Mastering the Transition from Field to Virtual Selling [“Sales Shot” Workshop]
Mastering the Transition from Field to Virtual Selling
[“Sales Shot” Workshop]
Sales Pitch (SWIIFT)
5 Tips for Reps to Keep Selling During a Recession
When the economy gets shaky and buyers get nervous, we see meetings fall off calendars, and deals go dark. It can feel scary for sure – especially when we see our new hire classmates cut from the team.
Here are some tips to keep on keeping on selling during a recession.
Confirm and reconfirm all your meetings.
That includes getting cell phone numbers. Start with everything currently booked. Call and email them today to confirm and leave your cell number. Ask them to text and leave theirs. It’s OK to be honest. Try something like:
“Hey Ted, LB here. Looking forward to Tuesday and just want to confirm we’re still on. I’ve had a few folks literally disappear in the past month with this uncertain economy. VERY glad that’s not you. Listen, I’m going to leave my cell. Will you please be kind enough to return my call or pop over a text to confirm Tuesday at 11 Central? Thanks! It’s xxx-xxx-xxxx. One more time: xxx-xxx-xxxx. Talk soon.”
This move helps you keep the connects you have, shows concern, and gets you cell numbers. Winner! Do it for meetings you are setting up this week as well.
“OK, I’ll hit you back on Tuesday at 11. I’ll be ready to cover A, B, and especially C. Will you bring XYZ? I’m sending over a calendar invite to hold our place. It has a bridge, but I want you to have my mobile as well. My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx, can I grab yours?”
You won’t get it every time, but I’ll estimate 9 out of 10. Boom. No more going dark.
Reswizzle your value prop – in your messages, your posts, your pitches.
I stole this great tip from Doug Landis in our recent webinar, How To Build Pipeline And Keep Selling During A Recession. Nobody buys vitamins during a recession, they buy Advil. Truth is, my service of sales and leadership skills is definitely vitamins – the stuff that’s good for you we are supposed to take and tell our doctors we do…but isn’t usually prioritized. Yes, even though taking your vitamins helps you AVOID taking the hard stuff down the line, human nature is human nature. So if you’re normally plugging things like employee morale and retention, it’s time to restate.
Advil helps us avoid pain. Pain we’re already in. What does your product solve that fixes a pain? Uncertain times lead to fear buying (one word ya’ll: hand sanitizer. Wait, here’s another: toilet paper.) These memories are fresh. People stop buying anything that isn’t essential, doesn’t pull them out of pain, or won’t protect them from horrible recession-related risks. Find the Advil in your solution and lead with that.
(Watch LB’s tips on changing your value prop during a recession below)
Sort & call intelligently.
What industries aren’t suffering right now? Automotive is strong (have you SEEN prices!?), healthcare and insurance are always winners, banks are flush, who else? Buy a new list or pull the bottom of yours out and go long.
Remove risk however you can.
Can you highlight a cancellation clause? Payment terms? Low-cost trial? Nobody wants to be the guy who spent too much and trapped the company in a big spend if this whole situation gets worse. Help them see this purchase will deliver them from pain and not get them in trouble.
Talk longer.
Now is the time to build deeper relationships. When someone says they can’t buy now, don’t hang up the phone! Get to know them, their company, their situation, their partner! Sometimes the best you can do is build pipeline, so build the strongest damn pipe your manager has ever seen. That means rock-solid projections of how many, how much, when they can buy, and every step it will take in the purchasing process. Get it one step short of a signature and be best friends with everyone along the way so they can’t wait to sign.
We’re talking about asking more questions, building more rapport, showing more empathy, finding more contacts, going wide in the account. You should know every past competitor considered and why they failed, exactly how your solution will be used, the three purchases in line in front of you, the one guy who’s most doubtful. Getting the picture? About triple the info you normally have when you call it.
Remember…A recession or economic downturn is inevitable and also temporary. Do your future self a favor by staying positive and keeping momentum going so you’re ready to hit the ground running when things get back to “normal”!
WANT MORE RECESSION SELLING TIPS?
Join one of our upcoming Virtual Sales Training Masterclasses! We offer 4 different classes for BDRs, SDRs, ISRs, account executives, and account managers all focused on areas like prospecting, objection handling, running virtual sales demos, closing, and more!
