Posted: February 3, 2021 | Categories: Sales

Have you ever been in a situation where you were ready to close, and suddenly your prospect retreated? You probably have. As sales professionals, we need to be good at selling. We also must be good motivators.

I remember one time when I was observing a sales professional take a procrastinating prospect and jolt them into action with just one question. It was early in my career, and I was learning the sales process by shadowing a veteran top-performer named Curtis. Curtis had been talking to a prospect about enrolling in a 12-week leadership course, and Curtis began to bring things to a close. Just at that point, the prospect said “But this isn’t a good time”. At this point, I expected Curtis to go back to selling by reviewing the benefits and all they had talked about. Curtis didn’t do that. Instead, he put a smile on his face and quickly responded by saying, “Is there ever a good time?” They both laughed. The prospect said, “Good point”. Next, he grabbed a pen and signed up for the course.

Curtis was a seasoned salesperson who knew how to be in step with his prospect. There came a time when he needed to shift from “selling” to “motivating”, and Curtis was right on with his “harpoon” question. Curtis taught me that asking a question can be a much better motivator than making a statement.

Posted: January 27, 2021 | Categories: Sales

One of the most heartbreaking moments in sales is when the deal falls through at the last minute. Everything is set, then Bam! The wheels fall off! How do we help prevent a situation like this? One way is to make sure we have talked with all the key decision-makers.

Three years ago I was working with a client who was an account manager for a large equipment manufacturer. Let’s call him Carl. Carl had been talking with a prospect for several weeks, and he was looking forward to the big purchase order. Right when he thought the deal would close, his prospect announced that he needed to sell the idea to the COO first. Thunk! That was a “gut punch”. Carl was in a dilemma. He had never even had a conversation with one of the decision-makers. Roger, his prospect, led him to believe that he was the lone decision maker. Roger said he would talk to the COO and see if he could get it approved. Carl knew that wasn’t good. After all, who is better at selling Carl’s product? Carl or Roger? Here is what Carl did:

He recommended to Roger that they set up a face-to-face meeting with the COO and all others who would be involved in the decision. Roger agreed. The meeting happened, and Carl was prepared. He answered key questions and concerns from the decision-makers for one hour. Directly afterwards Carl received a PO. Since that time this company has become on of Carl’s top 3 clients. Once he was on the brink of losing it all. Let’s all remember to be certain we are talking to all the decision-makers up front. Dare to ask the question, “Who else should be attending this meeting?” Take the lead!

Posted: January 15, 2021 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Sales, Team Building

“Change of heart can’t be imposed…It can only be chosen”

–Dr. William Miller

Have you ever found yourself giving the same lecture over and over to your kids, relatives, or people who report to you?  We can preach, threaten, or even penalize, but what can we do to inspire a change of heart?

A few months ago I called my stove repairman to fix a minor problem.  I reached his voicemail, and in the message he mentioned that they would not enter my house unless I was wearing a mask.  What nerve, I thought!  He is telling me what to do in my own house.  I abruptly deleted the contact from my file.

Fast forward to last month:  I needed my carpets to be cleaned for the holidays, and I set up an appointment.  The personnel were friendly, responsive, and right on time.  The enthusiastic service tech came to the front door, and when I greeted him, I was wearing a mask in my own house!  Why?  Because I had a choice, and I chose to wear it.  I thought about the service tech and wondered if he had a family.  What if his wife was pregnant?  I found myself empathizing rather than just thinking about my position.  The tech did a fine job, and even threw in an extra room for free.  Now that’s a win-win.

This experience reminded me of an important quality that loved and respected leaders have:  The ability to listen,  ask questions, and let others choose whenever possible.  Even though there are times we must follow other’s directives without much choice, when we can offer someone a choice and let it be their decision, we can inspire that change of heart.

Posted: December 3, 2020 | Categories: Sales, Self-Improvement

Several years ago I received a follow-up call in mid-December from a company that sells and installs carpets.  They had given me a quote earlier in the year, and due to some unexpected expenses I had set the quote aside.  It is important to note that the person calling was professional, likeable, and easy to talk to.  She made reference to the quote and wanted to know if I was still interested.  The timing of the call was perfect, and resulted in a $10,000 order.  I can’t say this for sure, but my hunch is that the woman calling was given a list of outstanding quotes, and they were doing an end-of-year cleanup.

Many sales professionals regard December as a poor month to sell. People are distracted by the holidays and less likely to commit to any purchase that is not a Christmas gift.  While this may be so, I have found that consistently top-performing sales people do well in December.  They want to set the table to “hit the pavement running” when the new year rolls around.  If you would like to increase your sales in December, here is an idea:

Write down all the accounts and contact people for those in these categories:

• Clients you are currently doing business with
• Clients you have worked with – but not for a while
• Outstanding quotes that have not been followed up on recently

After you have put together this list, commit to a block of time, and start dialing.  You will probably get one of three responses:

1. No longer interested
2. Interested, but not until after the first of the year.
3. Yes, I am interested now
4. Let’s just say that the woman that called me had a list of 100 names.  If my sale was the only one she made, that means she would have made $100 per dial.  That is s pretty good hourly wage!  Dig in to December!

Posted: November 10, 2020 | Categories: Sales

If you are in sales, you know the most important thing you need to do:  Have as many sales conversations as you can with qualified prospects.  So how do we qualify prospects and which prospects should we be seeing the most?  Consider these four types of prospects:

1. Known need and willing to talk
2. Known need but not willing to talk
3. Unknown need
4. No need but willing to talk!

Prospect #1 sounds ideal, but we need to be careful.  They may tend to price shop.  Prospect #2 is good.  We just need to build trust and get them comfortable talking.  Then there is prospect #3:  This one is my favorite:  An unknown need.  Here is an example to illustrate:

Several years ago, I was doing some assistant coaching for soccer, and I was talking to the head coach.  In our conversation, we both talked about who we worked for.  As it turned out, I discovered Sam was the President of a large manufacturing firm that employed over 500 people.  When I talked about what I did, he said, “I’d like to meet with you at my office”.  We did.  As a result, I did a needs assessment, and when we were complete, we uncovered a serious problem he did not know he had.  I had help him discover it!  He was concerned, and asked, “Now that we know, how can you help us?”  We worked together, and he soon became my biggest customer.  When we helped him discover a serious problem he wasn’t aware of he turned to me for the solution.  Seems natural, doesn’t it?  Now you know why I like prospect #3.  Oh yes, how about prospect#4?  He or she is all yours!