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Email outreach is a cornerstone of modern sales strategies. With 93% of B2B marketers relying on email to reach their prospects and existing customers, crafting a good sales email is a critical skill for both sales leaders and frontline reps. And as virtual selling becomes the norm, the importance of well-crafted emails grows even further.
A referral is a powerful thing. It’s a personal recommendation from a trusted source, which can be a make-or-break factor in a customer’s decision-making process. From a sales perspective, a referral is a gimme, a slam dunk, a home run, or any other sports analogy that comes to mind. Or at least they should be.
These days, you can order lunch, send a gift, schedule a meeting, and catch up on news (2x speed) all in the course of 30 minutes, all online.
Life in the glowing box: it’s our new normal.
There are 5 things I have learned in 25 years of prospecting. (I know, that’s only one thing every five years), but hear me out…
When I’m passionately trying to make a point, I’ve been known to overstate reality to boost my argument. I use words like “millions” or “never” or “always,” especially with my wife, to win the argument or sell an idea.
So, you had a productive call/meeting with a potential client when suddenly they show some hesitation. “I’m not really sure about …,” they say.
When most people think about selling or persuasion, they think of the presentation or the “talk.” While important, there is a more critical step that must occur before the words leave your mouth. And when communicating with those closest to me, I’m ALWAYS tempted to blow by this step – especially if it’s a critical conversation.
Do you ever feel at a loss for why your customer decided to buy from the competition? You had the perfect pitch! Your data was clear, your argument was succinct, your logic was flawless, your recommendation was a perfect fit. So what happened?
It’s probably safe to say that we’ve all had a case of the pre-presentation jitters. The level of nervousness can range from slight anxiety to full blown panic.
Since 2009, entrepreneurs have pitched their ideas and dreams to a panel of ‘sharks’ on the hit reality show Shark Tank. The sharks – titans of industry who have made their own dreams a reality and turned their ideas into lucrative empires, listen to pitches and decide whether or not to invest their money in other potential profit-making ventures.
In today's digital age, we're bombarded with information. We now consume the equivalent of 174 newspapers a day, more than four times the average in the late '80s, and receive anywhere from three thousand to ten thousand messages daily.
Check out this excerpt from CEO Tom Stanfill’s new book, UnReceptive: A Better Way to Sell, Lead, and Influence. Available anywhere you get your books.
As sales professionals, our time is our most valuable resource. How we invest that time will ultimately determine our success in sales.
As sales professionals, we have limited time; a finite number of hours to hit our sales goals. How we invest that time will ultimately determine our level of success.
Sales reps have less access and limited time with decision makers since the growth of virtual selling. It’s more critical than ever for sellers to spend their time and resources on the right sales opportunities. But how do we know which sales opportunities are the right ones?
As sellers, our most valuable resource is our time. If we had more time, we could close more business. But, since the onset of virtual selling, it’s been a lot more difficult for sales reps to qualify and win opportunities because we have less access and limited time with decision makers. And while we are working one deal, we are losing another. So, we better make sure that we are working the right deals – and those aren’t just the biggest ones. How do we know which are the best opportunities to spend our time on?
One of the greatest challenges that all salespeople today face is that our audience’s level of receptivity is rapidly decreasing. Said another way, our customers are becoming less receptive to us and to our messages.
I recently sat down with Stefanie Boyer, a professor at Bryant University, to discuss the academic side of selling, the importance of women in sales leadership roles, and how practice makes perfect in a selling career.
One of the most critical aspects of a sales rep’s role is being able to effectively guide conversation and uncover information through good questioning techniques. There are many ways to unpack this topic, but I thought it would be interesting to look at questioning, or interrogation, from another perspective.
We recently put out a blog titled The #1 Sales Lesson from Kramer, for all of our Seinfeld fans. We highlighted Kramer’s questioning technique in the episode “The Keys,” where he attempts to persuade George to move to California with him.
Virtual selling has been a buzzword in the world of sales for well over a year now. Based on our interactions with thousands of sales reps and sales leaders over the past months, most people agree that virtual selling will be with us, in most industries, for the foreseeable future. It will become part of the new hybrid world of selling – we will return to the field in some cases, but also continue to connect virtually with customers.
As a continuation of our blog about the lasting impact of virtual selling on market dynamics, the sales process, and team selling, I wanted to unpack the effects (and the importance of) on one-to-one sales interactions.
As the world begins to recalibrate after more than a year of shutdown, many of us are left with questions about the future state of selling. What will be the lasting impact of 2020 and the rise of virtual selling?
The customer may know what they want, but not always what they need.
