by Marcia Gauger
Question:
I finished presenting a proposal & pricing for a fairly large project that I am about to undertake. I have a verbal commitment from my customer, now what should I do in terms of the next step? Should I put together another proposal outlining the specific pricing that we looked at?
Answer:
Assume the sale! You said you have a commitment from your customer, so proceed as if you do. If you put together another proposal, you may give your customer reason to second-guess the decision. The bottom line is, make it easy for your customer to move forward. For instance, if after reviewing your proposal the customer and you agree on certain aspects but not others, you may simply put together a letter of confirmation stating the work to be accomplished and a timeline. You may even say something like, “I’ll get started on the first phase of the project and in the meantime I’ll put together an outline of our agreement for our records.” Don’t say, “Now that we’ve had a chance to meet, let me revise the proposal and get it back to you for your approval.”
Salespeople have to be very careful not to become their own obstacles to gaining commitments. Even though I don’t like losing control of my billing, I appreciate that my satellite radio service automatically bills my credit card at time of renewal. They assume that you want to renew and I don’t think twice. Can you imagine how many sales they would lose if they asked for the commitment again at renewal time? On the other hand, every time I receive a renewal notice for products and services, I re-sell myself on whether or not I actually want or need the service. In some cases, I could be swayed either way. The same is true with your customers.
I recently received a call from a company selling network solutions. It just so happens that I am in the market for those services so I scheduled an appointment for a technician to diagnose my problem. However, instead of sending a technician, they sent a salesperson to tell me about their company and “gain a commitment before work would start.” They added an unnecessary step to the process causing me to question them. If they had sent a technician to take care of my immediate issue, they could have clarified bill rate and possibly secured a long-term customer. Instead of engaging me as a customer, it was just another sales call.
If you are nervous about starting work on a project, ask yourself if you really have a commitment? If you are unsure, review your letter of agreement with the customer and check the pulse by asking, “Does this meet your expectations?”
Convenience is often a major factor in gaining commitments in business. Our partner company, Synergyworks, recently asked a group of salespeople to share examples of how they “pull out the stops” by making it easy for the customer to do business. Here’s some of them:
After having difficulty getting customers to come in for spring service, a lawn & garden equipment dealership decided to set a schedule each spring where they pick up customers’ lawnmowers for service. They bring the mower back to the dealership, conduct the required maintenance and deliver the lawnmower to the customer in ship shape and ready to go. The feedback they receive has been so positive that most customers don’t think twice about buying a second piece of equipment from the dealership.
An online clothing retailer offers real time on-line customer service help with a guarantee that if they don’t like the product when they receive it, they can return it with the pre-paid return label. It’s absolutely no risk. Because of the immediate personalized service, the company has very few returns.
A local farmer of organic produce, meats and eggs was experiencing less customer traffic. While customer feedback was always good, he was at the mercy of whatever foot traffic happened to stop by or read his road sign. He decided to offer online pre-orders. Now, customers can go online and order what they need for the upcoming week with the option of home delivery or pick up at the farmer’s market. The program has been so successful that the farm has nearly doubled its sales volume.
Realizing the mayhem that back to school shopping can cause for parents and the need to capture market share, a savvy retailer created pre-packaged school supply kits hand packed according to individual teacher specifications and delivered to children on the first day of school.
What can you do to “pull out the stops” in your business? A little brainstorming may make a huge difference in customer commitment.
Marcia Gauger is Partner at DVR Learning, LLC, specializes in the design and delivery of performance-based learning programs and materials for sales professionals. Her blog is: http://www.dvrlearning.com/blog You can contact Marcia at email or call 262-642-9610. www.dvrlearning.com
Sharing best practices in sales and sales management www.salesassociation.org
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sell the “Product of Your Product” to Differentiate Yourself From a Commodity
by Marcia Gauger
Question:
I hear talk about stressing value to differentiate products and services, but how does that apply to commodities? From the customer’s perspective, the products we sell are absolutely no different than anyone else who distributes this product. All we have to compete on is price.
Answer:
Don’t get hung up on the product itself. You need to think about what you do for the customer. For instance, when we purchased a new copy machine for the office, we could have purchased the exact same brand and model for less than what we paid from a number of distribution sources. However, the company that we chose added value by offering advice that we needed regarding networking the machine to our computers and other online materail distribution issues that we were facing. Even though we paid thousands of dollars for the machine, the company we employed is in the business of selling service, not machines.
Make a list of everything you do that adds value for your customers – This is the first step in differentiating yourself. If you can’t list anything, you might want to consider another line of work! Consider the value that you bring to your accounts from a customer’s perspective. For instance:
Next, quantify the value for your customer – For example, if you can indeed show better response times than the customer is accustomed to, quantify what this means to the customer. Use the customer’s figures. If you are able to provide just in time delivery, how much does that mean for that particular customer in terms of saved inventory costs?
