Sales Advice on LinkedIn Isn't Exactly Wrong, But....

Most sales advice on LinkedIn isn’t wrong, it’s just focused on one kind of selling: transactional selling. You need to decide if you’re a transactional seller (don’t judge!!) and interpret accordingly:

I. Good Advice… for Transactional Sellers

Here are some tips you’ll see on LinkedIn: Demo on the first call. Don’t get bogged down with too much discovery, get into it. Share pricing on the first call. CUT OUT STEPS in your sales process.

The uniting idea is: Reduce friction at all costs.

If you’re a transactional seller, this is right. If you’re a strategic seller, you need to take this advice with a grain of salt.

II. What’s Transactional Selling?

Transactional selling ISN’T ABOUT YOU. You’re not a bad seller because you’re transactional, you’re not a good seller because you’re strategic. And vice versa. 

Selling style needs to match your product. 

Simple, low-cost products should be sold in a transactional way. You are being a bad seller if you try to sell a transactional product with a strategic mindset.

Transactional selling makes sense when: 

(1) customers do most of their investigation before talking to you

(2) the website can and does spell out most of the value 

(3) the product isn’t a big risk to buy 

(4) friction is a huge deal killer because your buyer isn’t willing to spend much time on the evaluation

If that’s your product, then 100% remove friction at all costs. Acknowledge the tradeoff: You’re employing less of the art of selling. 

But that’s the right move if you have a transactional product.

III. What’s Strategic Selling (and why Does it Matter?)

Strategic sellers don’t reduce friction at all costs

Let’s be clear: They don’t insert unnecessary friction. NOBODY wants to make it hard to buy.

But they recognize that their product can’t be effectively evaluated or effectively sold without applying a strategic selling process

Again, it ISN’T ABOUT YOU - it’s about the product

Strategic makes sense when: 

(1) customers do plenty of investigation before talking to you (that’s everyone these days!) 

(2) the website can and does spell out value BUT customers need to see how that value applies to their situation

(3) there’s risk to the product - the customer needs more certainty before a purchase 

(4) friction is bad… BUT that friction is inherent to the risk and complexity of the product 

Overcoming friction in strategic selling requires that you prove customer-specific value

That requires a thoughtful process that unfolds over multiple steps:

(1) Good discovery, even if it takes time 

(2) Demos a little later in the process so you can be sure they’re relevant

(3) Collaboration with the champion on building a ROI case that makes sense FOR THEM

Apply the right process for your product - that’s how you succeed