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MassChallenge / Skolkovo Super League

Rishi Dean | @rishidean

Connection-based selling Sep 9, 2014

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Sales is the life of your company

§  Raising outside investment only gives you the ability to play the game

§  Selling is how you earn your living, and determines whether your company succeeds or fails

§  Selling is different from sales management

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People buy from people

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We buy from people we trust

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§  We trust people with a common world view §  We trust people who listen and understand §  We trust people who want the best for us

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We decide emotionally, and then rationalize logically

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It’s biological, not cultural

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Must appeal to both the “elephant” & “rider” to make change

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Rational

§  Price §  Quality §  Speed §  Features §  Reliability

§  Aspiration §  Beauty §  Safety / Security §  Nostalgia §  Fairness §  Control §  Fame §  Fear of loss

Emotional

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Make the buyer feel like a hero

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Connection-based selling

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1.  You need give people a reason to care (cut through the noise) 2.  People need a reason to change (pleasure seeking / pain avoidance) 3.  Product is in the customer's mind (vision match) 4.  Emotional decisions with logical justifications (what's in it for me?) 5.  Can't sell to someone who can't buy

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Connection-based selling framework

Personal §  Learn about the buyer as a person §  Figure out their underlying business issue §  Uncover the buyer’s pains & aspirations

Valuable §  Connecting solution to business issue §  Quantifying the value proposition (rational) §  Making it meaningful for them personally (emotional)

Credible §  Supporting your claims (e.g. references, benchmarks) §  Handling objections §  Make your buyer a champion to their stakeholders

Clear §  Determine the decision-making landscape §  Develop a shared plan and definitive next steps

Hook §  Start with the “WHY” to spark interest and gain the

opportunity to sell

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hook Watch video

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The Golden Circle

Watch video

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personal 2

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Understanding your buyer

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1.  What is their role / responsibility in the organization? 2.  Who do they report to? 3.  What trying to achieve? How are they compensated?

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Uncover the business issue (don’t assume)

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1)  Time to market §  Funding or resources too low §  Lack of expertise

2)  Cost management §  Redundant or manual processes §  Not understanding variable cost contributors

3)  Reliability & Quality §  Excessive complexity §  Lack of testing

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Ask questions to uncover the business issue

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Open

§  Shows the client you're interested

§  Helps you understand their perspective

§  "Can you tell me about...", "Why is...", "Tell me more...”

Probe

§  Shows you have a good understanding of the problem

§  Uncover more specific needs

Confirm

§  Shows you understand their paradigm

§  Playback / confirm

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valuable 3

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Connecting your solution to buyers’ issues

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1.  Ask "WHY" to elevate the discussion of business issues and any unrecognized problems

2.  Probe to steer toward problems you can uniquely solve and 3.  Frame the solution around their point of view 4.  Quantify the value proposition / outcome 5.  Make it personally rewarding for the buyer to solve this problem

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Ask questions to determine value

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Open

§  What is it worth to you?

§  How would you measure the payoff?

§  What will having this do for you?

§  How does this impact you personally?

Probe

§  Have you considered how this relates to cost management or revenue?

§  Can you give me an idea of how big this issue is?

Confirm

§  Is this enough for you to buy?

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credible 4

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Remove uncertainties with external support

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1)  How will you support your claims? §  Case studies & customer references §  Benchmarks §  Awards, media, PR §  Relationships, “halo effect”, (investors, advisors, academics)

2)  Overcome key risks and objections 3)  Make your buyer a champion to their stakeholders

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clear 5

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Assess both sides of the power balance

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§  Power in the buyer to make a decision §  Power in the sales person to allocate resources and

time to an opportunity

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Mapping the decision making landscape

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§  Who else is involved in this decision?

§  Who else is impacted by this decision?

§  Once this decision is made, who signs the paperwork?

§  Who can veto this decision?

§  If you had to get more funding, who would you go to?

buyer

influencer

user

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Develop a mutual plan for next steps

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§  Ask for access to decision makers §  Develop a “reverse timeline” working backward from

success §  Work together to fill in missing steps §  Avoid scope creep by asking for something in return

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Other factors for successful outcomes

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§  Respect time and deadlines §  Show empathy §  Know their business §  Shared understanding §  Deliver on what you promise

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Personal §  List 3 things you know about the prospect §  What are their roles / responsibilities §  What are they struggling with §  What do they personally want to achieve

Valuable §  How does your solution connect to their

business issue §  What is it worth to them / How does this

impact their business §  How would you measure the payoff §  What does it mean for them personally

Credible §  What support (e.g. customer references,

benchmarks) can you use to support your claims

§  How may the prospect use this to be a champion for you

Clear §  Who are the other decision makers §  Who are the other stakeholders in this

decision, who are the users, who can veto §  What is your mutual plan and next steps

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Hook §  What is your “WHY” | “HOW” | “WHAT”

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