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Whine with Quackers (NEW)
“We all look the same.” “There’s nothing that sets us apart.” “No one’s different.” “We get the same product from the same manufacturers. Even our prices are identical. There’s no way we can distinguish ourselves from the competitors.” If it looks like a duck….
If you look and sound like every other salesperson, why shouldn’t people avoid you? Why return your calls? Why bring you in for a carbon copy presentation?
I don’t know how many times salespeople told me in our seminars, “I just can’t get the business. Customers see us as all being the same. We don’t have any way to set ourselves apart.”
Of course products and services look alike. Of course prices are the same. But it’s the salespeople who make the difference. It’s your job to not look like all the other ducks.
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Buyers look for two things when doing business with salespeople: a reason to do business with you, or a reason to eliminate you. Will you give me a reason to buy from you, refer you to my friends, or will you continue to have whine with your quackers?
(1035 words)
$100/Barrel (NEW)
“Are you concerned that oil has topped $72 a barrel,” the interviewer asked his guest, Tom Friedman (The World Is Flat).
“Not at all. In fact, I’d like to see it get to $100 a barrel.”
Why?
“Then maybe Americans will change their behavior and get serious about finding energy alternatives and do more to conserve what we have.”
I asked a doctor why GOK was used on medical charts of patients. He smiled. “God only knows,” he replied.
In sales, our job is to change people’s behavior. Stop them from doing what they’re doing now and change directions. We’re the $100/barrel motivation. But we can’t change everyone. Some people will tolerate $72/barrel. Some $100. Some $200. Every person has a certain tolerance of pain they can endure before they’ll finally change. As change agents, we have to find what that threshold is for each customer and then supply the proper motivation.
What will it take to change our prospects’ behavior of buying from our competitors to buy from us? GOK. Promises don’t do it. Guarantees won’t. Testimonials fall on deaf ears. Incentives and discounts? Forget it.
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Persuasion is the name of the game in sales
When companies are interviewing to fill a vacant sales position, the sales manager should have a few apples tucked away. This will be the surest way to find if the candidate has the right stuff. Instead of accepting bloated résumés, doing costly personality profiles, and investing time and money in multiple interviews, the first sales interview should begin with a simple assignment.
“Here, take this fine Washington State Honey Crisp apple out on the street and sell it to a stranger for $5.”
Now you’re going to learn if your sales candidate has that intangible sales skill that will determine her success: motivating people to buy.
(746 words)
Creating Sales Opportunities (NEW)
“As executives reach middle management and above, the primary criteria for advancement are communication and motivation skills rather than basic job performance.” – David Peoples, Selling to the Top
You make the call. Two candidates have been narrowed down in the interviewing process to fill the company’s newest sales position. One shows how she will create her own sales opportunities. She outlines her techniques for finding her business and growing her sales. She doesn’t ask for, and doesn’t expect the company to hand over any house accounts. The other candidate gives every indication that when opportunity knocks, he will be ready to answer. He mentions he would be a good caretaker of the company’s existing accounts.
Who will you hire? Why?
Sales managers have a tough job. To increase the company’s sales they have to (1) find good salespeople who will do the job they’ve been hired to do; and (2) motivate them to do that job. Daunting challenges.
If you think your job is secure, you might give it a second thought. Sales managers are like sharks constantly in motion searching for prey. They’re always scanning the market looking for good salespeople. They can never find enough. Even if their sales force has every position filled with the best, they will always make room for another.
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Today’s lesson?
If you want to succeed in sales, if you want to make the income you want, don’t wait for the knock on the door. It’s not coming. Create your own sales opportunities.
Don’t wait for the sales manager to pull out his last motivational threat: “Get busy or you’re fired!” When you hear this, you’re only twelve inches from the ground. Good luck on sticking that landing.
(905 words)
Fear of Rejection (NEW)
Author’s note: After interviewing and working with hundreds of salespeople, and people considering the field of sales, they say their #1 fear is the fear of rejection. They’ve told me this is either the reason they never got into sales to begin with, or why they wanted to get out of it at the first opportunity. This article on the subject focuses on this problem 85% of salespeople suffer from, discusses why the problem needs to be solved, and gives three solutions, you may or may not agree with. Two of the three work. Ironically, it’s the one that doesn’t that’s championed by managers and scorned by their salespeople. This information is based upon frank discussions I’ve had privately with these people I’ve interviewed for the past 30 years. (The problem never goes away.) It was the result of these discussions and years of research that contributed to me creating and offering the third, proven, solution.
