Richard Smith’s Post

So many salespeople tell me “I close deals by building trust” I bring out my stoney face and look them in the eye. “Bullsh#t” I retort. You cannot build trust before someone buys from you the first time, because you have not yet done what you say you are going to do. The buyer is taking the “leap of faith”. One way to close more deals is how you help them take that leap of faith. Starting September 17th I am running a “close more deals” challenge for individuals and teams. You can be a solopreneur or start up, or you can have a sales team of forty. You are invited to join me for this first of a kind event. Over three high impact sessions, you will learn how to close deals in 2024 in a way that is not “salesey” that does not require manipulation or high-pressure old-school closing. It is a close that flows, that has you feeling confident and the buyer inspired to take action. Want to close more deals? Joining the close more deals challenge Link for more information and to register in comments ------------- Hi I’m Martin ☆ YOUR Sales Accelerator ⇰ I help YOU to increase YOUR sales within 48 hours and YOUR sales team crushing it within 6 weeks. Ask me about my skin in the game guarantee - I will help you generate more sales, or you pay NOTHING If you liked this post and would like to see more… Ring the 🔔 on my profile to receive ALL or Most Relevant content directly in your LinkedIn Notifications. Click #MartinEade to review all my published content - in one place.

So many salespeople tell me “I close deals by building trust” I bring out my stoney face and look them in the eye. “Bullsh#t” I retort. You cannot build trust before someone buys from you the first time, because you have not yet done what you say you are going to do. The buyer is taking the “leap of faith”. One way to close more deals is how you help them take that leap of faith. Starting September 17th I am running a “close more deals” challenge for individuals and teams. You can be a solopreneur or start up, or you can have a sales team of forty. You are invited to join me for this first of a kind event. Over three high impact sessions, you will learn how to close deals in 2024 in a way that is not “salesey” that does not require manipulation or high-pressure old-school closing. It is a close that flows, that has you feeling confident and the buyer inspired to take action. Want to close more deals? Joining the close more deals challenge Link for more information and to register in comments ------------- Hi I’m Martin ☆ YOUR Sales Accelerator ⇰ I help YOU to increase YOUR sales within 48 hours and YOUR sales team crushing it within 6 weeks. Ask me about my skin in the game guarantee - I will help you generate more sales, or you pay NOTHING If you liked this post and would like to see more… Ring the 🔔 on my profile to receive ALL or Most Relevant content directly in your LinkedIn Notifications. Click #MartinEade to review all my published content - in one place.

Say goodbye to the sales pitch. Why? Because no one likes being sold to. The truth is, people do not buy goods and services. They buy the outcome that the good or service will give them. The best salespeople know that. They lead with insight, not a pitch. Here's how you can lead with insight: 1. Understand your prospect's problem. 2. Show how your solution solves their problem. 3. Explain the benefits, not features, of your solution. 4. Prove it works with social proof. The bottom line? Leading with insight will help you ethically generate more leads, close more deals and take a huge stride towards sustainable sales growth. Ready to upgrade your sales process?

Beginner: "I sent out 50 cold DMs today." Pro: "I closed a deal with a tough prospect." Expert: "I turned a cold lead into a raving fan who now refers us to others." Sales isn’t a numbers game or just closing a deal. It’s about the relationship you build with prospects. When people see you as a trusted advisor—not just another person with an offer—they’ll: → Pay you willingly [ Premium Money ] → Stay loyal to your brand → Send more clients your way [ Easy selling ] Focus on building relationships, and the deals will follow. Every. Single. Time. Post Inspired by: Brandon Fluharty

"When prospecting go for the appointment" - Sandler Rule 29 underscores the need to prioritize relationship-building over immediate sales pitches. Like dating, prospecting requires patience and gradual progression. Rather than attempting to close a deal upfront, focus on piquing interest and securing a follow-up appointment. This approach establishes a foundation for deeper conversations and meaningful connections. By reframing prospecting as an opportunity to gain more time rather than make instant sales, you alleviate pressure and set realistic expectations. Share this strategy with your sales team to optimize prospecting efforts and maximize appointment conversions. Check out our upcoming Sales Essentials 2-Day Boot Camp if you want to learn how to apply strategies and techniques like this in your selling environment: https://lnkd.in/dhGA3z8k

Most people completely mess up their sales pitch. They get on a demo call and immediately start talking about their product: "Here’s what we do, here’s how it works, here’s why it’s great." And what happens? The prospect nods along, says, “Sounds interesting, let me think about it,” and then disappears. How to pitch the right way Instead of diving straight into your product, start by showing them why they’re stuck in the first place. Most people in your situation try [XYZ common solution]. But that leads to [new problem]. Which then causes [bigger consequence]. This makes them think: "Damn, that’s exactly what’s been happening to me." Then, go even deeper: Why have they failed in the past? Why is your approach different from everything they’ve tried? If they’ve already tried your method before, why didn’t it work then, and why will it work now? By doing this, you’re not just pitching your product, you’re positioning it as the only logical solution to their problem. You’re bridging the gap between where they are and where they want to be. And once they see that path clearly, you’ve already closed the deal. No need for pushy sales tactics. They’ll want to move forward on their own. Most people sell by listing benefits. The best salespeople sell by making the prospect feel like there’s no other option but to move forward.

