David has been trying to reach the CEO for weeks...

He's been working on how to sound more senior.

It worked! Finally the gatekeeper's putting him through.

("Oh God - what am I gonna say!!?")

(the thought runs through David's mind - insecurity & fear sets in...he even considers hanging up, but it's too late)

"Hello...can I help you?" ... comes the rich tone of the CEO, self assured & direct.

This makes David feel even more inferior.

"Errrr...hi...it's David here & I'm calling from company X. Do you have a minute?"

His intro has gone out the window, he's in a state of panic & his emotions have taken over.

"Sure."

"Great, so we help companies become more efficient..."

"Right - I think we're covered on that front. But I appreciate the call..."

"Oh...Erm OK...sorry to have bothered you."

*call ends*

This very scenario happens every single day to salespeople.

They have no control over their emotions.

Their nerves kick in & they're left scrambling.

That pattern interrupt & problem statement they learnt on LinkedIn has gone out the window.

It's just so much harder in reality.

& they crumble under the intimidation of a senior level decision maker.

But why?

Because deep down they don't feel worthy.

They feel inferior.

And they lose control.

So how to fix?

- Imagine you're the CEO of your remit & you're calling on fellow peers in your industry.

- You're better informed than they are on this topic.

- They're the one with the potential problem.

There's a high probability it's not the right time or that they don't suffer from the problems you solve.

So accept that & treat every call as an opportunity to disqualify.

Taking all the pressure off.

Forget about booking a meeting.

You know what you're looking for.

They either suffer from the problems you fix or they don't.

But you will stick to your plan, ask good questions & get to the truth.

Then either move on or confirm the next step.

It's that simple.

But it takes courage.

And practice.

*The key in holding it together is by slowing down, breathing, and pausing so you retain full composure*

This is how you stop the train from running off the tracks, and it might sound something like this...

CEO: "Right - so I think we're covered on that front. But I appreciate the call..."

David: "Of course - it was always gonna be a bit of a long shot. (takes pressure off). But when you say 'you think you're covered' what exactly did you mean?"

CEO: "Well my CTO is responsible so I don't know the details exactly."

David: "Ah, I see. But you're aware you have a solution in place?'

CEO: "Yes and from what I know they've been pretty good..."

David: "Pretty good meaning perfect or just a bit above average...?"

CEO: "Well nothing's ever perfect..."

You're now in a short conversation uncovering nuggets of information...

Never accept surface level answers.

And don't let your emotions run away with you.

Manage them or they'll manage you.

#sales #ceo #sdr