How to Stay Optimistic, Handle Objections and Talk About Budget - The 411, July 28th
Plus the five levels of autonomy for remote work.
Heyo,
I just finished reading Jacqueline Novogratz’s Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, a remarkably good book about making a better world.
I’m always amazed by what a good book can do.
Lift us up. Renew our faith. Inspire us to do better.
When you’re not sure where to turn, reach for a good book.
But first, here’s another edition of the 411.
Four Links
2020’s been a doozy. If you’re not feeling it, I feel you.
And so does Trevor McKendrick, the guy who wrote this manifesto on optimism (though he wrote it before he knew what a shitstorm this year would be).
Worth checking out the whole list, but my five faves:
2) Do something today instead of daydreaming about tomorrow.
4) Keep promises to yourself, no matter how small.
6) Choose carefully the stories you tell yourself about who you are and what you’re capable of.
13) Pay for the drive thru order of the car behind you.
14) Recognize problems as temporary and specific, not permanent and expansive.
2. 5 Tips for Handling Objections
Scott Barker’s newsletter continues to be reliably good.
Loved these tips on dealing with objections, which are from Josh Braun and based on techniques from Chris Voss.
“You don’t overcome objections. You understand them.
Here’s how:
Pause (this will feel uncomfortable at first)
Mirror (repeat the last 1-2 words that they say, then pause again, this will get them to open up more about the problem)
Label (label how you think they may be feeling ie “it sounds like…”)
Accusations Audit (test your assumption of how you think they are feeling about you ie. “you probably think I’m just like every annoying salesperson…”)
Calibrated Questions (get them to serve you the answer ie “hmm how do you think I could do that?”)”
3. When to Talk Price and Budget
Devin Reed is at it again with Gong data on when to talk budget and pricing.
The magic time? ¾ of the way into the first call. “Build your value prop, then move to price.”
Same goes for budget. Put the B in BANT on the first call.
Bottom line: “The longer a sales rep waits to bring up pricing, the less chance they have of winning the deal.”
4. Distributed Work’s Five Levels of Autonomy
Nothing super actionable here, but I really enjoyed this Matt Mullenweg post on the different levels of remote work that companies must try to ascend.
The pandemic has forced many companies to experiment with remote work that otherwise wouldn’t have. But many are still struggling to take full advantage of the potential benefits.
A few of the keys:
Move to asynchronous processes
More written communication, fewer real-time meetings
Give people agency to accomplish their work their way
Evaluate people’s work on what they produce, not how or when they produce it
It’ll be interesting to see who figures remote work out, who goes back to the office as soon as possible, and who wins in the long run.
One Job Posting
Process Street is a no-code tool that helps teams manage and automate workflows.
Fully remote team. Big name investors and customers. And their marketing team is driving thousands of inbound leads a month.
They’re looking for an AE who knows how to learn fast, build relationships and close opportunities.
One Quote to Keep You Going
“Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.” - Brené Brown, Rising Strong
Here’s a question worth asking: How can you be more vulnerable in your sales process? More open? More forthcoming? More human?
I find that the more vulnerable I’m able to be, the stronger my relationships become.
Now you know,
Steele
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