ValuePros Show

Episode Overview

In this episode, Cheryl Christiansen speaks with us about the importance of understanding your customer's customer. Cheryl started her consulting practice Data2Develop after spending several years in sales-facing leadership positions with blue-chip brands including Oracle. We are both active members of the sales enablement society, and share some perspective on the importance of really understanding your customer and their business dynamics, starting with their customers.

True Intimacy is Knowing Your Customer’s Customers’ Pain

True customer intimacy is when you know your customer's customer’s pain. A lot of times we'll focus on our customer, but if you start to delve into why are they in business you’ll learn more about how they are solving someone else's problem and how they provide a solution to help them meet a need. So, you need to dig into their customer’s customers’ pains. What challenges are your customer’s customers’ facing? What does it cost them. What’s the opportunity being missed. And who else is trying to solve your customer’s customers’ problems, and how is your customer positioned in the market against their competitive sphere?

Example from the Aerospace Industry – the Miracle on the Hudson

Cheryl worked for a company called IHS, and at the time it stood for Information Handling Services and then they went public, and it became IHS Market. One of her major accounts was Honeywell which was a collection of several Honeywell accounts. Each account was focused on a specific solution that Honeywell provided. So one was auxiliary power units. They were used and bought by Boeing. So the Honeywell customer was Boeing, and they were building jets. So an auxiliary power unit (AP) is a critical piece of equipment because when the engines fail, the auxiliary power unit is what brings you in safely. For example, US Airways and the situation that led to the Miracle on the Hudson had an AP you from Honeywell. Honeywell’s customer was Boeing. And who was Boeing's customer? Well, in this case, it was US Airways and who was their customer? Well, it was the public. And what they cared about was safe and reliable equipment. So when the airline hit a bird, and they had to make an emergency landing, they immediately turned on the auxiliary power unit, and thank goodness that worked and those people were saved as well as a very smart pilot.

Implications for Honeywell

So if you're a sales rep for Honeywell, you have got to follow the trends. What is happening with your aerospace customer’s customers’. It was learned that Boeing was considering a joint venture with a company in France to make their own auxiliary power units. That would disrupt United Technologies and Honeywell. And if Honeywell can portray the value proposition of the safest AP, then Honeywell can take that to Boeing and hopefully be preemptive and keep the Boeing account.

Taking a Strategic Look at Your Market and Selling Strategically

Selling this way is very strategic. It requires taking a strategic look at the market including the market dynamics and the business dynamics of not just who you're selling to, but their customer’s customers. You will come to love the industry and the players in the industry, allowing you to double down and understand the market space and being relevant to your customers in that market space. To do this, you've got to be curious. You will read corporate reports, so you know who your major opportunities are in your territories. If you haven't read their annual reports, then shame on you. And as you read their annual report, and you see the different boards that they might sit on and the organizations and then you start to look at who's who within the organization and their backgrounds you start to notice some trends, and then you start to follow the thought leaders in those industries.

Resources and Links for this Episode

• Connect Cheryl McCurdy Christiansen on LinkedIn
• Visit Cheryl’s Web site at com

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Here’s a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview I met Mark S.A. Smith on LinkedIn. He's an avid writer with 14 books under his belt, and has years of experience working with executives. He's a master at selling complex things as fast as they possibly can be sold. In this episode, Mark talks to us about an unusual topic - how to connect with your customers' career goals. Why do we want to do this? Well as Mark breaks this down for us, the bottom line is it's the fastest path to selling success and having customers make what Mark likes to call high consideration decisions to purchase your solution.

A Misleading Question - How Can You Beat the Competition Mark mentioned he often has people ask him, "How can I beat my competition?" And that's the wrong question. The real question is, "how can I help my customer beat their competition?" When you help them do this there isn't competition. The focus is how can you make my customer look so good that it's impossible for them to buy from anybody else who's focused on their product versus on the success of their customer.

