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For our fifth and final sales play (see Storyboard Sales Play #1 – “Sphere of Influence,” Storyboard Sales Play #2 – “Stack Ranking,” Storyboard Sales Play #3 – “Market Intelligence,” Storyboard Sales Play #4 – “What Does the Emerald City Look Like?”), it’s time to switch gears and think about how you help people, not companies.
For our fourth sales play (see Storyboard Sales Play #1 – “Sphere of Influence,” Storyboard Sales Play #2 – “Stack Ranking” & Storyboard Sales Play #3 – “Market Intelligence”), this play is one of my favourites. I’d like you to remember the movie The Wizard of Oz, in which Dorothy and her motley crew of friends (Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion) are trying to get to the land of Oz and visit the wizard inside the Emerald City. Along their journey, they encounter some pretty hairy situations, like fighting trees and flying attack monkeys… and they get pretty discouraged. What I believe would have motivated and better guided this team would have been a clear picture of what the Emerald City looks like, smells like, and benefits from – in advance! Dorothy would have been more determined to march to the Land of Oz.
For our third sales play (see https://salesforlife.com/blog/storyboard-sales-play-1-sphere-of-influence” & Storyboard Sales Play #2 – “Stack Ranking”), I recommend you bring the knowledge level to Pontification. The goal here is to present the prospective customer with a crystal ball view into the future. Showcase where the market is moving and provide ideas on futuristic trends that they need to be concerned with or focused on.
For our second sales play (see Storyboard Sales Play #1 – “Sphere of Influence”) to see the first play, I recommend you engage the prospective customer by showcasing Stack Rankings. We find, and our customers find, that this data-centric approach is a great wake-up call. As a prime example, Gartner’s Magic Quadrant rankings are an excellent example of this sales play. You’re delivering data to a customer to help them understand their market position against their direct competition, and/or best-in-class.
One of the most common questions and concerns we get from sales professionals is “what do I say and share with a prospective customer to really get their attention?” These sellers are stuck in the “Account Planning & Storyboarding” stage of their sales process, right between Account Selection and Account Engagement.
Sales can take a long time. In fact, it can take 84 days to convert from initial interest to opportunity and finally to deal. Since your pipeline is covering thousands of prospects at a time, it’s important to pay attention to where the opportunities exist.