Insanity: Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. We’ve all heard this, and yet, many continue to sell the same way they always have in a business world that has been changing dramatically over the last several years. Now more than ever, developing TRUST as a cornerstone of your business is critical and the four keys below will start the process of developing a new orientation with your clients and prospects.
Openly Talk About the Negative
People appreciate honesty, openness, and transparency. Well, most people! Talking about the positive aspects of your business and industry is easy and frankly, is the same thing every one of your competitors does. Develop content, such as a blog post, around the things in your industry that are not so positive such as “5 Reasons Why Outsourcing X May Not Be a Good Idea”. Think about the negative questions that are common themes in your industry and provide answers to those questions. I know this sounds absurd and probably antithetical to your normal thinking, but believe me, you will appreciate the results that come from this shift.
Build Your Next Sales Plan Using Our Handy Sales Plan Template — Download Now!
Share Your (not-so-secret) Sauce
This is one of my favorites. So many companies I speak with believe that they have to keep their secret sauce in a vault only to be seen by a few lucky individuals. Okay, it’s probably a little bit of an exaggeration, but don’t think for a second that it’s as secretive as you may think. I would suggest that your sauce provides you with a perfect topic to develop content around. If your secret sauce is a key differentiator for your company, you need to leverage it.
Make it Personal
This is another one of my favorites. Communicating and sharing content needs to be, no has to be, personal. Engaging at a personal level makes your interaction with that individual much more unique and meaningful. One idea is when you share content, put their name in the subject line. Example: John, I thought you might find this interesting. Also consider leveraging video. Use a solution like Vidyard or Wistia to connect with personal video messaging. They are easy to use solutions and will give you some pretty cool analytics. Tip: Engage the owner of your company in participating in personal videos that can be delivered to your high-level prospects.
Focus on the Money
Money is such an interesting topic. For years, we in sales have been taught to avoid discussion of pricing until we were late in the sales cycle. Keep it out of the discussion for as long as possible. Today, the buyer has changed that mindset. Before most buyers even get to you, they are 70% to 80% of the way down the road of having the information they need to make an informed decision. The more you can assist them to fill in the remaining gaps, the better your position will be to win the business. Your content should include things like the average cost of products and/or services in your industry and at your organization. And don’t worry about your competition finding out..they already know!
