Why Trusted Advisors Win Sales More Often

In the final phase of the Inbound Sales Methodology--the Advise Stage--you want to make sure you have a way to advise your opportunities, so it is not perceived as a pitch.

Trusted advisors must have a very different way of advising. Trusted advisors: 

• Tailor their presentations
• Work with the buyer to develop a purchase timeline
• Work with the buyer to understand what’s driving their process
• Understand what else is influencing their decision (company, client, co-worker, etc.)
• Align product value with the buyer’s needs
• Use consistent terminology
• Transfer their knowledge to the post-sales team
• Checks in with the buyer after the sale
• Continues a relationship post-sale

Optimizing Opportunities

Presentations and pitches should be tailored to what your buyer cares about most. Consistent terminology is also important because it relates to the buyer, and the buyer is familiar with the terminology.

If you resort to conducting a tour or a demo, make sure you only select features most important to that buyer--in order of importance to them. You could even run a revenue growth projection or an analysis tied to your buyer’s metrics and business.

Bottom Line

The key is to let the buyer know you have done your homework on your end. The buyer should feel as though you are adding value to their journey.

You have recognized the buyer is a good fit for your company because they match up with your buyer personas. Now you must help them understand why you are uniquely positioned to help them.

By the Advise Stage, your team should have a relationship with the buyer, so they can get honest answers from them. Your sales team should figure out their timeline, work backwards from it to create a plan that meets that deadline, and--after the sale is over--the relationship should not end.

The salesperson should transfer all their knowledge to the post-sales team and check in with the buyer now and then to make sure they are continuing to find success. 

Is your sales team using trust and personalized presentations to advise prospects and close sales? Let us know in the Comments below. 

To learn more about how your team can optimize sales opportunities, watch our webinar recording on "How to Use LinkedIn Social Selling to Attract Great Clients and Grow Revenue."