The sales manager decided to teach his team about the benefits of determination and perseverance. So, instead of a sales meeting one day he rented a boat and told his team to assemble down at the marina the next morning.
He told them to be prepared to demonstrate their grit and that the best way to prepare for the day was to just be ready for anything.
The day dawned a beautiful pink and blue - filled with possibilities.
At 8 a.m. they pushed off from the dock. The engines picked up speed as the inlet was left behind and the ocean spread out before them. After about a half hour there was nothing to see except water and sky, water and sky. The captain gave the boat a quick little spin as he cut the engines and whereas before a few of the account managers who had been paying attention could have told you from whence they had come, there was now no way to know for sure.
There was no sound except for the lapping of waves against the side of the boat and the sales manager called them together and he said,
"The most successful sales people are those that are most determined. Those that persevere despite extraordinary challenges. Today, we will learn a lesson about determination and perseverance. We are approximately six miles from shore. Each of you will jump into the water and swim to shore. There is no doubt that this will be difficult but I know you can do it. This team has been hand selected by me and I have the greatest faith in each of you."
The sales manager had read many books about the development of winning teams and he had learned his lessons well. He knew that demonstrating faith in his people was one of the keys to getting top performance.
Before the sales manager could say anything more, the most Aggressive account manager dove into the water and started swimming. The most Competitive account manager saw the most Aggressive moving away from the boat and she dove in to try to catch up. The Contrary account manager noted the direction of the first two and dove off the other side of the boat and headed in the opposite direction. Two account managers hesitated and asked the sales manager for more direction. He was frantic however because his three best people were headed in different directions and were now too far from the boat for him to do anything about it. Here's what he said to the two looking for more direction:
"I don't have time to help you right now because I'm busy with an emergency. You're both very smart and talented and I have the greatest faith that you'll take the appropriate action. The key is to get started."
Both Hesitant account managers then dove into the water. They headed in the direction of the first two account managers but, since they had lost sight of them, they were off course from the beginning.
The Rookie account manager was the last one on the boat. By now, the sales manager was busy talking to the captain. His people who were now ridiculously spread out and he had no way to coach them or guide them. Not wanting to bother him, the Rookie account manager dove in and began swimming.
After what he thought was about three hours of swimming, the most Aggressive account manager stopped and looked around. The most Competitive account manager caught up and joined him in looking for land.
"How long do you think we've been swimming?" asked most Aggressive.
"Well, I counted my strokes and based on my usual pace, I would say that we swam about 5 miles," replied most Competitive.
"If that is the case," countered Aggressive, "we'd be able to see land by now."
"I don't see any land, do you?"
"No."
And with that, most Aggressive changed direction. Most Competitive thought about it for a half minute and then raced to catch up to his rapidly disappearing associate. Unbeknownst to both of them, if they had swum another 200 yards in the original direction they would have caught site of land.
At the same time in the complete opposite direction, the Contrary account manager was completely lost and exhausted. She decided to stop and do nothing.
The other three ended up finding each other, decided the task was hopeless and just treaded water until a passing boat picked them up and took them back to shore.
The sales manager was beside himself. He couldn't see any of his people and had no idea if they were succeeding or not. Instead of the day turning into a lesson about determination and perseverance it had become a rescue mission. He stood on the crow's nest and directed the captain to criss cross the ocean until he had rounded up his three best people.
Each was exhausted and extraordinarily discouraged because they didn't achieve the goal. Each had tried as hard as they could to do what the sales manager had asked and they weren't sure how their failure was going to affect the way the sales manager treated them in the future.
The sales manager had literally lost three of his people and his best three were looking at him differently than they had before the day had begun. As the boat made its way back home, he wondered how things had gone so terribly wrong.
Lesson for Account Managers: If you work for an organization that expects your determination and perseverance to take the place of their guidance and coaching, you should look for another job. The best sales organizations work hard to develop an ideal customer profile so they can provide specific direction to account managers. Instead of dropping you into an ocean of possibilities they will be able to point you in a specific direction. Along the way, they will gauge your progress and offer a blend of encouragement and critical feedback that combined with your determination and perseverance will pay off in the form of results.
Lesson for Sales Managers: Talented account managers do not need their talents to be tested by you. If you've done a good job of hiring the most determined or the most focused or the most courageous sellers, then create an environment for those professionals to achieve their goals.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Not Interested in What?
Author's note: This is the 2nd of two parts. If you haven't read the post entitled "No Budget? I'm glad you said that", scroll down and read that post before reading this post.
I needed a part time job so I answered a classified ad in the newspaper for "an energetic, self-starter who loves to sell. . ." Since the ad offered an opportunity to make $10-$12 per hour it seemed like the kind of part time job that might actually allow me to make some money. The hours were right, too, from 6 pm - 9 pm Monday through Thursday.
The first night, I arrived early for "training". This consisted of the sales manager reviewing the scripts that I was to use when calling local citizens and asking them to support the Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association. After he was satisfied that I could read the scripts, I took my place on a metal folding chair on the left side of an 8' folding table. In front of me was a phone. To my right was another folding chair and another phone. In all, there were eight tables in the room.
At a couple minutes before six o'clock, the sales manager went to the front of the room to address the sixteen people who were seated in front of the sixteen phones. I was expecting a motivational speech about the fine work of The Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association or maybe a video of a dramatic rescue. You know the one where a uniformed fire fighter, ashes on his face, climbs down a giant ladder and hands a baby over to its crying mother only to turn around and head back up the ladder! Into the burning building! To rescue the beloved pet!
There was no speech. No video, either.
Instead, he said, "Come up to the front and get your strips. One per person."
Six or seven folks clawed their way to the front and grabbed several pieces of cardboard out of a non-descript box. One guy seemed to be looking for something in particular as he scanned whatever was written on the strip of cardboard and discarded it quickly back into the box. Finding a satisfactory version he returned to his seat and began to rock forward and back. When I finally got to the box, I discovered that a single column of names and phone numbers had been cut from the phone book and pasted onto the cardboard strip. There weren't too many strips left but I didn't know what I was looking for so I took the first one and returned to my seat.
The sales manager then said, "You are expected to make at least 25 calls per hour. You may take another strip when you have finished calling every name on the strip that you have now. Calling ends at 9 o'clock. You may begin."
I looked over at rocking man and I swear he was starting to froth at the corners of his mouth. I started to make calls. Here was the drill: We were selling tickets to an upcoming oldies concert featuring The Platters and a couple other groups that had a hit or two in the late 50's and early 60's. Tickets were $25/pair and the total price was tax deductible. The training that I had received suggested that the best way to approach the citizens that we were calling was to say, "Hi, this is Tim with the Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association, am I speaking with (name from the phone book). After about five phone calls, I understood exactly what the veterans were doing when they examined their strips. They were looking for names that they could pronounce and they were trying to pick last names that weren't obviously foreign. If somebody answered the phone speaking Hindi, you weren't likely to get them to go see The Platters.
My first night I sold a single pair of tickets and the sales manager was ecstatic.
As time went along, I began to understand some patterns in the way that people responded to my script. Essentially, I was learning their script. In order to get a better result, I started to work outside my script and I noticed that the prospects started to respond differently and my sales went up. Soon, I was selling 6 to 8 pairs of tickets per night and the rest of the room was averaging about 3 to 4 pairs. This made me a top seller and I was allowed to choose my strip before the newcomers. Sometimes, just to irritate the most veteran of all the sellers, I would cover my eyes before reaching into the box.
One night, I was feeling very fiesty. Perhaps, twenty people in a row had hung up on me without responding with a single word or they would say, "I'm not interested" and then hang up before I could respond.
Then this is what happened:
Me: "Hi, my name is Tim and I am calling on behalf of the Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association."
Pleasant Sounding Female: "I'm not interested."