Define value for each individual customer – The problem with the word “value” is that it means different things to each customer. Stressing what you think may be important to one may not be to another. Some customers are strictly price shoppers and won’t give you the time of day. Others value expertise and welcome your advice. Somewhere between these two groups are customers that don’t know what else to ask about except price. And, given the opportunity, will share their aches and pains. Find out what’s important to each and stress value accordingly. For instance, the last time we bought computers for the office, one of my business partners tried to convince me to invest in the largest monitors available. While this particular feature just seemed like added cost to me, it was a significant value for my partner who was having trouble seeing the screen. Value is almost always measured in terms of increased time, decreased time, increased profits or some other personal pain or goal.
Don’t dwell on the competition – It is valuable to know how the customer feels about the competition. But, your focus should be on what you can do for the customer, not how you can outdo the competition.
Reduced price is not value – Anyone can cut his or her price. If you are relying on price cuts to gain business, be prepared for high turnover in your accounts. A request for quote is the customer’s way of saying, “I see no difference in what you offer from anyone else”. This is the starting point for you to discover opportunities to help the customer and provide value. You may simply say, “I would be delighted to provide a quote. Let’s get together so I can provide an accurate quote by better understanding your needs.”
Marcia Gauger is Partner at DVR Learning, LLC, specializes in the design and delivery of performance-based learning programs and materials for sales professionals. Her blog is: http://www.dvrlearning.com/blog You can contact Marcia at email or call 262-642-9610. www.dvrlearning.com
Question:
I hear talk about stressing value to differentiate products and services, but how does that apply to commodities? From the customer’s perspective, the products we sell are absolutely no different than anyone else who distributes this product. All we have to compete on is price.
Answer:
Don’t get hung up on the product itself. You need to think about what you do for the customer. For instance, when we purchased a new copy machine for the office, we could have purchased the exact same brand and model for less than what we paid from a number of distribution sources. However, the company that we chose added value by offering advice that we needed regarding networking the machine to our computers and other online materail distribution issues that we were facing. Even though we paid thousands of dollars for the machine, the company we employed is in the business of selling service, not machines.
Make a list of everything you do that adds value for your customers – This is the first step in differentiating yourself. If you can’t list anything, you might want to consider another line of work! Consider the value that you bring to your accounts from a customer’s perspective. For instance:
- Do you offer better delivery schedules than the competition?
- Can you reduce the amount of product waste the customer is experiencing by offering suggestions on usage?
- Do you offer training that would increase plant safety as it relates to your product or service?
- Can you offer special packaging that would reduce handling of the product?
- By utilizing a method that you suggest, will the customer increase production or some other quantifiable benefit?
- Can you eliminate their need for other suppliers by serving more of the customer’s needs?
Next, quantify the value for your customer – For example, if you can indeed show better response times than the customer is accustomed to, quantify what this means to the customer. Use the customer’s figures. If you are able to provide just in time delivery, how much does that mean for that particular customer in terms of saved inventory costs?
Define value for each individual customer – The problem with the word “value” is that it means different things to each customer. Stressing what you think may be important to one may not be to another. Some customers are strictly price shoppers and won’t give you the time of day. Others value expertise and welcome your advice. Somewhere between these two groups are customers that don’t know what else to ask about except price. And, given the opportunity, will share their aches and pains. Find out what’s important to each and stress value accordingly. For instance, the last time we bought computers for the office, one of my business partners tried to convince me to invest in the largest monitors available. While this particular feature just seemed like added cost to me, it was a significant value for my partner who was having trouble seeing the screen. Value is almost always measured in terms of increased time, decreased time, increased profits or some other personal pain or goal.
Don’t dwell on the competition – It is valuable to know how the customer feels about the competition. But, your focus should be on what you can do for the customer, not how you can outdo the competition.
Reduced price is not value – Anyone can cut his or her price. If you are relying on price cuts to gain business, be prepared for high turnover in your accounts. A request for quote is the customer’s way of saying, “I see no difference in what you offer from anyone else”. This is the starting point for you to discover opportunities to help the customer and provide value. You may simply say, “I would be delighted to provide a quote. Let’s get together so I can provide an accurate quote by better understanding your needs.”
Marcia Gauger is Partner at DVR Learning, LLC, specializes in the design and delivery of performance-based learning programs and materials for sales professionals. Her blog is: http://www.dvrlearning.com/blog You can contact Marcia at email or call 262-642-9610. www.dvrlearning.com
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Quick Ideas For Sales Meetings
by Marcia Gauger
Conducting concise skill-building activities at sales meetings (whether online or face-to-face) is a terrific way to enhance abilities and share best practices. Consider assigning responsibility to a different salesperson for each meeting. Concentrated segments are key! Focusing on one skill set at a time gives salespeople the opportunity to reflect on and integrate skills into the upcoming week. Then, make sure that you review and coach their experiences at the next meeting.
