Far too many consultants spin their wheels chasing leads that just won't pick up the phone or return calls. In the beginning of your interaction it seemed the prospect was initially 'hot' for your services. You sent literature, did your song and dance… and now nothing. The prospect has turned cold to all attempts to further the sales process.
Why?
They suffer from a serious case of salespressuritis: a fear of being sold.
The cure for this ailment is a simple one. Avoid "selling" in the first place. I don’t mean stop all interactions. I mean toss out the gimmicky, 1980s talk-your-head-off, push-for-a-close techniques the 'gurus' of the past preached. Sales gimmicks DON’T WORK in consulting situations!
Today's market is too sophisticated. Hard selling especially doesn't work with big ticket items, the type of selling you are faced with as a consultant.
What does work? Talk less and listen more.
Let me explain. Some time after 1992 I came across a small case of booklets labeled, Xerox’s Professional Selling Skills System III. It was unlike any sales system I had ever seen before. It did not rely on talking, but relied on asking questions and determining expressed needs. I had no clue if it would work or not. I reserved judgment. So like Mikey, I tried it.
The results? My sales doubled and my confidence quadrupled.
Here's an overview of the Xerox selling system:
1. Uncover an expressed need or desire for the benefits you provide. If your prospective won't acknowledge a need, then they won't buy from you. The chance of a successful outcome are next to none. You actively listen to recognize the difference between a complaint that they don't like their current situation and an expressed need for a change. Have you ever met someone who complains about their lot in life to anyone who will listen, but refuses all attempts or suggestions for help? Your prospect may be the same way. If they don’t acknowledge wanting a change in their situation you might as well forget about trying to sell to them.
2. Memorize a number of Probes for different situations and attitudes (see #5 below).
3. Actively listen and verbally SUPPORT positive remarks about your services.
4. Follow a specific structure for CLOSING (this is bad because you are focused on what you want—a sale—instead of focusing on honest and open communication.
5. Listen for attitudes of indifference, acceptance, skepticism, outright objections, and stalling... and then use specific techniques for dealing with each attitude type differently.
Though effective, the Xerox system is a tedious process. And even worse, it often causes objections where there weren’t any before. How? By focusing on yourself in the beginning of the call, and encouraging you to work towards a close. Even if you don’t articulate a desire to close your prospective client, your prospective client will pick up on it in your attitude and efforts to move them along. Not good.
That’s why I started looking for something that’s just as effective but less mentally taxing -- for me and the client. Did I find something? Yes. But it’s not a single selling system, it’s a combination of two. SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham (available through Amazon) merged with Reverse Selling by Ari Galper (www.unlockthegame.com).
SPIN Selling makes the process of needs-based selling much easier to use because there are only four elements to focus on: situation, problem, implication, needs.
Since it’s such a simple selling model and all of my client interactions are by phone, I've broken the SPIN Selling process down into individual tabs in Microsoft One Note. One tab for each of the SPIN elements. I also have tabs for common concerns and I a tab for how to initiate follow up calls.
For each of the areas of the SPIN process I focus on the needs of the prospect, not lame sales closing gimmicks. Fortunately I learned early what works in the real world of selling is asking questions -- and listening. Not pushing people to do stuff they don't want to do.
The SPIN Selling method has holes that Ari's Reverse Selling method plugs. The underlying focus of Spin Selling is closing. That mentality is a disaster for consultative selling. Reverse Selling focuses attention on determining if you and the client are a true match. The focus is NOT closing. It's helping people.
That's why I use the Spin Selling only for its structure. But I recommend using Reverse Selling mindset of being truly accommodating and concerned about the client's needs and objectives, instead of SPIN Selling's view of working towards a close by "Sharpening Your Skills" (chapter 12 of SPIN Selling Fieldbook). Preparing a bunch of features and benefits in advance and then 'vomiting' that noise onto a client is the cause of skepticism and objections.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
The Three Reasons Your Sales Stink
Is your organization currently meeting its sales goals?
Besides your market's leaders, who continually meet and surpass their sales goals, a good majority of those in your industry are failing to meet their productivity, sales and revenue expectations.
