So how can you ensure it’s a success? By studying and replicating what top sellers are doing. To start, top sellers spend lots of time preparing for this critical first meeting. They research their prospects in depth. Then, they scrutinise the research looking for ways that they can add value with their products or services.

Here are three critical reasons why most sellers don’t ever make it past the first meeting:
1. They don’t invest enough time preparing for the meeting.
2. They don’t understand the components of an effective initial sales meeting.
3. They focus on their own offering—not the prospective customer’s business needs.

For these reasons, prospective buyers will respond in the following ways:

“Thanks for your time; if we ever need one we’ll give you a call.”
“We’ll think about it and get back to you.”
“It’s not exactly what we were looking for.”

What steps are necessary to pass the first test with an important account and get invited back for a second meeting?

STEP 1 – CONDUCT PRE-MEETING RESEARCH

Prior to meeting with a prospect, it’s critical to invest time understanding their business. Start your information gathering and planning early enough to give you time to create an effective meeting plan.

Start by checking out their website. Look at the “about” section; that’s where companies list important announcements and post financial results. Read the company’s annual report to identify where they’re headed and what their future priorities are. Do an online search for recent articles about them in the press.

Then, go to LinkedIn to find out about the people you’re meeting with. What are they responsible for? Do you have any connections, interests or groups in common? Look for other people you can meet with too; you never want one person to be your sole lifeline for a sales opportunity.

If the person you’re meeting with contacted your company, check out what they’ve done on your website. Did they download any special reports, watch any videos, etc.? Use this context to plan your approach.

Here are seven things to look for while you’re doing research. They’ll help you understand your prospect’s business better.

Primary business: What industry are they in and how do they help their customers?

Business unit/division: How is the company divided? What is the role of each division? Where’s the best fit?

Market segment: Who is their target audience? What characteristics make up their ideal customer profile?

Financial position: Are they growing or shrinking? Borrowing money or cash rich?

Their customers: Who are some of their customers and what are their success stories?

Key strategic initiatives: What specific objectives are they trying to achieve?

Industry trends: What is the growth pattern in the industry? How are the buying patterns changing?

STEP 2 – DETERMINE YOUR POSITIONING

After completing your research, identify where you might have a positive impact on your targeted company. While it’s tempting to say that there’s no way to know until you have a conversation, that’s not the way it works anymore.

Today’s busy, savvy and well-educated buyers expect you to have some idea of the difference you can make prior to meeting with them. And, while you can’t know the specifics of how you can help them, by doing the research you’ll have some good ideas.

The key is to leverage what you know from working with similar companies to set the stage for your conversation and your questions. You need to bring fresh ideas, insights and information to the meeting. When you do, your prospects will be more than willing to do a needs assessment with you. But they need to know you’ve invested time learning about them before they open up to you.

Based on your research of your prospect’s organisation as well as similar companies, think about these questions:

• How are they handling things today without your product or service? What is their status quo?
• What kinds of problems or challenges might they be facing because of how they’re currently doing things?
• Because of their current status quo, what gaps might exist between where they are today versus where they want to be?
• Looking at the problems, challenges or gaps that may be present, what are the potential business implications? (This is important!)
• If this company used your products or services, what business value would they realize? (At this point, it’s a guess. But, if you’ve done your homework you should have some ideas.)
• What difference could your product or service make? (Net it out to the best of your ability, making sure you’re focused on key business drivers that your prospect is measured on.)

STEP 3 – PLAN YOUR QUESTIONS

Good questions are one of the best ways to demonstrate that you’re committed to helping your prospect achieve their goals. They show you care about them, which is important because most people think sellers only care about their commissions.

You’ll want to ask questions that:

• Uncover info about your prospect’s objectives as well as the status quo relevant to your product/services.
• Identify (or confirm) issues, problems, difficulties and obstacles they’re facing that would prevent them from achieving their goals.
• Determine the business ramifications of these challenges.
• Explore the business case for making a change

STEP 4 – DEFINE THE MEETING OUTCOME

As a result of this meeting, what is the logical next step? Research into sales success shows that if you’ve defined an appropriate desired outcome prior to the sales meeting, you’re much more likely to achieve it.

While you might want to walk away with a signed contract, the likelihood of this happening from just one meeting is slim to none. So don’t set yourself up for failure; plan on having multiple conversations from the beginning.

Think process. Today’s buyers don’t make snap purchase decisions. First they need to determine if it’s even worth the effort to change from what they’re currently doing. They’ll likely involve multiple people in this discussion. And, unless it makes good business sense, they’ll stay with the status quo.

Once people decide to change, they need to look at multiple options to ensure they make the right decision.

Use your typical buyer’s journey as a guideline for determining the appropriate and best outcome for your meeting. Here are some “next steps” that you could suggest:

• Meeting with another person involved in the buying process.
• Analysis of a specific situation or problem.
• Demonstration of your product or service.
• Proposal with your recommendations.

STEP 5 – PLAN THE MEETING AGENDA

Good meetings focus on your buyers and what’s most important to them—not your product, service or solution.

The following meeting agenda works well for both in-person or phone conversations. Thinking about what you’ll do ahead of time matters. It gets you clear on where you’re headed. It ensures that you stay on plan and on message, which is exactly what it takes to advance to the next step.

Strangely enough, it also enables you to be more flexible during the meeting. You can be curious about new information you learn, without losing track of where you’re ultimately headed.

Use this sample agenda as a guideline, not an absolute. The timeframes below assume a one-hour meeting.

(1) OPEN THE CONVERSATION (5-10 MINUTES)

Buyers don’t have a lot of time for meaningless chitchat and relationship building these days. Be cordial and friendly, but business-focused at all times.

Make the introductions

Take a few minutes to learn about the responsibilities of the people in the meeting. If others are present, make sure to introduce yourself and learn their names. Find out why they’re attending and what interests they have relative to the business issue.

Confirm times and agenda

Before you get started, double check to see if times have changed since you set up the meeting. If your prospect has to run into an urgent meeting in 30 minutes, you need to adjust your game plan or reschedule for a future time. Reconfirm the purpose of the meeting also to ensure there are no misunderstandings. You might say, “As I explained earlier, we work with high tech firms to increase brand awareness and drive sales. In our time together today, I’d like to give you a little background on how we address these issues, find out what your company is doing in these areas and see if we have grounds for further discussions. How does that sound?” Notice the professionalism and leadership in this overview. It shows that you have a clear plan for the meeting. Buyers feel better immediately; they know their precious time won’t be wasted.

(2) LEAD THE DISCUSSION (40-45 MINUTES)

You want to create a dialogue—not make a pitch. Lay the groundwork by sharing information of high interest to your prospects. Then invite them into a discussion by asking questions that make them think.

Set the stage (5 minutes)

Your prospects will need more grounding about what your company does than the brief one-sentence description given above. When you arranged the meeting, something you said was enticing to this person.

