In this episode of the Strategic Insights Podcast, Susan Hall and Janice Lipsitz discuss the importance of building confidence in sales teams by understanding client needs and effectively communicating value. They explore common mistakes salespeople make, the significance of stakeholder mapping, and the necessity of thorough research to tailor messaging. The conversation emphasizes the importance of building trust and relationships with clients to achieve sales success.
Susan Hall: 00:01 Hello, this is Susan Hall, Vice President of Performance Improvement with Strategic Enhancement Group. Welcome to another episode of Strategic Insights Podcast. And today I am delighted to introduce my colleague and friend, Janice Lipsitz. Janice has been consulting with clients both internally and externally for about 28 years and has developed this incredible expertise in terms of helping clients achieve their growth goals by helping their sales teams differentiate and connect their company's value to what's most important to the client, which is what we're here to talk about today. Welcome, Janice.
Janis Lipsitz: 00:43 Thanks, Susan. Delighted to be here.
Susan Hall: 00:47 You know, I just came back from this incredible trip to Japan and one of the things that I was actually a little bit nervous about was speaking the language. And it occurred to me that this is what we're talking about today. That if no matter what language we speak, how well we speak it, if the other party doesn't speak that language, we can't get our message across.
Janis Lipsitz: 01:12 That's right, Susan. That's really interesting because you did touch on the key takeaway that I hope we can convey here, giving sales folks more confidence. We've got one shot. And for my most impactful coach that helped me as I was growing into my sales career, shared a quote that I try to live by, which is “Go slow to go fast.” So often I hear resistance to taking the time to plan for an effective meeting. But you've got one shot to make an impression and you're competing for that person's time, energy, and willingness to share real issues. So slowing down to research will convert to faster results. So we will dive into this topic.
Susan Hall: 01:56 Absolutely. And it really does relate to the trip too because we did our prep work by downloading apps, practicing keywords, and it helped relieve our anxiety. And I think that's what we're here to talk about today too, is helping salespeople feel more confident when they talk with clients at all different levels of their client information. So with that in mind, Janice, what are some of the mistakes you see salespeople making when they approach a client about their offering.
Janis Lipsitz: 02:27 Well, first and most importantly, do you understand who all the stakeholders are? So sales teams are super excited about their offering and they often go into meetings and start talking about that offering and the features and benefits, but they haven't shared an agenda ahead of time. They haven't done the adequate research and discovery to know what's important to the client and why, and it's easy to miss the mark. So that'd be one.
I would say a second one is maybe they've done that research and they have a planned agenda, but they're still very product focused in their conversations and technical features and functions without really getting to the so what or the value for that client or miss an opportunity as opposed to really hitting on the result of using this offering that you bring to the table.
I'd say the third mistake is sharing the wrong messaging, not being clear. So for example, in the tech industry, lots of stakeholders that you might be speaking with in your customer organization are comfortable talking tech, but many aren't, say in HR or procurement or other parts of the business. And so I often see tech sales folks not using the language of the function they're meeting with and so they're really delivering the same pitch for everyone they meet.
Susan Hall: 04:00 Yeah. Well, let's delve into this third issue too, because we do a lot of work with advanced sellers who have a lot of experience and we still see this happening. I'm wondering if you could share some advice.
Janis Lipsitz: 04:14 So just last week, I was coaching a client that invested a ton of time and energy into a large and strategic sale. And they lined up resources, had pretty much believed the deal was confirmed, shared that with their management and unexpectedly and out of the blue, a lower level person who was influential showed up and undermined the sale.
Susan Hall: 04:38 Wow. Well, that's an interesting example because typically we think about when we're blindsided, right? It's a higher level decision maker coming in. You know, it's an important point that anybody on that org chart with a perspective can really change the whole buying and selling process.
Janis Lipsitz: 04:58 That's right. So we can never completely anticipate every potential stakeholder, but we can be proactive and consider the multiple perspectives and input related to a sale.
Susan Hall: 05:11 So let's talk a little bit about how that could work because I know we've used tools, the stakeholder mapping tools. Can you talk a little bit about what that is and how that can help?
Janis Lipsitz: 05:23 Sure. So for example, when we work with clients, we introduce a very simple but effective tool. We call it a stakeholder mapping tool and it identifies all the stakeholders in the customer organization. So it's a one pager, if you envision, with columns across the top that captures a profile of each potential stakeholder you're going to call on. What do you know about their role, their potential interests based on that role? Where you might do some research and know, for example, that somebody in operations cares about safety and regulatory compliance. And also, if you know their communication style, it can help you tailor your message. So reaching out to your network to learn anything you can about their style will help your message land. And this stakeholder map becomes a roadmap for your messaging strategy. And by the way, we all have internal stakeholders that we have to influence to help us make the sale as well, so include those on the map.
Susan Hall: 06:30 Yeah, that is gold, isn't it? I'm wondering if you can talk about how you fill this out? You know, like how do you find out who these stakeholders are?
Janis Lipsitz: 06:44 Well, that's a great question because a common mistake I see with our clients is asking, so who's the decision maker? And the challenge with that is that it limits your understanding of the landscape of all stakeholders. So instead, you might ask, is there anybody you can anticipate that would be impacted by this that we should engage with? Or walk me through the decision-making process? Or who else is impacted by this decision?