Although they give many excuses for this (the economy, too much competition, seasonal business, the sun and the moon aren't in alignment, etc.), there really are only three reasons for poor sales. Here they are:
1. No Demand for Your Product or Service
The first reason is nobody wants your product or service. This is rarely the case.
There is a simple test to figure out if this is the reason for your stagnant sales.
- Have you been able to sell your product or service in the past?
- Is another salesperson successful in selling your product or service?
- Is another organization successful in selling your product or service?
If the answer to any of these questions was "yes," there is a market for your goods. Therefore, it must be one of the other two reasons.
2. Ineffective Marketing and Advertising
The second reason for poor sales is your ads and marketing are ineffective. The goal of your advertising is to get your phone to ring, hits on your website or walk-in customers.
The only way you'll accomplish this goal is to distinguish your organization as the one to do business with in your industry. By tracking and measuring all of your ads, you should know which ones are working and which ones you should modify or cancel immediately.
3. Your Salespeople Don't Fit their Jobs
The third and most common reason for poor sales is the 80/20 Dilemma. Unlike your Market's Leaders, you haven't beaten the 80/20 Dilemma; where 80 percent of your sales come from just 20 percent of your salespeople. The dilemma robs your managers of their time and energy and is the most costly issue in sales.
To improve your sales, your number one goal this year is to beat the 80/20 Dilemma. Let me reword that: Not only beat it, but conquer it.
To do so, you must first understand why it has seized your sales force. Here's the hones truth: You simply have hired the wrong people to sell your product or service. Perhaps not all of them, but 80 percent of them.
A recent study of salespeople found that half of the people in sales should have never been hired in the first place. I'm sure you'd agree that the sales profession requires natural qualities that not everybody has.
Of the remaining 50 percent, only half of them will achieve their potential. There are two reasons for this. One, they are trying to sell the wrong product or service. Two, their skills are never properly developed.
That leaves the 20 to 30 percent who are in jobs they fit. They are the people who sell 80 percent of your products and services.
Besides your market's leaders, who continually meet and surpass their sales goals, a good majority of those in your industry are failing to meet their productivity, sales and revenue expectations.
Although they give many excuses for this (the economy, too much competition, seasonal business, the sun and the moon aren't in alignment, etc.), there really are only three reasons for poor sales. Here they are:
1. No Demand for Your Product or Service
The first reason is nobody wants your product or service. This is rarely the case.
There is a simple test to figure out if this is the reason for your stagnant sales.
- Have you been able to sell your product or service in the past?
- Is another salesperson successful in selling your product or service?
- Is another organization successful in selling your product or service?
If the answer to any of these questions was "yes," there is a market for your goods. Therefore, it must be one of the other two reasons.
2. Ineffective Marketing and Advertising
The second reason for poor sales is your ads and marketing are ineffective. The goal of your advertising is to get your phone to ring, hits on your website or walk-in customers.
The only way you'll accomplish this goal is to distinguish your organization as the one to do business with in your industry. By tracking and measuring all of your ads, you should know which ones are working and which ones you should modify or cancel immediately.
3. Your Salespeople Don't Fit their Jobs
The third and most common reason for poor sales is the 80/20 Dilemma. Unlike your Market's Leaders, you haven't beaten the 80/20 Dilemma; where 80 percent of your sales come from just 20 percent of your salespeople. The dilemma robs your managers of their time and energy and is the most costly issue in sales.
To improve your sales, your number one goal this year is to beat the 80/20 Dilemma. Let me reword that: Not only beat it, but conquer it.
To do so, you must first understand why it has seized your sales force. Here's the hones truth: You simply have hired the wrong people to sell your product or service. Perhaps not all of them, but 80 percent of them.
A recent study of salespeople found that half of the people in sales should have never been hired in the first place. I'm sure you'd agree that the sales profession requires natural qualities that not everybody has.
Of the remaining 50 percent, only half of them will achieve their potential. There are two reasons for this. One, they are trying to sell the wrong product or service. Two, their skills are never properly developed.
That leaves the 20 to 30 percent who are in jobs they fit. They are the people who sell 80 percent of your products and services.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Why the Bottom Line Isn't
Recently, I've been coaching a number of clients who work in highly competitive industries. It's not uncommon for these clients to have upwards of 30 direct competitors apiece - and that's just in the same town!
One subject that has been coming up a lot lately is what to do when the competition keeps dropping their prices. If you and your competitor sell the exact same product, this can be an extremely difficult situation. Regardless of how many times you remind them that "you get what you pay for," customers do tend to put the pressure on when they think they can get the same thing for less with someone else.
To counter this objection effectively, you must first believe that you are adding extra value for your customers, or providing a better service or product than your price-dropping competitors. If you aren't truly convinced that what you have to offer is better - in other words, if you can't justify a higher price to yourself - then you'll never be able to justify it to your customers.
Get the bad news out of the way first If your competitors always lower their prices, often the best thing you can do is bring it up early in the buying cycle with your prospects.
Yes - I'm suggesting you tell your customers that they can find what you're selling cheaper somewhere else. The key is in what you say, and how you say it.
For example, I usually say something like:
"Ms. X, I want you to know right up front that you will always be able to find a product similar to ours for less. While we are always competitive, we are not always the lowest price, and we are not always the most expensive. Knowing that we are not always the cheapest, does it make sense for us to move forward?" The answer you get will determine whether the customer is looking for value, or just looking for the lowest price.
The choice is yours
With the exception of Wal-Mart, no one wants to look cheap. As a result, the vast majority of clients will tell you that they're not interested in buying just the cheapest product or service.
In these cases, your response is simple: "Thanks for letting me know that. How will you be making your decision?" This takes you past discussing price, and onto a discussion of their true requirements.
But this approach is also highly effective even for those few people who will look you in the eye and say that if you aren't the cheapest, they don't want to do business with you.
Why?
Because it puts you in control. When someone tells you they only want to deal with you if you're the cheapest option, it gives you a choice. You can stay and play the discount game if there are good strategic reasons to do so. Or you can choose to walk away, and let your competitors lose money serving this prospect.
One subject that has been coming up a lot lately is what to do when the competition keeps dropping their prices. If you and your competitor sell the exact same product, this can be an extremely difficult situation. Regardless of how many times you remind them that "you get what you pay for," customers do tend to put the pressure on when they think they can get the same thing for less with someone else.
To counter this objection effectively, you must first believe that you are adding extra value for your customers, or providing a better service or product than your price-dropping competitors. If you aren't truly convinced that what you have to offer is better - in other words, if you can't justify a higher price to yourself - then you'll never be able to justify it to your customers.
Get the bad news out of the way first If your competitors always lower their prices, often the best thing you can do is bring it up early in the buying cycle with your prospects.
Yes - I'm suggesting you tell your customers that they can find what you're selling cheaper somewhere else. The key is in what you say, and how you say it.
For example, I usually say something like:
"Ms. X, I want you to know right up front that you will always be able to find a product similar to ours for less. While we are always competitive, we are not always the lowest price, and we are not always the most expensive. Knowing that we are not always the cheapest, does it make sense for us to move forward?" The answer you get will determine whether the customer is looking for value, or just looking for the lowest price.
The choice is yours
With the exception of Wal-Mart, no one wants to look cheap. As a result, the vast majority of clients will tell you that they're not interested in buying just the cheapest product or service.
In these cases, your response is simple: "Thanks for letting me know that. How will you be making your decision?" This takes you past discussing price, and onto a discussion of their true requirements.
But this approach is also highly effective even for those few people who will look you in the eye and say that if you aren't the cheapest, they don't want to do business with you.
Why?
Because it puts you in control. When someone tells you they only want to deal with you if you're the cheapest option, it gives you a choice. You can stay and play the discount game if there are good strategic reasons to do so. Or you can choose to walk away, and let your competitors lose money serving this prospect.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
9 Steps to Building a Profitable Customer Relationship
Success in sales depends directly on your ability to make yourself likeable, and create a positive experience for your customers. The following 9 Tips are some of the best - and easiest - ways I know to help you create a more positive customer experience:
1. Love what you sell, the company you work for and the customers you serve.
If you are truly passionate about these three things, your willingness to help your customers solve their problems will shine through. Customers will believe your sincerity and be captivated by your excitement. In short - you will be fun to work with. Our studies show that customers prefer to buy from sales people who overtly show that they believe in the products they sell, and the companies they work for. Choose to be honest, open and empathetic to your customers' needs, and you will experience consistent sales growth, build an excellent reputation and become one of the top performers in your field.
