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In this episode of The Rainmaking Podcast, host Scott Love speaks with Matt Dixon—bestselling author of The Challenger Sale and The Jolt Effect—about his latest research and book, The Activator Advantage: What Today's Rainmakers Do Differently. Based on data from the Rainmaker Genome Project, Matt introduces five rainmaker profiles, highlighting the “Activator” as the most effective. Activators stand out by committing consistently to business development, building broad and deep networks, and proactively delivering value to clients before they even ask for it. Rather than relying on personality, Activators succeed through behavior—habits, systems, and deliberate outreach. Matt explains that Activators aren't just connectors; they transform insights and introductions into meaningful client engagements. They develop daily routines, use platforms like LinkedIn strategically, and focus on helping others as a way of building trust and generating future opportunities. This episode also breaks down three action steps for aspiring rainmakers: plan business development time weekly, expand and engage your network, and proactively share insights that clients didn't know they needed. With data-driven insights and real-world examples, this conversation offers a powerful blueprint for professionals who want to become indispensable advisors. Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/jxIFBnWxZYU ---------------------------------------- This show is sponsored by Leopard Solutions Legal Intelligence Suite of products, Firmscape, and Leopard BI. Push ahead of the pack with the power of Leopard. For a free demo, visit this link: https://www.leopardsolutions.com/index.php/request-a-demo/ ---------------------------------------- Matt Dixon is a Founding Partner of DCM Insights—a boutique consulting and training firm that uses research-backed methods to help organizations to better attract, retain and grow their client relationships. A noted business researcher and writer, Matt is a sought-after advisor to leadership teams around the world. He is best known as the co-author of several of the most important business books of the past twenty years, including The Challenger Sale, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide and was a #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller. His most recent book is The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision, which was released in September 2022. His next book, The Activator Advantage: What Today's Rainmakers Do Differently, will be released by Harvard Business Review Press in the spring of 2025. In addition to his books, Matt is a frequent contributor to Harvard BusinessReview on topics ranging from business development effectiveness to client experience. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and currently resides in the Washington, DC area with his family. Links: https://www.dcminsights.com/activator-advantage https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Take the time to listen to this hugely popular, classic episode packed with sage sales advice. Joining Andy for the roundtable discussion today are Richard Harris, Founder of the Harris Consulting Group, Mark Cox, Founder of In the Funnel Sales Coaching and host of The Selling Well Podcast, and Matt Dixon, Wall Street Journal best selling co author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, The Challenger Customer, and his new book, The Jolt Effect. They begin by discussing some of the best ways to offer value to clients, the role of technology in enhancing sales, the challenge of being constantly pitched by vendors and the lack of interest in product details, and they propose a "common sense revolution in sales," where the focus is on improving clients' businesses. They challenge both traditional sales training methods, and current compensation structures, and argue that ROI is more crucial than simply offering a cheaper price. The group turns its focus to the essential skill of asking open-ended questions, which can separate the best sellers from the rest, the significance of listening and truly understanding the client's pain points in their specific context, how to earn the right to ask questions, and being one step ahead and adaptable to shifting buyer behavior.Connect with Richard, Matt, and MarkHost Andy Paul is the expert on modern B2B selling and author of three best-selling, award-winning sales books, including his latest Sell Without Selling Out. Visit andypaul.com to subscribe to his newsletter for even more strategies and tips to accelerate your win rate!
QFF: Quick Fire Friday – Your 20-Minute Growth Powerhouse! Welcome to Quick Fire Friday, the Grow A Small Business podcast series that is designed to deliver simple, focused and actionable insights and key takeaways in less than 20 minutes a week. Every Friday, we bring you business owners and experts who share their top strategies for growing yourself, your team and your small business. Get ready for a dose of inspiration, one action you can implement and quotable quotes that will stick with you long after the episode ends! In this episode of Quick Fire Friday, host Michael Denehey interviews Ted McKenna of Selling Innovations and co-author of The JOLT Effect. Ted addresses the challenges of buyer indecision and explains how his 15-member team adeptly navigates these obstacles. He offers valuable insights into effective sales strategies that foster growth and build client trust. Highlighting the significance of making clear recommendations and maintaining transparency, Ted illustrates how Selling Innovations is transforming the sales process and achieving outstanding success in today's competitive landscape. Other Resources: The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision Hardcover The Activator Advantage: What Today's Rainmakers Do Differently Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners: Address Buyer Indecision: Understand that emotional factors play a significant role in buyer indecision. Acknowledging these emotions can help you guide customers toward making decisions. Simplify the Decision-Making Process: Combat information overload by presenting essential information clearly and concisely, helping clients avoid analysis paralysis. Cultivate Trust Early: Recognize that many buyers start with distrust. Build credibility by being honest and transparent about what your offerings can achieve. Our hero crafts outstanding reviews following the experience of listening to our special guests. Are you the one we've been waiting for? Make Strong Recommendations: Don't shy away from providing clear and decisive recommendations. Buyers often appreciate straightforward guidance, especially when they feel uncertain. Emphasize Transparency: Be open and authentic in your interactions. Show your customers that you have their best interests at heart, fostering a more trusting relationship. Mitigate Risk: Offer safety nets or guarantees to reduce the perceived risks associated with purchasing. This can help customers feel more secure in their decisions and encourage them to move forward. One action small business owners can take: One actionable step small business owners can take, as suggested by Ted McKenna, is to develop a clear communication strategy that emphasizes transparency. This involves openly discussing both the benefits and potential limitations of your products or services, helping to build trust with clients. By being honest about what to expect and openly acknowledging any shortcomings, you can position yourself as a credible and trustworthy partner, ultimately fostering stronger relationships and encouraging decision-making among hesitant buyers. Do you have 2 minutes every Friday? Sign up to the Weekly Leadership Email. It's free and we can help you to maximize your time. Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey.
John Barrows sits down with Ted McKenna, co-author of "The Jolt Effect" and an accomplished sales and customer experience researcher whose work has graced the Harvard Business Review. As a founding partner of DCM Insights, Ted delves into the evolving dynamics of buyer-seller interactions, the influence of AI on decision-making, and strategies for addressing buyer indecisiveness. Tune in to discover actionable insights on how to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing sales landscape. Key takeaways include effective sales tactics, the role of emotional factors in B2B purchasing, and the importance of transparency and expertise in sales.Are you interested in leveling up your sales skills and staying relevant in today's AI-driven landscape? Visit www.jbarrows.com and let's Make It Happen together!Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/Connect with John on IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-membership?ref=3edab1 Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletterConnect with Ted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-mckenna/Check out Ted's Website: https://www.jolteffect.com/Get Ted's Book JOLT EFFECT HereLearn more about the JOLT EFFECT:https://www.linkedin.com/company/jolteffectsupport@jolteffect.com
Dans cet épisode du podcast Engrenages, j'ai le plaisir de recevoir Coralie de Robert, ancienne Sales Director chez Salesloft et nouvelle Directrice Go to Market chez Lonescale.Avant de plonger dans le sujet du jour, l'excellence commerciale, découvrons le parcours fascinant de Coralie.Elle a débuté comme journaliste et chroniqueuse chez Radio Nova et Réservoir Prod avant de "céder à la pression du paternel" et de rentrer en école de commerce. C'est durant ces études qu'elle effectue un stage à Londres, d'où elle ne repartira jamais.De fil en aiguille, elle découvre la vente, se forme, fait ses preuves et gagne sa légitimité, notamment chez Peakon (racheté par Workday), aux côtés de Neil Ryland et Chris Ritson.Presque 10 ans plus tard, Coralie est toujours à Londres, mais elle est maintenant Sales Director chez Salesloft, un des outils d'exécution commerciale les plus plébiscités du marché, et démarre prochainement chez Lonescale, une plateforme d'intelligence commerciale pour booster la productivité des équipes Sales.Avec Coralie, dès notre première rencontre, j'ai le souvenir d'une personne sociable, curieuse, empathique et sûre d'elle.Je n'ai donc été qu'à moitié surpris de ses méthodes de vente lorsqu'on a parlé d'excellence commerciale durant l'enregistrement de cet épisode.En effet, Coralie joue beaucoup sur son réseau et son honnêteté. Cela lui permet de nouer de vraies relations avec ses prospects et clients, et d'en faciliter leur conversion lorsqu'il s'agit de vendre son outil.Je suis pour ma part convaincu que l'humain a un énorme rôle à jouer dans la vente, et je pense sincèrement que Coralie en est un très bel exemple !Dans cet épisode, nous explorons comment les Sales Ops et Revenue Ops peuvent sublimer les performances d'une équipe commerciale.Nous avons discuté du partage des responsabilités entre les RevOps et les Directeurs Commerciaux, ainsi que de l'organisation type d'une équipe Sales : SDR + AE ou Sales full cycle ? Et vous, quel est votre avis ?À travers cet épisode, Coralie résume l'excellence commerciale par le framework, ou méthodologie, des 3P (ou PPT) :PeopleProcessProduct ou TechnologyMais elle ne s'arrête pas là et continue à nous distiller plein de conseils actionnables tout au long de notre conversation.En bref, un épisode incontournable pour tous ceux qui s'intéressent à la vente et aux performances commerciales.Bonne écoute !
Matt Dixon is one of the world's foremost experts in sales and the author of The Challenger Sale, which sold over a million copies worldwide and was a #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller. His most recent book, The JOLT Effect, focuses on overcoming customer indecision—one of the biggest challenges to closing deals. Outside of writing, Matt co-founded DCM Insights, a boutique consultancy helping organizations understand customer behavior, and is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, with more than 20 print and online articles to his credit. In our conversation, we discuss:• Why 40% to 60% of qualified sales opportunities are lost due to customer indecision• Why dialing up FOMO doesn't work, and what to do instead• The “pings and echoes” technique to catch issues early• The JOLT method for overcoming indecision• Key lessons from The Challenger Sale• Practical examples of how to apply these principles to close more deals—Brought to you by:• Enterpret—Transform customer feedback into product growth• Webflow—The web experience platform• Heap—Cross-platform product analytics that converts, engages, and retains customers—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/close-more-deals-matt-dixon—Where to find Matt Dixon:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon• Website: https://www.jolteffect.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Matt's background(01:57) The research behind Matt's books(06:08) Insights from The JOLT Effect(10:15) FOMO vs. FOMU(18:18) An example of selling software(26:04) The JOLT method Step 1: Judge their level of indecision(29:41) The “pings and echoes” technique(34:49) Step 2: Offer a recommendation(38:36) Step 3: Limit the exploration(41:43) Step 4: Take risk off the table(45:58) When to hit the pause button with a customer(47:27) Insights from The Challenger Sale(49:07) An example of a challenger sale(55:23) Where to find Matt—Referenced:• A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting• The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation: https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Sale-Control-Customer-Conversation/dp/0670922854• The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision: https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision/dp/0593538102• Gartner acquires CEB: https://www.gartner.com/en/about/acquisitions/history/ceb-acquisition• Tiger King on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81115994• Why sourdough went viral: https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/08/04/why-sourdough-went-viral• Neil Rackham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Rackham• Status quo bias in decision-making: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_quo_bias• Omission bias: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/omission-bias• Gartner Magic Quadrant & Critical Capabilities: https://www.gartner.com/en/research/magic-quadrant• Dunning-Kruger effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect• Stop Losing Sales to Customer Indecision: https://hbr.org/2022/06/stop-losing-sales-to-customer-indecision• Dentsply Sirona: https://www.dentsplysirona.com/• “We happy?” Briefcase scene from Tarantino's Pulp Fiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGchDuOpbhE• Nupro Freedom Cordless Prophy System: https://www.dentsplysirona.com/en-us/discover/discover-by-category/preventive/hygiene-handpieces.html—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
Top performers deal with buyer hesitancy just like everyone else. Their secret to driving deals forward? A simple framework for handling indecision. In this show, Matt Dixon and Jen Allen-Knuth will teach you how to use this game changing framework (called the JOLT effect) to move even the most hesitant buyers forward… No matter where they are in your sales cycle. RESOURCES DISCUSSED Sign up for more live sessions like this one Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal
As the saying goes, not to decide is to decide. And, as April Dunford explains in this episode of Product Momentum, ‘not to decide' — that is, the customer's own inability to make a decision — swipes 40-60% of the average B2B salesperson's revenue pipeline. (source: The JOLT Effect, by Matthew Dixon). B2B selling is … The post 133 / From Positioning to Sales Pitch: How to Make the Buying Process Easier, with April Dunford appeared first on ITX Corp..
Featuring best-selling author, Matt Dixon, this part one of a two-part episode (part two is available now) that answers the question so many B2B marketers and sales professionals are asking: how come that perfect-fit prospect died?Matt co-authored a book we've mentioned many times on Unicorny; The Jolt Effect.Nothing is more important right now than what you'll find in this book. So, whatever you're doing today, cancel it until you've listened to this episode and read the book. Here's why. If you're in B2B sales and marketing, you've got a pipeline... right now... today... this minute... that's suffering from the curse of the moment; the no-decision sale outcome. No purchase order, no sale, no win. This was already a thing, pre-pandemic, but now it's worse. This pod has answers that might save the sale... and save your bacon too.About Matt Dixon Matt Dixon is one of the world's foremost experts in business development and customer experience. Known for his ground-breaking research, he is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and is the author of some of the most important business books of the past decade. He is a founding partner of DCM Insights, a boutique consultancy focused on using data and research-backed frameworks to help firms attract, retain and grow client relationships. His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation (Portfolio/Penguin 2011), was a #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller and has sold nearly a million copies worldwide and has been translated into a dozen languages. The Challenger Sale has won acclaim as “the most important advance in selling for many years” (SPIN Selling author Neil Rackham) and “the beginning of a wave that will take over a lot of selling organizations in the next decade.” (Business Insider). He is also the author of The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty (Portfolio/Penguin 2013), which introduced the concept of customer effort reduction and the Customer Effort Score to companies around the world, as well as
Featuring best-selling author, Matt Dixon, this part two of a two-part episode (did you listen to part 1?) that answers the question so many B2B marketers and sales professionals are asking: how come that perfect-fit prospect died?Matt co-authored a book we've mentioned many times on Unicorny; The Jolt Effect.Nothing is more important right now than what you'll find in this book. So, whatever you're doing today, cancel it until you've listened to this episode and read the book. Here's why. If you're in B2B sales and marketing, you've got a pipeline... right now... today... this minute... that's suffering from the curse of the moment; the no-decision sale outcome. No purchase order, no sale, no win. This was already a thing, pre-pandemic, but now it's worse. This pod has answers that might save the sale... and save your bacon too.About Matt Dixon Matt Dixon is one of the world's foremost experts in business development and customer experience. Known for his ground-breaking research, he is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and is the author of some of the most important business books of the past decade. He is a founding partner of DCM Insights, a boutique consultancy focused on using data and research-backed frameworks to help firms attract, retain and grow client relationships. His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation (Portfolio/Penguin 2011), was a #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller and has sold nearly a million copies worldwide and has been translated into a dozen languages. The Challenger Sale has won acclaim as “the most important advance in selling for many years” (SPIN Selling author Neil Rackham) and “the beginning of a wave that will take over a lot of selling organizations in the next decade.” (Business Insider). He is also the author of The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty (Portfolio/Penguin 2013), which introduced the concept of customer effort reduction and the Customer Effort Score to companies around the world, as well as
Featuring best-selling author, Matt Dixon, this part one of a two-part episode (part two is available now) that answers the question so many B2B marketers and sales professionals are asking: how come that perfect-fit prospect died?Matt co-authored a book we've mentioned many times on Unicorny; The Jolt Effect.Nothing is more important right now than what you'll find in this book. So, whatever you're doing today, cancel it until you've listened to this episode and read the book. Here's why. If you're in B2B sales and marketing, you've got a pipeline... right now... today... this minute... that's suffering from the curse of the moment; the no-decision sale outcome. No purchase order, no sale, no win. This was already a thing, pre-pandemic, but now it's worse. This pod has answers that might save the sale... and save your bacon too.About Matt Dixon Matt Dixon is one of the world's foremost experts in business development and customer experience. Known for his ground-breaking research, he is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and is the author of some of the most important business books of the past decade. He is a founding partner of DCM Insights, a boutique consultancy focused on using data and research-backed frameworks to help firms attract, retain and grow client relationships. His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation (Portfolio/Penguin 2011), was a #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller and has sold nearly a million copies worldwide and has been translated into a dozen languages. The Challenger Sale has won acclaim as “the most important advance in selling for many years” (SPIN Selling author Neil Rackham) and “the beginning of a wave that will take over a lot of selling organizations in the next decade.” (Business Insider). He is also the author of The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty (Portfolio/Penguin 2013), which introduced the concept of customer effort reduction and the Customer Effort Score to companies around the world, as well as
Featuring best-selling author, Matt Dixon, this part two of a two-part episode (did you listen to part 1?) that answers the question so many B2B marketers and sales professionals are asking: how come that perfect-fit prospect died?Matt co-authored a book we've mentioned many times on Unicorny; The Jolt Effect.Nothing is more important right now than what you'll find in this book. So, whatever you're doing today, cancel it until you've listened to this episode and read the book. Here's why. If you're in B2B sales and marketing, you've got a pipeline... right now... today... this minute... that's suffering from the curse of the moment; the no-decision sale outcome. No purchase order, no sale, no win. This was already a thing, pre-pandemic, but now it's worse. This pod has answers that might save the sale... and save your bacon too.About Matt Dixon Matt Dixon is one of the world's foremost experts in business development and customer experience. Known for his ground-breaking research, he is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and is the author of some of the most important business books of the past decade. He is a founding partner of DCM Insights, a boutique consultancy focused on using data and research-backed frameworks to help firms attract, retain and grow client relationships. His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation (Portfolio/Penguin 2011), was a #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller and has sold nearly a million copies worldwide and has been translated into a dozen languages. The Challenger Sale has won acclaim as “the most important advance in selling for many years” (SPIN Selling author Neil Rackham) and “the beginning of a wave that will take over a lot of selling organizations in the next decade.” (Business Insider). He is also the author of The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty (Portfolio/Penguin 2013), which introduced the concept of customer effort reduction and the Customer Effort Score to companies around the world, as well as
In Conversation with Ted McKenna, Author, "The Jolt Effect". He speaks to Subhanjan Sarkar in this episode on his book, "The Jolt Effect" The post Bizcast: Bits about books – In Conversation with Ted McKenna, Author, “The Jolt Effect” appeared first on Business Podcast Network.
Jim Kraus is the President of Buyer Persona Institute (BPI) and a leading authority on buyer personas and buying insights. BPI's buyer persona research and workshop methodologies have become a gold standard for thousands of marketers in hundreds of companies worldwide that rely on these studies to reveal everything a prospective buyer needs to know and experience to have confidence in their solution. Marketers use these insights to develop strategies and messaging that drive more leads, improve conversion rates, and help sales hit their numbers. In addition to his work at BPI, Jim is an avid blogger, author of the Buyer Persona Buzz newsletter, and is currently working on a second edition of the book Buyer Personas with BPI's founder, Adele Revella. He also frequently speaks at events and podcasts to advanced thinking around buyer personas and buyer insights more broadly. Outside of work, Jim enjoys travel, reading, sports, and spending time with his family. Questions · I always love to give our guests an opportunity for them to share in their own words, a little bit about how you got from where you were to where you are today. · You mentioned that you just completed your manuscript for your second book, which should be released later this summer. Could you share a little bit with our listeners what can they expect? And maybe how it is that you decided to even write a second manuscript as a follow up to your first book. · Could you share with us maybe two to three things that you believe are critical for an organisation to achieve that trust with customers if it is that you're trying to attract that buyer and gain their trust? · Now, as it relates to the buyer persona and the different aspects that make up that whole process. Apart from trust, what do you think is the key most important step or component in that process that can never be eliminated regardless of the industry that you're in? · Now, Jim, could you also share with our listeners what's the one online resource, tool, website or app that you absolutely can't live without in your business? · Now, could you also share with our listeners, Jim, maybe one or two books that you've read, it could be a book that you read recently, or even one that you read a very long time ago, but it has had a great impact on you. · Now, Jim, can you share with our listeners what's the one thing that's going on in your life right now that you're really excited about? Either something you're working on to develop yourself or your people. · Where can listeners find you online? · Now before we wrap our episodes up, we always like to ask our guests, do you have a quote or a saying that during times of adversity or challenge you'll tend to revert to this quote if for any reason you got derailed or you got off track, this quote kind of helps to get you back on track. Do you have one of those? Highlights Jim's Journey Me: Now, I know we've read a little bit about your journey. And I always love to give our guests an opportunity for them to share in their own words, a little bit about how you got from where you were to where you are today. Jim shared that his entire career has really been spent on understanding markets, understanding customers, understanding buyers, really just trying to provide market insights that help organizations make more informed decisions. He's done it in a variety of places, both on the client side and as a consultant over the past three decades or so. Over the past 15 years, he has been a principal at a KS&R which is a full service market research firm. And they are working with Buyer Persona Institute, he's leading by Buyer Persona Institute as division of KS&R right now. And they're 100% focused on understanding buyers and more specifically, understanding the buying decisions that your prospective buyers make so that you can make more informed decisions around your marketing and sales strategies. So, his whole career has been focused on insights, right now it's over the last couple of years in particular, been really focused on understanding prospective buyers to help marketing and sales. What Customers Can Expect from Second Book? Me: Now, in our pre interview conversation, you mentioned that you just completed your manuscript for your second book, which should be released later this summer. Could you share a little bit with our listeners what can they expect? And maybe how it is that you decided to even write a second manuscript as a follow up to your first book. Jim shared that the first book, Buyer Personas was written by Adele Revella, who is the founder of Buyer Persona Institute about 9 years ago. And him and her co-authored the second edition, this updated and expanded edition. And the main reason that they decided to update it is one, a lot has changed over the last 8 to 9 years. But the foundation of Buyer Personas, they can talk a little bit about what a buyer persona is perhaps really hasn't changed. At the end of the day, you're trying to really understand buyers, what their wants and needs are and what experiences that they expect so they have full confidence buying from you, that's essentially what you're competing on, you're competing on trust. So, they developed the second edition of the book that will be out this summer, and they're adding some things to it that they think will be really valuable for readers, even those that have picked up the first book many years ago. So, they've added more information about how to design a buyer persona study. They've added a lot of information about how to add to do quantitative survey research to get even more insight outside of your buyer persona. They're spending more time in the second edition about how to use buyer persona insights and very tangible ways to improve marketing and sales performance and win more business. The other place obviously, the fourth place that they're spending more time on this second edition is just defining what a buyer persona is and isn't, a lot of people have kind of a pre-conceived notion about a buyer persona is, they spent a little more time in this second book explaining why a buyer persona focus on understanding the buying decision is so much more powerful for marketers than just understanding a particular individual or role in the buying decision, which is kind of the traditional definition of a buyer persona. Trust as a Critical Factor Me: Now, in your review just know as it relates to the book, one of the things you mentioned that jumped out at me is that we're all competing as it relates to the buyers that we're trying to attract on trust. And so trust is a very big, and it's a critical theme that I believe in customer experience is critical if you want to build retention, higher retention, and high loyalty in your business. So, could you share with us maybe two to three things that you believe are critical for an organization to achieve that trust with customers if it is that you're trying to attract that buyer and gain their trust? Jim shared that one of the things to think about is, a lot of times when you say the word buyer persona, people associate it with profiling a particular role in the decision process, right. Like maybe you have a buyer persona for a CIO if you sell tech products, or a finance manager if you sell financial products or services, etc. The challenge with that is, if you profile those roles, it doesn't give you a lot of information about how do you actually gain the trust of the buyer who's making a buying decision for a particular product and service. So, let's say he's selling a CRM system, that's his offering and he has a CIO buyer persona and it tells him information about certain demographics about what a typical CIO looks like maybe their overall challenges and priorities. But that doesn't do very much once a CIO, for example, is involved in purchasing a CRM solution, because when they're purchasing a CRM solution, what they care about most is two things, they care number one, that they're going to achieve all the outcomes and benefits that they want from this investment, right. It's an important investment. So, they care about, “Am I going to get everything that I want out of this?” The second big thing, which is often overlooked is, “How do I avoid making a mistake?” Because again, a lot of times, particularly when you're talking about higher consideration buying decisions where you're looking at multiple options, there's multiple influencers involved, it's not just a transaction sale. A lot of times buyers are buying something like that for the first time, or they haven't bought it in a long time, so they're going to be anxious, they don't want to make the wrong decision. They don't want to go with something where something goes wrong. So, what this all comes down to when you think about the whole thing, both elements of that, how do you give them what they need, reduce the risk of something going wrong. Essentially, what you're competing on is trust. Price aside. Who do they feel is going to do the best job of making them feel secure, that they're going to get the outcomes that they really need and that nothing is going to go wrong? So, that's kind of the key and the buyer persona is that the methodology that they'd like to talk about defined is really based on understanding the buying decision and specific components of the buying decision in order to build that trust. Key Elements/Steps in the Buyer Persona Process