How to Write Better Sales Emails: 12 Actionable Tips
Have you ever written a bland sales email that made you think: If I was the prospect, I’d delete this in a heartbeat?
Don’t lie. Because we’ve all done that.
Let’s face it: writing a sales email is HARD. In less than 100 words, you’ve got to do multiple things:
- Hook: Get the reader’s attention
- Add Value: Communicate your value prop clearly and concisely
- Rapport: Build trust with the prospect
- Drive to the Next Step: Convince the reader to follow your CTA
And worse: if you come across as trying too hard or being too sales-y, then you’ll end up in the trash.
Even if your organization has a solid sales process and your reps are great on the phone, sending an email to support your sales calls is an essential part of prospecting. So let’s walk through some tips to write better sales emails—and some templates that can get you started.
READ: Sales Outreach: How to Incorporate Emails and Phone Calls Into Your Sequences
What is the point of sales emails?
Before we dive into some stats, tactics, and strategies, let’s get one thing straight: sales outreach is simply a means to an end.
The end: getting the prospect to either hop on a call, or tell you they’re not interested.
If you aren’t achieving one of those two things, then you’re likely experiencing one of the following problems:
- You’re not targeting the right prospects
- You’re not capturing the prospect’s attention (either in the subject line or email opening)
- The prospect doesn’t trust you
- You’re not making your value prop clear
- There are no clear next steps for them to take
Here’s the thing: 72% of business professionals prefer email communication for back-and-forth interactions. So rather than write off email as a dead art form, let’s see about making those emails better and more effective.
Who should write sales emails: sales or marketing?
And this is where we get into an age-old debate: who should write sales emails? Sales or Marketing?
A lot of organizations prefer the marketing team to take care of this. But the main reason for this is that a lot of salespeople are bad at writing emails. Either because they aren’t gifted writers, or because they get so focused on a singular goal (e.g. pitching) that they come off as too aggressive or tunnel-visioned.
But although marketers typically have more experience writing emails, that doesn’t mean they can necessarily write one-to-one communications. Here are some of the reasons:
- Marketers struggle to write in the salesperson’s voice
- Marketing emails tend to lack one-to-one personalization and connection
- Marketers aren’t researching the individual prospects, so they don’t know how to tailor their message to the audience
So while salespeople should write their own emails, it’s a good idea to seek out advice from Marketing on how to do it well. Plus, this is a great way to generate more marketing-sales alignment.
Here are some ways your marketing team can help salespeople write better email outreach.
Buyer Personas & Prospect Psychology
A key part of any marketing strategy is creating buyer personas to better understand your target customer. These resources can help salespeople better understand how prospects think and tailor their message accordingly.
Data & Insights From Marketing Campaigns
Marketing campaigns create data. Sometimes this data shows that a campaign has worked well. Sometimes it shows that it’s flopped. Either way, this can be helpful in understanding which creative, copy, and other elements have been effective at drawing in your target buyer.
Key Messaging & Value Prop Statements
Remember how I said earlier that a sales email should clearly state your value prop?
Guess who’s spent months, perhaps years, researching and refining the best way to communicate that value? That’s right: the marketing team.
If something in your email isn’t hitting the right pain points, your marketing team can help you figure it out. Plus, if you’re wondering “what do I even say?” in your emails, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
Automation Expertise
Like it or not, your marketing team has (or should have) a ton of experience marketing key communications and messages. They know the pitfalls of batch sending a thousand emails a day (don’t do this) and how to avoid getting your email account suspended.
Don’t hesitate to rely on them for key insights and to help get started, especially if automation tools are new to you or your team.
Avoiding Tunnel Vision
Here’s the thing: salespeople can be aggressive. All we care about is selling product and getting people on calls, which is great.
But that often means that we have tunnel vision: we go into sales emails just focused on talking up the product and pushing people to get on a call. For prospects who’ve just heard about the company for the first time, this can be a bit concerning.
Having the marketing team (or anyone, really) look over the email can help you avoid some common pitfalls:
- Are you talking about the value, or features and functionality?
- Are you making your company the center of the email, or the prospect?
- Are you talking about what the prospect needs/wants, or what you want them to need/want?
Remember to keep your messaging SWIIFT. New to SWIIFT? Check it out here.
Getting an outside perspective can help you break out of the tunnel vision and craft a message that’s more likely to convert.
12 Actionable Tips to Craft Better Sales Emails
So although Marketing can help you improve your sales emails, you still have to sit down and write the darn things yourself. Here are 12 actionable tips that you can implement fairly easily, and will take your emails to the next level.
1. Target the Right Leads
This is the most important, but most people skip over it. Before you sit down to write an email, know exactly who you’re targeting, and make sure they’re actually a good fit. Otherwise, your stellar emails will fall on deaf ears.
2. Don’t Just “Set It and Forget It”
Automation enables salespeople to do outreach at scale. However, that doesn’t mean you should “set it and forget it.” Make sure you’re constantly reviewing your data, and making adjustments based on prospect responses (or lack thereof).
3. Keep Your Sales Emails Short and Sweet
Great sales emails are shorter than you probably think. Stick to 100 words or less (125 max). That seems daunting, but people aren’t going to read much more than that. So you may as well pack all your key info into that space!
4. Personalize Your Emails
Don’t just copy and paste and change the first name. Research the buyer and try to understand their situation and how you can help them do their job better. There’s no turn-off like a lazy salesperson!
5. Make Your Value Prop Clear
Always picture your prospect asking the question: why shouldn’t I delete this email? Because, let’s face it, that’s the default setting. Make the value you offer them crystal clear. Better yet, write in a way that makes it irresistible.
WATCH: Fast And Easy Ways To Speak Value With Your Prospects
6. Reference Your Competitors
This may seem counterintuitive, but remember that buyers today are more informed than ever. They know who your competitors are. So you may as well own the conversation and clearly state why you’re better than them.
7. Write a Catchy—but Not Gimmicky—-Subject Line
Your subject line is make or break. Including things like questions, curiosity-invoking statements, value props, and more. Of course, keep it short—60 characters or less. But avoid the gimmicks (e.g. “alert,” first name tags, etc.). Buyers today see right through those.
8. Craft an Irresistible Hook
The first five words determine whether the prospect reads your email. Are you hooking them and enticing them to keep reading? If not, write it again.
9. Use Video in a Smart Way
Emails that use video get a 96% higher CTR than those that don’t. Add in a personalized video to engage the prospect, build credibility, and even show off some of your personality.
WATCH: 7 Phone & Video Prospecting Tips for Sales Reps to Crush It
10. Close With a Question
The goal of an email is to keep the conversation going. So make sure your email is open-ended. Closing with a question is a great way to do this.
11. Include Important Links in Your Email Signature
Rather than load the body of your email with links to press articles, webinar recordings, case studies, social media, etc., use your email signature. That way, if the prospect wants to learn more, they’re in a non-intrusive place.
12. Make Incremental Improvements Based on Data
Without data, you really don’t know what’s working and what isn’t. Look at which subject lines, hooks, CTAs, etc. are getting the best responses. Then optimize all your emails to match.
Final Thoughts on Writing Effective Sales Emails
Writing effective sales emails isn’t a skill that reps develop overnight. It requires continual practice, and perhaps additional training and coaching. Keep at it, and remember – it’s all part of the process.
WANT MORE SALES TIPS TO OWN YOUR PROSPECTING?
Join one of our upcoming Virtual Sales Training Masterclasses! We offer 4 different classes for BDRs, SDRs, ISRs, account executives, and account managers all focused on areas like prospecting, objection handling, running virtual sales demos, closing, and more!
Beyond the Keyboard: Tips for Prospecting via Phone and Video [“Sales Shot” Workshop]
Beyond the Keyboard: Tips for Prospecting via Phone and Video
[“Sales Shot” Workshop]
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Human-Centered Communication [Digital Book]
Human-Centered Communication
[Digital Book]
What Is the SWIIFT Selling Methodology?
Every 2 years there’s a new airport sales book, am I right? The longer I’ve been around, the more I’ve watched them cycle through. Ask questions! No, share insights! Add value! Wait, actually challenge instead. I don’t think I’ve read one I find incorrect, but I’ve also never aspired to be an airport author.
