Online Networking Is Too Much? appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Advertising is everywhere – television, radio, road signs, email, banner ads, direct mail, clothing, pens, newspapers and magazines. These pervasive, and often intrusive methods of capturing attention have created a backlash; most people don’t even notice them anymore.

To break through all this marketing clutter, it’s imperative to have an enticing elevator speech that speaks directly to the needs of your customers. And, it has to roll off your tongue easily, naturally and conversationally. Many people intuitively know this, but still struggle with how to respond.

If you’re unsure about the quality of your elevator speech or want to improve it, here’s what you’ll learn in this article:
1. The most common responses to “What do you do?” and why they’re ineffective.
2. How to develop a compelling elevator speech that attracts prospective customers.
3. How to fine-tune the delivery of your elevator speech.
4. Different ways to use your elevator speech to market your product or service.

Developing a clear and compelling elevator speech helps you attract more of your ideal
customers and gives you enhanced clarity about the work you do. Plus, if you repeat it often enough, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’ll become even more of what you want to be.

Classic Elevator Speeches

Let’s take a look at the classic elevator speeches people give to the “What do you do?” question. This will help you understand why you may not be attracting as many customers as you’d like.

The Minimiser

Most people are Minimisers. They position themselves by either their title or by their products/services. Minimisers’ elevator speeches are brief and factual. Knowing their elevator speech needs to be short, they give the most concise response possible. They really dislike “puffery” and bragging too.
Here are some common Minimiser responses to the big question:
● “I sell software.”
● “I’m a consultant.”
● “I’m a mortgage broker.”
● “I’m self-employed.”
What’s wrong with the Minimiser’s elevator speech? When you lead with your title, most people immediately assume they know what you do. As a consequence, they’re typically not too interested in learning more. Plus, many jobs have really negative connotations.

For example, you wouldn’t believe how many people DON’T like consultants. It doesn’t matter if I’m the best in the world, charge reasonable rates and consistently deliver extraordinary results. At least 50% of people think consultants are overpaid for what they do or that they’re laid-off employees trying to earn some quick money while they look for another position.

Perception is everything. It doesn’t matter if what people think is true or not – they still believe it.

And if that’s the case, the last thing you want to do in your elevator speech is turn off half the people out there. When you position yourself by the products or services you sell, you immediately put yourself into the same category as your competitors. How many other web designers are there? How about printing salespeople? Marketing communications companies? IT specialists?

Placing yourself in the same category as your biggest competitors makes you a commodity. If someone needs what you do, they immediately want to know how much you charge or what your price is. No matter what you say, you’re in trouble! Buyers automatically compare your price tag to other suppliers – even though they don’t know why you may be a better value, more productive or more capable.

The Rambler

Much as I dearly love most Ramblers, they do drive me (and most everyone else) crazy. As you can imagine, Ramblers babble on-and-on, seemingly unaware of their affect on prospective buyers.

Based on my observations, there are two types of Ramblers.

Floundering-For-My-Niche Ramblers
These Ramblers lack a clear target market and value proposition. In response to the “What do you do?” question, their elevator speech usually sounds like this:
“I do a lot of things. I’ve done lots of sales training in the past. But lately lots of my customers have been asking me to do facilitation. I’m really good at helping companies launch new products.
“Sometimes I write their marketing copy; sometimes I do PR. It really doesn’t matter. I like doing both – and I’m good at both. I’m doing this neat project right now for a client – it’s mapping the various futures for their markets so I’m into strategy development too.”
The floundering Ramblers share everything they can do – hoping that something they say piques your interest. They don’t want to close down any opportunity to generate revenue. Unfortunately, their elevator speech has just the opposite affect. People much prefer to work with specialists. Also, what these Ramblers don’t know is that their elevator speech projects a sense of desperation and ‘lost-ness’ that’s unattractive to most all buyers.

I-Love-My-Subject Ramblers
Ask these Ramblers what they do and you’ll wish you never had. Typically they’re highly involved with their products or processes –and really love them. When they start talking, they don’t want to stop.

Here’s how their elevator speech might sound:
“We do process re-engineering with the various department, divisions, business units and
subsidiaries from organizations as well as the numerous contractors that provide products and services that go into the development of your own branded and unbranded products. We initially start by doing a comprehensive assessment of the multiple groups involved in the process, covering questions such as …”

Boring! While these Ramblers are certainly specialists, they say so much that you don’t know what’s important or relevant in their elevator speech. And the last thing you want to do is ask them another question because they may bore you to tears.

