How To Get Your Next Job in SaaS Sales...

Put simply, pick up the phone and start prospecting!

Begin by thinking about whom you want to sell to. Which markets do you serve? What is the range of products and services you want to sell? Are you developing for new business or growing and developing accounts?

Use LinkedIn to build a prospect list of CEOs, MDs, owners, and Sales Directors. Do your research and target your posts/messages to the people you are specifically going to call. Look at the performance of their business, e.g. which are their most important accounts? How is their competition doing in relation to their own performance?

Further to this, make sure to look at their company website and other collaterals. Do they go on about the features and benefits of their products? Or, do they focus on the pains they help their customers to fix?

Think “mystery shopper” calls. Give your prospect company a call by speaking to their salespeople. You can tell a lot about a company’s pains in relation to selling by doing this. Do they attempt to diagnose your “problem”, or do they immediately tell you why they think you should buy what they offer? When it comes to price, do they say what they charge or find out if you’re a real prospect? Do they ask insightful questions, or do they just fact find, keeping the discussion at a surface level?

A top tip is to develop at least three tailored 30-second commercials, so you have some flexibility when calling, in case the first attempt flops… 

Cold Call for an Interview 

Decide how many effective conversations you plan to make each day. Aim for a minimum of five conversations per day. Then rehearse your opening, a pattern interrupt, permission to propose your commercial, and then your 30-second commercial.

Decide in advance what a good and a bad outcome will look like. Consider the types of questions and objections your prospect is likely to have for you and what you will reply to these.

They’re likely to be things like:

?      “We’re not hiring”

?      “Why should we hire you?”

?      “Send me your CV”

?      “I’m not interested”

?      “You don’t have the required… (experience, background, skills, qualifications, etc.)

?      “Are you hitting your targets?”

?      “What are you getting paid at the moment?”

Looking for a new job is just the same as another sale. People buy for their own reasons and not for yours. It’s your priority to get the prospect to open up and tell you what they want.

Salesmanship is the idea of finding someone who thinks they are fine but to uncover a little bit of hurt. Asking insightful questions helps them move from thinking everything is perfect, to thinking, “Maybe I do need help’. Responding to what they tell you with more insightful questions will help them to co-diagnose with you what the real problem they’re facing is and to start discovering the cause.

Do not be tempted to directly offer a solution. It’s important that you have them ask you if you can help them solve the problem. You are the solution. Do not give a presentation of your career history, skills, or experience. Demonstrate your competence as a salesperson by having them present to you by asking great, insightful questions. Have them position you as the solution to their problems.

The call should sound something along the lines of…

You: “Bob, I’m not sure if you can help. Do you have 30-seconds so that I can explain the reason why I’m calling and then we can decide whether we should keep talking or hang up? How does that sound?”

Bob: “Go on. 30 seconds”

You: “Thanks, Bob. I get invited in by CEOs of engineering companies who are frustrated that their salespeople are not consistently meeting enough decision-makers. Others informed me that they’re meeting decision-makers but aren’t closing enough of the right kind of deals. And a few are telling me that they close the business but are having to lower their prices but the business and then end up having to over-service it to keep the business. I don’t suppose any of these sound familiar to you in your business, are they?”

Bob: “They do”

You: “Really? Which one?”

Bob: “All three!”

You: “That sounds tough Bob. Of the 3 I’ve talked about; not meeting enough decision-makers consistently, not closing and discounting, which one would you like to discuss first?”

Bob: “Not meeting enough decision-makers consistently”

You: “Sorry Bob, I’ve just realized, I’ve taken my 30 seconds. Would you say it makes sense for us to talk for 2 more minutes to see if we should meet to discuss how you can fix that or shall I hang up now?”

Bob: “No, no. 2 more minutes is fine”

You: “I’m curious. Of the 3, why did pick ‘not meeting enough decision-makers consistently?’”

Bob: “I keep hearing excuses from my salespeople about why they can’t get hold of decision-makers. They say they need data, so I buy them data but then they still don’t seem to be getting hold of them”

You: “I hear this a lot, Bob. Why do you think that they might think this is acceptable?”

Bob: “Because I let them”

You: “I understand Bob. It’s tough having difficult conversations with your salespeople when you have worked with them for a long time, especially when you’ve become friends. Is this the case for you?”

Bob: “No, not really. I just want them to do their job and I don’t like confrontation”

You: “Bob, I hate confrontation too, but I need to say something that may mean we can’t work together. Can I tell you something that you aren’t going to like but without you getting annoyed with me?”

Bob: “Er, yes. OK, what is it?”

You: “If I told you that this is me cold calling for a job as your next salesperson and the most likely place you’re going to find the budget to hire me when you tell me you don’t have a vacancy is from the salary of your weakest salesperson, what would you say to me? You’d be upset with how cheeky that sounds, right?”

Bob: “Oh! I’d suppose I’d tell you ‘I’m surprised’ but I wish my salespeople had the brass to do what you’ve just done”

You: “Which means?”

Bob: “I don’t currently have a vacancy but I do like the way you’ve handled yourself, so why not meet you?”

You: “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel obliged to…”

Bob: “Yes”

You: “Do you have a diary to hand? What day would work best for you?”

Prove you’re a salesperson that they’d be lucky to have by acting like the salespeople they do have should be behaving! Demonstrate your attitude, habits, skills, and ability to adapt by prospecting for your new job that is not even on the market yet. That way, you never have any competition and you’re able to prove your value upfront without getting to a point where you’re justifying your existence.

Alternatively, call me and the team and we might be able to help you alongside doing this...