[Replay] Everyday Is Saturday, with Sam Crowley

January 18, 2024



Why do you want to be in sales?


Why do you want to be in sales? How many options do you give to prospects when selling?


Your goal as a salesperson should be finding solutions tailored to fit your prospect’s needs, instead of having a ‘sales’ title so you can sell and make a sale. Rather than using manipulation, persuading with empathy and trust fosters a connection that creates long term success.


Featured in this episode of Every Day is Saturday hosted by Sam Crowley, I discuss my windy path and the experiences that led me to becoming a coach and consultant in sales, using the method of authentic persuasion, and transforming from an order taker to a quota breaker. 


Learn about the strategies to being authentic in using your skills and who you are when you persuade in a sales role, along with the doctor analogy to find solutions for consumer needs. 



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Show Linkhttp://everydayissaturday.com/authentic-persuasion-with-jason-cutter/

Apple Podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/authentic-persuasion-with-jason-cutter/id258740374?i=1000472225947

  • Show Transcript

    Jason Cutter: So the biggest one I still take to this day is my analytical brain, which you've mentioned loves data, loves spreadsheets, loves options. My buying style is give me lots of options.


    Don't force me into one. Otherwise I'm going to shut down and run the other way. So I used to treat prospects the same way. The golden rule, right? Treat other people like you want to be treated, which is wrong in the book that I'm writing. And in the course that I have, I. not to do that. Because again, Sam Crowley, if I came to you and said, here's a spreadsheet with the 15 options for mortgages, you could pick from, you know, let me know what you want to do.


    You're shaking your head. You're gonna say, no, let me think about it. When the mind is confused. The automatic animal response is no, and then leave wet. So I lost so many deals because I came with what I thought was the great. Sales approach, which was here's a ton of options. No pressure. You decide instead what I realized.


    No ask questions, figure out what they need, two options, three options. Here's what you said based on what you want now pick now let's go and don't overwhelm. Just keep it super simple, but targeted and exact.


    Sam Crowley: What a great principle. A confused mind never buys. That's why you had mentioned when the day you were going for a walk and picked up the phone and called me or when you booked a call and we immediately started coaching together.


    How many times did you hear launch with Sam? That's the only option on that podcast.


    Jason Cutter: That's it. And then when people work with you and when you talk to them, you're like, okay, based on what you said, here's this option or this option. Right? Here's not 15 options. Here's not my catalog. And if it's not a good fit, go do something else.


    And here's this other option or go work on this. Yeah, I learned that one the hard way, the very expensive way. It's fundamental because a lot of people just think I'm going to autopilot. They just treat everyone like they want to be treated. And that's terrible. You're a fun guy. If I give you spreadsheets, you're just going to hang up on me, right?


    I got to make it fun for you. And you've got to give me data. And so that's how, you know, we work together.


    Sam Crowley: Yeah, no, that's, that's pretty cool, dude. And so. When companies started bringing you in, did you feel like, geez, I don't know if I can teach, like when did this start happening when company, because we're talking about some companies with some really big pockets, they can bring anybody in and they bring in Jason Cutter.


    And so when did this whole Cutter consulting and things start to start to gain traction? And when did you start to think, you know, I'm pretty good at this teaching salespeople because I don't have any background in sales. I'm self taught. And now companies are hiring me. Like, how did that all start to take off?


    Cause we've got a lot of people listening to the podcast that they want to start their own movement. They want to start their own brand, their own business. And you're a guy with no experience in sales outside of, you just talked about your first time, you know, in the mortgage business, what gave you the confidence to think you can now go teach other people how to sell.


    Jason Cutter: So it was two things. One is a windy path and ending up in situations where somebody else believed in me when I was an employee and then saw things in me, you know, like we all do where we see it in other people. We don't see it in ourselves. Just like I wasn't planning on being a salesperson. I was really trying not to be a salesperson.


    I was also trying not to be a manager and I went to work for a company and they fired the VP of sales. And then it was like, would you like to be the VP of sales? I was basically fallen told it was like, you're now in charge of sales and operations. And then I learned, uh, that, and that was successful and I had a good time.


    And I, you know, it was for Rocky road and then I would change companies and started again as a manager and worked up. And so I embraced it, even though I didn't think I didn't believe in it for myself, because I was like, who am I? Like I'm anti sales marine biology, dude. Like who the hell am I to lead people?


