Episode 242: Ian Moyse
Meet
Ian Moyse
Ian Moyse is EMEA Sales Director for Natterbox. He was awarded the accolade of BESMA UK Sales Director of the year and in 2019 & 2020 was listed in the top 50 Sales Keynote speakers by Top Sales World . Ian has been a regular judge on the Women in Sales Awards (WISA), Top Sales Awards, BESMA and the UK Cloud Awards. Ian speaks on Sales Leadership, Customer Experience, Social Selling and Personal Branding. He also appears in the global Sales Experts Channel.
Our Mission Is To Change The Negative Perception Of Sales People
Our Vision Is A World Where Selling Is A Profession To Be Proud Of
Why is prospecting a long game? How do you build relationships that lead to new customers? What is the right way to do social selling? Ian Moyse—the EMEA Sales Director for Natterbox—joins me on today’s show to answer these questions and so much more. Don’t miss out on his insight and expertise in the world of prospecting and lead generation.
Outline of This Episode
- [1:05] Lead generation and prospecting: What’s the difference?
- [2:42] Why lead gen and prospecting are so important
- [4:54] What does Ian’s prospecting process look like?
- [7:48] The attributes of a great prospector
- [10:01] Skillsets to focus on developing
- [13:14] Ian’s prospecting and lead generation dos and don’ts
- [20:54] Ian’s favorite prospecting story
Keep your bucket full
Ian points out that salespeople have a bucket. That bucket is always emptying because you’re either losing deals or winning deals. Either way, your pipeline is emptying and you must look ahead. Many salespeople spend all of their time closing. Suddenly, they have a bad quarter and realize their bucket is empty because they haven’t been prospecting.
During Covid-19, Ian has consistently heard conversations where a project is being deferred because the business itself is stopping all spend. 2020 has demonstrated that you need to keep your pipeline full. You want to aim for 5x your target in the pipeline. It takes consistent continual prospecting.
Ian points out that there’s no perfect answer. There is no golden key. It takes hard work. His advice is to focus on your perfect persona customer. Too many activities are just trying to fill the bucket. But you need people in the bucket who are in alignment with your value proposition. It’s better to have more qualified leads in your pipeline than waste your time.
What are the attributes of someone who is great at prospecting? What skills should a sales professional focus on developing? Listen to hear Ian’s thoughts!
Ian’s prospecting and lead generation don’ts
Ian emphasizes that you can’t think activity is productivity. Ian has seen too many people who gave up on social selling because their bosses force them to make 50 calls a day. They’re hung up on activity. But what if you could do it differently? What if there was a better way to generate their quota of leads without cold-calling? Activity should be done in the smartest way. Ian is tired of hearing “Sales is a numbers game.”
He also points out that you shouldn’t connect then pitch. Everyone sees it: You get a connection invite on a social platform and it seems genuine. But soon after, you get a sales pitch. They think that’s social selling. That’s going up to someone and instead of chit-chatting after a handshake, you immediately pitch them. You’d never do it in the real world.
Stop chasing the same person in the same manner. If they haven’t looked at the first few emails or messages, how annoyed will people be when they see the 4th, 5th, or 6th? It doesn’t work. The more you do, the more the walls go up. You’ve created a human spam filter. You will probably never get through to them because the more you push, the more they resist.
Ian’s prospecting and lead generation dos
Ian reiterates the need to take time to qualify your leads. Don’t sell to someone who isn’t your prospect. If you look at someone’s LinkedIn profile, the clues are there to help you find a way to a conversation. Ian gets pitched all the time on social selling and CRM. But if salespeople simply looked at his LinkedIn profile and what he does, you’d never approach him trying to sell those things.
He implores you to be like Sherlock. Go deeper and smarter than your average salesperson. It’s not rocket science. Slow down, read, and work smart. How do you find an authentic way that isn’t just reaching out cold and getting ignored? What will lead to a conversation? Ian will find a way to get a warm introduction from someone else by looking for shared connections. If you share 20 connections, who of those do you have a relationship with? There might be 3 people.
Reach out to each of them and let them know you’re trying to connect to someone. Then ask how well they know them. You’ll get nos—but sometimes you’ll get a yes. Secondly, look at their jobs. Is there anyone there that you might know that they’d be connected with? It doesn’t feel quick, but you have a better chance of getting to a conversation than a phone call.
He encourages you to be bold and ask for introductions. He just had a new customer come on board and has built great rapport with them. Ian noticed they were connected to a senior person at another organization. So Ian reached out and asked for a formal LinkedIn introduction. He got a conversation and got a call booked.
What is Ian’s favorite prospecting story? How is prospecting playing the long game? Ian tells a fascinating story that takes tenacity and consistency in this episode. Don’t miss it!
Connect With Paul Watts
Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
More About Ian Moyse
What was the last book you read?
Conspiracy: History’s Greatest Plots, Collusions and Cover Ups
Who / What inspires you?
Those who are creative and do things that do not fit into the pattern of everyone else. Those who surprise you with innovation and ideas. This can be a salesperson taking a creative approach to an objection, a magician doing an old trick method in a new more modern delivery or a comedian who is refreshing and not approaching things in the same old seen before approach.
Are there any aspects of your prospecting and lead generation skills that you are working on improving at the moment?
I am always looking for new ways to engage and open doors. A big edict I practise at making habitual is being sherlock, spotting the clues and triggers to use to open a relevant and meaningful engagement that others miss.
Hobbies, Interests?
I enjoy magic, especially learning and performing close up street type magic, that you can bring out at random moments to create people engagement.
How can our listeners contact with you?
I can be found at www.ianmoyse.co.uk and www.ianmoyse.cloud
Share This Episode, Choose Your Platform!