It's About Your Buyers' Careers In getting a customer to say "yes," they will also being saying "yes" to how the decision to work with you and go with your solution will affect their career. In the world of corporations, there's only one way you can make serious money. And that is through getting a promotion. And the only way you get promotion is by illustrating consistently that you have good judgment. That means that if you make a few bad decisions that have an impact on the business, you become toxic. You cannot be promoted. So, to net this out, your customer must consistently show good judgement to ascend up the path towards the executive ranks of their firm. So as you are selling to them, just know they are asking themselves "is this going to be good for my career? Or is this going to damage my career?" This is the subtext of every decision-making criterion that everybody makes in the world of corporations. And if you've ever lost a deal, even when you had the best overall solution, the buyer probably didn't see you and your solution as in the best interests of their career. This is most often what you don't hear. Instead, you might hear your price is too high, or the executive committee went a different way. And they'll use a word that when you hear it you'll go, "oh, that's what that means." They'll say it was a political decision. That's the indication that you didn't support their career. They chose a lesser product because it was better for their career, it was less risky for them. And in the world of technology, the number one vendor in the industry is rarely the best technology but the best at supporting the career of their customers.

Does the Best Product Win? No, but if it Impacts Your Buyers' Careers… You probably remember the old campaign and commercials for IBM with the theme, "no one ever got fired for buying IBM." In the case of Microsoft, it wasn't the best operating system, but it was often the most politically correct operating system. With EMC in the world of storage, it wasn't the best storage technology. But politically, it was the best storage company. And with IBM, rarely did IBM have leading edge technology but they did lots and lots of research. They were not always the fastest, but politically they were the correct solution. And so if you just kind of open your eyes to this concept of people are making decisions based on what's best for their career, you'll realize that you're surrounded by examples of why that's the case. It's not the product, but the product's capacity to improve their career position.

Focus on the Outcome, and Connection to Career Progression So, to shift things up, you need to stop talking about the product, and start talking about the outcome that this person has been tasked by their scorekeeper to deliver. Think about their objective, and their objective is set by their scorekeeper. The scorekeeper can be a boss. It could be a spouse. It could be a parent. But there's somebody keeping score. And that's who we also have to satisfy … that scorekeeper. Next, what's going to allow them to win in their job? What will allow them to feel comfortable, confident and certain. Also ask what creates value for them and what might be different in their criteria that's different from their scorekeeper's. Then align your value, once you understand their objectives, priorities and criteria, and then have a conversation about what you are offering that maps to their motivational set, as illustrated by these elements.

Resources and Links for this Episode

• Connect with Mark S A Smith on LinkedIn
• Mark's Book "From MSP to BSP" on Amazon
• Or Download MSP to BSP as a Free PDF at this site
• Mark's Weekly Executive Communication at Marksezine.com

For More Great Content I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Here's a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

This episode features yours truly, Bruce Scheer, being interviewed by A. Lee Judge and Dontaye Carter from Atlanta. They have a great show called the Business of Content Podcast. In this episode we will talk about the major pitfall sellers and marketers fall into - how they are leading with their "stuff" and their "all about me" content as opposed to leading with a "theme" – a point of view that addresses their target customers' big problem and offers a big idea theme that resonates!

The Big Idea Theme Precedes Sales and Marketing Content

A main point that's made in this episode is before you jam on a ton of content for marketing and account-based selling activities, you should back up and think of a big idea theme – a central idea that will help you break through the noise surrounding your prospects. You can carry the central idea throughout the conversations and various digital touchpoints across the buyer's journey. Then you can generate marketing content and train reps on how to speak to the big idea theme. In this way, your prospects aren't getting disjointed and non-aligned messaging and content as they engage with your firm. This is very different from how most sellers show up and sell today – pushing product-centric messaging and content that's devoid of content around the customer problems and challenges. They are missing a big idea theme that resonates with the prospect.

What Specifically is a Big Idea Theme?

