Additionally, cold calling requires stepping out of one's comfort zone and engaging in unfamiliar interactions, which can feel threatening to our sense of belonging and social acceptance. The fear of rejection, coupled with the pressure to perform, can create a psychological barrier that inhibits our ability to initiate and sustain cold calling efforts.

However, understanding the neuroscience behind cold calling can empower sales professionals to overcome these challenges and cultivate a mindset of resilience and effectiveness. By reframing cold calling as an opportunity for growth and learning, rather than a threat to be avoided, individuals can harness their cognitive resources and channel them towards achieving their sales goals.

The brain science

During a cold call, both the seller and the buyer undergo various cognitive and emotional processes that are influenced by the structure and function of their brains. Here's an overview of what goes on in the brain for both parties:

For the Seller:

1. Activation of the Amygdala: The seller's amygdala, the brain's emotional center, may become activated in response to the anticipation of rejection or failure. This activation triggers the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which can lead to feelings of anxiety and apprehension.

2. Engagement of the Prefrontal Cortex: The seller's prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and executive functions, plays a crucial role in planning and executing the cold call. It helps the seller process information, formulate responses, and regulate emotions during the conversation.

3. Dopamine Release: As the seller engages in the cold call and perceives positive feedback or progress towards their goals, dopamine—a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward—is released in the brain. This dopamine release reinforces positive behaviors and motivates the seller to continue their efforts.

4. Activation of Mirror Neurons: Mirror neurons in the seller's brain enable them to empathize with the prospect's emotions and intentions. This allows the seller to adjust their communication style and build rapport with the prospect by mirroring their gestures, tone of voice, and body language.

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For the Buyer:

1. Initial Skepticism: When receiving a cold call, the buyer's brain may initially respond with skepticism and caution. The prospect's amygdala may become activated as they assess the potential risks and benefits of engaging with the seller.

2. Analytical Processing: The buyer's prefrontal cortex engages in analytical processing as they evaluate the information presented by the seller. They may assess the relevance of the offering to their needs, weigh the potential benefits against the costs, and consider alternative solutions.

3. Emotional Response: The buyer's limbic system, which includes structures like the amygdala and hippocampus, influences their emotional response to the cold call. Positive interactions with the seller or perceived value in the offering can evoke feelings of trust, curiosity, or interest, while negative experiences may trigger skepticism or reluctance.

4. Decision-Making: As the cold call progresses, the buyer's brain evaluates whether to continue the conversation, express interest in learning more, or decline the offer. This decision-making process involves the interplay of various brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, insula, and striatum, which weigh the potential rewards and risks of further engagement.

Overall, both the seller and the buyer experience a complex interplay of cognitive and emotional processes during a cold call, shaped by their individual neural circuitry and past experiences. Understanding these underlying mechanisms can help sales professionals tailor their approach to effectively engage prospects and facilitate meaningful interactions.

Five Rules of Cold Calling:

1. Prepare Strategically: Before making any cold calls, invest time in researching your prospects and understanding their needs, pain points, and priorities. Tailor your approach and messaging to resonate with each prospect's specific circumstances, demonstrating your genuine interest and value.

2. Master Your Mindset: Cultivate a positive and confident mindset by reframing rejection as a natural part of the sales process and an opportunity for learning and improvement. Visualize success and focus on the value you can offer to prospects, rather than dwelling on potential setbacks.

3. Listen Intently: Approach cold calls as an opportunity to listen and learn from prospects, rather than simply pitching your product or service. Practice active listening and ask open-ended questions to uncover their needs, challenges, and goals. This empathetic approach builds rapport and fosters meaningful connections with prospects.

4. Handle Objections Gracefully: Anticipate and prepare for common objections that prospects may raise during cold calls. Respond with empathy and confidence, addressing their concerns and providing relevant information or insights to alleviate their doubts. View objections as opportunities to deepen understanding and strengthen your value proposition.

5. Follow Up Consistently: Recognize that successful cold calling often requires persistence and perseverance. Follow up with prospects through multiple touchpoints, such as email, phone calls, or LinkedIn messages, to nurture the relationship and move the sales process forward. Consistent and personalized follow-up demonstrates your commitment and professionalism, increasing the likelihood of converting prospects into customers.

Tailoring Your Cold Calling Script Based on DISC Persona

DISC personas are invaluable when it comes to cold calling as it allows for tailoring your script based on the persona of your prospect. You can read the primer on DISC in our article below.

