Missing Sales Targets? Anthony Iannarino Wants to Help You Level Up
According to statistics from GTM Partners and Bombora, 37% of B2B companies expect to miss their revenue goals in 2023, with 53% reporting a lower-than-expected pipeline. As a Marketer who has supported B2B founders and sales teams for nearly 20 years, it pains me to read these results. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down with top sales coach, international speaker, and 6-time best-selling author Anthony Iannarino to discuss the evolution of sales and his timely book, ‘Elite Sales Strategies.’
Some of the topics covered in our interview included:
The need for a modern selling approach
Why you don't need the best product or service in order to sell
The competitive advantage of personal values
The thread that connects sales and marketing
Why modern marketing must dramatically change its approach
To give you a sense of Anthony’s perspective, here are four highlights from our interview:
How to Be the Best in Your Field
At the start of our conversation, Anthony shared two criteria for anyone looking to be the best in their field. The first is what Zen Buddhists call a Beginner’s Mind. Anthony mentioned that someone with a beginner’s mind believes that “no matter how much they know, they know almost nothing.” It’s the state of being open, curious, and always willing to learn more without preconceptions or expectations, no matter how skilled or knowledgeable they may be.
The second criterion is being Hungry. Anthony suggested that “someone who is hungry believes there is still something available to them that they don’t have yet, and they want to pursue it.” It’s the desire to be the best you can be and to continually make improvements. With these two dispositions, Anthony believes professionals can excel in nearly any environment.
The Importance of Being One-Up
Anthony went on to share another very important concept with me from his book. It is one that has been key to his own success in Sales: the position of being One-Up.
In an environment of information parity, Anthony says that salespeople must be truly consultative and equip their prospects with valuable insights and experience that cannot be sourced from the internet. Anthony calls this being One-Up. Anthony explained that it’s the salesperson’s job to move the customer from the position of being One-Down by transferring their unique knowledge and perspectives to the customer so that the customer can then make a better buying decision.
A Thread That Connects Sellers and Marketers
Next, Anthony and I discussed what he sees as a commonality between Sales and Marketing. According to Anthony Iannarino, one reason a salesperson is good at selling relates to their ability to recognize patterns in the psychology of the person sitting across from them. Anthony stated that “the intersection between sales and marketing is right there in the psychology of the conversation each is having.”
Anthony explained that instead of deciphering the psychology of a single individual, Marketers have a different problem to solve. “Marketers communicate one-to-many, so they embrace a psychology that includes understanding which levers to pull that will impact larger groups of people.” Anthony referenced Eugene Schwartz’s book, ‘Breakthrough Advertising’ where the author contends that there’s no such thing as demand generation. “The demand already exists; a good marketer will speak to that demand,” explained Anthony.
Holes Vs. Drills
Finally, Anthony echoed my own imperative as a Marketer when he suggested that to market and sell successfully, Marketers and Sellers must first understand their customer’s problems. To illustrate this point, Anthony referred to Theodore Levitt’s concept of holes versus drills. According to the analogy, people don’t buy drills; they buy holes. The drill is just a way to get the hole.
Anthony believes that what Sellers often get wrong is that they spend too much time talking about the drill and why it’s so good when in fact, they should focus on the hole. Anthony’s point was that once you know what your prospect is struggling with, you are better equipped to offer them the right solution to improve their results, engendering trust and increasing the likelihood of a sale.
Interested in more of Anthony Iannarino’s elite sales (and marketing) strategies? Consider watching our full interview below:
Work with us.
Are you looking to improve your organization’s Sales and Marketing performance? AH Marketing can help your team build a high-performing revenue engine. We’ll work with you to:
Unify Your Revenue Teams Around an Ideal Go-To-Market Strategy
Improve Your Revenue Forecasts, Pipeline Quality, Sales Velocity & Average Deal Size
Enhance Your Team’s Ability to Close More Deals
If your business needs help connecting the dots to greater revenue, please CONTACT US for a FREE 30-Minute Consultation where we can discuss your Go-To-Market challenges and what’s standing in the way of sales.
