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How To Not Oversell #420
Today’s episode is an act of faith. By faith I mean trusting in what you know is true and sharing it as honestly as possible. Too often sellers persuade by adorning their pitch when they would be better off, sharing a straight forward value proposition. Great products and services sell themselves. Learn how to not oversell. That’s the topic for today.
Today’s Chapter: Proper Preparation
Fill your presentation to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your pitch and it will blunt
Chase after money and the deal will spoil
Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back and it will all work out.
Today’s Story
Chris said good morning to the prospects at the presentation and kicked it off with a slide deck that shared a personal biography, the companies biography, their history in the industry, testimonials of their products and three deep dives into the benefits buyers could expect. Chris was trying to build trust, but all that was built was boredom. The audience started to get restless.
In the back of the room, Pat could sense the crowd’s impatience and spoke up. “Chris, why don’t we jump ahead a bit to the solution design?” Immediately Chris pivoted and by the end of the meeting, Chris had a verbal commitment.
Afterwards Pat said to Chris in private “I’m sorry I made that awkward for you. But I could sense the people didn’t believe the benefits without any context. It was a case of the cart before the horse, or the benefits before the features!” Chris laughed and responded, “I have to admit, it did seem the decision maker paid more attention, and asked all those questions after the pivot. Since we got the order you can’t argue against success”. “Nope,” said Pat. “we just need to do our work and let the chips fall where they lay.”
Take Action Quote
The Stoic Epictetus said “If you are tempted to look outside yourself for approval, you have compromised your integrity. If you need a witness, be your own.”
I am wary of the overuse of PowerPoint and the repeated failure to treat people like people and connect one on one with buyers. Instead do this: have faith that if you just share your product unvarnished, it’s all going to turn out right in the end. Deals close easy when we focus on helping our clients versus winning their approval.
Thank Our Sponsor Wingman
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How to Connect with Pat Helmers at Sales Babble
Sales Babble shares selling secrets for non-sellers. There is no need to be pushy, aggressive or uncomfortable reaching out to prospective buyers. Masterful selling is understanding what buyers want, discerning if you can help, showing what you have and helping them to make a decision that is good for their business and yours.
You can be yourself when selling. It’s all about helping others with their challenges and aspirations. I’ve interviewed 100s of sales experts and discuss all things sales: prospecting, qualifying, value propositions, presentations, demos, closing, generating referrals, earning references, upselling, marketing, lead generation, copywriting, and most important the right selling mindset.
Stop fearing sales and embrace it. Learn the selling secrets for non-sellers and start making a difference today. Here is the entire back catalog of episodes in the sales podcast.
This is a production of Habanero Media
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