Episode 296: Personalization and Authenticity in Sales Communication with George Storm

GUEST: George Storm, CEO at Break the Box and Co-Founder at Skills

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In recent years, there has been a noticeable decline in attention spans, which poses a challenge for sales professionals aiming to achieve and sustain optimal sales performance. 

So we were wondering…

What are the sales communication strategies that adapt to different generations for achieving optimal sales performance?

To help us with this incredible topic, we have George Storm, CEO of Break the Box and Co-Founder of Skills. With over 22 years of experience in sales, George has perused both the B2B and B2C landscapes, with a track record of success along the way.

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What are the Sales Communication Strategies for Optimal Sales Performance?

To enhance engagement and achieve optimal sales, professionals need to adapt to evolving sales communication dynamics (curiosity, personalization, and authenticity) when pitching to prospects. These strategies boost conversion compared to the generic “John Doe” approach in which uninteresting messages are being delivered by sales professionals.

Tapping into research feedback and reviews from a sales perspective can also help professionals address the challenges of prospects’ attention spans for different generations. Some research strategies include condensing content, and getting straight to the point when communicating with prospects.

“Sales is a numbers game. If I hit enough people, we will get results. Right? So I advocate that people keep their personality and even expand on it when they communicate and make real actual connections regardless of what you sell or what you promote. If it's a good fit and your proposition is correct, it will work out.”

George Storm, CEO at Break the Box and Co-Founder at Skills.

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How to Train Teams for Success

With the significant shift in training preferences (from physical to virtual) over the years, there is a need to create personalized learning experiences. It’s important to set clear expectations and provide actionable information that initiates trainees' active engagement to achieve the required result. 

Understanding and adapting to the fact that different generations have differences in attention span and processing information is crucial for effective and successful training. Ensure that you are conscious of some key elements: content, personalization, delivery, and approach.

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Adopting the Right Approach to Personal Branding

In maintaining a personal brand, you need to avoid generic communications that most brands depend on. People will always remember how your brand makes them feel and that will determine if they would want to keep interacting with you, hence the need for personalization and empathy when communicating.

Other strategies to adopt are transparency, curiosity, and the use of meaningful questions in sales conversations. Using an approach that resonates with your prospects fosters a genuine interest in the conversation that could lead to conversion.

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The Role of Authenticity Amidst AI-Created Homogeneity in Sales

Emotional intelligence has a great impact on sales success, yet many companies overlook it. The way sales professionals conduct themselves in their communications and body language determines their sales success.

AI also has a significant impact on sales, as it perpetuates the use of generic sales communication scripts that are often due to the prompts that sales professionals use. Hence, AI produces less personalized information. 

"I see AI leading to more errors, generating poorly personalized messages at scale. The mass replication of identical prompts across different senders on LinkedIn highlights a problem of false personalization. As we outsource our brand and communication to AI, the need to invest in genuine personal branding becomes crucial. Those who do will stand out in a sea of homogeneity."

George Storm, CEO at Break the Box and Co-Founder at Skills.

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Now that you know about personalization and authenticity in sales communication for achieving optimal sales, check out the full list of episodes at The B2B Revenue Executive Experience. If you enjoy the show, instructions to rate and review it are found here.