Some of you are already aware and others continue in blissful ignorance that there is a new home for this blog. The new site is http://www.salesandmarketingloudmouth.com.
The web site allows for more flexibility than this blog format and should be an overall better experience for both author and readers. Thanks for moving over with me and becoming a subscriber to the web site.
This will be the last post to go up on this blog and the last feed to go out so don't miss a thing and bookmark the new site right away!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Look Inward for Solutions
In 1988, Michael Jackson wrote and performed Man in the Mirror with the following refrain:
I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself,
And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, AndThen Make A Change)
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah)
While Michael certainly wasn't talking about sales effectiveness, his message is salient. As a lot, I find sales people to be less than introspective when it comes to figuring out what goes wrong when sales don't materialize.
"Why didn't we get this business, Mark?"
"The customer decided not to proceed with the purchase." (re: out of my control)
"Jill, to what do you attribute the loss we experienced on the Gerber account?"
"We didn't fit the specifications." (re: not my fault)
"Bob, we usually get a piece of the Northside business. What happened in June?"
"The client said we were too expensive." (re: my sales manager is an idiot)
During the last fifteen years that I've been working with account managers, I can honestly tell you that there has never been a single time that an account manager said to me anything resembling this:
"I think I blew this one, Tim. The customer gave me every indication that we were okay but I didn't ask the specific questions that would have revealed an unspoken objection. Unfortunately, I was just off my game and it cost us the business."
Why haven't I heard this confession? Certainly, we can all agree that something like this has been true at least once during the last fifteen years! Here are some reasons that I've come up with:
1) Sales people typically have big egos and admitting mistakes or failures is difficult for their personality types
2) Most sales managers don't create an atmosphere in which this type of admission would be met with understanding and consolation
3) Very few people look inward for solutions to challenges created by human interaction.
The vast majority of all people, not just sellers, look outward and blame circumstances beyond their control or some abherrant behavior by others for less than optimal results in their interactions. e.g. My boss just doesn't understand me; my wife doesn't listen; there's something wrong with my kids (But, I think we can all agree on that one!); etc.
Eventually, those of us who have matured, set aside the need to blame others and begin to look at the man in the mirror. The question to ask is,
"What can I do differently next time to get a better result?"
Wishing and hoping that the other people involved in our sales transactions will do something different is foolish and unproductive. The only person's behavior of which you have control is your own.
We all know that and yet we find it difficult and painful to admit that we must change our own behaviors in order to get different results. When we begin to know that - to really know that - we can begin the introspection required to make some changes.
Sellers who learn to admit that losses are influenced by their own behaviors and are sometimes their fault entirely will develop additional selling skills through introspection. This sort of emotional maturity is not only refreshing in an account manager, the growth in skills associated with this development allows a seller to work with and persuade a much larger group of people.
So, if you want to be a better seller, start with the man in the mirror and ask him to make a change.
I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself,
And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, AndThen Make A Change)
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah)
While Michael certainly wasn't talking about sales effectiveness, his message is salient. As a lot, I find sales people to be less than introspective when it comes to figuring out what goes wrong when sales don't materialize.
"Why didn't we get this business, Mark?"
"The customer decided not to proceed with the purchase." (re: out of my control)
"Jill, to what do you attribute the loss we experienced on the Gerber account?"
"We didn't fit the specifications." (re: not my fault)
"Bob, we usually get a piece of the Northside business. What happened in June?"
"The client said we were too expensive." (re: my sales manager is an idiot)
During the last fifteen years that I've been working with account managers, I can honestly tell you that there has never been a single time that an account manager said to me anything resembling this:
"I think I blew this one, Tim. The customer gave me every indication that we were okay but I didn't ask the specific questions that would have revealed an unspoken objection. Unfortunately, I was just off my game and it cost us the business."
Why haven't I heard this confession? Certainly, we can all agree that something like this has been true at least once during the last fifteen years! Here are some reasons that I've come up with:
1) Sales people typically have big egos and admitting mistakes or failures is difficult for their personality types
2) Most sales managers don't create an atmosphere in which this type of admission would be met with understanding and consolation
3) Very few people look inward for solutions to challenges created by human interaction.
