Different Selling Mediums

Universal Principles vs. Medium-Specific Tactics

Truth: Core selling principles remain the same across all mediums:

• Understand your customer
• Build trust
• Communicate value
• Handle objections
• Close the sale

What Changes: Tactics, timing, and channel-specific best practices.

In-Person Selling

Advantages

• Full communication bandwidth

  • Body language visible
  • Facial expressions clear
  • Energy and presence felt
  • Immediate feedback

• Relationship building accelerated

  • Personal connection stronger
  • Trust develops faster
  • Memorable interactions

• Engagement and focus

  • Harder for them to multitask
  • You have their attention
  • Can read the room

Best Practices

Preparation:

• Research thoroughly
• Dress appropriately for their environment
• Bring physical materials (samples, brochures, tablet for demo)
• Plan for technology failures
• Know the location and arrive early

During Meeting:

• Strong handshake (if culturally appropriate)
• Good eye contact (60-70% of time)
• Open body language (uncrossed arms, leaning in slightly)
• Mirror their energy and posture (subtly)
• Take notes on paper (shows respect)
• Use whiteboard for collaborative exploration
• Eliminate distractions (phone on silent, face down)

Presentation:

• Bring them into it: "Can you show me your current process?"
• Use physical props when relevant
• Stand when presenting (more energy and authority)
• Face them, not the screen
• Pause for questions and discussion

Reading the Room:

Common Mistakes

• ❌ Sitting too far away (feels formal and distant)
• ❌ Talking non-stop (should be conversational)
• ❌ Being overly formal when they're casual (or vice versa)
• ❌ Ignoring environmental factors (too cold, noisy, etc.)

Phone Selling

Advantages

• Efficiency

  • No travel time
  • More calls per day
  • Reach people anywhere

• Focus on voice

  • Tone and words are everything
  • Can use notes without being obvious

• Lower pressure

  • Easier to end call than meeting
  • More comfortable for some prospects

Best Practices

Preparation:

• Research prospect thoroughly
• Have all materials on screen
• Quiet environment
• Good phone/headset
• Water nearby

Voice Techniques:

• Smile while talking (they can hear it)
• Stand or sit up straight (affects voice quality)
• Vary your pace and tone (monotone kills attention)
• Match their speaking speed
• Use their name frequently
• Pause for emphasis

Structure:

1. Introduction (30 seconds)
   "Hi [Name], this is [You] from [Company]. Is this still a good time?"

2. Purpose (30 seconds)
   "I wanted to talk about [specific value for them]..."

3. Permission (15 seconds)
   "I have three things to cover. Should take about 15 minutes. Does that work?"

4. Discovery/Presentation (10-12 minutes)
   [Ask questions, present relevant value]

5. Next Steps (2 minutes)
   "Based on this conversation, what makes sense as next step?"

Overcoming Phone Challenges:

Phone Selling Don'ts

• ❌ Reading from script (sounds robotic)
• ❌ Eating, typing loudly, other noises
• ❌ Speakerphone (unless absolutely necessary)
• ❌ Interrupting when they speak
• ❌ Long monologues (30 seconds max per point)

Email Selling

Advantages

• Scalability

  • Reach hundreds of prospects
  • Automated sequences possible
  • Low time per prospect

• Thoughtful communication

  • Can craft perfect message
  • Recipient reads at their convenience
  • Creates documentation trail

• Works globally

  • Time zones don't matter
  • Language barriers reduced (can translate, take time to write)

Best Practices

Cold Email Structure:

Subject Line (Make or break moment):

Bad: "Checking in" / "Quick question" / "Following up" Good: "[Their Company] + [Specific Benefit]"

Examples:

• "Reducing TechCorp's customer onboarding time by 50%"
• "Sarah, thought on your Q3 goals"
• "Alternative to [current tool they use]"

Body (4-6 sentences max):

1. PERSONALIZED OPENER (Shows research)
   "I saw your post about [specific thing]..."

2. RELEVANT PROBLEM (They care about)
   "Many [their role] struggle with [problem]..."

3. YOUR SOLUTION (Brief)
   "We help [target customer] achieve [outcome]..."

4. SOCIAL PROOF (Reduces risk)
   "Companies like [similar company] have seen [result]..."

5. CALL TO ACTION (Simple, low commitment)
   "Worth a 15-minute conversation?"

Example:

Subject: Reducing DataCorp's customer churn

Hi James,

I saw your article about the challenge of customer retention in SaaS - 
the point about post-purchase communication resonated.