Here are some ideas for quick and concentrated activities:
Objections Drills – Distribute two index cards to each sales person. Ask them to write a recent objection on the card. Collect the cards and redistribute them. Now, ask the salespersons to write responses to the objections on the back of the cards that they received. Collect the cards again and redistribute. The drill begins with a salesperson stating the objection on one of their cards and calling on a person to answer.
To conduct this in an online meeting, ask each salesperson to submit an objection and potential answer. Post the objections one at a time and ask for responses or call on individuals. Online formats are terrific for playing games. Put the objections that salespeople submit in a jeopardy or other familiar online game format.
I’ll Add to That! – This exercise encourages salespeople to share knowledge and best practices while helping develop sales and account strategy. Ask each person to prepare an account analysis or customer profile. If you use a CRM, perhaps you have this information stored. Ask each person to outline a current sales objective, the key players, history and any other pertinent information about the current status of the account. Then, pass the account around the room by asking each salesperson for one idea, suggestion or question to add value for the customer and move the sale forward. Keep going until all ideas are exhausted.
To conduct this in an online meeting, display the profile forms so all can see and use the same process. Tip – Make sure that you truncate the form so it is visible to all or send the completed forms to participants in advance to study and make recommendations.
Technology or Competition Study – Assign a competitor to each salesperson. Ask each to research the competition and prepare a comparison of your advantages and disadvantages to the group. Be sure to provide specific guidelines about what they should report. Ask the group to draw conclusions about how they measure up. The same exercise can be used for technology education. Ask each salesperson to research a new technology and report or demonstrate how they have used the technology to advance sales objectives. You could focus on a specific technology such as LinkedIn, or even cell phones. Or, assign a specific technology to each person.
To conduct this in an online meeting - Pass controls to each person and ask them to demonstrate what they have learned.
Market Penetration – Ask each salesperson anonymously submit what they would do to increase sales and market penetration if they were given unlimited resources. Compile the master list, distribute and discuss. Prioritize and vote on recommendations as a group. Then, act on the recommendations!
To conduct this in an online meeting – Consider using polling features to vote on responses.
Invite an Expert – This could be someone from another department, or someone from outside of your company. It is highly motivating for salespeople to hear what others are doing to be successful. Be certain that you give clear guidelines to your guest. Consider inviting a top performing salesperson from a sister company or unrelated industry to share successes.
To conduct this in an online meeting – Invite a guest to be present via video conferencing. Or, find one of your favorite experts on YouTube and play an excerpt.
Invite a Customer - Make sure you give the customer a clear understanding of why they have been selected to attend. Ask the customer to explain their business needs, what they like about your services and what they like about the competitive solutions they may opt for. Allow the salespeople to interact and ask questions much as if they were on a sales call. They will learn from the customer and from observing each other.
To conduct this in an online meeting – This is best conducted face-to-face. To conduct this in a live meeting, video conferencing is best.
Marcia Gauger is Partner at DVR Learning, LLC, specializes in the design and delivery of performance-based learning programs and materials for sales professionals. Her blog is: http://www.dvrlearning.com/blog You can contact Marcia at email or call 262-642-9610. www.dvrlearning.com
Conducting concise skill-building activities at sales meetings (whether online or face-to-face) is a terrific way to enhance abilities and share best practices. Consider assigning responsibility to a different salesperson for each meeting. Concentrated segments are key! Focusing on one skill set at a time gives salespeople the opportunity to reflect on and integrate skills into the upcoming week. Then, make sure that you review and coach their experiences at the next meeting.
Here are some ideas for quick and concentrated activities:
Objections Drills – Distribute two index cards to each sales person. Ask them to write a recent objection on the card. Collect the cards and redistribute them. Now, ask the salespersons to write responses to the objections on the back of the cards that they received. Collect the cards again and redistribute. The drill begins with a salesperson stating the objection on one of their cards and calling on a person to answer.
To conduct this in an online meeting, ask each salesperson to submit an objection and potential answer. Post the objections one at a time and ask for responses or call on individuals. Online formats are terrific for playing games. Put the objections that salespeople submit in a jeopardy or other familiar online game format.
I’ll Add to That! – This exercise encourages salespeople to share knowledge and best practices while helping develop sales and account strategy. Ask each person to prepare an account analysis or customer profile. If you use a CRM, perhaps you have this information stored. Ask each person to outline a current sales objective, the key players, history and any other pertinent information about the current status of the account. Then, pass the account around the room by asking each salesperson for one idea, suggestion or question to add value for the customer and move the sale forward. Keep going until all ideas are exhausted.
To conduct this in an online meeting, display the profile forms so all can see and use the same process. Tip – Make sure that you truncate the form so it is visible to all or send the completed forms to participants in advance to study and make recommendations.
Technology or Competition Study – Assign a competitor to each salesperson. Ask each to research the competition and prepare a comparison of your advantages and disadvantages to the group. Be sure to provide specific guidelines about what they should report. Ask the group to draw conclusions about how they measure up. The same exercise can be used for technology education. Ask each salesperson to research a new technology and report or demonstrate how they have used the technology to advance sales objectives. You could focus on a specific technology such as LinkedIn, or even cell phones. Or, assign a specific technology to each person.
To conduct this in an online meeting - Pass controls to each person and ask them to demonstrate what they have learned.
Market Penetration – Ask each salesperson anonymously submit what they would do to increase sales and market penetration if they were given unlimited resources. Compile the master list, distribute and discuss. Prioritize and vote on recommendations as a group. Then, act on the recommendations!
To conduct this in an online meeting – Consider using polling features to vote on responses.
Invite an Expert – This could be someone from another department, or someone from outside of your company. It is highly motivating for salespeople to hear what others are doing to be successful. Be certain that you give clear guidelines to your guest. Consider inviting a top performing salesperson from a sister company or unrelated industry to share successes.
To conduct this in an online meeting – Invite a guest to be present via video conferencing. Or, find one of your favorite experts on YouTube and play an excerpt.
Invite a Customer - Make sure you give the customer a clear understanding of why they have been selected to attend. Ask the customer to explain their business needs, what they like about your services and what they like about the competitive solutions they may opt for. Allow the salespeople to interact and ask questions much as if they were on a sales call. They will learn from the customer and from observing each other.
To conduct this in an online meeting – This is best conducted face-to-face. To conduct this in a live meeting, video conferencing is best.
Marcia Gauger is Partner at DVR Learning, LLC, specializes in the design and delivery of performance-based learning programs and materials for sales professionals. Her blog is: http://www.dvrlearning.com/blog You can contact Marcia at email or call 262-642-9610. www.dvrlearning.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Industry Trade Shows: Pot of Gold or Money Pit?
by Michael F. Bourke
Are you stuck in the tradeshow rut, spending most of your time chatting to your neighboring exhibitor, catching up on your voicemails and wondering if there are potential leads wandering past your booth? Do you find yourself doubting if all of the time and expense you put in to exhibiting at trade shows is worth it? Is the only reason you are there because you want to support your local sales rep or because you fear your ‘noticed absence’ will hurt your reputation? I want to let you in on something – trade shows are an extremely valuable opportunity to strengthen existing customer relationships and to bring in quality new leads – but you only get out of a tradeshow what you put in!
Fishin’ without bait…
If you think all you need to do is turn up to the show with your booth and literature and the leads will flow in, you’re dreamin’…. This is like fishing without bait. You may be extremely lucky and hook an unsuspecting fish passing by but… more than likely you will have plenty of time to get to know your neighboring booth buddies and keep on top of your emails. And you are not the only one in the boat. At most regional water industry shows that I go to, I hear the same complaint from my fellow exhibitors …the show was dead… the organizers didn’t do enough to get people into the hall…there were too many competing events….we had a horrible spot in the hall...” So you think all you have to do is pay for your booth space and you should be guaranteed a flood of quality visitors to your booth?” If that is the case, save your money and don’t bother exhibiting!
In contrast, my booth neighbors will say to me “Wow you sure had a lot of traffic at your booth…you’ve hardly had time to blink!” These neighbors have also made the aforementioned complaints when I have been located in the same dead spot in the hall! So how did I get that much traffic when all the booths around me were dead? There are a number of reasons, including having an eye-catching display and planning activities during the show to direct people to your booth, but by far the biggest factor in generating traffic to you booth is pre-show marketing! I cannot emphasize enough the importance of putting in some effort before the show to draw people to your booth. If you don’t have time to do this don’t go! Here are a few suggestions for pre-show marketing that can really help you get a return on your tradeshow investment:
Pre-Conference Mailer
A pre-conference mailer can be a relatively inexpensive marketing tool for regional trade shows. Prior to the national trade shows you can be bombarded with incentives to visit booths but very rarely do attendees receive this type of marketing leading up to the regional shows – so here is an opportunity to get noticed. Most conferences offer pre-show registration lists to exhibitors at no cost. Take advantage of this list and mail a booth invitation directly to attendees. Personalize the letter as much as possible and it helps if you add an incentive to visit the booth such as a business card drawing for a prize if you are doing a mass mailing or a direct exchange of the letter for a gift for a very targeted mailing. One of my most successful pre-show marketing efforts was for a show in South Carolina several years ago. At the time I was selling a water treatment process that removed a particular contaminant. I went through the EPA register and compiled a list of every city in the state in violation of the relevant regulation and sent them an invitation to the booth to find out about our process. Almost 50% of the invited cities visited the booth!
