Tips for Managing the Sales Conversation

90% of salespeople run terrible discovery calls. At best, they "check the boxes." At worst, they annoy the hell out of buyers. Use these 5 tips for discovery calls that buyers actually THANK you for: 1. "Prime" the call for success. Bad discovery calls start with bad expectations. You do one thing (ask questions). Your buyer expects another (demo). Get the first 5 minutes of the meeting right: After a few min of small talk, say "Do you mind if we talk about the agenda?" Then ask: "Here's what I have in mind for this call. Lmk if you're thinking something different. This meeting will be successful if ________________. Does that feel right?" Fill in the blank with an objective. THEN set the agenda to get there: "The way we'll accomplish that is first by talking about X, then Y. Anything to add or remove?" Do that, and you're ahead of most sellers. 2. Match your questions to the buyer's journey Meet your buyer where they stand. If they're exploring solutions, ask: "What's driving you to explore this category?" If they're not, and they're still crystallizing their challenges, ask: "Let's talk about the top challenges in [you area] that would be an issue if you didn't solve in 6-12 months." The point? Your first few questions should "meet them where they stand." Match your questions with the buyer's journey stage. 3. Firm up the 'why' When your buyer gets off the Zoom call: - they have 100s of emails - they have missed phone calls - their Slack is lit up like a Christmas tree They'll forget about you. Unless you get to the 'need behind the need.' Ask this: "What's going on your in your business that's driving [challenge they shared] to be a priority? What's the origin story of how this challenge got prioritized?" That question is as close to magic as you'll find. 4. Banter on the root cause Bad salespeople do nothing but get information. Great salespeople *create value* in the sales cycle. Here's how: Help your buyer think through the 'root cause' of their problems. - Offer new perspectives - Share what you see with customers - Ask challenging (but tactful) questions Business problems are messy. They're hard to figure out. If you help them do that, you create value. 5. Quantify the value 'Quantifying value' is misunderstood. Most sellers: Do it because it serves you, the seller Great sellers: Do it because it serves the buyer When you help your buyer quantify the value: - you help them appreciate the full magnitude - you help them know what they can ignore - you help them set priorities Try asking: "What metric will improve the most if you solve this issue?" That will start the process. - What tips would you add for better discovery calls that buyers enjoy? P.S. I've kept a list of 39 questions that sell over the last 12 years. These come from watching 3,000 Gong calls, and running over 1,000 discovery calls myself. Here's the free list of 39 questions that sell: https://go.pclub.io/list

13 years ago, I gave my first ever sales pitch. I was nervous as hell. Last week, I met a bunch of founders in the current YC batch who felt the same way. They didn’t know how to sell and weren’t sure how to get to traction needed before demo day. I noticed this during our batch too. Building doesn’t seem to be a problem for new teams. But I always get questions on how to get started with sales, best tools to use, etc. I think about my time scaling 2 businesses to $3m ARR. I was a ‘product guy’ not a ‘sales guy.’ But I was thrown into the fire and had to learn. Getting from 0 - 1 is difficult, but there’s a playbook you can follow and if you are disciplined, it will work. Here’s my best sales advice to go from 0 → 1 (shoutout to Ryan Neu) packed into bullets: 1. Listen more - let people talk and go into their problems. 2. Have a conversation with the goal of solving a problem - no need to pitch. 3. Ask why - when you hear something interesting, keep asking why - more will be uncovered. 4. Seek the no - try to get them to say “no I'm not interested”  as soon as possible. If you can’t get to a no, you have a buyer on your hands. 5. Be direct - don’t be afraid to just ask - are you excited about our product? Are you the buyer? It may be uncomfortable, but it will save both time and get to a deal faster. 6. Get good at asking questions - this is a skill that can be built by listening intently and following your natural curiosity. 7. Flip the script - your time is valuable - make sure that this person is not just poking around and has a real need. 8. Ask the difficult questions - “do you have money?” “Are you curious or actually trying to solve a problem?” 9. Shave the sales cycle - constantly be looking for ways to reduce time to the next milestone. 10. Lock in ARR - discounts for 1 year or 2 year agreements only. 11. Every call should progress to either a yes or a no - either is fine and beneficial. 12. Ask for permission to advance to the next stage - get explicit when possible. 13. Intros - ask for intros from people who like your product. At the end of the day, you are trying to figure out if the buyer is “real” or not. It can be framed as a puzzle, as a game - which people enjoy and can get better at with practice. 