Here’s how their elevator speech might sound:
“We do process re-engineering with the various department, divisions, business units and
subsidiaries from organizations as well as the numerous contractors that provide products and services that go into the development of your own branded and unbranded products. We initially start by doing a comprehensive assessment of the multiple groups involved in the process, covering questions such as …”

Boring! While these Ramblers are certainly specialists, they say so much that you don’t know what’s important or relevant in their elevator speech. And the last thing you want to do is ask them another question because they may bore you to tears.

The trouble with the Impresser’s elevator speech is that it’s off-putting. Most people don’t like the implications of intellectual superiority or elitism. They’re intimidated by the big words and won’t ask questions that might make them look stupid. Again, another elevator speech that doesn’t deliver results.

The Attractor

The Attractor’s elevator speech is magnetic to the right listeners because it’s focused on their needs, issues and concerns. Here are several examples:
● “I work with people who are struggling to sell their products or services into large corporate accounts.”
● “I help small businesses win big contracts with large corporate customers.”
● “I help technology companies who struggle launching important new products into the market and want to improve their time-to-profitability.”

These are some of the different elevator speeches I have used. Each one of them has been successful for me. They all invite and stimulate further discussion – which is exactly what I want!

Publisher’s note:

Part 2 – Attracting More Customers (published June 16) – will help you become an Attractor with an enticing elevator speech that puts you in front of the right people who are most interested in what you offer.

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The post An Expert Guide To Elevator Pitch Mastery – Part 1 appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Synchronous mediums are far more valuable to effective selling, but many sales organizations and salespeople choose asynchronous methods—especially email—to communicate with their clients and their prospects. Don’t choose a medium based on preference (yours or your client’s) or on what you find to be most efficient. Instead, select one based on the importance of your message’s outcome.

The Problem with Voicemail

Say you need to speak with your client. When you call them, they are away from their phone, so you leave them a voicemail to tell them that you had a couple questions about some topic that is critically important to their results and your chances of winning their business. At the end of that message, you inform your contact that you are going to be away for the afternoon and to please leave their response on your voicemail, so you can make sure you understand their need well enough to get their solution right.

Later, you listen to your prospective client’s voicemail message and gain a better understanding of their needs. It’s after work hours, so you call and leave your client another voicemail message, asking them to clarify something they said. And because they are in a different time zone, you again ask them to leave the answer on your voicemail, so you can take care of any necessary changes when you start work the next day.

You’re probably thinking that this is an absurdly inefficient way to have a conversation, and you’re right. If you are like most people, you believe this conversation would be better had over email, even though the human voice conveys exponentially more information than the written word. But in sales, you’re not trying to improve your communicative efficiency. You are trying to create the kind of value that serves your client in producing better results, in such a way that it creates a preference to buy from you instead of one of your many competitors. Using any asynchronous medium—go ahead and tell me how email is significantly different from voicemail tag—is a poor approach, since both provide “efficiency” while lessening your ability to create value and a preference.

Is Conversation Necessary?

I am expecting an email today to tell me when I can expect a package to be delivered. I bought the item from a store in Cincinnati, and the item needs to be shipped to the store before it can be shipped to me. While it would be nice for the shop owner to call me to tell me personally when I will receive my order, it isn’t necessary because there is no conversation needed. Were the shop owner to call me, however, I would feel a greater obligation to buy from them because a personal call shows a stronger commitment to our working relationship. I would recognize that they appreciate my business enough to do more than what is now customary, something that would almost certainly prompt repeat business.

The right way to determine when to use synchronous or asynchronous mediums is to weigh the importance of the conversation. Let’s use another two categories here: sales conversations and transactional conversations. Let’s define a sales conversation as any conversation where you are trying to create value for a client, create a preference to buy from you, advance your sales process, or ask your contact for some commitment. Transactional conversations, by contrast, don’t require a conversation.

Since prospecting is part of your sales process, asking a prospect for the commitment of time is important enough that you should use a synchronous medium. Because discovery is where you do the most work differentiating yourself and where you create much of your consultative value, those conversations do not in any way benefit from a back-and-forth over email or voicemail. In fact, if your plan is to send your proposal and pricing over email without actually walking the client through their solution and the investment, you’re offering a transactional sale, not a consultative one.