Pre-Arranged Meetings
Don’t expect to turn up at the conference and be able track down attendees to arrange meetings. The consultant you want to see is probably being pursued by other manufacturers while she is also trying to meet with water utilities who are her customers. Let’s face it, in the water industry we manufacturers are at the bottom of the importance food chain, even though we provide the technology. So we need to be very organized in planning our meetings. Make appointments prior to the show before your target customer has a full dance card! If you have the pre-show registration list, use it to help set up some meetings in advance, or at the very least, get people to meet you for a short while at your booth.
Pre-Show Advertising
Pre-Show advertising is not cheap (you can do a lot of direct mail for the price or one ad) but if you have the budget, many trade journals have pre-show issues where if you advertise you can get a free product spotlight. On your ad you will also have your booth number advertised. At a previous company, prior to our first national trade show as part of our launch into the U.S. market, I developed a preshow marketing campaign using an eye catching jumping goldfish in direct mail and in preshow trade journal advertising. Even though we had a small booth at the back of the hall, we almost always had a queue of people in front of the booth wanting to find out about ‘that company with the cute goldfish’.
Got the Message?
Don’t waste your time and just show up to the next trade show. American Water Works Association (AWWA) surveys show that over 80% of people visiting their annual water industry show participate in purchasing decisions and over 30% intend to purchase equipment from exhibitors in the next 12 months. Pre-show marketing can help you find those people who are looking for your product and let you get a step ahead of your competitors. Try it once and your time invested will be repaid many times over!
Michael Bourke is Vice President Business Development at Wigen Water Technologies and
has worked in the water treatment/environmental industry for over 23 years. Visit his blog at http://michaelswatercooler.blogspot.com/ Contact him at (303) 350-3086 or email him.
Are you stuck in the tradeshow rut, spending most of your time chatting to your neighboring exhibitor, catching up on your voicemails and wondering if there are potential leads wandering past your booth? Do you find yourself doubting if all of the time and expense you put in to exhibiting at trade shows is worth it? Is the only reason you are there because you want to support your local sales rep or because you fear your ‘noticed absence’ will hurt your reputation? I want to let you in on something – trade shows are an extremely valuable opportunity to strengthen existing customer relationships and to bring in quality new leads – but you only get out of a tradeshow what you put in!
Fishin’ without bait…
If you think all you need to do is turn up to the show with your booth and literature and the leads will flow in, you’re dreamin’…. This is like fishing without bait. You may be extremely lucky and hook an unsuspecting fish passing by but… more than likely you will have plenty of time to get to know your neighboring booth buddies and keep on top of your emails. And you are not the only one in the boat. At most regional water industry shows that I go to, I hear the same complaint from my fellow exhibitors …the show was dead… the organizers didn’t do enough to get people into the hall…there were too many competing events….we had a horrible spot in the hall...” So you think all you have to do is pay for your booth space and you should be guaranteed a flood of quality visitors to your booth?” If that is the case, save your money and don’t bother exhibiting!
In contrast, my booth neighbors will say to me “Wow you sure had a lot of traffic at your booth…you’ve hardly had time to blink!” These neighbors have also made the aforementioned complaints when I have been located in the same dead spot in the hall! So how did I get that much traffic when all the booths around me were dead? There are a number of reasons, including having an eye-catching display and planning activities during the show to direct people to your booth, but by far the biggest factor in generating traffic to you booth is pre-show marketing! I cannot emphasize enough the importance of putting in some effort before the show to draw people to your booth. If you don’t have time to do this don’t go! Here are a few suggestions for pre-show marketing that can really help you get a return on your tradeshow investment:
Pre-Conference Mailer
A pre-conference mailer can be a relatively inexpensive marketing tool for regional trade shows. Prior to the national trade shows you can be bombarded with incentives to visit booths but very rarely do attendees receive this type of marketing leading up to the regional shows – so here is an opportunity to get noticed. Most conferences offer pre-show registration lists to exhibitors at no cost. Take advantage of this list and mail a booth invitation directly to attendees. Personalize the letter as much as possible and it helps if you add an incentive to visit the booth such as a business card drawing for a prize if you are doing a mass mailing or a direct exchange of the letter for a gift for a very targeted mailing. One of my most successful pre-show marketing efforts was for a show in South Carolina several years ago. At the time I was selling a water treatment process that removed a particular contaminant. I went through the EPA register and compiled a list of every city in the state in violation of the relevant regulation and sent them an invitation to the booth to find out about our process. Almost 50% of the invited cities visited the booth!
