Sales Messaging

Asking and Listening Even Through Email

I am often asked, “So, what are your sales conversations like?” My response is that I ask questions and share successes around two related themes: 1) How are you doing with getting new hires, new partners, new investors, etc. on-board with your sales process and how do you want folks to behave, communicate within that process; and 2) How are you doing with getting your existing team understanding your desired sales processes, patterns, or some might say, sales rhythms?

Below is the content of an actual email conversation I am currently having with a prospect.

I hope you will notice that I ask specific diagnostic type questions that map to my offerings.  My prospect’s answers, if I am listening, will guide me on where to take the conversation. I know, for example, that it’s a recipe for disaster if a manager or executive is not asking tough questions about individual opportunities during sales forecasting meetings. I also know from my experience that forecasting disaster is something I can help my clients avoid.

Do you know what answers to your questions indicate a need for your product or service?  Have you socialized these questions and highly probable answers internally?  Do they map to real world example which you or your teammates can effortlessly and confidently describe?

Although this was an email conversation, we could have had the same conversation over the phone, in person, or even over twitter.  The key is that I have been thoughtful ahead of time with the questions I want to ask.

____________________

I have been talking you up big-time around here, Adam. “Get our sales act together” has made it into the top 3 priorities for 2012. Pipeline, account planning, you name it….

So, how do we make this happen – me helping [company] out?

The timing is perfect. It’s now recognized and internalized that we need to get a number of areas of our act in order. (Pipeline mgt, real forecasting, account planning in particular.) Everyone on the exec team (about seven-ten folks) recognizes this. What kinds of things could you do? The urgency is that we know/want to crush it in the first half of the year. We’ve got a handful of big accounts (~12) and a myriad of dogs-and-cats. We’re trying to consolidate to go deeper/broader (both in portfolio of our services purchased, as well as number of BUs across BigCo’s like XXX) rather than try to service a gazillion clients. Gimme an approach I can take in. [key player] is here today, and I’m having dinner with him this afternoon/evening. 

(I responded with a series of questions to understand my contact’s situation more specifically and to indicate the sort of capabilities I provide my clients.  He replied to my questions with in-line answers.  Check it out.)

Is there any concept of a pipeline?

Yes. 

Do you have the stomach for a pipeline and business review to see where you are with particular opportunities that you hope will contribute to “crushing” it in the first half.

To wit:

1) What deals are in the pipeline with new or existing customers that can get you to “crush it” status?

We have a list.

2) With the identified deals – a subset of these must close – why do you think they will close?

There is the big question…it’s “gut feel.”

3) Defend the realism of these ID’d deals by undergoing an opportunity review:

• What has happened so far?
• Who do you know will champion us with the selectors, funders, implementers?
• Why should they? Have they agreed to the value, usage and implementation stories and what are they?
• What are the steps to gaining a signed contract?

This would be a hugely valuable exercise.

4) If you do not have enough real deals to gain “crush it” status, what are you doing to get more into the pipeline?

Need a plan.

5) What is your business development process and within that process, how do you execute each step?

Not that structured.

6) Have you identified the conversations you want to have – with whom and what IN PARTICULAR you are going to say - to generate interest to the point of gaining trust and having your prospect kick off an evaluation of your skills and capabiiities?

Nope. Need this, too.

I can help with all of the above.

Valentine’s Day and Prospecting

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it seems appropriate to take a fresh look at prospecting.  After all, isn’t it sales and marketing’s constant function to ask others, “Will you be my Valentine?”

Darling Prospect, Will you be Mine?

The Valentine’s Day-Prospecting love connection light bulb went off in my head as I was listening to a terrific podcast from Dr. Bob Cialdini, best selling author and speaker on the science of influence.  In this podcast, Cialdini uses the pharmaceutlcal sales scenario as a backdrop for describing his thoughts on how sellers can get prospects interested faster.  I don’t have any drug firm clients, but I can easily see how his expertise can be applied to on-boarding or “in-boarding” sales and marketing teams in other verticals.

So, here are my notes.  Think of this as a modern day roadmap to winning the hearts and minds of your prospects.

1) To build trust quicker -

- Open with a negative or a drawback of your offering. Shows you are willing to be truthful and establishes yourself as both trustworthy (giving the straight scoop) and knowledgeable.  You are willing to share data that you understand.

- Frame what your stuff does in terms of what your prospect will miss out on, rather than what they will gain. The idea of losing benefits is more powerful than the idea of gaining the benefit in minds of buyers. People would rather protect what they have than work to achieve a gain.

- Use social proof – your offering’s popularity – to show it’s worthwhile. Below the surface, people actually make judgments based on what they perceive is going on around them. “Our most chosen dessert” attracts even more buyers. This is “social proof” of what constitutes proper conduct. So, if you have popularity – USE IT.

