Outbound Squad
"This isn’t a priority”—3 data-backed discovery tactics to never lose deals for this reason again
Tue Jul 11 2023Description
Many sales professionals are experiencing prospects putting deals on hold or rejecting proposals. Three key tactics to prevent losing deals are discussed in this episode. The first tactic is to align with larger org-wide initiatives, as 93% of B2B buyers make purchases that align with existing initiatives. The second tactic is to quantify the cost of inaction, as 44% of deals are lost due to customer preference for the status quo. The third tactic is to lead the sales cycle and process in a multi-threaded manner, as 78% of reps are single threaded on deals. Insights include using insights to disarm buyers during discovery conversations, adding value through insight sharing, and asking insight-driven questions. Other topics covered include the importance of non-obvious, evidence-based, and actionable insights, the use of analytics to understand customer sentiment, and the value-based discovery framework. The chapters also discuss breaking prospects out of the status quo, aligning with goals and priorities, asking well-formed questions, understanding the current state, demonstrating effectiveness, and adapting to organizational changes.
Insights
Aligning with larger org-wide initiatives
Aligning with larger org-wide initiatives is crucial as 93% of B2B buyers make purchases that align with existing initiatives.
Quantifying the cost of inaction
Quantifying the cost of inaction is important as 44% of deals are lost due to customer preference for the status quo.
Leading the sales cycle in a multi-threaded manner
Leading the sales cycle in a multi-threaded manner is essential as 78% of reps are single threaded on deals.
Using insights to disarm buyers during discovery conversations
Insights can disarm buyers and get them talking during discovery conversations.
Adding value through insight sharing
Sharing insights with buyers adds value to the conversation.
Asking insight-driven questions
Asking insight-driven questions can change the conversation and engage buyers.
Importance of non-obvious, evidence-based, and actionable insights
Insights in sales need to be non-obvious, evidence-based, and actionable.
Using analytics to understand customer sentiment
Using analytics to understand customer sentiment can help improve FAQ pages and reduce calls to the contact center.
Breaking prospects out of the status quo
Breaking prospects out of the status quo is crucial to prevent lost deals.
Seller-led buying motion
Taking a seller-led approach in the buying motion involves coaching the buyer towards the best outcome.
Chapters
- Tactics to Prevent Losing Deals
- Adding Value during Discovery Conversations
- Insights in Sales and Actionable Questions
- Insight-Driven Questions and AE Self-Sourcing
- Breaking the Prospect Out of Status Quo
- Aligning with Goals and Priorities
- Asking Well-Formed Questions and Understanding the Current State
- Demonstrating Effectiveness and Adapting to Org Changes
Tactics to Prevent Losing Deals
00:01 - 07:20
- Align with larger org-wide initiatives, as 93% of B2B buyers make purchases that align with existing initiatives.
- Quantify the cost of inaction, as 44% of deals are lost due to customer preference for the status quo.
- Lead the sales cycle and process in a multi-threaded manner, as 78% of reps are single threaded on deals.
Adding Value during Discovery Conversations
06:51 - 13:46
- Insights can disarm buyers and get them talking during discovery conversations.
- Value-based discovery is a framework for effective discovery.
- Sharing insights with buyers adds value to the conversation.
- Buyers should walk away from discovery conversations with something they can use or implement.
- Challenges in discovery conversations include getting buyers to open up, quantifying problems, attaching to business priorities, creating urgency, earning the right to ask questions, and dealing with price checks and competition.
- Example of a rep struggling with attaching product features to business outcomes.
- Insight sharing is a key concept in adding value during discovery.
- Buyers should gain industry insights and learn about how similar companies gain competitive advantages during discovery calls.
- Discovery should be a give-and-take process for buyers to willingly engage.
- As a salesperson, think of yourself as a guide helping prospects through a transformation.
- The Insight Sharing framework helps add value during discovery conversations by providing non-obvious insights based on evidence.
