The New Normal: Selling in The Zoom Economy

I have often heard, "Wow, that was a tough deal!" Well, the reality is that all 'closes' are tough and that is why we are paid. To navigate, inquire, present, follow up, reframe, reposition, endure. Not all 'sales' are difficult. "Sales"can happen and fall into our laps. Companies don't need us for this because these deals are going to happen anyway. We are just 'writing it up.' Granted, we can use a few gimmes once in a while, but in reality, anyone can do that. Closing isn't easy. Order Taking isn't selling.  Closing requires fortitude, creativity and endurance and differentiates the mediocre from the elite sellers. Closers learn and study about how to win more business, what buyers need. Closers study the 'game film' of each deal to see why they won or lost and how to improve. Closers can ride the rollercoaster of potential emotions that come with being in Sales and stay focused. Closers know that it's all about the...

I was going through some of my early podcast episodes  and found one that will always be relevant. Here are 4 simple things we can do to WIN more sales. 1) Be Ourselves -the #1 reason why Buyers reject sales reps is lack of trust. Letting our authentic personalities shine through in every encounter is the easiest and most powerful lever we can pull. Instead of worrying what the buyer will think of you, arrive at the meeting as 'You.'  2) Be Curious -genuinely want to know as much as you can learn about the buyer, the organization, the business issues and very importantly, what is causing those issues, what are the goals of the buyer, what happens if they do not solve those issues, what are the risks. More personally perhaps, what do they like about their job, why did they choose this line of work, and so on. This is easier in one on one meetings, of course, but in larger groups, do your best to establish a connection with each stakeholder. The more we know, the easier is will ...

While we have been schooled as modern sellers to engage in a discovery process in which we ask facilitative questions of our Buyer, we need to straddle the line between effective discovery and problematic prolonged and rote-like questioning. Asking questions right out of the gate can be off-putting, particularly to the C-Suite. Why? Because we are expected to do the research, the homework and asking too many basic and uninformed questions shows a lack of preparation and relying on the Buyer to educate us.  So what is the best approach? Leading with insights and a point of view. In essence, "Here is how we see the market. Does this match with your view?" "x% of our customers are experiencing y" "Is this also having an impact on your group?" "We are seeing a shift in the way companies are dealing with z" "One of the ways we are solving this issue for our customers is x. Have you thought of this approach?" Bringing information to the table...

What is different about selling in the current environment?  The selling process has grown more challenging as shifting and erratic buyer behavior is driving another disruption of the sales profession. The digital era/the information age brought about massive changes in the way we needed to sell. The COVID economy has delivered another wave of obstacles and hurdles, but more importantly, opportunities for us to transform and improve our sales game.  One very basic and foundational component of successful selling and really successful anything is that it needs our constant attention. More-so today than ever before. Why? The landscape is a constant state of flux, of change, of upheaval.  Today's definition of success and definitely yesterday's definition may not longer apply. The ability to manage change is going to be the single biggest determinant of our success in the near term. The ability to capitalize on new requirements, the ability to lead the change, to re create o...

A new survey from Demand Gen Report highlights key changes in Buyer behavior and to the purchasing process in the new COVID-influenced economy.  These include: 76% expect MORE from potential vendors, specifically personalized attention 73% are expanding the number of sources they use in pre sale research 71% conduct a detailed ROI analysis before making a final decision 61% are asking more stakeholders to get involved 92% are looking for an extensive menu of thought leadership content from vendor In addition these Buyers found sales reps influential in their decision to purchase in the following key ways: 69%-rep demonstrated a strong understanding of the buyer's business, industry, competitive landscape 65%-rep demonstrated a strong knowledge of buyer needs 62%-rep provided content that made it easier to build a business case for the purchase 54%-fast response from rep 54%-rep delivered a better mix of content through each phase of Buyer Journey/process What does this mean for us...

One of the biggest differentiators we can deliver is a first rate buying experience for our prospect. From the initial email reach out all the way through connecting them with the delivery team, post-sale. What do we deliver that other reps do not? The initial connection is paramount for creating a great first impression and setting the pace for an excellent buying experience. How we engage, our understanding of the prospect's business, our confidence, our questions, our 100% focus on the prospect, our listening, our empathizing, our ability to navigate our own team, pulling the correct levers, thinking creatively, the way we negotiate, our follow up notes which always add value, the way we handle concerns or even objections. If prospects can research our company and solutions online, what are we bringing to the table that they would not be able find on their own? Our approach and selling style can be that intangible that wins us more deals. What can we do better? How can we improv...

When we take responsibility for the wins and the losses, we advance to the next level of sales success. Excuse making is a performance killer. "Our stakeholder left the company." "Budget hold" "Nice to have, but not ready, yet." "They want us to circle back next quarter." "They are in transition right now" "This initiative is not budgeted." On so on.  We are quick to jump up and take the victory lap when the deals close. But are we prepared to step up and also say, 'it's my fault we did not win this deal." And it really is. We did not demonstrate enough value to convince the prospect to spend their money with us. They passed. Went somewhere else. Found some other rep more compelling. We should ask, "What can I do better on the next call?" First place to start is when you are notified by the prospect that you lost. Ask that prospect why they did not buy. Also reflect-what worked in our last win that mayb...

Jason Hogan The deals we close are usually the result of small advances throughout a longer process.  Sales success is all about leveraging our skills to advance a deal: getting to the next stakeholder, reviewing the proposal, working with procurement.  Moving the chess pieces. How can we advance the deal to the next milestone? Who needs to participate and when. From your team. From the prospect's team. Keeping the momentum going. Asking for a referral. Reconnecting with a former client or classmate. Overcoming potential slow downs or worse yet, showstoppers.  Progress is the key to success every day on the playing field of sales. Progress gets us to the wins. Consistent effort each day builds a strong pipeline, more sales, greater job security and more $$ in your bank account. Sign up to join our mailing list and we will send you the  7 Reasons Why Buyers Reject Sales Reps :

You can be a great seller but a weak closer. Sellers like to interact with prospects and show off their product/service/solution. Sellers like to tell you about all of the great benefits and advantages their service will bring you. Sellers like to show you how things work. Sellers are hoping you like them. Closers understand that deals are won or lost at the beginning and not the end. They do the homework and research ahead of time. They anticipate what questions might be asked of them. They write out a list of questions they want to ask the prospect. They build trust, rapport and credibility within the first few minutes of a meeting. Closers talk about the 'why' vs the 'how'. Closers adeptly seek to find issues/problems. Closers will show you the impact of not solving those issues. Closers are experts at navigating the buying process:the roles and the criteria for the decision. Closers can tie their solution to the prospects issues. Closers can get the buyer to see a s...

With the rules of the game in flux again, sellers are scrambling to maintain/find an edge in the new economy. The good news is that things are improving. More importantly, though, we are not going back to the way it was anytime soon.  One of the most overlooked and little mentioned advantage we have in sales today: Speed. The fastest follow up email. The fastest into the office. The fastest to let prospects know about a new solution or promotion. The fastest vendor to respond to a prospect's inbound (35-50% of the  wins, according to Inside Sales).  And this is so easily within your control. Beating the competition means getting to the starting line first and being the first one out of the box. More times than not, you will be the first one across the finish line. Prospect and customer expectations are higher than ever before. Do not hesitate!