- Feature and benefit selling is important, but it’s old school. Today, science shows that we respond to what we perceive should be a better product based on price/popularity/other externalities. We experience things based on context. Prospects stop critiquing – actually turn off that portion of the brain – when they hear statements backed up by popular assent or experts.

2) People say yes to people they trust and like. So, how do we develop relationships quickly?

• Find similarities.
• Give honest praise, genuine compliments.
• Come to like your customer, first. That’s when people feel safe, when they feel liked. They will feel their interests are protected, so they are more likely to follow your recommendations. Don’t try to first try to make someone like you until you’ve tried to like them.

Hmm, seems like good advice for Valentine’s Day, too!

Good Selling.

#$%E!

No, I am not cursing at you!

What I do want to point out is one of the most often overlooked sales closing tools.

I know, “every one knows the key to increasing sales is a good cost v. benefit analysis.”  Then, ask yourself if you’ve ever had a terrific sales presentation, felt the deal was going to close, slacked off (maybe decided to play a round of golf or angry birds) and then NOTHING HAPPENED?

No Angry Birds until after you've inserted #$%E! into your Cost v. Benefit

Why?  Maybe because you were so confident the buyer would buy, that you neglected to put together and gain agreement on the Cost v. Benefit of your prospect using your solution.  The prospect did not feel attached to your capabilities and either chose to stay pat or worse, go with a competitor.

Notice that I did not call it a “return on investment”.  That expression is so yesterday.  ROIs seem so far in the future that buyers don’t believe them.  Even worse, “return on investment” might remind them of their meager personal investment returns and make them shudder.

Alternatively, Cost v. Benefit is upfront and factual.  ”Here’s the cost.  Here’s the short and medium term benefit using the information you told me.”  It may be semantics.  So what.  Inituitvely, a cost v. benefit sounds more reachable and less risky than an ROI.

The tricky part is the benefit side of the equation. How do you get there?  THAT IS THE SECRET SAUCE!!!  You get there early in the sales cycle by asking the right questions to gain clarification of what’s actually happening within your prospect’s environment that your capabilities could improve.

Once you both understand and agree on the frequency the challenge or issue arises (“#”), the amount of dollars overcoming the challenge is worth (“$”), and the percentage of time the challenge occurs or percentage of individuals who suffer with the challenge (“%”).  It helps then to know whether the prospect is emotionally connected to improving the situation or circumstances (“E”).  If you are not sure, then ask.

For example:

“How does it make you (your team, the effected group) feel?”

“How badly do you and your team members want to fix …?”

This gives you and your prospect an idea about the emotions of the situation. At times, all the hard dollar gain in the world may not help you close the opportunity if your prospect isn’t connected on an emotional level to your offering or solution.

#$%E!!!!

THESE ARE NOT SUBSTITUTES FOR SWEAR WORDS.

BURN THESE SYMBOLS IN YOUR MIND PRIOR TO TALKING TO PROSPECTS.

Even better, plan out the questions prior to the call that will draw out value or benefit, questions that will lead to your gaining agreement from the prospect on #$%E! of their current situation.  Now, what are you going to do next?  Take aim at some sheltered pigs or have a #$%E! conversation with your prospects?

Good Selling.

A Q&A on Sales Methodologies and Pragmatic Marketing

My friend and colleague, Jon Gatrell of Pragmatic Marketing interviewed me for a recent newsletter article on sales and marketing alignment. Enjoy it here.

Unleashing Our “Inner Steve Jobs”

Carmine Gallo writing in Entrepreneur magazine last month offered up his seven principles that drove Steve Jobs success.  Gallo suggests that “any of us can adopt them to unleash our ‘inner Steve Jobs.’” So, to unleash your “Jobs-siness” in sales I suggest reading Gallo’s list and considering the following -

1) Do what you love.  I’ve never been someone who could sell ice to eskimos.  If I don’t believe in my product, love my product, I can’t sell it.  For me, life is too short to work on something dispassionately.  If you don’t love it, why should someone else?

2) Put a dent in the universe.  What’s the big vision for how your prospect’s world will look if you work together?  Consider whether you have created a vision big enough to excite others.

3) Make connections.  If you are reading this blog post you probably already consider yourself a life long learner.  Why else read a blog on sales?  Good for you!  Now, think of all the meaningful events and activities in your life.  How can they contribute to and inform your next important client interaction? For Jobs, among other things, it was the connection between calligraphy, India and designing computers and electronics.

Me? I went to law school and practiced law for a few years.  Hated the career, but loved the education. Believe it or not, it helped me learn to empathize with my prospects.  Much the way a lawyer needs to analyze both sides of a negotiation or dispute, a good seller understands his prospect’s point of view. So, my law studies helps me be a “student” of my prospects.

