Whiteboard Wednesday Trailer

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Whiteboard Wednesday, a bi-weekly Web TV Show for Sales Professionals, is now available! The show is a tactical guide for any sales person to use in navigating the turbulent waters of professional selling!

If you want to change your results in sales or leadership, you must…must…change your thinking.

Once you do, you’ll find the business market quite easy to pursue. You’ll find that your confidence soars. You’ll find situations that used to frustrate you now become easy.

We suggest that every problem you have in business today is a result of old, antiquated thinking. Isn’t it time to change?

Stop Asking “What’s Your Problem?”

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They won’t have an answer for you…so stop with the asking.

We teach the concept of finding the problem when we guide sales professionals. Yet, how often we hear our clients come back and say “They didn’t have any problems. I asked them and they couldn’t think of any.”

OK. One gold star for asking the question. But two BLACK stars for not asking in the right way.

If your prospect is unaware of problems he/she has then asking them about them doesn’t help them much.

A better approach is to have a list of the 5-10 problems you help companies solve (or address).  Make a list of those and put them in a document. Then, as you begin your sales conversations with people, bring out the ones that are the most relevant.

Some will look at this as some kind of cheap trick–or crutch. We say it’s a great way to keep the conversation focused on the problem the customer has rather than on the product you have.

Do You Really Understand Your Sales Funnel?

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Bill addresses the sales funnel and some misconceptions people have of it. He also gives some advice on what to do with people who can’t decide.

I Love “Low-Hanging Fruit”

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Why does “low-hanging fruit” get a bad rap. Why shouldn’t every business-to-business sales organization be totally focused on low-hanging fruit? Answer: They should. In my world (the world of sales training), low-hanging fruit is defined as the following:

  • A business that has a problem that they are totally committed to admitting and fixing, and they don’t need a salesperson convincing them that they should do something about it.
  • A business organization that has the funds to devote to solving the problem. (In other words, they have the budget and/or will spend money to fix it.)
  • A company that is open-minded and looking for outside help in solving of inside problems. (Some companies aren’t, and if you’re an outsider then ditch them and move on.)
  • A client who doesn’t see you as a vendor—but sees you as a provider of a valuable solution that will improve the wellbeing of the people at the company. (The instant you get into you vs. 10 other bidders, get out.)
  • A company that gives you access to information and people. (They don’t hide the CEO, the CFO or the COO because there’s a policy that they don’t see salespeople.)

Believe it or not, there are companies around that have these characteristics. And if you define these as low-hanging fruit, then have at it. I would suggest that if any one of these elements is not in place, then you have to reach too high, which will take more time, which will cost more money, which will rob someone else in the market of your value.

What is Getting in the Way of Better Performance?

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As sales trainers, it seems like we’re always out there to “help improve skills.” Yet, after my conversation with Ralph Reiff, who oversees the St. Vincent Sports Performance Center in Indianapolis, he reminded me of something we often forget about in sales training.

When Ralph looks at an athlete to decide what kind of training he/she needs, he looks at “what is getting in the way of better performance?”

He claims there’s always something that if remedied/fixed/addressed would improve the athlete’s performance considerably.

What is Your Sales Distraction?

I equate that to some of the work we do in our work on sales strategy with clients. The bottom line question is: “What do we do that gets in the way of the sale?” Here are some thoughts that you can chew on.

  1. We talk too much. I’ve literally heard salespeople talk themselves out of a sale, because they don’t know when to shut up.
  2. We fail to uncover the hidden pain. It’s easy when you walk in and ask the prospect what their problem is and it’s on the table in front of you. But what if you have to dig a little bit? What if the problem they have is something they’ve lived with for so long that they don’t even see it as a problem.
  3. We forget to have the economics discussion (or more conveniently, we ignore it). The money discussion is hard to have, because it can be emotional. But you must have it up front to see what the prospect feels about paying a premium (if in fact your product sells for a premium), or at least how he feels about the financial commitment that he needs to make.
  4. We never show up in “get ready position.” Are you ready for anything when you show up at a sales call? Or, are you hoping that the prospect says and does the right thing based on your prompts? You have a long tedious future in sales if you’re not ready for anything the prospect says. The best way to be ready is to be “detached from the outcome.”
  5. We think old thoughts. The most common place this shows up is in prospecting. Continue to think that billboard advertising and cold calls are what are going to help you generate more business. The fact is, social media and the entire method prospects use to consume information has changed, and you’d better be attuned to it.

