In this edition of the ConnectingIT Podcast, host Dan Tomaszewski, SVP of Channel and Community at Kaseya, chats with Mike Brooks, Director of Sales and Marketing for audIT about the importance of understanding the knowledge level of who you are selling to, prospecting tips and the biggest sales challenges today.
Dan starts off the conversation by asking Mike for his thoughts on why MSPs spend too much time trying to prove to their prospects that they know their stuff. Mike said that not only do MSPs have this issue but, “Anyone who is selling something is cursed with more knowledge than a prospect has” (2:45). Mike added that, “Sometimes we feel like we’ve got to prove our stuff; to try and talk too much; to try and prove that we’re an expert because we feel naturally compelled to do it” (3:55). Mike’s advice was that we need to actively think about this and realize that we as salespeople know more than the other person. As such, we need to talk to them with a level of knowledge that they will be able to understand (4:20).
Dan goes on to ask Mike about what happens to your prospects if you are not able to communicate to them in a way they would understand. Mike said, “As customers, we’re always comparing things and if you don’t understand what the seller is talking about you make your own points of reference and it confuses a process. So, what we tend to do is focus on the thing that we do understand, which is price” (5:38). Mike added, “If you are talking over somebody’s head you may be insulting their intelligence and you kind of come off pompous” (6:02). Mike’s advice was to talk to your prospects in a way in which you break down complicated things into easy-to-understand and digestible chunks.
At one point in the interview, Dan asked Mike what he tells people in sales to be successful, and the biggest piece of advice Mike gave was, “You’ve got to ask good questions and listen because they’ll tell you what their issues are, and you’ll uncover things that they didn’t know they needed” (8:20).
Mike’s advice on prospecting is simple.“Don’t overthink it. Sometimes it is just as easy as just calling somebody, building a relationship, and seeing where it goes” (11:50).
Dan and Mike then go on to talk about some of the biggest sales challenges out there and they both agreed that closing is the number one thing people in sales struggle with when they go out and present. Mike said, that to overcome this, “You need to have a planned presentation derived from the information you gathered from a technical assessment of a prospect because it shows your prospect you’ve listened to them, you understand their needs, their pains, their problems, what they want to solve and show them the solution” (18:17).
At the end of the interview, Dan asked Mike if he had any final thoughts that would be helpful for listeners. Here’s what he had to say:
“I’m going to give a quick tip on anchoring. If you do not create a point of reference for somebody, they will anchor a different point of reference. So, all MSPs need to figure out a way to create an anchor like a price anchor for your prospects so they have a point of reference when making a final decision” (25:17).
Listen to the entire episode below.
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