Outbound Squad

These (surprising) discovery tactics will help you win nearly all of your qualified opportunities

Tue Jul 04 2023

sales meetingsbuyer-centric approachmanaging expectationsaligning with business prioritiesquestioning techniquesdiscovery processbuilding rapportbringing insights

Description

The episode covers various aspects of sales meetings, buyer-centric approach, aligning with business priorities, managing expectations, effective questioning techniques, discovery process, building rapport, and bringing insights to sales conversations. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the prospect's needs, managing expectations from the beginning, and using curiosity and storytelling techniques to engage prospects. The episode also highlights the significance of aligning with business priorities, addressing different personas, and leveraging case studies and insights to build credibility.

Insights

Buyer-Centric Approach

Sales meetings should focus on serving both the buyer's needs and the seller's objectives. Understanding the prospect's problems and building rapport during discovery are crucial for successful sales meetings.

Managing Expectations and Aligning with Business Priorities

Managing expectations from the beginning of the sales process and aligning with business priorities and stakeholders are key factors in successful sales. Tough economic times expose reps who aren't doing what they should be.

Effective Questioning Techniques

Using curious and non-accusatory questions, practicing pockets of curiosity, and structuring questions with a focus on disarming can lead to more productive discussions. Humbling disclaimers can help build rapport and encourage prospects to provide accurate answers.

Discovery Process and Building Rapport

Understanding the timing of sales processes, using suggestive discovery at the right time, and demonstrating understanding of prospects' situations and pain points are crucial for successful sales meetings. Reading case studies, tailoring storytelling based on personas, and bringing insights to the conversation contribute to deeper connections with prospects.

Bringing Insights to Sales Conversations

Enabling AEs to bring insights instead of just asking questions, encouraging self-reflection about prospect realizations, and using open-ended questions can enhance sales conversations. Insight is not the solution itself but what it enables buyers to do.

Chapters

Sales Meetings and Buyer-Centric Approach
Aligning with Business Priorities and Managing Expectations
Setting Expectations and Effective Questioning Techniques
Effective Discovery and Building Rapport

Summary

Transcript

Sales Meetings and Buyer-Centric Approach

00:01 - 07:41

58% of buyers feel that sales meetings are a waste of time, according to a study by Rain Group.
The focus on discovery and qualification in sales can lead to seller-centric meetings that provide little value to the buyer.
It's important to ask questions that serve both the buyer's needs and the seller's objectives.
The importance of understanding the prospect's problems and getting them to open up during discovery is emphasized.
Sales cycles may be elongated due to economic factors, but win rates remain strong when there is a genuine understanding of the prospect's objectives.
A thorough approach is needed when dealing with multiple stakeholders in the buying process.
The CRM stages often focus on sales activities rather than what buyers are trying to accomplish.
Selling deals that impact one individual's job or one department within a company has become more difficult; it is crucial to tap into company-wide goals.
There are new personas emerging, such as finance titles, which require additional attention in the sales process.

Aligning with Business Priorities and Managing Expectations

07:15 - 21:09

Understanding the impact at the company level is important
New personas, like finance titles, are becoming more common
Aligning with business priorities and stakeholder alignment is crucial
Tough economic times expose reps who aren't doing what they should be
Directness and addressing reasons why people don't buy can lower resistance
Finding out if someone is serious before investing time in a deal is important
Early signs to look for include understanding prospect's timeline and goals
'Two camps' approach helps understand where prospects are in their journey
Managing expectations is crucial in the first five to ten minutes of an intro call.
Clearly communicate the purpose of the call and what will be discussed.
Mismatched expectations can lead to a failed call, so it's important to address any differences early on.
Knowing how to run a discovery call allows for flexibility and the ability to meet the prospect's needs.
Managing expectations should be done in every discussion, not just the first call.
Having a clear agenda increases business acumen and makes busy executives more likely to engage with you.
Being genuinely curious about the prospect's goals and agenda helps build rapport.
Modifying your agenda based on the prospect's needs shows flexibility and understanding.
Setting up next steps at the end of the call gives clarity and allows for opt-outs if necessary.
Planting seeds about involving other people in future conversations prepares prospects for a larger buying committee.