Me: Now, as it relates to the buyer persona and the different aspects that make up that whole process, based on your experience and the fact that you've been in this industry and you're a subject matter expert as it relates to that. Apart from trust, what do you think is the key most important step or component in that process that can never be eliminated regardless of the industry that you're in? Jim shared that when you're talking about understanding the buying decision, there's five different areas of insight that you really want to understand about the buying decision that your prospective buyers are making. So, whoever's listening out there, think about your particular product or service or solution, and you may have multiple products and services, and that's fine, but pick one and think about it. There's five things you really want to know about buyers that are making a buying decision about something that you offer and that your competitors offer too. Number one is you want to understand what they call the Priority Initiatives. Another way to think about priority initiatives, these are the triggers, these are the things that are getting buyers to initially start either looking for a solution like the one that you have. The reason that's so important to understand what those are is because you want to meet buyers where they are. So, when they're first starting, and they're anxious, and they're learning about this whole category of whatever you offer, what is the starting point. So, when you talk about how you approach them, and your marketing and your sales approaches, any kind of way you interact with them, you want to know those triggers, so that you can really create that quick sense that, “Hey, here's a company that really understands me.” That's the first tick of the box as far as trust. The second thing that you want to understand about this buying decision is they call it Success Factors. And these are outcomes, these are benefits, these are at the end of the day, what results do these buyers need from this important investment that they're making. And you want to know that because obviously, you want to be talking about those. You want to be developing use cases, customer references, thought leadership, all kinds of things that you can do that speak to these key outcomes that they want. So, you want to know what those are implicitly. The third thing you really want to understand is, they call it Perceived Barriers. The way to think about this one is, it is all the concerns and fears that buyers have buying your solution, not just yours, but all the alternatives you're looking at, because they're going to be anxious, they're going to have trepidations. · What are those things that are getting them nervous? · What are the things that are eliminating providers and consideration? So, you want to know what those are ahead of time so you can proactively address those things. The fourth area insight, there's five altogether, the fourth area is called Decision Criteria. And decision criteria is the traditional sales cycle. This is kind of middle later stages of the sales cycle when buyers are getting smarter about the category. And they're starting to ask really specific questions, because now they're really starting to make comparisons across the different alternatives that they're looking at. So, decision criteria or deals, all the questions that your buyers are going to be asking you in some shape or fashion. And the fifth and final one is Buyers Journey. So, everything he said earlier is kind of the mindset, it's the needs, the fears, the attitudes, the buyers journey is · What are the actual steps that your buyers take to identify who they're going to consider? · How do they whether down on their options? · How do they make a final decision? · What are those steps? · Who are the influencers involved? · And what are the information sources they use to really develop an opinion, and an evaluation of what they're ultimately going to do? If you take those five things, those five areas, they call them The Five Rings of Buying Insight that is so powerful, because if you would know those five things, you have everything you need to develop marketing and sales strategies to give buyers what they need to get to make very competent buying decisions and ultimately select you, which is the goal. Me: For sure. So, give me that coin again, The Five Rings of buying Insight. Jim shared, The Five Rings of buying Insight, they talked about it a lot in the book. It's just a name they gave to it. But the five things that they talked about are really important. App, Website or Tool that Jim Absolutely Can't Live Without in His Business When asked about online resource that he can't live without in his business, Jim stated that that's a good one. Well, he'll say a couple of things come to mind. One is, by the way, the way to develop your buyer persona, and that's going to lead to the answer to the question which will make more sense. The best way to develop your buyer persona get those insights is to talk to recent buyers. What he means by recent buyers is buyers that have recently made the exact same buying decision that you're trying to influence, these aren't necessarily your current customers, these are individuals that have been involved buying a solution could be yours, could be a competitors in the past 6-12 months, and do in depth interviews with them so you understand their entire buying story from the moment they have a need for that particular solution until the time they make a final decision. The interviews are typically 30 to 40 minutes. So, the reason number one it's an important point because buyers are the experts, the only ones that can give you that information. And then that leaves him to answer the question which is they have an app that helps them analyze all those interviews. So, when you're doing those interviews, you often have 10-15 pages of unstructured data, right, text data. And they have an app that helps them make sense of all that data so that they can develop those insights. So, that's a pretty critical app for them to use he would say. The other really important one for them is they've been using different Gen AI tools more and more much like many of the listeners are using. They use a lot of common ones, they've actually developed one that they're kind of using internally using major providers, they kind of use it as a testbed for their own and that's been invaluable to help them analyze interviews a little bit better, it's help them develop deeper profiles of buyers. It's not the end all be all, it's a supplemental thing. It's enables them to do some things quicker, but he would say those are the two that come to mind. Me: Would you mind sharing the app that helps you do the interview analysis? Jim shared that that's a proprietary app, so that's one that they actually built in house so that they can analyse interviews through to The Five Rings of Buying Insight. Me: Do you know if there's any on open market that the listeners could tap into if they wanted to utilize such an application? Jim shared that not that he's aware of. So, The Five Rings of Buying Insight is something that they've developed and he doesn't think there's any tool that's available to do that. He will say that you can use and they actually have this in the book, the second book, you can use any one of the commonly, whether it's Chat GPT, or another one, you can use those to develop insights from these interviews to analyze across The Five Rings. And in the book, that'll be out in the summer, actually, they give some instructions for different queries that you can use to help you do that. Me: Very good. So, the mere fact that you said there's nothing on open market, I see that as an opportunity for all the listeners out there for anybody who wants to develop that tool, because we all know people are buying to solve their problems and clearly this seems like a problem that needs to be solved. Jim agreed and shared that they're looking at that too as well. Books that Have Had the Biggest Impact on Jim When asked about books that have had the greatest impact, Jim shared that one book that he's read about that he really liked a lot, they actually reference it in their book is called The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision by Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna, the book's about a year and a half old about this point. And it's really neat what they were able to do, COVID hasn't had many silver linings, the one silver lining in this case was that they were able to work with a couple of other firms to record literally millions of sales interactions between sales people, and prospective buyers over a certain period during COVID because a lot of those conversations were taking place on Zoom, and WebEx and, and Microsoft Teams, and just different ways that they were able to record these conversations where they could never be recorded before. What that allowed them to do is this great analysis on all this data. And they just found out a lot of really cool things that we intuitively know. One of the major things they write about in the book is, what high percentage of one of the biggest obstacles that salespeople face is the dreaded no decision where you're working with a prospect, they go through this lengthy sales process, and then the prospect ends up buying nothing. Traditionally, there was always this belief that when somebody didn't buy something, it was purely because they wanted to stick with the status quo, they said, “Hey, we did our assessment. And we said, you know what, we think what we're doing now is better.” What the study that Dixon and McKenna did that they described in The JOLT Effect showed was that that's not really the case, that's part of the time that's true. The other majority of time is that buyers just can't make a decision, they're struggling to make a decision because it's so hard to, it's very difficult. And they're very nervous about something going wrong, they don't want to be the one to screw it up, saying, “What we have now may not be great, we all know it has problems, but I just feel like it's a little bit too risky to buy anything.” So, their analysis cast a light on this with hard data for the first time and the book also goes into different ways that you can get around that. And the reason it was so perfectly timed for them at Buyer Persona Institute, is it lines with the fact that you are competing on gaining a buyer's trust and competence is the most important thing that you really need to do. So, that's why that was a pretty important book for them in the last couple of years. Me: As you were talking, just know, before I actually read my next question, just again, from the conversation flow. You mentioned that buyers sometimes don't know, like they're confused, the anxiety of making a decision. Would you find and I'm asking this question as a buyer myself, especially when it comes to food. Would you find that for example, in a restaurant business, if there are too many items on the menu, it's harder to make a decision or do you believe that the less options that exist make it easier for the buyer to make a decision? What has your research shown where that is concerned? Jim shared that it really depends on the category. So, you mentioned food, which is a very, very different category than if you're buying a software solution for your company, for example. So, the answer is it really depends. What he can tell you and what The JOLT Effect showed very clearly is that they've seen in all the research and all the interviews that they've done is that buyers are trying to make sense of the world, right. Whether you have a lot of choices or not, and a lot of choices exasperate the problem. But if you're making a decision, especially one that you haven't made in a while or in your case, if it's a restaurant you haven't been to in a while, you're trying to orient yourself, so how can you educate the buyer as quickly and confidently as you can about this is what this world looks like right now, here's your alternatives. Let me help you make sense of this. And then once he's educated you and help you make sense of it, how can he help you confidently make a decision to purchase something. So, it's not always the number of choices, a lot of it is how those choices are communicated and how much effort is put into advising the prospective buyer and really helping them and guiding them making the decision. Because you could go walk in a restaurant that has 30 menu choices and they do things that make it very easy for you to understand what those are, you go into another restaurant using your example and it's just kind of chaotic and they don't make it easy for you to figure out what your choices are. What Jim is Really Excited About Now! When asked about something that he's excited about, Jim stated that we mentioned that the book was a huge one, they just got the manuscript in about a week and a half ago. So, that was a really huge one that took a lot of his time over the last three months or so. So, that's a big one that they're really excited about. Aside from that, he would say one of the things that their team is working on that he's excited about is it's kind of practising what they preach. So, a lot of what they do is providing insights so that companies can make more informed marketing and sales decisions, and more focused relevant content and messaging for their prospective buyers. They're doing the same thing, you can always improve your value proposition, you can always make it easier for buyers to understand what is your differentiated value, what is the unique thing that you provide. Number one is helping buyers understand what are the options out there. And then number two, helping them understand very quickly, how are you different, there's this world of whatever you're offering is, how do you make it easier for them to figure out how you're different and what does it mean for them? What is the value for them in that? So, that's something he's kind of excited that they're working on for their own business and just sharpening the saw, so to speak, as far as how they talk about their business, deliverables, proposals, all those kinds of things, they're really taking a fresh look at all of that. Where Can We Find Jim Online Website – http://www.buyerpersona.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimkraus LinkedIn – Buyer Persona Buzz Quote or Saying that During Times of Adversity Jim Uses When asked about a quote that he tends to revert to, Jim shared that he has one that is probably a little dramatic. But it's the point that he's a big a huge history buff from Big World War II, Winston Churchill isn't one of his favourite historical characters, historical figures and he has a quote that says, “When you're walking through hell, keep walking.” And he loves that quote because it's so simple and it just basically means that from a business perspective, nothing we're doing is hell right. But the point is, if you are going through times of adversity, or something's not working out exactly how you want it, just keep walking down the path, if you have to divert the path a little bit, that's fine. But don't get stuck, just keep moving it along and things will get better, you will figure out there's a solution to every problem, right. Just keep working the problem, you'll arrive at it. So, that's one he likes just because again, he's a history buff, it's a very simple one and it just says so much. So, of the bunch he can think of, that'd be the one he'd probably pick. Me: Thank you so much for sharing, Jim. Now, we would like to extend our deepest level of gratitude to you, Jim, for taking time out of your very busy schedule and hopping on this podcast, and sharing with us your journey as it relates to developing the key elements of the buyer's persona, talking about your new book that you've revamped along with your co-author and just really delving into what are some of the key aspects when you're trying to attract the right type of buyer to ensure that the trust is there and to ensure that you are truly feeding into the specific needs and desires that that buyer is looking for and limiting as much anxiety that they may have as it relates to making that decision. So, I really enjoyed this conversation, I just want to say thank you so much. Please connect with us on Twitter @navigatingcx and also join our Private Facebook Community – Navigating the Customer Experience and listen to our FB Lives weekly with a new guest Links • The JOLT Effect: How High Perfomers Overcome Customer Indecision by Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience Grab the Freebie on Our Website – TOP 10 Online Business Resources for Small Business Owners Do you want to pivot your online customer experience and build loyalty - get a copy of “The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience.” The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience provides 26 easy to follow steps and techniques that helps your business to achieve success and build brand loyalty. This Guide to Limitless, Happy and Loyal Customers will help you to strengthen your service delivery, enhance your knowledge and appreciation of the customer experience and provide tips and practical strategies that you can start implementing immediately! This book will develop your customer service skills and sharpen your attention to detail when serving others. Master your customer experience and develop those knock your socks off techniques that will lead to lifetime customers. Your customers will only want to work with your business and it will be your brand differentiator. It will lead to recruiters to seek you out by providing practical examples on how to deliver a winning customer service experience!
