Your Prospect Asked AI About You. Here's How to Win the Sales Call
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Brooke Greening: Congratulations. You have a sales call scheduled, and you're excited to be able to talk to them. They've also AI'd you, and now they think they know everything about you and all about your offerings. So how do you actually lead that sales conversation? And what do you do if what they've given you and saying that they believe is true is actually incorrect?
How do you handle that?
So now, before you've even started the conversation, they are already making the decisions in their mind about who you are, what you offer, before you've had any type of conversation, because AI is now telling them what is true and what is not true.
The biggest thing that we don't wanna do is get defensive. When we get defensive, then all walls go up.
Just don't get defensive. Just, it's a regular, it's a regular conversation. AI is not the enemy. AI is just giving them a boatload of information, and that's- that's okay.
Those are the things that we know, and because of the 90,000 sales conversations that I've had, to know how to be able to look at it particularly to that person and where they're at instead of just broad strokes.
The buying decision is over in the half that we can't hear, and that is the case 100% of the time in every sales conversation that you have.
Hey, everyone. Welcome to Make More Sales with Brooke Greening, where in about the time that it takes you to enjoy your matcha or coffee break, Brooke gives us some great advice on sales conversations. Because the reality is, if you have to talk to people to make sales, how well you lead those sales conversations is going to make or break your revenue.
Scott Greening: And today, Brooke, we are starting a conversation, we're having a conversation on AI. So the robots- Dun, dun, dun ... are taking over the world. Yeah. AI is so prevalent that even our kids know all about it and are very high proficient at spotting AI.
Brooke Greening: So our daughter likes to say, "Holy AI," when she sees something that is AI.
Sometimes she's not accurate, but a lot of times she is. So we're actually going to be doing a trunk or treat with the community with the police station, uh, this Friday, and we needed to buy something, 'cause I am not creative and crafty at all when it comes to those types of things. And so we have a beehive kit, and we got it off of Amazon, and I was showing it to Tora, and she was like, "Mom, that's totally AI.
I, you don't even know if that's gonna be what it is when you get it." I was like, "Well, that's why we order it a week in advance, so ..."
Scott Greening: Right. We
Brooke Greening: can- "... we can see."
Scott Greening: We can exchange it or, or get something else. But, uh, yeah. Yeah. And I think, like, you drive around town, and you see the little, like, yard signs now that everybody's got, and they all look strangely familiar because AI, they've put a prompt into AI.
And so the colors may be different, but they all kind of look the same. AI is impacting our sales conversations, and we're, we're not gonna talk today about tools and all of that. And actually, at the end, we've got some encouragement for you in regards to AI, and there's still a place for salespeople, so, so do that.
Mm. But it is impacting how we have these sales conversations because as we've kind of been tracing this thread for the last couple of weeks, people can get all sorts of information about us before they even talk to us. And now, AI is rapidly becoming a way that customers do this. And even if you just Google something, the first several lines are AI Gemini responses.
Brooke Greening: Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. 100%.
Scott Greening: So let's, let me ask you a couple of questions about that. So the first one is, like, how does AI change what happens before a sales conversation?
Brooke Greening: The biggest piece is, is people can do research like you had shared, and they can do it really quickly, and they can start asking questions, and they can even come, come up with questions that they want to be able to ask, and AI is gonna give them a boatload of information, and some of that may be true, and some of it may not be true.
So now, before you've even started the conversation, they are already making the decisions in their mind about who you are, what you offer, before you've had any type of conversation, because AI is now telling them what is true and what is not true.
Scott Greening: Yeah, and again, the, the s- the scary part or the difficult part is it may or may not be the right answer, either about you or the advice that may be best for them
Brooke Greening: Yeah, and what happens is then you might think, "Okay, well maybe I don't need to ask that many questions," or, "Maybe then we're good.
Like, if they've done all of this research, then we're just ready to, to close the sale." And that is gonna be a dangerous position because then all we're gonna be doing is selling to those who are absolutely ready to go right now. Those are great conversations to have, but if you only sell to people who are absolutely ready to buy before they even talk to you, you are going to be .Missing sales.
Scott Greening: Yeah, and I think you often talk about this idea of there's two conversations happening in every sales conversation. The one that's, that you're having with the customer, and then the one that's going on in their head. And the, the reality is, is even if somebody is just like you're the only one, they're the only business owner, it's just one person that you're talking with, they might also now have sort of AI in their head and- Mm-hmm
may or may not even realize it.
Brooke Greening: Yeah, absolutely. Now, the positive side is if someone has actually done all of this research on you, and it doesn't take very long, it can literally take two or three minutes, the positive side is even if they've done all of that and they still wanna talk to you, there is a strong intention that they're wanting to make some sort of decision.