To compare the difference between selling a theme or stuff, let's look at a fun B2C example. It has to do with an Uber ride I took out in Boulder Colorado earlier this year. One morning, I get up and I'm heading out to see a client in Boulder. My Uber driver shows up at my hotel, and I walk out to a minivan. And I'm like, oh my goodness, this is interesting. It's not the BMW or a black SUV. It's a minivan, not my normal first choice! I had a suitcase with me with a bunch of facilitation gear within. He opens up the back, and of course, there's a stroller and some kid stuff in there that we have to move around so we can get my stuff in there. And then I get in the back of the minivan and we take off. We start a conversation, with me curiously asking him what going on in his life. He looks like he's in his late 30s, well groomed, and having many mouths to feed. He tells me he's just dropped his kids off at school and is now giving some rides in between his other daily activities. I asked him about his background and current focus, and if he's just driving Uber for now. He mentioned he's in transition and has an entrepreneurial bent. He was most recently a marketing manager and a Minister and was currently a Founder in a new food court concept in Boulder. He further explained his food court concept – a wonderful food court with 57 food trucks on rotation with a fire pit, live band stage, yard games, and a few beer stations. He strongly encouraged me to come to check it out. He then asked me what I do, and I mentioned I focus in the area of sales and marketing and am focused on helping sellers have conversations with their buyers that inspire change. I then spoke about the idea I was shaping around selling a theme or stuff, and as a former marketer I asked him what that meant to him. He was silent for a while and then responded that he thought he was selling a theme and could share it with me. I immediately responded "I don't think so!" and mentioned he had just sold me a bunch of stuff - 57 food trucks on rotation, a fire pit, beer stations, live band stage, etc. He laughed a bit and said what he's really designing and trying to sell people on is the theme of a backyard party - a place where people can go with their good friends or a place where they can make new friends. He further offered how this party had great food with 57 food trucks on rotation, a huge metal fireplace throwing out huge flames, a stage with a live band, and plenty of yard games for more fun and activity as part of the backyard party. Now he had me with his big idea theme, and I committed to dropping by at the end of the day to check it out. I showed up that evening after my client gig at about 6pm. The place was full and continued to become packed with no place to sit by the time I left at 8:30pm – and this was on a weeknight! Obviously this was a great concept!

Who's Leading with a Big Idea Theme in B2B? Very few in the B2B world get this right. They focus on selling the features, functions and benefits of their stuff as opposed to a big idea theme - a "backyard party" if you will. In this episode, we review a few B2B companies that understand the need for a theme and illustrate what good big idea themes look like with IBM, Alcatel-Lucent, and McKesson. We then offer some thinking on how to tease out a big idea theme for your organization.

Episode Timestamps

[1:53] Bruce Intro and Why a Theme is Important

• Chief Conversation Officer for SalesConversation.com:
• • A firm that helps people with their selling conversations.
  • • Message strategy, digitial tools and sales enablement.
• "Big idea" theme.
• When you have sellers in the field, they need to have a good understanding of the company's theme.
• • The marketing site needs to convey the theme.
  • Stories need to portray the theme.
• There are more times than not a major lack of alignment in the central story/idea:
• • How people carry the story/idea throughout the buyer's journey.

[3:44] The Disconnect Between Marketing, Sales, and Content Distribution

• Most sellers and marketers structure their website around who they are, what they do, how they do things, what makes them different– all about them type of content.
• Are you selling stuff or a theme?
• Uber driver story and the notion of the Backyard Party.

[10:30] How Have You Consulted Clients on Using Themes?

• What is the central idea/theme?
• • After establishing this, you can then start to build stories and content.
• Story of Alcatel-Lucent:
• • Simplify the message and portfolio.
  • Summed it up in a theme for their target audience.
• Major point - don't confuse your customer.

[15:23] What is a Theme?

• The subject matter of a conversation or discussion.
• • The subject matter.
  • The focal element.
• A unifying idea that's a recurrent element in literary or artistic work.
• What is lacking is the subject.

[16:13] How Would You Apply This Model to Content?

• All the content is the "wood" behind the "tip of the arrow".
• People are punching out content without a purposeful theme.

[18:21] Who Needs to "Get It" in Order to Get an Organization in line Selling with a Theme?

• Normally start with the leadership team.
• • Helping business leaders get their story straight.

[20:46] IBM Story

• Was in a state of transition with the question of 'what is the next big idea theme'?
• Big idea theme:
• • Different from a purpose statement.
• The theme of "Out-think".
• Difference between a theme and a story.
• Organizations typically have a couple choices:
• • They can try to transform and grow organically.

or

• The organization can out-think the particular issue

[27:04] Things That an Organization Can Do to Start Mapping Out Their Theme

• Market scan:
• • Who's in the competitive domain?
  • What's the market chatter/noise?
  • What are the themes and ideas that are already out there?
• Identify your organization's uniqueness and value that you are trying to create and convey?
• What are you building towards?
• • What's the Big Idea theme?

