Anxiety, Influence, and Motivation (AIM) is a well-researched and documented approach for increasing engagement with individuals, prospects and clients based on leveraging the way the brain is wired to react to specific situations.

• ANXIETY: A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an unclear outcome. Creating anxiety triggers the “curiosity mechanism” in the brain, which strives to find a solution or understanding.

• INFLUENCE: The action or process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, opinion of others. This is based on many factors, but you’ve “piqued the curiosity,” this is how you move it in the right direction.

• MOTIVATION: A strong reason to take demonstrable action, which is the goal in sales - to identify a problem which you can solve that provides enough value to inspire motivation and action.

Anxiety, Influence, Motivation

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Understanding and application of AIM requires preparation and purposeful intent. As we go through this exercise, focus on the strategic account you used in the online pre-work and the specific target contacts you have selected.

EXERCISE:Understanding AIM

Anxiety Influence Motivation

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Vortex Sphere of Engagement™NETWORK

A network should be treated like a living organism — one that needs attention, care and interaction in order to thrive. A person's network is the single greatest accelerator a sales executive possesses.

SALES GROWTH HACK: On social media sites, never accept a connection request from someone you have not met in person without talking to them first. Schedule a “digital coffee” before accepting the invite.

NETWORK BEST PRACTICES:

Ultra high-performers live and die by their network

Keep your network WARM — reach out regularly, comment on things they share socially, if they are in the news or it's a special day — acknowledge it. MAKE SURE IT IS PERSONALIZED.

ALWAYS ask for referrals — but know exactly what you are asking for, the value you can provide that person and what you can do in return.

Servant Leadership — Give to Get — do not always expect immediate reciprocation.

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Vortex Sphere of Engagement™SOCIAL

Today social selling is focused largely on technology, but the social aspect of prospecting goes beyond networking sites although they make things easier. Alone they create noise, but when used in conjunction with other aspects of Vortex Prospecting, they become extremely powerful.

SALES GROWTH HACK: Just “liking” something on social media sites is the equivalent of a “golf clap” — makes noise but no one knows where it comes from. Comment, question, engage...do not just "like.”

SOCIAL SELLING BEST PRACTICES:

BE ENGAGED DAILY - like, share, comment and question but ENGAGE

REVIEW TARGET ACCOUNTS DAILY - LinkedIn Navigator, Twitter, Forums - see what they are posting and when

READ WHAT THEY POST — engage — but DO NOT SELL

Social is most effective at increasing familiarity, establishing credibility and developing a relationship

Understand your personal and company brand4

Focusing on your strategic account and target prospects, open your computer and find your contacts on a social networking site. Read what they have shared and comment, engage or share something from your Sphere of Influence.

Write the three interactions you believe will have the most impact. Make a note to update your CRM and add them to your CALL LIST.

EXERCISE:Social interaction

1. Contact Name / Company: ________________________________________ Social interaction: ________________________________________________Next step: ________________________________________________________

2. Contact Name / Company: _________________________________________ Social interaction: _________________________________________________Next step: _________________________________________________________

3. Contact Name / Company: _________________________________________ Social interaction: __________________________________________________Next step: __________________________________________________________

List two ways you can re-use/re-purpose this information:

1. ____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

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Vortex Sphere of Engagement™EMAIL

Email is an effective tool; however, buyer's do not want to be sold to, they do not want to be spammed. They want to be included in the development of their solution and respond more when outreach is personalized.

EMAIL BEST PRACTICES:

NEVER SPAM. Especially for target accounts, taking a few moments to personalize makes the difference. It's about respect.

Be persistent, respectfully persistent. Always demonstrate your value and insight by connecting to their potential problems.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY, staying on cadence critical - but track the numbers, see what works and what does not.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. All emails should be created as if they will be read on a mobile screen.

BE PRECISE in your ask.

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<PROSPECT NAME>,

I am sending a similar email to <COWORKER>, <COWORKER>, and <COWORKER> in an attempt todetermine who at <COMPANY NAME> would have the greatest interest in speaking with me about <SPECIFIC CHALLENGES>.

