Insight Selling

Archive : Insight Selling

Selling and buying are changing.

What it takes to win sales today is different than it was just a few years ago.

In our breakthrough research report, What Sales Winners Do Differently, we studied over 700 business-to-business purchases to find out what the winners of major sales opportunities do differently than the sellers who came in second place, but lost.

The #1 factor that separated sales winners from the rest was this:
“The seller educated me with new ideas and perspectives.”

We see this not only in our research, but also with our clients who are achieving significant sales success with an education and insight-based approach.

Not only are they selling more, they’re strengthening and deepening their client relationships while they’re at it.

Implementing insight selling, however, is fraught with challenges. Getting it done right is tricky. But those who do reap the rewards.

That’s why we created Insight Selling by RAIN Group, a comprehensive online training program that will help you become a true change agent for your buyers, resulting in increased sales and stronger client relationships.

It’s exactly what you need to transform yourself into an insight seller and ultimately find yourself in the winner’s circle more often.

Quote:

“This program has armed me with a comprehensive approach to building relationships with clients and closing more deals. I’d highly recommend immersing yourself in the resources and watching your closing ratio rise. Thanks for everything!”

– Mike Pool, Mid Market Acquisitions Rep., Rackspace

Winning Sales is Tougher Than Ever

Buyers are more educated than ever.

Competition is stiff.

Buyer options are endless.

While it used to be enough to present a strong ROI case and sell the value of your products and services, there’s been a shift in how buyers buy.

What used to work is no longer cutting it.

Today’s buyers want and need your insights. They value sellers who share new perspectives and collaborate with them to develop the best solutions.

In fact today’s top sellers—those who find themselves in the winner’s circle more often than the rest—don’t just sell the value of their products and services, they become the value.

In Insight Selling by RAIN Group, we’ll teach you exactly how they do it.

Based on our on-site training program for corporate clients, you’ll learn:

How to differentiate yourself and stand out from the pack
How to tell convincing stories and present ideas that demand buyer attention and action
10 questions you can ask buyers that challenge their assumptions and shape their agendas
How to secure insight discussions with top decision makers and create new opportunities
How to identify buyers who buy insights (and those who don’t)
How to make the business impact of your solution clear so you can sell more with less buyer resistance
Step-by-step how to lead effective insight selling discussions
How to avoid the most common insight selling mistakes
And much more

What You’ll Learn That Will Transform the Way You Sell

In 10 lessons, we’ll walk you step-by-step through exactly what you need to know to become an insight seller and achieve greater sales success. Here’s an overview of what you’ll learn in each lesson.

Lesson 1: The Power of Selling Insights and Ideas

Sellers who educate with new ideas and perspectives, and who are seen as sources of insight by buyers, are winning the most sales. In this lesson, you’ll learn:

The top 10 factors that separate sales winners from their competition—and how they apply to insight selling
The 10 core characteristics that distinguish sellers who are great at selling insights and ideas
How to make your ideas so compelling that they demand your buyers’ attention and action
Why you must sell differently if you’re driving the demand for your product or service—vs. when a buyer comes to you with a specific need
How to beat perceived commoditization of products and services

Lesson 2: Telling a Convincing Story

The sellers who excel at insight selling tell Convincing Stories that demand buyer attention and action. In this lesson, you’ll learn:

The 3 questions every Convincing Story must answer for the buyer
The 7 key elements that make up a Convincing Story—leave even one out, and your story will lack the impact necessary to inspire action from your buyer
How dissatisfaction layering is essential to making your message compelling
How Convincing Stories can make a buyer personally invested in working with you, greatly improving your chances of winning sales

Lesson 3: Impact

What type of success will your buyer achieve if they buy from you? What failures will they see if they do nothing? The ability to clearly communicate the impact you can have on your buyer is an essential component of insight selling. This lesson will teach you:

The two types of impact in sales
How to make that impact tangible to buyers
Why demonstrating impact builds credibility
How articulating impact maximizes the buyer’s urgency to buy from you
How to build your own impact model

Lesson 4: New Reality

The ability to paint a picture of positive change for your buyers can be the difference between success and failure in sales. In this lesson you’ll learn:

How to present a compelling image of how your prospect’s situation will improve if and when they buy from you
The 3 steps you must take to effectively convey a new reality to buyers
How combining quantitative and qualitative reasoning will maximize the impact of your presentations
Why conveying a new reality can inspire collaboration and commitment from buyers, leading to new sales and healthy client relationships