    Then what happened is I had a spasm and I left the whole world behind and went overseas and traveled as a civilian contractor. With the military so civilian but did a bunch of deployments to a bunch of bad places for a while And uh in that time over there Uh, I realized, wait a second, my windy path is a really good gift.


    It is a gift in what I have where I wasn't meant for this on paper. I'm the least likely candidate to be a successful sales consultant and trainer and coach and have a pocket. Like it makes no sense on paper. Yet, that's what leverages me so well with people is that authentic and the persuasion side.


    And so, um, I realized that in the desert, I still remember the day that I, it hit me and I was like, Oh man, I am good at this and this is what I should be doing. And then, you know, taking the opposite route of Sam Crowley, I decided to work on my MBA to kind of tie in all my experiences, get more schooling, get more credits.


    And then, uh, and then I came back, I got a job again in sales leadership. And then when that ended, I was like. Now's my chance. I'm going to go into consulting, take everything I've done for companies from inside and just start doing it, you know, external. That's amazing, man.


    Sam Crowley: Like that's amazing. Look, Hey, if I had to, you know, I, I would have gone and got my MBA.


    I would have first, I think probably would have had to get my undergrad at some point in time or even associates, but I don't, I think that's great, man. I mean, everybody has a different path to success and everybody figures out what that everyday Saturday lifestyle looks like you'd love sales. You love the analytical part of sales as well as kind of just.


    Taking people. I want to talk about that going from order taker to quota breaker and also this method that you've developed called Authentic persuasion. So anything with the word authentic in it. I am all about that life, dude. I love it I think if everybody could step into their true authentic self They would be so happy because we're all like characters in a play man.


    We go into the office every day We got to try to we put on a costume with a suit and tie or a nice dress and makeup And we try to be somebody we're not trying to oppress people we don't even like and all this stuff. Now you're teaching a method called authentic persuasion. I want to get to that number two.


    Number one, what's it mean to go from order taker to quota breaker? And is it what give it, I know it's a whole process, but give us just the basic, how could you take somebody who's just been kind of average in sales or maybe just Starting in sales to be in a rockstar. Like, what does that look like? Is it mindset?


    Is it being on the phone more? Is it asking for the order more boldly?


    Jason Cutter: What's that look like? I mean, it's both the mindset and the tactical. So there's a lot of things when, and when I use the order taker kind of label and you help craft that as part of our early discussions, you're like, boom, here's what you do.


    And that message was so clear. And then I ran with it, which was, was awesome from your part is the. The order taker, which sometimes triggers people and they go, they get defensive, their ego kicks in, they want to get their feelings hurt. Like I'm not an order taker, I'm a sales person. It's like if you're not closing effectively and you're not happy and you're not hitting your goals or making money and it doesn't feel right, but you have a sales type title, then it's most likely that you're.


    Operating like an order taker, right? You're operating like a customer service, right? And not a salesperson. A salesperson's job is to move some, a qualified prospect from here to there, to a better state, right? Not an unqualified, that's manipulation, but a qualified prospect and move them forward. And so order taker is somebody who's generally just maybe providing information and then waiting for the buy, right?


    Waiting for the. prospect to go. I have money in my hand. I'd like to buy from you. When that happens, they don't need a salesperson. They can order online or just call in, you know, off the catalog and put in their order. They don't need you, but your company hired you to persuade and sell and move the needle.


    And if you're not, then that's probably what's happened to you. And you're stuck as a, an order taker. And then really the key is, is both the mindset and the tactical. So what's going on in your mind? Why are you afraid? And what's true for you. There's some people I meet and I'm, I have fortunately hired hundreds and hundreds of sales reps or seen them in organizations kind of like yourself back in the day.


    I have unfortunately seen or firsthand fired hundreds and hundreds of sales people or seen them leave the sales profession. A lot of people aren't meant to be in sales. They don't enjoy it. It doesn't fit their personality. But most of it is they're just a disconnect where they think they have to be X, right?


    They think they have to be a Grant Cardone or a Gary Vee, and that's not true for them. But that disconnect causes them to just fail and then be fired or quit.


