The Case for Connecting

How do salespeople execute their sales process competencies if they are unable to make successful connections? I’m referring to people-to-people connections with potential high-value influencers. How does a salesperson access and engage a decision-maker, or other key player to champion their cause?

Within our client base there are many different kinds of selling roles. It is interesting that best practice selling skill sets seem to apply across the sales role spectrum. In each area, the ability for the salesperson to connect is crucial.

Skills applicable to the inside salesperson are just as critical to an outside or, direct rep, as well as for the high-end, global account salesperson. This discussion will focus on what most organizations refer to as inside, or telesales. It's understood that different organizations may use a variation of the label or title, so a little latitude, please.

In the marketplace the introduction of a hot, disruptive new offering sounds fun, right? It is. But success is elusive if you can’t get anyone to listen to your story. It’s pretty important in any business that those in a customer-facing role be capable of articulating the corporate message in a factual manner. However, it falls on the shoulders of a salesperson to initiate a conversational dialogue. These result in connections.

Inside sales, or telesales pros, catch a lot of grief for a variety of reasons. Some are fair and some are not. The good ones, though, are a huge value to any selling organization. Along with the marketing department, they are the real tips of the revenue spear. They have the ability to transfer a specialized message, causing a potential prospect to form a mental “maybe,” or “what if” question in their mind.

Think about it. In the outbound prospecting role, there’s that whole primeval hunting thing. The savvy seller is searching from a potential candidate pool from which personal connections must be established. The seller must be capable of multi-tasking, concurrently qualifying or disqualifying potential candidates.

The crucial, initial encounter must be meaningful enough that the seller is allowed the opportunity to share a compelling story with a potential customer (who, by the way, is often a complete stranger).
In a perfectly executed scenario that “stranger”  become engaged and wants to learn more. A personal connection has been made, a next action activity scheduled, or perhaps it's a one-call close. For salespeople it’s the power of the connection. Considering that this scenario sometimes is initiated with a very short, succinct phone conversation, the outcome can be amazing!

But wait, there’s more! (Pun is intended) the seller must also be agile, responsive and immediately helpful if the initial encounter was from an unsolicited, inbound caller. This “prospect” may be shopping information. They can be time-killers if the seller is not careful. Earlier the term “disqualification” came up.  We know many inbound callers have already educated themselves to some degree via the web. The seller’s skill here is to very quickly qualify or, disqualify the caller.

If this is a legitimate inbound inquiry, and I'm the salesperson, I must quickly grasp the caller’s existing perspective and then help them expand that view.  This can cause the prospect to now consider our own unique offering, or differentiator, as viable solutions.

Ideally, that initial connection serves as a birthplace for ideas a prospect hadn’t yet considered. This may also be an opportunity for a seller to set a competitive trap. Change the evaluation rules by asking the prospect to add the seller’s unique differentiator to the buyer's evaluation criteria. This won’t be accomplished unless a meaningful connection has been established between a salesperson and a potential buyer.

It’s interesting that in some (not all) organizations, the inside salesperson isn't afforded the same  status as the traditional direct or installed account rep. I don’t understand this. The inside sales group is often used as the training ground for field-based salespeople. Maybe that paradigm should be reversed. See how that plays out.

OK, bad idea. But if the inside sales team is a viable mechanism for professional development and provides significant revenue stream for a lot of companies, then let's give them their props.  These professional salespeople are part of the corporate treasure chest. The salesperson skilled at making good connections is shaping your customer’s buying experience. Treat them like gold bullion. Don’t let them get away from you.