Pre-Arranged Meetings
Don’t expect to turn up at the conference and be able track down attendees to arrange meetings. The consultant you want to see is probably being pursued by other manufacturers while she is also trying to meet with water utilities who are her customers. Let’s face it, in the water industry we manufacturers are at the bottom of the importance food chain, even though we provide the technology. So we need to be very organized in planning our meetings. Make appointments prior to the show before your target customer has a full dance card! If you have the pre-show registration list, use it to help set up some meetings in advance, or at the very least, get people to meet you for a short while at your booth.
Pre-Show Advertising
Pre-Show advertising is not cheap (you can do a lot of direct mail for the price or one ad) but if you have the budget, many trade journals have pre-show issues where if you advertise you can get a free product spotlight. On your ad you will also have your booth number advertised. At a previous company, prior to our first national trade show as part of our launch into the U.S. market, I developed a preshow marketing campaign using an eye catching jumping goldfish in direct mail and in preshow trade journal advertising. Even though we had a small booth at the back of the hall, we almost always had a queue of people in front of the booth wanting to find out about ‘that company with the cute goldfish’.
Got the Message?
Don’t waste your time and just show up to the next trade show. American Water Works Association (AWWA) surveys show that over 80% of people visiting their annual water industry show participate in purchasing decisions and over 30% intend to purchase equipment from exhibitors in the next 12 months. Pre-show marketing can help you find those people who are looking for your product and let you get a step ahead of your competitors. Try it once and your time invested will be repaid many times over!
Michael Bourke is Vice President Business Development at Wigen Water Technologies and
has worked in the water treatment/environmental industry for over 23 years. Visit his blog at http://michaelswatercooler.blogspot.com/ Contact him at (303) 350-3086 or email him.
Monday, March 7, 2011
I'm Calling Because. . .
by Paul Donehue
Most people agree that when making outbound prospecting calls we only have a few seconds to make an impression on our prospects... and hopefully it will be a good one!
Consider the fact that, when receiving such a call, prospects quickly wonder, "Why are you calling me?"
It follows, therefore, that to maximize the effectiveness of outbound prospecting calls we should be prepared with a strong introductory statement that quickly and concisely addresses this oh-so-common question.
Common Pitfall
And along those lines, there is one oh-so-common pitfall to avoid, which is beginning these conversations with an introduction that is all about us!
Here's a simple exercise that can help us avoid this mistake. When preparing to make a prospecting call, craft an opening statement that begins with the following ten words: "Hello, my name is __________, and I'm calling because..."
Now, here's the challenge... the next word we say -- that is, the word following "because" -- can NOT be one of the following: "I," "we," or "our."
While this might sound simple, in practice it is not easy. If after the ten-word opening the next word we use is "you" or "your," we stand a much better chance of gaining our prospect's attention or consideration.
A Few Examples
Put yourself in the position of receiving such a phone call. Now, which approach is more appealing:
Most people agree that when making outbound prospecting calls we only have a few seconds to make an impression on our prospects... and hopefully it will be a good one!
Consider the fact that, when receiving such a call, prospects quickly wonder, "Why are you calling me?"
It follows, therefore, that to maximize the effectiveness of outbound prospecting calls we should be prepared with a strong introductory statement that quickly and concisely addresses this oh-so-common question.
Common Pitfall
And along those lines, there is one oh-so-common pitfall to avoid, which is beginning these conversations with an introduction that is all about us!
Here's a simple exercise that can help us avoid this mistake. When preparing to make a prospecting call, craft an opening statement that begins with the following ten words: "Hello, my name is __________, and I'm calling because..."
Now, here's the challenge... the next word we say -- that is, the word following "because" -- can NOT be one of the following: "I," "we," or "our."
While this might sound simple, in practice it is not easy. If after the ten-word opening the next word we use is "you" or "your," we stand a much better chance of gaining our prospect's attention or consideration.
A Few Examples
Put yourself in the position of receiving such a phone call. Now, which approach is more appealing:
- "Hello, my name is John Doe, and I'm calling because we're the largest supplier of widgets in North America. Might you have a few minutes to speak with me?"
- "Hello, my name is John Doe, and I'm calling because you are a frequent user of widgets; many of our customers prefer our approach to streamlining widget management. Might you have a few minutes to speak with me?"
Starting each outbound prospecting call with a statement about our prospect is one sure way of getting up to bat more often.
Of course, after that, we must have a value-added message and, hopefully, a suggestion for logical next steps.
