Good Morning and Happy National Microwave Oven Day! In the spirit of the holiday, let's all agree that microwaving yesterday's fish in the office kitchen should be listed under 'fireable offenses'. If you feel the need to bring fish for lunch, be prepared to eat it sushi style (aka… cold). 🐟️ ❌ 

In today’s Follow Up:

• Elevate your prospect’s status 📈 

• 101 sales questions to qualify, close & negotiate❓️ 

• A deal closing sales tip 📆 

• Sales across the internet 🖥️ 

• LinkedIn sightings & a sales meme 😂 

Why You Should Elevate Your Customers Status

First impressions matter. 

Whether an in person meeting, cold call, or even cold email. People remember the way you make them feel during your first interaction. 

If you make a prospect feel inferior, they’re less likely to be receptive to what you have to say. 

But if you increase their status, they’re all ears… 👂️ 

Jack Schafer, a behavioral analyst for the FBI, wrote about a time when he was a professor at Western Illinois University and became the target of textbook sales reps. Jack recalls a specific sales rep who began her sales pitch by stating that the textbook she sold was much better than the textbook he currently used to teach his class.

The problem? She started her pitch by dunking on our boy Jack. 🏀

Without knowing it, the sales rep implied that Jack made a bad decision in his current textbook choice, which made Jack feel the need to defend his choice. Even if her textbook was wayyy better, she made Jack go into defense, so he was no longer receptive to hearing about a new option.

Although you probably don’t sell textbooks, the same mistake can be made in every industry.

So how can we fix this? With elevation…  

Elevate Their Status ⬆️ 

After the pitch, Jack had a realization.

Instead of attacking a prospect’s current solution, you should first elevate their status. Jack recommends using an opener that will make the prospect feel important and well-respected.

So, he cooked up an opening line that the textbook rep should’ve used:

“Hi, Professor [insert name], I’d like your advice about a new textbook we’ve just put out, if you have the time.”

This simple shift turns the sales pitch into a consultation, elevating the professor’s status. Jack found that when you invite someone to share their expertise, you're not just asking for their time… you're validating their knowledge and expertise.

Jack later told the textbook sales rep about the revised sales pitch opener he wrote for her and she decided to try it. Over the next few months, with the new opener, the textbook sales rep increased the number of professors who were open to looking at the textbook, which resulted in more textbooks sold.

In another industry, this opening line might sound something like:

“Hi {insert name}, I’m reaching out from {company}, and I was curious if you could help me out with something…? In your opinion, is {insert the problem you solve} currently an initiative for your team right now?”

In this situation, you are asking the prospect for their knowledge on a specific topic that only they would know. Humans are wired to want to help others, and this gives them the opportunity to do so.

Once they’ve given you their opinions or insights, you can use them as the starting point for your sales pitch.

TLDR:

• First impressions matter: People remember the way you make them feel during your first interaction.

• Avoid making prospects feel inferior: Talking down on a prospect's choice (intentionally or not) can put them in defense mode.

• Elevate their status: Use an opener that increases their status, by recognizing their expertise and showing that you value their opinion.

101 questions to qualify, close, and negotiate

We’ll assume you’ve done the prep work: getting a foot in the door. 

Now, it’s time to reel ‘em in -— and your line of questioning counts buckets. Here are 101 vetted sales questions to help you finesse the most comfortable fit.

Discovery questions to ask your prospects cover:

• BANT (budget, authority, need, timeline)

• Personal details and industry experience

• Closing, upselling, circling back, and more

Add a handful of these to the master list (since you have one of those).

Checking in on LinkedIn 👀 

Is this parable to the 2023 sales word? 🤔 

Sales Meme of the Day

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