Nine Perfect Sales Conversation Helpers

Here is an article that I came across on BNET sales machine blog http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=317&tag=nl.e808

Nine Perfect Sales Conversation Helpers

By Geoffrey James

May 15th, 2008 @ 4:33 am

To move a sale forward during the initial conversations, you must keep the prospect engaged. As I pointed out in a previous post (”Better Questions=Faster Selling“), the best way to do this is to ask an open-ended question that moves the conversation forward and also builds rapport. The easiest way to do this is to assume that the prospect has something uniquely interesting to say.

A couple of weeks ago, I was discussing this concept with Barry Rhein, who is probably the top sales trainer in the high tech world. He pointed out that there are nine archetypal ways to say “tell me more about that” using a question. Here they are:

1. Why is that?

2. What are your ideas (opinions, thoughts) on _________?

3. What did you mean when you said __________?

4. Why is that important (essential, relevant)?

5. How does that look (feel, seem) to you?

6. What are some examples of _________?

7. What’s your definition of __________?

8. Can you elaborate on _________?

9. What does _________ mean for you?

As with most conversational sales skills, delivery is all-important. There are three keys to using these questions effectively:

1. Be really curious. I mean, really. If these questions are going to build rapport, you’ve got to be able to communicate (non-verbally and verbally) that you are truly interested in the prospect. If you really do care, the prospect will sense this and (being human) feel flattered.

2. Do your research. I hate to keep harping on this point, but every sales conversation needs to come from a place of knowledge and authority. Without research, you’ll end up asking a question about something obvious and end up looking ill-informed or foolish.

3. Use a cue card. Unless you’re some kind of sales savant, you’re not going to be able to remember all nine questions. Post a copy of them by your telephone and in your day-minder. Flip to the list when you’re in the meeting. Use different questions at different times during the conversation.

SALES 101 – LOVING THE PEOPLE

Corrine Edwards commented on my last post on Avoiding the  Biggest Sales Mistakes.  Corrine use to be a sales trainer and is now a life coach.  On her blog she tells a great story about her son and how once he started loving his customers (in a good way) he started having success with his sales career.  Here is a link to her blog as well as the article.  

http://www.personal-growth-with-corinne-edwards.com/sales-101-loving-the-people

My son Paul got a job with a large chain of guitar stores.  He had never worked in a retail organization before. The pay was based on a small salary plus commission.  They put him through an extensive sales training.  It was the usual stuff on how to approach a customer, present the product and mostly of course, close the deal and make the sale!  It was almost like a car dealer’s pitch, “Do you want the red car or the white?”He wasn’t doing well.  To make matters worse, they had an embarrassing gimmick.  A photographer was based in the parking lot and instructed to take a picture of every customer who exited without a package.These photos were posted on what they called “The Be Back” board in the employees lounge.  Many of the “I’ll be back” customers were his.Paul dropped by for coffee one morning.He said, “Mom, you used to be a sales trainer.  What am I doing wrong?  What’s the key?”I answered him, “The key is that you have to love those people you are selling.  Never count the commission in your mind.  Do what is best for them if they are just buying some strings or an expensive guitar.”I went on –“I believe that 99% of communication is mental.  People sense if you are coming to them with a loving attitude or as a desperate salesman looking to close them.”He said he’d try it.His sales started coming in.  Then they really escalated.  He became the top salesman in the store. And his salary reflected it.  (One of his buddies tipped him off that the management was so surprised that they started to watch him carefully to make sure he was not giving merchandise away)In six months, he was one of the top ten salesman in the entire chain out of 400 around the country.This company gives an extravagant party once a year to honor their top ten salespeople.  Limos, deluxe hotel, elegant dinner - the works.  Paul was of course included.  After the dinner, the president of the company approached him.He said, “Paul, how did you do this?  You came up out of nowhere.”Paul answered, “I don’t want to tell you.  You won’t believe me.”“Of course I’ll believe you. Tell me.”Paul gulped.  “I started loving the people who come in.”The big boss replied, “Okay Paul, now tell me how you really did it!”

Thank you Corrine for sharing your story with me.

