John Hirth's commentary on sales...

Are you "committed to success in sales"?

The most successful people in any profession are usually the ones who are the "most committed to success in their chosen profession". Without real "what ever it takes" commitment, you'll end up in the middle of the pack doomed to be part of the 80% of sales people that do 20% of the business. You'll be an "amateur" not a true "professional" and your paycheck will show it!

To understand what commitment is it helps to look outside of our profession at examples of people that are truly committed to success in their chosen field. Being a Chicagoan, I need look no further than Walter Payton as a great example of someone "totally committed" to success in their chosen field. Walter was one of the hardest workers during the off season and that work paid off with not only great performance but durability few players have ever been able to match. Commitment to success goes way beyond "game performance" and relies much more on preparation. For sales people, this translates into "preparing" for the call and not just "making it".

"What is real commitment to the sales profession and how do I know if I have it"? Candidly, if you have to ask what real commitment is in sales you probably don't have it. True commitment in sales is the drive that puts everything else in your day "on hold" if it in anyway impedes your daily sales goals. I'm not suggesting that you become a martyr and make your sales career the "only thing in your life". However, during the day when you can be engaged in selling activities they must take priority over everything else (barring life threatening emergencies!). You've got to make a decision that you're willing to do "whatever it takes" (within legal and moral grounds) to succeed in your profession.

We'll talk about more commitment in future posts but part of being committed is finding things to do that will impact your performance and drive more successful results in your day to day selling activities. So,why not start today and  identify something that you can do that can improve your results. If you can't think of anything specific, why not go back through some of the blog posts that I've written and commit to an action step that you currently don't take. Make it realistic, measurable, specific and you'll find your success will foster more of the commitment you need to succeed!

Action Step: Review posts on sales strategies and make a commitment to adopt a new behavior to implement and master.

"Seduced by the big one... "

A few months ago (July), a good friend of mine shared with me that he had one of the biggest deals ever done by his company "on the tee". It was a monster, that would not only  "make his year" but catapult him into "company sales history". It would take a lot of work, but in the end, be well worth it and provide the best commission year of his career. I was excited for him but worried that he might be "seduced" by the big deal and lulled into complacency. I asked how the rest of his territory was looking and he suggested "with this one in the bag I don't need anything else!" I bit my tongue and rather than risk our friendship kept my mouth shut.

Unfortunately, I've heard this story too many times and it almost always results in disappointment. First, our ego gets in the way and we are "seduced" by the notoriety we will receive when we land "the big one". Not to mention the ego strokes we get at the water cooler while bragging about the "mother of all deals". Second, it is human nature to think, with this big one on the line, we really won't have to worry about the little ones and it lulls us into a false sense of security and complacency. "I'm a big hitter now, why would I want to worry about all that little stuff? Besides, it's just as easy to close a big one rather than 10 little ones and takes less time.

So, what happens is we focus all of our attention on getting the big one to the exclusion of the little ones. In the end, what ever results occur, we're disappointed. Think about it... what are the possible outcomes?

         1. You get the deal, make your year and after the celebration realize that your pipeline for the

             next year is empty!

         2. You don't get the deal (ouch!), and not only are you in trouble for this year, but that pipeline 

             for next year is still empty. Even if the deal comes in Q-1, you're in trouble.

         3. The deal gets delayed, you look bad for the year, your first quarter stinks, you get fired and

             your replacement comes in and gets paid when the big deal closes (talk about adding insult to

             injury)! But, they buy you dinner and say thanks!

So, what do we learn? Selling is a numbers game that demands consistency and discipline... you have to be active and make calls. As much as you might be "seduced" into thinking you have found an easy way... sorry, there is no easy way. As soon as you think "you've beaten the bank" or "fixed the game" think again, there are no short cuts or replacements for consistent activity. To be seduced by the big deal and thinking that you have found your way out of "the numbers game" is a mirage. Simply put, sales success is tied to activity and thinking otherwise is suicide!

I just spoke with my friend and asked how the "big deal" was going. All I needed to hear was "well it's kind of a long story..." and I already knew what he was about to tell me. Is the story about to be re-written by you?

Action Step: Create an activity plan for yourself with a daily call goal. Don't let a day go by that does not include activity designed to make sales. If you find yourself with to many opportunities, we can handle that! We'll teach you to close early and relish in abundance! But don't get behind the eight ball and think you can stop calling just because you've been "seduced by the big one!"

