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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We are in a market where there are too many sellers and not enough buyers. And the buyers are armed with tactical information. So Patrick Tinney believes that salespeople need to take a strategic approach to negotiation. If they don’t have one, they’ll get smashed. And the key to a successful negotiation is preparation. He shares his strategies for preparing for a successful negotiation in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
When you go into a negotiation, you want to learn about the team on the other side. You can do this by researching on social media. You also have to understand your counterpart’s culture.
You can’t walk into a meeting with a Walmart Executive thinking you know who they are because you visited a store. Spend time on their website and get to know the organization. Learn about who has done business with them.
Cost-model your work so you know what you can or can’t do. If you have to navigate quickly, it needs to be top of mind. If you don’t, every mistake you make will cost you. If you lose even part of a percentage point in a nine-figure deal, it can have a large impact.
After you’ve finished planning, take your notes, and compress them into a small note deck with important figures highlighted.
Patrick shares a few dos and don’ts to be mindful of:
Patrick was negotiating a deal where he’d likely make between $25,000–$55,000. It had taken a year to get in front of the CEO and other C-suite executives. When he walked into that meeting, he realized he was facing a culture that was incongruent with anything he knew about business.
They were running negotiations where they’d drag business in however they could at whatever cost. They were making huge mistakes. Patrick got through the meeting, went home, and crafted a proposal he knew they wouldn’t accept. He needed to walk away as if it never happened.
There are dream customers and there are those you should never do business with. If they don’t match your brand and who you are, walk away fast.
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Randy Kutz believes that negotiators are missing opportunities if they aren’t planning. Why is it so important? High stakes B2B negotiations take time. You have to build relationships. If you’re not prepared to negotiate and reach a successful outcome, the quality of the deal suffers. You might still come to an agreement—but it could have been better if you prepared.
If someone enters an agreement they don’t like, they’ll look for every opportunity to kill that deal. If you stumble in your preparation, it may decrease the likelihood of future partnerships with your counterpart. If you’re not prepared, the power balance shifts to the other side.
These are just a few of the reasons why negotiation preparation is a must. Randy covers the topic in more detail in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Randy believes there are obvious steps: Make sure you know what you want, what your positions are, etc.
But the more pressing need is to take time to understand what the other side wants. We often make assumptions about the other side based on our own bias. Or maybe we’ve done business with them before. It’s okay to make assumptions but then you have to test them. What if you put yourself in your counterpart’s shoes and prepare from that side of the table?
What are the underlying drivers? What are their priorities? Successful negotiators know that a negotiation is about trading. You want to trade low priority items off the table and exchange them for higher priority items. But you have to know what the priorities are.
What are you willing to give up? What are you going to ask for in return for concessions? You have to be prepared to know what to ask for. If you’re not prepared, you settle for goodwill gestures.
Lastly, Randy advises that you shouldn’t forget about your internal stakeholders. Negotiation is about the dealmakers’ ecosystem. The internal stakeholders are a value-add that can help you prepare effectively.
An effective negotiation planner is someone who takes a systematic and disciplined approach to negotiation. They’re someone that uses a framework or template. This helps them identify their priorities and those of the other side. A good negotiator is prepared to adjust their positon and be flexible. If a strategy doesn’t work, a good negotiator plans an alternative.
These are a few things Randy wants salespeople to be mindful of:
Developers in New York City bought a building in hopes of rebuilding a high rise. But they had to negotiate four senior citizens out of the building first. They were able to reach a settlement with three of them for under a million dollars. But the fourth one fought back. This person didn’t want money. They didn’t need it. They wanted an apartment that overlooked central park.
Working through the details took longer than planned because they weren’t prepared. In the time they waited, the person changed their position and also asked for a large sum of money and got legal representation. The developer ended up paying 17 million dollars to evict the tenant and still gave him the apartment overlooking central park.
You need to prepare for the fact that it isn’t always about money. Once you understand what someone really wants, be prepared to be creative and flexible. Had they done that, they could’ve saved a lot of time and money.
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If you go into a negotiation without preparing, you've already lost. You need to understand the other side’s objectives and know what your counters are. Doing so enables you to stay calm. Being overwhelmed by emotion is your enemy in any negotiation. The minute you get upset, you’ve lost the advantage. Mike Figliuolo emphasizes that everything hinges on doing the proper research. Hear his thoughts on the matter in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Do your research on your negotiating partner. You want to get to a solution that works for everyone. So you need to know what’s going on in their business. Mike has a major client that’s facing financial challenges and having to let people go. He knows they’ll push back on price.
If someone pushed for a price decrease, what would you say? You should also know when you need to take a break. It’s okay to leave the conversation, think about your response, and come back to it. Keep the emotion out of it.
A great salesperson can look at things from the other person’s perspective. What are they going through, professionally and personally? You need to understand their business and personal objectives. If you’re dealing with someone who’s brand new, they’re looking to make a mark. They need to gain credibility. They’re going to press you hard in the negotiation to get an early win.
