No matter what your experience level, no matter who you're speaking to, what
level and an organization, everybody loves to be led, provided that you can
take them to a place that they can't get to on their own. You're
listening to the Audible Ready Podcast. The show that helps you and your teams
sell more Faster. Will feature sales leaders sharing their best insights on how to
create a sales engine that helps you fuel repeatable revenue growth. Presented by the
team at Force Management, a leader in B to B sales effectiveness. Let's
get started. Hello, I'm Rachel Claude Miller. Welcome to the Audible Ready
Sales Podcast. Today we are going to color a topic that has to do
with experience. John Kaplan joins me for the conversation. Hi John, Hi
Rachel. I'm assuming you got me on this one because the jokes on me.
I have a lot of experience, which means I'm old. You're wise
too. Kato always yell that makes always says you're just an experienced negotiator.
He says, it makes me sound old every time podcast cliche. That's right,
I think so. But today that experience and we're going to be talking
specifically, specifically to younger reps out there, And I think this topic is
important because if you're listening, you might find yourself if you're you know,
in your first or second, you may be even third job, you may
find yourself going up against much more experienced decision makers depending on the industry or
wherever you're selling, and these conversations can be intimidating. So I want to
give the less experienced reps some confidence about approaching these conversations with conviction and confidence.
Yeah, I think this is a really really good topic. More and
more scenarios I see where BDRs inside sellers are their roles are getting expanded,
you know, more and more and being asked to do more and more with
the client. So I think I think a really relevant topic. What I
would say, just at the uber level is we have to change our mindset.
You know, intimidation only comes when you know, using a you versus
them mentality, you know, first make it all about them and earn the
right to make it all about you. And we're going to talk about that
today as we talk about kind of you know, using an outside in approach
versus an inside out approach, but that uber mindset of instead of you versus
them. You know, first make it all about them and earn the right
to ma get all about you. I think that'll really really help you.
Yeah, this conversation really comes back to the fundamentals of value based selling.
We're just clouding it in this idea of going going up against or selling to
more experienced buyers. It doesn't really matter how much experience you have, what
age you are. Those fundamentals work. Yeah, I mean to you got
to just remember to be a successful seller, no matter what's your experience level,
you need to articulate value and differentiation in a way that solves your customers
most pressing business problems. And you know your goal in every sales interaction is
to achieve that ultimate outcome. Just simple fundamentals, right, you know.
One of the I get called on a lot from vendors being in marketing,
and one of the things I cannot stand is, no matter who's on the
other phone, is that they assume that I'm not an expert, or that
I'm new a newbie, or they know more about a particular topic than I
do. I mean, if one more person tells me I have to have
a clear value prop and a paid ad, I'm going to scream they might
know more than I do. I'm not saying I know everything, but I
don't like them making that assumption, especially when when they don't know me.
Yeah, I think that's such a relevant point, Rachel. You know,
especially for greener sellers, know, but if your buyer is seasoned, you
want to show empathy and not cockiness. And maybe not cockiness isn't intended,
but it's perceived. And you know, one of the most frequent complaints that
buyers have with sellers in general is that they don't listen, that sellers don't
listen, and that they don't understand their business. And we call that listeners
have heard before. We call that the seller deficit disorder. So, you
know, not listening to the buyers shows them that you're not interested in knowing
what problems they're dealing with, and that you're only there to sell them your
product and you know, not really focused on a real solution. So if
you're a newer rep you want to be especially aware of this seller deficit disorder
because your more experienced buyers are going to expect that you haven't been around the
block enough to talk to them from a place of authority. Yeah, We've
got some great content and overcoming the sellar deficit disorder, so be sure to
check out the links in the show notes. John, you mentioned empathy,
and I like to dig on that a little more. It's one thing to
have confidence and conviction around what you're selling and the problems you solve. But
again, you don't want to be and know it all. So how can
we show empathy? Yeah, the you know, the best way to show
empathy is to understand the challenges that people are facing. And it's kind of
to sit in the moment of pain for that buyer. Do you know other
people who've faced that same challenge and can share how they've solved it? You
know, then you know, find a way to add value to them,
you know, without an agenda, connect them with someone who's dealing with their
same challenges. Often we talk about sharing research with them and you know,
just constantly, constantly trying to show ways to add value to them. Another
thing is the way that you ask questions, So, you know, ask
questions that help you find ways to show the value what's working well. I
like to tell people, you know, especially newer reps that are a little
bit worried about how am I going to get the customer to tell me something
negative. Well, one of the strategies that I have is just to ask
them about what's working well. And it's part of the human condition to not
mislead people or to lie to people. So if you say, hey,
what do you like most about your ability to do XYZ? When you're really
trying to find out what happens when XYZ doesn't work, oftentimes they're going to
talk quickly about what's not working. So let me just repeat that. Start
with a positive ask a customer about what they like most about either the current
environment or the current situation, you know, turning around a little bit,
and see how fast they begin to tell you about what's not working. I
found that strategy really really works well with new sellers. You've likely heard the
same comments before from other prospects. You learn how to overcome this seller deficit
disorder early in your career by truly, truly listening and articulating what you heard
back to your customers. So make it a habit of summarizing. So what
I hear you saying, mister missus customers x y Z. The reason why
I'm telling you this missus customer is because you said, and when you do
that, you're combating that seller deficit disorder and the fact that they don't believe
that you heard them. So anytime that you can reinforce that you're listening,
I think it's really really powerful. So show empathy and understanding. Actively listen,
and don't assume that you know the challenge before they've actually told you.