"History repeats itself..." does this old adage apply to sales??

History repeats itself and those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them! You've heard that one before, yet may not have thought about that old history lesson in relation to your selling career. Well, the value of this lesson has a lot more to do with sales than you might think... let's take a look.

There are great lessons to learn and strategies to build when you understand the conditions under which you win and those under which you lose. Regularly going through a "win, loss" review will allow you to understand where you typically succeed and where you typically fail and why. Once you understand the conditions that drive the outcome of your selling activities you'll know better how to respond to any given situation. You can build new strategies to support your efforts and increase your percentages!

A company we work with did  a six month "win, loss" review (history) on price quotes issued to prospects who they had not previously done business with. They believed that quickly responding to requests for price quotes demonstrated a high degree of responsiveness and would win them business.  They knew they were not winning often, but were shocked when they found out their efforts had only gotten a 4% return (4% of quotes yielding orders). By looking at history it became quite apparent that they needed to change their strategy of "demonstrating responsiveness". Not only was it not working but it was costing a lot of staff time and resources.

The new strategy, based on what they learned from looking at their history, was to call every request for pricing first and ask questions about the request. They found that most of the time it ended up being a "price check", but also found that through making a personal contact they actually got information and ended up closing 15% of the opportunities instead of 4%. They also were able to identify that most of the "wins" were not being serviced by one vendor exclusively. So, learning from this historical record drove them to ask the question "how many vendors are you currently buying from?" When they got the answer "one" they knew it was unlikely they would win and drove them to ask more questions to qualify the opportunity better.

This ends up being a clear example of "learning from history and not repeating the mistakes of the past!" Learn from history and you'll be winning more of your opportunities. We'll cover some other "history lessons" in upcoming posts... happy hunting!

"Dealing with information seeking questions..."

Not the ones you ask... but the ones your prospects/customers ask! You know how it usually goes... you're on a call and the customer asks you about a product or service that you provide. Of course you see this as the opening you've been waiting for. (salivating) You get out the feature benefit machine gun, cock it and load it and engage in a quick round of "pray and spray", dumping all your best stuff and thinking there is no way they can resist buying. Unfortunately, it just doesn't go that way and instead of saying "I'll take two" they say "can you send me some literature"? Dumbfounded, you walk out in disbelief wondering what went wrong??

Information seeking questions are usually driven by hidden agenda's, or have multiple answers with only one being the winner. Your zeal to answer and provide knowledge is often a mistake and can end up costing you a lot of money. You may be better off not answering but finding out why the questions were asked in the first place.

Information seeking questions are often best handled with a communication strategy called "reflecting". Reflecting involves simply "asking a question about the question" that reflects the original question back to the prospect to get more information. Some types of information seeking questions you need to be cautious of and that need to be reflected are:

1. Questions about your products or services.

2. Questions that ask you to compare your product against another.

3. Questions about your competition.

4. Questions about delivery, price, quality, service, etc.

All of these questions are asked in context with additional information that you are not aware of. Your ability to understand the context within which they are asked will give you a higher percentage chance of providing an answer that will benefit you.

Think about a questions that revolves around product. "Tell me a little about your "knutten valve"?" Now, if you had a "knutten valve" instead of telling them about it, you might be better served by saying "I'd be happy to... was there a reason that you have an interest in our "knutten valve"?" There is always a reason and your ability to find out what it is will put you in a much better position to give an answer that will benefit you.

"What/or who's knutten valve are you currently using and is there something that you would like to change about what you are using now?" If they are not happy with what they currently have how could you possibly solve a problem that you are not fully aware of? Not knowing what the problem is might get you to make a suggestion on a feature they have already tried and didn't work!

We'll expand on this concept called "reflecting" in upcoming posts but for now ask your self "should I answer or should I ask?" I think you'll find out "not answering" will be your best strategy and have you on the way to making more sales!

Action Step: Write down five questions that you regularly get on sales calls. Then write down the answer you are currently giving. think of what a good questions about the questions would be and plan to use your new "reflectors" on your next sales call.

Selling is all about "lowering risk"...

Selling is all about getting people to change and change always involves risk. Generally, when given a choice, most people will always choose to not change. People are creatures of habit and change requires them to break old habits and create new ones. What makes selling difficult is the fact that it requires you to work against human nature by getting people to change (and you thought this was going to be easy!).

