Framing from the prospects perspective by Scott Finden

The best BDR I ever worked with was Ben Smith.

We joined Reachdesk together as the 1st and 2nd employees and in those early days in 2019, nobody knew who we were…

We had no brand awareness, no customers, case studies, references or even any awareness that the concept of B2B gifting was a thing. Nonetheless, Ben would relentlessly book 20+ meetings with mid & senior-level Marketing contacts month after month after month.

He’d stand up to mark his 3rd meeting of the day on our whiteboard tally. ‘How are you doing this!?’ I would ask. Not in a mad kind of way (although I have to admit I was jealous on some levels) but in a ‘how can I learn from you’ kind of way.

Ben would talk me through his approach when getting an objection via email:‘OK so they’re a Field Marketer so they care about XYZ. The biggest challenges for them right now are ABC and they’ve got X coming up next month. So we should write…’

He would fully empathize with the prospect. He would pause, think, and speak aloud his interpretation of the situation entirely from their perspective. Then and only then would he begin crafting a response that would tie directly back to their goals, focuses, pains & top-of-mind thoughts.

Ben went on to become Team Lead, Manager, BD Director, and is now Marketing Director by age 30.

The Lesson

This taught me this lesson that has had a profound knock-on effect. It taught me how important it is in Sales to frame things from your prospect’s perspective.

It starts at the top-of-funnel when prospecting and it stems all the way through to close and beyond.

It impacts every objection you handle, every email you write, every demo you run, every question you ask, every next step you book, and every proposal you write.

Examples

Instead of setting an agenda by saying ‘What I want to cover today is’…

I’ll say ‘What we’ll cover today will help you understand XYZ in order to understand if there’s a good fit.’

Instead of asking ‘Can we book in a next step?’...

I’ll paint a picture of a value-led next step that includes 2-3 agenda points that I know someone in their position typically benefits from. I’ll then ask ‘Does this sound like it would be a useful session?’

Instead of sending over suggested times for that next step after the meeting…

I’ll say ‘It sounds like you have some next steps on your side in mind?’ and map out what needs to happen internally. Then uncover when is feasible for those things to happen and then be proactive in offering 3 to 4 time slots for later.

Prospects appreciate you putting in the effort on a conscious level;

And feel your customer-centric, value-led approach on a subconscious level!