We always think people will fight for price concessions. But that’s not always the objective. What goes beyond the financial metrics? Maybe they want a stable vendor relationship. When you can combine the objective's empathy for their position, you’re in a good position entering that negotiation.
Mike dropped some great advice:
When we set an arbitrary time limit, it creates undue pressure. Mike points out that we’ve all bought a car. Why do you think the salesperson says, “What’s it gonna take to put you in this vehicle today?” They impose a timeline on you which reduces your freedom in the negotiation.
Mike had worked with a major client for a couple of years. She was a Senior Executive in the Learning & Development segment of her organization, who answered to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). She approached him to do some work and agreed on a dollar amount. But then the contract was kicked over to procurement.
Procurement started pushing Mike on price and asked for a discount. Mike wouldn’t agree but the individual kept pushing him. At one point, the individual hung up on him. Mike was angry. He knew he was being baited to get emotionally involved. So Mike paused, called him back, and restated his position. Then he asked to get his contact involved.
Mike knew that procurement had no idea who she was. So Mike called his client and filled her in on the situation. She said, “I’ll call you back.” Five minutes later, procurement called him back and said “Should I email the contract or fax it?”
His contact explained to procurement that this was her top initiative for the year and it was her top deliverable to the Chief Human Resources Officer. The CHRO had a reputation for bulldozing over anyone in her way. She told him if he delayed it further, he’d need to call the CHRO directly and explain the situation.
If procurement had done his proper research and understood the key players in the conversation, he would’ve known better. He didn’t do any research, which caused an embarrassing moment for him. You need to know who’s involved on both sides of the table.
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As a sales leader, you want to prepare for every step of the process. Because negotiation is so far down the sales funnel, it would be a shame to be unprepared and lose a deal because you weren’t prepared. Preparation allows you to think strategically. It also makes you look professional. Someone’s business was important enough for you to take the time to prepare. So how do you prepare strategically? And what does it take to have a successful negotiation? Learn more from Kristie Jones in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
When Kristie is talking to a sales leader, she has them focus on two things:
You need to write down these things. When sales reps do this, they’ll see that they’re on a more level playing field.
If you’ve forged a relationship with a prospect or customer, you should understand their non-negotiables and where their buying power is. You want to make sure you fully understand their position. What are their concerns or problems? Look at contract language, pricing, timing, etc. Everything can be part of the negotiation.
Self-awareness is also important. If you know you’re meeting with an introverted procurement person, you may have to slow down and focus on details. You need to understand yourself and how you come across. Once you do that, you can adjust your communication style to fit the other party.
Kristie asks people to sit down and draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and write down the costs of no agreements. She also has them write down what they’re willing to give to get what they want. So when a negotiation gets stressful, they can have their cheat sheets in front of them. Because when tensions rise and the stakes are high, people start to panic, which leads to bad decisions.
Kristie is dating someone who lives in another state and works where she lives. She knew that spending New Year's Eve together would be a challenge. But it was important to her. So three months ahead of the holiday, she shared she wanted to spend those days together. She wanted to kick back and watch football together the next day. It was a non-negotiable for her. She gave plenty of notice that the non-negotiable existed.
As the time got closer, and she knew that the negotiation would have to begin, Kristie sat down with him to go over her give/gets. She had them prepared in her head. She brought the topic up at a time she thought was appropriate. She asked what the plans were.
He shared the challenges he was facing, which she had already anticipated. So she shared some viable options:
Negotiation is a process, not an event. She gave him time to think about what might work. Then they’d get back together and formulate a plan. They ended up deciding that he’d spend New Year’s Eve Day with the kids and spend the rest of the weekend with her. Everyone was willing to give a little to get a little.
But what happened next? Listen to the whole episode to find out why flexibility in any negotiation is key.
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Everything depends on preparation. When you’re in a negotiation, you’re under pressure. You need a good plan or all is lost before you start. Planning is often the most neglected part of a negotiation, too. Why? Because salespeople think they can’t plan because they don’t know what the other person will do. They want to go in and “See what happens.” Chris Croft believes that mindset is all wrong. You need a plan—just work in a few ‘what ifs.’
Chris believes that there are four key categories you need to focus on:
If you start by focusing on these areas, you’ll be well prepared for your negotiation.
Your body language in the first 30 seconds sets the scene for the negotiation. So smile, shake someone’s hand, and look them in the eye when you walk into the room. Sit at a 90-degree angle so you aren’t confronting them. Don’t sit with your arms folded. Be relaxed and smiley.
When you say you need a high price and they say they can’t afford it, don’t point out that they’re cheap or that they don’t understand your value. Instead, say “It’s difficult to get ahold of these things” or “It’s expensive to make this.” Or you could point out the demand for your product or service.
If you’re buying, don’t accuse someone of trying to rip you off. Just point out the reasons you can’t afford something. You blame it on yourself. It’s your problem—not theirs.