Additional Resources

• Bruce Scheer on LinkedIn
• Blog Post on Theme or Stuff by Bruce Scheer
• Article: Big Ideas that can Help Your Sales Performance by Bruce Scheer
• A. Lee Judge on LinkedIn
• ContentMonsta
• The Business of Content Podcast
• Dontaye Carter on LinkedIn
• Carter Media Group

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Here's a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

In this episode, Gerhard talks about how to listen more and sell more. It's a fun episode that offers guidance on how to show up with a listening mindset and be present for the customer and ready to discuss the customer problem.

Episode Timestamps

[0:28] Gerhard Introduction

• Salespeople talk too much:
• • Anxiety as a cause.
• The first rule for having a good conversation is to prepare yourself:
• • Come in with a clean slate.
  • Mindset of being there for the other person.
  • Use the formula that Dr. Lyman K. Steil developed for listening.
• Many reps will come in and fake listening and wait for the other person to say a trigger word that will then get them into their storyline.
• Salespeople go in and hear the customer say something about having a thought and wanting to explore a different solution, and then instantly launch into a pitch into the solution without really knowing what the problem is.

[3:36] Story About Preacher in Midwestern Town

• Do not immediately dump your entire pitch on your customer when they first walk in.

[5:43] Listening Model – How Do You Get Yourself Into the Listening Mindset?

• You are talking to a human being, not a human doing.
• • Be present for that human being.
• Practice mindfulness technique:
• • Breathe in – I am aware of my body.
  • Breathe out – I am letting go of all my tensions.
• SIER Formula:
• • Step 1– Sensing.
  • Step 2– Interpret those senses.
  • Step 3– Evaluate what you have heard.
  • Step 4– Respond.
• By following this formula you go through 3 steps before responding to your client.
• • Gives you a better chance of hitting your target.
• Stop and ask questions if the other person is giving you a warning signal.

[10:41] Flow of Conversation

• The state of flow is a magical state leads to the creation of something new:
• • Can forget where you are.
  • Can lose sense of time.
  • Everything is pushed back to the periphery.
• You can go into the conversation with the customer intending to co-create something new and with the intention of being in the flow with them.

[12:28] Constructivism in Education

• Point of view around the student/teacher relationship.
• Dialogue and assimilation.
• • Both start to co-create this new way of being.
• We, as salespeople, need to be "merchants of hope".
• If you find yourself being critical about the customer, it's probably because you are being critical of yourself.

[18:23] Storyteller vs. Storyseller

• Storyteller is when you do it for your own amusement.
• Storyseller is strategic.
• • Have a number of stories that you can weave into your customer conversation at the most appropriate time.
• Selling is a process of co-creation:
• • You create the questions, and the customer creates the responses.
• If you are too far ahead of the customer, then you lose the customer.
• If you are too far behind the customer, then the customer is going to lose you.
• You want to be in step with the customer and be in the flow.

Additional Resources

• Gerhard Gschwandtner on LinkedIn
• SIER Hierarchy of Active Listening
• Dr. Albert Mehrabian Communication Studies
• Dr. Mihaly and what flow means in the brain

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Here's a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

This episode features David Svigel, the co-founder of ROI-Selling.com. He's been a close friend and business partner of mine for over a decade. We've tag teamed on several successful client engagements where the b2b client wanted to up their game in value selling - and that meant being able to communicate and quantify the business value proposition to targeted prospects. In this episode, David and I will talk about some of the trends we've seen in buyer behavior, and how this has added gravity to being able to sell both personal value for each buyer and overall company value for larger b2b solutions. He will also offer several practical tips for upping your value-selling game.

Episode Timestamps

[1:44] How David Became Focused on Helping Sellers Sell Complex Solutions

• Early in his career, David noticed that there was a disconnect between the buyers and sellers of complex solutions.
• • Sellers did not really quantify the benefits to their buyers.
• That disconnect became an insight for David to help even out those sales conversations and bring them together with ROI selling:
• • Led David to co-found www.ROI-Selling.com

[2:51] What's Changed in the Nature of Buying?

• Closer budget scrutiny.
• More decision makers involved in every b2b buying decision.
• Upward movement in the buying decision:
• • More senior/executive-level approval is required before a purchase decision is made.
• These 3 factors have converged to restrict any individual buyers purchasing authority, and for the sales representative, it has caused longer sales cycles.

[6:03] How Does Value Selling Play Into Addressing These Changes?

• Getting buyers motivated requires showing them your solution is going to save them either money and/or increase revenue.
• What buyers don't care about anymore is:
• • Marketing speak such as "high quality" or "long lasting"
  • When reps start talking about the latest feature of a solution.
• The fundamental question that buyers want answered is can your solution help them do more with less.
• • The next question buyers will want to ask is, how much can it help?
  • Quantifying your solution's value creates a sense of urgency with the buyer, and sets the stage for approvals from the buying committee
• When you're dealing with buying committees as a sales rep, what's beneficial is showing each committee member how the solution will benefit them.
• • Quantify it for each person.
  • Makes it easier for the group to come to a consensus together.

[11:10] Ways Sellers Can Get Started in Value Selling

• An ROI tool.
• Look for available resources:
• • Find case studies with good value points.
  • Talk to your marketing department:
  • • Find research reports as material.
• Frame the value discussion around your customer's unique situation.
• Undergo a depth of analysis of your customer's unique problem(s).

[17:15] Why Sell Based on Business Value?

• So sales reps can close more deals, better defend their price - by showing what the value of their solution is.
• Begin to collaborate with your buyer and build the business case:
• • Will make maintaining your budget that much easier.
• If you build the business case and the buyer buys into it, they will be more engaged.

Additional Resources

1. Connect with David on LinkedIn
2. Grab some ROI Selling Resources
3. Surf the ROI-Selling Blog
4. Join the Value Selling LinkedIn Group
5. See some top-class ROI selling tools

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Here's a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

This episode features Jeremy Diamond, founder of the blog Startup Deck Review, which is dedicated to studying startup pitch decks. He has a rich media background and is an MBA graduate from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. In this episode we will be covering 3 key factors in a winning pitch, how to communicate your "Grit", and advice for sellers in how to improve their selling conversations.

Episode Timestamps

[1:27] How Jeremy Got Focused on Helping Startups Master Their Pitch

• Originally worked in TV production for Discovery and Animal Planet.
• Decided to move to Seattle, get an MBA at the UW, and wanted to work for a tech company.
• Worked for a startup that wanted someone who could think through things from a business perspective.
  • How he got into helping companies fundraise.

[3:55] 3 Key Factors in Driving a Winning Pitch

• Their strong understanding of the customer problem that the founder has a mission to solve.
• Their passion to solve the problem. Jeremy talks about their "marrying the problem"
• Their grit. What any investor would be looking at in a founder of a startup:
  • What problem solving "grit" they have to bring to the market.
  • Investors want to know what they are investing in.

[9:58] "Grit" – the 3rd Factor

• Grit is a subjective thing.
• When investors are entering into a long relationship with people, they want to know that those people are going to be worthy of the money that they're investing.
• More unique to Venture Capital.

[11:09] Story on How a Founder Communicated "Grit"

• Airbnb pitch deck
  • Founders sold commemorative cereal boxes during the 2008 election
  • Saw a desire path:
    • Recognized that certain data was not being understood by existing hospitality/lodging.
  • As an investor you're asking these types of questions:
    • What was their character during that challenging time?
    • What sorts of actions did they take?
    • Were they creative in how they marketed and solved the problem?
    • Were they creative in how they operated their business?

[12:17] Communicating to your customer that you have the "Grit"

• Making sure that the customers investment in you (your company/your solution) will be money well-spent.
• Paul Smith: Story Telling for Sales
  • Different stories you can tell as a seller.

[13:33] Advice for Sellers

• Social Proof.
• Bring in traction:
  • Investors will argue.
• Illustrate why your solution is better than the competition and how you're going to compete.
• Get and incorporate feedback into your pitch:
  • People like to help as long as they like to give constructive criticism and as long as you like to receive constructive criticism.
• "Cold" Communication.