Working with other companies and executives in your role, we have achieved <VALUE RESULTS>, and <BUSINESS RESULT>.

I have time <SPECIFIC DATE AND TIME>, to talk in more detail. If that does not work for you, please suggest a time that does.

ANXIETY

INFLUENCE

MOTIVATION

Vortex Sphere of Engagement™EMAIL

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SampleEmail Templates

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ACCOUNT-SPECIFIC

[CONTACT NAME] –

I noticed <<ENTER COMPANY SPECIFIC NEWS ARTICLE>>

I'm writing because I want to help you [ENTER BUSINESS ISSUE].

In working with executives like you at companies including [ENTER THREE CUSTOMER NAMES], we have helped them by:• [ENTER VALUE STATEMENT]• [ENTER VALUE STATEMENT]• [ENTER VALUE STATEMENT]

I'd like to schedule 30 minutes with you to talk about some ideas we have.

I have time [ENTER DAY] at [ENTER TIME]. If that does not work, please suggest a time that works better.

INFORMATION-SHARING

[CONTACT NAME] –

You may already know this but [ENTER RELEVANT INDUSTRY STAT]

I know from our client's experience companies that solve [ENTER CHALLENGE / BUSINESS ISSUE] realize [ENTER VALUE STATS / ROI STATEMENT].

I’d like to schedule 30 minutes see if we are a fit for your challenges.

I have time [ENTER DAY] at [ENTER TIME] if that works for you.

SampleEmail Templates

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PROBLEM QUESTIONS 1 – SEED INFORMATION

[CONTACT NAME] -

Would you like to know how our offerings [ENTER BUSINESS ISSUE YOU SOLVE]?

We [VALUE STATEMENT].

The results for our clients, including [CUSTOMER NAME] and [CUSTOMER NAME], include [ENTER VALUE STATEMENT].

Should I send you more information on what we do and what is possible with your teams?

PROBLEM QUESTIONS 2 – SEED INFORMATION

[CONTACT NAME] -

I sent a quick introduction a few days ago regarding [BUSINESS ISSUE].

As I mentioned in that email our clients see [VALUE STATEMENT].

Is that something of interest to you? Do you believe [ANXIETY QUESTION]?

SampleEmail Templates

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PROBLEM QUESTIONS 3 — ANXIETY

[CONTACT NAME] –

What would it mean to [COMPANY NAME] if [ANXIETY QUESTION]?

[TWO SENTENCE BENEFIT / ROI STATEMENT]

Would you like to have a brief call to discuss [PRODUCT STATEMENT]?

PROBLEM QUESTIONS 4 — INDUSTRY STAT

[CONTACT NAME] -

What are your strategies for [PROBLEM QUESTION]?

I'm sure you've heard [RELEVANT INDUSTRY STAT].

This is why our product [ENTER VALUE STATEMENT].

Would you like to have a quick call so I can learn more about your strategies and see if you can leverage our solutions?

SampleEmail Templates

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Focus on your strategic account and contacts. The first email you will send to one of your potential prospects. Work to include account specific A-I-M approaches from the A-I-M exercise.

Team up at your table and read each other’s emails.

Provide two suggestions for improvement:

1.

2.

EXERCISE:Personalized Email

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The Technology Stack is defined as any technology, digital or otherwise, you use in the day-to-day execution of your job. We break the tech-stack into the following segments:

• DATA SOURCE: is any collection of information on your prospects that can provide detailed company information and insight, in addition to specific contact details for people at those companies. — Examples include: Discover.org, Datanyze, ZoomInfo, purchased lists,

etc.

• SYSTEM OF RECORD: is a CRM or SFA system designed to house all information on a customer or prospect - activities, opportunities, interactions, billing, etc. The System of Record is intended to provide a complete picture of the company and associated contacts.

— Examples include: Salesforce.com, Siebold, SAP, Pipedrive, etc.

