Sometimes reaching out to potential buyers can run longer than you expected, and keeping your prospect engaged can be a real challenge. When simple “what’s up ?” follow up emails won’t cut it, here are 5 techniques to maintain interest and keep your prospects engaged.

Generally speaking, a successful follow up sales email sequence aims to add value and makes it about them – not you. With that in mind, here are five follow up sales email techniques that will deliver results, and get your closer to the sale.

Tell them something new

Research at RAIN Group has shown that one of the biggest differentiators – making buyers choose one firm over the other – is because “the seller educates with new ideas and perspectives”. In short: make sure your follow up sequence adds new information, new ideas and you’re off to a good start,

Tell a better story

Given that you are providing this new information and ideas, it is important to help your prospects understand it by “putting it into context”, and explaining the “why” behind the facts you’re sharing with them. Information is good, stories are better.

Deliver “value” in multiple ways

Don’t always send the same research, or white papers – your career has no doubt helped you connect with dozens or hundreds of interesting people. Your prospects care about those connections too. Introductions are tremendously valuable and important , especially when they include a common theme: industry, challenge, region.

Give them a “taster”

Instead of just sending them the information, try giving your potential clients a sample. Walk them through a problem they are faced with that may seem like a mountain to them, but that is a mere ant hill to you. Try to think about things you’ve done time and time again – and “do it for them”.

Build an in-crowd

Sharing exclusive or “gated” access to information is great, but it gets better when there’s only so much to go around. For your most promising prospects, try to create an experience that is both valuable and unique.

Five ways to quickly build value in your in follow up sales emails, and make sure your prospects stay engaged and interested. Try one (or all) of these technique in yours marketing campaigns and do me a favour: drop me a line or leave a comment below, and tell me what results you got.

Follow Up Sales E mail Techniques: Building A Follow Up E-mail Sequence
http://youtu.be/VWanGgxTpgY

How to get referrals – if it’s not on your mind already, it should be. Wonder why ?

According to Hinge Marketing (“Inside The Buyer’s Brain”), when looking for a new professional services firm, over 70% of B2B buyers turn to a friend or colleague for a recommendation. To give you an idea of how important getting referrals and introductions really is, consider the following. In the same study, “using a (pre existing) internal list” (#3 ranked factor) and “online search” (#4) were used by buyers to find new suppliers in … 11% of cases.

In other words, buyers are  7 times more likely to find potential suppliers for future projects through referrals and introductions than via Google.

Understanding how to ask for and get referrals is crucial to sales success.

In the study, Hinge goes on to highlight that “60% of buyers are very willing to recommend their service providers.” The most common factor buyers cite for not providing a referral ? “I hadn’t been asked” (72%). In other words: over 70% of B2B buyers say referrals are the #1 way they find new potential vendors. And over 60% of buyers are very willing to refer their current vendors to other buyers – if only someone asked them to.

Understanding how to get referrals means understanding basic human psychology. There are three core “golden rules” that impact your ability to get referrals and introductions: reciprocity, reward and risk.

Golden Rule #1. Reciprocity.

[tweetherder]Human beings are hardwired to give referrals; it’s part of who we are.[/tweetherder] When someone presents us with a problem or challenge (like how to find a new service provider), our natural instinct is to want to be helpful. Yet, many sellers I speak to about how to get referrals don’t feel comfortable outright asking for them. They are concerned about appearing too “salesy”, pushy or getting “no” for an answer. (Incidentally, according to Hinge only 3% buyers indicated “not being satisfied enough with their current provider” as a reason to deny a referral request.)

Tactic: Probably the easiest, safest and most comfortable way to get more referrals is to start by first giving them. And they don’t even have to be sales-focused referrals either; I routinely introduce people with similar roles, work in similar industries, live in the same place or even work in the same company. By simply introducing people (with likely shared interests) to each other, you will gradually become known as a connector – and when asked, people will gladly return the favour and introduce you to their network.

Golden Rule #2. Reward.

In spite of our selfless motivations and innate desire to help others, at the same time most of us also seek some form of reward for our actions. Rewards come in many forms: they can be intangible (for example, the pleasure we derive from helping someone out), or tangible (for example, a referral fee). They can be short term or long term. They can be financial or emotional. They can be large or small. Substantial or (virtually) inconsequential.

