238: Avoid Sales Pipeline Assumptions with Steve Gielda

Steve Gielda is co-founder of Ignite Selling and author of Ignite Your Sales Strategies: A field guide to accelerating the pipeline - an Amazon Top 10 Sales Book! the book helps sales teams be able to think and act strategically, construct a seamless sales pipeline process, understand your customers’ buying factors for each unique sale, proactively manage the key influencers, navigate the competitive landscape and quantify the true value of your solution. Steve's company has trained over 25,000 salespeople and sales leaders worldwide. MENTION MANAGE SMARTER PODCAST WHEN CLICKING ON STEVE’S BOOK ON IGNITESELLING.COM GETS THE BOOK FREE In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Steve discuss:  Managing Assumptions in Sales: Steve emphasizes that assumptions in the sales process, especially during new product launches, can lead to failure. He highlights the importance of identifying and engaging with the right influencers and not assuming that the same influencers from past sales will be relevant for new products. Critical Decision Criteria: Steve points out that salespeople often assume price is the most critical decision factor for customers. However, research shows that other factors like ease of use and serviceability often rank higher. Salespeople need to ask the right questions to understand the true decision criteria. Creating Urgency: To drive urgency in customers, it's essential to quantify the value of your product and how it helps the customer's business succeed. Understanding and articulating the business metrics impacted by your solution can significantly reduce stalled opportunities. Role of Technology in Sales: Technology, including AI, helps by reminding salespeople of milestones and providing actionable steps to prevent opportunities from stalling. However, it's crucial to have a well-defined sales process and clear milestones. Importance of Sales Management: Sales managers play a pivotal role in accelerating the pipeline by holding salespeople accountable and challenging their critical thinking. They act as strategy coaches, ensuring that opportunities don't stall and guiding the sales team effectively. "The #1 mistake managers and leaders make is NOT challenging the critical thinking and common assumptions of salespeople. Let's face it, managers have a lot on their plate and they are running hard every day. Thus, they fall into the trap of asking questions about the facts of what's happening in one of their reps accounts, instead of challenging them to think more critically. ”– Steve Gielda Build Credibility and Effective Leadership with the Manage Smarter Podcast Join hosts Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith every week as they dive into the aspects and concepts of good business management. From debunking sales myths to learning how to manage with and without measurements, you'll learn something new with every episode and will be able to implement positive change far beyond sales.  Connect with Steve Gielda www.igniteselling.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/sgielda/ Connect with Manage Smarter Hosts ·         Website: ManageSmarter.com  ·         LinkedIn: Audrey Strong                                                                    ·         LinkedIn: C. Lee Smith   Connect with SalesFuel ·         Website: http://salesfuel.com/  ·         Twitter: @SalesFuel  ·         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices