Fuentes Fridays #0020

The latest from sales teacher, business advisor, and investor Will Fuentes.

What I’m Hearing From Sales Leaders/Professionals

This week, I have spent a lot of time coaching sales professionals about identifying hidden objections. Specifically, I have been talking about non-reactions during parts of the demo in which most prospects fitting the buyer persona have positive reactions.

I was able to review multiple examples of demo calls for deals that were lost where the AE thought they were going to win. They had felt the use case was strong, the impact was there, and that the demo hit all the notes.

When going back and reviewing the demos and comparing them to demos that led to a sale, I noticed that the buyer in the lost deals had very little reaction to the usual high notes of the demo. In all the instances, the seller did not notice or, if they did, they did nothing to address the non-reaction. When I asked the seller why they glossed over the non-reaction, they said that they didn’t really think anything of it.

Obviously, they were wrong. What is most interesting about these scenarios is that in all instances, the sellers are working at companies that have good ICP and buyer-persona documentation. They know their customers!

My advice to the sellers was to dig into the ICP and buyer-persona documentation, understand it, and then when they are in demos where the buyer is not reacting the way that buyers typically react, get curious and ask questions.

Some sample questions I gave them:

How does what I just showed you line up with what you wanted to see?

How does X FEATURE meet your expectations for how you thought we would solve for Y?

How does X FEATURE compare to what else you have seen?

Usually when I show X, people in similar positions to yours get really excited. I noticed that it didn’t seem to wow you. Where does it miss the mark? What were you expecting? What could I have shown you that would have made you excited?

What Made Me Laugh

Author Note: Originally, this was a fantastic link about a woman who thought she had the best outfit on, only to realize that when she threw on a sweater, she looked like she was ready to play for the Dolphins! For some reason, X says it violated some rule. Thanks, Elon. Now, I will leave you with a post about an alpaca without hair: https://www.tiktok.com/@dailymailanimals/video/7389344168415481121

This Week’s 40/20

For every 40 hours of work, I believe you should spend 20 (additional) hours mastering your craft. This is how I spent some of my 20 hours this week.

I am always looking for ways to keep my energy up throughout the day, as well as up my performance. I am not sure if it is the placebo effect or it actually works, but this past week I have been Body Tapping, and I feel better! I sometimes do it while running, and I think the people at the track think I am insane. No matter—I like it!

Potpourri for 800

Potpourri (shoutout to Jeopardy!) is a category that covers a variety of topics.

This is an extreme example of meeting customers where they are, and I am here for it. I present to you the Traffic Jam Whopper!

Quote for My Son

Every day, I leave my son a note with a quote. This was my favorite from this past week:

“Keep pushing forward, even when the path is uncertain, for greatness awaits those who persist.” – Martin Luther King Jr., Speech at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (1957)