How to unlock more sales: The surprising power of curiosity

In this podcast we flip hard sales calls by replacing fixed pitches with genuine curiosity, open questions, and active listening. We show how note-taking builds trust, how to tailor value, and why this mindset wins repeat business and referrals.

• why one-size-fits-all pitching fails 
• using open-ended questions to surface real needs 
• active listening and note-taking to build confidence 
• mapping features to outcomes that buyers value 
• building trust that leads to referrals and repeat business 
• reducing pressure by admitting unknowns and clarifying fit 
• summarising needs to close with alignment

Please remember to like and subscribe if you find this useful.
If you have any sales questions or sales topics you would like to have covered in the podcast, please drop me a line, Graham@salescraft.training, and I will do my best to answer them.

Welcome to the podcast!

Chapters

• 0:13 Welcome, Purpose, Who This Helps
• 1:00 The Problem With Fixed Pitches
• 2:44 Make It About Them, Not You
• 6:47 Curiosity As Your Sales Superpower
• 8:27 Open Questions That Unlock Needs
• 10:26 Listening, Note-Taking, And Confidence
• 12:17 Active Listening And Tailoring Value
• 14:38 Trust, Referrals, And Long-Term Wins
• 17:16 Summary, Mindset Reset, And Next Steps
• 18:30 Free Resources, Course, And Guarantees

