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Mastermind Group Incredible Asks Jeb Blount Their Toughest Sales Questions

In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Mastermind Group Incredible asks Jeb Blount their real-life questions as he provides solutions to overcome their toughest sales challenges. Some of their questions include: standing out in a final round interview process, targeting and selling into larger accounts, losing to a competitor, and ways to contact hard-to-reach stakeholders on LinkedIn. Whether you’re a solopreneur, small business owner, sales professional, you’ll take away powerful strategies to advance your career, grow your business, or land your dream account.

• Small companies lose customers because they take them for granted and don’t address their concerns.
• To win big deals, put a wedge between the incumbent vendor and the customer and look for issues that can be addressed.
• Personalized service and attention are selling points for small companies managing accounts with larger competitors.
• The hardest thing to do when scaling a business is moving from where you are to the next place.
• To get big accounts, create a list of 10-25 dream accounts and target them specifically.
• When using LinkedIn, sending a voice message or using Vidyard for video messages can be effective.
• Layering on other parts of a messaging sequence, such as phone calls or handwritten notes, can increase effectiveness.
• Chat GPT can be a useful tool for writing proposals and creating sales messages, but it can also degrade the quality of written communication if used lazily.

Q: How Do I Stand Out In The Final Round Of The Interview Process?

To leave a lasting impression during a presentation in your final round of interviews, use a strategic approach. A useful tactic is to speak last, also known as the availability bias.

In a final presentation interview, demonstrating ROI is crucial, especially in today’s economy. Use a business case to showcase the value you bring. Start by discussing what you discovered during the discovery phase, the problems you faced, and the future state after your program is implemented. Highlight values that are important to individual stakeholders, like personal outcomes and emotional outcomes such as peace of mind and trust in the vendor. Be sure to make your case using business language, not just marketing brochures, and support it with math.

To provide a value framework, follow these steps: articulate the problem you discovered, make a recommendation to solve it, and describe the outcomes your recommendation will generate in terms of measurable business outcomes, personal outcomes, and emotional outcomes. Use the audience’s language and be specific. By following this structure, you’ll help the audience absorb information more effectively.

Q: How Do I start Targeting Larger Accounts?

Scaling up into larger businesses can be overwhelming, but the first step is to take action. While hitting singles may be easier, it’s important to pursue bigger opportunities to gain experience selling larger deals.

However, it’s also important to not overlook the value of smaller deals and to have a consistent pipeline of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. This helps de-risk your pipeline and income while providing opportunities for growth and a bigger income.

To reduce risk in your pipeline, it’s crucial to have strong qualifying mechanisms and a solid understanding of a potential client’s fit with your company. Identifying decision-making roles and stakeholders is also essential.

When pursuing a deal, it’s important to build an unassailable business case for why your company is the right choice. This involves mapping out every detail and identifying potential challenges and solutions.

Finally, use murder boarding to identify potential obstacles and develop strategies to overcome them. By the time of the final presentation, you should feel confident that the client has already made the decision to do business with you.

In summary, take action, carefully qualify leads, and focus on strategy for each deal. Surround yourself with knowledgeable individuals who can assist with awareness and strategy. With the right deals in your pipeline and discipline to work your strategy, success is achievable.

Q: Why Did We Lose To A Competitor?

Small companies often lose customers because they don’t value them enough. In fact, studies show that 70% of the time, when a loyal customer switches to another business, it’s because they felt unappreciated. Competitors use this as an opportunity to ask the right questions and find weaknesses in your business.

If they discover mistakes or billing issues, the buyer may become defensive and turn to the competition. As a smaller company, it can be difficult to save the deal when you have limited resources and other priorities. Meanwhile, the competitor has already done the math and convinced the stakeholder group to switch.

To win big deals, you need to create distance between the customer and the incumbent vendor. I recommend taking a course on Sales Group University called “competitive displacement selling” for guidance on how to do this. Start by assessing the strength of the incumbent vendor and look for ways to highlight any issues or concerns.

Personalized service is a selling point for small companies, especially when competing against larger competitors. However, don’t take your customers for granted. There are always salespeople waiting for you to slip up. Stay in touch with your customers, even if it’s just once a month, to show them that you care. If you do make mistakes, apologize and be patient. It may take time to earn back their trust.

Q: How Do I Get In Touch With A Hard-To-Reach Stakeholder?

Video Will Help You Stand Out From The Crowd

If you want to connect with a stakeholder and are struggling to capture their attention, there are a few steps you can take that will help you stand out. First, create a short video that explains how your skills or services can help them achieve their business goals.

You can upload the video directly to LinkedIn.

CEOs are primarily interested in making money, so be sure to emphasize how your approach can help them get from point A to point B.

Snail Mail Still Works

Next, follow up with a handwritten letter to their office.

Reiterate the same points you made in the video in a letter format. Put the letter in an envelope, add postage, and send it. To make it more impactful, consider using an overnight mail service like FedEx.

This way, when the CEO receives the envelope and sees that it’s important, they are more likely to read it. Handwritten notes are affordable and effective, so it’s worth incorporating them into your outreach strategy.

Focus On Building A Relationship Over Time

Avoid sending LinkedIn messages too frequently, but give yourself a year to engage with this person, as relationship-building is a long-term effort. Keep trying until you receive a definitive “no.”

Remember, circumstances can change, and they may need your services in the future. If that happens, it would be a significant win for you and worth the effort.

Hone Your Messaging With A Value Bridge

Another thing to keep in mind is the importance of checking your message.

If you’re not getting any engagement despite sending lots of content, people may lose interest. To grab their attention, start by showing that you can relate to them. Instead of beginning with something like, “Hey, I want to talk to you because…”, try starting with something like, “I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be the CEO of a software company in today’s world, where it’s hard to find people who can code at a high level.”

This approach instantly captures their attention and shows that you’re thinking about their specific situation.

After you’ve established a connection, make a value bridge that connects the problem or issue to how you can help them. For instance, you could say something like, “Here’s what I do in this situation – I help companies with this. I don’t know whether or not I’m a fit for you, but wouldn’t it at least make sense for us to get together so I can ask a few questions and learn more about you to see if it makes sense for us to keep talking?”

Leverage An Omni-Channel Approach With High Priority Accounts

Keep your goals in mind as you prioritize your outreach efforts. Identify a list of 10 to 25 dream accounts, which are your top priority prospects. Share this list with your team and start targeting them with a variety of tactics, such as monthly mailings. Adjust your plan every year as you learn what works and what doesn’t. It’s impossible to maintain the same level of intensity with every opportunity, so it’s essential to set priorities.

Consider incorporating other parts of the sequence, such as phone, voice, video, and written messages in addition to LinkedIn. Handwritten notes or in-person meetings can also be effective, especially if the people you’re reaching out to are local. In-person prospecting is making a comeback and people are generally receptive to it.

Join A Sales Gravy Mastermind Group

A Mastermind Group is a peer-to-peer mentoring group where individuals come together to help each other solve their problems and improve their lives or businesses. It is a powerful tool for personal and professional growth.

Sales Gravy Mastermind Groups are an excellent way to improve your sales skills, become a more effective leader, or solve problems. Our masterminds are facilitated by a Master Sales Trainer and include additional training resources to build on group discussions. You can learn more about Mastermind Groups and how they can help you reach your goals here.

Looking to go beyond a mastermind group and get one-to-one personalized coaching? Well, we have a free guide to help you identify the right coach for you. Download HERE