None of this, by the way, means that transactional communication is useless. For instance, I received a transactional email yesterday, following up on a conversation the sender and I had two days ago, to remind me about our next meeting and asking me to sign a document. Emails like that are part of how we communicate, and they are useful when the communication would not be improved by a synchronous conversation.

Ranking Sales Mediums

Face-to-Face: This is the platinum standard in communication, and it should be your first choice for all sales conversations—even if it is inconvenient, and even if you or your client would prefer another medium.

Video Conference: The gold standard is now the face-to-face video call. Human communication is greatly improved by the visual and audio cues that, even seen through a webcam darkly, are much better than any asynchronous communication available.

The Phone: While it is missing the visual component in the first two preferred mediums, a phone call is synchronous and the audio connection gives it a boost over asynchronous mediums. Let’s call this the silver standard.

When possible, choose one of these synchronous mediums for important client conversations. The others are inadequate to the outcomes of creating value for the client and a preference to buy from you.

Voicemail: Voicemail, containing an audio component, is more valuable than an email. Your client gets to hear your voice. Even if you are going to send an email, leave a voicemail first.

Text Message: This medium is no longer new. When it was new, the responses from your contacts were almost instantaneous. Now, your texts are sometimes treated like an email.

Email: If face-to-face is the platinum standard, then email might be called the “sand standard,” something glorified by Silicon Valley and its microchips, but little more than a trap for serious salespeople.

Do Good Work:

• Stop using asynchronous mediums for important sales conversations.
• Develop an active preference for synchronous communication mediums.
• Teach and train your clients that when they email, you will pick up the phone and call them back.

The post Why Asynchronous Communication Isn’t Effective Selling appeared first on Head Of Sales.

According to CEB research, 95% of buyers expect insight from the seller. Yet Forrester Research highlights that 85% of sellers fail to meet buyer expectations while CEB research found that 86% of sellers fail to differentiate in the mind of the buyer. We clearly have a problem but it can be solved when sales people embrace imperative to write within the guidelines of their company and with management and marketing serving as editors.

If you want to transform the way you sell, commit to reading and then writing. Don’t just read about how to sell, also read about the issues that impact your clients. Researching and writing is the best possible sales training a person can have because it forces the individual to go deep and test assertions while creating their own authentic narrative. Here is why sales people need to write but…

Should sales people write or ‘curate’ content during office hours or selling time? … No!

Sales people should instead invest 30 minutes a day in their own time, before or after work, for career development. They should also work closely with their marketing department and manager to ensure quality, leverage tools, and be aligned with corporate messaging and policies. There are two types of content publishing:

1. Content curation. This is where you work with other people’s content and publish Updates via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or other social platforms in which your clients and target market monitor and engage.
2. Content Authoring. This is where you create your own blog posts or articles that demonstrates insight and value for your target market. It is also how you evidence your credentials and set the agenda with those whom you seek to engage.

Content publishing is important because 75% of buyers use social media to research sellers before engaging (Source: IDC) and 74% of buyers choose the seller who first provides insight and value (Source: Corporate Visions). It begs the question: What do people see when they find you online? Do they see a sales person’s CV or do they see a warm professional person offering insight and value?

Go beyond the basics of personal branding to also attract and engage with content

Content Curation

‘Content curation’ is the process of working with other people’s content where you add brief commentary and then share with your network. Your goal is follow those who are relevant for your target market and then become the ‘forager for the tribe’ as David Meerman-Scott says. Everyone is busy and you can provide value by being a content aggregator where your market can simply follow you to see content from dozens of sources they don’t have time to research individually themselves.

Who are the journalists, bloggers, analysts and industry leaders that your market audience follows and respects? By attaching yourself to these personal brands you elevate your own, and by sharing their content with short additional insights and commentary you can create value for those who follow you. From this list, highlight the individuals with substantial following within your target market whose followers you would like to become your own. Who has substantial following within your target market?

The above format is my simple way of recording the details of those who can provide you with valuable content to then share with your network. Hootsuite or Buffer are excellent technologies for easily creating a scheduling content to be automatically published at the best times. 

5 Topics to Inspire Content Creation

We need to publish content write about what interests our audience instead of projecting our ‘value proposition’ or factoids about our company, product or service. Importantly, we must be clear about who we are targeting with our content and here are content categories that sales people and marketers can use to create blog articles to write that attract and engage clients.

