Check Out Your Selling Language. Is it Empowering You?

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We did a role play the other day in one of our clients. I was looking for language (the words sales people used). After the exercise, the group got into a heated discussion about the language of the new selling philosophy. We then made a list of the words of Selling in the 1900’s. And compared that to selling of the 2000’s.

Read these and check out your language. The language of the 2000’s is empowering language that will keep you in control of the sales process.

The Old Language
 What do I need to do to get your business?
 Here is what this product does.
 Is there any way I could get a meeting with him?
 I really need to see you.
 Here’s what we do…
 How much do you want to pay?
 I’m so excited to be here and to tell you what we have.
 I think I can beat that price
 Features and Benefits (galore)

The New Language
 I’m not sure I can help
 Regardless of what the product does, what are your objectives?
 What kind of cash flow are you expecting?
 What are you hoping the Return on Investment to be?
 Have you done a financial impact study?
 How does this fit with your customers?
 Who else cares about getting the problem solved?
 Why wouldn’t you just keep using the same vendor?
 Let me share with you how our process works

Hope this helps you take stock of your language in your sales process. Check with your manager (or someone around you) to see what they hear.

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THE DEATH OF THE DECISION MAKER

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I had a revelation this week that has led me to think about an old “sales 101” rule in a completely different light. If you’ve been a salesperson for longer than 10 minutes, you certainly know rule #1 is to always talk to the decision maker. “Get past the gatekeeper….find the decision maker….”

You’ve heard this in sales training class for decades. But I’ve decided to re-write the rule. Here’s the deal: There is NO SUCH THING AS “A” DECISION MAKER anymore.

Gone are the days of “my way” or “the highway” management and people making decisions at their desk or over a two martini lunch. Without question, virtually every decision made by a purchaser includes input from more than one person. Granted one person may have veto power over the decision, but rest assured that that person is collecting input, opinion and data from others.

Here’s how I’d suggest you change your process given this new vane of thought:

1 -Talk to EVERYONE who will be impacted by the purchase. If you sell dump trucks, don’t just talk to the owner of the construction company, talk to the driver’s who will be using your equipment, talk to the dispatchers, talk to the maintenance people, and talk to the CFO. All of these people will be both involved in the decision to buy your dump trucks AND in the longevity of your relationship.

2 -Stop worrying about hurting people’s feelings. I hear this in our sales training classes a lot. “I don’t want to offend my buyer by going over their head.” That’s like saying, “I don’t want to tell that guy with cancer that I have a cure, because I only deal with his spouse.” INSANE. You’re there to HELP-not to keep everyone’s feelings from being hurt.

3 -Make it part of your process from Day 1: Be sure to tell new prospects the first time you meet them, that you’ll be talking to several people in their organization as you attempt to offer them a viable solution. You won’t get nearly as much resistance if you tell them upfront you’re going to talk to their boss than if you wait until it’s too late.

The death of “the decision maker” is upon us.

Bonus 3: 2008 Sucess Insights Audiobook

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Never-before-offered-collection of the highest insights to change your thinking about what it means to sell in this decade. These come from a 20-year history of training, consulting, and coaching some of America’s top sales teams. (Value: $49)

                  

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Bonus 2: Most Pressing Sales Problems 2008

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A one-hour teleseminar recording with the answers to the most pressing sales problems of 2008. Bill Caskey walks you through the scenarios that do the most damage to your sales process and your income. The research came from a national poll of sales people. (Value: $79)

 

                               

Bonus 1: 5 Strategies For Selling In A Slowing Economy

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A 90-minute teleseminar recording on what really happens in an economic slowdown when buyers are reluctant to make a move. If you’re in B2B sales, you will learn new ways to think about your market, your value and yourself during the slowdown. (Value: $79)

                                                                 
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Blog Authors

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We love to hear from our readers. If you’d like to contact our authors privately to suggest story ideas or critique their writing, here is their information:

Bill Caskey: mailto:[email protected]

Bill is a sales development leader and experimenter. His ideas about selling are convictions about life, money and meaning. He has coached sales professionals and executives for over 20 years. And his philosophies and strategies have fueled explosive growth in sales and profits for clients.  Click here to learn more about Bill Caskey.

