Sales Process

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.

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.

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.

Prepare to Walk(away)

Two separate clients told me this week about their successful use of the Proposal Withdrawal Letter. Pro sellers are prepared to walk.

Helpful Tips to Follow When Making Early Sales Process Phone Calls

Notes From Some Call Coaching Sessions

From time to time, my clients ask me to sit with sales reps and review calls with them.  Since I’ve had several such sessions already this year, I thought it would be helpful to summarize the notes the teams took and share them here.  I’ve edited them to maintain confidentiality.

Whether they are called Business Development Managers, Inside Sales Reps or Account Development Consultants, they all have one thing in common:  They are using the telephone with the goal of successfully crossing an early stage of a sales cycle.  Remember, early in a sales cycle, a seller is either prospecting to build credibility or interest, or processing inbound interest from a buyer.  Either way, it’s vital that managers help their teams prepare for and troubleshoot these conversations. Opportunities can be won or unwittingly lost here.

Now, to set the stage:  The client has purchased telephony and software that stores both sides of a telephone conversation.  With a gentle tone, I work the “coach’s clicker” – the mouse – starting and stopping the recording to ask questions and comment on what we are hearing.

1.   For outbound calls, prepare with research and practice.  At a minimum try to understand the
following prior to making a call:

a.     What does the company do?

b.    What is the role of the contact you’re speaking to?

c.     How can you make them more successful? 

d.    What are their highly likely objectives/goals/priorities?

2.  2.   On the call -

a.     DON’T SOUND SCRIPTED! Be conversationally comfortable.  If what you are going to say is not
something you could stand to hear coming out of your mouth when talking to
friends and loved ones then don’t say it.
Find a way that’s comfortable to you and practice.  Imagine you are on an airplane or
airport lounge and a fellow traveler asks, “What do you do?  What does your company do?”  Use the same voice on a prospecting
call as you would in answering in that imagined conversation.

b.    Ask open-ended questions that you can get specific on with gentle
probing questions such as:

i.     “How are you doing it today and how’s it going for you?”

ii.     “How do you track progress?”

These questions should be
diagnostic in nature meaning what is the situation the prospect is
experiencing, rather than prescriptive where the seller is telling or
recommending a course of action.

c.     Let the client speak, pausing to acknowledge the customer and letting them
interact with you.

d.    Also, be willing to adapt to what you are learning on the call.  For example, if the customer is already
familiar with you or your company, then you don’t need to state as many facts
as you would with unfamiliar customers.
So, be alert to what the customer is saying.

e.    **BE AN ACTIVE LISTENER!!
We can’t see facial expressions because we are not with them.  So, be very careful to listen for
grunts, sighs, or other auditory, but non-verbal noises coming from the
prospect.

f.      If the customer gives you a name to contact, ask for permission to
reference them when you try to contact the new name.

g.    Offer them something that could trigger a meaningful follow up.  Invitations to webinars or live events
are best if the prospect is not seemingly interested in starting a buying
process. 

h.     If all else fails, ask if you can begin (or continue) to send
information on how we are helping others like them. How can they turn that
down?

**If the customer feels
that you’re scripted, they will zone out**

**If the customer feels
that you’re being natural and personable, the doors for conversing will open**

Good Selling!

Ask Better Questions

From Michael Lombardi at www.nationalfootballpost.com on Leaders asking questions:

LEADERSHIP IMPROVEMENT IDEA…

“New opinions often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths.” — George Bernard Shaw

Learn to Ask Better Questions by John Baldoni

Every leader I know has at least one need in common: a need to connect honestly with others. One way to help foster improved connections is by asking good questions. Leaders who excel at asking good questions have honed an ability to cut to the heart of the manner in a way that disarms the person being interviewed and opens the door for genuine conversation.

Whether they are talking to customers, interviewing job candidates, talking to their bosses or even questioning staff, executives need to draw people out. And so often, it is not a matter of what you ask, it is how you ask it. Here are some suggestions.

Be curious. Executives who do all the talking are those who are deaf to the needs of others. Sadly, some managers feel that being the first and last person to speak is a sign of strength. In reality, though, it’s the opposite. Such behavior is closer to that of a blowhard who may be insecure in his own abilities but is certain of one thing — his own brilliance. Such an attitude cuts off information at its source, from the very people — employees, customers, vendors — whom you should trust the most. Being curious is essential to asking good questions.

Be open-ended. Leaders should ask questions that get people to reveal not simply what happened, but also what they were thinking. Open-ended questions prevent you from making judgments based on assumptions and can elicit some surprising answers. In his autobiography, talk-show host Larry King recalls asking Martin Luther King, who had just been arrested for seeking to integrate a hotel in Florida, what he wanted. To which King replied, “My dignity.” Using what, how and why questions encourages dialogue.

Be engaged. When you ask questions, act like you care. Yes, act — show that you are interested with affirmative facial expressions and engaged body language. This sets up further conversation and gets the individual to reveal information that could be important. For example, if you are interviewing a job candidate you want to encourage him or her to talk about not only accomplishments but also setbacks. An interested interviewer will get the person to talk in depth about how he or she rebounded from failure. That trait is worthy of consideration in recruiting. But interviewees will only open up — especially on sensitive subjects — if you actively show interest.

Dig deeper. So often, executives make the mistake of assuming all is well if they are not hearing bad news. Big mistake. It may mean employees are afraid to offer up anything but good news, even if it means stonewalling. So when information surfaces in your dialogue, dig for details without straying into recrimination. Get the whole story. Remember, problems on your team are, first and foremost, your problems.

Not every conversation need be on point and under the gun. There will be times when you’ll need a more solicitous tone and a more leisurely pace, especially when coaching an employee or listening carefully to a customer concern. There, taking your time might be most appropriate.

Asking good questions, and doing so in a spirit of honest information gathering and eventual collaboration, is good practice for leaders. It cultivates an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing issues that affect both their performance and that of the team. And that, in turn, creates a foundation for deepening levels of trust.