One of the challenges facing all businesses is that of being seen as ‘different’. A business-owner must take deliberate and positive steps to set their business apart from other businesses (especially their competitors) in the eyes of their prospective customers.
If you are in business you must remember that one of the questions your prospective customers will have in mind when considering a purchase is “Why should I deal with this person/ business and not one of the others I can choose from?” While your customers may not ask you this question directly they will ask themselves. Therefore, you must have an absolutely clear understanding of the answer and make it easy for your prospective customers to find it.
This is because, if Business A looks too much like its competitor, Business B, the products and services offered may be reduced to the level of commodities in the eyes of the prospective customer. If the prospective customer sees a product or service as a commodity they will almost certainly base any buying decision on price alone.
How can you set your business apart?
Firstly, identify your Positive Points of Difference (PPDs). These should reflect a number of positive points about your business; for example
> the superior quality of the products or services you offer
> the wider range of products or services you offer
> the wider range of options (or locations) you have
> the ‘look’ of your premises and/or your staff
> the quality, attitude and experience level of your staff
> the more comprehensive nature of the guarantee you offer
> the promise you make through the slogan or jingle you use in your advertising.
If you operate in a field that has a bad reputation for tardiness it could be simply that you are always on time. Your staff may simply be more polite and obliging than the staff of your competitors (remember that most people will pay a premium price to deal with people they like).
As you do this consider these points. You may wish to present a combination of PPDs that makes you appear unique; and, if you can’t identify PPDs (or think that the PPDs you do identify lack potency) you will have to create some.
Secondly, you must, where appropriate, introduce your PPDs in your sales presentation/ demonstration.
This is easily done. During the initial minutes of your presentation/ demonstration when you are trying to relax your prospective customer include a minute or two to talk about your PPDs. You can introduce them by saying, “We think we are a little bit different at Our Business Inc – do you mind if I tell you why?” You can then give simple summary of your PPDs.
Thirdly, another way of being seen as ‘different’ is to always do that little bit extra, and do it for nothing
This means always trying to give your customers a little bit more than they paid for. This is like the free coffee or mints at the end of a restaurant meal. It’s a free vacuum or wash when your car is serviced. It’s the follow-up phone call to say “Thanks”. It’s the birthday phone call. It’s the occasional freebie. Most of your competitors will be too stingy or too busy to do these things. This makes it easier for you to make a good and lasting impression of being ‘different’.
Final words of warning – when talking about your PPDs never ‘put down’ or criticise your competitors; and certainly don’t refer to them by name. Simply identify and present your own PPDs in a sincere attempt to have your prospective customer see you and your business as ‘different’ and ‘good to deal with’.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 22/4 is The Common Denominator for Success. It's ageless wisdom that is still relevant in today's world.)
Showing posts with label sales tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales tips. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
Practice makes perfect
Professional actors and musicians rehearse. The best sportspeople practise. The armed forces make their members drill and practise things like tactics and weapons handling.
Why do they do that? So they can perform in pressure situations almost without thinking. For an actor or musician it could lead to a near-perfect performance and a rave review. For a sportsperson it could mean the difference between being a team regular or a fringe player. For a soldier, it could save their life or the lives of their mates.
Similarly, the ability to perform in challenging situations is tremendously valuable to salespeople. If they are able to do so they find it easier to deal with them; if they are not able to do so they will lose sales that they otherwise would make.
Why then is there a reluctance in many businesses to provide adequate sales skills practice – away from real life customers?
Is it because the boss simply doesn’t ‘get’ the importance of such practice? Is it because the boss is uncomfortable with the idea? Is it because the boss doesn’t want the sales staff to feel uncomfortable? Doesn’t the boss know how to set it up?
Here are some pointers for bosses who want to help their salespeople practise effectively.
Make sure that your expectations are clear
This means that any skills to be practised must first be scripted (or at least a comprehensive outline prepared). The best salespeople are performers in the same way that actors are. The best actors have the ability to put life into the script they are following. Similarly, practising sales skills is about having salespeople follow the script (or outline) to the best of their ability and to bring that script to life. This is what you expect.
Give practice a name that your salespeople can be comfortable with
In some businesses practice is called role-play; other businesses call it drill; others call it rehearsal. Give it a name that fits the style of your business but, whatever you call it, don’t let it be seen as an opportunity to embarrass people or put them down.
Set aside adequate practice time on a regular basis
Practice is best done on a regular basis as part of a general training routine. It can’t be seen as punishment. Regular practice gives salespeople the opportunity to get over any initial discomfort and to get used to the practice environment. This then gives them the opportunity to focus on improving their performance without being overly-concerned about the presence of others.
Lighten up – treat mistakes as learning opportunities
Practice must be a positive learning experience; it’s about building people up not about putting them down. This is best done if it is carried out in a good-humoured way without it becoming flippant.
The place to make mistakes is in the training room; in the training room mistakes are cheap; in the show room they can be very expensive. With this in mind the boss must forgive mistakes while making sure that the salespeople learn from them
Take your turn
The most effective practice occurs when the boss, whether the business-owner or a manager, takes a turn. This means demonstrating what is expected of the salespeople; not only ‘telling’ but also ‘showing’.
This means that the boss has to keep his or her sales skills up. This also is a positive thing; it sets the standard and demonstrates leadership by example (and makes salespeople more likely to follow).
Always create the opportunity for self-critique
The first question any salesperson should be asked after a practice session is ‘What, if anything, would you do differently if you had the chance to do that again?’
This is a positive opportunity. It means that the salesperson can critique themselves first; pointing out things that they recognise could have been done better. Self-criticism is easier to accept than the criticism of others.
Sometimes the salesperson will be unnecessarily harsh in their self-critique. If this happens it’s appropriate for the boss to correct them and let them know that they did a better job than they thought they did.
Ensure that feedback from others is always constructive
Once the self-critique has been made, others in the group can offer their feedback. The boss can’t allow the criticism to become destructive – it must always be constructive. Remember also that the feedback is about how well the salesperson followed the script (or outline) and brought it to life; it is not about unrelated personal opinions.
What to focus on when practising
There are key steps in any sales process; clumsiness during any of them could result in the needless loss of a sale. While the steps differ slightly from business to business they generally include Engaging the customer, Conversational questioning (to establish needs and wants), the ‘show’ (or demonstration), handling Objections and Closing.
It is important that all of these key steps be practised on an on-going basis; the idea is to sharpen the knife before it gets blunt.
Final point
Many salespeople assert that they perform better in a real life sales situation than they do in a practice situation; this is probably true. It follows therefore that if they can improve their performance at practice they will perform even better in real life, with even better results.
(The up-coming post for Monday 20/4 is What sets your business apart. It's about Positive Points of Difference.)
Why do they do that? So they can perform in pressure situations almost without thinking. For an actor or musician it could lead to a near-perfect performance and a rave review. For a sportsperson it could mean the difference between being a team regular or a fringe player. For a soldier, it could save their life or the lives of their mates.
Similarly, the ability to perform in challenging situations is tremendously valuable to salespeople. If they are able to do so they find it easier to deal with them; if they are not able to do so they will lose sales that they otherwise would make.
Why then is there a reluctance in many businesses to provide adequate sales skills practice – away from real life customers?
Is it because the boss simply doesn’t ‘get’ the importance of such practice? Is it because the boss is uncomfortable with the idea? Is it because the boss doesn’t want the sales staff to feel uncomfortable? Doesn’t the boss know how to set it up?
Here are some pointers for bosses who want to help their salespeople practise effectively.
Make sure that your expectations are clear
This means that any skills to be practised must first be scripted (or at least a comprehensive outline prepared). The best salespeople are performers in the same way that actors are. The best actors have the ability to put life into the script they are following. Similarly, practising sales skills is about having salespeople follow the script (or outline) to the best of their ability and to bring that script to life. This is what you expect.
Give practice a name that your salespeople can be comfortable with
In some businesses practice is called role-play; other businesses call it drill; others call it rehearsal. Give it a name that fits the style of your business but, whatever you call it, don’t let it be seen as an opportunity to embarrass people or put them down.