The vast majority of all people, not just sellers, look outward and blame circumstances beyond their control or some abherrant behavior by others for less than optimal results in their interactions. e.g. My boss just doesn't understand me; my wife doesn't listen; there's something wrong with my kids (But, I think we can all agree on that one!); etc.
Eventually, those of us who have matured, set aside the need to blame others and begin to look at the man in the mirror. The question to ask is,
"What can I do differently next time to get a better result?"
Wishing and hoping that the other people involved in our sales transactions will do something different is foolish and unproductive. The only person's behavior of which you have control is your own.
We all know that and yet we find it difficult and painful to admit that we must change our own behaviors in order to get different results. When we begin to know that - to really know that - we can begin the introspection required to make some changes.
Sellers who learn to admit that losses are influenced by their own behaviors and are sometimes their fault entirely will develop additional selling skills through introspection. This sort of emotional maturity is not only refreshing in an account manager, the growth in skills associated with this development allows a seller to work with and persuade a much larger group of people.
So, if you want to be a better seller, start with the man in the mirror and ask him to make a change.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Powerful Word Combinations and Not So Much
When I was coming up, Steve Martin was the comedian to which every guy was listening. (Now, my son and his friends are equally obsessed with Dane Cook). Steve Martin made us laugh just by the way he told his stories.
"Just landed the new company vehicle at the airport last night. . .
(crowd roars)
. . . yes, it's hard to land a station wagon at the airport."
His trick wasn't always the content but the word combinations he chose. A lesson learned by Dane Cook:
"Never, ever leave your shopping cart while you are in the grocery store. Someone might walk in - see your stuff. . . 'Jackpot! This is exactly the sh** that I wanted.'"
Both comics have hand picked the right words that surprise and delight us. In the Steve Martin example, he understood that a "station wagon" is much funnier than "car". Dane Cook's use of the word "jackpot" conjures up the sense that the shopper has won Mega Millions.
While most of us will never produce a comedy album, we would do well to understand the critical importance of our word combinations. Just like an audience at a comedy club, your prospect or customer responds to the words you choose to convey your message. One expert at this subject is Tom Freese, author of Question Based Selling (http://www.qbsresearch.com/).
Tom suggests that when you reach a prospect you ask,
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Most people will respond that you didn't catch them at a bad time because people are inherently helpful and will try to make you feel comfortable when it appears that you aren't. If the prospect responds that you did catch them at a bad time, Tom recommends that you say,
"I'm sorry about that. When would be a good time to call?"
When the prospect tells you what time to call, you have an appointment!
Word combinations in sales have been a topic for decades, of course. We all know to say, "Would you prefer black or green?" instead of saying, "Which color would you like?" Perhaps, less discussed are the word combinations that decimate your progress and leave you stranded with nowhere to go.
In my business - radio advertising - sellers will typically submit a proposal according to specifications requested by a media buyer. Then, they will call the media buyer numerous times in an effort to make sure that their proposal is included on the "buy".
Following up on proposals that we've made is a necessary and critical part of all sales. Doing it like this is the kiss of death:
"Hi Pam, it's Tim from 105.1 The Frog! How are you?"
"Fine."
"Great, great. Listen, Pam, I was calling to follow up on the proposal that I sent for the Circuit City buy."
"Okay."
"Did you get all the pages?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Okay, yeah, good. So, what do you think? Does it look okay?"
"I haven't spent much time with it but it looks okay."
"That's great. Okay, thanks a lot. Do you have any questions?"
"No."
"Okay, thanks a lot. Talk to you soon."
Sellers are always calling to follow up, or check in or touch base (or even touch bases here in the South). If possible, I would completely ban the use of all of these worthless word combinations. In our example above, the seller has made a phone call that has zero value to the recipient and has received nothing of value in exchange.
Here is another approach:
"Hi Pam, it's Tim with 105.1 The Frog!"