“If it hurts to raise your arm…then don’t raise it! It’s pretty simple.” – Dr. Phil McGraw
Question: what’s the problem with the fear of rejection? Answer: it stops you from doing what needs to be done.
What needs to be done? Find new customers. Increase sales. Specifically, the process of doing what it takes to find new customers and increase sales. If you can’t do the process, should you even be in sales?
Take a seat the sales manager commands. Why aren’t you making your cold calls? No more excuses. Do it. Returning to your desk, your hand hovers above the receiver. It shakes. You keep trying to clear the cobwebs out of your throat but you can’t. Your mouth is as dry as sawdust. Your lips silently rehearse the script one more time. Receiver’s in hand. Hesitation. Punch the first three digits. Stall. Receiver’s down. You can’t do it. (Only 5% of salespeople spend at least 30 minutes a day cold calling.) Fear of rejection stops you from doing what needs to be done.
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Three paths
To deal with the fear of rejection, you can follow one of three paths. The first is favored by 99% of managers: the Nike approach. Live with the fear and JUST DO IT! After training over 150,000 people in sales for the last thirteen years (yes, including people with titles like “Sales Manager”, “VP of Sales”, “Executive VP of Sales”, and “CEO”) I can count on one finger how many times the Nike approach has been a successful strategy with salespeople. That’s not true. I don’t even need one finger.
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The second path to deal with the fear of rejection is to go into therapy.
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And the third path: you can skip the couch and the Nike shout and use a tool that allows you to do what needs to be done and avoid (Dr. Phil again) the fear of rejection altogether. That’s right. You don’t need to conquer the fear to do what needs to be done. You can avoid it, do what needs to be done, and still get what you want. A winning trifecta.
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It’s your choice. Nike. Expensive therapy. Or an inexpensive tool. The first never works. The second and third do. One just does it faster and more inexpensively and doesn’t require therapy.
(1483 words)
Holeseller (NEW)
I’ve got $10,000. Let’s buy some bearings or drills or gaskets or glue or water pumps.” No one really wants bearings, drills, gaskets, glue, or water pumps. Jeffrey J. Fox points out the obvious in his book How to Become a Marketing Superstar, that “Customers don’t buy products; they buy the benefits they get from the products.” When a person buys a drill, he’s buying the hole the drill makes. And what justifies the cost of the drill? How many holes he wants it to make and how quickly and easily it makes them. If he wants 1,000 holes in one hour and he’s willing to pay 10 cents per hole, he can justify $100 for the drill. In selling, we call it the reduction to ridiculous close.
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If you’re losing deals you think you should be getting, go back and see what you’re selling and what your customers are buying. You’ll be surprised. Dime to a donut, you’re talking about two different things. Before launching into features, advantages, and benefits, before saying you have the lowest price or the best terms, why not ask the customer what’s important to her? What does she want? What does she expect? How will she know she’s made the right decision? And then focus your presentation only on what’s important to her.
Selling is pretty basic. Don’t tell the customers what you have. Ask them what they want. Sell the hole, deliver the product.
(431 words)
Hooked -Part 1 (NEW)
Popular interview question: “How do you want to be remembered?”
Songs. If Only I Could Remember My Name – David Crosby. Remember Me – Lightnin’ Hopkins. I Will Remember You – Sarah McLachlan.
Alaska State Flower: Forget-me-not.
Books. Remembering People – Harry Lorayne. Remember Who You Are – Daisy Wademan. Always Remember Me – Marisabina Russo.
History. Remember the Alamo.
Everyone wants to be remembered.
The money question for salespeople is “What are you doing to get remembered?”
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And in this corner weighing…
In sales, when customers and prospects don’t remember you by name, it’s costing you money. Maybe thousands of dollars each year. It’s not enough for them to remember your company name. That doesn’t make you money. When they call to re-order, they’ll be screened “Do you remember your salesperson’s name?” No? By default the sale goes to the next available salesperson. Is that your commission going into someone else’s pocket?
I’ve seen too many sales managers have to referee disputes between salespeople fighting over accounts where one salesperson thinks the account is his because he sold it last year, while the other salesperson says it’s his because he just closed a deal there yesterday.
Why you lose sales
Salespeople have the misconception that once they make the sale the customer is theirs for life. Au contraire. Things change, memories fade, and competitors are relentless.
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How many proposals did you give last year? How many hours did you spend in those interviews collecting information? How many presentations did you give to the various groups? How many hours did you, your managers, and your service people spend refining your proposals to get the best price? And then how often, at the last minute, did they tell you “Well, we’ve decided not to do anything for a while. It’s a little more than we budgeted for. Why don’t you call me back in six months?”
