How to Sell CAS - Pre-Sales Call

Read Time: 4:14 minutes

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Selling comes naturally to me, although I am an introvert by nature. My love for selling came from when I was a kid. I would sell lemonade, used golf balls, and anything I could on eBay.

I love selling so much that I almost became a dedicated salesperson in a top-100 accounting firm. But a perceived career ceiling and a quota of $500k in year one and $1M in year two stopped me.

There is only one way to hit a quota of $1M per year and have 10+ salespeople speaking the same language. And that is to have a defined process. 

I was formally trained in a process called Action Selling. The book is hokey but an easy read. And a good framework that made me realize why selling comes naturally to me. 

Here is my take on the framework: 

I don't follow the framework to a "T" because I have self-diagnosed ADD. However, this card has sat on my desk for 4+ years, and I reference it frequently. 

I am going to break down this framework over four issues as follows: 

• Pre-sales call

• Discovery call

• Post discovery call 

• The evolution of my selling process

In this issue, we will discuss the pre-sales call. This is setting a goal and being likable in the framework and my world. 

Setting a Goal

Setting a goal for a sales call may seem odd, but think about how many times you have been ghosted by prospects in the past. The goal could be as simple as booking a demo or scheduling a proposal call. 

Setting the following steps on the call is critical. A prospect unwilling to sync up calendars for the next steps is probably no longer interested in what you are selling and will ghost any follow-up ("FU") emails. 

My goal on a discovery call is to sell an assessment. I have a discovery process that helps me get through 2-8 quickly on a call. Sometimes, I settle with booking a FU call during the call, which is still a win in my book. It is way better than sending an email into the deep blue interweb, never to be replied to again. 

The other benefit of an assessment is that it does not overwhelm a prospect. One of my friends, a sales coach, reminds me occasionally, "DO NOT TRY TO BOIL THE ENTIRE OCEAN by selling the prospect everything at once."

I once blew a payroll sales call because I went down the rabbit hole of everything the firm could do for the company, including outsourced bookkeeping and migrating to an ERP system. The prospect loved the information. However, it was so much that it stalled them out in deciding on a new payroll provider because they needed to assess everything I word vomited on them. 

Setting a goal seems simple, but booking a FU call on the call will save you hundreds of FU emails in the future.

Being Likeable

This is one of the steps that come naturally to me. I have always found a common interest in people, whether it be a hobby, kids, sports, or a vice (bourbon, cigars, or wine 😉). Finding a common interest makes me more relatable to a prospect and helps an introvert like me be more sociable.

Finding a common interest in the age of virtual firms can be challenging. So I do one of three things if I do not know the person that booked a call with me.

1. Look on social media.

2. See what is in the background of a Zoom call. This was my go-to as an auditor in public accounting. Almost every client had something I could relate to in their office.

3. Ask one of two questions:

   1. What do you do for fun?

   2. How did you get started? Ryan Avery taught this one. It is golden because people love to talk about themselves.

Some people won't like you or be relatable, which is okay. Because do you want to work with someone that does not like you? More on this is below. 

Next, shut the front door up and listen. Please repeat after me, bite your tongue, because I have yet to meet someone who does not like a good listener. We will dive into this deeper in the next issue, but this is also where you can build the trust piece mentioned in the quote above. 

Many of you are probably doing both of these subconsciously. However, doing them consciously will save time and give you more yeses.

Think of your last successful sales call (sneak peek at #9). Did you do either of these? I would love to hear your story. 

Choose Your Own Adventure 🚶‍♂️🗺

Guru Cache 👂📚👀

👀 Josh Thompson shared Alex Hormozi's CLOSER Framework. It reminds me of Action Selling. There are a lot of golden nuggets in this video.

👂 My therapist made me realize that I am a people-pleaser by nature. So, for the longest time, I hid the fact that I have a passion for fishing and hunting. Instead, I would tell people I love the outdoors for fear someone would not like me for being me.

Listen to Chris Ducker's thoughts on telling people what you are passionate about on the Grow My Accounting Practice Podcast by clicking here.

📚 Think a framework still will not help you sell more? Then, check out Patrick Ditcher's blog on How to Hire a Profitable Salesperson by clicking here.

Client Cache 🗣

🧘‍♂️📚 Building a business purely for profit typically leads to burnout. On the other hand, creating a company based on purpose leads to amazing things.

Read how the founder of Patagonia gave away his multi-billion dollar company to his passion, mother earth, by clicking here.

Thanks for reading, Luke Templin!

P.S. There are 3 ways I can help you grow your CAS offerings when you are ready:

1. Automate your CAS offering with daily financial digest on autopilot

2. Mini courses on CAS

3. Book a 1-hour CAS consulting call