"Hi"
"I know you are busy working on the Circuit City buy and I am confident that you received my entire 6 page submission. The reason for the call is that since the time I sent the submission over I have discovered new information that indicates my radio station is even better for Circuit City than I thought!"
"Really?"
"Yes. It turns out that my listeners are 40% more likely than the market average to purchase at least $1,000 worth of electronics per year. Would you like me to send this research to you?"
"Please do. The client is really looking for this advertising schedule to impact their Father's Day sale and anything you have in the way of research will help us make the right decisions on whom to include on the buy."
"You got it. As you know, our promotional team spent quite a bit of time working out a specific program that ties in with the Father's Day plans of the client. Did you have any questions about how the promotion will work?"
"No. What you wrote seems pretty clear. Did we need to buy your proposed schedule in order to get the promotion or can we trim it back?"
"In order to get the full benefit of the promotion, the station requires a purchase of at least the amount I proposed."
"Okay. We should have this wrapped up in the next couple of days."
"Great! Thanks very much. Please call me with any other questions. This business is important to the station and to me personally."
"Okay. Thanks for the call."
In this instance, the seller has added value to the process by having "new information" that is relevant to the process. The buyer is interested in the information because she is trying to do the very best job for the client. The seller earned the right to have a meaningful conversation because of the research he has done on behalf of the client. As a result, he gets to include powerful word combinations about A) how his promotion ties in with the marketing objectives of the client, B) the required financial commitment and C) the importance of the business.
Regardless of the industry in which you sell there is never an appropriate time to call the prospect or buyer without bringing relevant information to their attention - whether it's new information, a clarification or a reminder of a deadline.
Don't be the person to whom Steve Martin was referring when he said,
"Some people have a way with words and others. . . .don't have way, I guess."
"Just landed the new company vehicle at the airport last night. . .
(crowd roars)
. . . yes, it's hard to land a station wagon at the airport."
His trick wasn't always the content but the word combinations he chose. A lesson learned by Dane Cook:
"Never, ever leave your shopping cart while you are in the grocery store. Someone might walk in - see your stuff. . . 'Jackpot! This is exactly the sh** that I wanted.'"
Both comics have hand picked the right words that surprise and delight us. In the Steve Martin example, he understood that a "station wagon" is much funnier than "car". Dane Cook's use of the word "jackpot" conjures up the sense that the shopper has won Mega Millions.
While most of us will never produce a comedy album, we would do well to understand the critical importance of our word combinations. Just like an audience at a comedy club, your prospect or customer responds to the words you choose to convey your message. One expert at this subject is Tom Freese, author of Question Based Selling (http://www.qbsresearch.com/).
Tom suggests that when you reach a prospect you ask,
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Most people will respond that you didn't catch them at a bad time because people are inherently helpful and will try to make you feel comfortable when it appears that you aren't. If the prospect responds that you did catch them at a bad time, Tom recommends that you say,
"I'm sorry about that. When would be a good time to call?"
When the prospect tells you what time to call, you have an appointment!
Word combinations in sales have been a topic for decades, of course. We all know to say, "Would you prefer black or green?" instead of saying, "Which color would you like?" Perhaps, less discussed are the word combinations that decimate your progress and leave you stranded with nowhere to go.
In my business - radio advertising - sellers will typically submit a proposal according to specifications requested by a media buyer. Then, they will call the media buyer numerous times in an effort to make sure that their proposal is included on the "buy".
Following up on proposals that we've made is a necessary and critical part of all sales. Doing it like this is the kiss of death:
"Hi Pam, it's Tim from 105.1 The Frog! How are you?"
"Fine."
"Great, great. Listen, Pam, I was calling to follow up on the proposal that I sent for the Circuit City buy."
"Okay."
"Did you get all the pages?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Okay, yeah, good. So, what do you think? Does it look okay?"
"I haven't spent much time with it but it looks okay."
"That's great. Okay, thanks a lot. Do you have any questions?"
"No."
"Okay, thanks a lot. Talk to you soon."