This is something I want to reiterate for the newer sellers. It's not about
you knowing what's going on or understanding understanding the challenge before they actually told you.
You don't gain any ground with a customer from an experience perspective if you
cut them off and try to tell them, yeah, I would assume that
this is your problem or that that's your problem. That's actually pretty annoying.
So you don't have to impress them with what you know. They're more impressed
by what you learn from what they tell you, and then you can repeat
it back one last part on this, Rachel. One of the great ways
to show empathy. This happens to me a lot at Force Management when we
go through discovery and we do a really really good job with discovery, and
I've had CEOs and CROs and executives say man, we just really suck,
or we just really struggle, or have you seen an organization as bad as
us or what have you? And they're being serious, and it's partly because
we allowed them to talk. We asked great discovery questions, had them stand
in their moment of pain, and they told us, but I never leave
somebody there. A lot of times, what I'll do us I'll say,
hey, mister missus CEO or CFO or whoever, CXO, Hey, you're
not alone. Your answers are not foreign to us. It's actually the exact
reason why we exist. And so try that one on. If you're going
through a discovery process and a customer is getting you're doing a good job of
making them stand in their moment of pain. They're feeling lower and lower and
lower or not as you not confident that they're a good organization. Show empathy
by saying we see this all the time. You're not alone. It's why
we exist. I'd like to talk about some strategies and some solutions that can
help address that. It's a really really good way to show empathy. Yeah,
and help people over this perception that you may not know what you're talking
about. I mean, all of this really comes down to finding that problem
you can solve and therefore provide some value. Yeah, and so you know
you said if there's no need, then there's no value, and if there's
no solution maps to a met need, it has no value. So both
must exist to create a compelling value proposition. And often, you know,
newer reps get stuck installed deals because they're progressing opportunities without identifying a big enough
business problem that compels a buyer to take action. So we've got to remember
that you cannot help a customer without understanding the business impacts of the problem facing
your customer. I used to say when I was a young sales leader,
no business issue, no business you know, focus on executing effective discovery to
uncover customer pain points. Then go deeper. Many of you have heard me
say this before. Go deeper, Go deeper and understand the negative consequences of
those problems. How big of an impact are those issues you know making on
the business, Because without that negative impact, you'll have difficulty moving a deal
forward. Don't be too eager to move a deal forward before you've really connected
yourself to pain. So think about that go deeper, Go deeper, go
deeper, Just don't go on the service surface level. Customer says, yeah,
you know, I think we have a problem with that. Oh well,
you have a problem with that, I have a solution. No,
let's find the implications of that pain. New sellers, just listen to me.
You'll struggle with that a little bit because you'll think that you're being negative.
I just want to give you some spirit. You're not being negative.
That customer situation is negative for them. You're only going through a course of
discovery which allows them to emotionally connect to creating urgency to solve that negative situation.
So hang in there. Yeah, and you know that point of staying
in discovery to find these implications, that just goes back to asking great questions
and really making that person understand that you want to understand the business challenges so
you can best align a solution to help them solve that. And if you
stay in that discovery, you're just building more positive business intent. As Brian
Walsh says, you're showing your business acumen, and in that process of finding
the pain and aligning to it, you earn the respect of the buyer no
matter the difference you have in experience. Yeah, I love it, Rachel,
And it really kind of connects me to the thought of it's not always
just what you sell. Oftentimes how you sell can differentiate you. And we
can say it's not always your level of experience, it's how you sell can
overcome that lack of experience. So just remember this also, this is one
of the reasons why we say everybody loves to be led. Each and every
person listening to this, we all love to be led provided that that person
that's leading us can take us to a place that we can't get to on
our own. So just remember that no matter what your experience level, no
matter who you're speaking to, what level and an organization, everybody loves to
be led provided that you can take them to a place that they can't get
to on their own. And you just have to believe and have confidence and
conviction that what your company does for a living matters because it solves big business
issues or big problems. Rest there to feel the exhilaration of your experience.
Rest there and not worrying about time, how much time you've been doing something
or lack thereof. I think that's really really good advice. So that's a
great point, John, And as we wrap up, as with anything,
preparation, especially if you're a greener rep helps you execute in a way that
gives you credibility. Yeah, I think preparation is the great equalizer in this
discussion of lack of experience. Preparation is the great equalizer And the difference between
stress and pressure is always always preparedness. So when you put those two together,
regardless of where you are, how long you've been selling something, how
new you are to an organization, lean into the knowledge skills that are created
for you by your company. Learn the answers to the four central questions,
what problems do you solve, how specifically do you solve them, how do
you solve them differently or better? And where have you done it before?
Lean into those answers from your company. Spend some time preparing in the morning
two things. How do I attach myself to the biggest business issue facing this
customer? And how can I influence the decision criteria with my differentiation today through
the use of great discovery questions. To get both of those topics up on
the table you sit there in the morning, and that will be another great
equalizer. Your preparedness will bring you home, So don't worry about your experience
or lack thereof. Rest in some of the suggestions that we've given you today
and go crush it. Go crush it. Check out the show notes too
for some more resources. Thank you, John, my pleasure. All right,
thank you to everybody for listening. At force Management, we're focused on
transforming sales organizations into elite teams. Our proven methodologies deliver programs that build company
alignment and fuel repeatable revenue growth. Give your teams the ability to execute the
growth strategy at the point of sale. Our strength is our experience. The
proof is in our results. Let's get started. Visit us at forcemanagement dot
com. You've been listening to the Audible Ready podcast. To not an episode,
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