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RM3
Why don’t people remember you? You never give them a reason, a “hook”, to remember you by.
If the real estate mantra is Location Location Location, the sales mantra should be RememberMe RememberMe RememberMe.
How do you get people to remember you? Persistence. Time. And a hook.
(This concludes Part 1 of “Hooked”. In next week’s Part 2 we’ll look at specific hooks that you can use to get customers to remember you.)
(978 words)
Hooked -Part 2 (NEW)
Why don’t people remember you? You never give them a reason, a “hook”, to remember you by.
If the real estate mantra is Location Location Location, the sales mantra should be RememberMe RememberMe RememberMe.
How do you get people to remember you? Persistence. Time. And a hook.
Trigger isn’t just a horse
Give them something – a reason, a hook – to remember you by. Make it visual, tangible, and/or auditory. .
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Hooked for life
Advertising employs the same exact concept as NLP. When an event (the Superbowl) triggers a thought (I need a big screen HDTV) the automatic response (I want a Sony) is an anchor to provide the desired result Sony wants because they have been heavily promoting the Superbowl as seen on a Sony HDTV.
Another example? Here, touch this hot burner. No? Why not?
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Create your own memories
As a salesperson, you have to do the same thing. You want people to specifically remember you by name when they decide to buy.
And here’s something else that’s important to remember. Create the hooks with every person within the organization that you meet and not only with the company’s decision-maker.
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Keep in mind that selling is like playing pool or billiards where every shot sets up the next shot. In selling, every contact sets up the next sale. Every contact is a hook to create an anchor thought, to get them to remember you first when they’re read to buy.
Give them a hook. Do that and they’ll remember you for life.
(1132 words)
How Am I Doing? (NEW)
When he was mayor of New York City, Ed Koch was famous for walking the canyons of Manhattan and asking anyone that question. He wanted honest customer feedback from those affected by his policies, people, and decisions. He didn’t always like the answers (these were New Yorkers remember), but they told him what he was doing right, what he was doing wrong, and what needed to be changed. All companies could benefit from his walkaround strategy.
Had an email from one of our seminar attendees saying his company had tried to implement a customer feedback process but “up to this point, our response rate has been disappointing.” He wanted to know if there were any “tried and true” methods that could get honest feedback.
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Want customer feedback? Just ask. But like Mayor Koch, don’t ask for a lot of personal information, don’t get defensive and try to justify what you’re doing, and then take action on what you learn.
(859 words)
If You Have to Be Sure (NEW)
“How can I be sure it will work?” he asked.
“You can’t. You can never be sure. If you have to be sure, do nothing.”
Are you sure? Do you have to be sure? What if you’re not? And you do nothing?
Do you have to be sure you’ll get the appointment before you ask for it? How will you know? Ask or do nothing?
Will she buy? Should you ask? Are you afraid to ask? Do you need to be sure she’ll say yes before you ask? Ask or do nothing?
Did you have to be sure the job offer from across the country would have to work out before you accepted it? Did you go or stay? Are things different than you expected?
Want to start your own business? Want to be sure it will work out before you give up the security of your other job, make the investment, and put your future in jeopardy? Think that’ll ever happen?
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They had a dream
Jerry Seinfeld wasn’t sure a show about nothing would last. Then he laughed. Lance Armstrong wasn’t sure he could overcome cancer. He sped on. Columbus wasn’t sure what would happen when he reached the edge of the earth. But he sailed. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin weren’t sure they could ever lift off that desolate landscape. But they blasted into history. Martin Luther King wasn’t sure he could change America. Then he marched.
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Opportunity presents itself to everyone. Those who reap its rewards are those who can act without being sure. It’s called courage. The combination exists. It’s yours for the finding. It’s your choice: do something – or do nothing?
(671 words)
Marketing Genius (NEW)
Here are some snippets of smart marketing I’ve seen. Some intentional, some not.
Outside the local Target store, my wife was met by an eight-year old marketing genius who wanted to know if she’d like to buy some candy. No, not today. He thanked her then handed her a tiny slip of paper. “To purchase candy call Brendan @ (phone number), email buyfrombren@emailaddress.com or www.geocities.com/personalsite.” Just in case she changed her mind.
Several years ago Kelly Latte’s opened down the street. (We need another place for coffee in Seattle like we need another day of rain.) It was built in the middle of the block, not even close to the busy corner traffic. No way they’d make it I told my wife. Made it. Big time. Every day, seven days a week Espressoheads have two lines of cars going through the service windows quicker than a barista can say doublemochadecafwhippedgimmeabuzzlatte. along with our sympathies.