Sellers are always calling to follow up, or check in or touch base (or even touch bases here in the South). If possible, I would completely ban the use of all of these worthless word combinations. In our example above, the seller has made a phone call that has zero value to the recipient and has received nothing of value in exchange.
Here is another approach:
"Hi Pam, it's Tim with 105.1 The Frog!"
"Hi"
"I know you are busy working on the Circuit City buy and I am confident that you received my entire 6 page submission. The reason for the call is that since the time I sent the submission over I have discovered new information that indicates my radio station is even better for Circuit City than I thought!"
"Really?"
"Yes. It turns out that my listeners are 40% more likely than the market average to purchase at least $1,000 worth of electronics per year. Would you like me to send this research to you?"
"Please do. The client is really looking for this advertising schedule to impact their Father's Day sale and anything you have in the way of research will help us make the right decisions on whom to include on the buy."
"You got it. As you know, our promotional team spent quite a bit of time working out a specific program that ties in with the Father's Day plans of the client. Did you have any questions about how the promotion will work?"
"No. What you wrote seems pretty clear. Did we need to buy your proposed schedule in order to get the promotion or can we trim it back?"
"In order to get the full benefit of the promotion, the station requires a purchase of at least the amount I proposed."
"Okay. We should have this wrapped up in the next couple of days."
"Great! Thanks very much. Please call me with any other questions. This business is important to the station and to me personally."
"Okay. Thanks for the call."
In this instance, the seller has added value to the process by having "new information" that is relevant to the process. The buyer is interested in the information because she is trying to do the very best job for the client. The seller earned the right to have a meaningful conversation because of the research he has done on behalf of the client. As a result, he gets to include powerful word combinations about A) how his promotion ties in with the marketing objectives of the client, B) the required financial commitment and C) the importance of the business.
Regardless of the industry in which you sell there is never an appropriate time to call the prospect or buyer without bringing relevant information to their attention - whether it's new information, a clarification or a reminder of a deadline.
Don't be the person to whom Steve Martin was referring when he said,
"Some people have a way with words and others. . . .don't have way, I guess."
It's a Sales Blogger Universe
The very best sellers are always looking to get even better. In the not too distant past, the best way to do this was to read books about sales and join sales networking organizations. Those are still great ways, of course, but the best way to accelerate your learning is to get on the internet and start to explore the myriad sites and blogs devoted to sales.
That's what I've been doing and I am pleased to recommend Brad Trnavsky's Sales Management 2.0. Brad collects submissions from all comers, culls them down and publishes the very best ones. Check out his Carnival of Sales ( http://www.salesmanagement20.com/profiles/blog/list?pageSize=20) and find out how one blogger has uncovered the sales secrets of The Matrix!
Think times are getting tougher for sellers? Colin Wilson agrees and offers some tips on differentiating oneself from the pack in his blog (http://www.firstborder.com/sales-blog/2008/05/20/time-to-differentiate-yourself/).
Sales is about human interaction - the art of finding those who might be interested in your products and services, getting in front of them and persuading them to your point of view. As society shifts and evolves, the challenges for sellers change and the approach needs to change, too. Staying on top of the latest thinking is not a luxury for today's top sellers, it is a necessity.
That's what I've been doing and I am pleased to recommend Brad Trnavsky's Sales Management 2.0. Brad collects submissions from all comers, culls them down and publishes the very best ones. Check out his Carnival of Sales ( http://www.salesmanagement20.com/profiles/blog/list?pageSize=20) and find out how one blogger has uncovered the sales secrets of The Matrix!
Think times are getting tougher for sellers? Colin Wilson agrees and offers some tips on differentiating oneself from the pack in his blog (http://www.firstborder.com/sales-blog/2008/05/20/time-to-differentiate-yourself/).
Sales is about human interaction - the art of finding those who might be interested in your products and services, getting in front of them and persuading them to your point of view. As society shifts and evolves, the challenges for sellers change and the approach needs to change, too. Staying on top of the latest thinking is not a luxury for today's top sellers, it is a necessity.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Building Relationships
Ask anybody and they will tell you that the ability to build relationships with key decision makers is a critical sales skill. Regretably, sellers hide behind this concept more than any other to disguise the fact that they are either wasting time or have no idea how to move a sale forward.