Self-discipline is important in every aspect of sales and especially negotiation. Sit down, go through your checklist, and prepare. Secondly, you must detach from the outcome and avoid emotional involvement. You’re playing a chess game with your customer. Rather than panicking, think “Well that’s interesting, I didn’t expect that.”
Salespeople think you sell, wait for the customer to say “I love it” and then negotiate. Chris believes that selling and negotiation should happen in parallel. You should negotiate from the start.
Chris’s mom saved a voucher for a free stay and gave it to Chris and his wife for a weekend away in Oxford. Right before their trip, they received a message from the hotel saying they were placed in a better room than planned, but they’d have to pay an extra 30 pounds when they arrived.
So Chris decided to negotiate when they arrived at the hotel. So they drove to Oxford and arrived in the evening. When they went in, Chris pointed out that he wasn’t happy about paying the extra 30 pounds. The staff member apologized but said he had to pay it.
So Chris said he wasn’t prepared to pay for it and asked to see the manager. His wife was practically kicking him. The woman said, “I am the manager.” So Chris pleaded one last time, prepared to concede. But the manager waived the 30 pounds. Chris succeeded. He was negotiating from a place of weakness—but so were they. The key was to focus on their weaknesses, not his.
The moral of the story? He should’ve prepared his wife for the negotiation.
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level solution. What are their goals and aspirations for their company? How can your product or services help them achieve their goal? In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Lisa McLeod shares why it’s important to focus on your counterpart’s highest-level solution—and how to do it.
If you’re planning a high-stakes negotiation, there are three things Lisa believes you need to do:
It’s easier to do this in the planning stage versus when you’re in front of your potential client.
If you’re dealing with a buyer that says “We have to get this pricing on these terms,” it’s likely what they've been told to do. You want to ask them why. What are they trying to accomplish by doing that? They’ll share what their goals are. That becomes your starting point—not pricing, terms, and conditions.
You want to start from a place of strength, which is the impact your solution is going to have on their business or life. It’s not about dominating them. It’s a shared stronger place to start. Start from a place of shared aspiration.
Salespeople need to be open to what the client says or is trying to achieve. The most successful salespeople have a laser-like focus. If you’ve ever been in a conversation with a loved one and they’re not going to concede, it exudes a certain energy. You either cave to that energy or push against it. Openness creates openness.
The other thing that makes a salesperson great at negotiation is their depth of understanding of the client. A seller that only understands their product, software, consulting services, etc., and doesn’t care about what’s happening with the client is coming from a weak position. When you understand what they’re trying to achieve and how they measure success, it doesn’t matter what you’re selling. Your understanding makes you a better ally and partner.
Lisa emphasizes that your client’s website is the #1 tool you can leverage. Why? You can read their “about me” page, read what their CEO said, etc. It allows you to learn the language of the company so you can use it. Which sounds better?
“I’m so excited to talk to you about our software, we’ve got all these bells and whistles, it’s gonna be great for you—let’s get into the negotiation.”
OR:
“I read online that your CEO says that your #1 goal is to improve your customer experience. I’m delighted that we’re having this conversation today because this software is going to play a role in helping you accomplish that.”
What are Lisa’s top three negotiation planning dos and don’ts? Why should you avoid caving on your prices? Listen to the whole episode to learn more!
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As a former procurement professional, Mike Inman can guarantee that procurement comes to the table with a plan. As a salesperson, if you don’t have a plan of your own—you’ll end up following theirs. You should know the tactics you want to use, who is going to be in the meeting, what your BATNA is, and you must set an agenda. Knowledge is power, and you have to leverage it. He shares his take on “opposition” research in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
What’s happening on your side of the table? For every deal point, you must have an open position target and bottom line. After you know what you can and can’t do, spend twice as much time on opposition research.
This can even help you determine if they’ve already decided in your favor—or not in your favor. If you find out that you’re not their preferred solution for a product or service, you can stop wasting time and cut your losses.
Lastly, get approval in advance. There’s nothing more frustrating than a salesperson that has to run things by their boss. Then you’re just an order taker. You’ll get abused. Make sure that you’re authorized to make concessions or close a deal.
Mike emphasized that LinkedIn is a person's billboard. They choose to publish where they’re from, what they’ve studied, and what’s important to them.
Mike just advised on a massive negotiation. He looked at the Director of Supply Chain’s background on LinkedIn and it was clear that he was career-focused. He moved up the ladder with every job he took. Mike knew that this gentleman needed a win to continue to advance his career.
So Mke helped them build a negotiation plan to make him look good in front of his superiors while protecting value on their side.
Conversely, if someone isn’t sharing information on LinkedIn, why are they hiding it? You can build a psychological profile from this angle as well. If they’re not freely sharing information, they’re a closed person. You’ll likely have to ask more questions in the negotiation.
Mike shares some to-the-point negotiation dos and don’ts that are spot-on:
When Mike moved to Denver, he wanted to rent for a couple of years to make sure he liked the area. They decided they wanted to move over the Summer, so they started looking in January. By February, they’d been outbid on three homes.
