Selling to Inbound vs Outbound Leads

 

Stop pitching to outbound leads like they begged for your demo. That’s exactly how you kill trust before it even has a chance to form.

Many sales reps still think that outbound fails because leads are cold.

They blame:

• Targeting
• Copy
• Reps

But the problem is not WHO you talk to.

The problem is HOW you talk to them.

Let's be clear, inbound and outbound are not the same types of leads.

Inbound lead → they already did 70% of the journey.
They compare vendors.
They expect a pitch.

Outbound lead → they did not wake up wanting your solution.
You likely sparked their curiosity.
They still decide if the problem you solve even matters.

When you run that outbound call like an inbound demo, you create instant friction.

Your leads feel sold to.
They pull back.
And your deal dies before trust even exists.

Here is the simple rule we follow in our team:

🧲 Inbound Meeting → Guide to Decision
• Help them compare
• De-risk the choice
• Validate you as the right option

📣 Outbound Meeting → Guide to Clarity
• Help them diagnose
• Reframe their current state
• Show them their challenge in a new light

TL;DR:

Inbound sells certainty.
Outbound sells understanding.

I have been selling to outbounds leads for around 5 years.
And it consistently works because my process matches the lead source.

https://tinyurl.com/bdhwz35y

Rainmaking Conversations

 

Alexey Cherkasov

The book Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade, and Sell in Any Situation by Mike Schultz and John E. Doerr is devoted to the methodology of sales conversations for large transactions, it describes the different scenarios of the conversations, and also provides a large number of useful tips on this topic. The book consists of 3 parts, which are divided into 19 chapters.

Most books about sales describe manipulative tactics that destroy the trust relationship with a prospect. Do not forget that buyers also learn, and they begin to recognize fraud. Moreover, realizing that they are being pressured, they begin to resist. Therefore, one of the main criteria for successful conversations, the authors call honesty.  

Mike Schultz and John E. Doerr in the book tell about their sales system. What is the method of RAIN?

RAIN is an acronym for Rapport, Aspirations and Afflictions, Impact and New Reality. These are the key concepts of sales conversations.

In business, a rainmaker is a person who brings in new business and wins new accounts almost by magic

The RAIN acronym also refers to the concept of “rainmakers” – a common name for people who bring the newest clients and revenue into an organization.

1. Rapport. To achieve a rapport, do not forget that you need to establish a sincere emotional contact with the potential client.
2. Aspirations and Afflictions. Having reached a rapport with the potential client, start to find out what problems they face and how you can help him.
3. Impact. Your task, based on the information about the client’s aspirations and afflictions, is to find an answer to the question: “So what?” The answer to this question will show what effect your offer will have on the business and private life of the buyer. By identifying the effect of your collaboration, you will set a new starting point for a potential client.
4. New Reality. One of the most important skills in sales is helping prospects to understand exactly what they get when they work with you. At the end of a well-managed sales process, your job is to create a vision of a New Reality that will be the best for your client, given their specific Aspirations and Afflictions and the Impact of doing (or not doing) something about them.

Companies and individuals that achieve significantly higher sales results compared to others distribute their efforts in the following four areas: Role Readiness, Action, Skills and Knowledge, Process – RASP.

1. Role Readiness. The degree of fundamental readiness of a person to succeed in sales.
2. Action. Performing actions that lead to successful sales.
3. Skills and Knowledge. Skills – various abilities necessary for sales, and the ability of a person to successfully apply them in practice. Knowledge – possession of information necessary for sales, and the ability to communicate freely on relevant and related topics.
4. Process. A system or scheme in which actions are performed to achieve the maximum possible sales result.

Success is the result of Role Readiness, Action, Skills and Knowledge, Process – RASP

The authors believe that the best strategy for negotiations is “win-win”. Based on this, they cite 10 principles of “rain casters”. The authors, based on their experience and research, identified 10 Rainmaker principles.

1. Play to win-win.
2. Live by goals.
3. Take action.
4. Think to buy first, selling second.
5. Be a fluent expert.
6. Create new conversations every day.
7. Lead masterful rainmaking conversations.
8. Set the agenda; be a change agent.
9. Be brave.
10. Assess yourself, get feedback, and improve continuously.

Also, this book will teach to:

• Have the most important conversation of your life – with yourself. Set personal goals and follow them.
• Formulate and present a value proposition. Components of a strong value proposition: to respond (customer must need what you are selling), be different( you need to show potential buyers than you stand out among other available options), confirm (potential buyers need to believe that you can fulfill their promises).  
• Search for potential customers by phone, do ” cold call ” customers.
• Work with objections. 4 types of objections:

1. No trust. The buyer experiences fear, doubt or apprehension.
2. No need. The purchaser is not noticing or did not recognize their need.
3. No rush. The buyer does not see the value of your offer.
4. No money.

There are 4 types of objections

• Planning sales conversations. At the stage of preparation of the offer for sale, it is necessary to ask yourself 6 planning questions.

1. What is the prospect’s current situation?
2. What are my sales goals for this prospect?
3. What is my desired next outcome?
4. What are my relative strengths?
5. What are my relative vulnerabilities?
6. What actions do I need to take before the next call?

• Avoid “killers” of sales conversations. The authors distinguish 4 types of “killers”:

1. Killers that make you dead on arrival
2. Killers hiding in the open
3. Killers waiting to ambush you
4. Killers you never see that kill in the dark

Avoid “killers” of sales conversations

The book “Rainmaking Conversations. Influence, Persuade, and Sell in any situation” has everything that will help a beginner at the start of their career to learn professional sales, and professionals – to structure their knowledge and revise their sales conversations process from a new, fresh point of view.

https://tinyurl.com/3tk99j6e

10 Sales Personality Types

 

Why Determine Your Sales Personality Type

As a salesperson, it’s crucial to understand your sales personality.

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can help you tailor your sales approach to different types of customers and situations.

For example, if you can connect with others, focus on building rapport and establishing a personal connection with potential customers.

Or, if you’re more analytical and detail-oriented, provide data and statistics to support the value of your product or service.

Identifying areas where you need to improve, such as persistence or resilience, can help you become more effective.

By understanding your sales personality, you can improve your performance, build stronger customer relationships, and achieve greater success in your career.

With that said, let’s explore ten sales personality types to help you find yours:

10 Sales Personality Types: What Type of Salesperson Are You?

Discover the type of sales personality you have below!

1. Order Taker

Order takers don’t persuade customers to buy products, upsell or cross-sell; instead, they book customer orders and pass information to the relevant department. These systematic salespeople are accurate and always have up-to-date information about when an order has been booked and when it will be supplied.

While easy to contact, good at answering questions, and readily accessible to help anyone, the laidback order-taker sales personality likes to play the waiting game and is never assertive.

If you’re the order-taker sales rep, you’ll know that reliability is your core strength. Still, you prefer to wait too long for the right customer to come along – usually, someone who knows what they want in the transactional phase. While looking for new business may not be your best quality, you’re a trustworthy fit for familiar customers ready to buy.

2. Studious

If you have a studious sales personality, it makes sense that you’re here. You’re a lifelong learner and believe sales is a science, not just an art and most likely already have a few sales theories waiting to be made into a book. However, studious sales reps still believe they’re a work in progress, which spurs you always to be a better salesperson.

As a result, your product knowledge is immaculate (obviously), and because you’re data-driven- a master of your CRM.

These sales skills and qualities mean that you can answer prospect objections and questions in record time while ensuring they get all the valuable information they need.

3. Script Reader

Script readers rely on using the same sales phone script, sales and elevator pitch for every potential customer.

While this provides customers with a reliable, comfortable and uniform brand experience, it means missing out on prime opportunities to cross or upsell.

Overall, script reader salespeople are strongly suited to businesses where the brand is a large piece of the sale. However, there’s always room to customise actions and words for each interaction to make the most of their time with customers.

4. Conversationalist

The conversationalist salesperson’s strength is creating a welcoming, warm, and relatable first impression.

Conversationalists instantly put prospects at ease by prioritising their needs and want, meaning most of their customers are often repeat or returning purchasers.

The only real downside to this type of sales rep is their inability to close sales, preferring not to be seen as “pushy” or overbearing.

The good news is that these types of salespeople are an excellent match for luxury retail environments where customers mostly pay for the sales experience.

5. Opener

Openers are masters of connecting with prospects, so much so that they have tons of leads ready for the pipeline.

This type of salesperson focuses on reaching out to prospects and is most energetic when making cold calls, sending emails and delivering sales meetings or presentations. The downfall of opener salespeople is that they don’t always remember to follow up with the client more than once and in different ways.

As a result, they often lose the sale because they can’t keep the customer thinking of them after the initial impression.

6. Empath

Empaths are the most insightful type of sales personality. Their main strength is tuning into the lead’s needs and wants quickly by noting subtle social cues while listening to everything they say.

As a result, they’re successful persuaders who seamlessly tap into different buying motivations and make it their mission to connect prospects with products that benefit them greatly.

Overall, empath salespeople don’t just care about making the sale; they want to make customers’ lives easier – and will always give exceptional value to every sale they make.

7. Closers

Closer salespeople have goal-orientated, driven and bold sales personalities and can always ask for the sale without being pushy. They have a magnetic enthusiasm that helps them reach new customers and close deals quickly when they listen intently to their needs, challenges and wants.

The pitfall for closers is their need to consistently make sales, which means they often lose focus on small but trusted sales relationships.

8. Chasers

Chasers are the master of the follow-up sales cadence. This type of salesperson is relentless by nature and will contact prospects until they get the desired result. However, chasers can often overlook the need to listen to customers and often lose out on a sale because they didn’t balance the desire to close the deal with their needs and preferences.

9. Networker

Networkers are the life and soul of the party as they seek out situations to meet new people.

Networking salespeople are at their strongest when making planned or unexpected connections; they welcome every opportunity to meet new clients and start new relationships with others. The only downfall of the networker is when they neglect follow-up messaging to turn connections into sales because they’re too busy nurturing trusted relationships.

10. Educator

The Educator salesperson prioritizes the product as the focus of the sales process by guiding conversations with either a skilled hands-on demonstration or a thorough explanation that best suits the need of customers.

These types of salespeople have a fluid ability to condense complex products down for consumers and instil confidence in their purchases. You’ll often find this type of salesperson in tech or SaaS sales because of their ability to explain complex products and core people skills needed to build rapport and trust, a winning combination.

Via: https://tinyurl.com/muzjmt54