1. Your customer’s fears and concerns (competition, disruption, etc.). Without writing from a negative perspective: What are the risks that your customers face? What competitive risks that worry them? How are they being ‘disrupted’ by technology, changes in the economy or legislation, agile competitors, off-shoring, etc. These topics and more can be the subject of posts you write
2. Insights from research data that impacts your customer’s world. Search and subscribe to analysts that comment of your customer’s industry or the trends that impact them.
3. Blind Case studies evidencing how things can be improved. Every sales person needs to be masterful at telling powerful true stories of how their customers solved problems, created business cases, managed change and delivered transformation. Even if the client won’t do an official case study or testimonial, it can be written by the sales person and attributed along the lines of: One of my clients shared some insights with me recently concerning how they ….
4. Objection neutralizers that positively position and set the agenda. As an example, I work with a client in the recruiting industry and a common objection is: ‘I’m too busy meet but if you have a candidate then send me their CV’. I’ve coach recruitment sales people to write posts along the lines of: How 20 minutes saves 12 hours and dramatically reduces hiring risk. Skills, experience and qualifications are easy to screen but cultural fit is where the greatest risk resides in a hiring decision. List all of your common objections such as ‘I’m too busy’, ‘We have an incumbent supplier’, ‘You’re too expensive’, etc and write about why that is the very reason they should meet you.
5. Newsjacking topical events to create interest. When Harrison Ford crash-landed his plan on a Californian golf course, I had this post up within 90 minutes.

Trigger events are excellent opportunities for both content creation and initiating contact with potential buyers. What events provide potential opportunities to improve your own customer service, intercept competitor customers, or engage potential clients early in their buying process? In the mind of the buyer, trigger events create awareness of opportunity or need and can amplify perceptions of pain. These events can motivate people to take action to change the status quo? Trigger events can include changes in personnel, a major scandal, legislative changes, new compliance obligations, products going ‘end of support’, suppliers being acquired or dropping the ball, competitor staff leaving or retiring, new leaders coming into the organization. My worksheet below is ideal for identifying trigger events and establishing the best way to monitor.

Sales people should work with their marketing team to formulate strategy, select the right tools and secure the right levels of training and support to build their individual sales pipelines. Here are my tips for going beyond content curation (working with other people’s content) and writing your own material that sets you apart as a sales person:

1. Identify your audience and then write for the one person or role you are seeking to influence. This makes it targeted, personal and on point.
2. Be clear in your own mind about why your message is important and what you want them to do about. But avoid any call to action that overtly seeks to sell or paints you as a salesperson.
3. Create a catchy headline (think like a newspaper editor).
4. Use an eye-catching picture that has an abstract relationship to your topic. Honor copyright by using ‘common use license’ images and attribute source, or use your own photos.
5. Have an opening that hooks, a body that informs and a close that motivates or inspires. Deliver insight rather than mere information.
6. Aim for 700 words and don’t ramble. Longer is okay and some of my best posts with more than 220,000 reads have well over 1500 words.
7. Create back-links to other content but never use click-bate to take people to another site where they have to complete forms or register to view content.

If you don’t read, then you’re not a professional. If you can’t write, then you can’t sell because you are incapable of building a strong personal brand online that shows insight and attracts clients.

The post 5 Topics That Sellers Should Write About appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Through the power of algorithms (and yes, I am fully conscious of what plays behind these) my digital world is personalised and targeted. In the era of what some call meism and meology this sits quite comfortably.

So, what has this got to do with sales? Everything. B2B and B2C customers are continually bombarded with an avalanche of messages. The demand for personalisation is greater than ever in the world of sales; to enable cut through with a message, it needs to stand out. Credibility statements, value propositions and elevator pitches are all great and essential, but the initial piece of contact and the information shared needs to be targeted and relevant to the person with whom you are trying to engage. The medium of the message is irrelevant; phone, email or social, the importance is the content and the initial grab.

As humans develop, egocentricity changes and alters, as a baby we are completely egocentric and this is perfectly acceptable. As we move through early childhood we become more aware of others, our community and the needs of those around us. If we are left in a state of egocentricity, we develop narcissistic tendencies. That said, throughout our lives we always crave attention and as customers we seek a better experience directed specifically at our needs and requirements. From a business point of view, we are dealing with conflicting strategies; financial, personal, political and social. A salesperson who understands and can rank these priorities will be in a far better position to connect and engage with their client.