To me, the methodology is always secondary to the process. Also, the sales methodology only addresses the decision-maker conversation, and in virtual selling, the conversation is less than half the battle.
I take pride that Factor 8 content helps sellers find the right people, capture new contacts, figure out who to call, how to get (and keep) their attention, and get a call back – and all of that is before conversation one! (and yes, you can buy a tool to help with nearly all of that, but trouble ensues when tools replace strategy – that’s a different blog).
All that said, we don’t have a sales call where we aren’t asked about our methodology, and this is fair. You don’t want us teaching your people something counter to your culture, your process, or your existing methodology.
So for the first time in 15 years, I’m finally defining Factor 8’s methodology. It’s called:
SWIIFT Selling
No, it isn’t a typo. SWIIFT stands for, “So, What’s In It For Them?” and it’s the opposite of WIIFM (“What’s In It For Me”, in case you needed help with that one 😉 ). And although nobody purposely teaches reps to use the WIIFM methodology, it’s what happens in sales calls when we don’t teach them not to.
If you’re unsure what I mean, check your inbox. 99.9% of sales messages are about the rep, the company, the product, and what they want.
“I wanted to check in with you to see if you were getting enough leads because my company is helping others get leads and we’re the leading provider of leads and we’re doing an event about leads…”
Enough!
This is what happens when we onboard reps with company and product information only. They go out and parrot that information. Instead, SWIIFT Selling teaches sellers to always first ask, “So, what’s in this call for them?” And to re-focus a message, a call, a value prop, or a call intro into one that leads with value for the customer.
If you’re thinking, “wait, I thought value-based selling is dead,” just try letting your 24-year-old rep lead with a challenge. Ouch! Also, SWIIFT Selling doesn’t mean it’s ONLY about value, it means we use value and customer centricity to get and keep attention for our discovery call and our product demo, and our closing call.
Of course, SWIIFT Selling also implies speed. Bingo! This is absolutely critical in virtual selling.
- If my email is too long OR all about me, we’re dead in the water.
- If my intro is too long or all about me, we’re dead in the water.
- If my discovery is too long or all about me, we’re dead in the water.
You know I could go on, right? Voicemails, value props, solution proposals, objection handling…
I can’t think of a single place where keeping our focus on speed and what the customer cares about hurts us in sales.
Wait, maybe there’s a book in this after all.
Wondering what customers care about? Watch our video on Factor 8’s SWIIFT Selling Six below!
Want more training on how to use the SWIIFT Selling Methodology?
Join one of our upcoming Virtual Sales Training Masterclasses! We offer different classes for BDRs, SDRs, ISRs, account executives, and account managers all focused on areas like prospecting, objection handling, running virtual sales demos, closing, and more!
5 Tips For Mastering Your SWIIFT Pitch
After reading the title, you may find yourself wondering “what even is a SWIIFT pitch?” A SWIIFT pitch is a modern-day phone sales version of an “elevator pitch.” This pitch allows potential customers to visualize what it would be like to work with you.
SWIIFT stands for: So What’s In It For Them?
So what’s it in for them? This is what you have to prove to the customer. A SWIIFT pitch can happen anywhere at anytime. However, it needs to answer these two questions:
- Who are you with?
- What do you do?
When answering these two questions in your SWIIFT pitch, you need to explain who you are and the value of what you do. This is the best way to grab their attention and get them to start listening.
Here’s how to master your SWIIFT pitch every time:
1. Keep it Short & Simple
A SWIIFT pitch is a clear, brief message or promotion about your brand or organization. So remember to keep it concise and to get your point across efficiently.
An effective SWIIFT pitch should only last between 10-15 seconds — after that, you’ll lose their attention. Remember this when you’re coming up with what to say. The easier to understand, the better!
2. Don’t Use Marketing Terms or Jargon
Using big marketing terms or jargon right off the bat is just confusing. It also causes customers to immediately put their defenses up because they know they are being given a sales pitch.
Use words that you know your potential customer will be familiar with and want to engage with.
3. Have 1-2 Memorized
Once you’ve come up with what to say during your SWIIFT pitch, have 1-2 memorized and ready at all times! A SWIIFT pitch can happen anywhere, so it’s important to always be prepared.
