Sales Blog for Sales and Sales Management

 

Nothing beats a great vacation, and I just came back from mine. My wife, Linda, and I are celebrating 25 years of marital bliss and we took 8 days to visit the Keys. Though I'm not technically a 'sales rep', I do sell. Along the way, I learned valuable selling lessons that would be valuable to anyone selling anything to anyone.

1.  Enjoy the trip.  Enjoy the process of selling.  Our flight was delayed, but we didn't care- we were headed to Key Largo.  Your sales will be delayed sometimes, but as long as you have a plan, you work the plan and you keep your eye on the objective - provide to the prospect what they need, within their pricing parameters, and service the heck out of them. You will get to your ultimate goal.  Relax and have fun.

2.  Expect the unexpected.  As you work your 'sales process,' something will surprise you.  This advice will sound strange, but don't be surprised about the unexpected.  Adjust the strategy, move forward and see what happens next.  We wanted to go Gus' Grill for dinner.  It was closed for renovation, so we walked over the suspension bridge and found ourselves watching an awesome sunset and listening to Jimmy Ray.

3.  You will get lost.  In selling, it is a rare occasion that you go from step 1 to step 8 without getting lost somewhere in the buyer's buying process.  Don't forget they have their own process for buying.  If you ignore their process because you are so determined to get to where you want to go, you'll miss the turns they are making to get to where they want to go.  Our next stop was at the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada.  For some reason, I thought it was on the golf side of Route 1.  So I drove right on by the entrance on the left hand side.  Now we didn't get lost lost; we just missed our turn. The point is I was focused on what I thought versus what was reality.

4.  A sink is a sink.  Selling is selling.  One of the sinks in the twin vanity had a broken stopper.  You know the thing that stops the water and keeps your lenses from going down the sink.  It wasn't major, but it didn't work.  We called the front desk, and they fixed it while we were out.  The thought hit me that it doesn't matter what kind of hotel or lodge you stay in.  Five star or one star, when the sink doesn't work, it just doesn't work.  The same is true in sales and selling.  No matter what you are selling, sales are pretty much sales; and if yours aren't working, then you need to go back to the basics of selling and fix what is broken. (Hmmm, there's an idea. Maybe we should start a blog called 'Sales Plumber'...) 

5.  Blow your own whistle.  Have courage to tell your story.  In the years that we've been doing sales and sales development, it is rare where I meet someone that doesn't have a prospecting problem.  We always have to help companies and their sales reps develop more effective methods of prospecting and prospecting consistency.  We were in Key West, and on the first evening, we did the tourist thing and went to Mallory Square to watch the sunset. That is where we met Dr. Juice.  Dr. Juice is 52 years old and does gymnastics in the square for tips.  The show itself is fun to watch, but watching him drum up business is more fun.  He has a whistle, and for 10 minutes prior to his show, he is blowing it AT people and telling them to come and watch the best show on the square.

I don't know where you are heading this summer on vacation, but I hope you have a wonderful time and travel safely.

I don't know where you are headed with selling, but I do know that no matter where you are, where you've been or where you are going, you can always find ways to to sell more, more quickly at higher margins.

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We've been conducting sales training sessions for individuals and companies for over 15 years now.  One of the biggest challenges that remains to this day is helping sales people execute in the field what they've learned in theory.  You see, it is easy to execute a sales technique in class when there isn't anything riding on the outcome.  It is in the field when the lights are the brightest and the pressure is on when your true sales capabilities show.

How important is it to you to actually use the skills, techniques and approaches that you are convinced will work if only executed upon?  If your answer is 'very important', then read on. 

If your answer is 'not so important', sorry to have wasted your time with this post.

