The biggest miss in outbound sales. Until you know someone has a problem and what's causing that problem, any "selling" points or features are being shouted into the void Focus on the problem (it's dark), get someone to resonate, then give a diagnosis so you know: - There's a fire risk - Their power bill is high - Their lights are too bright - They're struggling to focus - Their lightbulbs are the wrong wattage - Their lightbulbs burn out every few months - They stub their toe trying to find the light switch - They're using non-dimmable bulbs on a dimmable switch
I'm a big proponent of "illuminating a deficit" with folks. People don't know what they don't know. 🤷♀️ *scurries away in the dark*
Nailed it, Will. Too many reps pitch features before diagnosing the real problem, it’s like selling lightbulbs to someone sitting in the dark.
Great post! Thanks for sharing.
That's why discovery calls are important.
Problem first!!
One the best "cold" sales interactions I had as a buyer was from a door-to-door salesperson for pest control. He knocked, said, "hey, I saw like 4 wasps around your front door. Also saw the chalk drawings on your driveway. Is it hard for you and your kids to play outside because of these guys? Like are they always around when you're outside?" "Yes, actually. We have to shorten play time outside because of it sometimes." Rep: "oh well, not to be a pest, pun intended, but my company does pest extermination. If you want to setup a contract with me, we can get out here in 2 days so your kids are out playing by the weekend. Without the wasps." It has been the only d2d service I have ever bought. If he just pitched me about his bug company, I would have just politely declined him. But he focused on my problem, wasps messing up our family/kids' time outside.
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1moselling before understanding the problem is just noise