Help your sales team recognize opportunities with visual tools

Remember those I Spy books from waiting rooms or school book fairs?

If you’re not familiar, the goal is to look at a picture and spot a particular group of objects. Sometimes the objects are hidden, and sometimes you can find them in plain sight.

As a child, it was fun. But hunting for opportunities to upsell and cross-sell is no fun for your reps — unless you make it easy. How? By giving them visual tools to spot those opportunities at a glance.

Show your sales force how to sell more instead of just telling them. And help reps adopt a habit of pursuing opportunities instead of missing them.

Visual tools: An effective time-saver

Like you, sales reps are tight on time. They need quick, actionable info before a sales call. Use visual tools to provide it. Neuroscientists from MIT found that viewing an image for as little as 13 milliseconds is enough for the brain to process it. So if you want reps to get the message fast — and recognize opportunities with ease — take a visual approach.

Why visuals work

Making your message clear is a key part of making it work. Visuals can help. MIT professor Mary Potter says the brain’s visual processing speed shows that “what vision does is find concepts…The brain is constantly trying to understand what we’re looking at.” The eyes get information into the brain and allow the brain to think about it rapidly. That’s why visual aids can convey complex info in a simple way. Use them to make sales scenarios easier to understand.

Even better, visuals can make your message more compelling. So your reps are more likely to use your materials in the first place.

If your reps can’t see it, they can’t sell it

Many sales reps struggle to recognize opportunities to upsell and cross-sell. But with clear, engaging visuals, those opportunities are easier to see. Let’s look at some real-life examples.

1. Floor plan diagrams

Visual floor plans — like those we created for Saalfeld — can highlight cross-selling opportunities within a facility. They encourage reps to look around, room by room. What other products is this customer buying? Do they also need trash cans and liners? Floor cleaners? Personal protective equipment? Callouts on a clear visual can uncover all of those opportunities.

2. Exploded facility diagrams

Sometimes your reps have the chance to think outside the box — and facility. We helped the Terminix sales force visualize those opportunities. Imagine yourself as a Terminix marketer offering pest control to restaurants. Your customers are worried about staying pest-free inside. But the grease traps and dumpsters out back attract pests, too. With an exploded facility diagram, your reps can see those opportunities to cross-sell.

Effective visuals help sales reps identify opportunities — which is better for them, better for the customer, and better for your business. If there’s an opportunity, your rep can literally put their finger on it — so they can offer solutions and add value. Which turns them into trusted advisors instead of order-takers.

Visuals help reps recognize — and pursue — opportunities

By making opportunities visible, engaging, and easy to act on, you encourage your sales team to take a consultative approach. That leads to more customer trust — and better sales outcomes.

Visuals simplify the learning process and motivate reps to pursue opportunities they might otherwise miss.

If your sales team struggles to recognize and seize opportunities, it might be time to revisit your visual tools. Based on the results we’ve seen, well-placed visuals make all the difference. If you’d like to learn more, let’s chat.

Related:
How to make your message clear
How to make your message compelling
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