After leading and coaching over 300 sales reps in the past 6 years, improvement in these 3 key parts of the sales process have the greatest impact on your % win rate. Everything comes secondary👇 🪟 The Frame Each call has a different goal but require a frame, here's a framework: 1. Establish credibility 2. Set the agenda 3. Define the goal/outcome 4. Gain consent and ask and open ended question like "What else do you want to cover?" ❓The Questions Different conversations call for different questions. Consider: 1. Surface-based questions for getting the lay of the land 2. Pain-based questions using the heaven and hell scenario 3. Dive into executive initiatives & top-level priorities 4. Quantify the problem ✅ Cultivate Commitment Here are 4 strategies to secure commitment for the next steps or closing the deal: 1. Highlight the gap between where they are and where they want to go—make them feel the pain! 2. Wrap up with a closed-ended question, asking if you can help solve their pain. A "yes" makes the next steps an easy agreement. 3. Always book the next step during the call! 4. Understand how solving the problem impacts THEM personally, not just the company. Build your champions. Sales Professional > Sales Rep What else would you add? Ps - if you're interested in diving deep into being a better sales professional, check out our Arise immersion coming in February. #sales #discovery #closing

SLOW DOWN - this was the best cold call advice and maybe the best sales advice I’ve ever received. My first day cold calling went a little like this: Listening to dial tones and oh shit someone picks up. What do I do. I thought ���they are busy I need to power through the pitch as quickly as possible to get all the info out” - hoping miraculously it resonates and they want to book a meeting immediately. In reality they hung up. Listening to that call in my coaching session with my coach, she told me to slow down. That was it. She said no matter how rushed the prospect sounds, or how nervous I was. Take a breath and slow down. That day I focused exclusively on articulating slow and clear and booked 2 meetings to my surprise. Literally 2 meetings in my second day. Went from zero to hero. It works. Why? 1. Clarity and Understanding: Speaking slowly ensures that your message is clear and understandable, reducing the chances of miscommunication. 2. Confidence: A slower pace can convey confidence and control, making you seem more trustworthy and professional. 3. Active Listening: It gives the other person time to process what you're saying and respond, facilitating a more natural and engaging conversation. 4. Adaptability: Slowing down allows you to better gauge the prospect's reactions and adjust your approach accordingly. 5. Building Rapport: It helps in creating a more personal connection, making the prospect feel valued and heard. By taking your time, you can create a more effective and productive interaction with your prospects. If you are just starting out try this before anything else. LFG! PS This also applies to sales meetings.

Master the Sales Call: From Discovery to Close Founders, struggling to close deals? Let's break down the key elements of a winning sales call: 1. Powerful Discovery Questions: - Uncover Pain Points: Ask questions to identify your prospect's specific problems. - Focus on Solutions: People care about solving their issues, not your product. - Let them Talk: Encourage them to elaborate on their challenges. Remember: Discovery is crucial! By truly understanding their needs, you can tailor your pitch for maximum impact. 2. Feature-to-Solution Mindset: - Don't Sell Features: Highlight how your product addresses their specific problems. - Become a Problem Solver: Frame your solution as the answer they've been searching for. - Founders: You have a unique advantage in positioning your product as the perfect solution! 3. Anticipate and Address Objections: - Identify Common Concerns: Through customer calls, you'll discover recurring objections. - Prepare Rebuttals with Examples: Have data and success stories to back up your claims. Pro Tip: Document answers to common objections for easy reference during calls. 4. Empower Your Champion: They Advocate in Your Absence: Equip your champion with the information they need. Provide Sales Tools: Create a master deck, infographics, and ROI justifications for them to use. Remember: Most buying decisions happen when you're not in the room. Give your champion the tools to champion your product effectively. 5. Always Ask for the Next Step: Don't Leave it Hanging: End the call with a clear action plan. Schedule a Follow-Up: Set a date for a proposal, meeting, or next steps. By mastering these elements, you can turn your sales calls into successful closes. #Founders #SalesTips #SalesCall #GrowthHacking

There are 5 types of questions that all sellers should master (most only hit 2 of 5): 1. Current State - Questions that establish a baseline understanding of the client's present situation "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴/𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴/𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩?" 2. Challenge - Questions that identify specific pain points and obstacles "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩?" 3. Consequence - Questions that explore the impact of leaving problems unsolved "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥?" 4. Compelling Event - Questions that uncover urgency and motivation for change "𝘏𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸?" 5. Conclusion - Questions that shift the conversation from problems to solutions, helping clients articulate their desired future state in their own words "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦��, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦?" The lesson? The answers that convert are hidden within the questions you haven't asked yet.

Struggling to sell your product? It’s because your reps pitch ineffectively. They make one critical mistake - vomiting features. Forget your product. Instead, solve your customer’s problems. Here’s the step-by-step: 1. Ask the Right Questions A prospect wants to know if your product is going to satisfy their pain. Too many questions means they become confused. Focus on framing the pain, and ask a pain-oriented question to surface the pain the feature you are showing solves. For example asking: “How is your company handling this issue today?” {After framing pain} - To what extent is that a challenge for you? The right questions unlock better answers. Ultimately meaning your solution deeply resonates with your buyer's pain. 2. Consistently share stories. Humans justify with emotions and back up with logic - leverage this in demos through telling compelling stories. Share success stories of other customers about how each feature adds proof of product results. Highlight the before vs. after of that customer’s journey. Make sure it’s clear how they are better off with your product. Use stories - they sell. 3. Focus on the start & end of the demo. Your customer remembers these parts the most. Start strong and end strong - the rest will fall into place. 4. Get a response. Ask questions after each feature ask questions to gauge a customer's reaction and get them talking. Listen closely, analyse their body language, and give them time to respond. 5. Before every "feature" you demo, establish the pain it solves. Anchor the conversation around a pain point, outcome, or challenge. The reason? A solution without a problem never resonates. 5 tips - now go master your sales demos. P.S. - Get some value? Please reshare this.

