Strategic Sales & Marketing Solutions

This is part five in a ten-part series that provides the tools you need to obtain commitment and close sales by making the most effective (and profitable) use of your time.

You’ve heard it said over and over again, listening skills are critical for the professional salesperson. The reason for this ongoing repetition of wisdom is simple. Human beings like to be heard, and they like to be “right.” Unfortunately, many also like to interrupt, and it’s an act that can kill a sale quicker than any other. This needs to be clearly understood by the salesperson committed to mastering the skill of listening, because two people cannot be heard at the same time. The role of the salesperson is to listen.

In modern times, the current headlines surrounding the state of our economy have produced a number of “armchair quarterbacks,” individuals who digest the daily news and pontificate about where things are going, when we’ll get there, and so on. That’s not a problem until one of these seers and sages becomes your prospect. When you are on a sales call, either on the phone or in person, what do you do when the conversation turns to “hot button” issues?

You have a number of decisions to make in a limited amount of time. First and foremost, you need to perform an attitude check on yourself. What is your top priority? Is it to explore the possibilities of doing business with your prospect, or are you there to have a lively roundtable debate? Assuming the first option describes your intent, let’s revisit the second paragraph of this article.

Human beings like to be heard, and they like to be “right.”

The interesting aspect of this desire is that people will talk (and assume they are being heard) as long as they believe someone is listening to them, and until someone attempts to “prove” them “wrong,” most people will assume that they are “right.”

As a professional salesperson (and as a disciple of listening skills at their finest), you are well acquainted with your role. You’ve read the books and articles on “mirroring” your prospect, on the occasional smile and nod of the head, all of the body language and facial expression keys to success. You have read a book or two on NLP and put the principles described into practice. That’s great, but you must remember one very important detail.

You’re human too.

You cannot use your “face time,” either in person or over the phone, to selectively listen and aggressively seek your “window,” your moment to jump in and resume control over the conversation. If your prospect has something to say, you must patiently and attentively listen to it, all of it, without interruption. If you find that you can’t do this, either because your prospect has the ability to talk for hours on end or you simply do not have compatible personalities, this is all part of your sales decision. If you do not wish to allow your prospect to be heard, don’t worry. The next salesperson will listen and close the sale you that don’t want. That’s one of the primary laws of the jungle…nothing goes to waste.

There is no room for “hot button issue” discussions in sales…politics, religion, the economy…don’t do it. It’s the quickest and easiest way to wave goodbye to your sales. But what do you do if you have actively listened, and your prospect is finished speaking, and it is now the appropriate moment for you to respond?

In one scenario, your prospect might have sounded off on the economy, on his or her belief that things will get much worse before they get better. Rather than “correcting” them, you could pause for a moment, smile, and say “I understand your concern.”

Those are four magic words that can spare you from a world of pain. “I understand your concern.” The reason for the power of these words is that the desire to be “heard” is really the desire to be “understood.”

When you say “I understand your concern” in response to a thought or idea that you disagree with (or perhaps agree with only in part), you’ve shattered that “Will he / she agree with me or disagree with me” moment of truth.

You haven’t compromised your principles or beliefs. You haven’t sold out. You haven’t caved in. You simply have chosen not to judge your prospect. You have allowed them to have their own opinion, to say what was on their mind, and because you chose to listen to them, they are now, in most cases, ready to listen to you.

Please take careful note of the words “in most cases” above. You will absolutely find prospects that are a “time sponge,” who take much and yield little. This is not about them. It’s about avoiding potential acts of sales self-sabotage when you are in the presence of opinionated prospects who might also be good customers.

Be patient. Try the old “1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi” second test when you want to react or respond immediately. Remember that reality is most certainly perception, and the manner in which your prospects perceive you determines whether or not they will become your customers.

This is part four in a ten-part series that provides the tools you need to obtain commitment and close sales by making the most effective (and profitable) use of your time.

I’m going to share the four most valuable words you could possibly hear in 2009 if you are a salesperson.

Are you ready? Here they are.

The rules have changed.

Everything old is new again. For the last few years, many sales experts have celebrated the demise of cold calling. Guess what? It’s back.

I’m sure that you have heard it all before. “Get your satisfied customers to refer you to other customers. Your best source of new business is your current customers.”

There is a great deal of wisdom behind that thought, but there is also one small problem.