    Sam Crowley: And that's what you mean by being authentic, you know, and so I'm talking with my buddy Jason cutter By the way, you can pick up his ebook. I've seen it.


    It's really awesome I'm, just a big fan of what jason puts out if you go to authentic persuasion. com just like it sounds you go to Authentic persuasion. com and you can pick up the power of authentic persuasion, how to become a sales superstar. Jason literally wrote the book. It's free. There's nothing to pay for right there.


    And you can get access to really what's inside of this guy's mind and how he's been teaching fortune 500 companies for so many years on unlocking the power of this. So when you talk about authentic persuasion, Jason, What does that mean? I mean, I know what those two words mean. Authentic persuasion. Tell us what the method that you developed around that.


    What's it mean?


    Jason Cutter: And it's tough because people are asking me all the time. Well, what does that mean? What does it do? It's like, well, A, it's really simple because it's in the name, right? Authentic combined with persuasion. But the authentic part is really embracing who you are. So your strengths, your skills, your experiences.


    So again, like I have been in some serious, serious debt in my life. It helps me talk to people who are in debt, like as a salesperson or working with companies. I have been in charge of marketing budgets, you know, million dollars a month marketing budget. I can talk to a company from that experience and it's authentic.


    Like, here's my thing. I have never, you know, had a serious Kind of addiction issue. So I wouldn't authentically be able to help somebody in that. So you have to know what's authentic for you, your experience, your skills, what you love, and then you have to address those fears that are getting in the way that are most likely those primal caveman lizard brain parts of our brain that still thinks there's a saber-tooth tiger that's trying to kill us.


    At every moment of the day and it's really not like just pick up the phone or just talk to that person like you're not going to die and then that's the authentic piece and what's true for you and then why you want to do sales like why are you even in it and not just money money is always a thing like I'm in sales because I want to make like but why do you want to make that money what does that mean for you or is it not about money like for me it's not necessarily about money it's just about helping people what are you driven by or what are you trying to prove to the world like whatever that is And then the persuasion part, it's about using persuasion instead of manipulation.


    And it's about having a process that you can apply to any sales kind of method, but just the fundamentals of rapport and empathy and building trust and hope on the back of the authentic side where it's true. And then you're basically taking someone and the best example I use a lot in my training. is to think about how a doctor sells, right?


    So a doctor, you go into a doctor with a broken leg, the doctor doesn't say, Oh, your leg's broken. Here's your options. Just let us know what you'd like to do. Ha ha ha ha ha. Here, oh, let me, let me do this. Let me send you an email with more information. You get back to me when you're ready and then we'll move forward with something.


    You just let me know. Talk to your wife or talk to your boss and then let me know, right? It's funny because you laugh and everyone laughs when I say that, but that's what salespeople do all day. You have a problem. You are broken. Your leg is broken and going to fall off. I have the solution. Pay me now. I will help you and I'm going to do that because I care about you.


    Not just because I need the money, but just because I care about you and want you in a better place. That doctor doesn't do it. Doctor does their tests. They look at it. Your leg is broken. We're going to fix it. Any questions? No? Okay, boom. Yeah, right. And so it's making that shift.


    Sam Crowley: And I think some people struggle with, well, I don't have something as serious as that, that I could tell somebody that, look, you need this car.


    We're just going to do it. So there's no questions being asked. They have other options from other dealers, but I would come back, come back with that, you know, and hit it back to them and say, look, you got to believe. That it is that serious, like my mom used to drive jalopies all the time and I remember one time my mom used to be the one smoking no seat belt on, you know, she'd have about four scotches and we'd go to the grocery store, you know, and the passenger store, the passenger door would fly open and I don't even have a seat belt on.


    I'm like eight years old, you know, I'm like, So when I remember when we went to a car dealership, I'm like, Oh my God, we're actually going to get a car. I might not die, you know, like the car door, like the car door might shut, you know,


    Jason Cutter: you might make it to your 10th birthday.


    Sam Crowley: Exactly. And I think that, I think, you know, that was kind of an important deal that we got a new car.


    And when we walked into that dealership, we did have a really good salesperson who listened and wanted to know what we could afford. And, but the whole point, whether you're a speaker, a trainer, a seminar leader, a car salesperson, a dentist, a doctor, you got to believe that what you have. Is something of incredible value.


