Marginalized Voices, Meaningful Work and Canadian Kindness - The 411, June 9th
Tips for Closing, Working Remotely and Talking to Your ICP
Heyo,
Out of respect for the Black Lives Matter movement, there was no newsletter last week. I sincerely hope the current momentum leads to real and lasting change. It’s long overdue.
As a rule, I try to be intentional each week about including links from BIPOC and women whenever possible. Though, frankly, sales remains a largely white, male-dominated profession. When you come across names that should be better known, please send them my way.
As the RemoteDials community continues to grow, we’ll continue to do what we can to amplify marginalized voices and create an inclusive space for all remote sales professionals.
With that, here’s this week’s 411.
Four Links
This Thrive Global interview with Kevin “KD” Dorsey is pure gold.
A bit slow in the beginning, but once the sales tips start, they just keep coming.
On prospecting, KD is all about building scripts by learning how customers talk. These are the questions to ask:
Why did you buy?
What problem were you hoping to solve?
Why did you almost not buy/What were you afraid of?
Walk me through your buying process. Who got involved, when, and why?
What’s your favorite part of the product?
What has changed the most since you’ve purchased?
What are the best ways to get in touch with people like yourself?
On objection handling, he’s all about “8-Miling,” a technique that’s all about getting ahead of objections by calling them out before your prospect has a chance to, like Eminem in that epic rap battle at the end of 8 Mile. This allows you to control the story, add your own spin and leave ‘em speechless.
Finally, five quick tips on closing:
Pinpoint problems. Closing problems always begin with weak discovery.
Don’t phone in follow ups. Always loop back to the problems you discovered. “Ask questions that get the prospect to state the benefit.”
“Never provide the price to someone that doesn’t want what you have and can’t tell you why they want it.”
Don’t stop selling at the price. Justify it by looping back to the problem.
Ask directly for the business. Seems simple, but often overlooked.
He also recently wrote a short piece with his thoughts on the recent events related to racism that everyone should read: “I am strong, but I am tired…”
2. Finding Meaning In What You Do
Between the global pandemic, economic crisis and racism protests, work can seem rather empty and meaningless right now. It’s easy to feel distracted, depressed and overwhelmed.
Honestly, I’ve been struggling. Perhaps you have too?
In this post, Frank Martela and Derin Kent share some helpful tips like:
Focusing on the task at hand, no matter how small it might seem.
Thinking about ways you can improve the situation for yourself, your colleagues and your community.
Reframing how you think about your work. Hitting quota keeps the lights on and families fed.
Figuring out how to put your unique skills to work to help solve the new problems everyone’s facing.
If you’ve lost your job, figure out how to use this moment to take a step toward a more meaningful future. Use this time to figure out what you want and focus on what matters.
When you look back on this time, make sure you can say that it meant something. Make sure you can say that what you did mattered.
3. Why Remote Work is Hard and How It Can Be Fixed
When Cal Newport writes something, it’s almost always worth reading. If you’re interested in the history of remote work and the challenges that remain, check out the full piece.
On the practical advice side of things, some suggestions:
Set aside a chunk of time for all calls and meetings to avoid constant distractions and ensure you have uninterrupted time each day to get shit done.
Use Calendly or Acuity to book appointments and minimize the scheduling back and forth.
Try “time blocking” your schedule by setting aside chunks of time for specific tasks rather than going based off to-do lists, appointments and incoming messages.
On an organization level, Newport suggests:
Using software like Trello, Microsoft Flow or Asana to better manage projects
Using software like Clockwise to batch meetings and preserve as much uninterrupted time as possible
Having workers hold “office hours” where they make themselves available for any unscheduled calls or requests, a strategy Basecamp uses
4. Talking to the Right Person Matters More Than You Think
In this quick LinkedIn post, Andrew Paine, VP of Revenue at Agworld, shares some stats on the importance of lasering in on your ideal customer.
When engaging with their ICP, tops reps closed at 29%, bottom reps at 14%. Outside of their ICP, top reps closed at 5%, bottom reps at 2%.
In other words, “our worst sellers talking to the right people were almost THREE TIMES better at closing than our best reps when they talked to the wrong people.”
Finding the right fit is the game.
One Job Posting
Hate going to the dentist? Opencare is on a mission to change that.
They’re urgently looking for a BDR to join their awesome sales team.
Contract position. Top-tier investors. Net Promoter Score better than Netflix. Growth mindset, self-awareness, and six months experience as a BDR or SDR required.
One Quote to Keep You Going
This week’s quote comes courtesy of the Canadian government, who shared these principles for working remotely during Covid-19:
You are not “working from home,” you are “at your home, during a crisis, trying to work”
Your personal, mental, and emotional health is far more important than anything else right now.
You should not try to compensate for lost productivity by working longer hours.
You will be kind to yourself and not judge how you are coping based on how you see others coping.
You will be kind to others and not judge how they are coping based on how you are coping.
Your team’s success will not be measured the same way it was when things were normal.
Now you know,
Steele
PS. Alvin gave the job board a quick makeover. Take a look and check out the most recent postings.