Now is the opportune time to give a brief overview of the business results a specific client achieved with your product, service or solution. Explain the challenge your customer faced, how you helped them, and the results they achieved. Also share your position statement—your insightful ideas on how you can make a positive impact on their business.

Transition to questions (less than 1 minute)

As quickly as you can, shift the focus to your prospect—where it belongs. To do this, simply say, “That should give you a good overview about how we help our customers solve their problems (or achieve their objectives). The most important thing is to find out if this makes sense for your company. In preparing for today’s meeting, I noticed that (insert data re: company’s direction, trigger event, other info uncovered in research). I was wondering how …” Unless you plan your transition, it’s sometimes hard to stop talking—especially if your prospect is goading you on with questions about your product or service. Please realize that this most likely means they’re trying to rule you out. That’s why you need to lead the conversation and why effective transitions are so crucial.

Focus on business issues (35-40 minutes)

Prior to the meeting develop a minimum of ten insightful, powerful questions you can use to lead a business-focused discussion. Decision makers are always interested in talking about their business.

They wouldn’t be taking time to meet with you unless they truly wanted help solving their problems or achieving their goals.

Have the questions handy so you can refer to them. Your prospect will be impressed by how well you’ve prepared for the meeting. But don’t give them the list of questions or they’ll just rattle off the answers.

Ask your questions in a conversational manner—not like a schoolteacher giving an oral test. Questions build relationships, establish rapport, demonstrate your competence and show that you care.

Remember, this is a discussion—not a sales pitch. Listen to their answers. Be interested. Learn as much as you can. Take copious notes of everything that’s said —not just the parts you find interesting.

Always LEAN BACK. The moment you move forward, you’re pitching. The discussion is over and the push is on. Your prospect immediately puts up defensive barriers and raises objections. Getting the sale is going to be infinitely harder unless you immediately recover and get back into the discovery mode.

(3) ADVANCE THE PROCESS (5 – 10 MINUTES)

When you focus on questions, your one-hour meeting flies by. Even if your prospect seems oblivious to the time, it’s important not to overstay your welcome. Draw attention to the clock. See if you’re invited to stay longer. If not, it’s time to wrap up and advance to the logical next step.

Summarise your understanding

Since it usually takes multiple sales meetings to close a deal, don’t try to share everything you know, ask every question you want answered or hand out every piece of collateral in your briefcase at the initial meeting.

Instead, show your professional expertise by summarizing what you learned about their critical business issues and the value of resolving them.

Do not, under any circumstances, get into a discussion about your product or service. This will be the hardest thing in the whole world for you to do, but it’s essential. Remember, buyers don’t really care about your offering—only what it can do for them. They also realize that in a short one-hour meeting, you can’t possibly offer them a well thought out solution. They don’t expect one.

Suggest the logical next step

Then, without making a big deal of it, simply recommend a good option to move the process forward. This is the logical next step you were working toward from the onset.

You might say, “Usually when I work with companies on product introductions, the next step is to have a conversation with the product manager to get a better understanding of the launch plans already in place and where gaps might exist. Can we get a meeting set up with this person in the next couple weeks?”

If you’ve had a good discussion, it’s highly likely that your prospect will have already suggested a next step. If so, great! Get it on the calendar.

If your prospect missed an important step, offer it up as another idea: “Ms. Biggie, I’ll get going on your recommendation right away. Also, based on my experience, we need to talk with the IT department as well. Can we get that set up, too?”

Ending meetings like this advances the sales process to its next logical step. It’s honest and full of integrity. It’s just simply suggesting the next logical thing that you both need to do to determine if your offering is a good fit for their business.

The post 5 Steps To Master Sales Meetings appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Some salespeople when they feel they are not going to get the sale can get into the habit of offering discounts.

The client was sold. You gave a price. They asked for a discount. You gave it. No reason given.

Why? Why would we discount our solution?

It comes down to the value you hold – not your client – on your solution. And whether you think it should be cheaper.

The first time price and discounts come up is before you have even spoken with a client. That’s right, you have made the decision to discount or not discount based on your value of your offering.

You have made this decision in your office. It may have been impacted by:

• A colleague saying ‘This is a bit pricy, people often want it discounted’.(The price is too high, we need to bring it down to what it should be) .
• Your boss saying ‘Offer a discount, just get in the business’. (Discount is a word that’s important. Value of our offer isn’t).
• A client saying ‘I can buy it cheaper elsewhere.’ (You believe that, and don’t question whether the solution is apples for apples).
• Marketing/Brand saying ‘This is expensive but …’ (‘Expensive’ is never a word you want used in your business)
• Colleagues always discounting to get in the business. (This normalises discounts).

The reality is the subtle message you picked up is  ‘the value of what we have isn’t as high as the price we are charging’, or, simply ‘we are charging too much’.

And … you believe it.

You are not sold on that price. And next thing you know, you too are thinking the price is too high, you too have taken your eye from value and onto price.

You are driving the price down. If you sold it at full rate, you might occasionally feel guilty as you know you would have given a discount.

What can you do to counter this as a sales person and as a leader?

 Solution/product training on the value of your offer—what the client is getting, and what the value is to the client.

 Internal language—always about value, rather than about discounts.

 Success stories—share case studies about what the client gains through this solution.

 Reward success based on keeping the price at a premium not on getting the business in.

When you are sold on the value, you won’t be discounting. Instead you will be investigating the clients’ issues and educating them on the value of your solution.

As the trusted provider, when you have such certainty than they are sold on it too. They will trust you and believe your offer is worth the price.

The post Discounting Erodes Trust 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.

It’s closer to 15% that actually achieve quota. So they enjoy saying they “crush it.” It’s the exception, not the rule.

2. Managers can sell. Sellers can manage. 

Actually, the skill sets are typically mutually exclusive. Eagle reps seldom ever become effective leaders of men and women.

3. The phone is dead. 

It’s actually more critical than ever to social selling to combine the phone at every stage of the funnel. Call reluctance is a pandemic. LinkedIn provided an easy button, unintentionally.

4. Personalising your digital outreach works better. 

Ironically, the more you show a prospect you are studying them personally vs. their business, the more you violate the principle of “non-hunger.” It’s like dating, hitting on attractive people doesn’t advance you – it repels.

5. Technology is where the money is. 

It’s actually one of the most speculative industries per VC, Marc Andreessen. There are many more profitable sectors than the entire tech industry. Will it’s day come in our lifetimes? It remains to be seen.

6. When companies raise a ton of money, they’re doing well. 

Actually, it’s usually because they’re burning through cash at an alarming rate ($2M+ per month) and are simply trying to keep the lights on – often diluting themselves. It’s also a big sign they haven’t figured-out product / market fit and are treading water to find a hockey stick in the dark.