The key attributes that need to be considered when making a cold call are Tone, Pace, Volume, language Style, non-verbal cues, empathy & understanding, and listening skills.

We would love to hear your cold calling stories and how you’ve applied some or all of these techniques.

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What is DISC?

DISC stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness - the four primary personality traits it assesses. Developed by psychologist William Moulton Marston, DISC is grounded in the idea that people exhibit distinct behavioural styles, each with its unique strengths and challenges.

The DISC model categorizes personality traits into four primary archetypes: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C). Each archetype represents a distinct cluster of behavioural tendencies and preferences.

• Dominance (D): Individuals high in Dominance are results-oriented, assertive, and enjoy overcoming challenges. They are direct, decisive, and prefer being in control.

• Influence (I): Those with high Influence scores are sociable, talkative, and persuasive. They thrive in social interactions and are often enthusiastic and optimistic.

• Steadiness (S): Steadiness is marked by calmness, reliability, and patience. People with high Steadiness prefer stability and consistency and are supportive team players.

• Conscientiousness (C): High Conscientiousness indicates a preference for accuracy, detail, and analytical thinking. These individuals are organized, cautious, and adhere to standards.

Understanding these archetypes can help individuals improve communication, collaboration, and effectiveness in various contexts, including sales.

DISC Ranges, Personas, & Archetypes

Most people exhibit a blend of these traits, with one or two being more dominant. This blend creates unique personas that can influence how individuals prefer to communicate, make decisions, and be motivated.

When an individual exhibits a combination of DISC archetypes, it means they display traits from more than one category, blending characteristics from two or more of the Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C) archetypes. Here's how combinations typically work:

1. Primary and Secondary Traits: In most cases, individuals have one or two dominant archetypes that are more pronounced than the others. For example, someone might primarily exhibit traits of Influence (I) with secondary traits of Dominance (D).

2. Blended Characteristics: The combination of archetypes results in a unique blend of characteristics. For instance, a person with a combination of Steadiness (S) and Conscientiousness (C) might be both patient and detail-oriented, emphasizing stability while also focusing on precision and accuracy.

3. Adaptability: Individuals with mixed archetypes can adapt their behavior to different situations. They may draw upon the strengths of each archetype depending on the context. For example, someone who is primarily Steadiness (S) but has secondary traits of Influence (I) might be empathetic and supportive in interpersonal interactions while also being able to engage energetically in group settings.

4. Challenges: While having a combination of traits can offer versatility, it can also present challenges. Balancing multiple tendencies may lead to internal conflicts or difficulty in certain situations. For instance, someone with both Dominance (D) and Conscientiousness (C) traits may struggle between their desire for control and their need for precision.

5. Understanding and Development: Recognizing one's combination of archetypes is crucial for personal and professional development. It allows individuals to leverage their strengths, address areas for improvement, and adap

DISC Archetypes relevant for B2B Sales

Combining personas and archetypes offers a comprehensive understanding of customer behaviour in technology purchasing. Personas provide detailed insights into specific buyer segments, while archetypes offer broader, universally recognized patterns of behaviour. Together, they enable teams to develop targeted strategies that resonate with both the unique characteristics of different buyer segments and the fundamental drivers of human behaviour. This integration fosters cross-functional alignment and enables organizations to create more effective marketing, sales, and product strategies. Here are the personas that Ask Willy uses to create its actionable recommendations.

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Relevance to B2B Sales

In B2B sales, understanding the DISC profile of a prospect or client can significantly enhance the effectiveness of sales interactions. Here’s how:

1. Tailored Communication: By identifying a client’s dominant DISC traits, sales professionals can adjust their communication style. For example, a concise, goal-oriented approach for Dominant personalities, or a friendly, empathetic conversation with Steady individuals.

2. Effective Presentations: Knowing the DISC profile helps in structuring presentations and pitches. Influential personalities may respond well to enthusiastic, big-picture ideas, while Conscientious clients prefer detailed, data-driven presentations.

3. Building Rapport: Understanding DISC helps in building rapport by aligning with the client’s communication preferences and values. This alignment fosters trust and a stronger client-salesperson relationship.

4. Managing Objections: Different DISC types have different objections and concerns. A salesperson adept in DISC can anticipate and address these concerns more effectively.

You can see DISC in action by trying out our AI Coach Ask Willy.

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• 150 - Number of times we check our phone every day.

• 5 - Minutes before we are interrupted at work by an email or a colleague.

