Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

Open yourself up to new opportunities It's difficult to see new possibilities during this crisis. It seems like we've been in this pandemic for years rather than months. Secretly, most of us have been living with the hope that the coronavirus pandemic would be over quickly and that we'd get back to normal. With the new surge in cases, what is becoming clear is that everything has changed, that there is no going back, and that the only thing we can count on is new possibilities. In Coronavirus Talk #8, I discuss why it is important that you shift your mindset now so that you are looking though the windshield rather than in the rear view mirror. Adapting to A New Reality The last time I came to you with a Coronavirus talk, it was way back in April. We were talking about gratitude. And a lot's happened since April. One of the things that happened to me was that I wrote an entire book, an 85,000 word book on Virtual Selling. And it's something that normally takes me 18 to 24 months. And I was able to focus my attention and get it done. This is one of the lessons that I've learned during coronavirus. There are all these new possibilities, different things that we can do. And I've heard a lot of people, very smart people, talk about how, even though it seems a little bleak right now, this coronavirus pandemic is going to launch an entire new wave of innovation and it's making a lot of us think differently. I think I told you in a previous talk that I was rethinking in fact, a lot of my values, and it's helped me, as a CEO, begin to transform my company, Sales Gravy, into a different company, and to grow faster. The reason that I'm back, because I really wasn't planning on any more coronavirus talks, is because the coronavirus is back with a fury. We're seeing cases popping up everywhere. Now we're shutting things down again. There's a little bit of panic. I think we're looking at some stiff economic headwinds if we don't get this under control. Everything Has Changed, Especially in Sales And a lot of folks who were thinking that we were going to get back to normal are now faced with the truth, that there is not going to be a "back to normal." Everything has changed and it will continue to change. And it's no different than what happened to us after 9/11. After 9/11, we were expecting things to go back to normal and they never really did. We've traveled again and we continued on with our lives, but security never changed in airports. And the way that we looked at the world, it was always jaded after that moment. Now, I'm not saying that the coronavirus caused us to look at the world with a jaded view. I think it's going to, like I said, open up new possibilities. And I think for all of the folks who were holding on to the hope that we will go back to normal, I think right now you're getting a massive wake up call, in particular with salespeople. Differentiate with Virtual Selling Because if you're in sales, you know that everything has changed and it is not going back. If you want to be relevant, if you want to be competitive, if you want to differentiate, you have to learn how to sell differently, which means you have to adopt new tools, which means you have to become good at virtual selling, and you have to do it now. That is a fact. Look, I'll admit that I was like a lot of folks. I believed that this would be over quickly. I wrote a book called Virtual Selling, expecting that it would have a short life cycle that it wouldn't live very long because people would get back to what we were doing before and back to normal. And now you can see, as the cases have picked up and as we are really coming to grips with the fact that we're in this for the long haul, that the truth is, is virtual selling is the way that we're going to move forward. Rise to the Occasion But here's the good news-- and we're getting this in from everywhere across industries, the size of companies, in different countries,

Shifting Initial Sales Meetings From Face to Face to Video Calls One of the most effective points in the sales process to leverage video sales calls and virtual selling skills is the initial meeting. The initial meeting is first step in the sales process. It is the appointment you (or your sales development rep) set during outbound prospecting or from an inbound lead. The objective of the initial sales meeting (often the first step in the discovery process) is three-fold: Make a great first impression and develop an early emotional connection with the stakeholder(s) Fully qualify the opportunity to determine if it makes sense for you to move to the next step with the prospect. Generate enough interest with the stakeholder(s) to motivate them to advance to the next step in the sales process. Effective Initial Meetings An effective initial meeting should be about 30 minutes in length and no more than sixty. Your primary goal is to close for the next meeting (based on the complexity and length of your sales cycle). discovery demo presentation In situations where the opportunity is not a good fit, poorly qualified, or the timing is wrong, you’ll want to walk away. Sometimes the stakeholders will not have enough interest to move forward and won’t set the next meeting with you. I disqualify between 30% and 50% of prospects on initial meetings and never move forward with the next step. For example: If you conduct ten initial meetings over the course of a week, about half will advance to the next step. Depending on your closing ratio, 1-2 of those will move on to closed/won. Of course, some delusional salespeople throw proposals at every prospect, regardless of qualification. This is a terrible drain on productivity and a waste of resources. Video Sales Calls are More Efficient for Initial Meetings A good field rep can handle no more than ten face to face, initial meetings per week and still have time for other important sales activities such as prospecting, discovery calls, follow-ups, and presentations. Most reps never even get close to ten a week. There just isn’t enough time in the day to do more. Driving to initial meetings, and other sales calls eats up the day. But, that all changes when sales reps cut out the windshield time and shift initial meetings from in-person to video. There are four benefits to shifting initial meetings to video sales calls: You’ll increase the number of initial meetings you can conduct a week, which increases the number of new opportunities advancing through your pipeline, which in turn increases the number of deals you close. Because video sales calls tend to be shorter than in-person calls and you eliminate drive time, you immediately become more efficient. You’ll face fewer prospecting objections. More prospects will agree to meet with you because a short video call (to determine if it makes sense to work together) is easier for them consume and lowers their risk of wasting time with you. Reduced travel costs. In Modern Sales, Speed Matters For many field salespeople, the idea of conducting initial meetings via video, rather than in-person, seems un-imaginable. There is no doubt that in-person communication is more effective. However, the efficiency you gain by shifting initial meetings to video sales calls more than makes up for not being there face to face. You’ll be able to conduct far more initial meetings, resulting in a bigger pipeline, and more sales. The good news is video sales calls, are the closest facsimile to being there in person. Done well, they open the door to deeper relationships, understanding, emotional connections and trust. In modern sales, speed matters. Blending virtual selling into your sales process makes you more agile. This allows you to move faster, become more productive, and shorten the sales cycle. Learn more about virtual selling and improve your virtual sales skills with Je...

On part five of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss how sleep can help you deliver better sales presentations. You'll learn the same technique that Jeff uses to help athletes lock in practice, improve memory, and reach peak performance. More Episodes of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Three of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Four of Sleep and Sales Performance

On part four of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss the two laws of sleep. Jeb and Jeff explore: Sleep Debt Circadian Rhythm Sleep Procrastination Techniques for battling insomnia More Episodes of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Three of Sleep and Sales Performance

In part three of this Sales Gravy podcast series, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss the bad things that happen to you when you don't get enough sleep, and how sleep impacts sales performance. Scientists have been studying sleep and health for over 100 years. They have proven that without enough sleep your health, motivation, passion, and cognitive abilities deteriorate. The good news is you can instantly feel and perform better by simply getting enough sleep. Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance

On part two of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss the impact of sleep on emotional intelligence and positive mindset. You will be surprised to learn that the lack of sleep makes it more difficult: to control your emotions perceive the emotions of others effectively manage sales meetings build relationships Jeff says that walking into a sales meeting without enough sleep is the same as going in drunk. You'll learn that the sleep you get tonight is the beginning of your performance tomorrow. Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance

On part one of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss how sleep impacts sales performance. Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance

In every sales conversation, the person who exerts the greatest emotional control has the highest probability of gaining the outcome they desire.

On this bonus Selling in a Crisis Daily Sales Briefing, Jeb Blount and and Jeffrey Gitomer discuss what you should be doing now to get ahead of the curve and read for recovery on the other side of the coronavirus shutdown.

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount discusses entrepreneurship, self-reliance and why sales professionals need to view themselves as entrepreneurs with Duct Tape Marketing's John Jantsch, the author of the new book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.