7. A company hires sellers because it’s doing well and expanding. 

It’s typically actually because revenue is down, sales staff churn is up, the culture is “Lord of the Flies”, bad management has eroded moral, the CEO has stepped in to destroy the sales strategy through micro-management, or the worst offender: they need a miracle from field sellers – aka guys or gals in suits – to save the company from mortal peril.

8. If you call 100 people, you’ll connect with many. 

Truthfully, it’s about 2 or 3 in 100. This is why you have to do combinations in short bursts of SHORT! voicemails, SMS, emails and social touches to stand out. You dramatically lift the odds of success when you get their mobile phone number… Lusha is a brilliant tool for anyone in sales and there are plugins for LinkedIn and Google.

9. Just get referrals. 

Yes, a referral – aka warm introduction – is the highest probability path to revenue. Newsflash, modern sales organizations are doing Account Based Marketing (ABM) approaches. The majority hunt in NAMED territories so if you don’t breakthrough, you’re dead… cut from the roster.

10. Account Executives shouldn’t do SDR hunting and SDRs shouldn’t do closing. 

Building the ultimate sales machine worked for a brief time in the early 2000’s before every tech company started to do this and it drove CXOs crazy with the lack of continuity from meeting setter to closing salesperson. They won’t bother with being put through the sausage grinder. Do your due diligence on the list, value proposition and Ideal Prospect Profile, and fire away yourself. At the end of the day… and from the beginning of the call… you gotta be able to carry the right conversation. The senior sales person is best equipped to carry the value narrative to the decision-maker and this has gotta happen right from the get-go!

11. Sales automation is a thing. 

It’s primitive folks, it’s not Watson beating Kasparov. If you’re automating your email drip campaigns, you’re going to hit the SPAM folder or asked to be removed. You can’t predict who will buy with algorithms, there is certainly no current technology on Earth that will replace good old fashioned blood, sweat and tiers since 1952… well maybe.

12. Only add who you know on LinkedIn. 

I’ve been getting into furious debates over this one. Read Reid Hoffman’s first book. The power of your LinkedIn network is like a Richter scale. It’s geometrically more powerful at 5,000 than 2,500 connections, not twice as powerful. It’s extremely powerful to cultivate the “Strength of Weak Ties.” Don’t get siloed with who you know, network trade shows, online groups and always be connected around shared interests. Trust me – go do the research.

13. Texting and Facebook render sellers a social pariah. 

Simply not true, you should be exploiting cell phones – texting them directly and connecting with prospects on Facebook and chatting to them whenever possible. Try it!

14. Extroverts win in sales. 

Just because you’re a ‘people person’ doesn’t mean you’ll be great in sales. The bottom of the leader board is filled with ‘professional visitors’ and fluffy narcissists never make it in the board room. Knowledge is power and this is why skeptical, Challenger sales engineers that go into quota carrying new business actually can “crush it.” As the complexity increases, engineers of value are far more effective than warriors of persuasion.

15. LinkedIn is about a personal brand. 

Around 2012. Any serious seller should be on LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Period. End of story. You should be tracking your best prospects and interacting with their content through blended approaches.

16. The greatest trigger event is a funding round. 

Not true, Craig Elis and Tibor Shanto proved the strongest trigger is the job change. In essence, it unlocks about $1M in spending by the average F1000 CIO in the first 90 days – shaking-up the status quo is the mission. You’ve got 4 leads every time one position changes. Look for internal promotions and lateral moves too. Again, LinkedIn is your source of leads!

17. It takes as much effort to close a 6 figure deal as a 7. 

It actually takes more with tire kicker tiny deals trying to POC and do pilots. These folks are incorrigible, you’ll never win. Cut bait and only focus on household names and dream clients you’ll be proud to win.

18. Buyers are 57% through the buying process. 

That’s just lazy-think. Interruption is magical. You’ve got to create desire and uncover latent brain. It’s a great stat for selling a book but Mike Weinberg fully debunked this one.

19. Sellers are making over a million dollars a year. 

Yes under 1% globally do. You could probably find a unicorn if you chased enough rainbows and lost your mind.

20. If you’re missing your quota, it’s 100% your fault. 

Truthfully, many companies have broken cultures, bad management, and products that would never sell in any market. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Do what Lee Bartlett does and vet the companies you work for very hard. Talk to their current and former reps, even interview their current and former clients. Are they a necessity or a “nice to have.”

21. You can multitask. 

You can’t, get off LinkedIn right now and go lock yourself in a room to make 30 calls, vmails, text and emails. Neuroscience 1, You 0. Yes, you! Why are you still reading this…

The post 21 Sales Myths Busted appeared first on Head Of Sales.

While I had always been a reader, during my recovery, I started reading a book a day. I told my neurologist that I was sure my brain was making new neural pathways and that it was on fire. He listened patiently and then told me there was no evidence that my theory was accurate and that it was more likely I was compensating for losing a significant part of my brain. We didn’t yet fully understand neuroplasticity, and it turns out both of us may have been correct.

At some point, I started picking up books on sales and business. The first book I stumbled upon was SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham. If you heard my story behind my book, The Lost Art of Closing, it was the three pages where Rackham described “the advance” as a key to success in sales. Once I understood I needed a commitment for another meeting, selling got quite a bit easier. I wrote a list of questions for each part of the SPIN model and started to work towards Implications (clumsily, I might add) and needed payoffs.

The book was so helpful that I picked up Major Account Sales Strategy, Rackham’s second book—and in some ways, his better book. I had been winning large accounts in California, but I didn’t have a very strategic view or a process. Mostly I just called on people who spent a lot of money in my category. Major Account Sales Strategy provided me with frameworks for thinking about big deals. I eventually read everything Rackham wrote and multiple times.

One book I picked up appeared to be new, but it was quite old at the time I picked it up. The book was Consultative Selling by Mack Hanan. Parts of the book were difficult for me, but what I learned that was useful was Hanan’s idea that you shift the conversation away from price to the increased profit the client will make by adopting your solution. The application of this idea made it easier for me to start sharing the soft costs my clients were not calculating in their overall costs.

The Miller Heiman books were both beneficial, The New Strategic Selling and The New Conceptual Sale. The first had me looking at stakeholders differently, even though the evolution of my thought here shows up very differently in Eat Their Lunch, which you might expect since 34 years have passed since they first published Strategic Selling. I don’t remember New Conceptual as well, but I remember it caused me to take sales calls seriously enough to plan them.

I read all of Stephen Covey’s work before my brain surgery, and even those books were not on sales, they caused me to recognize I had to improve who I was before I could improve my sales results. They also led me to read a lot more books on business improvement.

Some books that were not sales-related on their face were valuable to me. One of those books was Tom Peter’s Circle of Innovation, a book that made me think deeply about differentiation and allowed me to put technological solutions long before my larger competitors could do so, grabbing a competitive advantage in big deals. Another was Michael Hammer’s The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade. From this work, I took the idea that my business existed to take care of its customers. I started to present how what I did for my clients helped them serve their customers. Pondering that idea for a while is an excellent way to get better at selling.