Additional Resources

Start Up Deck Review Blog

Jeremy's Email

Linkedin

Airbnb Founder Grit Story at 20:47

If you have a pitch deck that you would like to suggest Jeremy to review, feel free to reach out!

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Here's a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

In this episode, we are speaking with Andrew McMasters. Originally from Philadelphia, he's an actor who's been working in Seattle for over 30 years. He started Jet City Improv back in 1992 and left that company back in October 2017 after 25 years. For the last 10 years, he's been working with organizations– helping them improve communications, team cooperation, and innovation. He also works with sales teams on listening, accepting and building on offers to provide customers with solutions for the needs they have.

In this episode, Andrew and I talk about the power of Improv in improving buyer and seller interactions. Specifically, Andrew highlights how to be a better listener, how to accept what the customer is offering, and then how to build upon their offerings. He then talks about how to bring your full self to a selling conversation.

Episode Timestamps

[1:27] Andrew's story on how he became focused on improv

• Started with practicing improv as a theatre actor:
  • Taught classes to people in other lines of work who wanted to be more comfortable on stage.

[3:37] Why should sellers use improv as a way to connect with their buyers?

• Listening:
  • How we listen.
  • The ways we listen.
  • What we are listening for.
• Listen before you solve:
  • Establishing that there is a connection first instead of jumping to a solution.
  • Listening for building relationships.
  • Listening for understanding.
  • Listening for context.
• Letting the other person know that they've been heard.

[4:51] How does listening change based on what you're listening for?

• Encapsulate what someone has said and then feed it back.
• Saying that "This is what I heard...is this correct?":
  • Letting the person know that they've been heard.
• Understanding the other person:
  • Makes them know that they're included and a part of the process.
  • Building the connection first.

[7:35] Improv disciplines for sellers

• Accepting what someone else has said and then building on it.
  • "Yes...and"
• Not being afraid to get off message.
• Game "3-legged dog":
  • Improv exercise.
• No matter what the question is, you can answer it in a way that you need to.
• What are we offering:
  • What is the item, the piece, the process:
    • Have them break it down into 3-5 words.

[11:20] "Yes...and" further explained

• Stray from "Yes...but":
  • The minute someone has heard the "but" they negate everything said before it.
  • Using the word "and" instead of "but":
    • Reframing that word for yourself can continue to keep energy moving forward which means you can accomplish more.

[13:18] Example of Andrew successfully using improv

• Andrew was doing a series of workshops for outreach
  • Did one on status:
    • How you present yourself in a sales meeting
    • Uses a deck of cards as metaphor for how you can represent yourself:
      • An ace in your pocket.
      • Using the card in your pocket as an external device.

[16:20] Listening and objections

• The improv mindset:
  • Ways that you can "yes, and" an objection.
  • Everything that someone gives you is an offer.
  • How you accept the offer as an individual.

[17:24] Where can sellers go to learn more about improv?

• Always different places in the city that teach different classes on improv:
  • Practices listening and more focused on getting on stage.
• Andrew holds workshops that he does with other organizations:
  • More focused on what each individual is trying to accomplish.
• Andrew holds his own Ted Talks:
  • Focuses on 3 topics:
    • Accepting and building.
    • Everything is an offer.

Additional Resources

• Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn
• Andrew's Web site ImprovMindset
• Ted Talk featuring Andrew where he talks about story and "yes, and"
• Alan Alda's Book, "If I Understood You Would I Have This Look on My Face?"
• Jet City Improv drop-in Dojo sessions

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Here's a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

In this episode, we talk with Ed Bilat about how we can up our sales conversations by telling stories– what some refer to as "Story Selling". We are all humans at the end of the day, meaning that we live our lives through stories– stories we tell others, stories others tell us, and the stories we tell ourselves. The exciting thing about stories is they play a profound influence on our ability to persuade others.

Ed is the leader of storytellingsales.com with the aim of helping sales teams and business owners grow their business, and essentially make sales more human and more fun through the power of storytelling. His business works with small businesses all the way up to large multinational enterprises.

Episode Timestamps

[1:34] How did you become focused on storytelling?

