Social Selling Playbook for Teams that Sell Together

At sundown, “selling” is really just a matter of showing people that your business can make it/do it in a way that fits their needs more uniquely than any other. 

If your entire team is put in place to do exactly what they’re great at, and they love what they do, they’re constantly prepared (and excited!) to “sell” your product or service. 

In fact, they do it every day by bringing their best time, expertise, and energy to their jobs. 

So, when is it appropriate to bring other team members who don’t have responsibility to the sales quotas to sales conversations? 

When your sales pro needs help. 

Here are some examples of when team selling can work to show prospects exactly why your team is the bee’s knees. 

(Our own Will Davidson loves fishing metaphors, so we’re going fishing). 

1. When you’re pursuing a sales whale 

Remember Hemingway’s The Old Man in the Sea? 

Quick version: an experienced fisherman goes out fishing in a tiny boat. He catches an 18-foot marlin that gets eaten by sharks during the two days and nights it takes him to get the fish in the boat. In the end, the fish attracts sharks that eat everything. 

Lesson: to land a big fish, borrow a big boat.

Guess what! You’ve got plenty of yachts on your team already. 

Think about it: If you’re going after a client who’s 5-10 times bigger than you’re used to, find someone on your team who does that all the time. Your sales manager probably has.

Ask their advice about what to expect, possible roadblocks, and which tools might offer the most value to a big client like that. 

You could also pull in an internal subject matter expert who could speak directly to the concerns of this client. 

For instance: if the client struggles with their website conversions, an SEO expert on your team who recently suggested changes to your own website design that really delivered positive numbers (looking at you Ross Goodman) would be the perfect person to bring into the conversation. 

Teamwork is the true measure of your skiff, after all. 

2. When you don’t know which lure to use 

If nothing is biting at all, sometimes you just need to adjust your approach and/or tools. 

To spend time fishing instead of figuring everything out for yourself, use the experience, advice, and insight of the other salespeople on your team. 

Even if you’re the only one at your company, your coworkers with ownership can offer assistance. After all, they’re just as invested in bringing in new business as you are. 

Here’s an example: your prospect’s decision maker is brand new to the company and likes your service but is not yet comfortable with the commitment that contracting with your service demands. 

A brainstorming session with your team might help you see another way to approach this company.

For instance: Together, you might decide to contact another person in another division at that same company. Buy-in from more than one person might allow your prospect to feel more comfortable with the decision that will benefit everyone involved.   

3. When you need a more sturdy net for a quick catch

If you’re offering discounts to move deals along, you’re using a massive butterfly net to catch falling coins.

Consistently selling with discounts depletes revenue. 

Instead, use a sieve: offer dedicated time to consult with a senior executive. 

Senior executive access is often more attractive than a discount—and worth way more. 

Here’s an example: Say your prospect is having a hard time building their brand. If you don’t have pricing flexibility, you can set up a 30-minute Q&A meeting with one of your senior executives who’s a brand expert as a bonus (clear that in advance, of course). 

If a senior executive isn’t available, look around at your team. Every single one of them has expertise in something valuable. 

Examples: your production team might offer a customer access to beta features. People in software development might volunteer a set amount of time to answer technical questions. 

Use your creativity + coworkers to come up with new ways to bring your product or service to everyone who needs it. 

That’s the deep meaning of thinking outside the tacklebox. 

4. When you need to chum the waters for lost fish 

Fish tales about the one that got away are devastating because we all know what that feels like. 

For a salesperson, having a big prospect on the line who suddenly goes dark and doesn’t respond to email or any type of outreach is more than frustrating. 

Here’s some chum for those dark waters: ask your CEO or VP of sales to email them. Draft an email that they can edit quickly and send off. 

Bonus: Here’s a template idea:

Subject line: [Prospect name], do you have a minute?

Hi, [prospect name],

[CEO’s name] here. I’m the CEO for [company]. I understand you’ve been talking to [sales rep’s name], but that you’ve lost touch. As the leader of a company that’s constantly working to evolve to become better at what we do, I’d love to get a better  understanding of why you decided not to move forward. 

[Sales rep’s name] gave me some good details about [prospect’s company], and it appears that our [service] could help you. Would you be willing to chat with me for 10 minutes or so at your convenience?

Thanks,

[CEO’s name]

People appreciate actions like these that show authentic, personalized care for their business. When you can team up to accomplish this feeling in your prospects, it’s even better. 

Bonus from Our Blog: 7 Sentence to Thaw Cold Email Outreach 

5. When a gator keeps eating your fish, that’s competition

In situations in which there are a lot of anglers and few fish—or where someone has a net and you have a stick, a string, and one small hook—leverage your team’s collective experience to make up the difference.  

Schedule a team brainstorming session and invite people from sales, customer success, and marketing to create a plan for presenting the truly unique benefits of your product or service. 

Example: Someone in customer success tells you that they hear more praise for the security features of your system. Another team member from sales tells you that a big competitor is moving out of the country. If you gather this information for your presentation, you can focus the conversation on those two items to show true value. 

Gathering information from your internal teams can make the difference between being the fish and the alligator in the scenario—and turn prospects into sales. 

Again, it’s about ownership. 

If leadership inspires a company culture in which everyone understands their unique value to the company and its bottom line—and they’re treated with that kind of respect—everyone is willing to do whatever they do best to assist clients and customers with what they need to thrive. 

And work like that always feels like a day on the water. 

At Growth, we work together as a team every day to deliver the value our clients have come to know and love. Book a meeting, and join the club.