Slides from my workshop delivered in Moscow to Skolkovo Super League companies, as part of the MassChallenge entrepreneurship "bootcamp". "Connection-based selling" is a framework to think through the sales process, that hinges upon the notion of making emotional connections to the buyer, prior to rational arguments for your product.

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MassChallenge / Skolkovo Super League
Connection-based selling
Sep 9, 2014
Rishi Dean | @rishidean

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Sales is the life of your company
§ Raising outside investment only gives you the ability
to play the game
§ Selling is how you earn your living, and determines
whether your company succeeds or fails
§ Selling is different from sales management

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People buy from people

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We buy from people we trust
§ We trust people with a common world view
§ We trust people who listen and understand
§ We trust people who want the best for us

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We decide emotionally, and then
rationalize logically

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It’s biological, not cultural

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Must appeal to both the “elephant” &
“rider” to make change

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Rational
§ Price
§ Quality
§ Speed
§ Features
§ Reliability
Emotional
§ Aspiration
§ Beauty
§ Safety / Security
§ Nostalgia
§ Fairness
§ Control
§ Fame
§ Fear of loss

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Make the buyer feel like a hero

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Connection-based selling
1. You need give people a reason to care (cut through the noise)
2. People need a reason to change (pleasure seeking / pain avoidance)
3. Product is in the customer's mind (vision match)
4. Emotional decisions with logical justifications (what's in it for me?)
5. Can't sell to someone who can't buy

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Connection-based selling framework
Personal
§ Learn about the buyer as a person
§ Figure out their underlying business issue
§ Uncover the buyer’s pains & aspirations
Valuable
§ Connecting solution to business issue
§ Quantifying the value proposition (rational)
§ Making it meaningful for them personally (emotional)
Credible
§ Supporting your claims (e.g. references, benchmarks)
§ Handling objections
§ Make your buyer a champion to their stakeholders
Clear
§ Determine the decision-making landscape
§ Develop a shared plan and definitive next steps
Hook
§ Start with the “WHY” to spark interest and gain the
opportunity to sell

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hook
Watch video
1

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The Golden Circle
Watch video

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personal
2

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Understanding your buyer
1. What is their role / responsibility in the organization?
2. Who do they report to?
3. What trying to achieve? How are they compensated?

16. Uncover the business issue (don’t assume)
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1) Time to market
§ Funding or resources too low
§ Lack of expertise
2) Cost management
§ Redundant or manual processes
§ Not understanding variable cost contributors
3) Reliability & Quality
§ Excessive complexity
§ Lack of testing

17. Ask questions to uncover the business issue
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Open
§ Shows the client you're
interested
§ Helps you understand
their perspective
§ "Can you tell me
about...", "Why is...",
"Tell me more...”
Probe
§ Shows you have a
good understanding of
the problem
§ Uncover more specific
needs
Confirm
§ Shows you understand
their paradigm
§ Playback / confirm

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valuable
3

19. Connecting your solution to buyers’ issues
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1. Ask "WHY" to elevate the discussion of business issues and any
unrecognized problems
2. Probe to steer toward problems you can uniquely solve and
3. Frame the solution around their point of view
4. Quantify the value proposition / outcome
5. Make it personally rewarding for the buyer to solve this problem

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Ask questions to determine value
Open
§ What is it worth to
you?
§ How would you
measure the payoff?
§ What will having this
do for you?
§ How does this impact
you personally?
Probe
§ Have you considered
how this relates to cost
management or
revenue?
§ Can you give me an
idea of how big this
issue is?
Confirm
§ Is this enough for you
to buy?

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credible
4

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Remove uncertainties with external support
1) How will you support your claims?
§ Case studies & customer references
§ Benchmarks
§ Awards, media, PR
§ Relationships, “halo effect”, (investors, advisors, academics)
2) Overcome key risks and objections
3) Make your buyer a champion to their stakeholders

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clear
5

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Assess both sides of the power balance
§ Power in the buyer to make a decision
§ Power in the sales person to allocate resources and
time to an opportunity

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Mapping the decision making landscape
§ Who else is involved in this decision?
§ Who else is impacted by this decision?
§ Once this decision is made, who signs the
paperwork?
§ Who can veto this decision?
§ If you had to get more funding, who would
you go to?
user
influencer
buyer

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Develop a mutual plan for next steps
§ Ask for access to decision makers
§ Develop a “reverse timeline” working backward from
success
§ Work together to fill in missing steps
§ Avoid scope creep by asking for something in return

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Other factors for successful outcomes
§ Respect time and deadlines
§ Show empathy
§ Know their business
§ Shared understanding
§ Deliver on what you promise

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Hook
§ What is your “WHY” | “HOW” | “WHAT”
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3
Personal
§ List 3 things you know about the prospect
§ What are their roles / responsibilities
§ What are they struggling with
§ What do they personally want to achieve
Valuable
§ How does your solution connect to their
business issue
§ What is it worth to them / How does this
impact their business
§ How would you measure the payoff
§ What does it mean for them personally
45
Credible
§ What support (e.g. customer references,
benchmarks) can you use to support your
claims
§ How may the prospect use this to be a
champion for you
Clear
§ Who are the other decision makers
§ Who are the other stakeholders in this
decision, who are the users, who can veto
§ What is your mutual plan and next steps
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Connection-based selling cheat sheet