Hey, Enablers, Happy Friday. Mike Kunkle here. Welcome to this week’s edition of Sales Enablement Straight Talk!
This newsletter will be a bit different than normal. Today, I want to share the power of questions that you ask yourself, and how the quality of your enablement programs or approach can be improved, through self-discovery methods.
Seem far-fetched? Read on, to see what I mean.
Introduction
Many years ago, when I was thin and had hair, I read something from Tony Robbins, where he said:
“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” – Tony Robbins
The key takeaway for me was that if you ask yourself negative or self-defeating questions like, “Why can’t I ever do anything right?” your brain will search for evidence and answers to support that belief, reinforcing a negative reality. Instead, Robbins recommended reframing to positive “What would happen if…” questions, such as, “What would happen if I learned something new that could turn this around?”
See this video for more: Tony Robbins on LinkedIn. At the end of that video, he sums it up perfectly:
"If you want to change the quality of your life, change the questions you ask yourself each day." – Tony Robbins
Whether you like his style or not, Robbins has dedicated decades to studying high-performance mindsets and has helped people across diverse industries achieve higher levels of success -- from athletes, actors, business leaders, and world leaders to the everyday people who show up at his high-intensity events.
All these years later, I still try to remember his above advice when I’m stuck, frustrated, or even just problem-solving.
“What would happen if we applied this principle to the world of sales enablement and performance improvement?”
Here's what I came up with.
A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Market Insights
- What are the current trends and shifts in your industry?
- How do economic, social, and technological changes influence or impact your market?
- What competitive intelligence can you gather to stay ahead?
- How can you adapt to emerging market opportunities and threats?
- What long-term trends should you be preparing for now?
Understanding Your Buyers & Customers
- How can we evolve to be more buyer- and customer-centric than ever before?
- Who is your ideal customer, really? Who buys what you sell?
- What problems do you solve for them? What are their primary challenges? What opportunities can they capitalize on? What impacts are they trying to avoid and what outcomes do they seek?
- What opportunities are they overlooking? How can you position yourself as a partner who helps them capitalize on untapped potential?
- What impacts motivate them to seek a solution? What are their value drivers?
- What emotional triggers influence their buying decisions? Can you tap into their fears, desires, or ambitions in a positive and ethical way?
- What are their short-term and long-term goals? How do they typically measure success?
- When you address these issues for them, what outcomes do you deliver, that they care about?
- How do their needs evolve over time, and how can you anticipate these changes?
- What will make them feel they’ve made the right choice in selecting you? How can you create a sense of confidence and reduce decision risk?
- What can you do to make customers even more successful while maintaining or improving your own profitability?
Value Proposition
- What unique value does your product or service offer? Why should they choose you?
- How does your solution stand out from competitors in a way that truly matters to the buyer?
- What are the tangible and intangible benefits of your solution? Can you show not just what they’ll gain, but also what they’ll avoid or mitigate? How does your solution align with the customer’s values and mission?
- What proof points can you provide to substantiate your claims? Do you have quantifiable results, testimonials, or case studies?
- Can you quantify the ROI of your solution in a way that’s both accurate and meaningful?
- What specific risks does your solution minimize for the buyer? How can you demonstrate this?
Buying Process
- What is the typical buying journey for your customers? What are the decision stages, and where do they get stuck?
- Who are the key decision-makers and influencers? What are their priorities and concerns?
- What concerns do they commonly have? How can you preemptively address these?
- What criteria do they use to evaluate solutions? Are you mapping your content and messages to these criteria? How can you better understand and satisfy buying process exit criteria for each persona?
- How can you simplify the buying process to reduce friction and make their decision easier?
- What are the most common concerns they raise, and how can you reframe these into questions that highlight your strengths?
Buyer Engagement and Sales Outreach
- How do your buyers find you? How can you better attract them (your ICP) to you?
- How will you find them (watering holes)? Where do your buyers hang out? Online forums, social media, professional groups, or specific events?
- How can you create interest? What types of content resonate most with them? Are they looking for quick insights, in-depth analysis, or peer recommendations?
- How should you reach out? How can you personalize your outreach to build stronger connections?
- What channels do your customers prefer for communication?
- What timing and frequency of communication work best?
- How can you leverage data and insights to optimize your engagement strategies?
- What innovative methods can you use to capture their attention?
Sales Strategy, Model, Process, and Methodology
- How can you continuously improve your sales process? Is it as aligned with the buying process as it can be?
- How can you radically improve your sales process adoption?
- What are the most effective sales methodologies for your market?
- How can you radically improve methodology adoption and mastery?
