Kissing the Right Frogs

Hello Reader,

Winning new business is what we all want to do but very often we can waste a lot of time and energy chasing opportunities which we stand very little chance of winning.

There is a misconception that each opportunity we get is one that we have to pursue at all costs.

This is a fallacy.

Not every opportunity is right for us. Not every frog we kiss will turn into a Prince or Princess.

Most people understand that this is the nature of Sales and Business Development and it's true that not everyone we speak with, will work with us.

But I would rather improve my chances and not kiss slimy frogs who are highly unlikely to ever be anything other than a slimy frog!

Chasing every opportunity is also a recipe for wasting time and getting yourself emotionally worked up.

Whilst winning new deals makes us feel great, losing consistently makes you feel rubbish.

As a result of not winning deals, you start to doubt yourself and get into a negative mindset which can be incredibly damaging (here is a link to a podcast I did on why you lose deals):

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So how can we avoid this?

Within this morning’s email, I am going to outline a really simple way in which you can qualify the prospects and leads you are speaking with.

Maximise the chances of engaging with prospects who are a good fit for you
Minimise the chances of wasting time on prospects who are unlikely to work with you

Here is how.

Step One - Identify your ideal client

Sales in 2024 is all about Relevance.

If you have worked with the IT Director of a Financial firm and solved a problem for them, you are far more likely to do business with another IT Director of a different firm than to try and sell to an IT Director of a Manufacturing firm.

Buyers get confidence and trust those who are similar to them.

So have a look at your customer base right now and those customers who LOVE what you do.

Try and write down 6 to 8 common elements to them.

See the example below that I created for a client of mine in the financial services industry. In the example below, when we looked at the clients who loved what he did, they all were in senior business roles, were high earners and just didn't want run-of-the-mill investments.

These are the criteria my client uses, and with a little bit of thinking you can create your own.

Or you can join my new Sales Plan Course if you aren’t comfortable doing this and want some help 😀

The key is to create a list of criteria (minimum 8 and a maximum of 12) to start with. Don’t overly stress on this. Just create something initially and you can amend it over time.

The key is writing down common elements about each customer you have and what they love/enjoy/value from working with you.

Once you have finished this list, I would like you to go back to the list and highlight 3 of these criteria which are the most important to you. The ones which are vital to you or your company for you to achieve success with them as a client. I will explain why this is important below.

Step Two - Create a simple criteria sheet when we have sales conversations and score our conversations with these clients

Now that we have a criteria, we want to print this off and have it close to hand when we have conversations with new prospects.

Sales conversations are all about asking great questions to the people we meet. It's not about pitching and talking, it's about asking and listening.

The next step is creating some questions from the list of criteria you have created and then to score our conversations with these prospects based on the answers they provide.

Remember that the questions should always be open so that we can allow people to express more than just one-word answers.

In the example above that I shared, my client wants his clients to have a long-term capital plan over 7-10 years. This allows him to manage and grow their portfolio and achieve impact over time.

In his case, I have suggested he ask his prospects this question to find out whether they meet the criteria he has.

"What timeframes are you working with for the Investment goals you have? Under 5 years? Between 5 to 10 years? Tell me more?"

By asking this question and then probing into the response he gets back (remember first sales meetings should be run using my LAPS Meeting Model, he can assess whether the prospect is aligned with what he does.

If the prospect answered ‘Yes I want this to be a long-term, 10 year plan’ then he would get a score of 1 for this question.
If the prospect answered ‘I just want something to help me in the next 12 months’ he would get a score of 0 for this question.

The goal behind this method is that by asking prospective customers questions about what they value and care about, you can create a simple scorecard.

Of course, how you ask these questions is vital and please do not think I want you to be doing some form of exam assessment within each new conversation you have.

If you do this, it will put prospects off and you won’t be in control. In Sales, we always want to be in control of the process.

The goal here is to have these questions/criteria in a notebook and then ensure you have covered each question through the natural way in which the conversation flows.

By the end of the conversation (and it may take 1 or 2 meetings to get these details), the goal is to have a score from the criteria list you have to assess the lead on.

Remember, this is about saving time and not having to spend too much time with frogs that will never turn into princes or princesses!

If you have 12 criteria, for example, you could use the scoring system below.

If the answers you got back from a prospect meant they scored between 1 and 4, you can see they are not a good fit for you.
If they scored 10 though then it would mean they are a better fit and someone worth spending more time on.

What about the category in the middle you ask?

Well, remember when I said to highlight the 3 most important criteria? If you get a score in the middle then look at the answers the prospect gave to those questions. If they were a positive then it's a good sign but if they didn't score highly then it's something to be a bit concerned about.

As with everything in life, nothing is ever completely black or white. There are always nuances and when we have these conversations it's VITAL to use our intuition and gut feel to make the right decisions.

If you feel that the deal could be strategic or a chance to break into a new market then take this opportunity, sure.

But give yourself the best chance of success.

You wouldn’t go into a butcher and ask for fish, so be clear about what you are good at, what value you can bring and who your ideal customer is.

Then ask the relevant questions and see whether those you meet as prospects are a good fit.

If they are not or don’t score highly then you are far better off to say, ‘Thanks so much for your time, I have enjoyed meeting you but from what you have said, I don’t think I/we are the right option for you and I don’t want to waste your time’, than to chase an opportunity and waste time on someone who isn’t right for you and who will cause you to waste time, energy and emotion.

We have to kiss frogs in business, that’s part of the deal. I just don’t want you to have to kiss too many of them who will never be more than just a frog.

Building sales criteria and having a clear persona of who you work with was a vital part of our sales plan. By the way, the new course launches in September. Become part of it here…

Until next Saturday, keep smiling and stay focused on becoming a fly on the wall of the brain of your buyer.

James