It’s also helpful to ask people in the office to share their SWIIFT pitches and you can share yours back. This will allow you to practice as if you were giving the real thing, and you can receive helpful feedback.
4. Remember To Sound Natural
Don’t sound rehearsed! Your potential customer doesn’t want to hear a pitch that sounds like you’re reading a script word-for-word. Go with the flow, and just have a regular conversation! If you mess up a few words, that’s totally fine.
As long as you are getting your point across (by answering the two questions) and reiterating the value to them — that’s all that matters.
5. Your Pitch Should Evolve Over Time
Once you feel you’ve mastered and memorized your SWIIFT pitch, use it during a real customer conversation. This will allow you to test it out and see if it works or not.
But, don’t forget — you’re pitch should continue to evolve and change over time. You can’t keep the same SWIIFT pitch for years, you’ll need to adjust it as necessary as you make more sales calls.
This is an important step in committing to ongoing self-improvement. You’ll want to continue to improve and revise your SWIIFT pitch over time to maximize its results.
But, How Do You Know Your SWIIFT Pitch Is Working?!
If your SWIIFT pitch is working, customers will likely stop what they’re doing and:
- Lean in and listen closely
- Want to know more
- Ask questions
If they brush off what you’re saying or have objections, you may want to reevaluate and adjust your pitch. Pay close attention to their reaction because it will likely tell you what’s working and what isn’t.
Want to learn more about mastering your SWIIFT pitch? Click below to download our free team training tool SWIIFTSM IN A BOX that gives step-by-step instructions on how to implement SWIIFTSM!
Fast and Easy Ways to Speak Value with Your Prospects [“Sales Shot” Workshop Recording]
Fast and Easy Ways to Speak Value with Your Prospects
[“Sales Shot” Workshop Recording]
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3 Quick and Easy Tips to Craft a Powerful Sales Pitch
IMPORTANT: Your Value Prop (aka Sales Pitch) and your Intro are very different things. If you’re using them together, take a stroll over to my post about the SWIIFT Intro. You’re welcome. 😉
Now, let’s talk about value propositions. Also called your elevator speech (when’s the last time you pitched in an elevator, am I right?), a hook, or a SWIIFT Pitch (if you’re a friend of Factor 8).
It’s the answer to, “Who are you with again?” or “What do you do?”
Most of us grabbed this from our marketing departments. This guarantees our response is about 10 seconds too long and contains at least three five-dollar words.
I’m not sure exactly where this works, but it sure as hell isn’t virtual sales. I mean, even on websites, how often are you half a page in and saying, “Um, WHAT?!”
If you drive a truck, you’re not the ‘Head of Mobile Logistics’. Just say you drive a freaking truck! How totally refreshing, right!?
Here are a few general rules for a great sales pitch:
- Make it focused on what you do for other people (So What’s In It For Them? = SWIIFT). Because, ”I help people sell their goods online” sounds SO much better than, “I sell services so that I can make more commission.”
TIP: Try starting with, “We help people” or “We help companies”
- If your Grandma wouldn’t understand it, simplify it. Acronyms, jargon, and five-dollar marketing words need to be ditched. Remember, you’re trying to get people to talk to you, not to smile, nod, and vacate. This isn’t about you feeling important, it’s about them feeling comfortable, get it?
- If you wouldn’t say it after three drinks at your High School reunion, revise it. Again, if your marketing department wrote your sales pitch, you’re in danger here. Imagine bumping into your old locker mate and them asking, “What are you up to these days?” Sure, you want to feel successful, but they aren’t a potential customer. Just be real, okay?
Finally, pitch until they ask. If your value prop feels like your last name in your delivery, it’s like forcing your business card into strangers’ hands on the subway. The best time to deliver the pitch is when someone says, “Wait, I”m sorry, who is this again?” NOW they’re listening! Lay it on them and then ask a question!
Need help improving your sales pitch?
Join one of our upcoming Virtual Sales Training Masterclasses! We offer 4 different classes for BDRs, SDRs, ISRs, account executives, and account managers all focused on areas like prospecting, objection handling, running virtual sales demos, closing, and more!
SWIIFT Intro Training In A Box [Guide]
SWIIFT Intro Training In A Box
[Guide]