Many VPs of Customer Success struggle with identifying at-risk customers 
before they churn.

We help companies like yours predict churn with 89% accuracy, giving you 
time to intervene. DataLogic reduced churn by 34% in their first quarter.

Worth a 15-minute conversation next week?

Best,
[Your name]
[Phone number]

Follow-Up Sequence:

Email Best Practices

Do:

• ✅ Personalize every email (specific to them)
• ✅ Keep it short (under 100 words)
• ✅ One clear CTA
• ✅ Mobile-friendly formatting
• ✅ Professional but warm tone
• ✅ Proofread carefully
• ✅ Include signature with contact info
• ✅ Track opens and clicks

Don't:

• ❌ Mass-send generic emails
• ❌ Write novels
• ❌ Multiple CTAs
• ❌ Attachments in cold emails
• ❌ All caps or excessive exclamation marks!!!
• ❌ Overly casual ("Hey" / "Yo")
• ❌ Pressure ("Limited time!" / "Act now!")

Social Media Selling

LinkedIn Selling

Profile Optimization:

• Professional headshot
• Compelling headline (value you provide, not just title)
• About section tells your story
• Showcase results and social proof
• Active content sharing

Outreach Process:

Step 1: Add Value First

• Comment meaningfully on their posts
• Share their content
• Engage without asking for anything

Step 2: Connection Request

"Hi [Name],

Saw your post about [topic] - really insightful point about [specific thing]. 
Would love to connect and follow your content.

Best,
[You]"

Step 3: After Connection Wait 24-48 hours, then:

"Thanks for connecting, [Name]. 

I noticed you're focused on [their goal/challenge]. I work with [similar 
people] on [solving that problem]. 

Would you be open to a brief conversation if I can share some insights?"

Content Strategy:

• Share valuable insights (not sales pitches)
• Tell customer success stories
• Ask thought-provoking questions
• Comment on industry trends
• Be consistently visible

Twitter/X Selling

Best For:

• Tech products
• Thought leadership
• Building brand
• Inbound leads

Approach:

• Share valuable content regularly
• Engage in relevant conversations
• Build audience before pitching
• DM for personalized outreach
• Link to detailed content

Instagram/Facebook Selling

Best For:

• Visual products
• B2C more than B2B
• Brand building
• Community creation

Approach:

• High-quality visual content
• Story selling (behind the scenes)
• User-generated content
• Influencer partnerships
• Messenger for direct outreach

Social Selling Don'ts

• ❌ Immediate sales pitch after connecting
• ❌ Generic copy-paste messages
• ❌ Spamming people's posts with your offer
• ❌ Fake engagement ("Great post! Check out my service...")
• ❌ Being everywhere poorly (better to excel on one platform)

Video Call Selling (Zoom, Teams, etc.)

Advantages

• Face-to-face remotely
  • See facial expressions
  • Screen sharing capabilities
  • Record for later review
  • Global reach

Best Practices

Technical Setup:

• Test beforehand (audio, video, screen share)
• Good lighting (face the light source)
• Clean background (or professional blur)
• Eye level camera (not looking up or down)
• Stable internet connection
• Minimize background noise

During Call:

• Look at camera when speaking (not at screen)
• Position yourself in center of frame
• Dress professionally (at least top half)
• Mute when not speaking in group calls
• Use screen share for presentations
• Record (with permission) for review
• Chat feature for links and resources

Engagement Techniques:

• Ask for video on (most people default to off)
• Use polling features
• Breakout rooms for group calls
• Share control for interactive demos
• React features (thumbs up, etc.)