Setting Expectations and Effective Questioning Techniques

20:52 - 27:41

Setting up expectations, managing expectations, and aligning on what great looks like within the first five minutes of the conversation
Using an upfront contract on every call to clarify misunderstandings about what the company does
Managing expectations by discussing next steps and what will happen in the call
Focusing the conversation on implied pain and understanding what brought the prospect to engage with the company
Addressing prospects who are unsure about what the company does by highlighting how it can help them based on similar companies in their space
Setting up expectations, managing expectations, and aligning on what great looks like within the first five minutes of the conversation
Using an upfront contract on every call to clarify misunderstandings about what the company does
Managing expectations by discussing next steps and what will happen in the call
Focusing the conversation on implied pain and understanding what brought the prospect to engage with the company
Addressing prospects who are unsure about what the company does by highlighting how it can help them based on similar companies in their space

Effective Discovery and Building Rapport

27:14 - 59:31

Understanding the timing of sales processes is crucial, especially when selling to different personas or varied markets.
Suggestive discovery is important but should be brought up at the right time to avoid being too aggressive or irrelevant.
Demonstrating understanding of prospects' situations and pain points early in the discovery process is crucial for successful sales meetings.
Having a similar customer experience can help suggest relevant solutions and start the call on a positive note.
After discussing problems in the current state, guiding the conversation towards positive outcomes and asking leading questions can help identify if their issues align with offered solutions.
Going one level deeper with follow-up questions shows genuine curiosity and helps understand why certain outcomes are important for the business.
Chunking up from situational symptoms to quantifiable outcomes can provide valuable insights during conversations.
We provide underlying credibility throughout the call by discussing other clients' problems we've helped solve.
Our access to insights and experiences from similar roles adds value to the conversation.
By framing questions in a curious and non-accusatory manner, we can unlock surprising answers and potential opportunities.
Curiosity reluctance can hinder sales conversations, but practicing pockets of curiosity can help overcome it.
The quality of the answers we receive from prospects is often determined by the quality of our questions.
Structuring questions with a focus on disarming and being direct can lead to more productive discussions.
Humbling disclaimers can help build rapport and encourage prospects to lean in and offer more assistance.
Using humbling disclaimers can help disarm prospects and encourage them to provide more accurate answers.
Question stacking, or providing context before asking a question, helps demonstrate expertise and encourages prospects to engage.
Asking 'how' and 'what' questions instead of 'why' questions can yield better responses and avoid sounding accusatory.
'When' is an underrated word that can be used to gather more information from prospects.
Framing questions in a future state context can be powerful in understanding prospect goals.
Asking open-ended questions that prompt prospects to share stories can create emotional attachment and engagement.
Reading case studies makes AEs more confident in their pitches and allows them to bring real-life examples to conversations with prospects.
AEs can use stories from great conversations with prospects to make their points more relatable and engaging.
AEs should not feel the need to know everything and can rely on prospects to provide information about competitors, which helps in telling better stories.
Approaching conversations with genuine curiosity and humility opens up opportunities for deeper connections with prospects.
Different personas respond differently to storytelling, so tailoring the approach based on the persona is important.
For economic buyers like CFOs, objective data and tangible results are more persuasive than anecdotal case studies.
Using stories about decision-making processes can offer insights and educate prospects about how others have made similar decisions in the past.
Salespeople should choose their stories carefully and come prepared with insights that add value to the conversation.
Bringing something to the table in a sales conversation, such as tips or insights, leads to a more productive discussion.
Enabling AEs to bring insights to the conversation instead of just asking questions
Encouraging AEs to ask themselves what they realize about prospects that prospects don't realize
Example: Investors don't realize there's another way to do research and find answers
Asking prospects to what extent they've thought about a competitor's solution that works for them
Insight is not the solution itself, but what it enables buyers to do
'To what extent' is a great way to turn any question into an open-ended one