Snippets for 5-Star Sales Conversations

by Dave Kahle

Sales training for my first professional sales position consisted of memorizing two four-page, single-spaced presentations – word for word – and then presenting them to a group consisting of the other sales trainees as well as various executives.   The presentations were videotaped, played back and critiqued. Then we did it over again, only better.  That went on for six weeks.

           The product we were selling was highly technical, and we were selling to professionals who knew a lot more about the application then we did.  The company, wanted to control the quality of the presentation and make sure that nothing was misrepresented.  They accomplished that by training us to memorize the presentations.

           Later in my career, I sold surgical staplers.  This was another highly technical product, sold to professionals (surgeons) who knew a whole lot more about the application than we did. Not surprisingly, we also were trained to give certain presentations verbatim.  Every morning, we had a quiz on our desk.  If we scored less than 80, we were dismissed and sent home.

           Both of those were rigorous training programs that produced articulate, confident salespeople.  As you might expect, both of the companies who employed me were the industry leaders in their respective markets.

If you could Improve on only one sales skill that would have the biggest impact on your performance, which would it be?

That’s easy – Asking Better Questions.

       Good questions are the heart of selling.  Asking better questions is the one sales skill that will make the biggest difference in your performance and your confidence.

       Yet, few salespeople have ever been exposed to the details and practices of creating better questions.  That’s why I wrote the book, Question Your Way to Sales Success.

       For the next 30 days, you’ll be able to access – for FREE -- one of my on-line lessons in which here I teach the principles and practices that I have taught to thousands of B2B salespeople.

       Join the XI Community (eXcellence & Influence) for $19 a month, and access this lesson and 70 other free lessons to help you build eXcellent businesses, sales teams and territories.  The first month is free , and you can cancel at any time.

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           While I suspect that few salespeople today would be up for such a rigorous approach to preparation for their jobs, for the most part they don’t need to be.  If the issue is quality-controlling the sales presentation, today’s technology can do a better job of that.  A professionally produced video can present a product or service much more accurately and persuasively than most salespeople.

           Still, there is a place in the toolbox of the professional salesperson for certain memorized pieces of conversation.  I call then ‘snippets.’ 

           A snippet is set of words that is used frequently in the course of sales conversations. A snippet is created, memorized, and used frequently.

            A snippet is created by first identifying the application.  In which circumstances are you likely to say the same thing to one customer that you did to another one?  You may, for example, find yourself introducing your company to a new prospect.  In each sales conversation, the words can be exactly the same. That’s an application for a snippet.

           Snippets are founded on a couple core principles:

1. Words matter, and there are better — and maybe best — ways of saying something. So, if you are going to use a snippet for introducing your company to a new prospect, for example, you can create a combination of... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE