How to Build Trust in Enterprise Sales

The #1 thing I teach AEs and clients when it comes to closing more: → your prospect should never feel like they're being sold to They should feel like you've been hired on retainer to give them the best advice (hard to do when you have a quota) I've been teaching this concept for years when I was a 2x VP of sales. That's how my AEs were closing 50-75% of their demos. Here are 5 evergreen strategies you can do to build trust with your prospect so you can close more by 'unselling' 1. ASK TO DELAY: When a prospect tells you their timeline is "this quarter" don't move onto the next question. Instead, consider 'delaying' their timeline. When you do this properly, the prospect will convince you on why they need it sooner.. E.g. "Mike, you mentioned you'd like to implement something sometime this quarter, curious..why not later?" 2. PROMOTE STATUS QUO: If your prospect has been using X solution for a few years but it's time to look into something else because of certain problems, push back on the change. You'll come across not desperate for their business and the prospect will convince you on why the problem is worth solving with your solution. E.g. "Even with those problems you're having, seems like you've been managing your pipeline pretty good and it's kinda working...why not just continue doing what you're doing vs switching to a solution like ours?" 3. LET THE COMPETITION WIN: If the prospect tells you that your competitor is cheaper and then asks how you're different, let them win. Nobody expects you to praise the competition and when you do, it's disarming. E.g. "If you're #1 goal is to find the cheapest solution on the market, I'd say go with ACME, because they'll beat us 10 out of 10 times." 4. ASSUME YOU'RE NOT A FIT: Most salespeople tell prospects they've come to the right place and they can solve their problems. But that's way too biased. Instead, tell prospects you may not be the right company for them. (side note: make sure you do this early on before you dive into discovery) E.g. "I'm not sure we'd be a right fit for you..too early to tell and I would hate for you to use a solution that doesn't do at least 85% of what you need..." 5. UNSELL FEATURES: After you show a feature, don't ask them if they have questions. Don't ask them if they liked what they saw. Ask them what they didn't like. You're looking for signs that will prevent the deal from closing by assuming their are concerns. E.g. "Based on what I just showed you, what do you feel isn't 100% aligned with what had in mind?" The best salespeople are unselling. They're pulling instead of pushing. #helpmedontsellme P.S. Join 6,000+ sales professionals mastering discovery (for free): https://lnkd.in/eR69raD4

I struggled with the leap from Mid-Market to Enterprise sales. It was like one day being a top college athlete- and the next, getting my a$$ handed to me at the pro level. Until 2 great mentors gave me 3 key pieces of advice. Here's what they said: ---> Build an Internal Network ---> Planning Will Save You ---> Stay in Sync ---> Build an Internal Network Find out who you'll work with in Legal, Finance, and Deal Desk. Put a short intro call on their calendar. Find out their story. Their likes and dislikes. Ask how best to work with them. Then mark your calendar to reach out to them every few weeks - and ask for nothing. Establishing relationships before you need something from these teams can be crucial later. And just a good decent thing to do. ---> Planning Will Save You Start creating account plans for your top high-value accounts. Both to show high-level strategy and drive accountability around execution. You will use them with all your co-selling teammates, including executive alignment with internal leadership. These shared documents are invaluable. You can view an example of a template I've used in the comments. ---> Stay in Sync Have regular sync/prep meetings on the calendar with your teammates in Pre-sales, Support, and Customer success. And do not cancel or schedule over these calls. They are sacred. Regular time together cuts down on miscommunication, saves 100s of Slack messages, and creates alignment. You'll have fewer fire drills re: deal strategy, saving a renewal, etc. Moving from Mid-Market to Enterprise selling means going from being a top soloist to conducting the whole orchestra. What worked before won't be enough. What was your biggest surprise when you started handling larger accounts? Want more actionable sales insights every week? More info for ya below ⬇️ #pipelineanxiety #sales

A Short Success Plan for B2B Sales and Enterprise-Level Clients: 1. Nurturing Customer Relationships in Sales Environments: In a world where sales strategies lean towards transactions, fostering strong customer connections sets you apart. Your triumph hinges on these relationships. In an era dominated by digital screens, the profound advantage of investing time with your contacts cannot be overstated. As artificial intelligence reshapes industries, prioritizing relationships reigns supreme. 2. Understanding Client Needs: Beyond the surface, clients seek solutions, not just products. By probing to uncover their true requirements, you position yourself for success in securing their business. Understanding the strategic outcomes they desire allows you to address their genuine needs. While I specialized in staffing solutions, my true offering lay in reducing labor costs, facilitating full-time hires, and providing flexible staffing solutions. 3. Engaging with Enterprise Clients: There was a time when my presence within a company prompted questions about my tenure. By engaging with decision-makers and managers, I deepened relationships while gaining invaluable insights into their operations. 4. Participation in Planning Sessions: Several clients extended invitations for me to attend their planning meetings, granting me access to key leaders and pertinent documents. Following these experiences, I proactively sought involvement in planning sessions with other companies. 5. Regular Client Visits: Recently, one of my sales team members proposed visiting a prospect at their office. The gesture surprised the contact, highlighting the value of personal engagement. Consistent client visits foster loyalty and growth. 6. Addressing Challenges: In my sales journey, each day presented unique challenges for my team and clients. Regardless of your industry, tackling client issues head-on is imperative. Allowing problems to persist creates opportunities for competitors to step in and offer solutions. 7. Effective Follow-Up: By maintaining regular communication, you instill confidence in your clients. Whether addressing concerns or honoring commitments, consistent follow-up demonstrates your dedication to meeting their needs. 8. Proactive Approach: Setting yourself apart means being proactive and preempting issues before they escalate. Investing time upfront to prevent problems proves more advantageous than resolving them later. 9. Offering Future Insights: Providing clients with a forward-looking perspective is essential. As their guide, it's your responsibility to navigate potential pitfalls and chart a course towards future success. Found this useful ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Anthony Iannarino for more sales strategies.