One of the more useful and transformative books I read was Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play by Mahan Khalsa. The ideas and the dialogue in this book massively improved my ability to have conversations about the changes the customer would have to make to produce the results they needed.

There were hundreds of other books on sales and business I read, all of which had some value, even if I didn’t recognize it right away. These few were core to my development and the ones I remember as changing my sales results.

The post The Books That Taught Me How to Sell appeared first on Head Of Sales.

The blueprint for sales success in an enterprise company is unlikely to work for small business. Likewise, sales strategies for highly regulated industries such as healthcare and financial service are unlikely to work for retail.

Opinions (and input) from external parties who have industry experience, matter. Your direct competitors might be well positioned to locate the missing pieces to the puzzle but the chances in having a competitor share sensitive information, is highly unlikely and more importantly anti-competitive.

‘Trial and error’ is an option adopted by many, although the opportunity cost of fixing an error or pivoting in a reactive manner, is high once you’ve committed time and resources to achieve plan A. Sometimes, there is no turning back or a suitable plan B.

When formulating or choosing a strategy, using quantitative data will help to realign emotion and intuition reducing the need of navigating blindly and relying on guesswork. If your ‘gut feel’ is right at least 51% of the time (technically a majority win), the expected value from a coin toss will only deliver hope rather than certainty.

The global State of Sales 2020 report, conducted between 13 May to 30 June 2020, surveyed 5,951 full-time sales professionals across Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East and – all respondents were third-party panelists (not limited to Salesforce customers).

The top four sales tactics for success over the next 12 months were:

1. Increased flexibility with customers

2. Improved data quality and accessibility

3. Simplified sales processes

4. Personalised outreach

Why is each strategy important and how sales leaders can do it better?

4. Personalising Outreach

Authored by Jo Schonheim, Head of Sales and Marketing of True Sydney.

By (my) definition, personalising outreach refers to the tailoring of targeted outbound marketing. It can be personalised either to the individual recipient or organisation, and in a myriad of ways. Either addressing something about the recipient (their name, their role, a personal attribute), the company or industry they’re in. Mission critical, it includes something specifically of value to them: an industry insight, a personalised offer or CTA (Call to Action).

The intention is to demonstrate empathy; so the recipient feels seen and understood. Two of the most important things us mere mortals crave. This is powerful in forging foundations of rapport and connection. 

It’s important as the more personalised it is, the more likely it is to resonate. The more powerfully it resonates, the more likely it is to have impact and elicit an emotional response in a prospect. Afterall, emotion drives behaviour. And behaviour drives action.

It’s also rare, meaning it stands out and cuts through the noise.

Can you remember receiving a personalised piece of Marketing?
What was your reaction?
What was your opinion of the organisation after reading it?
Did you sit up and pay more attention?

I’m guessing worst case, you lingered over it longer then you normally would, before fast filing it? And best case, it sparked enough curiosity causing you to act on the CTA, and click through?  Am I right?

All great outbound marketing shouldn’t be to try and SELL. And by great, I mean effective. It should be to pique enough CURIOSITY to move prospects to the NEXT STEP (through the CTA).

How Can Sales Leaders Can Do It Better? 

1. Less is more. Like time with family, it’s Quality over Quantity.
Gone are the days of “it’s a numbers game”. Volume is for spam.
And there’s no ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card if you get slapped with a Spam filter.
Niche your focus when building your Leads List so you can afford the time to personalise your marketing.

2. Precision is everything; without a target, you’re bound to hit it.
Get laser focused on not just WHO you want to target, but WHAT you want to achieve. What’s the Objective? Get clear on what success looks like for your outbound reach. 
Define the Outcome and reverse engineer achieving it.

3. One hour’s thinking, 5 minutes work – not 5 mins thinking, an hour’s work
Don’t be that douche that failed to plan. Think it through and craft your message (and yes, typos and poor grammar erode trust and credibility faster than one dares to imagine).
Slack input equals sloppy output, which will just see you work harder, to achieve less. 

4. Empathy: take time to know what you don’t know.
Research, prepare and share valuable insights. Insights could be talking to their pain points, developments in their industry or movement in their market. Your objective is to deliver value straight out of the gates; capturing their attention in the first few seconds. No more powerful way to do so, than to personalise with empathy, so it feels like you’re talking to them, about them in a personal human-to-human way. Remember, resonance drives action.

5. Being dry as toast is not going to land the lead.
You are not a robot. So bin the corporate speak. Remember, you are a human speaking to another human. Use a human voice, in a professional tone. Don’t be afraid to be a little cheeky; capturing attention is different to seeking attention.

The Golden Rule: Resonance is Everything.

3. Simplifying the Sales Process

Authored by Bill Beedie, Head of Sales ANZ at Houston We Have

Establishing a Sales Process in a sales organisation used to be fairly straight forward. The Sales Process was a set of repeatable steps that a sales person and business would undertake to move a prospective buyer from Suspect through to Client. Whilst allowing for industry/company variations the main stages would involve: Prospecting, Preparation and Approach, Demonstrations/Presentations, Negotiations, Close and Implementation.

It was ALL about The Seller’s Sales Process!. How we reached out, educated, persuaded and eventually won over the client.

TODAY EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED – from Buyer Push to Customer Pull.

Sophisticated buyers of today do their own research online through a variety of digital and social platforms and by the time they reach your business they will likely know what they want, what you offer, and what price they want to move forward.

The “Buyers Journey” is now the start of the sales process and the implications of this are profound for sales operations not yet on board with this new paradigm.

Is the Modern Sales process now more or less complex? New processes may first appear daunting, complex and fragmented, however once the rules, processes and technology of the new game are embedded, it will prove to be simpler. We will get more done, using less resource, to reach target markets more effectively and do business faster.

How Can Sales Leaders Can Do It Better? 

1. Marketing and Sales need to work seamlessly to deliver high value experiences for new and current clients
2. Don’t focus on your product or service (no one cares), it’s what your solution or service does to assist clients with their problems, so do you really know your customer and your value proposition
3. If clients are researching online, can they find you, will they see value in how you profile your services, goods, and culture, will they be comfortable you can assist them in their business
4. When clients reach out for information is your business adding value to their investigation, i.e. quality digital assets, value add white papers, testimonials, etc
5. Are your sales team members skilled using online tools for investigation and know how to professionally contact and follow up
6. Are your sales people adding value to the clients “Journey”, clients are looking for things they don’t know: insights on business, their market, trends in the industry, examples of how you’ll make it work for them
7. Traditional soft sales skills in business, negotiating skills, relationship building, are still critical but now need to be applied in the new paradigm, is your sales team digitally enabled?

