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How Social Media Affects Sales People

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The game is selling. But the rules have changed. Cold Calling is out. Social media is IN. Convincing and persuading is out. Community and attraction are in.

As your company sits in board rooms and talks sales strategy, then think about Social Media as one leg of execution.

Definition: ‘Social media’ (SM). SM is the interaction that people have online that creates conversations in which your company and/or products are centerpieces.

You, as a sales professional or sales manager, had best get hip to what’s happening online to your company/products/customers. And how to use this knowledge to grow your business. There are several vehicles in SM. Here they are, in no order.

Podcasts. You should have a podcast for your business (every business should have a podcast–and I challenge someone to convince me otherwise) if you have expertise about something. Your podcast will provide valuable information that your customers/prospects can use to see you as a resource for bigger problems. Talk to customers about problems you’ve solved for them. Record them and you have a podcast. Giving a speech at an industry event? Good, record it and now you have a podcast. Have a technical guru in the back room? Turn on the mic, interview him and now you have yet another podcast.

Don’t tell me you have nothing to talk about.

Plug: Check out The Advanced Selling Podcast, which is produced weekly. It’s 15-minutes long and takes us about 20 minutes to create/episode. We have about 12,000 listeners per month and it costs us about $100/month to produce and host. Where else can I speak to 12,000 people for $100?

Another Resource: Go to Podcast Tools to check out Paul Colligan’s podcast on podcasting. He does 5 minutes/week. Short but to the point. 

Another Point: The iPhone will sell over 10,000,000 units in the next year. Go to your Apple store, or go to apple.com and watch the instructional video. Guess what a big part of the feature set is? Podcasting delivered directly to the phone!

Your selling strategy should be to educate your prospects to the pains/issues they have that they don’t know they have. Every selling process or procedure should do this. What better way to do this than through podcasting or internet audio where your sales strategy is to help them see their problems–and help them see YOU as a solution to them?

Blogs. While there are 40,000,000 blogs, most companies don’t see them for what they could be. If you have a website and not a blog, then you’re missing a great way to lead people to your website. But make your blog a rigorous conversation about the industry. DON’T make it about you and only you.

Ask questions. Pose opinions and ask for feedback. Create controversy by being honest. Blogs should be written by people–not by some faceless company PR person.

You can also use blogs to create Case Studies on ways you’ve solved problems for your customers. Have a new product? Take a pic of it and post about it. But be honest about it’s strengths and weaknesses. Don’t tell one side of the story. If you do, it’ll sound like it came from your marketing department–more blah-blah-blah.

Video Blogs. This includes the addition of Video to your blog site. If your value can be told easier through pictures/video, then this is a great application. Here is one that came from the Executive Learning Network. I have no idea who they are, but it looks like they have a new video blog site. I spent 15 minutes watching it. Not the meatiest content in the world, but well produced. Your ideas should be flowing by now.

 

RSS. This is a tough one. You’ve heard about it, but you may not undrestand it fully. Here is a link to Capture The Conversation, a blog written about new media. This post tells you what RSS is and how important it is for companies investing in the web.

Every sales person should know about RSS because it might just be the future of client communications. Period.

Conclusion
The idea is that your customers/prospects aren’t at chamber meetings anymore. They are online in their own conversations with people. If you’re a sales manager or top level sales person, then here are some questions you should address:
==’How can you meet your prospects where they are?’
==’How can you create some of those customer conversations by what you know–and educate them?’
==’How can you share your insights so your market comes begging for more–which consequently puts you in control of the sales process?

If you think your goal is to merely make cold calls and get referrals, then you are thinking in the old world. Good luck with new thinking.

“Sorry I Lied to You — But You Made Me Do It”

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Probably not something you’ll ever hear a prospect say, “Sorry I lied, but you made me.” But just because they don’t say it, doesn’t mean it’s not the truth.

At our training company, we take very seriously the idea of ‘creating space’ with a customer. What we mean by that is the sales professional has a profound responsibility in the sales transaction to get the truth. And that won’t happen if there is no trust/environment created for that.

To that end, I’ve made a list of “5 SureFire Ways to Get Your Prospect To Lie To You” (a bit tongue-in-cheek, but remarkably, we see these in action all the time. You can laugh at these, but make sure the joke isn’t on you.)

1. Start Pitching and Convincing Early. This is a favorite of the amateur sales person who fancies himself as a studly seller. They paste on the charm (which we all can see through) and go to work. “Pitching” is great because it quickly forces the prospect into a defensive mode, right where you want him, so you can close quickly. Advertising agencies and the media are great at ‘the pitch.’ In fact, they’re so good at it, they actually call it that. It really forces some great lies. Good luck with this one.