More time is wasted in the alleged pursuit of "building relationships" than any other sales step.
"Why are we making this sales call, Bill?"
"We're going to find out a little about their needs for next year and take the time to build the relationship a little."
"Certainly, there's value in building the relationship. Can you describe for me how we are going to do that on this call?"
"I thought we would spend some time talking about his family and invite him to play some golf with us."
"And this will build a relationship with him?"
"Well, it's a start. I mean, in order to build a relationship we are going to have to spend quite a bit of time with him and get to know him."
"What if we spend all this time building a relationship with him and it turns out he doesn't like either one of us? What if he likes us but doesn't really want to do business with us? In what way can we be assured that building a relationship with this guy is going to make a difference to our company?"
Don't get me wrong. It's true that people do business with people they like. When everything is equal, a buyer is going to buy from someone that has established themselves as a trusted resource.
To me, the relationship that you want to be building is one that indicates that "everything" is not equal and there is no need for a tie breaker. The way to do that? Establish a value for your product that exceeds the value the prospect assigns to your competition. I guarantee that this will trump the occasional golf game or tickets to Seinfeld.
To establish a value for your products you must start doing business with a prospect as soon in the relationship as possible. This has multiple advantages:
1) The relationship that you are building is focused from the beginning on the business that you do together. Relationships built on this foundation are stronger and more long lasting. (This may seem counterintuitive until you consider that companies almost always do business with your customers long after you leave the company)
2) You always have a reason to call or get together and build the relationship because of the business you do together. Who wants to keep getting calls from strangers asking them to get together for drinks or lunch or the ball game?
3) The business you do together automatically gives you permission to build relationships throughout the organization. If you didn't do business, the only relationship you would be working on would be the one with the key decision maker. Sounds okay until the key decision maker is transferred and the junior executive, whom you have never met, becomes the key decision maker.
While it's not always possible to do business right away, it often is. Find something small that you can do together that won't require sixteen proposals and four meetings in the executive boardroom. Still not possible? Maybe you are committed to a charity and you can find a way for your prospect to get involved. They could use the project as a way to put their company in a favorable light while you use it to start the critical relationship building.
Worst case scenario? You become a customer of the prospect in some small way.
By all means, let's build relationships with all of our best prospects and let's keep in mind that the reason we want the relationship in the first place is because we want to do business!
More time is wasted in the alleged pursuit of "building relationships" than any other sales step.
"Why are we making this sales call, Bill?"
"We're going to find out a little about their needs for next year and take the time to build the relationship a little."
"Certainly, there's value in building the relationship. Can you describe for me how we are going to do that on this call?"
"I thought we would spend some time talking about his family and invite him to play some golf with us."
"And this will build a relationship with him?"
"Well, it's a start. I mean, in order to build a relationship we are going to have to spend quite a bit of time with him and get to know him."
"What if we spend all this time building a relationship with him and it turns out he doesn't like either one of us? What if he likes us but doesn't really want to do business with us? In what way can we be assured that building a relationship with this guy is going to make a difference to our company?"
Don't get me wrong. It's true that people do business with people they like. When everything is equal, a buyer is going to buy from someone that has established themselves as a trusted resource.
To me, the relationship that you want to be building is one that indicates that "everything" is not equal and there is no need for a tie breaker. The way to do that? Establish a value for your product that exceeds the value the prospect assigns to your competition. I guarantee that this will trump the occasional golf game or tickets to Seinfeld.
To establish a value for your products you must start doing business with a prospect as soon in the relationship as possible. This has multiple advantages:
1) The relationship that you are building is focused from the beginning on the business that you do together. Relationships built on this foundation are stronger and more long lasting. (This may seem counterintuitive until you consider that companies almost always do business with your customers long after you leave the company)
2) You always have a reason to call or get together and build the relationship because of the business you do together. Who wants to keep getting calls from strangers asking them to get together for drinks or lunch or the ball game?