It’s an extraordinary time in B2B sales and business leaders and sales leaders alike need to stay on top of current trends and invest in technology and their people to stay abreast of the challenges and take full advantage of the benefits, the digital and social media age offer. 

2. Improved data quality and accessibility – Data breadth vs Data Depth

Authored by, David Christiansen,  Director, Sales and Marketing at ACP Solutions

As sales people, we are always after a sale made easier by a higher close probability and a shortened sales cycle. Sounds easy enough. Target the right person or people within your ideal customer profile and bang – they are ready to buy and they’ll pay what you propose. Wish it was that simple right? How do I get my hands on a list that has the right coverage with the right data elements which can then be fed to my SDR’s or even better, my CRM to support my pipeline requirements to cover 4X quota?

These questions have been the challenge for data sellers for years and where they choose to invest their resources in data build with breadth or depth continues to provide headaches for all sides. Do I buy the data set that has the coverage I am after or do I buy the smaller data set that has the data elements or data depth that I value?

For years this was a challenge I had in my role as a Director responsible for marketing data at a firm recognised as having the best data quality and data coverage in Australia. Building and maintaining data hygiene with the right elements, containing the right insights with high quality analytics appended is so expensive especially when these records may not be ordered by the clients I rely on to help me build them. How to price is them is a whole other discussion altogether.

We know that certain data elements in a business record do not change as often as other data elements. Addresses, company names, Chief Executive name and even their email address is pretty much publicly available. Additionally, these people are marketed to constantly and have filters protecting them against salespeople like us to stop them being bombarded.

Each person on earth will generate an average of about 1.7 MB of data per second. Daily smartphone and computer usage means that the volume of data is expanding rapidly. The average user shares dozens of media links daily, and all of that has to be stored somewhere. There is too much data to manage if you don’t have a plan to consume it.

How Can Sales Leaders Can Do It Better? 

1. Choose data depth and recency over data breadth.
2. Analytics, insights, and automation augment your ability, they don’t replace you.
3. Recognise the value of YOUR time and talent. Be smart with how you use data.
4. We all have a part to play building data and making it actionable.

1. Flexibility with customers – how flexible are your team?

Authored by, Charmaine Keegan, Sales and Mindset Training Specialist of Smarter Selling

Flexibility with customers is going to be the top skill required during 2021. This is going to the pivotal difference between winning a piece of business – or not.

Flexibility with customers, what does that even mean? It means you are engaging with your customers in a way that suits them, and not dictated by what suits you.

Many salespeople have ‘their way’ (their default if you will) of how they interact and engage with clients.  COVID saw many face-to-face reps unravel when they couldn’t conduct business in their ‘normal’ way. 

Their challenges were suddenly building up – the customer won’t return my call, I can’t see their reactions, they can’t see me, they don’t want to jump onto zoom etc.

Quite simply they have never had to exercise the prescribed skills. They are not used to being flexible.

Yet others embraced the opportunity to increase and enhance their skills, recognising that adopting different approaches was going to better their position.

This realisation that customers need us to work with them in different ways, and our need to be flexible, starts with that very first interaction when you are trying to convert them into a customer.

Learning how to handle clients preferring, for example, to only communicate through live chat or email, we as salespeople need to be able to foremost accept (not begrudge) these different communication methods to then be highly skilled in handling multiple ways of engaging, so that we are able to form a relationship, get the intel required, position ourselves as the trusted advisor and then put forward a compelling reason for that client to buy into us and ultimately get positive results.

What can a leader do to help their team be more flexible?

As a leader you can drive this by essentially being flexible yourself. Not complaining when a client asks to email rather than speak on the phone.  Adjusting positively to the ‘new normal’ (you over that term yet?).  Getting your team highly skilled on live chat, how to handle enquires exclusively through email. How to be polished on video conferencing. How to be resilient and adaptable and of course, arming them on how to professionally give the client a reason as to why jumping on a VC or seeing you face-to-face will be of benefit to them – but never assuming that that is the only way to communicate.

Flexibility in sales means acquiring a sophisticated, intelligent approach where you adjust your method to suit the client, and at all times, regardless of how you are engaging with them, you position yourself as the trusted advisor and solution provider.  It’s about being open to adjusting your approach, style and manner befitting to your client.

We call it ‘the dance’ i.e. You shouldn’t be forcing the client into dancing your way but adjust your footwork to match theirs. After all, our jobs as salespeople is to make the interaction seamless and easy – make it easy for the client to buy of you.

Keep up that fancy footwork.

Publisher’s note – I thank Jo Schonheim, Bill Beedie, David Christiansen and Charmaine Keegan for sharing their views and I encourage you to connect with them on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer – you can download the State of Sales report as it details drivers for business growth and resilience based on statistical feedback from thousands of sales professionals who will encounter many of the same challenges as your organisation.

This article is not a sponsored post and has been written independently of commercial influence. Head Of Sales is funded by advertising from many organisations including Salesforce.

The post 4 Sales Strategies That Expedite Growth And Recovery appeared first on Head Of Sales.

We have a heightened sense of awareness when interacting, meaning our ability to stay close and keep pace with the client is easier, as is guiding them along and ensuring we uncover all their needs.

We can see if they are excited, confused, worried, if they are nodding in agreement or pondering a thought. We can read if they are processing. Silences are comfortable on video conferencing. In ‘real life’ being next to a client, there is a natural ebb and flow in the conversation. There are natural pauses. On the telephone we may be less confident in reading any of this and the lack of visual cues can make some people uncomfortable, panicky and usually inclined to speak too much.

Swapping the phone for the screen will be the best decision you’ll ever make.

1. Get intimate

Intimate with a platform that is. Whether its Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom, Cisco, Google Meet, or another – you need to know it really well. You need to be confident in knowing how to set up an appointment, how to share the screen, how to get it on gallery view and ‘manage’ the meeting.

2. Practice

Simply essential and yet so few people do it. You absolutely have to practice navigating yourself around the platform. Showcasing your solution. Look at the display, how are they viewing you in your setting? Are you clearly visible, well lit, do you need a background? Sharing a screen, is your desktop tidy? Is it easy to flip from you chatting to showing them something and back again? Is the sound OK? What distractions are there at your end and how can you manage them? Practice at least 3 times so that you can be confident.

3. Amend your intention

Up to now your intention may have been to get your client onto a phone call, and now it’s to shift them onto video conferencing. There’s a reason I say do steps #1 and #2 first: it’s so that you are confident to transfer your client from phone to video conferencing. If you skip the groundwork in #1 and #2 you will be less successful in persuading your client to jump on Video Conferencing as you yourself would be uncertain of your abilities. Set out with a clear intention that ‘face time’ is more beneficial.