If you think about it, much of the resistance (objections, stalls) you will encounter in sales is a function of risk. Most people will resist change if they believe that the risk they take to change is greater than the risk they will experience by deciding to not change. The old belief "better to live with the devil you know, than the devil you don't know" is what makes it difficult to create the inertia you need to get people to change. It is a powerful force that we will all have to deal with.

So, how do we lower risk, or at least lower the perception of risk, to get more people to take the risks they need in order for us to sell. Two critical strategies come to mind for us to consider:

1. Identifying and clearly understanding your prospects problems will lead them to believe that through your understanding, it is less likely that you will sell them a solution that will not work. Asking questions that give you a full understanding of their situation will help to alleviate their fear of risk.
2. Helping them to understand that the "discomfort" that exists now (consequences, circumstances of staying the same) will be diminished by their willingness to go through the "discomfort" of change. Again helping them to overcome the perceived risk.

The first strategy requires us to be good at "information gathering" questions. Questions like:

• Tell me more about the problems that you are experiencing?
• How long have you had this these problems?
• What have you done to try to solve them?
• How did that work?
• Specifically, what impact or consequences do they have on you and your company?
• Do the problems cost you/your company any money?
• What happens if you don't fix them?

As you gain information you create the belief that through the information you have gained it is more likely that you will deliver a recommendation that will work...hence, lowering risk (you may also find this is a good strategy that helps to differentiate you from your competition).

The second strategy requires us to ask "consequence" questions. Questions like:

• What happens if this doesn't get fixed?
• Is this something you can live with?
• How would not being able to solve the problems affect you personally?
• Who else is affected by these problems?
• Maybe it's something you really don't need to worry about?

These questions help the prospect understand that not solving the problem may actually be a bigger risk then the risk they will need to take to change. They are often exactly the questions that you need to create the inertia for change.

Your ability to ask both of these types of questions will help you and your prospect understand and limit the risks involved in changing. Lowering risk is one of the keys to being successful in sales!

Can I tell them..."I don't know the answer to that question?"...

I often have sales people ask me if it's o.k. to tell someone, "I don't know the answer to that question". I always tell them "sure it is, in fact it's a lot better than trying to make something up that could backfire or be wrong!" No one knows everything (well, almost no one!) and no one expects you to have an answer to every question. In fact not having all the answers will make you seem a little more "human" and probably set people at ease...besides nobody likes a "know it all".

However, not having the answer and saying "I don't know" can become a problem when you've said it ten times and your prospect/customer begins to feel that you bring them no value. In a business that has highly complex products or services that require a lot of technical knowledge this can become a real problem for both sales people as well as their sales managers.

For sales people, lack of product knowledge can create "call reluctance" because not knowing the answer over and over again can make people feel like they are "failing". It also extends what we refer to as "ramp up time". Ramp up time refers to the length of time required to learn all of the product knowledge required to be able to answer questions and be effective on sales calls. In some cases, this could make the time it takes a sales person to "get ready" to make calls extremely long. In fact in some situations almost impossible when you consider  some of the companies that have literally thousands of products, how could anyone know everything?

So when you get a questions that you don't have an answer to instead of saying "I don't know..." try finding out why they asked. Instead of answering or not knowing, simply say "that sounds important, why did you ask"? You might be surprised by what you find out.

Here is a hypothetical example that relates to a company that sells drill bits:

How long should I expect one of your carbide drill bits to last?

Now, let's suppose you don't know. You could say "I don't' know, let me get back to you". You end up providing little value, lengthen the selling cycle and leave your prospect "vulnerable" to someone else who might have the answer.

Or, you could say, "that sounds important, why did you ask". You might hear something like this:

Our current supplier can't seem to get us anything that will last and we are forced to slow down production because we have to stop and change drill bits to often".

Now you've found the real reason they asked the question and can have a better discussion on what might solve the problem. So next time don't be so quick to say "I don't' know", instead of giving an answer try asking a question!

Action Step: Create a list of questions that you think you might get and practice this technique.

 

"Who breaks the tie...?"

I was in a "pipeline management" meeting with one of our clients, running what we affectionately refer to as a "bid scrub". These meetings are tough, but productive, and help to realistically assess the likelihood that we can close what has been bid. This was a new client and had not yet implemented our selling process... hence there was still a lot of "quote and hope" strategy at work!

