Are you a sales professional looking to enhance your sales process and improve customer interactions? Jaeden Schafer, a serial entrepreneur and expert in launching and scaling software companies, believes that ChatGPT can do just that.
Chat GPT is an AI model that has been trained on vast amounts of internet content and can respond to questions on any topic. The latest version, ChatGPT-4, works by using 16 different “experts” to provide specific and accurate responses.
Sales professionals can leverage the power of Chat GPT to overcome customer objections, address specific concerns, and provide personalized sales pitches.
We explore how this AI model can enhance the sales process and improve customer interactions in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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ChatGPT is an incredibly useful advanced language model that utilizes pre-existing information to generate unique ideas, insights, and guidance. Mark Raffan views it as a handy intern that’s available 24/7, whenever you need it.
So how do you leverage ChatGPT to be a better negotiator? How can you harness its abilities to roleplay, regulate your emotions, and prepare counterarguments? Find out in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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ChatGPT is often referred to as artificial intelligence or AI, but Meshell Baker points out that it’s assisted intelligence and that it helps people curate content. You can leverage ChatGPT to generate ideas when you’re otherwise stuck. Meshell shares how she uses ChatGPT in this episode of @SalesReinvented.
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Are you leveraging ChatGPT as a sales professional? Or are you avoiding it because you think it’ll fizzle out? Chuck Shaver and I are in agreement: ChatGPT is here to stay. The question becomes, how do you leverage it?
It’s both a help desk and automation tool that will help you save time while delivering world-class results. Chuck covers how to leverage AI to get the results you need in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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Keld Jensen’s University has been studying ChatGPT since its release. They’ve also been running a global simulation using ChatGPT. They’ve seen huge differences in the outcome of the negotiations based on whether or not the teams are using AI. Keld shares more about his study—and the different ways he strategically uses ChatGPT in negotiations—in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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ChatGPT is one of many AI applications and platforms available that is making writing content, analyzing data, and creating sales and marketing campaigns easier. ChatGPT can help you make your communication more compelling and clear, leading to better-informed decisions.
According to Sonia Dumas, when you leverage ChatGPT as a co-creator, you can see phenomenal results. Find out how she uses ChatGPT to form connections with prospects in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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ChatGPT, short for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is an innovative tool that has the ability to generate new and original content based on its training data. While some might anthropomorphize it as a person, it's essential to recognize that it's a sophisticated tool with vast potential for sales professionals. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Stan Robinson Jr., an expert in social selling, will shed light on leveraging ChatGPT to personalize your approach.
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How can you use ChatGPT to optimize email marketing? Melinda Emerson believes that with some great input and a few tweaks, ChatGPT can be a game-changer for email marketing. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, she shares how you can ChatGPT to enhance the sales process and improve customer interactions. Let's dive in and discover how ChatGPT can transform your sales engagement!
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You can ask ChatGPT anything. And anyone can apply it in their field. But most salespeople just don’t know how to leverage it. Ollie Whitfield believes that self-awareness allows you to fully utilize ChatGPT. How?
It can help you improve your emails, rewrite cold-calling scripts, and even summarize notes. ChatGPT can reframe your thoughts in a more succinct and engaging way. Ollie shares how he uses this to his advantage in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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Everyone is trying to find ways to leverage ChatGPT to increase their productivity, including the world of sales. But how do you apply ChatGPT? Lisa Magnuson believes that one of the best ways to use ChatGPT is as a presentation planning tool. She shares her best practices for using ChatGPT to change your presentation game in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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According to Brynne Tillman, a win/loss analysis—or in her words, a post-mortem—is about figuring out why you got a deal or you didn’t. You want to learn why your clients chose you. It also helps you understand the playing field even when you win. Most salespeople move on when they lose a deal. But if you don’t know why you lost a deal, you may continue the same behavior. So you have to ask actional questions in your post-mortem to make positive changes to win more deals.
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What was your customer’s perspective of the sales process? How did it align to their preferred buying journey? How does it compare to the competition? Why did they choose you? Or why didn’t they?
These data points are critical to refine your sales process. And one of the only ways to get these answers is by doing a win-loss analysis. This information is vital to the business as a whole to consistently improve performance. Learn how Justin obtains this critical information in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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A win/loss analysis is a conversation with prospects or customers where you identify why you won—or lost—a particular opportunity. The ultimate goal of the conversation is to gather information to help you win more deals in the long run. How do you gather unbiased information? How can you leverage technology? What mistakes should you avoid? Bill Storey covers it all in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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A win/loss analysis is simply having a conversation with your customers and prospects about their perception of your company versus the competition. You want to cover every part of the sales process. Did you address customer problems and goals with the proposed solution? Doing a win/loss analysis the right way will help you gain a competitive advantage. But what is the right way? Ellen Naylor—a pioneer in the field of competitive intelligence (CI) and Win/Loss analysis—shares her strategy in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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Conducting a win/loss analysis is about spending time at the end of a sales cycle to extract some feedback from the customer you’ve interacted with. It can help you learn what went well and where you can improve. It’s immensely valuable. You have to make numerous assumptions in the sales cycle.
This allows you to park the assumptions and get honest feedback from your customer and then take action based on that information. Conducting a win/loss analysis is one of the best ways to improve your sales. Learn more from Cian McLoughlin in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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Referrals are when existing customers, friends, colleagues, or associates share that there’s someone you need to know that would value a relationship with you (and you’d find value from the relationship with them). They’re the best type of lead that salespeople can get. But there’s a right way—and a wrong way—to start the referral conversation. Joey Coleman shares what you should do in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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A referral is an opportunity to do business with someone in the market to buy your product or service. They’re expecting you to contact them to have a conversation. It’s different from a normal lead. A referral is someone ready to chat with you. But how do you get to that point? Ivan Misner has identified the “VCP” process to go from visibility and credibility to profitability. Learn what it is in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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Most people think of referrals as going to customers and saying, “Now that you love me, who else might love me? Who might want to buy our stuff?” If you’re trying to find new prospects to sell to, this is great. But Steve believes there’s a better way. It starts with knowing your market, knowing who you’re trying to target, and finding people who can help you get to them. Steve shares how he makes this strategy come to life in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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Stacey Brown Randall agrees with the majority definition of a referral: It is a potential client being referred to you. To qualify as a referral, there has to be a personal connection to the referral source. Secondly, the prospect needs to know they have a problem and are interested in solving it (thus willing to be connected with you).
But getting referrals is where Stacey’s strategy differs from the norm. Stacey believes that you should never ask for referrals. So how do you get them? Listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented to find out!
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How do referrals work in the context of selling? When should you ask for referrals during the sales process? According to Joanne Black, when you close a deal, ask for a referral. They’ve signed on the dotted line and they believe in you. And when you ask, get intel. Learn as much as you can about the people they’ll refer to you. What else should you do? Find out in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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Lori Richardson built her entire business around referrals. She believes that referrals are magical. You can work with one person and get multiple sales opportunities from that person. It’s so much easier to develop a relationship this way versus focusing on one-off sales. Lori shares the strategies she’s learned over the years in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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Some referrals are through people you have relationships with. Others are from friends and family. Still others are from customers. They all have a different impact depending on the industry you’re in. But generally speaking, referrals need to be a large part of your sales strategy. Steve Benson agrees with this sentiment but believes there’s an easier way to get referrals: Call them “introductions” instead. Listen to this episode to learn why he takes this stance!
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According to Liz Heiman, there are two types of referrals. A referral could be from someone who doesn’t buy from you but can share leads with you. The other type of referral is from an existing customer. They’re both introducing you to people you might not know. Liz shares the approach she takes when asking for referrals in this episode of Sales Reinvented. Don’t miss it!
Liz loves Brynne Tillman’s method of using social media for lead generation. Brynne will look through the clients that she knows are happy with her and looks at their connections. Who would be a good fit to work with? Then she’ll go to that client and ask them for introductions.
Another strategy is to look at companies or people you’ve identified as a target and look to see who they know that you might know. You can then see if that common connection would give you an introduction. Make sure the connections know why you want an introduction.
Liz points out that many people don’t use LinkedIn to build their network and it’s a huge mistake. Connect with everyone you know because you never know who they’re connected with.
Liz recommends starting with people you think will be your best referrers. Do you want to call on existing clients? Do you have an existing client base? If not, who could refer business to you that you have credibility with? Write down what you want to say and how you want to say it. The more clear you are, the easier it is to do it. Build it into your process so that it’s comfortable and repeatable.
When Liz asks for a referral, she says something like, “I see that you are connected to so-and-so. I think that they could use my services. Do you think that’s true? Would you be willing to introduce me?” It isn’t pushy nor does it put the work on the person she’s asking.
She points out that you should ask for a referral any time that it seems appropriate, usually when you’re engaged with the client and they’re happy. The biggest mistake is not asking for a referral. According to Joanne Black’s research, 97% of people, when asked, would give a referral if they liked the service and were happy with the company that they worked with. Yet on average, only 3% of customers are asked for a referral.
Referrals should be one of your lead sources. Liz not only tracks referrals but also tracks who referred that person. If you are tracking lead sources, you can track them through the client, account, and opportunity. You need to see what closes and keep your client apprised of the process so they aren’t out of the loop.
