Hubspot put out a phenomenal post this morning called 7 Things the Best Sales Calls Have in Common, Based on 25,537 Calls [New Data].
Besides having one of the best headlines I’ve seen, it also pointed out a few areas where I’ve been screwing up.
1. Talking too much – Anytime I feel myself doing most of the talking, I know something is wrong, and the data backs this up. The “ideal” talk-to-listen ratio in a sales call is 43:57. In other words, if more than 50% of the talk time is me, I’m screwing up.
2. Discussing price too early – The most successful calls cover pricing late in the call. They build a ton of value first, then talk price. I need to get better at handling price questions early in calls so I have a chance to build value first.
3. Not talking enough about risk-reversal – According to the study, “When you soothe your prospect’s fears with risk-reversal language, win-rates on average increase 32 percent.”
Now given that I’m a HUGE fan of Jay Abraham who talks a lot about risk-reversal, I should know this. But I don’t systematically cover this in sales calls, and I need to start ASAP.
So let’s translate those screw-ups into directives I can keep in mind when I’m on a call:
1. Ask More Questions
2. Build massive value before talking price
3. Point out and explain my risk-reversal terms
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