Me: "How do you know you're not interested?" (I said this rather loudly because I was ticked off and I could tell that the prospect was delivering the phone back to the cradle.)
P.S. Female: (obviously caught off guard by my outrageous departure from the script) "Excuse me?"
Me: "I was just wondering how it was possible that you knew you weren't interested even before I had the chance to say why I was calling?"
P.S. Female: "Well, I assume you are trying to get me to donate money and I'm not interested in donating money."
Me: "I am 100% convinced that you are interested in what I have to say. Will you give me 15 seconds to tell you why I called so you can make an informed decision about your level of interest?"
P.S. Female: "Um, okay. Fifteen seconds."
Me: "The Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association is raising money by selling tickets to an oldies concert that features the hit group The Platters. I'm sure you like The Platters and I imagine that you are looking for fun things to do with your friends and family. Tickets are cheap at $25 a pair and every seat in the house is a good one."
P.S. Female: "I don't think I'm familiar with The Platters."
By now, I was standing up. A couple of sellers nearby had heard me practically tackle this woman verbally and they had stopped calling to listen.
I stood on my chair and said, "Sure you are! The Platters had huge hits like Only You and The Great Pretender."
P.S. Female: "Those sound vaguely familiar. . ."
Me: "I can't sing but I can recite a few bars for you so that you remember."
I was now standing on the folding table and most of the room was silent except for me as I sang,
"Only you and you alone
can thrill me like you do
all my dreams come true
my one and only you."
P.S. Female: "Oh, yes, now I remember! And The Great Pretender went, 'Yes, I'm the great pretender, pretending that I'm doing well."
Now, we are singing together. Me, standing on my folding table and a woman that I didn't know, in her kitchen somewhere in north Georgia.
. . ."My need is such, I pretend too much. I'm lonely, but no one can tell."
When our inpromptu duet ended right there because we couldn't remember any more words, we both laughed. I climbed down my from temporary stage.
Me: "So, you are interested and you would like to go to the concert and support the fire fighters at the same time."
P.S. Female: "Yes. Go ahead and send me two pairs of tickets. Oh and one other thing. There is this couple that we like to do things with. Give them a call and tell them that I asked you to do it and that we are going to the show and they should go, too."
The sales manager wanted to be mad because I had stood on the table and had interrupted the room with my antics. But, since no one had ever gotten a referral before, he let it go.
I needed a part time job so I answered a classified ad in the newspaper for "an energetic, self-starter who loves to sell. . ." Since the ad offered an opportunity to make $10-$12 per hour it seemed like the kind of part time job that might actually allow me to make some money. The hours were right, too, from 6 pm - 9 pm Monday through Thursday.
The first night, I arrived early for "training". This consisted of the sales manager reviewing the scripts that I was to use when calling local citizens and asking them to support the Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association. After he was satisfied that I could read the scripts, I took my place on a metal folding chair on the left side of an 8' folding table. In front of me was a phone. To my right was another folding chair and another phone. In all, there were eight tables in the room.
At a couple minutes before six o'clock, the sales manager went to the front of the room to address the sixteen people who were seated in front of the sixteen phones. I was expecting a motivational speech about the fine work of The Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association or maybe a video of a dramatic rescue. You know the one where a uniformed fire fighter, ashes on his face, climbs down a giant ladder and hands a baby over to its crying mother only to turn around and head back up the ladder! Into the burning building! To rescue the beloved pet!
There was no speech. No video, either.
Instead, he said, "Come up to the front and get your strips. One per person."
Six or seven folks clawed their way to the front and grabbed several pieces of cardboard out of a non-descript box. One guy seemed to be looking for something in particular as he scanned whatever was written on the strip of cardboard and discarded it quickly back into the box. Finding a satisfactory version he returned to his seat and began to rock forward and back. When I finally got to the box, I discovered that a single column of names and phone numbers had been cut from the phone book and pasted onto the cardboard strip. There weren't too many strips left but I didn't know what I was looking for so I took the first one and returned to my seat.
The sales manager then said, "You are expected to make at least 25 calls per hour. You may take another strip when you have finished calling every name on the strip that you have now. Calling ends at 9 o'clock. You may begin."
I looked over at rocking man and I swear he was starting to froth at the corners of his mouth. I started to make calls. Here was the drill: We were selling tickets to an upcoming oldies concert featuring The Platters and a couple other groups that had a hit or two in the late 50's and early 60's. Tickets were $25/pair and the total price was tax deductible. The training that I had received suggested that the best way to approach the citizens that we were calling was to say, "Hi, this is Tim with the Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association, am I speaking with (name from the phone book). After about five phone calls, I understood exactly what the veterans were doing when they examined their strips. They were looking for names that they could pronounce and they were trying to pick last names that weren't obviously foreign. If somebody answered the phone speaking Hindi, you weren't likely to get them to go see The Platters.
My first night I sold a single pair of tickets and the sales manager was ecstatic.
As time went along, I began to understand some patterns in the way that people responded to my script. Essentially, I was learning their script. In order to get a better result, I started to work outside my script and I noticed that the prospects started to respond differently and my sales went up. Soon, I was selling 6 to 8 pairs of tickets per night and the rest of the room was averaging about 3 to 4 pairs. This made me a top seller and I was allowed to choose my strip before the newcomers. Sometimes, just to irritate the most veteran of all the sellers, I would cover my eyes before reaching into the box.
One night, I was feeling very fiesty. Perhaps, twenty people in a row had hung up on me without responding with a single word or they would say, "I'm not interested" and then hang up before I could respond.
Then this is what happened:
Me: "Hi, my name is Tim and I am calling on behalf of the Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association."
Pleasant Sounding Female: "I'm not interested."
Me: "How do you know you're not interested?" (I said this rather loudly because I was ticked off and I could tell that the prospect was delivering the phone back to the cradle.)
P.S. Female: (obviously caught off guard by my outrageous departure from the script) "Excuse me?"
Me: "I was just wondering how it was possible that you knew you weren't interested even before I had the chance to say why I was calling?"
P.S. Female: "Well, I assume you are trying to get me to donate money and I'm not interested in donating money."
Me: "I am 100% convinced that you are interested in what I have to say. Will you give me 15 seconds to tell you why I called so you can make an informed decision about your level of interest?"
P.S. Female: "Um, okay. Fifteen seconds."
Me: "The Atlanta Fire Fighter's Association is raising money by selling tickets to an oldies concert that features the hit group The Platters. I'm sure you like The Platters and I imagine that you are looking for fun things to do with your friends and family. Tickets are cheap at $25 a pair and every seat in the house is a good one."
P.S. Female: "I don't think I'm familiar with The Platters."
By now, I was standing up. A couple of sellers nearby had heard me practically tackle this woman verbally and they had stopped calling to listen.
I stood on my chair and said, "Sure you are! The Platters had huge hits like Only You and The Great Pretender."
P.S. Female: "Those sound vaguely familiar. . ."
Me: "I can't sing but I can recite a few bars for you so that you remember."
I was now standing on the folding table and most of the room was silent except for me as I sang,
"Only you and you alone
can thrill me like you do
all my dreams come true
my one and only you."
P.S. Female: "Oh, yes, now I remember! And The Great Pretender went, 'Yes, I'm the great pretender, pretending that I'm doing well."
Now, we are singing together. Me, standing on my folding table and a woman that I didn't know, in her kitchen somewhere in north Georgia.
. . ."My need is such, I pretend too much. I'm lonely, but no one can tell."
When our inpromptu duet ended right there because we couldn't remember any more words, we both laughed. I climbed down my from temporary stage.
Me: "So, you are interested and you would like to go to the concert and support the fire fighters at the same time."