Set aside adequate practice time on a regular basis
Practice is best done on a regular basis as part of a general training routine. It can’t be seen as punishment. Regular practice gives salespeople the opportunity to get over any initial discomfort and to get used to the practice environment. This then gives them the opportunity to focus on improving their performance without being overly-concerned about the presence of others.
Lighten up – treat mistakes as learning opportunities
Practice must be a positive learning experience; it’s about building people up not about putting them down. This is best done if it is carried out in a good-humoured way without it becoming flippant.
The place to make mistakes is in the training room; in the training room mistakes are cheap; in the show room they can be very expensive. With this in mind the boss must forgive mistakes while making sure that the salespeople learn from them
Take your turn
The most effective practice occurs when the boss, whether the business-owner or a manager, takes a turn. This means demonstrating what is expected of the salespeople; not only ‘telling’ but also ‘showing’.
This means that the boss has to keep his or her sales skills up. This also is a positive thing; it sets the standard and demonstrates leadership by example (and makes salespeople more likely to follow).
Always create the opportunity for self-critique
The first question any salesperson should be asked after a practice session is ‘What, if anything, would you do differently if you had the chance to do that again?’
This is a positive opportunity. It means that the salesperson can critique themselves first; pointing out things that they recognise could have been done better. Self-criticism is easier to accept than the criticism of others.
Sometimes the salesperson will be unnecessarily harsh in their self-critique. If this happens it’s appropriate for the boss to correct them and let them know that they did a better job than they thought they did.
Ensure that feedback from others is always constructive
Once the self-critique has been made, others in the group can offer their feedback. The boss can’t allow the criticism to become destructive – it must always be constructive. Remember also that the feedback is about how well the salesperson followed the script (or outline) and brought it to life; it is not about unrelated personal opinions.
What to focus on when practising
There are key steps in any sales process; clumsiness during any of them could result in the needless loss of a sale. While the steps differ slightly from business to business they generally include Engaging the customer, Conversational questioning (to establish needs and wants), the ‘show’ (or demonstration), handling Objections and Closing.
It is important that all of these key steps be practised on an on-going basis; the idea is to sharpen the knife before it gets blunt.
Final point
Many salespeople assert that they perform better in a real life sales situation than they do in a practice situation; this is probably true. It follows therefore that if they can improve their performance at practice they will perform even better in real life, with even better results.
(The up-coming post for Monday 20/4 is What sets your business apart. It's about Positive Points of Difference.)
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
It's not just about price
Sometimes we can fall for the trap of believing that sales success is all about price - if we do this we overlook the other two Ps - product and person.
Sure, price is important but it's also important to get the product right. By this I mean that the product or service that we are offering must satisfy our customer's needs and wants - if it doesn't there will be no sale regardless of the price.
The person (in this case the salesperson) is also important. We all know salespeople who have that 'winning way' - they're not con-artists or crooks - they're simply genuine, honest, open, likeable people who demonstrate that they have their customer's needs in mind.
These salespeople don't have to haggle or discount to the bone - because people want to do business with them. Maybe we should follow their example.
(The up-coming post for Friday 17/4 is Practice makes perfect. It's about the importance of rehearsal for sales training to be effective.)
Sure, price is important but it's also important to get the product right. By this I mean that the product or service that we are offering must satisfy our customer's needs and wants - if it doesn't there will be no sale regardless of the price.
The person (in this case the salesperson) is also important. We all know salespeople who have that 'winning way' - they're not con-artists or crooks - they're simply genuine, honest, open, likeable people who demonstrate that they have their customer's needs in mind.
These salespeople don't have to haggle or discount to the bone - because people want to do business with them. Maybe we should follow their example.
(The up-coming post for Friday 17/4 is Practice makes perfect. It's about the importance of rehearsal for sales training to be effective.)
Monday, April 13, 2015
Continue to add new customers
As business-people we understand the priority that must be given to looking after our existing customers. Because of this we can sometimes overlook the need to also always be adding new customers.
In my view if a business is not adding new customers to its customer base it is dying - sometimes slowly, other times at pace.
(Let's remember that, over any reasonable time-frame, some of our existing customers will go out of business, move to other suppliers or simply be taken over by another entity with pre-existing relationships.)
My tip therefore is to, as part of your regular objective-setting, set objectives related to sales (ideally, profits) to be generated through new customers acquired and measure your results. Treat this as one of the critical KPIs.
By doing this you will have taken an important step towards keeping your business viable over the long term.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 15/4 is It's not just about price. It's a reminder about the other factors that can lead to a sale being made.)
In my view if a business is not adding new customers to its customer base it is dying - sometimes slowly, other times at pace.
(Let's remember that, over any reasonable time-frame, some of our existing customers will go out of business, move to other suppliers or simply be taken over by another entity with pre-existing relationships.)
My tip therefore is to, as part of your regular objective-setting, set objectives related to sales (ideally, profits) to be generated through new customers acquired and measure your results. Treat this as one of the critical KPIs.
By doing this you will have taken an important step towards keeping your business viable over the long term.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 15/4 is It's not just about price. It's a reminder about the other factors that can lead to a sale being made.)
Friday, April 10, 2015
Keep your eyes on the target market
As a general rule the better-defined a business's target market is the easier it is for that business to develop strategies for accessing that target market.
If the target is clear the necessary actions are normally clear; if the target is fuzzy the actions will be fuzzy.
With that thought in mind regularly re-define your target market and re-calibrate your marketing 'guns'.
By doing this you should be able to get best value for your marketing dollars (and time) and continue to hit your target market(s) (in the nicest possible way!).
(The up-coming post for Monday 13/4 is Continue to add new customers. It's about rings on the sales 'tree'.)
If the target is clear the necessary actions are normally clear; if the target is fuzzy the actions will be fuzzy.
With that thought in mind regularly re-define your target market and re-calibrate your marketing 'guns'.
By doing this you should be able to get best value for your marketing dollars (and time) and continue to hit your target market(s) (in the nicest possible way!).
(The up-coming post for Monday 13/4 is Continue to add new customers. It's about rings on the sales 'tree'.)
Friday, April 3, 2015
Keep your 'sales saw' sharp
When he wrote his ‘must read’ book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Steven Covey reminded us to ‘sharpen the saw’ if we wanted to be effective as a person. In doing so he referred to the need for self-renewal in life generally.
We can apply this principle to the business of selling.
In sales, having a blunt saw results in wasted effort and resources, with sales being lost when they should have been made. This in turn results in decreased profitability and lessening enthusiasm. Unless something is done it can start a serious downward spiral.
Whether you are an employee-salesperson or a business-owner-salesperson, if you think that your ‘sales saw’ has got a bit blunt, here are five ‘back-to-basics’ steps that you can take to help sharpen it.
1) Remind yourself of the benefits that your products provide to your customers
Customers don’t buy products or services, they buy the benefits that a product or service provides. If you have been focusing on your product or service when selling to your customers (and not focusing on the benefits that your product or service provides) you have been compromising your sales results.
An ideal way to fix this is to do (or re-do) a Features and Benefits analysis for each of your major products.
Take some sheets of paper (one sheet per product) and draw a vertical line down each sheet in such a way as to give two columns of about the same size. Head the left column of each sheet Features and the right column Benefits. Under the Features heading list ‘bullet-point’ fashion the various features of the product; then under the Benefits heading describe the benefits that each of these features provide your customers.
Now you can concentrate on talking benefit-speak not product-speak when talking with prospective customers.
2) Remind yourself of what’s so special about you and your business
This is about knowing and promoting the positive points that set you apart from your competitors; these are your Positive Points of Difference.
Customers generally have choices when buying. They can choose from a range of products that meet their requirements and they can choose from a number of suppliers.
You need to be able to give your customers good reasons for dealing with you and you must be prepared to put those reasons in front of your customers in a professional, non-aggressive way.
(Customers will rarely ask “Why should I deal with you and not a competitor?” but they will almost always have the question in mind while talking with you.)
You can now take the opportunity to answer the question (whether they ask it or not) by ‘selling’ your Positive Points of Difference via your standard sales talk.