• Car died in a Tim Horton parking lot:
  • Had to wait for mechanic outside.
  • Had to make cold calls from outside the restaurant so that clients would not hear the background noise - as the weather was below zero, these were literally "cold calls!"
    • A telecommunications company that Ed was trying to reach by phone asked to hear about his personal story even though they were not originally interested in his product. After meeting in person, that connection led to many other connections that became Ed's clients.
    • People want to hear your story. Stories are human. It's the path to real-connection.

[6:34] Why is story selling so important?

• What is our greatest enemy?
  • Attention span
    • Our human attention span is short.
    • As long as a story is engaging, people will continue to listen.
      • Triggers the release of oxytocin
    • Does your story help your prospect think about their process?
    • Did it help them to view their problem in a new light?
    • Will they share with their peers?

[10:27] What types of stories do we want to be telling?

• You don't need to create– you need to document the events in your life and tell those stories.
• All of us have personal stories.
• Best type of story is your customer story.
  • What happened with your client?
  • What happened with your customer?
  • How were you able to help them?

[14:58] What is your "STAR" framework/model when constructing your story?

• Structure is better than coming up with a story on the fly.
• STAR model:
  • Situation
  • Trouble
  • Action
  • Result

[18:23] Practical tips for how to start storytelling?

• Ideal length of story should be about 5-10 minutes.
• Remember stories for quick retrieval:
  • Different keywords
• Your story needs to be vivid and captivating.
• Be ready for sales objections:
  • Build your stories around them.
  • Make yourself a bank/library full of stories that you can pull from when you find it useful.
• Feel, felt, found.

Additional Resources

• storytellingsales.com
• Ed's LinkedIn info
• Storytelling Sales Playbook

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If you are finding this content valuable, visit us at salesconversation.com. I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show. Here's a cool very short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

This episode features Chris Ortolano, a sales workflow consultant based in Portland, Oregon. He provides an outside perspective to help organizations address their weaker elements to accelerate their revenue cycle. He is a leader of his firm, Outbound Edge, and will speak about the power of video in sales outreach and how to drive buyer engagement.

Episode Timestamps

[1:30] How Chris became focused on helping sellers use video to connect with potential buyers

• Manages an online community of sales and marketing professionals called salesstack.io:
• • Met people who work at Vidyard who introduced him to a software tool called GoVideo.
• Focuses on producing crisp, compelling, and clear messages to engage with buyers.

[2:26] Why should sellers be using video as an outreach tool?

• The way that we engage with buyers is changing:
• • We now have the ability to tell a story through a visual medium.
  • Creates a more compelling and lasting message.

[3:25] What are the barriers that get in the way of individual sellers taking advantage of the medium of video?

• Time:
• • You need to practice.
  • Set aside 30 minutes to learn and practice your script for clear delivery in the message that you are communicating with your viewers.
• Psychological confidence:
• • 2 kinds of videos in sales:
  • • Video conferencing.
    • • Selfie.
      • Voiceovers.
  • Chris uses a voiceover narrative approach:
  • • His videos are not about him, making the focus on helping his prospect solve their problem.

• Finding your voice:
• • Takes practice.
  • Think like your buyer:
  • • The decisions that they make, how they measure their decisions, and what their goals are.
  • Layer your message into their experience.
  • Provides a more relevant and engaging way to suggest that you want to meet with them and pursue a more in-depth conversation.
  • Take advantage of the visual guide on salesstack.io where you can walk through 7 steps so that you can practice before you record and send your video.

[6:21] Success stories of Chris and using video

• Uses video selling with social selling:
• • Connects with peers on Linkedin.
  • Makes videos for the CEOs of the connections that he makes on Linkedin.
• Video can increase the acceleration with which you can set meetings.

[7:23] How can sellers prepare to do video outreach? What should their content structure look like?

• Uses 3 step approach to an account plan:
• • Set the meeting.
  • Move the needle.
  • Get everyone on the bus.

[12:17] How to leverage video for outreach

• Manage your time.
• Do your research.
• Use phrase when reaching out "I noticed that…"
• Always add value with your video that exposes something about the market that your prospect might not understand.

[14:35] After you send the prospecting video, if the recipient does not respond, do you send another video?

• Resend that same video.

[15:26] Technology blockers that might prevent prospects from viewing your video?