In this episode of Tech Sales Insights, Randy Seidl is joined by Matt Dixon, the founding partner at DCM Insights, to delve into the captivating world of Challenger sales and explore the profound insights from Matt's latest book, "The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision." They discuss the evolution of sales strategies, the impact of the pandemic on decision-making, and the crucial moments that define successful sales interactions.KEY TAKEAWAYSChallenger Sales Evolution: Understand the genesis of Challenger sales during the global financial crisis and its continued relevance in transforming sales approaches.The Jolt Effect: Explore the story behind Matt's latest research, which unravels the challenges of customer indecision, particularly after initial interest, and how high performers navigate this critical phase.Sales in the Virtual World: Examine the shift to virtual sales environments, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unique opportunities and challenges it presents.The Two Acts of Sales: Recognize that sales is a two-act play — first, sparking customer interest and then addressing the indecision that arises after the initial commitment.Overcoming Overloads: Dive into the three major sources of indecision - too many options, information overload, and expectations overload - and learn how top performers navigate these challenges.Decision-Making in a Downturn: Explore how the current business landscape, including economic uncertainties and the aftermath of the SaaS reckoning, contributes to heightened indecision among customers.Startup Challenges: Discuss the difficulties faced by startups in breaking into the market due to a lack of track record, customer references, and airtight ROI guarantees.QUOTES"Sales is really a two-act play. The first act is getting the customer interested, answering the 'why change' question. The second act is dealing with the cold feet moment in the sale, navigating indecision after initial interest.""The best salespeople excel at putting their figurative arm around the customer's shoulders, instilling confidence, and saying, 'You're making a great decision. We've got your back.'""We're doing this to ourselves - offering more options, information overload, and ambitious promises. These amplify customer indecision, making even normally decisive people behave indecisively."Find out more about Matt Dixon through the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/Sandler: https://www.sandler.com/
The best show ever in the history of inward Book club . If not the best then the most important . Why ? because this book is the game changer . Find out why - sales people who tell clients what to do sell more than those who are consultative. Find out that sales people who close in an appointment sell more than those who don't . Everything you thought you learned about not pushing a client , listening and not talking , and not closing .....IS WRONG
Kalev Kaarna is a Mentor at Creative Destruction Lab and recently became ex-VC at Superangel where for the past 5 years Kalev operated as an investor and startups coach two in one. Kalev has specialized in propelling early-stage software and deep-tech startups to significant growth, with a keen focus on AI/ML, robotics, logistics, mobility, and SaaS B2B sectors. His prowess in guiding startups through initial challenges, especially in the Nordics and Baltics, is marked by his success in leading Superangel's accelerator program, where 33 startups collectively raised €40M. A firm believer in the power of effective pitching and building investor trust, Kalev combines his extensive intrapreneurial and research experience with a personal philosophy centered on leadership and personal coaching for founders. His journey, marked by both successes and failures, underlines his profound understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and his dedication to shaping the future of tech startups.This episode is brought to you in cooperation with Tartu sTARTUp day!Join the 3,500 people taking part at this year's most startup minded business festival on January 24-26 by securing your ticket here www.startupday.eeOn this episode we talk about:VC, Startup Coaching and Why and How Superangel Combined TheseHow Can Startup Founders Benefit from CoachingCritical Early Sales Lessons for StartupsThe “Sell-Demo-Build” StrategyHow to Build a Sales StrategyHow a Founder Must Grow Faster than Their CompanyBook references from our conversation:"Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works" by Ash Maurya."Demand-Sided Sales" by Bob Mesta."The Mom Test" by Rob Fitzpatrick."Clear Leadership" by Gervase R. Bushe."The Jolt Effect" by Matthew Dixon and Ted Mc"The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" by Eric Jorgenson."Obviously Awesome" by April Dunford."Sales Pitch" by April Dunford.“Tech Powered Sales” by Justin Michael and Tony Hughes===Find other episodes on > https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTAConnect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/
On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly, talks with Matt Dixon about how top performers overcome customer indecision. At the beginning of the pandemic, sales went entirely virtual overnight. Matt, and his team, studied 2.5 million recorded sales calls to answer the questions: what possesses a customer to go through an entire sales process and then not follow through, and what do the best salespeople do to avoid that happening to them? The answer is the JOLT effect. What do most salespeople do when customers get cold feet? Many salespeople are taught that the reason this happens is that you haven't beaten their status quo. They dial up the FOMO. Matt found that this increases the odds that the customer will do nothing. Two reasons that the deal could be lost to no decision The customer still feels the pull of the status quo and they believe what they are currently doing is good enough. They don't see that switching to your product is a better alternative. They are indecisive about changing the status quo. They don't know what to pick, they feel a lack of information, or they feel like they won't get what they are paying for. How do you overcome customer indecisiveness? The JOLT effect During Matt's study, he found that there are four behaviors that high performers use to get customers unstuck. The acronym JOLT. Judging the level of indecision. The best salespeople use a technique of pings and echoes. Offering a recommendation. If everything looks good, then doing nothing seems like the best option. The best salespeople narrow the options and then recommend to the customer what they believe would be best. Limiting the exploration. When the customer asks for more information it may feel like the customer is making progress. Beyond a certain point, the customer is engaging in analysis paralysis. To limit their exploration you need them to trust you and consider you the expert. Taking risks off the table. Manage expectations early on and then give them a safety net. Resources To learn more amount Matt's company visit dcminsights.com To learn more about the Jolt effect visit the Jolteffect.com Sponsorship Offers This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot. With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales. 2. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse. 3. This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation. Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin. Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.
Why aren't you winning? For so many modern sellers, the answer is only visible once it's too late. According to research published in The JOLT Effect, 40-60% of deals are lost to this nearly-invisible force. This week on WTCS we're joined by Ted McKenna, founding partner at DCM Insights and co-author of The JOLT Effect, to break down indecision's impact on your win rates. Ted and Andee address the key steps sales teams can take to unlock stalled deals and push through to a successful close, even when key players are mired in indecision.We discuss:The major role of omission bias in buyer indecision, and what you can do about itSales techniques for building trust and navigating customer concernsBalancing buyer expectations in practical, achievable outcomes — and transformative possibilities
Why aren't you winning? For so many modern sellers, the answer is only visible once it's too late. According to research published in The JOLT Effect, 40-60% of deals are lost to this nearly-invisible force. This week on WTCS we're joined by Ted McKenna, founding partner at DCM Insights and co-author of The JOLT Effect, to break down indecision's impact on your win rates. Ted and Andee address the key steps sales teams can take to unlock stalled deals and push through to a successful close, even when key players are mired in indecision.We discuss:The major role of omission bias in buyer indecision, and what you can do about itSales techniques for building trust and navigating customer concernsBalancing buyer expectations in practical, achievable outcomes — and transformative possibilities
Matt Dixon is the Founding Partner of DCM Insights, and co-author of four of the most important sales and customer experience books of the past twenty years, including The Challenger Sale and his latest book, The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision. He's also the guest on one of our most popular episodes! In this encore episode, sponsored by Alpha Sophia, Matt breaks down concepts from his books, reveals how fear of failure is a sidekick to status quo bias, and how FOMO is a valuable sales tactic for some and a scare tactic for others. We also discuss the overwhelming number of sales lost to no decision and attempt to understand the reasons behind it. In this episode, we also discuss: The 3 ways to revisit the status quo objection The Pain of Same vs The Pain of Change Error of Omission vs Error of Co-mission How FOMO tactics actually backfire in certain cases The two drivers of no-decision losses Shifting from a salesperson to a buyer's agent Resources from this episode: Get the free MedTech Talk Tracks for Action Alpha Sophia The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision The Challenger Sale Social Media: Connect with Matt on LinkedIn Connect with Zed on LinkedIn Connect with Clark on LinkedIn
It wasn't long ago that Ted McKenna, an accomplished sales and customer experience researcher, founding partner of DCM Insights, and co-author of The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision joined us to talk about customer indecision. And the conversation remains one of the most viewed by our audience! In this encore episode, sponsored by Alpha Sophia, Ted gets tactical and specific about effectively harnessing trust and building confidence with everyone you talk to. We also discuss the power of cooperative overtalk, how to improve proactive guidance, and strategies for anticipating objections. Tune in for more on: Overcoming customer indecision Two playbooks for overcoming status quo How to get comfortable making recommendations Making customers feel like they're not alone in the decision-making process Radical candor as a double-edged sword Resources from this episode: Get the free MedTech Talk Tracks for Action Alpha Sophia The Jolt Effect 10-Hour Sales Course Free Tools From The Book Matt Dixon's Episode Social Media: Connect with Ted on LinkedIn Connect with Zed on LinkedIn Connect with Clark on LinkedIn
Get ready for some serious sales wisdom as Tom, Brandon and Carson sit down with Matt Dixon, the brilliant mind behind "The Challenger Sale" and "The Jolt Effect," to dissect the seismic shifts in B2B sales and the rise of social selling. This episode is a masterclass in overcoming the silent sales-killer: customer indecision. It's not just another pitch; it's the unveiling of a groundbreaking approach that moves past fear, uncertainty, and doubt, to instead embrace strategies that challenge the norm. Have you ever faced the frustration of a deal slipping through your fingers, not due to a competitor's edge, but because of your client's sudden cold feet? Our conversation with Matt dives into the psychological maze that traps customers in indecision, as we dissect the tactics that top sales performers use to guide clients through their inertia. We're pulling back the curtain on the sales process, sharing proven strategies to engage and lead clients from a standstill to the satisfaction of a sealed deal. As we explore the varying landscapes of sales environments, Matt equip syou with the tools to cut through indecision, echoing back client concerns to illuminate their true needs. This conversation is more than just a discussion; it's a strategic playbook designed to empower you to transform indecision into action across any sales terrain. Join us for an episode that could redefine your sales approach and help you chart a course to success with the confidence of a seasoned navigator.
"How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision"
Recently, Mark was a guest on Andy Paul's The Win Rate Podcast. Joining Andy for the roundtable discussion today are Richard Harris, Founder of the Harris Consulting Group, Mark Cox, Founder of In the Funnel Sales Coaching and host of The Selling Well Podcast, and Matt Dixon, Wall Street Journal best selling co author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, The Challenger Customer, and his new book, The Jolt Effect. They begin by discussing some of the best ways to offer value to clients, the role of technology in enhancing sales, the challenge of being constantly pitched by vendors and the lack of interest in product details, and they propose a "common sense revolution in sales," where the focus is on improving clients' businesses. They challenge both traditional sales training methods, and current compensation structures, and argue that ROI is more crucial than simply offering a cheaper price. The group turns its focus to the essential skill of asking open-ended questions, which can separate the best sellers from the rest, the significance of listening and truly understanding the client's pain points in their specific context, how to earn the right to ask questions, and being one step ahead and adaptable to shifting buyer behavior.Connect with Richard, Matt, and Mark. Connect with Mark Cox https://www.inthefunnel.com/ https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox https://www.facebook.com/inthefunnel markcox@inthefunnel.com SPECIAL OFFER for our Listeners! Check out the In The Funnel Sales Academy for B2B salespeople, sales leaders and entrepreneurs and recieve 50% off your first month on any of our subscriptions. Go to https://www.sellingwell.com/podcast and use the promo code: PODCAST Call to Action In the Funnel Sales Workshop Free Sales Tools How to Listen: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify
My next book, Sales Pitch, is finally out! I've been working on this project for quite some time now and am beyond excited to share it with you all! If you'd like to support me and purchase the book, visit https://www.aprildunford.com/books to learn more. I've also included a free workbook on that page as well. Since my book came out this week, I figured today's episode should be about why I wrote this book. I certainly didn't start my career thinking I would end up helping so many businesses with their sales pitch, but here we are. In today's episode, you'll learn: My exact sales pitch structure How I adjusted my structure after my time at IBM What it means to start with a market insight Why you never talk about features in the first sales call And so much more Thank you again for supporting this podcast, my two books, and the other content I put out. — If you want to skip ahead: (00:00) Book launch week (00:57) My background in positioning and creating the sales pitch (07:25) IBM's sales pitch structure (13:30) How April changed her approach after IBM (19:15) Why I got into sales pitches (24:45) My sales pitch structure (29:47) The book is here and how to get templates with the book — Where To Find April Dunford: Podcast Website: https://www.positioning.show/ Personal Website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprildunford — Referenced: Corporate Executive Board: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEB_Inc. The Challenger Sale: https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Sale-Control-Customer-Conversation/dp/1591844355 The JOLT Effect: https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision/dp/0593538102 — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/
Joining Andy for the roundtable discussion today are Richard Harris, Founder of the Harris Consulting Group, Mark Cox, Founder of In the Funnel Sales Coaching and host of The Selling Well Podcast, and Matt Dixon, Wall Street Journal best selling co author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, The Challenger Customer, and his new book, The Jolt Effect. They begin by discussing some of the best ways to offer value to clients, the role of technology in enhancing sales, the challenge of being constantly pitched by vendors and the lack of interest in product details, and they propose a "common sense revolution in sales," where the focus is on improving clients' businesses. They challenge both traditional sales training methods, and current compensation structures, and argue that ROI is more crucial than simply offering a cheaper price. The group turns its focus to the essential skill of asking open-ended questions, which can separate the best sellers from the rest, the significance of listening and truly understanding the client's pain points in their specific context, how to earn the right to ask questions, and being one step ahead and adaptable to shifting buyer behavior.Connect with Richard, Matt, and MarkHost Andy Paul is the expert on modern B2B selling and author of three best-selling, award-winning sales books, including his latest Sell Without Selling Out. Visit andypaul.com to subscribe to his newsletter for even more strategies and tips to accelerate your win rate!Thank you to our sponsors:AllegoClozdCognism
Welcome to Ask The Right Questions, the podcast where we explore the world of sales, RevOps and CRMs. I'm your host, Fab Calando, and in this episode, I'm joined by my co-host, Paul Lafleur, to share with you 9 books every sales leader needs to read. These books will help you take your sales skills and performance to the next level. We will discuss each book's main ideas and insights and how you can apply them to your daily work. Whether you are a seasoned sales leader or a new one, these books will provide you with valuable knowledge and tips that you can use to grow your business and lead your team. Here are the 9 books we recommend for sales leaders: Level 5 Selling by John Hoskins: This book will help you understand the different levels of sales performance and how to coach your team to reach the highest level. Spin Selling by Neil Rackham: This book will teach you how to ask the right questions and uncover the real needs of your clients. You will also learn why hard closes don't work and how to use soft closes instead. Building a Strong Brand by Donald Miller: This book will show you how to create a compelling story for your brand and make your client the hero of that story. You will also learn how to use the StoryBrand framework to clarify your message and grow your business. Leadership Strategy and Tactics by Jocko Willink: This book will give you practical advice on how to lead effectively in any situation. You will learn how to deal with challenges, conflicts, and failures and empower your team and help them find their own path to success. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: This book is a classic that will teach you how to communicate better, build rapport, and influence others. You will also learn how to handle criticism, avoid arguments, and win people over. The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson: This book will introduce you to the challenger sales model and how it can help you sell more effectively in complex and competitive markets. You will learn how to challenge your clients' assumptions, teach them something new, and tailor your solution to their specific needs. The JOLT Effect by Ted McKenna and Matthew Dixon: This book will help you overcome buyer indecision and close more deals. You will learn how to use jolts, which are unexpected events or actions that disrupt the status quo and create urgency for change. The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey: This book is about tennis, coaching, and performance. You will learn how to overcome self-doubt, fear, and anxiety and improve your focus, concentration, and confidence. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin: This book is a collection of interviews with Rick Rubin, one of the most influential music producers of all time. You will learn how he helps artists find their inner voice, express their creativity, and achieve their potential. We hope you enjoy this episode and find it useful. If you do, please leave us a rating and a review on your favourite podcast platform. Also, let us know in the comments which book you are most interested in reading or have already read. Thank you for listening, and see you in the next episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sales-revops/message
Stop the Sales Drop Podcast with Kristina Jaramillo and Eric Gruber
Matt Dixon (Wall Street Journal bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, The Challenger Customer and The JOLT Effect, a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and Founding Partner at DCM Insights) recently joined Kristina Jaramillo and Eric Gruber on the ABM Done Right Podcast. During this podcast, you will learn why ABM and the Challenger Sale go hand-in-hand, why accounts go dark and how GTM teams can win against the status quo -- and indecisiveness.