    You can't have that. Like you said, the negative enemy in your mind, talking about that stuff. You know, a lot of people sabotage their own success. When you agree with that a hundred percent. And so that's why I think being authentic is great. Cause you get to be who you are. Like I get to do every day of Saturday, meet cool people like you.


    I put it out there on my podcast. Hey, if we can't laugh, we can't coach together. Like I like to laugh. I like to have a good time. You know, if I can have a beer with you, a cup of coffee, that's great. Just don't take on clients that I can't have that relationship with. And, and that's, what's being authentic is all about.


    You know, you don't have to be in sales and feel like, Oh, this is a grind. You know, it can be fun.


    Jason Cutter: And that second part that's usually missing with a lot of people is the persuasion piece and leaning into it. And then knowing that they're helping people and seeing it as their duty in sales to move that forward.


    And then how do they do that so that it doesn't feel slimy and wrong. from a sales perspective. And that's really what I focus on teaching a lot of people is how to do that, where you're just assuming that you're the professional and you're in charge, no matter what you're selling.


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By Jason Cutter February 26, 2025
How Can You Predict The Future Of Sales Ops? One of the keys to sales success is to be able to predict the future – what that other person is thinking, what they might say, what they will experience, how they will feel about the product/service. But what can you do – from a sales ops leadership perspective – to predict the future in masse of all the potential customers that will flow into and out of the sales process/funnel? That is a really tough one, but it is doable. Meeting Prospective Customers Where They Are The key is to always meet the prospective customers where they are and with the experience they hope to find. It’s a common theme now in these articles because it’s important AND widely disregarded – your potential customers do not care about you, your sales team, your company, your industry. They don’t care about your stats, your testimonials, your logos. They don’t care about your mission statement or your values. They only care about themselves. They also firmly believe that there is currently unlimited choice for any product/service, which means that everything in their mind is a commodity. Easily replaceable and interchangeable. Nothing (other than iPhones…which you can only get from Apple) is special to consumers unless they feel like it should be special. Are You Still Making It All About You? There is a good chance you are still running a marketing, sales funnel that is all about you. I bet if I looked at your company’s website that from the top down it’s all about you (the company). How great you are. What you do for people. What you have done for others. I bet if I tried to speak with your sales team, I will be made to go through your process whether I like it or not. Maybe fill out a form and wait for a response. Or made to call into a toll free number, even though I don’t want to talk to someone yet. Or made to use a chat widget on a site to get started. I bet when I speak with your sales team, 70-80% of the conversation will be about them, your company, and how amazing you all believe you are. This is all fair. No one starts a company to be mediocre. The goal is to provide value and make money. The missing piece, again like I said above, is no one cares about your goals. They only care about themselves. Predicting What Customers Want From The Sales Experience Back to your mission as sales ops leader – predict what massive amounts of prospective customers are going to want from the Sales Experience. It’s why I wrote about it last week and even offered up a book for free to help in any way that I can. To succeed at your mission, you have to stay ahead of the curve of what the public, and specifically – your buying demographic, psychographic, and valuegraphics, want from that experience. Key Questions To Shape The Sales Experience Do they want to call, text, email or chat? Probably all of them…so can you offer each one? (Don’t make someone decide if they want to go through your hoops…remove all the hoops) Do they need to see pricing online – should it be available and transparent? (In most cases, yes) What sales process will be ideal for moving the most people through the sales conversation to a successful outcome? (More discovery, empathy, active listening. More front-loaded about them, not you. Use the Authentic Persuasion Pathway as your model) Who are the decision makers? Is that individual going to decide or do they need to check with others for approval? (Set them up for success, and don’t force them to make a decision in the moment – you will just lose the potential sale) What type of follow up do they want and need until they make the buying decision? What type of post-purchase follow up would go above and beyond a) their expectations and b) what others in your industry do? If there is an ‘onboarding’ stage after the sale – how can you make that actually customer centric and successful? (It is rarely both) Can You Stay Ahead of the Curve? Remember – evolution is natural. The buying public is always evolving their desired sales experience. Can you predict the future of what they want so that when they encounter your company it matches what they were hoping to find – both in the experience and the solution to their need?
By Jason Cutter February 25, 2025