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“How Can I Regain Control of a Sales Process That’s Out of Control?”

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I got this question from one of my clients last week. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is a common problem for sales professionals–especially in complex (long) selling cycles.

Let’s start at the top. You are in sales to solve problems. The solving of your customer’s problems will pay you GOBS of money (more money than merely ‘selling them stuff’ will). You must recall that there is a natural order to life in sales.

Problem. The Process. Then Product.

When you begin a process, the customer problem should be at the top of the agenda. Every time you meet with your prospect, you start with “can we review the pain?” (Maybe not those exact words, but you get the idea).

The reader’s conundrum comes later in the sales process when things drag down–momentum gets lost. Here’s the revelation: The velocity is lost because the original problem has worked it’s way down the priority list. It’s nowhere on an agenda. It’s not top of mind anymore.

In fact, I’ve seen sales processes that get bogged down–and when I ask the seller, ‘when’s the last time your reviewed the customer’s problem?’ they say, “not since the first call.”

Hmmmmm. Something odd going on here.

The main reason you’re going through all of this work is not even talked about anymore???!!! Lesson: You must keep going back to the original reason–the primary purpose of the sale. Revisit the pain, often.

They Won’t. You Must.

But the prospect won’t do this on his/her own. You’ve got to do it. So that was my answer–unglamorous as it was. No cool, one-liner. I didn’t even resurrect the late 60’s sales move of, “if I could show you a way, would you buy today?” Just plain talk about what’s really happening.

==We’re going to be doing more ‘ask the coach’ in our blog. So fire up your fingers and pose your toughest challenge (or email us).

How’d You Get To Be A Star?

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Recently the NYTimes Magazine ran a piece written by the Freakonomics guys, Dubner and Levitt. The article was titled, A Star Is Born. Get it and read it. It provides a wonderful look into the traits of high achievers. No reason to go into a lot of detail here–only to say that everything in the piece applies to you and I in business–and is more profound than most ‘how to’ books.

As sales coaches, we are constantly on the lookout for information that helps propel the high achievers–and at the same time–watching for data that suggests what might get in the way.

My lesson from the article is that talent is not all it appears to be–something a person is born with naturally. Jordan isn’t Jordan and Gretzky isn’t Gretzky without a lot of grueling work. They might have been on the team without hard work–but they wouldn’t be icons without it. A lot of pratice. A lot of coaching. And a lot of goal setting. All the things we teach everyday.

If your results aren’t where you think they could be, then maybe you aren’t committed. (I ask myself that everyday since I believe that what shows up in our life is exactly what we are committed to). Dubner and Levitt will tell you that you haven’t practiced enough, haven’t worked hard enough, haven’t set the right goals, haven’t gotten enough coaching and feedback.

Read the article and give me some feedback. Anxious to hear what your perspective was.

The Missing Link in Sales Training (shhhh….it’s a secret)

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We get asked often, “How are you different than other sales trainers?” Good question. My answer includes the Missing Link in Sales Training. For 18 years we’ve kept it a secret. Now it’s time to share. Here’s the answer: 

Most sales training programs focus on two aspects of the sale’s process: saying and doing. Traditional sales training teaches us what to say and what to do. If you need more sales, make more calls. If you’re not closing enough business, try the Pending Event Close. The problem with these approaches is that they miss the one fundamental element that will exponentially increase the return on sales training investments.

That fundamental element is training sales people to THINK differently. Most sales trainers have it backwards. They teach the words and behaviors first (or only). The flaw here is that if the rep’s thinking is obscured, no word, behavior or process will ever work.

Example.
You as CEO or sales manager say: “Our sales people need to get in front of more CEO’s at our prospects.” You tell them to do it (behavior) and you give them some tips on what to say.
Problem: YOUR SALES PEOPLE ARE FRIGHTENED TO CALL CEO’S. THEY ARE INTIMIDATED. THEY FEEL INADEQUATE.

Your sales training program had better work on that problem first. For a sales training program to be successful, its content must be heavy with thought- changing strategies.

If you change how you think, the words and behaviors take care of themselves.