Let's get productive!

More than half of our podcast team operates from 9,000 miles away. When the stateside team sits down to dinner, the overseas team is waking up for breakfast.

While one team builds shownotes, another generates artwork, and third-team edits audio. Some of our work happens simultaneously, but some of our tasks can’t begin until others are complete. We’re spinning a lot of plates, and without a way to coordinate all our efforts, we’d be sunk before we even started.?

Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that we were operating in siloes, partly because no one wanted to ping a teammate’s phone in the middle of the night. We’ve since discovered that we don’t have to.?

When the folks from Crmble CRM (a Trello powerup) contacted us about a sponsorship, we took note of Trello and explored how it might help our own team improve our processes and increase our communication.?

In short, we were amazed at the difference it made.

The takeaway for our team was that even if your current process is working, don’t rule out new possibilities. Explore new options. Try new things. Some of them will work, and others won’t, but you’ll gain valuable experience along the way.

Do big things!

TSE 1480: 3 Reasons Why Salespeople Have A Hard Time With Planning

What is it that is making you unproductive? Why do you have a hard time planning? How do you improve your productivity with proper planning? We often overlook one area when working in sales, and it’s not prospecting, closing, or even relationship-building. It’s productivity. 79% of sales executives say improving productivity is the leading driver to reach or exceed a sales target. In this episode of The Sales Evangelist, I share three reasons why salespeople have a hard time planning, and hopefully, you’ll be able to find the productivity that leads to sales success.

TSE 1481: Time Management: And Why It Doesn’t Exist

How do you manage your time? Time management is often considered one of the essential skills to master in the professional world. As one of the resources we never seem to have enough of, time certainly is a resource to use to the best of our abilities. In this episode of The Sales Evangelist, my guest, Antonio Thornton, argues that time management doesn’t exist. How does it not? Listen to the full episode to find out!

YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE WEEK

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The Golden Ratio for Talking vs. Listening

Keywords: balance listening and talking

Salespeople have heard the mantra thousands of times: talk less, listen more. But why? And more importantly, how? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by leadership advisor Victoria Song to learn how salespeople (and anyone else) can balance listening and talking.

Why do people talk so much?

• While there are many reasons, Victoria suggests that people who felt unheard as a child might overshare in an attempt to bridge understanding.
• In general, when we want things to go our way, we think that if we can get the other person to see it our way, they’ll agree. That leads to talking too much.
• In actuality, people mirror one another. So, listening rather than talking will lead someone to reciprocate and hear you.

Victoria’s top components for a golden ratio:

• The talking-to-listening ratio is not a one-size-fits-all. But in general, a 50/50 split is a great place to start.
• However, the more escalated a conversation is, the more Victoria recommends you back off and give the other person more time to speak.
• It also comes down to personality - if you tend to speak first and jump into conversations, listen 70-80% of the time and vice versa.

What to do in a disagreement:

• Rather than sit on opposite sides of a board room table, sit on the same side. Look at the problem from the same perspective, and by working on the same side, you’ll feel more like a team.
• Think about the story attached to identity. When in disagreement, we sometimes realize we aren't talking about the topic anymore. We're making up a story around our identity, making it personal.
• The more we can be transparent with ourselves and the other party, the more likely we are to get to a place where we can hear each other better.

Contraction vs. Expansion

• Victoria’s new book Bending Reality defines two clear states a person can be in: contraction or expansion.
• Contraction is the state where your nervous system is activated (think fight-or-flight response.) On the other hand, expansion is a relaxed state conducive to creativity and problem-solving.?
• When in a work environment, putting yourself in an environment that encourages expansion will lead to success.

How to be in a state of expansion:

• One way to improve our access to expansion is to notice when our nervous system is activated.?
• Notice your fuel for motivation, and use that to keep yourself in the proper headspace (both mentally and physically.)
• Part of accessing expansion is to start to get clear on what are your clean, sustainable fuels.
• Discover your purpose, uncover your values, and figure out what brings you joy.
• The more we can cultivate doing things we enjoy, the more we train our nervous system to be conditioned to a state of expansion.