Your current satisfied customers might be just as frightened as your prospects, and helping you find new business while they are worried about their own may not be their number one priority. You need to maintain a healthy relationship with your clients, and you also need to be realistic about your expectations. When times are good, people are often willing to help others. When times are tough, many turn the focus inward and deal with their own needs and issues.

Obviously, there are many businesses that are thriving. The owners of these businesses are aware of the daily headlines about the economy. They simply choose not to become a slave to those headlines, to wallow in gloom, to surrender to fear, to go into hiding until things get “better.” The turnaround in the economy will not happen as the result of one single, “thunder clap” event. It will happen over time, through a series of smaller events. Each day provides the opportunity to make those events happen.

The single greatest victory for anyone in 2009 is the ability to rise above fear. To rise above the TV, newspapers, the Web, your “worried” clients.

Stop waiting for someone to do something “for” you and do it for yourself. Gratefully accept each and every referral your clients, friends, and associates offer you, but don’t sit by passively while you wait for them. You need to actively and aggressively seek out new, potential customers. The economy is in turmoil and you are a warrior or you are not. Only you can decide if you’re willing to fight for what you want.

You’re going to have to work for new business. You’re going to have to earn it. And part of your process, like it or not, will be good, old-fashioned cold calling.

Here’s some food for thought as you adjust to the new reality of selling in 2009.

1). There are no guarantees that you’ll win over 100% of the people you approach, no matter how authentic and sincere you might be. The guarantee is that you will build better and stronger long-term relationships if you sell through your knowledge and the strength of your character than if you engage in the memorization of closing techniques and objection handling responses. You need to know the basics of sales, but you need more. You need to infuse your own charisma and spirit of service into your interactions with prospects, and you can’t accomplish that by memorizing a book. The sales techniques that you put into practice must flow through you naturally, and that comes with time and practice.

2). Call reluctance, like any other mental barrier which prevents you from accomplishing the things that are important to you, needs to be addressed and understood. However, you must not get stuck in a permanent cycle of self-analysis that prevents you from taking action. You need to create clear, vivid goals and back them up with positive affirmations. Since objection handling plays such a large role in sales, the best place to begin mastering it is with your own objections. Turn your doubts inside out. If you feel that a task is bigger than your ability to handle it, tell yourself “I can, I will, I must.” Don’t be intimidated when the time comes to approach prospects, either by phone or in person. Approach them confidently, knowing that you are bringing them value.

3). Don’t get stuck in the negative thinking trap of “sales is a numbers game.” Yes, to a degree it is, but the “numbers” are the number of qualified prospects you approach before closing a sale. If you grab the phone book and start calling everyone whose last name begins with the letter “A,” you’re playing the numbers game. If you pre-qualify your contacts before calling, you are a professional salesperson. Do you see the difference?

4). Create your list of prospects, don’t purchase it. This is especially important if you’re operating on a tight budget. While some list brokers meticulously scrub their data and keep it up to date, others are selling information that hasn’t been reviewed or updated for years. Subscribe to your local business journal. Bookmark your local Chamber of Commerce Web Sites, as well as business intelligence sites like Jigsaw and Manta. With persistent and focused effort, you can compile your own prospect list that is far more robust than anything you can purchase.

Cold calling is back, although some will tell you that it never left. The economy has changed. Your prospects have changed. The rules have changed. Unless you have built a steady, growing, referral-based business, you need to embrace cold calling with a positive, “can do” attitude. Read some of the recent articles explaining how cold calling can be integrated into your overall sales strategy in an effective manner. Anchor yourself to your goals with a positive attitude. Instead of resisting the need to engage in cold calling, make it work for you and enjoy the benefits.

Here are six recession response strategies to help you profit in the current economic climate.

Response #1: Ensure every lead opportunity is being handled and accounted for properly. Many business don’t realize they get good leads, everyday, that “slip through the cracks” – and who can blame em’ ya don’t know what ya don’t know. If you can identify and “plug up the holes” in your customer acquisition funnel – your lead generation and sales process will become more efficient. An efficient lead gen process will free up cash and give you flexibility to put more resources into advertising and sales initiatives. Tips for making customer acquisition more efficient. 1.) Track response from all forms of advertising and marketing – drop the ads that don’t produce response and spend more on those that do produce a direct response. 2.) Hone your sales process at the initial point of contact when people call your office, walk into your business or complete a lead form online. Pay closer attention to those factors that result in sales. Most of your competitors will not take the time to measure response, script their sales process and identify which forms of marketing are most effective. Most will simply reduce spending money on customer acquisition initiatives (advertising, sales and conversion strategies). In the past you may have been able to get away with sloppy or half-hearted marketing and sales, but tight times expose weaknesses.

