Selling and the Value of Zero

Filed under Sales Training by on August 8, 2009 at 6:18 pm {no comments}

Welcome, now let’s dispense with the pleasantries and get right to the heart of the matter. It’s cold, it’s not at all pleasant and it should scare you. Sales is the only profession in the world where Zero haunts you at each and every turn.  Now with tongue firmly planted in cheek lets look at it. We’ll use us as an example.

Once upon a time I hadn’t made a single sale, not one, not ever.  Zero. But it felt great when I did. Then when I woke up today all these years later, my sales for the day were a Zero, I knew what I needed to have, but I started at Zero.

When last week ended and the new one began my sales for the week were yet again at Zero. When the First day of the quarter rolled around I was at zero, I had no sales.  But wait, it gets worse. If I missed my number last month and I’m still in the same Quarter, I’m not at Zero…I’m at less than Zero to get back to where I need to be. I need far, far more than one. When the last year ended and every one else was resting and relaxing guess what…my sales were at Zero.

The Beatles wrote something like “one is the loneliest number”.  They were wrong! When you’re in sales Zero is!  But I can’t imagine any other way of life.  If you’re a seasoned professional or a newbie, it’s a reality that we all face sooner or later; it’s a dare, a challenge and a belief.  Sales is not only a profession, it’s truly is a way of life, one to be proud of.  Nothing happens until a sale is made.  Not sure who said it first but it is damn sure true. And it’s NOT for the light hearted!

So why the short Chapter entitled Zero…because it’s real, maybe you have customers, and you might even have a lot of them.  Before you put the book down thinking it’s just too crazy, think for a minute, I dare you.  What if you lost all your customers?  What if what you got paid to sell changed?  What if your residual income, if you’re lucky enough to have one, was taken away?  You’d be outraged, livid beyond belief. It happens every day. Right now you’re thinking I Quit!  Right? Maybe, but perhaps your company closed… why? lack of sales.  Or you got out and “right sized”. Guess what, while politics plays a part, those who are furthest from Zero on a regular basis, they not only survive but thrive whether it’s there or elsewhere.  These are the people others want to be around and emulate, hoping that something is to be learned from their success.

Now what if being a Zero meant you moved to a new company?  Took a new position in which you can really prove something, how good you really are, not to the company but to yourself?  You’re back at Zero but for all the right reasons, not just the obvious ones.

So the next time some one who has never carried a bag and been successful tells you that you have an easy life, make too much money and don’t work very hard.  Just smile and think to yourself Zero, not because you start that way each day, or week, month, quarter or year. But because unlike them, you and only you can control how many Zero’s come to the left of the decimal point in you paycheck.  Then go sell something… after all you were just reminded how easy it is. Right?

So remember at the end of the day you did choose a life full of zero’s and guess what, it is not the easiest way to make a living but I tell anyone with an open mind it is the best!  You get to control and run your own little world, you are the center of industry and business for your own fate, no market trend or set back can stop you from achieving what you set out to do.  Do you have to change with the times?  Absolutely. So now lets move onto change.

Selling in a Tough Economy Part 3

Filed under Sales Training by on August 8, 2009 at 5:54 pm {no comments}

Times are tough less money is being spent which means all your hard work has to go into qualifying opportunities.  Be honest you’re going to have to work harder to find them because there are less of them.  And here’s the kick the challenge you need to accept is that you need to find more opportunities than in other times.

No you didn’t misunderstand what I just said I said there are less opportunities in the general market and now is the time you have to find more of them. Wait a second it might sound stark raving mad but bear with me because this is the real key to selling more.  In a way you’re hedging your bets.

If times are tough and they are.  And people slow their buying it means a variety of things.  First there are less orders to go around. Secondly unless you are an infinitely better guesser than me which I don’t doubt you still don’t know which accounts are going to put off purchasing decisions or lose budget funding.

They might be your best prospects.  By working and finding the deals that are the most promising and real opportunities you’ve taken the first step.  Now by finding more opportunities and working harder to get at every thing you can will make temporary budget constraints, genuine reduction in purchases and longer sales cycles less painful.   Chances are some of those things will happen and instead of scrambling you simply built it into your plan and will still be ahead of the game.  What’s the worst thing that can happen none of that happens, you found too much business when everyone else is thinking there wasn’t any.