P.S. Female: "Yes. Go ahead and send me two pairs of tickets. Oh and one other thing. There is this couple that we like to do things with. Give them a call and tell them that I asked you to do it and that we are going to the show and they should go, too."
The sales manager wanted to be mad because I had stood on the table and had interrupted the room with my antics. But, since no one had ever gotten a referral before, he let it go.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
No Budget? I'm glad you said that.
I was walking the sales floor, looking for someone to help when I overhead one of the account managers say something like, "Okay, then I'll talk to you in March." Since this was November, I was curious why the account manager was agreeing to wait until March to have another conversation about purchasing our products. So, I asked.
The answer: "The customer told me they didn't have it in the budget to make a purchase from us, so I asked him when he would have a new budget and he told me March."
The account manager was kind of pleased with herself. When presented with an objection ("not in the budget" isn't really an objection so much as it is a stall), she tried to overcome the objection by asking an additional question. The question she asked was the most logical question that came to mind.
Have you ever played the game where one person says a word and the other says the first word that comes to mind? I say "black" and you say "white". I say "cloud" and you say "sky".
Buyers and sellers play this game all the time.
Seller at a women's clothing store upon eyeing a shopper, "May I help you?"
Customer, "No, I'm just looking."
Buyer, "We don't have it in the budget."
Seller, "When do you get a new budget?"
Buyer, "March."
Seller, "Great, I'll talk to you then."
If you want to get somewhere in sales, you need to stop playing this game right away. Here are some thoughts on how to do that:
Sellers must realize that people say things according to a script. If you want a different answer than the one you normally get, try saying something dramatically different than that which is expected.
Example: Every single parent of school age children that I know asks their children about their day at school like this:
"How was your day at school?"
Every single kid who has ever been asked this question replies thusly,
"Fine."
Boring and predictable questions from parents get the same boring and predictable answers from their kids. One parent that I know says this to his children,
"Tell me, what was your favorite part of school today?"
This question can not be answered with "fine". This clever parent has broken through the usual roles that he and his children play and is more likely to get a unique and personalized response to his question.
Getting back to my account manager - I said that the next time a prospect told her that "it wasn't in the budget" she should say,
"I am so glad you said that!"
Talk about knocking the prospect off balance. The script has just been thrown out the window. The prospect is completely dumbfounded and must say,
"Really, why?"
"Because everyone says that and if you didn't say that I wouldn't have the slightest idea what to say next."
Since this is completely outside of the usual script, a prospect is very likely to abandon their role as "buyer" and become a real person who interacts with you in a normal and non-scripted way.
When I suggested this, my account manager told me that she couldn't pull it off. Okay, I understand that everyone isn't quite so willing to be silly when dealing with the incredibly serious matter of selling stuff to other people. But, she still needs to come up with answers to scripted objections that do not follow the script and so do you. This will allow her and you to speak to the person behind the role.
Here are some suggestions on how to handle the "I don't have the budget" script:
1) Seller, "That is very interesting."
Buyer, "What's so interesting about it?"
Seller, "Oh, I've just been keeping track of the number of times someone tells me that and you are the 100th person who has said that in the last month. That's a lot of people who don't have a budget for my product. I'm beginning to wonder if the problem is my product."
Buyer, "Well, maybe it's because most companies are already buying a similar product from another vendor and they don't want to add an additional vendor."
Seller, "Is that the situation with your company?"
2) Seller, "That is great news, I think."
Buyer, "Why is it great?"
Seller, "Because that means I have successfully overcome all of the other objections you might have tossed out there and am only awaiting the time when the new budget is approved to get an order."
Buyer, "Well, that's not really what I meant."
Seller, "Yeah, I didn't really think you meant that. I was being a little bit flip. Let me ask you, if you did have the budget right now, would we be doing business today or is there some other stuff we should be discussing about how my products can help you achieve your goals?"
3) Seller, "May I ask you a ridiculous question?"
Buyer, "Okay."
Seller, "Do you have an ice cream budget in your house?"
Buyer, "What? No, of course not."
Seller, "Me, neither. When we want to buy ice cream we just do it and then maybe spend a little bit less on some other grocery item if the ice cream puts us over budget. That just makes sense with ice cream. But, it makes sense with other purchases, too. Let me ask you this, if my product really helped you achieve your goals and you were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was true, wouldn't you be able to find the money and then just cut back on some other business expense to avoid going over budget?"
Remember, when a prospect tosses out a scripted stall or objection, refuse to play along. You'll end up getting a unique and personalized response that allows you to have a conversation with an actual person and not someone just playing a role.
For a real life example of how this worked for me, please check back again tomorrow for my post entitled "Not interested in what?"
The answer: "The customer told me they didn't have it in the budget to make a purchase from us, so I asked him when he would have a new budget and he told me March."
The account manager was kind of pleased with herself. When presented with an objection ("not in the budget" isn't really an objection so much as it is a stall), she tried to overcome the objection by asking an additional question. The question she asked was the most logical question that came to mind.
Have you ever played the game where one person says a word and the other says the first word that comes to mind? I say "black" and you say "white". I say "cloud" and you say "sky".
Buyers and sellers play this game all the time.
Seller at a women's clothing store upon eyeing a shopper, "May I help you?"
Customer, "No, I'm just looking."
Buyer, "We don't have it in the budget."
Seller, "When do you get a new budget?"
Buyer, "March."
Seller, "Great, I'll talk to you then."
If you want to get somewhere in sales, you need to stop playing this game right away. Here are some thoughts on how to do that:
Sellers must realize that people say things according to a script. If you want a different answer than the one you normally get, try saying something dramatically different than that which is expected.
Example: Every single parent of school age children that I know asks their children about their day at school like this:
"How was your day at school?"
Every single kid who has ever been asked this question replies thusly,
"Fine."
Boring and predictable questions from parents get the same boring and predictable answers from their kids. One parent that I know says this to his children,
"Tell me, what was your favorite part of school today?"
This question can not be answered with "fine". This clever parent has broken through the usual roles that he and his children play and is more likely to get a unique and personalized response to his question.
Getting back to my account manager - I said that the next time a prospect told her that "it wasn't in the budget" she should say,
"I am so glad you said that!"
Talk about knocking the prospect off balance. The script has just been thrown out the window. The prospect is completely dumbfounded and must say,
"Really, why?"
"Because everyone says that and if you didn't say that I wouldn't have the slightest idea what to say next."
Since this is completely outside of the usual script, a prospect is very likely to abandon their role as "buyer" and become a real person who interacts with you in a normal and non-scripted way.
When I suggested this, my account manager told me that she couldn't pull it off. Okay, I understand that everyone isn't quite so willing to be silly when dealing with the incredibly serious matter of selling stuff to other people. But, she still needs to come up with answers to scripted objections that do not follow the script and so do you. This will allow her and you to speak to the person behind the role.
Here are some suggestions on how to handle the "I don't have the budget" script:
1) Seller, "That is very interesting."
Buyer, "What's so interesting about it?"
Seller, "Oh, I've just been keeping track of the number of times someone tells me that and you are the 100th person who has said that in the last month. That's a lot of people who don't have a budget for my product. I'm beginning to wonder if the problem is my product."
Buyer, "Well, maybe it's because most companies are already buying a similar product from another vendor and they don't want to add an additional vendor."
Seller, "Is that the situation with your company?"
2) Seller, "That is great news, I think."
Buyer, "Why is it great?"
Seller, "Because that means I have successfully overcome all of the other objections you might have tossed out there and am only awaiting the time when the new budget is approved to get an order."
Buyer, "Well, that's not really what I meant."
Seller, "Yeah, I didn't really think you meant that. I was being a little bit flip. Let me ask you, if you did have the budget right now, would we be doing business today or is there some other stuff we should be discussing about how my products can help you achieve your goals?"
