Chances are a few big deals will make or break your year. If you could just win more of them, life would be so much easier. When you win them, it seems like your reps do everything perfectly. When you lose them it is hard to determine why.
The rep says it was price. The sales manager says we lacked the right relationships. The customer says the competitive option was a better fit. What is the true reason?
There might not be one distinct action that led to losing a big deal. It could be that the rep entered the deal late and never had a chance. Or the rep was single threaded with a lower level influencer.
Many times the problem is lack of preparation for individual sales calls. You hold strategy sessions to discuss <Insert Company Name Here>. Companies don’t buy, people do. You talk with your team about how to make a logical business case. But people buy on emotion and validate logically. Then at the moment of truth, reps walk into the sales calls and pitch product.
Your reps are losing deals because they aren’t buyer focused during interactions. Reps might know buyer names and understand when they get involved. But they don’t see the world through their buyer’s eyes. And the worst part is, they don’t have access to the strategic thinkers. Your reps may not even have the confidence to approach executive level buyers.
Build Confidence & Self-Awareness
Confidence comes from knowledge and practice. Muscle memory from approaching similar situations over and over again.
Winning more deals starts with improving each sales call. Right now there are undoubtedly reps on your team attending sales calls unprepared.
Have your team use this five step process to prepare for important sales calls. You will engage buyers more effectively and win more often.
1. Review the buyer persona(s) they are meeting with
Understand their:
- Objectives
- Obstacles
- Fears
- What is important to them
- What is unique about your company
- How they are measured.
This will keep reps focused on the buyer and not your product. Also, determine which personas you don’t have access to yet, but need to.
2. Review the buying process map of those same personas
Locate each of them on the map to determine their current mindset. This will equip reps with what the customer cares about and not their own agenda. Also discuss what other personas are doing that they don’t yet have access to.
3. Fill out a call plan to plan for a successful interaction
Be very crisp with objectives and successful outcomes. This will keep reps on track during the call. Part of the plan should be how to get access to other personas.
4. Have the front-line sales manager review the plan with the rep for 30 minutes
This will fix any glaring gaps in the plan. Also, they should ensure the rep is meeting with the right level of buyers.
Along with reviewing the call plan, also perform the five question test. What is this? The rep writes down the five questions they don’t want to get asked. Then talk through how they would handle each. This will prepare reps for the curve balls that derail sales calls.
5. After the call, the front-line sales manager reviews call results with the rep
This will build self-awareness so they begin to coach themselves after calls.
Create and use these tools and processes. They will make your sales managers better coaches. Your reps will become more self-aware. Improve the quality of sales interactions and get access to the right buyers. This incremental improvement will lead to you winning more of the big deals.
