Welcome to your September edition of the “Infrequent Flyer!” We share carefully-curated insights for you here, all with the goal of empowering you to win more sales (and enjoy some life along the way).
Here are a few things we’re sharing with you in this month’s edition to help you bolster your selling efforts as we wrap up the 3rd quarter of 2024 here, and enjoy a bit of life, too.
1. Our favorite sales tip of the month
2. A great blues song recommended by Terry
3. A book excerpt to encourage you
4. ANNOUNCING: Our NEXT Slattery Sales Summit dates
May you be encouraged to keep selling well at high value and high margins. Cheers to your prosperity!
1. Our Favorite Sales Tip of the Month: What language are you using?
When we start working with a new client, we often hear very skilled salespeople reflect that while they were able to get an initial meeting with the C-suite... they’re having trouble getting back in for a second meeting.
So what’s causing their difficulty in opening up that door again?
And so they got sent down to Purchasing.
Maybe they used language related to short-term metrics like point solutions and cost savings. And the executive (rightly) concluded that the topic was below their pay grade and sent them down to talk to Procurement.
Maybe they used the “I”-word: Implementation. And the executive (rightly) concluded, “I don’t know anything about Implementation schedules, but I’ve got a team for that; let me give you their number.”
Maybe they just talked about their solution and how awesome it was, in all its high-tech glory. And the executive (rightly) concluded, “Wow, this is a little technical for me, but I’m sure our I.T. group will love to see this; let me give you their number.”
In any case, their solution-centric language dropped to the tactical or operational level, and their access dropped accordingly.
They care about the strategic opportunities they can’t take advantage of in three years. They care about the market share they’re not capturing today. They care about revenue going out the back door when their customers leave. They care about future growth. They care about their ability to respond to competitive threats.
But they definitely don’t care about your technology, your solution, or how it gets implemented. If you use that language, you’ll get sent down the escalator and will have a hard time getting back up.
2. A great blues song recommended by Terry
While my dad taught me to love the jazz greats, he also raised me to love real American blues.
This song, "Slow Drag", is quintessential American blues from Taj Mahal, a self-taught musician on both vocals and banjo.
My dad introduced this song to me a few years ago, and it's absolutely perfect -- especially when it really launches at about 13 seconds in.
Blues chord progressions pulled along by Mahal's incredible banjo and vocals? Yes, please.
Enjoy!
3. A book excerpt to encourage you
Our new book, Wimp Junction, is full of Slattery Sales wisdom collected from our four decades of working with more than 2,400 companies in over 170 different industries. It effectively describes the place where the sale is lost – usually much earlier than the salesperson realizes it – and how to avoid it.
“Throughout your sale, you will find yourself facing Wimp Junction many times. There, you will choose to either follow the prospect’s buying system – where everything is commoditized and margins go up in smoke – or follow your selling system, where you can consistently sell at high value in less time.
In essence, these tracks tell you where you are in your process and what to do next. These tracks provide enhanced situational awareness and clarity to move forward and win the opportunity at high value.”
Situational awareness, as military commanders know, is knowing where you are and where you’re going next. It’s okay if you find yourself at Wimp Junction®; you’ll encounter it many times throughout your sale. The key to winning is simply not being pulled down the prospect’s tracks there.
You can grab a copy of our book (and a free workbook, too!) here: www.wimpjunction.com
4. Our next Slattery Sales Summit date!
SAVE THE DATE!
Our next Slattery Sales Summit is happening October 29 & 30, from Noon to 4pm each day. You're the first to hear about it here!
I'll email you more details soon; this is just a heads-up so you can block (or tell your salespeople to block) the calendar for our 2-day virtual intensive training.
We'd love to see you there!
The event page where you can purchase tickets is here: https://www.slatterysales.com/live-summit/
Have a wonderful month, and we wish you continued success!
Thank you for being part of the Slattery circle. It's a privilege to have you here.
Cheers,
Terry & Jennica
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✨ Thank you for stopping by! Glad to have you here. ✨
At Slattery Sales Group, we empower great companies and sellers to win more business in less time.
Our clients tell us we help them raise revenues, bolster margins, shorten sales cycles, and compete more effectively in the marketplace. We'd love to help you do that, too.
To expedite your progress:
🔷 Grab our book HERE to get that important sale moving again.
🔷 Get quick-start training to shorten your sales cycle and avoid being commoditized here.
🔷 Boost your own skills (and earning potential) in our advanced program here.
If you want to learn more about how we've helped over 2,400 enterprises enhance their sales processes, contact us through phone: 952-832-5436, or email: info@slatterysales.com. We'd love to connect.