How to Use SNAP Selling to Convert Frazzled Prospects

Ever felt like you're shouting into the void when trying to reach key decision-makers? We get it, it’s all part of the sales process, but do you wish there was a better way to close deals?

If the answer is yes, then it’s worth exploring SNAP selling.

Another sales methodology, so what’s different, you ask?

The sales landscape has transformed, and with it, the way we need to engage prospects.

Today's executives are time-starved, constantly bombarded with information, and under immense pressure to deliver results. Traditional sales methodologies, while foundational, often struggle to cut through this noise.

SNAP selling tackles the problem head-on without reinventing the wheel. Think— the ability of sales reps to quickly capture attention, deliver value efficiently to busy executives, and be able to navigate complex buying journeys with agility!

What is the SNAP selling methodology?

SNAP Selling is a sales methodology focused on targeting the needs of busy, overwhelmed buyers, introduced by Jill Konrath—a thought leader in the sales space— in her bestselling book "SNAP Selling: Speed Up Sales and Win More Business with Today's Frazzled Customers,"

In her book, Konrath positions SNAP Selling as a solution to the "frazzled customer syndrome" as it delivers clear, concise value that resonates with time-starved decision-makers, turning information paralysis into decisive action.

What is the difference Between SNAP selling and Spin selling?

SNAP Selling and SPIN Selling represent different approaches to the sales process, each tailored to specific business environments.

SNAP Selling is like speed dating for the business world. It's all about making a quick, powerful impression on that time-strapped exec. SPIN Selling—developed by Neil Rackham in the 1980s—on the other hand, is more like a deep dive into your prospect's world, perfect for unraveling those complex business challenges.

Both have their place in a savvy sales rep's toolkit, but they're definitely not one-size-fits-all solutions.Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the two methods of selling.

4 Pillars of SNAP selling

SNAP selling is built on four pillars that'll help you cut through the noise and grab the attention of even the busiest decision-makers. Let's break down these pillars—Simple, iNvaluable, Aligned, and Priority—and see how they can transform your sales game.

Keep it simple

Konrad mentions in her book that “your customers are as “frazzled” as you, working sixty-plus hours with endless meetings.” And that’s why reducing the cognitive load for prospects is key. She proposes the solution by keeping things “simple”, the first pillar of SNAP methodology.

This means distilling complex ideas into easily digestible concepts, streamlining your sales process, and presenting information in a clear, concise manner.

Instead of overwhelming a prospect with a 50-slide presentation detailing every feature of your product, focus on the 3-5 key benefits that directly address their most pressing needs. Use visual aids, analogies, and real-world examples to make your points stick. Quite simply, make the decision-making process as effortless as possible for your prospect.

The easier you make it for them to understand and say 'yes', the more likely they are to do so.

Become iNvaluable

“In a world of copycat products and services, the value you personally bring to the relationship becomes essential” mentions Konrad. It’s a crucial differentiator in a marketplace where products and services often seem interchangeable.

The 'iNvaluable' pillar focuses on positioning yourself as an indispensable resource to your prospects.

This might involve sharing industry insights, offering strategic advice, or connecting them with useful contacts. For instance, you could create a personalized report analyzing their current challenges and offering actionable solutions, demonstrating your expertise and commitment to their success.

Or, you might introduce them to a potential partner who could help solve a problem outside your area of expertise. By consistently providing value beyond your product or service, you become more than just a vendor—you become a trusted advisor your prospects can't afford to lose.

Stay Aligned

SNAP selling’s third pillar emphasizes the importance of staying relevant to your client's needs and goals at all times— a no-brainer in today’s time. Konrad states that “you must stay relevant to your client at all times; they don’t have time for anything else.”

This requires a deep understanding of your prospect's business, industry trends, and specific challenges.

For example, if you're selling marketing software to a company that's just entered a new market, focus your pitch on how your product can help them quickly establish brand awareness and capture market share. Avoid generic pitches or irrelevant features. Instead, tailor every interaction to address their current priorities and future aspirations.

This might mean adjusting your language to match their corporate culture or reframing your product's benefits to align with their strategic objectives.

The more aligned you are with your prospect's world, the more likely they are to see you as a valuable partner rather than just another salesperson.

Highlight Priorities

The last pillar focuses on priority. Konrad harps on the fact that “with an ever-changing business environment, you can’t afford to have your prospect deem your services non-urgent”

This doesn't mean creating artificial deadlines or using high-pressure tactics. Instead, it's about helping your prospect understand the cost of inaction or delay.

For instance, if you're selling a cybersecurity solution, you might share recent data on the increasing frequency and cost of data breaches in their industry. Or, if you're offering a productivity tool, calculate the potential revenue increase they could see by implementing your solution sooner rather than later.

