Why AI Based Relationship Intelligence Will Drive More Referrals, with Paul Teshima, Episode #55

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There’s an old saying, “Your network is your net worth” and though many may feel it’s a tired old phrase, it 100% true. Both performance and science have proven the best salespeople build incredible relationships with their customers. However, today’s selling model has made it more complex to know where and when we should engage with a current or future client. That is why I asked Paul Teshima, co-founder of Nudge.ai to join me on #SellingWithSocial so we could talk about how to help sales professionals genuinely enhance those kinds of relationships. Nudge.ai gathers the insights you need to write engaging emails by providing you with the latest personal mentions, company news, social activity and relationship insights on your buyers as you write emails. As you can see, Paul knows the topic I wanted to discuss, so you don’t want to miss this conversation. His insights about the nuances and practical steps of relationship selling are priceless.

84% of All B2B Deals Start from the Referral Process

“Today the hardest part of closing any deal is actually finding it,” Lars Nielsen. For that reason, referrals have become all the more important. Studies show that 84% of all B2B deals started with the referral process. If that is true, that means finding, then creating and nurturing those relationships must be done more effectively, in ways that bring about those referrals that lead to closed deals. In this conversation, Paul explains why relationship intelligence can empower us to build those kinds of relationships and shows how AI makes it possible. This is a powerful step forward for the sales industry and the salespeople who make the best use of it will be the ones to dominate their industry.

Relationship Intelligence: The Future of Sales

If you’re not familiar with the term “relationship intelligence,” it’s important that you get it because it’s the future of relationship selling and referrals. With tens of thousands or more of contacts in your CRM, there’s no way you’re going to be able to build authentic relationships with all of them, much less do so in a strategic, intelligent way. Enter relationship intelligence technology - leveraging AI to provide data points and insights into who your prospects are, which ones are most beneficial to pursue, when is the right time to “nudge” them, and serving you up information as to what topics or resources may be of interest to your prospects right now. Sound helpful? It's more than helpful, it's revolutionary to the sales process. Find out more from my guest on this episode of Selling With Social.

A Nudge a Day: It’s the Key to Building Relationships

What if you had a platform that collected data and insights on your sales prospects and connections, pulled them together in an intelligent way, reminded you each day that your relationship has gone dark or is “cooling off”, then “nudged” you to engage with your buyers based upon one of those trigger events? Additionally, what if you could determine who is the “best” person in your network who could make a referral to your prospective buyer? That’s called relationship intelligence at scale. Make sure you take the time to listen to this part of the conversation.

Focus on Shared Interests to Build Relationships

It's always helpful to think of things in the context of a real-life scenario, so let me give you one that shows the power of relationship intelligence software. Imagine that you and one of your prospects share a love for mountain climbing. That prospect regularly shares photos on social media posts about their mountain climbing adventures. Relationship intelligence software finds all of the common interest(s), collates the things the prospects shares on social, and brings it to your attention. Then the software nudges you to reach out to that prospect based on the frequency of your previous contact with them. You are now equipped to build your relationship with them in a very natural and authentic way. Nothing is forced, nothing feels out of place. Do you see the power in that? In this conversation with Paul, co-founder of Nudge.ai you will hear even more examples of how this kind of approach can gain you the reputation as a connector that earns referrals.

Outline of This Episode [1:06] Paul’s history as an engineer in the sales and marketing industry [2:48] How the best relationships results in the best deals - and why Nudge was created [4:14] The biggest differences between the business environment when Paul started his previous companies and what it’s like today [6:01] The data points that exist today to help sellers engage with buyers better [7:39] How AI handles the grunt work of relationship research to empower salespeople [13:01] One nudge a day: Add value in small increments over time to move toward deals [16:54] How do we build and manage our personal networks and sales relationships? [18:12] Making the most of the Strength of Weak Ties theory: practical suggestions [22:31] Why social selling isn’t just about selling [24:26] Changes in the sales process over the years and how it’s working today [28:45] No longer is the CEO the one who makes the decisions: Sell to the manager [31:02] The AI solution Nudge brings to sales professionals Resources Mentioned www.Nudge.ai - Paul’s company Connect with Paul Teshima On LinkedIn - Paul Teshima On Twitter - @PaulTeshima Open View The Strength of Weak Ties theory Entering Into the Mind of the I.T. Buyer seminar Paul’s favorite movie: The Shawshank Redemption Social Business Engine Podcast - Bernie Borges Connect with Mario! www.vengreso.com On Facebook On Twitter On YouTube On LinkedIn

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