Another marketing genius is Cooper’s Barbeque in Llano, TX. If you try to drive past and ignore them, the sweet, savory smoke from any one of the six pits will grab you and pull you in. As you stand in line drooling with all the other roadside warriors who were lured in by the sirens of oak, the barbeque barquesta(?) will finally call you over to one of the open pits where you’ll tell him how much brisket you want to go with your ribs. Oh yeah, and throw in that half-chicken and sausage as well. What the heck, give me that thick sirloin and two pork chops over there too. He’ll toss it all on a butcher-paper-covered cafeteria tray and you’ll take it inside to weigh it and pay it.
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Clay Aiken. Don’t ask me why. Ask my wife.
Book titles. It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It. Your Marketing Sucks. Blink. I’ll Get Back to You. I Can See You Naked. Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play. Why Men Don’t Listen, and Women Can’t Read Maps.
What’s the secret of marketing? Get people’s attention. Get them to remember you. Get them to tell their friends.
Looks like it works.
(1140 words)
Seducing Opportunity (NEW)
To attract opportunity, seduce it – don’t coerce it.
Think of how fast a salesperson would be to pick up the phone if (a) a prospect called in to inquire about a purchase, or (b) he was handed a referral of someone who was interested in buying.
Now compare that to a salesperson who has to try and find someone to buy.
Two different mindsets, huh? In the first instance opportunity knocks and the salesperson races to the door. In the second, the salesperson reluctantly knocks then cowers.
Salespeople like to sell. They love doing the presentations. Qualifying. Negotiating. Closing. Receiving their commission checks. What they don’t like – dare we say hate? – is having to find the people to sell to in the first place. They want the business to come to them. To kick down their doors and shove opportunity down their throats.
If you’re starting a new business, if your business is stagnated, or if you’re in sales, study the history of the success of Henry Ford to see how to seduce opportunity. He didn’t invent the automobile. That was invented years before in Britain by Gottlieb Daimler in 1889. Ford owed his success to mass producing automobiles with the first moving assembly line in 1913. Ford had to find three keys to open the doors of fame and riches that he was to corner.
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What’s the real problem? What’s the real need? How can you look at your situation differently? Look back at history. Study the success of others. The keys are there. Once you find them, use them. And don’t forget where you put them.
Sh-h-h-h. Listen. Hear that? Sounds like opportunity knocking.
(1096 words)
Selling America (NEW)
Going, going, gone? Let’s look at who’s selling America and see if anyone’s buying.
It’s a given that salespeople sell. Their title defines them. But really everyone sells, regardless of title. If you negotiate, write a letter, or have a website you’re in the business of selling. Any speaker – it could be an attorney, minister, or CEO – knows that the minute the words escape their lips they’re selling their ideas.
It’s been years since I’ve been a member of Toastmasters, but the lessons I learned have stayed with me through 13 years of public speaking. I would highly recommend their organization (www.toastmasters.org) to anyone and especially to people in business who wish to gain confidence and influence others. Five of the many things they teach are speaking, persuading, listening, observing, and thinking on your feet under pressure. We’ll attend one of their meetings later.
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The good, the bad, the ugly
What about this group? How well have they sold America? Bode Miller? Barry Bonds? Golfers Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods? What about Howard Dean? Howard Stern? Ex-Tennessee U.S. Senator and Law & Order actor Fred Thompson? Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell? Inspector Gadget Jack Abramoff and Pompous Prickly Tom DeLay? (Okay, okay. I know. That wasn’t fair. It’s just that I’ve always liked real life cartoon characters.) Bill Gates? Steven Jobs? James Earl Jones? Tom Hanks? Tom Cruise? Oprah? Jerry Springer? Jerry Seinfeld? Billy Crystal? Ellen Degeneres? Jon Stewart? George Stephanopoulos? (I get points for spelling his name.) Condoleezza Rice? Hillary Clinton? Barack Obama? John McCain? Nancy Grace. Bill O’Reilly. Al Franken. Bono. Jessica Simpson. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Today’s lesson? As a salesperson, you’re not alone. Everyone sells. Don’t ever let anyone demean your profession. Chances are you’re head and shoulders above those who think they’re better than you. You can teach them a thing or two. I guarantee it.
Roger Ailes, the former adviser to President Ronald Reagan, said in his book, You Are the Message, that “there are only four things people you talk with won’t forgive you for: not being prepared, comfortable, committed, and interesting.”
You are the message. Is America buying?
