Playbook 15: Top 10 moments that change the way we sell

Top 10 moments that changed the way of selling from episodes 101 to 150

00:00 - 32:00

• Prospecting tactic: Use the right prospecting channel for the job
• Some people won't answer cold calls or emails, so find the channel they are active on
• Don't be afraid of out-of-cadence effort in prospecting
• If you see a timely event, take immediate action instead of waiting for the next step in your cadence
• Take immediate action when timely events impact your prospecting trigger events.
• Break the pacing of standard sales emails to show responsiveness to current events.
• Use purpose, plan, outcome (PPO) as a flexible agenda for sales calls.
• PPO can be used in any interaction where you have a goal.
• The menu of pain helps structure the front end of sales calls by identifying common problems and creating a pain funnel.
• Using the menu of pain puts the call in the right direction and focuses on relevant topics.
• Uncover what is driving initiatives or changes in a prospect's business to understand their motivations.
• Peel the onion and go beyond surface-level situations to address underlying prompts.
• Understanding the motivation behind a customer's request is crucial in sales
• The five-minute drill helps determine if the prospect wants to continue exploring
• The first question to ask in the five-minute drill is 'How are you feeling? Is this something that you want to continue exploring?'
• If the answer is yes, move on to asking about timing
• Understanding the urgency and timeline allows for better advising on next steps
• Setting next steps without confirming interest wastes time
• Validating interest before setting next steps is important
• Four process-driven tactics for closing deals:
• When building a champion, ensure that the problems you can solve are communicated effectively at higher levels of decision-making
• Ask your champion how they plan to approach meetings with higher-level executives and offer coaching or assistance
• Sense check if your champion understands what you can help with and refine their pitch accordingly
• Help dispel misconceptions and bring discussions to a higher level
• Asking the question 'How are you positioning this to your team?' helps refine the pitch and uncover other parties involved in the buying committee.
• Creating yes momentum in the sales cycle involves tying sales cycles to mini-yes points and consistently pulse checking for agreement throughout every conversation.
• When negotiating, ask the buyer what they are willing to bring to the table, setting the expectation of a give-and-take negotiation.
• Breaking rapport with a prospect may be necessary to advance the sale and ensure alignment with their needs and goals.
• Your job is to advance the sale and sell the right thing to the right customer.
• Holding your ground in negotiations and pushing for doing the right thing can earn respect from prospects.
• Turning a want into a problem helps clarify the issue and opens up more discovery questions.
• Connect goals to problems related to your product or service to facilitate conversations.
• When faced with tough objections, seek first to understand before trying to be understood.
• Never stop prospecting until you're sure you have someone who will advocate for you within an account.
• Recap of top tactics in prospecting, discovery, and process sections from previous episodes.
• A demo discovery deck is available as a tool for effective sales facilitation during big team calls.