By keeping the potential value and urgency of your offering front and center, you help ensure your solution remains a priority amidst competing demands for your prospect's attention and resources.

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SNAP selling key decisions

SNAP selling rests on three key decisions that prospects make before they decide to let you in— Allowing Access, Initiating Change, and Selecting Resources.

Let's explore how each of these core values translates into actionable strategies in the real world of sales.

Allowing Access

This first decision or core value is centered around making the prospect interested, especially when they have been oblivious or uninterested in your offering. Breaking through the initial barriers is a big sales hurdle and gatekeepers and information overload can make it challenging to get your foot in the door. 

So how can you “wow” them?

The key is to stand out from the noise and make it easy for the prospect to say "yes" to an initial conversation. At this stage, your goal is to quickly demonstrate relevance and potential value.

Imagine you're selling a new AI-powered data analytics tool. Instead of requesting a full hour with the CTO, you might offer a 15-minute virtual demo that focuses solely on how your tool can solve their most pressing data challenge. By respecting their time and demonstrating immediate value, you're more likely to gain that crucial first access.

This might involve crafting compelling subject lines for emails, preparing concise value propositions for cold calls, or leveraging mutual connections on professional networks.

Initiating Change

Once you've gained access, the focus shifts to initiating change. This stage is all about influencing the prospect's thinking and “changing their mind”—not a simple task by any means, as any change is essentially more work for busy and frazzled customers who do not want more on their plate.

But you can help move the needle, by helping them recognize the need for a new solution and visualize a better future with your product or service.

Let's say you're selling project management software to a company still using spreadsheets to track projects. You might create a side-by-side comparison showing how much time and resources they're currently wasting versus the efficiency gains they could achieve with your solution. By quantifying the cost of their current approach and contrasting it with the potential benefits of change, you're initiating a shift in their perspective.

During this stage, effective strategies might include sharing industry benchmarks, conducting mini-assessments of their current processes, or facilitating workshops that help prospects uncover hidden inefficiencies. The goal is to create a compelling case for change that aligns with the prospect's business objectives and pain points.

Selecting resources

The final core value addresses the stage where your prospects are evaluating different solutions and deciding where to allocate their resources. This is where you need to differentiate your offering and make a compelling case for why your solution is the best fit.

For example, if you're selling enterprise software, you might create a customized ROI calculator that allows the prospect to input their specific data and see the potential return on investment over time. You could also offer a phased implementation plan that aligns with their budget cycles and minimizes disruption to their operations.

Effective strategies at this stage might include providing detailed case studies from similar companies, offering flexible pricing or implementation options, or demonstrating superior post-sale support. The key is to address any potential objections proactively and make the decision to choose your solution as low-risk and high-reward as possible.

By aligning your sales approach with these core values - Allowing Access, Initiating Change, and Selecting Resources - you can guide prospects through their decision-making process more effectively, increasing your chances of closing deals in today's challenging sales environment.

What are the benefits of SNAP selling?

As a sales leader, here's how you can benefit from implementing SNAP Selling in your team:

• Faster sales cycles

By simplifying complex information and aligning closely with the prospect's needs, SNAP Selling reduces decision-making friction. This approach helps your prospects to quickly understand the value proposition and move through the buying process more efficiently.

• Improved prospect engagement

The methodology emphasizes becoming invaluable to prospects by providing insights and solutions tailored to their specific challenges. This targeted approach will help your sales reps capture and maintain the attention of busy decision-makers, leading to more meaningful interactions.

• Higher win rates

By using this methodology, your team is addressing the prospect's priorities and demonstrating clear, tangible value throughout the sales process. By consistently aligning with the prospect's needs and providing solutions to their most pressing problems, sales teams increase their chances of closing deals successfully.

• Better use of your sales resources

The framework helps your reps quickly identify and prioritize high-potential opportunities. By focusing on prospects where you can provide significant value and where there's a clear fit, your team avoids wasting time on leads unlikely to convert.

• Enhanced adaptability

SNAP Selling emphasizes staying aligned with the prospect's changing priorities. This approach will train your reps to be more agile, constantly reassessing and adjusting their strategies based on the prospect's evolving needs and market conditions.

• Stronger customer relationships

By consistently providing value beyond the product or service and aligning closely with customer needs, SNAP Selling will help your reps position themselves as trusted advisors rather than just vendors. This builds stronger, more lasting partnerships.

• Easier onboarding for new reps

Lastly, the clear, principle-based framework of SNAP Selling provides a structured approach that's easier to teach and implement. New reps can quickly grasp the core concepts and start applying them in their sales interactions, reducing ramp-up time.