• 50 - Percentage of users reply to an email as soon as they get it.

• 35 - Days it took Angry Birds 35 days to get 50 million users, contrast that with radio, which took 38 years.

• 15 - Billion dollars is the estimated lost productivity cost of on-the-job smartphone use.

• 300,000 - Texting while driving crashes each year.

We are constantly connected, leaving us unavailable at any given moment.

The brain science

Our pleasure centre, nucleus accumbens, is a cluster of nerve cells right below the cerebral cortex. The region that lights up when gamblers place a bet, drug addicts snort, or when people have orgasms. The likelihood that an activity will lead to addiction is related to.

• how fast it releases dopamine.

• the intensity of that release

• the reliability of that release

All social media, smartphones, and modern-day tech are designed to cause a dopamine surge in the nucleus accumbens as fast as possible.

Peter Milner and James Olds, both neuroscientists, in a famous experiment placed a small electrode in the brains of rats on the nucleus accumbens. The rats had access to a lever when pressed sent a small electrical signal directly to their nucleus accumbens. The rats loved the lever action so much they forgot to eat, sleep, and even skipped sex. The rats kept pressing until they just dropped dead.

“Humans are information-seeking creatures.”, says Neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley. We are wired in a way to respond to information as quickly as we can. We evolved successfully precisely because of our ability to respond to information, and not be super focussed. If our ancestors heard a twig crack [new information] it would have served well to respond to that information than being focussed on whatever they were doing. What if it was a lion, clearly the new cave art could wait.

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Every time we dispatch an email, tap out a text, or scroll through our news feed, our brain gets a dopamine hit, and we feel a tiny sense of accomplishment.

Distraction and Performance Relationship

Adam Gazzaley defines distractions as, “goal-irrelevant information that we either encounter in our external surroundings or generate internally within our minds.”

Our information-seeking drive is stronger than top-down cognitive control — attention, working memory, and goal management.

Repeated interruptions cause brain fatigue, and the casualty is attention, memory formation, and self-distraction. Simply put, the more you eliminate irrelevant input, the more resources you have for high-fidelity focus, mandatory for you to enter an optimal performance state.

Distraction shows up in the lives of sellers in many ways. My favourite few.

• Constantly checking emails and responding to them throughout the day.

• Getting sidetracked by social media notifications and updates.

• Engaging in non-essential conversations or meetings that eat up valuable time.

• Chasing after low-priority leads or prospects.

• Multitasking during important sales calls or meetings, reducing their effectiveness.

• Over-researching potential clients or competitors, losing focus on immediate tasks.

• Falling into the trap of "shiny object syndrome," pursuing new opportunities impulsively.

• Allowing personal life or external factors to disrupt their workday.

• Dwelling on past rejections or failures, impacting their current sales efforts.

• Succumbing to procrastination instead of adhering to a structured sales plan.

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Get unstuck and rewire our brains!

1. Goal Setting - This is the big one, this alone can reduce distractions more than all of the other recommendations put together. The Skwill protocol is the SMARTF3 method to set your goals. SMARTF3 protocol is an upgrade to the traditional SMART goals as it binds an emotional reason and the first three steps (F3) that sharpen your focus and increases commitment.

2. Time Management - Time Management is crucial for achieving your sales goals. At Skwill, we have a simple four-step process to make the most of your time:

   1. Task Selection: Identify performance events – tasks strongly linked to sales outcomes – and focus on them. Other tasks are less critical.

   2. Task Prioritization: Prioritize based on the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle), focusing on what matters most, supported by research.

   3. Task Chunking: Break tasks into smaller parts to make them manageable and maintain your momentum. This prevents tasks from going unfinished.

   4. Task Scheduling & Execution: Different tasks require varying levels of cognitive and physical energy. Align tasks with your personal circadian rhythm whenever possible. For instance, schedule meetings and negotiations during your high-energy times, like 9:00 am - 12:00 pm.

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3. Notification Ban - We all know the frustration of constant alerts from various sources like Outlook, Slack, Salesforce, WhatsApp, newsletters, and more, interrupting our work every few minutes. A straightforward solution is to enable the Focus settings on your Windows, Android, or Apple laptops and configure them to activate during periods when your cognitive energy is at its peak. This way, you can minimize distractions and boost your productivity.

What else can I do?

• While hanging out with friends or family, ask everyone present to turn off their phones or at least limit the time they take it out.

• Educate your team, friends, and your families about distractions.