4. When is the right time to use VC?

I would say almost all the time. Some people use it only at the ‘I’m showing you my solution’ stage but I think the most important message you want to give your client throughout is that you are the trusted advisor. You want them to feel that as soon as you can, therefore get ‘face time’ at least a few times during your exploration of their situation, and then absolutely again when you pitch how your solution will serve them.

5. Get the client onboard Video Conferencing

OK, so now you need to ensure you are very clear as to what is in it for your client when they jump on VC. You’re fully aware of the benefit to you – but clients are not after that, they need to know the value to them. VC is a slightly higher bar to scale than a phone call. For most hopping on a call is seamless and easy. Clients even carry that device around in their pocket so they can call or be called at anytime. VC on the other hand requires some planning, clients need to feel presentable and not multi-task.

Draw up a list of why instead of a phone call, VC is better for them, peel off a powerful sentence and use it. You need a compelling reason, so they want to engage and want to listen. Practice your sentences, as you need to sound confident, in control and certain (not desperate and needy).

6. Be slick

Not often I say that, but I mean you shouldn’t be making a big deal about jumping on a video call. I often email a client back with ‘great, I can chat then, here is a zoom link if you are able to jump on, makes it easier to show a few things I think may be of value’. You have to reduce or eliminate the mental barrier and make it seamless, obvious and natural as then you project same. Reduce the font size when copying and pasting the essential meeting link details, removing any of the unnecessary information. I’m implying, this is easy, jump on.

7. Be prepared

Practice. Sit tall. Ensure you look act and behave professionally. Do you have food in your teeth? Removed all distractions. Turned off your phone. Turn off your computer notifications (no ‘pinging’ when an email arrives). Check you have a professional looking background in your room and you have got the lighting on your face (being backlit is a sure way to look dodgy). Remember you are building trust here! You have all the videos, content, material etc. that you may require either easily accessible or already minimised on your desktop. Your desktop is clear and organised.

If you are showcasing your wares and sharing the screen, let’s quickly discuss your desktop image. Consider if it’s a new client and you are scratching around for a rapport then you could use your own desktop to create some banter (well, that depends on what it is – keep it professional!). If not, best to be plain – the focus and attention needs to be on you and what you are showcasing, not on the zebras crossing the savannah.

8. Be sold

Being sold or not sold on your solution is going to come across in your posture, voice and language. It will come across in the questions you ask them and how you welcome questions back. Most notably it will be in what you say and how you say it. You need to be sold on what you are selling plus the investment (the cost). If in doubt, get someone else to explain. You need to be 100%, upside-down, inside-out certain of the value it will bring them. You also need to know where else they can get a similar solution and what the differences are.

9. Keep their engagement

If you want to keep your client’s engagement this is what you need to do… EARN IT!!

a. How do you earn it – make it about them! Get them talking, they are then a participant, an active contributor in a two-way conversation and not a passive observer being ‘talked at’.

b. Give them your full attention. When someone is in rapport with you, they will match you. So, if you permit distractions, it’s saying they too can allow distractions. So, no looking away to a different screen for notes – even looking down at a note pad can be swapped for touch typing on a word doc which is placed up near the camera.

c. The camera is your friend, stop looking at yourself, rather keep eye contact with your client. It’s OK, you look fabulous.

d. Make the interaction all about them, ask them questions, listen – be present – ask more questions, seek to understand their situation. Ensure the order and sequence of selling is intelligent questions first, listen to understand, listen some more then lastly, pitch your perfectly aligned solution. You don’t know what they need, want or desire until they have explained that, so you need to be all ears and no mouth.

e. Prepare as if it’s a face-to-face presentation (which it is) in other words, if something you were going to show the client now isn’t applicable (as you have just gathered further intel about their situation) then dump it. You should have a tight compelling reason for them to use your services. Anything that doesn’t fit needs to go or it becomes distracting. This means you are adapting as you go.

f. Heighten your awareness. Read what they are saying and what they are asking. Observe when did they lean in or lean back, when and how did they ponder and consider what you said?

g. They need to be 100% sold if they are to sell it onto someone else. They need to be your ambassador if they are to get someone else to ‘buy’ into it. So, check your timing and don’t rush off the VC call. Too many people leave the ‘selling’ to the email. Whilst on a VC call you have 100% of their attention so ensure they have bought in to you and your solution.

h. Is it appropriate to record the call? That’s up to you. If you check that the client is OK, then flick it on. Whilst it does mean you can go back and learn from the conversation, it also means you will double up on time, so choose wisely who you do this with.

i. Be professional. How you act, behave and communicate is going to be what they are buying into. If you say you are going to do something, then do it. You are saying ‘I’m reliable, I’m going to do what I said I’m going to do’.

10. Post VC

If your VC meeting was an exploration, review your notes, and if you recorded the meeting download and review it. You may cringe at how you sounded. Watch it again, learn this time, see what you may have missed and call them back. Get as much exploration as you can before you send over a final solution.

If the VC meeting was delivering your solution, then ensure you follow up with appropriate notes, answering questions and clarifying the offer. Be timely on this. You are, at all times, demonstrating that you are efficient and effective.

Considering ‘sales’ is really just a normal conversation where they need something and you have that something, the conversation should flow organically through to a sale. The conversations should be seamless and natural. If they don’t have a response for you straight away, then hopefully the engagement has been such that they will openly tell you what’s happening next.

Learn and improve each time. Smile, we are lucky to have this technology.

The post Video Conferencing – 10 Practical Tips appeared first on Head Of Sales.

I’ve worked with thousands of sales people in many different industries. Professional selling is changing rapidly with technology-driven automation and commoditisation resulting in more than one-third of sellers losing their jobs in the coming years.

For any sales person to prosper in their career they need to move beyond being good at building relationships to also embrace the holy trinity of sales mastery:

• Lead with insight as a domain expert
• Create tangible business value for clients
• Leverage technology to be effective and efficient

Make no mistake, relationships alone are not enough. Buyers today are busy and stressed. They are not looking for new friends. They instead want greater value from fewer relationships. They care about how you can help them achieve their goals and manage their risks.

Lead with insight: Don’t wait for your employer to hand you mythical silver bullets… you instead need to self-educate by researching and writing about the disruptive and transformative trends in your customer’s world.

If you can’t write then you can’t sell.

There are four reasons to create and publish content:

1. Educate yourself and develop domain knowledge and expertise
2. Connect with industry leaders to build your sphere of influence
3. Attract clients and an audience to support your business goals
4. Build your personal brand evidencing credibility, value and insight

In an online world we are known by who we associate with (connections) and what we publish (insights). According to IDC research, 75% of buyers research the seller before engaging. What do they see when they view your profile? Do they see a credible domain expert worthy of trust and an investment of their time or do they see a mere salesperson? We must create own own narrative that sets us apart and earns engagement at the most senior levels. It is vitally important to publish thoughtful posts in your LinkedIn profile.

