ABOUT US
ABOUT
ABOUT US
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Sean Lydon: new business sales professional, working with B2B sales teams and professional services providers to open and close new business, in direct sales roles as well as sales training/coaching:
Selling Not Telling
An expression I first came across as a junior member of a new business sales team where it was always the same two or three individuals outperforming the others, bringing in the high value deals.
They were 'selling not telling': eliciting reasons to buy, eliminating reasons not to buy: structuring the dialogue to win commitment in the moment, which means inviting the possibility of a 'no', terminating the sales process.
Because if we're not asking questions that could jeopardise the sale, whether that relates to decision making authority, timescales, compliance/red tape issues or an individual's thought process in that moment, we can't advance it either.
The downfall of many sales efforts is chasing lost causes. Paradoxically that can be a direct effect of salespeople being more concerned to prevent a 'no' than to engage with people directly in terms of the factors determining their buying decision.
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Services
SERVICES
What We Do
Methodology
Selling means being open in your intent, not hiding behind PowerPoint presentations or otherwise hoping the demonstration of value will do the work for you.
As much a matter of tone and timing as the words themselves. Otherwise we could just issue people with scripts.
The mission of sellingnottelling is to work that out concretely in terms of your value proposition into a viable, i.e. learnable and repeatable sales methodology.
Sales training acronyms such as SPIN or MEDDPICC can be helpul reminders for salespeople cutting their teeth, but should come with a health warning: people can easily obsess over 'methods' in place of selling.
Management
But a sales methodology is only half of the equation without effective management and reporting processes to ensure its consistent application.
Of course there is no management or reporting procedure that guarantees success.
But there are methods to mitigate the risk of failure and greatly increase the odds of success.
SPIN or MEDDPICC can be useful sales management/reporting guides but knowing the theory is no substitute for actual experience. Understanding how the engine, gears and pedals operate isn't knowing how to drive.