Rapport is the deepest level of relationship between two individuals that involves sharing common ground, and is established when harmony and accord have been reached between both parties. This does not mean the individuals involved agree on every issue. Instead, it means they have attained a mutual respect for each other’s opinions. Developing rapport with others lowers stress within our relationships, thereby creating greater productivity.

We have established rapport with people know, like and trust

Establishing Rapport

Rapport is developed as we understand, recognize, appreciate, and adapt to the behavior and communication styles of others. Regardless of background, everyone wants to be valued, appreciated and unconditionally accepted for who they are. As a result, we tend to trust and have an affinity for the people we believe really understand us and accept us.

Unfortunately, we struggle with this as human beings. Some folks just ʻrub us the wrong wayʼ, or worse still, they ʻpush our buttonsʼ. And often, the ones that irritate us the most are the ones closest to us, such as family, friends, and coworkers.
To begin connecting with others, we must cultivate a genuine desire to understand the people around us.

Mastering Rapport

Mastering rapport is reached when an individual develops the skills and the genuine desire to develop relationships of mutual trust and emotional affinity.
Rapport Mastery works best when adopted as a lifestyle to better communicate with people and do business, not merely to manipulate others with surface techniques or to be saved until there is a glaring problem. Rapport Mastery involves personal transparency as well as enthusiasm for the success of others.

The Road to Rapport

There is no instant path to building rapport with those around us. This level of respect and trust will take time to develop. Attempting to rush this process will actually be counterproductive as it breaks that trust. Although each of us will have the ability to connect more quickly with certain individuals, there is no way to create this level of trust and regard for another person outside of the test of time. Creating rapport is a step by step process.

Do I Have Rapport?

Individuals with whom you have established rapport will come to you for advice or information on a wide variety of subjects. Rapport is developed as we understand, recognise, appreciate, and adapt to the behaviour and communication styles of others.

How do you begin to establish rapport?’

The Power of Perception

Rapport starts with understanding the behavioural and communication style of another, discovering how our personal actions are being perceived by others, and learning to control our own behaviours to better meet their needs.Connecting with others begins with recognising and understanding the perception of those with whom we interact.

Humans are uniquely different from one another. Our ideas about the world around us have been influenced by our parents, values, education, and culture. In addition to these factors, the way we perceive, interpret and share this information is based largely upon our behavioural and communication style.

Imagine that two individuals walk into a room. Both are wearing glasses, however one pair has red lenses and one has blue. Neither of them realise they have glasses of different colours. Both individuals are asked to look at a white wall and announce to the other what colour they believe the wall to be. The individual wearing the red glasses will be sure the wall is red, while the individual with the blue lenses will be sure it’s blue. They both would KNOW they were correct and sure the other person was wrong.

Now imagine these individuals try on each other’s glasses. Would they have a better idea of what the other person was seeing? This change of perception would help reduce conflict because each of them would now be able to understand the otherʼs perception.

In order to understand and connect, we need to understand how the other person is perceiving the world around them. By putting on someone else’s glasses, so to speak, we will have the ability to appreciate and understand them better.

Perception is based on an individual’s communication and behavioural style

Pace, Perception and Adaption

To understand human behaviour and communication we need to begin by looking at two basic elements pace and priority.

Pace is the speed at which individuals move and speak. Some individuals tends to be more faster or slower than others. There is not right or wrong pace as we all have elements of both.

Fast paced individuals tend to move, speak, respond and decide quickly, whereas sower paced individuals prefer to spend time in reflection and act carefully.

If you are fast paced person, a slower paced individual may see you as impatient, irresponsible, reckless, rude, manipulative, overbearing, angry and inconsiderate.

If you are a slow paced person, a fast paced individual may see you as unmotivated, lazy, sad, uncaring, disrespectful, disengaged, untruthful and distracted.

All relationships being by connecting with each other’s PACE. If there is missed connection at his level, you will be unable to move forward to build rapport.

This is where adaption comes into play. Connecting in a non-confrontational, non-irritating way requires adapting my own pace to match the pace of the other person. I may be fast paced, however, the only way to show the slow paced person that I am not impatient or reckless, I must control my actions and slow down. In the same way, if I am slow paced, I may need to speed up my interactions so I am not perceived as unmotivated and lazy.

Priority characteristics

As with pace, individuals have different priorities , which refer to what they prioritise as they view their world. Individuals tend to be either:

Task-Orientated – they are more focused on accomplishing tasks. Think in terms of plans, procedures, organisation, function, projects and programs. They like to create lists and check off items as they ate completed.

People-Orientated – they are more focused on establishing relationships. They are energized by being around people. They tend to focus on more on relationships, feelings, friendships, helping others and making people happy.

If you are a task-orientated person, a people-orientated person may perceive you as cold, workaholic, greedy, disconnected, inflexible, unmerciful, unfriendly and not family oriented.

If you are a people-oriented person, a task-oriented individual may perceive you as distracted, weak, overly emotional, unproductive, naive, gullible, foolish and not serious.

90% of conflict is caused by a clash of priorities or false perceptions

Now that we understand what rapport is and how we unknowingly can break it by failing to control our behaviour, we can now develop a process that will help us to better adapt and build relationships.

Know, Like, & Trust

Remember, rapport is established with all types of individuals when they know, like, and trust you. Matching pace provides the foundation for rapport by allowing other’s to get to know us.
However, the other two aspects, trust and like, are developed differently depending upon an individual’s priority style.

We get to know each other by matching pace. We develop rapport by respecting priorities.

Task-oriented individuals must trust you before they will like you. Here’s the progression of establishing rapport with the task-oriented individual: They will do business with you only if they have come to trust you. Once trust is established they will gradually begin to like you.

People-oriented individuals must like you before they will trust you. Here’s the progression of establishing rapport with the people-oriented individual: They must first like you. (One of the best ways to begin to establish affinity with this type is to smile.) Once they like you
they will begin to trust and develop rapport with you.