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:07

Hello and welcome to another podcast. My name is Graeme Elliott. Now, if you're somebody who finds cust client meeting, sales calls something of a struggle, if your experience of them is that you're somehow trying to overcome maybe objections from your client, but there's always that feeling that it's a bit of an uphill battle, then this podcast is for you. So if you stick with me and um we'll go through this one, I'm going to give you some strategies or a key strategy to flip that around so that not only will you find making sales calls a lot more enjoyable, but you are highly likely to find that you start getting much, much better sales results. So please remember to like and subscribe if you find this useful. So let's go straight into it. So this is um I'm going to talk about a superpower that you have, but you uh might not realize that you have it. So one of the things that I see a lot of salespeople do, particularly salespeople who are struggling, is that they go into the pitch. And although in the last podcast I gave you some suggestions for kind of templates around pitching, for me, pitching is not what sales is about at all. Pitching to me is a kind of one size fits all. You have you go through the same process with everybody, and that is a major mistake, but it's one that I've seen a lot of salespeople do, particularly almost exclusively, salespeople who are not doing well. And this is why knowing it, which might be knowing a lot about your product or your service, can actually backfire on you a little bit. Uh, because although what we tend to do when we think we know everything is we start making assumptions about the people we're speaking to, about what their problem is, how we can best solve it. And the bit that we miss, the step that we miss, is actually having a conversation with them to really understand what their problem is and what they are looking for from the solution that they are hoping that you will provide to them. So this is the very first thing that I want to cover, and this is really the core of this particular uh podcast. So the truth about your sales pitch is that if you have a fixed pitch, the chances are that pitch is doing as much to turn clients off from you as it is to make them likely to buy from you. So I'm going to talk about that as well. But the first thing I want you to think about and the approach I want you to take, and this is really your call to action at the end of this podcast, is to get curious. And what I mean by that is to get genuinely curious about what your prospect is trying to achieve, what is important to them, what their concerns are, what are the key things they're looking for, what are the things that are likely to kill the sale, but just have a conversation. And it is as simple as that. You leave behind all of your preconceptions about how that client might be using your product or service, and you just listen to them. And this is to me the the probably the most fundamental and important aspect of face-to-face selling, and it's an area that I see so many salespeople fail to do, and it's simply to be genuinely curious about what your prospect, your client is trying to achieve, but take away all of your preconceptions. So, an example of this is um when you're talking to somebody, and maybe they're talking about they'll be talking about obviously what you're selling, and let's just take the example of selling a card to somebody. Um, they might start talking about some features that they like, or um, you know, some combination, and immediately that triggers you into thinking, oh, okay, if I give them option pack number one, uh, that will cover most of that, or I could do option two with this extra option uh there, and that will give me uh that actually works out a little bit better value for them. You go through all that process, but what's happening is your client is still talking, but you're not listening anymore. So this is what I'm really talking about, and this also happens in a sales pitch. In many ways, a sales pitch is even worse because what people will tend to do is sit down, it might be with a brochure or a data sheet or something else that kind of goes through all the features of their solution. And while you're doing that, you're not listening to your client. And they've probably they're probably getting turned off from you as well because every other salesperson they've spoken to about their need has done exactly the same thing, and they don't feel that they're being heard, they don't feel that that salesperson has a genuine interest in solving their problem, they simply feel that the salesperson is there to try and make a sale, and this is an important point, it's something I dive into in a lot more detail in uh the online course, consultative selling. In order to have a client a client get on your side and be much more willing to buy from you, you need to have them feel that you are genuinely interested in what they are trying to do, not what the person you last saw was trying to do or other people in the same industry are trying to do, but what they're trying to do. So it's all about them. The moment you start talking about features in your solution, that's about you, and that's a real turn off. And if you don't believe that, just switch places. If you were the client and a salesperson came in and started to pitch to you the way you pitch to uh your clients, how would you feel? Would you feel that that person is genuinely interested in solving your problem? Or would you feel that they are just there to try and make another sale? The moment they've got the sale, they're out the door and they're on to the next one, and you're just another just another number in a spreadsheet at the end of the month. So this is the thing. So the key thing here is to really work on your conversation skills, but your ability to have a conversation with your client where you are genuinely curious. So let's look at some things that um you can do to start building that. So the first thing is to use a lot of open-ended questions. So if you don't know what they are, I'll tell you what they're not. And um what they're not is a closed question. A closed question is simply a question where the answer is either yes or no. Now, closed questions have their place, and you certainly would be using them at at certain points in the sale, but for most of the sale, you want to be using open questions. So that would be like, How do you uh see this change in whatever that you're selling? How do you see that benefiting you? What are the benefits that you hope to get from the new solution? Uh, what are the what are the problems you're trying to solve with this? It's asking those questions where you set them up, but you don't lead them. You open the door for them to talk, and you in fact cut encourage them to talk, and you're not setting any kind of agenda with the question. Um, if you think about it, a good closed question is would you like red or blue? It's not a yes-no, but it's a one or the other. And um if they wanted green, you've sort of just ruled that out. So obviously the open question in that case is which uh colour would you prefer or would you like to have, that kind of thing. So I hope this is pretty simple, straightforward. Um, so the next thing, once you've asked your open question, is to listen. And so I've already spoken about this, but again, what a lot of people do is exactly the example I gave where there's a trigger, some trigger word pops up that you know uh leads to maybe certain options or um whatever it might be, and that's it. You've stopped listening at that point. Now, by all means, write things down. That's my favorite way of doing things. I like to have a notepad and I just jot things down. Also, a lot of clients I think feel um more valued, let's say, when they see somebody writing things down. And again, um, the example I've given before in other podcasts, and certainly in the course, is if you're in a restaurant and you are giving a waiter an order for your table and there's several people there. What's your level of confidence that you will get the correct meal delivered or correct meals delivered when you compare one waiter to another? So the first waiter is the person who doesn't write anything down at all, just stands there nodding, okay. And the second one is the waiter who jots everything down on a pad. Well, I don't know about you, but for me, I certainly have a much higher level of confidence in the uh the second person. And that's exactly what you're doing as you write things down, and it's actually really helpful when it comes to later in the cell when you're closing because