Stop and think when was the last time some one was mad because you sold too much.

Now you’ve set your goals, understand your customers and your own strengths and think you know what you need to do to get there Let’s bring it all together.

Find out where  customers and help them reach those goals. Maybe they need help training their customers on their products. Help out there. Maybe they need assistance in technical support and resources for their customers. Help out there. The only word of caution I must give is that you must be in a position to utilize your internal resources to meet these needs. Uncover your vendors needs and fill those voids with solutions from your company. You’ve once again become a trusted advisor…this time to the person who already knows who in the marketplace is buying today and potentially what future opportunities there are within the customer!

Your internal resources are another valuable asset to bring to your customers and prospects. Have you reached out to your coworkers to see what projects they may be working on that you can bring as a value to your customers or prospects? After all, no sales professional can work alone. He’s only as strong as the team that supports him. Make sure that you’ve got the strength of your internal team. In the long run, you’ll be able to present true value to your customer or prospect because you will be able to bring in the extra resources that your customer or prospect needs when he needs them! Again, it’s back to basics in a slipping economy….technical or marketing resources may not be available to your customer, or they may be financially out of reach for your customer,  and you can bring these to the party….but it all starts with a conversation to find out what your customer really needs and what his goals are.
In our world today it’s critical to change our thinking, to be successful and to grow within our organization. Following these simple steps can help you to achieve those goals.

Ask your customers for referrals! Both to other company’s that may benefit from your services and within his own company. I have a customer who was so pleased with the support and service that our company was providing him ( we helped him launch his business by guiding him through the maze of authorizations to sell the products that he wanted to sell, by helping him get financing when he needed it, by providing him the products that he needed and by helping his sales team get trained to sell more effectively) that he referred us to another customer, selling the same set of products, who has since become one of our customers as well. Simply by asking for a referral! Another customer felt that the services that we were offering were so helpful and valuable to his daily routine that he referred us to another division within this own organization to provide those same services and we’re now working an entirely new group of people that we weren’t working with just six months ago.

Set your goals in 6, 12 and 18 month increments….keep your plan handy and easy to refer to. You can chart and track your progress that way. In future recordings, we will discuss charting and tracking that progress and best practice methods of doing so.

Remember the simple, basic manners that you were taught as a child! In our fast paced world today we sometimes forget these basics….and now, more than ever, it’s a powerful differentiator between you and your competitor. Schedule time for a call with your customer, much like you’d schedule a meeting, when you feel that the conversation will be a lengthy one. Have an agenda for the call! This way, you’ll ensure that you are both available for the allotted amount of time, the person you’re calling will be equally prepared for the call, and your goal for the call can be achieved. Have a plan for your calls! Don’t just call for the sake of calling…this also shows respect to the person that you’re calling. Rather than being perceived as calling just to see if you can get an order, you will be perceived as calling with a purpose in mind.  Send thank you notes, respond to peoples requests for information promptly and simply  do everything and anything that you said you would These skills alone will make you  different to your customer! They’ll remember you…and think of you as a person who genuinely cares about their business. After all, you want to be their partner…not just another sales person calling for an order. You want to be the professional that differentiates your behavior and actions from your competition.  As an example, I recently had the experience where I was trying to win over a substantially large account from one of our company’s biggest competitors. Simply by following up in a timely manner, delivering the goods and services that I said that I would and be sending those thank you notes, I achieved my goal! The competitor never took the time to even realize that the business was slipping way…I don’t know if he even realizes it today! He wasn’t looking…or showing that he even cared about the customer.
As you revisit the customers that you’re already working with. Talk a look at their buying patterns and review your product set. Are there other things that you can be offering this customer to help him save money….and time…by combining his purchases from you?

Is your customer buying the complete solution that he’s selling from you….or is he spreading those purchases out over a variety of suppliers? Help him to understand that combining those purchases will save him time in his job, make his life easier and actually save his company money (less purchase orders to process thus saving the company much needed money!). You’ve now helped your customer be a valuable resource to his own company by directly affecting their bottom line.