A seller's greatest enemy? It's not “no.” It's “We'll see.” The average seller loses between 40% and 60% of their qualified pipeline to no decision. Matt Dixon, founding partner of DCM Insights and co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, and The Challenger Customer. Matt and his co-author analyzed 2.4 million sales calls over the course of 18 months, which they turned into the definitive guide to overcoming customer indecision — The JOLT Effect. They dove into the underpinnings of no-decision losses, uncovering exactly how they happen and the surprising approaches that top-performing sales professionals take to shift customers out of hesitation and into action...In this bonus episode, Matt joins us to talk about what The JOLT Effect uncovered about buyer psychology and intent, the role fear of failure plays in customer indecision, and how sales teams can employ the JOLT Effect to push customers past their fear of failure to an unqualified yes.We discuss:The three major drivers behind the fear of failure that leads to no-decision losses (and how the JOLT process can help mitigate them)Creating flexible, shared decision-making for buyers while taking inaction off the tableCounterintuitive habits that set high performers apart from the rest
A seller's greatest enemy? It's not “no.” It's “We'll see.” The average seller loses between 40% and 60% of their qualified pipeline to no decision. Matt Dixon, founding partner of DCM Insights and co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, and The Challenger Customer. Matt and his co-author analyzed 2.4 million sales calls over the course of 18 months, which they turned into the definitive guide to overcoming customer indecision — The JOLT Effect. They dove into the underpinnings of no-decision losses, uncovering exactly how they happen and the surprising approaches that top-performing sales professionals take to shift customers out of hesitation and into action...In this bonus episode, Matt joins us to talk about what The JOLT Effect uncovered about buyer psychology and intent, the role fear of failure plays in customer indecision, and how sales teams can employ the JOLT Effect to push customers past their fear of failure to an unqualified yes.We discuss:The three major drivers behind the fear of failure that leads to no-decision losses (and how the JOLT process can help mitigate them)Creating flexible, shared decision-making for buyers while taking inaction off the tableCounterintuitive habits that set high performers apart from the rest
Sponsored by TrackableMed Salespeople spend valuable time on conversations that lead to dead ends because customers don't feel confident making decisions. So how do you navigate a conversation with a buyer in a way that can help them avoid analysis paralysis or other forms of indecision? Ted McKenna, an accomplished sales and customer experience researcher, founding partner of DCM Insights, and co-author of The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision joins us to share his expertise on the matter. In this episode, sponsored by TrackableMed, Ted gets tactical and specific about effectively harnessing trust and building confidence with everyone you talk to. We also discuss the power of cooperative overtalk, how to improve proactive guidance, and strategies for anticipating objections. Tune in for more on: Overcoming customer indecision Two playbooks for overcoming status quo How to get comfortable making recommendations Making customers feel like they're not alone in the decision-making process Radical candor as a double-edged sword Resources from this episode: Get the free MedTech Talk Tracks for Action The Jolt Effect 10-Hour Sales Course Free Tools from the Book Matt Dixon's Episode Social Media: Connect with Ted on LinkedIn Connect with Zed on LinkedIn Connect with Clark on LinkedIn
In "The JOLT Effect," sales expert Matt Dixon explores the art of overcoming indecision in the buying journey. He introduces the JOLT method, a powerful framework that empowers salespeople to guide customers toward making confident decisions. Let's delve into some key insights from the book:Understanding the Customer's Buying Journey:Did you know that customers are often well into their buying journey even before reaching out to a supplier? By the time they make contact, they've likely conducted extensive research and formed initial preferences (3:21.990 - 4:54.528).Status Quo vs. Indecision:Customers often find themselves stuck between maintaining the status quo and making a change. The book highlights how salespeople can identify and address this state of indecision (5:14.415 - 12:06.390).Guiding Customers Away from Overthinking:Customers often get caught up trying to become experts themselves, slowing down the decision-making process. Dixon offers strategies to prevent this and help customers reach a resolution (12:43.150 - 18:42.136).Becoming the Trusted Advisor:A critical aspect of the JOLT method is positioning oneself as a trusted advisor. The book explains how salespeople can gain customers' trust and guide them toward making better decisions (14:16.874 - 18:42.136).The JOLT Method:Judge the Level of Indecision (19:36.678 - 20:49.620):The first step in the JOLT method involves assessing the customer's level of indecision. Understanding their hesitations and doubts is crucial to providing the right guidance.Offer a Recommendation (20:49.620 - 21:59.381):Once the salesperson understands the customer's indecision, they can confidently offer a well-suited recommendation. This personalized approach demonstrates expertise and builds trust.Limiting the Exploration (21:59.381 - 22:14.249):Customers often get overwhelmed with choices. The JOLT method suggests streamlining options, making the decision-making process less daunting.Taking the Risk off the Table (22:14.249 - 22:44.632):By addressing and mitigating risks associated with the decision, salespeople can provide reassurance and instill confidence in the customer.Importance of "Judging the Indecision":Judging the indecision is the foundational step in the JOLT method. It allows salespeople to understand their customers' pain points, concerns and needs better (23:11.071 - 25:55.855). This enables them to tailor their approach and offer the most effective guidance, setting the stage for successful sales interactions.Challenges to Traditional Sales Techniques:"The JOLT Effect" presents a paradigm shift in traditional sales practices, challenging salespeople to recognize and defeat the indecision obstacle (26:40.331 - 28:41.479). Dixon sheds light on how sellers can equip themselves to face this new challenge head-on.The Role of Customer Service and Experience:The book draws inspiration from prominent figures in customer service and experience, shaping Dixon's approach to sales (34:39.375 - 36:13.467).A Message to Customer Service Professionals:If he could leave a note to all customer service professionals, Dixon would encourage them to prioritize understanding and addressing their customers' indecision (36:32.125 - 38:35.633). This empathetic and proactive approach can drive exceptional customer experiences.In conclusion, "The JOLT Effect" by Matt Dixon offers valuable insights and strategies for sales professionals seeking to overcome customer indecision and become trusted advisors in the buying journey. Through the JOLT method, salespeople can lead their customers toward confident decisions and foster lasting business relationships.ABOUT NICK GLIMSDAHLSubscribe to my bi-monthly newsletterFind Press 1 For Nick on YouTubeFind me on TwitterFind me on LinkedInLISTENER SUPPORTPurchase Nick's books: Reasons NOT to Focus on Employee Experience: A Comprehensive GuideApparel: https://www.teepublic.com/user/press-1-for-nick Support this show through Buy Me A CoffeeBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:Learn about all the guests' book recommendations here: https://press1fornick.com/books/ BROUGHT TO YOU BY:VDS: They are a client-first consulting firm focused on strategy, business outcomes, and technology. They provide holistic consulting services to optimize your customer contact center, inspiring and designing transformational change to modernize and prepare your business for the future. Learn more: https://www.govds.com/ This podcast is under the umbrella of CX of M Radio: https://cxofm.org/Podcast-Shows/ SPONSORING OPPORTUNITIES:Interested in partnering with the Press 1 For Nick podcast? Click here: https://press1fornick.com/lets-talk/
In this podcast episode, Roger Dooley chats with Matt Dixon, author of The JOLT Effect and founding partner of DCM Insights, about the concept of effortful experiences and the impact of customer indecision on sales. They discuss how companies often create friction and wasted effort for customers, despite knowing it is detrimental. Matt shares examples and insights on understanding the impact of customer effort on loyalty and how to fix it. They also delve into the problem of customer indecision in sales, exploring the reasons behind it and providing strategies for salespeople to overcome it. Matt introduces the JOLT framework and discusses key behaviors that can help salespeople close the sale. Show notes, resources, audio, text: https://www.rogerdooley.com/matt-dixon-jolt/ Matt Dixon is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of three of the most important business books of the past decade: The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience and The Challenger Customer. He is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review on sales and customer experience. He is a founding partner of DCM Insights, a boutique consultancy focused on using data and research-backed frameworks to help companies attract, retain, and grow their customers. Previously, he has held numerous global leadership roles at organizations like Tethr, Korn Ferry Hay Group, as well as the research firm CEB (now Gartner).
Today I'm joined by renowned author and guest, Matt Dixon. We explore the concepts from his groundbreaking book, "The JOLT Effect," and uncover the secrets to winning deals and captivating customers. Matt shares how extensive research debunked a myriad of popular sales techniques, including dialing up FOMO and letting the customer do the talking. We talk about how downplaying impact can actually boost your sales, no decision losses and why they happen, why you should avoid discounts and limited-time offers, and specific tactics to improve your first-call deck. Join us as we challenge conventional sales wisdom and offer fresh perspectives that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about successful sales strategies. — In This Episode, I Cover: (00:00) Welcome to the Positioning Show (00:15) About our guest Matt Dixon and his new book, The JOLT Effect (03:01) Behind the research for Matt's book (8:00) Lessons on customer indecision (09:48) How dialing up FOMO increases the odds of losing the deal (12:27) Two reasons why no decision losses happen (15:58) The JOLT effect (19:46) Why your sales reps should offer specific recommendations (24:03) Why you should actually undersell the impact of your product (27:18) Debunking the myth that customers should do most of the talking (31:00) Discounts and limited-time offers (33:51) First-call deck recommendations (37:35) Matt's company, DCM Insights, and how to get in touch — Where to Find Matt Dixon: Website: https://www.dixonspeaks.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewxdixon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewxdixon/ Where To Find April Dunford: Podcast Website: https://www.positioning.show/ Personal Website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprildunford — Referenced: • The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results: https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Customer-Selling-Influencer-Multiply/dp/1591848156 • The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593538102 • Tethr: https://tethr.com/ • The Dreamforce Conference: https://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/ • DCM Insights: https://www.dcminsights.com/ • The JOLT Effect website: https://www.jolteffect.com/ — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/
Ted McKenna joins us to discuss the book "The Jolt Effect" co-authored by Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna! We dive into why jolt and why now? How do we deal with customer indecision and the fear of messing up in the current economic environment. From the bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale, a paradigm-shattering approach to overcoming customer indecision and closing more sales.In sales, the worst thing you can hear from a customer isn't “no.” It's “I need to think about it.” When this happens, deeply entrenched business advice says to double down on your efforts to sell a buyer on all the ways they might win by choosing you and your business. But this approach backfires dramatically. Why? Because it completely gets wrong the primary driver behind purchasing decision-making: once purchase intent is established, customers no longer care about succeeding. What they really care about is not failing....Hear why JOLT Effect is the number one book you should read this year.Subscribe to the podcast and please leave a review!
