Stay Relaxed and Ready to Sell: Part 2 of 5

This is the second part of a five-part series, “Stay Relaxed and Ready to Sell.”of 5

Words matter, choose wisely

Salespeople tend to love jargon, acronyms, and industry terminology.

A lot of it gets in the way of selling. Especially when we’re talking about clients — here’s one I hear all the time....

“I got a new client!”

But, drill down a little further and it turns out that new client is actually a new unqualified lead.

Why does this matter?

Because the time we spend sorting out the reality costs their boss — my client time, money, and energy.

What happens when a team shares a sales language?

Sales meetings are shorter. Handoffs are cleaner. And we can focus more of our precious time and energy on what we’re here to do: bring in new business with ideal clients.

A high-functioning internal sales shorthand is key to a robust, inclusive sales culture.

Let’s talk labels — what does it mean for a target to be labeled as a Suspect, a Lead, a Prospect, a Client? What’s the difference?

Suspects need what we have but they aren’t aware that our business exists. Many of the people who see our marketing content are Suspects. That's one reason we need marketing; it creates an awareness of our brand and our business.

A Suspect converts to a Lead when they show interest in what we provide. Leads need to be qualified – more about that in the webinar.

A Lead converts to a Prospect when they’re fully-qualified. Then we’ll run discovery, present them with a proposal, and pursue them until we get a “yes” or a “no for now.”

When they say yes to our proposal and we win the deal, then, and only then, can we call them our Client. And some sellers will even wait until the check is in the bank to call them a client.

If we lose the deal, then our target converts to a Warm Prospect.

It isn’t important for you to use the same labels I use. The important thing is that YOUR teammates use the same terms that you — as a team — decide works best for you.

Next we’ll dig into sales activities and conversion criteria.