So he set up alerts to be notified immediately when there was a new listing. One Saturday morning, a house came on the market that looked perfect. They showed up at the open house and it was perfect.
After doing some legwork, they determined that the house was overpriced. They put in an offer $4,000 below ask with the stipulation that the sellers must accept or deny the offer by Monday at close of business. Monday at noon, they got an email that they won the house.
But there was a huge mistake. The seller accidentally sold the home to two buyers. The agent told Mike that they were “aging” and “didn’t understand technology” and made a mistake. So Mike did some more research. Turns out, the seller worked for Cisco as a Government Contracting Expert.
The agent lied to Mike. So Mike pushed back. The agent responded with their lawyer’s contact information. So what happened next? Mike unwraps a fascinating story that was only possible because he did opposition research. Listen to the episode to hear the ending!
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Joanne M Smith believes that negotiation preparation in 2023 will be more critical than ever. Why? Because change is happening. We’ve been in an easy negotiation market. She points out that we’re looking at a potential recession where pricing power is going to shift away from suppliers and into the hands of the customers. That’s why she believes salespeople need to plan for tough conversations. Learn what that looks like in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
The best economists believe that we’ll see a recession within months. When it happens, a salesperson’s job will become harder. You have to adjust your strategy to be fair in the economic conditions you find yourself in.
Make sure you have a rationale for whatever your price point is. Does your industry fairly deserve more? Are you in a position where you can increase your prices?
Your leadership must look at macroeconomics, supply and demand, and the cost of inflation, and give you crisp strategies with real talking points so you can have tough conversations.
So how do you prepare for tough conversations in a negotiation?
Ask yourself, “For this deal, what are the toughest questions that I’m likely to be asked related to my offering or to my price?” In many cases, the questions will be price-oriented. When you ask those questions, you know the data you need to prepare to craft a satisfactory response.
A salesperson needs to be comfortable with tension and willing to respectfully enter into price discussions. They have to be able to guide the customer toward a better solution they might not be aware of. If you’re going to be confident, you must prepare.
Joanne asks everyone she trains: How do you self-rate on price negotiation skills and confidence? 90% of salespeople think they’re great at sales and feel like they’re mediocre at best when it comes to price negotiation.
She emphasizes that you have to take a step back and realize that you don’t know enough and start learning. Set up some frameworks to make it easy to prepare and effectively negotiate that price.
Joanne shares some great tips to keep in mind when you’re negotiating:
Joanne was working with a global business in the construction space. They had a clear and fair reason to raise their prices over the last year. But their sales team wasn’t confident and was afraid they’d lose sales. Three different regions started training with Joanne. The European branch decided they didn’t need training. What happened?
The three regions that completed the training got their price increases with high success and little to minimal share loss. The region that didn’t complete training had a 30% share loss in their largest country. Her workshop covered negotiation preparation. They prepared by practicing responding to tough questions. It goes to show that preparation will always be key.
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It’s important to practice and train in football, basketball, or any other professional sport, right? Yet too many professionals discount the importance of practice and preparation. But if you don’t plan and prepare when you’re negotiating with a team, you’re planning and preparing for complete failure. A great negotiation is the result of great planning on both sides. Keld Jensen emphasizes that you must spend time preparing—more so than on the negotiation itself. Learn how he accomplishes this in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Keld believes there are hundreds of steps one can take to prepare for a negotiation with a team, but names a few of the most important:
Keld uses a negotiation planner that is simply a schedule with columns. One column lists the variables that are negotiable. Then you take the starting point (i.e. a proposal) and calculate your negotiation wiggle room and the consequence(s) of using that wiggle room. Will you win or lose money? You need to come to a conclusion for every variable and the total cost or benefit.
Keld believes you should never negotiate alone. He recommends negotiation with a team of 2–3 people so nothing gets missed. It’s impossible for one person to do it all.
When Keld pushes his clients and students to work as part of a team, many of them feel uncomfortable. You have to relate to the content, the case, the counterpart, and the people on your team. That requires discipline. A negotiation team should consist of three roles:
You have to coordinate who’s doing what so you don’t unintentionally give away something you shouldn’t.
Keld was helping a Norwegian agency sell a production plan to an Italian customer. The head of the Norwegian negotiation team was the Sales Director. His team consisted of himself, the Technical Director, and the Managing Director. They’d been negotiating for hours, discussing commercial items.
Then the Italian counterpart pointed out that all of the manuals were in English and asked for them to be translated into Italian. The Technical Director jumped in and said, “We’ve already done that!”
The real cost of translating the manual was €12,000 and he just gave it away. Why did he say it? Because he was proud of it. That’s why they should’ve discussed what he was and wasn’t allowed to say. He should have said, “We can discuss how much that will cost.”
What is the most dangerous type of negotiation a salesperson can find themselves in? Listen to the whole episode to hear what it is—and what you should do when you find yourself in that negotiation.
