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About This Episode
Daniel Gray, CCO at Deluxe Entertainment has a really impressive background and a wealth of sales and leadership knowledge. He’s at the top of the game, but he isn’t here to tell that story. That you can google.
Daniel sat down with me to talk about the strategies he has come to believe in after a stellar career and access to the world’s top sales trainers. We talk about the most effective techniques he has learned along the way in incredible detail as a value add to the sales community as a whole.
Sales professionals out there in the world, do yourself a favor.
Grab whatever device you use to take notes, sit up and pay attention.
3 things we cover:
- Pivoting perspective on the sales cycle
- Templatizing a “Sequence of Events”
- How your technique and bottom line benefit
Sequence of events
Now that you’ve googled Daniel, you know why this episode was epic.
We dove right in, and Daniel’s talked about the benefits of creating a “Sequence of Events”.
He outlines “Sequence of Events” and explains that it’s a roadmap for the sales journey.
A plan of action that helps you, your prospect and each of your teams navigate the buying process to come. Yes, all of you.
Instead of having stressful and unexpected exchanges filled with pressure and thinly veiled agendas with your prospect, why not just lay it out for them? Creating a Sequence of Events at the start of the relationship positions you as the sales rep to discover their potential as a prospect, and allows the prospect to evaluate you and your service or product.
Up front.
While this method is going to change the salesperson’s experience, it is also going to enhance the prospects engagement in the sales environment. Most buyers have a challenge understanding how they want to buy, or if they are tuned in, may not be able to express it in a shared language.
By putting things clearly, and demystifying the sales journey, it allows for a more open and realistic dialogue from diagnostic to fulfillment.
Putting it into action
After years of high level experience and being exposed to some of the greatest sales trainers out there, Daniel determined that one of the most effective tools was the simplest. No bells, whistles or mega platforms to adapt, just pull up an old reliable Excel spreadsheet and create your Sequence of Events.
The salesperson creates what is ultimately a project schedule.
Step 1
Evaluate your organizations sales process, product or service and create a Sequence of Events template. Identify and lay out a generalized version of the sales journey. Design a roadmap. Make sure this template answers the question:
How do I take this prospect from lead to launch?
Step 2
Once you have a template in place, you will customize it for each individual prospect.
This is the time to coordinate with your leadership team, and others in your corner who will be a part of the cycle. Adjust the roadmap accordingly.
Step 3
Tune in to your clients individual needs and recognize or uncover any obstacles that may prevent the milestones you’ve laid out from happening. Understand the decision makers and decisions being made on their end.
Step 4
Plug these into your template and embrace your new approach with verve.
Throughout the Sales Cycle
Once each side has determined they want to move forward, the Sequence of Events becomes a reference sheet that lays out the sales cycle, needs, requirements, and whatever is relevant to the individual organizations process for both sides to understand where things are heading and what is expected of them.
Many sales cycles can be six plus months or longer, and there can be teams on both sides that need to stay in the loop as things progress.
The Sequence of Events becomes a central hub for all involved parties to visit as needed.
The shift from a traditional sales process to this open and more engaging partnership centric one may feel unnatural at first. For both you and the client will be learning how to communicate in a new and refreshing manner. Embrace the challenge, and report back to Daniel Gray with results!
For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.
About The Podcast
The Sales Engagement podcast is the #1 podcast focused on engaging your customers and prospects in the modern sales era. This show features real-life stories and best practices from revenue leaders doing the job day in and day out, in a casual, radio-like talk show.
Each episode features modern tactics, strategies, hacks, and tips to get the most out of your sales engagement strategy and help you navigate the next generation of sales. You’ll find energetic talks that will provide you with real actionable value around building meaningful connections and creating a better selling experience through authentic conversations that you can measure.
The Sales Engagement podcast is here to help B2B sales leaders, customer success leaders, and marketing leaders innovate and usher in the next era of modern sales by building pipeline, up-selling customers, and ultimately generating more revenue with more efficiency.
Hosted by Joe Vignolo, Senior Content Managing Editor at Outreach, and Mark Kosoglow, Vice President of Sales at Outreach.