2 ROADS TO RAPPORT

Practical Application

To build rapport with a task-oriented individual, consider what is most important to this behaviour style. Because this behaviour style views the world from a task perspective, task completion is imperative for constructing trust.

To build rapport with a people-oriented individual, consider what is most important to this behaviour style. Because this behaviour style views the world from a people perspective, they will observe how you interact with others and desire friendship.

They are the basics of building more meaningful, peaceful, and productive relationships with those around you.

The post A Practical Guide On Building Rapport In Sales appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Online meetings are rapidly becoming the new de facto standard.

Savvy sellers have discovered that the ability to quickly move a phone conversation online yields a richer, deeper interaction with prospects. It enables them to discuss, demo or present using a variety of resources. As a result, prospect engagement goes up, new opportunities emerge, and deals close faster.

That’s a competitive edge worth paying attention to—especially since only 58% of salespeople met or exceeded their quota last year. But right now, most sellers are barely tapping into online meetings because they don’t know how or when to best use them.

Salespeople need to be nimble and ready to pivot. In conversations, they must be able to quickly spot and capitalise on emerging opportunities. It’s even better if they can create these moments on their own.

That’s exactly what savvy sellers do with online meetings. During a phone call, when they spot a need or when inspiration strikes, they immediately suggest:

“Do you have a few minutes? How about we jump onto a quick online meeting?”

That’s sales agility at its best. The key to success with these impromptu online meetings is strategic spontaneity. Savvy sellers are prepared. They know the best times to suggest this option and they know how to do it, seamlessly. They know what they’ll ask, point out, suggest or clarify.

In short, they nail it! These savvy sellers create an “aha” moment that crystallises value and drives differentiation. When the conversation is over, they’ve established credibility, deepened the relationship and moved closer to a signed contract.

1. FOCUS ON PURPOSE

What outcome do you want to achieve from jumping online with your prospect? Always start with this question, then craft a meeting plan that supports it. The best “purposes” are typically aligned with the various stages of a prospect’s buying cycle. These are the three main ones.

Pique Curiosity. If you’re prospecting, know that more than 90% of the people you contact are reasonably satisfied with their status quo— whatever that might be. When you connect, your objective is to get the prospect so interested that they want to learn more—either now or in very short order.

Drive a Commitment to Change. Once you’ve piqued your prospect’s curiosity, their next step is to determine if it makes sense to change. This is your opportunity to help them determine their business case. It’s also a chance to explore the factors they need to consider if they do go ahead.

Close the Deal. When your prospect has decided that changing is worth it, your purpose shifts to that of showcasing why working with your company makes the most sense, provides the best value and is the least risky.

For lead follow-up, try to gauge where the prospect might be in their buying process by reviewing what they’ve downloaded from your website and the pages they’ve visited.

When you know your purpose, it’s time to identify when a “quick” online meeting can help you achieve it.

2. PINPOINT THE OPPORTUNITIES

When does it make sense to have an impromptu online meeting? Start by mentally identifying when it could be beneficial to jump online. Often visual elements are involved and referencing them while you’re talking enriches the conversation.

You might want to consider an impromptu online meeting to:

Spark a new idea. If your offering enables prospects to do something they hadn’t conceived of, pull up a graphic to trigger their thinking. You could also highlight relevant research or data that supports a change from the status quo.

Expand on concepts. Once prospects are ready to change, they want to discuss factors such as configuring the right solution and implementation issues.

Do a demo. Give your prospect a quick tour of your solution. Whether it’s an actual demo, screen shots, or animated, you can gauge their reactions.

Review in real-time. Any time there are questions or concerns re: proposals, pricing, layouts, design and more, the quickest way to resolve them is to jump online. When people post a need or comment regarding an issue you can solve, invite them to a virtual meeting. Again, they’re already online. They just need to be online talking to you!

Research shows that people remember 80% of what they see and do. Online meetings, much more than phone conversations, make you and your message more memorable and engaging.

3. ZERO IN ON VALUE

How can you get prospects to invest the time and energy needed to change from the status quo? It’s your toughest sales challenge. According to SBI, over 60% of forecast deals do nothing. That means you lose to “no decision” more than all other competitors combined.

If this happens to you, it’s likely you’ve been doing too much pitching, trying to differentiate your product/service from competitors. Forrester Research reports that only 13% of executive buyers believe that a salesperson can clearly show they understand customer business issues and articulate a way to solve them.

During your online meetings, focus in on what matters most to your prospects. Be very specific. Increasing sales and decreasing costs is far too generic. Pepper your conversations with value propositions like these:

• Increased sales productivity, enabling 30% more calls/day.
• Reduced customer churn by 2.9% in just six months.
• Stabilised workflow, eliminating 47% of overtime pay.

This is what prospects care about. This is why they’d change from the status quo. Use your online meeting to tailor the value to your buyer’s position.

Don’t get sucked into a “tell me about your [product/service]” conversation. Knowing about your leading-edge capabilities, unique methodologies and unbeatable service will not make people change from the status quo.

Instead, cut to the chase; make it abundantly clear about the value you can deliver to their organisation. That’s what gets people to buy.

4. LEAD CONVERSATIONS

How can you create a meaningful dialogue in a quick online meeting? Huthwaite’s research on 10,000+ reps in 30,000 sales calls revealed that the kind and quality of questions asked during a meeting had more impact on sales success than any other behaviour.

Asking questions allows you to showcase expertise, demonstrate concern, establish trust and build stronger relationships. Additionally, questions enable you to gauge a prospect’s level of interest, expand the possibilities, determine your strategy and find the right solution.