And so that's encouraging for you, and I say this all the time, just having a sales conversation is an incredible opportunity to be able to move things forward. 'Cause people don't have to and people don't really want to, so if they are actually talking to you, it's a really good sign that they are intending to make some sort of decision.
They may not be ready to buy from you yet, but we know that they're ready to make a
Scott Greening: Yeah, and so we, we don't have to like overreact. We don't have to just throw everything out and say, "Well, we'll just put a chat bot on our website and they'll take care of it." Mm-hmm. Uh, for most service provider businesses, that probably is not the best ch- choice to do.
Mm-hmm ... we, there still is this place for these sales conversations. So that was kind of the, the first question is what do we do when they've researched us b- ahead of time? You mentioned in there that sometimes maybe they don't have the right information. So what happens? What should we do in our sales conversations when somebody has the wrong information, whether it's about your business specifically or what they think is industry standards or the way things are done?
Brooke Greening: Yeah. This actually is not a new problem. So I just wanna say that right off the bat. Before AI came into play, people were still coming into sales conversations maybe misinformation or their thoughts or assumptions were not correct. So, like, learning how to handle this part of a sales conversation is not brand new.
When I used to work at Sunrise, people would come in and they would have all sorts of assumptions in regards to like, "Well, I talked to this senior living company, and this is what they charge, so this is what you should charge." "Well, I talked to so and so, and this is what they do to care for their residents, so you should be the exact same."
None of... Having bad information before you walk into a sales call is not happens on a regular basis. And so, but there are things that we can do to be able to handle that, and the very first thing is, is just being able to ask permission to even talk about it. Sometimes people are gonna come and they're gonna say something, or say someone could say, "Well, yeah, but Brooke, I think the standard sales coaching is, like, AI tells me it's $500." okay. We're not trying to get offensive. Not offensive. We're not trying to get defensive at this point or trying to, like, change their mind. Like, that's not what we're trying to do at all. The very first thing is, is just being able to ask permission if we can talk about it.
That's the very, very first
Scott Greening: Yeah, I think, Brooke, the, the same type of thing happens when we think, like, "Oh, I wonder what our house is worth." And so we look it up on Zillow, and Zillow comes back and says, "Your house is worth $500,000." And we think, "Great, maybe it's time to sell, and maybe I could even list it myself, and I've got all this information."
And then the realtor comes and is like, "Well, sure, yeah, that might be true, but you haven't updated your bathroom since the 1970s." "And your kitchen is... needs some work. And if you did those things, yes, you could get that price, but, you haven't, and so this is what it's worth." And so sometimes I think that's sort of like what can happen with our, our customers.
And so you, you suggested, like, when people come in with that to ask permission. Yeah ... where, where do we go? Like, what... How do we do that then if they've said, "Okay, yeah, we can talk about it." Or do you have any other advice for us?
Brooke Greening: Yeah. So because this is gonna happen. Someone is going to say, "Yeah, but this is the way that it is," or just to give an example, like we were saying, "Yeah, but I Googled, I AI'd, and they're telling me that the mean, the medium rate for a sales coach is $500," or, "They're telling me that this is what I should be asking." and those things can happen, and that's, that's perfectly fine. What we're going to do is we're just gonna do a couple of different steps. First, we're going to acknowledge that they were doing research before the call. That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna say, "Hey, you know what? I really appreciate that you were even checking these things out before we had a conversation.
That means a lot to me that you're, you wanna take this seriously, and also that it's really important that you're able to feel like you're making the best decision. I completely respect that. Thanks for doing that." That's the first one. Then we're gonna clarify. Then we're just trying to figure out, "Okay, help me to understand a little bit.
When you were saying that it, the median is 500, can you give me an idea of what they were saying that looked like?" Like, we're trying to understand what they're saying. The biggest thing that we don't wanna do is get defensive. When we get defensive, then all walls go up. But if we're acknowledging it, if we're thanking them for taking this conversation seriously and doing their homework, and the last thing you want is for them to feel like that they're not gonna get the return of their investment, then we can actually have a little bit more of a conversation.
And so if you get defensive, it's gonna go completely the wrong direction. you can't necessarily just argue with AI and say, "Well, they're wrong." no that's okay. I mean, if you, you wanna be a little funny or whatever, you can be like, "Well, that, that's true. Some cars are $500. Some are 60,000."
Like, there's a wide range.
