(in order of ANE appearance)
1. Interesting Circumstance
2. Become the Story
3. Think Fast / Learn Slow
4. Psych Optional
5. Key Only
CALL OUT LEAD-IN
Due to our many unique components, I layer call outs at various spots in-text. Some are more important than others, but these side comments are primarily to clarify upcoming topics, share a related sales tip, or make broad overlying points about TS methodology.
If you watch the clip, you’ll notice a more casual tone when speaking to the audience directly; these are more natural as they’re largely ‘off the cuff.’
Whether it’s breaking the fourth or fifth wall, when you see a call out, you can view them simply as me, Alex Anderson, speaking with <you> in conversation – at a brewery.
We are having fun, by the way!
INTERESTING CIRCUMSTANCE
By now, you’ve seen clips or listened to soundbites from our first live workshop. To reinforce my previous open dialogue comment, I’ll pause and share the purpose behind WHY I chose to film. It all comes down to the keyword of this section – leverage.
The 2/28 live screening was the first ‘post-production’ event, and my plan, starting directly after, was to deliver as many of these presentations as possible.
Since I was set to be on the road, I wanted to record and get clips, mainly for promotion and making my speaking proposals more enticing to potential partners.
Things clearly took a dark turn following the event, and since it’s not the best time for public presentations, I had to re-route my path. That’s alright – still got the clips!
Things clearly took a dark turn following the event, and since it’s not the best time for public presentations, I had to re-route my path. That’s alright – still got the clips!
During quarantine, rather than social promotion, I opted to infuse the recordings in the material to enhance the overall learning experience (i.e. members > social media).
In many ways, the situation is indicative of real-world business – pandemic, or otherwise. Regardless of your solution, barriers to sale are inevitable, and will often force us to change course. Good news! There is always A LOT of paths one can take to achieve their end goal – it’s our job to adapt & figure it out along the way.
That’s where Technically Selling comes in and how I view my role. I did a lot of learning and acquired a significant amount of insight; now, my goal is to relay that information to provide YOU with as much leverage as possible.
While every person reading has varying needs and are selling different solutions, whether it’s guiding through long-term strategy, or posing questions to consider for case-by-case preparation, the material is designed for use as your situation dictates.
Sales Side Tip: Be Transparent
Acquire intel by involving the buyer in YOUR process. To gain effective leverage, open the dialogue, and solve problems using a team approach (win-win-always).
With any sale, you’re engaging in a mutually beneficial relationship – there’s no reason to beat around the bush. Laying a few cards on the table, showing a buyer what you are working with, builds trust & opens them up, often allowing you to see their full hand.
Denver Sales Bros
With any occupation that works with people, no interaction is the same. This makes sales tough to teach & learn; however, one way we’ll help combat the wide array of situations is to break down common selling interactions, using real world examples.
Some will be fictional/hypothetical examples, but the majority are or based on, real stories stemming from my personal experience (pre/post Technically Selling.)
BECOME THE STORY
Situation dictates the selling process; since specific details differ between all of us, Technically Selling content is written using more general language, intently, to help bring certain information top of mind.
My objective in doing so is to help you better visualize YOUR solution’s value and adapt the material to fit within the unique circumstance you find yourself.
The purpose behind ‘become the story’ is a result of a specific insight I learned during Technically Selling’s research phase.
Did you know… we retain self-generated memories best?
Generation Effect: People are better able to recall memories of statements that they have generated over similar statements made by others*.
Top Takeaway: Visualize YOUR Value
No matter the subject, picturing yourself in a situation relating to the respective topic (i.e. specific solution/target/opportunity) improves content retainment over thoughts you’d remember by trying to visualize a new concept or character I make up.
The more you drill down on your situation, the better you’ll remember the surrounding details (i.e. accelerated learning). For example:
In-text, if I say something along the lines of, ‘a solution that saves time’ – think about a product/features that YOU sell, specifically designed to save clients time.
When you see ‘new features,’ think about specific value props on a new product that your company just rolled out.
Cost savings? Visualize an active opportunity with nice financial incentives
Since every sales situation varies, the content is simply to help make it easy for one to picture themselves in the story. Nothing to over-think, all TS terminology is as appears.
There’s a lot more behind become the story (with more coming), we’re just laying the foundation, but, like all the others, this concept will grow and evolve as we do.
THINK FAST / LEARN SLOW
If the title rings a bell – that was intentional; the name ‘think fast / learn slow’
describes my teaching style and is an homage to the most influential book I’ve read.
describes my teaching style and is an homage to the most influential book I’ve read.