• SYSTEM OF ACTION: is a tool or set of tools designed to enable your prospecting outreach at scale. These systems enable you to automate and track the effectiveness of your activities such as social interactions, emails and phone calls.

— Examples include: Outreach.io, Salesloft, Fileboard, or spreadsheets which you develop to track what and when you are taking action.

• ACCELERATORS / TOOLS: are technologies which enable you to automate a specific portion of your prospecting efforts. For example, compiling social research on a prospect using Nudge.io or Charlieapp.com, increasing your call effectiveness using Gong.io, or plug-ins such as Hunter to find email addresses.

Proper Preparation: Tech Stack

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Tech Stacks will vary from company to company, but can be sorted into these categories. Take three minutes and write down the tools you currently have access to in each category.

DATA SOURCE:

SYSTEM OF RECORD:

SYSTEM OF ACTION:

ACCELERATORS/PLUGINS:

EXERCISE:Understanding your Tech Stack

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Consistently one of the largest challenges we hear from sales reps is the time it takes to compile new prospect lists, or to ensure data is up to date and clean in the System of Record.

There are certain steps you should take in order to compile your target lists:

Document the criteria for the industries, companies and contacts you want to target. This can include:

— Industry name

— Company name

— Company size - by revenue or number of employees

— Company age — Company location

— Current technology stack used (Datanyze provides excellent insight)

— Roles to target

Once your list is compiled (from available data sources), compare it to your current list of customers and identify overlap.Compare contacts on the prospect list to the existing contacts in your System of Record.

Once you are confident the list is as clean as possible, load your list into your System of Action and begin your research.

NOTE: Any data found to be of poor quality or incorrect should be updated in the System of Record (some tools sync and will take care of this automatically. However, pay attention and make sure you are working to keep your data clean).

Proper Preparation: List preparation

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Based on your current role, you will have an idea of what criteria are required for a company or contact to be considered an appropriate target. At your table, discuss and document the criteria you will use to compile your target prospect list. Identify how you will separate strategic from volume accounts.

EXERCISE:Know your criteria

Criteria Name Criteria Value

Company Size in Revenue:

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The Executive SpeakTM training you participated in before class provided you with insights into how to conduct research into targeted companies and how to review the financial health of public companies. When prospecting, it is also critical to conduct a level of research into your target prospects themselves in order to aid in personalization of outreach and content. Here are examples of the ways and places you can conduct your research: • Google Search on Prospect's Industry — identify market specific trends • Company Website - Investor Relations (if public) • Company Website - Public Relations (recent news stories)• Search CrunchBase.com — (some financial information on private companies) • Google Search on Latest News • Google Search on Industry Analysts — provides outside perspective on

company • Quarterly Analyst Calls • Owler.com — aggregated news and information on companies• LinkedIn Navigator — set account as a lead• LinkedIn — research on individuals • YouTube — executives giving speeches • Glassdoor.com — recent reviews (taken with a grain of salt) • Google Social Search• Twitter, Facebook and Instagram — perspective on individuals

NOTE: Research should not take more than 10 - 15 minutes AT THIS STAGE. Information collected should be added to the System of Record or System of Action to be used in personalizing outreach.

Proper Preparation: Research

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You are in control of your success, no one else. The skill of managing one's time takes practice and focus, blocking out distractions and ensuring the greatest effort is applied to achieve the greatest results.

• TIME-BLOCKING: Break your activities into “time blocks” and put them on the calendar at the start of each week. Fight to protect them and keep them from getting over-written or moved.

• BE PRESENT: Set a timer and when it starts, focus completely on the task at hand. Close extra computer windows, close your door or put up a note, and only focus on what you have scheduled for that time.

• SET GOALS...THEN INCREASE THEM: Most people have a tendency to set goals for themselves at places where they can achieve them, or are OK just missing them. Track your activities and always aim for one more call, one more email, one more social interaction. The results will surprise you.

Proper Preparation: Time management

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