3) The business you do together automatically gives you permission to build relationships throughout the organization. If you didn't do business, the only relationship you would be working on would be the one with the key decision maker. Sounds okay until the key decision maker is transferred and the junior executive, whom you have never met, becomes the key decision maker.
While it's not always possible to do business right away, it often is. Find something small that you can do together that won't require sixteen proposals and four meetings in the executive boardroom. Still not possible? Maybe you are committed to a charity and you can find a way for your prospect to get involved. They could use the project as a way to put their company in a favorable light while you use it to start the critical relationship building.
Worst case scenario? You become a customer of the prospect in some small way.
By all means, let's build relationships with all of our best prospects and let's keep in mind that the reason we want the relationship in the first place is because we want to do business!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Best Characteristic of a Seller
An interesting discussion broke out the other day about the characteristics of great account managers. Many traits were listed during a brainstorming session and then the group voted as individuals for those traits each thought was most important to being a successful account manager. In the end, we tallied up the votes to see which characteristics were named most often.
Interestingly, being smart or savvy didn't end up getting enough votes to make it a Top 5 candidate. This struck me as odd and I had to spend some time contemplating it before deciding if the group was correct or if they didn't recognize the trait in themselves and therefore decided it lacked importance. After all, if one thought of oneself as being a great account manager but knew from experience that one was more likely to get a call from Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader than from Jeopardy!, one might not want to agree that smarts plays an important role in selling.
Perhaps, being smart is more important in some sales jobs than in others. The group with whom I had the discussion sells advertising and although product knowledge can be complicated in the advertising business, its understanding doesn't require a mensa candidate. A friend of mine sells pharmaceuticals and I think he is smarter than your average bear and probably needs to be smarter than an advertising account manager. Maybe, the amount of intelligence a seller needs is directly proportionate to the smartness of his prospects. If you call on doctors, you need to be able to keep up your end of the conversation!
The characteristics the group thought were most important included the ability to be social/friendly or a good networker, strong product knowledge, understanding client's needs, high degree of honesty/integrity, persuasiveness, determination and passion. Of these, the one characteristic that I believe is the best indicator of an account manager's likely success is passion.
Nobody persuades like the passionate story teller. Take the television evangelist, for example. He whispers and he rants and he cries and he invokes and people send him money. The purpose of the money? So that he can afford to continue to appear on television and persuade viewers to send him more money.
Another great example of a passionate story teller is the politician. They need your vote and your money in order to make the world a better place! Without your support, the people will not have the advantage of their wonderfulness.
When a prospect has been qualified, only the passionate believer will have the drive to get an appointment with the decision maker despite multiple setbacks. Only the passionate believer will then have the courage to stand on the prospect's desk and shout, "Wrong!" when the prospect foolishly attempts to suggest that the seller's product isn't right for them. Only the passionate believer relives his failed sales calls with his wife and children at the dinner table and only the passionate believer wakes up in the middle of the night with an idea that gives him another valid business reason to call the prospect.
Yes, give me the passionate believer and watch us blaze across the sky in a flaming chariot of success!
Interestingly, being smart or savvy didn't end up getting enough votes to make it a Top 5 candidate. This struck me as odd and I had to spend some time contemplating it before deciding if the group was correct or if they didn't recognize the trait in themselves and therefore decided it lacked importance. After all, if one thought of oneself as being a great account manager but knew from experience that one was more likely to get a call from Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader than from Jeopardy!, one might not want to agree that smarts plays an important role in selling.
Perhaps, being smart is more important in some sales jobs than in others. The group with whom I had the discussion sells advertising and although product knowledge can be complicated in the advertising business, its understanding doesn't require a mensa candidate. A friend of mine sells pharmaceuticals and I think he is smarter than your average bear and probably needs to be smarter than an advertising account manager. Maybe, the amount of intelligence a seller needs is directly proportionate to the smartness of his prospects. If you call on doctors, you need to be able to keep up your end of the conversation!