To take advantage of your limited time together during an online sales meeting, consider these suggestions:

Plan questions ahead of time. Brain research shows that it’s impossible to do two things at once. That’s why it’s imperative to figure out the best questions to ask and the right sequence before you initiate contact. Keep them in front of you, but feel free to go with the flow too—if it makes sense.

After asking a question, be quiet – especially if your intention is to make people think. The average salesperson feels compelled to jump in after 2-3 seconds, totally high-jacking the opportunity to learn critical information.

Wrap your questions in your expertise. Lead into them with phrases such as, “In working with other VPs of Sales, we find that …. Is this something you’re struggling with too? Or “In talking to other manufacturers, their three biggest priorities are … How do those priorities compare to yours?”

It’s your responsibility to lead the conversation—and the best way to do it is with thoughtful, provocative questions.

5. CREATE ENGAGEMENT

How can you be more collaborative? Online meetings give you a chance to interact in real time. They can be just as effective as actually sitting in your client’s office, getting a deeper understanding of their needs, and discussing their business challenges.

Here are some ideas to make impromptu online meeting more engaging:

Rather than you doing a demo, try highlighting how easy it is and pass control to your prospects. Let them do it themselves. Sampling simplicity makes them more likely to change.

Use different content. Don’t just show a presentation; change the info you share. Jump from a presentation, to a report, to a website. This on-thefly access to a variety of resources increases interest and involvement.

Bring your recommendations up on the screen and get your prospects’ input. Find out what they like/don’t like. Ask if the solution meets their needs or not— then make appropriate changes. This increases buy-in and the commitment to move forward.

Revise critical documents together. Invariably prospects want to make changes to your proposals, SOWs or contracts. It’s much simpler to actually work on the “same page” as your prospects instead of trying to talk about it. With today’s online contracts, it’s pretty easy to move from conversation to proposal to contracting.

This real-time collaboration capability is also highly useful for internal usage—especially when multiple people from your company are involved in the sales process. It’ll help you get things right before you suggest your prospect jump online for that quick meeting.

6. PICK THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY

What’s the right tool for you to use? Today, 30.3% of sales professionals believe that the online meeting tools they’re using get in the way of sales, rather than helping. That’s not good because it reflects on your competence. The solution you choose can be critical to moving the conversation forward or closing the sale.

To select the right technology, ask yourself these questions:

How easy is it to initiate an online meeting? This is crucial. You need it to be seamless. There’s nothing worse than having to stop the conversation, figure out how to launch a meeting, send an invite, wait while your prospect downloads some software—and then runs into problems. You lose momentum, and your prospect loses interest. Plus, you get frazzled and all your best thinking evaporates into thin air.

Does it have the capabilities you need? When you start out, screen sharing might be all you need. But as you get more proficient you’ll want video capabilities. This makes you more real” to prospects, increases engagement, deepens relationships and drives more sales.

Be sure to check how easy it is to switch between the key documents, demos, or presentations that you want prospects to remember. Also, advanced users may want to highlight certain areas, swap presenters, record meetings and create presentations “on the fly” via new online whiteboarding.

What’s most important is that you select the right online meeting tool for your needs—and that it’s a no-brainer for both you and your prospect.

7. GET REALLY GOOD AT IT

Whether scheduled or impromptu, running a flawless meeting is a skill that needs to be learned. While it may be simple to do, when you’re talking to an interested prospect on the phone it’s easy to flub things up. That’s the last thing you want to happen.

Instead, you want to come across as the true professional you are.

Here’s how you can prep for the maximum impact:

Set the stage. Sloppy desktops make you look disorganized, so get yours cleaned up. Shut down any pop-up messaging too. Or, if your tool allows, select the window-sharing option in addition to full screen sharing.

Know what’s in your virtual briefcase. Being able to quickly locate the exact document, image, PowerPoint slide or resource reflects on your professionalism.

For video meetings, it’s crucial to have appropriate surroundings, de-cluttered workspaces and good lighting. Make sure your webcam mic is clear enough; otherwise, get a headset. Put your computer at eye level so you’re looking directly at the camera. Maintaining eye contact is essential for relationship building.

Do mock meetings with your colleagues. Practice logging on, sending an invite, doing a demo, passing the presenter role and re-taking control. Once you’re proficient, have a colleague role-play someone who’s new to online meetings—like a potential customer. That way you’ll be prepared for that scenario too.

Remember, your prospects judge your competence in every interaction. This is one more opportunity to prove you’re an invaluable resource.

8. FINALISE NEXT STEPS

So now you have zeroed in on business value. You’ve asked great questions. Your prospect is highly engaged. In fact, they’re oohing and aahing about what you’ve covered. It feels like you’ve nailed it.

But have you? It’s easy to get seduced at this point—especially if prospects start asking you all sorts of detailed questions. Sometimes it’s good to put the brakes on to find out what’s really happening.

Try asking, “It sounds like you’re really interested in changing. Help me understand the business case from your perspective.”

If they can clearly articulate it, find out what the next steps are to move the decision forward. Who else needs to be involved? What criteria needs to be considered? How will it be implemented? Or, suggest what you see typically happening: “Based on my experience

working with other companies, the next step is …”

If your prospect can’t articulate the business value, you’ll need to spend more time here. Again, suggest a logical next step: “Usually, at this point, we need to (engage other individuals, do more research, etc.) to determine if it makes sense to move ahead. Let’s get that on the calendar.”

Don’t leave an online meeting without a clear action step. Know what you’re doing next and get commitment from your prospect regarding their responsibilities.

9. TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

How can you get even better leveraging impromptu online meetings? It’s great to be able to quickly jump online with a prospect, but it’s even better when you move from proficiency into mastery. Many service providers today offer the ability to record your meetings—and it’s definitely something you’ll want to take advantage of.

Initially, when you replay your meeting, you’ll find all sorts of personal flaws that will drive you nuts. You’ll hate your voice. You’ll notice every mistake. You’ll realize you weren’t looking at the camera. Note all these and work on getting better.