How do you, as a sales leader, help your team become Oracles that can predict the future? [make sure to read the Selling Effectiveness article this week https://go.sellingeffectiveness.com/LI.2.25.AM ] There are five ways to facilitate their Oracle-ness. Be Present in the Moment First, you have to get your salespeople to be in the moment. The challenge that most salespeople (and…humans, for that matter) experience is they are always thinking ahead. Salespeople default to thinking about what they will say next. The next part of their script or process. The next question they want to ask so they can get through discovery. The next part of the agreement they need to discuss and review. Their mind is too busy thinking about what they are going to say and do next, that they aren’t present. As weird as it sounds, if you want to predict the future you must be present. I have said this for decades: the moment you no longer need to think about what you are going to say/do next and can actually be present with your prospect and truly listen to what they say (and don’t say) – you will become a sales professional. Master Active Listening Second is Active Listening and paying closer attention. It’s actively listening…it’s taking what I mentioned above and putting into place. First step is to be present, second is to actually listen. For what they say. For what they aren’t saying. For changes in their tone. For when they are talking to someone on the side – who are they talking to, and is it about your sales conversation? If you sell in person, reading their body language and facial expressions. You must help them develop an almost sixth sense of listening (and yes, I know hearing is one of our senses…but this goes beyond hearing…it’s truly, deeply listening). Ask Better Questions Third, is to help them ask better questions. So many people in sales ask the discovery questions they are required to ask in order to check the discovery ‘box’. Or, they have done sales long enough they know all the answers, they think they know what everyone wants and why, so no reason to even ask questions. [Note – this type of salesperson thinks two dangerous things: 1 - everyone is the same and wants the same thing, 2 – people like to be sold to.] When your team asks better, deeper discovery questions with a focus on uncovering the what and the WHY, they will get better answers. Remember this – when you ask the right questions and you listen close enough, each prospect will tell you EXACTLY how to help them buy. Build Up Experience Fourth, build up experience. If you want to predict the future it comes from enough experience to know the probability of what will happen. For example, when I am in a season of commuting from home to an office, I am the type of person that can predict exactly what will happen on the freeway. Which lane is always faster around certain exits, which lanes always slow down, how much leaving five minutes later can make the drive suck a lot more. How do I know what will happen on a freeway with hundreds and hundreds of random people? Because of experience (and the fact that most people are just going through the motions in life so they become predictable). The more experience your team has with sales scenarios, they more they can predict the future. I generally see that it takes about six months for most people in a new sales role to have seen enough scenarios where they can start to know what will come next before it happens. Trust Intuition The fifth and final trait to help them with is intuition. One definition of intuition is “a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.” It’s that feeling you get when you know something, even if you cannot explain it. It’s what Malcom Gladwell wrote about in Blink! It’s what we do very well as humans, even if we don’t listen to it. The more you can help your team tune into their intuition and listen and trust it – the better they will do in helping persuade that other human. This goes back to the first suggestion – about being present. When your team trusts they know what to do and say next and they are mentally living in the moment with that prospective client, they can let their intuition guide them. Conclusion When I do trainings, public speaking, facilitating meetings, interviews, and sales – this is my main key to success. I trust and know that I have the experience to handle whatever comes my way in the present moment, while also knowing the destination I am heading towards. I can be present, let that experience and my intuition guide me instead of getting stuck in my head and worrying about what I will say next. Get your team to do some or all of these five steps – and they will become an amazing Oracle.
By Jason Cutter February 25, 2025
The Oracle’s Role in The Matrix If you have seen the Matrix movies, starring Keanu Reeves (as Neo), then you are familiar with an Oracle. In the movies, the Oracle knows what will happen. She has seen it, and it is predestined. In the Oracles mind there is no such thing as free will. In the first Matrix movie, Neo goes to visit her and knocks a vase off the shelf, and it hits the ground and breaks. Right before he hits it, she says “Don’t worry about the vase.” Neo says, “How did you know?” Then the Oracle responds with “What’s really going to bake your noodle later on, is would you still have broken it if I hadn’t said anything.” Becoming an Oracle in Sales Your mission as a sales professional is to be an Oracle for your prospects and clients. To know the future. Then be able to see around corners, as they say. Which means you know what is going to happen before it happens, because you have enough experience that you have become a psychic. You want