Scott Leese wasn’t born (or trained) a salesperson. An accomplished sportsperson and multifaceted student, Scott still didn’t think sales were on the cards.  And yet today, he is a sales guru often on the must-follow list for any salesperson - newbie or veteran. 

In his session of the Outplay Masters of Sales series, Scott speaks about the life experiences that led him to create his own unique outbound sales and sales prospecting methodology. And the psychology that has made it such an effective technique for so many sales teams worldwide. 

Dive in to find out more about The Addiction Model of Selling that Scott founded, and find out how you can compound your sales success with it.

Origin of the Addiction Model of Selling

After a lengthy health crisis that landed Scott in the hospital for FOUR years, the battle wasn’t over. Scott had to then overcome an opioid addiction stemming from his intensive treatment. 

On the other side of that, Scott was evaluating his prospects when he happened upon SaaS sales through a friend. He was new to the game. But what he had was a heightened sense of perspective, urgency and naturally persuasive people skills. All qualities that played a key role in developing his sales model. You’ll see. 

So, where does the Addiction Model of Sales Work?

The Addiction Model of Sales is Scott’s highly successful system of prospecting that gets conversations started and meetings booked. Small businesses, Mid-Market, and Enterprise sales teams across industries have seen crazy success with it. 

So if you’re wondering if this methodology is relevant for you - it is. However, the key, as Scott says, is consistency. Following the steps Scott prescribes, in the order he prescribes them with consistency is the key to killer results. 

What makes it such a successful sales prospecting model? 

Scott’s journey through addiction and recovery gave him a unique perspective on human behavior. A perspective that he used to build a repeatable and successful model of sales prospecting. Here’s why.

Addiction Model of Sales - Scott Leese

So, what is the addiction model of sales?

Let’s get into it. The addiction model of selling and sales prospecting has four simple steps that must be performed consistently in that order. 

  1. Find Pain
  2. Build Value
  3. Create Urgency
  4. Design the Solution

 

1. Find Pain

Word-vomiting about your solution and why the prospect needs it…yeah, that’s not going to work on someone who doesn’t even think they have a problem. Going direct and pinpointing gaps your prospect might be ignoring will make your prospect defensive. That’s no good either. 

You need to ask a series of discovery questions that will help the prospect identify and eventually admit to having pain. Only once the prospect admits to themselves that something needs fixing do you get your open.
 

 

But is finding the pain really enough? Does it mean they’re ready to act on it? Not quite yet.

 

2. Build Value

So your prospect goes… Sure, this could be done better. Sure, it could help me achieve X, Y, and Z…But I’m okay with how things are right now. Why do I need to be the one to change it? Why should it be done immediately?  

Now what? Build value.
Present yourself as someone willing to take the time to explain how and why things can be done better. Ask more about how the prospect’s peers are dealing with similar situations. 

Be the selfless educator - not a seller. Guide and help (for free, with no catch) your prospect understand why they should make a change in a way that makes sense for them.

 

Now is it time to talk about the product? Not yet.

 

3. Create Urgency

You’ve covered the why. You have to get to the why now. For which you need to create that urgency. Scott shares an interesting factoid - most deals are lost because of inertia and comfort for the status quo. And your job is to change that. You need to help the prospect understand the long-term or immediate impact of continuing as is. 

Will they lose customers? Will they get overtaken by competition? Will they stop making any money? You’ll need to learn what the prospect’s priorities are. And then help them weigh those by trying to attach a quantitative impact. 

 

So NOW can you talk about your offering?

 

4. Design the solution

You’ve added value and established yourself as an expert/educator. And if you’ve completed steps 1-3 correctly, your prospect will likely turn to you for help. 

So yes, NOW you can talk about your offering. But don’t just talk about your product or solution. You recap - You’ve realized that fixing X problem will give you Y benefit, and not doing it immediately will have Z impact. And here’s how we can help. 

That’s when you provide your elevator pitch. After creating that moment, the prospect will be most receptive to it. Skipping steps 1,2,& 3 and going straight into step 4 - the pitch - will just close some promising doors. 

So that’s Scott Leese’s proprietary Addiction Model of Selling. Born from a poignant life experience, now a proven method of sales prospecting teams swear by. Feel free to check out Scott’s session on Masters of Sales, along with other resources based on his teachings. 

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