Have your salespeople’s communications with prospects become bland and robotic? The four June episodes of the INSIDE Inside Sales Podcast are about being human and personalizing a refined message to better connect with buyers. Send this link to your team as recommended listening (or reading) for a kickstart of inspiration.
Ep 29: The Power of Language – What We Say Matters
Episode 29 of INSIDE Inside Sales features my special guest Shiera O’Brien, Managing Director of Sales Matrix Ltd, and a trained linguist and interpreter. Upon our introduction at a recent event, she surprised me by quickly recognizing my Canadian accent. It’s not very pronounced, so learning that she is a linguist was no surprise.
In the podcast interview, we talked about the specifics of language when talking to prospects – everything from semantics to syntax. Have you used the wrong language and been misunderstood by a prospective buyer before? Do you think there may be a better way to communicate with your buyers? Then don’t miss this podcast episode.
Shiera says that language “shapes the conversation meaning and direction it can take.” The words you say can nudge your prospect gently to the “yes room” in their head. But it’s not only about verbalized words, subtle cues like pausing or pacing establish the conversation structure too.
During the second half of the podcast, you’ll hear an impromptu role play where Shiera reveals a formula to engage your prospects. It starts with framing the conversation around their pain or problem and then posing the opportunity or solution, asking if it’s something the prospect wants to explore.
Tune into our conversation to hear more insights that will refine your language during calls or conversations with prospects and customers.
Ep 30: Customizing Your Path
Scott Einaugler, an Informatica Sales Manager, joined me for Episode 30 to discuss the need for continuous customization. Are you taking shortcuts or using templates that are detrimental to your sales efforts?
Scott highlighted the importance of customization in multiple different places with a precise cadence, so you don’t get lost in the noise. Yes, it takes effort, but it’s worth it. The largest deal Scott closed was due to almost nine months of persistence reaching out. Tune into the podcast to hear all the details and learn his advice about outreach frequency.
In addition to cadence, we discussed the need for personalization. He says the easiest way to personalize your cadence touches is by time blocking your day to get it done. Set aside the time to do your research and “own it.” Try not to let coworkers take your time blocks for granted and sidetrack you from your plans.
Scott says in the first line of your outreach you want to form a connection “to something whether it be a college, whether it be something they do like charity work, whether it be something they did a Ted talk on, anything like that.” How can you uniquely relate to your prospects and separate yourself from other salespeople?
Don’t miss this episode if you need a push of motivation to be more consistent with your sales outreach. Even if you’re being ignored, keep reaching out to prospects consistently.
Ep 31: An Interview with a Legend
The legendary Trish Bertuzzi joined me for Episode 31. Trish is the Founder and CEO of The Bridge Group and author of the most recommended book on sales development, The Sales Development Playbook. She shared her story of how she started in sales and a lot of other proven advice to help you go farther in your sales career.
She reiterated the notion that if you want to learn more about sales – or anything for that matter – educate yourself and don’t expect your employer to pay for you to learn. Take the time to listen to podcasts, watch webinars, read or listen to books, take online courses, and attend in-person events.
Trish recommends, at a minimum, to attend two peer-to-peer networking events each year. You get to practice your skills by honing your elevator pitch and asking discovery questions to get to know the people you meet.
She says, “Our job should make us happy and allow us to accomplish our dreams, but it shouldn’t break us.” Although Trish doesn’t encourage working long hours into the weekend, that’s what she did to get where she is today. Lucky for her, working in sales is a true passion. If you want to receive recognition for your work, expect to work harder, longer, and smarter than other people.
Tune into the full episode to hear this sales legend talk about the top mistakes she sees among salespeople. You’ll learn about the need for personalization, better voicemails, and the importance of establishing credibility and empathy with buyers.
Ep 32: Turning Up the Heat on Your Cold Emails
Eavesdrop on my conversation with Blissful Prospecting’s Jason Bay in Episode 32 to hear how you can fire up your cold emails. With an excess of lousy email templates circulating the inboxes of C-suite executives, Jason’s “REPLY Method” for outbound emails could be the change your salespeople need. The acronym reads:
Results
Empathy
Personalization
Laser Focus
You
Jason and his team at Blissful Prospecting have sent over 700,000 emails for their clients. He says, “When you’re constructing your outbound messaging, the most important thing is to be really dialed in with the persona that you’re reaching out to.” As Trish Bertuzzi highlighted in Episode 31, empathy is a critical part of sales. It’s where people connect as human beings so speak their language and get your prospects to empathize with you.
During the podcast interview we dug deep into the REPLY Method so you’ll want to tune in for all the details, like how the ‘Y’ is a reminder to use “you” more, and “I” less. It’s a customizable framework you can apply to write your next outbound message.
Are your cold emails too long? If they’re longer than five sentences and require you to scroll on a phone to read it, then Jason would say they are way too long. He recommends keeping it under 120 words for the best reply rates. Tune in to find out why Jason created the framework, learn a couple of tools he recommends for condensing your messages, and other ways to improve your open rates.
These last four episodes of the INSIDE Inside Sales podcast were focused on refining yourself and your communications as a salesperson. Each one is packed with gold nuggets you don’t want to miss. Do you have an idea for a future episode? Reach out to me with your suggestions via Twitter or LinkedIn. You can also leave a comment below!