3) Seller, "May I ask you a ridiculous question?"
Buyer, "Okay."
Seller, "Do you have an ice cream budget in your house?"
Buyer, "What? No, of course not."
Seller, "Me, neither. When we want to buy ice cream we just do it and then maybe spend a little bit less on some other grocery item if the ice cream puts us over budget. That just makes sense with ice cream. But, it makes sense with other purchases, too. Let me ask you this, if my product really helped you achieve your goals and you were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was true, wouldn't you be able to find the money and then just cut back on some other business expense to avoid going over budget?"
Remember, when a prospect tosses out a scripted stall or objection, refuse to play along. You'll end up getting a unique and personalized response that allows you to have a conversation with an actual person and not someone just playing a role.
For a real life example of how this worked for me, please check back again tomorrow for my post entitled "Not interested in what?"
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Worst Sales Call I Ever Made!
Comeupance. That's the word that comes to mind. Like a karmic shot to the solar plexus. The kind that knocks all the wind out of you, leaving you doubled over and unable to speak. That's what I got one beautiful Winter day in 1996 - a comeupance.
I was the Director of Olympic Sales for The Official Olympic Information Radio Station. Chances are that you didn't know there was such a thing as The Official Olympic Information Radio Station because chances are that our radio station was the first and only one to be so designated. This was supposed to mean that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games would favor us with exclusive access to Olympic athletes and information. We would then package these nuggets of fascination into vignettes and then sell sponsorship to the vignettes and other Olympic news. What it really meant was that we were the only radio station willing to fork over money to be designated as The Official Olympic Information Radio Station. Since the station had forked over the money and now needed a return on its investment, I was hired to direct the efforts of the sales team. That is how I became the only Director of Olympic Sales at a radio station in the history of the Olympics - which dates back a couple of thousand years, you know.
Pretty special I was and on that Winter day in early 1996, my specialness was about to pay off because I had an appointment with the V. P. of Media at one of Atlanta's biggest advertising agencies. This big agency represented one of the biggest local sponsors of the Olympic Games and I was headed in there to make a presentation regarding sponsorship opportunities on The Official Olympic Information Radio Station. By my side was the #1 biller at our radio station. We'll call her Dee.
Dee had the relationship with the agency and she had worked long and hard at my request to get us an appointment. On the day of the appointment, she came by my desk and said, "Ready?".
I was ready. I had a 30-slide Powerpoint presentation. As everyone knows, a Powerpoint presentation is the key to all sales. (My understanding is that Powerpoint is so powerful that President Bush used it to sell the Iraq war to Congress.) My Powerpoint presentation had shiny graphics, cool fades both in and out and it even had music. Totally freakin' cool.
On the way up the elevator to the penthouse suite, Dee says to me, "What role would you like me to play in the presentation?"
A reasonable question from the #1 biller at the radio station. After all, she had about $4 billion dollars worth of revenue on the books, knew everything there was to know about our radio station and the Olympic programs and had the relationship with the agency.
"When you see an opportunity to jump in, just be ready to support my position with some sort of joyful agreement," I said.
"Okay." But, it wasn't really an "okay" as in "sounds good". It was an "okay" where the "o" is separated from the "kay" and the "o" is said in a higher pitch than the "kay". Kind of in "that sounds like a foolish plan from a foolish man".
We are ushered into a fabulous corner office with a spectacular view of the Olympic city. After a few niceties we settled into chairs. Well, I sat on a chair on one side of a coffee table while Dee and The Client sat on a couch on the other side.
I said, "Thanks for agreeing to meet with us. I have prepared a presentation to familiarize you with our Olympic features and then would like to discuss ways to customize our assets into a program that helps your client activate their Olympic sponsorship on a local level."
"Sounds good."
So, I break out my laptop and notice that I have forgotten my cord. Slight concern but I know that I have two hours of battery power and the Powerpoint shouldn't take longer than thirty minutes.
Someone forget to tell the laptop, though, and it went blank on the third slide.
There would be no shiny graphics.
No fades in or out.
No music.
I rummaged around in my computer bag and pulled out a pamphlet that the radio station had printed. This showed all the elements of our programs. I decided to explain each program element.
One of our cooler elements were vignettes that were produced by a reporter named Ed Hula. Ed used to be a network radio reporter or something like that until he decided to follow the Olympic games exclusively. The primary way that he made money was selling subscriptions to his Olympic Newsletter. His audio vignettes aired exclusively on our station.
So, I was going on about Ed Hula and how cool he was and how he had become well-known for his Olympic coverage.
"In fact, there is a picture of him with Juan Antonio Samaranch (the head honcho of the Internation Olympic Committee) on our brochure."
Dee and the client said together, "Where?"
"Right there on the back of the brochure."
Dee leaned over to look at the client's brochure and said, "That's not Ed Hula, that is Billy Payne (local lawyer who had practically singlehandedly brought the Olympics to Atlanta)."
Perhaps, I blacked out. I'm not sure. The next thing I remember is me and Dee back in the elevator - heading down.
Dee looks at my reflection on the mirrored walls of the elevator doors and says, "That went well."
I would have answered but I was having trouble breathing.
Lessons learned:
1) Be prepared. Many of us walk out the door with our shirttails hanging out and our ties in a loop around our necks. We don't have respect for deadlines and assume we can wing it if something goes wrong. C'mon. We're better than that. Let's resolve to be 100% ready to leave at least 30 minutes before necessary so we can double check things like laptop cords.
2) Be intimately familiar with your presentation materials. How is it possible to think that a picture of Billy Payne is one of Ed Hula? Maybe because I hadn't read the caption under the picture. Maybe because I had never asked anyone. Maybe because I was an arrogant fool.
3) Assume your technology is not going to work. We should have had a second laptop and the presentation should have been burned on a disk. The presentation should have been printed!
4) Get your team on the same page. Dee really didn't mind that I had failed because she wasn't a part of the presentation from the beginning. Ridiculous! She was the expert - not me. I should have put her in the spotlight and been happy to play a supporting role. That's what sales manager are for - support of sales people.
Well, it was a long time ago and I am a better seller and sales manager for having experienced it. Now, it's time for you to share a story and the lessons learned. Click on "comments" below and let us know your worst sales call.
I was the Director of Olympic Sales for The Official Olympic Information Radio Station. Chances are that you didn't know there was such a thing as The Official Olympic Information Radio Station because chances are that our radio station was the first and only one to be so designated. This was supposed to mean that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games would favor us with exclusive access to Olympic athletes and information. We would then package these nuggets of fascination into vignettes and then sell sponsorship to the vignettes and other Olympic news. What it really meant was that we were the only radio station willing to fork over money to be designated as The Official Olympic Information Radio Station. Since the station had forked over the money and now needed a return on its investment, I was hired to direct the efforts of the sales team. That is how I became the only Director of Olympic Sales at a radio station in the history of the Olympics - which dates back a couple of thousand years, you know.
Pretty special I was and on that Winter day in early 1996, my specialness was about to pay off because I had an appointment with the V. P. of Media at one of Atlanta's biggest advertising agencies. This big agency represented one of the biggest local sponsors of the Olympic Games and I was headed in there to make a presentation regarding sponsorship opportunities on The Official Olympic Information Radio Station. By my side was the #1 biller at our radio station. We'll call her Dee.
Dee had the relationship with the agency and she had worked long and hard at my request to get us an appointment. On the day of the appointment, she came by my desk and said, "Ready?".
I was ready. I had a 30-slide Powerpoint presentation. As everyone knows, a Powerpoint presentation is the key to all sales. (My understanding is that Powerpoint is so powerful that President Bush used it to sell the Iraq war to Congress.) My Powerpoint presentation had shiny graphics, cool fades both in and out and it even had music. Totally freakin' cool.