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What does a customer experience when they hear a story? It should be entertaining, enjoyable, and relatable. Storytelling is innately human. We are wired to receive and retain information when it’s told in story form. Stories can also be used to create alignment with important executive stakeholders in the sales process. Learn how Scott Ingram uses stories to create executive alignment with Fortune 500 companies in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Scott has developed specific stories for specific situations that he knows will resonate or make a point. He knows that the story format will connect better than if he just gave someone information.
What are the situations—throughout your sales cycle—where a story might be appropriate? How do you introduce yourself? How do you introduce your company or solution? How do you share successes with other customers?
You have an opportunity to choose the story and practice the story. That’s how anyone gets better at anything.
The more closely you can align your hero with your customer, the more they can see themselves in that situation. The more it connects, the more it resonates. The story needs to relate to the issue or objective you’re trying to solve.
One of the stories that Scott uses frequently is all about elevating the access that he has in an organization. He wants to get connected to and aligned with an executive stakeholder. That’s the reason he tells a story. He wants them to understand the value of making that introduction. He’ll increase their odds of success in a project.
What is the purpose of the story? What outcome do you desire?
Scott works for a professional services firm and most of his clients are Fortune 500 companies. The deals are often complex with numerous stakeholders and departments in the mix. When he’s in a competitive situation he wants to differentiate himself but his primary objective is to get aligned with the executive stakeholder for the project.
When you’re working on these complex opportunities where you have misaligned incentives, different goals, etc. you need someone that sits above it all and can make decisions to move a project forward. The success or failure of these projects hinges on a strong executive stakeholder. So Scott shares this story when he’s trying to determine who an executive stakeholder is.
Rob—a stakeholder at a Fortune 500 company—is the perfect executive stakeholder because he understands the value of his role in meeting the overall objective of a project. What made Rob so great in his role is that he knew his role was to call balls and strikes.
You will work with incomplete data, but decisions must still be made to move forward. By serving in that role, he’s seen incredible success delivering projects on time and on budget, delivering the results and outcomes the organization was seeking.
After telling that story, Scott asks his clients if they have a stakeholder identified for the project. Most often, the answer is “no.” So Scott educates them on why the role is critical to their success. It’s a challenging question that most people won’t ask.
Scott notes that he shares this story in the majority of his deals. It elevates the conversation and brings real value to the project. Secondly, Rob is a closer personal friend and he’s more than happy to make an introduction. It also opens up the opportunity for Rob to share his story about Scott and his company to the new client.
Scott’s approach is effective 80% of the time. Many teams are trying to complete a mission-critical project, yet they’re disjointed across the organization and often don’t realize their risk is high. The way to mitigate their risk is to figure out who the executive stakeholder is and get them involved in the process.
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Sales is about building relationships. People want to have faith that you’re a good person and that you’re there for the right reasons. They don’t get to see you in action. But if you tell a story about a real experience, it shares a sample of your behavior. It allowed them to decide whether or not you’re trustworthy. Annette Simmons firmly believes that storytelling is the substance of relationships. Learn how she uses stories to demonstrate trustworthiness in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
A great story is a significant emotional experience narrated so that it feels real to the teller and the listener. How do you know what stories to tell? Annette says to think of a time when you can share a quality that earned you the right to be trusted. What examples from your background of when you were that quality? Or when you blew it? If you narrate it as a real experience using your sensory imagination, magic happens. If you are in the moment, other people feel it as real. But the key is that you have to share a substantive true story.
Authenticity is #1. Salespeople are trying to build a relationship of trust. When Annette was researching storytelling and sales, she came across a story about a supplier to Walmart. He had been trying to sell to them for ages and never got a sale. Then the purchaser called and asked him for something he didn’t have—but he knew who did.
So he gave the purchasing agent the name of the person who had what they wanted. That’s where he started to build trust. So when he had what they were looking for, they already trusted him to deliver. What are the other attributes? Listen to hear Annette’s thoughts!
Annette believes there are six stories every salesperson must be able to tell.
When you hear a story, it prompts you to think of a story. People start sharing stories, which is when the magic happens. Storytelling is a collaborative process. Practice your story with someone else so you see if you’re recreating an emotional experience. If you’re not, you get a chance to correct it before you’re in a sales situation.
When Annette does facilitator training, she caps the classes at a max of 10 people because the work is intense. She wanted people to have the freedom to work on themselves as well as learn the process. For one of her training sessions, she had five people signed up, each paying their own way. A large client reached out to her and said they’d take the remaining spots.
Instead of agreeing to take all five, because she didn’t believe it would be fair to her current participants, Annette said she could accept 2–3 and the others could join the next training. She wanted to make sure it was a good experience for everyone. The woman told her she wouldn't be getting her business and hung up on her.
People might hear that story and focus on the thought that she lost business. Annette doesn’t care. She shares the difficult things they don’t want to hear with positive intent. What stories can you share that might be difficult but will create trust? And create a context where you are being honest and authentic? Annette will make decisions that are in the best interest of her clients, even when they disagree. Telling that story creates a powerful base for a relationship and builds trustworthiness.
