John Hirth's commentary on sales...

"Your emotions have no business in the business of selling..."

In our ongoing work with sales teams and sales managers we continually stress the importance of maintaining an even keel. Emotional control is a critical element to success in sales (an element of sales DNA) and letting your emotions control your responses in our business is usually not a good thing.

Too often, sales people get excited on sales calls. As soon as you get "excited" you'll probably respond the wrong way. Here is an example:

Your prospect says:

    "I've heard great things about your company...".

We get excited and respond with:

    "Yes, we've been in business for 35 years and have a great reputation in the industry, In fact..." 

Hearing a positive comment that would seem to be in "our favor", we get exited and move in for the kill! Talking more about why we think we are good and sounding like a typical "enthusiastic" sales person. Our emotions are in control and unfortunately, as long as you're talking, you're not learning anything you didn't already know! You are no longer in control of the conversation.

Rather, taking emotions out of the situation and responding "intellectually", you'd be more inclined to respond with:

    "I'm glad to hear that, what have you heard?"

The prospect now answers your question with:

    "I've heard you have excellent customer service and shorter lead times than some of your competitors".

Now look what you just found out! You know what they value in a supplier and it would be important to stay "intellectual" and find out why they said that! I'll bet it relates to some "dissatisfaction" with their current supplier!

Maintaining emotional control is more difficult for some people than others but is certainly an important element of being successful in sales! Work on it and you'll make a lot more money!

"Nobody likes change..."

I received a newsletter today from a gentleman who I have worked with in the past, Dr. Alan Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman is a well known business consultant who specializes in managing change and communications skills. I presented with him at a conference in France many years ago and was proud to share the stage with him.

His newsletter started with a great quote, "The only person that likes change is the baby with a wet diaper". After a chuckle and a nod of agreement (it's been a while since I was the "Change-er" or the "Change-ee"), I thought a little about the statement and questioned the validity. Is it true, are there ever other circumstances when people enjoy change?

Think about it, everytime you make a sale you create change. When someone buys something new or different from what they have been buying it requires change. When someone buys something it often requires them to change the way they work. Human beings are creatures of habit and fundamentally resist change, it's part of what makes "selling" so challenging. So, initially I agreed with the statement.

However ,the more I thought about it I realized that although change is always uncomfortable there are many things I have purchased that required me to change but after the initial discomfort I have been absolutely thrilled about. I believe the same is true about your prospect and believe that the quickest way to "making a sale" is to find out what, in terms of their current situation, would they like to change. Change is much more acceptable when your contact is not "comfortable" with their current conditions.

Our selling model suggests that in order for you to be successful in sales you need to find out what would "motivate" your prospect/customer to change. Just like the "baby in the wet diaper", people don't mind changing when they believe that the discomfort of change will be outweighed by the benefits of their new outcome. That's why questions about "what they might want to change" can be so valuable to us. If you can find out what they would like to change about their current situation, and if the decision to not change causes "discomfort/pain" then change should be welcome.

Rather than having the fear or discomfort of change create resistance to work against... use it as a tool to create momentum in your favor. Ask people questions like:

    What is it about what you use now that you would like to see work better?

    Why would you want to change from the way you do things now?

    Why would you want to look for a new source of supply?

    What is it about the way you work now that you would like to see improved?

Answers to these questions help them to create their own reasons for change and it will become leverage instead of resistance! Think more about what your prospect would like to change than what you  would like to sell and you'll make a lot                 more sales!                                                                                                                                     

"I guess I just got lucky..."

“I guess I just got lucky…”

How many times have you heard a sales person say this, or even said it yourself about a nice piece of business that they just landed. Or how many times have you heard a competing sales person describe someone else's success as "luck".

I know you've heard it, said it, or experienced it and I wanted to try to set the record straight. The problem is when good things happen and you blame it on "luck", it makes duplicating what happened again impossible. I think good things happen on purpose and unfortunately get blamed on "luck". Luck is also a convenient way to not take responsibility for the good things that happen to us (God forbid if it was anything other than luck someone might "expect" you to do it again).

Blaming success on luck is what we call a "non-supportive" belief. If you believe that luck drove your success there would be no reason to try to understand why you were successful and what activities led to your success. If success was truly driven by luck it would be a totally random event with circumstances outside of your control with a low likelihood of duplication. In sales, and many other elements of your life, this is simply not true.

Your good "luck" is driven by actions and sequences of events that you have more control over than you think! You need to change the way you think about success and realize that luck is not really part of your success formula. You create your own luck by managing activities that drive successful results.

So your new belief might include the following: My success is driven by applying the right activities to the right targets. Being able to identify the right activities and the right targets is really not that hard. Selling is a numbers game and the first activity that you have to manage is making the calls (telephone and in person). Not just calls for "calls" sake, but calls on qualified targets.

