Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here.

Today’s edition only takes 4 minutes.

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Elite sellers know how to work with buyers, not against them.

After all, a buyer decides to buy before you make a sale.

This week, we’ll cover how to show buyers:

• You know them
• You know their space
• You’re better than alternatives
• You’re a professional worth doing business with
• You’ve helped others like them

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Show buyers you know them.

It’s simple, but not easy, to stand out as a seller.

Invest the time to research, the effort to actively listen, and the energy to respond specifically to what they say.

You’ll stand out.

Here is a quick checklist to run before every interaction:

• Skim past emails
• Check any recent updates on their personal LinkedIn profile (headlines, title, time at the company, skim “about,” and skim “Experience”)
• Check any updates on their company website (Skim “Homepage,” Skim “About Us,” Pricing page - if public, look for customer logos)

And end every meeting by emailing a few notes to the buyers so that each conversation feels like “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” instead of “Groundhog Day.”

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Show your buyers you know their space.

Every company, industry, and geography is slightly different.

Between 2013 and 2017, I sold to Yoga and Pilates studios (among other niches).

The software, use cases, and business models were almost identical. But the language was radically different.

Saying “Reformer” to a yoga studio owner or “Vinyasa Flow” to a Pilates studio owner could end the conversation.

Imagine the reaction you would get from a PepsiCo exec when you explain how to improve Coca-Cola's sales. That’s about what I would get when using the wrong language.

Use a “Point of View.”

A Point of View is three bullet points outlining changes in the market and then linking these to your solution.

For example, a SaaS providing automation to small e-commerce brands might say:

Points of View give buyers insights they may otherwise have missed, and they’ll be grateful to speak to you, even when they decide not to buy from you.

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​Show your buyers why you’re better.

Any business exists only if it does something better or different from alternatives.

Most sellers forget this, and most buyers need help understanding the differentiators. It’s hard to connect the dots from the inside (sellers) and even hard from the outside (buyers).

When elite sellers do the hard part for their buyers, they sell more as the buyer has clarity on what they’re buying and why it’s different from competitors.

This applies to both the strategic vision and the specifics of the pitch.

To apply this, whenever you pitch, make sure you also explain why the buyer should care.

For example:

• We have great customer support > so our customers know there is always a human to solve their problem much faster than a machine.
• We have dashboards with all your information > so leadership can tell at a glance which team member is a high performer and which team member is slacking.
• We have alerts > so your team can take action on any problems as soon as they know, keeping your customers happy.

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Show me you’re a professional

Elite sellers out earn highly skilled professions such as engineers or accountants and are usually the highest-paid people in any company.

Sellers are a buyer's first impression of a company—and first impressions matter.

It’s why we dress up nicely when meeting new people.

Elite sellers know they are the face of the company and ensure they:

• Be on time
• Dress appropriately. It would be weird for a plumber to arrive suited and booted or a businessman in an astronaut outfit. Be appropriate for your buyers.
• (For virtual meetings/calls) Have a good quality camera, lighting, and sound setup.

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Show them how you’ve helped others like them.

Ultimately, buying anything new is a leap of faith.

Elite sellers derisk this leap of faith by presenting varied and irrefutable proof points of when their company has helped other buyers win. These could be anything from:

• Written Case studies
• Video Testimonials
• Client Webinars
• Referral calls

Ideally, these examples are as similar as possible to the buyer.

“Similar” depends on the buyer. It can mean the same industry, the same job title, or even the same geography.

In 2022, I was selling to a mid-sized Indian business.

India is notoriously difficult for Western software companies to sell to as many Indians feel the West doesn’t “get” them.

Lucky for me, we had several Indian customers. But in different verticals and different sizes.

It was enough.

By speaking to a geographic peer, the buyer sent the deal to procurement that week, and we closed a high 6-figure contract not long after.

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Let’s be clear:

None of the above will explicitly win you deals, but they will prevent you from losing some.

And at the end of the day, the fewer deals you lose - the more deals you win.

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Until next week,
Scott Cowley

PS Want to make Q2 better than Q1? Book a free 45-minute consultation.​

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