As sales professionals we need to be acutely aware of how to personalise a message. Netflix, Uber and Google all achieve this, by adopting various levels of what is known as the Cocktail Effect of Psychology. In other words, the ability for the brain to filter out noise to focus on the things that matter and are relevant to us. If I am in finance, make your message relevant to finance, if I work in agricultural production, craft your message to my sector, if my business is expanding then share content that correlates with my requirements.  For the mathematically or visually minded use this formula to anchor this principle: Interest = Benefits x Curiosity.

Finally, the statement that busy people are always busy rings true. As an objection, the phrase “I’m too busy at the moment” is heard all too often by salespeople. Recent research has shown that people dread idleness and that busy people are happier than those who are idle. It is known as the concept of Idleness Aversion. Uber and Netflix understand this, they make screens busy and engaging. And as salespeople trying to craft a message, we must do the same. Our emails and social messages must not only be directed towards the individual, but they also must engage. A link to a white paper, a graphic, a request for further information; the art is to make the time they spend participating in your message valuable and rewarding. And this will happen if it is customised.

To try and make this accessible for all, here are some thoughts on methods to ensure you have the content and knowledge to be relevant and personable in your messaging.

5 Tips to Customise Your Messages

1. Insights from LinkedIn Groups

I am continually surprised that sales executives who focus on verticals or specific markets do not interact on LinkedIn groups. They are a powerful way for one to become informed and knowledgeable about specific sectors within the economy. The big tip is DO NOT SELL YOUR PRODUCTS on LinkedIn Groups. Use it to contribute, discuss and share your insights. I know a salesperson who slowly built up an incredible brand in a niche LinkedIn group, by providing genuine comments and interaction he was the ‘go to’ person for advice and recommendations on software

2. Philanthropic Links

Many businesses support various philanthropic endeavours as part of their broader social responsibility. This is a means to develop rapport and be able to customise information. If there is a real link between the charity they support and you, your network or your business, then this is a way to personalise messaging. 

3. Know Your Prospects Customers and Competitors

In a market economy we need to know our prospects well – as you begin to interact with a business ask yourself:  Who are their customers/clients? Who are their competitors? And if you don’t know, research. You then look for commonalities as this builds credibility and demonstrates the experience that will instil greater confidence in both you and your product/service.

4. Industry Trends and Compliance

Change is a constant in all industries. Regulators and authorises move and alter compliance and reporting standards. The ability to be informed and aware of these will make you stand out from, other sales professionals. Government departments, standards associations and industry bodies are powerful means by which to stay updated.

5. Knowledge of Thought Leaders

Within most industries there are commentators who are recognised as thought leaders. Some provide best practices whilst others push the boundaries and try and advocate change. Trade journals, conference keynotes and academic papers are often ways to become aware of who these people are and then to follow them on a social platform.

Salespeople who can personalise a message using these psychological tools will not only surprise their clients but also provide value. Time is a finite resource. An investment in preparing a customised message is worthwhile. Quantity vs quality is a perennial argument in sales but as our global cocktail party grows, we want to gain attention and block out the noise of others. Research into your prospects shows that you are committed to be a consultative professional and demonstrates your understanding of how your product or service will benefit them.

Technology provides a myriad of tools that allow you to aggregate information and then find relevant content to share. In a way you need to become a Netflix. Know your customers, know what drives and motivates them and truly know what information they engage with best. The difference is you provide human engagement rather than an AI driven algorithms. Stay personal, stay connected, stay well and enjoy the Cocktail Party of life.

The post Speak to Me – Personalisation in Sales appeared first on Head Of Sales.

To be able to take complex information, and lots of it, and distill it down into a succinct and understandable message that resonates with their team. To also be able to ‘think on their feet’ when challenged by their team with questions and comments that are perhaps off topic. These are skills which are pivotal to their ability to build engagement and to grow the team. And over the last 20 years, I have been fortunate to either work for some of these great sales leaders, or observe the way they go about it. They have built very tight knit teams, and have created a culture which has enabled the team to prosper, grow, deal with challenges and break into new frontiers. They have also experienced very limited attrition and staff turnover, based on their ability to communicate.

By contrast, I have also observed many sales leaders who did not place a high priority on communication and the results within their teams became equally predictable – attrition and staff turnover was high, engagement was low, the concept of ‘team’ almost didn’t exist, and the end result was the sales and revenue results were significantly lower compared to their peers. It was almost as if their team members were trying to succeed in spite of the leader, and literally going it alone. And of course, this is not sustainable.

