Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 39 seconds.
Two Spitfire Inbound staffers joined some of HubSpot’s Sales legends for sales training. Here is what they learned.
Sales has been forced to adapt and evolve in the past few years because informed buyers with non-traditional buying journeys don’t make purchasing decisions the way they used to. (You can read about this evolution at length on the HubSpot Sales blog.)
Because of this rapidly changing sales landscape, two Spitfire Inbound staffers with a keen sense of learning, were nominated to apply to two of HubSpot’s exclusive Sales Training courses. These courses are some of the best the industry has to offer, and are lead and crafted by some of the world’s premiere Sales legends - Dan Tyre (who coined the word “smarketing”), and David Weinhaus (Principal Inbound Marketing Specialist).
Trevor Van Rensburg, our Commercial Director, and Marlize Laubscher, one of our Inbound Marketing Strategists with an interest in sales, were nominated then accepted into these courses. We’re proud to say that Marlize is one of the first South Africans to train with the legendary Dan Tyre!
Here, in a nutshell are their key learnings from the experience.
Trevor Van Rensburg | The Sales Skills Bootcamp with David Weinhaus
Key takeaway: Ask more questions in the process to build up better information, earlier.
Read his post on the Bootcamp, with more of his learnings and takeaways, on his LinkedIn page.
Trevor highlights the importance of changing from ‘always be closing’ to ‘always be helping’.
“Exploring the challenges an organisation is facing means going into the conversation without a preconceived outcome. It is possible that some prospects just aren’t a good fit for your offering. It also means that the result of an exploratory meeting is not necessarily an advance. It is an opportunity to learn and be helpful. Not to sell! It might also be your best opportunity afterwards, to politely thank them for the information they shared and agree to engage when future circumstances change, or simply to walk away.”
Marlize Laubscher | Sales Bootcamp with Dan Tyre
Key takeaway: Introverts make great sales people in 2018.
This is because they are very good at listening, and in 2018 the consumer wants to be helped and not sold to. They do their own research and gather as much information on the topic as they can. This is why your company's online presence is so important. Use the right channels and keywords and continue to optimise your website for good UX (user experience).
Key Takeaway: PAUSE - this is the most important thing to keep in mind when picking up the phone to speak to a prospect.
This builds trust and allows the prospect to open up and tell you everything you need to know without you asking for it. This makes the prospect feel comfortable based on the fact that you're not here for a hard sell call but to listen to their problems and to suggest a get together at another time to dig deeper.
Read her post exploring her challenges and learnings here, on her LinkedIn page.
In her article, Marlize highlights the importance of the language you use in your sales engagements, particularly in your first touch.
“A growth strategy is when you are aligning your marketing and sales teams and efforts in your company, to grow your revenue and gain a competitive advantage.
Words to use in that first connect call, to capture the lead’s attention and get them to talk about their needs are:
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Lead generation and customer acquisition:
Lead generation is initiating interest from potential customers to start enquiring about your products or services. Having a clear digital strategy will help you identify key elements to focus on responsively, to gain that competitive advantage and grow your business by acquiring new customers.
Delighting your customers after they make a purchase is one of the steps most companies don’t spend enough time on when developing a strategy. Have a look at this case study to see what impact a customer delight strategy can have on your company. Delighting your customers enhances your brand and increases WOM (word of mouth) that results in more lead generation, and a growth in revenue as well as gaining a competitive advantage.”
Want to better understand inbound sales? Read our sales blogs here, or download our Sales Playbook: How to turn your entire business into a sales machine.
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