Forget the traditional sales pitch; it's all about relationships and networks. This was the sage advice from Eduardo Coll, when he talked with Alice on "Sales Talk for CEOs." His innovative approach to business growth, focusing on conversational selling and leveraging networks, provides a fresh perspective for CEOs and entrepreneurs.
Embrace Conversational Selling
- Relationships Over Sales Pitches: Eduardo's team showcases the effectiveness of building connections first, without immediately pushing for a sale. This approach fosters trust and opens doors for genuine business opportunities.
- Solving, Not Just Selling: Focus on understanding and solving client problems rather than just selling a product or service. This shift in approach can create more impactful and lasting client relationships.
Leverage Your Network for Expansion
- Tap into Personal Connections: Eduardo stressed the significance of utilizing personal and professional networks, particularly in a business's early stages, as a more effective strategy than traditional sales methods.
- Empower Your Team in Sales: Encourage every team member to see themselves as potential contributors to sales, utilizing their unique networks and connections.
Key Takeaways for CEOs
1. Prioritize Relationship-Building: Train your sales team to focus on establishing relationships first.
2. Maximize Your Network: Use your personal and professional networks to identify potential clients and opportunities.
3.Encourage Team-Wide Sales Contribution: Foster a culture where all team members can aid in sales through their networks.
"Forget that you need to sell and start focusing more on the relationship... that's a better start," Eduardo advised, highlighting a pivotal shift in sales strategy.
Eduardo's methods remind us that in today's business landscape, success is as much about how you connect and whom you know as what you sell.
Chapters
01:18 The importance of sales-driven growth and funding through growth
03:23 Importance of building relationships and focusing on problem-solving
11:57 The importance of having a team of partners with complementary skills
15:17 Initial sales strategies, focusing on referrals and leveraging contacts
18:34 The value of a strong network in generating leads
22:30 Transitioning from founders doing all the selling to hiring salespeople
24:08 Having a lead flow before hiring salespeople
26:31 Hiring salespeople through personal connections and trust
32:17 Discussion on when to involve senior executives in sales process
36:08 Challenges of finding clients through digital marketing for service companies
About Guest
Eduardo, or Edu, as he prefers to be called, is a Systems Engineer specialized in business and agile methodologies and has 22 years of experience in the IT industry as a developer, a manager, a director and most recently, as co-founder of 2 companies, Incutex and Exomindset.
In 2019, he founded exomindset.co with a partner to provide local and international clients with software engineering and development services, his belief was that teamwork and agile methodologies could overcome any cultural and language barriers, that coding is universal. He speaks Spanish and English fluently as well as some Portuguese and while he’s immensely proud of his home country, Argentina, his knowledge of the culture of other countri