How to sell effectively using the SNAP selling methodology

We’ve listed four effective ways sales reps can leverage the SNAP Selling methodology, both to improve processes internally and then use the framework to build an action plan that has the power to overcome the “frazzled customer mentality.

Use it to simplify your sales process

By adopting SNAP principles, your team can prioritize leads more effectively, craft clearer value propositions, and tailor their approach to each stage of the buyer's journey.

When sales reps pitch a product, "frazzled customers" are often in a state of mental overload. According to Konrath's book, these decision-makers have plenty of questions going on in their mind:

• “Can I trust this solution? What if it fails?” — They are anxious about making the wrong choice in a high-stakes business environment.
• "Will this be difficult to implement? How much of my time will it take?" — They are wary of complexity, seeking solutions that don't add to their cognitive burden
• "Is this more important than the other fifty things on my plate right now?" — They are distracted by countless competing priorities and information sources.
• "What immediate value can you provide? How quickly can I see results?" — They are demanding of immediate value and relevance in any interaction

Given the state of mind of these busy prospects, you must simplify your sales process to increase the chances of securing that crucial first meeting.

Below are a few tips to improve your sales process using the SNAP framework:

• Concise pitching: Craft a compelling elevator pitch that communicates your value proposition in 30 seconds or less. Focus on the prospect's most pressing pain point and how you solve it.
• Value-First approach: Offer immediate value in your initial outreach. This could be a relevant industry insight, a useful resource, or a quick tip they can implement immediately.
• Proactive objection handling: Anticipate common objections, prepare clear concise responses, and don’t waste time beating around the bush. For example, have a one-sentence ROI statement ready for budget concerns.

Increase success rate by using three key decisions

Adapt your sales strategy based on the three key decisions (Allow Access, Initiate Change, Select Resources) your prospect is facing.

• Allow Access: Offer quick value to earn that first meeting.
• Initiate Change: Highlight the cost of inaction and the benefits of change.
• Select Resources: Emphasize your unique fit and provide detailed ROI to demonstrate the value and feasibility of choosing your solution.

By aligning with these decisions, you and your team can:

• Increase success rates at each sales stage
• Deliver more relevant presentations
• Build stronger relationships
• Shorten sales cycles
• Stand out from competitors

This approach helps you provide the right information at the right time, positioning your team as trusted advisors and increasing your chances of closing deals.

Use the buyer’s matrix for opportunity prioritization

Your sales team can use the Buyer’s Matrix to better understand and engage with each stakeholder in the decision-making process. By identifying key personas—such as decision-makers, influencers, and end-users—the matrix helps sales reps map out their roles, challenges, and priorities. 

The result? Your sales team will be able to focus on high-value, high-probability opportunities (Go-Zone) and avoid wasting time on low-value, low-probability leads (D-Zone).

Use SNAP-Aligned communication strategies

Tailor your communication style to match the SNAP principles, especially when dealing with frazzled customers. Imagine you're selling a cloud storage solution to a particularly time-strapped CTO. Instead of requesting a traditional meeting, offer a "walking meeting" where you can discuss your solution during their commute.

Your outreach might look like this:

• Security Alert: 60% of companies your size were hacked last year
• Our Solution: Military-grade encryption, reducing breach risk by 90%
• Action: 15-min walking demo during your commute to show how we can secure your data by next week

Important SNAP selling terminology

If your sales team is looking to try SNAP selling, it’s best to get acquainted with SNAP selling terminology that tends to appear in the book several times. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it does explain the key terms.

• SNAP Decision

The quick, intuitive decisions that busy prospects make about whether to engage with a salesperson or consider a new solution. Konrath emphasizes that these decisions are often made rapidly and based on first impressions.

• Frazzled Customer Syndrome

A term Konrath uses to describe today's busy, overwhelmed decision-makers. These customers have limited time, attention, and capacity to engage with new sales pitches or solutions due to information overload and competing priorities.

• Business Case

Konrath stresses the importance of creating a compelling business case tailored to the prospect's specific situation and priorities, demonstrating the value of your solution.

• Trigger Events

Konrath highlights these as specific occurrences or changes in a prospect's business that create an opening or need for your solution. She emphasizes the importance of identifying and leveraging these events.

• Value Proposition

Konrath emphasizes the need for a clear, concise statement that explains how your solution solves customers' problems and delivers specific benefits, tailored to be immediately relevant to the prospect.

• Buyer’s Matrix

A tool introduced in the book to help salespeople understand the different roles, challenges, and priorities of decision-makers. It enables sellers to tailor their messaging to meet specific buyer needs, align their solutions with buyer goals, and address pain points effectively, ultimately improving sales outcomes.