In conclusion, these are some things that you can either start doing or stop doing, depending on whether they’re getting in your way. Good luck!

Sales Strategies Vs. Sales Tactics

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How many times can we talk about the difference between sales strategy and sales tactics? Apparently, not too often because here I am talking about it again…

Your sales strategy should be really, really simple…the simpler it is to understand, the more likely your sales team will understand and execute against it. Are you ready?

Your sales strategy should be to educate the customer to the problems he has–and help him solve them.

Everything you do in the marketing/lead generation/sales process should have THAT as your end goal. The mistake most companies make is they make their strategy about THEM — not the customer.

I recently spoke to a group where I asked the question, “What is your sales strategy?” The answers I got indicated that they had done no definitive work on the subject. Isn’t that a bit absurd? With as much chatter as there is about the concept of sales strategy—to have done no work on it? None!

So, now that you have your new strategy, your sales tactics — and marketing tactics — should line up to support that. Here are some tips:

  • Maybe you publish an article about all the mistakes you observe people making in the process of solving problems.
  • Maybe you create a video where you interview a client about the problems they had they didn’t know about.
  • Maybe you create a speech that you deliver to groups in your area–your niche–where you discuss the Top 10 Problems people experience without your solution.

You get the idea. For God’s sake, do some work on strategy. And when you do, make sure your customer is at the center of it.

Should The ‘Butler’ Way Be ‘Your’ Way?

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Forgive me for indulging you in the conversation of basketball. But I think if you’ll read this closely, there may be a message for you.

Butler University is in the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tourney. And the beauty is they are also the host team (it’s played this year in Butler’s hometown of Indianapolis).

But the reason this is important to you is the light I want to shine on what’s called The Butler Way. And make the case that the Butler Way should be Your Way.

Teamwork. Preparation. Fun.

The statistic that you should care about is 10 of the 12 players on the team are homegrown…right in Butler’s home state of Indiana. They don’t need massive travel budgets…they aren’t looking for the most sought after kids. They look for kids with talent, integrity and a predisposition to team work. If they’re a little shorter, OK. If they play below the rim instead of above the rim, that’s OK too. Because the Butler Way isn’t about getting the best players. It’s about having the best team. A huge difference.

There’s a Lesson Here For Salespeople and Business Leaders

Get the fundamentals right. Get the thinking right. Get your mind right.

If you get those right, you don’t have the be the sharpest knife in the drawer. You don’t have to have the quickest wit in the room. You don’t have to say ‘everything right’ to close the sale or acquire a piece of business. You don’t have to wear the latest fashion so you impress your prospect…in fact you don’t even have to impress your prospect. And you definitely don’t have to have the best price—because it ain’t about price.

Butler Coach Brad Stevens

Because the Butler Way is not about impressing anyone. It’s about playing within yourself–playing your game, not the other guy’s game. Having a ball doing it. Never getting rattled. Being really, really smart on the floor. And it’s about  a player being OK with scoring 24 points one game and 4 the next…and not getting bent out of shape about it.

I don’t know whether Butler has a chance to win it all. I do know this: that the tide is changing in our world. It’s not about being the biggest and overpowering today (politicos will recognize this as “too big to fail”).

You don’t have to have the biggest marketing budget–or the biggest booth at the tradeshow to win business. In fact, I would suggest that you have an advantage if you AREN’T big. (I’m quite sure that schools like Butler use their size as a recruiting advantage.) Those are NOT the fundamentals of business.

