What’s your favorite part of being an introvert entrepreneur? My guess is, it’s doing what you do best, making a difference, and having freedom to create the life you want. I also think it’s safe to guess that it’s NOT sales! Implementing a sustainable sales process is often – not always, but often – the most stressful part of being an introvert entrepreneur. Most introverts I work with and speak to don’t consider sales a
natural strength. What they often don’t realize that many of their natural strengths are actually integral to an effective sales process. That’s what we explore with author and sales consultant John E. Doerr in this podcast conversation.
We look at what behaviors and beliefs make the difference between winning or losing someone’s business; how the Insight Selling model is ideal for introverts; and how technology and social media have changed the sales process.
Co-President of RAIN Group, John E. Doerr is co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade, and Sell in Any Situation (Wiley, 2011), Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently (Wiley, 2014), and Professional Services Marketing, second edition (Wiley, 2013). In 2011, John was named the Top Sales Thought Leader by Top Sales Awards.
(PS: If you enjoy this podcast and find the information useful, please consider leaving a review on iTunes!)
Connect with John:
Website: http://www.rainsalestraining.com/
Book on Amazon: http://tiny.cc/hawaox
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnEDoerr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RAINGroup
Google+: https://plus.google.com/113052564975835026733/posts
This ties in very nicely to the content marketing strategy. A great way even for extroverts to connect with people because it gives them the right tools to actually make a connection and not just talk all the time. To get great content out there you need to be a great listener otherwise your content will not get read.
Thanks for this Beth. What would you say is a great first step to get good helpful content out there for someone who is just starting out?
PieterPrinsl Absolutely! It’s so important that we make listening a priority. With regard to your question, I’d say start with listening 🙂 to the people with whom you want to connect and serve. Be an observer and learn what their pain points and dreams are. Then you can speak directly to what you hear. To borrow from the language of music, you want to establish resonance, and that requires that you be in tune with one another. Being in tune happens when you’re listening carefully and matching someone else’s pitch. One more idea once you have a sense of their needs and language: meet them where they’re at. It’s important to provide a solution of course, but make sure that you first acknowledge the pain point, fear or need. That way the other person can easily tell you are talking to THEM and not some abstract prospective client or customer. I hope that gives you some good food for thought! Best wishes!