Meeting apps. Scheduling tools. CRMs. Social media.
Salespeople have a wide range of valuable tools available to help drive deals forward. But not every tool is tangible (or downloadable).
For example, there’s a common adage that “sales is the transfer of enthusiasm from one person to another.” That means that enthusiasm — for the product, brand, and even the rep themselves — is one of the most powerful tools a salesperson has in their belt.
We’ve talked before about the sales Impulse Curve, and how prospects are more likely to buy as they become more excited and engaged. That means that finding ways to drive your prospects’ enthusiasm is key to increasing your likelihood to close that deal.
Here are some tips to help you coach your reps to leverage enthusiasm as a sales tool.
Always stay a step ahead of your prospects.
I’ll let you in on a little secret here.
Okay, it’s not really a secret. In fact, it’s an obvious fact, but many salespeople seem to either not know it, forget it, or just ignore it.
You can’t get someone excited about something if you’re not excited about it yourself.
And yet, prospects will get on a call with a rep who isn’t fired up about what they’re trying to sell. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Driving enthusiasm means staying a step ahead of your prospects. If their enthusiasm is at a 1, you need to be at a 3 or a 4. Otherwise, they’re not going to “catch” that contagious enthusiasm (or should we avoid “contagion” analogies these days?).
Now, a word of caution. Notice that I said to be “a step” ahead of your prospects, not “ten steps.”
That’s because as powerful of a tool as enthusiasm is, if not wielded correctly, it can be an agent of destruction.
If a prospect is at a 1, and your rep meets them with a 10, then they’re going to be overwhelmed, annoyed, and even potentially pissed off. In that case, your rep has done the exact opposite of what they had planned.
This is why active listening is such a critical skill. It helps your reps uncover their prospects’ enthusiasm levels, and understand what kinds of information could get them more pumped up about your product.
Not all reps have this skill innately; they have to learn it. This means that you, as the leader, have to coach them.
Stimulate their enthusiasm by providing value.
There really is only one reliable way to stimulate enthusiasm: provide value.
When a prospect first encounters your company, they aren’t going to be super enthusiastic about you or what you do. That’s completely natural, because they don’t know you or what you have to offer.
That’s where your reps can change the narrative by demonstrating your value:
- Speak directly to their problems and pain (which means you have to uncover that information first)
- Focus on how you can make their lives and their business better
- Don’t present them with irrelevant information
If your team can effectively present your value to their prospects, you’ll have a more enthusiastic and ready-to-buy group.
Drive enthusiasm for the relationship.
Let’s say you get two phone calls.
The first is from a vendor who you have a great rapport with. You’ve both invested in the relationship, and you can say that you genuinely enjoy talking to this person.
The second is from another vendor, but your relationship with them is more transactional. There’s nothing wrong with them, but you just don’t jive with them as much.
Which call are you more likely to pick up?
Obviously, it’s the first one.
So let’s turn that around. How does a rep make sure that they’re the first caller and not the second?
In addition to providing value, they have to invest in the relationship. Spend the time to get to know them. Ask questions. Share personal stories. Find common points of connection.
The more your reps engage in a genuine, human relationship with their prospects, the more enthusiastic they’ll be.
Drive enthusiasm for your brand.
Brand enthusiasm generally falls into two categories.
The first would be established brands, like Apple, Disney, Nike, etc. These are companies that have stellar brands and reputations, and maybe a little bit of nostalgia.
But there are other, less established brands that have a loyal, energized customer base. These are generally more niche. While they don’t have the market share of an Apple or a Disney, their customers are no less enthusiastic about them.
People get excited about brands. Whether it’s an established or new brand, if you can find a way to get people enthusiastic about yours, you’ll end up increasing their likelihood to purchase your product. What’s more, if you manage to create a brand loyalist, the LTV of that customer will skyrocket.
On the other hand, a bad brand reputation could be detrimental.
You may be thinking: “What’s this guy talking about? Isn’t brand something that marketing should be responsible for?”
Well, yes and no.
Marketing is responsible for building an exciting, engaging brand for the business.
But every customer-facing team, including sales, is a brand ambassador. They have to live the brand in all of their interactions with potential and current customers and get them excited to work with you.
Find the moment where their enthusiasm matches yours.
Earlier, we mentioned that your reps need to stay a step ahead of your prospects when it comes to enthusiasm.
However, there will come a point where their enthusiasm matches the rep’s. At that point, it’s time for them to go in for the sale.
At this point, the prospect will start to say things like this:
- “Wow, our team really needs this!”
- “This would save us so much time!”
- “I can’t believe we didn’t know about this before!”
- “You’re offering all this for [price]?!”
If you get a client to say that, two things.
First, excellent job! You’ve pulled off something really, really impressive.
Second, you’ve got to get them to buy ASAP.
When a prospect’s enthusiasm matches or exceeds your own, that’s when they’re most likely to buy. After that, however, their enthusiasm will quickly start to wane.
So don’t wait. Go in, close that deal. Then go pop that bottle of champagne: you’ve earned it.
How coaching intelligence can help your reps.
Enthusiasm matters, both among your reps and their prospects. If you can leverage enthusiasm as a sales tool, you can significantly enhance your revenue generation.
However, this is a learned skill that you have to build among your reps. This requires training, coaching, review, and feedback.
With coaching intelligence, you can review rep calls to see whether they’re taking that necessary action to drive enthusiasm. You can identify key performance gaps in the following areas:
- Uncovering customer pain points
- Sharing the value of your product
- Reading the room
- Setting next steps
- Building the relationship with the prospect
- And much more
From there, you can work with reps to close those gaps through an individual, personalized coaching plan. As your reps get better at identifying and driving prospect enthusiasm, you’ll start to see a positive impact on your revenue.
For more information on our coaching intelligence offerings, click here.