- Is your current sales model serving your buyers and their preferences? How can you adapt to serve them better and sell more effectively and efficiently?
- How can you leverage social proof, like customer testimonials and case studies?
- What partnerships or alliances can enhance your reach?
- What role does technology play in your sales and GTM strategy, and how can you maximize its potential?
- How can you align your sales strategy and GTM approach with broader business objectives?
- What systemic barriers are preventing peak performance, and how can you address them?
Post-Sale Engagement
- How do you ensure customer satisfaction and retention? Are you actively listening to their concerns and needs and ensuring they recognize and accept the value you're delivering?
- What opportunities exist for upselling or cross-selling?
- How do you gather and act on customer feedback?
- What strategies can you use to turn customers into advocates?
- How can you measure and improve customer lifetime value?
- What proactive steps can you take to prevent churn?
Internal Enablement
- If you had to start your sales enablement program over today, what would you do differently?
- What training does your team need to be truly effective? What new skills or knowledge gaps must you address?
- What content (marketing, buyer engagement, and sales support content) does your team need to be truly effective? What gaps must you address?
- After ensuring effectiveness, how can you streamline their workflow with better tools and resources?
- Do you have the most-effective sales systems in place to execute your initiatives effectively?
- How can you foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement?
- What metrics should you track to measure sales enablement success?
- How can you ensure alignment between sales, marketing, and customer success?
- How can you ensure alignment between sales and other departments?
- What incentives can you offer to keep your team engaged and motivated?
- What are the non-negotiables for your enablement initiatives?
Sales Coaching
- How can you better determine what skill gaps your team and individual sellers have?
- What specific skills do your sales team members need to develop to improve their performance the most?
- How can you tailor coaching sessions to address individual strengths and areas of development?
- What role does continuous learning play in your coaching strategy?
- How do you measure the effectiveness of your coaching efforts?
- What key performance indicators (KPIs) should you track to gauge improvement?
- How can you use reporting or data to personalize coaching for each team member?
- How can you create a culture of constructive feedback within your sales team?
- What methods can you use to ensure feedback is actionable and leads to improvement?
- How often should you provide feedback to maintain motivation and growth?
Motivation and Engagement
- What techniques can you use to keep your sales team motivated and engaged?
- How can you recognize and reward progress and achievements effectively?
- What role does goal setting play in maintaining high levels of motivation?
- What are the most effective coaching techniques for your sales team?
- How can you incorporate role-playing and simulations into your coaching sessions?
- How can you best validate that your sellers can do what you are coaching them to do?
- What resources and tools can enhance your coaching efforts?
Sales Management
- How can you develop strong leadership skills within your sales management team?
- What strategies can you use to build a cohesive and high-performing sales team?
- How can you foster a culture of accountability and ownership?
Meetings and Management Activities
- What management activities should you be performing? Which could you be doing better? What are the best practices for each activity? What is the right cadence for these activities?
- Which individual and team meetings should you be holding? What are the best practices for each, and the right cadence for each?
- How do you set and communicate performance expectations to your sales team?
- What processes can you implement to regularly review and assess performance?
- How can you address underperformance in a constructive and supportive manner?
[Insert YOUR Insights Here...]
By no means do I intend to suggest that this is a complete or exhaustive list, nor even the most insightful-possible questions per category. I just started writing them this week, with limited time to write, between meetings and client workshops. I know I can improve these questions, and I will.
- What would you edit or add to this list to make it even better?
- What other topic areas would you add?
- Would you remove anything?
- How would you prioritize the questions for your company and current situation?
- What other insights would you like to glean through thoughtful questions?
- Would you like for me to stop asking questions now?
Closing Thoughts
"Ask, and ye shall receive." – from Luke 11:9-13 FBV
In the world of sales enablement, as well as in life in general, the questions we ask ourselves can be the difference between mediocrity and excellence. By continually challenging ourselves with profound, thought-provoking questions, we can uncover deeper insights, drive innovation, and ultimately achieve far better sales results.
"The unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates
Remember, the journey of self-discovery and improvement is ongoing. Keep asking, keep learning, and keep growing. Here’s to your success!
RESOURCES
Well, that's it for this week, Enablers! Did you learn something new reading/watching this newsletter? If you did, or if it just made you think (and maybe chuckle from time to time - bonus points if you snorted), share it with your favorite enablement colleague, subscribe right here on LinkedIn, and check out The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience. For other courses and content from Mike, see: https://linktr.ee/mikekunkle
Until next time, stay the course, Enablers, and #MakeAnImpact With #Enablement!
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