On the way up the elevator to the penthouse suite, Dee says to me, "What role would you like me to play in the presentation?"
A reasonable question from the #1 biller at the radio station. After all, she had about $4 billion dollars worth of revenue on the books, knew everything there was to know about our radio station and the Olympic programs and had the relationship with the agency.
"When you see an opportunity to jump in, just be ready to support my position with some sort of joyful agreement," I said.
"Okay." But, it wasn't really an "okay" as in "sounds good". It was an "okay" where the "o" is separated from the "kay" and the "o" is said in a higher pitch than the "kay". Kind of in "that sounds like a foolish plan from a foolish man".
We are ushered into a fabulous corner office with a spectacular view of the Olympic city. After a few niceties we settled into chairs. Well, I sat on a chair on one side of a coffee table while Dee and The Client sat on a couch on the other side.
I said, "Thanks for agreeing to meet with us. I have prepared a presentation to familiarize you with our Olympic features and then would like to discuss ways to customize our assets into a program that helps your client activate their Olympic sponsorship on a local level."
"Sounds good."
So, I break out my laptop and notice that I have forgotten my cord. Slight concern but I know that I have two hours of battery power and the Powerpoint shouldn't take longer than thirty minutes.
Someone forget to tell the laptop, though, and it went blank on the third slide.
There would be no shiny graphics.
No fades in or out.
No music.
I rummaged around in my computer bag and pulled out a pamphlet that the radio station had printed. This showed all the elements of our programs. I decided to explain each program element.
One of our cooler elements were vignettes that were produced by a reporter named Ed Hula. Ed used to be a network radio reporter or something like that until he decided to follow the Olympic games exclusively. The primary way that he made money was selling subscriptions to his Olympic Newsletter. His audio vignettes aired exclusively on our station.
So, I was going on about Ed Hula and how cool he was and how he had become well-known for his Olympic coverage.
"In fact, there is a picture of him with Juan Antonio Samaranch (the head honcho of the Internation Olympic Committee) on our brochure."
Dee and the client said together, "Where?"
"Right there on the back of the brochure."
Dee leaned over to look at the client's brochure and said, "That's not Ed Hula, that is Billy Payne (local lawyer who had practically singlehandedly brought the Olympics to Atlanta)."
Perhaps, I blacked out. I'm not sure. The next thing I remember is me and Dee back in the elevator - heading down.
Dee looks at my reflection on the mirrored walls of the elevator doors and says, "That went well."
I would have answered but I was having trouble breathing.
Lessons learned:
1) Be prepared. Many of us walk out the door with our shirttails hanging out and our ties in a loop around our necks. We don't have respect for deadlines and assume we can wing it if something goes wrong. C'mon. We're better than that. Let's resolve to be 100% ready to leave at least 30 minutes before necessary so we can double check things like laptop cords.
2) Be intimately familiar with your presentation materials. How is it possible to think that a picture of Billy Payne is one of Ed Hula? Maybe because I hadn't read the caption under the picture. Maybe because I had never asked anyone. Maybe because I was an arrogant fool.
3) Assume your technology is not going to work. We should have had a second laptop and the presentation should have been burned on a disk. The presentation should have been printed!
4) Get your team on the same page. Dee really didn't mind that I had failed because she wasn't a part of the presentation from the beginning. Ridiculous! She was the expert - not me. I should have put her in the spotlight and been happy to play a supporting role. That's what sales manager are for - support of sales people.
Well, it was a long time ago and I am a better seller and sales manager for having experienced it. Now, it's time for you to share a story and the lessons learned. Click on "comments" below and let us know your worst sales call.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Thank you?
Craig was the first one at work every single day. Always by 7 am. Not 7:05 am but 7:00 am sharp. Craig also wore his suit coat at his desk. I've known very few men who wear their suit coats while sitting in their own office unless they were cold. Craig wasn't cold, he was particular.
A creature of habit.
Some would say obsessive.
Here's what Craig did the first thing each and every day: he wrote Thank You notes. Craig was the sales manager so he was aware of every order that the company received. If you bought something on a Monday, Craig would write you a Thank You note on Tuesday. The notes were always handwritten on personalized stationery and stamped - never metered.
One day I asked Craig why he wrote a Thank You note to each and every person that bought something from our company. The reason was simple enough: Craig wanted folks to know that he was thankful for their business and he was trying to differentiate our company from our competition.
Here is the problem with what Craig was doing:
1) As the Sales Manager, Craig was not involved in every sale. This made his Thank You seem hollow and contrived.
2) Many customers made repeat purchases on a monthly or more frequent basis. Craig sent them a Thank You just the same as he did for a new customer. This gave his Thank You's the impact of wallpaper. "Oh, here's another card from Craig - the 15th we've received this year!"
3) His Thank You's were reflexive. Somebody sneezes and half the office says, "God Bless you." Somebody buys something and Craig fires off a Thank You.
Don't get me wrong. There is obviously nothing wrong with blessing someone when they sneeze and there is nothing wrong with thanking someone that has done business with you. Here in the South it isn't unusual for someone to bless you when you do business with them and I'm okay with that, too.
Here are my rules for a Thank You:
1) Send a Thank You the first time someone does business with you. If your Sales Manager would like to send a Thank You, make sure that she sends it a couple of days after yours has gone out.
2) Make a reference to something specific that happened during the course of the transaction so that the customer understands that your Thank You's are customized.
3) Take a hint from Craig and always handwrite the Thank You's on stationery and stamp the envelope.
4) Find a reason besides "differentiation" to send a personal communication to your customers.
I started thinking about Craig and his Thank You's because a relative of mine works at Nordstrom and she is talking about how she plans to send Thank You notes to her customers. This is a good way for her to differentiate herself from every other department store salesperson. But, rule #4 says that differentiation is not enough.
Think about it. She works in the shoe department and while there are those lunatics that buy shoes every week, most people only buy shoes a couple of times per year. The Thank You notes that made her different might be long forgotten by the time a customer decides to buy another pair of shoes. To make the Thank You work for her, she needs to have another goal, besides differentiation, in mind.
You may not know this but at Nordstrom, the salespeople, while they are assigned to a department, are allowed to sell merchandise in any department. Do you see where I'm going?
My relative is now sending out Thank You's that look like this:
Dear (Customer),
Thank you very much for purchasing (specific product) from Nordstrom. With Spring rapidly approaching I wanted to let you know that in addition to being able to help you with all of your shoe needs, I can also help you shop in every Nordstrom department! Several of my customers already take advantage of this service, which costs nothing extra. So, the next time you come to Nordstrom, find me in the shoe department and I'll be your personal shopper for as long as you need.
You aren't writing to thank Grandma for sending you $5 on your birthday. C'mon, make this very personal communication work for you!
A creature of habit.
Some would say obsessive.
Here's what Craig did the first thing each and every day: he wrote Thank You notes. Craig was the sales manager so he was aware of every order that the company received. If you bought something on a Monday, Craig would write you a Thank You note on Tuesday. The notes were always handwritten on personalized stationery and stamped - never metered.
One day I asked Craig why he wrote a Thank You note to each and every person that bought something from our company. The reason was simple enough: Craig wanted folks to know that he was thankful for their business and he was trying to differentiate our company from our competition.
Here is the problem with what Craig was doing:
1) As the Sales Manager, Craig was not involved in every sale. This made his Thank You seem hollow and contrived.
2) Many customers made repeat purchases on a monthly or more frequent basis. Craig sent them a Thank You just the same as he did for a new customer. This gave his Thank You's the impact of wallpaper. "Oh, here's another card from Craig - the 15th we've received this year!"
3) His Thank You's were reflexive. Somebody sneezes and half the office says, "God Bless you." Somebody buys something and Craig fires off a Thank You.