Creating business value: Move away from talking about who you are, what you do and how you do it to instead lead with why a conversation matters. What business outcomes can you deliver for them and what risks can you manage?

The language of business is numbers not words

Lead with why it is important and what it can do for them at a business level. Have evidence to support your claims. Know your best customers and why they decided to implement change within their organization. Understand their business case and the challenges they faced in change management. Bring this wisdom to new prospective clients and set an agenda that sets you apart from the competition.

Leverage technology: The best sales people combine proven old world practices with modern ways of executing. Building relationships and evidencing credentials and value can be done online. Buyers expect the sellers to arrive having done their research. Don’t waste the customer’s time asking them to educate you about publicly available information. Embrace a social selling framework to modernize the way you sell.

Social Selling Definition: The strategy and process of building quality networks online that attract clients and accelerates the speed of business and efficiency of selling, as achieved with a strong personal brand and human engagement through social listening, social publishing, social research, social engagement, and social collaboration.

Also use your company’s CRM system better than anyone else. Work with marketing for lead nurturing with automation tools that keep prospects in your orbit without you annoying them or them wasting your time.

While sales individuals need to focus on ‘sales mastery’, the sales organization needs to focus on ‘sales enablement’.

Sales Enablement

Most businesses do a good job in segmenting their markets, customers and products but what is often missed is the insidious impact of commoditization. Every product or service becomes a commodity over time as features that once differentiated drift back to parity as competitors catch up. According to Corporate Executive Board research, 86% of the time that sellers pitch their ‘compelling value,’ buyers perceive it as neither unique or compelling but merely features also offered by other suppliers. Every business needs to look at itself from the outside – how do customers really view us comparatively? If you sell a commodity, then face the awful truth rather than cling to expensive sales models where customers are unwilling to pay for the low value and high costs associated with a field sales force.

There is no such thing as a high margin commodity and the value they offer must stem from insight and wisdom rather than mere information and service. The first law of selling is that people buy from those they like and trust. They then seek best value and lowest risk. The key for every seller is to understand that ‘value’ and ‘risk’ are all defined by the customer. In selling, we are delegated down to people we sound like and this means that salespeople need to learn the language of leadership if they want to engage at senior levels. They need to be equipped to discuss the business case, delivering outcomes and managing risk.

If a product or service is a commodity then the sales model should be engineered accordingly; make it easy for the customer to obtain information, become convinced and then transact in a way that’s easiest for them including web, phone or channels. For products and services that actually are high value solutions then force the field sales team toward value through insight. Support them in developing domain expertise, genuine insights and business acumen to enable them to operate at a higher level. Product marketing needs to focus on differentiating what is being sold; and sales people need to differentiate by how they sell.

What are the critical elements of sales enablement and how do you create a framework for effective sales execution? There are three essential ingredients plus the catalyst of sales management leadership. The three ingredients are sales methodology, sales process and technology platform.

Few people can articulate the difference between methodologies and process yet these elements are distinctly different in complex B2B selling.

Methodology is the framework for formulating strategy and tactics to win; it’s also how you create your competitive deal strategy, identify risks, cover the political power base within the relationship map, and identify the best way to create compelling value for the buyer. But which methodology should you use? There are a number of well-proven methodologies including TAS, Miller Heiman, RSVPselling, and others. Success with methodology does not depend on which one you select but simply on how well you use it for opportunity coaching with the team.

Process is how you build a sales funnel and execute the sale; it’s how you qualify opportunities and progress through the deal stages with discovery, proposal, demonstration, closing, contracting, on-boarding and then doing win/loss reviews and case studies. Process steps need to be supported by the right tools such as a call planner, qualification tool, discovery questionnaire, proposal templates, win/loss review forms, and territory and account plan templates.

Platform is the technology you use to enable and automate your sales methodology and sales process. It is where you have a single source of truth about customers and opportunities. It must also be your coaching platform where there is transparency concerning pipeline depth and opportunity quality. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is the ideal platform but CRM needs to be a strategy, not just a technology and reporting tool. To be implemented successfully, it must go beyond the mere functions of accounts, opportunities, pipeline and forecasting; it must instead enable the mapping of relationships and force discipline in deal stage progression with qualification scoring and action tracking. It must also include close plans with customer validation of critical dates. Finally, CRM needs to incorporate tight integration with both marketing, social (such as LinkedIn) and after sales support to provide a single view of the entire customer lifecycle from targeting, marketing, lead nurturing and selling through to account management, support, service, satisfaction and upselling.

This approach uses CRM to place customers at the heart of everything you do and provides the platform for being truly customer-centric. It also delivers transparency with deal quality and revenue predictability. It’s where sales people manage their opportunities and the tool that sales managers use to coach their people. This approach is designed to serve the sales people in improving their efficiency and effectiveness. Because it provides them with value and enables their manager to coach for improved win rates, they actually populate the systems with accurate and useful information.

When CRM is implemented with customers and sales people as the priority, and when it’s the platform for deal coaching and the enabler for sales process; then system success is assured. The synergistic outcome for management is accurate reporting and revenue predictability. The corollary of this is that CRM failure comes from implementing it as a reporting tool with poor alignment to sales methodology and sales processes. Many CRM implementation fail and it has nothing to do with the technology provider; here are the critical success factors for successful CRM:

• Obsessively focus on the system serving sales and customer support staff
• Integrate with social platforms such as LinkedIn and InsideView (for easy sales research and insight into Trigger Events)
• Integrate with marketing for lead nurturing (to build sales pipeline)
• Create a single view of customers and prospects (to be informed)
• Embed methodology and process coaching (qualify, call plan, close plan, etc.)
• Simplify reports and KPIs which can actually be managed (activities)
• Support customer lifecycle post sale (cases, complaints, renewals, etc.)

With accurate data in a CRM the next issue to decide is what metrics provide meaningful reporting. A common mistake made by management at all levels is to seek to manage by results. Jason Jordan writes insightfully on this topic in his book, Cracking The Sales Management Code, highlighting that only 17% of the 300+ possible sales metrics measured are actually manageable. As an example, you cannot manage revenue, but you can manage the activities that create it. Rather than command sales people to bring in more revenue, they need to be guided in which activities are most likely to create the type of revenue you are seeking. Managing activities is the key to delivering the right results and this leads us to the catalyst that brings methodology, process and platform technology together for successful sales enablement – the sales manager.

Sales management is without doubt the most important link in the revenue chain for any organization. The right sales manager creates emotional commitment and belief within their team, they coach and mentor for sales success, they develop the right strategies to focus effort where the team can competitively win and they drive the right conversations with the right roles within the right targeted prospects. They also create organizational alignment with upstream marketing and downstream delivery, support and service to build a business with quality customers.