The characteristics the group thought were most important included the ability to be social/friendly or a good networker, strong product knowledge, understanding client's needs, high degree of honesty/integrity, persuasiveness, determination and passion. Of these, the one characteristic that I believe is the best indicator of an account manager's likely success is passion.
Nobody persuades like the passionate story teller. Take the television evangelist, for example. He whispers and he rants and he cries and he invokes and people send him money. The purpose of the money? So that he can afford to continue to appear on television and persuade viewers to send him more money.
Another great example of a passionate story teller is the politician. They need your vote and your money in order to make the world a better place! Without your support, the people will not have the advantage of their wonderfulness.
When a prospect has been qualified, only the passionate believer will have the drive to get an appointment with the decision maker despite multiple setbacks. Only the passionate believer will then have the courage to stand on the prospect's desk and shout, "Wrong!" when the prospect foolishly attempts to suggest that the seller's product isn't right for them. Only the passionate believer relives his failed sales calls with his wife and children at the dinner table and only the passionate believer wakes up in the middle of the night with an idea that gives him another valid business reason to call the prospect.
Yes, give me the passionate believer and watch us blaze across the sky in a flaming chariot of success!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Don't be incredible
Sellers expect that the credibility they seek originates with complete knowledge about their own products. Many times, they think that a great elevator pitch or the ability to wax poetic about the features and benefits of their products will cause a prospect to swoon. While a lack of knowledge about one's own products would certainly deem you not credible (incredible?), the opposite doesn't build credibility so much as it keeps you in the game.
The only way to build credibility with a prospect or customer is to demonstrate knowledge about their products and services. The days of asking for and receiving an appointment for the purpose of doing a Customer Needs Analysis are over. Prospects and customers expect you to know about their business before you walk in the door.
This doesn't mean that you have to be as expert as they are and it doesn't mean that you need to do a 100 hours of research to get up to speed. What it does mean is that you shouldn't be surprised by information that was available to you in a news story or that is detailed in a press release on the customer's website.
The modern sales call begins with the seller double checking his research for accuracy.
"This is what I learned while doing my research. Are these initiatives your most important?"
This approach takes one's credibility from zero to something and has the added benefit of kickstarting a series of questions that serves as one's Customer Needs Analysis.
Do you want to take your credibility up another notch in the same meeting? Brainstorm a couple of ideas before you get to the meeting. If you get the answers you're looking for from the prospect regarding their most important initiatives, go ahead and let them know what you're thinking. Always couch the idea as "half-baked" or "partially formed" so if the prospect doesn't think it's for them, they don't a) dismiss you entirely and b) think that the idea you're mentioning is your best possible work.
Sellers always start from a position of zero credibility with prospects. At the first possible opportunity the professional account manager must move that needle at least one tick in the upward direction.
The only way to build credibility with a prospect or customer is to demonstrate knowledge about their products and services. The days of asking for and receiving an appointment for the purpose of doing a Customer Needs Analysis are over. Prospects and customers expect you to know about their business before you walk in the door.
This doesn't mean that you have to be as expert as they are and it doesn't mean that you need to do a 100 hours of research to get up to speed. What it does mean is that you shouldn't be surprised by information that was available to you in a news story or that is detailed in a press release on the customer's website.
The modern sales call begins with the seller double checking his research for accuracy.
"This is what I learned while doing my research. Are these initiatives your most important?"
This approach takes one's credibility from zero to something and has the added benefit of kickstarting a series of questions that serves as one's Customer Needs Analysis.
Do you want to take your credibility up another notch in the same meeting? Brainstorm a couple of ideas before you get to the meeting. If you get the answers you're looking for from the prospect regarding their most important initiatives, go ahead and let them know what you're thinking. Always couch the idea as "half-baked" or "partially formed" so if the prospect doesn't think it's for them, they don't a) dismiss you entirely and b) think that the idea you're mentioning is your best possible work.
Sellers always start from a position of zero credibility with prospects. At the first possible opportunity the professional account manager must move that needle at least one tick in the upward direction.