There are new challenges for salespeople selling virtually, whether it’s getting a response from prospects, setting a meeting, or dealing with Zoom fatigue. Selling has changed, and sales reps need to adjust. In our blogs each week, we try to offer helpful tips and suggestions to address the shift that sellers are facing.
Staying organized and up to date with sales reporting and CRM software can be a chore for many B2B sales reps. Sales leaders appreciate the value of this kind of data, but it can be difficult to help sales reps see the value of spending their valuable time inputting this information.
Your company leadership has decided that business results could be better, and they’ve identified top-line (sales and service) as where the improvement needs to come from. After careful scrutiny, it is observed that sales force execution has either stagnated or has never met expectations in the first place. Somewhere, there’s a sales execution gap that needs to be addressed.
When you were a kid, did your mom or dad ever turn the car’s headlights off while driving at night to scare you? Mine did.
As a sales training company, we spend a lot of time focusing our content on the technical side of selling. But we do also like to take a step back and examine the human elements of being a sales rep or sales leader, or a professional of any sort.
Whether you’re an account manager or a sales rep in B2B sales or B2C sales, making sure your customers are heard, understood, and validated, throughout the sales process is crucial. The lack of in-person, face-to-face interaction in a virtual sales environment can make it more challenging to make our customers feel that empathy and connection.
It’s been almost a year since we, along with the rest of the world, were plunged into the Work From Home (WFH), all-virtual business environment. Whether in B2B or B2C sales, we’ve all had to grow and evolve continuously, re-learning to serve our customers and adapt to their changing needs. Salespeople, prospectors/hunters and account managers have made huge strides and progress.
But with virtual communication taking a more permanent place in our way of conducting sales, it’s vital to continue that progress.
Here are four of the “mistakes” that we are still seeing people (and even ourselves!) make in virtual meetings, and how to overcome them to improve your remote selling skills.
If you prefer to take this on the go and listen to our conversation on this topic, feel free to check out sALES with ASLAN podcast episode 90:
People aren’t changing their slides or tailoring their presentations to a more virtual friendly format; they are trying to present the same amount of content, the same exact slides, that they once used in person. This is a big mistake. A virtual meeting or presentation should not just be a “screen share session.”
Virtual presenting takes more time than when you are face-to-face with a customer. You need to cut down your content and be concise. Virtual meetings already have the bad rap of being boring. Zoom fatigue is real. Don’t be a contributing factor.
In person, people are more likely to stay with you, keep their eyes on you, be engaged. As salespeople or account managers, we know how to work a room. Face-to-face, it’s easier to read and command a room. But Zoom rooms are different.
With a virtual meeting, you run the risk of losing your audience’s attention. When you screen share, customers and prospects automatically shift their focus from listening to you, to reading the slides or worse, checking their phones.
Minimizing your slide content will help you deliver a punchier presentation. With fewer words on a slide, your customer will stay with you, not just your slides.
“The best content is sometimes no content.” – Marc Lamson
When you do need your customer/ prospect to consume content from your screen, pause to let them read, then continue speaking. (Most) people can’t read and listen at the same time. When you really want to make a point or cultivate a dialogue, stop sharing your screen and talk directly to your customer. Or better yet, learn to use a second camera with a whiteboard or flipchart. Movement is key for keeping your audience engaged.
Do not share your slides the entire time. Frankly, it’s boring. Moral of the story: minimize your slides and their content, and focus on keeping their attention on you.
This puts more of an emphasis on the preparation for your virtual presentation. Be thoughtful, concise, and intentional with what you put together. With less content to carry you, fewer slides to rely on, being prepared is key. Know what you are going to say – and practice.
This is exponentially more difficult when selling virtually. Basically, there are two ways to uncover the decision maker: clues and questions.
Clues are harder to see in a virtual environment. Body language, posture, reactions, and other non-verbal cues are almost obsolete in a zoom room. Everyone is looking at their camera or their screen… whereas in a meeting room (in person), people would be more inclined to give away levels of influence by their physical cues and orientation towards one another.
With less rapport and relational equity in a Zoom meeting room, it’s harder to ask the questions and observe the clues needed to discern the influencers and decision-makers. But it’s not impossible. Since clues are less reliable in a virtual sales setting, you need to be willing and prepared to ask the tough questions. For example, you might ask:
“Assuming we have the exact solution you’re looking for, based on our meeting today, what has to happen next?”
This question about process is a “softer ask” that will probably reveal the key players – who will be meeting afterwards to debrief, discuss, and decide.
What keeps us from asking these tough questions is not knowing how to position them. We need to position the question in a way that demonstrates why it benefits them to give us the answer. We call this “priming the question.” Why is it in their best interest to answer your question? Give them an OtherCentered(R) reason to respond.
