The 4Ps of Sales - By Hari Ganapathy

It was a sat evening Gencu (general catch up) and one of us said — “Most startups dont become hyper growth companies because of their inability to either generate or scale revenue. And yet — there is very little discussion about how to scale the revenue function”

?? Having built team and sold biscuits, toilet cleaners, ad banners and vacations that was a good cue for me to share some of my experiences.

What does it take to be a great seller?

This post outlines skills I?have seen in rockstar individual contributors and aimed at folks starting out and till about 4–5 years of experience. Before we jump in I want to debunk two big myths around sales

The first myth, Extroverts do well in sales.

Not at all. For every hustler out there there is a methodical closer too!

The second myth, a sales role is stressful job

This is part of the aura the sales folks have built for themselves — “it's a high-pressure job, not for everyone”. If at all anything, the ability to handle rejection every single day and yet being optimistic when you make that next call is what makes sales folks unique. I have seen the best quota closers exhibit the below skills time and over again! So what are the aspects that can help you ace sales?

The 4Ps of Sales

Perseverance

Rejection handling. Imagine hearing No’s everyday. How do you pick up yourself and make that next call? Handling rejection is not something thats easy. This has to be wired into the DNA and you can easily see it for yourself within the first 100 days.

As you age in sales, you will also realise that a?no now is not a no forever.?Especially in B2B sales staying in touch (email lists, broadcast lists, gifting) go a long way in staying top of mind. Keep trying and that show up luck is yours to take!

Hiring Tip?—?Folks who have had a track record of investing their adolescent time in learning a skill or have pursued sports; is a useful criteria to shortlist resumes.

Pitch

Be it the elevator pitch to the VC or the pre-planned demo to a client, having a clear pitch and first impression is crucial in closing the deal. While the pitch varies by industry, there is a clear difference in your pitch depending on whether you are doing inbound or outbound sales.

Outbound sales pitch need to have a clear hook, questions to keep conversation going and urgency to get the desired outcome (sign up, demo, next call). Eg — Eureka Forbes, LIC agents. Cold calling is tough!

In Inbound sales you have the luxury of the customer having a pain point already. The pitch here is tailored more around probing, what is the pain point, why did he feel you were a better solution and consultative in nature. If it’s paid campaigns, knowing what the campaign communication and starting the conversation with that is key for higher conversion percentages.

With time, the rockstars get better at the pitch and master the art of tailoring the pitch depending on the customer segment. Being on calls and learning from other rockstar sellers is a great way to hone your pitch.

And remember not delivering on your promise destroys all the good work done in the pitch.

Hiring Tip — listening skills, ability to probe and be curious about what they are looking to sell

Pulse

This is where sales feels like Magic. Have you seen your senior reps zone off just after the first few seconds? or nail that exact closure date? This is how they make it happen — Pulse.

Sales pulse is like wine, the older you get the better you are, provided you believe you can create that magic.

The questions the customer asks, his engagement level during the pitch, how he responds to your questions around purchase intent — these are all obvious factors that indicate the pulse.

The finer aspects, reading between the lines, body language shifts, tonality are the softer giveaways that help you understand if there is competition, who is the decision maker etc.

Learning by observing rock star sales folks do their magic is a sure shot way to understand pulse. Personally, I have improved my pulse by reflecting on lost opportunities. Mapping lost reasons to the sales process and figuring out parts where I missed the signal or identifying common behaviour patterns amongst lost opportunities has been useful.

Pulse not only helps increase conversion ratio, it also helps identify customers/accounts that are not worth going after and cutting your losses. In the end, as a sales rep your time is your most valuable asset!

Hiring Tip — The candidate’s sense of awareness is a a good proxy for pulse. I have seen that reps who are self -aware more often than not grasp qualitative aspects.

Process

But sales folks are notorious for breaking process.

You are not alone if you think that way.

Rockstar sellers will more often than not end up making life difficult for compliance functions! I have always approached it from a POV that it is good stress for the org as long as it is within ethical remits.

The transition from a rockstar seller to a team manager involves a large hearted acceptance that process is key to consistent output. By now you have demonstrated perseverance, your pitch is top class and have magical pulse — all of this is great, but how do you replicate this? How do you ensure that you are able to grow your book size? Hiring right?

This is where process comes in.?Process is a key ingredient for repeatable success.?Rockstar sellers who have made this shift happen tend to codify some of their own styles (email copy, time to follow up, lead Prioritisation etc) and then break it down in actionable steps. This not only helps transfer their learning, but also helps in grooming and building a team that can do 10x of what they could as an individual. Look who else agrees to this.

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did penning it down! What are some other aspects on sales you would love to know about? Share your thoughts in your comments and I will surely try to share my experiences!

Till then, ABC - Always Be Closing!??

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