you've identified all of the key uh requirements, everything you need to deliver. You may well have identified some areas where you're not quite able to meet the need, so you can then explore that further and see if those are showstoppers for this particular client because often they're not. So it gives you a checklist and it means that you don't forget things. And also in that conversation, this is again part of the sales process, you'll have a review at some point. So having notes from these open-ended uh question sessions uh will give you a pretty comprehensive overview and checklist for what that client is trying to achieve, and you will be able you will know with a very high degree of confidence how well you are able to meet those needs. So listening is really, really important, and we there's a thing you can do called active listening, and what you're doing there, um, and it this is a really, really simple introduction to it, but you're listening to the client and you're listening for certain keywords that you'll then come back on and ask um further questions about just to get clarification. But what you're listening for are the things that are most important to that client. Now, this gets away from the one size fits all because that's where most pitches come unstuck, and it means you can begin to tailor the conversation so that you really, really understand what's important to that client and you understand what's perhaps less important. And this comes back to other aspects. So this so that's a practical level, but from a psychological level, people are much more likely to buy from somebody who they feel gets them, as in understands them, as an interest in providing them with a solution, as opposed to somebody who is simply selling to them. So I've said this in a different way already. But again, if you if you're not sure about that, just put just switch roles, be the client. And how do you feel about a salesperson who seems to be genuinely interested, is letting your talk, is clearly listening to what you're saying, is making notes, is asking for clarification on certain things, drilling a little bit deeper, um, as opposed to somebody who doesn't really seem to be listening that much, just seems to want to get through uh talking through their brochure, the data sheet, whatever it might be, and then get out of there. Certainly for me, I don't feel that warm to people who treat me that way. I I'm far less inclined to place an order with them, give them my money, but and it may well be it's quite a lot of money. Again, what the client's investing in could be a sizable investment for them. And most of us will only make those kind of investments with somebody that we have a reasonable degree of trust with. We feel that they're gonna deliver for us, they're gonna be looking out for us. If there are any doubts in there, if if we feel they're not really that interested, then the chance of making a sale tends to drop off pretty rapidly. Okay, so the other thing to remember about all of this is the long term, because the better you are at being really curious about your clients' needs, the more likely you are to get repeat business, to get referrals, to get all of those things that enhance your reputation so that you become the go-to person in your field for that particular um solution to a problem. And this is really powerful, and don't underestimate it because always remember when you get a referral, if you get somebody coming to you as the result of a referral, they're at least 50% of the way there to signing with you because they've been referred to you by somebody they trust. Uh it's been done in good faith. They they they know that that person would not refer someone if they didn't do a good job. So you've already got a nice hot lead to work on, and your chances of converting those are very, very high. And what did you do in terms of advertising or looking for these people? You may not even know they exist. So this is why referrals and reputation and really looking out for your clients is so important, and it's one of those things that I've seen some people really devalue, and it's a major mistake because they are losing business they didn't even know was there, and this is really important. Okay, so that's pretty much it for this one. So I'm gonna just um really summarise, I guess, uh, what we've got here. So a key thing that can differentiate you from other salespeople is to be genuinely curious, and in being genuinely curious, you let go of all the knowing it stuff that you have, and hearing a trigger word for you, and then letting your mind wander off about what options you might be able to sell this person or that kind of thing. Just sit there and listen. Make notes by all means. I think that's very powerful, as I've already said, but you are there to really, really understand what that client is trying to achieve. And this is gold. Every time that client speaks to you and tells you more about what it is they're trying to achieve, why they're trying to achieve it. This is gold. This is the difference between making a sale and losing it, is the difference between you winning and a competitor not winning. So this is very, very important. So just be genuinely curious. Think about those open-ended questions if you have not done this before, and maybe sit down, think about the meetings, the kind of meetings that you have, and what are the kind of questions you can ask that will open the client up so that you can define what their key needs are as applied to your product, your service, whatever you're doing. So I can't do that for you, but once you've got an idea of it, once you've got a few questions, that will give you a starting point. And then as you practice with this, you'll get better and better at it. Other ones will come up uh from different meetings, you'll get different ideas, and this really does set you on the path to not only making more sales, but having a much more enjoyable experience. Uh, the the one of the other benefits of doing this is it takes a lot of the pressure off. Again, with salespeople who are struggling a little bit, and perhaps people who are new to sales, there's a lot of pressure that you have to know everything. You absolutely don't. That's a slightly different topic. But if you're getting all of your, if you're asking questions, you're getting requirements from the client, you don't have to know it all. And in fact, in some ways, not knowing it is better because it gets you really listening to what the client is trying to do. I've even had clients write things down. If it started getting technical and a bit beyond my where I'm comfortable with uh technology, I will get them to write it down so that I get it right and pass it on to somebody else so that communication is as clear as possible. Okay, so that is it for this podcast. Um please like, subscribe. Certainly if you feel that this has been useful, and if I've earned a subscription or a like, please um do that. If you have any sales questions or sales topics you would like to have covered in the podcast, please uh drop me a line, uh Graham at salescraft.training, and um I will do my best to answer those. And remember, if you want to find out more about your sales style, um there are quizzes, there's and in fact there's closing tips as well on the website. They're free. You just register and you you get that information. And then if you if you find that useful, there's a free webinar. It's about 45 minutes on three different um three key three aspects of sales that uh have been really important in my career. So I share uh things you can apply straight away there. And finally, there is the course if you want to if you want to really back yourself, and um what I would say on uh the not the stuff that isn't free, uh there's a saying in some circles is and that is that the transformation starts with the transaction. And um what I mean by that is stuff that's free, often we don't value it very much because it hasn't cost us anything. Whereas once we've invested uh some money, and it might be a significant amount of money for us, having made that investment, that's when we're really committed to doing the work and seeing the change happen. So if you are genuinely looking to transform your uh sales experience, your sales career, then I absolutely recommend that you give that a go. Uh with the sales course, you get 12 month guarantees. So if you uh use the course and you apply everything to all of the work and you still don't get it to get the result, then um I'll give your money back. It's as simple as that. Okay, that's it for now. Thank you for uh listening, and I'll speak to you on the next podcast. Bye for now.