POV: You're a salesperson trying to sell your product to a customer, but they are just not making a decision because they're scared… they have been consumed with the enemy of indecision. Let's face it. Sometimes it's just hard to get a customer to close a deal for a number of reasons, but the leading factor is fear. So what's the trick to helping your hesitant customers overcome their fear so you can close that deal you've been waiting for? Matt Dixon is the co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer and The Effortless Experience and is also the founding partner of DCM Insights. In this episode of the Run Revenue Show, Matt shares the challenges that salespeople face when customers express hesitation and objections during the sales process, he explores the concept of the omission bias and shares insights from large-scale studies on sales effectiveness, he provides practical advice on how to overcome indecision, and more. Here's what's inside: Understanding the “omission bias” is a priority!: Understanding this is crucial for salespeople to help customers overcome their fear of failure and make the right decision. Customers are often okay with doing nothing and having a bad outcome but not with doing something and having a bad outcome, even if both result in the same loss. Use ‘pings and echoes' to make the customer feel safe: The majority of customers don't feel safe to discuss their indecision due to fear of embarrassment or failure to make the right decision. ‘Pings and echoes' involve high-performing salespeople trying to articulate the fears they think the customer is struggling with in a way that doesn't out the customer or make them feel embarrassed. Guide your customer to a narrower consideration set: Doing this and advocating for a specific course of action while still reinforcing the customer's autonomy involves being brutally honest with the customer and showing that their job is to get the customer to the right decision, even if that means buying from a competitor or not at all. Grab this week's Checklist Check out RunRevenue.Pro for tips, playbooks, and advice for stopping revenue leak and achieving revenue precision. See how Clari's Revenue Platform can help you win more deals, protect your customer base, and achieve revenue precision—even in a downturn. → Clari.com
Sponsored by TrackableMed Did you know that 40-60% of the average sales pipeline stalls out due to not moving forward? Author of The Challenger Sale Matt Dixon calls these no-decision losses. And they plague sales teams the world over, which is why he's back with new research and a new book sharing what the best sellers do to overcome this problem. Matt Dixon is the Founding Partner of DCM Insights, and co-author of four of the most important sales and customer experience books of the past twenty years, including The Challenger Sale and his latest book, The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision. In the interview, sponsored by TrackableMed, Matt breaks down concepts from his books, reveals how fear of failure is a sidekick to status quo bias, and how FOMO is a valuable sales tactic for some and a scare tactic for others. We also discuss the overwhelming number of sales lost to no decision and attempt to understand the reasons behind it. In this episode, we also discuss: The 3 ways to revisit the status quo objection The Pain of Same vs The Pain of Change Error of Omission vs Error of Co-mission How FOMO tactics actually backfire in certain cases The two drivers of no-decision losses Shifting from a salesperson to a buyer's agent Resources from this episode: Get the free MedTech Talk Tracks for Action The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision The Challenger Sale Social Media: Connect with Matt on LinkedIn Connect with Zed on LinkedIn Connect with Clark on LinkedIn
Check out my quick review of The JOLT Effect - How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision. Quick read or listen, and I do recommend, especially if you're in sales. Support the showShould your company start a podcast?Don't forget to join our email list to get access to more Career Yak content.Also don't forget to check out our other podcast Sales Yak if you want to dig more into whether a sales career is right for you.Music by Scandinavianz, song Wonderland (instrumental).
I just finished reading (listening) to a great book, for the second time, called “The JOLT Effect”. It's from the same authors as “The Challenger Sale”, a book I've mentioned here before on the podcast. They bring up a very interesting concept that oftentimes, they're convinced that you're a good fit for them and their needs, yet they still say No. It could be indecision that's holding them back and you might be making it worse for them by how you're handling it.Listen to this new, 9-minute episode to see how you can identify their indecision and help them move forward, rather than having them rethink it when they already liked you!We've crossed 135K Downloads! Listen to this and all episodes on Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify & others: http://podcast.alanberg.com
Our guest this week is Matt Dixon, co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer and The Effortless Experience, Matt is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and an experienced advisor to senior executives on sales, service and customer experience.Matt and Ted McKenna have just written a new, must read, book for anyone interested in professional selling – “The JOLT Effect – how high performers overcome customer indecision”. It's massively well researched as the result of listening to millions of sales calls analysed using 8300 unique factors.Listen to this episode of the Sales Code Podcast to find out why:customer indecision occurs.doing nothing doesn't mean the customer is happy with status quo.too many questions and too much listening can actually hamper sales.Professional sellers who talk more than they listen can still add valueFUD doesn't help customers who are more afraid of messing up than missing out.Listen to this episode to find out how to:Judge the IndecisionOffer your recommendationsLimit the exploration andTake risk off the tableAnd, close more sales!Thank you, Matt for a great conversation about what elite sellers do.
Sellers Are Losing Up to 60% of Pipeline to “No Decision.” Here's How to Fix That. An interview with sales expert Matthew DixonWe're kicking off the sales-focused season of TalkingSense with a true legend. Matthew Dixon is the bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale — which revolutionized how we think about customer indecision and how it gets in the way of closing deals. Now Matt's back with another book — The JOLT Effect — that builds on the last book and describes how top performers recognize and overcome indecision to guide customers to the finish line. In this episode, 6sense CMO Latané Conant talks with Matt about: The true cost of the status quo Why buyers worry less about FOMO than about FOMUThings customers say that sound encouraging but are actually red flagsThe 4-step playbook he developed to snap buyers out of indecisionWhy sellers need to stop bringing a “clown car full of experts” to every sales callThis is a must-listen for sellers who want to go from good to great — and for anyone who supports sellers in that journey.“40% to 60% of the average salesperson's pipeline lost to ‘no decision' … It's a huge deadweight loss for the average salesperson in the average sales organization to have that many deals where you've spent months and months of time, countless hours of salesperson time, subject matter expert time, executive sponsor time … pursuing opportunities that go nowhere.”
As sales reps and managers most of what we know to advance our deals is the need to overcome or defeat status quo. When we start seeing gaps in communication with our prospects, deal momentum started to slow down, we dial up FOMO. Reignite the burning platform, the shiny features we showed them in our demo, the 10% end of quarter discount. Sprinkled with a little bit of fear to remind them there is a better way, lets move them away from current state, “the pain of same"When the deal still doesn't advance, we scratch our head as this is all we knew.Fast forward to the release of @Matt Dixon and @TEdMckenna book The Jolt Effect and Voila there is another hurdle we have to overcome, oh and it's bigger than status quo!Nearly 60% of deals end in no activity due to indecision. Even though they have articulated they want to move forward, with you, status quo is no longer an option the deal stalls. Tune in to my conversation with the amazing Matt Dixon where he shares what we should do in these instances to dial down the FOMU, fear of messing up and help our buyers feel more confident in their decision making."Matt has held executive leadership positions in product, research and consulting for many global organizations. An accomplished business researcher, he is a sought-after advisor to corporate leadership teams around the world on topics ranging from sales and marketing effectiveness to customer experience and customer service strategy. Matt is the author of three Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, and The Challenger Customer. His latest book, The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision, was co-authored with Ted McKenna was released in September 2022."(Bio via https://www.jolteffect.com)Matt Dixon Shownotes00:49 Introduction02:47 Introducing Matt Dixon03:54 Introducing K2 Sales Academy04:23 The Jolt Effect09:12 Status Quo & Cold Feet12:48 Three Fears of Failure & FOMO21:48 Omission Bias34:08 JOLT - The Four Behaviors46:22 Labelling58:53 Own Your Expertise66:09 Get In Touch With Matt!Get In Touch With Matt!LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/The Jolt Effect: https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision/dp/0593538102Jolt Effect Website: https://www.jolteffect.comWe are excited to launch The K2 Sales Academy, an online subscription based sales training for both individual sales professionals as well as sales leaders and their team. Access our LMS for bite size asynchronous learning modules, knowledge checks to apply the learning and the ability to submit your work to your leader if working with a team. To sync up regularly with your manager, discuss your progress, course correct and connect with your manager, use the LMS to book a coaching call. Access our Resource folder for templates, scripts, check lists and join us for Virtual Live Webinars and Live Q & A, all on the LMS. To access our free one week Trial visit The K2 Sales Academy
Challenger Sale author, Matt Dixon, shares how to overcome client indecision with findings from his latest book, JOLT Effect, covering the research of 2.5M sales interactions. The post Overcoming Client Indecision with Matt Dixon, Co-Author of The Challenger Sale and JOLT Effect. appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.
Challenger Sale author, Matt Dixon, shares how to overcome client indecision with findings from his latest book, JOLT Effect, covering the research of 2.5M sales interactions. The post Overcoming Client Indecision with Matt Dixon, Co-Author of The Challenger Sale and JOLT Effect. appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.
Fear can be a powerful emotion that can cripple an investor's ability to make sound investment decisions. Whether it's fear of losing money, fear of missing out on potential gains, or fear of messing up, this emotion can lead to indecision and inaction in the market. How can investors overcome their fear of making investment decisions? In this episode, Steve talks with Matt Dixon, Founding Partner of DCM Insights. He is also a Wall Street Journal bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, The Challenger Customer, and The JOLT Effect. Matt previously served as the Chief Product & Research Officer of Tethr and spent time as a Senior Partner and the Global Head of Sales Force Effectiveness Solutions at Korn Ferry Hay Group. A speaker and advisor to corporate leadership teams in sales effectiveness and customer experience, Matt talks with Steve about his 'aha' moments in sales, the investor's fears when making investment decisions, and how advisors can help clients overcome these fears. Key Takeaways [03:24] - Matt's biggest 'aha' moment in sales. [10:47] - How people decide what to invest in or do business with. [15:17] - How advisors can build extraordinary businesses by doing the ordinary. [19:29] - Why clients rarely mention the positive experiences they have with advisors. [21:35] - The three fears investors have. [27:44] - How advisors can help clients overcome their fear of making a choice. [34:47] - Matt's approach to helping clients overcome their fear of choice. [40:03] - Why advisors should limit the use of outside experts. [44:18] - How highly effective people manage their time. [49:06] - What motivates Matt to write books. Quotes [06:57] - "As wealth managers and advisors, we need to shift from being bartenders to personal trainers with our clients. Don't just be there to react, respond, take orders, and do whatever your client wants." ~ Matt Dixon [07:10] - "As wealth managers and advisors, you earn your client's business, keep clients investing with you, and recommend you to their friends, neighbors, and colleagues because you teach them things they need to learn about attaining their objectives and outcomes." ~ Matt Dixon [1148] - "Dialing up the FOMO (fear of missing out) isn't a great technique for moving people forward. Clients are concerned about the FOMU (the fear of messing up). They're less concerned about missing out on a golden opportunity. They're concerned about making a decision that doesn't pan out and having it reflect poorly upon them." ~ Matt Dixon Links Matt Dixon on LinkedIn Matt Dixon on Twitter DCM Insights The Challenger Sale The Effortless Experience The Challenger Customer The JOLT Effect The Paradox of Choice Gartner Connect with our hosts Steve on LinkedIn Buckingham Strategic Partners Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Steve on LinkedIn Follow Buckingham Strategic Partners on Twitter Disclosure For informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as specific investment, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Certain information is based upon third party data which may become outdated or otherwise superseded without notice. Third party information is deemed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Some analysis presented is based off current economic information and may become outdated or irrelevant without notice. Individuals should speak with their qualified financial professional based on his or her unique circumstances. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor any other federal or state agency have approved, determined the accuracy, or confirmed the adequacy of this podcast. © 2022 Buckingham Wealth Partners, LLC. Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC and Buckingham Strategic Partners, LLC (collectively, Buckingham Wealth Partners)
Our guest this week is Matt Dixon, co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer and The Effortless Experience, Matt is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and an experienced advisor to senior executives on sales, service and customer experience.Matt and Ted McKenna have just written a new, must read, book for anyone interested in professional selling – “The JOLT Effect – how high performers overcome customer indecision”. It's massively well researched as the result of listening to millions of sales calls analysed using 8300 unique factors.Listen to this episode of the Sales Code Podcast to find out why:customer indecision occurs.doing nothing doesn't mean the customer is happy with status quo.too many questions and too much listening can actually hamper sales.Professional sellers who talk more than they listen can still add valueFUD doesn't help customers who are more afraid of messing up than missing out.Listen to this episode to find out how to:Judge the IndecisionOffer your recommendationsLimit the exploration andTake risk off the tableAnd, close more sales!Thank you, Matt for a great conversation about what elite sellers do.
