Episode 126: Sales Fails

If you’ve ever connected with someone on LinkedIn or got a new follower on Twitter and then immediately got a direct message asking you to check out their product/service, set up a call, or any other pitch you’ve experienced a sales fail.

[0:35] Todd’s Rant

Too often modern salespeople utilize outdated tactics that fall flat in the age of inbound. Time wasting cold calls, unsolicited emails, and cold outreach of all kinds are holdovers from the 90s era of spam and like Smash Mouth’s All-Star, most people in 2018 would rather not.

The worst part of pushy sales tactics is that they don’t just annoy people, they make your prospects loath you. Time wasting cold outreach where the salesperson has done zero research is less likely to land you in a spam folder and more likely to result in a prospect that will never work with you and is more than happy to tell anyone who will listen how awful you are. Cold calling is high-risk behavior.

And your prospects can tell when you haven’t done your research beforehand and are doing your qualifying on the phone. If you don’t know who you’re talking to, what they do, what they need, and how to help them, then you’re not ready to pick up the phone.

All of this isn’t to say that you can’t reach out to someone you don’t have a personal relationship with, but how you approach cold outreach and set the stage makes all the difference. If you know your prospect and can speak immediately to their problems may be, they’ll listen.

For instance, don’t start talking about your product. No one cares! Everyone cares about their problems, and if you want to succeed you need to explain how you will address/help with their problems.

If you know who they are, what they are doing, and you have connected with them in a personal way then it’s much more powerful and more likely they will be receptive to your outreach.

The goal is to build trust. Doing your research, listening to your prospects, and respecting their time are key. If you can’t check off all three of those boxes, then you’re deploying an outdated tactic that is more likely than not going to fail.

Your tactics should show that you respect your prospects, their time, and their needs. In short, your tactics need to be inbound. 

[17:45] Dan’s Rant

Dan’s top 3 sales fails:

1. Talking not listening!
2. Demoing, not discovering
3. Calling everyone – The riches are in the niches. Don’t call everyone it’s a waste of time

[20:29] Todd’s Truth

Help early. Help often. Focus on your customers.

“Inbound selling is a modern, buyer-centric form of sales where the seller prioritizes the buyer’s needs ahead of their own. Inbound salespeople focus on the buyer’s problem and context above all else. The inbound salesperson customizes their sales process and solution, should one exist. Smart leaders will take the time to learn about it, teach your sales reps how to become inbound sellers, and start using this method as a competitive advantage for your company in the age of the empowered buyer.” Brian Signorelli

[21:15] 3 Takeaways

It’s so important there is only one takeaway this week:

Senior leaders need to shop themselves – experience your sales and marketing experience for the point of view of the customer

Links

• Take the Inbound Organization Assessment (https://www.inboundorganization.com/inbound-organization-assessment)

We’re extending the MSPOT contest! You can download the MSPOT template, submit it for review, and anyone who submits an MSPOT will be entered into the contest. The first-place winner will win an hour to review their MSPOT with Todd