Frame Stacking — A Framework that Makes You Excel at Sales.
Becoming a Better Sales Rep — Post #14
Introduction
I’m drawing on a book from author Oren Klaff — Pitch Anything. Although a slightly controversial character, he’s got a point in his book that you can use four different frames (Expert, Time, Prize, and Intriguing) to prop yourself up in your sales game.
Klaff assumes that in sales conversation there is always a person in the lead and that there are always certain states of mind (frames) that both people can be in. In his opinion, there’s always one and only one frame that’s leading the sales conversation in a moment.
Let’s take a look at what these frames are and how you can use them to make your sales game more effective!
#1 — The Expert Frame
According to Klaff, the expert frame leverages the ability to establish yourself as an expert in a sales call. This can be accomplished through knowledge of your market, your product, or whatever else. What matters is just that the topic is relevant to the conversation and that you’re more knowledgeable about it than your lead is.
This allows you to take the lead in the conversation because your clients will naturally assume that you are knowledgeable and they benefit from following your lead because you’re an expert.
The key here is to tie your sales pitch into a bigger issue that the buyer, their organization, and society as a whole will value. This will help you to establish yourself as an individual with strong expertise.
Expert frames can be based on social status, but social status only applies to certain environments. A CEO might be the strategic head of a multi-billion-dollar corporation, but back at home he or she might not have to say anything at all. Use this knowledge to create a setting in which you are the expert. In the Semalytix context, this might be achievable by referring to the fact that we are the world leaders in what we do, that we have completed over 30 projects in the field, that we have grown to over 60 employees, etc.
#2 — The Time Frame
All the time frame is about is basically that you own the agenda and that you value both your and your lead’s time. Your objective is to own the timeline of the process and ensure that people know that your time is valuable and scarce.
The key here is to establish a concrete date and time for the buyer to make a final decision. This is based on the neuroscience principle that states that “There’s a scarcity bias in the brain and the potential loss of a deal triggers fear”.
So, tell the buyer exactly when they have to make up their mind (not the other way around).
In particular, this means that you should make a lead feel like the opportunity might go away if they don’t react in time.
In addition, make sure that your lead understands that your time is valuable, i.e. always leave on time and do not let leads re-schedule over and over again.
#3 — The Prize Frame
Many salespeople are trapped in the belief that their leads are the prize and that they need to convince potential buyers into buying their products. However, this may radiate neediness and leave salespeople in a state of mind that they actually need something from their leads. According to Klaff, this can oftentimes be interpreted as a weakness.
So, the prize frame urges you to turn this around and approach sales with a mindset that you are the prize. You have something to offer that the potential client does not want to miss out on.
Prizing “lets you position yourself as the most important party in the deal, not the people on the other side of the table”.
In deploying the prize frame, you position yourself as invaluable and someone with who the client would be privileged to work. You “flip the frame” from one that focuses on the buyer evaluating you to one in which you are evaluating the buyer and their organization. You come across as someone who is choosy about who you work with and you want to “figure out if we would work well together and be good partners”. The prize frame tells the buyer:
“I am the prize.
You are trying to impress me.
You are trying to win my approval.”
In particular, this might be something like: “We built this one-of-a-kind product that lets you do what you need“, “We could help your career”, “Our CEO happens to have a free time slot.”
#4 — The Intrigue Frame
The intrigue frame is supposed to do exactly what it says. It’s about invoking an intriguing feeling in your lead that you have something to offer they’re really interested in.
The underlying idea is to communicate in a way that makes your leads leave sales conversation with the thought: “Oh, that’s really interesting! I want to learn more!”
And, the target can be both to intrigue them to buy or to continue the conversation. You want to spark an intrinsic interest that will step-by-step lead in the direction of a deal.
Therefore, the intrigue frame is best deployed at the end of a conversation!
The key with this frame is to create an exciting story that creates intrigue in the mind of the buyer. Klaff writes that “The targets (buyers) have given you their time because they want to visit a new world to learn about new things and interesting ideas and become involved in the lives of unique, interesting and talented people…
People (buyers) want to know how you have faced obstacles and overcome them. They want to see you in situations that reveal your character. They want to know that you are someone who rises to whatever level necessary to overcome obstacles and someone who travels in the company of interesting people who are players in whatever game you are playing.” These intriguing narratives ignite the buyer’s hot cognitions and are the key to making the sale.
Intrigue People Into a Conversation With Resonaid
If you want to get the interest of potential leads, I’d suggest that you give Resonaid a try. Resonaid is a tool that my co-founders and I have developed to help you write personalized messages that’ll help you write messages that will really intrigue your leads to have a conversation with you. Work smart and free up some valuable time to close deals!
Access Resonaid via the Chrome Web Store
Resonaid is a tool that helps sales professionals with writing personalized messages for their sales outreach.
We recently released the first version of our product as a Chrome extension in the Chrome Web Store.
As we just went live this summer, you can currently test Resonaid for free and get large discounts by being an early user.
About the Author
Teddy Lange is a co-founder at Resonaid and is responsible for business development and customer experience. Before joining Resonaid, he’s been a Sales Rep and Junior Sales Manager, and co-founded various companies. He’s currently finishing his graduate degree in Public Policy with a focus on communication at Harvard University. Feel free to reach out to him at teddy@resonaid.co.
