Explore

Guide an exploratory conversation so that you’re in control, but your prospect feels like they’re being empowered to make the right decisions. Unlike traditional qualification frameworks like BANT, this new exploratory framework is something you’ll openly share with your prospects.

Focus on the prospect’s challenges first. People generally don’t make changes unless they have a challenge that impedes their progress. Use the small yet powerful wording adjustment of “challenges” instead of saying “problems.”

Connect goals with those challenges. Talk about the prospect’s goals. Listen for an acknowledgment that they don’t have a good solution and are afraid they won’t achieve their goals.

Share plans that fit the prospect’s timeline. Introduce how your product can help with the buyer’s goals and challenges. Ideally, your strategy is uniquely positioned to help in a way the competition cannot.

Build an exploratory guide to ensure the discussion is effective for the buyer. Leverage initial buyer interest to develop additional trust and uncover buyer goals through an exploratory conversation. Use their own credibility to probe deeper into the buyer’s specific goals and challenges. Assess whether you can help the buyer efficiently and more thoroughly than prospects can on their own.

Through proper value positioning and a strategic questioning process during the  

• Build Rapport
• Recap Prior Conversation
• Set An Agenda 
• Understand Challenges
• Define Smart Goals
• Understand TimeLine
• Explain Negative and Positive Aspects

As an inbound salesperson, you serve as a translator between the generic messaging found on your company’s website and the unique needs of your buyer.

During the Advise stage, legacy salespeople deliver the same presentation and same case studies to all buyers. Legacy sales people might do some light discovery around buyer needs -- just enough to know there might be interest. Then, they revert to autopilot and deliver their generic presentation.

However, modern buyers have already seen the content of this generic presentation online. They struggle to connect the company’s generic value proposition with their specific challenges, and legacy salespeople fail to help the buyer make these connections.

On the other hand, inbound salespeople tailor the presentation to the buyer’s context, leveraging the information gathered during the Connect stage.

During the exploratory conversation, inbound salespeople discover whether the buyer can be helped, wants their help, needs their help, or is prioritizing goals the salesperson is uniquely positioned to help with.

By uncovering the buyer’s context and tailoring the presentation accordingly, inbound salespeople add tremendous value to the buyer’s journey beyond the information available online. Inbound salespeople serve as translators between the generic messaging found on the company’s website and the unique situation of the buyer.

Provide a recap of what you’ve learned. The beginning of the presentation is all about restating where the prospect is now and the insights you’ve gleaned from your earlier conversations, such as a challenge your prospect has or a goal they want to achieve. Impress upon your buyer that you are uniquely suited to help them.

Suggest ways to achieve their goals. Craft a customized presentation that connects their goals and challenges to your offering, and shows exactly how they’ll benefit from your service.

Confirm the budget, authority, and timeline. Based on what it takes to set up their account and implement your solution, work backward to determine when they need to sign your contract. Outline a timeline that meets the buyer’s deadline.