Over the coming months, I’ll be sharing my 14 most effective sales tactics on how to be first-in on the most profitable opportunities.

I normally reserve these tactics for my keynote speeches, sales training customers and the CEOs, VPs of sales and high performing sales professionals that I advise, mentor, and coach.

My plan is to publish one tactic each month on the second Tuesday of each month.

BUT before I start that series of blog posts, I need to finish my countdown of the top seven ways to apply Google’s Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) to B2B Selling.

In case you haven’t seen them, here are the links to the five posts I’ve already published:

#2 Ask the Best Questions

Julien Gordon once said: “How far will the right answers to the wrong questions get you?”

The #2 ZMOT Selling Strategy is to conduct the right analysis to understand the stimuli that create the Zero Moment of Truth for what you sell.

Here are the four questions I suggest asking when you win a sale with a new customer:

1. What stimuli created the opportunity? This question typically tells you which stimuli afforded them the time to look at what you sell or the money to buy it.
2. When did it/they happen? This question typically tells you what stimuli created dissatisfaction with the status quo.
3. What made you choose us? Listen for verbs that describe the outcomes (read value) they got from being your customer.
4. How can we make it easier to become our customer?

You can use your new customer’s answers to improve how you says the right things (verbs), to the right decision makers (those with money, the authority to spend it, and influence), at the right time (shortly after they experience an event that triggers their dissatisfaction with the Status Quo).

#1 Focus on The Best Prospects

The #1 ZMOT Selling Strategy is to focus on the best prospects.

If I had to choose between the best activities on the wrong prospects or the wrong activities on the best prospects, I would choose the latter, every time.

The best prospects are those who have – or will soon have – Money, Authority, and Influence that you have something in common with.

Having things in common helps you become a prospect’s Emotional Favorite.

This is based upon a term called Propinquity.

In social psychology, propinquity is the physical or psychological proximity between people and is one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction.

Some of the things you can have in common with the best prospects are:

• Demographics – Are you similar in age, family status, or income? E.g. Both of you are divorced or have two children.
• Geographics – Where do/did you live, work, play or learn? E.g. You both went to the same college or university.
• Psychographics – Do you have common interests, values, or aspirations? E.g. You both like mounting biking, are involved in the same church, or volunteer for the same cause.

I discuss this and more in a webinar I created, as part of the Social Selling Summit, titled BEAT YOUR COMPETITION To The Punch (YouTube video – no registration required).

In that 25-minute webinar, I share how to use Social Selling to accomplish the three most important things in sales:

1. Be First
2. Be Preferred
3. Be Chosen

If you want to learn more about being the preferred vendor (aka Emotional Favorite) you can watch this two-minute video on what is called the Johari Window

I look forward to seeing what questions and suggestions you have on my 14 tactics.

Have an ‘eventful’ month!