First, let's identify the 5 critical sales capabilities to execute on:

1. Asking the right question the right way at the right time. We call this the rule of 3R.  Asking questions is the key to great selling but only if the questions are the right ones, asked the right way at the right time.
2. Listening to the answer you are about to get. The key here is to listen to understand. The key to that is to know that the problem a prospect brings you is never the real problem.  You have to dig deeper to truly understand.
3. Dig deeper.  You have to master statements like: Tell me more about that.  and questions like:  Why is that so important to you? And, Is that problem compelling enough to take action on?  (Don't ask this too soon. Remember to ask questions at the right time.)
4. Reject rejection.  This doesn't mean to fold up your tent and go home. This means you need to first understand that it isn't personal, so if you don't move forward with this opportunity, you still keep moving forward with your sales activity and other opportunities. Don't let rejection get to your head.
5. Be prepared.  Preparation may not be a skill, but not panicking under pressure or when there is a surprise will allow you to utilize your sales capabilities when you need them the most.

So how do you maximize your opportunity to have these sales capabilities when you need them?

1. When you role play, role play scenarios that are not part of your normal sales life.  If you sell insurance, role play banking.  If you sell a tangible product like autos, role play something else that is tangible.
2. When you role play, make it as tough as it is going to be in real life.
3. Role play frequently.  You should role play when you get ready to make phone calls, when you conduct initial meetings, when you get ready to meet with committees and boards, when you get ready to present and when you are closing.
4. Put yourself in real life scenarios - see lots of people.  It's the journey that will take you from survival to success

Finally, do you remember the old saying that practice makes perfect?  It's not true.  Perfect practice make perfect performance.

Duh.

Well, hold on a second.  Don't translate the title of this final post on 5 Really Important Sales Concepts.  Every sales person has been taught to 'Ask For the Business', 'Always Be Closing', 'Get The Sale'.  The problem with these exhortations is that sales people translate them into 'get a yes'.  Which is different than getting a decision.

Sales people struggle in getting decisions because they are afraid to hear 'no' or their sales leadership has not given them permission to get a 'no'.  If you don't get a 'yes', then typically the next alternative is 'think it over' or any one of its relatives:

• Showing it to someone
• Getting additional proposals
• Going to committee
• Have to look at the numbers
• Haven't met with my current provider yet

All of these are rotten alternatives to a no.  You lose sleep.  You make unreturned phone calls.  You get more delays.  You lose confidence.  You lie to your manager telling them that you 'think' you're in good shape, should close now any day, they liked us, they loved the proposal, it just has to...

Makes you sick just thinking about it, doesn't it?

So, here is the 5th of 5- Get a decision.  Prior to making your presentation, you have to make your pitch as to what happens next.  It sounds something like this:

Let me review to make sure I understand what we need to do next.  First, you want me to come back and provide you with a solution to all of these problems we've discussed today that are costing you lots of heartburn and money.  Next, you want me to provide you with a solution within the guidelines we established relative to your investment of time, money and resources.  And the third item is an assumption. I assume you want me to be able to answer all of your questions at that time.  Does that sound about right?  

Good.  I need for you to be in a position to tell me one of two things, either one is ok. Can I share that with you?

Good.  When I come back and fulfill my part, I need for you to tell me 'yes, this makes all the sense in the world, let's do business' or tell me 'no, we aren't doing business'. I would rather hear yes, but no is ok.  What objections do you have to that process?

This WILL NOT eliminate objections.  It will just move them up in your process and give you the chance to deal with them prior to presenting instead of afterward.  You deal with them now and you either eliminate them as a qualified prospect and don't present or you present to a qualified prospect and get an answer.

I promise you it is better than a 'think it over'

 

In our sales training classes, we spend a great deal of time on the appropriate "attitude" required to be successful in selling. With the right attitude, you can count on consistently executing the required conduct and sales techniques to be successful.  I once heard another sales development expert explain that "sales technique is just a change in language.  You already have a sales language; it just may not be as effective as it could be."  (If you want additional information on "attitude", you can find more posts in our blogs.) 

Today, and for the next 4 days, I am going to focus on 5 really important sales concepts.  You can also call them "techniques" but sometimes problems occur when someone tries to duplicate the exact technique that a trainer uses.  For example, if your facilitator is from the northeast part of a country where the communication style is a little more direct, faster paced and some would describe as "aggressive", but you are a mid-westerner, then you may find yourself failing to bond well with prospects, not because of what you have said, but more because of how you said it.  So, for that reason, we'll focus on the concepts and let you develop your technique. However, with that in mind, don't let your "record collection" or "need for approval" get in the way of executing the concepts. (There I go again- back to attitude)

Today's lesson:  Be unique.