Scott Greening: Yeah, you might, you might not wanna
drive the $500 one
Brooke Greening: But before you even do that, we're acknowledging, we're thanking them, and we're just trying to understand what it is that they're- they're looking for and just what they're, where they're coming from and- and what's happening. And when they understand that we're saying, like, I don't want you to- to invest in something you don't feel like you're gonna get a good, like, a return on. I don't want you to feel like you've poured too much money into this piece of your business and you- you don't want to or you don't think that that's necessary.
Like, I don't- I don't want any of those things to happen for you." And then we start clarifying a little bit more of what they're looking for and- and how to be able to help. Just don't get defensive. Just, it's a regular, it's a regular conversation. AI is not the enemy. AI is just giving them a boatload of information, and that's- that's okay.
We just work through it from
Scott Greening: All
Brooke Greening: right. It's not a new problem.
Scott Greening: Yeah. And I appreciate a little, uh, sales coaching nugget that Brooke dropped in there for you so, uh, you can, uh... That's what she does and helps people think through these conversations. So this is, we- the first two questions have been like, "Hey, AI is changing things, and this is sort of how we need to- to think about that, be ready for it, and deal with it." let's just, like, end on a positive note here and affirm, people and humans are awesome. Right? There's still a place for human salespeople. And in fact, studies- Mm-hmm ... have shown, we won't get- we can maybe post the link to the study or whatever, but, like, people still prefer confirming and making sure that they trust with a real person, even if they know- Yeah
perfectly all the information, and they still wanna- to have that human connection. And for service providing businesses, I would assume it's, like, even more so. Um, so Brooke, remind us, help us, uh, celebrate the awesomeness of people. What are some of the things that a human salesperson can do AI cannot?
Brooke Greening: So the first one is context. AI is only as good as what you're putting and a good salesperson is able to understand where the customer is coming from and asking them things that they may not have even thought about. And so that means that if they're talking to AI, they don't even necessarily know sometimes what questions to ask or what to prompt it.
That is where the sales conversation We're really good at being able to understand the context and having questions that relate to that.
Scott Greening: Yeah, I think you have this just wealth of information, and other service providers in their areas of expertise, they've talked with so many customers.
They have, friends in other fields. Like, they bring all these things in, and it's not that AI doesn't necessarily have that information, that it couldn't find it- Mm-hmm ... but it just, it's only as good as the prompt that you type in. And if you don't know what to put in-
Brooke Greening: Right ...
Scott Greening: it's, it's kind of limited.
Brooke Greening: And on top of it, it's not only that, but it's just... So yes, and AI has grabbed all of my stuff in regards to like our service framework and different things like that, but everything starts to really sound the same after a while if it's not that context behind it. And so that's where it comes into play, that we're understanding more of what's going on and really being able to understand like what's driving them, what's motivating them.
Those are the things that we know, and because of the 90,000 sales conversations that I've had, to know how to be able to look at it particularly to that person and where they're at instead of just broad strokes. And AI is amazing at broad strokes, and they can go detailed, but they're only going detailed to as much of what they're being prompted to do, and that's the whole point.
You can't expect someone to prompt the right questions. That's literally one of the roles of the sales professional. What types of questions can I ask that are gonna help uncover what's driving and motivating
Scott Greening: so let's talk about another reason why, why humans are awesome. What's the, the second one that have you got?
Brooke Greening: You can't read them. AI cannot read you at this point. They can read your words. You could even say, "Hey, I'm frustrated about this," but they can't truly read you, and so this is what we share on a regular basis. in every sales conversation, you have two conversations that are going on, the one that you're leading and the things that you're saying, the questions you're asking, all of that is happening over here, and the second conversation is going in regards to what's going on in your potential mind.
What are they thinking? What are they feeling? What questions do they have that are helping them come to the buying decision? The buying decision is over in the half that we can't hear, and that is the case 100% of the time in every sales conversation that you have. AI cannot read that. When you're a sales professional, you can learn how to read and lead the sales conversation, and AI has no ability to do that.
They can only go with what's given to them. They don't have any ability to read any of the cues, the hesitations, the pauses. They can't read any of it.
Scott Greening: Yeah. I think about like on the rare occasion that we may be struggling to be on the same page about one matter or another thing. You might, I might make a suggestion, and you might say, "Fine, that's okay with me."
And if AI was listening in or looking at the transcript of the conversation, they would think, "She's on board. She's ready to go." But the, the cues may, may indicate something slightly different, right?
Brooke Greening: Right. So apparently if I say, "Fine, it's okay with me," it doesn't mean fine, it's okay with me.
Scott Greening: I was using that example 'cause I don't think you've ever said that exact phrase.
