I’ve spent thousands of hours on either side of the negotiating table. There is a deep valley between good and great salespeople. Here are ten tactics I’ve seen used by truly great salespeople:
Research your prospects and customize the decks and demos to show you actually give a shit.
Send the champion at your prospect a half-baked sales pitch deck for feedback to ensure they’re a thought partner through the sales cycle.
Good software saves you time… Great software makes you money... The best software does both *and* prevents lawsuits… Find a way to position your product as doing all three.
When pricing, “show your work.” In other words, make sure you show the prospect how you came up with the price. And make sure the price is a specific number (e.g. $1,890 instead of $2,000) to show them it’s thought out.
Price is a proxy for value so when you don’t charge enough, the likelihood of purchase is lower. And low priced products are used less, which will lead to customer attrition.
Treat silence as another participant in the sales meeting. Learn to shut up and enjoy the silence. Not everyone thinks as quickly or out loud as you might.
Keep the conversation going by ending every email to a prospect with a question to ensure they’re compelled to reply.
Be the guide and make your client the hero. Don’t brag about what your product can do; ask your client what they want/need to do and show them how your product/service can help them win.
Don’t just commend prospects when they ask a good question… explain why it’s a good question so you don’t sound like everyone else.
I hope at least one of these adds another arrow in your quiver... probably most importantly, however, if you don't care too much about the company you're working for or value the product you're selling, it will show, so do everyone a favor and find a different job!