Don't get me wrong. There is obviously nothing wrong with blessing someone when they sneeze and there is nothing wrong with thanking someone that has done business with you. Here in the South it isn't unusual for someone to bless you when you do business with them and I'm okay with that, too.
Here are my rules for a Thank You:
1) Send a Thank You the first time someone does business with you. If your Sales Manager would like to send a Thank You, make sure that she sends it a couple of days after yours has gone out.
2) Make a reference to something specific that happened during the course of the transaction so that the customer understands that your Thank You's are customized.
3) Take a hint from Craig and always handwrite the Thank You's on stationery and stamp the envelope.
4) Find a reason besides "differentiation" to send a personal communication to your customers.
I started thinking about Craig and his Thank You's because a relative of mine works at Nordstrom and she is talking about how she plans to send Thank You notes to her customers. This is a good way for her to differentiate herself from every other department store salesperson. But, rule #4 says that differentiation is not enough.
Think about it. She works in the shoe department and while there are those lunatics that buy shoes every week, most people only buy shoes a couple of times per year. The Thank You notes that made her different might be long forgotten by the time a customer decides to buy another pair of shoes. To make the Thank You work for her, she needs to have another goal, besides differentiation, in mind.
You may not know this but at Nordstrom, the salespeople, while they are assigned to a department, are allowed to sell merchandise in any department. Do you see where I'm going?
My relative is now sending out Thank You's that look like this:
Dear (Customer),
Thank you very much for purchasing (specific product) from Nordstrom. With Spring rapidly approaching I wanted to let you know that in addition to being able to help you with all of your shoe needs, I can also help you shop in every Nordstrom department! Several of my customers already take advantage of this service, which costs nothing extra. So, the next time you come to Nordstrom, find me in the shoe department and I'll be your personal shopper for as long as you need.
You aren't writing to thank Grandma for sending you $5 on your birthday. C'mon, make this very personal communication work for you!
Lessons from the game
Did you watch the game yesterday? The NFC Championship game, of course. The NY Giants visited the frigid domain of the Green Bay Packers and came out with a win to go to the Super Bowl. The game was great but I don't want to talk about touchdowns. There was one play that holds a lesson for all those entrusted with getting the most out of other people.
The game is tied at 20 with only 7 or 8 minutes to play in the 4th quarter.
Try to imagine, for a second, what the conditions must have felt like. You are playing football against the biggest and fastest men in all of sports and they are hitting you and the temperature is -4. The ground is cement, the ball is a rock. The winner goes to the Super Bowl!
The Giants' drive is stalled at approximately the 25 yard line of the Packers. Time to kick the go ahead field goal and then hope to stop the Packers one more time. Into the game comes Lawrence Tynes. Just like every kicker on every NFL team, Tynes had to earn his position. He tried out for the team and was the very best kicker the Giants could find. The very best!
The rock is snapped and held and Tynes swings his leg through just like he has done thousands of times. But, this time the ball is not flying majestically through the golden uprights. This time, the ball that has become a rock in -4 degrees, is hurtling leftward - away from victory. The best kicker on the Giants has failed.
As Tynes walks off the field, his coach Tom Coughlin walks towards him with a menacing look. The weather has turned Coughlin's face into a reddish blob. While all of us watched, Coughlin proceeds to yell at his best kicker.
"Come on!" Coughlin slaps his game plan into his gloved hand. "Come on!" Tynes looks away as Coughlin continues to yell.
With 4 seconds to play in the 4th quarter, the Giants have the ball at the Packers 20 yard line and bring in Tynes to try what has become the sure game winner. The snap is a little high but the hold is good and the kick. Well, the kick is terrible. Far worse than the last one.
Coughlin hangs his head. No doubt he should have because the very best coach that the NY Giants could find has failed.
Managers are given or they recruit the very best players they can find. It's true in football and it's true in sales. Then, the managers are asked to get the best performance from those players. The key to doing that is to coach the players - always having them focus on their own behavior and performance during each interaction.
When managers yell at players and berate them in front of their teammates, whose behavior is the player focusing on? Of course, it is the coach.
After Tynes missed the second field goal, he was walking off the field looking at his shoes. A teammate, I don't know which one, caught up to him and put his arm around his shoulder and put his face close to the earhole in his helmet. The teammate said something - I don't know what. But, one could tell by the way the thoughts were delivered that the teammate was encouraging and empathetic.
A few minutes later in overtime, the Giants intercept the ball and drive to the Packers 30 yard line. In overtime, the team to score first wins. Onto the field walks Tynes to try a 47 yard field goal. The temperature is the same. The ball is still a rock. The winner still goes to the Super Bowl and the loser still goes home.
But now, the thoughts the very best kicker the Giants could find are different than last time. This time his thoughts are on what he must do to succeed.
And this time, he does.
The game is tied at 20 with only 7 or 8 minutes to play in the 4th quarter.
Try to imagine, for a second, what the conditions must have felt like. You are playing football against the biggest and fastest men in all of sports and they are hitting you and the temperature is -4. The ground is cement, the ball is a rock. The winner goes to the Super Bowl!
The Giants' drive is stalled at approximately the 25 yard line of the Packers. Time to kick the go ahead field goal and then hope to stop the Packers one more time. Into the game comes Lawrence Tynes. Just like every kicker on every NFL team, Tynes had to earn his position. He tried out for the team and was the very best kicker the Giants could find. The very best!
The rock is snapped and held and Tynes swings his leg through just like he has done thousands of times. But, this time the ball is not flying majestically through the golden uprights. This time, the ball that has become a rock in -4 degrees, is hurtling leftward - away from victory. The best kicker on the Giants has failed.
As Tynes walks off the field, his coach Tom Coughlin walks towards him with a menacing look. The weather has turned Coughlin's face into a reddish blob. While all of us watched, Coughlin proceeds to yell at his best kicker.
"Come on!" Coughlin slaps his game plan into his gloved hand. "Come on!" Tynes looks away as Coughlin continues to yell.
With 4 seconds to play in the 4th quarter, the Giants have the ball at the Packers 20 yard line and bring in Tynes to try what has become the sure game winner. The snap is a little high but the hold is good and the kick. Well, the kick is terrible. Far worse than the last one.
Coughlin hangs his head. No doubt he should have because the very best coach that the NY Giants could find has failed.
Managers are given or they recruit the very best players they can find. It's true in football and it's true in sales. Then, the managers are asked to get the best performance from those players. The key to doing that is to coach the players - always having them focus on their own behavior and performance during each interaction.
When managers yell at players and berate them in front of their teammates, whose behavior is the player focusing on? Of course, it is the coach.
After Tynes missed the second field goal, he was walking off the field looking at his shoes. A teammate, I don't know which one, caught up to him and put his arm around his shoulder and put his face close to the earhole in his helmet. The teammate said something - I don't know what. But, one could tell by the way the thoughts were delivered that the teammate was encouraging and empathetic.
A few minutes later in overtime, the Giants intercept the ball and drive to the Packers 30 yard line. In overtime, the team to score first wins. Onto the field walks Tynes to try a 47 yard field goal. The temperature is the same. The ball is still a rock. The winner still goes to the Super Bowl and the loser still goes home.
But now, the thoughts the very best kicker the Giants could find are different than last time. This time his thoughts are on what he must do to succeed.
And this time, he does.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Can you sell?
Successful sales people in every industry make good money. Good money attracts candidates to sales. I've had the good fortune to interview many dozens of candidates. In each interview, I am trying to determine if the candidate can sell.
While this may border on the obvious, there really isn't any reason to continue with an interview about the specific type of selling a candidate would have to perform at the job for which I am interviewing if, in fact, they simply can't sell.
A question that I will often ask is: "What did you sell when you were a kid?"
The questionable candidate will repeat the question in an effort to buy time.