You have your elevator speech, your 15-second commercial, your value proposition, your positioning statement, etc.  It doesn't matter what you call it.  The concept is this:  Have a concise way to describe to someone what you do when you first meet him or her.  Here's the problem.  Everyone in selling has been taught the elevator speech, the 15 second commercial, the value proposition and the positioning statement, etc.  You know it's supposed to describe what you do: 

"I help companies like yours manage their insurance risk." 

"I sell customized clothing to busy executives."

"I own a CPA and tax consulting practice specializing in the needs of companies that generate between 5 and 10 million dollars in revenue".

Sound familiar?  That's the problem.  There is nothing unique about the approach from any one of these statements. Here's the rule about the concept:

What you say should cause the person with whom you are talking to respond either verbally or mentally in one of three ways.  You have to give the prospect a compelling reason to keep listening. When you deliver whatever it is, they should respond with either:

1. "That's me".
2. "How do you do that?"
3. "Tell me more."

Examples:

Insurance:  "I provide people buckets of money in the right amount, at the right cost and at the right time." (How do you do that?)

Banking:  "My clients are companies that discovered that working with a bank should be more than just a place to get money or leave money." (Tell me more.)

Accounting:  "I'm in the business of helping small businesses that are sick and tired of sending the government more money and keeping less." (That's me!)

The idea is to think about what people or companies have chosen to do business with you or your company or why they buy the product and service that they have bought from you. What problem was it that they wanted to go away or solve?  Or what benefit were they looking for that they weren't getting?  Take that information and create your "unique sales approach" (usa).

The technique:  Before you deliver your "usa", you may want to start by telling the person that you are talking to that it is easier to describe what you do by asking a couple of questions. "In a nut shell, what I do is...(deliver your usa)" and close by asking, "May I ask you a question?"

By the way, I work with presidents and CEOs that have at least 10 sales people, generate more than 10 million dollars a year in revenue and want more consistent and predictable sales revenue growth.  If you know anyone that might say, "that's me", send them my way.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sell the sizzle not the steak!  Well duh?  I am very confident that at some point in your sales career you have heard this expression.  What got me thinking about this fundamental sales principle was Seth Godin's post 'In the Mood'. The short version:  Music doesn't teach us how to fall in love it just creates the emotion to fall in love, be in love or look for love.  In other words music, books, theater and movies sell emotion.  Certainly there is a ton, no make that, there are tons of "how to" information on the web and in bookstores on 'how to'.  But it is amazing that with so much "how to" information people still fail to.

How come?  Lack of motivation.

And the same is true for your suspects that fail to become prospects and your prospects that fail to become qualified buyers and your qualified buyers that fail to become clients.  I am confident that you showed them exactly what they need to see or you told them exactly what they needed to hear to solve a problem that they have.  did you motivate them or did you help them motivate themselves. 

That is the key.  A great book that will help you with that aspect of selling is: Story Selling for Financial Advisors.  Forget that the title talks about financial advisors.  I promise you it will help you no matter what you are selling.  It will help you with your ability or lack there of to effectively motivate prospects to take action.  Here is my take on the 3 most important things to do to get people to take action.

1. Accurately identify the real problem or benefit.  The initial problem that someone describes to you or the 'need / want' that is being expressed isn't real.  You have to peel back the layers to get to the real motivation.
2. Once you identify what is real you must ask, 'what happens if you don't fix the problem or realize this benefit.  You must get your propsect to describe an outcome.
3. You must ask if not realizing the benefit is a compelling enough reason to invest time, money or resources to take action.  Take yourself out of the picture.  In other words don't try and self yourself, your company or your product.  None of this is important at this time.  The most important decision that the prospect has to make is: will they take action.

So contrary to the title of this post it sounds like I've avoided the sizzle.  No I haven't.  I've just transferred the responsibility of selling the sizzle to the person that can truly identify the sizzle of buying - the prospect.  If you would like some tools to help you improve your qualifying of prospects follow this link.  Have a perfect day!