Selling in a Tough Economy Part 2

Filed under Sales Training by on August 8, 2009 at 5:43 pm {no comments}

Each and everyone of you have a network out there in the world both personal and professional but chances are most of you don’t use it.  Now to address your concern but if I spend all my time with the business you have it won’t grow.   Absolutely right and it’s a dangerous thing to have too much business in one place regardless of the economic conditions.  So let’s begin building up your network and using it to grow your business.   We’re going to cover three area’s that you should be using, your professional contacts, on line, and Events.

Looking at the example of a person who has moved on to a different company.  Boy they were a great customer you’re really going to miss them!  Are you going to let that person go forever while you just stand there and wave good bye to them like some love lorn lead character on a dock as the ship pulls out to sea like you see in the movies.  If so here’s a free hint… really no extra charge…GET OUT OF SALES NOW.

A lot of people do this everyday in a much less dramatic fashion they lose track of their professional contacts as they move on.  Now you can become the match maker and benefit all along the way.  Send them a note.  Put them in your data base and update the records as they move.   What if they don’t follow up and send it to you.  Well you know where they went because you asked right.  You have a few choices.  First just call to say hi. Check in to see how the new gig is going.  Most of the time you want a real reason to call…in this case finding out how things are going is a real reason.

Secondly ask at their old employer (assuming they left on good terms) if they’ve heard from them.  If you know who their friends were at the last job chances are they’ll be more than happy to tell you and might even hand over a phone number and email address.

What is this going to do for you ask?  How does it lead to new business?  Simple it spreads your reach out, gives you new companies to call on that will ultimately lead to new contacts and prospects and it all started by staying in touch with people you’ve built a relationship with along the  way.

When times are tough people are first off are more cautious on their spending, secondly they are often more critical and do a lot more analysis on those expenditures.  You’ve got a history, you’ve taken care of them or their co workers in the past.  Even if they weren’t your day to day contact but you’ve built basic reporire you’ve begun building your own brand recognition, your brand is that of a knowledgeable person who gets things done.

Plant the seeds early before they move on, if you can.  You should be looking to add to your network people who make sense to stay in touch with every single chance you get.  But if you hear they are changing places pounce, politely of course.  Send them a letter say congratulations, tell them you’ve enjoyed working with them.  And ask them to shoot you their contact info when they get settled.  My favorite method is old fashioned…Pick up the phone and ring them.  Most peole who are excited about a new opportunity want to tell others about.  Be a good listener, be genuinely interested in listening and being their friend.  It is not the time to ask for an order or a list of contacts but it the time to build your relationship out a little more and express your interest in keeping in touch with them.

In the old days people didn’t change companies like they do now so this makes it a little tougher to keep tabs on everyone.  You really do have to make the effort and have a plan.  This where being on line and leveraging those tools can help.
Technology has helped out along the way giving us automated ways to get in touch with people, log and keep track of their info.   For those of you who don’t use a data base there are tons of options from paid for to free. Sales force.com has a free version for single users and has for some time.  Odds are your company has one as well.  So use it religiously.

After you’ve built up who you do business with now, expanded your reach with in those companies and taken care of people changing roles recently go back to the accounts you’ve done business with, even in past jobs, or at other companies and start piecing together that network of people.  Look at accounts that did business with you and dried up, each out to them has there been a change?  Can you get another look?  Did the people who used to do business with you move on.   Not every new or old contact will lead some where but some will and those that do are often well worth the time and effort.

Don’t over look social media.  It’s a new phenomena but it isn’t just for kids posting pictures of their latest spring formal and talking about what they’re doing on Friday night and who went out with who.  If used right it can be a powerful networking tool.  A way to stay in touch with contacts and trusted business friends both old and new. There are sites out there that are geared towards professionals such as spoke and the very well established linked in.  All of which are as of the moment free and some with the option to buy in to more robust paid versions.

Still looking for old contacts?  You’ve called into their old places of employment and asked around but haven’t had much luck!  Google them!  Try their name and company name to see if there is any press.  Search with in the networking and social media sites.  Check industry and trade associate websites and publications, also there are services like Jigsaw.com that can help you piece together a list of contacts with in a company. And linked in has a name search feature that can be really helpful.

