Monday, 24 July - How much time do you spend talking about what you’re selling?

Hello Subscriber,

This week’s theme for daily practice to improve your selling is to spend less time talking about what you’re selling!

Our goal is to help you to spend the limited time you have in conversation with customers most effectively. The result will be that you lead conversations with your customers that are significantly more valuable for everybody.

The more time you spend talking about what you’re selling, the less time you have to develop compelling proposals that will win the business.

Here’s one area of practice to emphasise today

But I’m selling; what else would I talk about?!

• When customers meet with people in sales roles, everybody expects the discussion to be about what is being sold.

• Customers expect salespeople to talk enthusiastically and knowledgeably about their products and services.

• Salespeople believe that talking about their products and services is their job.

• There’s a better way.

• There’s a more valuable conversation that salespeople can lead.

• The more valuable conversation is about what the customer is seeking to achieve.

Salespeople: Trained vs Untrained

Here’s a theme that I will return to again and again.

What do people talk about when they find themselves in a selling role but have not received effective sales training?

It’s highly likely that they’re in their selling job because they’re very knowledgeable about what they’re hoping to sell. And they probably enjoy sharing their hard-earned knowledge and experience with people!

They inevitably talk enthusiastically and at length about what they’re trying to sell. They’re happy to spend time answering customer’s questions. They believe that’s how they should be doing their job!

In your Tuesday email tomorrow, we’ll get into more detail about all of the other, more important things that trained salespeople can choose to prioritise in conversations with customers.

To Repeat: One area of practice to emphasise today

What does success with today’s practice look like?

The best and most successful salespeople spend the least time discussing what they’re selling. They know that there are other, more important things to talk about. We’ll get to this in tomorrow’s email.

For today, the success you’re seeking to practice is simply to become more aware of the proportion of meeting time spent talking about your products and services.

Reflect on how much of your time in meetings with customers is spent talking about what you’re selling:

• More than 90% of time spent talking about what you’re selling - Very Poor

• More than 75% of time spent talking about what you’re selling - Not Good

• Less than 50% of time spent talking about what you’re selling - Improving

• Less than 25% of time spent talking about what you’re selling - Good

• Less than 10% of time spent talking about what you’re selling - Excellent!

When you review your most recent conversations with customers, what proportion of meeting time is typically spent talking about your products and service?

Coaching Focus

Here are some suggestions about what your sales team leader or coach can do to help you with today’s practice focus.

You could invite your sales team leader or coach to help you to:

1. Review some recordings of your recent meetings with customers to evaluate how much time is spent talking about what you’re selling.
   

2. Prepare for a conversation you’re about to lead with a customer and develop an agenda that is more about the customer’s situation and priorities and less about your products and services.

Final Reminder: One area of practice to emphasise today

Can you help us to find more subscribers?

• We’re on a mission to turn conventional sales training upside-down and inside-out. We want everybody in sales roles to put their customers’ success at the heart of every selling conversation.

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• Thanks!