Steam Vent Hack That Salespeople Can Use on Stalled Opportunities

When we were exploring the volcano in Hawaii, our tour guide showed us a simple hack that exponentially increased the amount of steam rising up through one of the vents.  Check it out in the video that I shot below.

The guide simply lit a cigarette, lowered it slightly into the vent, it reacted with the air and the steam, and significantly increased the output of steam.  A super simple hack that instantly causes a performance improvement gets your attention!

Of course, that got me thinking about a simple hack that will significantly improve sales performance and more specifically, closing.

What if you too are struggling with output, as in closing what is already in your pipeline?  There are three types of opportunities in your pipeline.  Those that are stalled, those that are moving, and those that are new.  The obvious problem is with the opportunities that are stalled.  Stalled opportunities fall into two categories: Those with clear, specific dates as to when your customer told you to expect reengagement and movement, and those where you hear only crickets.   Even crickets fall into two categories: Those where your contacts are nothing more than that – contacts – and those where your contacts are THE decision makers.

Now it’s very important that you don’t misuse this hack.  It’s for decision makers of real opportunities (not where you had happy ears) who have gone cold for more than two weeks beyond when you were supposed to talk.  And it’s only for that small subset because if you use it on any other group it won’t be relevant.  Start with a phone call and if they don’t answer or respond, move to email. If that doesn’t work, send a text message, and finally, as a last resort, use LinkedIn messaging.  Put this into your own words but you’ll want to say something like, “I tried reaching out over the last [time period] and didn’t hear back so I assume that my help isn’t needed.”  Shut up. Don’t fill the empty space with words.  Wait until they respond and let them finish.  Avoid using the word, “You” as in “you didn’t respond,” or “you didn’t answer,” or “you decided,” or “didn’t hear back from you.”  This is obviously best done over the phone or video, but because they haven’t been responding, it’s unlikely that they’ll take a phone call.

Why can’t you use this for contacts who aren’t decision makers?  You can, but the words are different.  In this case you might say something like, “I tried reaching out over the last [time period] and didn’t hear back so I assume that the key decision makers aren’t interested.”

This works because instead of asking them to buy, you are assuming, out loud, that they won’t.  That lowers their resistance and allows them to respond by either telling you that:

• You are right, in which case you can ask why
• You are wrong, in which case they will tell you why
• They are not ready yet which, although not a great response, it is a response and responses start conversations and engagement.

Most salespeople push prospects in the opposite direction which raises resistance and makes it even less likely that you’ll get them to respond.  And forget about the generic reach outs.  “Just checking in” is annoying and wasteful.  “Are you ready to buy?” is pushy and assumptive.  “Do you need anything from me to get started?” is dumb and stupid.

Can you see how useless those reach outs are?  Prospects don’t like it when salespeople waste their time.  If you’re going to reach out then you must add value.  Share something they may not know but would find helpful.  Share an article that might be relevant.  Ask a question to educate yourself because people like to instruct.

It should be obvious as to why you can’t use this for prospects who have not responded to cold calls or emails, or people with whom you had only a single conversation and failed to uncover their compelling reason to buy from you.

Back to the steam vent and a bonus hack.

We began with an increase in steam vent output, but what if you need an increase in input instead, as in your pipeline?

When the number of opportunities in your pipeline is too small, call your five best/happiest/most influential customers and ask for introductions.  This hack ALWAYS works and the quality of an introduction is ALWAYS better than the quality of a lead or cold call.

I have hundreds of sales hacks that are equal to or better than the two I shared.  Many of the hacks are included in the Advanced Baseline Selling course.