Jul 11, 20218:53 PM - edited Aug 12, 202110:43 AM
HubSpot Employee
How do you connect with leads?
Connecting with leads can be hard. Even when people are interested in your product, they're often busy or have competing priorities. How do you get to that first conversation with a lead? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below!
This is something I think salespeople don't think about enough. You've talked to dozens (or hundred!) of people who are in the same sort of situation as your prospect--that makes you an expert! Empathize with them and encourage them! Let them know that you've seen this before, you understand the situation and know the path forward.
We must connect with customer and explore more about his business problem.The lead is always in conversion mode if we facilitate potential lead before any purchase
I connect with leads by trying to find out what their interests are - but also using the "Ikea" method of investment in somethign or someone. I ask them a question in which they are offering advice or somehow also helping me.
Fascinating, @FRogers! I've heard of the Ikea effect (people tend to be prouder of things they built themselves), but I've never heard it applied to sales conversations. Tell me more!
@KyleJepson you are a sales EXPERT and this is a great question - this is the scienceof connect, which is the hardest, most time consuming part of any sales process. A few quick tips
1. Stand up when you call. Its perfectly ok to pace or walk to relieve stress
2. Practice your greeting Dan, this is Kyle from HubSpot - that part has to be really strong or you might get a much different response.
3. In today's busy world you have to attempt to connect 4X in 12 days to get a response + call, email & voicemail - wait 2 days and repeat, wait 3 days and repeat, wait 2 days and repeat.
Re: practicing your greeting--I once saw an entire TED Talk dedicated to best practices for introducing yourself. Turns out your intonation and pacing as you say your name is crucial. How many times have we met people who introduced themselves so quickly or quietly that we had no idea what their name was? You gotta lead with confidence--say your name clearly!!
Try senior decision makers outside 'normal' office hours. Call CEO on mobile - hardly anyone calls the CEO so often they'll tell you who to speak with. You can then refer to the call with CEO to open the converstaion...
+1 to curiosity! Sincere curiosity makes asking questions much easier. Geniune interest in a prospect's business is disarming and gets people to open up. Otherwise, questions can start to feel like an interrogation, which is never what you want.
Building repport while also remaining on task is hard. It's also one of the most crucial things for a salesperson to learn. Thanks for calling this out!
I love this reply, as advisors, we tend to make a lot of assumptions too quickly without slowing down first. Thank you for reminding me how challenging "chit-chat" can be at times.
+1 to reminding them why they reached out. If you're fast enough responding, they'll probably remember, but I'm amazed how quickly people forget they requested information!
Once an inquiry was made and the category of interest has been identified that will help navigate the direction of the conversation. I would use a holistic approach to share the types of problems I help solve. This will lead to the initial call.