Tactic: the more layers of reward you can stack on top of each other, the more inclined others will be to provide you with referrals. Don’t just ask for a referral; make it clear how making the connection will help the person giving the referral and the person receiving it.

Golden Rule #3. Risk.

I often refer to risk as “the forgotten factor”. In business, no decision is ever made without considering risk. The same is true for referrals. The largest risk holding people back from making a referral is their perceived fear of “losing face”, or damaging their relationship with the person they are referring you to.

Tactic: the simplest and most effective way to help them get over that fear is by simply addressing it head on – and clarifying how you’ll never, ever betray their trust. Make it clear you’re not going to “give them the hard sell”, but merely looking to start up a conversation. Outline how you’re going to deliver value from the start, and at every major interaction. Help them realise you’re aware of how sacred relationships are, and would never do anything to jeopardise theirs.

Developing a deep understanding of how to get referrals (and how to give them in exchange) can be one of the most powerful things you can do to boost your sales career, or build your business.

[tweetherder]If sales is a people business, then connecting with people is what generates that business.[/tweetherder]

So next time you’re wondering how to get more referrals, start by answering the following questions:

• Who can I introduce, make a referral or introduction today ?
• What value can I deliver to both parties when I am being introduced ?
• How can I minimise the risk of making an introduction ?

Trust sells. In a world where many markets are increasingly commoditised, vendors are overwhelmed with information and a plethora of options present themselves to solve a single problem, a powerful shortcut exists in the decision making process.

In RAIN Group’s recent research around “What Sales Winners Do Differently”, 3 out of the Top–10 factors that makes buyers decide to buy from firm A versus firm B were related to trust (and risk). In addition to “who can solve my problem ?” buyers increasingly ask “who can I trust ?”. In this webinar with Charlie Green, David Tovey and myself, we explored why trust sells, specifically focusing on:

Building trust

• The fundamentals of trust: what it is, and isn’t
• The Trustworthiness Equation & “4 Factors”
• The single most important driver of trust
• Type I/II errors and how to appear more trustworthy

The flipside of trust: risk

• The forgotten factor: the role of risk
• How trust sells and influences (B2B) buying decisions
• The 3 levels of RAIN Selling: a roadmap to building buyer trust

Unfortunately, due to technical issues our “third man” David Tovey could not join us for the webinar (apparently, you can’t always trust technology). But that did leave more time for a very deep Q&A (starting around 31’’ or so).

Trust sells. If you’re searching for practical, yet powerful ways to set yourself apart in a crowded market. If you’re wondering how to build long term relationships and become known as a “trusted advisor” to your clients. And if you want develop a deeper understanding of one of the most powerful human “shortcuts” for how we make decisions, this webinar’s for you.

There’s a lot of talk about which sales skills sellers need to be successful today – but what sales skills will be required for success tomorrow ?

For several years now, I have been noticing a subtle but profound shift in the sales skills, attributes and competences sellers need in order to sell successfully and generate more business. The specific traits that make someone successful today are – in some cases, very – different from what was required even a few short years ago.

When I was on a conference panel recently, someone in the audience asked the question “which core skills do you consider most important for future leaders ?”.

As I formulated my response, a fundamental thought hit me: if you’re selling to the highest levels of your client’s organisation, your skill set has to closely to match that of your client.

Put simply: [tweetherder]the core sales skills you will need to sell successfully in the future need to be similar to the ones that leaders need to succeed[/tweetherder] – but approach things from a different angle.

1. Helping buyers make sense of complexity.

As a result of increasing globalisation, information/data explosion, geographic/demographic shifts and shifts in workplace population and practices, the #1 skill that leaders need to be successful in the future is the ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity – and make decisions in a shifting, uncertain world.

Sellers that can help bring clarity, reduce the sense of overwhelm their clients face and help them make decisions in the face of uncertainty will stand out – and be highly sought after – in the future.

2. Being open to diverging perspectives.

The world of “the decision maker” is over – flattening corporate hierarchies, an increased sensitivity to risk (seeking security in joint decision making) and the rise of servant leadership mean leaders in the future will need to take into account (and appeal to) a wide range of constituents and points of view.

