“Attention all sales reps. The last thing I have for you right now is time to listen to what you would love to tell me about. Tell me how you are going to help my business, my employees, or me. Get to the point.” – Anonymous C-Suite executive on LinkedIn.
So often in sales, I have tried to say or send a message the way I would want it said to me. But guess what? I am not reaching out to myself. Executives I am targeting do not have time for the “Hey, how are you” fluff that I would welcome. And they certainly don’t have time to listen to a talking brochure. They are moving at 100 miles an hour trying to run their company. To reference the quote above, they want me to get to the point quickly – and the point has to be how I can help them. Throw in the fact that they are called upon 25-30x a week by other sales reps… I’d better be memorable.
It’s not an easy task to prospect these days. And, if you don’t know how to effectively and confidently convey the value you bring, your chances of connecting are greatly diminished.
Here are some tips to help you “get to the point” when prospecting:
Value Statements
Any sort of targeted messaging needs to have a strong value statement. The challenge is, it can be difficult to craft. A strong value statement should captivate your targeted persona’s attention. It should differentiate from your competition, and it should validate your business. Oh yeah, and all of that should be within 20-25 words. Take time to create strong value statements. Challenge yourself to create value statements that no one else could use. In our trainings, one game we like to play is to switch out your company’s name with a competitor and see if the value statement works for them. If so, your value statement will probably get lost in the noise. Your voicemail or email will sound just like the others. A strong value statement should be unique to only your company and/or you.
Voicemails & Role Practice
Hypothetically, let us say it takes you 20x to master a voicemail you create. Would you rather get to that 20 by leaving live voicemails with prospects and possibly lose opportunities, trust, and credibility OR get to the 20 by simply role practicing and recording your voicemail on your phone to play back? Hopefully, you chose option B. One of the biggest missed opportunities I see in sales today is role practicing. Role practice your voicemails. Before I leave any prospecting voicemail, I will script it out and record it on my phone at least 10x before making a live call. I check my tone, value statement, length, etc., all before I go live. Do you think any professional athlete or musician goes out in front of a crowd and wings it? Absolutely not. When it comes to prospecting, why do we do it? This is our income. Our quota. Our career. Do we want to leave that up to chance? Role practice.
Google is your friend
I am 28 years old. I have never owned a company, never been CEO, never managed 100+ employees. Yet, prospects take my calls, answer my emails, and partner up with me. Why? Because I work to be their industry expert. Every day, I spend 1-2 hours reading different articles, watching presentations, listening to podcasts about my prospects' industry and the world we live. Use google to help you become an industry expert. Play a game and pretend you are your prospect. What are your challenges? What factors play into your success? How would you overcome obstacles in the industry? Always strive to stay ahead of the curve and use the internet to know what to say to your prospects.
When it comes to prospecting, don't waste time - yours or theirs. Butler Street's trainings help you apply the tips above, coupled with tools and processes such as prospecting worksheets and touch plans, so you'll make the most of your prospecting efforts and valuable time. If strengthening your prospecting efforts is an area of opportunity for you and your group, I would welcome your time to connect!