• Nature walks can help reset fatigued brains.

• Meditation can enhance attention, memory, and processing speed.

• Physical exercise, especially aerobic activity strengthens our brain’s agility and resilience.

We’d love to hear your views in the comments.

81% of People Fail to Achieve Goals°

3 Reasons Why SMART Goals Often Miss the Mark

SMART goals are structured as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives, providing clear and realistic targets for efficient and effective goal setting. While they provide a powerful framework, they tend to fail more often than not. 

1. Lack of Commitment: Without firm commitment, goals remain mere wishes, lacking the dedication necessary to bring them to life.

2. Lack of Clarity: A lack of clarity turns goals into a foggy path, where direction and purpose are obscured, hindering progress.

3. Lack of Momentum: Absent momentum, goals lose their forward thrust, becoming vulnerable to stagnation and the pull of distraction.

Enhancing SMART goals

In setting goals, especially SMART ones, it's crucial to go beyond the basics of structure and practicality. To truly bring your goals to life and ensure they resonate with your deepest motivations, we delve into three pivotal aspects: The Reason, The Feeling, and The First 3 Actions. These elements act as the soul, spirit, and steps that transform your goals from mere plans into powerful, personal missions. 

The Reason

The fuel to your goal-setting fire is the significance it holds in your life. When the reason is strong, the difficult days become mere pauses, not full stops.

The Feeling

Goals should not just be a thought but a sensation. Visualize the triumph, the cheer, and the change - let the emotion of success be your guide.  

The First 3 Actions

Break down your plan into immediate, actionable steps. These initial moves should be SMART themselves, propelling you forward with precision and purpose. 

The beauty of these three ingredients is that they align with our triune brain’s checkpoints and flow:

1. Reason appeases the Cognitive brain.

2. Feeling resonates with the Emotional brain.

3. First 3 Actions reassures the instinctual Reptilian brain.

When each part of our brain is engaged, resistance dwindles, and progress becomes a seamless journey.

Introducing SMARTF3

We enhanced the SMART Goal framework to include the missing three key ingredients, Reason Feeling, & First 3 Actions.

• S: Be specific, define your goal with precision.

• M: Make it Measurable. If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

• A: Aim for Achievable. Your goal should stretch your abilities but remain within reach.

• R: Root it in Relevance and Reason. 

  • Relevance:

  • Reason: Why is this goal meaningful to you right now?

• T: Time-bound it with a clear deadline.

• F: Fuel it with Feeling. Envision the success and the emotion that comes with it.

• 3 Action Steps: Kickstart your journey by planning the first three steps. This isn't about having the entire road mapped out but knowing the immediate turns to take.

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SMARTF3 In Action 

• Specific: I want to improve my fitness by improving my strength and stamina by joining a gym and working out regularly.

• Measurable: I will track my progress by aiming to attend gym sessions three times a week for one hour each session.

• Achievable: This goal is realistic given my current schedule and health status. 

• Relevance & Reason

  1. Relevant: Improving my fitness is important for my overall health and well-being.

  2. Reason: My motivation for getting fit is to feel more energetic in my daily life and to build a stronger, healthier body, reducing the risk of health issues related to inactivity. 

• Time-bound: I aim to maintain this routine consistently for the next six months.

• The Feeling: I envision the sense of accomplishment and confidence I will feel with each completed workout, the increased energy levels, and the positive changes in my physical appearance and health. e.g. I have more energy every evening to actively engage with family or feel amazing as I receive compliments from my social circle or excited about shopping because I've dropped sizes etc. We need to visualise it. 

• The First 3 Actions: 

1. Research and select a gym that is convenient and well-equipped and sign up for membership within the next week.

2. Purchase necessary workout gear, including supportive shoes and comfortable exercise clothing.

3. Schedule my workouts by blocking out time on my calendar for gym sessions, starting next week. 

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By setting a SMART goal enhanced with F3, you create a goal that is not only clear and practical but also deeply connected to your personal motivations and emotions, with immediate steps to kickstart your journey towards fitness.

As we step into this year, let's rewrite our goal-setting strategy. Integrate reason, initiate with actionable steps, and imbue your goals with emotion. This isn't just about setting goals; it’s about setting ourselves up for a year of meaningful accomplishments.

We look forward to hearing your upgraded SMART goals in the comments box below.

