For a bit of context, I lead a small team of 2 reps who are new to the SDR game. They're extremely pleasant on the phone. They can keep prospects on the phone and sound comfortable and concise the whole way through... until the close. They just hit a wall and their confidence drops, they become passive, and lose a lot of good opportunities. Some things I've noticed: They say "maybe", "would you want to", "you know", "could you", etc. a lot in the close They start to ramble, despite the rest of the conversation being quick and efficient the close usually has them filling the void with unnecessary words and sentences. I ask the War Room, what are some exercises/advice/etc that I could give to really improve that closing game. They'd get SO many more meetings that way.

discskirepeat

Sales Development Rep

Good Citizen

Personal Narrative

Contributor

Team hitting a wall

For a bit of context, I lead a small team of 2 reps who are new to the SDR game.

They're extremely pleasant on the phone. They can keep prospects on the phone and sound comfortable and concise the whole way through... until the close. They just hit a wall and their confidence drops, they become passive, and lose a lot of good opportunities. Some things I've noticed:

They say "maybe", "would you want to", "you know", "could you", etc. a lot in the close
They start to ramble, despite the rest of the conversation being quick and efficient the close usually has them filling the void with unnecessary words and sentences.

I ask the War Room, what are some exercises/advice/etc that I could give to really improve that closing game. They'd get SO many more meetings that way.

👑 Sales Strategy

📞 Cold Calling

📈 Closing

12 comments

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hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

Just tell them to ask for the sale. Easiest way is to say, 'that's good Steve. How do you feel about moving forward with the contract? Are you guys ready to sign?' THEN SILENCE.

Closing is hard, but it's just another phrase that needs to be uttered. Once they get used to spitting it out it becomes easy.

RandyMoss

Politicker

Account Executive

Learning to REMAIN silent is a big part of this. Let the awkwardness hang in the air and force the potential customer to sit in it. Too many salespeople feel the need to end the silence because it IS awkward. But if your prospect is serious, they will give you what you are looking for or send you to someone that can. If not, lose fast and move on with your life. We don't cold call and talk to these people to make friends and get pats on the head. We do it to close deals and get paid.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

Yes! I learned this in my first ppc sales gig. Ask for the sale, let them make a decision. Don't speak till they give you an answer.

PKTHUNDURUS

Opinionated

-1

BDR

@BravadoMod

Mobi85

Politicker

Regional Sales Manager

Not sure if your state will allow it but are their calls recorded and they can hear exactly what they are saying post the call? Hearing your own call can be cringeworthy but you learn so much more about what you are doing post call compared to in the moment. If you can have them listen to a call that the meeting didn't push through and a call that they secured a meeting they can also hear their goods and bads.

I am not a huge fan of role playing an entire call but work through the steps. Role play the transition from the presentation to the close and only that part. They are good on all other steps but role playing the parts they struggle can help them.

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

It’s about projecting confidence, which comes through repetitive practice & encouragement on your side. Ask them their thoughts on what’s holding them back and what they think they need to take the next step. Get on calls and show them.

SBess

Contributor

Outside Sales

Something that worked for me in the past was to make live calls together 1 rep at a time, with the whole team listening. Everyone take notes and give recommendations. Obviously kept it all positive but it definitely helped more than role playing. Can be awkward at first, but after a few sessions confidence went through the roof, and the difficult stuff got easy.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

I face a lot of the similar challenges you mentioned (with respect to fillers), I have written that down in front of me and that note keeps reminding me I should try to use that less. Works for me.

Salesvpfl

Good Citizen

VP of Sales

What’s worked well for me is role playing. I’m ramping up a first time BDR on my team right now. It’s always awkward for people to role play and people hate doing it, but it’s effective and once they get the hang of it, it builds their confidence. Usually, I’ll kick it off and walk through what I would say first. Then, we get into them role playing. It’s also helpful if you do a call and let them hear how you would do it live with a prospect. I also have a playbook that I put together with scripts. I don’t want reps reading from a script, but it’s helpful for them to have a guide and examples. Always be encouraging, build them up, let them know what the are doing well along with the feedback.

TheIncarceration

Politicker

SDR Manager

I had a similar issue when I was first getting started. One thing that helped me a ton was transcribing my calls. By stripping away the tonality and the emotional aspects of my cold call I quickly realized there was never a reason to lose confidence

Flippinghubs

Opinionated

Account Executive

Light the candle Tiger

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I'm hitting one now.

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discskirepeat

Team hitting a wall

12 comments

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