How to build credibility in a sales role
Advice for new sellers (or any seller!) on how to gain prospects' trust
DEAR STAGE 2: I was recently promoted from BDR to AE, and I’m the youngest seller on our team. I worry that I seem less experienced to prospects and that my age is an obstacle in sales conversations. How can I build trust and credibility? ~FIRST-TIME AE
DEAR FIRST-TIME AE: In a former life, I led NetSuite’s BDR team and hired hundreds of people right out of college — I know this pain first hand! It’s been years since I was coaching on this directly, so I decided to call on a close friend and Stage 2 LP, Jillian Kamiyama, to help answer this question. Jillian actually started her career as a BDR and has risen the ranks to an AVP of Emerging Sales at NetSuite. She has hired, and continues to onboard and train, AEs who are early in their careers. This is the advice she shares with her team:
Know your role in a sales process
One of the first questions Jill hears from new hires is, “I am selling to people with so much more experience, with VP and C-Suite titles — how are they going to take me seriously?” Let’s level set: your buyer is not expecting you to be an expert on their business or to know their industry like they do. Instead, they are looking for a seller to be smart, engaged, responsive, reliable and helpful. Your job is to make it easy for them to evaluate (and hopefully buy!) your software.
Be prepared: Before your first call, do your research on the company. Take 10 minutes to review the company website and the contact’s LinkedIn, make sure you have a sense of the industry they play in and have a few relevant customer examples ready to share.
Be curious: The first call is an opportunity to learn — ask questions and LISTEN. A dead giveaway you are new to your role is to read down a list of questions to “check the box” on qualification. Instead, listen to the answer and ask the next logical follow up question to keep the conversation flowing naturally. And take notes! You want to be able to refer back over time and ensure you are building a deeper understanding of their needs with each conversation — don’t make them rehash the same info.
Be organized and consistent: After each meeting, send a recap email. Ensure next steps are calendared, and before each meeting, send a detailed agenda. Make the prospect’s life easy by outlining the process, setting clear expectations and following through. You’ll be amazed at how far this goes in building trust (because so few people do it well)!
Be proactive: Throughout the process, you should be acting as the guide. Ask questions to uncover their buying process — who is involved in the decision? What is the contract review process? Does security/IT/procurement need to sign off? And think about who in your organization needs to be involved at each step in the process. For example, if they are bringing their CTO or CISO to the call, make sure you have the appropriate person on your side who can answer their questions.
Lean into your unique expertise
While you don’t have decades of experience, you can and should be the expert on your solution. Unless your prospect is a former customer (you should be so lucky!), you will know more about your solution, your product, and the value that you can deliver. In order to set yourself up for success and walk into calls with confidence, Jill recommends focusing on learning a few key things when you are new in your role:
Your product set: For point solutions/niche products this is a much easier task. But, for more complex product suites and platforms, it is critical that you understand the various products you sell, how they can be packaged together, and what options/editions/tiers are at your disposal. By the end of the first call, you should already be positioning the specific product that makes the most sense for the prospect. Naturally, you can get more nuanced as you learn more, but you should be laying the groundwork and guiding your prospect towards the right product/package.
The value your solution provides: Many sellers focus on learning the product. If you are responsible for delivering your own demos, this definitely makes total sense. But all sellers should start with value. Why does this product exist? What problem are you solving for the prospect? What impacts/outcomes will it drive in the business? If you can answer these questions, you have much better context and won’t fall back to discussing product features.
Your customers: You need to know your ICP, and most importantly who is not a fit. Being upfront and clear when you don’t see a mutual fit will earn you respect and save you time. And for those prospects who do fit your ICP, the absolute best way to convey value is to talk in terms of existing customers. Know your customer case studies inside and out — be ready to share the 20 second version and answer follow up questions.
Control how you show up
Whether we like it or not, it all starts with appearances. Jill recommends doing an audit of how your prospects first perceive you — the goal is for everything to be consistent and professional from the get go. Two focus areas:
LinkedIn: Sure, you are fresh out of college. But, if your picture has a graduation gown and cap, we have a problem. Make sure you have a professional picture (read: do not crop a photo with your friend's arm over your shoulder and a crowded bar in the background) and make sure to build out your profile so it’s more than just your college graduation year (in fact, consider removing this altogether).
Video calls: If you are not working from an office, take a moment to reflect on what your prospect sees. You do not want a messy room, unmade bed, or laundry in the background. Either choose an appropriate setting for a work call or blur your background. And please think about what you are wearing and how it will appear on camera - ditch the gym clothes in favor of a more professional top (sweatpants can stay 😝)
Jill points out that a lot of reps make mistakes by pretending to be something they are not. If we can leave you with one piece of advice, it’s to be honest and true to yourself. A buyer can read when you are embellishing or stretching for an answer. It’s better to say, “I don’t know, but let me figure that out and come back to you” than try to make up an answer on the fly. If you follow through, you will earn the trust of your prospects!
Until next week!