• Cognitive Agility in sales is the ability to quickly adapt, think on one's feet, and effectively respond to diverse situations. It involves rapid problem-solving, tailoring approaches to unique client needs, and continuously integrating new information about products, technologies, and market trends into sales strategies.

• Emotional Intelligence - Emotional intelligence in sales is the capacity to recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions, as well as the ability to empathize with clients' emotions. It plays a crucial role in building strong client relationships, effectively navigating negotiations, and handling rejections or challenging interactions.

• Physical Stamina - Physical stamina in sales refers to the ability to sustain energy and endurance throughout demanding work schedules, often involving long hours, extensive travel, or continuous client engagements. It's essential for maintaining focus and effectiveness in high-pressure situations, managing the physical demands of back-to-back meetings, and ensuring overall well-being.

Core Idea: Reasearch shows that exercise can materially imporve your abiity to perform on the job.

Key Discoveries

I’ve summarized latest research (along with references) that add more weight to the relationship between exercise and brain function.

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1. Neurogenesis through Exercise: Engaging in regular physical activities like running or swimming can lead to the creation of new brain cells, especially in the hippocampus. This not only boosts memory and learning but also enhances mood.

2. Exercise and Brain Volume: Aerobic exercises increase hippocampal size, crucial for spatial memory and cognitive function, preserving vital brain matter.

3. Better Sleep and Brain Health: Regular exercise improves sleep quality, aiding in memory consolidation and toxin removal from the brain – crucial for cognitive sharpness in high-stakes sales meetings.

4. Stress Reduction: Physical activity increases levels of norepinephrine and endorphins, helping manage stress and induce positive feelings, essential for maintaining focus and resilience in challenging sales scenarios.

Implications for Sales Professionals

• Enhanced Cognitive Function: Improved attention, memory, and executive functions through exercise can translate into sharper decision-making and strategic thinking in sales.

• Mood Regulation: The mood-boosting effects of exercise can help in maintaining a positive, engaging demeanour during client interactions.

• Stress Management: Regular physical activity is a powerful tool for managing the high-pressure environment of sales, keeping you calm and focused.

Recommendations

1. Incorporate Regular Exercise: Aim for a mix of aerobic and strength training exercises to maximize brain health benefits.

2. Prioritize Sleep: Use exercise as a tool to enhance sleep quality, crucial for mental sharpness.

3. Embrace a Holistic Approach: Remember, exercise is part of a bigger picture. Balance it with healthy eating and mindfulness practices for optimal performance.

Read my previous post to learn how high performers incorporate exercise as a way to level up their performance.

While significant strides have been made in understanding the neuroscience of fitness, there's still much to learn about how different exercises affect the brain and how variables like age, genetics, and initial fitness level influence these effects. Current research robustly affirms the substantial benefits of regular physical activity on brain health and cognitive function. This emphasizes the importance of integrating exercise into daily routines for holistic health benefits.

My Exercise Regimen

I have a gruelling work schedule as a founder of Skwill. I put in roughly 70 hours a week on work. I can honestly tell you that I wouldn’t be able to pull this off without my exercise regimen. If you need help to get started drop me a comment and I’ll do my best to suggest ways to incorporate this into your daily routine.

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1. Aerobic exercises - 3 times a week between boxing (group) and HIIT.

2. Strength exercises - 4 times a week usually weight training.

3. Flexibility exercises - 3 times a week usually Pilates.

4. Sleep - 8 hours (10PM lights out 6AM sunshine).

As a sales professional, embracing the neuroscience of fitness isn't just about physical health; it's about fine-tuning your brain for peak performance. By integrating regular exercise into your routine, you're not just taking care of your body but also empowering your greatest asset – your brain.

Drop your favourite exercises in the comments.

Success breeds success.1 Individuals who are successful in meeting goals, tend to succeed in subsequent goals they pursue. This explains why some founders, authors, designers, doctors, and host of other professionals are prolific in their achievements. For the remaining 92% who fail to meet the goals it gets progressively harder with time, and eventually they give up on goals. My research into performance, experience working with high performance individuals, and my ongoing performance journey has led me to identify six steps that successful individuals implement. These six steps when followed in this specific order creates a virtuous loop that creates and strengthens behaviours that help you achieve goals.

1. Visualising the goal — Before you say, I’ve heard this one Anoop, I’d like to state up front, NO, you haven’t really. Visualizing is not just about imagining the goal, it also about writing and drawing it up. Yes, you read it right, drawing it up. I don’t mean creating the next Picasso. Doodle away, make connections, draw characters, depict your environment, and add colours. What started as a prefrontal cortex activity (logic), the moment pen touched the paper, quickly engages the emotional and memory parts of your brain eventually creating a feedback loop that binds you to the outcome. Visual imagery is proven2 tool to help goal achievement.