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People make decisions on an emotional level and then justify them logically. If you hear a story about someone else that mirrors what’s happening to you, you visualize yourself in that role. When you hear that someone else has used this product or service as their solution, it makes the decision to buy easier. It helps ease your nerves.
As the seller, you can tap into the real needs of a buyer that help them make a decision. You do this by sharing real, relevant, and descriptive stories that put the buyer in that scenario. Donald C Kelly shares how story selling is in the details in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Every story has to have a hero and a guide. Donald Miller talks about this in his book, “Storybrand.” You are Gandalf and the client is Frodo. You need to make sure you’re guiding those individuals and not trying to take the limelight.
Secondly, you have to make sure your story is demonstrating a real and relevant problem. You can’t make something up. Frodo had to save Middle Earth from destruction. The guide was able to help them.
What was the defining moment? What was the impact? What is the solution and resolution that comes from it?
Donald emphasizes that you have to have a good imagination. Salespeople tend to push the sale to the close. But when you’re telling a story, you need to linger on descriptions. You need to linger on details. You need to linger on the things that pull on people’s heartstrings.
You can share how you helped someone with their CRM. Or you could say, “They go into the office dreading opening their CRM because it’s so convoluted and difficult to use…” Focusing on emotions helps them imagine the pain and difficulty.
What are Donald’s top storytelling tips?
Donald was selling software to Indian River County Schools in Florida. The School District wanted to go paperless. They had a place on campus that housed all of their files that no one wanted to use. It wasn’t only difficult to find anything but was dangerous because there were boxes stacked everywhere.
So Donald shared a story about another school district in a similar circumstance. Unfortunately, an elderly staff member was hurt because they had to climb on the boxes and fell. He helped his prospect to visualize what could happen without a solution.
But Donald didn’t stop there. He shared how this school district implemented the digital solution and how their life became far easier. This resonated with his prospect and they were able to move the sale to the school board.
But that’s not how the story ends. Listen to the whole episode to hear the rest of Donald’s story!
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When you can share stories that demonstrate the value of your product or service—while making your prospective client the hero—it makes what you offer come alive. Patti Pokorchak likes to say, “When people see the value, they will find the money.” Learn how Patti crafts stories that show value in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Patti jokes that she’s living proof that you can take a shy geek and turn them into a more outgoing multi-million-dollar sales professional. Storytelling is another tool in her arsenal that she uses and teaches. She believes that if you want to improve, it helps to have a board of advisors and accountability partners so you can practice your stories and get feedback.
You have to set the scene. What is the conflict or problem that needs to be resolved? The climax involves turning your potential client into the star of the story. Patti emphasizes that you have to pace yourself and use different tones. Make your story concise so your listener doesn’t tune out. The least amount of words makes the maximum impact. Lastly, don’t forget to pause at the crucial moment of the story.
Patti breaks down some other useful storytelling dos and don’ts:
Listen to find out how Patti makes her stories concise and customer-focused.
Patti was asked to come in to give a dreaded second quote to train a department that was already working with someone they trusted. To prepare for the quote, Patti started asking questions. She asked what the other consultant was charging. It was only $1,000 a day. Patti’s target quote was $10,000 a training day. She was 10 times more expensive. But that didn’t deter Patti.
Patti had been working for Learning Tree for a few years by then. She was confident that they provided world-class training. So when she gave the quote, she shared how they developed courses, which included beta testing, six months of training, and constant evaluation of trainers. In comparison, their consultant had never taught this course before. Their consultant wasn’t qualified in comparison.
Did they want their 20 engineers to waste two days of their time on an unproven course? Patti won their business by showing the value of their training. When people see the value, they will find the money. It’s why Patti always preaches value.
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Sales is about making connections with your customer. Humans invented stories as the most powerful way to connect information and people. That’s why storytelling is something you have to learn. Learning to play any musical instrument is challenging. Every once and a while a Mozart comes along that is naturally gifted at a young age. But for most people, the reason they’re good at something is because they do it consistently. Just like learning a musical instrument, storytelling is a skill that you need to master.
Many salespeople go wrong when they share a case study, thinking that it’s a story. You’re laying out the company, the problem, and how your company solved the problem. You’re making the storyteller the hero and the subject the company. No one cares about companies. Companies are inanimate abstracts. People do care about people. They care about themselves. Make your story about someone’s challenge and how you solved a problem for the person.
If you're going to play an instrument in a band, you need to know how to play a lot of songs. You also need enough knowledge of your genre to jump right in and play. Good salespeople have a library of stories in their heads that they can pull from when they need them. It needs to come naturally, in the same way that John Mayer can play any blues song.
What are Doug’s top three storytelling dos and don’ts? Listen to find out!
Doug believes that the Hero’s Journey isn’t what you want to use for business storytelling. You don’t need to tell a long story. The stories you tell need to be short-form and anecdotal. The story should share what happened, the challenge, and how the challenge was resolved. Don’t buy the doctrine that every story has to be a hero overcoming a huge challenge to find the truths about themselves.