Nailing the intro call is crucial to building rapport and moving deals forward. Here are the 6 essentials to cover for an impactful first conversation. 1️⃣ A compelling intro that tells a personal story and should answer why you’re the best person to sell the product. A powerful background story builds instant trust and can draw your prospects into an engaging conversation. Conveying why you’re excited about the product will give you an emotional edge in the discussion. 2️⃣ A deep understanding of the prospect’s pain points and the root of why they are on the call in the first place. Without having the domain expertise to empathize with a prospect’s pain points, the pitch falls flat because you’ll be selling against a misinformed or non-existent problem. Study your industry deeply and actively listen to what the prospect is conveying in terms of their specific pains. 3️⃣ A strong technical and business explanation for why your product is different and unique. It’s not enough to pitch your product’s features in this day and age. It’s an absolute must-do to be able to draw out why your technical moat and under-the-hood foundation is defensible for years to come. 4️⃣ A concise demo that’s not overdone. No one wants to see 10-20 features on an intro call. Make sure you are drawing out the 2-3 most important elements based on what’s most urgent for the prospect to solve. The best demos compel prospects to want to take the next call and this doesn’t happen if you’re boring the prospects with every nitty gritty feature. 5️⃣ A real alignment discussion, even if it means disqualifying the prospect. For two companies to work together they need to agree that not only does the product solve a problem, but that there’s also philosophical alignment. Questions like, “do you agree with our view of the world?” and “is the direction we’re headed with our product what you expected and were hoping for?” are critical to answer during the intro call. If questions like this are met with resistance / skepticism the prospect you’re speaking with may not be a good fit. 6️⃣ A dedicated space and at least 8-10 minutes to talk about next steps. If you run out of time to talk about next steps, good luck with keeping the prospect engaged. Make sure you don’t short change the next steps section of the call so that each side is crystal clear on what’s coming next. The stakes are high on intro calls with new prospects. What other intro call must-do’s would you add? Download my tech guide , “10 Things Elite Sellers do on Intro Calls” (featured section of my profile) for more inspiration on how to make a killer first impression :) #tech #b2b #sales #firstimpressions #asianinsales

The most common way to screw up an exec-level meeting: Using lots of words, without saying much. With 5 examples: (I'm way guilty of number 2 in this list.) (1) Think-talking. If we don’t know what we want to say, we use longer sentences. They let us “think out loud” and work out a point of view on the go. —> Start the conversation with a clear objective in mind. Writing out a meeting brief like this will do the trick: https://lnkd.in/g23bGKVk (2) Too many stories. Stories are good for creating positive and calming negative emotion. But there are times when you need to ditch the minutes-long story. —> If an exec uses short sentences to ask for quick facts, match it. If a question is 5 seconds long, answer in 5-10 secs, then pause. (3) Saying 1 thing in 2 - 3 ways. This sounds like: “We work with all types of unstructured data. If you have marketing data, ops data, sales data, we can work with it. So pretty much any type of data, we can handle. Even unstructured data.” —> If a sentence doesn't introduce new info or frame a topic, cut it. (4) Asking a question with “multiple choice” responses. Resist the urge to follow up with sample responses for a buyer. This sounds like: “…so like, for example, all your data could be unstructured. Or maybe you find that some of it actually is structured. Or maybe you’re not sure and need to check, which is fine too. So, yeah…” —> After you ask a question, stop at the “?” and let them speak. (5) Answering a question with every response you could think of. Don’t dilute your strongest point with other, weaker ones. If a buyer wants to go deeper on the topic after, they’ll ask. —> Respond with your most compelling point, then wait. Overall, the goal is to compress more information into less time.

Three questions that are costing you revenue….      • "Tell Me About Your Business" It’s not the prospect’s job to waste their valuable time educating you on what they do.   It’s your job to research the company, prospect, and industry so you’re prepared to discuss how you’ve solved problems like theirs for companies like theirs.   Lazy reps aggravate prospects by expecting them to do the work.   Pros enlighten prospects by coming to each call armed with knowledge, insights, and a point of view.   • "If You Had A Magic Wand, What Would You Change?" They don’t have a magic wand and they never will.   It’s a contrived attempt to short-cut the hard work of building trust and asking good questions to uncover a prospect’s pain.   Invest time into building credibility.   Approach each call with a curious mindset to understand their current situation.   Have an honest conversation about whether you can solve their problem.   In other words….do your job.     • "I Know You’re Busy But Would You Mind If I Asked You A Few Questions?" Stop putting your prospect on a pedestal.   Your time is just as valuable as theirs.   Establish equal business stature to build trust.   Mutual respect is an important part of any healthy relationship.   Don’t surrender your dignity by groveling for a few crumbs of the prospect’s time.   Adopt an attitude that they are lucky you reached out to solve their problems.   Competition for booking meetings is fierce. What you don’t say at these meetings is at least as important as what you do say.   Avoid these questions to maximize the potential of the meeting you worked so hard to get.   What questions would you add to the list? #sales #salestraining #salestips