So as a sales leader, how would you rate your ability to communicate? For the purpose of this article, let’s focus on verbal communication, although many of the key points below also are equally applicable to written communication as well. Is your team engaged and on the same page? Are they crystal clear on what is expected of them? Do they ask insightful and relevant questions and then take affirmative action? If the answer is yes, awesome, keep doing what you are doing. If not, review the following key points and check in to see whether you are focussing on these, and if not, start! Applying these will enable your communication capabilities to significantly increase :

• Preparation is key – there are very few sales leaders who have the ability to ‘wing it’ when it comes to presenting or communicating their message. And even those who do, they have carried out some preparation first. It never ceases to amaze me the number of sales leaders who do next to no preparation, then stand up to deliver a message and wonder why it falls flat or doesn’t hit the mark. Preparation is critical. Remember, the number 1 success principle is to know your outcome, and hence preparation is all about clearly articulating what the outcome of the communication will be. What is it that you want your team to think, feel, and do as a result of this communication? Once you answer this question, you can more easily frame your communication and then look at the next key area, which is understanding your audience.

• Understand your audience – A key part of your communication will be to ensure that it resonates with everyone in your team. To do this, you must understand the type of people you have in the team and how they like to be communicated to. There will be 4 types of people in your team ; 1) those who are simply looking for what’s in it for them, 2) those who are more concerned about the team and how your communication affects others, 3) those who are interested in a great amount of detail, and 4) those who simply want the bottom line. As such, it is critical as part of your preparation to ensure that your message covers all 4 areas, because otherwise, you will miss the mark and you could ‘lose’ their engagement. So make sure you craft your message to cater for the types of people you have in your team, ensuring that you make the information relevant.

• Rehearse your message – I’m continually blown away by the number of sales leaders who do not rehearse their presentations/communications before they deliver it. Their attitude is that if it reads well, it will sound great. The problem with this is often a message sounds fantastic in our head, but when we actually say it, it sounds completely different and often misses the mark. So rehearsal is paramount. All of the great presenters and public speakers rehearse relentlessly prior to delivering the final communication. They believe that you cannot rehearse enough, which I totally agree with. Where rehearsal can be detrimental is when you are rehearsing to simply remember all of the words – doing this will result in the communication sounding scripted, as if you have ‘learned your lines’ – and this will diminish your effectiveness. The point of rehearsing is to allow you to know and understand the content so well that when you deliver it, it sounds like you are having a natural conversation, rather than delivering a ‘speech’.

• Understand that 1st impressions count – depending on the gender of your audience, you only have between 7 and 60 seconds to create a first impression, even if you already know the people. Whether we like it or not, we are constantly being judged, so it is incredibly important to stack the odds in your favour and focus on creating a great 1st impression – dress well, be confident and use positive and engaging facial expressions. And remember this key point – never commence a communication or presentation until you have confirmed that the audience is ready to receive the message. If this is not done, then the message will not necessarily resonate, as the audience’s attention and focus is elsewhere.

• Use empowering body language, powerful eye contact and commanding voice tonality – we know that our communication effectiveness is more about how we communicate compared to the actual communication – in fact, 7% of your impact is through the words you speak (content) and a whopping 93% of the impact is through your voice tonality & energy, as well as your body language. So whilst it is important to know your content, it is even more important to know how to deliver it. As you are delivering your communication, maintain eye contact with your team – not just a fleeting glance and certainly not a ‘death stare’! For many people, maintaining eye contact with each person for around 5 seconds before moving to the next person works well. And remember to capture everyone in the team – no body gets left behind. From a body language perspective, it is critical that you are symmetrical when you are delivering your message, irrespective of whether you are standing or sitting. There is so much to this that it cannot be covered in this article, however, as a starting point, when standing, ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart and parallel to each other, like they are on train tracks. This will allow you to be symmetrical and balanced, because a balanced stance will allow your message to be balanced. And ensure that your shoulders are back and your back is straight. This equally applies when you are sitting down. And when you speak, speak with a confident tone, a tone known as command tonality. If you notice great speakers, when they speak, their voice ever so slightly goes down in tone at the end of a sentence – this is the command tonality, and will result in an increased level of certainty and confidence in your audience.

So remember, as a sales leader, preparation is key to effective sales communication. Understand your audience, rehearse your message, and when it is time to deliver the message, create a great impression, use powerful body language, maintain good eye contact and use command tonality. Do all this and your ability to communicate will skyrocket – you will be unstoppable!!

