Kasra Khalili
@kasrakhalili
Business Value Consulting @semrush, author ‘Who We Know’, Kelley MBA candidate // talking community, marketing, & productivity // prev On Deck, Startup Grind
'The Jolt Effect'
What prevents buyers from well, buying?
A study of 2.5M recorded sales conversations (shoutout 'The Jolt Effect'), 40-60% of deals are lost to buyer indecision.
Here are 3 key reasons behind buyer indecision and tips on addressing each...
1️⃣ Solution valuation
Buyers don't just want the best option, but the one best for them. It's a seller's job to help them make that decision.
Tips:
- Offer personalized recommendations
- Provide comparison charts
- Share customer reviews/industry insights
Crafting Your Message
Great work isn't enough on it's own.
To get buy-in, adoption, and ultimately, results, we have to communicate at a high level. Simply sharing a message won't ensure it's heard.
No one is immune to this. I've seen it first-hand in small business, startups, and public firms.
Mastering communication can transform how your work is received and acted upon. I'm still learning this myself. And it's more important in my role today leading strategy than ever before.
Great communicators incorporate these three components into every message...
What's Distracting You?
What's holding you back from your most important work?
Kicking off the weekend at @KelleySchool tackling a universal challenge: distractions.
But not all distractions are created equal or even properly defined. Let's start by defining distractions vs. interruptions.
Recognizing Team Efforts: Making the Invisible, Visible
Truth: Efforts in every team often go unnoticed.
It's easy to miss the painstaking work that doesn't make headlines or get paraded in the weekly team meeting.
I've been guilty of this, and perhaps you have too…
Why do we miss this?
- Role bias: some roles have a higher public profile.
- Effort bias: tasks that are routine can feel less impactful when everything works
- Team cohesion: it might just come down to poor systems within the team
Embracing Resistance for Progress
Embracing resistance fuels progress.
Resistance signals impact. I value that. Though sometimes illogical or even self-serving, it's feedback nonetheless and feedback is a privilege.
I've learned to welcome resistance.
At @semrush change is constant (and a core value)!
And we've been changing, a lot. With that level of change it requires us to be thoughtful about implementation. We're rightfully meant with resistance along the way and have framed it as a constructive step.
3 Approaches to Feedback
Everyone wants feedback, not everyone knows how to give it...
Giving feedback is crucial, but it's not one-size-fits-all. The style you choose can make or break the message.
Here are three feedback approaches and tips on delivering each...
Approach 1️⃣: Direct
Tell it like it is, focusing on what needs to be fixed without sugarcoating.
When:
- Immediate correction due to urgency or persistent issues.
Tips:
- Get to the point without being harsh
- Say why the correction is needed
- Offer ways to fix the problem
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Groupthink is the Enemy of Innovation
Groupthink is the enemy of innovation.
Have you every joined a meeting to brainstorm, but somehow the solution felt predetermined? You might be experiencing groupthink.
This is a bad place to be. But the signs might be clearer than you think...
Group think isn't a buzzword, it's a real psychological phenomenon that affects you/your team's outcomes.
It happens when people in a group care more about getting along than making the best decision. Potentially overlooking better options or just ignoring people who disagree.
Don't "Fake it til you make it"
Several years ago I told a friend of mine, "sometimes you gotta fake it til you make it"
His response was harsh. He hated the saying and I pushed back. We must have argued over it for a good hour after.
It wasn't until very recently that I got what he meant...
I was so confused about how he reacted; specifically towards the saying. What could the problem be with the saying?
He pressed me... "Has anything you've done been fake?"
He was insistent that simply the view of 'faking' work will hurt me in the long run. Even as a saying.