Response #2: Employ the “Glutton at a rainy picnic principle.” Imagine you’re at a picnic BBQ and it starts to rain. All of your friends and family run for their cars, but you stick around. Now you can eat to your heart’s content without competition. If you stick it out through the rain and let the storm pass you get first pick of all the vittles you like. The same is true when recession proofing. Most businesses knee jerk reaction is to “hold everything.” Tighten the belt – run for the hills. But before you do that, find your “rainy picnic” opportunities. Start using a media outlet or ad source that your competitors have bailed on because of they think it’s too expensive. Find the opportunities that come with change and make bold moves to capitalize on the new circumstantial change.

Response #3: Leverage adjacent marketing and sales strategies. Because everybody is “feeling the heat” or worried about the changing economy develop relationships with other companies to pool resources and refer internally. Devise a strategy to offer your customers more service, special offers or other incentives to do business with you because of your relationship with fellow business owners. For example: If you sell auto parts, develop a relationship with a service station for discounts on gas (of course only available through your store). Develop a relationship with an oil change station, etc. Workout a mutually beneficial referral system that gives each business a better shot at a customer. I guess you could call this a Co-Op Win-Win.

Response #4: Don’t sing the Recession Blues around any staff what-so-ever. If people feel like they have a reason to fail some of them just might – don’t give em the opportunity. It starts at the top…all that stuff. Don’t ignore reality, be willing to speak candidly about the changing circumstances that impact your business, but don’t emotionally “throw in the towel.” With the exception of a handful of businesses…the market still exists for what you sell. Somebody somewhere is buying what you’re selling. The question is are you positioned well enough to be the one to sell it to em’ and are you capitalizing on every opportunity? (see tip # 1)

Response #5: Riches in Niches. Specialization allows you to charge premium prices vs more generic competitors. And it affords you a stronger position in the minds of your customers. For example Whole Foods specializes in organic groceries. They can charge more, as they build a loyal customer base who continues to buy from their store time and time again. Think of Whole Foods vs Food Lion or Giant or Harris Teeter or whichever basic grocer is in your area…Whole Foods competes with those stores, but they don’t have the same level of competitive threat the other more generic grocers have with one another because they have a niche. Essentially you can elevate your business out of the competitive mire by developing a niche position in the market – great for recession proofing.

Response #6: Get more from what ya got – focus on your existing client base. According to the late Peter Drucker (these are old ratios, but relevant) your business has a 1:14 chance of doing business with someone with whom you have never done business, you have 1:4 chance of doing business with someone with whom you have had a relationship but have stopped and you have a 1:2 chance of doing business with an existing customer. So, what does this mean? A great recession proofing strategy is to communicate more with your existing customers – focus marketing and sales resources inward. Build a loyal herd of followers and use your client base to drive referrals.

© 2008-2009 Ryan Pitz, President, New Call Solutions

This article has been reprinted with the author’s kind permission:

Ryan Pitz
President, New Call Solutions
Website: www.newcallsolutions.com
(866) 231-2055 toll-free
Email: info@newcallsolutions.com

Rocky, Rocky, Rocky

Does the present state of the economy have you feeling like Rocky Balboa after his first match with Apollo Creed? Do you get an empty feeling in your stomach every time you fill up your car’s gas tank? Do you wish that you could close your eyes and wake up when it’s all over?

Don’t Join The Club

Many sales people feel that way in these turbulent times. The question is, “What are you going to do about it?” Wringing your hands and mumbling to yourself will not change anything. The government will not change anything. The economy will not change anything. There is a sales group out there who belong to the “Chicken Little Club.” Don’t join the club. (click or copy and paste this link to see my article on Chicken Little: http://www.bonura.com/articles.html)

You, You, You

The only thing that can change anything is you. That’s right, YOU! When times are bad, it is time for YOU to be good, not just good, but great. Are you stuck on ready, set? In a race, the starter says, ready, set, go. Most people get stuck on ready, set. They don’t GO.