2. Be empathetic and compassionate.
Truly care about your customers, and remember that no matter how good an actor you are, faking it simply won't work. Ask questions, take notes and lean in to show that you're engaged in their answers. When you take an interest in people, they remember you - and when people remember you, it's good for business.
3. Add value and give first.
Share your network of contacts with your customers, and don't expect them to give you their business without you giving them something first. I don't mean give away free product in the hopes they will buy more. Instead, give away things that increase your value - like a referral to a partner of yours, a solution to a business problem that you read about or heard from someone else, or even help finding a new dentist!
4. Make eye contact.
This is especially important when you walk into a room full of people. Eye contact is also essential after we get to know people, because it cements our existing relationships and lets them know that we're still interested in their well being. Very few sales people ever look their prospects directly in the eye. By simply smiling and making eye contact, you'll be surprised how much you will set yourself apart.
5. Express your true intent.
Tell customers upfront: "I don't know if there's a fit between what you need and what I have right now, but I'm hoping we can explore that in more detail during this meeting." Or: "I only have your best interests at heart, and I promise to be honest with you throughout our conversation. In the end, I hope that we can mutually decide if there is a reason to move forward. If not, that's fine too, and I hope you'll feel comfortable telling me so." This advice runs counter to 90% of the approaches I see being used in the field today. But then again, maybe that's why only 10% of sales people are top performers. Try it yourself a few times, and you'll be amazed at the response you get.
6. Don't go for the big decision all at once.
In our personal lives, we don't propose to someone on a first date (at least, not usually!). The same is true in our business relationships. So get approval from the customer to move ahead in increasing increments. The first approval might be just to agree to speak openly with each other, as outlined in Tip #5 above. The second could be an agreement on a follow-up call time or meeting date. The third might be gaining agreement on the decision making criteria or a commitment to have the "big boss" present at the demo, followed by an agreement to a "go/no go" decision date. All too often, I see sales people jumping way ahead of their prospect's buying curve. This puts the buyer and seller out of sync. When the sales person is trying to close while the prospect is still evaluating options or determining risk, trust is broken, the prospect feels pushed and the sale comes dangerously close to disappearing.
1. Love what you sell, the company you work for and the customers you serve.
If you are truly passionate about these three things, your willingness to help your customers solve their problems will shine through. Customers will believe your sincerity and be captivated by your excitement. In short - you will be fun to work with. Our studies show that customers prefer to buy from sales people who overtly show that they believe in the products they sell, and the companies they work for. Choose to be honest, open and empathetic to your customers' needs, and you will experience consistent sales growth, build an excellent reputation and become one of the top performers in your field.
2. Be empathetic and compassionate.
Truly care about your customers, and remember that no matter how good an actor you are, faking it simply won't work. Ask questions, take notes and lean in to show that you're engaged in their answers. When you take an interest in people, they remember you - and when people remember you, it's good for business.
3. Add value and give first.
Share your network of contacts with your customers, and don't expect them to give you their business without you giving them something first. I don't mean give away free product in the hopes they will buy more. Instead, give away things that increase your value - like a referral to a partner of yours, a solution to a business problem that you read about or heard from someone else, or even help finding a new dentist!
4. Make eye contact.
This is especially important when you walk into a room full of people. Eye contact is also essential after we get to know people, because it cements our existing relationships and lets them know that we're still interested in their well being. Very few sales people ever look their prospects directly in the eye. By simply smiling and making eye contact, you'll be surprised how much you will set yourself apart.
