52% of car accidents occur on a road that the driver uses at least once a week.
When you think about it, it makes sense.
When you have taken the same road a thousand times, you tend to feel safe.
Our attention wavers. And it's an accident.
It's the same for us salespeople. Only not as bad, of course.
By dint of one meeting, call or video conference after another and piling up new client signatures, we have a strong tendency to rest on our laurels.
You stop trying to improve. You stop training. You stagnate, you can even regress.
Our techniques for changing your mindset and getting out of the rut.
Preparing to better anticipate
"Before becoming a player I prepared myself, before becoming a coach I prepared myself again".
Zinedine Zidane
You'd think the magic recipe for success would be to... prepare yourself.
An athlete's performance depends on his preparation. It's the same for a salesperson.
Of your last few appointments, how many took the time to prepare for even 10 minutes?
To understand what separates top performers from the rest of the sales force, no fewer than 23,000 sales meetings were analysed to identify their common characteristics.
Our conclusions?
Top performers use a clear, organised and repeatable process.
The sequence is logical, allowing them to cover an average of 14 topics of conversation compared to 11 for average performers.
In addition to having fewer topics of conversation, the average performer changes topics in a haphazard and unstructured way.
The top performers change topics in a logical way and still manage to evoke more themes!
The figures do not lie. On average, top performers change the subject 15.6% fewer times than the rest of the sales force.
When you go into your sales meeting with a clear, proven strategy, you increase your chances of success tenfold.
Making a good entrance
"Put yourself in your best position"
Aimé Jacquet
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
This is what we see among top performers:
1/ Very comfortable.
Become an expert in "small talk". Selling is a science and an art. This is where those who master the "art of putting people at ease" score big points.
Our tips for anyone who doesn't have this talent and has trouble initiating "small talk" conversation topics:
"I realised when we were preparing for our meeting that you had worked at Microsoft. That must have been a great experience, right? “
"While preparing for our meeting, I realized that we both knew Jacques Cousteau. How did you meet him?"
You've noticed.
Even "small talk" requires preparation. Contrary to what one might think, it is not "glibness" or "he can sell heating to the Tuaregs"!
2/ Cut through the small talk and propose a clear agenda.
The most effective sales appointments are those that follow a clear structure. Tell your prospect about the appointment agenda and offer to add or change it.
Show your prospect how well you have prepared before arriving at the meeting. Show them that you are a precise person.
The more precise you are, the more professional you project. The more professional you are, the more trustworthy you are. The more trustworthy you are, the more convincing you can be.
And to sell, convincing is essential.
3/ Announce the color: Go / No Go
It takes courage. The courage to face the truth.
The average performer feels as if they are shooting themselves in the foot.
The top performer takes advantage of this to gain authority and trust from the prospect.
Concretely, it looks like this :
"The purpose of our appointment is simply to determine whether or not there is interest on your end."
"If it is, then, we can set a next step at the end of this meeting. If not, no problem, we will stop here as good friends."
You can't imagine how much time is wasted following up on opportunities where your contacts are not interested and simply don't dare to tell you.
It postpones the meeting... It cancels at the last minute... Nobody answers your emails. In short.
Push your prospects to dare to tell you that they are not interested.
Spend a little more time listening than talking, but not too much.
This allows you to better listen and above all to understand your prospect in order to better meet their expectations.
You already know, but when you speak: you don't listen, you don't let your prospect express himself, and in particular, at a certain point, nobody listens to you anymore.
Presentation phase
The most successful sales meetings are also the longest.
Getting your prospect's attention and then keeping it is therefore vital.
Keep it short. If you are demonstrating your product or service, focus only on those that will provide the most value.
1/ During demo meetings, the monologues of the top performers never exceed 76 seconds.
This gives your prospect time to ask questions, raise objections and give you feedback.
2/ Top performers share their screen no more than 25% of the time.
Don't save the best for last. Play your best card right from the start.
Show your prospect the most relevant functionality first and don't dragit out.
3/ Control the timing of the price announcement.
Give yourself time to talk about pricing.
It is imperative that you do not announce the price of your product or service at the very end of the meeting.
The price always makes you think, except in rare cases where your prospect is convinced of the value of what you are offering.
Give your prospect time to digest the information and ask you a few questions or even tell you it's expensive.
4/ Handling objections
The best sales people love them.
This is a good sign.
Your prospect is interested in your product, but still has some reservations.
Always take your time and think before you respond. On average, top performers take five times longer than the rest of the sales force, averaging 1.6 seconds before responding.
Never answer an objection in a hurry. Your answer might be off the mark and you will quickly become the "Yes man".
After an objection, the monologues of the top performers last on average 8 seconds compared to 20 for the rest.
This is partly because they have taken the time to think about their answer. They can get to the point.
50% of top performers respond to objections by asking questions. It's 30% for average salespeople.
"Is the price too high?" By rephrasing the objection, you show that you are listening to your prospect.
It also shows that you want to give them the best possible answer.
In addition, you get additional information to better respond. To sell, you have to answer objections well.
Remember: when top performers deal with an objection, they...
- Take time to think (1.6 seconds).
- Respond to objections by getting to the point (8 seconds of monologue).
- Ask additional questions 50% of the time.
Next steps
Spend time talking about next steps. Top performers spend at least 8% of their sales meeting time on this.
The rest of the sales team is rushing through this last part.
But it is a way of checking that your prospect wants to move forward with the project together with you and that he or she is really interested.
Top performers want a clear next steps back plan:
When? As short as possible.
Who? Can we add more decision makers...or more champions?
What? What is the objective of this next meeting?
Take the opportunity to identify any weak signals "What would make us not work together?"
Whether it is a prospecting call or a sales appointment. Every interaction with a prospect should be followed by a next step.
If not, you are making an excuse!
Acomment, an idea, a question? Contact Paul, our CEO by sending an email to : paul.berloty@modjo.ai
