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The One Thing That Will Change Your Sales World

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Apologies to the person who created the “flower and the bee” concept but I think that epitomizes perfectly the problem with most sales processes today.

The-Flower-Does-Not

And do we ever have a problem.

The ‘flower and the bee’ phenomena goes like this: in nature the flower must pollinate itself. It sits there waiting for the bee (one of the many ways pollination happens) to pollinate it. The flower does not labor, nor does it stress about bees showing up. Bees, on the other hand, are scurrying about trying to find food, and pollinating the flower.

In business, sales people are typically the bees and the customer is the flower. Sales people scurry around the country looking for food.

Why does it have to be that way? Why shouldn’t the sales professional be sitting – allowing the prospect to show up for them? Why?

It’s because we don’t plan it out that way. (We actually might, secretly, like the scurrying about looking for plants -err prospects.)

We have bought into the flower/bee process so heavily in sales that we refuse to even admit that it’s all wrong. (We also do this when job searching…wrong again.) Read more

Cold Calling In A Modern World

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As sales trainers, we get frequent questions centered around cold calling:

  • “What should my cold call sound like?”
  • “Should I even make cold calls anymore?”

Even on Twitter recently, where we asked the question, “What is your biggest sales problem?” the answer came back, “How do I get the motivation to pick up the phone and call people who don’t know me?” @laurenkriner

So in this episode, Bill and Brooke disagree on the answer, but still offer advice in a Point-Counterpoint style on cold calling.

3 Strikes and You’re Out – How Bad Impressions Can Cause A Prospect To Run!

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I’m sure we’ve all heard that saying, but it’s important because it applies to many aspects of life – interviews, dating, networking and presentations.

A few weeks ago, I reached out to a company via email to determine if their services fit our needs.   The owner contacted me a few days later and we discussed the purpose of my email.   I clearly explained what we were looking for and we then set a time to meet.

 

STRIKE ONE!

Upon arrival, the entire staff greeted me, that’s all fine and dandy, but I was blind-sided because I didn’t expect them to join us for the meeting.

So how did that make me – the prospect – feel in this situation? Confused. If your prospect is confused within 5 minutes of meeting you, then you’ve struck out.

√ THE LESSON: HAVE A CLEAR AGENDA AND MENTION ALL THE KEY PLAYERS PRIOR TO A MEETING WITH A PROSPECT OR CLIENT.

Before you meet with a prospect and even a client, send them a CLEAR outline.  The idea is to share the content of the meeting and inform them of other people who might join the meeting.

In our eBook, Email It – A Seller’s Guide to Emails That Work, we lay out the framework of how it might sound.  One of the pre-written emails, specifically Email The Agenda Upfront, we lay how to write this email.

Here’s a checklist of things you should put in the upfront agenda:

  • What you’d like to discuss in broad terms
  • Ask them if there is anything else they’d like to discuss
  • Introduce other people who might join the meeting
  • Anything they should bring (if this applies)

**This gets back to the premise that a person with a plan will be in control of the process and will create a great impression! After all, I’m sure you don’t want to confuse or surprise your prospect.

 

STRIKE TWO!

At the beginning of the meeting, each employee stared at me like a deer in headlights.  Clearly none of them knew what we were meeting about.

√ LESSON: EMAIL THE AGENDA TO ALL PEOPLE ATTENDING THE MEETING.

Use common sense.  If you’re bringing a colleague, your boss, a friend or whomever into a meeting with a prospect or client– always fill them in on ALL the details beforehand!

 

STRIKE THREE!

Don’t suggest the FULL enchilada unless you know all your prospect’s problems.

The company recommended the entire enchilada—after blindly diagnosing my pains and problems.  Little did they know, the tasty taco would have fixed my problems.

√ LESSON: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU OFFER SOLUTION.

One IMPORTANT part of the sales process is to find the Compelling Reason for change.  As sales professionals, we have to get to the bottom of why a prospect would change what they are doing now to a new solution.

Here are some optimum questions we recommend you ask to find pain:

  1. “What do you see as the biggest issue keeping you from your vision?”
  2. “Why is that a problem?”
  3. “What have you done in the past to fix it?”
  4. “What happens if you decide not to take action?”
  5. “How much does it cost you to have these problems?”

Babe Ruth said, “Don’t let the fear of striking out hold you back.”  But if you only have three chances to hit a home run, then why not put your best foot forward and make a great impression?

 

‪How To Write An Email When A Deal Is Struck Or Stalled – Email Tips For Sales Professionals

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In this video, Bill Caskey, Author of Email It — A Seller’s Guide to Emails That Work with 20 Pre-Written, Ready-to-Use Emails, discusses the most common questions on emailing he gets from his clients.

This is one of the most common issues we’ve noticed: How does the seller deal with the sales process when it gets stalled?

This email tutorial gives the EXACT framework you should use when you must write this email.

*You can learn more tips on how to write emails to a prospect or your client at: ‪http://emailitsellersguide.com/‬

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Sales Action And Running Prospect Meetings

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Whiteboard Wednesday returns to its roots this week with Bill (who’s actually in front of a whiteboard) discussing how to handle a sales call when there are many of them and only one of you. He gives you a simple technique that few use that will help you begin on the same page.

And Bryan Neale rants a little bit about his fat wallet (except for there’s no money in it….only receipts). The essence of this rant has to do with taking action.

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Deals That Won’t Move Through the Sales Funnel

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Every sales professional we know is always in prospecting mode, which is why we devote a fair amount of time in this week’s episode in sales prospecting, sales development, and moving people through the pipeline.

In this episode’s Rant, Bill Caskey addresses the initial call and how sometimes the failure in the overall sales cycle begins on call number one. He offers tips on how to improve your language on the first call.

Bryan Neale busts the myth of “Enthusiasm is Contagious”. He tells you what really happens when a sales person exhibits too much enthusiasm.

Finally Bill and Bryan address moving deals through the pipeline in a way that is practical and virtually for any sales cycle.

 

In the Sales Process, Slow Down To Speed Up

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Ever wonder whether your buyer knows what you’re going to ask them before you ask?

In this episode, Bill, Bryan and Brooke deal with the issues of how you find the customer problem…and the realization that if you slow down and ask the “right” questions, you can actually speed up the sales cycle.

In the “Mailbag” segment, Bryan tackles an email we get often, “How do I handle being a new sales rep? Can you give me some advice on getting a quick start?”

Building Your Sales Funnel

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Perhaps it’s an overused sales term–sales funnel–but since everyone knows what it means, it makes some sense to work on it today.

As a trainer for B2B  sales teams, I must tell you that “lead generation” is a hot topic right now. When I speak to large groups, I always ask the question: “What’s the biggest issue you have right now in your sales process?”

Without fail, it’s “I don’t have enough business in my sales funnel.”

It’s All In The Attitude
As you know, I’m an unashamed believer that most of our sales problems have their root in “how we think,” Lead generation is no exception. I could spend hundreds of words telling you to get more referrals (see Advanced Selling Podcast, Getting Referrals) or I could give you a cold call script that works like a charm…but it won’t work until you get the right attitude.

So today, let’s get to work on the attitude of building the sales funnel today. There are two.

1. Attitude of Abundance. Seldom do we run across an industry where there is NOT an abundance of prospects in the Universe. What usually exists is simply a scarcity in the actual sales funnel. So let’s assume that you have an abundance of prospects. The attitude for building it is “my sales funnel is a scarce place–a resource–and no one gets in my funnel without passing the test.” What is that test? Simple. The prospect passes the test by having three things: a) pain for what I do–a real problem that he wants to fix; b) an understanding of the money it costs him NOT to fix the problem; and c) the money to actually spend to fix it. Get that sales attitude and watch your demeanor change in the prospecting process.

2.  I am Always Monitoring My Funnel.  Just as I’m discerning about who gets in, I’m also discernng about who stays in. Think about it. Every prospect you are pursuing takes a certain amount of my time and attention. There is not an unlimited amount of either–they are scarce resources. And your sales funnel is like an inventory system that needs control.

So when a prospect fails to continue to act/look like a prospect, I will gently, nicely, elegantly, move on. But I will ALWAYS tell them that. I don’t just stop calling them. I call and say, “Mr. Jones, I’m calling today because I’m getting the feeling that you have decided not to fix the problem we talked about. That’s OK. I just need to tell you I’m moving on if that is your conclusion.”

See how nice that is. Don’t get mean now!

Get these attitudes embedded in that big brain of yours, and watch prospecting become a piece of cake. Comments welcome.