The Build Cycle Podcast #054 – Increase sales the easy way w/ Matthew Pollard

Do you want to make more sales? Do you struggle to close the deal? Then you’re probably doing it all wrong.

Matthew Pollard bills himself as “The Rapid Growth Guy”, and that branding is just the teaser to bring you into his world of story telling as the best sales method. It’s not a fairy tell. As you’ll hear, using facts and figures to convince someone to buy from you is a fool’s errand. Better to tell stories that exemplify your knowledge and understanding, and combine those with questions that help you present the right information in the right way so the customer convinces themselves that they need you. The best parts? You basically take your competition out of the picture, and there’s no need for a hard close. The right people will want to buy from you!

Get ready for a roller coaster of information overload, and be sure to bookmark the show notes on this for a recap. Hold on tight, here we go!

DISCUSSION TIMELINE

01:40 – Stop competing on price – a parable
10:00 – How to make people want to buy from you
14:00 – What’s the secret to consistently high sales?
20:00 – Create your sales process to increase wins
24:15 – Treat sales like a science experiment
27:00 – How do you get the customer on board?
35:10 – How do you formulate the right questions to ask?
39:25 – Why do stories work?

Introverts Edge author Matthew Pollard tells how to increase sales with storytelling

POST-GAME ANALYSIS

Matthews approach to sales takes a while to actually get to the “sales” part of it. He starts by capturing peoples’ attention by offering

The point is to separate yourself from others by not commoditizing yourself. Don’t call yourself a “branding consultant”, try “The Brand Generator”. Or whatever. The point is, create a results-driven statement of persona and quick story that makes people want to learn more. That makes networking much easier, and it gives you permission to pitch your product or service to them while they’re extremely receptive.

The trick is leading with a story that illustrates how you solved their problem for someone else. Not only does this show that you understand their problem, but it implies you can actually solve it because you’ve done it before. But stop there. You want to lure them into asking for more. You don’t need to tell them everything you can do and know in that first meeting…keep it top level and relevant to their needs. Then invite them to talk again.

Then tell them a story…

Think back to the stories Matt told in our interview. They weren’t overt sales pitches. They were simply ways for him to share what he does and knows in a way that educates and bolsters his credibility. If your message is right, the prospects listening are basically selling themselves.

And that brings up an important point. You might not always have the right story for each prospect. Take any rejections and learn from them. Why didn’t it work? Were you solving a problem the customer didn’t have? Could the delivery have been more relevant? Use failure as an opportunity to improve and adapt.

Which means, use a process. You don’t need the exact same script each time, but you need to have the baseline of what you need to say memorized so you can focus on what your prospect is doing (body language, what they’re asking) as opposed to what you’re saying. This helps you de-personalize a “no” because they’re not saying no to you, they’re just saying no to your process, which means you need to improve it. As you improve it, make sure you’re only changing one thing at a time – just like a science experiment, you need to know which changes work and which don’t.

the Introverts Edge sales strategy book by Matthew Pollard explains the best ways to improve sales

How do you know when a prospect is ready to buy?

Matt’s example of asking someone whether they’d like a “day class” or a “night class” is a perfect way to use mid-stream questions to help tailor your pitch to their needs. It also helps gauge their readiness to buy from you. Either they keep asking questions of you, or they don’t. If they’re not engaged, they’re probably not interested. Which means either your offer isn’t a good fit, or you haven’t presented the right offer in a way that’s right for them.

Asking questions about their business gets them to talk, but asking the right questions gives you the opportunity to help. And if you can show them how your solution saves them money, time or something else that’s important to them, you increase the likelihood of closing the sale. The trick is showing them how you’ve solved that problem for others, which has the benefit of implying that you’ll solve it for them, too, without you having to overtly state it. Examples are far more powerful tools than words. It also builds trust because it shows that you truly understand their problems.

Find your niche & play to your strengths

Just getting started? Matthew says it’s easy to learn what people’s problems are, you just have to ask. It only takes a few to learn what the main problems are for any industry, then craft your stories and solutions around those. This means you need to niche down, then create a package and price for that group. Worried that niching down will hurt your potential? Not really. In fact, it’ll likely improve your odds in that industry, but then still allow you to sell generally to any other industry. The key, though, is to remember that by becoming an expert and the best in your niche, you can command a premium price.

It’s psychology

The power of stories is that they trick the brain into actually hearing your message. They come across as true, because you’re not presenting facts, you’re simply telling a story about something that’s happened while creating more of a relationship. Stories are also more memorable, and they drive the message home more effectively, helping you stand out against the competition.

The takeaway: Stop selling with facts and figures. Start selling with stories.

Links & Resources

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