Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to work with some excellent sales and marketing professionals, all while benefiting from some world class training and exposure to great methodologies. Having worked in sales for 30 years, I was pretty sure I’d sussed it. After all Malcolm Gladwell’s famous 10,000 hours to master a task was only based on 20 hours’ work a week over 10 years. That means that I should have mastered sales at least 6 times over by now!

But you guessed it, I was wrong! That doesn’t mean that all that experience is invalid, it simply means that customers have changed their approach to buying… Customers have never been better informed. They will have come up with solutions to their problems long before they engage with the organisations they feel can help.

As part of our journey as a HubSpot Partner, I had the opportunity to sign up for their Pipeline Generation Bootcamp. What an experience! I can only describe it as transformational!

I want to share a quote that sums up their approach and how effective it was, because I felt fully involved and learned a great deal.

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.
― Benjamin Franklin

There are 3 key takeaways that I would like to share with you,

1. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
   No one wants to be sold to! Buyers are looking to be informed and educated on their journey. It’s vital that you understand their needs before you propose a solution.As a wise man once said, you have two ears and one mouth, and they should be used in that ratio. I knew this rule as the “odds are” rule. Odds are you spend 66% of your time talking and 33% listening. It should be the other way around, 66% of your time should be spent listening. Oh, and don’t just wait to speak, really listen. Active listening will allow you to find out all you need to know to HELP your client.
2. Is selling an Art or a Science?
   I have heard sales described as a numbers game, and more recently as a ratios game. People say that you need to make X calls to gain Y appointments to win Z deals. That means it’s a science, right?Well kind of, but there’s a bit more to it than that… It is fair to say that there is a “process with purpose” that when applied WILL deliver results, let me explain.

    

   First, cold is bad, warm is good! Before you reach out to a potential client, make sure you or your message will resonate with them. Have they visited your website? Did you connect a while back on LinkedIn? Did an existing client mention them to you because they were looking for the services you offer? Whatever it is, make sure that it is at the front of your mind and that you’re ready to build on it.

   Second, do your research first. This is about quality over quantity. Take time to understand your prospect. You need to know where they are on their journey, what type of person they are and so on. This way, you have a better chance of standing out from the crowd because your messaging and method is more likely to strike a chord.

   Thirdly, persist! You need to have a clear connect methodology. People are busy. They may have wanted to connect with you but haven’t had the chance. You need to try different mediums – call, voicemail, email and so on. Try and connect over a week or so. If it’s not working then it’s okay to move on, as long as you make a note to try again a month or two.

3. Fail to Prepare, then Prepare to Fail
   Following on from understanding your prospect and doing your research, you now need to be well prepared for your interactions.What I’m about to say may make you want to stop reading, but don’t. What’s vital in a discovery or sales call is a SCRIPT! I know, I know, you are an experienced sales and marketing professional and strongly doubt the need for a script. After all, it makes you sound like a robot… Bear with me…

    

   When you go to the movies, how do the actors sound? Like robots? Unprofessional? No, they sound great, and it’s because they have scripts! Indeed, any sci-fi fan would know that scripts even make the robots sound great! They have learnt their scripts and now sound totally natural and professional. It’s important to have thought through what you want to say, so you know, for example, how to deal with objections and how to keep the conversation going. This means that it needs to have been written down in advance. Over time, it will make you sound natural, knowledgeable and professional!

4. Bonus Takeaway! – Fancy starring in your own video?
   I thought I would sneak in an extra tip. I think you will like this one! We all want to stand out, it is crowded out there. Video is growing at an exponential rate; the draw of the “play” button can be very powerful. People want to consume information easily and quickly. Video is much easier to consume than text…. Now you can integrate “video” into your messaging. This gives you the opportunity to communicate in a really appealing format. It also means that you can humanise and personalise messaging.

If you would like to hear some more insights or if you need help on your journey, please feel free to connect.

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