Insights in Sales and Actionable Questions
13:17 - 20:12
- Insights in sales need to be non-obvious, evidence-based, and actionable.
- An example of an insight is focusing on training frontline leaders instead of just training reps.
- Customer stories and third-party validation are powerful evidence for insights.
- Buyers can take action by focusing less on training reps and more on training frontline leaders.
- During a workshop-style webinar, participants share specific problems their solutions solve in unique ways.
- Examples include holding students accountable for nursing entrance exam preparation and building dev resources effectively.
- Soft costs can be used to quantify the value of solutions that are hard to measure in hard costs.
- Insight-driven questions should provide context and value to the buyer.
- Asking questions with insight leads to more engagement from buyers.
Insight-Driven Questions and AE Self-Sourcing
19:57 - 27:02
- Insight-driven questions can change the conversation and engage buyers.
- AE self-sourcing is a priority for many sales leaders, but GoGuardians takes a different approach by focusing on frontline managers and running weekly power hours with AEs.
- Using analytics to understand customer sentiment can help improve FAQ pages and reduce calls to the contact center.
- Insight-driven questions position you as a trusted advisor and show that you have guided others through similar transformations.
- The value-based discovery framework aims to reduce deals lost to status quo.
- 40-60% of deals are lost due to the customer's preference for status quo.
Breaking the Prospect Out of Status Quo
26:32 - 34:31
- 40 to 60% of deals were lost to the no decision limbo.
- Customer's preference for status quo is a common reason for lost deals.
- Customer's fear of making a bad decision is another reason for lost deals.
- Goal number one is to break the prospect out of status quo.
- Three-part framework: connect, quantify, and lead.
- Prioritize aligning with existing business priorities over pushing your solution.
- Focus on the cost of inaction rather than ROI.
- Buyers often lack a defined buying process, so take a seller-led approach.
- Seller-led buying motion involves coaching the buyer towards the best outcome.
- Connect, quantify, and lead are the three pillars of successful sales calls.
- Discovery loop helps execute the connect, quantify, and lead strategy in sales calls.
Aligning with Goals and Priorities
34:11 - 41:22
- 93% of B2B buying purchases are the result of being attached to a larger work-wide initiative.
- To start a conversation, use alignment statements and ask about their goals and priorities.
- Suggest potential priorities based on patterns from previous sales calls.
- Quantify goals and priorities by finding out how they measure them.
- Avoid asking open-ended questions that may lead to tangents.
Asking Well-Formed Questions and Understanding the Current State
40:54 - 48:05
- Asking about goals and priorities can yield bad answers if the questions are not well-formed.
- Quantification questions can provide insights into how others measure success.
- Asking about specific outcomes and measurement criteria for success can help align with prospects.
- Researching stakeholders beforehand can help ask for people by name and involve more senior individuals.
- Sharing examples of how other customers approach similar initiatives can be helpful.
- Using quantification questions, multi-threading, and troubleshooting techniques can help when prospects are not opening up.
- Understanding the current state and identifying the gap between where prospects are and where they want to be is important.
- Asking about progress, tried options, and desired options can provide insights into the current state.
Demonstrating Effectiveness and Adapting to Org Changes
47:37 - 54:34
- The best way to help in an org change is to show it in action and demonstrate its effectiveness.
- If you need to table an evaluation for six to eight months due to an org change, consider who you need to align with and understand the goals of the change.
- For example, if a software company is restructuring from verticalized by industry to territory-based, understanding the reasons behind this change can help align your evaluation with it.
- Make sure you are threaded high enough within the organization to continue discussing how your product can assist with the org change.
- When selling recruiting services for security leaders hiring, focus on quantifying the cost of inaction related to not having enough resources or people for detecting vulnerabilities and completing important tasks on time.
- Rather than quantifying the cost of inaction related to hiring itself, emphasize the impact of not having sufficient resources on their priorities and projects.
- Appreciate everyone's engagement and look forward to seeing you on the next webinar.