3) Remind yourself of your Target Market
To my mind there are two aspects to this point. The first is to do with prospect ‘profile’, the second is to do with geography.
Firstly, having reminded yourself about Features and Benefits in Point 1 you should be able to think through and answer the question ‘What sort of people (or businesses) stand to gain most from the benefits my product provides and be most prepared to pay?’
This in turn will help you profile your best prospects and point you towards the section of the overall market that will give you better sales results and improved profitability.
Secondly, are you seeking to serve customers in your suburb, the state, the country or the whole world?
Marketing time and dollars are always in short supply. The clearer the definition of geographic area the easier you will find it to focus those limited resources where they are likely to get best return.
4) Review your Lead Generation methods
The easier it is for you to identify your preferred prospects the easier it is for you to be precise and targeted in approaching them.
For example, if your Target Market is amongst plumbers or printers you can be very precise and targeted because these businesses usually list themselves in various directories. The initial approach to these businesses could be via Direct Mail with a follow-up phone call.
If, on the other hand, your Target Market is amongst DIY home-owners you can’t be very precise because, while they may be more numerous in some suburbs than in others, they generally live amongst non-DIY people.
With these people you may need to adopt a more blanket approach initially, while you build up a list of purchasers for ongoing marketing.
Make sure that your Lead Generation methods continue to be appropriate to your Target Market.
5) Review the questions you ask prospective customers during your sales discussions with them
A vital part of the sales process is that part where you attempt to identify your prospective customer’s Needs and Wants. The only way that you can do this is to, at the right time, ask intelligent questions in a conversational way. These questions need to be well-planned and well-rehearsed.
Make sure that you prepare well. Ask the right questions in the right order (and don’t ask questions that don’t need to be asked.)
Summary
It’s possible for us to get so busy selling that our saw goes blunt without us realising.
The solution, of course, is to set aside regular time for saw-sharpening so that it never gets so blunt that is causes us problems.
(The up-coming post for Friday 10/4 is Keep your eyes on your target market. It's about not wasting your marketing 'shots'.)
We can apply this principle to the business of selling.
In sales, having a blunt saw results in wasted effort and resources, with sales being lost when they should have been made. This in turn results in decreased profitability and lessening enthusiasm. Unless something is done it can start a serious downward spiral.
Whether you are an employee-salesperson or a business-owner-salesperson, if you think that your ‘sales saw’ has got a bit blunt, here are five ‘back-to-basics’ steps that you can take to help sharpen it.
1) Remind yourself of the benefits that your products provide to your customers
Customers don’t buy products or services, they buy the benefits that a product or service provides. If you have been focusing on your product or service when selling to your customers (and not focusing on the benefits that your product or service provides) you have been compromising your sales results.
An ideal way to fix this is to do (or re-do) a Features and Benefits analysis for each of your major products.
Take some sheets of paper (one sheet per product) and draw a vertical line down each sheet in such a way as to give two columns of about the same size. Head the left column of each sheet Features and the right column Benefits. Under the Features heading list ‘bullet-point’ fashion the various features of the product; then under the Benefits heading describe the benefits that each of these features provide your customers.
Now you can concentrate on talking benefit-speak not product-speak when talking with prospective customers.
2) Remind yourself of what’s so special about you and your business
This is about knowing and promoting the positive points that set you apart from your competitors; these are your Positive Points of Difference.
Customers generally have choices when buying. They can choose from a range of products that meet their requirements and they can choose from a number of suppliers.
You need to be able to give your customers good reasons for dealing with you and you must be prepared to put those reasons in front of your customers in a professional, non-aggressive way.
(Customers will rarely ask “Why should I deal with you and not a competitor?” but they will almost always have the question in mind while talking with you.)
You can now take the opportunity to answer the question (whether they ask it or not) by ‘selling’ your Positive Points of Difference via your standard sales talk.
3) Remind yourself of your Target Market
To my mind there are two aspects to this point. The first is to do with prospect ‘profile’, the second is to do with geography.
Firstly, having reminded yourself about Features and Benefits in Point 1 you should be able to think through and answer the question ‘What sort of people (or businesses) stand to gain most from the benefits my product provides and be most prepared to pay?’
This in turn will help you profile your best prospects and point you towards the section of the overall market that will give you better sales results and improved profitability.
Secondly, are you seeking to serve customers in your suburb, the state, the country or the whole world?
Marketing time and dollars are always in short supply. The clearer the definition of geographic area the easier you will find it to focus those limited resources where they are likely to get best return.
4) Review your Lead Generation methods
The easier it is for you to identify your preferred prospects the easier it is for you to be precise and targeted in approaching them.
For example, if your Target Market is amongst plumbers or printers you can be very precise and targeted because these businesses usually list themselves in various directories. The initial approach to these businesses could be via Direct Mail with a follow-up phone call.
If, on the other hand, your Target Market is amongst DIY home-owners you can’t be very precise because, while they may be more numerous in some suburbs than in others, they generally live amongst non-DIY people.
With these people you may need to adopt a more blanket approach initially, while you build up a list of purchasers for ongoing marketing.
Make sure that your Lead Generation methods continue to be appropriate to your Target Market.
5) Review the questions you ask prospective customers during your sales discussions with them
A vital part of the sales process is that part where you attempt to identify your prospective customer’s Needs and Wants. The only way that you can do this is to, at the right time, ask intelligent questions in a conversational way. These questions need to be well-planned and well-rehearsed.
Make sure that you prepare well. Ask the right questions in the right order (and don’t ask questions that don’t need to be asked.)
Summary
It’s possible for us to get so busy selling that our saw goes blunt without us realising.
The solution, of course, is to set aside regular time for saw-sharpening so that it never gets so blunt that is causes us problems.
(The up-coming post for Friday 10/4 is Keep your eyes on your target market. It's about not wasting your marketing 'shots'.)
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Beware of poor attitudes
In the world of Sales things do not always go our way. When this happens it can be easy to become downhearted, even negative.
Remember that our attitudes have a profound effect on our actions. Our actions in turn determine the results we achieve. It is because of this that we must guard against developing poor attitudes.
We must also guard against being infected by the poor attitudes of some other people. Avoid negative people; they will only drag you down to their level.
(The up-coming post for Friday 3/4 is Keep your 'sales saw' sharp. It's a lesson drawn from one of Steven Covey's best books.)
Remember that our attitudes have a profound effect on our actions. Our actions in turn determine the results we achieve. It is because of this that we must guard against developing poor attitudes.
We must also guard against being infected by the poor attitudes of some other people. Avoid negative people; they will only drag you down to their level.
(The up-coming post for Friday 3/4 is Keep your 'sales saw' sharp. It's a lesson drawn from one of Steven Covey's best books.)
Monday, March 30, 2015
Do a SWOT
The value of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is that it encourages a businessperson to look at their sales operation from an ‘outside looking in’ perspective. Don’t be afraid to enlist some help.
Write on a whiteboard all those factors that you see as being Strengths in your sales operation (eg great products, experienced salespeople, high profile promotion, high-value pricing etc). Then list the Weaknesses (eg lack of credit facilities, low profile, limited marketing resources etc). Having done this, talk through and identify the Opportunities available (eg add products, start marketing to new segments etc) and then the Threats (eg aggressive competitors, over-reliance on a small number of customers or suppliers etc) that may exist.
As the SWOT analysis is being done a number of possible Action Points will emerge. These should be noted for later evaluation with the view to including them in the business’s plans for the future.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 1/4 is Beware of poor attitudes. It's a short reminder about the effect that attitudes can have on sales results.)
Write on a whiteboard all those factors that you see as being Strengths in your sales operation (eg great products, experienced salespeople, high profile promotion, high-value pricing etc). Then list the Weaknesses (eg lack of credit facilities, low profile, limited marketing resources etc). Having done this, talk through and identify the Opportunities available (eg add products, start marketing to new segments etc) and then the Threats (eg aggressive competitors, over-reliance on a small number of customers or suppliers etc) that may exist.
As the SWOT analysis is being done a number of possible Action Points will emerge. These should be noted for later evaluation with the view to including them in the business’s plans for the future.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 1/4 is Beware of poor attitudes. It's a short reminder about the effect that attitudes can have on sales results.)
Friday, March 27, 2015
Sell more with a Concerns Menu
Do your ever get the feeling that you (or your salespeople) miss sales because they aren't getting close enough to prospective customers to really understand them and their concerns.
If so, a Concerns Menu may help. What's a Concerns Menu? It's a little like a 'bill of fare' on which is listed a number (no more than six) of issues that have been of concern to previous customers where you have been able to help.
The idea is to list these issues in bullet point format - keeping each point as succinct as possible. I encourage my clients to use no more that three words per bullet point and to put them on their business letterhead.
Using the Concerns Menu is a fairly simple matter. At an appropriate time in the sales conversation ask your prospective customer 'Do you mind if I show you something? It's a list of some of the major issues that some of our existing customers have had - and that we have been able to help them with. There may be something there that may help you'. Assuming that they agree to look at the list show it to them and talk them through each of the issues - keeping it short and simple.
If you are alert to their body language you will see what points 'hit home'.
Having gone through the list ask the question 'Is there any thing on this list that concerns you?'
Assuming that you have identified at least one concern you are now in a position to tease it out further.
(I am an advocate of the EASE sales format. The Concerns Menu concept fits well in the second step of EASE, that is the Ask.)
(The up-coming post for Monday 30/3 is Do a SWOT. It's a reminder of the value of a SWOT analysis in sales.)
If so, a Concerns Menu may help. What's a Concerns Menu? It's a little like a 'bill of fare' on which is listed a number (no more than six) of issues that have been of concern to previous customers where you have been able to help.
The idea is to list these issues in bullet point format - keeping each point as succinct as possible. I encourage my clients to use no more that three words per bullet point and to put them on their business letterhead.
Using the Concerns Menu is a fairly simple matter. At an appropriate time in the sales conversation ask your prospective customer 'Do you mind if I show you something? It's a list of some of the major issues that some of our existing customers have had - and that we have been able to help them with. There may be something there that may help you'. Assuming that they agree to look at the list show it to them and talk them through each of the issues - keeping it short and simple.
If you are alert to their body language you will see what points 'hit home'.
Having gone through the list ask the question 'Is there any thing on this list that concerns you?'
Assuming that you have identified at least one concern you are now in a position to tease it out further.
(I am an advocate of the EASE sales format. The Concerns Menu concept fits well in the second step of EASE, that is the Ask.)
(The up-coming post for Monday 30/3 is Do a SWOT. It's a reminder of the value of a SWOT analysis in sales.)
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Who does the coaching?
Who does the coaching at your place?
A major mistake that business owners and managers make is that of not coaching their salespeople. While this is especially true in respect of new salespeople it also applies to salespeople with experience. If coaching is so important, and failure to do so costly, why is this mistake made so often?
It is because we assume that, when a salesperson says they know something they will also do it. In the words of the song “It ain’t necessarily so”.
To understand that knowing and doing don’t always go together we need only to look in a mirror. How often do we not do things that we know we should do, or do things that we know we shouldn’t do? It’s basic human behaviour. But why? And how can the answer help us to help our salespeople perform better?
Knowing but not doing is caused by a lack of self-discipline. It follows then that, if a salesperson doesn’t have the necessary self-discipline, the discipline must come from an outside source. Business owners and managers must accept the challenge of being that outside source and work on, over time, helping the salesperson develop self-discipline. This is a key part of sales coaching.
Put another way, business owners and managers must accept the Sales Coaches’ key responsibility of making their salespeople work effectively.
The following tips will help you do a better job of coaching inexperienced salespeople; you will also get some ideas for use with experienced people.
Firstly, decide how you want things done in the sales function of Your Business and publish clear expectations in areas like
- prospecting sources and technique
- approach technique
- qualifying practices
- presentation/demonstration structure
- work effort and activity levels
- Time Management, especially the use of To Do Lists and a Diary.
Secondly, inspect what you expect. While you do this keep a close eye on
- what is being said during the four critical sales steps; the Approach, the Qualifying, the Presentation/demonstration and the Close?
- how is it being said?
- how often is it being said?
- to whom is it being said?
Let’s look at each in order.
What is being said in the Approach, Qualifying, Presentation/demonstration and Close?
The Coach has the responsibility of ensuring that their sales team has access to the best and most useful sales material affordable. This includes approach and other sales scripts that work. The Coach must then provide plenty of drill in the use of these scripts to ensure that the salesperson knows what to say and how to say it under the pressure of a real life sales situation.
The Coach chooses the scripts to be followed and shouldn’t allow any alterations to be made by the salesperson. If a better way is identified then that ‘better way’ must be adopted as the standard.
In particular, remember that lots of sales are lost because the salesperson either doesn’t Close or Closes clumsily. This means that Closing must be practised until it is seamless.
How is it being said?
This is about style, tone and tempo. Is the salesperson conversing with the customer confidently and persuasively? Or is their performance lacklustre and unconvincing?
The best way to find out the answers to these questions is to observe the salesperson in real life sales situations. This means that the Coach sets aside time on a regular basis to observe the salesperson in the field. Sometimes the Coach should do the presenting; thus giving the salesperson a valuable opportunity to ‘learn by observing’.
How often is it being said?
This is about activity levels. Some salespeople fail solely through lack of activity. If activity levels are to be monitored the Coach must insist that the salesperson keep accurate records of units of activity like numbers of Calls Made (or Received), Sales Appointments Secured, Sales Appointments Conducted, Asked to Buys, Sales Made (and their $ value).
If these records are kept a lack of activity can be spotted early; it can then be fixed before too much damage is done.
At the end of each week this information should be entered on a spreadsheet set up to calculate key ratios such as Average Calls per Sale, Average Asked to Buys per Sale and Average $ value per Sale. These are the Coach’s match stats; they help pinpoint opportunities for improvement.
Who are they saying it to?
Some salespeople struggle because they waste too much time on poor quality prospects. It is the Coach’s responsibility to prevent this from happening by assisting a new salesperson to prepare profiles of 2 or 3 ‘prime prospect’ groups and then insist that the salesperson maintain focus on those groups.
For example, in the Business-to-Business market prime prospect groups could be described by Industry sector, location of Head Office and number of employees
The Coach then needs to show the salesperson how to locate such prospects and how to Qualify them properly.
Additional prospect groups can be added to the mix as the salesperson develops.
A final point
If all this seems to be too much trouble, remember that a poorly performing salesperson is costly. They’ll eventually leave and you’ll have to do it all over again. Why not strive to get it right from the start?
(The up-coming post for Friday is Sell more with a Concerns Menu. It's about a little-used but very effective sales aid.)
A major mistake that business owners and managers make is that of not coaching their salespeople. While this is especially true in respect of new salespeople it also applies to salespeople with experience. If coaching is so important, and failure to do so costly, why is this mistake made so often?
It is because we assume that, when a salesperson says they know something they will also do it. In the words of the song “It ain’t necessarily so”.
To understand that knowing and doing don’t always go together we need only to look in a mirror. How often do we not do things that we know we should do, or do things that we know we shouldn’t do? It’s basic human behaviour. But why? And how can the answer help us to help our salespeople perform better?
Knowing but not doing is caused by a lack of self-discipline. It follows then that, if a salesperson doesn’t have the necessary self-discipline, the discipline must come from an outside source. Business owners and managers must accept the challenge of being that outside source and work on, over time, helping the salesperson develop self-discipline. This is a key part of sales coaching.
Put another way, business owners and managers must accept the Sales Coaches’ key responsibility of making their salespeople work effectively.
The following tips will help you do a better job of coaching inexperienced salespeople; you will also get some ideas for use with experienced people.
Firstly, decide how you want things done in the sales function of Your Business and publish clear expectations in areas like
- prospecting sources and technique
- approach technique
- qualifying practices
- presentation/demonstration structure
- work effort and activity levels
- Time Management, especially the use of To Do Lists and a Diary.
Secondly, inspect what you expect. While you do this keep a close eye on
- what is being said during the four critical sales steps; the Approach, the Qualifying, the Presentation/demonstration and the Close?
- how is it being said?
- how often is it being said?
- to whom is it being said?
Let’s look at each in order.
What is being said in the Approach, Qualifying, Presentation/demonstration and Close?
The Coach has the responsibility of ensuring that their sales team has access to the best and most useful sales material affordable. This includes approach and other sales scripts that work. The Coach must then provide plenty of drill in the use of these scripts to ensure that the salesperson knows what to say and how to say it under the pressure of a real life sales situation.
The Coach chooses the scripts to be followed and shouldn’t allow any alterations to be made by the salesperson. If a better way is identified then that ‘better way’ must be adopted as the standard.
In particular, remember that lots of sales are lost because the salesperson either doesn’t Close or Closes clumsily. This means that Closing must be practised until it is seamless.
How is it being said?
This is about style, tone and tempo. Is the salesperson conversing with the customer confidently and persuasively? Or is their performance lacklustre and unconvincing?
The best way to find out the answers to these questions is to observe the salesperson in real life sales situations. This means that the Coach sets aside time on a regular basis to observe the salesperson in the field. Sometimes the Coach should do the presenting; thus giving the salesperson a valuable opportunity to ‘learn by observing’.
How often is it being said?
This is about activity levels. Some salespeople fail solely through lack of activity. If activity levels are to be monitored the Coach must insist that the salesperson keep accurate records of units of activity like numbers of Calls Made (or Received), Sales Appointments Secured, Sales Appointments Conducted, Asked to Buys, Sales Made (and their $ value).
If these records are kept a lack of activity can be spotted early; it can then be fixed before too much damage is done.
At the end of each week this information should be entered on a spreadsheet set up to calculate key ratios such as Average Calls per Sale, Average Asked to Buys per Sale and Average $ value per Sale. These are the Coach’s match stats; they help pinpoint opportunities for improvement.
Who are they saying it to?
Some salespeople struggle because they waste too much time on poor quality prospects. It is the Coach’s responsibility to prevent this from happening by assisting a new salesperson to prepare profiles of 2 or 3 ‘prime prospect’ groups and then insist that the salesperson maintain focus on those groups.
For example, in the Business-to-Business market prime prospect groups could be described by Industry sector, location of Head Office and number of employees
The Coach then needs to show the salesperson how to locate such prospects and how to Qualify them properly.
Additional prospect groups can be added to the mix as the salesperson develops.
A final point
If all this seems to be too much trouble, remember that a poorly performing salesperson is costly. They’ll eventually leave and you’ll have to do it all over again. Why not strive to get it right from the start?
(The up-coming post for Friday is Sell more with a Concerns Menu. It's about a little-used but very effective sales aid.)
Monday, March 23, 2015
About the goals pyramid
We all know that one of the keys to business success is the ability to set clear and co-ordinated goals. Despite this many people in SMBs and elsewhere struggle with the practical application of goal setting principles.
Here are some ideas that may help you -
The Goals Pyramid
Picture a pyramid on top of which rests a single large stone block. This large stone block represents your business’s Primary Goal. Every business must have a clear Primary Goal. This goal can be set by answering a question like “If we achieve nothing else this year, what is the one thing we must achieve?” This may not be an easy question to answer, since it is likely to be linked to stakeholder relationships and the viability or longevity of the business, however you must give it the deep consideration it deserves.
The layer of large blocks immediately below the top block on the pyramid represents a layer of Second-level Goals. These are the goals whose achievement will ensure the achievement of the Primary Goal. These Second-level Goals also need to be identified and set with great care. Depending on the substance of the Second-level Goals it may be necessary to set a series of supporting Third-level Goals, and so on.
By using the Pyramid structure you can ensure that the goal setting for all of your business functions, including your sales and marketing, is aimed at supporting the achievement of the Primary Goal.
Results goals and Activity goals
A Results goal is simply that; an expression of an end-result to be achieved, for example “Gross Sales of $x in the 2004/2005 Financial Year”. An Activity goal is an expression of activity-units to be achieved, for example “New Prospect sales calls of y in the 2004/2005 Financial Year”. People cannot do Results but they can do Activities. That is why it is vital for you, when setting Results Goals, to connect them to Activity Goals to support their achievement. Without this connection your goal setting is little more than wishful thinking.
Tangible and Intangible goals
Not all your goals need to be Tangible. Albert Einstein is reported to have said “Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts”. With that thought in mind you should feel comfortable in setting Intangible goals and including them in your Pyramid if that’s appropriate to your business.
Examples of Intangible goals are “For Our Business Inc to be seen as a valuable member of the local business community” and “To maintain a happy and motivating work environment”. Both goals are worth striving for – however any assessment of success in achieving them could only be based on opinion.
Developing Action Plans from your Goals Pyramid
Goals are about “what the business is going to achieve”; Action Plans are about the “how, in what sequence and by whom”. Every goal in the Pyramid needs to be linked to an Action Plan that sets out action steps to be taken, a ‘do by’ date for each step and the name of the individual responsible for that step. A word of warning; never make a group responsible for an action step because responsibility will slip through the cracks – instead nominate a group leader, give them the necessary authority, and make that person responsible.
Obviously, Action Plans must be recorded in writing so that proper accountability can be maintained and progress can be monitored.
Don’t be fazed by obstacles
It is unlikely that you will progress to the achievement of your goals without meeting obstacles along the way – if it were to be that easy you would have achieved your goals already!
Take time to identify any pre-existing obstacles and include the steps for dealing with them in your plans. When you meet unexpected obstacles along the way don’t panic and don’t give up. Simply amend your plans to deal with the obstacles and get on with it.
Keep your plans alive
Don’t file them away to gather dust all year. A plan is meant to be a support not a straitjacket. Review progress regularly. If a part of your plan goes awry you may decide to dump that part. If an unexpected opportunity arises be flexible - amend your plans so you can capitalise on it.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 25/3 is Who does the coaching? It's about taking responsibility for this important function in a sales group.)
Here are some ideas that may help you -
The Goals Pyramid
Picture a pyramid on top of which rests a single large stone block. This large stone block represents your business’s Primary Goal. Every business must have a clear Primary Goal. This goal can be set by answering a question like “If we achieve nothing else this year, what is the one thing we must achieve?” This may not be an easy question to answer, since it is likely to be linked to stakeholder relationships and the viability or longevity of the business, however you must give it the deep consideration it deserves.
The layer of large blocks immediately below the top block on the pyramid represents a layer of Second-level Goals. These are the goals whose achievement will ensure the achievement of the Primary Goal. These Second-level Goals also need to be identified and set with great care. Depending on the substance of the Second-level Goals it may be necessary to set a series of supporting Third-level Goals, and so on.
By using the Pyramid structure you can ensure that the goal setting for all of your business functions, including your sales and marketing, is aimed at supporting the achievement of the Primary Goal.
Results goals and Activity goals
A Results goal is simply that; an expression of an end-result to be achieved, for example “Gross Sales of $x in the 2004/2005 Financial Year”. An Activity goal is an expression of activity-units to be achieved, for example “New Prospect sales calls of y in the 2004/2005 Financial Year”. People cannot do Results but they can do Activities. That is why it is vital for you, when setting Results Goals, to connect them to Activity Goals to support their achievement. Without this connection your goal setting is little more than wishful thinking.
Tangible and Intangible goals
Not all your goals need to be Tangible. Albert Einstein is reported to have said “Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts”. With that thought in mind you should feel comfortable in setting Intangible goals and including them in your Pyramid if that’s appropriate to your business.
Examples of Intangible goals are “For Our Business Inc to be seen as a valuable member of the local business community” and “To maintain a happy and motivating work environment”. Both goals are worth striving for – however any assessment of success in achieving them could only be based on opinion.
Developing Action Plans from your Goals Pyramid
Goals are about “what the business is going to achieve”; Action Plans are about the “how, in what sequence and by whom”. Every goal in the Pyramid needs to be linked to an Action Plan that sets out action steps to be taken, a ‘do by’ date for each step and the name of the individual responsible for that step. A word of warning; never make a group responsible for an action step because responsibility will slip through the cracks – instead nominate a group leader, give them the necessary authority, and make that person responsible.
