You can differentiate in more ways than one. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Thomas Capraro to learn what he did to differentiate himself after decades in the industry, especially selling when competition is incredibly similar.  Be prepared and be confident enough to ask tough questions. You want the prospect to be able to tell you that you’ve done your homework. Software like ZoomInfo, LinkedIn, and Salesforce help you understand a prospect’s background and learn more about them. Treat your small clients just like your large clients. You never know who your clients are connected to. For example, one of Thomas’s clients once referred him to a huge IT company headquartered in Boca, leading to a substantial business transaction. Thomas wants his clients to be treated equally, so his company requires every customer to receive a visit every 90 days to ensure their needs are met. A human connection makes all the difference in the sales process. In an increasingly automated field, a personal connection can make all the difference. People buy from people. Thomas has a certain cadence that he follows, which outlines what type of interaction he should do. At night he does what he likes to call administrivia Thomas completes reports and administrative tasks at the end of the day or on weekends, so he has the time to focus on his craft. As new ways of operating and selling come into play, do your homework.  Know when to listen (which is most of the time.) Ask open-ended questions and make an effort to genuinely feel like you want to know the value as a person and friend before as a prospect. And that relationship will take time. The days of the one-call closes are gone. As soon as you leave a meeting, take notes and record them on your phone or write them down so the next time you talk to that prospect, you can recap the previous conversation. You can send them news articles or other pertinent information that they might like to show you were paying attention.  Major takeaway: Do your research and come knowing more than the other person/ Be prepared, both physically and mentally, and be ready to ask the right questions (and listen to the responses.) You can find Thomas on Facebook to learn more about his thoughts and experiences. Join Donald’s Facebook group, The Sales Evangelizers, to find a community of people to share, reflect, and grow with on your sales journey. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings for each episode you listen to!  Read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore their huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day trial. Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.