It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything, especially about BD/sales, but I’m going to start writing about things I’m learning and am being reminded of again more regularly .
One of the most interesting drivers for the people we try to sell and market to is identity. Specifically what type of person does the person you’re trying to influence say they are?
Example identities:
I’m a numbers driven executive.
I’m a doer.
I’m an early adopter of new tech that’s going to give me an edge.
Most people want to remain consistent with the identity they claim for themselves…especially when they declare it amongst their peers.
Smart marketers and sales people use this to their advantage when they communicate by linking the desired action they …
Continue Reading
You’re about to see how to use the “Good Cop Bad Cop” technique to get things done and handle uncomfortable situations.
In business, you’re bound to encounter confrontation which can put a strain on a relationship:
“Hey can you get me that check that was due last month?”
“I noticed that you didn’t link back to us in the integration…would you mind inserting a link there?”
“I’m sorry we’re just not going to be able to build that feature you requested.”
Let’s talk about how you can use good cop bad cop to disarm these situations while minimizing any negative effect on a relationship.
What is the Good Cop Bad Cop Technique?
Let’s lay the foundation: people like doing business with people they like. When …
Continue Reading
This post is about strategies I’ve used to close the deal.
One of the biggest challenges in sales and business development can be inspiring urgency to get a deal done. Just because someone perceives value in your offering, doesn’t mean they’ll make it a priority.
There are a number of tactics I’ve used to push deals through the finish line. Though most of these have been in the context of API partnerships, these strategies can be effective in many situations.
The Press Bait
One way to expedite a conversation is by baiting a prospect with a potential press opportunity. Only do this if you actually plan on doing a press release at some point. Here is an example script that demonstrates more precisely what …
Continue Reading
In the first part of this post, I shared how calling for a former employee can help you find a decision maker. Here’s a few other strategies to isolate the right contact at a large company.
Use Implicit Data on LinkedIn
Let’s revert back to the conundrum of there being 12 people in the marketing department and limited transparency to which one is responsible for your particular initiative. There’s a few places on a LinkedIn profile that contain implicit data from which you can draw conclusions.
The Skills and Expertise Section
The skills and expertise section contains granular endorsements (i.e. email marketing, social media, SEM). These can provide a strong indication what someone is responsible for at a particular company.
Say I was looking to …
Continue Reading
Awhile back I wrote a post called Less Obvious Ways to Find A Decision Maker. I’ve discovered a few additional tactics since then that thought I’d share in a multi part post:
Call For Someone Who No Longer Works There
Calling into an 1000+ person company and asking the operator who manages a particular initiative (i.e. digital marketing) often results into getting routed to a department voicemail that never gets checked. Why you ask? Because you’re signaling that you’re a salesperson whose unfamiliar with the company. This is why it’s imperative to always have a name to call; it legitimizes yourself and compels people to take you seriously.
But Scott, there’s 18 marketing directors on LinkedIn and:
I don’t know which one is actually …
Continue Reading
One of the first mistakes I made when I initially started doing BD was how’d I’d ask if someone if they were the decision maker.
“So X, would you say that you’re the decision maker for this.”
“Yes” was the answer I received 95% of the time. I’d say the number of actual decision makers I was talking too was probably closer to 50%. The incongruence emanated from the fact that I was asking all wrong.
Very few strangers have the authenticity to admit that they don’t hold much power:
“No, I’m actually just a minion to my overload boss.”
Of course someone is going to indicate they’re a decision making power when you flat out ask them. It’s like asking a parent if their …
Continue Reading
Last week I found myself doing a bunch of cold calling into 1,000+ person companies so I thought I’d share some quick tips specifically on what not do when cold calling.
What Not to Do When Cold Calling from Scott Britton
A few key takeaways from this presentation:
The goal of a cold call is to set a meeting, not to sell them on the spot.
When you cold call someone, you’re probably interrupting their day. They person you’re talking to is not primed to be receptive to your pitch in this state. You only want to pitch someone when they’re ready to hear it and attentive. This is why the goal of an initial cold call should be to set a meeting.
Write out …
Continue Reading
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned over the past year is how powerful storytelling in sales can be.
I always try to incorporate stories when I’m describing a product for a few reasons:
Humanizing Myself
When I’m communicating with a new acquaintance (especially when I’m pitching), I try to humanize myself as much as possible. One way to do this by making yourself more relatable. Bullet points and statistics are not relatable. A story about that crazy family member that always has a few too many beers at every family party is. Typically, the more we can relate to someone, the more we like them…and people buy from people they like. This is why I always try to supplement information with relatable narratives from my own life.
Effective …
Continue Reading