So do sellers: as leaders open up to and integrate different points of view in their decision making process, those same voices will influence the buying (and selling) process. [tweetherder]Sellers that will do well will seek out, integrate and influence many decision makers within the organisation[/tweetherder] – creating harmony where previously only discord existed.

3. Having a genuine sense of humbleness.

The most successful leaders I have come across in my career overwhelmingly shared one single (yet, uncommon) trait: a genuine sense of humbleness. Within corporations, strong-willed, autocratic leaders who do well are the exception – not the rule.

Most executives I meet seek the same quality in a trusted advisor: someone who has a genuine sense of humbleness, putting the client and their interests first and working towards the common interest of all involved. Someone who does not speak in buzzwords, think in 3-box diagrams or can’t resist the urge to lecture – but is plainspoken and has a genuine desire to serve them and their organisation.

[tweetherder]As we move into a new paradigm in sales, shifting from “consultative” selling to “insights based” selling, a new set of sales skills is required[/tweetherder] – especially from those selling to senior leaders and executives.

Sales skills that are commonly considered important like the ability to ask great questions, relate to others or advance towards the close are increasingly simply what gets you the meeting – not what gets you the deal.

One of the most frequent questions I get relates to competitive differentiation: how to “stand out” in a crowded marketplace. Many of my clients in professional, financial or technology services spend a good amount of time wondering how they can help clients see how their firm is different. The underlying implication is that different = better.

Sound counterintuitive ? Let me explain.

In a recent HBR-article on “How You Can Win Without Competitive Differentiation”, London Business School professor Freek Vermeulen talks about how recent thinking in corporate strategy is moving from being influenced by the field of economics to the field of organizational sociology.

“The trick is that when there is uncertainty about the quality of a product or service, firms do not have to rely on differentiation in order to obtain a competitive advantage. Whether you’re a law firm or a hairdresser, people will find it difficult – at least beforehand – to assess how good you really are. But customers, nonetheless, have to pick one.”

In short, asking yourself “how are we different ?” may be the wrong question to ask. Buyers are influenced by a seller’s (firm’s) status, prior relationships and their social network ties. Not by how “different” they are.

Is competitive differentiation overrated ?

In the – excellent – Buyersphere 2013 report, a whopping 66% of buyers reported “I heard of them before we started the buying process” as the #1 reason why they selected a particular firm for their project.

And – in spite of the #1 factor why buyers chose one firm vs another being “educated me with new ideas and perspectives” – in RAIN Group’s recent research on “What Sales Winners Do Differently”, fully one third of the Top–10 factors driving buying preference were about the seller connecting with the buyer in a way that inspires trust, confidence and familiarity.

Human evolution has wired us all in a very particular way – when faced with decisions that involve even a moderate degree of complexity, we seek ways in which to reduce the risk involved and “take shortcuts” to deduce which decision is the best one.

In short, we seek what’s similar, not what’s different.

When it comes to complex, high-end services, telling buyers how you’re different may be betting on the wrong horse. Breed familiarity first.

Think competitive differentiation later.

If you’re selling professional services, you may have found recent years to be particularly challenging. As someone who spent close to two decades buying and selling professional services, I’ve certainly noticed a change or two.

More and more competitors are entering the same space. The big ones are going after smaller gigs, and boutique firms selling professional services are aggressively going after new business. Budgets are down, clients are leveraging their position of power when negotiating and sales cycles are – once more – getting longer. Buyers are more risk-averse than ever before, and more and more internal voices need to be heard before it’s time to make a decision.

Which leaves those selling professional services wondering: what do we do now ?

On a near daily basis, I speak with partners or managing directors of firms selling professional services – many of whom tell me business is down. And all of who are seeking advice on how to get more clients, get more business and increase their firm’s profitability and revenues. All of whom instinctively understand they need to start doing things differently. And all of whom wonder what “differently” really means.

Truth is: there are no easy answers. Selling professional services is a complex sale, with many moving parts and levers to pull. Many of those selling professional services I speak with are producing great content and thought leadership. Many have an impressive online brand, and are active on social media. Many continue to proactively go out and solicit new clients. Many are encouraging more of their people selling professional services to go out and proactively source opportunities.

Yet few have an overarching strategy that combines all of those elements. Few approach selling professional services in a strategic, concerted manner.