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Nick Kane is a founder and Managing Partner of Janek Performance Group, a leading sales performance organization providing sales training and sales consulting solutions. Nick has more than 25 years of experience in sales and is a thought leader and authority, supporting hundreds of clients in optimizing their sales performance. Nick co-authored the book "Critical Selling: How Top Performers Accelerate the Sales Process and Close More Deals," and has penned hundreds of articles on sales performance.
Referrals are a recommendation from a satisfied customer or trusted network of people you interact with, i.e. your center of influence. If you’re in sales and you aren’t asking your customers or sphere of influence for referrals, you’re leaving money on the table. But what are the best practices for asking for referrals? Nick Kane shares his referral-selling dos and don’ts in this episode of Sales Reinvented. Check it out!
You have to make sure that you’re building strong relationships with customers, both existing and prospects. Provide excellent service and support and satisfy your client’s needs. How well do you understand their needs and pain points? Are you helping them solve their problems? A positive customer experience is the foundation of gaining referrals. Happy customers share information and open their networks to you. Secondly, you should create a referral program. Incentivize customers to send people your way.
Salespeople tend to ask for a referral at the wrong time. Make sure you approach the customer at the right time in the right way. How you ask must be genuine. You need to establish a relationship first. Make sure the customer has a positive relationship with you and that you’ve done good by them.
Salespeople also struggle to explain the value proposition and what’s in it for the customer. You need to find a way to make it advantageous for them to provide referrals. Ask tactfully and let the customer know what’s in it for both of you. Customers want their salespeople to be successful as long as you’re helping them to be successful as well.
Who are your loyal and satisfied customers? Who's had the most positive experience and is most likely to refer others? Segment your database to understand who’s most likely to offer a referral. Who interacts with your prospect? Where are those conversations happening? How can you leverage influence from someone in a position of influence?
You can also customers who have already referred others to refer more people. If they’re willing to refer their network, it can expand your referral opportunities.
Why does Nick recommend surveying your clients regularly? Listen to the whole episode to learn more!
You should be tracking the number of referrals generated as a lead source in your CRM. Know exactly where those referrals come from. Follow each of those referrals through the pipeline. How many turned into opportunities? What is the size of those opportunities? How many converted into a sale? What is the customer lifetime value of the customer relationship? Treat the referrals as their own lead source and track them as such.
Nick shares some strong dos and don’ts every salesperson should consider:
Learn more from Nick in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
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Jamie Crosbie is a highly accomplished senior executive and motivational speaker with expertise in sales leadership, talent acquisition, and management. She has achieved significant revenue growth, managed large sales teams, authored books, and consults in sales talent acquisition, strategic planning, and Peak Performance Mindset® Workshops. Jamie's workshops help companies set new sales records and create a more positive sales environment.
People who refer someone to you are your greatest advocates. When you cultivate happy customers, you create an army of salespeople working for you. But how do you ask for referrals? Is there a certain time in the client lifecycle that’s the best to ask? How do you let a referral source know they’re appreciated? Jame Crosbie answers these questions—and much more—in the first episode of our new series on referral selling. Don’t miss it!
Jamie points out that people don’t usually ask for referrals at the right time. You can’t ask for a referral until you’ve proven the value of your product or service. The other mistake is not asking for a specific referral. You can’t say, “If I can help anyone else, just let me know.”
Instead, identify your ideal client profile and ask them if there’s anyone else in their organization or network that you can add value for. The last mistake Jamie often sees is that salespeople neglect to let their clients know that they appreciate their referral. That’s why Jamie advocates for a referral fee program.
You have to be a thought leader in the space where the people you’re trying to attract live. That lends you credibility. It might be posting blogs on LinkedIn or sharing marketplace data related to your industry or field. Maybe you’re a guest on a podcast. But you have to share things so they see you as a leader in your space.
Start with a strategy: Develop relationships with people who also seek out your ideal client. Put together a referral program, fee structure, and strategically go after those relationships as if they were a client for you. They become part of your sales team.
Jamie likes to share testimonials and case studies with clients. She’ll then say something like “I’d love to add value like this to your network as well.” You must always make sure the conversation is geared toward adding value for their business.
In every piece of positive communication, ask these questions:
Always ask for the opportunity to make a bigger impact. Identify who has a similar client profile and get a touchpoint and strategy in place.
Secondly, stay in communication with your clients but avoid making every conversation about asking for a referral.
86% of Jamie’s business is from referrals. It’s significant. But she’s well aware that it takes time to build referral-based sales. But Jamie also looks at client growth. Why? Your ICP might be a regional sales manager. That person’s organization may have 10+ other regional managers all working through different circumstances. Maybe one of them is about to be promoted. How could you impact them or their growth?
What are Jamie’s top 3 referral selling dos and don’ts? Why is offering value her #1 priority? Listen to the whole episode to learn more!
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