How to ensure that you keep the upper hand in customer acquisitions.
By: Bradley Hartmann
You’ve now had a month to come to terms with the single worst offensive play call in the history of the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks. 1-yard line. Seconds away from winning the game. They pass instead of another inevitable touchdown plunge by running back Marshawn Lynch. Interception. Game over. Unreal. Further proof that you can’t script the end of the games. You can, however, script the beginning.
From high school to college to the pros, from San Diego to Saskatoon, offensive coordinators script the first 20 plays of the game. Selecting the first 20 plays allows the offense to focus.
Repetition improves execution. Execution builds confidence. Confidence leads to success.
There’s a parallel here: To improve execution and your probability of sales success, you should script your opening offensive moves, too. Scripting your opening sales plays helps your team create momentum, establish trust and demonstrate expertise.
I’ve identified four phases in the customer acquisition process:
1. Achieving awareness
2. Mastering the meeting
3. Navigating the negotiation
4. Amazing the account
The first two phases—getting noticed and landing a face-to-face meeting— should be scripted. I frequently interact with sales reps who play without a scripted offensive strategy. While this exerts plenty of effort, there is little thought to the process. They run the schoolyard play called “Get Open.” The best sales reps, on the other hand, run scripted plays with confidence and precision.
To achieve awareness, the best sales reps answer this question succinctly: “Who are you and why do I care?” Some scripted plays they might run include:
1. Ensuring LinkedIn profile is relevant and interesting
2. Visiting jobsites to identify specific opportunities
3. Sharing video testimonials