Lesson 5: Asking Questions that Generate Insight

Many think that insight selling is only about educating buyers through presentations and telling them what to do. They’re missing out on the full impact they can bring to the table. This lesson will teach you why asking the right questions can lead to improved sales success. Specifically, you’ll learn:

How asking incisive questions changes the way your buyer sees things and opens their minds to new opportunities
How questions can draw people out of their comfort zone—and why this is a great thing for your sales
10 questions that will spark insight, inspiration, and action from your buyers

Lesson 6: Buyers Who Buy Insights (And Buyers Who Don’t)

Not every buyer buys new ideas or appreciates insight in the same way. In this lesson we explain how to identify the buyers who will be most receptive to insight selling, and how to avoid those who aren’t worth your time. You’ll learn about:

The 8 buyer personas that exist in sales, and how they prefer to buy. Based on these personas, you’ll learn to adjust your sales process in order to maximize your results with each buyer type
Which buyer types are most responsive to insight selling
Why some prospects aren’t good buyers for innovative ideas and insights
How to identify different buyer personas and develop the right sales strategy for each

Lesson 7: Ideas for Insights Across the Buying Cycle

This lesson will explain how to handle insight selling at each buying and selling stage—from prospecting to closing. You’ll learn:

3 characteristics that all good insights share
5 insight-selling approaches you can use to generate meetings with prospects
How to change a buyer’s action plan by providing a unique perspective on the problems they face, and how they should solve them
Why you should push back on buyers’ assumptions during each stage of the buying process

Lesson 8: Leading an Opportunity Insight Discussion

When you’re trying to sell a new idea or insight proactively to a buyer, we call it “opportunity insight.” This lesson gives you the tools you need to successfully put opportunity insight selling to work, drive demand, and fill your pipeline with new opportunities. You’ll learn:

How asking questions at the wrong time, in the wrong way, can derail your meeting and sale
7 steps that will lead you to the best outcomes when you’re selling insight and ideas proactively
The balance you must strike between advocacy and inquiry if you want to make the sale

Lesson 9: Understanding Trust in Insight Selling

If you want to have success with insight selling (or any selling for that matter), there’s one ingredient you can’t do without: trust. Without it, even the best sales tactics will fall flat. In this lesson you’ll learn:

How trust and insight selling work together
The 4 components of trust, and how they work together

How insights and trust work together to create long-term sales success

Lesson 10: 10 Keys to Becoming a Source of Insight

Becoming a trusted source of insight isn’t something that you can just snap your fingers and become. This lesson lays out the 10 things you must do to get there. You’ll learn:

Why being viewed as an “industry insider” in 2 different ways is critical to your success
Why you must combine idealism and realism if you want your insight to have true impact
How not having a distinct point of view can derail your insight sales efforts
Why being comfortable with discomfort is important to your sales success

Quote:

“I am at over 180% for my quota for the month of Feb. Which is traditionally a slow month. The program works if you are willing to invest the time. BIG THANKS TO THE RAIN GROUP!”

– Victoria Mazzotta, Managed Sales Rep, Modern Postcard

What Your Membership Includes

Over the duration of the program, you’ll learn about the most effective ways to incorporate insight selling into your sales conversations.

10 Training Lessons: On-demand lessons walk you through the essential ingredients of insight selling. Lessons are designed to not only give you the core concepts of the topic, but to also provide you with the specific how-to information you need to go from understanding to action. Lessons are delivered in text, video, and MP3 audio for your convenience and learning preference.

Worksheets, Tools, Checklists, Case Studies, and Homework Assignments: Yes, we know you like homework about as much as 10-year-olds do, but transforming the way you sell and your sales results takes hard work. You can’t learn to ride a bike by reading a manual. You also can’t learn to become and insight seller by reading about insight selling. You have to do it. Following each lesson, assignments will be available for you to download and complete to help you immediately apply the learnings to your sales practices.

Monthly Q&A Calls with Instructors: One of the cornerstones of this program includes regular Q&A Calls to work through issues and problems as they arise. We’ll dig into issues you face and provide specific feedback and suggestions for your situation.

Stories, Examples, and Role-Plays: Each module includes stories, examples, and role-plays, where you’ll hear real-world insight selling successes and failures. This allows you to see how these techniques work in real prospect situations.