Obviously, Action Plans must be recorded in writing so that proper accountability can be maintained and progress can be monitored.
Don’t be fazed by obstacles
It is unlikely that you will progress to the achievement of your goals without meeting obstacles along the way – if it were to be that easy you would have achieved your goals already!
Take time to identify any pre-existing obstacles and include the steps for dealing with them in your plans. When you meet unexpected obstacles along the way don’t panic and don’t give up. Simply amend your plans to deal with the obstacles and get on with it.
Keep your plans alive
Don’t file them away to gather dust all year. A plan is meant to be a support not a straitjacket. Review progress regularly. If a part of your plan goes awry you may decide to dump that part. If an unexpected opportunity arises be flexible - amend your plans so you can capitalise on it.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 25/3 is Who does the coaching? It's about taking responsibility for this important function in a sales group.)
Friday, March 20, 2015
Customers are people first; customers second
This is an attitude that must be reflected throughout your business.
Look for the person in the customer and deal with that person on a personal level and you will enjoy great success. If you only ever deal with the customer in the person you will limit your success. This includes speaking to customers by name, it means saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’; it means talking ‘with them’ not ‘at them’.
Just old-fashioned good manners really.
In business, treat people as you would a favourite uncle, aunt or cousin and you are heading in the right direction.
(The up-coming post for Monday 23/3 is About the goals pyramid. It's about a simple way of planning and prioritizing in business.)
Look for the person in the customer and deal with that person on a personal level and you will enjoy great success. If you only ever deal with the customer in the person you will limit your success. This includes speaking to customers by name, it means saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’; it means talking ‘with them’ not ‘at them’.
Just old-fashioned good manners really.
In business, treat people as you would a favourite uncle, aunt or cousin and you are heading in the right direction.
(The up-coming post for Monday 23/3 is About the goals pyramid. It's about a simple way of planning and prioritizing in business.)
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Don't confuse order-taking with selling
Some people who say they are ‘in sales’ are actually ‘in order-taking’; they never sell anything – they simply hope their customer will buy.
Order-taking is like turning up and asking a question that translates to “Is there anything you want today?” (The customer says “No thanks”; the order-taker says, turning to leave, “OK, that’s fine, see you in two weeks”.) Selling is about doing some preparation, thinking about the customer and having an idea/offer in mind.
The conversation can start the same way. The salesperson says, “Is there any thing you want today?” The customer says “No thanks”. Instead of turning to leave the salesperson says, “OK, that’s fine – however, before I go can I show an idea/offer we have going regarding …”
This creates an opportunity for the salesperson to move into selling mode.
Like so many other tips in selling, this is not rocket science. But it works.
(The up-coming post for Friday 20/3 is Customers are people first; customers second. It's a reminder to work with the person first to be successful in any sales situation.)
Order-taking is like turning up and asking a question that translates to “Is there anything you want today?” (The customer says “No thanks”; the order-taker says, turning to leave, “OK, that’s fine, see you in two weeks”.) Selling is about doing some preparation, thinking about the customer and having an idea/offer in mind.
The conversation can start the same way. The salesperson says, “Is there any thing you want today?” The customer says “No thanks”. Instead of turning to leave the salesperson says, “OK, that’s fine – however, before I go can I show an idea/offer we have going regarding …”
This creates an opportunity for the salesperson to move into selling mode.
Like so many other tips in selling, this is not rocket science. But it works.
(The up-coming post for Friday 20/3 is Customers are people first; customers second. It's a reminder to work with the person first to be successful in any sales situation.)
Monday, March 16, 2015
Using the Wish List question to sell more
Whether we sell products or services most of our customers have a Wish List.
(What's a Wish List? It's a list of products or services that your customer would like to purchase at some stage in the future if funds were to become available. Sometimes a Wish List will be made up of additional items to be acquired, other times it will include items to be replaced.
Sometimes the Wish List will be in writing, other times it will be 'in the mind'.)
Asking the Wish List question can be as simple as saying something like "Many of the business-owners I speak to have a Wish List. A sort of list of items they want to purchase in the future if and when funds become available. Sometimes it's to do with replacing old equipment, other times they are seeking to add new capacity. Do you have a Wish List in mind?"
Obviously you can't expect an answer if you haven't previously Engaged your customer. However, if you have properly Engaged your customer you may be pleasantly surprised by what you learn with the Wish List question. Used wisely this knowledge can help you sell more.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 18/3 is Don't confuse order-taking with selling. It's a reminder about avoiding the order-taker trap.)
(What's a Wish List? It's a list of products or services that your customer would like to purchase at some stage in the future if funds were to become available. Sometimes a Wish List will be made up of additional items to be acquired, other times it will include items to be replaced.
Sometimes the Wish List will be in writing, other times it will be 'in the mind'.)
Asking the Wish List question can be as simple as saying something like "Many of the business-owners I speak to have a Wish List. A sort of list of items they want to purchase in the future if and when funds become available. Sometimes it's to do with replacing old equipment, other times they are seeking to add new capacity. Do you have a Wish List in mind?"
Obviously you can't expect an answer if you haven't previously Engaged your customer. However, if you have properly Engaged your customer you may be pleasantly surprised by what you learn with the Wish List question. Used wisely this knowledge can help you sell more.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 18/3 is Don't confuse order-taking with selling. It's a reminder about avoiding the order-taker trap.)
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Is your Offer strong enough?
A vital ingredient in successful lead generation is the Offer you make to your prospective customers. To be effective your Offer must be strong enough to be seen as ‘of value’ in the eyes of your prospective customers.
Developing a strong Offer requires creativity; it may be ‘something for nothing’, something new, a discount or a ‘special’ or a combination of these.
Your Offer must then be effectively communicated to your prospective customers in such a way to grab their attention and, through a strong ‘call to action’, motivate them to respond positively. To do this you must select the most appropriate mediums and make sure that your material is attractive and well constructed.
(The up-coming post for Friday 13/3 is What do sales champions do better? It makes sense to emulate the best if we want to become one of them.)
Developing a strong Offer requires creativity; it may be ‘something for nothing’, something new, a discount or a ‘special’ or a combination of these.
Your Offer must then be effectively communicated to your prospective customers in such a way to grab their attention and, through a strong ‘call to action’, motivate them to respond positively. To do this you must select the most appropriate mediums and make sure that your material is attractive and well constructed.
(The up-coming post for Friday 13/3 is What do sales champions do better? It makes sense to emulate the best if we want to become one of them.)
Monday, March 9, 2015
Dare to be different
Why is it that a steak in a 5-star restaurant costs more than a steak in a 3-star restaurant, even though the steak may be of similar quality?
It's about what goes on around the steak. It's about things like the ambiance, decor and service. In essence it's about the difference in the experience.
And the customers are happy to pay for it!
What goes on around the steak at your place? What sort of experience do your customers enjoy when doing business with you? Honestly?
If it's more towards the 3-star than the 5-star, and you are struggling to maintain your margins because you find yourself discounting to get the sale, here's a tip.
Dare to be different.
Set about making the experience more enjoyable for your customers; tidy up your decor, hire some happy people, tighten up on your customer service standards, create some points of difference and make them work for you.
Get this right and you may find that customers stop haggling because they like the experience you provide and want to do business with you.
Wouldn't that be great?
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 11/3 is Is your Offer strong enough? It's a reminder about making sure your Offer is strong enough to attract potential customers.)
It's about what goes on around the steak. It's about things like the ambiance, decor and service. In essence it's about the difference in the experience.
And the customers are happy to pay for it!
What goes on around the steak at your place? What sort of experience do your customers enjoy when doing business with you? Honestly?
If it's more towards the 3-star than the 5-star, and you are struggling to maintain your margins because you find yourself discounting to get the sale, here's a tip.
Dare to be different.
Set about making the experience more enjoyable for your customers; tidy up your decor, hire some happy people, tighten up on your customer service standards, create some points of difference and make them work for you.
Get this right and you may find that customers stop haggling because they like the experience you provide and want to do business with you.