But it's a lot easier to deliver that message if the prospect is listening!
Paul Donehue is President, Paul Charles & Associates, a sales management consulting firm. He can be contacted at pdonehue@paulcharles.com or call (603) 537-1190. His blog: www.salescallsblog.com and website: www.paulcharles.com
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Is Consultative Selling Relevant?
by Marcia Gauger
Question: Over the years, I have adopted what I consider to be a consultative approach to selling. Lately, I’ve left meetings feeling a little “unfinished.” I spend so much time asking questions that I feel there is inadequate time for presenting solutions. Is it time to adopt a new model of selling?
Answer: If you’re asking if consultative selling is obsolete, the answer is no. Some experts feel that transactional selling has prevailed over the last couple of years, however all agree that consultative selling is more important now than ever. We agree. Perhaps the definition of consultative selling needs to be visited. Some salespeople define consultative selling by what it’s not; not using a standard approach, not overdoing features and benefits, not talking too much, etc. While these are all probable pieces of a consultative sales model, they are not the complete picture. It sounds like you have fallen into a trap that many salespeople have.
Over the years, consultative selling has been promoted as the way to sell, and I agree. However, the key word is "sell." There are those that believe that consultative selling means that you only ask questions and solutions will develop on their own. While asking questions is a key to uncovering needs, if that’s all you do on your sales calls you will disappoint yourself and your customer.
If a customer takes time out of their presumably busy schedule to meet with you, they must be interested in what you can offer them. They just don’t want to know everything about what you offer! Asking questions alone without making recommendations causes the customer to feel empty, like they wasted their time.
Consultative selling is somewhat of a well-timed dance. Dancers that are in-tune to each other seem to glide, anticipating every turn and movement. Ideally, customer interactions should feel the same way. In a recent class on consultative selling, I asked the group to define what consultative selling was. I like the definition they came up with, “Consultative selling is to identify needs and suggest solutions that help a customer solve problems or more adequately reach their goals.” This is more of a collaboration between salesperson and customer rather than the more self-serving sales models.
If you’re feeling “unfinished," it may be that you are spending too much time asking empty questions. You should never feel like you are firing off questions. The questions you ask should be the result of pre-call analysis that reveals what you know and what you need to find out. Questions should be strategically woven into the conversation to produce the desired result. The most fulfilling consultative sales situation is when you help the customer uncover a better means of accomplishing their goals. Asking the right questions is key to getting to that point. However, questions are like the tools of a mechanic. You don’t pull out a wrench when you need a hammer. Each question you ask should be purposeful. For instance:
Help customers reveal needs by asking questions about their goals – These should not be general questions, but questions that relate to how you might help them. For instance, if you were selling office machinery, you might ask them how productive their office staff is. Listen for gaps that you can fill. Ask open-ended questions to provoke thought and uncover needs. You should think these through in advance of your sales calls. Start by asking what you know about the customer and what you need to know.
Ask questions that reveal value for the customer – “What would a 10% increase in productivity mean to your bottom line?”
Check the pulse of the customer by asking involvement questions – These tell you how close a customer is to a commitment. As customers reach a decision, they begin to think about how your suggestion will fit into their situation. So, you ask specific questions about how they will use your product of service in advance of the sale. How they answer tells you where they are mentally. For example, “If you decide to go ahead with this, what plant will you want to have trained first?” If the customer’s response, “I haven’t thought about it," you have a bit more selling to do. If the customer’s response is, “I was hoping to start with the Waukesha plant,” close the sale!
Ask questions to position a solution – “Keeping up with technology is difficult these days, isn’t it?” If the customer agrees that this is a challenge for them, you would present the applicable solution to solve their issue.
Here are some additional tips to ensure that you have adequate time to position solutions during your sales calls:
Position a single solution after each discovery instead of waiting until the end – Doing so will enable you to keep the customer involved in the conversation and build interest throughout the sales call. The customer will see the “What’s In It For Me?” throughout your interaction.
Set expectations up front – Position why you are there and what you expect to accomplish. This will ensure that you and the customer are on the same page right from the start. You could simply state something like, “Here’s what I’d like to do today. I’d like to review your need for just-in-time inventory and your current practices to see if we can help you meet your requirements. Is that what you expect?”
Schedule a follow-up meeting to present solutions – Don’t assume that you have to accomplish the entire sales process in one meeting.
Only provide solutions that are of value to that specific customer – You may indeed offer many valuable features and benefits. The only ones that matter are those that apply specifically to that customer’s concerns.
Don’t think of consultative selling as a single event – Take regular tours of your customer’s production areas to help you understand their challenges.