(1035 words)
To Turn Left, Turn Right (NEW)
If your wife and adult kids are with you on the business trip, don’t pass a funeral on the freeway in Miami. They’ll embellish the story every time they tell it. Listeners will think you were driving the hearse and drag racing the motorcycle escorts.
If you travel for a living here are a few travel tips you should follow, question, or avoid.
Men, look at a map before scheduling your trip.
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Hotel wake-up calls. Take four alarm clocks with you. Never fails that the front desk is asleep when your call is due.
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Going down?
Don’t get on an elevator with five professional football players who take up the entire space leaving you with just enough oxygen to reach the second level.
Driving lesson: don’t ever drive from Tampa to Dallas by yourself. You’ll just have to take my word on this one.
If you can’t get to Boston and New York City on business, go there on pleasure. In spite of the rest of America’s impressions, you’ll meet some of the nicest people.
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When taking a long flight back home at night and you’ve been on your feet all day, don’t take your shoes off on the plane. When you hobble to the luggage carousel you’ll feel what real pain is.
Don’t ever ask a 20-something front desk clerk for a recommended restaurant in the area.
When it comes to places to eat, don’t wait so long to discover what all the rage is about. Our first Krispy Kreme in Delaware comes to mind.
Italians, Mormons, and Texans
When dining out in Manhattan at a locally owned Italian restaurant recommended by a native friend, and your maître d’ refers to the person next to him as the captain, go back out and get a bank loan before placing your order.
If you’re not a Mormon, don’t try to do business in Salt Lake City. And whatever you do, don’t ask for coffee or tea. Don’t even remember seeing a Starbucks there now that I think about it.
If you don’t like to sweat like a stuck pig, don’t do business in Texas during their summer months of April-February. (I know the lengths of their summers. I grew up there.)
Ride the commuter trains from New Jersey or Long Island into New York City. It’s a good experience for those of us not used to mass transit. Riding the taxis will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Just hold your breath, close your eyes, and pray for deliverance.
****.
Traveling across America restores your belief and faith in this country and our people. You get this calming, knowing feeling that no matter what happens on the world’s stage no one can ever take this away from us.
We won’t let them.
(1279 words)
Tricks of the Trade (NEW)
Going for the gold? Here are some tricks that work like magic in sales.
If you want to get a man to take action, the words will or would will do the trick. When answered, these words create a commitment to Yoda: either do or don’t do. There is no maybe. Don’t use the words can or could as this is merely a challenge of “do you have the ability?” “Yes,” he replies silently, “I can. But I’m not.” This doesn’t work with women. Why? Men take words literally, whereas women don’t. So women, if you want to communicate better with men be aware of this and be precise with your words. (Is this precision why boys test better in math?)
Lawyers, rakes, and coals
Where the customer is to sign on the dotted line, the trick is to use your pen to make a very large “X” on the line and then circle it several times. The captured X draws the eyes and signing hand to it like a magnet.
And don’t tell the customer that you (1) need her signature on (2) the contract. Sounds too formal. Too official. It sounds like attorneys are waiting in the next room with their rakes and coals. Instead, “All we need is your autograph here and we can get started.” Words and their sequence are everything.
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Got a question
Beware of simple first questions! This trick is based upon research by Arizona State University psychologist Robert Cialdini. Simple questions quickly lead you to make major concessions and commitments without being aware that you’re doing it. Ever wonder why you added all those options on the new car you said you weren’t going to get? Ever volunteered for a company event and walked away wondering why you agreed to it, especially with your schedule? Ever negotiated away more than you intended? Credit this technique.
Women, if you’re talking with a man, forget small talk and find solutions to problems and move on. Men, if you’re talking with a woman you’ll have a tendency to interrupt often because you want to get to the point. Don’t. (Men rarely interrupt other men when they’re talking, but will interrupt women over 76% of the time.)
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Let me know if this hurts
If you want to find the name of a decision-maker, the trick is to know the person’s title before calling. When you call ask, “Would you give me the general manager’s voicemail?” Works over 95% of the time because people are happy to send you to someone else’s voicemail lock-up. You’re not perceived as a threat. You must know this person well. You must have something he’s expecting from you. When you get the voicemail, guess how they start their message? That’s right. With their name. Now that wasn’t too hard, was it? Two other ways to get the name: go to www.uschamber.com and www.bbb.com. They list their members in your area by name and often include their email address and direct extension.
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What’s the lesson? Selling is more than quoting prices, giving power point presentations, and covering all your bases in the proposal. If selling was this easy, we could just email the brochure and contract. No, selling is a mind game. The tricks and games are being played with or without your knowledge. The trick is to know it. Then use it.
(1297 words)
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