   Once the first version is done, revisit the drawing or writing once a week, and keep editing it continually. Over time your goal and your reality will look similar.

2. Daily Focus — Once you’ve got your masterpiece ready, focus on one small goal for that day. It is imperative you accomplish the goal in a day, or maximum two. If it doesn’t, break it down so that it fits in a day. If you still don’t finish it in a day, you’ll quickly identify what stopped you from finishing the goal. One of the biggest reasons why we miss goals is because we don’t flush out all the sub-goals and tasks that need to be accomplished to achieve the end result.

   Having daily focus prevents us from spinning the wheel and sprinting in place.

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3. Emotion Management — Invariably we will encounter tasks that we hate. Dates slip when we hit these tasks. Human behaviour tells us that when presented with two tasks, individuals will invariably pick the easier task3. Research also shows that the emotional value attached to doing the hard task is really what matters and must be significantly higher than the reward you expect from doing the easier task. The solution is to establish a casual relationship between the hard task and your action. Don’t ‘stress’ yourself out by focusing on the hard part and the outcome of the task. Start and do what you can.

   Knowing that our default is to chose the easier task we should train ourselves to get started without regard for the outcome. That causal relationship over time reduces our resistance to hard tasks.

4. Interval Training @ Work — Work in bursts to ensure that the two brain modes of working, a.k.a focused mode and diffused mode, work hand in hand to help you achieve your goals. Focus allows us to retain information while diffused mode allows us to make connections between the information already stored in your brain. You need both to achieve your goals. My co-founder will tell you that most of my ideas and connections come to me when I am in the shower or the sauna.

   Interval Training at Work has the additional benefit of helping us with goal evaluation and course correction on a regular basis.

5. Network Effect — No goal can be accomplished alone. Research4 suggests that sharing goals improves behavioural performance and the likelihood of attaining one’s goals. It adds emotional rewards which in turn help you ensure goals are continually translated into action. Before you start shouting from the roof tops, ensure you share it with the right set of individuals, those you perceive to have a higher status than yourself; those with more prestige and respect.

   You are more likely to be dedicated and unwilling to give up on your goal when you share a goal with someone you look up to.

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6. Exercise & Music for Focus, Relaxation, & Meditation - Almost everyone I spoke to had exercise. music, and meditation built-in it their regimen and why not. I can attest to its power as well. Exercise boosts cognitive function and energy, essential for high achievers in demanding environments. It triggers endorphin release, aiding in stress reduction. Music complements this by enhancing focus or promoting relaxation through rhythm and melody. Meditation complements exercise and music, enhancing mental clarity and emotional balance. It cultivates mindfulness, reduces stress, and improves concentration, vital for high achievers navigating high-pressure situations.

   Together, they foster a balanced mental state crucial for sustained peak performance and well-being.

   My go to are the following,

• Music: Deeper Focus by endel.io5

• Relaxation: Weightless by Marconi Union6

• Non-Sleep Deep Rest by Huberman Lab

• Exercise: HIIT7, Weight Training8

I look forward to your thoughts and comments on these insights. Let's discuss how we can apply these strategies in your sales teams!

Footnotes:

Sales, especially in high-value B2B, is competitive. The more complex and valuable the product or service, the more people you need to manage during the sales process. Selling something simple like test automation is straightforward - you just need the right technology, experience, and price. But for bigger projects, like a digital transformation for an insurance company's customer experience, it's more than just the basics. You need to consider reputation, credibility, the ability to deliver, expertise, internal politics of the buyer, and more. Here, sales shift from a solo effort to a team activity.

Core Idea: Working together like our ancestors who foraged in groups is key to winning big deals. In a team, everyone depends on each other, and going solo is risky. Each person must contribute and support others, but they can also expect help if they face difficulties.

I use the term ‘hunt in packs’ to highlight the difference in selling approaches, between the lone wolf type seller and selling as a pack. In the book, "The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life" by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson the authors discuss Foraging and how it played a critical role in humanity’s continued survival and evolution.

I've been in sales for nearly 30 years, mostly leading teams on big deals worth millions. Applying the techniques of hunting in packs (foraging) have helped earn over $650 million for my companies. Here are seven important sales lessons from the world of foraging that we can use in B2B deals.