Marcia Gauger is Partner at DVR Learning, LLC, specializes in the design and delivery of performance-based learning programs and materials for sales professionals. Her blog is: http://www.dvrlearning.com/blog You can contact Marcia at email or call 262-642-9610. www.dvrlearning.com
Question: Over the years, I have adopted what I consider to be a consultative approach to selling. Lately, I’ve left meetings feeling a little “unfinished.” I spend so much time asking questions that I feel there is inadequate time for presenting solutions. Is it time to adopt a new model of selling?
Answer: If you’re asking if consultative selling is obsolete, the answer is no. Some experts feel that transactional selling has prevailed over the last couple of years, however all agree that consultative selling is more important now than ever. We agree. Perhaps the definition of consultative selling needs to be visited. Some salespeople define consultative selling by what it’s not; not using a standard approach, not overdoing features and benefits, not talking too much, etc. While these are all probable pieces of a consultative sales model, they are not the complete picture. It sounds like you have fallen into a trap that many salespeople have.
Over the years, consultative selling has been promoted as the way to sell, and I agree. However, the key word is "sell." There are those that believe that consultative selling means that you only ask questions and solutions will develop on their own. While asking questions is a key to uncovering needs, if that’s all you do on your sales calls you will disappoint yourself and your customer.
If a customer takes time out of their presumably busy schedule to meet with you, they must be interested in what you can offer them. They just don’t want to know everything about what you offer! Asking questions alone without making recommendations causes the customer to feel empty, like they wasted their time.
Consultative selling is somewhat of a well-timed dance. Dancers that are in-tune to each other seem to glide, anticipating every turn and movement. Ideally, customer interactions should feel the same way. In a recent class on consultative selling, I asked the group to define what consultative selling was. I like the definition they came up with, “Consultative selling is to identify needs and suggest solutions that help a customer solve problems or more adequately reach their goals.” This is more of a collaboration between salesperson and customer rather than the more self-serving sales models.
If you’re feeling “unfinished," it may be that you are spending too much time asking empty questions. You should never feel like you are firing off questions. The questions you ask should be the result of pre-call analysis that reveals what you know and what you need to find out. Questions should be strategically woven into the conversation to produce the desired result. The most fulfilling consultative sales situation is when you help the customer uncover a better means of accomplishing their goals. Asking the right questions is key to getting to that point. However, questions are like the tools of a mechanic. You don’t pull out a wrench when you need a hammer. Each question you ask should be purposeful. For instance:
Help customers reveal needs by asking questions about their goals – These should not be general questions, but questions that relate to how you might help them. For instance, if you were selling office machinery, you might ask them how productive their office staff is. Listen for gaps that you can fill. Ask open-ended questions to provoke thought and uncover needs. You should think these through in advance of your sales calls. Start by asking what you know about the customer and what you need to know.
Ask questions that reveal value for the customer – “What would a 10% increase in productivity mean to your bottom line?”
Check the pulse of the customer by asking involvement questions – These tell you how close a customer is to a commitment. As customers reach a decision, they begin to think about how your suggestion will fit into their situation. So, you ask specific questions about how they will use your product of service in advance of the sale. How they answer tells you where they are mentally. For example, “If you decide to go ahead with this, what plant will you want to have trained first?” If the customer’s response, “I haven’t thought about it," you have a bit more selling to do. If the customer’s response is, “I was hoping to start with the Waukesha plant,” close the sale!
Ask questions to position a solution – “Keeping up with technology is difficult these days, isn’t it?” If the customer agrees that this is a challenge for them, you would present the applicable solution to solve their issue.
Here are some additional tips to ensure that you have adequate time to position solutions during your sales calls:
Position a single solution after each discovery instead of waiting until the end – Doing so will enable you to keep the customer involved in the conversation and build interest throughout the sales call. The customer will see the “What’s In It For Me?” throughout your interaction.
Set expectations up front – Position why you are there and what you expect to accomplish. This will ensure that you and the customer are on the same page right from the start. You could simply state something like, “Here’s what I’d like to do today. I’d like to review your need for just-in-time inventory and your current practices to see if we can help you meet your requirements. Is that what you expect?”
Schedule a follow-up meeting to present solutions – Don’t assume that you have to accomplish the entire sales process in one meeting.
Only provide solutions that are of value to that specific customer – You may indeed offer many valuable features and benefits. The only ones that matter are those that apply specifically to that customer’s concerns.
Don’t think of consultative selling as a single event – Take regular tours of your customer’s production areas to help you understand their challenges.
Marcia Gauger is Partner at DVR Learning, LLC, specializes in the design and delivery of performance-based learning programs and materials for sales professionals. Her blog is: http://www.dvrlearning.com/blog You can contact Marcia at email or call 262-642-9610. www.dvrlearning.com
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