In the mid-1980s, Doug was standing in the office of his production and communication agency. He was reading a story in the newspaper. The story was about a startup package delivery company, Federal Express. Federal Express promised their customers that they would get their customers packages to their destinations on time. No one had ever done that before.
A huge snowstorm closed some local roads and a delivery driver couldn’t get to his destination in his truck. So he drove to the airport, rented a helicopter, and flew the package to its destination.
The press thought they’d be out of business by Christmas. But the CEO said their drivers were smart enough to know when and how to deliver packages. They supported the driver, who became a hero in the company.
Doug’s clients included large technology companies and banks. They gave their business to Federal Express. FedEx became one of the world’s greatest brands. It all started with a powerful story in a newspaper.
A few powerful stories that show what your company stands for or how you’ve helped others be successful can have a huge impact on your culture and your sales. A great story will stick. This story not only stuck with Doug but stuck so powerfully that he remembers it 30 years later.
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Rob Stenberg likes to say, “The shortest distance between two people is a story.” And if you’re looking to make an emotional connection, being able to tell a succinct story is a critical sales skill. Some people are more intuitive storytellers. But just like any other skill, you can learn how to tell stories. It takes time and practice and training to gain mastery. Rob shares some of his strategies to craft compelling stories in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Rob notes that you need to set the stage where you introduce the hero of the story. Then there needs to be a complication or challenge—what’s wrong that you’re trying to overcome? Then there needs to be a turning point where the hero of the story has an “aha moment” and sees a new way of doing things. The final segment is the resolution—what were the end results?
What else can you do to make your story stand out? Follow Rob’s dos and don’ts:
But if you struggle to be brief, how do you tell a short story?
In Rob’s workshops, he teaches salespeople to put the ingredients of a story on color-coded cards. Each card is allowed two bullet points of talking points:
If you look at your cards and follow those talking points, you can keep a story within 60–90 seconds. Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address in two minutes and two seconds. If he can do that, salespeople can get their stories down to a minute.
Salespeople can be intimidated by sales leadership. Rob was teaching a workshop when the VP of Sales asked to speak briefly at the beginning of Rob’s presentation. The VP proceeded to tell his sales team that they were doing a terrible job.
Rob was mortified. If he was part of the sales team, he’d be looking for a new job. But the VP of Sales spoke again after lunch. When he did, this is what he said:
“I grew up very poor. I was the youngest of three kids. I didn’t wear a piece of brand-new clothing until I was 16 years old. I vowed that I was never ever going to live like that again. I also vowed that nobody that works with me is ever going to live like that and ever be poor like that. That’s why I ask so much of you, and I just wanted you to know that.”
Rob would walk through fire for that guy. If you’re a sales leader, make sure you have an “I am human story,” a “vision story,” and a “customer hero story.”
Everyone has a story. So you have to ask good questions to get that person’s story. Rob thought this man was a jerk. When he learned his “why” he saw him in a different light.
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Every salesperson needs to be relatable. Stories are the best way to be relatable. A great narrative helps connect people and drive sales. Learning how to become a good storyteller takes experience, which only comes with practice.
AnnaMarie Platt-Miller emphasizes that the best stories are personal. But if you don’t have those, borrow others’ stories. Read stories. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Watch TedTalks. Do whatever you can to become a better storyteller.
You have to ask your customer open-ended questions so they can share their story. Because until you know their story, you can’t create an environment that’s comfortable for both of you to share experiences so you can close your sale.
Secondly, you need to be relatable. Find common ground with your audience. Lastly, you need to solve their problems. People are buying to fill a need—practical or otherwise. The stories they told you will help complete the transaction so everyone walks away happy.
AnnaMarie’s do’s and don’ts drive home her point:
10 years ago, AnnaMarie was in educational sales selling eBooks. eBooks were relatively new and people were hesitant to give up their paper books. She had to help her customers overcome the idea that no one would use them.
AnnaMarie’s son had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Because of this, he had to change the way he learned. eBooks were one of the things that helped him. She shared that story with her customer, which helped them see how the tool could work for them.
When you can share a personal story, even if it’s difficult, you should. It’s okay to be personal with your customers. It’s okay to share your ideas and experiences and listen to them.
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People pitching their company often say things like “We are the market leader in…We operate in 200 branches…We spend 10% of our money on R&D.” Philipp Humm notes that while these are interesting facts that should be included, they aren’t very memorable. The moment you walk out the door, your potential buyer won’t remember those facts. To be remembered, you need to appeal to their emotions. The easiest way to do that? Tell a story.
Philip recently attended his undergrad reunion. Someone walked up to him and asked what he was “Up to these days.” Philip told him that he was a business storytelling coach. This guy said, “I never saw you as a storyteller.” Philip, feeling slighted, admits that he had been a terrible public speaker and storyteller. But over the years, through practice and repetition, he learned how to do both well, proving that anyone can learn the art.
Philipp believes that there are three ingredients you can’t forget when storytelling.