Sales is an iterative people process - the more you call, the more you grow! And once you find your flow, thats the best feeling in the world ❤️ 📞 Kudos to Rita and team for falling down the rabbit hole ✌️ During the fall I had the privilege to (again) coach aspiring intrapreneurs in sales, cold calling, customer strategies and pitching as part of Scania Groups Innovation Factory. With a personal affinity for customer driven development, ive always advocated direct interaction with people, and that means getting on that phone - its crazy how often that is overlooked in business development these days 🫤 🥜 Nothing. Absolutely nothing, gives fills me with more pride than getting tagged in posts like this, seeing how the that interaction catches on. I get energy from cold calling - love being in that "zone" - so naturally I want to spread that joy (tis the season 🎄) Thank you to Linda and Haider for keeping the innovation going - looking forward to even more cold cals next year 🌟 #nilssoderstrom #pitch #coldcall #sales #innovation

“Between 40 percent and 60 percent of our deals end up stalled in no decision limbo” That’s a direct quote from the extensive research conducted by Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna, but; What do you when you find yourself in those situations where the prospect is continually stalling or worse yet; They’ve “ghosted” you? On June 21st we’re going to explore; Why this happens What you can do to reduce the probability of this happening What you can do if you’re dealing with an “undecided prospect”. And let’s not forget about how to handle that “ghosting” thing! Here’s what you’ll take away from this webinar; * 5 Prospecting Tactics That Reduce Indecision Later In The Sales Cycle * The 5 Reasons Behind Indecision and 10 Things You Can Do About It * 4 Things To Do Once You Set The Appointment That Will Create * Urgency, Reduce No-Shows, and Set The Tone For A Smoother Sale * The 5 Things To Ask Your Champion To Do * The One Stakeholder That MUST Be Identified and Satisfied Even When They AREN’T The Lead * How To Keep Your Deals Moving Forward and An Early Warning System To Identify The Moment When Your Deal Might Be In Trouble * 3 Ways To Increase The Probability Of A Response If You’ve Been “Ghosted” *  A 10 Point Follow-Up Sequence Complete With Templates and Scripts And None Of That “Calling To Check In” Stuff I’ll put the link to the rest of the details in the comments.

“Between 40 percent and 60 percent of our deals end up stalled in no decision limbo” That’s a direct quote from the extensive research conducted by Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna, but; What do you when you find yourself in those situations where the prospect is continually stalling or worse yet; They’ve “ghosted” you? On June 21st we’re going to explore; Why this happens What you can do to reduce the probability of this happening What you can do if you’re dealing with an “undecided prospect”. And let’s not forget about how to handle that “ghosting” thing! Here’s what you’ll take away from this webinar; * 5 Prospecting Tactics That Reduce Indecision Later In The Sales Cycle * The 5 Reasons Behind Indecision and 10 Things You Can Do About It * 4 Things To Do Once You Set The Appointment That Will Create Urgency, Reduce No-Shows, and Set The Tone For A Smoother Sale * The 5 Things To Ask Your Champion To Do * The One Stakeholder That MUST Be Identified and Satisfied Even When They AREN’T The Lead * How To Keep Your Deals Moving Forward and An Early Warning System To Identify The Moment When Your Deal Might Be In Trouble * 3 Ways To Increase The Probability Of A Response If You’ve Been “Ghosted” *  A 10 Point Follow-Up Sequence Complete With Templates and Scripts And None Of That “Calling To Check In” Stuff I’ll put the link to the rest of the details in the comments.

Deals dragging out towards the finish line? There’s something (besides multi-threading) you can do, even if you’re at the 1-yard line. It’s no secret to anyone in B2B sales that an increasing percentage of deals have to get approved “by committee“ these days. Sometimes this is an actual, bespoke, formed buying committee, but often it is far more nebulous and potentially nefarious. Scenario: It’s the 11th hour, and you’ve been crushing it. You’ve done all your homework, the business case is super strong, and you’re lining up legal and project teams because you’ve gotten all your verbals. Then….nothing. Your prospect goes quiet. Too quiet. Like as a parent, when you suddenly realize you don’t hear your kids playing in the other room quiet. So you try to stay cool; you do some reach outs, maybe you have your exec ping their exec, maybe you even get some reassuring (but unfulfilling) replies, like “We’re in good shape, we’re just going through our internal processes.“ Cue your mounting panic. Then finally your champion comes back to you with something along the lines of “Everything looks good; we just need [stakeholder that you’ve never heard of, who was never part of the process at all until now, despite your Perry-Mason-worthy DM mapping process] to take a look and sign off.” Bam. You’ve just learned that your project sign-off is now part of a new or expanded committee. (And YES, this actually happened to me.) Most sales gurus would say at this point you need to multi-thread more, and better luck next time. The thing is, sometimes it even comes as a surprise to your champion, especially if your prospect’s organization has never implemented a solution like yours before. Which means multi-threading more wouldn’t have helped you. Instead, you need to diversify the messaging around your solution’s benefits. I call it the Diamond Value Prop. And tomorrow I’ll tell you more about what it is, how to forge your own. Stay tuned. 💎