Initially non-threatening, people catch on quickly and as they go "painfully" through each opportunity it becomes apparent why and how their deficiencies occur. Defensiveness can sometimes get in the way but people at the end of the process have a distinct advantage and leave with a much better handle on managing their own pipeline. In the end they recognize the futility in trying to justify what is often a weak position. In fact many have the good sense of starting out the story with "I can see I am missing a lot of information but I'll go ahead anyway" and accept the "beating" with humility. As uncomfortable as it may be, it is a vital learning experience that will ultimately help everyone be more successful, make more money and reach their goals (getting what they want out of life).

We were well into discussing one of the last opportunities when we ran into a problem. The deal was far along in the selling process and at the point where the sales person felt comfortable and had made an offer. There were strong buying motives, the project was budgeted and we had qualified the decision process and the people making it. With this information at hand the sales person felt confident enough to say this one is a "lock".

Some questions followed and we found out that there were two different groups with an equal number of people and slightly different agendas. I asked a question that had not been asked by the sales person, "what happens if there is a tie, one team votes one way and the other team votes the other way?". There was silence, and then the answer "I don't know"...  followed by a sheepish look of confusion.

However,and with aplomb, the sales person quickly recovered and suggested that a tie would be "highly unlikely..." to which we asked "could it happen", followed by the answer "yes". Then, I asked "if there is a tie who breaks it?". More silence... which confirmed my concern that we had not covered all of the decision makers.

The lesson; when working with multiple decision makers we need to ask "what happens if people can't decide and there is a tie?" The answer will be "the real decision maker". Businesses are not democracies, they are monarchies and for that reason there is always someone who can break the tie. The tie breaker is who you really need to get to and is the "real decision maker".

Action Step- When selling to multiple decision makers ask how many people/departments are involved and if it is an even number make sure you ask the question "if there is a tie who breaks it?" It may be all you need to know to get the deal!

"Stop Educating your prospect!"

Companies spend thousands of dollars every year building product knowledge "Universities". They send their sales people to these product schools to learn the features and benefits of their products. They have them go through the process of becoming "product" experts, with the hope that the expertise they gain will propel them to sales success.

Unwittingly, they promote and fund a process that ends up creating "non supportive beliefs" in the minds of their sales people that can actually inhibit their success and lose them both sales revenue and profit margins. Those beliefs include the following:

       Disseminating product knowledge to my prospect will build my credibility and make sales.

       In order for the prospect to understand the value of my offer I must educate them.

Unfortunately, we have found this type of thinking, or "non supportive beliefs", end up creating very difficult selling problems. Once we understand the problems these non supportive beliefs create we can begin to change both our thinking and behavior that will lead us to greater success in sales.

Although being credible to your prospect is important , we believe that having them trust you to provide a solution that will limit the risk they take in making a decision to buy from you is much more important. The way you build that trust is by demonstrating to your prospect, through a complete understanding of their problems,  that you reduce the chance of making a mistake in the recommendation you make.

Logically, to gain an understanding of what your prospect needs, would require us to ask questions. Through your questions, you gain a greater understanding of their situation and thereby lower the risk of making a recommendation that is inconsistent with what they need. Asking questions about typical problems and understanding the impact they have on your prospect is much more important than giving out information.

Also, we have found that educating your prospect about your value allows them to use your information and recommendations as a way to "shop" you against the competition, frequently building RFP's and RFQ's around the unique value you have educated them about. This "shopping" model allows them to get competitive bids built around your recommendations that literally extinguish your value and end up creating sameness. This "free consulting" is particularly frustrating and damaging to our technology and intangible service customers.

Educating your prospect may make you feel good but it will end up being your downfall. It's a dead end street that will force you to define your difference by a low price!

Action Step: Learn to control your conversations better by taking control at the beginning of the call. Create a list of "business problem questions" that will guide the conversation to your value.

      

      

"We just need to tell our story...!"

I was meeting with the Vice President of Sales and Training Director of a major automobile fleet leasing company discussing plans for an upcoming sales training initiative. Their company had a great value proposition for the management of large leased vehicle fleets (1000+ vehicles) but they were having trouble effectively communicating it to their prospects with consistency and in a way that could clearly create a difference. Their market was extremely competitive and an inability to differentiate and add value was driving margins into the toilet!

