3 Techniques I’m Working on this Week

Every once in a while, I love going back to first principles. This means taking a problem and breaking it down to its most basic elements. A few deals are not moving as quickly as I’d like them to, getting in the way of me hitting my goal this month. When faced with the prospect of failure, it always leads me to do some introspection — what could I have done differently to avoid this from happening? 

The answer to this one rarely placates to my ego. But it shows me an opportunity for growth. I’ve noticed, for instance, that the period of overachievement in the past months has stopped me from improving as a seller, due to complacency. And I also noticed that I was feeling uninspired doing my work at times, which possibly manifested itself into average conversations. 

So I had to go back to the drawing board, which, in my case, means picking up one of David Hoffeld’s Books: „Sell More with Science: The Mindsets, Traits, and Behaviors That Create Sales Success.“ I’ve read this book more than 10 times, mainly during my time transitioning from a BDR to the AE role. Back then I was more inexperienced, but so hungry to grow into this new role. I wanted to tap back into that hunger again, and to my amazement, I found so many gems that I had seemingly forgotten about. 

I’ve picked out a few techniques that can have an immediate impact on the quality of your demos, if applied:

Asking Value-Affirming Questions

This is the practice of asking questions that allow the prospect to confirm the value of your product in the meeting. An example of this could be, „Now that you’ve seen that our product offers XZY Benefit, do you see how this could add value to you achieving (insert desired outcome)?“ 

Often times, we assume that while pitching a product, a nod or „okay, got it“ from the prospect’s side is enough. But to truly understand and make sure your prospect really is on board with the value you are trying to convey, these questions are crucial. They can turn a skeptical CEO into a fan, as the answers to these question often times lead to the other part taking more ownership and emotional investment in your product, which leads to sales. 

Reframing

Reframing is a crucial technique in effective selling. Reframing is a psychological technique that involves changing the way someone perceives a situation, event, or concept by altering its context or meaning. The goal is to shift a person's perspective, helping them view the situation in a more constructive or beneficial light.

Things can be looked at from several perspectives, and the frame in which you bring light to the value of your service will determine the outcome of your sale. Even beyond sales it can be useful. Imagine a friend or relative might look at their job loss as a devastating setback. Through reframing, they might come to see it as an opportunity to explore new career paths or develop new skills.

Reframing allows me to get the prospect to shift his focus from the duration of the contract of 6 months to the great things that can be accomplished together when client and service provider closely work together for half a year. I get them to view the contract duration in the light of taking that time to truly understand their business and consistenly deliver value.

"We are not comfortable to commit for 6 months. What if we already achieve the desired outcome in two months with your service and we have to keep paying?"

"That is a fair concern. May I ask how long it has taken you to achieve this desired outcome in the past?"

"Well, we have been working on it for 2 years and we're still behind plan."

"In that case, what makes you think you can cut down the timeline from 2 years to 2 months, wouldn't you want to lock in a fixed price at a discounted rate in case you need longer?"

This is a simple example, but an effective way to reframe is to ask thought-provoking questions like this.

Maintaining a Growth Mindset

The book also talks about how important expecting maintaining a healthy mindset is to achieving your goals. In fact, it is one of the driving predictors of high-achievement. Hundreds of studies point to the same fact — people who believe that their skills can be developed and improved are much more likely to achieve the goals they have set for themselves. 

Becoming keenly aware of my own mindset and perspective on setbacks will help me avoid falling into a negative feedback loop, where failures are no longer opportunities for growth, but an indication of my skill-level for ever. 

So that’s it: asking the right questions, reframing and being aware of my mindset. Three things I’m focusing on this week. 

What are you focusing on this week?

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