Power Up - Marketing and Selling for Greater Success

How to shorten your sales cycle and lower your stress

He called me and told me he could save me money on my business insurance.  I was impressed - not by his ability to save me money (haven't we all heard that line) since he did not know what I was currently paying.  I told him I was happy with my current insurance company.  He persisted, "It will only take a few minutes to answer my 5 questions."  I said, "No thanks," and was about to hang up as I usually do at this point, but he chimed in, "I know I have a better deal."  Once again I thought how dumb this comment was since he did not know enough to make such a claim. 

With amusement in my voice I told him sure - "ask away."  He asked when my current policy was going to expire - is that the most relevant question for a prospect?   I told him I didn't know.

He asked how much coverage did I have...I told him I didn't know.

He now was sort of confused but he persisted not seeing my disinterest.  "How many locations do you have?"  One location I told him.  He asked a few other questions and I gave him vague answers.  He did not pick up on the fact that I was not interested.  He told me he would work up a quote and get back to me in a few days.  I assured him I was very excited about that - a little cynicism, NO, a LOT of cynicism in my voice.

The next day he called back to confirm some information so he and his boss could put together a good quote. 

I am sure his boss explained to him that without critical information you cannot put together a solid quote. 

I felt I helped educate the sales guy.  He should have thanked me for giving him a lesson on listening to the prospect and if the prospect is not interested - don't pursue the presentation.  Save your time and energy and focus on prospects who are interested in your service.  This will decrease your sales cycle time and lower your stress.

Have a great week of selling success!

Enjoy the dinner menu during breakfast

How can we be more effective at cross-selling.  That term for the uninitiated is the process of selling more than just a product when you are selling - you want to maximize your time and sell several associated products.  E.g. selling the computer is fine but also selling the software, the consulting services, and the maintenance contract is the home run!

While enjoying breakfast with an associate I read over the dinner menu that the high-end dining established had displayed on the breakfast tables.  It made for interesting reading.  The menu's dishes provoked a desire to bring my wife to dinner there that evening.

What was the cost and effort of this simple cross-selling effort?  Minimal!

Think about your services and how often you even mention them to your current clients nonetheless your prospects.  Opportunities abound - make the most of the opportunities.

Stupidity hurts selling success !

Your initial reaction to the title of this post is probably - "of course stupidity is going to hurt sales."  Well, that is a logical reaction but I see professional sales people do stupid things every day.  It is not only the new sales people that  need training but the old line pros that step all over their potential success.

The latest case in point is a dinner meeting I attended last night.  It was being held by a financial advisor to explain his approach to managing assets, etc.  This is not a new concept in selling and, in fact, it is a very popular one with the retiring baby boomer generation.

My wife and I show up on time and, along with about 20 other people, were told that all the arrangements were being finalized and to just have a seat at the bar for a moment or two.  Seemed odd that they were not ready on time but I was willing to wait a little.   And, in a few minutes we were escorted into the dining room and seated.  We were greeted at the doorway, a good point for any sales person, and our drink orders taken.  The advisor then made the announcement that his PowerPoint projector and computer were not operating properly and he would not be giving his presentation this evening.  But, he was glad to see the nice turnout and that we all should enjoy the promised meal and relax.

Some people felt that was great - a free meal - just what they came for.  I was disappointed since I wanted to hear the advisor's perspective on various investment issues.  I did not care about pretty graphs but content from the advisor.  As he began to walk away my wife asked him if he could share some thoughts without visuals.  He said, "well, a picture is worth a thousand words and I need the equipment to tell the story."  He was not willing to provide us any information on himself, his firm, their approach to investment management, nor any points of differentiation from his competitors which, in this town, are on every corner.

This "I need my canned presentation" guy is not a pro.  He is a presenter with a backroom that obviously makes the decisions and he can't even talk extemporaneously about his business.  How sad.

The fact that he will invite us all back again next month for another free meal and a presentation when his equipment is working is meaningless.  He has shown he does not know how to talk about his business and explain basic reasons for doing business with his firm.   When we become so dependent on the electronic tools that we are incapable of selling our services, we have reached the point of incompetence.

I hope you do not sabatage your selling efforts by acting stupid like this advisor did.

Now go out there and sell.

Have an educational conversation and sell more

How many times have we been on the receiving end of a terrible sales call?  Even once is too often. 

How many times have we made a terrible sales call?  Even once is too often.

One way we can prevent falling into the trap of "let me tell you everything about my product" which results most often with the prospect's eyes glazing over, is to have an educated conversation.  My best friend, well one of them, Dara Macan, mentioned this the other day as she told me about how she helps motivate her sales team.  She uges them to have an educated conversation with the prospect.  This simple idea cut through all the silly tricks and traps that most sale people want to try.

Having an intelligent and educated conversation with a prospects shows that you respect them and it gets the salesperson out of the "push" selling mode and more into the conversation-listening mode.  When we listen to our prospects and provide them with solid information for them to base a solid decision then we can be more confident of a long-term sale and solid business relationship.

Reflect on your selling style and the market you sell to.  Would everyone benefit from having an educated conversation where facts are shared, honest opinions and concerns voiced, and mutual benefit sought?

Move forward and have those kinds of mutually beneficial conversations - both parties get educated that way.

Did you get my brochure? Dumb question #17

There are a lot of dumb questions that sales people ask - and I have asked them all so I am an expert at dumb.  However, I try and learn from my mistakes - a continual process.

The other day I received a call and the voice asked, "I am Nancy from XYZ Copy Co. and I am calling to see if you received the brochure I sent to you?"  "Yes, I said, thanks."  At that point I wanted to hang up the phone since she did not repond and there was a long pause.  Then she said, "Well, call me if you ever have any copying needs."  "Yes," I said "I will."

OK, I lied.  I don't recall her brochure.  I have no idea who she is.  I have no idea why I would want to use XYZ for my copying needs.  And, the phone call was so painful I felt like telling her I would try and help her.  Heck, maybe that was her sales ploy - coming across so hopeless that you want to help her.

Why didn't her sales manager give her a few pointers?   Why did she not ask what type of copying needs I have?  Why did she not tell me why she mailed the piece to me - was I just on a mass mailing list?   Why did she not tell me something unique about XYZ so that she could guage my interest in that service?   Why did she not find out if I would like a sample of the quality printing / copying they do?   Why did she not offer a special discount for a trial period of time?

So many questions I have - and she had none.

Questions are very simple and powerful tools that are underutilized.

Un-selling a profitable opportunity

How often do we feel like Woody Allen stated that "showing up is 90% of the game?"  By showing up you show interest, you show your commitment, you show your reliablity, and you show your professional commitment to your company's brand - whatever it is.

In my March 16th post I explained how the HomeDepot call for a deck estimate was mis-handled.  My April 13th post detailed how they apologized and the new appointment they set up for today.  I promised to keep you updated.  As I hurried back from my 7 am meeting to make my visit with the estimator at 8:30  I recalled the previous conversation and looked forward to meeting the estimator.  My wait was not rewarded as I expected.  The time came and went and no one showed up.  No one called.  I have concluded, No one cares at HomeDepot .

How often do we get a sale or lose a sale by not being on time, or calling if we are going to be late.  We can learn a lot by observing the actions, and selling techniques, of others and making sure we maintain a professional approach when we "show up for the sale." 

Best of everything to you and your selling success.

The appointment is set - will the presentation be a hit?

I finally got the call. 

In my post of March 16th this year I tell the story of the HomeDepot interaction, the follow-up call they made, their confusion, and their non-response after I tried to have the "come for an estimate" meeting.  Well, last week I got an apology call from HomeDepot acknowledging that they did got their paperwork all messed up and would I give them another chance to come and provide an estimate.  I was impressed with the sincere apology.  "Sure" I said.  And we set up a time for the estimator to come to see the current deck and provide an estimate on the replacement - it is for this coming Wednesday.  I am looking forward to the visit.  Not because I want a new deck that badly but just to see and hear how the estimator handles the "selling process."

Will he or she be prepared?  Will they make a favorable impression?  Will they listen and ask questions or just tell me they are good and write a number on a piece of paper?  I am eager for the interaction.

When I make sales calls I realize that I do not know what is in the prospect's mind - no matter how much research I have done through networking, Internet searches and trade publications.  The moment I am interacting with the prospect is the time I need to have the greatest focus, concentration and employ my best listening skills for only through their words, actions, and responses do I know the priority issues they have.  These are the issues that I need to address.  These are the issues that are fresh and have not even been posted as yet on their Internet site: job cuts, new business opportunities, management changes, quality control issues, new products being launched.  In fact, as I look over my schedule from the past two weeks these are exactly the range of issues that various prospects have shared with me.  By listening I realized the cookie cutter sales presentation I did before was not the sales presentation that I needed to do with the current prospect.

I hope my experience with the estimator is a great one - one I can write about and share with you.  But, based on what has led to this future appointment I am not optimistic.  I will keep you posted.

Increase your business by 21% without any price reduction

How many of us enjoyed the memo when it was sent out that there would be casual Fridays?   Those days then led to casual Mondays, etc. until the workplace looked like a high school gym.  The comment I liked the most when I asked a guy why he was wearing baggy cloths that were mismatched was, "Hey Rich, they are clean and comfortable."  Yes, I thought and your look sends a message that you do not have a mirror in your house.

What is the benefit of dressing for success? There was a book published a long time ago on this topic, but it has been lost behind the dust on most people's shelves.  At best it was thought that dressing well conveyed a seriousness of purpose about doing business.  It was not to convey stodgy but to reflect a sense of pride and respect for the other party.  In my book, Power Up Your Selling Effectiveness, I have a story on just such a situation.

However, there has never been any quantification of the "pay-off" from dressing well until now.  A recent study by Emily Pronin, an assistant professor at Princeton Univ., (reported in BusinessWeek magazine) asked individuals to view two different photos of the same person, but who dressed differently, and determine how much they would invest with the person. 

The person with the suit recieved 21% more of the "customer's investible funds" than the person wearing the chinos.  How can your business benefit by making sure the mirror is used before leaving for a business appointment?

Let's impress by making a poor presentation

Have you ever made a presentation to a group of people that you have invited in order to make a sale? 

Have you ever prepared mailers, did follow up to ensure the people would show up - confirm their reservations, and went to the expense to have a catered meal of high quality prepared for their dining pleasure? 

Have you planned these events with expectations of generating sufficient sales to obtain a return on your time, your financial investment and to at least generate positive PR with the people that did not buy?

We have all attended seminars as described above.  Some of us have organized such seminars with the expectation, as described, to generate a positive return on our time and financial investment.  Therefore, we all know what these types of seminars are like.  They are selling opportunities that for the draw of a good meal people will listen to your sales pitch and evaluate if they want to buy or take the next step or at least meet with you. 

The results are easy to measure - how many take the next step and sign-up for an appointment.

I had the dubious pleasure of attending two such seminars this week: one for financial services and the other for business software systems.  Both fell way short of my expectations and those of the attendees around me.  Did the companies which spent a good dollar getting me and the others there get a positive return on their money - NO WAY.  They did not even generate any positive PR nor referral business which would have been the very least expectation.  Why?  Because the presentations fell way short of the goal. 

Now when you think about that statement it does not make sense on the surface of it.  How could the presentation, which the presenters knew they were going to make, fall short?  They knew the presentation was going to be held on a certain date.  They knew they were going to present a specific subject.  They knew what was expected in terms of their goals - generate interest and purchases.

Then why were they ill prepared? This posting is not about others, although that is the context I am using.  This post is about each of us.  Do we go into a presentation prepared or just winging it since we are so darn good we don't need to prepare?  Or, do we use the tried expression that we did not have time to prepare and do it right?

The financial seminar was a farce from the start.  The room was poorly lit.  The sound system consisted of a small speaker that sat on the floor - thereby not being able to send the sound out to the audience.  The PowerPoint (always a snore) was not set up correctly and the presenter had to stop and start it a few times to get it right.  The presenters had no rapport with the audience and the actual presentation was done in a halting speaking style that conveyed that the guy did not know what he was talking about but tried to memorize a script - at least he did not read it.  Well, I take that back, he did have us read along with him a paragraph or two from the fancy brochure - boring!

The computer system presentation was held at one of the best restaurants in town - great food, and expensive.  The lighting was poor but the ambiance was nice.  The speaker started by apologizing that his counterpart was delayed in an airport and, therefore, there would be no live demo of the software.  He acknowledged he had to fill in for the planned speaker and was not totally prepared to do so.  OKAY - what is wrong with this?  You are a tech company and you cannot get your technology to convey your message and your humans are uncomfortable doing so.  The guy tried to present a few different PowerPoint presentations - thank goodness they were short.  His presentation skills were poor - he shifted from side to side and his eyes kept glancing to the floor - not his audience. 

He tried to field some questions from the audience but was not able to answer the technical questions so said, "We'll get back to you on that."  However, I did not see anyone capturing who asked the question so that the question could be answered fully and the person responded to.

The other attendees at my table, who had finished feasting on steak and cheesecake, also expressed their disappointment in the content of the presentation. 

Would it be unrealistic to expect that a salesperson would anticipate the possibility that the tech guy would get hung up at an airport and that he should have a backup plan that is solid?  I think not.

Both of these presentations conveyed very clearly that the companies were unreliable.  Their promises could not be relied on.  They had less than professional people interfacing with customers.  And, they do not take the time to get it right. 

Now based on that:

• How many sales can be expected? 
• How many referrals? 
• How much goodwill? 
• How many will respond to the next invitation from the company to either read their promotional emails, materials, or take their calls? 

Not me.

It is more than making a telephone call

Sales are down and you are making the phone calls that are part of your sales plan.  Therefore, you conclude, the idea of making phone calls is not the solution – let’s run some ads, do some direct mail, etc.

I observed a nice guy at the car repair shop the other day, where the service I concluded is very questionable as well as their competence – but that is another blog item.  The guy was diligent – he continually pulled up contact files on his laptop and dialed.  He also had a 2-foot long file box of business cards in what looked like a categorized system.  Every so often he would pull out one of the cards, examine it, make a note and call the person or put it back into its correct position in the 2’ long box.  This reminded me of the great movie Glengarry Glen Ross – an antiquated but comfortable system.  After several calls and leaving messages, I started to pay more attention to his approach.  The old box of business cards was not his problem.  His telephone approach was.

He was making the calls for the day.  He was leaving messages with his return phone number.  These are two critical steps that many sales people struggle with.  He even stated his phone number clearly – another big plus that many sales people forget since they know their number and just blurt it out fast so they can move on.

However, I suspect this conscientious salesman will get no return calls.  Why?  I believe his efforts are in vain for several reasons:

He did not give the person he left a message for a reason to return his call, nor look forward to him calling back.  Just making a statement that I sell maintenance products is not very exciting.  There was no compelling reason for action.

He did not engage the gatekeeper when he called and asked for the person he was trying to reach.  He did not capture the gatekeeper’s name, nor did he ask when would be a better time to reach the buyer, nor did he inquire is there was an assistant buyer in the office at this time, etc.

His voice tone was a monotone.  He was not excited about selling his product and it came through loud and clear – I am making sales calls and fulfilling my quota for the day.  Lifeless calls generate lifeless responses – i.e. no response.

The man was putting forth effort, he had a system, but it was not a total system of making high impact calls.  Are you or your team falling into the same trap?  Just making calls to meet a quota will not generate the sales success you desire.  Check on your presentation over the phone, how are you capturing the listener’s attention?  Are you exploring ways to gather information from others?  Are you making your database a living document and adding little bits of information with every call?  It can be seen as a puzzle – each piece of information about the company, and those within the company, help you complete the sale.

I wish you the best of luck with evaluating your calls and continuing to connect in a meaningful way.