• Use a video solution that allows you to embed that video as a thumbnail into the body of an email.
• • Vidyard GoVideo

[16:50] How to personalize your video for different prospects

• Called a "Selfie":
• • Personalized for each prospect.
• Take a multi-tab screencast approach.
• If you put time and energy into thinking about your buyer you'll get a better deal, as well as learn to be a better sales consultant as well.

[17:48] Multitab screencast approach

• Reference your buyer:
• • Start with their account.
  • Reflect on what you see in their business model.
  • Suggest a problem that they have that you can solve.
  • Switch between their account/your account:
  • • Move from the current state to their future state.

[18:30] Resources

• Sales assets online:
• • Stories in Focus Library
  • • Interview video blog
  • 3 guides at SalesStack.io:
  • • For people getting started.
• Learn how to do the selling model.
• Do it on a consistent basis.
• Turn around and teach someone how to do it.
• • When you teach something, you are raising your level of skill because you can summarize, engage, and look for things.
  • Changes the way you view your own process.

Additional Resources

• Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
• Follow Chris on Twitter
• Visit Chris' Web site - Outbound Edge
• Call Camp - Unlocking the Power of Video in Sales Outreach
• Get more selling done!
• Engage with Video Selling: Part 1
• Stories in Focus Contest
• How to use video in your sales cadence

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound

Episode Overview

Our guest, Stu Heinecke, is a master of getting a meeting with anyone. Stu is a Wall Street Journal Cartoonist, a hall of fame nominated marketer, and author of the book, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone. I know it can be frustrating trying to get meetings with key decision makers and buyers. Stu will share with us ways to focus on the right areas to up our percentage on the people we reach out to and people who respond. This episode will cover how Stu got into this area of focus, his notions on how to think about customer targeting, how to get prepared to talk to those you want to target, and ideas for how to reach out and get a high response rate.

Episode Timestamps

[1:40] Background on Stu and his focus on storytelling

• Was interested in creating direct mail campaigns, which led to his first two assignments, creating test campaigns for Rolling Stone and Bon Appetit.
• The success with both of his campaigns led to him creating his own "Contact Campaign" that consisted of a customized cartoon print and a letter that he would send out to each of his chosen recipients.
• Received 100% response rate with his campaign!

[4:50] Strategies on how to reach your target audience as a seller

• You want to reach the CEO of the problem that you want to solve, as well as their supporters and influencers.
• • There are ways to identify the people that connect and work around the person that you want to target.
  • Think about a "digital surround" strategy
  • LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, and Seamless.ai are priceless resources as networking tools.

[8:31] What does it mean to be a VIP? And how can someone be credible and known as a VIP?

• 99% is mindset and the confidence in knowing that you are good at what you do and that you "belong here" talking to the person that you are talking to.
• Using unsolicited proposals to make connections.
• Being worthy of the executives time.
• • Do your homework before meeting them.
  • Bring something to the table that is of great value.
• Publish content:
• • Become a thought leader.
  • Reach out and network with other CEO's that know each other.
  • Excellence has to be the theme in whatever you produce.

[12:34] How can a seller stand apart from others?

• Be brief and get right to your point quickly.
• If you are connecting on LinkedIn, then make an effort to take the conversation off of LinkedIn to create a human connection rather than strictly sticking to the internet.
• Research your targets:
• • Know what they do and what their business is.
• Be persistent:
• • Using digital marketing and retargeting.
  • Use alternative media - Mail and FedEx.

[16:35] Advice on non-digital ways to reach out to your target

• Stu makes customized cartoons on what he calls a "big board", that he sends to his recipients.
• • On one side of the board there's a customized cartoon and on the other side, there's a message from Stu to the recipient.
• Using visual metaphors.
• You don't need to spend a lot of money to break through to someone.

[21:50] Resources for people wanting to start their own contact sales campaigns

• Buy the book How to Get a Meeting with Anyone by Stu.
• Listen to Stu's podcast, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone.
• Connect with Stu on LinkedIn.

Additional Resources

How to Get a Meeting with Anyone book:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxZXK2xRCNs

https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Meeting-Anyone-Marketing/dp/1501260928

Stu's Website:

http://www.stuheinecke.com/

Please visit Stu's website and join him on Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuheinecke/

For More Great Content

I would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit.

Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound