Guiding Prospects Through Change

It goes without selling, but the fundamental truth of sales is that change is the name of the game. As any father watching football on Sunday afternoon will tell you, change can be the enemy for most people. As a result, managing change can be a daunting task, especially for your prospects.

Specifically for sales coaches, your role is not just about closing deals but also about helping your team make the change process comfortable and appealing for potential customers. Whether your new reps have a natural ability to sell or have seemingly perfected it over many years, different products and services come with different levels of change so its your job to make sure your sales team is comfortable with navigating your unique change process with finesse and can make the transition smoother for your prospects.

In my experience with a few different sales coaches and managers, and with a number of different products, there’s a few steps that have become standard practice for me because they force you to think critically about the entire sales cycle:

1. Initiating the Change:

• Description: Clearly explain the reasons behind your product or service change and highlight the benefits that will be a result of the change.
• Best Practice: Equip your sales team with a deep understanding of the product’s value proposition and its impact on the customer’s future – think case studies.

2. Planning for Change:

• Description: Develop a robust sales strategy with a focus on how the product addresses specific customer pain points. Think back to your earlier conversations in the discovery phase and build on those findings.
• Best Practice: Provide your team with well-defined roles and responsibilities to ensure a seamless customer success experience for the prospect post-buy.

3. Assessment and Readiness:

• Description: Gauge your prospect’s readiness or appetite for change and understand their concerns with the change process – really listen to their concerns without trying to solve them!
• Best Practice: Train your team to be empathetic listeners by providing them with a few responses to concerns that highlight their willingness to understand further.

4. Communication:

• Description: Establish clear communication channels to convey how the product aligns with the prospect’s needs, reiterating those messages as necessary.
• Best Practice: Coach your team to personalize messages, demonstrating how the change will benefit each prospect specifically.

5. Training and Development:

• Description: Identify the skills and knowledge that reps must have to guide prospects through your unique change and prioritize training for them around those ideas.
• Best Practice: Offer interactive sales training that helps team members showcase how your product solves customer challenges – who doesn’t love a good role-playing exercise (hint: everyone hates it, but its really impactful).

6. Implementation:

• Description: Execute your sales strategy, making sure to address prospect objections and questions. If your training is effective, this is the time to let them do their thing!
• Best Practice: Encourage your sales team to be proactive “change champions” who can guide prospects through any challenges they encounter. A line I love to use is, “I’m not a salesmen, I’m a problem solver. No problems, then no me.”

7. Feedback and Evaluation:

• Description: Continually gather feedback from prospects and evaluate the impact of your sales approach. A quick call after they say no can provide some of the most relevant feedback you’ll ever get.
• Best Practice: Use prospect input to adapt your sales process, and celebrate with prospects when they reach milestones in the change process. Share those wins with the entire sales team as it helps remind everyone that selling change is in fact possible!

8. Sustaining the Change:

• Description: Ensure prospects see your product as an integral part of their future.
• Best Practice: Train your team to create a sense of belonging and value by demonstrating ongoing support and customer success stories. The worst mistake you can make is taking your clients for granted.

9. Iterate and Improve:

• Description: Use feedback from lost prospects, new and existing clients to improve your sales strategy continuously.
• Best Practice: Instill a culture of continuous improvement in your team, encouraging them to be on the forefront of industry knowledge and to adapt to ever-evolving customer needs.

10. Documentation and Knowledge Sharing:

• Description: Maintain a repository of successful sales stories and strategies.
• Best Practice: Share best practices within your sales team and promote, if not require, knowledge transfer especially from your top performers.

11. Closure:

• Description: Officially close the deal and ensure a smooth transition for the prospect. Continue providing support and resources as prospects adapt to your product.
• Best Practice: Encourage your team to reflect on the process and acknowledge what worked well and what didn’t to enhance future sales approaches. Keep an open channel of communication with customers, ensuring their needs are met and addressing any concerns promptly.

With these best practices, your sales team can master the art of guiding prospects through change with confidence and care. Remember, it’s not just about selling a product; it’s about helping your customers improve and succeed through transformation.