Identifying good targets can be as simple as looking at the types of companies that you (or your company) have succeeded with in the past. Another way is to identify "big users" of your products or services. Knowing that "luck" is not really part of your success formula, you can now look at the situations that you have managed to a successful result and try to find similarities in them.

Once you've identified similarities in situations where you win, you now have a "target" and can "search" for other targets with those similarities. If your greatest successes have come from a certain industry, or going up against a certain competitor focus on those opportunities. Until you spend some time analyzing your wins (win loss review) you won't know what you look for. So stop blaming success on luck and add to your "supportive" belief system. If, on the other hand, you really believe that "luck" is what drives your success stop reading this blog and buy a rabbits foot!

 

Action Step: Stop saying you were "lucky" when good things happen. Start thinking about what drove your success and duplicate both the activity and target selection process that has helped you succeed in the past. Do a "win" review and learn from your successes!

"I'll give you the business if you can beat my current price..."

“I’ll give you the business if you can beat my current price…” Ever get this one…sure you have. You’ve gotten it from one of your good customers who seem to always be willing to “give you a shot”. Sometimes you’ll get the business and sometimes not…the problem is “not”.

These requests can waste a lot of time, particularly when you don’t win! Let’s talk about the request and see if you can win more of these opportunities as well as get a little more margin too!

Let’s consider why good customers are willing to give you a shot on additional products? Sometimes it’s just from the good will you have built up…they want to “throw you a bone”. Other times, there are problems with their current supplier and if you were aware of the problem, you could provide products that would work better (add value), as well as build some leverage that would allow you to charge more and get better margin.

So, to improve our percentages and get better results let’s look at some strategies that will help us get more of what we want. First, we’ll need to change the way we think about these opportunities in order to sell more of them and get higher prices. Most of us come to these situations with the belief that unless we can beat the price we won’t get the business. This is called a “non supportive belief” and we need to change it in order to be successful.

If you think about it, why would they come to you to replace a product they use and are happy with? Usually they won’t, and often when they ask you for the “can you beat my price offer”, there’s usually a problem with what they’re currently using that they don’t want to tell you about. In reality, if you knew about the problem you might actually be able to get more money.

So, instead of jumping at the request and immediately getting them the information they’ve asked for, consider responding by asking:

    Thanks for the opportunity… Is there a reason you asked about that product?

    Or Is there anything about what you have now that you don’t like?

Now, if there’s a problem, you might be able get them a product that works better. Or because you know they’re currently unhappy with what they have now you might be willing to go in at a little higher-margin (price). On the other hand if they are just giving you an opportunity, tell them you might not be able to beat the price but you could be within 1% of where they are now. If they’re not willing to accept a 1% increase, suggest that you can’t beat the price but that you could match it. Going in with an “exceed or meet price mentality” is much better than starting at a “beat price mentality” (in negotiations always start high).

Still, if they insist that you have to beat the price…you are at an advantage by having started with an exceed price or match price strategy/mentality. Now, you can more easily suggest that you would be willing to beat the price if they can give you one or two more items to quote. Remember, when you are negotiating, never give up anything without getting something in return! Getting a little more for what you sell over the long run could put a lot of money in your pocket as well as you companies. By changing your selling “beliefs” or thought process you’ll set new behaviors that will help you be more successful in sales!

Clear out your "locker"...

...psychological locker that is. Remember in high school when you used to leave your gym uniform  in your locker for a couple of weeks without washing it and how things started to stink. Well, just like dirty laundry in your gym locker we collect dirty laundry in our "psychological locker" too. However, instead of a dirty gym uniform our "psychological locker" gets clogged with negative thoughts that tend to weigh us down and impact our "outlook".

A sales persons "outlook" (self esteem) is their own general sense of how things are going in their career and life. Negative events in our lives have a tendency to negatively impact our self esteem, which limits our ability to do the tough things we need to do in sales. It impacts "bravery" a critical strength in determining  sales performance. Until problems or negative events in our lives are resolved they will continue to have a negative effect on our self esteem and performance.

Sorry, problems in your personal life you'll need to deal with by yourself, but there are a lot of "problems" in our day to day selling activities that can also end up filling the locker. An example: as you sit and read this post there is probably a call you need to make that you have been putting off. You know... a customer who is upset about something that happened, or you need to make a call to a customer about something you know they are going to be unhappy about. As long as you delay the call, it stays in your "locker" and will negatively impact your outlook and bravery. Not doing what is tough is a condition commonly called procrastination,  and is driven by fear of failure. Ironically, putting off what we need to do increases the likelyhood of failure!

So, make a habit of making the tough calls you need to make at the beginning of the day. That's what "clear out your locker" means. If you do the tough things first, the rest of the day will be a lot easier and with the locker "cleared" those negative issues will not affect you. You'll also find that tackling the tough issues up front will give you a great sense of accomplishment and enhance your personal sense of self value and improve your outlook. Implement this strategy daily, "clear out your locker" and you'll have more productive days!

