Right now, more so than ever, it is critical for salespeople to learn how to navigate in a tight economy. On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly, talks with the co-founder of DocSend, Russ Heddleston, about how to listen more, use the prospect's language, and how do ONE thing well for them. 

Why won’t order-takers survive in a tight economy?

• Over the last few years, more and more order-taking roles are being pushed to automation. The role of the salesperson is changing because of the amount of competition and vendors. What can we do?

Be curious and listen more

• Your first job is to listen and understand why you are having a conversation and how you can help your customer. 
• Look up who you are talking to ahead of time. Russ says that very few of the salespeople he talks to have done their research ahead of time. 
• The process will move faster if you are more patient on your first calls. 

Bridge the gap between value and the company's goals

• Companies have been through the ringer in the past year, so have empathy for your prospect.
• Your best bet to get them to buy is to understand their business. Understand what they are trying to solve so that you can become a partner to them. 

Use their own language

• The person you are talking to is not the only person involved in the buying decision. Even if you convince them, they need to convince everyone else in the company. 
• To help your champion save time, recognize their language and use it so that they can turn around and explain it to their company. 
• If you are not versed in their industry, talk to product marketing and your support team, then document it for the next person. 

Do ONE thing well for them

• Make it simple, not complicated, for why they should buy. 
• Take all the value propositions your product has and boil it down to one thing. The discovery is key in this process so you know what is important to them. 

Episode resources

• Connect with Russ on Twitter and Linkedin.
• Check out DocSend here.

This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

The sales landscape is totally changing. The way that we are selling is out of line with the way our prospects are buying. You need to adapt to succeed. Imagine if you could use data that could give you insights into when somebody is ready and the challenges they are facing so you can fine-tune your message specifically toward them. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE.

This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we’re speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we’ve found the solution.

Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson’s workflow, so you don’t have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com. 

This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly.

The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. With calendly, you can turn more meetings into revenue, accelerate your sales cycle, and increase your win rate when you choose to use calendly to automate your scheduling. Finish the year strong and request a demo of calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE. 

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

hubpspot.com/marketers

bluemangostudios.com