I was working with a team of Sales Development Reps (SDR’s) and Account Managers (AM’s) in the e-commerce sector who were making regular outbound calls to their prospects which was an important part of their sales process.
The business was very successful but they knew they had reached a stage where they had outgrown their ‘startup’ mindset and needed more structure to their actual sales conversations and a deeper skill set for their sales team.
And it was great to see the extent of research they were undertaking before they reached out to any prospect. As a result of their research they were very clear on how they could (potentially) be helping their prospect.
The B2B sales training
The sales training program was delivered over a number of workshop sessions. Initially online sessions were held which were followed up by in-person training held in Melbourne.
As we explored during the training, the secret of creating effective business-to-business sales conversations is to use a logical yet ‘conversational’ format based on asking a series of pre-planned questions.
Beware… pre-planned doesn’t mean using a script! It means you plan ahead of time what you want to know, therefore what questions might you have to ask, and how you will achieve that.
Asking questions. Sounds simple. You’ve probably heard this before.
But how do you do it without being awkward?
Many people in sales roles, who try to be creative, or ask questions off-the-cuff, or try to wing-it during sales conversations, can easily create confusion or uncertainty in the customers mind instead of creating forward momentum. That’s because they don’t follow a logical path for the sales conversation.
As a result their prospect might feel a little bewildered, wondering ‘What does this all mean?’ and ‘Does this person really understand my needs?’. Ultimately they’re judging the seller and thinking ‘Can I trust them?’
Avoid the ‘Pinball Effect’
This unstructured approach can create what I call the “Pinball Effect”, whereby the seller might ask lots of questions, but instead of making it easy for the customer to follow, they switch around topics and create a cloud of fragmented answers.
Now, even though the seller may eventually (hopefully) get to ask the questions they intended to, in doing so they miss the opportunity to triangulate the prospects answers and to create a smooth-flowing conversation.
Use the S.O.X. strategy for impactful B2B sales conversations
The proprietary S.O.X. Question Framework was developed by Stuart Ayling as an effective yet practical way for B2B sales people to create the right questions, the right structure, and the right mindset to confidently hold effective sales conversations that quickly get results.
But the real secret to the S.O.X. strategy is that it creates a deep conversation that encourages the client to expand on what really matters to them. And at the same time it enables the sales person to do more listening rather than talking, and easily deepens the client relationship.
Using ‘consultative selling’ is too superficial
Some readers may equate asking questions with taking a ‘consultative selling’ approach. However that’s too simplistic. An important aspect of using the S.O.X. framework is the mindset and adaptability of the seller. It’s not just about asking more questions; it’s about having a strategically planned sales conversation.
In fact, inexperienced sellers who try asking more questions, but without a strategy, may create an interaction that feels more like an interrogation than a professional problem-solving conversation.
Back to our training group and some feedback…
Robert and Andrew started using the S.O.X. Question Framework which has been proven to quickly give sellers the right questions and the right structure to confidently hold effective sales conversations that quickly get results.
Hey Stuart! Just thought I’d send across a quick message and give you an update. Both Andrew and I have used your SOX strategy this morning and we booked a meeting each within 10 minutes. We made sure to really engage with the prospect by asking more relevant questions and we couldn’t be more thankful for your help!
Robert Verdugo
As part of the training program we also developed a few Sales Stories for the team to use during potentially difficult parts of their sales conversations, including when making initial contact.
And it was great to receive even more feedback from Robert a few weeks later…
Since the workshop, we’ve really focused on nailing down the story aspect and had my recent prospect actually mention to me they were in sales for a long time and was convinced solely by my tone and pitch and that got it over the line! So your training has helped tremendously, I really appreciate it.
How to find out more
To find out more about the S.O.X. Question Framework, the Pinball Effect and other factors that contribute to creating highly effective sales conversations request a complimentary discovery call where we can explore what might be best for your team.
Below: You can listen to Stuart Ayling presenting live at a business event explaining the S.O.X. strategy, the Pinball Effect and the Expert Gap.
(Click the play button or select the ‘Listen in Browser’ option)