Just Do It

Nike had an answer for all of those stuck on ready, set. In my opinion, it was their best commercial ever . . . “Just Do It!” Stop sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, and stop waiting for someone else to get the ball rolling. Rock and Roll your own ball. Just keep in mind that when times are tough, the tough get going, and the competition falls by the wayside, losing to those who are out there making things happen.

Pick It Up

Take a look at your client list today, and pick up the phone and start calling. Use the “magic pointer” system: Put your finger on the page and pick a number, any number. Give them a call. When you hang up the phone, pick it up again and dial again, and again, and again. Before you know it, you will be in the calling mode, instead of the crying mode. Leave the tears to the competition.

Your Worst Enemy

The only thing that hinders your success is You. Step aside and move yourself to the next level. The cartoon character Pogo said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” You can change your results by changing your actions. Actions do speak louder than words. Stop feeding yourself negative thoughts, and you will open the door to success, in spite of a poor economy.

Fill It Up

Rather than concern yourself with the cost of gasoline, simply earn more money so that you can afford the gas, and not worry about the cost. The key to making more money is making more sales calls. I have experienced many so-called slow periods, and at the same time, I have had some of my best years in those economically poor years. Why do you suppose? Because the playing field is narrowed, and there are fewer proactive sales people in the competition.

Ready Or Not

Are you ready, or not? It is up to You. There is only one vital alternative, and that is to take action. I can still see Rocky, after his tenth knock-down, taunting Apollo to continue fighting. Get off the mat now. Pick up the phone now. Make some sales calls now! What are you waiting for? Take the fight to the economy; don’t let the economy take the fight to you.

© 2008-2009 Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.

This article has been reprinted with the author’s kind permission:

Joe Bonura
Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.
Website: www.bonura.com
407 Landis Lakes Court
Louisville, KY 40245
(800) 444-3340 toll free
(502) 244-0087 phone
E-mail: sales@bonura.com

This is part three in a ten-part series that provides the tools you need to obtain commitment and close sales by making the most effective (and profitable) use of your time.

In his classic book Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill discussed how a winner will consistently display a willingness to “burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat.”

As long as you build an excuse for failure into your goals, you will exercise this option every time you feel yourself venturing to the edges of your comfort zone. Clinging to a “comfort zone” is a conscious decision that you make to give yourself permission to set high targets and then aim low.

Your greatest successes occur in the moments in which you have fully surrendered yourself to the inevitability of your success. You do not clutter your concentration with vacillations between self-confidence and doubt. A fundamental principle of goal-setting is that you must never retreat. You establish a goal and work toward its fulfillment, expecting only your desired result or something bigger and better than you first envisioned.

A comfort zone is not only emblematic of weakness. It is also the ultimate manifestation of selfishness. Greatness is never achieved through concessions to circumstances. Those who would be truly great acknowledge their external circumstances and make them work to their advantage.

Abandoning your comfort zone is never a license for foolish behavior or half-baked schemes. You do not deliberately place yourself in a position in which you cannot hope to win. You do not deliberately endanger yourself or others. You simply form consistently achievable goals, and upon their achievement, keep raising the stakes for each new goal.

You are the least qualified person to determine what you can or cannot accomplish. You are the sum total of every external circumstance in your life, from the moment of your birth to the moment in which you are reading these words. Every person who’s crossed your path has left an indelible mark: friends, parents, teachers, employers, peers, even random encounters with total strangers. You are unique and successful in direct proportion to the degree in which you give these distant voices power in your present moment.

When you separate yourself from what others have told you that you can or cannot do, you shrink the word “impossible” so that its mighty and intimidating lion’s roar becomes the faint squeak of a mouse. You obliterate the power that words and opinions have over you, and in doing so, you become powerful.

Because conditioning is a constant, ongoing process…think in terms of water drops forming a rock…you cannot reverse years of conditioning in a moment. What you can do is accept and acknowledge the fact that you have been conditioned, for better or worse. You can then look at each situation you encounter during the course of your days and ask yourself how this conditioning, this predisposition to success or failure, either helped you to achieve your goals or robbed you of victory before you left the starting gate.

If you venture confidently into a selling situation with the mindset of a winner, you will win. In order to do this, you must re-define your own personal meaning of the word “win.” Let’s assume that you plan to approach a prospect with the intention of selling your goods or services. One goal-setting option might be to determine a fixed dollar amount that you would like to receive. You choose your moment, make contact, and the prospect makes the decision to not do business with you.

