ABC
ABC is an acronym that stands for “always be closing”. This is a Sales strategy that is rooted in the idea that every action a Salesperson takes throughout their Sales process is in pursuit of closing a deal.BANT FRAMEWORK
BANT is used when Sales representatives are qualifying leads. Budget: determines if the business has the budget to purchase the solution Authority: identifies key decision-makers in the business Need: verifies that the business has a real need for the solution Time: checks if the business is likely to make a timely purchase
To Refine Your Sales Team’s Communication Skills
BUYING SIGNALS
Cues from a prospect that they’re ready to buy. Buying signals can be Verbal, that is, asking about price; or Non-Verbal, that is, nodding and holding eye contact.CHURN RATE
Churn rate is the percentage of customers that stop doing business with a company over a certain period of time. The churn rate is calculated by dividing the number of customers you lost by the number you had at the beginning of the chosen time frame.THE DM
The Decision Maker is the person who ultimately approves a sale or purchase. This is not necessarily the person who appears to be calling the shots.
EMOTIONAL SALE
A selling method that attempts to appeal to a buyer’s emotions. That is, either by generating desire and excitement around the product’s benefits, or evoking negative emotions. This includes feelings like fear and frustration. These are uncovering pain points that your product or service can alleviate. (See: Intellectual Sale)FORECASTING
Forecasting is the act of estimating future Sales. This is so companies can make better business decisions and predict performance. Additionally, forecasts can be based on past Sales data, industry comparisons, or economic trends.GATEKEEPER
A gatekeeper is someone who controls access to the Decision Maker. For instance, a gatekeeper may be a personal assistant who relays information back to their boss. Put simply, gatekeepers are responsible for filtering out unimportant distractions. Ultimately, this means you have to prove your value to them first before you can progress any further.
INTELLECTUAL SALE
As opposed to an Emotional Sale, an Intellectual Sale attempts to appeal to a prospect’s logic. That is, it targets a customer’s need for a quick, affordable solution to a problem. An Intellectual Sale is more “business” than “personal.”LAND AND EXPAND
“Landing” a Sale refers to the initial close, when you bring on a new customer for the first time. And “Expanding” means generating even more revenue from the account. That is by upselling or broadening the scope of the service you’re providing. Crucially, Salespeople need to land and expand in order to generate the most revenue from a given prospect.MIRRORING
Building rapport with a prospect by adopting their body language and speech patterns. Subtlety is key, here. That is, if you overdo it, you will come off as ingenuine, or even creepy.
To Refine Your Sales Team’s Communication Skills
NSAs
Non Sales-related Activities. That is, actions and tasks that Salespeople spend time on that do not directly lead to Sales. This can include administrative activities and paperwork or making personal calls and surfing online. Basically, whenever you are not prospecting, qualifying, setting up presentations and appointments, or closing, you are probably engaged in an NSA.PUPPY DOG CLOSE
Allowing customers to try out a product with no obligation while they make their decision. The idea is, an uncommitted buyer will fall in love with the product and will not want to let it go. This is likened to a person wanting to buy a puppy, they wouldn’t be able to say “no” after taking one home for a few days.
SOCIAL SELLING
Social Selling is the act of using social media to interact with prospects. Oftentimes, this includes providing answers to simple questions that will help the prospect better understand their pain points and potential solutions.SALES WHALE
A prospect that has the potential to bring tremendous ongoing Sales revenue to an organisation. Like whales, they are big, elusive, and rare. And, Sales teams pull out all the stops to land one.SANDBAGGING
Holding off on closing active deals once you have already hit your quota/commission for the month. Some Salespeople do this so that they can more easily hit numbers the following month.SMILE AND DIAL
Cold-calling with a cheerful, positive tone of voice – and yes, a smile! Smiling communicates warmth and trustworthiness over the phone. Ultimately, it makes the prospect less likely to hang up on you. Even if people cannot see your smile, they can hear it!TIRE-KICKER
A prospect who has no intention or ability to buy. It isn’t long before the red flags appear! That is, they don’t have a budget, the purchase is not within their authority, or their timeline is far into the future. Put simply, tire-kickers are time-wasters.
WARNING!
Even though prospects might seem to understand what you’re talking about, you should avoid using Sales jargon during interactions. Sure, your clients might know what you mean, but the danger is you will either lose them completely or they will think you don’t care about them enough to communicate clearly.THE QUALITY OF YOUR COMMUNICATION CAN ONLY BE MEASURED BY THE RESPONSE THAT YOU RECEIVE
SALES JARGON TO AVOID WITH PROSPECTS
The overuse of jargon can come across as confusing and will often put the buyer off. Apart from the abbreviated type of jargon, the repetitive and cheesier one liners are often over-used.AVOID:
- “Lets touch base”
- “We are on a journey”
- “Its a no brainer”
- “Its a game changer”
- “Lets line our ducks up in a row”
INSTEAD USE:
Simple language that sounds more natural. Here are some alternatives to the above.- “Hi, I just wanted to catch up and see how things are going”
- “We are with you every step of the way”
- “I believe our product/service will be a great addition to your business” … then explain how.
- “I believe our product/service will work well with your business”… then explain how.
- “Let me explain how we work and then see if we can get a date in the diary”
It has been just over 12 months since the powers that be declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic. And even a year on, despite Australia’s pandemic position compared to the rest of the world, we are still feeling the shock waves. Whether your company is large or small, whether you have experienced serious disruptions in your business or managed to avoid them, if you are a 
Virtual and digital selling are here to stay. However, many Salespeople are not equipped to succeed in this new environment. Without the right training, reinforcement, and tools, they are finding that access and engagement with buyers is more and more challenging. If there are skill gaps in this area you are in trouble. Moreover, if the resources and strategies you are sharing with your Sales team are basically the same as the ones you had at the start of 2019, then you are officially at a competitive disadvantage. A lot of Sales has moved to 
To UPDATE YOUR TEAM’S SALES COMPETENCIES Call 
For many, 2020 comes pretty close to a curse word. And while there appears to be a chance of a resurgence at the moment, the fact remains, we still have no clear certainty about the path the pandemic will take businesses on next year. But that does not mean we just sit back and wait. You will not survive. Start getting Match Fit and Sales Ready in these closing months of 2020, otherwise 2021 will be even bleaker for businesses than this year was.
Companies that are still standing strong and successful today must be Sales Ready and prepare to adapt their approach on a strategic level in 2021. While we can’t predict the future, we can use what we’ve learned to shape our strategies and maximise prospecting potential for next year.
Here is a list of what we have learnt so far from the pandemic experience, and how to be Sales Ready, prepare for prospecting and go hard.
Consider how many hours go into training for the Olympics. Ultimately, an Olympic gymnast trains for years before hitting the mat with her teammates. So, we should do no less for our sales leaders!