Avoid the Biggest Sales Mistakes

It has been a while since I last entered a blog here.  I was looking for some fresh content and I came across another blogger by the name of Scott Bishop.  His blog is called SmartMobile Pro and here is his link http://blog.smartmobilepro.com/2007/06/04/avoid-the-biggest-sales-mistakes/.  I really liked his article on Avoid the Biggest Sales Mistakes.  Here it is:

 

 No business can survive without people who sell the company’s product or service, and no salesperson survives long making the same mistakes over and over again.  Here are some of the most common-and most damaging mistakes a sales person can make:

• Lack of preparation- What do you plan to tell your prospect about your product or service?  Develop a working outline that highlights all the benefits you offer.  Then do some research on the prospect:  Look at the annual reports, check trade journals, research on-line for helpful information.
• Not listening – Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your job is to talk and the prospect’s role is to site silently and listen to your presentation.  Let the prospect tell you what their needs are, then look for ways that your product/service meet those requirements.
• Not asking for the sale – Many salespeople forget this simple step.  Nothing is wrong with asking the prospect to take you up on your offer, as long as you’re not too pushy about it.
• Moving too quickly- Instant rapport is difficult to achieve.  Instead of trying to turn the prospect into a “buddy” right away, concentrate on maintaining a professional attitude.  Let any relationship develop naturally. 
• Not customizing the presentation to the prospect – A generic presentation isn’t as convincing as one personally tailored to your prospect.  You can streamline this process by creating a master presentation and then removing/adding content to fit your audience.
• Poor follow-up – Too many salespeople close one deal and go on to the next.  Keep track of your sales, and call prospects back to make sure they’re satisfied-and to see if you can help them with other products or services from your company.

People Decide on Emotion and Justify with Reason

I came across another blog written by Shamus Brown.  The blog is called “The Shameless Sales Blog”  Here is the link to the great article on Emotions and reasons. http://sales-blog.industrialego.com/sales-tips/2007/07/people-decide-on-emotion-and-justify-with-reason,  Here is the what Shamus wrote:

I read an article yesterday that talked about the power of emotion in making decisions.

The article was a about a author-shrink who has gotten popular among Democratic political activists because he is telling Democratic candidates that they got to “get emotional” if they want to win back the Presidency.

Well duh, we sales people have always known this one, right?

Major decisions are made on an emotional, gut level.

People then justify their decisions with logic, or “reason” as it’s sometimes called.

This is why you can’t just sell features.

Features appeal to logic.

Selling features requires the prospect to think through what meaning and impact of those features are. And that is something few people will take the effort to do.

Selling benefits is only a little bit better. I say only a little bit because selling benefits is like selling with a shotgun – you hope one of little bit of shot you’re your target, but you aren’t really sure which if anyone will do the job.

You see, benefits only matter if they are ones that your prospect cares about.

That’s why the real thing that people decide on – whether it’s a purchase or a voting decision – are their individual pains and wants.

Will this help me get what I want?

or

Will this help me solve my problem?

That’s what people make decisions on.

The article I read pointed out how Democrats have been essentially “feature selling” their candidates to America in the past few elections.

The LA Times said about author-shrink Drew Weston…

He writes that when Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts let a Swift-boat veterans group drag his reputation through the mud (2004), when Al Gore put a nation to sleep with his talk of lockboxes and Medicare actuaries (2000), and when Michael S. Dukakis said he didn’t believe in the death penalty even in the event of his wife’s rape and murder (1988), Democrats were exhibiting their single worst tendency: intellectual dispassion.

The lesson then is don’t be dispassionate when you sell.

Get your prospects worked up about their pains and desires. Get mad, get sad, and get excited *with* them.

Then you can get them to purchase something from you.

Sell with Pride,

Shameless Shamus

Gatekeepers

A coworker of mine, Lee Hadsock sent me this interesting article from Miller Heiman sales tips which I thought was worthy of posting. 

Shot Down by a Gatekeeper?

Why didn’t we see this coming? When a sure-fire sale goes down the drain because a gatekeeper shoots you down, you want to understand why, and your manager wants to know what happened. So, why do gatekeepers say no?Who is the gatekeeper? Gatekeepers are people who can’t say yes, only no – and usually do. Typically, the gatekeeper role is played by the “Technical Buyer”.

• In every sale, there are buying influences that must be considered, each with a different point of view and a different reason for considering your proposal. The Technical Buyer is one that can frequently derail your deal because the Technical Buyer’s role as gatekeeper is to screen out. 
• Contrary to popular opinion, Technical Buyers don’t say no because they’re ornery. They throw blocks in your way because that’s their job. It’s their task to limit the field of sellers and to come up with a short list. They don’t decide who wins, but they do decide who can play. 

Technical Buyers make recommendations for how your solution meets specifications. Technical Buyers have various areas of expertise. Their expertise is their knowledge about the measurable and quantifiable aspects of your product, service or solution. Their expertise might be in the area of purchasing, finance, engineering, legal, planning, technology, government requirements, etc. They are concerned with issues such as

•  
  • does it fit the budget, 
  • is it compatible with existing systems 
  • compliant with standards, like ISO 9001
  • does it meet government regulatory guidelines?

Technical buyers make judgments about the measurable and quantifiable aspects of your product or service based on how well it meets a variety of specifications. For example, even when there’s a match between your product or service and the need, a Technical Buyer, such as a purchasing agent, still can throw a wrench into the works by screening you out based on specifications – anything from price and delivery schedules to logistics and references. A personnel manager might block a sale because of a potentially harmful impact on morale. A government contracting officer could screen you out because of regulations. In each of these examples, a Technical Buyer can pull the plug on a sale that everyone else wants. Before they shoot you down
In identifying the gate-keeping Technical Buyers before they shoot you down, you have to know that their principal focus – the reason they’ll recommend you or show you the door – is the solution itself. Therefore, the better you know your solution and understand all the tests it might have to meet, the better your chances of “staying alive”.Tips for working with Technical Buyer gatekeepers
Technical buyers are looking for ways to provide value to their organizations – presenting solutions with heavy discounts, by forcing vendors to compete against each other over price. They’re putting a lot more pressure on salespeople to substantiate ROI claims. The following tips can help you make the cut and move the sale forward.

• Identify success stories about companies who have successfully used your solutions, and be ready to share them.
• Be familiar with specifics on how your solution has positively impacted customers.
• Find an “internal coach” to help think through your position. 
• Work with the Technical Buyer to define and document the business case supporting your solution. Help them achieve the recognition they’re after, while improving their internal sales effort. 
• Be cautious of Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Get in early and help develop the business case that supports your solution.

A Simple Sales Strategy: Change The Meaning Of “No”

I was surfing the Internet today and came across an interesting article on Sales Strategy written by Tessa Stowe on the website www.salesmotivation.net. Tessa also has a great website called  www.salesconversation.com which has a weath of information on it. 

Here is the article:

Imagine that you are talking to a potential client and they say “no”, they don’t want your service. How does that make you feel?

First off, let’s be clear that a “no” is just a two-letter word consisting of “n” and “o”. These are just harmless characters and yet we attach so much meaning to them and give them so much power over us. We think a “no” says something about us and that our services aren’t good enough. We attach so much power to a “no” that it sometimes paralyzes us. We even fear a “no” so much that we put off, or avoid, having sales conversations as we run the risk of getting the dreaded “no”.

So when could a “no” be a perfectly reasonable response? A “no” could be the right response when:

* The potential client really has no money.
* The potential client doesn’t have a problem you can solve.
* The potential client doesn’t want the problem solved now. (If they say, “No, not now,” ensure you have a mechanism to keep in touch with them. A newsletter is ideal for this.)
* The potential client doesn’t want the problem solved at all.
* You don’t have the expertise or skills in the areas they need/want.

I hope you can see that all the above are perfectly valid reasons for someone saying “no”. All these reasons say absolutely nothing about you and your products and services. In these situations a “no” is the right response or outcome from the conversation. In fact, in some situations you should say “no” first. I challenge you to say “no” to potential clients like this: acknowledge them for their interest but then say that you cannot help them at this time.

There are also times when you will want to say “no” to a potential client. If they don’t meet the criteria of your ideal client, you will know in your heart that you will not be able to offer them your best service. You may decide to say “no” to them and refer them on.

Not everyone needs to buy from you and that’s fine. There are an abundance of clients out there. Yes? You know this as you have done the proper research on your target market and the problems they have. See how important that research was?

Next time you get a “no” welcome it. In fact, play a game and see how many times you can beat a potential client to saying “no”. A funny thing will start to happen. If you say “no” to potential clients, they will find you even more attractive. Contrary really, but then the sales game is full of contradictions. And that’s just one of the many things I love about it.

Remember that you cannot possibly serve all the potential clients in your niche but you can serve all of those who are a perfect fit for you and your business.

Breaking Down the Defences at a Trade Show

I was attending a trade show last week in San Jose. Trade shows are great places to meet qualified buyers for your product. While on booth duty I was observing the interactions of different booth staff and potential customer that approached the booths. I noticed when people ask the potential customer directly the question ‘can I help you’ the prospect’s defences come up and they usually reply with ‘i am just looking’. I usually have the same defensive reaction when I am shopping for clothes. If I am approached directly I will always tell the sales rep that I am just looking even if I want to purchase something. This is an automatic defence mechanism.  The reason for this is people fear being sold to. I noticed that the most successful people at the trade show start off with a joke or comment which lowers the customer’s initial defence. This creates a report, opens the customer up,and develops trust. This all leads to or evolves to an open discussion about your business.

Buyers have Fears

I think that the biggest part of sales is building trust and alleviating your prospects fears.  Once you take away all of your potential customers objections which are usually a result of a fear, you can then start the closing process.  If you do not address these fears you always hit a roadblock and you will never win the business.  The first step is to realize what fears your customers may have.  In Tom Hopkins audio book called Mastering the Art of Selling, Tom describes eight fears that customers have that you must overcome or address in your presentation or in your discussions with a potential customer.  These fears are as follows: 

1.     Customers fear you because they are afraid of being sold.  To overcome this you must position yourself as an advisor or a consultant instead of a salesman.  You need to make them like you.  Once they like you they will trust you and then most importantly they will listen to you.

2.     Customers fear making a mistake.  This must be addressed in your presentation and show them that they are making the best decision for themselves and their business by purchasing your product or service

3.     The fear of being lied to.  Almost every customer you encounter has been lied to by a sales rep in the past.  It is important that you be honest and truthful in every aspect of your relationship with the customer.

4.     The Fear of losing face in front of their peers.  It is important that you make everyone at the meeting feel important.  Be empathetic to everyone at the meeting.  Put yourself in the customer’s shoes

5.     Fear of the unknown.  You must educate the customer on the benefits of your product or service in your presentation. 

6.     Fear of taking a risk.  This is especially true if you are an unknown or a working for a relatively new company or have a new product.

7.     Fear of prejudice from a past experience or a third party.  This one is hard to explain and overcome.  Your customer might have a parent or friend that has been telling them since they were born not to do something.  This will affect their buying decision.

8.     Fear of the words you say.  The words that you choose to use can have a positive or a negative affect on a customer.   I have listed some of these words in my previous blog titled ‘8 Words that Should Never Be Used When Talking to a Prospect’.

8 Words That Should Never Be Used When Talking To a Prospect

I was listening to a sales audio book by Tom Hopkins called Mastering the Art of Selling.  Tom brings up a lot of great ideas about the art or craft of selling.  In one section he talks about the psychology of selling and describes 8 words that should never be used when talking to a prospective customer.  These words have a negative connotation or meaning with people and could be the reason you lose the deal.  Here are the words and the suggested alternatives that you can use instead.

1.     Cost or Price instead use Total Amount or Total Investment

2.     Down Payment ….. use Initial Amount or Initial Investment

3.     Monthly Payment ….. use Monthly Amount or Monthly Investment

4.     Contract ….. use Paperwork or Agreement or Forms

5.     Buy ….. use Own

6.     Sell or Sold ….. use Get Them Involved or Help Them Acquire

7.     Deal ….. use
Opportunity or Transaction or Special

8.     Sign…. Use Authorization or OK or Approval or Endorse

I believe that the customers are fickle and the more that you can do to not offend them the better.  If you use the wrong words you can lose the opportunity to win the business. By being conscious of the words you are using in your discussions you can create a positive experience with your customer and generate more business.   

Three Practices of the Top Sales Performers

Neil Rackham has a book called Spin Selling.  He has completed extensive research in sales and has a lot of data to back him up.  He describes three things that top producers do in meetings better than the average sales rep.  These are as follows:

1)     Top producers ask a lot more questions in the meeting.  They actually ask 6 more questions to the average sales reps 1 question.

2)     Allow the clients to do most of the talking.  While the customer is talking they are actively listening to what they are saying.

3)     Top Producers waited much longer than the average sales person to jump in with the solution.

The takeaway that I get from these three points is top sales performers are allowing the customer to talk themselves into the sale. 

If you want to become a top sales performer then you must emulate what the top performers are doing.