For example,
“The reason I want to know ____ is so that I can make sure everyone is educated on ___.”
“Is there anyone else who will be involved in the process? If so, I can record this meeting if that would be helpful for them.”
Be prepared with questions you want to ask, and how you are going to prime them. You need to have the “why” behind each of the questions you want to ask. If you can say, “The reason I’m asking is…” in front of every question, you will get answers. And better yet, it will give you the confidence to ask those tough questions.
It’s about communicating your desire to serve, and making sure your customer knows that they are the priority.
There are many “what ifs” that come with the virtual meeting territory, and we are still seeing people unprepared to handle such challenges.
Here are some examples:
With face-to-face selling, you may have had some notice about a change of plans (if someone was sick, or missed a flight, or got stuck in traffic). But with virtual selling, you probably won’t know something has gone awry until you’re in the midst of it. You need to be prepared with a back-up plan if anything goes wrong.
Think through relevant scenarios for you, and come up with a contingency plan for each one.
For example:
In virtual meetings, we have noticed many salespeople glazing over the Q&A portion of the session. They use the final minute to ask, “Does anyone have any questions?” It feels offhand, like a throwaway moment.
With face-to-face selling, the interaction naturally lent itself to more questions and dialogue. In a virtual environment, you have to make an effort. Leave 10-15 minutes towards the end of your presentation for questions. Build that time in – don’t just see if you have any time remaining. Stop screen sharing and open up the floor.
Without giving time and attention to Q&A, you run the risk of leaving objections uncovered and unresolved.
People are more uncomfortable in a virtual environment, so don’t just ask a general “Any questions?” You will probably hear crickets. But don’t put people on the spot either.
Be prepared with who you want to call on, what you want to ask them, and why you want to ask it. For example:
“Tom, I know we’ve been talking at length about the U.S. part of the business, but as the leader of the international division, what are we missing on how we would represent you?”
That’s a thoughtful, OtherCentered question that will likely start a good question and answer dialogue.
One benefit of selling virtually is that you can have notes with you, “cheat sheets” on the people you are presenting to, without them knowing. Jot down some notes. You can even sneak a peek at their LinkedIn profiles as people are entering the virtual meeting room. Check out where they’ve worked or where they went to school. You can use these notes or tidbits to break the ice and start conversations.
Selling virtually is a new skill set. It will take practice and preparation. Regardless of the pandemic timeline, it is here to stay. So get comfortable with it. Practice “presenting into the abyss.” And above all, be prepared.
Hopefully many of the articles on our blog will help you continue to grow and evolve your virtual selling skills.
What is social selling? We’re going to unpack that today, as well as how that plays into prospecting in this virtual world of B2B selling. Essentially, there are 3 components we’ve identified and fleshed out, that go into doing this well.
Today we’re going to dive into the integration of sales and marketing, and how they really are a team. I sat down with Sean Duffy and Kevin McCaughey to discuss this topic and the impact of “brand” on sellers. This is an extremely important relationship, because marketing can enhance the receptivity in our prospects. Therefore, sales teams can (and should) work hand-in-hand with marketing groups in companies of all sizes.
There is no time more fitting than the start of the new year to reflect on the wins and losses of the past year and set new goals for the upcoming one.
We spend a great deal of time thinking about and talking about how this new virtual reality has affected us as salespeople: how we prospect, how we conduct meetings, how we sell. But the truth is, the shift has also greatly impacted our customers and potential customers’ way of conducting business. They’ve had to deal with a whole different host of challenges as they change how they vet solution providers and choose their partnerships.
I see a lot written about effective strategies for dealing with objections, and I agree with most of the common wisdom about handling real/honest objections. What I think most experts, and reps, fail to understand, though, is that the typical strategies or steps that are effective in responding to a real objection fail miserably when faced with a “false objection.”
Over the better part of the last year, we’ve spent a great deal of time discussing the transition to virtual selling, the new sales process, and the different new skills and technological considerations involved in serving our customers remotely.
One of the most advanced skills required in virtual selling is telling a story. You need your customer to experience the emotional connection and the payoff they would receive by embracing your recommendation.
‘Tis the season… the holiday season, the season of giving, the season of kindness, compassion, and love. It’s a time for joy. As we round out 2020 and approach the end of a long, crazy year, one that has changed so much in the world of selling and the world in general, we thought it would be appropriate to examine the role of empathy in our world – how empathy can positively impact the world of selling, and virtual selling.
This topic, learning to identify the political structure of your prospects within an organization, will be very relevant and helpful to all B2B sales reps, especially in our current virtual selling climate.