• Go-Zone

Konrath describes this as the area in the Buyer’s Matrix representing high-value, high-probability opportunities. These are the prospects that salespeople should prioritize and invest the most time and resources in pursuing as they are keen to listen and engage.

• D-Zone

Short for "Dead Zone," this is the area in the Buyer’s Matrix representing low-value, low-probability opportunities as prospects are distracted or disinterested. Konrath advises salespeople to consider disqualifying or spending minimal time on these prospects to focus on more promising opportunities.

What type of sales motions is SNAP selling best for?

Sales motions are the choreographed steps your team takes to move a prospect from awareness to purchase. Now, SNAP Selling is often pigeonholed as a niche sales strategy for high-pressure B2B environments, but the truth is that this framework can suit a variety of sales landscapes—its simplicity and relevance speak to the harried startup founder as much as the corporate decision-maker.

So the next big question is—what type of sales motion is SNAP selling best for? We have identified three sales motions that can use the SNAP selling framework effectively.

Outbound sales

Outbound sales’ direct approach allows for tailored conversations that help sales reps build relationships that can lead to mutually beneficial agreements. But what do you do when your team is sweating hard to gain access to crazy-busy prospects and they dread being parked in the D-zone?

As Konrad states, “It would be so easy to give up on frazzled customers. But if you did, you’d be making a big mistake. Remember, they’re good people who are simply overwhelmed.” For reps in the outbound sales motion, the SNAP framework can be crucial for securing and maximizing that first face-to-face meeting and they can use the SNAP approach:

• Simple: Propose a focused 15-minute call addressing one key challenge you've identified through pre-call research.
• iNvaluable: Offer a complimentary, personalized analysis of potential improvement areas in their business operations.
• Aligned: Customize your pitch to reflect the prospect's unique business model and goals.
• Priority: Quantify the potential cost of inaction or delayed decision-making in their specific market context.

By applying these principles, you're more likely to secure that initial meeting and make a strong first impression.

Inside sales

For inside sales motion, where you're dealing with frazzled, distracted, and demanding customers over the phone or video, SNAP Selling can help cut through the noise.

Example: You're selling a CRM solution via inside sales. Apply SNAP like this:

• Simple: Instead of a lengthy product demo, offer a focused 15-minute session on one feature that addresses their biggest challenge.
• iNvaluable: Provide a free, customized workflow analysis based on a brief questionnaire they fill out before the call.
• Aligned: Use industry-specific language and examples in your pitch.
• Priority: Share a case study of a similar company that increased sales by 30% within 3 months of implementation.

This approach respects the customer's time while providing immediate value, increasing the chances of moving the sale forward.

Product-led sales

In product-led sales motion, where the product itself is the main sales vehicle, SNAP principles can enhance buyer experience and conversion rates, particularly for Go-zone prospects.

Your team can apply SNAP to your product-led approach in the following ways:

• Simple: Design an intuitive onboarding process that guides users to experience a quick win within the first 5 minutes of using the product.
• iNvaluable: Implement smart analytics to offer personalized, data-driven insights and recommendations based on the user's interaction with the product.
• Aligned: Utilize user behavior data to automatically suggest relevant features or integrations that align with the user's role and usage patterns.
• Priority: Incorporate in-app messaging to highlight time or resource savings achieved through specific feature usage, emphasizing the product's ongoing value.

By integrating SNAP principles into your product experience, you can more effectively nurture and convert high-value, Go-zone prospects, turning product users into paying customers more efficiently.

In each of these sales motions, SNAP Selling principles help address the challenges of engaging with frazzled customers by prioritizing simplicity, demonstrating immediate value, aligning closely with customer needs, and emphasizing the urgency of your solution.

How Qwilr helps you close sales faster with SNAP selling

Irrespective of the sales motion, Qwilr transforms the sales process, enabling teams to close deals more efficiently.

For sales teams, Qwilr helps increase sales velocity by streamlining prospecting and surfacing qualified leads quickly. Qwilr revolutionizes SNAP selling by enabling users to create visually engaging, interactive proposals that captivate potential clients. With a variety of customizable templates and an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, sales professionals can craft proposals that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also tailored to their audience's needs and embody the core values and pillars of SNAP selling.

Qwilr also enhances collaboration and engagement through features like real-time editing and built-in analytics. You can seamlessly work with your teams and clients, ensuring everyone is aligned throughout the selling process. Analytics valuable insights into how prospects interact with proposals, allowing for data-driven adjustments that can significantly improve conversion rates.

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