How to Sell Podcast: Make How You Sell, Why You Win

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:00:01]:
We fundamentally have to change the way we position ourselves in the eye of the buyer. Because everything we do is based on the buyer. The buyer is at the center of our universe. If you're a longtime listener, thank you for joining us on this journey. I create this content to help sales professionals be the very best they can be and other professionals as well. We have a a wide audience here. We don't just have sales people now listening to this podcast. We have marketers.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:00:26]:
We have sales leaders. We have a variety of people. But, ultimately, our aim is really clear. We wanna elevate the profession that is sales. We wanna help sellers be the very best they can be. And if you're a if you're a new to the show, welcome. We are very excited to have new listeners join us each and every week.

David Fastuca [00:00:47]:
Just a quick interruption to let you know about a free resource that Luigi and I want to hand over to you. This resource has helped lift close won rates to over 73% on average. Plus, you'll get our b2b sales newsletter that drops weekly where you can learn what it takes to build a repeatable sales process and creating a pipeline full of qualified deals. To get this resource, just go to growforum dot I o forward slash newsletter or click the link in this episode and sign up today.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:01:19]:
Now this week, we have a different flavor. We have no guests Or, actually, unless you say, I'm a guest. So I am the guest today. But why am I this week's guest? Why am I going solo? Because I run a number of coaching programs. I run a number of training events for, you know, 100 and 100 of salespeople each and every week across a variety of different industries all over the world. And something that I've been talking about, which is really it's it's really hitting home with a lot of sellers, and and that's why I'm putting this particular topic together today, is the topic around that first meeting structure. And, you know, once you've earned the right to get a meeting with a new prospect, how do you actually formalize the structure and facilitate that first meeting so that you can get progression? You can actually move that to either the next stage. And in some cases you actually qualify out.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:02:10]:
Right. But there was, I've just been receiving a lot of positive feedback on this topic. So I thought, you know what, Why don't I do a solo website? Why don't I put together a bit of a framework a bit of a framework around the different stages that can enable you to to not just run that first meeting, but effectively help the buyer see you differently. Because in a world where there is so much choice for our buyers, in a world where our prospects and our buyers have been inundated with people trying to sell them stuff, it's becoming harder and harder to differentiate. And we need to change the way our buyers perceive us. Right? We know there's a trust gap. We know that research is telling us that buyers just don't trust sellers. Right? Some reports 50, 60, 70%.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:02:59]:
The actual gap is quite wide. But in order for us to really influence and help our buyers through the process and help them arrive at a point of decision where they're confident in choosing us, we actually need them to see us as a trusted adviser. Because, you know, we're not selling widgets. For most of us listening to this show, we're not selling just a quick transaction. We're fundamentally selling chain. We're helping buyers achieve an improved result. They don't buy what we do. They buy the outcome we help them achieve.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:03:32]:
So if that's the type of sales process we're trying to execute, if that's the type of vision we're trying to bring to life, we fundamentally have to change the way we position ourselves in the eye of the buyer. Because everything we do is based on the buyer. The buyer is at the center of our universe. But what's interesting, right, it's becoming harder for sellers to differentiate in a crowded marketplace. But on the flip side, let's talk about this from the buyer's perspective as well. Data from Forrester actually noted that buyers are finding the buying process more it's harder and harder, more complex than ever before. Some studies show that over 77% of buyers recently studied about or surveyed about this particular topic, they actually said their last purchase was very difficult. It was very hard for them to arrive at a point of decision.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:04:22]:
Now why is that occurring? Right? Because when you think of the buying journey, it's different. It's different today than what it was 5 years ago and what what it was 10 years ago. There are more senior decision makers involved in that buying committee. It's not just about 1 person anymore. It's not even about 2 people. There's a buying committee involved in the process. In some cases, 6, 9, 10, 11 people are getting involved in that buying journey. And just think about this.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:04:44]:
Getting consensus across that committee is actually hard. Now you think about it. If you go out for dinner with some mates or some friends or couples who whatever, you go out for dinner, just think about the difficulty that you have agreeing what to eat. So imagine when you're spending 50, a100, a $1,000,000, multi $1,000,000 project, change project. Just think about the complexities that that can create for a stakeholder group that all have different priorities, different needs, and different motivations. And this is the thing this is the thing we need to be considering when we're taking buyers through that journey. Now one of the things that we absolutely must consider when we're approaching organizations, we're not there in that first meeting. Our objective is not to know what we should already know.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:05:29]:
And what do I mean by that? A survey from VanillaSoft, their friends at VanillaSoft, they surveyed over 2,000 senior decision makers. 89% of respondents said they expected sellers to know their industry and know their business problems. That's the minimum. So if we're walking into that first meeting with an expectation of we're gonna learn what we should already have learned during the research stage, we're not gonna be seen as our trusted adviser. So that's what today's episode is all about. How do we help our buyers navigate through the new buying journey? It all starts in the way we open. It all starts in the way that we structure our initial engagement. So when you think about it, when you're prospecting, when you're out there conducting, you know, cold outreach, your outreach is not focused on what you do.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:06:13]:
Your outreach is focused on the outcomes that are important to the buyer persona you're seeking to engage with. And, usually, in that outreach, you're bringing a point of view. Right? A point of view that piques their interest to wanna know more. The first meeting, it's all about you teaching them stuff, giving insight, delivering some form of value, creating value for them so that they wanna continue the conversation further. So today, I'm gonna walk through that first meeting structure that will allow you to really unlock the buying journey and make it easier for you to create value and change the way the buyer perceives you. And so I really want you to give some consideration and have a pen and paper. This is one of those sessions where you should have a pen and paper. You could be drawing in front of you that structure from the top right through to the bottom.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:07:01]:
Now with most meetings, most meetings shouldn't start with you running the agenda first. The meeting should start with you doing the research. What do I mean by that? If we're rocking up, if we're arriving at a meeting, doesn't matter if it's virtual or or face to face, We have to be have conducted our research first. We've got it done. We we have to have, you know, had a look at not just their LinkedIn profile, but gone on Google. There's a whole range of things that we should have done to understand our client and understand the industry they're in so that we can then develop our point of view for the meeting, our insight, the insight that we're gonna share. So this is the first stage of the meeting. So we've done the pre research.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:07:41]:
We've come to the meeting. The very first step that we do is we essentially start with an agenda. We have to explain what we're gonna be covering today. Right? We're dealing with professionals. We're dealing with with people that are busy. They haven't got time just to waste meeting with salespeople who are there just to talk about them. So the very first thing we do is we lead with an agenda. I always lead with why we're meeting, why are we actually here.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:08:05]:
Right? What's in it for them, and how long do we have? Because for me, that is critical. I need to sort of understand, do I have the same time that we agreed, you know, before the call? That's what we have the how long. And then I have a bit of a check question. So it sounds a bit like this. The purpose of today's meeting is for me to share some insight with you around what's happening in a, b, and c sector. Also, it'd be great to get a better understanding what's happening in your business, and then maybe share a bit about how we help organizations like you achieve x result. And we've got half an hour allocated. Was there anything else you wanted to cover today, mister customer? It's a 30 to 45 second sort of agenda.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:08:46]:
It gives a very clear understanding of what we're gonna cover, that I am gonna ask them some questions, but I'm gonna leave with some insight and value that they can walk away with regardless whether we continue our conversation. And then I asked, was there anything else you wanna cover? Because I want them part of the process. Because one of the things that we need to remember, right, the discovery step. A lot of people say the discovery is dead. It's you know, discovery doesn't happen, and you demonstrate, etcetera, etcetera. And and I'm sorry, but I don't agree with that that viewpoint. The reality is discovery is fundamental when we're selling change because we need to first understand what does the change need to look like for them, what does success look like for them, and and then we need to identify, is that something we can help them achieve. Right? And, yes, discovery is not just one event.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:09:29]:
It's happening throughout the entire sales process. But the very first initial meeting, they're also doing discovery on us. They're also doing their own due diligence to see, is this a conversation they wanna continue? Do they feel like they can trust us? And the other reason why we start with the agenda and then lead into, right, our very first our very first key, the value creation piece of the meeting, which is around the insight that we share. Right? We have to be delivering some sort of insight and learning. Because when we share that form of insight that we mentioned during our outreach call or email that we we would be sharing in the first meeting, this is what enables us to build rapport. Right? It's crucial. It's not rapport where we're gonna become friends. I'm gonna have a friend strategy.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:10:17]:
It's rapport by demonstrating capability and expertise and an understanding of their industry. When we lead with that level of insight and lead with that level of knowledge that we really do know them and we really do know their industry, relationship tension drops, and we start to move into the zone of influence. And that's when rapport we actually have created rapport because there's a level of trust. They're like, you know what? What this person is sharing with me is showing me that they actually have some sort of competency in this area. They have a level of capability in this area. So the trust element is that their trust does get built. Right? But I just wanna go back a step because I'm talking about, you know, leading with that in insight, that very first stage of value creation. But we also have to remember that depending on the lead origin, what do I mean by that lead origin? Right? The lead origin, If it's an inbound lead and we've, you know, we've either booked it ourselves or an SDR or a BDR has booked it for us, The actual first one of the first questions that we should be asking after the agenda is the motivation question.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:11:23]:
We need to be understanding what has motivated them to reach out to us, what's motivated them for this particular topic to become a priority for them now. Because if we don't understand the motivation behind their inquiry, then we're not able to then create the right journey for them. Right? Because we don't know what's motivating them to buy. We don't know what's sitting behind that motivation. Right? And we see this a lot. I see this a lot with call calibration sessions that salespeople don't they're not curious enough to learn what that motivation first is. So let's go back to the very first stage. We've done the agenda.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:12:01]:
2nd is we're starting to share insight. Right? Because that insight allows us that point of view allows us to then demonstrate capability. Then once we've shared that insight, this then leads us to the first question. So we share insight. We create value through knowledge and sharing that insight, and then we move into a question that allows us to open the conversation and identify an opportunity. And it sounds something like this. So once we've shared that insight, you know, we then move into, according to Gartner, the industry is experiencing x change. How are you preparing for those changes? Or something else that says, you know, Forrester Research has identified three trends that are impacting your industry and causing a, b, c problem.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:12:48]:
Which one do you see is the most important to your organization? And then the drill down is, how is your org preparing for these changes? What we're doing with that that insight and that and that point of view, we are then using it to ask a question to open up the conversation. So once we leverage that insight, once we then ask a question based on that insight and get them considering things they might not have considered, which is value creation, that then moves us into the 3rd stage of the meeting structure, which is fundamentally the discovery stage. It's understanding, is there an actual problem that we could be discussing and we could be helping them solve? So that essentially allows you to seamlessly move into the discovery stage of the meeting and going a little bit deeper about what that would mean for them. What is the outcome that they are seeking to achieve? What is the current state? And what does it mean for them if they're able to achieve a soon outcome. And this is where we have to come prepared with some thoughtful questions before. We've gotta be preparing our questions in advance because, essentially, this is where the value is created. And if we don't come up with those questions beforehand, if we're not helping the prospect, if we're not asking really thoughtful questions and helping them identify an unrecognized need, we haven't created enough value. We need to help them consider something they were they weren't thinking about before meeting with us.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:14:15]:
It's the moment that they have where they go, you know what? It's a really great question. Because then they see you as a value creator. Then they start to see you as a trusted adviser, somebody that's helping them consider things they hadn't consider. And then we start to differentiate from the competition because we are being seen differently in the eyes of the buyer. So once we've asked some thoughtful questions and helped the prospect see things differently, we start to then open up what that opportunity for change might look like. The next stage is confirming our understanding of what that change could look like and what the problem actually sounds like in the buyer's eyes because that's the 4th stage. We go through, we confirm. And then once a prospect confirms the problem and agrees that the impact is worth discussing further, we then talk a bit about how we help other companies like them fix that problem, which is the 5th stage.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:15:11]:
And and I'm very permission based. You know? Thanks for sharing that with me. Would it be okay if I share how we've helped other organizations like you fix x problem. And that's when we go in with a story. Right? A story or 2. Now this is not like a 10 minute dialogue. This is not like a presentation. This is a simple 2 to 3 minutes.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:15:29]:
Share a story. It's not a massive pitch. It's a concise message. It also social proofs what you're talking about because you're talking about other people just like then them. And then from there, we move to the next stage, which is actually talking to them about what next step sounds like. Right? Because, remember, your buyer doesn't buy what you sell all the time. They don't exactly know what the process needs to be for them to make that change occur. Just like I said at the start of this podcast, the buying journey is becoming very complex for our buyers.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:16:04]:
So we need to help them see what the next steps looks like. You know, saying something like, look. Based on what you've shared, we can see that there is an opportunity for us to maybe scope this out further. What we usually see with clients like yourself who do get to this stage is the next stage is a bit of a scoping session where we get other people involved in the process just to sort of build out what this scope could look like and what the business case for change could be. Should we wanna work on this? Right? Or something like that. Now this is not perfect dialogue. Right? But that's kind of the structure in the way that we help them wrap up and move that meeting to that next stage, which is scoping stage. Because we know, as a sales professional, we know that there are other prospects, there are other stakeholders that need to be involved in that conversation.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:16:54]:
Right? And if we're not helping them bring those stakeholders in early, then what we're doing is we're creating too much risk in the opportunity. Now I've now arrived at that point where we've facilitated the whole meeting. We've got the next steps. And there's a whole range of other things that we could be doing in that meeting, the type of questions we ask, past, current, future. But that wasn't the purpose of this episode today. Today, I wanted to really walk you through what the meeting structure needs to look like. The meeting structure that will allow you to kind of unlock the opportunity, really, you know, I'm not talking about qualifying in qualifying out because, again, if you've done your ICP, which is your ideal customer profile, you've defined your persona, and they have a problem that, you know, you can help, then you've got product market fit. Fundamentally, that is essentially qualifying them further.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:17:43]:
Right? Because nobody likes to be qualified out. Yeah? So there's there's a there's a step by step guide in how to run your first meeting. And I would love to hear your feedback on how this structure sounds and how you can apply this structure in your role to help you progress more of those first meetings to qualified opportunities and beyond. So I hope you found this episode valuable. I know it's a solo episode. I haven't got a guest talking about this. But just to give you some confidence, this is the exact meeting structure that I've used to close 10, 50, 100,000,000, 5,000,000, $10,000,000 deals. Right? I've used this exact meeting structure for a number of years to take that very first meeting to really open up what the opportunity could be, the opportunity for change.

Luigi Prestinenzi [00:18:32]:
Because remember, we're selling change. We're selling an outcome. We're not selling the current state. And in order to help really progress what that change looks like, we need to have a structure in place that helps us get more stakeholders involved so we can get consensus and we can get get them talking about the business case for change so that then asking for budget is just a simple part of the process.