Basics are Boring

The Lead - Basics are Boring

As I work with more and more companies, I’m finding a significant disconnect between what people think they need and what they actually need. Often times we aren’t able to take a step back and objectively review the situation we find ourselves in. It’s easier to see symptoms, rather than underlying issues.

The most obvious example goes something like this:

“We need more leads”

What you’re really in search of is more closed deals, and the perception is that more leads will solve the issue. If we’re not very good at closing the leads we have though, more leads will have minimal effect at solving our real challenge.

As unsexy as it is, increasing results comes down to the basics more often that not. Sure there are instances where dramatic course correction is needed. But that’s rarely the place to start.

When results aren’t going your way, take a step back. Before you blow up the whole thing, or invest massive amounts of money into a new solution, let’s take a look at what’s going on.

Process - Hopefully I’m stating the obvious when I say you should have a repeatable process. It’s critically important to have the stages and steps of your process clearly defined and tracked. The first thing I would examine is where we’re losing people in the process. When a lead comes in, are we getting a conversation booked? What happens after a discovery call? Is there a clear next step? Do people fall out of the funnel? Chances are the boat is leaking somewhere and we need to identify where.

Connecting Problems to Solutions - Discovery in the sales process is critical. You’ll hear me get on my soapbox plenty about this. When you are talking to a prospect, how much of the conversation is centered around you and your service vs. your prospect and their challenges? I’ll do a full newsletter, probably a course or something about discovery. The reality is, if your sales calls are a pitch then you’re losing people. Inbound or outbound leads, doesn’t matter. Ask more questions.

Follow Up - This tends to be an issue of quantity and/or quality. A lot of great salespeople aren’t the best at the details, and follow up is the definition of “details”. If someone says “follow up with me in a week”, you have to do it. A story I tell frequently is about a door to door salesman that came through our neighborhood last year selling gutters. We had a good conversation, and I was interested in gutter guard installation. We were about two weeks away from welcoming our third child, and so I asked that he follow up in a a month or so. Did he? No. The hard part is the door knocking! It shouldn’t be the follow up!

In my experience, the answer to low performance tends to land in one of those buckets. Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day that we find ourselves repeating the same patterns. We do things that feel comfortable for us. Taking a step back and critically thinking about the approach can be revealing.

A few questions you might ask yourself:

• How easy is it for someone to work with us?
• Do we really understand our prospects pain points in the sales process?
• Are we losing momentum at any point?
• Do we make next steps clear?
• Do our prospects have confidence we can solve their problems?

At the risk of losing the majority of you, I’ll use a golf analogy and I promise it won’t be the last one so apologies in advance.

If you’re playing poorly, you might think to yourself “If I just had some new clubs, I would play much better”

Now listen, getting a new set of golf clubs is great. But if your swing stinks, they won’t make much of a difference (I know this firsthand). It’s the same bad swing with different equipment. You end up wasting a lot of money and find yourself still frustrated.

What makes sales (and golf) so challenging is the amount of variables at play. Getting the basics right often isn’t all that exciting, but it’s essential.

Introducing “Fireside Chats”

Over 7 years in the industry I’ve gotten to know a lot of awesome people. These relationships are a big part of why I love being in this space. I think the best salespeople are always trying to learn and get better.

The idea behind Fireside Chats is to talk with people I admire, respect, and want to learn from. I hope these conversations help extract new ways for sales pros to level up their game.

So the first edition is officially live, with my good friend Eric Beckman. I thought it would be fun to connect with Eric as he just wrapped up a successful run at LeadSimple and prepares for his next chapter. He’s a genuine guy, who emphasizes building relationships. I know you’ll take something away from this one.