You are the sum of your experiences.  So use them to relate to others.

4) Say no to 1,000 things.  Can you disqualify an opportunity and rationalize your pipeline?  Can you fire a customer who isn’t worth it?  Saying “no” and “No Way” can help clarify why you are working on the good opportunities and with the attractive clients.

5) Create insanely different experiences.  Are you offering up anything that differentiates you from your competition? Or, do your conversations, presentations and websites fill up a Buzzword Bingo card?

6) Master the message. Create and practice your personal and company stories and DON’T WING IT.

Your stories should seduce both sides of the brain – inform and inspire, educate and entertain your prospects.

7) Sell dreams, not products. The things or services you sell are only props that help your clients achieve some goal or objective.  So, talk with them about their goals, objectives, challenges, struggles.  Then show how using your stuff can help make the dream come true.

Good Selling.

Five Questions to Ask if your Deals are Not Closing: Who, What, How, When, and Why

Last week, I led a two hour seminar at a client’s annual meeting of partners and agents – think 40 B2B sales people and executives.

Good Selling.

On-Boarding (or In-Boarding) Salespeople to your Sales Team

Here’s my presentation from today’s AA-ISP, Atlanta Chapter meeting.

Might I Suggest Some T & A: Trust and Alignment

“I’m trying to be consultative, asking all the right questions, but my prospects don’t seem interested.”

“I thought we had a great conversation, then he blew off our follow up call.”

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m leading an interrogation instead of being a good salesperson.”

At some point in your sales career, you have probably said or felt one of the above soon after a business development or prospecting call.  It’s a sinking feeling and it sucks. It steals your optimism.  It can make you question your self worth and wonder why you ever thought you should wear a sales hat.  It has happened to everyone.

But, don’t despair.  This is fixable. What likely happened is a connection failure: You failed to bond emotionally, and the prospect doesn’t feel any reason to get invested with you or your company.  All you need is some T & A.  Trust and Alignment, that is.  Get your mind out of the gutter.

Trust

Above all other things, people buy from people they trust.  So, it only follows that from the start of your initial sales interactions, you need to build a foundation of trust with your prospect.

Trust:  assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

So, what does this definition mean for sellers?

1)    Assured Reliance – By your words and actions the prospect feels a guarantee on the rest of the definition’s elements

2)    Character – You are someone of good timber. The words out of your mouth are direct, sincere, unambiguous and confident.  They are not filled with vague promises or inscrutable industry-speak.  You are professional, prompt and concise. Since the stereotypical sales interaction is usually negative, the prospect is beginning to believe that you are different, better.

3)    Ability – You can describe how your company has helped solve problems and achieve goals for people in similar positions as the prospect.

4)    Strength – and you do it well.

5)    Truth – your stories and claims are both believable and verifiable.

To sum it up, you can begin to gain trust from a prospect by being sincere and describing your successes in a way that prospects can relate.   Gain trust and buyers will want to continue to interact with you.

Alignment

Along with trusting the seller, buyers or prospects want to work with sellers who understand them, who “get” it.  Think about that for a moment.  When you tell a loved one or a friend that you “get” it, isn’t that an emotional response?  It’s like you are saying, “I understand you viscerally, deep down. I can now take action or respond in a meaningful way.”

Alignment: the proper positioning of two things in relation to each other (slight paraphrase).

In sales, alignment shows you “get” it. In the prospect’s mind – consciously or unconsciously – a seller only deserves to take up the buyer’s time if she “gets” it, if she and the buyer are in alignment. Sellers will be more likely to “get” it, and enter into and maintain alignment if they do four things:

1)    Listen  - patiently and quietly. Don’t interrupt, you will get your turn.  And give your prospect a long runway to get it all out.

2)    Recap – takes notes and then show that you heard and understand.  Use the prospects own idioms to indicate that you were actively listening.  If they gave you metrics, give them back.  Your attention to detail will prove that you care.

3)    Relate – Once you have recapped, you can now describe what your company offers and how it works. Optimally, you will describe a success story or a course of action that is analogous to what you have learned from the buyer.

4)    Confirm – Ask if what you’ve described makes sense, could help the buyer, and is a reason to talk further.

So, if you get that sinking feeling that your prospect is blowing you off or doesn’t care, ask yourself two questions:  Have I established trust?  Am I in alignment?

You see, it’s all about T & A.  Trust and Alignment.

Good Selling!

Adam

Intro to Cross-Selling

How do you leverage success with one customer into a cross-selling opportunity with another?
I hope the below presentation that I delivered earlier this week helps.

Indy Cuisine?

Heading out for 24 hrs in Indy/Carmel to help a client create sales messaging. Does Indy have a Cuisine?