SALES CONVERSATION PREPARATION TOOLS

Sales conversation preparation tools are used to plan for your conversation with buyers, to guide you during your conversation, and to follow up afterward.

First we’ll look at two extremely useful low-tech tools, the Quick Prep Tool™ and the Tribal Types Tool™.

Quick Prep Tool

As English logician and novelist Lewis Carroll said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Fortunately you do know where you are going when you use the two-page Quick Prep Tool, shown in Figures 12–1 and 12–2—you are going into a productive conversation with your buyers.

Whether you believe preparation is a good idea or that it’s just for rookies, low performers, or something you no longer need to do, I can’t stress enough that the discipline of preparing for conversations makes everyone more productive and efficient.

The Quick Prep Tool’s WIIFT Quick Prep™ provides a guide to prepare for the entire WIIFT conversation, while Quick Research™ is an outline of research items for new customers, large opportunities, group selling situations, and stagnant existing buyer conversations.

You can download a copy of the Quick Prep Tool from the www.conversationsthatsell.com website. Or if you want to write really, really small, copy the pages from this book.

Complete the WIIFT Quick Prep page for every face-to-face or telephone conversation you are going to initiate. The steps of WIIFT are outlined to guide you through your preparation for each step. To use this tool effectively, begin with the end in mind by first identifying the objective for the conversation. Then write notes in the remaining sections for each step of the WIIFT conversation.

After your conversation, complete the paperwork trail by noting your follow-up action items on the last line. If you have a customer database, input the relevant information directly into your system as soon as possible while it’s fresh.

The Quick Research page guides you through productive research items. For opportunities that need more planning, complete this side before the WIIFT Quick Prep page. The information you gather from the various research prompts this page provides ensures a relevant conversation for the buyer, saves both of you time, and sets you apart from all the other sellers calling on that buyer.

Following is additional information and tips for each section of Quick Research:

1. Research outlets. Identify the sites and resources such as social networking groups, forums, and association and trade sites you will access to conduct your research. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter may offer timely data about the company and for the specific people you will contact.
2. Company information. Review the company’s website, brochures, annual reports, and marketing documents, as they provide useful information about:
   • The company’s mission or value statements. These statements provide insight into what’s important to the company. Are they stewards of the environment, focused on shareholder returns, or employee-centered?
   • Key stakeholders. Within the buying company, who will care or be impacted by your solution? Who will be the potential influencers when it comes time to make a decision? Look for their bios, roles, and contact information.
   • Recent company business news. Search for events, a calendar, or public relations links. Look at the annual report, news updates, job openings, or notices to their employees to search for new market focus, expansion or reduction talk, or the returns to stakeholders. Review their financial results/news; quarterly updates and annual reports provide good insight into what happened in the previous year and what they forecast for the next year.
   • Specific goals. Search the annual report, news updates, and other sources for information for what is important to the company. Look for mentions of new markets, or “new” anything—expansion into new geographies or market segments—and references to their stakeholders. Read the executive team and your buyers’ bios for personal goals and what is important to them.
3. Industry news or trends. Be a student of the industry you sell in. Search for recent articles or news that may impact the problems, opportunities, wants, or needs of your buyer. Locate forums or social media groups where the thought leaders of your industry share information.
4. Alignment and value of your solution. To begin the focus on the buyer and the value you and your solution offer, use the research information to identify preliminary solution matches and the What’s in it for Them of the solutions.

For existing buyers, you may also have valuable resources in your company. Review:

• Your database or CRM system. What is their history with your company? What and how much have they purchased in the past? Who have they worked with before?
• Internal associates. Determine who has worked with this buyer and ask them for tips and history that isn’t in the records. Ask them for assistance with making a personal connection.

The potential conversation starters derived from your Quick Research information can open new sales opportunities and increase the sense of urgency for the buyer to implement your solution. For example, the sales team members of a Canadian engineering services company used the research page of the Quick Prep Tool as a guide to search for recent industry news and discovered information about a potential law change that would impact a buyer’s risk in product development. By incorporating this information into their presentation with a buyer, they opened a discussion about the new risks that would emerge from the law change. This information increased the buyer’s sense of urgency to address a product design issue and the sellers closed the sale in the next visit.

When you make the time to specifically write your meeting notes on Quick Prep Tool pages—moving the plan from your head to the paper—you free your mind during the conversation to listen more effectively, be more collaborative, and provide higher value. It keeps you from missing important information and allows you to be more engaged and flexible during your conversation. If the conversation goes off on a tangent, you can easily refer to your notes to get back on track quickly.

Tribal Types Tool

The Tribal Types model helps you to work with your buyers in the way they prefer. Identifying their preferred communication and working customs allows you to adapt your conversations to make every question you ask and every bit of information you share timely and relevant.

The customs for each of the four Tribal Types are easy to learn. Yet our personal biases and quick judgments may complicate our ability to identify the Type. The Tribal Types Tool™ shown in Figure 12–3 provides a quick way to identify the Tribal Type of your prospect (or colleague or sales manager).

To use the Tribal Types Tool, follow these directions:

• Write the name of the person who you are assessing at the top.

• Read through the list of 18 descriptors under each Type.

• Circle the words or phrases that best describe the person you are assessing.

• Write the total number of circles for each Type in the space labeled “Total.”

The Tribal Type with the highest score is considered the dominant Type. If two Tribal Types have equal scores it means that both sets of customs are important to that person.

People are a mix; it is highly unusual to find one person with all 18 descriptors in one Tribal Type. Yet it is very likely to see that some customs from all four of the Tribal Types apply to that person.

There are many strategies for selling and working with each of the Tribal Types discussed in detail in Chapter 4. As you prepare for your conversations, incorporate the specific customs into the level of detail you will discuss and divulge, the types of materials you have available, the time allotted for the conversation, and the level of personal relationship you want or need to build.

Complete a Tribal Types Tool before your conversation to prepare the most relevant connection and investigative questions. You can also prepare information and proof according to their customs—using charts, stories, graphics, back-up detail, and reference names that they need.

If you don’t have any clues to work from prior to your first conversation, ask people who have worked with or connected with the buyer for ideas on how to best work with them. Then be sure to complete the Tribal Types Tool following your conversation as preparation for your follow-up and future conversations.

Download a printable PDF of the Tribal Types Tool from the www.conversationsthatsell.com website.