Applying this framework to sales:

• Ask yourself if you are in a state of contracting or expanding, especially when talking to prospects. Are you confident enough to ask effective questions?
• You want to get out of your head. It's not just about mental preparation; it’s cultivating the physical state.
• If you felt unprepared for a meeting, one way to cultivate the state of expansion would be to establish a sense of trust. This can come from practice and repetition.?

Victoria’s parting advice:

• Listening happens with your whole body.?
• When we tune in and listen to our entire body, we understand insights and cues that we wouldn't be picking up otherwise.
• To get in contact with Victoria, check out her website, www.victoriasong.me.?
• Victoria’s book Bending Reality is available for preorder! Preorder now to get free bonus access to powerful coaching techniques Victoria uses for her clients.

BLOG POST OF THE WEEK

What Is Needs-Based Selling?

Needs-based selling, otherwise known as consultative selling, is a sales technique becoming far more popular than its traditional counterpart. The previously standard sales practice (a transactional model) was one where the salesperson focused primarily on the benefits their product provided and how those benefits can help companies. While practical, this model is no longer as effective. Why? Because the global marketplace is rapidly changing, and it’s only becoming more dynamic. As sales become increasingly complex, companies and organizations need solutions with more nuance. And that nuance is what transactional selling doesn’t account for: the specific challenges and strengths of the individual company.

The solution? Needs-based selling is based on understanding the customer’s specific needs, goals, and challenges; then matching a particular product or service to meet those particular criteria. In a nutshell, needs-based selling involves asking questions that reveal a customer’s objectives and challenges. But just like the market, the process is far more nuanced.

In a nutshell, needs-based selling involves asking questions that reveal a customer’s objectives and challenges.

Ask meaningful questions

When it comes to needs-based selling, the seller’s primary objective should be to build a relationship with the customer, and you do this by asking the right questions. Ask the customer about their current needs, challenges, and accomplishments. Learn about the company’s infrastructure and long-term goals. The more information you have about the company, the more you identify their needs (and, as a result, what solutions will solve those needs.)

Ask questions, but at the right time

Needs-based selling is all about asking the right questions, but it’s equally about asking questions at the right time. If you enter a sales meeting with a customer and simply fire off question after question, sure, you’ll get a ton of relevant and essential information. But will you make a good impression? Not even close.

Needs-based selling is all about asking the right questions, but it’s equally about asking questions at the right time.

Don’t just ask a pre-set list of questions, but use the information surfaced within the meeting to provoke insightful follow-up questions. Not only does this demonstrate active listening and professionalism, but it also will uncover deeper insights and objectives the customer might have. Objectives both you and the customer might not even realize until the conversation surfaces.

You also need to balance your conversation with insights based on the customer’s answers to questions. Providing thoughtful insights into the challenges and needs the customer faces shows an intelligent salesperson and demonstrates that you can identify how to solve their problem.

Be agile, not just insightful

While providing insightful comments is paramount to a successful sale, the seller needs to be agile and flexible to adapt to whatever the customer reveals during the conversation. Both the buyer and seller might walk into a meeting with a specific intention to buy or sell a particular product. But often, the discussion reveals an entirely different problem that requires a wholly different solution. Being able to adapt and change your approach to fit the context will help the customer get the best product to solve their needs, even if it isn’t what they originally intended.

But often, the discussion reveals an entirely different problem that requires a wholly different solution

Guide, but don’t dominate, the conversation

Taking ownership of the conversation demonstrates the credibility of the salesperson. You should be unafraid to enter the discussion with questions and thoughts and begin the dialogue. However, this doesn’t mean you should dominate the conversation. Guiding the conversation means provoking the customer to give you the information you need. And after all, how are you going to hear the information if you talk the entire time? Listen more than you speak, and let the customer’s answers guide your following answers, insights, and follow-up questions.

Sales is no longer about the quick sale; it’s about the relationship behind the sale. Customers aren’t just looking for an instant purchase, they want someone who can work with them to make sure they are making the correct business decision. Utilizing a needs-based approach not only identifies the problems that need to be solved, but it also builds the rapport and trust between buyer and seller that allows you to advocate for yourself as the solution in a genuine way. I hope this was able to help you in some way.

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