Sales News, May 2021

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

We’re talking about the Expectations questions in DRIVE this month, but instead of starting with the absolute freshest news, I want to think about a very old source: Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations. Now, sorry if I’m spoiling the plot for you (you have had 160 years to read it, so there’s that), but the most memorable character, Miss Havisham, is someone who was jilted at the altar.

She expected she was going to get married. She got all excited for her big day: wedding dress, cake, decorations. Then it turned out her fiancé was a fraudster and the wedding didn’t happen. Her response: wear the wedding gown for the rest of her life and leave the banquet on the table. It isn’t rational, but it is an exaggerated version of what actually happens when people’s expectations are dashed: they get royally peeved. And they don’t forget it. (Check out this guide to the most important B2B review sites to see where to find the evidence.)

Asking Expectations questions is an essential part of getting on the same page as your prospect on their needs and whether you can fulfill them. Assuming you aren’t a conman like Miss Havisham’s fiancé (of course you aren’t, you’re a sales professional), you want to sell only to people whose expectations you can reasonably meet. After all, in the world of SaaS, if you don’t meet them they’ll churn asap and actually cost your organization.

After asking the questions, how can you be sure you’re aligned? Sales enablement materials are a powerful way to help prospects understand what you do and how, and provide an opportunity to surface any potential differences or problems in alignment. Use the language of empathy to reinforce that you have heard about their needs and expectations and you are there to help.

MORE EXPECTATIONS

Many of our Maestro clients are in B2B SaaS, but that’s not the only sector we serve. Even for retail, alignment on expectations is foundational to a successful sale. Current news reveals some unexpected details about retail customer expectations. For example, logistics are at the heart of changing expectations, while Ernst & Young reports on growing pessimism.

Regardless of industry, it’s essential to leverage customer reviews to manage expectations, explains a leader in B2B reviews. Then dig into a blog on how to manage reputation on social media.

OBSTACLES AND OBJECTIONS

A lot of the roadblocks in sales never change. The key decision-maker went on vacation. IT has a lot of technical questions but really just wants to avoid the extra effort of onboarding something they haven’t seen the value of. Legal wants to decorate your contract with red ink. But some of the obstacles are new in the era of predominantly remote and satellite-oriented offices. HubSpot broke down the shift in a blog last week.

Remember that meme from like a zillion years ago about “What your friends think you do…” etc.? Well, a big part of slowdowns in the sales process is when both parties involved are not thinking about the same thing.

You may be thinking of yourself as a data-oriented, trusted advisor, while your prospect is thinking of you with suspicion. On a more objective level, you may think that their number one pain point could be solved by your workflows feature when really, it was something completely different that interested them in the product.

This is where objections come in really handy. They reveal areas where you are not speaking the same language or have different expectations about solving the problem. Maybe agreement is never possible, but usually it is possible to overcome the objections. Check out this recent piece on overcoming objections—strategy #1 is what Maestro often talks about as the “feel, felt, found” approach.

…AND A DASH OF CYBERSECURITY

Longtime readers will know all about Maestro’s 40/20 Rule that guides personal development as a sales professional. While a big part of that is growing your sales acumen, it’s also essential to keep on top of your product and industry.

We’ve worked with a number of information security organizations over the years, and I was thinking about those organizations while writing on Expectations. Few other sectors lean as heavily on expectations as those that are trying to manage risks to a business—rather than solving for a problem that is already handicapping revenue, they are looking ahead and trying to proactively prevent outcomes they need urgently to avoid.

So, in honor of all those folks, here are some bonus recommendations of cybersecurity-oriented industry resources to bone up on!

• Krebs on Security: Independent journalism on cybersecurity. This week features reporting on the Colonial Pipeline hack, a handy reminder that information security protects not only data, but also supply chains and real physical assets.
• Even more important than assets are lives, which is why cybersecurity is so essential in healthcare. Check out @TheParallax on Twitter or subscribe to their newsletter. Other industry sources include HealthITSecurity and HIPAA Journal.
• SANS is a security training organization that publishes newsletters for a wide range of audiences. NewsBites is probably most useful for selling into the industry.
• Threatpost is a bit more flashy, but also offers newsletters and analysis on business impact that may help you speak to the value of cybersecurity investment.

If you want your expectations of revenue growth to become reality, investing in a top-notch sales team is a good starting place. Give your team a tune-up with training from the Maestro Group: Mastery@maestrogroup.co.