Some might see this as failure. Some might say “My goal was to close a $2000 sale with this prospect, and they said no, so I failed.” The next step in this downward spiral is to move from accountability to blame, to move from failure as an event to failure as a person. Don’t do it. The reality is that the person in this scenario did not fail. Their goal was to reach out to a prospect with the intention of making a sale. They did so, and as a result, achieved success. Their success was not in alignment with what could be considered a rigid expectation ($2000 in profit). The lesson to be learned is that success can never be considered as a conditional event. You cannot tell yourself that you will only be successful “if” and “when” certain conditions are met.

Success is achieved at the exact moment in which you make a commitment to yourself to be successful. You take every necessary step, without rigid expectations, unreasonable conditions, or the shackles of fear and doubt. You do not measure your success by comparing it to what others have achieved. You decide what you want and you go after it as if you cannot fail to obtain it.

Begin today. Begin immediately. When you find yourself entering into an internal dialog about what you can or cannot accomplish, focus on the end result. Become a heat-seeking missile. If you miss the target, get right up and go after a new one. Keep yourself so focused and energized that you do not allow yourself a single moment in which to wallow in doubt, self-pity or self-sabotaging behaviors. Keep moving forward in confidence.

This is part two in a ten-part series that provides the tools you need to obtain commitment and close sales by making the most effective (and profitable) use of your time.

Newton’s First Law of Motion is expressed as follows:

“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless and external force is applied to it.”

In the world of sales, a state of motion can also be interrupted by internal forces: doubt, fear of failure, low self-esteem, laziness, lack of training, lack of self-motivation. These internal forces often lead to the creation of excuses for not attending to the matters at hand.

Establishing a consistent and uninterrupted sense of momentum is one of the single most important traits a salesperson can develop. Unfortunately, many conduct their affairs in random starts and stops and bursts of energy. The result is that each new task seems bigger and more daunting than it actually is. This is not due to the demands of the task. This is due to the number of self-imposed “time outs” the salesperson takes between each meaningful period of activity.

The focused, deliberate, consistent steps taken toward any goal make it possible to achieve that goal. Repetition breeds refinement. Detours and minor setbacks are infinitely preferable to a state of immobility. Growth cannot occur unless the seed breaks its shell and reaches through the soil toward the sun.

In the early stages of forming professional work habits, a salesperson might require considerable “self-talk” in order to mentally accept the demands of the day. It is in this area that many face the infamous state of “paralysis by analysis”…a state in which the majority of effort goes into peeling back the infinite layers of “what ifs” before taking action. A person might not have all of the skills, knowledge or experience required to execute a particular task to perfection. Taking action while acknowledging and accepting one’s areas for growth is what separates those who fish from those who wish.

Simply put, salespeople must face the Goliath in their lives…be it cold calling, qualifying prospects, giving presentations, closing the sale…with simplicity and courage.

David faced Goliath and said “You are going DOWN.” There was no discussion, no procrastination, and no negotiation. He did not say “Goliath, if you leave town right now, I believe we can avoid a messy altercation.” He simply said “You are going DOWN.” And he did. End of story.

The sales principle of “Objects In Motion” involves three steps:

1). Clearly define the goal

2). Make the commitment

3). Go to work

Every successful salesperson understands these steps, practices them, and realizes that adding a fourth or fifth step only interrupts the flow of progress. If you need to make ten, twenty, fifty cold calls a day as part of your ongoing prospecting efforts, gather the data you will need the night before. Have the names and phone numbers ready, as well as any helpful notes on each individual prospect. Schedule the time to make the calls, just as you would any other formal appointment. Show up for the appointment, on time and energized. Sit down, get comfortable, face Goliath, and take him DOWN. Make the calls. Then move on to the next task of the day. Don’t take a pity break to agonize over minor mistakes or missed opportunities in the calls you have just completed.

Do the task, do it to the best of your ability, file away the mental notes of lessons learned, and move on to the next task. If you feel the need to “decompress” to a greater degree, make the commitment to keep a journal. Update it at night, when you are preparing your schedule for the next day. It is critical that you limit the “time outs” during your work day. You must continually visualize the straight line that connects the two points representing the start and finish of the goals you have established for the day. When unforeseen events happen, deal with them quickly and effectively and get back to work.

“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless and external force is applied to it.”

Get in motion. Stay in motion. Close more sales. Begin today.