These times...
tactical tips to prepare for any roadblocks up ahead
Linkedin. Twitter. Apple News. My 401k and Robinhood just to name a few.
But also my team’s forecast and assumptively yours as well. As I talk with other sales leaders, there is a feeling of cautious optimism as it relates to the state of selling (closing really).
Q4 will be big (crosses fingers), but you can’t go anywhere without hearing about some sort of “caution up ahead” in the market.
Just how we circumvent and navigate our way around a potential roadblock is up to us.
Luckily - we’ve been there before and have others to help remind us of what to do.
In this week’s edition of Stretch Weekly -
Matt Dixon (Best-selling author of Challenger Sale / Challenger Customer) gives us the next iteration and talks about his newest book: JOLT - How performers overcome customer indecision
See how Justin Michael recommends tweaking 20+ current prospecting methods with a short/sweet new way of thinking
Plus tactical tips to sharpen that sales saw as we plan and prepare for any obstacles up ahead.
THANKS for reading!!
-Grant
And lastly - as always, if you find this newsletter valuable- subscribe or share it with someone who might as well 👊.
STRETCH SHARES
How to JOLT Buyers Out of Indecision
Download/add this podcast to your queue now. Matt Dixon (Best-selling author of Challenger Sale / Challenger Customer) gives us the next iteration and talks about his newest book: JOLT - How performers overcome customer indecision.
“60% of deals are lost due to indecision”
The first 15-20 min of the episode, Matt sets up the WHY of the book. The fact that most customers struggle with indecision and why. In The Challenger Sale and Customer, we learn that status quo bias is real. But now - we’ve learned:
FOMU > FOMO
Fear of messing up (FOMU) drastically outweighs Fear of missing out (FOMO). Buyers are much more concerned about making the WRONG decision than they are missing out on any potential gain. Because of this, most deals die to “no decision” not because the buyer is adequately happy with their current solution (status quo) - but because the fear of making the wrong choice weighs greater. Indecision. This is where JOLT comes into play.
Based on data, Top performers all do some semblance of a JOLT formula which stands for:
J. Judge the level of indecision. (Qualify)
O. Offer your recommendation. (FOMU > FOMO)
L. Limit the (customer) exploration. (Travel Agent analogy. Position as SME so customer doesn’t feel the need for endless research)
T. Take risk off the table. (Get creative on services, language, case studies, start small etc.)
OLD METHODS → NEW WAYS
I’ve followed Justin Michael for some time now and think his JMM is a breath of scientific fresh air. He’s part jedi and part ironman with his sales development techniques.
He recently posted a 20+ slide presentation of tweaking old/current prospecting methods with a short/sweet new tweak. I admittedly had a hard time reading them so figured I’d transcribe and feature them here in bulleted form in case I wasn’t alone.
instead of personalization → relevance
instead of 2012 emails → make them like ad units/ text messages
instead of templates → formulas and heuristics
instead of cold calls → warm (slightly) researched calls
instead of day 1,3,5 → day 1,2,3 (clusters)
instead of single dialing → dial 5x at a time
instead of SDRs → full cycle AEs
instead of static webinars → HYPCCYCL Roleplays
instead of tex based emails → visual prospecting
instead of formality → business casual (email vernacular)
instead of derivative 90’s methodology → The JMM
instead of single threaded → multi-threaded
instead of social selling → fourth frame
instead of single channel → blended combinations
instead of paragraphs → under 3 sentences (50 words max)
instead of scripts & rebuttals → social aikido
instead of tie downs → tap-out CTAs
instead of 27 touches → one venn diagram
instead of permission-based openers → route-ruin-multiply (RRM)
instead of persuasion → polarity shift
instead of BANT → The Anchor
instead of logical → pain-fear-emotional resonance
instead of Agoge → JMM clusters and narrative arcs
instead of linear → fractal holographic
Quite the list eh? You may want to ping Justin directly for a bit more detail on these 😏, but no doubt they’ll spark some thought or discussion as we take a look at how we are doing things today.
STRETCH SNIPPETS
📉 Charles Muhlbauer says CFOs are killing deals right now. They are looking at your offering costs and asking themselves if there is anything they can rip out to purchase this new solution. What can we as professional AEs do to weather this storm? (Hint: Bring up the trouble early)
🎯 Mark Roberge of Stage 2 Capital lays out the blueprint for success in a down economy. Step 1: Re-invent ICP (referenced this a bunch this week) Step 2. Test (shortest amount of time) Step 3. Film Reviews! Step 4. Reforecast Step 5. Align Goals with future investors.
☎️ Jeb Blount says in an economic downturn money is still moving, but it’s not going to call you. Start prospecting!
👉 Mor Assouline says if he were an AE and concerned that his deals will slow down because of the economy, this is exactly what he would do. (hint: Use Discovery to talk about how your product Prevents, Avoids, Saves)
🗣 Chris Orlob lists 6 Discovery Questions to sell in this economy. (Hint: Find the urgent pain)
🧠 Mindset
Thanks for reading!
My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).
— Grant 👋
About stretch vp: confessions, learnings, and insights from sales leaders in SaaS
Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights, and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles, and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.
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