The world has changed - whether you buy into the great reset or the new normal, we all intuitively know that things are different.
As a salesperson you will agree with me - the logical conclusion is that sales also isn't what it used to be. Everything has moved online. The competition is relentless. Prospects are being bombarded with “content” and we are vying for their eyeballs.
Worse still is that many salespeople are still very much into the face-to-face mindset - and I include myself here. Even though online prospecting has been a thing for some time now, their experience lies in direct contact with people.
A firm handshake, a gregarious personality and the like, must now be achieved with words on a screen. To be successful in online sales takes a different set of skills. It takes a different approach, an adaptation of what you know and have been using for ages.
Traditional approaches just don't work that well any longer.
Decision-makers are like MI6, the KGB or the CIA
You have to be in the innermost circle with a few James Bond tricks up your sleeve. They are elusive at best and hard-arsed when you do get to meet them. How does one filter out the decision-makers on a platform like LinkedIn with 810 million subscribers?
Decision-makers are guarded by gatekeepers (more like bouncers).
A skilled online salesperson has to peel away layers and layers of obfuscation to reveal the RIGHT person to talk to. And that can often take more time than your actual sales pitch.
EVERYONE is looking for a job
This is just the sad reality of doing business in 2022. I mentioned the competition earlier but not only do salespeople have to contest with other salespeople, we also have to separate the wheat from the “unemployed” chaff.
This does sound harsh but there aren't many things as frustrating as spending an entire afternoon trying to dodge people who want to sell YOU something or seeing your prospecting effort as a means to an end.
It all comes down to trust
So, there is a Danish prince who just happened to be related to you. He recently departed the mortal coil and you are his only surviving relative. You have inherited a fortune!
Yes, I am exaggerating - only the very gullible still fall for these scams.
But face it, making contact with a prospect for the first time, you could as well be offering him a windfall inheritance - people just don't trust you from the get-go.
Building credibility and trust takes a long time. A further complicating factor is that in online sales, you just don't have time. You no longer have the luxury of dropping by in person with a complimentary notepad or some other corporate gift or taking a prospect out for a cup of coffee or lunch.
Online, everything happens in double-quick time. You have to make an impression with the correct person or lose your place in the queue. Inbound sales are rare. Short of a crystal ball, there isn't much you can do to hone in on a prospect’s pain points to even start the relationship. Sales trainers teach us to ask questions. In an online setting, people block you before you even get to ask how they’re doing.
Kissing the frogs
Wouldn't be so bad (you can take one for the team) if you could at least filter the frogs before you put up your kissing booth! Which is my way of saying that targeting becomes super important.
Pre-qualification of prospects is the only way of getting to the semi-decent frogs to kiss. Condensing the entire internet into a group of qualified people makes your work as a salesperson a little bit easier.
If what you’re after is a targeted audience, qualified prospects and a tool to measure all of that before you start frog-kissing, then get in touch!
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