"What did I sell when I was a kid."
I wait.
They stare off into the distance and then thoughtfully reply,
"I sold Girl Scout cookies." Or, "I had a lemonade stand during the Summer."
Now, there is nothing wrong with having sold Girl Scout cookies or operating a lemonade stand. But, let's be honest. Most girls do not actually "sell" their own cookies. Parents take the order form to work and tape it to their doors and co-workers sign up for what they want. Some parents drive their kids around and stop at the neighbors they know. Same with lemonade stands. Isn't it usually the case that parents are trying to find something their bored kids can do for a couple hours on those long Summer days? Mom finds the card table and folding chairs, makes up a big batch of lemonade. The kids then stand by the street waving at neighbors. Some, especially those who remember that this was one of the nice neighbors that bought cookies from their scout, stop by for what amounts to a donation.
When I ask the question of a strong candidate, a broad smile crosses her face and she says,
"When I was about six I took my Mom's kitchen broom and went door-to-door offering to sweep porches for a quarter."
Or,
"When I was in junior high, I set up a type of carnival in the front yard. Then, I made up a bunch of flyers and put them on every mailbox in the neighborhood. The kids from ten blocks away came to check out the games."
Or,
"When I was ten, I remember that we had lots of extra tomatoes from our garden. I mean hundreds that we couldn't use. So, I put them in my Dad's wheelbarrow and set up on a busy corner selling tomatoes for a nickel each."
Each of these examples have a few characteristics that are important indicators the person sitting in front of me is a seller. Those are:
1) The example occurs at an early age. Selling involves innate talent. While the skills required to sell enterprise software are not developed in any other way than actually working for a company that sells this product, the ability to sell and the drive to convince others to your point of view is inherent. Every strong seller that I have ever met has always been selling.
2) The sales activity was initiated and directed by the candidate. Oh, the Mom may have said it was okay to take the kitchen broom or the Dad took the wheelbarrow off the garage wall. But, it was the child who thought of the idea and took action to make it happen.
3) The money wasn't the most important factor. Most candidates will have no memory of how much money they made on any particular venture despite remembering most of the other details. While there is nothing wrong with money being a motivator for a child to sell stuff, most of the time the examples being sited were done for a love of selling and not for money.
What to make of the candidate who doesn't have an example of selling early in life? In my mind, this candidate starts as a "B". While he may have lots of selling skills and experiences, he is likely to be a contributor to the sales department and not the leader. Some may think that's okay. After all, everyone can't be the best and companies need "B" players.
These are the type of sales managers against whom I love to compete. I'll bring my "A" players and you bring your "B" players and let's get it on.
While this may border on the obvious, there really isn't any reason to continue with an interview about the specific type of selling a candidate would have to perform at the job for which I am interviewing if, in fact, they simply can't sell.
A question that I will often ask is: "What did you sell when you were a kid?"
The questionable candidate will repeat the question in an effort to buy time.
"What did I sell when I was a kid."
I wait.
They stare off into the distance and then thoughtfully reply,
"I sold Girl Scout cookies." Or, "I had a lemonade stand during the Summer."
Now, there is nothing wrong with having sold Girl Scout cookies or operating a lemonade stand. But, let's be honest. Most girls do not actually "sell" their own cookies. Parents take the order form to work and tape it to their doors and co-workers sign up for what they want. Some parents drive their kids around and stop at the neighbors they know. Same with lemonade stands. Isn't it usually the case that parents are trying to find something their bored kids can do for a couple hours on those long Summer days? Mom finds the card table and folding chairs, makes up a big batch of lemonade. The kids then stand by the street waving at neighbors. Some, especially those who remember that this was one of the nice neighbors that bought cookies from their scout, stop by for what amounts to a donation.
When I ask the question of a strong candidate, a broad smile crosses her face and she says,
"When I was about six I took my Mom's kitchen broom and went door-to-door offering to sweep porches for a quarter."
Or,
"When I was in junior high, I set up a type of carnival in the front yard. Then, I made up a bunch of flyers and put them on every mailbox in the neighborhood. The kids from ten blocks away came to check out the games."
Or,
"When I was ten, I remember that we had lots of extra tomatoes from our garden. I mean hundreds that we couldn't use. So, I put them in my Dad's wheelbarrow and set up on a busy corner selling tomatoes for a nickel each."
Each of these examples have a few characteristics that are important indicators the person sitting in front of me is a seller. Those are:
1) The example occurs at an early age. Selling involves innate talent. While the skills required to sell enterprise software are not developed in any other way than actually working for a company that sells this product, the ability to sell and the drive to convince others to your point of view is inherent. Every strong seller that I have ever met has always been selling.
2) The sales activity was initiated and directed by the candidate. Oh, the Mom may have said it was okay to take the kitchen broom or the Dad took the wheelbarrow off the garage wall. But, it was the child who thought of the idea and took action to make it happen.
3) The money wasn't the most important factor. Most candidates will have no memory of how much money they made on any particular venture despite remembering most of the other details. While there is nothing wrong with money being a motivator for a child to sell stuff, most of the time the examples being sited were done for a love of selling and not for money.
What to make of the candidate who doesn't have an example of selling early in life? In my mind, this candidate starts as a "B". While he may have lots of selling skills and experiences, he is likely to be a contributor to the sales department and not the leader. Some may think that's okay. After all, everyone can't be the best and companies need "B" players.
These are the type of sales managers against whom I love to compete. I'll bring my "A" players and you bring your "B" players and let's get it on.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Introduction
Perspectives are like a**holes - everyone has one. My wife thinks that while I might agree with this nugget of wisdom, she also suspects that the only one I really care about is my own.
Perspective that is.
Not true, of course. I also care about the opinions of those who agree with me.
This is my first entry so I feel obligated to let you know what this blog is all about so that your comments are relevant. Later, I'll either just delete the irrelevant or deride you unmercifully for sending it in. Depends upon my mood.
I am a sales and marketing professional who loves to talk about sales, selling techniques, sales books, sales gurus, etc. I also like to analyze marketing strategies and tactics. If you like that stuff, then you'll like this blog. Here's how I am going to contribute: I am going to write narratives about whatever strikes me. You may contribute by any of the following: 1) post comments agreeing with my keen observation skills, 2) ask my opinion about specific sales and marketing issues, 3) recommend books or articles that illustrate the points that I have been making or which seem to agree with me and 4) pass along the link to this blog so that our little community grows into a great big community.
Not too long ago, I was grocery shopping. This is something that I like to do and I do it quite often. Our family needs groceries frequently and I am just not capable of going once per week and buying $600 worth of stuff. Instead, I go three or four times per week and buy whatever strikes my fancy. Sometimes I go to the grocery store just to look - kind of the way that folks go to the mall. While I don't go to the mall to look, I feel a kinship with those who derive pleasure from doing so. So, I am checking out and the cashier says something cheerful to me like, "How are you today?"
I am fine so I say so. The cashier then begins scanning my items and sliding them down to the bagger. Inexplicably, the bagger says something to me. Perhaps, the bagger doesn't understand that I don't have a relationship with him. My relationship is with the cashier and we have already consumated with a banal greeting. Later, we'll terminate with a "thank you" and a "hurry back". Not only wasn't I expecting the bagger to say something but I was a bit taken aback by his boldness in assuming that I have an interest in developing a second relationship while paying for my groceries. Having not expected any remarks from the bagger, I didn't hear what he said, so I said, "Excuse me?"
When I told my wife this story, it must be noted that she interrupted me at this point to ask me in which tone I said the "excuse me".
"Did you say it as if you were some superior being whose deep and meaningful existence had been interrupted by some street peasant?"
Now, I ask you, is this any way to ask a question? At this point, I should have suspended the story and waited to tell it to a more favorable audience.