But then, go deeper. Ask yourself questions like:

• If you were a prospect, how would you feel?
• How was the overall flow? Did it make sense?
• Did you focus on value or get lost in the details?
• Were you able to advance the sales process? If not, what happened?
• Did you miss any important points?
• How else could you have created a better experience?

It’s a good idea to review the recording by yourself first. But that’s not sufficient if you want to really master this tool. If possible, get feedback from your colleagues or boss. Peer coaching is one of the best ways to make giant leaps in performance. Mastery is possible, especially when you get input from others.

THE KNACK OF NAILING IT

There’s great triumph in nailing an online meeting. Striking while the iron is hot enables you to quickly capitalise on an opportunity and moves you one step closer to closing the deal. It sets you apart from competitors, deepens credibility, crystallises value and builds relationships. It can even create new opportunities that didn’t exist before you said:

“Do you have a few minutes? How about we jump onto a quick online meeting?”

As we’ve shown, the key to successful impromptu online meetings is being planful and prepared— strategic spontaneity. That’s what sales agility is all about.

Start by picking just one scenario where an online meeting could add value to your sales process. Then, review the suggestions in this article, and get going. You’ll get better as you experiment with this tool. You’ll have richer interactions, greater connections and even more opportunities. Before long, you’ll be nailing it all the time too.

The post 9 Strategies To Improve Online Sales Meetings And Close More Deals appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Without knowing the questions – it is difficult to know how you are going to help them.

Before you do any of these steps, you must have this foundation to start:

1. You need to be sold on what you are selling. You need to know the value to the client.
2. You are practiced in each step so that its natural. You are being your authentic self.

There are two different stages of questions.

Stage 1: Qualifying Questions

The time for qualifying questions is when you are calling out/prospecting and you are determining if they are in the market for your offer.

1. You’ve done enough homework to identify this client may well need your solution.
2. Your intention is to show 1) you are out to help them and 2) when they are ready to be helped, you are the ‘go to’ person – the trusted advisor.
3. You understand you will need to frame why you are calling. They were not expecting you, they don’t know you, the problem must not be on their mind right now.
4. You have a clear, precise elevator pitch which explains what your solution does.
5. You are calm, reasonable and rational. You are speaking clearly and at the right pace.
6. Your question pool is large. You will draw in the most relevant questions at the time along the lines of these types of ‘other clients have found/statement & solution’ questions:

• Many of our clients are reporting problems with areas A, B, and C. How are these areas affecting you? What do you think about them?
• Some people are doing … as that’s the easiest or the way they know best. Have you considered another solution?
• Sometimes we find other people in your industry may be having problems with [insert a couple of pain points]. Is this the case with you or your company?
• How is your current solution working out, on a scale of 1-10? (10 being perfect, 1 being ‘it’s not working out’.) Ensure you are having two-way conversations by this point.
• What concerns do you have about switching/implementing a new solution?
• If you would like other ideas, solutions on how to improve – reduce costs, create time, make money, be efficient – I’m here and happy to assist. I’ve been working in this area for X years and know all the different options available to you to make your life easier.
• What are your thoughts on what needs to happen to improve/make progress/change?

1. You realise they may not be ready with the answers, have patience. Don’t answer your own questions or give multiply choice!
2. You are 100% present – you’re able to listen carefully to everything they are saying.
3. You take detailed notes.
4. The flow naturally moves to the next stage (channel two) which may progress then or further down the line – this is the exploration stage.
5. You are not quick to take a no. If they do actually need what you have but the timing is out – then the timing is out. Ensure you leave the conversation positive with something like: ‘If it’s not right for you right now, I’m happy to send over my email and a top line of how we can help. And then when you are ready to tackle that we can reconnect.’
6. Don’t take things personally. 99% of outbound prospecting is all about timing. Smile, breathe, be grateful for the opportunity to serve more people and get on the phone to the next person you might be able to help.

Stage 2: Exploration Questions

This is when you are certain they are in the market for what you have. You may have had some previous engagement and they are aware of you and know that they want a solution to a problem.

1. You’ve identified they appear to fit your ideal client profile.
2. Your intention is to a) help them and b) be seen as the trusted advisor and solution provider.
3. You are calm, reasonable and rational. Speaking clearly and going at the pace of the client.
4. Ask open ended, investigating, specific and clarify questions. These questions allow you to delve deeper with that prospect, ascertaining everything about their needs, wants, desires, beliefs etc so you can see how your solution can serve them. The questions will likely include:

• Walk me through: how you are currently doing xyz, or explain how this works…
• How: How long have you had the problem? How have you gone about fixing it? How does your team feel about …? How does X feel about the issue? …
• What: What do you think the solution is? What do you know about the different solutions available? What is your timing? What happened when you tried X? What are you looking for? What does success look like?
• When: When did it start? When did that happen? When did X do that? When this took place what was the result? When are you looking to get it solved or started?
• If: If this was to be a solution what would that mean? If you were to allow yourself to run a ‘best case’ scenario (regardless of any restrictions like money, time, effort etc) what would that be? Why would you say that? How close are you to that now? If you were to fast-forward to 18 months from now, what will you be doing differently?
• Closed questions:
  • Have: Have you tried anything before/Have you considered…?
  • Which: do you prefer X or Y, and ‘why’
  • Did: you enjoy zyx
  • Do: you prefer x or z

5. You are 100% present – you’re totally engrossed in what they are talking about. You are aware of what they are saying, doing, getting excited or concerned about. You are noting their language, their beliefs, their knowledge on the problem and its fixes, the urgency, timing, key decision makers, what they think will fix it.

6. You understand they will be doing most of the talking.

7. You take detailed notes.

8. The flow naturally moves to the next stage which is further exploration, meeting further individuals in that business and the sale.

Questions are the key. If there is one area we ask leaders to train their team on its all about seek to understand.  This means have a pool of many questions so you can keep that client discussing the situation—so you know how you can best serve them.

The post Questions To Qualify A Prospect appeared first on Head Of Sales.

What tactics for leveraging LinkedIn Sales Navigator do you need to know?

Blended prospecting techniques are nothing new but codification of these combinations in the context of the Sales Navigator platform is required.

Step 1: Take an account list of no greater than 50 accounts and add them on Sales Navigator.

Step 2: Save 5-7 prospects per account as leads in every account because you are going to monitor the content they share and where they are mentioned + interact with it.

Step 3: Build a robust Sales Navigator feed you’ll utilize in both web and mobile STREAM. It’s a custom feed.

Step 4: Here’s the kicker, sort by Lead Shares and start to comment on what they’re sharing in a thoughtful way. Remember you aren’t connected to these people so it’s wow factor for CXOs to have some total stranger commenting in a relevant way out of the clear blue! Contacts that share based on the 90, 9 and 1 internet theory of prosumption are massively valuable. Basically, only 1% write, 9% share, and the other 90% are really more voyeurs on the web (Wikipedia power law distribution). If someone is sharing, YOU MUST CALL THEM. So use a service like Lusha, Data.com, ZoomInfo, DiscoverOrg or RainKing to directly call them and comment on what they shared in Social to their LinkedIn feed as evidenced by Navigator.

Step 5: You need to set aside time to mine your common connection or “TeamLinks” per account. Your goal is to call common connections or colleagues that are connected into prospect companies. All common connections should be exploited. If you sell software to CMOs, still leverage a Teamlink to the HR department or Legal. All TeamLinks are golden. Navigator “Teamlinks,” for those just tuning in is the most powerful feature of advanced LinkedIn. In essence, it lets you see who in your own company is connected to anyone in the prospect organization.

Step 6: Set aside time to explore all your 1st and 2nd-degree referral sources into prospect bases. These are represented in the middle column on Navigator. I would click underneath the pane to expand and start to look for patterns that emerge in the common connections. Here it will reveal competitive salespeople in other vendor companies or nodes on the network. Nodes are thought leaders in your industry so omnipresent, that their mere connection to your prospects, is heat seeking to indicate they’re the right decision maker. Call up sellers in affiliated vendors that are harmonious to what you sell and co-host networking events with them to overlap your networks. The cardinal rule of referral selling on LinkedIn is NOT to do it digitally. When you identify the connection in common, call that connection point and offer to ghostwrite a message they can pass along to make the warm introduction. MAKE IT FRICTIONLESS.

B2B buyers are 5x more likely to engage when the outreach is through a mutual connection. – LinkedIn Research

Step 7: Watch the daily email digest from Navigator that hits your smartphone email inbox for job changes. When you are going after a calling list, start to call down the Navigator Newsfeed referencing the lead news mentions, job changes, lead recommendations and other triggers like funding, or innovation projects. Use the live Navigator real-time feed as the bedrock for your TRIPLES. You’ll remember the basis of COMBO selling is a call, email and vmail (video or voicemail) back to back to back, preferably under 2 minutes. Jab jab, hook!

Step 8: Don’t exceed 50 target accounts and up to 7 contacts per. This means you should only ever be monitoring 300 objects which is double the Dunbar number of 150. The neocortex can only hold 150 connections. LinkedIn Sales Navigator actually gets unwieldy and you start to miss information if you follow too many people or accounts. Even if you change your STREAM sorting to “recent” versus “most important,” it’s cumbersome. 50 Key Target Accounts per quarter max, 5-7 leads per prospect, at least 1 C-Level per account. Remember you can easily purge out accounts and leads if you track too many. Work clean, keep it organized and tight.

A hodgepodge of Tricks and Tips:

• Nobody ever calls Presidents, CEOs or Board Members. You should call VCs who back the companies if going after earlier stage ventures. Where do you get the phone number? Many times, by just linking in (try to write a customized LinkedIn request), they’re phone number will already be freely shared on profile in the Contact area.
• Exhaust all of your InMails every month no matter what, even a disinterested response gives you a credit back which yields over 30 in total. Huge secret: You can hit reply to any InMail an unlimited amount of times. So that 30 becomes 60 and 90 very fast. Quality InMail follow-up is key.
• I talk to CXOs, they get 1 InMail in every 100 emails. They get 1 phone call / VM in 500-1,000 emails. STOP, REREAD THAT! What does this tell you? It’s not even the quality of a cold call, voicemail or InMail: IT’S DOING IT AT ALL that makes the lion share difference. This 10X action alone completely stands out in the all digital social selling cacophony. Pretty much everyone I add now (and I’ve tested this) immediately spams me back selling products or services. Social selling fail! No value is being added. The vast majority of all sellers are lazily ONLY emailing and adding without a custom invite, only to immediately spam back (once.) No follow up. The golden secret of all sales Cardone will tell you is: F/UP, F/UP, F/UP!

The relevancy paradox is the idea that adding value and changing up the message every time will yield a better result than never varying. It looks needy. Over-researching can cripple an outreach campaign. Don’t overthink it with analysis paralysis, set the appointment.

But for this to work, you’ve gotta have a relevant target that’s as similar as possible to existing prospects or leverages a direct competitor’s solution. They’ve bought before, they get it. Some percentage will be dissatisfied and buy again. Be there when the buying phase begins. Educate in the education phase but move fast and identify prospects who have entered ‘buying phase.’

