Dec 8, 2021
Welcome back to the Catapulting Commissions Podcast with your host, Anthony Garica. This week, we’re sitting down with Lon Graham, a sales veteran with more than 25 years of sales experience. Using a logical approach to storytelling that combines inspiration with action, Lon will help your team get the sales they want by clearing up confusion and creating real connections.
The old mentality of hardcore, in-your-face sales, is on its way out. It’s less about “always be closing” and more about adapting to what your client needs. You want to continue to work with this client, so you have to get a good understanding of what you can do to help advance their work together.
This is a trust game–and it takes doing the work researching your client’s business to help accelerate the trust process. Be interested enough to be able to communicate how your product or service fits into what they do. You want to establish credibility with them, and you have to believe you can. In an industry with such high turnover, it can be hard for businesses to offer that trust–they don’t even know if you’ll be back.
There are a few questions that Lon feels are important when working with a new client. First, find out what they feel they are good at–this will point you in the direction they are facing and understand what they focus on. Second, what is their ideal client? Finally, ask them for a moment where they felt validated and the “this is why I do this” feeling arose. When they dip into those memories, it’s energizing and they’ll want you back.
It’s crucial to make sure you’re on the same page as your client. It’s as simple as allowing them time to process what you’re saying and finding moments to ask “does this make sense?” Have confidence enough to say “I don’t know” if you don’t. It shows that you want to give them the right answer and allows you to see them again with the information they want to be presented.
You have to hire to fit your culture. That’s the first step to combating that high turnover rate. Spend the time necessary to really understand who you’re hiring for what position. Secondly, remove as many barriers from your sales team as possible. The more admin work they have to do, the more “in the way” things are from making a living. And always offer recognition!
longraham.com
Lon Graham on LinkedIn