What ever you do keep track of where people are and have been and make it part of your customer service and prospecting plan to check in along the way,  know how many people you need to keep track of and how often, some might be once every six months maybe they are out side your current industry, some might be once a qtr other might even be monthly so you can talk shop and compare notes.  Once you have a dialogue remember look for opportunity and ask for referrals but be prepared to give something in return.

Now that something in return might be another contact, maybe a supplier of something you don’t sell.  Reference or even on occasion a job lead.  If you’re dialed in and really building and working your network then it is something that will be easy to do to.

Old contacts can give you great perspective and a host of new opportunities.  They can take you into new places but now you really want to get your name out there and find more business. Sow with the technology in place to keep track of everyone it’s time to get back to basics and do it the old fashioned way.    Shaking hands and kissing babies, with a modern twist of course.

Live networking
There are certainly other ways to build your network and ultimately fill up your prospect and customer list.  Since you know what your top accounts look like and what your prospects are searching for because you’ve narrowed down the list. Start with places that can offer you those type of accounts.

Now how in the world do you do that .  well since you’re an informed and well researched professional start by looking for trades associations and organization that the type of customer’s you’re looking for participate in.  Since we just ogt off the tropic of technology start on line  but don’t over look any traditional print versions as well.  Most industries have users groups, associations many are national but a lot of times there are also local functions, and far more trade shows and conferences than you could ever imagine.

Depending on what you’re selling and where you may also want to consider more generic options.   They may not be as targeted nut many of them are well established and in some cases decades old.   So looking to network  in this way considers social organizations, the chamber of commerce, Roatary club etc.

Any time you’re  looking to build your business this way keep in mind you can’t just show up for one event and have a boat load of business, like anything else you have to be active and consistent in your approach to networking.  Look for a way to stand out,  can you be a presenter?  Give a an informational talk?  Teach por train an audience about a specific trend or skill?   It’s not a pitch it’s education but there is no harm in saying who you are and what you do briefly at the beginning and end and including your contact info so people can follow up.
Join committees and work to make meaningful introduction for others.   Staying with the match maker concept you job is knowing everyone who is anyone and then helping other people make connections.  In turn you’ve helped out two people who may or may not be a fit for you but chances are they know some one who is.  All the while expanding your own network of contacts you chance to sell beyond the initial contact comes in the follow up.  That intro is like a meeting some one at a party…odds are you aren’t going to run off and spend your life with them,  you might want to go out on a date or two first.  The follow up is that date networking just gets you in the door and it gets your name out there.

Whether at local events or annual regional one, follow up with those that you’ve met.  How many times have you collected a business card and never even sent a quick email or phone call.  Why?  Is a simple thank you and it was nice to meet you  too much to ask?

Also plan to get the most out of the time spent at any networking event.  For conferences Pre arrange meeting out side of the trade show with acquaintances, do it before the day starts, on breaks during meals, after the last event of the night but avoid the temptation to spend the predetermined social events every event seems to have built in with people you already know exclusively because you are giving up the chance to meet new people, continue conversations with the person next to from a break out session that you just left.

Spend your time with people you don’t know with these exceptions.  If you have a contact that is more dialed in than you and they are making introductions to everyone because they are like the mayor of a small town and knows each and every soul that walks through the door.  Maybe they are on the board of the organization, a well respected industry expert, the life of the party,  take advantage of it.  Don’t ignore the people you know shirt chat’s can lead to others that know them coming up and lead in to new conversations but even so make sure you shake hands and meet every one in the room.

Strike up conversation in the food line, around the bar, at trade show booths.  introduce your self and be ready to help others make connections.

Referrals
If times are tough it’s time to use your network and referrals are certainly part of that.  Any time you’re building a network should be doing so ultimately with the idea of gaining business in mind.   Referrals can help in that objective, get you in to new places and very often they even help to shorten the sales cycle.

Each and every one of those contacts you just established as part of networking has a handful of relationships that could help you find new business. Looking for those referrals is a form of networking in and of itself.   Most people like to be helpful but you can’t come right out and ask “HEY DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO GIVE ME THEIR MONEY?”   On the other hand you can and should ask things like…do you know who else I might want to talk to?  Is there any one else who buys in another department or business units.  Never over look subsidiaries, sister companies are great soft landings in many cases.  With current customers once again covered.

Ask for outside referrals.  Companies that they partner with that might be of interest.  Other friends in the business?  Word of mouth goes a surprisingly long way even in today’s business climate.    If you have a good account and a person who enjoys and sees the benefit of doing business with tell them you’re looking for new customers.  Do it tactfully and may even seem a little bold but believe it or not many people actually expect this kind of radical behavior from their sales person. Huh imagine that.

Be sure to share what you’re doing with some other customers…in a generic sense of course and see if it can’t spark some conversation.  Or better yet ideas with you in mind.  When doing this start by picking someone in a non- competing company but still has similarities to your account.  Is there a company across town that came to mind.  Great keep looking there might be more.

Part of referrals is that you customer wants to share that doing business with you has been a good decision for them.  It reinforces why your relationship is valuable.

When you get the referral make sure you give that person the same level of attention and service you give the person who sent you to them.

These type of opportunities come in many flavors from here’s a name and number, you might want to call so and so or even actual introductions.

A big part of getting referral si s letting people know what you’re looking for, not every one is in sales so a little gentle prompting through questions and conversation get things flowing.  Now lookoing across your accounts  is a great place to start but what about people you have been calling on even if they aren’t giving you business.  In some cases these folks can be even better sources than your accounts, especially if you’ve been delivering information of value to them, following up and taking care of the sales 101 stuff.  It may just be a way to reward your efforts even if it isn’t business from them.

As you work your network and touch base with your contacts share with them what you’re looking for.  By now I’m sure you have a target list of new customers you’d like to get into.  If it makes sense there might be connection there ask.  Hey do you happen to know so and so over xyz company?   It might just open a few doors.
So you’ve worked your base, built your network and are getting some referrals but still those pesky growth targets and number of prospects and quotes you need is not quite there yet.  Then this is what separates the pro’s from the amateurs true net new business.

Net New Prospecting
Create a list of contact and approach various levels in the accounts you’re targeting.

Start at the top! Offer your solution and desire to help at the Presidential or Vice Presidential level. They can introduce you “down” in the company. It’s a much easier solution than trying to be introduced “up” in the company.

Have you ever tried getting to the purchasing department “cold” versus getting an introduction from a sales or operations manager? The results can be staggering! When a vice president introduces you…or you can use their name as a referral, amazing can things can happen! Try it….I’d bet your call back rate is completely different.
Now that you know who you’re going after how are you going to get to them.  The reality is that an untrained salesperson calling names out of a phone book doesn’t work nearly as well as a referral or introduction but despite the discomfort you might need to knock on a few doors or dial the phone to find new business.
There are a lot of people out there selling the concept that cold calling doesn’t work.  BULL!

Calling the phone book just to dial the phone might not work but approaching a targeted list with a strong offer and compelling message that gains their interest does.    Use your skill set and personality style to begin the dialogue.  Be persistent but professional and always have a reason to call.

Not long ago a salesperson was handed a book of business.  Actually they were handed an account that should have been a gold mine. The account was buying and starting to shift business over from another vendor when the rep took over.  A month in sales had dried up.   Had spending gone down?  Now actually the customer was spending more than before but the new rep called once left a message to the effect that they were the new rep and waited for the phone to ring.  He lost over a million dollars in business in 30 days.  Follow up!

Some sales people tend to go elephant hunting but before you spend too many cycles and resources chasing big game assess.  Even though you need to build long term business relationships with customers and prospects in tough times it is more essential than ever to figure out who has money to spend, who is just using you as leverage against your competition and who is the best possible fit to buy from you.

Referrals
If times are tough it’s time to use your network and referrals are certainly part of that.  Any time you’re building a network should be doing so ultimately with the idea of gaining business in mind.   Referrals can help in that objective, get you in to new places and very often they even help to shorten the sales cycle.

Each and every one of those contacts you just established as part of networking has a handful of relationships that could help you find new business. Looking for those referrals is a form of networking in and of itself.   Most people like to be helpful but you can’t come right out and ask “HEY DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO GIVE ME THEIR MONEY?”   On the other hand you can and should ask things like…do you know who else I might want to talk to?  Is there any one else who buys in another department or business units.  Never over look subsidiaries, sister companies are great soft landings in many cases.  With current customers once again covered.

Ask for outside referrals.  Companies that they partner with that might be of interest.  Other friends in the business?  Word of mouth goes a surprisingly long way even in today’s business climate.    If you have a good account and a person who enjoys and sees the benefit of doing business with tell them you’re looking for new customers.  Do it tactfully and may even seem a little bold but believe it or not many people actually expect this kind of radical behavior from their sales person. Huh imagine that.

Be sure to share what you’re doing with some other customers…in a generic sense of course and see if it can’t spark some conversation.  Or better yet ideas with you in mind.  When doing this start by picking someone in a non- competing company but still has similarities to your account.  Is there a company across town that came to mind.  Great keep looking there might be more.

Part of referrals is that you customer wants to share that doing business with you has been a good decision for them.  It reinforces why your relationship is valuable.

When you get the referral make sure you give that person the same level of attention and service you give the person who sent you to them.

These type of opportunities come in many flavors from here’s a name and number, you might want to call so and so or even actual introductions.

A big part of getting referral si s letting people know what you’re looking for, not every one is in sales so a little gentle prompting through questions and conversation get things flowing.  Now lookoing across your accounts  is a great place to start but what about people you have been calling on even if they aren’t giving you business.  In some cases these folks can be even better sources than your accounts, especially if you’ve been delivering information of value to them, following up and taking care of the sales 101 stuff.  It may just be a way to reward your efforts even if it isn’t business from them.

As you work your network and touch base with your contacts share with them what you’re looking for.  By now I’m sure you have a target list of new customers you’d like to get into.  If it makes sense there might be connection there ask.  Hey do you happen to know so and so over xyz company?   It might just open a few doors.
So you’ve worked your base, built your network and are getting some referrals but still those pesky growth targets and number of prospects and quotes you need is not quite there yet.  Then this is what separates the pro’s from the amateurs true net new business.

Old Pro's, Green Sales Guys, and New Tricks

Filed under Sales Training by on August 8, 2009 at 3:20 pm {no comments}

So who is this one targeted at the guy who has been a top perfoming sales guy for decades, the new sales person who doesn’t know which way is up or the Sales Manager types?   The answer is yes to all of the above.

It all starts with the sales manager.  If you’ve been one for a while the measure is the numbers however there are so many sublte nuances you need to account for from keeping the team motivated to keeping the team from killing each other on a regular basis.  Great sales people aren’t pacifists but it also doens’t mean that there aren’t a lot of great ones who are more than willing to help.

Share stories told by the team members them selves in sales meetings structre the content but don’t control it completely and let the reps use their words on why they won or why they lost and any other pertinaint customer details.   Make it inter active.  Once that starts to happen regually then its time to make the next big step in sales training.

So there is an undenaibale benefit of a mentoring program wheter its formal or informal.  Call it what ever works but at the end of the day you’re looking for others who are qualified to help to provide ongoing and real world sales training for newer members of the team.   Even in grade schools you see kids who have been there for a few years getting kindergarden buddies to look out for and help feel at home. Why should your sales team be any different?

Why would the old pro’s want to help a new guy? They all have their own book or lack of business to worry about?  Sure some are just good guys and girls who love what they do and want to share their knoweldge and experience.  It can be prestigious, an honor  that the leaderships oly picks the top performers who demonstrate the right behavior attitude and work ethic.  Self satisfaction is great but the new rep also offers the experienced sale pro womthing just like a customer would fresh eyes, insight, and understanding of what they see.

What makes A Veterna sales guy the right one?  Again a great question.  First off if you’re not sharing war stories in sales meetings or aren’t doing so in an interactive and positive way.  Try to get added to the agenda.

If your sales manager isn’t doing this for you be proactive and take it on your self. Set up an coffee club to get together before business hours over coffee every week or so with other reps of your choosing.  Make it a regularly scheduled meeting just like you would with a leads group.

Things to look for are people who like you are focused on the customer’s needs.  People who are proactive not reactive and who are looking continue to do better and better.  Now  you might say that you only want top performers and it could be fine but you need people who are open and interested in helping each other not just themselves.  Avoid the ones who are constantly negative.  They’ll run you down a rat hole if something is a little off kilter and kill the benefit of meeting.

What you stand to gain here is additional perspective, plus the benefit of a sense of camaraderie which after a hard day of selling it’s nice to know there are others out there with you.

A lot has been written about peer groups and mentoring and each has their own set of merits.  For our purposes this is the one place you want to be able to go to and search out why you won, or why you lost.  Both are important but difficult to truly understand.  Look deep in this area and get to the real reasons not just the easy one on the surface.  Unless you know there is no way to us what  you learned to repeat or improve the result.  The ability to understand what is working for others and in what segments is vital to making your pitch, offer and efforts as strong and compelling as possible.  Remember you are responsible for the amount of business that’s produced from you account or territory but you’re not alone.

What do your customers see when they see you

Filed under Sales Training by on August 8, 2009 at 2:55 pm {no comments}

Do they see a salesperson who is always standing there with their hand out schlepping something or do they see you as a resources to their needs?
So the goal of every sales person in their accounts where there is repeat business to be had is not just to become their resource but to be their go to resource.

Its a topics that is often grazed over in sales training for sexier and more predominate sales speak about cold calling and new business generation and what to do and how to present when you get in front of a client.

Assuming you’ve been selling for a while then there is no doubt you’ve worked hard to find out what your customers and prospects need that you have to offer.  Have you found a unique way to position yourself as a resource and an asset, worked to improve their business and helped them feel good about doing business with you?  Have you done the home work and know your business (product knowledge that applies in the real world matters) and a good about theirs.

If you haven’t got that last part down quite yet take a few minutes to do a little research, it will help you to build and establish credibility with your customers and prospects.  In 30 minutes with the help of the internet and a few well crafted searches you can not only read through their website and press releases but also figure out who their competitors are, uncover some articles on trends and issues affecting their industry and even your individual contacts area of the business.

Well applied knowledge will make you stand out against your competition.  It just takes a little time, and a little thought but the effort will be well worth the rewards.

Now it’s time to look across your organization and align your team.  After you make a sale perhaps comes the challenge of letting go so the rest of your team can, deliver the product, implement the solution, start the paper work, whatever.

As a sales professional, your role is find opportunities and solve a business need. Then the let rest of your team implement the solution.
You know you need to move onto the next solution for another customer’s problem while you allow your team to work their magic. That requires faith and trust but Remember, you’re not in this alone after the sale!

So why not allow the team that supports to do just that – Support YOU during the sale!   Allow them to be a part of the team that your customer relies on during the process. Don’t ever, not even for a second….let your customer think that you are the only one at your company who supports them!

It is one of those temptations sales people face we want to ride the big white horse and be the hero.  Don’t do it, there is strength in numbers and as sales professionals you need all the strength you can get to make your life better.

Instead, involve the other parts of you organization both behind the scenes and when facing the customer.  If times are tough and credit is an issue turn it into an advantage get to the right person in your company and have them help structure your offer.  Look at terms, look at incentives, financing options.

There are a variety of things that you can take to your customers to give them choices.  Start the process early so it’s not a fire drill.   Link up your finance group with the customers it’s a get to know, warm and fuzzies aside they can talk shop and gain information and create advantages through those relationships that you might not be able to.  Rather than having them spend precious cash are the open to the idea of a payment program, if so leasing might work.  If they need to old or inventory your products longer than they’d like are extended terms or inventory financing available.  Keep in mind that those things have a cost and need to be calculated into the deal so they don’t adversely affect the transaction and your commission.

Looking into other area’s of your business.  Do you ship and deliver products, manufacture or distribute items.  Find the leaders in that group and ask what idea’s they have that might interest your clients, staged shipping, delivering to more than one location, things of that nature can be not only interesting to a customer but could have direct benefit if they save man hours, emergency runs, Over time, double or expedited freight etc.

Much like the time you took to step back and look at what you are offering now look at who else you can offer that will be a benefit, an escalation point, create a comfort level.  Put it on a slide, include it in your presentation, make introductions and most importantly create buy in internally as to who is expected to do what in the situation.

Team selling is so extremely powerful that if you can use, use it but do so wisely.  After all these people have other area’s of responsibility so be respectful of their time, appreciative of their input and  give them recognition and accolades when you win together.  Be gracious not a superstar who did all your self, but simple the person who won because of them.  It will go along way.

Let the customer know that there’s a team behind you, supporting both you and  them.   Make it party of the tangible value of working with your company. Let him know that you can bring in the experts as needed.

Not all of your resources need to be internal, do you sell a line of different vendors and manufactures, other companies products and or services? Well if the answer is yes look at how they reach customers, use the people who are responsible for managing your company’s account and you.  Turn them into another selling resource.  After all they have a vested interest in helping you make the sale if that’s what they get paid on.

Those vendors that I just referred to are some your greatest resources to help you in a slipping economy. Those are the people that are quite likely in front of the customers every day, helping to drive business….meeting customer needs today and uncovering future ones. If you don’t know your vendor representatives…get to know them as soon as you can! These people have immediate needs also and will welcome your help if you can both win by helping them make their number.  Look across all you lines, have them help you understand what they see the benefits are of their offers, understand why other customers are buying and depending on the nature of your sales call there is nothing wrong with a 4 or six legged sales call.  Visit the customer with them or their counter parts that are responsible for a territory.   Treat them just like you would a customer, call them with things of value to them, touch base with them regularly and ask if the have ideas or opportunities that you can help with.  It is a two way street and if you help take them into new accounts, parts of an organization and customer facing situation where business can be pursued and won it is fair to ask them to help you to do them same in exchange.

The team doesn’t have to stop there, look at industry experts, analysts, trade associations as resources that you may have access to.  If your company is a member or pays fees and dues there’s a chance you are entitled to the benefits of that subscription or membership.  Look beyond the local doughnut eaters social.

Not that networking is bad.  Networking with the right people that will help you find opportunities, insight and drive, more business.

Again…by getting back to basics and building trust and credibility with every member of the team you will rapidly see your goals met as well. Ask questions of them, use their knowledge and expertise. Internal customers may not cut you PO’s and give you orders but they take care of customers along with you.

Delivery guys, service technicians, and onsite staff often gather feedback that you’ll neve get any where else.  Why? Well no matter how good you are most people see you coming and thing “Oh here comes the sales guy…AGAIN.”  Now they may like you, they might even view you as important to them but at the end of it all you’re still a salesperson.  So they hold back, even if it is just a little.  Servicemen, delivery guys, technicians, customer service.  Chances are these are people who interact with different parts of the organization than you do, also they might be seeing your customers a lot more often.  Work with them to understand what is being done and said when they are around.  Customers tend to be more open and honest with them in the course of normal conversation, other projects or suppliers might get brought up.

Take the time to get to know those parts of your team, be genuine and honest, got to them for their insight and help and not some shark in a suit with their hand out.

If the situation lends it self to it spend a day with them, go along understand their jobs and don’t just stand by and watch if possible pitch in, roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.  Sure that can’t always be the case but you’d be amazed what can happen if they see you as another person just like them.  It might be as simple as when their touching the customer and your name comes up then saying “ahh ya know Paul’s a pretty good guy.”  It sure beats the option of then telling the customer oh that jerk doesn’t even know my name.  Other things to think about is you might learn about an offer or something your product or company does that’s unique, has a real benefit and because it happens in the real world and not just some think tank doesn’t make it into your product literature, web site or sales meetings.

So you’ve covered the  departments, you know the people who really make things happen and lined them up to be not only part of your team bu a valuable resource to you and your clients.  What’s left?

What about the people who run the show.  Bear with me here.  When was the last time you put your leadership, a Vp, an director, maybe the owner in front of a client?    It has to be done correctly and we all know a few that you’d never want to put in front of anyone because they do more harm than good but just like every one else suits are people too.   And the people running your company might be just what your client needs to see.

You stand to win two fold.  It buys credibility since you can bring by the big names if you need to and now your customer feels connected to them and it helps the exec out because they’ll get feed back about what customers really do and don’t do, market conditions, what they do and don’t like about doing business with you.   Sure they may hear the same things you’ve been telling them for eons but when it comes straight from a customers lips it becomes more powerful, it isn’t some sales person whining it’s gospel truth, after all the customer said it.

Page 2 of 2«12