SOAR Selling – How to Accelerate Your B2B Sales Revenue

SOAR sellingWhile enjoying a little time off over the holiday season, I finished reading David and Marhnelle Hibbard’s book, SOAR Selling.

SOAR, which stands for Surge of Accelerating Revenue, is an excellent approach for getting through to more prospects in B2B sales. If you have some free time, I highly recommend picking up a copy and giving it a good read. You’ll thank yourself when you finish.

If however you’re like most entrepreneurs, finding the time to read a book can be a challenge. So here are a few takeaways from SOAR Selling that can help you boost your B2B sales power.

1. Sales Mindset

SOAR Selling emphasises the importance of getting into the right mindset in order to win at sales. If you believe you will fail in prospecting and cold calling, then you will become your own obstacle. To help set you in the right frame of mind, take the time to identify and set “magnets” – personal motivators, dreams, and motivators in our lives – that will pull you towards earning more sales. A magnet can be key in building and maintaining a proper selling mindset.

2. Product Knowledge

Deep product knowledge should be the earliest priority for any sales rep, since understanding your product is the best way to learn to handle objections and sell all of your solution’s features.  If a sales rep doesn’t have the depth of product knowledge required to answer questions during sales calls, the sales reps weaknesses begin to show, the prospect will lose confidence in both the sales rep and the solution and, soon enough, the opportunity will be lost.

3. The Receptionist

A similar concept to having the right mindset, when a salesperson believes that the receptionist is out to block them, the salesperson will end up creating that result. While it’s obviously important to remember to be friendly in speaking with a receptionist, treat these interactions as ‘NIZ Zones’ – No Information Zones. Provide as little information as you can while still answering the questions the receptionist is asking. By limiting your response, it will be more difficult for the receptionist to disqualify your call.

4. Prospect Personality

The ability to identify and adapt your sales pitch based on your prospects personalities is an important skill that can create stronger sales relationships. SOAR Selling outlines the “DiSC” model, consisting of Dominant, Influential, Steady, and Conscientious personality categories. Try to mirror your prospects personality and appeal to the unique motivators of their different behavioural styles. For more personality type tips and tricks, check out our blog on cracking the personality code.

5. Value Statements

A value statement (the vaunted “elevator pitch”) is a quick 15 to 30 second introduction to your solution that ensures you are always ready when you reach your prospect.  SOAR Selling describes two types of value statements:

  • Transactional Value Statements: Used for short-term, often one-off transactions. These value statements should include the pain point your solution can resolve and your major differentiator from your competitors
  • Major Value Statements: Used for more complex sales, often of a larger value with a longer sales cycle. These statements should include specific research regarding the organization or industry, information on a current corporate initiative, and your major differentiator from your competitors.

To help adapt your value statement, SOAR Selling recommends you keep a list of your ‘value offerings’ and your differentiators on hand for quick reference. For more tips on crafting your elevator pitch, check out our blog post, A Start-up Sales Necessity: the Elevator Pitch.

Give these tips a try to boost your selling power. If you’d like to learn more, check out our free white paper on startup sales.

SOAR Selling – How to Accelerate Your B2B Sales Revenue