Selling Strategic Outcomes

The top sales professionals assist clients in achieving strategic outcomes or clarifying what those outcomes should look like. According to Anthony Iannarino, these individuals are referred to as level four value creators.

Learn the art of selling outcomes:

• How to Sell Strategic Outcomes

Sales Psychology

Most buyers exhibit a natural resistance to change.

To facilitate this change, mastering cognitive reframing is essential. Erica Schultz from The Rain Group offers insights on how to influence buyers' mindsets:

• Read: Sales Psychology: 3 Questions to Change How Buyers Think

Sales Prospecting

An unwavering commitment to prospecting is a fundamental principle for all sales teams.

"Experts in prospecting understand that the efforts they invest today pave the way for future opportunities."

To succeed in prospecting, it’s crucial to exchange value for a meeting.

• Read: Sales Prospecting: 3 Expert Strategies to Find Great Leads

Talk Tracks

Sales involves a series of vital conversations.

Without engaging in these discussions, opportunities may slip through your fingers. "Securing a meeting" is the initial conversation that demands your focus.

Anthony emphasizes, "Without that first meeting, new opportunities cannot materialize, making it a critical outcome to initiate a dialogue."

Study these talk tracks and integrate them into your sales approach:

• 9 Critical Talk Tracks to Succeed in B2B Sales

Cold Calling

Salespeople often make a significant error that hinders their ability to schedule initial meetings with potential clients.

This mistake is failing to offer enough value to secure that commitment. Every conversation must be worthwhile for the prospect’s time.

Enhance your cold calling with this template:

• Cold Calling Examples: 3 Scripts to Close More Deals

Email Prospecting

Email serves as one of several touchpoints in a prospecting sequence, helping to build familiarity.

It's an excellent platform for delivering value without expecting anything in return.

Avoid limiting your prospecting efforts to a single medium, but when using email, adhere to this guidance:

• Read 1: 5 Proven Sales Prospecting Email Examples You Can Copy
• Read 2: How to Use Cold Email Effectively

What Is Your Advice Worth?

Low-value conversations lead to low-value sales.

Reflect on this: "What would someone be willing to pay for my guidance?"

This thought process is a vital mindset shift that every successful sales professional should embrace.

Consider this thought experiment: Imagine your role in a discovery call is solely to provide advice and counsel, with nothing else to sell.

• Read 1: What Is Your Advice Worth?
• Read 2: How Valuable Is Your Advice?

Mastering Insights

To evolve into a consultative salesperson, you must possess greater knowledge than your clients in critical areas and be prepared to share your insights and offer guidance.

Without the ability to provide advice, you become just another commodity.

• Read 1: 4 Insights That Make You Consultative in Sales
• Read 2: Insight-Based Selling: How to Change Your Client's Mind as a Consultative Salesperson

Ask Better Questions

Improving your sales IQ significantly hinges on developing insightful questions.

By posing excellent questions, you unlock the potential for extraordinary answers.

Start by asking these ten questions at various stages of the sales process:

• 10 Better Reasons to Ask Questions Instead of Identifying Problems

Additionally, keep this page bookmarked for reference on impactful sales questions:

• 50 Powerful Sales Questions

Pitching

The ideal pitch illustrates to your client how to achieve superior results.

You need to provide a "clearer perspective of their business and the decisions they face." Effectively pitching outcomes positions you as someone who can highlight and explain previously overlooked causes and effects, making you a valuable voice.

Elevate your pitch:

• How You Should Switch Your Pitch

Pricing

If a client fails to invest in the right outcomes, your organization will struggle to fulfill its commitments.

You'll face:

• Service issues
• Damaged reputation
• Client failures
• Displacement by competitors
• Client churn

Learn how to justify price increases and articulate why the investment is essential for delivering improved outcomes:

• In Praise of High Prices

Negotiation

One of the most valuable negotiation strategies is knowing when to walk away.

Mike Shultz shares expert negotiation tips that are applicable in nearly any scenario.

• Read 1: Strategies and Tactics for Sales Negotiation

To elevate your negotiation skills, Brandon Voss provides powerful insights for navigating the sales negotiation process.

• Read 2: 5 Steps to Negotiate Through the Sales Process

Virtual Negotiation

In today's globalized environment, dealing with clients and prospects worldwide is the new norm in sales.

Here are three tactics to consider when negotiating via email, phone, or video:

• Read: 3 Tips to Win Your Next Sales Negotiation in a Virtual World

Difficult Conversations

Every sales professional must learn to navigate challenging conversations.

These situations can arise from miscommunications, order issues, or other factors.

Mastering the art of handling difficult conversations is vital for your sales success:

• How to Prepare for Difficult Client Conversations

Post-sale Responsibility

The sales process doesn't conclude once an order is placed—unless you want to face customer churn.

"If you manage post-sale care effectively, you can create new opportunities and even larger deals," states Anthony Iannarino.

So, enhance your post-sale responsibilities:

• Your Responsibility to Your Client Post-Sale

Note: Don't attempt to tackle everything at once.

If you focus on too many things, you'll end up concentrating on nothing. Choose one section, digest the blog posts, study the materials, and implement what you've learned. Once you've mastered that area, move on to the next.

By adopting a focused approach, your sales skills—whether as an individual or a team—will see significant improvement.

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