How to Master Comprehensive Sales Techniques

I recently closed a $15,000 deal with the potential of being a $100K deal. We had 3 discovery calls w/ 2 presentations. Here are 6 strategies I did to close this in less than 30 days that you can copy: 1/ Shared My Research: I did my homework on the company, industry, and buyer persona. I got to the call and shared my notes about my research and how I connected the dots. E.g. "Btw, from my understanding, you're dealing with a really antiquated buyer persona for the most part who is either using a competitor or some old school method of doing things, like managing their tasks on Excel..." Don't keep your notes private. 2/ Be Radically Transparent: Most salespeople try to hide that they're taking notes and looking at another screen, but prospects want to feel like you're taking their problems/goals seriously. E.g. "Btw, if you see me look at another screen, it's because I am. I'm writing some notes and ideas down as we talk through this, which I'll share at the end." Be candid. 3/ Looked For Problems: Salespeople hate opening a can of objections during a call, but I'd argue that is your best bet for maintaining control of the deal. I asked questions that would get me and my business in trouble. The prospect ends up selling you on why you'd be a better fit. E.g. "You mentioned you used to use [COMPETITOR] training program, why not just continue with them since the team is sold on it already?" Unsell yourself. 4/ Gave Value Before The Pitch: Most prospects expect you to spend more time pitching your services or product, but I flipped it on its head. I spent more time giving them strategies and advice on how to better run their department. E.g. "Whether you go with me, another provider, or none at all, here's what I recommend you do in the next 30-60 days.. [INSERT VALUE ADD]." Always teach something new. 5/ Set Up Next Steps Upfront: Most salespeople set up next steps at the end of the call, but that's when prospects are out the door. I like to set them up front because there's the least amount of resistance. E.g. "Assuming this would be fit, you'd probably want another call to dive deeper into your process so we can scope out the work and proposal, so let's set some time in the end to do that later this week for 30 minutes, sound good?" Make next steps worth it for them to agree. 6/ Recapped In The Beginning: At the beginning of our follow-up discovery call, I recapped their challenges/goals from our last call, but I did it by sharing my screens and showing them my notes. E.g. "Based on our last call, these were top of mind for you [LIST CHALLENGES/GOALS] - 1) What's missing from here? 2) And are these still top of mind? Use slides strategically. The takeaway: prospects don't want to be sold to, they want to be helped. #helpmedontsellme P.S. Here are my top 24 discovery questions to quantify pain that helped me close this deal: https://lnkd.in/edAVrn2v

“The best sellers talk less and listen more.” 🤨 This is surface-level advice at best, and misleading data at worst 👇 Just listening more doesn’t improve win rates. The data in and of itself is a false signal. Because what you listen for matters more than how long you’re silent. Letting your prospect talk just to hit your talk time metrics isn't helpful. It’s just letting someone ramble. And I think we have all seen how that plays out. But the seller had great talk time balance...right??? 🤦♂️ 🤦♀️ 🤦 Top sellers don’t just listen more. They ask better questions. They know why they’re asking them. And they know what to listen for in the answers. That is where listening really matters. Here’s what most sellers do: 🔴 Ask a pain question. 🟡 Hear something they can help with. 🟢 Jump all over it with a pitch. 🔴 Slow down. Great discovery happens after the first answer. The gold is always in the second and third level questions. On the same exact question. That is where you need to listen. But let’s go deeper... This isn’t just about pain. Great sellers know where else to dig. ✅ Quarterly priorities. Every business has internal themes by quarter. If you align with this quarter’s priority, you speed up urgency. ✅ KPIs. Every function is measured by something. Marketing? Campaign output or content velocity. Sales? Pipeline, SALs, proposals, not just revenue. HR? Hiring targets. KPIs → metrics → gaps = business case for change. The space between current KPIs and future metric improvement is the business reason for change. ✅ What they’ve tried before. What failed? Why? What did they like about other solutions? Why? ✅ Buying dynamics. When change happens in their company, who’s typically involved? Who usually signs off? What do they need to see to feel confident? What initiatives got approved, and what didn't? What was different? You’re not just looking for “pain.” You’re looking for what drives change, who owns it, why it matters now, and what success has to look like. That’s what listening with intent looks like. You know what to ask for, where to dig, and what to listen for. P.S. This is what real MEDDICC discovery looks like. All those questions = metrics, economic buyer (who is more than just a person, also what they care about), implications of pain, competition, champion, and decision criteria. Not walking in and saying “Who’s your EB?” or “What are your metrics?” It’s understanding: What they’re solving Why it matters Who cares What needs to happen And how decisions get made It's understanding the questions and answers that lead to business change, which also happen to be each MEDDICC element. Shocking, right? That’s the difference between just talking less and knowing where to guide the conversation.

90% of salespeople run terrible discovery calls. At best, they "check the boxes." At worst, they annoy the hell out of buyers. Use these 5 tips for discovery calls that buyers actually THANK you for: 1. "Prime" the call for success. Bad discovery calls start with bad expectations. You do one thing (ask questions). Your buyer expects another (demo). Get the first 5 minutes of the meeting right: After a few min of small talk, say "Do you mind if we talk about the agenda?" Then ask: "Here's what I have in mind for this call. Lmk if you're thinking something different. This meeting will be successful if ________________. Does that feel right?" Fill in the blank with an objective. THEN set the agenda to get there: "The way we'll accomplish that is first by talking about X, then Y. Anything to add or remove?" Do that, and you're ahead of most sellers. 2. Match your questions to the buyer's journey Meet your buyer where they stand. If they're exploring solutions, ask: "What's driving you to explore this category?" If they're not, and they're still crystallizing their challenges, ask: "Let's talk about the top challenges in [you area] that would be an issue if you didn't solve in 6-12 months." The point? Your first few questions should "meet them where they stand." Match your questions with the buyer's journey stage. 3. Firm up the 'why' When your buyer gets off the Zoom call: - they have 100s of emails - they have missed phone calls - their Slack is lit up like a Christmas tree They'll forget about you. Unless you get to the 'need behind the need.' Ask this: "What's going on your in your business that's driving [challenge they shared] to be a priority? What's the origin story of how this challenge got prioritized?" That question is as close to magic as you'll find. 4. Banter on the root cause Bad salespeople do nothing but get information. Great salespeople *create value* in the sales cycle. Here's how: Help your buyer think through the 'root cause' of their problems. - Offer new perspectives - Share what you see with customers - Ask challenging (but tactful) questions Business problems are messy. They're hard to figure out. If you help them do that, you create value. 5. Quantify the value 'Quantifying value' is misunderstood. Most sellers: Do it because it serves you, the seller Great sellers: Do it because it serves the buyer When you help your buyer quantify the value: - you help them appreciate the full magnitude - you help them know what they can ignore - you help them set priorities Try asking: "What metric will improve the most if you solve this issue?" That will start the process. - What tips would you add for better discovery calls that buyers enjoy? P.S. I've kept a list of 39 questions that sell over the last 12 years. These come from watching 3,000 Gong calls, and running over 1,000 discovery calls myself. Here's the free list of 39 questions that sell: https://go.pclub.io/list