• Work anniversaries and birthdays are pretty spammy. Congratulating people incessantly on a new role, funding or a school in common is wildly overplayed. The best messaging is that you provide X value (quantified is best aka hard dollars) for Y similar company. It’s really that simple, cut and dried. The Cialdini concept of social proof is the most powerful. If you talk to the CMO of Pepsi about something you’re doing for Coke, you’re getting a callback. It’s fiercely competitive to innovate at the top.
• I’ve tested every type of messaging under the sun. Repetition is the key. Sending a very similar message from the top of the food chain down the ranks and then only slightly varying it, even not at all as you TRIPLE every 72 hours will get your emails circulated. Some call this the art of confusion. You are shaking the trees and low hanging fruit will fall off. Mike Scher had some wild research results looking at 1.4 million calls that I’m paraphrasing here. Check out his work at FrontLine Selling!

Jeb Blount is one of my personal heroes and his book completely changed my life and career. And that’s even after 30 years selling in the field and running entire technology companies for Australia New Zealand. He also stirred the pot tremendously with the below quote which spawned 1,300 likes and 180,000 views on a LinkedIn update I published as at this writing!

“I closed a $2.5 Million deal after leaving the exact same voice mail for a C-Level Exec every morning for 52 consecutive days. He finally called me back and said, ‘You’re not going to stop are you?’ I responded, ‘not until you meet with me.’ The meeting opened a dialogue that, six months later, resulted in my company replacing his incumbent vendor. Persistence is the fuel of winners.” – Jeb Blount

Do you agree? Litigious roaches scurried out of the woodwork and hissed. Bottom line: Drop everything and buy this book: Fanatical Prospecting.

• There’s a higher propensity for folks active in Social to be open to a TRIPLE and convert because of one. Navigator is a great way to help you prioritize your book of business based on Trigger Events – who’s alive and kicking. What’s the number 1 trigger event? Job changes. Thank you Craig Elias and Tibor Shanto (authors of Shift!). In the first 90 days, the average CXO will deploy 1M dollars in OpEx capital for new business expenditures to shake up the status quo and make their mark. There’s a new Sherrif in town!
• I’d be remiss not to mention the mid-funnel practice of MULTI-Threading. Remember there are 6.8 stakeholders in every buying committee now in a complex sale according to CEB, so if you’re single-threaded you’re “deaded!” Ok, it rhymes. But take the time mid-stream, once you’ve opened the oppt, to get connectivity with your contact’s boss, lateral VPs and Operational folks (the victims of the problem), aka the Users of the solution – is priceless to mobilize consensus. This is going to increase close rates and accelerate deals. You should be adding everyone you ever meet, shake hands with at a networking event, etc. Start to harvest as many accurate email addresses, cell phone numbers and build your LinkedIn profile to 5,000 ASAP (much higher likelihood of hitting quota!)

What strategies for advanced Sales Navigator did I miss? How do you utilize LinkedIn Sales Navigator in combinatorial ways with other prospecting channels to land meetings with impossible to reach prospects, accelerate your deals, and exceed quota? Very curious…

The post Sales Navigator Techniques To Know appeared first on Head Of Sales.

After all these events, people always said the same thing to me, that the networking was the best part of the event, it didn’t matter how much technology or free drinks we put on, business people always love to chat.

So after over ten years, 100s of events and shows across the world, here are my secret tips to being a world class networker:

Pre-event preparation:

Set goals

Set clear, achievable goals before attending. Perhaps you want to Expand Your Network, connect with 5 – 10 New People or engage in 5 Follow up Conversations. By being realistic, you will naturally build more confidence in yourself as well.

Elevator pitch – this should be a 15 second, sharp pitch that doesn’t focus on your company. Make it about how you can help the person you are speaking to, but not a direct sales pitch.  Most people will be looking to sell their services so if you’re the one who isn’t selling hard, you’re setting yourself apart from the rest straight away.

Remember – how can I set myself apart in the mind of this potential client, from the other five people they’ve already met?”

Create a checklist

There are a few things that you always must make sure you have and are ready for the network event ahead:

Stationery

Business Cards – You want to have them handy for when you make a genuine connection. 

Pen – A pen is important to have around in case you need to write down someone’s contact details or lend it to someone else when needed.

Note Pad – I used to bring one but unless you can find a durable professional looking note pad that doesn’t cost the earth and isn’t bulky, I would use notes on your phone or download the app ‘Evernote’, it’s free and very easy to use.

Technology

Charged Mobile Phone – Don’t get caught out with a dead battery. You may need this to take notes, check your diary to schedule a meeting, get an Uber home. A dead phone doesn’t scream organised unfortunately.

Nutrition

Eat Beforehand – even though the networking event says there’ll be food, walking and talking to people with a only a drink in your hand is a lot easier than the physical and mental balancing act of holding a plate of food and a drink, whilst networking.

If you’re trying to get a business card or pen out of your pocket, the last thing you want to do is drop food / drink down your top, or worse, your potential client’s, because your hands are full.

Attire

What to wear: Take a couple of minutes to find out, if you can, what the expected dress code is and dress accordingly. This way you will feel comfortable during the event and not look like the person who didn’t get the memo.

Attendance

Delegate list – try to get a list of people attending the event: If you can, ask yourself – are there people from particular companies you want to meet?

Make note of any top-priority guests that you are interested in speaking to, do a quick search before the event and see what they look like, so you know you have the right person and come across as informed when you approach them. Sales Navigator on LinkedIn is very useful for this.

Bring Someone along: For a while now, I’ve brought friends along to events who I have felt would benefit from being in attendance. By having a friend there, immediately, you can create a group with the others who have arrived early and start the introductions.

This also provides a great opportunity for them to meet new people, there’ll return the favour to you at their events.

At the event

Arrive Early: Make the effort to arrive 5 minutes early. By doing this, it shows anyone else who has done the same thing that this event is important to you. If the doors aren’t open, it provides vital time to start discussions with other attendees before anyone else can.

The other benefit, it shows you are organised and prepared. Two very important attributes for potential new clients to see in you.