to be able to predict, with amazing accuracy: What will happen next What will happen after that What issues will pop up What your prospect/client is thinking before they think it What concerns they might have before they have them Eliminating the Fear of the Unknown During your presentation/demo you want to set the expectation of what is going to occur next. Remember, humans fear the unknown. They want to avoid risk as much as possible. Your sales presentation is risky and dangerous and very unknown. They don’t know if you have good intentions or not. Are you going to persuade them? Are you going to try to manipulate them? Are you going to overcharge them? Will you actually care about what they need and want? Dealing with salespeople is so scary. Yet they still need and/or want something, so it’s the dangerous game they must mentally play. Guiding the Buyer Step by Step When you explain what you are going to do in part 1 of your process, and then what that part is done you let them know the plan for part 2, and so on – they will be at ease in the moment. They will feel like they have control over this portion, that there is an exit they can take if they don’t want to proceed. That level of control will help them accept the risk of part 1, and part 2, and part 3. Tell them what you will do. Do it. Tell them what you did. This will validate that you can be trusted. Predicting Thoughts and Feelings The next level is being able to predict what they will think and feel before they do. You can use this information in your presentation (without telling them what you are doing). You can also verbalize it, which could sound like “I am guessing from experience that you are probably wondering about _____, so let’s cover that right now.” Or “most people I speak with ask about _____.” They will think – wow this person knows what I am thinking, he/she is in my mind! And that’s a good thing. A really good thing. Conclusion The more they feel like you know what you are doing, know what they are thinking, know what they are afraid of – the more they trust you as a Guide. Because Guides only know what they know because they have helped other Heros successfully accomplish their journeys. Your mission as a sales professional: Become an Oracle.
By Jason Cutter February 19, 2025
What does it take to build the ideal Sales Experience? Why does it even matter? Maybe you think you already have one. You are a professional sales ops leader. You have put everything you can in place to help your salespeople sell more. You have optimized the processes so that your sales team can focus on one thing – selling. But I promise – even if you think all of that is true, it’s not. The Reality: No Perfect Sales Experience Exists I have never seen any company or team with the ‘ideal’ Sales Experience and operation. And to be honest – I have never built one successfully. Why would I admit that? Because the ideal Sales Experience is aspirational and business, teams, processes, and customer needs/desires are constantly changing. So as soon as you put new processes in place, something else needs to change and evolve. The Scalable Sales Success Iceberg In my Scalable Sales Success Iceberg – there are 24 categories that, when built out, create a scalable sales machine – where you can add in an input and get way more output. I would love to see companies have all 24 categories set up and running optimally. But that’s not even possible – because, as I mentioned, things are always changing. Focusing on the Biggest Levers Here is the key – to build the ideal Sales Experience takes focus on the biggest levers. The ones that, when pulled, create the biggest and best results. There are many processes and systems that you can put in place – but those are going to get you a few percentage points of improvement. Instead of putting it all in here, I want to make you a special offer. Email me at jason@sellingeffectiveness.com with your mailing address, and I will mail you the book that I co-wrote with Nick Glimsdahl called Reasons Not To Focus On The Sales Experience. It will be your starter guide, facilitating the creation of your ideal Sales Experience.
By Jason Cutter February 18, 2025
The Numbers Game Mentality is a Losing Strategy Sales is no longer a “numbers game.” You cannot succeed, long term, by focusing on volume of activity. Making a million dials, sending a million emails, knocking on a million doors (the first two are way easier than that last one) is a scorched earth strategy that will sink your business. You can’t out-dial a bad sales process. It will lead to even more bad online reviews. You can’t out-email a terrible sales funnel process that requires people to jump through poorly planned hoops. You can’t out-knock your way past slimy tactics and bad products/services. The Danger of the "Every No Gets Me Closer to a Yes" Mindset The whole “every no gets me one step closer to a yes” mentally is dangerous. That mindset and strategy assumes that it’s a numbers game. That the only thing that matters is finding the right person who will buy from you. Potentially, no matter what you even say – they are just ready to buy. Not only will this destroy any online reputation you have it will also wreak havoc on your team. It is the fastest and best way to burn out your team. It will lead to a revolving door or hiring, training, and quitting as people realize how unfun the game is you have built and how hard it is to be successful. It will also feel like a mismatch – very few people (and hopefully even less over time) are long-term excited about the business model of calling 500 people a day in hopes of making a few sales. If It’s Not a Numbers