Sales management leadership is the catalyst that brings it all together: people, process and technology within the right strategy and a culture of excellence in execution. The type of person capable of delivering all this is an engineer rather than a warrior, they have empathy yet hold people to account. But the best sales manager in the world cannot be successful if their boss has them endlessly in internal meetings and reporting up. The sales manager needs to be a coach rather than an administrator. She needs to spend more time in the field than in the office, and more time strategizing and reviewing opportunities with sales people than managing reports. A great coach does not jump in and take over, nor do they do the sales person’s job for them. They don’t feel the need to rescue people and instead understand that people are best motivated by reasons they themselves discover. They focus on planning and debriefing to create constant improvement.

The Holy Grail of sales enablement is the seamless integration of the right methodology, efficient sales process, all enabled by Social Selling and CRM technology used to coach sales people by an effective sales leader focused on strategy, execution and building a positive team culture.

The very best sales operations bring people, process and technology together to be obsessively customer-centric.

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This belief rests on the assumption that success in sales relies on some special talent granted at birth. However,  this does not fit our experience. It may be true that some people are born with ‘talent’, meaning an abundance of charisma and ease with people. Charisma may help close some sales. However, we find that successful sales people, those who are top in their field year after year,  work diligently to develop their sales skills regardless of their starting capability.

Talent or Skill?

At this point in training discussions, people often ask: “Talent or skill. What’s the difference?” To answer this question, let’s define some terms.

• Talent – A marked innate ability, as for artistic accomplishment
• Skill – Proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience.

The difference is pretty simple. Talents are natural abilities. Skills are acquired or developed abilities.

Sales Talent:

Let me make one thing clear. Talent (charisma / personality) will help make sales. However, those depending upon talent tend to ‘shoot from the hip’ when making a sales presentation. This results in a very entertaining presentation. The sales professional may seem to be able to ‘sell ice to eskimos’. Unfortunately, the majority of prospects cannot follow this type of presentation. Most people want a logical progression of information backed up by solid data. So, although the client may like the sales professional personally, they may actually purchase a similar product from someone else.

Sales Skills:

What I love about sales skills is that anyone can master them and become successful in sales. Mirriam-Webster defines a skill as:

A learned power of doing something competently : a developed aptitude or ability

Notice that a skill is something learned or developed. Hence, with the assistance of a qualified trainer and measured practice, those who have the desire to apply themselves toward mastering the task will succeed.

When I lead training sessions or have less experienced sales professionals ride along on sales calls with me, I often hear that I have a “great talent for sales.” I take the comment as a genuine compliment, and I might even agree with it if I did not know where I began in sales. This is because, except for my persistence and drive, the words and actions people see in me today bear no resemblance to what they would have seen in my performance when I started in sales. For example, I now speak about and give my absolute best effort to model:

• Focusing on benefits to my client
• Active listening
• Allowing time for the client to speak
• Working to connect with my client
• Giving my clients the time they need to reach a decision.

When I first entered sales, someone watching my sales calls would have seen me:

• Focusing on product features
• Speaking more than I listened
• Interrupting my clients
• Pushing to close the sale
• Growing impatient when clients wanted to collect more information or “think it over.”

Basically, I started with very few of the positives and nearly all of the negatives. The one thing I really had in my favor was persistence. I initially got results because I kept going in the face of rejection. My closing ratio was low, but I made lots of sales calls.

Consequently, I was frustrated by the scant sales I acquired relative to the enormous amount of time and  effort I was exerting. Over time, I began to see that I just couldn’t do any more work in the time I had. Therefore, I had to find a way to improve my results. Better results required cultivating a more effective sales process and developing greater skills for:

1. You must have leads: 

I remember hearing someone say, “Just keep throwing mud on the wall. Some of it will stick.” No! You just waste time and end up with a dirty wall. Unfortunately, driving all over town searching for someone to listen to your presentation is usually a waste of time and gas. Don’t equate being busy with productivity.  It is more effective to prequalify the leads you pursue. Above all, develop a lead generation process which includes leveraging LinkedIn, quality referrals, and industry specific leads.

2. turn your leads into appointments:

“Let your fingers do the walking” and develop the skills to book appointments on the phone. In addition, discover how to navigate the gatekeeper and reach decision makers. Making only 10-20 outbound calls per day will keep your calendar full and your pockets ‘fuller’.

3. Reading prospects:  

Become a student of human behaviour and improve your communication skills. Furthermore, discover how to connect with prospects and clients for closing more deals and developing long term, repeat business. Likewise, I’ve learned to not only care about my customers needs, but to show that I care. It may look natural, but trust me it is not. I had to really work on me to develop these skills. After I learned and began to apply the DISC Model of Human Behaviour in the way that we teach today, my closing ratio skyrocketed.

Discover what your client is thinking! The FAST, EASY way to connect more effectively with clients & CLOSE MORE DEALS

It’s like taking the Pici’s with you on your next sales call. Our flip charts will remind you how to: Recognize and adapt to your client’s communication style.
 Develop rapport
 Tweak your presentation for maximum impact
 Close the deal

4. Develop a  simple, short, and logical sales presentation

I call this your ‘core story’. Your core story should be dominated by your client talking, not you. Most noteworthy, you can achieve this by asking relevant questions. Above all, design questions that will reveal the pain your client may be experiencing. Situations that will  cause them to purchase a product/service from you.

5. Close the deal

Closing is the sales skill set that most sales professionals focus on. Yet, closing is the natural conclusion to a sales process that began with the first contact. Therefore, do not depend on one or two closing techniques. In addition, avoid being discouraged if you cannot close your prospect at the first meeting. Closing the deal may take several days/weeks/months or only a few minutes. Certainly, the study of human behavior will help you determine which time frame and approach will be best for each individual.

5. Finally, remember to follow up: 

The purpose of follow up is three fold. a) Make sure the client is satisfied with the product. Answer any questions regarding the use, installment, or difficulty with the product. b) Secure future sales including cross selling. c) Attain quality referrals. Certainly, this is the lifeblood of your business.

By improving my effectiveness through skill development, I improved my results without working harder or longer.

Improving my skills was the key element. I read books and went to sales seminars. My success was a result of becoming a student of sales.

Lots of sales people eventually burn-out due to excessive rejection, long hours, or both. Most people don’t have the stomach for tolerating rejection that I have. And most people don’t want to develop the thick skin necessary to put up with it. As a result, many otherwise great sales people give up their dreams of success when they reach the burn-out stage. I want to give people the tools to overcome that challenge before they reach burn-out.

The good news

Everyone can develop the skills.  I’m willing to share what I’ve learned so that they don’t have to go through the same amount of rejection I faced before I learned these skills. I don’t have a monopoly on what it takes to be great as a sales professional. I’ve just learned to apply some really powerful, practical, and effective ideas to the sales process. Anyone with the desire to work on themselves and grow personally can learn what I’ve learned. It really doesn’t matter where people start, as long as they view sales as a profession and invest the effort necessary to learn and perfect the skills.

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