My contacts made the comment "we just need to get in and tell our story because we know once they hear it they'll understand our difference, can you help us with that?" They were confident of their value, had a great program, were passionate about what they could provide and should be winning more opportunities. How could I suggest to them "tactfully" that telling their story might not be the best  way to "translate" their value, providing them with the ability to differentiate and sell for more?

I suggested that the story they wanted to "tell" may not be exactly what the prospect wanted to "hear". Rather, why not let the prospect tell their story and see if you can add a happy ending that you'll both enjoy! Instead of you telling your story ask questions to get the prospect to tell theirs which will help you identify what parts of your "story" would be relevant and valuable to your prospect.

I went on to suggest that often the way sales people tell their story may not be completely relevant to the prospect and worse, may be told in a way that is not clearly understandable. They often include details with little or no interest and frequently include features and benefits presented in a way that is just not compelling or understandable. Worse yet, they end up sounding vaguely familiar to what the prospect currently has leading them to the conclusion that there is really no difference. Sadly, the differentiator now becomes "price".

Looking a little frustrated they responded "what would you suggest?". Let's start with questions about their current situation (story) and find out if there is something about the situation (story) they would like to change. If we can find something they want to improve on or are having problems with we might be able to complete the story in a way that is beneficial to both of us. The other problem with telling your story is you provide to much information that would enable your prospective buyer to go out into the market place, share the information with other competitors who then end up "cloning" your offer. Ouch!!

Similarly, when "telling your story" you make it clear to your prospect (unintentionally) that the only story worth discussing is yours. You end up sounding like the bore at the cocktail party that can't stop talking about him/her self, not typically someone people want to be around or ask back for another meeting.

I know  that what compels people to want to "tell their story" is the firm belief in the value of their offer. However, next time you feel compelled to "tell your story" asking some questions first about what story to tell may actually work better.

Action Step: Take what ever you want to tell people and turn your story into a series of questions (Our "Value Translation Strategy" workshop will help define this strategy for your company) .

"Are you the one that makes this decision?"

Think about it... you need to know who makes the decision, right? You've even been told by managers and other sales people that you need to know "who pulls the trigger". You might have even been through some training classes that stress uncovering the decision maker. So, you ask, "are you the decision maker" or "who else gets involved in this decision?"

So, you've done what you 've been told and yet you still get duped! Sometimes people who tell you they make decisions, don't. Sometimes people who say they don't, do. So what gives and what strategies could we employ to raise our percentages and get more "truthful" information? We need to develop and deploy (consistently) a strategy that will get us better results.

First, know that the question "are you the decision maker" is a very transparent and "sales like" question. Anyone with half a brain knows where this is going... and they've heard it over and over again from other sales people. Although we need to know who makes the decision, maybe our way of finding out is the problem. Maybe we need another question to get to the issue!

Think about it for a minute... most of the time when you ask someone "are you the decision maker" they either "are", or "are a part of", or "are not involved in the decision". Let's look at the three options and assess the impact of our question to see if it is getting us what we want.

First, let's look at when you ask "are you...", how someone who is the decision maker will respond. If they are the decision maker they might answer "yes"... good outcome. They might be offended by the question as in "you question my authority", not a good outcome. Or, they might be threatened by the question as in "uh,oh, here comes the close!" So they "lie" and send you off to talk with alot of other people that really don't matter, not a good outcome. So, three options, two leave us in less than a positive position with the prospect.

Let's suppose for a minute that they are not the decision maker. They might misunderstand your question... thinking because they are the ones that decide what information get's to "Ms. Big" they answer "yes". So, without intentionally misleading you they believe they have answered your question correctly, when in fact they haven't. Or, they are the type of people that can't decide when to blow their nose, but just don't want you to know (or admit it to themselves)

Then "what" you ask, should I say instead?? What you need is a question that eliminates the negative outcomes but will get you the information that you need. You need to find out who, when and how they will make their decision. The key is to focus on the process, "how", and you will find out who and when (most of the time) without ever needing to ask.

Start with "how do/does  you/your company, make a decision like this?  You will now be able to get your contact to tell you "how" which will lead you to information like "once I see your offer I'll need to bring it to my director". The question is less threatening and will get you the information you need to be with the real decision makers. Employ this strategy consistently... and you'll get consistently better results.

Action Step: Practice asking about the "process" and commit to changing your approach.