Here are Six Fundamentals to get you started–and these should be Your Way:

  • Listen to your prospect. They’ll tell you what they really want and what’s important to them. In other words, stop talking and pitching.
  • Do what’s right in the process. If there is a wrinkle in your product or service, bring it up upfront. Don’t hide it hoping your customer never sees it. It’s not good for your Karma.
  • Be of “integrity.” Meaning, if you’re thinking it on the inside, then say it on the outside. When you begin holding things back, you lose.
  • Be who you are. Know what you’re really good at and don’t try to ‘make things fit’ just to make a buck. It always seems like a good idea at the time, but seldom is. I can’t tell you how many clients are looking to cut clients because the fit just isn’t right–and some of that business in unprofitable.
  • Care. Doesn’t sound like a Harvard Business School strategy does it? But it will make massively more successful than some academic marketing concept.
  • Finally, have some fun. How many times have you been called on by someone who just doesn’t seem like they’re having much fun? I have, often. Take a lesson from Butler, and have some fun. Laugh a little. Celebrate. Don’t get rattled. And do the fundamentals right—let the outcome take care of itself.

I Hope You Aren’t KEEPING Buyers From Buying – Like One BMW Dealership

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My wife really needs a new car. She just went back to work full time for her (telecom) company and she needs a new ride.

Since I have a BMW, I suggested she go and drive the X3 (small SUV).

We walked into the BMW dealership and asked if we could test drive one. We were told that our name in the database was assigned to a sales person who was busy with a prospect at the moment so we wouldn’t be able to drive one.

WHAT??!!!

“You  mean if I had $40,000 cash and wanted to buy that car, I couldn’t because “my salesperson” was busy?”

“That’s right, sir.” (And here I thought the auto market was struggling. Guess not). So we gave her our number and told her to have “our salesperson” call us. He never did.

So here’s my question to you: Do you practice “sales prevention” anywhere in your company? I know your answer will be a quick “NO!” But think about it for a moment. I’m sure the BMW dealer would answer “No”, too. But he actually does prevent sales…by his systems (or lack of).

Think about the following ‘points on the path to a sale:’

  • When the prospect first calls in to talk to someone….how does that sound? Does the prospect get “engaged” or just passed through? Does your voice mail system work to ‘help the caller?’
  • When you go out to the first call–do you send an agenda in advance? Do you have an agenda with you? Do you follow up with notes after the call? (I find most sellers fail miserably at these.)
  • When you come back to the office, so you take a few minutes to take notes so you don’t forget to follow up, or the important points?
  • When you go back out to meet with that person, do you lead with an ‘historical review’ of what you covered the first meeting–and any open items? Or do you just start in and hope you’re in the same place?
  • Are you constantly educating the customer as to where they are in your sales / their purchase cycle? Or, do you just assume he’ll follow you blindly?
  • And, when I go to your company website, does it help me sort out what I’m looking for…or give me mountains of links?

So, before you answer NO to my question above…answer those. I hope you’re practicing “Sales Facilitation” rather than “Sales Prevention.”

By the way, we ended up at the VW dealership, test drove a Tiguan (Oh, how I hate their model names) and she loved it. No X3 in her future.

When A Sales Person Gets Nervous, Bad Things Happen

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Had a frantic call from a client who had proposed a solution to one of her prospects. Earlier this week, she got an email from the prospect who “sounded like he was having second thoughts about the deal” she had proposed.

Luckily, she called me before she called him.

What I found was someone who was ATTACHED to a “Yes.” Not a good place to be.

We worked through the process and what had happened. His email sounded not like someone who was backing out–but as someone who was confused and overwhelmed.

My Recommendation

Call him and have an informal conversation with him—without trying to convince him — or defend your solution. Just talk.

Say, “Herbie, I received your email. Am happy to talk through some of your points. It sounds like I haven’t explained things very well to you. Is this a good time to talk?”

Very simple. Elegant. No pressure. No attachment. I’m all for being aware of yellow flags–and listening to what’s NOT being said as well as what’s being said– and addressing them, but sometimes you just need to relax.