Why Most Sales Teams are Only Closing at 17% | Scott Savage - 1574

When you have the intention to change your sales approach, the behavior follows suit. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Scott Savage, Managing Director at Franklin Covey, to learn how sellers can increase their close rate by winning more deals. 

Salespeople tend to think we close more than we do.

• In actuality, the close right is only around 17%. But imagine what it could be if that close rate were higher.
• Why are win rates so low? Many would say the pandemic, but it’s not one sole factor. 
• 42% of the time, decision-makers could not tell the difference between vendors.
• Sellers almost always think they're different. But it doesn’t matter how different you are if the buyer cannot differentiate between sellers.

Talk less, question more:

• Executives and other buyers judge sellers based on their questions, not necessarily their answers.
• Clients don’t want sellers to just talk at them; they want a discussion to know their problems are being addressed.
• It’s not that a seller is disliked, but rather that the meeting didn’t progress with the buyer’s needs in mind.

RDM is Scott’s strategy to close more sales: Relevant, distinct, and memorable:

• For relevant, ask yourself what the client truly cares about. What do they wish to buy or add to their current company?
• Distinct is explaining how they will be dramatically better because of what you can bring to the table. People make decisions based on differences, not similarities. People want compelling contrast.
• Juxtapose those distinct differences by making those differences easy to share and difficult to forget.

Start with the end in mind. 

• Establish objectives for each meeting to help guide interactions toward those pre-established checkpoints.
• Ensure your close rate is open: we get too focused on ourselves, and our intention is based on the sale, not the best decision.
• To stand out, take the RDM strategy. Next, understand what’s essential to each decision-maker to get everyone on board.
• Many people can veto a deal. But, if you know each stakeholder and help them improve, you’ll altogether avoid that issue.
• Your biggest competitor isn’t other companies; it’s the status quo. Be interesting and stand out to convince each decision-maker to choose you.

Scott’s final takeaway? Most sellers think they’re better than they are. Establish what makes you better and convince buyers of that factor. If you can set yourself apart, you’ll close more deals. For more content from Scott, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit franklincovey.com/sds to pre-order his book, Strikingly Different Selling.

This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

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This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

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This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

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As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com