death of the hard sell: how to stop closing and start empowering
TRANSCRIPT
How to:
Stop Closing
Start Empowering
Christopher Ryan, CEO
Death of the Hard Sell
&
“Famous” Legendary Closers
Elmer Gantry
Glengarry Glen Ross
Tin Men
Boiler RoomWall Street
The Closer is Dead.
“The sales rep that doesn’t try to ‘control the process’ but instead functions as the objective trusted adviser to the prospect’s process is the sales rep that wins deals.”Sam MallikarjunanThinkGrowth.orgHubSpot
…but the days of the high pressure closer are
numbered…
Long Live the Listener.
The hard sell approach works in the movies…
What Should You Focus on?
THE BUYING PROCESS
• Most people like to buy• But very few of us like to
be sold
Universal access to information and the amount of competition in almost every industry have empowered buyers.
So why not change your paradigm from “selling people stuff” to “helping people buy”?
How Ineffective Sales Reps Approach the B2B Sales Function:
Close
Talk
Command
PressureDrive
Tell
Push
Effort
Force
Assist
How Effective Sales Reps Approach the B2B Sales Function:
Suggest
Listen
Nurture
Teach
Educate
Coach
Guide
Help
Enable
What can we do to support a sales model that is based on guidance, coaching and
education?
How Marketing can Support the New Sales Model
Here are suggestions:
5
If you don’t supply the right information at the right place in their buying journey…
Give prospects what they want – not what you think they need
1
Holding back is counterproductive.
Buyers research online.
They will go visit your competitors’ websites.
And they take this quite seriously.
Give sales reps what they want2
When sales reps tell you that they want more or less of X, Y or Z, give them the benefit of the doubt.
Their commission checks depend on making sales.
Too many elevator pitches and brand statements are ambiguous – don’t let this be true about yours.
Make sure your messaging is clear3
If the prospect doesn’t instantly grasp that you are a potential solution, they won’t stick around.
That outlines…
Establish a firm set of expectations with your sales counterparts
4
Create a service-level agreement (SLA).
…at every stage of the process.
…exactly who is going to do what…
Revisit your lead-to-revenue (L2R) model 5
Challenge assumptions about how your company has been marketing and selling.
While consistency is important, watch out for “we’ve always done it this way” syndrome.
Read my 2015 article on this subject titled, Does Your B2B Sales Model Need an Overhaul or a Tune-up?
Make it a key part of your
2017 planning process.
Follow these Principles to Generate Revenue and Repeat Customers
“Help prospects
buy”
About Fusion Marketing Partners
Christopher Ryan, CEO
We Do This:
Brand building/messaging
Website optimization
Content creation
Lead Generation
You Get This:
Much greater levels of awareness
Higher quantities of qualified leads
Ability to generate faster revenue
Lots more information at:
http://FusionMarketingPartners.com/
http://Greatb2BMarketing.com (blog)