To your continued sales leadership success.

The post The Art Of Exceptional Sales Communication appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Then you know the importance of getting these first meetings off to a good start.

Taking deliberate steps to build rapport has been proven to significantly increase your chances of reaching an agreement.

Whether you’ve finally scored that elusive meeting to meet with the ‘perfect whale’ of a prospect or they fall into the ‘small-is-sweet’ category, it doesn’t really matter. If you have a first meeting booked, you’re going to need to impress, and I think one of the best ways to impress is to differentiate yourself early on. Here are some strategies I can suggest that use a combination of LinkedIn as well as more ‘traditional’ sales skills to set you up for a greater level of first meeting success.

Step 1 – About a week prior to the meeting, view their profile and take notes in preparation, not least because it will send them a notification that ‘you’ve viewed their profile’. This, in turn, will be likely to drive a return visit to your profile, building some nice familiarity prior to your meeting. If your profile is set up correctly they will learn, with only a quick view, where your areas of expertise are and whom you’ve helped previously, as well as, what sort of outcomes they might expect from engaging with you. – A good strategy.

Step 2 – 48-24hrs prior to the meeting, send a connection request. Example. “Hi Gary, We are scheduled to meet the day after tomorrow to talk about widgets, just made sense to reach out for a connection to make it easier for you to leverage some of our previous work or perhaps some common connections and contacts. Hope you agree”

Step 2a – If you were NOT successful in connecting prior to the actual meeting don’t worry. During the meeting, explain that you use LinkedIn as a CRM/ business card-style tool to manage your important contacts and that you would like to connect, would they agree to a connection request? – They will always say ‘Yes’. Politely say, if I haven’t sent you one already I’ll make sure you have one very shortly’.

Step 3 – Rapport building strategies. Building rapport is NOT about deliberately pretending you are something you are not in order to ‘win over the client’ this is misleading and sets the relationship up for a false start. Relationships based on falsehoods are to be avoided. – DO NOT DO THIS. Instead look for genuine areas where you can maximise SAMENESS between you and them and minimise any DIFFERENCEs.

Example 1 – They went to public school, yet you went to private? = Difference. Don’t talk schools. Find something else. However, if you both went to private schools in a similar area you might leverage the possibility that your prospect might know such-and-such from his days at ‘old-boy’ college.

Example 2 – If you’re both from the country now living in the city, (very common), you might ask how long ago or how they became a city person, outlining that you too moved to the city from the country. Each scenario is completely different and using LinkedIn in advance helps provides you with some strategies which are much more likely to increase the levels of sameness and limit the amount of difference, therefore, setting you up for a better start to your first meeting.

Step 4 – Make sure you reach out via AT LEAST one of the following.

• Inmail outlining the common connections, opportunity for them to get a referral, reference of your previous work. (Details on how to do that here). This helps them to build confidence in your ability and provides comfort in their potential decision to chose you as a supplier.
• Provide a case study or ‘TAG’ them in a similar post from a thought leader which talks about a similar topic or strategy that you’re about to meet with them to discuss.

This shows that you’re thinking about the client and their issues and you’re trying to provide some extra ‘insight’ or ‘value’. Makes initial communication easy and we know the more you and your prospect/client get communicating the more information you will be able to glean over time. This will help you provide the absolute best solution for them. This is a good thing.

Step 5 – Optional/ Advanced. Post meeting, provide a genuine LinkedIn recommendation, leverages terrific levels of reciprocity AS LONG AS IT IS GENUINE. Recommendations on LinkedIn are not ‘old-school’ employment style references. (who said they were anyway)? So something simple can work very well. Such as “We met with Gary and his team to discuss their widget requirements. I was very impressed with the depth of knowledge he and the team had around their specific situation and the obviously very high level of research they’d done on potential suppliers, including us. If all my clients did this level of research prior to a meeting, these great conversations would lead to higher quality business outcomes. We really appreciated the levels of preparation they’d done before the meeting. A very professional approach, which is not widely seen” WARNING. Must be genuine to work.

Whilst it’s important to build rapport, don’t go too overboard. One of my favourite sayings from Dean Mannix is “EXPERTS always get paid more than friends”. Don’t fall into the ‘friend zone’.

P.S. Trust is the combination of rapport and credibility. Deliberately building credibility is an important part of first meetings. More on that in another blog post.

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