Aug 28, 2018
Takeaways
- Give Your Prospect What they Need: Notice, I did not say “give your prospect what they want,” there is a difference. No longer are salespeople the gatekeeper to information. It is our job to facilitate the best buying experience we can for prospects. In that mutual exchange, it’s important to listen to your buyer and decipher the difference between what they need and what they want. Are they asking to see certain features? Guess what? They’ve probably done their homework and need to see that to determine if they want to engage in a full sales cycle with you. Forcing your process on them to start from the beginning could kill a real opportunity.
- Evangelize What You’re Great At: I don’t believe it’s possible for a product or service to be the best in literally every category. Yet, every day I hear reps talking about how they’re the best this and best that. Although you may not think so, I assure you this is a turn off to prospective buyers. That said, I absolutely want you to tell the world about the things you’re great at or do really well. This is especially true at the beginning of the buying process. I like to see reps handle objections by accurately responding and then pivoting the message to highlight how the prospect could add additional value by considering something they may not have seen.
- Don’t Shy Away From Brutally Honest Feedback: If you haven’t read the book Radical Candor, it’s one I definitely recommend. The gist of it aligns with what Hector was saying with the notion of not only being open to direct honest feedback in yourself but also building that clarity of communication in the relationship you have with buyers. Depending on how you were raised, the directness could be a challenge in the beginning, but if you keep working at it, you’ll see just how appreciated it is.
Full Notes
Book Recommendation
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Sponsor
- Costello - What if every sales rep inherited the habits of your best rep? With Costello, they do.
Aug 21, 2018
Takeaways
- Remind Prospects of Their Priorities: When you’re talking with a prospect and seem to be slipping or losing ground, it’s your responsibility to remind them of why they’re even in the conversation to begin with. Ask them questions that harken back to the pains they’ve divulged, the goals they’ve shared, and try to dig into the emotional side of their brain. Remember, they are the ones that have the problem, not you.
- Email Should Not Look Automated: With nearly everyone trying to use some sort of automation these days, it’s very important to humanize your outreach. By that, I mean you should make it to the point that with every email you send, literally no one else could have been sent the same message. Some of the things Gabe mentioned and that I’ve seen work as well are: all lowercase subject lines, super short messages that get right to the point, any kind of personalization, and yes, even misspellings from time to time.
- Tailor Your Words, Tone, and Body Language: How people interpret you is guided by their social environment and background. What you think a word means could be received completely different by someone who grew up in another part of the country. Additionally, tone, the way you say something, can also change the meaning behind the words you say. It some circumstances it can even change heart rate and body language. These are things to keep an eye on while having conversations with prospects to make sure what you’re meaning to do is received how you’re expecting it.
Full Notes
Book Recommendation
- Secrets of Question-Based Selling by Thomas Freese
Sponsor
- Costello - What if every sales rep inherited the habits of your best rep? With Costello, they do.
Aug 14, 2018
Takeaways
- Use Social for Call Prep: While doing research on prospects, it’s obvious you need to look at the company website and blog to see what their initiatives are, but it’s just as important to look at social channels like LinkedIn and Twitter to see what’s important to the person your going to be speaking with beyond their work life. Use this information to connect with them on a human level.
- Set Aside Time for Social Prospecting: It can be distracting to always have social platforms present while you’re working, trust me, that’s coming from someone who’s looking at Twitter right now. But, by setting aside time to specifically prospect via social, you can add a lot of leverage into your day. Take 30 minutes to scour your LinkedIn contacts looking for job changes. Set up searches on Sales Navigator for your ideal customer profile so you can be alerted with they post something. Set up TweetDeck to look for keywords and phrases that you can respond to in real time. And lastly, set a goal for yourself so you can measure the activity.
- Focus on Doing Great Work: I remember being “busy” early in my career and looking at those who had kids and wondering how in the world they did it. Then I had a kid of my own. Now, this is not advice just for parents, but the lesson learned can be greatly impactful for your career. Take an honest look at your day. How much of it are you wasting in-between meetings, having mindless banter with coworkers, or checking your fantasy sports scores? What if you had to get all of your work down between 9 and 5 and weren’t allowed to open your laptop later at night? What would you cut out? What would you be intentional about focusing on?
Full Notes
Book Recommendations
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
- Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Sponsor
- Costello - What if every sales rep inherited the habits of your best rep? With Costello, they do.
Aug 7, 2018
Takeaways
- Prospecting: By simply picking up the phone you open up a world of new opportunities. Prospecting helps solves a lot of problems while developing you faster.
- Time: Time is the most valuable asset any of us have. When reaching out to a prospect be clear on the value by doing research, asking good questions, sharing insights, and testing out different approaches.
- Goals: Goal setting is one of the most important things any sales rep can do in their career, whether it’s daily weekly, monthly, or annually. The act requires you to ask yourself questions in preparation for prospecting meetings and help you to proactively address objections.
- Objection handling: Feel, Felt, Found - I totally understand how you feel, other people have felt the same way, what I’ve found is...
Full Notes
Book Recommendation
- Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
Sponsor
- Costello - What if every sales rep inherited the habits of your best rep? With Costello, they do.
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