2. Ask A Lot of (Meaningless) Bonding and Rapport Questions. This is wonderful because you can ask questions about their vacation, their business–anything that you really don’t care about. And the true amateur never realizes that the prospect knows exactly what they’re doing to them. This is a surefire way to get the prospect to mislead you.

3. When Talking Money, Discount It’s Importance. You’ll be great at making people hide the truth when you brush over their concerns about money. In fact, even better, make them feel a little shame that they don’t understand how valuable your service is. It’s not up to you to explain the value–it’s up to them to take your word for it.

4. Close Hard and Often. This is one of the greatest pieces of training I got in my first sales job. This really makes prospects run away quickly. Or, if they stay in the process, you can blame them for continuing to lie to you. Buy all the books around on closing skills and watch the lies flow!

5. Don’t Make Your Sales Message About Them-Make it About You. This is one of my favorites. A salesperson comes in and explains to me how great he and his company are–and makes no effort to relate his value to my problem. There are a lot of sales training companies who teach this method. It works wonders to create atmospheres of lies and hidden agendas. This is a great time waster for sales people–for some prospects won’t tell you they have no interest, they’ll lead you on for months, living rent-free inside your head.

Sometimes the absurd works better than logic and reason, thus my crazy list. I was in a training this week where a supposedly-well-trained sales person laid the “if-I-could-show-you-a-way” move on me in a role play. Made everyone in the room almost vomit. That’s when I knew I’d made progress. Those old sales moves really should make you sick to your stomach.

Lead Generation Seminars–What Works-What Doesn’t?

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Seminars are outstanding ways to generate “conversations” with prospects—and ultimately leads. But if done poorly, they can ruin your brand. If you’re a sales professional and you are asked to do a seminar, then take these into consideration.

FACT: Every company has expertise that lends itself to sharing at a seminar (telephone, webinar or face to face). I’ll post later on some ways to organize your material, but for now, we’ll talk about DO’s and DONT’s.

What To Do
Here are some tips on what to do when presenting a seminar designed to generate leads (or conversations):

1. Find Out Customer Objectives
This can be in the form of a PDF you send out on an autorespond when they sign up. Or you can pass out a brief questionnaire when people sit down. Remember, in our sales approach, we sell to the pain–to teh problem. How will you know how to convert your knowledge if you don’t know the pain of the group.

This also gives you a chance to talk about what you WON’T cover in a seminar upfront so people don’t leave disappointed. I always say, “John, that’s a great point. Because of limited time, I won’t be able to address that fully here. If you’ll mark on your business card, I’ll make sure we talk later.”

2. Tell Stories
People don’t want to see PowerPoints. They want to hear stories–stories of real people solving real problems. If you don’t have 5-10 good, short stories, then you’re probably boring your audience.

If you are not a story teller by nature, then do 3-5 short Case Studies. Remember, a case study should follow the following format: a) What was the problem you’re client was having? b) What impact was that having on their business? c) What solution did you bring to them? and d) What is life like now for the client. That’s the ONLY format to use.

3. Never Answer The First Question
This goes for salespeople on a call as well. The question the prospect asks you is never the real question. It is a “poser” for a deeper question. Consequently, you should find out what’s the question behind the question.

Barb (attendee): “Bill, how do you handle it when a prsopect tells you they don’t have the money to buy?”

Bill (me): “Good question–did everyone hear that? (then repeat the question). Before I answer that, give me a little more data — what exactly did you say that caused that reaction?”  You see, if I answer the question as posed, I may miss something that she said to cause the prospect to respond in that manner.

Once I know that, then I can answer the question. EVERY QUESTION HAS A DEEPER QUESTION BEHIND IT. You do the prospect a severe disservice if you merely answer the question asked.

OK-Now What NOT To Do

1. Stop Reading Your Freakin’ PowerPoints
Every good presentation book says this yet no one apparently is reading those books. If you’re in professional sales and you have to rely on a PowerPoint on a projector, then you’re making too much money.

2. Never Let People Out Without A Commitment
I am not looking to close someone from the front of the room. But you must never, ever let someone leave, after you’ve worked with them for the length of the seminar, without a clear future on what to do next. It frustrates your participant too. If you’ve done a good job upfront, finding  out what they’re pain is, then why shouldn’t you close for a future action?

3. Don’t Spend More Than One Minute on How Great You (or Your Company) Is
I was at a seminar earlier this year. The introducer spent 10 minutes on the qualifications of the main speaker. Come on….one minute is enough. It was laughable. I know you’re proud of your accomplishments, but did you know ‘they don’t care about you?’ They only care about you to the extent that you can help them to a better future.

If you don’t do lead generation seminars, then find a reason to start doing them. But if you do them, follow the very-simple tips above for a magical outcome.