During my studies, Daniel Kahneman’s bestselling book, Thinking, Fast & Slow, acted
as a textbook (of sorts) and was unrivaled in my behavioral science progression.
as a textbook (of sorts) and was unrivaled in my behavioral science progression.
Thanks to Kahneman and TF&S, all Technically Selling documents, from cheat sheets to
the primary book content, were developed around memory recall and how our mind
retains information.
the primary book content, were developed around memory recall and how our mind
retains information.
My pace moves quickly, which you’ve likely gathered by now; when your career involves
commission – you don’t have much choice. I cut the fluff and move fast, which may feel
unnatural during your first read-through, but it’s about utilizing as an on-going resource.
commission – you don’t have much choice. I cut the fluff and move fast, which may feel
unnatural during your first read-through, but it’s about utilizing as an on-going resource.
My objective is maximizing the value of information while minimizing the ‘learning
effort’ required to retain it. That doesn’t mean learning won’t require work on your end,
but my job is to help limit the effort needed, mainly to keep you focused on selling.
effort’ required to retain it. That doesn’t mean learning won’t require work on your end,
but my job is to help limit the effort needed, mainly to keep you focused on selling.
Learning anything and improving selling ability requires time; play the long game and
execute on your terms!
execute on your terms!
PSYCH Optional
On top of highlighting only the highlights, all psychology-related content is optional.
Being some of my earliest material, I have been training sales teams on the upcoming
topics for years; I’ve come to realize there’s a 50/50 split.
Being some of my earliest material, I have been training sales teams on the upcoming
topics for years; I’ve come to realize there’s a 50/50 split.
Per direct feedback, about half find the psychology very interesting (like I do); the
other half really couldn’t care less and would rather skip to the sales section.
other half really couldn’t care less and would rather skip to the sales section.
Both are completely fine! We all have different interests, and you won’t have a lesser experience if behavioral science isn’t one of them; again, TS is all about selling.
MORAL: Don’t need to grasp / Don’t need to care
While readers aren’t required to learn (or care) about the behavioral concepts we utilize,
each strategy/technique includes descriptions, examples, and rationale, along with
sources & further reading recommendations for those who wish to dive deeper.
While readers aren’t required to learn (or care) about the behavioral concepts we utilize,
each strategy/technique includes descriptions, examples, and rationale, along with
sources & further reading recommendations for those who wish to dive deeper.
This is something we expand on in the ‘why it works’ section (area III), which is all
optional and highlights more specific insights that went into the formulation of a
specific strategy or technique (i.e. bring the pain biases).
optional and highlights more specific insights that went into the formulation of a
specific strategy or technique (i.e. bring the pain biases).
My goal is to show readers how to use the insights in creating strategies of their own
while adapting what I’ve built to boost effectiveness for their unique style & situation.
while adapting what I’ve built to boost effectiveness for their unique style & situation.
That said, I had lots of lightbulbs go off from the exact information we’ll cover
next, and, to whatever scale, I’m hoping you’ll have some breakthroughs as well.
To close, I recommend reading ‘decision criteria’ at least once as the insights play a
significant role in many of our strategies; but, it’s for utilizing as reference, so feel free to
jump to the moral/next section and come back whenever you’d like – or don’t!
next, and, to whatever scale, I’m hoping you’ll have some breakthroughs as well.
To close, I recommend reading ‘decision criteria’ at least once as the insights play a
significant role in many of our strategies; but, it’s for utilizing as reference, so feel free to
jump to the moral/next section and come back whenever you’d like – or don’t!
KEY ONLY
As you can imagine, decision criteria is a BIG topic with lots of information behind each
component. Seeing as we expand throughout the series, I make each section as concise
as I can and what’s shared pertains only to this subject matter.
component. Seeing as we expand throughout the series, I make each section as concise
as I can and what’s shared pertains only to this subject matter.
For example, when we cover risk assessment, the insights/takeaways are around
losses & pain points, as that’s what we’ll leverage later. When our core topic is
about change (ANE part II), we’ll shift towards risk insights associated with effort.
losses & pain points, as that’s what we’ll leverage later. When our core topic is
about change (ANE part II), we’ll shift towards risk insights associated with effort.
In other words, everything relates back to selling and is directly tied to the topics &
takeaways covered in AREA III. There’s nothing to over-think; every insight is brought
back, reinforced, and applied as we progress.
takeaways covered in AREA III. There’s nothing to over-think; every insight is brought
back, reinforced, and applied as we progress.