⚠️ Do Not Do This ⚠️ Stop connecting with people under the guise of building your network, only to immediately follow up with the hard sell. To illustrate with a story, I met my wife 20 years ago. We spent time with eachother every day for at least 5 months. Although we were young, we had a pretty good idea early on that we loved each others company. It took a series of consistent touch points to build a relationship of trust. After about 5 months, we got engaged, and the rest is history. Now, although it happened quickly by todays standards, I was able to build enough trust with this person, that she was willing to sign up to be with me forever, and bring other people into this world. But consistent touchpoints build a solid foundation of trust is what got her to that point. Now — Sales. The sale is not instant. It takes time. Have conversations. Build trust. Find ways to connect. Learn about your prospect’s goals. Don’t ask me to marry you if we haven’t dated. Sales is a long game. If you’re good, it can be accelerated. Find ways to bring others value. Give. Give. Give. Build your pipeline this way, and you’ll have one of the highest converting funnels ever.

Lately, I have been noticing a trend where people use big words a lot, such as fantastic, exciting, amazing, awesome. In sales we call them glamor words and they have their place, but if we overuse them, they become noise or, they are met with defiance. If you want to build trust you need to communicate truthfully. Not everything can or should be exciting. Also, excitement is a feeling and what feels exciting to some people might terrify others. For example, some people think that running with the bulls is exciting while others shudder at the idea. In sales, we need to be careful to overuse the glamor words because if we do, our audiences won’t take us seriously and we will sound unauthentic and not trustworthy. The same holds true for leaders. It is important to know when and how to use adjectives that could have a counter effect on your employees. While some organizational developments can be viewed as exciting for management, your field could feel differently about them. Acknowledge that everybody views their world through the lens of “what’s in for me” and choose your verbiage accordingly. #trustbuilding

7 pieces of sales career advice I wish I knew 10 years ago. Whether you are a founder or a freshly minted salesperson, I hope you find something here that helps you grow faster in your career. When I started out, I didn’t know anything about sales. Being a “good talker” isn’t enough. It takes more than a silver tongue for companies to buy products from you. Here are the 7 things I wish someone told me then: 1. A little enthusiasm goes a long way How you show up matters. It doesn’t matter if you are in person, on a zoom, on the phone, or writing an email. People are very good at sensing how excited you are about what you do. It’s like they can smell it. This isn’t to say that you should fake it or overplay your hand. But enthusiasm is often a choice, so choose to bring energy and excitement into your conversations. It makes a big difference in persuading people to buy what you are selling. 2. Be on time. This one writes itself. When you are late, even by only a few minutes, you are signaling that your time is more important than others. Don’t do that. Show up on time for every meeting, internal and external. Make it part of your personal brand. Never schedule yourself back to back if you can avoid it. And get good at ending a conversation so you can make your next meeting. 3. Focus on one thing for a long enough time and you will find success This is as true in life as it is in sales. When you focus on the same thing or group of things for 12+ months, you will achieve what you are trying to accomplish. For example, when you are selling to a select group of prospects and you commit to it for at least a year, the world conspires to bring you closer to them. You build context. You establish a relationship. You create trust, enough trust that they want to buy from you. 4. If you can’t tell a story, you can’t sell. Storytelling is core to how people understand things. Companies don’t buy things, people do. And people buy things based on emotion, not based on logic. Sure, they will tell you they logically evaluate their decisions, but usually they use logic to justify an emotional decision that they have already made. People buy things from people they trust. Storytelling is how you build trust. 5. Most purchase decisions are group decisions This one is counter-intuitive. Every salesperson is searching for the “decision maker”, but my experience has been that every purchase decision is really a decision by committee. If you are selling to the owner or CEO, they are considering how the purchase will impact the team. Similarly, if you are selling to a VP, they are thinking about how to get the CEO to approve the purchase so they can look like a hero. You need to find the group that is influencing the deal, even if they aren’t directly involved in the evaluation. Continued in comments