150 - Relationship Signals in Selling with Jamie Shanks

Whether you are an entrepreneur, sales professional, or in sales leadership, this episode is jam packed with highly valuable tips and tricks from one of the best in the industry. Whatever your role, the most important thing in the growth of your business and income is selling. But how much of your time each day is spent actually building a relationship with clients to make these sales? Jamie Shanks is the CEO of Pipeline Signals. Pipeline Signals is a pioneer in Relationship Signal Intelligence Monitoring, where they monitor and mine your TAM / List of Accounts for Relationship connections, Competitive Intelligence and Compelling Events like job changes. For 10 years prior, Jamie ran Sales for Life - the world’s largest Social Selling training program for mid-market and enterprise companies. Sa;es for Life has trained over 250,000 sales and marketing professionals, in dozens of industries. Jamie’s workshops have been delivered across 6 continents, for brands such as Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Oracle, American Airlines, and Intel. Today, Jamie walks us through a few activities, so you’ll want something to take notes with. You’ll learn about social selling, relationship signals, and the Law of Reciprocity that can help increase your sales productivity. Show Notes: [2:46] - Pipeline Signals is Jamie’s second business. He shares his inspiration to launch Pipeline Signals through his premise of social selling. [4:49] - Prior to Covid, Jamie was spending most of his time traveling to speak. He used his time when things shut down to begin working on Pipeline Signals. [6:35] - Jamie demonstrates what relationship signals are. [7:27] - The time spent on account selection and prioritization is the single determining factor of hitting sales goals. [8:57] - Selling into previously developed relationships is more successful than cold calls. [10:47] - As an entrepreneur, founder-led sales is key. Jamie guides us through an activity. [12:48] - With different categories, you can better determine where to spend your time. [13:41] - If relationships haven’t been developed yet, you do have “pending relationships.” [15:11] - Breaking the ice with a new prospect can feel awkward. Jamie shares how he does this with the Sphere of Influence. [16:56] - An easy tip is using Google Images. [17:34] - Jamie is a big believer in the Law of Reciprocity. [18:15] - How can you give something in advance to spark interest? [20:15] - The increase in digital sales in the last few years has changed the way we approach strategies. [21:37] - Low hanging fruit is the easiest to latch on to for a sale, but we can overcomplicate things. [24:08] - Develop the outbound motion now and scale it. Then go back and feed inbound. [26:05] - Referencing a recent LinkedIn post, Elyse and Jamie discuss his main tips for selling in 2022. [28:17] - Focus on the things you can control. [31:04] - What have the women in his life taught Jamie? Connect with Jamie Shanks: LinkedIn | Pipeline Signals Links and Resources: Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube She Sells with Elyse Archer Home Page