See someone on their own? Walk over to them, and then bring someone else into the conversation. By doing this before the event has started, you are creating a mini network of potential introductions. Later on, when their colleagues are there, there’ll be more than happy to introduce you to them.

Walk the Room: Don’t stay in one corner and blend in. Walk the room and introduce yourself to people. At first this can seem very daunting but remember, after the first one your confidence will increase and most people will be feeling the same as you and hoping that someone makes the first introduction.

Focus: Keep 100% focused.  Whilst talking to someone, don’t scan the room looking at who else is around and don’t cut the person off mid conversation.

Keep each encounter sharp, deliberate and conversational. 

Elevator pitch: As mentioned above, this should be a sharp pitch that doesn’t focus on your company. Have you noticed how many software companies are offering clients free demonstrations of their product for the company before having to commit? There’s a reason for this –people want free resources, so by providing value for free in the form of a recommendation, advice or assistance, you are already building that relationship.

Take notes: This is when the pen will be handy – try to write notes on business cards you take, or on your phone. Again, the fully charged phone is important here, as if you don’t have a pen, and your phones dies… not the best impression.

Only by having notes will you be able to remember what each person said at the event. This might be when you have agreed to follow up with them, what you have offered or willing to offer. 

Try to learn something personal about them as well. Be that what they like to eat, if they have travelled to the event and live somewhere else, all these personal touches will be very important for future conversations. Former clients of mine who were into sport, used to provide great ice breakers for me for engaging in conversations before having to chase up a contract I was waiting on.

Can you make introductions?   If you have already met a few people, are you able to facilitate an introduction they might find interesting or helpful? Yes, but only do this if you know it will be worthwhile for all parties.

Don’t accept drink top ups: This is the dangerous part. Free drinks, staff providing free top ups… Know when to say NO. All the hard work you’ve done at the beginning can be ruined, as you become the loud, slightly tipsy person everyone wants to avoid. I’ve seen people actually on their backs being pulled around by their colleagues at a trade show in Germany before, this is still spoken about each year, some 6 years on. Impressions last….

Post Event

What you do post event can make the difference between a successful networking event and something that was a waste of time, money and could potentially have a negative impact on your reputation.

Following up is one of the most important aspects of the sales process. Otherwise, all of your hard work and preparation may go to waste.

Prepare a template that you can use for each person you met when looking to connect with them on LinkedIn but remember, keep it relaxed and personal. Be sure to thank them for taking the time to talk at the event and add anything else you might have learned about them, e.g. if they had to get a plane flight back to another state.

Here’s a link to a good article I recently read on this for you as well – First Meeting Strategies.

Finally, add all worthwhile connections to your contact lists at work to refer to at a later date.

What’s your best tips or advice for Networking Events? I’m keen to learn more from you all.

The post Networking At A Conference – How To! appeared first on Head Of Sales.

However, this isn’t the case. The word “sales” was originally derived from the Scandinavian phrase “to serve”; a good sales person does exactly that. A salesperson that is truly good at their job doesn’t need to be conniving or manipulative – they simply need to understand the features of what they’re selling, ask questions to determine how these features translate into benefits for any particular client, and make these benefits known. Hard-selling isn’t necessary; once the benefits are explained, all that is left to do is ask the client to take that next step.

Personally, I find that when the sales process runs smoothly, it’s merely a matter of going through the motions – and before you know it, they’re signing that dotted line!

What is sales scripting?

Sales scripting is basically the process of transcribing your sales call – from questions and jokes, through to stories and how you close the sale.

Sales scripting is a very useful tool, as it ensures that the sales process is the same each and every time. Once you determine what works well for your business, a sales script allows you to roll out a “recipe for success” to all of your sales staff.

A carefully planned sales script has the ability to make the world of difference to a business, and I can’t recommend it enough. It also goes a long way to helping people overcome what I identified in a recent post as the seven self-destructive sales mindsets.

How do you create a great sales script?

So how do you even go about setting up a sales script? It may sound like a mammoth task, but when you break it down into steps it’s relatively simple.

Here’s how it works:

1. Gain an understanding of how sales actually works.

Whether you’re selling a revolutionary product or an everyday service, the sales process doesn’t actually vary that much. Many businesses believe that their situation is different to others; however this perception is generally the result of an inconsistent sales process.

In actual fact, 90% of all sales interactions are the same. With this being the case, it makes it quite easy to script your sales process – you just need to understand how your average sale works!

2. A scripted sale doesn’t equate to being fake.

In fact when carefully planned, a scripted sale can have quite the opposite effect.

A lot of sales people fear that a planned sales script will leave them sounding insincere and even deceitful – however, this isn’t the case. Think about a story you frequently tell your friends and family – perhaps of a special time in your life or how something horrible once happened to you. Surely the more you tell this story the better you get at telling it, and the more engaging it becomes to the listener.

Are you being insincere and deceitful? NO, you’re just sharing the truth in a more engaging way. The same principle applies to sales; once you find the right story (i.e. one that resonates with your clients), it makes sense to continue using the same narrative.

A great story doesn’t make a salesperson any less genuine. Rather, a great story will increase your confidence and in the process improve client engagement levels –  motivating them to buy.

3. Break it down into steps.

If creating an entire sales script seems daunting, break it down into steps or “chapters.”

After the enquiry/cold phone call for an appointment, it’s possible to break the sales process down into fourteen critical stages or steps. Of these fourteen steps, the seven critical points to remember are:

• Establishing trust and building rapport
• The introduction and creation of an agenda
• Probing questions
• A presentation
• Stories that demonstrate success
• A trial close
• Closing of the sale

4. Record and review your sales.

The best way to start creating your business sales script is to record three or four sales appointments (with permission from prospective clients) and then listen to the recordings.

Some sales meetings run more smoothly than others – it should be fairly easy to determine which were the most successful. Transcribe the best meeting and use this as a basis for your sales script. You may also find that some meetings had successful components; select the parts that worked well, and add these to your sales script where applicable.

