 In the (slightly edited) words of Billy Zane in the movie Titanic, “a real [sales]man (or woman) makes his own luck.”
Yes, most good salespeople have natural selling abilities, people skills, and an interest in building relationships. What sets great salespeople apart isn’t that they were lucky enough to get incredible leads or have selling instincts that the average professional lacks. What takes a salesperson from good to great is how they invest their time and energy, and making that change is as simple as a shift in perspective. Quality over Quantity. Many salespeople assume that in order to close more accounts, they need to go after more leads. They think of their closing rate as relatively fixed (perhaps it’s roughly the average closing rate for their team or has been their closing rate for years), so they believe that the more leads they have, the more deals they’ll close and the higher their numbers will be. When they have free time, they sign up for networking events. They make cold call after cold call. They look at the top of the funnel. They ask for more. A great salesperson, however, understands that quality, not quantity, is what will boost their bottom line. Well, of course the quality of the lead matters, you may be thinking. And it does. Some leads that enter the funnel don’t fit the ideal customer profile, aren’t serious about buying in the near future, or have an incumbent vendor who they have no real intention of leaving. But quality doesn’t just refer to the quality of the leads coming in. It also encompasses the quality of the experience the salesperson offers to the prospective customer. A great salesperson realizes this, so they don’t use every spare moment of their day looking for more leads. Instead, they focus their energy on stacking the deck in their favor. This means researching the organization and the customer contact to make sure they uncover every detail that’s readily available so that they can approach an initial discovery meeting or call with tailored questions that position them to get more information. They set themselves up to dive deeper. Get Curious. Once a great salesperson has learned everything they can, they’re able to figure out everything they don’t know that could help them form a relationship with the customer. They realize that the best (and really, only) strategy to start gaining an understanding of what’s going on beneath the surface is by asking questions, not with the intention of selling, but with the intention of learning. The list of questions isn’t a set of boxes to tick. They don’t lead you down one of two selling paths, where your path forward is clearly charted. Instead, each question is merely a starting point. The answers lead to unplanned follow up questions, natural conversations, and seemingly minor details that help the salesperson build a relationship with the customer. When you commit to remaining curious, the discovery process never ends - you’re consistently looking to understand what is going on in the customer’s world so that you can figure out how you fit into the picture. Get Deeper.
These questions are all important and undoubtedly the answers matter, but asking them won’t set a salesperson apart from anyone else the buyer is meeting with. That’s all surface level information - and what you need to know doesn’t necessarily come from asking questions. It comes from having conversations. If you ask a customer what the company values, they’ll likely rattle off the mission statement or core values listed on their website. But if you start talking about different corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs they’ve participated in, you’ll get past the corporate speak and get an idea of what really matters to them. You’ll start to uncover what’s going on in their world, why they care about the things they do, what’s important to the company, what their culture is really like, and what it would mean to be a part of their team or be a vendor that supports them. This type of deeper understanding puts you in a position of discovery, which in turn can help you see clues to different types of opportunities where you may be able to be of service. This may provide you better ideas on how your offerings could be of real value to this customer and put you in a position where you’re a partner instead of a vendor. Learn More. Iceberg Selling is a technique grounded in the understanding that for every person, organization, and situation, you can only see 10% of what’s really going on. By adopting the right mindsets, prioritizing building relationships, and approaching customers with genuine curiosity, you can start to explore the other 90% and improve your sales performance. Get the book to learn more about Iceberg Selling. Before he became a sales consultant and fractional CRO, Karl ran a digital agency for about 10 years. It was a business with a great reputation for creating experiential, unique websites and applications and everybody seemed to love working there.
It was a reputation that spread quickly, and anytime they’d post a job opening, they’d get flooded with applications. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Karl started each interview with the same question. “Hey, on our website, in our portfolio, what was your favorite website our team created?” This question was a test. Because if somebody responded with, “Oh, I didn’t really have enough time to look at them,” or, “I don’t really know specifically what websites you guys have built, I just know you do great work,” the interview immediately got on the off ramp. If somebody couldn’t put in enough time to be prepared for a job interview in a highly sought after position, it showed that they weren’t willing to do even the most basic level of research. They weren’t going above and beyond to really understand what the company was all about. If they didn’t put in enough effort before a job interview to be able to answer a really simple question, why would Karl think they would start putting in effort to get to know potential customers later? On the other hand, if somebody came in and shared that they saw the website the team made for X company, loved a leader’s appearance on Y podcast, or talked about what they’ve heard about the company culture, it would go a long way. Why? Because it made it clear that the applicant cared enough about the opportunity to take the initiative to learn more about them - and they’d likely care enough about their customers to do the same. On the Hidden Sales Secrets episode of the Selling with Love podcast, Karl shared crafting an experience doesn’t just create loyal customers, but fills his cup, why salespeople need emotional resilience, why elevator pitches only serve the bottom of the funnel, and more. Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts to learn more!  We’ve all been there. An RFP comes in with detailed information about an event, the scope of work, and an ask to know more about your process and differentiators. More often than not, one of the final, but most important, parts of the RFP is the ask to include 3-5 references.
This should be the easy part. After all, you likely have a long list of customers you work with regularly and you believe would have great things to say about your team. But which ones are the best to put down? Not only that - are they willing to be a reference? The timeframe for the RFP is quick and the clock is ticking, and suddenly, you feel stressed about how to move forward. Not to mention, asking for a reference can be awkward and uncomfortable. Here’s how you get ahead of it. Before an RFP is even in front of you, create a list of 3-5 customers you believe would be outstanding references for your company. They don’t necessarily need to be your biggest customers, but rather, someone you’ve worked with repeatedly and who you know have great things to say about your team. Next, reach out to your contacts at those companies and ask if they’d be open to being a reference account a few times a year, just in case anybody thinking about hiring an AV company wants to talk to one of your best customers. Odds are, they’ll say yes. But without the looming pressure of a proposal deadline, you won’t feel as stressed about getting an immediate response and the customer won’t feel put on the spot. Having a list like this already built (as well as having your top customers primed on what to say and getting a pre-commitment that they’ll give you a great recommendation) gives you an extra tool in your arsenal. It’ll save you time when an RFP comes in or a lead asks for a referral. And if a lead doesn’t ask? Even better. You can offer the referral as a way to close the deal. In fact, you might find opportunities where you can naturally get your best customers and promising referrals in the same room together. If you’re like most AV companies, there’s probably a non-profit group you work with at a significantly discounted rate. Next time you’re building a contract for one of their events, ask if, in return for that discount, you can have a table to bring some of your clients and prospective clients to the event. You’ll get the opportunity to show prospective clients a really incredible event your team has produced and even give them a backstage tour. Meanwhile, your existing clients get to enjoy a fundraising gala on your dime. And the entire time, all of you will be seated at the same table, allowing your best customers to mingle with your biggest leads. Who knows? Maybe one of them will even bid on an item in an auction or make a donation - making the entire situation a win for everyone. |
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We are headquartered in Colorado with domestic and international teammates and clients. Please use the contact form on this page to inquire about any of our books, podcasts appearances, speaking engagements and workshops, any of our offerings, or simply to connect.
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