Wouldn't that be great?
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 11/3 is Is your Offer strong enough? It's a reminder about making sure your Offer is strong enough to attract potential customers.)
Friday, March 6, 2015
Telling ain't selling
Effective selling is built around a 'conversation' not a 'lecture'. (Most of us don't like to be lectured at - neither do our customers.)
This conversational approach certainly requires the ability to use 'conversational' questions to identify a customers needs, wants, preferences and prejudices (aka their 'hot buttons'); it also requires a conversational tone from beginning to end - including the Final Close.
The main advantage of the conversational approach is that it's non-threatening and therefore unlikely to provoke unnecessary resistance from the customer. Remember that there's an element of woo in good selling.
So keep cool - in golfing parlance 'don't try to hit the cover off the ball'. Swing your sales club sweetly and let it do the work.
(A footnote: Don't get the feeling that conversational means meandering, unstructured or aimless. On the contrary it requires a careful structure and a strong mind. It's mainly about tone and manner.)
(The up-coming post for Monday 10/3 is Dare to be different. It's about the importance of being seen as 'different' in the eyes of customers.)
This conversational approach certainly requires the ability to use 'conversational' questions to identify a customers needs, wants, preferences and prejudices (aka their 'hot buttons'); it also requires a conversational tone from beginning to end - including the Final Close.
The main advantage of the conversational approach is that it's non-threatening and therefore unlikely to provoke unnecessary resistance from the customer. Remember that there's an element of woo in good selling.
So keep cool - in golfing parlance 'don't try to hit the cover off the ball'. Swing your sales club sweetly and let it do the work.
(A footnote: Don't get the feeling that conversational means meandering, unstructured or aimless. On the contrary it requires a careful structure and a strong mind. It's mainly about tone and manner.)
(The up-coming post for Monday 10/3 is Dare to be different. It's about the importance of being seen as 'different' in the eyes of customers.)
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Do sales competitions work?
Most of us who have been in sales for any length of time have been involved in sales competitions of various sorts (either as a participant or as a sponsor-organiser).
To me the main benefit of running any sales competition is the opportunity to create a buzz based on friendly rivalry; to generate 'good news'. The competition, its rules, its prize(s) and its recognition of winners is simply the vehicle by which that buzz is created.
In my experience some competitions work and others don't - for a number of reasons. Here are some of them -
Reasons why some competitions don't work -
They have too many participants
If the pool of participants is too big and the opportunities to 'win' too small many if not most of the participants will lose interest very quickly. They will be turned off rather than turned on because they recognise the unlikelihood of them winning.
The competition is run over too long a time frame
A competition run over a year will fail to hold the interest of all but the top two or three participants. A competition run each month of a year will do a better job of holding participants' interest; it will produce a winner and the good news twelve times during the year rather than just once.
The winner(s) are easily predicted
If there is a superior performer in the sales group it's likely that that person will win every competition unless the competition rules are designed carefully. Some ways around this include basing results on percentage of budget achieved or number of orders from new customers. If the group has a number of 'old hands' and a number of 'newer hands' you may want to run your competition in two 'flights'.
The competition isn't 'talked up' by the sales manager
If you are the sales manager you need to take the opportunity as often as you reasonably can to talk up the competition and ask individual salespeople how they're progressing in it. If you show your interest they will become interested also; if you don't they won't.
Regular progress results aren't forthcoming
This goes back to the old adage - if we keep the score the score gets better. It's important to keep participants informed of the score.
Winning is made too difficult
It all goes back to the reasons behind the running of the competition. In my view the reasons for running a sales competition are (or should be) to
> Create some good news by recognising good sales performances
> Reward that performance; to foster a 'winning' culture in a sales group
> To provide another medium to publish sales results apart from the bare statistics generated by 'the system'
> To engage salespeople in friendly rivalry
People who feel good about themselves generally perform better. Sales competitions are about helping salespeople feel good about themselves.
(The up-coming post for Friday 6/3 is Telling ain't selling. It's reminder about another old truth in sales.)
To me the main benefit of running any sales competition is the opportunity to create a buzz based on friendly rivalry; to generate 'good news'. The competition, its rules, its prize(s) and its recognition of winners is simply the vehicle by which that buzz is created.
In my experience some competitions work and others don't - for a number of reasons. Here are some of them -
Reasons why some competitions don't work -
They have too many participants
If the pool of participants is too big and the opportunities to 'win' too small many if not most of the participants will lose interest very quickly. They will be turned off rather than turned on because they recognise the unlikelihood of them winning.
The competition is run over too long a time frame
A competition run over a year will fail to hold the interest of all but the top two or three participants. A competition run each month of a year will do a better job of holding participants' interest; it will produce a winner and the good news twelve times during the year rather than just once.
The winner(s) are easily predicted
If there is a superior performer in the sales group it's likely that that person will win every competition unless the competition rules are designed carefully. Some ways around this include basing results on percentage of budget achieved or number of orders from new customers. If the group has a number of 'old hands' and a number of 'newer hands' you may want to run your competition in two 'flights'.
The competition isn't 'talked up' by the sales manager
If you are the sales manager you need to take the opportunity as often as you reasonably can to talk up the competition and ask individual salespeople how they're progressing in it. If you show your interest they will become interested also; if you don't they won't.
Regular progress results aren't forthcoming
This goes back to the old adage - if we keep the score the score gets better. It's important to keep participants informed of the score.
Winning is made too difficult
It all goes back to the reasons behind the running of the competition. In my view the reasons for running a sales competition are (or should be) to
> Create some good news by recognising good sales performances
> Reward that performance; to foster a 'winning' culture in a sales group
> To provide another medium to publish sales results apart from the bare statistics generated by 'the system'
> To engage salespeople in friendly rivalry
People who feel good about themselves generally perform better. Sales competitions are about helping salespeople feel good about themselves.
(The up-coming post for Friday 6/3 is Telling ain't selling. It's reminder about another old truth in sales.)
Monday, March 2, 2015
Are questions the answer?
The best salespeople are opportunity-identifiers and/or problem-solvers working to help their customers.
To do this they must locate and respect their customer’s buying triggers, those being their customer’s ‘hot buttons’, cold button’ and ‘sore points’. (A hot button is a point of interest or concern to the customer – something they want to hear more about and will buy; a cold button is a point of no interest or concern to the customer – something they don’t want to hear about and won’t buy; a sore point is an aspect of their current situation that they are unhappy with and would like to have fixed.)
A salesperson can identify a customer’s buying triggers only by asking well-planned and well-rehearsed questions (and listening to the answers).
Here are some tips that can help with this process.
Avoid using Yes/No questions
An amusing way to illustrate this point is to examine the classic old-time greeting ‘How ya goin? OK?’ In this greeting the greeter asks an Information-seeking question ‘How are you going?’ Then immediately turns it into a Yes/No question by asking ‘OK?’ Little wonder that the answer is monosyllabic and the conversation dies.
Information-seeking questions generally keep the conversation rolling. Therefore, whether the situation is social or business it’s best to use Information-seekers whenever possible.
Information-seeking questions start with words like Who, What, When, Where, Which, Why and How.
Most, if not all, Yes/No questions can be turned in to Information-seekers with a little thought. ‘Did you have a good weekend?’ can become ‘How was your weekend?’ ‘Have you tried such-and-such?’ can become ‘What have you tried so far?’
Tee up the question before asking it
This is a lesson many TV and radio interviewers need to learn. How often have you heard a sports commentator ask a question like this; ‘Bill what did you think of the course today? In the past you’ve been quoted as saying that Troon is more suited to ……than ……’
The mistake here is that the question is asked, but then the interviewer keeps talking, letting the interviewee off the hook by helping with the answer. (To extend the golf analogy, it’s like trying to tee up the ball after you’ve hit it.)
Better to re-structure the question to ‘Bill, in the past you’ve been quoted as saying that Troon is more suited to …… than ……. What did you think of the course today?’
Having finished with the question, the interviewer should keep quiet and give the interviewee a chance to answer. If more information is wanted a follow-up question can be asked.