5. Express your true intent.
Tell customers upfront: "I don't know if there's a fit between what you need and what I have right now, but I'm hoping we can explore that in more detail during this meeting." Or: "I only have your best interests at heart, and I promise to be honest with you throughout our conversation. In the end, I hope that we can mutually decide if there is a reason to move forward. If not, that's fine too, and I hope you'll feel comfortable telling me so." This advice runs counter to 90% of the approaches I see being used in the field today. But then again, maybe that's why only 10% of sales people are top performers. Try it yourself a few times, and you'll be amazed at the response you get.
6. Don't go for the big decision all at once.
In our personal lives, we don't propose to someone on a first date (at least, not usually!). The same is true in our business relationships. So get approval from the customer to move ahead in increasing increments. The first approval might be just to agree to speak openly with each other, as outlined in Tip #5 above. The second could be an agreement on a follow-up call time or meeting date. The third might be gaining agreement on the decision making criteria or a commitment to have the "big boss" present at the demo, followed by an agreement to a "go/no go" decision date. All too often, I see sales people jumping way ahead of their prospect's buying curve. This puts the buyer and seller out of sync. When the sales person is trying to close while the prospect is still evaluating options or determining risk, trust is broken, the prospect feels pushed and the sale comes dangerously close to disappearing.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Check Your Attitude - You Cannot Sell Ice To An Eskimo
Can you sell ice to an Eskimo? What about ice cream to an Eskimo? How about ice cubes?
If you said yes to the above questions, then congratulations, you suck as a salesperson!
Of course, nobody sells ice to an Eskimo. That is just a metaphor. But some salespeople love to boast that they can. It is my belief that those salespeople that claim to be able to sell ice to an Eskimo are actually bad salespeople. It is this cocky attitude that represents everything bad about the sales profession. When you say you can sell ice to an Eskimo, you are basically saying that you will sell anything to anybody, no matter if they actually need what you are selling or not. An Eskimo does not need ice.
Think about the image of the slimy used car salesman. People hate this person and everything he represents. He is out to make a buck at the expense of anybody he can swindle. He doesn’t care if he sells you a lemon as long as he gets paid his commission. It is cocky people like this that give sales professionals a bad image.
So, would you still want to sell ice to an Eskimo? If you sell something that doesn't actually need your product, your client will eventually come to terms with this fact and will probably end up telling others. You will eventually get a bad reputation and lose future customers. You can forget about getting future business referrals as well. People will generally dislike you.
If you said yes to the above questions, then congratulations, you suck as a salesperson!
Of course, nobody sells ice to an Eskimo. That is just a metaphor. But some salespeople love to boast that they can. It is my belief that those salespeople that claim to be able to sell ice to an Eskimo are actually bad salespeople. It is this cocky attitude that represents everything bad about the sales profession. When you say you can sell ice to an Eskimo, you are basically saying that you will sell anything to anybody, no matter if they actually need what you are selling or not. An Eskimo does not need ice.
Think about the image of the slimy used car salesman. People hate this person and everything he represents. He is out to make a buck at the expense of anybody he can swindle. He doesn’t care if he sells you a lemon as long as he gets paid his commission. It is cocky people like this that give sales professionals a bad image.
So, would you still want to sell ice to an Eskimo? If you sell something that doesn't actually need your product, your client will eventually come to terms with this fact and will probably end up telling others. You will eventually get a bad reputation and lose future customers. You can forget about getting future business referrals as well. People will generally dislike you.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
What If
What if this year;
You made one more prospect phone call every day?
You asked every prospect and client for a referral?
You eliminated one destructive sales habit?
You increased your market awareness with better networking skills?
You attended a sales seminar or sales boot camp that your company didn’t pay for?
You stopped accepting prospect’s excuses?
You became the most knowledgeable person in your industry?
These questions are endless and I won’t give you more to think about than you have time for today or even this week.
But I will share with you a simple truth – if you want to sell more every year you have to get better every year.
Let me get to the heart of the matter. If you have been receiving my tips for more than a few months you know that I have spent little time promoting my books, CD’s and boot camps. If you enjoy my tips and benefit from just a few hundred words once a week I would ask you – have you yet purchased one of my over 100 books, manuals or CD’s?
If yes, I hope you have enjoyed them and benefited from them. If not, why haven’t you? Is it the money? Remember the cost of not learning is far higher than the investment in learning. Is it the lack of time? Or some other reason or excuse?
