Show Me You Know Me – Personalising the sales process to drive results

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend the AA-ISP Leadership Summit in Chicago. This year, the event celebrated its tenth anniversary of the largest gathering of Inside Sales (Digital Sales) professionals. Within the huge volumes of insight from keynotes, presentations and breakouts, one recurring theme really stood out for me: the need for personalisation within the sales process.

I didn’t attend the first AA-ISP Leadership Summit a decade ago, but I’m pretty sure that if I had, the very same topic would have been discussed: spend time getting to know your prospects so you can execute an intelligent, personable selling strategy. So why haven’t we got it right yet, and what can we do about it?

The importance of being known is understood across the animal kingdom. Scientists have found that sheep recognise faces – even fish are pretty good when it comes to facial recognition. Guinea pigs know their owners’ voices, wolves know members of their pack – so why can’t salespeople demonstrate that they know their customers?

A session presented by John Mayhall of LinkedIn at the AA-ISP Leadership Summit highlighted the issue. 77% of buyers don’t feel as though sales understands their business, according to Accenture. Now, with reams of data at our fingertips, it’s easier than ever to find out enough detail to make a warm, genuine and credible approach to your prospect and their business. For example, their website is their storefront: don’t even think of making contact with your prospect until you’ve spent time reading it.

The vast majority of us have a digital footprint which can reveal invaluable insights to the sales process. Take 10 seconds to read someone’s Twitter profile, or see which LinkedIn posts they comment on. There is absolutely no need to go in blind, no excuse not to do your background research beforehand. See who you know in common: 69% of business decision makers are more likely to choose a vendor if the sales professional is recommended to them by someone in their professional network. 78% of sales people using social selling practices outsell peers who don’t use social media.  Nine out of ten of the top sales professionals are using social selling tools.

Researching someone’s professional and social networks arms you with conversation openers that eliminate the risk of the virtual cold shoulder, and demonstrate your integrity and authenticity. Being prepared is everything, but it doesn’t have to take you hours. Steve Richard, founder of Execvision talks of the ‘triple threat’ and advises taking just three minutes to read three pieces of information from three difference sources. “The number one mistake is salespeople selling to leads right off the bat,” he observes. “Reps call or email the lead and start talking about products and services before they’ve earned the right to sell”.  A little preparation earns you the right to sell.

It’s time to rehumanise the sales process

Writer and entrepreneur Shari Levitin calls this emphasis on personalisation ‘rehumanising the sales process’. She advises following a four-part ‘CALL’ plan: Connect, Ask, Listen and Link:

Connect comes at the earliest stages. Don’t rush the sales pitch: 58% of salespeople pitch too soon. Empathy gets you in the door, she says, and competency keeps you there

Ask refers to the questions you need to ask to get you to the next stage in the buying process. Shari summarises these into skin, bone and heart questions. ‘Skin’ questions are those initial surface questions, the information you can source from social and professional networks, questions on current provider or technology in use. Follow these with ‘bone’ questions, forming the framework or skeleton of your sale, such as, “If you could change anything about your situation, what would it be?” or “What are your biggest challenges, and what would be the cost your business faces if you don’t fix them?”. Finally, the ‘heart’ questions are more personal, focusing on generating feelings and emotions: “If this challenge was overcome, how would it affect you personally?” “How would your team feel if you fixed this issue for them?”

Listen is when you listen for the said, the unsaid and the ‘un-sale’. Watch any good news interviewer on TV and you’ll see the strategy of silence. Pause, think, respect and empower your buyer. Listening is hard – that’s why there are books written on it. Actively listen: don’t let listening become simply a pause whilst you think of what you’re going to say next; don’t listen and think of what pastry you’re going to have with your coffee. Really, really listen – and make sure you hear. Repeat back what your prospect has just said – this will help you remember the conversation, as well as demonstrating to them that you really are listening.

Link is about linking all the above points, joining all the information sourced and demonstrating your understanding.

Think of your top salespeople. What qualities do they have in common? Chances are, they are genuine, articulate, smart and great at empathising. One of the best salespeople I ever knew was invited to his client’s wedding, such was the rapport and ultimately friendship he’d built. Many of these traits are innate, and we all know ‘natural’ salespeople. But the good news is, these behaviours can be learned. Remember ‘CALL’, and you’ll have a framework for rehumanising the sales process – and see the results in your bottom line.