Hi Friends, Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world,...
Hi Friends,
Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world, what I’m thinking about, and what I’m learning about. Forward anything that you feel inspired to share.
What I’m Hearing From Sales Leaders/Professionals
Lots of messaging work going on with my clients this week. This is happening at the strategic and tactical levels. Part of the issue is that there has been a significant slowdown in sales cycles and, while win rates are not down, deals are taking longer.
When this happens, it becomes incredibly important for salespeople to help their prospects connect the dots between what the solution does and what the prospect is really trying to solve. Yes, we are talking about articulating VALUE!
Buyers often get caught up in thinking about their own problems and how “unique” those problems are. The reality is that most problems, at their crux, are not that unique. It is the salesperson’s job to act like a great screen or songwriter and connect the “universal (solution) with the so specific (how the prospect sees their problem and their world).” This is easier said than done, but one way to accomplish this is to use the prospect’s descriptive language when speaking about the features, benefits, and value of your solution. If they say they “want a better mouse trap,” you say, “we have built a better mouse trap.” If they say, “I am not sure my teammates would use this,” you ask, “what about this do you think your teammates would not like?”
Another way is to use stories, analogies, or similes to get them to understand that their situation has been lived and solved before. Great songwriters connect their unique experiences with the universal truths that they are singing/writing about. It is our own viewpoint applied to a universal truth that makes us connect to the music. In order to successfully get someone to commit to action and move a deal forward, you must do the same thing.
Two things before I go: 1. If you want to chat about this, either comment on my LinkedIn post or DM me. 2. One of my favorite examples of connecting the universal to the specific is how the following lyrics makes most people think about how they felt in middle or high school about calling their crush:
And as I stare, I counted
The webs from all the spiders
Catching things and eating their insides
Like indecision to call you
“I Miss You” Blink 182
What Made Me Laugh
Summer officially kicked off on Monday, Memorial Day. I feel good!
https://x.com/TheFigen_/status/1793000126606200849?t=14l26584dbsAPklAQawcSg&s=19
This Week’s 40/20
For every 40 hours of work, I believe you should spend 20 (additional) hours mastering your craft. This is how I spent some of my 20 hours this week.
This past week I read an article about Dan Casey, a young high school football coach that is followed by many NFL coaches. What is interesting about Dan is that he gained his following by posting about one football play a day and dissecting it. Sometimes his analysis was right, many times it was wrong. The reason Dan started posting was because he really didn’t have anyone to talk about football to, but he had a lot thoughts, questions, and ideas. He figured that if he posted, he could find people who wanted to talk football. He was seeking knowledge and, when he didn’t find it in his immediate circle, he went out and created one. It amazes me how often people can manifest their own success by just trying something. So, for all you salespeople that are struggling and not getting enough coaching, go ahead and reach out to others and create your own circle.
Potpourri for 800
In Jeopardy!, potpourri is a category that covers a variety of topics. For Fuentes Fridays, it’s a category where I may cover anything from someone interesting I met to my favorite new restaurant. Whether or not it's related to sales, my hope is that it will bring you value.
Latinos are a warm and giving people. So much so, that Netflix password sharing was the most prolific in Latin American countries. That is why Netflix A/B tested their two methods of solving password sharing in Latin America before rolling it out to the rest of the world. The “crackdown” added 30M new paying users in 2023, their second-best year ever. (Shout out to Trung Phan for the nugget.)
Quote for My Son
Every day, I give my son a quote to help him learn and not repeat the same mistakes I made in my youth. This was my favorite from this past week:
Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship – Denzel Washington
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Let me know what you think about this week’s edition of Fuentes Fridays. Which section was your favorite? How can I make this better? Shoot me a message on LinkedIn @willfuentes.
Until next week!
Thanks,