In the world of sales, there’s been a lot of discussion lately about the feeling of vulnerability and discomfort that comes with selling remotely. What is it about this new “virtual reality” that makes sellers feel more vulnerable and “at-risk”? Is it the technology? Are we afraid of looking foolish?
Here’s a disruptive truth for you: the receptivity of your audience has more impact on your success than the power of your message.
There are a ton of “sales strategies” or “winning strategies” – but here’s the problem: most sellers only focus on one, or over-focus on one, completely ignoring the others.
In the past, the “ABC’s” of selling was a recognized acronym for “Always Be Closing.” as you may remember for the 1990s movie Glengarry Glenross. Here at ASLAN, we want to rework that definition to mean something more aligned with our Other-Centered® Selling philosophy.
Cold calling, and prospecting in general, is a great challenge for most sales reps, across industries and at all levels of experience. Over the many years we’ve worked with sales professionals, we’ve managed to formulate several ways to make reaching out to prospects a more seamless and successful undertaking for those who sell for a living.
For all you married people out there, how did it go when you proposed or were proposed to? Chances are, it went pretty well. We don’t often hear about a marriage proposal that was turned down. Why not? Because you don’t propose until you are pretty sure you are going to get a yes.
None of us like wasting time divulging information to someone who can’t solve their problem. There’s no reason to provide a detailed explanation to your neighbor about an engine problem if he or she is not a mechanic. Studies have revealed that only 13% of customers believe sellers can understand their needs. The keyword is can. This reveals how customers and prospects enter into the selling process – skeptical that what they need to share will be understood. The deck is stacked against you.
What are we going to do about all of these Millennials? If you are trying to sell to this important part of our demographic or if you work with them on your sales team, this article is for you.
For the past 25 years, we’ve been studying what I (and most sellers) believe is the most difficult aspect of selling: prospecting or “cold calling” as some may remember.
In July 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. took off from New Jersey in his small, private plane and headed for the Kennedy compound on Martha’s Vineyard. Even though a storm was rolling in, he made the decision that it was safe to fly.
In most parts of North America, people are enjoying the last bit of the summer before autumn, the time of year that means daunting trips into the attic for winter coats and torturous school shopping sprees if indeed schools actually open.
It had been a slow sales quarter for me. I needed to close some business and I finally had an opportunity that looked very promising. I’d engaged all the right players, identified the key decision-makers, made sure the project could be funded, and discovered the gaps and objectives that needed to be addressed.
There is a lot of buzz right now in the industry about redefining a sales person’s role.
My opening premise for this topic may fall under the category of “hard pills to swallow,” but hear me out…
As sales reps, adjusting to the new norm of selling virtually presents an added set of challenges to overcome.
The beginning of any sales relationship is most difficult. Actually picking up the phone or crafting that first email can be intimidating. If you have been selling face-to-face over the years, this is even more frightening now that we are all conducting business virtually. Remember this one thing when you start ANY conversation: no one wants to look at your photo album.
Have you ever stopped to think what it would take to sell yourself something? I mean really sell… to have your beliefs changed about a product or a service, to get you to pay attention and invest your hard-earned money in something or someone.
Whether you sell things that are going virtual, or you buy things that are going virtual, it’s worth reading this article to equip yourself with the information you need to know about the cost(s) of newly virtual offerings.
Can you give us a discount on that? Can we postpone our payment? Is there any way we can get some of our money back? Admit it, you’ve all been hearing these requests since the start of the pandemic.
By now, you may be very frustrated by all the new challenges of selling when you cannot visit your customers. You are having to relearn everything you thought you already knew and you realize that what made you successful in your career thus far, simply may not work any longer. If you’re in the world of sales, you’ve probably wrestled with each of the the following questions:
During this pandemic, individuals and companies alike have had to adapt and evolve to the changing landscape of business and sales. With the majority of events, meetings, and projects being moved online, managers and leaders have had to get creative.
The amount of information we receive daily is staggering. We now consume the equivalent of 174 newspapers a day, over four times more than in the late ‘80s. Marketing experts will tell you we receive anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 messages or ads each day. And not only are we barraged with massive amounts of information, there are more choices as well. Research suggests we are now making 35,000 decisions per day.
The coronavirus. COVID-19. It’s all over the news, and already greatly impacting people and businesses alike. We’re being affected personally and professionally. Schools are closed, restaurants and retailers are closed or operating in a limited capacity, and businesses have implemented mandatory work-from-home policies.
Have you ever been completely bored by a presentation, zoned out as someone drones on and on? Or thought,
Should we be selling in the middle of a pandemic?