Game, Then What Is It? It’s quality over quantity. [Now…note – it does take a certain quantity of activity to fill a sales pipeline. So I am not saying that your sales team can just sit and wait for people to fall into their pipeline with money in hand.] It’s about the Sales Experience. It’s about your team ensuring that they are providing the right and best experience for that potential customer – in a way that sets them up to get into the buying mood and mode. All that matters is the Sales Experience. How can you support your team in terms of the quantity of activity to fill a pipeline, and then the quality of interaction that leads to sales? What Does an Ideal Sales Experience Look Like? What does that look like – the ideal Sales Experience? It’s when your team understands that the potential customer they are speaking with only cares about themselves. They don’t care about the salesperson, your company or the product. They are only focused on themselves. It’s when the Discovery/Empathy portion of the conversation is the most important part. Does your team realize that everything after Discovery – when done right – is just a presentation of the solution? It’s the fact that when you combine the parts of the Authentic Persuasion Pathway (Rapport + Empathy + Trust + Hope + Urgency) that the assumptive close is all you need. If your team is having to ask for the sale they are doing sales wrong. And don’t confuse earning the right to close with asking for the sale. The Sales Leader’s Role in Creating a World-Class Sales Experience Your job as a sales leader is to ensure your team understands that the only thing – above all else – is the sales experience they provide to each potential customer. That customer knows that they have the power and the feeling of unlimited choice. Which means they will decide who to give their money to based on the experience they have with buying from a company. How can you shift your team away from the numbers game mentality to actually providing a world class sales experience to each and every person they speak with?
By Jason Cutter February 17, 2025
The Abundance of Options Today we all have lots of options. While writing this I could speak into my phone and order whatever I want. I can get food delivered before I finish writing this article. I could get a TV delivered to my door before I wake up tomorrow. When someone wants to buy something, they are armed with as much information as they want to access. They can research, read reviews, and watch videos about a product or company. The Shift in Power to the Buyer Because of this, the power balance of sales has shifted away from the salesperson and company to the buyer. Knowledge is power – and they now have all the knowledge they want. With knowing that they have ultimate choice of what to buy (internet and globalization has led to the ability to order anything you want from anywhere…so you are no longer limited to the stores you can drive to and what they have on hand), it means that everything is a commodity in their minds. Nothing is unique or special. Everything is interchangeable. Does the Sales Experience Even Matter? So, this means the sales experience doesn’t matter anymore. There is no reason to put effort into the sales process, the conversations with potential customers. No value in spending time trying to ‘help’ people – since they just view products, salespeople, and companies as interchangeable. You are not special, so there is no benefit in caring. They will walk into your store, and they will decide what they want. They fill out your online for, and they decide if they answer when you call and how the call will go. They walk up to your event/booth, and they decide how the interaction will go and if they want to listen to your elevator pitch. They will let you know if they are interested in moving forward. They will let you know how they want to buy. So, like I said above, there is no real value anymore in the sales experience. Or could it actually be valuable? Is it possible that all that matters IS the sales experience? If people feel they have ultimate information and control of the buying process, how do they decide on what to buy and who to buy from? When I search on Amazon for a product type I have never purchased before, how do I pick? When I want to go shopping for garden supplies for the house, how do I pick where to go? When I need to buy a new fridge, who will I hand my money over to? The cheapest place with terrible service? The place with reasonable prices and great service? The Sales Experience Shapes the Decision I choose based on the sales experience that I will receive. With everything else being equal, I (and I believe most people) will select the place to shop at or the products to buy online based on the experience I receive. To me all that matters is the experience. While I am trying to buy something. Once I receive it – ensure it does what I need it to do. With the feeling of unlimited choices, it can actually be harder now to buy something that in the past. People get into analysis paralysis more often. Which means that for consumers to buy something new they need help. They need a professional salesperson. They need a sales experience that matches their expectations. They want a guide who will help them make the right decision for them, with an experience that goes above and beyond what more people receive any more when they walk into a store, call a company’s toll-free number, or visit a website and have to fill out a form. If you want to succeed in sales – the only thing that matters is the sales experience you provide.
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