Reading Video Cues:

Video Selling Don'ts

• ❌ Poor lighting (can't see your face)
• ❌ Messy background (distracting)
• ❌ Looking at screen instead of camera
• ❌ Sharing entire screen (shows everything)
• ❌ Going over time (zoom fatigue is real)

Webinar Selling

Structure

1. Introduction (5 min)

• Who you are (brief credibility)
• What they'll learn
• Housekeeping (mute, Q&A)

2. Content/Value (30-40 min)

• Teach something genuinely valuable
• Not a sales pitch disguised
• Actionable insights
• Real examples and case studies

3. Transition (5 min)

• "Now, let me show you how we can help you implement this..."

4. Offer (10 min)

• Present your solution
• Special webinar-only offer
• Clear call to action
• Q&A

Total: 60 minutes max

Webinar Best Practices

Before:

• Promote via email, social, ads
• Send reminders (7 days, 1 day, 1 hour before)
• Have backup presenter
• Test technology extensively

During:

• Start on time
• High energy (even higher than normal)
• Polls and Q&A for engagement
• Chat moderation
• Screen share slides + camera
• Deliver real value (not 60-min pitch)

After:

• Send recording to all registrants
• Follow up with attendees within 24 hours
• Nurture no-shows separately
• Track who engaged most

Conversion Tips:

• Limited-time offer for attendees
• Bonuses for action during webinar
• Q&A to handle objections live
• Case studies and testimonials throughout

Text/SMS Selling

When to Use

• Scheduling follow-ups
• Quick updates and reminders
• Time-sensitive information
• After permission granted
• Relationship already established

Best Practices

• Always get permission first
• Keep messages brief (1-2 sentences)
• Professional tone (but not stiff)
• Clear purpose
• Easy opt-out
• Appropriate timing (9am-6pm, no weekends)
• Use for coordination, not cold outreach

Example:

"Hi Sarah, confirming our call tomorrow at 2pm. 
Here's the Zoom link: [link]. See you then!"

Text Don'ts

• ❌ Cold texting (unless industry norm)
• ❌ Long messages
• ❌ Multiple messages rapid-fire
• ❌ Outside business hours
• ❌ After they've stopped responding

Choosing the Right Medium

Decision Matrix

Multi-Channel Approach

Most Effective: Use multiple mediums in sequence

Example Flow:

1. LinkedIn connection request (Day 1)
2. Value-add connection message (Day 3)
3. Email with specific value prop (Day 7)
4. Phone call (Day 10)
5. Video call demo (Day 14)
6. In-person meeting to close (Day 21)

Key: Meet them where they are, adapt to their preferences.

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Medium Assessment

For your last 10 sales, analyze:

• Which medium was used primarily?
• Did it match the sale type?
• Would different medium have worked better?
• What patterns emerge?

Exercise 2: Multi-Channel Sequence

Design a 30-day outreach sequence using 3+ mediums:

• Day-by-day plan
• Message for each touchpoint
• Transition between mediums
• Success metrics

Exercise 3: Medium Strengths

For each medium, list:

• Your personal strengths in it
• Areas for improvement
• One tactic to test this week

Exercise 4: Video Presence

Record yourself on video call:

• Watch back without sound (body language)
• Listen without video (voice quality)
• Get feedback from colleague
• Identify 3 improvements

Summary

Key Takeaways:

1. Core selling principles apply across all mediums
2. Each medium has unique advantages and challenges
3. Adapt your tactics to the medium, not your strategy
4. Multi-channel approaches are most effective
5. Meet prospects where they prefer to communicate

Medium Selection Guide:

• Complex B2B: In-person → Video → Phone → Email
• High-volume B2C: Email → Social → Video → Phone
• Relationship-building: In-person → Video → Phone
• Efficiency: Email → Social → Text

Universal Excellence Checklist:

• [ ] Prepared thoroughly (research, materials, tech)
• [ ] Adapted message to medium
• [ ] Used medium's unique strengths
• [ ] Maintained conversational approach
• [ ] Focused on their needs, not features
• [ ] Clear call to action
• [ ] Followed up appropriately

Next Steps:

• Identify which mediums you use most
• Assess your skill level in each
• Choose one to improve this month
• Move to Chapter 09 to learn sales psychology and influence