1. Resource Availability: For foraging to work, there need to be things worth looking for. In sales, this is like making sure a large deal is worth your time. It includes simple things like how much the deal is worth and if you can actually get involved in it. It also covers more complex things like getting useful information and building relationships.

2. Search and Decision-Making Strategy: Good foraging means having a plan for what to look for and how to choose what's best to go after. This means figuring out how valuable different things could be, thinking about the pros and cons of chasing them, and then deciding what to do. In sales, this is like deciding when to involve your CEO in a deal or how much money to spend on marketing for specific accounts.

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3. Adaptability and Learning: Successful foragers are adaptable and capable of learning from their environment. They can change their strategies based on the availability of resources, competition, and other environmental factors. This learning process is continuous and involves both short-term adjustments and long-term evolutionary adaptations. In my previous company, the need to win a deal led us to acquire new capability that was previously not part of the corporate strategy.

4. Risk Management: Foraging involves managing risks, such as the risk of expending more energy in the search than is gained from the resource, or the risk of exposure to predators (or, in human contexts, to competitors or other threats). Effective foragers balance the potential rewards with these risks. An example would be to consider the benefit of opting out of a deal that will cost more what you can afford to spend on pursuit at this stage as a company.

5. Efficiency: Foraging strategies aim to maximize efficiency — obtaining the highest possible return for the lowest possible investment of energy and resources. This involves optimizing travel paths, timing, and methods of extraction or acquisition. An example would be leveraging partnerships to reduce costs while improving competitiveness in large deals.

6. Opportunism: Successful foragers often exhibit opportunistic behavior, taking advantage of unexpected resources or conditions that may arise. This flexibility can be crucial for survival and success. For example, they might offer extra services that go well with the main deal, even if the customer hadn't thought of it. This quick thinking and flexibility can really help in getting ahead.

7. Social Dynamics: In sales, just like in human foraging, working with others and managing relationships are key. You need to cooperate, share information, and sometimes compete. This is crucial in big deals where you might meet over 15 different buyers, each with their own goals, power, and needs, multiple times over several months. At a bare minimum, you have to handle 1000s of interactions across multiple channels without upsetting anyone or missing important signals.

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8. Ecological Interaction: Foraging is not isolated; it's influenced by the surrounding environment, like other creatures, changes in surroundings, and resource availability. In sales, this means considering things like regulations, tech trends, the overall economy, and politics. For example, if you're selling tech solutions, you need to stay aware of new laws affecting technology, current market conditions, and political shifts that could impact your client's willingness or ability to invest in new tech.

In Conclusion: The Art of Sales Foraging

Every high-performance sales professional engages in a form of 'foraging' for clients and opportunities. These lessons from the foraging world provide a blueprint for developing strategies that cater to identifying and seizing valuable opportunities, adapting to market changes, and efficiently allocating resources.

I look forward to your thoughts and comments on these insights. Let's discuss how we can apply these ancient strategies to modern sales challenges!

This article is based on a real meeting I had with a buyer. The buyer walked in with a defensive body language, trying to dominate the meeting from the get go. No introductions, no background, and he declined my offer to introduce the company. Instead he asked me to pitch to him in 30 secs. Before I could finish, I was interrupted and was told my pitch was too complex. The buyer then proceeded to start a rapid fire round of questions, show me the science, what is the statistical validity, how is it done, and another 20 odd questions in a span of 5 minutes. Neither did he have the patience to listen to the answers, nor did he want to know what is it that I was offering as a product. If only he had the patience to listen to my planned introduction, about 5 minutes long, all of these would have been answered. Instead, I spent the better part of 30 minutes in a boxing match, where I kept ducking the blows that were intended to knock me out.

Why do they behave that way ?

To answer the above question, we need to first understand one of the domains of human personality, Negative Emotionality [part of the BIG5 model] which has an aspect called Volatility. Individuals with high volatility are unpredictable.

How do we handle such situations?

The keyword is unpredictability. Individuals who behave in a volatile, outrageous and unpredictable way push all our buttons. Our default response is pull in the opposite direction (freeze, fear, or flight). We must mediate that default response so we can handle the unpredictability gracefully. I offer two process recommendations and three behavioural tips to handle this. I used this in my meeting and eventually, I was able to get to a point where the rapid fire stopped, and the buyer started to get curious.