Give your customer the opportunity to express a preference
It’s vital that salespeople understand their customer’s attitudes and preferences before trying to sell them anything.
One way of helping with this, and also keeping the conversation rolling is to, early in the discussion, ask the customer for their preference or opinion.
One example of this is the investment adviser who says something like ‘Some of the people I talk to about their investment arrangements feel more concerned about the security of their investments than the rate of return they get. Others feel the opposite. How do you feel?
Another example might be the auto salesperson who says something like ‘Some of the people I talk to about their auto requirements feel more concerned about on-road performance than fuel economy. Others feel the opposite. How do you feel?
If the customer nominates one the salesperson has identified a possible trigger. If the customer responds with ‘A bit of both’ it opens the way for another question, keeping the conversation rolling.
Don’t use questions as traps
Good selling is not about getting a customer to say ‘Yes’ when they want to say ‘No’. It is, however, about helping them say ‘Yes’ when they want to say ‘Yes’.
Even so, a salesperson will sometimes be tempted to use questions as traps to get the customer to say ‘Yes’ when they don’t want to. The giveaway here is that the salesperson will either use a Yes/No question or make a statement and ask the customer to agree to it.
This is a dangerous practice. Customers aren’t silly; they know when they are being manipulated and resent it.
Keep it conversational
Discussions with customers should be conversations not interrogations. None of us like feeling that we are being interrogated; we normally clam up and give only minimum information (and not all of that accurate).
With that in mind salespeople need to master the skill of asking questions in a conversational way. This requires a respectful mindset and a relaxed manner. It will maintain the opportunity for relaxed and open communication with the customer. This in turn makes it easier for the salesperson to understand, and therefore satisfy, the customer’s needs and wants.
A final thought
The ability to ask the right questions is a skill that helps in all areas of business not just in sales. Consider areas like personnel, production or finance; how many times are problems in these areas over-looked or dealt with in a less-than-satisfactory manner because people who should know better failed to ask the right questions at the right time.
Remember that the quality of a question generally determines the quality of the answer it generates.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 4/3 is Do sales competitions work? It seeks to provide some ideas on the effectiveness of sales competitions in improving sales results.)
To do this they must locate and respect their customer’s buying triggers, those being their customer’s ‘hot buttons’, cold button’ and ‘sore points’. (A hot button is a point of interest or concern to the customer – something they want to hear more about and will buy; a cold button is a point of no interest or concern to the customer – something they don’t want to hear about and won’t buy; a sore point is an aspect of their current situation that they are unhappy with and would like to have fixed.)
A salesperson can identify a customer’s buying triggers only by asking well-planned and well-rehearsed questions (and listening to the answers).
Here are some tips that can help with this process.
Avoid using Yes/No questions
An amusing way to illustrate this point is to examine the classic old-time greeting ‘How ya goin? OK?’ In this greeting the greeter asks an Information-seeking question ‘How are you going?’ Then immediately turns it into a Yes/No question by asking ‘OK?’ Little wonder that the answer is monosyllabic and the conversation dies.
Information-seeking questions generally keep the conversation rolling. Therefore, whether the situation is social or business it’s best to use Information-seekers whenever possible.
Information-seeking questions start with words like Who, What, When, Where, Which, Why and How.
Most, if not all, Yes/No questions can be turned in to Information-seekers with a little thought. ‘Did you have a good weekend?’ can become ‘How was your weekend?’ ‘Have you tried such-and-such?’ can become ‘What have you tried so far?’
Tee up the question before asking it
This is a lesson many TV and radio interviewers need to learn. How often have you heard a sports commentator ask a question like this; ‘Bill what did you think of the course today? In the past you’ve been quoted as saying that Troon is more suited to ……than ……’
The mistake here is that the question is asked, but then the interviewer keeps talking, letting the interviewee off the hook by helping with the answer. (To extend the golf analogy, it’s like trying to tee up the ball after you’ve hit it.)
Better to re-structure the question to ‘Bill, in the past you’ve been quoted as saying that Troon is more suited to …… than ……. What did you think of the course today?’
Having finished with the question, the interviewer should keep quiet and give the interviewee a chance to answer. If more information is wanted a follow-up question can be asked.
Give your customer the opportunity to express a preference
It’s vital that salespeople understand their customer’s attitudes and preferences before trying to sell them anything.
One way of helping with this, and also keeping the conversation rolling is to, early in the discussion, ask the customer for their preference or opinion.
One example of this is the investment adviser who says something like ‘Some of the people I talk to about their investment arrangements feel more concerned about the security of their investments than the rate of return they get. Others feel the opposite. How do you feel?
Another example might be the auto salesperson who says something like ‘Some of the people I talk to about their auto requirements feel more concerned about on-road performance than fuel economy. Others feel the opposite. How do you feel?
If the customer nominates one the salesperson has identified a possible trigger. If the customer responds with ‘A bit of both’ it opens the way for another question, keeping the conversation rolling.
Don’t use questions as traps
Good selling is not about getting a customer to say ‘Yes’ when they want to say ‘No’. It is, however, about helping them say ‘Yes’ when they want to say ‘Yes’.
Even so, a salesperson will sometimes be tempted to use questions as traps to get the customer to say ‘Yes’ when they don’t want to. The giveaway here is that the salesperson will either use a Yes/No question or make a statement and ask the customer to agree to it.
This is a dangerous practice. Customers aren’t silly; they know when they are being manipulated and resent it.
Keep it conversational
Discussions with customers should be conversations not interrogations. None of us like feeling that we are being interrogated; we normally clam up and give only minimum information (and not all of that accurate).
With that in mind salespeople need to master the skill of asking questions in a conversational way. This requires a respectful mindset and a relaxed manner. It will maintain the opportunity for relaxed and open communication with the customer. This in turn makes it easier for the salesperson to understand, and therefore satisfy, the customer’s needs and wants.
A final thought
The ability to ask the right questions is a skill that helps in all areas of business not just in sales. Consider areas like personnel, production or finance; how many times are problems in these areas over-looked or dealt with in a less-than-satisfactory manner because people who should know better failed to ask the right questions at the right time.
Remember that the quality of a question generally determines the quality of the answer it generates.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 4/3 is Do sales competitions work? It seeks to provide some ideas on the effectiveness of sales competitions in improving sales results.)
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Selling is theatre
I’m sure that you’ve seen them – I certainly have.
They are the men and women who sell items of all kinds from street stalls and in markets the world over.
The ones I enjoy watching are those who sell kitchen items like vegetable peelers and mandolins – they are real show-people.
Even though their products may be of poor quality (they may have even fallen off the back of a truck!) and some of their tactics more than a little suspect they know one thing – they know how to draw and hold a crowd! They understand the theatre of selling.
While I wouldn’t encourage salespeople anywhere to adopt the dubious tactics that some of these people employ I would encourage them to accept that there is a deal of theatre in professional selling. Professional salespeople need to be able to draw and hold a person’s (or a group’s) attention throughout a sales discussion (or presentation).
With that in mind let a little of the inner actor emerge at your next meeting with a prospective customer – not to be phony or false but to help you draw and hold their attention.
(The up-coming post for Friday 27/2 is A lesson for sales managers. It's about being candid with failing salespeople - and what can happen if you aren't.)
They are the men and women who sell items of all kinds from street stalls and in markets the world over.
The ones I enjoy watching are those who sell kitchen items like vegetable peelers and mandolins – they are real show-people.
Even though their products may be of poor quality (they may have even fallen off the back of a truck!) and some of their tactics more than a little suspect they know one thing – they know how to draw and hold a crowd! They understand the theatre of selling.
While I wouldn’t encourage salespeople anywhere to adopt the dubious tactics that some of these people employ I would encourage them to accept that there is a deal of theatre in professional selling. Professional salespeople need to be able to draw and hold a person’s (or a group’s) attention throughout a sales discussion (or presentation).
With that in mind let a little of the inner actor emerge at your next meeting with a prospective customer – not to be phony or false but to help you draw and hold their attention.
(The up-coming post for Friday 27/2 is A lesson for sales managers. It's about being candid with failing salespeople - and what can happen if you aren't.)
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