No, I haven't. But, but we do it, and I can say the same thing. Like, like uh, when I say certain things or, or that it's a sign or the way that I say it or the inflection in my voice or- Mm-hmm ... how painful it was for me to get the actual words out. Like, all of these are, are things, and you're not necessarily having those types of conversation with customers, but, they might say like, "Send me a proposal."
And- Right ... that may or may not be a buying signal, and AI can't necessarily help you with it.
Brooke Greening: No. There are so many things that we miss in sales conversations that I teach my clients, and that makes a huge difference in regards to whether they make the sale or they don't make the sale, but AI cannot do it at all.
So this is something humans can learn, and they can learn it and it c- they can continue to excel in their sales conversations. This is not something that AI can pick up on right now.
Scott Greening: So what's another reason that human salespeople can still do things that AI cannot?
Brooke Greening: When you're able to understand the context better, when you're able to read the conversation better, then actually giving them next clear steps is really important, and you're able to discern what needs to happen next.
AI does not do that as much. They give you multiple possibilities, but they cannot say, "Okay, this is the best next step," and have it be correct in what is needed in that situation. They give you a lot of information, and then you're able to decide. And you can even ask and say, "Hey, tell me what to do." And AI can give you options, and they can give you one option, but again, when you're not able to do those first two things, doesn't really mean a lot.
And so that's the other thing that we can do. We can know the context. We can read and lead the conversation well, and that way, we're able to give them clear next steps of what needs to happen, and we can discern what would be the best next step for them, and they can discern that as well. Yeah. And AI just doesn't have a lot of discerning factors.
Scott Greening: Yeah, I think I, I just had a conversation earlier this morning with somebody on a, on the team that I'm connected with in the organization, the church, uh, where I have a role, it was a tax question. And I said, "Well, like, you know, we can have all the information." I said, "But you need to go talk to a CPA before you, like, make this final decision."
Like, they had a whole menu of, of things, and can I do this, or should I do this, or what are the ramifications? But I just kept reiterating to the person like, "Hey, great. Talk to somebody that can do that and provide the judgment that you need to make." 'cause it's not just about the information.
It's about helping you know the right thing is, which then brings us to the, the last reason I think that we're talking about today, which is what?
Brooke Greening: the last thing is we can give them confidence. AI can. AI can say, "Yes, this is the right decision. Good job, Brooke. Go get yourself a matcha." Like, it talks to me, and it tells me I'm doing things right. in a sales conversation, especially when people are making higher investments, a lot of times they're not trying to figure out, okay, do I have all of this information figured out? They're literally trying to figure out, is this going to be the best decision? Should I be making this decision? And you can ask AI, and they can give you the information, but when you're talking to someone face to face and you truly believe they understand my situation, not only do they s- understand my situation and where my problems are at, I believe that they can help me.
That gives them a huge amount of confidence that AI cannot give them to be able to move forward and solve the problems that they need.
Scott Greening: All right, everyone. Brooke has once again encouraged us a couple of times in this conversation about the importance of being able to read and lead your sales conversations. 'Cause this reality of the two conversations that's happening, the one that you're having and then the one that's going on in your customer's mind, is going to, to have a big impact on your sales.
So if you think maybe I'm not reading or leading the sales conversations in the way that I need to, I'd encourage you to take the step of scheduling a call with Brooke. She'll learn more about where you're at in your business and give you some great advice to move forward. You can always do that at buildingmomentum.info/meet.
If you're ready to make more sales, schedule a call and meet with Brooke. Buildingmomentum.info/meet
What encouragement or advice would you leave us with today?
Brooke Greening: just want to encourage you, one, if you know someone has AI, Joe, this... Our whole goal is not trying to figure out, okay, what did they find? What did they find? Is it right? Is it wrong? It's still the same conversation. They asked AI all these questions, but it's your job to be able to uncover what's really going and that's what that whole conversation should be focused on and then how you can be able to help them.
That's what you want to continue to keep talking about and to keep encouraging them to do. I just want to encourage you as well, when you are having sales conversations, how well you're going to lead those sales conversations will make or break your revenue. So let's lead them well. Let's learn how to read and lead our sales conversations so we can make more money and have a greater impact.
Scott Greening: All right. Next time, we're continuing this series on sort of the changing buying realities, and we're gonna focus in on giving people confidence like we were talking about here at the end today, but not becoming pushy with that or not forcing people into a decision. And so if you want to be part of that, if you want to listen into that conversation and get that advice, we encourage you to subscribe, to follow, to like, to review, to comment, all of those things.
You can find the links to your podcasting platform of choice and the past episodes at buildingmomentum.info/podcast. And remember, if you're ready to make more sales.