5. Create a list of pros and cons.

No matter what you’re selling, customers are going to perceive both benefit and potential problems from your product or service. These are what I like to call “elephants in the room”; they may be uncomfortable to talk about, but you can bet your bottom dollar prospective clients will want to discuss them. You may think it’s best to avoid them and hope the client doesn’t bring them up, however, I can guarantee that this isn’t in your best interest. Avoiding these elephants may not lead to the client asking about them, but it is likely to lead to the dreaded response: “let me think about it.” It is best to get them out there and in front of them.

Create a list of both the tangible and intangible benefits of what you’re selling, as well as a list of any potential elephants you may need to address. These elephants or objections may be concerns such as service issues or past product defects.

The best way to address these elephants is to create stories of why these were past issues, but are certainly not a problem anymore. Alternatively, stories of a person “just like them” that had the same concern are effective. These stories should explain how shortly after using the product or service, the person had a specific success – and what they were concerned about never eventuated.

In my post “Story Telling: The Key to Sales Success” I describe in detail how stories can help you overcome elephants in the room and build credibility. However, for now I will just say pick your best one for each elephant, have them recorded and transcribed, and then work out how to fit them into your script.

6. Set up a presentation folder.

A presentation folder makes sales progression much easier for sales people. Your folder should include:

• Client-probing questions
• Brochures
• Quotation sheets
• Testimonials from past clients (and these should back up your sales stories)
• Required paperwork to close the sale
• After-the-sale leave behinds

7. Seek professional advice – there’s always room for improvement!

There is always room to improve each component of your sales script. YouTube is a useful resource and a great place to commence research.

When I was just starting out, YouTube took me from a shy introverted kid that took 93 doors to make my first sale, to the top performing sales person in the nation in just a matter of weeks. Start like I did, by focusing on one component of your sales script at a time. For each new chapter of the script, take a look at what the “sales experts” recommend to gain the knowledge and then go out to test and increase your skill.

Once you have researched and improved each component of your sales script, it may be worth consulting a master sales coach – they’ll be able to offer further insight and improvements.

Sales success is only a script away!

A carefully crafted sales script allows you to take control of the sales process – and this means far less is left to chance.

While it may take a couple of months to perfect, a great sales script has the ability to transform your sales process from unpredictable and disjointed to smooth and successful.

Getting prospective clients to sign that dotted line isn’t about being manipulative or pushy; it’s about telling a great story and letting your clients come to their own conclusions. Great sales people (with great sales scripts) find that getting a “yes” comes naturally – and they also find the journey enjoyable!

Before you go to work, leave me a comment below and let me know what kind of concerns (if any) you have about sales scripting and I will direct you to the right advice. As a bonus, let me know what you’re going to do now that you’ve read this post.

Finally, if you think your friends/network would find this useful, please share it with them – I’d really appreciate it.

Publishers note – Originally published at https://matthewpollard.com on August 11, 2015.

The post Sales Scripting: Get A ‘Yes’ In 7 Easy Steps appeared first on Head Of Sales.

I commonly see survey results indicating that more than 3 out of 4 customers of the salespeople I’m working with, have indicated that they would be happy to recommend.

And yet, when I do an analysis of the number of meetings with referred prospective customers, I generally find that the majority of salespeople have had NO referral meetings in the previous 60 – 90 days. When I analyse how many deliberate referral conversations salespeople have had with happy customers, I generally find a similar result.

The point I’m making here is that despite customers indicating they’re happy to help, the majority of salespeople are not turning that willingness into actual referrals. And customers aren’t the only people in our lives that would help us, if we were better at asking for help and staying top of mind.

This article is all about leveraging the credibility, networks and goodwill of others as part of your sales growth strategy. “Who can help me?” is a question not enough salespeople ask.

Let me share a few exercises and questions worth considering in relation to this very important part of your sales growth strategy.

1. Identify influential people

The first question is something I picked up at a Verne Harnish conference and it had a significant impact on my thinking and focus in this area. It’s a simple question but it normally takes 3 to 4 sessions to really answer it effectively. The question is “Who are the 20 people that will have the BIGGEST influence on your success or failure in the coming year?”

As you write out your list two things will become apparent. The first is that there are people that can help you and have a major impact on your success. The second and more confronting realisation is that there’s a very high probability that you’re not paying the top 5 enough attention.

2. Develop third-party referral relationships

The next consideration relates to developing third party referral relationships. In nearly every industry there are natural partners dealing with the types of customers you want to be doing business with and a single partnership can often deliver all the new business leads you need to achieve your sales growth targets.

My strong advice when considering this area is that less is more. Most salespeople have a lot more success if they focus more energy on less potential referral partnerships. The starting point is identifying 2 – 3 partners that you think you could deliver value to as part of the relationship.

3. Maximise customer referrals

And then there’s referrals from your existing customers and prospective customers. The first question to ask in this area is WHEN are the best times for engaging in a referral conversation. If you fail to identify the moments, you’ll miss all the opportunities there are for engaging people in a conversation about the potential to refer you. Here’s a big tip. The research indicates sooner is a better time to ask for a referral than later.

Once you’ve figured out WHEN you need to determine HOW you’ll engage customers in the referral conversation. Once again, a big tip here. If you’re not asking or you’re not turning asking into referrals, you need to review HOW you’re asking. You’re either not confident in asking or you’re asking the wrong way.

As a simple example of the impact this type of questioning can have, an Adviser I worked with in Canada was able to attribute $225 000 of additional annual revenue from just a single year of using a single strategy at the right time in the customer relationship.

There is major power in asking “Who can help me?” and taking it to the next level with the more detailed questions and exercises I’ve shared here.

The post How to Find Sales Opportunities Within Your Network appeared first on Head Of Sales.