As sales reps and managers most of what we know to advance our deals is the need to overcome or defeat status quo. When we start seeing gaps in communication with our prospects, deal momentum started to slow down, we dial up FOMO. Reignite the burning platform, the shiny features we showed them in our demo, the 10% end of quarter discount. Sprinkled with a little bit of fear to remind them there is a better way, lets move them away from current state, “the pain of same"When the deal still doesn't advance, we scratch our head as this is all we knew.Fast forward to the release of @Matt Dixon and @TEdMckenna book The Jolt Effect and Voila there is another hurdle we have to overcome, oh and it's bigger than status quo!Nearly 60% of deals end in no activity due to indecision. Even though they have articulated they want to move forward, with you, status quo is no longer an option the deal stalls. Tune in to my conversation with the amazing Matt Dixon where he shares what we should do in these instances to dial down the FOMU, fear of messing up and help our buyers feel more confident in their decision making.About Matt"Matt has held executive leadership positions in product, research and consulting for many global organizations. An accomplished business researcher, he is a sought-after advisor to corporate leadership teams around the world on topics ranging from sales and marketing effectiveness to customer experience and customer service strategy. Matt is the author of three Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, and The Challenger Customer. His latest book, The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision, was co-authored with Ted McKenna was released in September 2022."(Bio via https://www.jolteffect.com)Matt Dixon Shownotes00:49 Introduction02:47 Introducing Matt Dixon03:54 Introducing K2 Sales Academy04:23 The Jolt Effect09:12 Status Quo & Cold Feet12:48 Three Fears of Failure & FOMO21:48 Omission Bias34:08 JOLT - The Four Behaviors46:22 Labelling58:53 Own Your Expertise66:09 Get In Touch With Matt!LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/The Jolt Effect: https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision/dp/0593538102Jolt Effect Website: https://www.jolteffect.comWe are excited to launch The K2 Sales Academy, an online subscription based sales training for both individual sales professionals as well as sales leaders and their team.To access our free one week Trial visit The K2 Sales Academy https://k2salesacademy.comAccess our LMS for bite size asynchronous learning modules, knowledge checks to apply the learning and the ability to submit your work to your leader if working with a team. To sync up regularly with your manager, discuss your progress, course correct and connect with your manager, use the LMS to book a coaching call.
Matthew Dixon, co-author of The JOLT Effect and The Challenger Sale shares the findings of his latest research in partnership with Gong and Salesforce looking at the data on over 2,500,000 recorded sales calls during the pandemic. It is a treasure trove. Buckle up and be ready to kick yourself. One of Matt's insights could help you uncover and rekindle up to 1/3 of all the pipeline that ended up in and bring a number of them over the line before the end of the Quarter! CFO's pay heed! Contact Matt via linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon Websites: Dcminsights.com (Company) dixonspeaks.com (Personal) The JOLT Effect: https://www.amazon.co.uk/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision-ebook/dp/B09NX3G2WX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OTN11D4D8DYK&keywords=the+jolt+effect&qid=1668100273&s=digital-text&sprefix=the+jolt+effect%2Cdigital-text%2C87&sr=1-1 -- Considering a coach or taking control of your learning - https://calendly.com/marcuscauchi/let-s-explore-coaching-training Want to be a guest on #TheInquisitorPodcast? https://calendly.com/marcuscauchi/podcast-planning-call
On today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, our host, Donald Kelly, talks with Matt Dixon about how top performers overcome customer indecision. At the beginning of the pandemic, sales went entirely virtual overnight. Matt, and his team, studied 2.5 million recorded sales calls to answer the questions: what possesses a customer to go through an entire sales process and then not follow through, and what do the best salespeople do to avoid that happening to them? The answer is the JOLT effect. What do most salespeople do when customers get cold feet? Many salespeople are taught that the reason this happens is that you haven't beaten their status quo. They dial up the FOMO. Matt found that this increases the odds that the customer will do nothing. Two reasons that the deal could be lost to no decision The customer still feels the pull of the status quo and they believe what they are currently doing is good enough. They don't see that switching to your product is a better alternative. They are indecisive about changing the status quo. They don't know what to pick, they feel a lack of information, or they feel like they won't get what they are paying for. How do you overcome customer indecisiveness? The JOLT effect During Matt's study, he found that there are four behaviors that high performers use to get customers unstuck. The acronym JOLT. Judging the level of indecision. The best salespeople use a technique of pings and echoes. Offering a recommendation. If everything looks good, then doing nothing seems like the best option. The best salespeople narrow the options and then recommend to the customer what they believe would be best. Limiting the exploration. When the customer asks for more information it may feel like the customer is making progress. Beyond a certain point, the customer is engaging in analysis paralysis. To limit their exploration you need them to trust you and consider you the expert. Taking risks off the table. Manage expectations early on and then give them a safety net. Episode Resources To learn more amount Matt's company visit dcminsights.com To learn more about the Jolt effect visit the Jolteffect.com This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. The sales landscape is totally changing. The way that we are selling is out of line with the way our prospects are buying. You need to adapt to succeed. Imagine if you could use data that could give you insights into when somebody is ready and the challenges they are facing so you can fine-tune your message specifically toward them. Deep Sales, a part of the next generation of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can help you do just that. Check it out yourself and get a 60-day free trial at Linkedin.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad. Are you tired of a digital workspace cluttered with notes, folders, files, and half-filled spreadsheets? (Not that we're speaking from personal experience.) Luckily, we've found the solution. Scratchpad is the first Revenue Team Workspace specifically designed to adapt to each salesperson's workflow, so you don't have to change your habits. Scratchpad creates a streamlined workflow that allows everyone to be a little more productive each day without the hassle of updating a database with whatever info you can find. Get Scratchpad free at Scratchpad.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Calendly. The power of scheduling automation has never been more critical than it is today. Your sales team needs a solution to easily meet with prospects at the right time, every time. With calendly, you can turn more meetings into revenue, accelerate your sales cycle, and increase your win rate when you choose to use calendly to automate your scheduling. Finish the year strong and request a demo of calendly today at Calendly.com/TSE. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio is provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.
Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna published a great sales book that can help sales and marketing teams address customer indecision. Combined with mining over 2 million recorded sales calls and studying human behavior, they provide prescriptive advice that you can complement whatever sales methodology you use today. Matthew Dixon was also author of popular book, The Challenger Sale. In this episode we discuss: -The JOLT method and how you can apply it -The concept of the omission bias -Common pitfalls of most salespeople -Death by one thousand papercuts (eroding your trust) and more -- visit www.omaid.me to contact me and for the latest updates
What if the biggest competitor isn't the status quo but actually your prospect's inability to make a decision? Matt Dixon, co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer, and the new book, The JOLT Effect, shares an insightful conversation about how customers overcome indecision.If you have deals stuck in the pipeline, you'll appreciate the ideas in this conversation! Need inspiration? Join the Selling From the Heart INSIDERS Group for an upcoming up-close-and-personal with a free pass at: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/free-pass
What if the biggest competitor isn't the status quo but actually your prospect's inability to make a decision? Matt Dixon, co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer, and the new book, The JOLT Effect, shares an insightful conversation about how customers overcome indecision. If you have deals stuck in the pipeline, you'll appreciate the ideas in this conversation! Need inspiration? Join the Selling From the Heart INSIDERS Group for an upcoming up-close-and-personal with a free pass at: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/free-pass
Matt Dixon is the author of 4 books on Sales and Customer Experience, including the world-renowned Challenger Sale. An accomplished business researcher, he is a sought-after advisor to corporate leadership teams worldwide on topics ranging from sales and marketing effectiveness to customer experience and customer service strategy. He is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, with more than 20 print and online articles to his credit. His latest book, The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision, was co-authored with Ted McKenna and was released in September 2022. In this episode, Matt and I discuss what it takes to become a successful salesperson. He shares insights from his latest research about how the most successful sellers accelerate deal decisions, how to avoid ghosting in your pipeline, and why beating the status quo will reduce your deal win probability by 84%. You can connect with Matt at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/ Learn more about the Jolt Effect at: https://www.jolteffect.com/ You can also learn more about DCM Insights at https://www.dcminsights.com/ You can find the video version of this podcast, plus many more interviews and topics like financial acumen and company analysis on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQejy1U3NlAxvhWNg--VRw. Follow me on LinkedIn where I regularly share advice for professional sales https://www.linkedin.com/in/moeedamin/ and sign up for my weekly newsletter via https://www.proverbialdoor.com/ If you want to learn more about how my coaching programs can help you and your team raise your sales & commercial success, then you can contact me via enquiries@proverbialdoor.com
“While the customer's preference for the status quo is, no doubt, a significant obstacle that every salesperson must overcome if they wish to sell anything, there is a second, more challenging obstacle that remains even after the status quo has been defeated: the customer's own inability to make a decision.” That quote is pulled from the introduction to The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision (linked below). It's an exceptional new book co-authored by today's guest, Matt Dixon - Founding Partner at DCM Insights. This episode covers: Where does customer indecision come from? What are the causes, consequences and outcomes of customer indecision? Why it's important to focus in on customer needs What is the Jolt Effect? More information about Matt and today's topics: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/ Company Website: https://www.dcminsights.com/ Other Relevant Links: The Jolt Effect Amazon Link – https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision-ebook/dp/B09NX3G2WX Subscribe, listen, and rate/review the Customer Experience Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, or Google Podcasts, and find more episodes on our blog.
There's only one thing that is worse for salespeople than hearing 'no', and it's 'I need to think about it'. Customer indecision is not only frustrating to deal with, particularly when a salesperson has gone through the entire process of pitching only to end up with no certain answer. This hurdle is all too common; in fact, research shows that 40 to 60% of sales pipeline is lost to no decision. What is less common, however, is the knowledge of how to overcome it successfully. In this episode of B2B Revenue Acceleration, our host Aurelien Mottier (Co-Founder and CEO, Operatix) sits down with author Matt Dixon to discus s his new co-authored book, The Jolt Effect. Packed with the latest research in customer indecision, practical guidance and myth-busting analysis, The Jolt Effect offers a new approach to tackle the dreaded ‘I need to think about it'. Aurelien and Matt discuss the concept of the book, as well as why addressing a customer's fear of failure is so important and some of the most psychological insights that have come out of their research. To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe to B2B Revenue Acceleration on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts.
The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision by Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna About the Book: From the bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale, a paradigm-shattering approach to overcoming customer indecision and closing more sales In sales, the worst thing you can hear from a customer isn't “no.” It's “I need to think about it.” When this happens, deeply entrenched business advice says to double down on your efforts to sell a buyer on all the ways they might win by choosing you and your business. But this approach backfires dramatically. Why? Because it completely gets wrong the primary driver behind purchasing decision-making: once purchase intent is established, customers no longer care about succeeding. What they really care about is not failing. For years, sales expert Matthew Dixon has been busting longstanding business myths. Now in The JOLT Effect, he and co-author Ted McKenna turn their trademark analysis and the latest research to the vital and growing problem of customer indecision—and offer a shocking new approach that turns conventional wisdom on its head. Drawing on a brand-new, first-of-its-kind study of more than two and a half million sales conversations from across industries, they reveal the surprising truth that high-performing sales reps grasp and their average-performing peers don't: only by addressing the customer's fear of failure can you get indecisive buyers to go from verbally committing to actually pulling the trigger. Packed with robust data, counterintuitive insights, and practical guidance, The JOLT Effect is the playbook for any salesperson or sales leader who wants to close the gap between customer intent and action—and close more sales. About the Author: Matt Dixon is one of the world's leading experts on sales, customer service, and customer experience. He is a Founding Partner of DCM Insights, The Customer Understanding Lab. Prior to co-founding DCM Insights, he served as the Chief Product & Research Officer of Tethr, an AI venture in Austin, TX, that helps companies mine customer voice data for insights. And before that, he spent time as a Senior Partner and the Global Head of Sales Force Effectiveness Solutions at Korn Ferry Hay Group and as Group Leader of the sales, service, and customer experience practices of CEB, now Gartner. Matt is a sought-after speaker and advisor to corporate leadership teams around the world on topics ranging from sales effectiveness to customer service and customer experience and is also a noted business writer. His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation, was a Wall Street Journal best seller, selling more than a million copies worldwide. He is also the co-author of the customer experience bestseller The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty and the follow-on book to The Challenger Sale titled The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results. Matt is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review with more than 20 articles to date, including many that have appeared in HBR's "Top Ten Must Reads." And, interesting fact - he's a huge New York Mets fan! Click here for this episode's website page with the links mentioned during the interview... https://www.salesartillery.com/marketing-book-podcast/jolt-effect-matt-dixon
Matt Dixon is an accomplished business researcher and sought-after advisor to corporate leadership teams around the world. He is a Founding Partner of DCM Insights, helping organizations better understand the changing landscape of customer behavior. Matt co-authored three Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, and The Challenger Customer. He is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, with over 20 publications in print and online. Join us as we discuss his latest book, The JOLT Effect, which addresses the common problem faced by salespeople of deals ending in “no decision” and offers strategies and approaches for salespeople to overcome customer indecision. Highlights What the JOLT Effect book is all about and how is it different from other books with the same theme? What happens when you challenge customer thinking? How did they handle the massive data source from a very large sample size while researching their book? The three things that customers get wrapped around the axle have nothing to do with the status quo. What are the four things that are unique and different from top-performing salespeople? How selling less upfront, but selling more overtime, works. How to learn more about Matt and connect with him. Episode Resources Connect with Mark Cox https://www.inthefunnel.com/ https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox https://www.facebook.com/inthefunnel markcox@inthefunnel.com Connect with Matt Dixon http://www.jolteffect.com/ http://www.dcminsights.com/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/ Call to Action In the Funnel Sales Workshop Free Sales Tools How to Listen: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify
Knowing which state a client is in, will guide our sales conversation to a higher close rate.