Let me repeat at the sake of sounding redundant. If you want to sell MORE every year you MUST get better every year.
So let me ask you;
What is on your agenda this year to improve your skills?
What is your budget this year for improving your abilities?
What time have you allocated to learning and improving?
What career development organizations are you going to join this year?
What books are you going to read this year?
Let me leave you with some of the statistics and concepts that have driven my personal development philosophy for over forty years.
- Less than ten percent of the population gets what they want from life.
- Less than five percent of the population routinely invests in the improvement and
development of their skills and attitudes.
You made one more prospect phone call every day?
You asked every prospect and client for a referral?
You eliminated one destructive sales habit?
You increased your market awareness with better networking skills?
You attended a sales seminar or sales boot camp that your company didn’t pay for?
You stopped accepting prospect’s excuses?
You became the most knowledgeable person in your industry?
These questions are endless and I won’t give you more to think about than you have time for today or even this week.
But I will share with you a simple truth – if you want to sell more every year you have to get better every year.
Let me get to the heart of the matter. If you have been receiving my tips for more than a few months you know that I have spent little time promoting my books, CD’s and boot camps. If you enjoy my tips and benefit from just a few hundred words once a week I would ask you – have you yet purchased one of my over 100 books, manuals or CD’s?
If yes, I hope you have enjoyed them and benefited from them. If not, why haven’t you? Is it the money? Remember the cost of not learning is far higher than the investment in learning. Is it the lack of time? Or some other reason or excuse?
Let me repeat at the sake of sounding redundant. If you want to sell MORE every year you MUST get better every year.
So let me ask you;
What is on your agenda this year to improve your skills?
What is your budget this year for improving your abilities?
What time have you allocated to learning and improving?
What career development organizations are you going to join this year?
What books are you going to read this year?
Let me leave you with some of the statistics and concepts that have driven my personal development philosophy for over forty years.
- Less than ten percent of the population gets what they want from life.
- Less than five percent of the population routinely invests in the improvement and
development of their skills and attitudes.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
2007 Salesmanship Tips - Selling and Negotiating with Integrity
Perhaps you are already in a sales job or had been a sales profession for a while and you have read various books on the subject and you have decided to maintain and continue your sales profession ongoing education by also reading this book. This is a very smart habit for salespeople because it keeps them motivated and at the top of their game. But what he is a salesperson? In this book we will discuss selling with integrity and positioning yourself as a; Consultant, Problem Solver and Expert.
In my career I started out as a very small business and grew the business very large into a franchising company servicing 450 cities and 110 markets with franchisees in 23 states and four countries. In franchising there is a lot of sales going on for instance you have to sell the franchise and put the franchised outlet into the marketplace and then help the franchisee with their sales and train them to be effective. Also many franchise companies like ours had national accounts and those two needed to be sold. After all if the franchisees did not make money they would not be able to pay us the royalties.
As we set out to sell our franchises we realized that we had to sell only to qualified prospects who we believed could carry our brand name without tarnishing our stellar reputation. We also quickly realize that when we sold national accounts those companies were interested in saving money and would only hire our services if we could save them money and of course we could not take the accounts unless we could make money doing it. You can see quite quickly how selling with integrity and positioning yourself as a consultant, problem solver and expert was paramount to our success as a franchising company.
In my career I started out as a very small business and grew the business very large into a franchising company servicing 450 cities and 110 markets with franchisees in 23 states and four countries. In franchising there is a lot of sales going on for instance you have to sell the franchise and put the franchised outlet into the marketplace and then help the franchisee with their sales and train them to be effective. Also many franchise companies like ours had national accounts and those two needed to be sold. After all if the franchisees did not make money they would not be able to pay us the royalties.
As we set out to sell our franchises we realized that we had to sell only to qualified prospects who we believed could carry our brand name without tarnishing our stellar reputation. We also quickly realize that when we sold national accounts those companies were interested in saving money and would only hire our services if we could save them money and of course we could not take the accounts unless we could make money doing it. You can see quite quickly how selling with integrity and positioning yourself as a consultant, problem solver and expert was paramount to our success as a franchising company.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
