🔥 🔗 Hot Take (From a Link)
Do You Still Need Salespeople?
asks Fast Company in this potentially provocative thought exercise.
You do, but maybe not how you think.
Today, prospects are doing so much of the buying on their own, staying silent until they want some quotes. We like Lior Arussy’s frame of the seller as a “decision architect.” If your organization isn’t embracing it, you may end up getting more and more commoditized by your marketplace.
💡 🔗 Big Idea (From a Link)
Good Service Doesn’t Grow Accounts
Gartner has been providing valuable insight into account growth recently. One takeaway that surprises many sellers: accounts don’t grow based on good service. At least not based on good service alone.
If they’re getting what they’re paying for, they will renew at a higher rate. But, they will never make a sound about expanding the relationship in a meaningful way. That work must be done by your team.
Is your team actively identifying and pursuing strategies that grow your existing business? Are they targeting 5% or 5x?
💡 🔗 Another Good Idea (From a Link)
How to Use Silence
We see it all the time, sellers rush in to educate prospects, uncomfortable with even seconds-long pauses. They talk a lot. They don’t listen much. We know from the data we’ve seen that this is reducing the chance of making the sale.
Hubspot offers this guide on how to use silence strategically in a selling environment. It also reframes how we think about silence (spoiler: it’s good!)