Matt Dixon is a Wall Street Journal award-winning author and renowned researcher in the world of sales and customer success. He co-authored "The Challenger Sale" in 2011 which turned the world of B2B sales on its head, and encouraged salespeople around the world to take control of the customer conversation. He's now back with "The JOLT Effect" which tells us that our biggest problem with closing sales isn't losing to a competitor but losing to no decision at all. Here are some of the highlights of our discussion: There was a big gap in data-based, factual research on sales and it needed filling There are great sales books out there, but many of them are based on opinion and "what worked for me". Matt and his team took an outsiders' data-based approach and uncovered the surprising truth The Challenger Sale divided the sales community but resonated with founders Matt is not a salesman. This led some people to doubt his findings, but the data speaks for itself. The Challenger approach specifically resonated with startup founders who are natural challengers! All our assumptions about what makes good salespeople are wrong Sales have traditionally been taught to be relationship builders but in today's world of information overload, it's not enough to have a cosy conversation. Buyers need to be challenged, debated & given insight Up to 60% of Sales are lost not to a competitor, but to "no decision" & traditional approaches make it worse It's not enough to defeat the status quo. Buyers can be afraid to make a decision whatever the status quo. Traditional sales approaches make the problem worse. Customers are stuck and we need to JOLT them into action There's a playbook to defeat customer indecision that helps to take risk off the table & make buyers understand they're making a great decision. Product teams are crucial partners in helping sales teams do this. Buy "The JOLT Effect" "In sales, the worst thing you can hear from a customer isn't “no.” It's “I need to think about it.” When this happens, deeply entrenched business advice says to double down on your efforts to sell a buyer on all the ways they might win by choosing you and your business. But this approach backfires dramatically. Why? Because it completely gets wrong the primary driver behind purchasing decision-making: once purchase intent is established, customers no longer care about succeeding. What they really care about is not failing." Check it out on Amazon. You can also check out the book website. Buy "The Challenger Sale" "The need to understand what top-performing reps are doing that their average performing colleagues are not drove Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson, and their colleagues at Corporate Executive Board to investigate the skills, behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes that matter most for high performance. And what they discovered may be the biggest shock to conventional sales wisdom in decades." Check it out on Amazon. Make sure you check out "The Challenger Customer" and "The Effortless Experience" too! Contact Matt You can hit Matt up on LinkedIn.
Are you losing deals to no decision? In recent research, it is found that 40% to 60% of deals for the average salesperson are lost to no decision due to the client sticking with the status quo. In 2020 after going 100% virtual overnight, sales calls went from in person to Zoom. Matt Dixon, while working at a machine learning company, was able to study sales meetings from several companies to determine some of the biggest pressing problems salespeople are facing. In this episode, Matt Dixon shares some insights from the research in his new Book, The Jolt Effect, to understand why salespeople often lose to the status quo. Matt and Ian discuss how to use these findings to better understand the seller and their fears or hesitance to implement change even if they believe in your products or services. Join us in this conversation to learn the best approach to increase your sales performance and business growth. If you're interested in grabbing your own copy of Matt Dixon's new book, The Jolt Effect, click https://www.jolteffect.com/ (here) Matthew Dixon is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of three of the most important business books of the past decade: The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience and The Challenger Customer. He is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review on sales and customer experience. He is a founding partner of DCM Insights, a boutique consultancy focused on using data and research-backed frameworks to help companies attract, retain, and grow their customers. Previously, he has held numerous global leadership roles at organizations like Tethr, Korn Ferry Hay Group, as well as the research firm CEB (now Gartner). He is a sought-after speaker and advisor to management teams around the world, including many of those in the Fortune 500 Quotes: “Beating the status quo is about dialing up the fear of not purchasing, overcoming customer indecision is about dialing down the fear of purchasing.” “We find that about 40 to 60% of deals for the average salesperson are deals lost to no decision.” Looking for more guidance and support on handling all your B2B sales struggles? You can connect with Ian Altman and learn more about the Same Side Selling Academy through the links below: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianaltman/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianaltman/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/IanAltman (https://twitter.com/IanAltman) Website: www.samesidesellingacademy.com Email : ian@ianaltman.com
What would motivate a customer to do nothing? Most salespeople meet customer indecision with fanfare of ROI data; why their solution is better, faster, or cheaper. If that doesn't work, some might revert to fear tactics, or (fake) urgency. It's what many of us have been trained to do…but what if it's statistically proven to actually work against us and only deepen a customer's indecisiveness? That's what our guest Matt Dixon is here to explain in this episode of The Sales Hunter Podcast. Matt shares how to have two playbooks: one to convince the customer to actually change the status quo, and another to empower them to finally make a decision–and feel good about it! You can find Matt Dixon's new book, The Jolt Effect here. Learn more about Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter at https://www.thesaleshunter.com
The JOLT Effect, a new book by Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna, is reviewed on the Sales Influence podcast.
In this episode we are joined by the one and only, Matt Dixon. Matt is the Wall Street Journal bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Effortless Experience, The Challenger Customer and The JOLT Effect. Matt frequently contributes to Harvard Business Review and is also the founding Partner at DCMi. Matt joins us to discuss a topic that should be on all sales professionals radar right now......buyer indecision. Matt's research led him to author his new book, The JOLT effect. This book provides a framework and process to meet the challenges of modern buyer decision making and how to create better outcomes through the same effort by avoiding indecision as an outcome. Join us as we unpack the above topics and more. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did recording this episode. If you'd like to connect with Matt, his LinkedIn account is https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewxdixon/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/presalesinapod/message
Today we're welcoming our first ever guest, Matt Dixon, to the show. If you don't know who Matt is, he is a Founding Partner at DCMi and is Wall Street Journal's bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale. He has a new book out called The JOLT Effect which Doug gets into, and the conversation today goes on to talk about selling in today's world. If you're liking the show, please make sure to subscribe and share it with your friends and/or coworkers. Follow us on Twitter: @dougdavidoff, @JessDCardenas & @demandcreator to receive updates on when new episodes publish or to get other great insights. You can also watch the video version of the show on our page. Thanks for watching and remember you can't solve your upstream problems, downstream.
The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Indecision by Matt Dixon [Sales Experience]What is one thing people might not know about you? 1:11.747 -1:58.230How far is a customer through the buying journey before ever making contact with a supplier? 3:21.990 - 4:54.5285:14.415 - 12:06.390 Status quo vs. IndecisionWhat can you do to prevent customers from spinning their wheels trying to become experts themselves? 12:43.150 - 18:42.136How to guide customers to make a good decision? 14:16.874 - 18:42.136 How does a salesperson position themselves as the trusted advisorWhat is the JOLT method? 19:01.498 - 22:57.454 Judge the Level of Indecision 19:36.678 -20:49.620Offer a Recommendation 20:49.620 -21:59.381Limiting the Exploration 21:59.381 - 22:14.249Taking the Risk off the table, 22:14.249 - 22:44.632 Why is “judging the indecision” the first and most crucial stepin the JOLT method? 23:11.071 -25:55.855JOLT hits a nerve to Traditional Sales People - 26:40.331- 28:41.479So how are sellers supposed to fight an enemy they've never been taught to recognize and never been equipped to defeat? 29:31.740 - 32:52.12733:22.047 - 34:20.772 Who is to blame for the company that doesn't have the confidence to move forward?What book or person in customer service or experience has influenced you the most in the past year? 34:39.375 - 36:13.467If you could leave a note to all customer service professionals, what would you say? 36:32.125 - 38:35.633ABOUT NICK GLIMSDAHLSubscribe to my weekly newsletterFind me on TwitterFind me on LinkedInLISTENER SUPPORTPurchase Nick's books: Reasons NOT to Focus on Employee Experience: A Comprehensive GuideApparel: https://www.teepublic.com/user/press-1-for-nick Support this show through Buy Me A CoffeeBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:Learn about all the guests book recommendations here: https://press1fornick.com/books/ BROUGHT TO YOU BY:VDS: They are a client-first consulting firm focused on strategy, business outcomes, and technology. They provide holistic consulting services to optimize your customer contact center, inspiring and designing transformational change to modernize and prepare your business for the future. Learn more: https://www.govds.com/ This podcast is under the umbrella of CX of M Radio: https://cxofm.org/Podcast-Shows/ SPONSORING OPPORTUNITIES:Interested in partnering with the Press 1 For Nick podcast? Click here: https://press1fornick.com/lets-talk/
Sales methodologies are ubiquitous but there are only few organisations that a) select the right one for their needs and b) truly realise their potential. Our guest in this week's episode helps sales leaders with both of these challenges and he'll share his insights on the effective use of sales methodologies in this episode. Please welcome the Co-Founder & Head of Training and Enablement at Flow State, Aaron Evans. Here are some of the questions we cover: What should be the considerations when sales leaders decide on sales methodologies for their business? How can sales teams ensure that the sales methodology they introduce benefits their organisation as well as their buyers? What are the steps involved in introducing a new sales methodology? You're well-versed in the history of sales methodologies, how do the most common methodologies today differ from those of the past? What are the most effective methodologies today and what makes them superior to others? Are there any resources you can recommend for listeners to learn more about them? Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode: Connect with Aaron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronevanssalesenablement/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronevanssalesenablement/) Aaron's business, Flow State: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flow-state-sales-performance-transformation/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/flow-state-sales-performance-transformation/) The Jolt Effect (book): https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision/dp/0593538102 (https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision/dp/0593538102) Gartner's Sense-Making: https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/insights/sense-maker-seller (https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/insights/sense-maker-seller) SPIN Selling (book): https://www.amazon.com/SPIN-Selling-Neil-Rackham/dp/0070511136 The Challenger Sales: https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Sale-Control-Customer-Conversation/dp/1591844355 (https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Sale-Control-Customer-Conversation/dp/1591844355) Connect with Felix Krueger online:https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/ ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/) Where to find The State of Sales Enablement: Website -http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/ ( http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/) LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/ ( https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/) Apple Podcasts -https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853 ( https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853) Spotify -https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g ( https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g)
Customer experience analyst and best-selling author, Matt Dixon, sits down with TELUS International Studios to share insights from his new book, "The JOLT Effect: How high performers overcome customer indecision." Matt takes us through the bane of every salesperson's existence: a long customer courtship that ends with an "I'll think about it."Leveraging a first-of-its-kind study that analyzed 2.5 million documented sales conversations through machine learning, Matt Dixon reveals that 56% of sales loss is actually caused by customer indecisiveness. Listen to the episode to gain more sales growth best practices to overcome indecision.The JOLT Effect: How high performers overcome customer indecision is available for pre-order now. To learn more about TELUS International and our digital CX solutions, contact us today.
In sales, the worst thing you can hear your customer or prospect say isn't “no.” It's something like ‘leave this with me'” or “I need to think about it.” It's a true horror for any professional sales person. We've all been there. We prospect, qualify, make some kind of proposal, then our prospect or economic buyer says those words: ‘I'll think about it.' After all that effort! Today's guest, Matt Dixon, author of one of the best selling sales books of all time, The Challenger Sale. Matt's going to share some revolutionary insights from his new book The Jolt Effect which comes out in September. What was the motivation to write the book? What can salespeople do to make prospects decide? What can you do to reduce your prospects fear of failure? Check it out now!