The Process

1. A high-performance salesperson does personality research before they meet a buyer. I use my own tool Ask Willy that uses DISC personality model to understand personality and behaviour. You can also use BIG5 analysis of their LinkedIn profile, articles, and their emails, to create a ‘mock’ personality prior to my meetings. In the case above, prior to the meeting, my assessment pegged the individual to be dominant with high need to be in control, and little tolerance for dissent. I took Ask Willy’s advice to cede control when meeting the buyer, let the person drive till they ran out of questions, at which point I would reassert and take control.

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2. Role play with yourself ‘what-if scenarios’ of possible questions you may get. You should not rely on the traditional sales playbook and objection handling questions. Remember, they will be unpredictable. I asked myself what if he told me straight up, I don’t trust you or your product, or something even severe, and just walked out. I’ve had instances of both in my sales career.

Visualizing and rehearsing these scenarios allow you to train and be prepared with responses to the situation should it arise.

Behavioural Coaching Tips

1. Don’t react — Do not try and answer every question. Allow the individual to keep talking till they either tire out or give you a chance to reply. When they do, look them straight in the eye without blinking and ask them if they have any additional questions. Only when they do, start framing your reply.

2. Take pauses — When you are peppered with questions like I was, our brain triggers a fear or fight response which shuts down our non-vital functions including cognitive processing. It takes about 250 milliseconds to process a word, that when coupled with a barrage of words coming at us results in two outcomes. (1) A we being to lose track of what is being said, and (2) we respond with inadequate or inaccurate information to avoid more questions (to alleviate the pain) which only leads to more questions. The cycle will repeat and make the situation worse. In such cases, I find that a physical action such as taking writing down the question forces our brain to slow down and become deliberate. It gives us pause to put our cognitive processing back on track.

3. Don’t try to fix the individual — Accept that they are who they are. Their need for superiority is structural to their personality, and can from low self-esteem, an pathological thirst for praise, to a complete lack of empathy. Trying to change the individual in a meeting is impossible. Instead stick to what you came to do, the introduction of your product or service.

These meetings can be immensely harmful for novice or inexperience sales professionals as it is a form of emotional trauma that can hamper the sales persons future performance by making them fearful of all meetings.

As a manager, it your job to ensure your team is prepared for a range of scenarios. Talk to them, get feedback, and ensure they are equipped.

I’d love to hear your experiences and your tips and tricks to handle difficult buyers.

• Feels embarrassed to accept the compliment

• Tells me that, they were just doing their job

• Totally surprised that they made an impact

In no particular order

1. Rostow Ravanan (he/him) — Out of the blue in early 2018 he asked me if I could come up with a way to help Mindtree improve sales performance. I was getting comfortable in my then role, and access to this opportunity was like a shot of adrenalin. I still don’t know why he asked me, but I am glad he did. I guess be believed I could make a difference. Little did I know that journey I started ended up with me founding Skwill and pursuing a career very different to the one I was on.

2. Subroto Bagchi — He sat me down in 2010 after his first week long visit to Australia. He pulled up an A4 piece of paper and talked through what I could do better behaviourally, not just skills improvement. His advice was to focus on my strengths (build and manage teams who can deliver) than just trying to be a individual contributor. Don’t do a job you don’t enjoy he told me. I’ve attached a redacted copy, items 1, 2, 3 and 11. This was the second time in my 25 year career I’ve had a leader sit down and take the time to explain how I could be a better professional.

3. Suman Deshpande — She was my first manager when I stared my career at Sonata Software. I joined as a computer engineer. I was good at programming, but my heart wasn’t in it. She saw that and asked me to try Functional Testing as she thought I had a curious mind. She was right, I was keen to know the why not the how. That change so early on, and over time, made me a consultant to customers, and eventually to creating solutions to business challenges.

4. Sidharth Mohan — Sidharth was my country head in Australia. When he relocated to UK, he batted for me to take over his role in Australia. He and I worked together for several years in a two-seater serviced office during Mindtree’s initial days in Australia. His trust in me was instrumental in me doing my best and stepping up. He nonchalantly, almost in passing, said that there may have been resistance to me taking his role.

Why am I sharing this?

Individuals are unique. As managers and leaders, we have a duty to personalise their interaction with team members. Develop mutual trust based on an open discussion of respective strengths and weaknesses. Fight for individuals who show promise. Lastly, be patient, as change takes time.

This has influenced the work we do at Skwill, and our mission to help unlock individual potential by tapping the unseen and explored self. Thank you for being amazing leaders.