Sales techniques are the proven strategies and tools sales professionals use to improve their chances of conversions and connect with their customer. Today’s companies use a variety of selling techniques to close a deal, from building emotional connections with their audience to using solution-focused and account-based selling.
As leaders in the transformation of the sales environment, Salesborgs.ai have their own recommendations for the kind of sales closing techniques companies should consider. Here are 3 inside sales techniques straight from the Salesborgs.ai experts.
For years, a lot of key sales techniques have followed the same pattern. Sales professionals introduce a product, explain why their customer needs it, and do their best to tackle any objections that arise before the sale. Increasingly, however, we’re learning that effective sales techniques need to think outside of the box.
Studies demonstrate that around 60% of the deals in the modern pipeline are lost to people simply making “no decision” rather than choosing to buy from a competitor. If you’re not shaking things up enough to convince your customer they need to make a change to their current status quo, they’ll simply stay still – doing nothing.
To generate real sales, you’ll need to fight that desire for inertia by disrupting the natural pattern of the sales cycle and creating a polarity shift. This technique starts with getting your customer talking about their problems, processes, and the existing tools they’re using relevant to your industry. You build a rapport through natural, friendly language, and human interaction.
Once you’ve got your customer talking, you can ask your client how their current strategy is really working out for them. Most of the time, you’ll be able to unravel more insights into what the existing solution isn’t doing for that company. Eventually, your customer will either ask you to remind them once again what you can offer, or you can jump in with a gentle pitch.
When the time comes to actually sell your product, all you need to do is focus on how your solution is better than their current “status quo”.
A lot of today’s top B2B sales techniques focus on learning how to build meaningful relationships with your target audience. In today’s competitive digital environment, your audience is constantly bombarded with sales pitches from almost every direction. In this space, it’s easy to start blocking out the traditional sales suggestions made by most brands.
So, how can you push people to take notice? Shake up your outreach with pattern interrupts. Remove the pleasantries at the beginning of the email or LinkedIn message and be more colloquial. Just say “Hi” or “Hey” rather than “Dear Sir” – this makes it feel like your prospect is talking to a friend, not just another sales team.
As you work on building your relationship with your customers, moving towards the point when you introduce your sales solutions, experiment with things like hyperbole, “Would it be the end of the world if…” and humor, “let me get this out before I lose my mind.”
Give your prospect an honest, authentic and human experience when they’re interacting with you, and they’ll be far more likely to pay attention.
The decision journey for any customer is a huge part of what influences your sales techniques as a business leader. If you want to achieve key sales, you need to figure out what’s going on in your buyer’s life right now, so you can respond to that context with relevant stories and insights.
Don’t focus on the personas or user information you keep locked away in your sales cupboard to inform your selling techniques. Start looking at the specific situation of your customer as it stands. Respond to that situation by telling stories about previous clients in similar situations, where you can demonstrate the contrast of the customer’s life before and after implementing your solution.
For instance, if your customer is currently struggling with inefficiencies in the workplace preventing them from leveraging new opportunities, discuss how your previous client was missing out on major sales because of the same problem, and how your software helped to solve the issue. Including plenty of detail in the form of real numbers will make the experience more meaningful.
Remember, the focus of your sales reps should be to present your service or product as a solution to an existing problem or concern. Customers are far more likely to make a purchase to protect themselves from a negative outcome, than they are to seek out positive changes on their own.
Most of the time, improving your sales closing techniques starts with a closer consideration of your customer and their unique needs. For instance, making your customer “the hero” in a specific story for your sale is one of the best ways to motivate positive action.
Presenting your solution as a tool your customer can use to save the day and describing the kind of benefits their company will see as a result, is much more meaningful. Simple switches in phrasing from “we” to “you”, can make all the difference.
Additionally, experimenting with different types of selling techniques for various sales reps can also help you to drive better results. You can improve everything from your sales forecasting techniques to your sales closing techniques with a little testing.
It’s rare to find one-size-fits-all sales techniques that works for every business or brand. However, the three solutions mentioned above are designed to address the needs of customers as they stand today and improve the way you position yourself in an increasingly competitive market.
No matter which industry you’re selling in, the strategies above will help you to make a more significant impact on your audience. Just remember to track your results, so you can ensure you’re investing in the most successful efforts.