What are the attributes and characteristics of a great storyteller? Listen to learn more!
Philipp shares some great dos and don’ts:
Philipp was in his apartment in Amsterdam when he got a call from an unknown number. When he picked up the phone, it was a gal who had taken one of his programs. She closed 12 deals in one month alone. Her boss asked her if she had been bribing her clients. She was simply using stories in her conversations.
He asked her what made the biggest impact on her from his training. She said it was knowing how to turn water into wine. She learned how to turn any basic story into something interesting using the techniques she’d learned. Anyone can share a mesmerizing story with the right techniques.
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People are more likely to listen and emotionally connect to a story versus facts. That’s why when you have a chance to tell a story, you’re more likely to make that emotional connection. It’s even better when they can see themselves in the story. But how do you tell stories that land? According to Caryn Kopp, it’s all about using the right words.
Caryn’s company is built of senior business developers—that they call door openers—representing their clients and landing them meetings. Caryn is constantly asked if she can train sales teams to be better. The short answer is yes.
However, she can’t train them to be someone who loves what they’re doing. Some people just have it in their DNA. Some people have the gift for storytelling and others can improve if they learn how to structure a story to make emotional connections.
Caryn believes that there are three things you need to focus on when you’re telling stories:
Instead of saying, “I’m going to show you how this works,” say, “I’m going to prove how this works.” Replace words that help your story land with more impact.
Caryn believes that a seller needs to truly care about the person with whom they’re speaking and that they want to make their life better. They can make an emotional connection using words that communicate those ideas. Lastly, a great seller is present. You can make adjustments to your story in real-time as people react. How are they breathing? Should you stop and ask a question?
What are Caryn’s top three storytelling dos and don’ts? Listen to find out!
A prospect was considering Caryn’s door opener service because she needed to grow her organization's sales. They were great at closing sales but didn’t have time to get the opportunities.
Caryn was sitting outside Starbucks, waiting to get a latte when she got on the phone with her prospect. The prospect understood the service offering. She thought it was a perfect fit. Then she said “however.” She said they had several investments coming up and had to prioritize them first and revisit Caryn’s service at a later time.
But Caryn was prepared. She could have just said, “Let’s just connect in a couple of months.” Instead, she said, “In our previous conversations you told me that getting more opportunities and closing more sales is one of your highest priorities, especially to show your investors that you are able to do this.” She asked one last question, “If we don’t proceed together, how will you accomplish your goals?”
Then she waited. Caryn’s prospect said, “You’re right. If we don’t move forward now, we can’t reach our goals. Let’s get started.”
What can you learn from Caryn’s story? She shares how her framework helped lead her prospect to the sale in this episode. Don’t miss it!
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Storytelling is an important skill for salespeople and companies to possess because story is the way humans remember everything. If you give someone a list of facts that aren’t connected in a meaningful way, people will shut you down.
A good story focuses on a problem that someone has. If you can hone in on a problem so much so that the person recognizes the problem in themselves, they get hooked. Dave Butler shares why problem-focused storytelling is so effective in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Dave notes that you don’t need to be an expert to tell stories. People can be taught to tell stories in a formulaic way that’s just as gripping as the greatest speaker. It’s about focusing on the problem that you’re solving rather than the details of the solution. It becomes straightforward to have every person in your company testing and perfecting the story. The effectiveness of a story comes from repetition.
People don’t listen to a story they don’t care about. So the problem that you solve needs to be at the core of the story that matters to them. If they’re struggling with the problem you solve, then you need to amp it up and raise its importance in their mental framework. A problem can be broken down into three components:
When you’re telling the story, the hero has to be the listener. The person with the problem is typically weak. They need someone to come alongside them to help them solve the problem. Companies need to be the guide that’s grounded in empathy and competence. Communicate that you care about their problem and that you’re the right entity to fix it.
Lastly, you have to cast a vision of success or failure. The listener needs to feel what’s at stake. You use this to increase the relevance of the problem in their minds. You need to emphasize that the problem is awful and they shouldn’t have to face it.
What are the attributes of a great sales storyteller? What are Dave’s top 3 storytelling dos and don’ts? Listen to hear Dave’s thoughts!
Dave was the first VP of Sales at Aruba Wireless Networks (which was eventually bought out by HP). People at home got to use wireless at home, but they couldn’t do it in their company. They wanted to build a product that enabled people to use wireless networks everywhere. They found seven massive companies in LA and New York that agreed to help them design the product so it would be perfect for them.
They got the product out the door and not a single one of those 14 companies bought it. They didn’t want to deploy wireless because it would create more problems for them (and they didn’t see that it would create additional revenue).
One day in New York, an engineer sitting in a park realized he could still log on to the wireless system. Customers were bringing in wireless access points from homes and plugging them into the bank. It was an incredible security violation. So they changed their product to get rid of unwanted wireless first. Two weeks later, every company was a customer.
You have to make sure that your solution is something that people want. That’s why you must focus on the problem and build from there.
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