Are Strategy Sessions Dead?

Are strategy sessions dead?

Strategy Sessions were originally positioned as a way to establish authority and trust by providing value to your prospects.

It's a very simple concept. I share some strategy with you for an hour, and if the strategy is in alignment with your vision....we discuss working together.

It's a great concept, I love strategies, I love strategy sessions.

Very quickly I've noticed a steep decline of the quality of strategy sessions....

At this point strategy sessions are just another term for a sales call.

You agree to a strategy session.... you get on a call, the salesperson asks you some generic questions, they don't care what the answer is, then they give you the generic pitch back.

Of course, salespeople need to sell, but other than offering the same promises that everyone else offers, how do you know if you align with their strategy, if they don't actually share any strategy.

I've made the commitment in the last 2 years to go back to a real strategy session.?I figure out where the person is, and I share with them what I think they should do, or what I would do in their situation and give them the best advice I have for them based on my experience. The results have been surprising.? Beyond having a 68% close percentage, one of the real surprising things has been the amount of prospects who are asking me to pitch them at the end of the strategy session.? They are asking what I have to offer and how do they join.

I ask a few simple questions to get started.

1. How the heck they stumbled upon this industry
2. What were they hoping to get out of this venture
3. Why they think they haven't been able to get the desired results.

Those 3 questions give me enough to go off of, then I break every rule and against all Question Based Sales Trainers and NLP junkies have laid out as "The new way of selling"

I talk for probably 20-30 minutes straight. I talk strategy and strategy only.? I dig in, and I don't move on until I feel like I've really given them an implementable strategy.

I then ask, is there anything I just said that hit home or am I totally off?

I know its crazy but I beleive if your offering a strategy session, you should deliver a session of strategy. If you want to have a sales call...you should call it something different.?

The idea being if I provide extremely valuable information in 30 minutes the prospect will imagine what it would be like to work with me everyday.

At this point, I'm used to being a misfit, I challenge or disagree with most sales trainers out there today. I refuse to drink the koolaid... but this one to me is a no brainer.

I'm a big promoter of bringing back the real strategy sessions.? Provide massive value, give them a taste of what it would be like to work with you on a regular basis.? If you can give them enough value on the call, they will have a hard time saying "no" to working with you moving forward.?

Ditch the Pitch and Serve your Audience.... A Strategy Session should include Strategy!

I appreciate you!!

JD