When I first interviewed Aaron Ross in the Coaching Masters Series, I was blown away by his systemic approach to lead generation. For Aaron, generating leads is definitely more science than art. Whilst at Salesforce.com, he developed a $100 M revenue stream out of thin air. That’s impressive in my book. So I started wondering.

“How did he do it ?”

Rigorous experimentation and measurement. Followed by more experimentation, and tweaking. Resulting in a marketing machine, and a repeatable, reliable process to generate predictable revenue. So, naturally, I got curious. Wondered whether what he teaches could be applied to selling professional services as well. So did Aaron, so we decided to get together and do a webinar on “Selling Professional Services: Winning The Professional Services Sale”.

Watch this webinar replay, and:

• [tweetherder]Discover the #1 mistake virtually all those selling professional services make[/tweetherder] (significantly reducing their ability to attract new clients)
• Learn a simple “secret” to ensure you connect on all levels with potential B2B buyers and “speak their language”
• [tweetherder]Find out what the top–5% of those selling professional services do differently[/tweetherder] (and the kind of results they achieve)
• Uncover the “3 pillars” any successful lead generation campaign should have in order to generate an abundance of leads (based on Aaron’s experience in developing a $100M revenue stream for Salesforce.com)

“Selling Professional Services – 5 Simple Steps To Win At Selling Professional Services.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN8mtAOSCbk&feature=share&list=UUncpnetgfijL_ttMeZVwhTg

If you are selling professional services, do you find it hard to generate a steady flow of qualified new leads ? Which strategies have you found that work well ? What kind of results did you get ?

Let me know in the comments below.

If you’ve ever wondered how to close a sale, but then lost out to a competitor, you’ve pondered this question. “What did they have (that I didn’t)” ?

As it turns out, it’s not so much about what they have, but about what they do. Specifically, what sales winners do differently is this: they bring a radically different approach to the entire sales process. From start to finish.

What Sales Winners Do Differently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6up3mz2DI0

Let me walk you through the 2 most important factors sales winners do differently – and introduce a third one, which if you use it will put the entire process on steroids.

#1 – “Educated me with new ideas and perspectives”

The #1 factor buyers say sales winners do differently that helps them close a sale is bringing (truly) new ideas and perspectives to the table. Note the parentheses around truly: it’s not just about echoing commonly held “wisdom” or bringing up a point of view from the latest HBR-research. It’s about bringing an exciting, fresh perspective to the table that was previously unknown or unconsidered by the buyer.

In my experience, the higher up you sell, the more this becomes a crucial point of distinction. Senior executives and the C-suite in particular are constantly searching for innovative perspectives that can give them an edge in the marketplace.

Stuck on how to close a sale  by educating with new ideas and perspectives ? Consider the following questions as a guideline:

• How you can redefine the problem in ways your buyer never even considered ?
• Which angles or issues can you bring up that they probably overlooked ?
• How can you “go against the grain” and counter popular wisdom ?
• How can you solve an existing problem in new and more efficient ways ?
• How can you package your offering so it truly stands out from competitors ?
• How to help your buyer see their intended solution will not solve their problem ?

The last question especially is crucial, because it addresses several of the Top–10 factors buyers reported sales winners do differently. Download your copy of the research to find out which ones.

#2 – “Collaborated with me.”

Stop thinking only about how to close a sale. True sales winners think more like high-end management consultants than salespeople. Rather than “find the pain”, they work on defining the problem (or opportunity) so it becomes crystal clear – and then work with the buyer to find the most effective and efficient way of solving it.

Senior executives and buyers are not looking for yet another vendor to come in and promise them the heavens – only to underdeliver. They are looking for smart, experienced and accessible (yet another one of the Top–10 factors) counterparts who will collaborate with them – challenging their thinking where needed – in developing the best solution for their particular needs.

So next time you’re in the meeting room, think whiteboard. Not Powerpoint.

Remember that #3 factor I hinted at ?

The one that would put the entire process on steroids ?

Here it is: combine “educating your buyer with new ideas and perspectives” with “collaborating with them”. Senior executive buyers are always looking for people that are willing and able to help them think through the myriad existing problems they face in new and exciting ways, and working together on developing solutions to the table they could have never come up with by themselves (or, for that matter, using internal resources).

Do that enough and for long enough, and you’ll gain that most coveted status.

Trusted advisor.