These questions open the mind of the person you're meeting with to expand the understanding of stakeholders.
Susan Hall: 07:22 Yeah, those are great questions about process and impact. And it's not quite as aggressive as who are your decision makers, right? It's much more comprehensive. That's right. Good stuff. So once you know the stakeholders, how do you find out what's of interest to them?
Janis Lipsitz: 07:43 OK, so really it's about research, right? AI is a great tool these days to draw out information about a particular industry, right? So you want to show up being very knowledgeable about that industry and you could do your own research too, but understanding what are the business issues playing out at any given time in an industry and what's the impact.
So for example, if there's a new federal regulation in a highly regulated industry, there's a very big risk of financial consequence. So bringing that knowledge to bear is going to help you really bring value to that meeting and differentiate yourself.
Susan Hall: 08:26 Yeah. And I think it's also important to not lose sight of individual research as well. So you're doing some general research through AI, et cetera but through individual research, you sometimes learn how the stakeholders communicate through town halls, through PowerPoints, et cetera.
And you know, there's not a salesperson out there that wouldn't love to score a meeting at the C-suite, but often that is not the best place to start. And I found that conducting interviews internally at different levels of the organization can be invaluable in terms of preparing you for that executive meeting. I have a client that I think I must have conducted 18 to 20 different interviews internally, but it helped me feel much more confident, right, and speak the executive team's language when we actually did have that opportunity. And you're able to demonstrate your credibility, your competence, and your intent to help much more quickly that way. So the first step is to do your stakeholder mapping with your general research about what's important to a person in a particular position in the industry. You shared some great resources. We talked about AI. We talked about town hall. You know, can you get any kind of corporate PowerPoints? We also talked about internal discovery as well.
And so where do we go from here, Janice, once we've completed the stakeholder map?
Janis Lipsitz: 10:00 So once you've completed that stakeholder map, you want to prepare to gain access with this person that you're calling on. So when we work with clients, we introduce a simple tool that visually maps out how to think about what level within the organization you're calling on. Imagine a pyramid with three levels and there's the frontline person, the mid-level manager, and the more strategic or executive level.
And each of those levels have different concerns. So we want to prepare to ensure that we're not talking strategic level discussions around mission and vision with a very frontline person. So be mindful of who we're calling on and, of course, the gatekeepers who are charged with protecting the time of new prospects.
Susan Hall: 10:52 Yeah, you know, and you can't go to the C-suite and just ask all kinds of generic open-ended questions. You have to demonstrate through your questions that you've done this kind of research, right? You've got one shot. Are they going to view you as a vendor or as a strategic partner? So just even having a couple of good, compelling questions. I'm wondering, Janice, if you might be able to give us an example of what one of those compelling research-based questions might be to build credibility with your client.
Janis Lipsitz: 11:26 Yes, Susan, this is a really critical skill that makes the Salesforce much more efficient. So based on the research, for example, if I'm meeting with a marketing executive in the insurance industry and I'm selling an AI tech solution, this is what a message might sound like.
I've been speaking with numerous folks in the field in your organization. And coupled with my experience in the insurance industry and learning just how important the climate trends are reshaping the industry, I see that you have some new products related to this trend.
We've helped marketing teams to reduce their time of research by 25 % and deliver much deeper research. So when speaking with some of your team, I learned that the aggressive growth goals this year are making it challenging to get everything done to achieve.
So may I ask what challenges has this trend brought to the marketing team from your perspective and how has that impacted your goal of 5 % market growth?
Susan Hall: 12:31 Janice, that is such a powerful example because not all marketing leaders have the same concerns, but what you're doing is you're demonstrating that you know their business, you know some of the trends, and you want to find out if this is even important to them and if not, what is. So it's imperative that the sales team understands how they're offering not only generally impacts the clients, but also more specifically as well.
Because we've got one shot in front of these people to make a good impression, right? So we talked about, number one, finding out who the stakeholders are and using a tool such as a stakeholders map. The way that you fill that out is secondly, by understanding their priorities through general research. You gave some phenomenal resources like AI, company information, but also doing your internal discovery interviews as well. And then we talked a little bit about how to create an access message and prepare to talk with your stakeholders in their language, so that you can talk about and ask them questions about what's important to them. Anything else, Janice, that you would add that could contribute to our conversation today?
Janis Lipsitz: 13:57 Just, you know, the last piece as we wrap up here is based on some of the greatest coaching again that I've ever received, which is to get out of my quote sales head and step into the shoes of the person I'm meeting with, anticipate the questions on their mind. It's going to help you build trust, anticipate what's important to them.
Our job is to sell. But if we show up with that mindset of, I'm here to sell, they're going to feel that, right? So it's important that they feel that you're there to help them and to help them solve a problem. So being able to show up with that mindset is absolutely critical.
Susan Hall: 14:40 Yeah, with the intent to help, definitely. That's right. And that's how we build these trusting relationships. It's certainly not only more effective in terms of being successful, but it's a lot more fulfilling to do business that way too, because we're speaking the same language. Janice, thank you so much. I feel like I always learn so much from you whenever we talk. And to our listeners, thank you for joining another episode of Strategic Insights.
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