"No, I just said it as if I hadn't heard what he said."
"Umph."
Anyway, the bagger then says to me, "Refrigerated calzone, what will they think of next?" So, I smiled at him as if in agreement that a refrigerated calzone was, in fact, as amazing an invention as, say, a flour sifter or self-clumping kitty litter. But, this did not serve to mollify him and he went on, "Have you tried this cereal without the raisins?"
At this point in the story, my wife says to me, "He was just trying to be nice and you were probably mean to him."
Just for the record, trusted reader, I was not mean to the bagger. However, I will confess that my thoughts were mean - which any reasonable person will agree is not the same thing.
"Look, I don't want the bagger to talk to me about my choice in groceries. In fact, I don't want the bagger to talk to me at all. I have a relationship with the cashier and I am not looking for a threesome at the checkout counter."
"You're a jerk."
Knowing when I have lost my audience, I quit speaking to my wife - for the next week. Not that it would have mattered because she quit speaking to me, too.
Now, trusted reader, here is what I want to say about this incident. When I am checking out of the grocery store, I have limited patience for banter. In my view, the cashier and bagger are not my friends any more than the TruGreen guy or the mechanic at the Audi dealership. I have professional relationships with these people and I like to keep it that way.
To wit, my recommendations for how grocery store cashiers should interact with customers:
1) Say "hi" or some other comfortable greeting. While I find "how are you?" somewhat intrusive, since it is the 21st century version of "hello", I can live with it.
2) Ask a question that has something to do with improving your business. Cashiers are in a unique position to do a mini-survey of every single customer. Think about it. Every customer stands in front of the cashier for at least a couple of minutes every time they come to the store. This is critically important time but I have never been to a grocery store that uses this power to their advantage. For instance, the answer to "Did you find everything you wanted to buy?" would be powerful information for the store manager. The problem with this question, though, is it is too generic. The few times I have been asked this question, my answer has always been "yes" even when I couldn't find the unsweetened corn syrup that my wife needed. A better way to ask this question: "Was there anything you intended to buy that you are leaving without?" In addition to jogging the memory, this question might produce some interesting answers that will allow the grocery store to improve its selection or operation.
3) Recommend that regular shoppers provide their feedback to management. If a cashier recognizes someone because they shop frequently, they could say, "Have you given any thought to becoming a member of our focus group?" What, your grocery store doesn't have a customer focus group that meets every week to review the good, bad and indifferent nature of your selection and service?
4) Thank me for shopping there.
Recommendations for baggers:
1) Ask if I need help taking my groceries to the car.
Many people shop multiple grocery stores these days because they either can't get everything they want from one or they think they can't get everything they want from one. Smart grocers will use the time they have in front of each and every customer to increase the percentage of shopping that the customer does with them.
Not so smart ones will have the baggers comment on the miracles of refrigerated calzones.
Perspective that is.
Not true, of course. I also care about the opinions of those who agree with me.
This is my first entry so I feel obligated to let you know what this blog is all about so that your comments are relevant. Later, I'll either just delete the irrelevant or deride you unmercifully for sending it in. Depends upon my mood.
I am a sales and marketing professional who loves to talk about sales, selling techniques, sales books, sales gurus, etc. I also like to analyze marketing strategies and tactics. If you like that stuff, then you'll like this blog. Here's how I am going to contribute: I am going to write narratives about whatever strikes me. You may contribute by any of the following: 1) post comments agreeing with my keen observation skills, 2) ask my opinion about specific sales and marketing issues, 3) recommend books or articles that illustrate the points that I have been making or which seem to agree with me and 4) pass along the link to this blog so that our little community grows into a great big community.
Not too long ago, I was grocery shopping. This is something that I like to do and I do it quite often. Our family needs groceries frequently and I am just not capable of going once per week and buying $600 worth of stuff. Instead, I go three or four times per week and buy whatever strikes my fancy. Sometimes I go to the grocery store just to look - kind of the way that folks go to the mall. While I don't go to the mall to look, I feel a kinship with those who derive pleasure from doing so. So, I am checking out and the cashier says something cheerful to me like, "How are you today?"
I am fine so I say so. The cashier then begins scanning my items and sliding them down to the bagger. Inexplicably, the bagger says something to me. Perhaps, the bagger doesn't understand that I don't have a relationship with him. My relationship is with the cashier and we have already consumated with a banal greeting. Later, we'll terminate with a "thank you" and a "hurry back". Not only wasn't I expecting the bagger to say something but I was a bit taken aback by his boldness in assuming that I have an interest in developing a second relationship while paying for my groceries. Having not expected any remarks from the bagger, I didn't hear what he said, so I said, "Excuse me?"
When I told my wife this story, it must be noted that she interrupted me at this point to ask me in which tone I said the "excuse me".
"Did you say it as if you were some superior being whose deep and meaningful existence had been interrupted by some street peasant?"
Now, I ask you, is this any way to ask a question? At this point, I should have suspended the story and waited to tell it to a more favorable audience.
"No, I just said it as if I hadn't heard what he said."
"Umph."
Anyway, the bagger then says to me, "Refrigerated calzone, what will they think of next?" So, I smiled at him as if in agreement that a refrigerated calzone was, in fact, as amazing an invention as, say, a flour sifter or self-clumping kitty litter. But, this did not serve to mollify him and he went on, "Have you tried this cereal without the raisins?"
At this point in the story, my wife says to me, "He was just trying to be nice and you were probably mean to him."
Just for the record, trusted reader, I was not mean to the bagger. However, I will confess that my thoughts were mean - which any reasonable person will agree is not the same thing.
"Look, I don't want the bagger to talk to me about my choice in groceries. In fact, I don't want the bagger to talk to me at all. I have a relationship with the cashier and I am not looking for a threesome at the checkout counter."
"You're a jerk."
Knowing when I have lost my audience, I quit speaking to my wife - for the next week. Not that it would have mattered because she quit speaking to me, too.
Now, trusted reader, here is what I want to say about this incident. When I am checking out of the grocery store, I have limited patience for banter. In my view, the cashier and bagger are not my friends any more than the TruGreen guy or the mechanic at the Audi dealership. I have professional relationships with these people and I like to keep it that way.
To wit, my recommendations for how grocery store cashiers should interact with customers:
1) Say "hi" or some other comfortable greeting. While I find "how are you?" somewhat intrusive, since it is the 21st century version of "hello", I can live with it.
2) Ask a question that has something to do with improving your business. Cashiers are in a unique position to do a mini-survey of every single customer. Think about it. Every customer stands in front of the cashier for at least a couple of minutes every time they come to the store. This is critically important time but I have never been to a grocery store that uses this power to their advantage. For instance, the answer to "Did you find everything you wanted to buy?" would be powerful information for the store manager. The problem with this question, though, is it is too generic. The few times I have been asked this question, my answer has always been "yes" even when I couldn't find the unsweetened corn syrup that my wife needed. A better way to ask this question: "Was there anything you intended to buy that you are leaving without?" In addition to jogging the memory, this question might produce some interesting answers that will allow the grocery store to improve its selection or operation.
3) Recommend that regular shoppers provide their feedback to management. If a cashier recognizes someone because they shop frequently, they could say, "Have you given any thought to becoming a member of our focus group?" What, your grocery store doesn't have a customer focus group that meets every week to review the good, bad and indifferent nature of your selection and service?
4) Thank me for shopping there.
Recommendations for baggers:
1) Ask if I need help taking my groceries to the car.
Many people shop multiple grocery stores these days because they either can't get everything they want from one or they think they can't get everything they want from one. Smart grocers will use the time they have in front of each and every customer to increase the percentage of shopping that the customer does with them.
Not so smart ones will have the baggers comment on the miracles of refrigerated calzones.