Hurry...fix my sales problems!

            

I was on a coaching call yesterday with a sales person from one of our technology clients. As is often the case, he wanted all of the answers to his most pressing sales problems...right now! Although I was able to provide some advise that I knew would help, I was also quite sure that the same problem would probably occur again!

In reality, being more successful in sales and making the behavior modifications required is not a "quick fix" proposition. It requires hard work, discipline and a willingness to change. It also requires the application of three basic principles that drive higher success in all learned skill activities (selling skills are learned, not born!).

To understand these principles I often use the game of golf as an analogy. Being more successful in golf requires the application and commitment of these three basic principles:

    1. Play- Just playing the game more often will deliver better results.

    2. Practice- Practice in golf is done at the driving range or on the putting green. This is where we         take new skills and work to develop new "muscle memory".

    3. Learning and developing good skills- Taking lessons and getting coached, on a regular basis.

So, how would we apply these principles to the business of sales and could they improve our "sales game"?

    1. Play- In sales, the "play" is making sales calls (in person or telephone). Like golf, just making         more calls will make you more successful regardless of your level of skill! Remember, selling is         a numbers game, the more you try the more you'll win! 

    2. Practice- The practice in sales is something very few sales people are willing to do...role play! You         need effective strategies (created in the third element below) that are learned and well rehearsed.         When your prospect/customer says "your price is too high" that's the wrong time to come up with         an answer! Your role playing will create "muscle (response) memory" just like the putting green or         driving range in golf.

    3. Learning and developing better skills- Just like golf, you need to get "lessons" and be willing         to learn new skills or selling techniques. Most of the time, you need an outside influence to help         you make and identify what skills need to change. The old adage "if you knew what needed to         change you would have already changed it" is true.

So, if you're "in a hurry"...sorry. But if you are willing to apply these three principles to your selling career I'm sure you'll be more successful!

 

 

Is consultative selling really dead...or is the "Challenger Sale" the answer?

I read a blog post on the site of a good friend and business associate Dave Kurlan, rebutting an article that suggests "consultative selling is dead". If you'd like to read the article here is the link:

this article for Middle Market Executive

Although Dave has had a sales training business for over twenty years, he is also the CEO and creator of the OMG (Objective Management Group) Sales Assessment. His primary business has been to help companies identify and select top sales talent. Selling Dynamics has used the OMG Sales Candidate Assessment (for prospective new hires) and OMG's Sales Force Evaluation tools (for existing sales staff members) for over 15 years. Our clients have made fewer hiring mistakes and have been able to get better production from their existing sales staff.

I read the article and posted a response on Dave's blog which I have included here. Unfortunately, I think there is a lot of misinformation about selling that tends to confuse and mislead people. New selling programs are a lot like diets...new name same basic principles. Losing weight takes discipline and hard work, just like being successful in sales! In both instances, people are "hoping" for the magic formula that will allow them to succeed without either.

    I agree with you on this, Dave, and as you have stated I think the author takes liberty’s and     “defines” consultative selling in a very narrow context. Similarly, the authors of “The Challenger     Sale” do the same thing in the way they define relationships and “the relationship seller” along with     some other successful seller attributes. 

    I would think most savvy sales executives can see through this “repositioning” as what it truly is.     Sales training companies making somewhat outrageous statements that seem to defy commonly     accepted ideas (beliefs) for the purpose of attracting attention and “differentiating their offer”.     They are clever attempts that try to show that “the emperor has no clothes” for the purpose of     selling sales training. 

    Sadly, they perpetuate the myth that there is some “secret formula” that will make what is a tough     job (selecting, managing, training and coaching sales people) easy. We all know that developing a top     performing sales team takes hard work and effort and that most of the people selected for the job     are either unwilling and/or incapable of doing it. The panacea does not exist!

As a sales professional, you need to recognize that the formula for success is not a new program. The formula for success is having the discipline to consistently implement a program based on sound human behavior and sound communication principles. It must also include developing a supportive belief system, consistent activity and behavior management, guided by a selling model that can be learned and duplicated with consistency. We will continue to provide those components for success with our clients and their selling teams.

 

 

 

"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!

How do you handle the objection, “I just switched vendors on that product?”

I got a call a couple of weeks ago from an experienced sales rep with this question. It’s one I’m sure everyone has bumped into in the past and hopefully, after reading this post, you'll be able to handle it much better in the future!

I can imagine this would really “take the wind out of your sails.” You’ve got a great product that should be a good opportunity for this account, and you basically get “shot down before take-off.”  Talk about a buzz killer!

This situation could certainly be embarrassing, and underscores the importance of having a good selling strategy. We have discussed in the past and will continue to discuss the importance of trying to get your prospect to take the lead and identify a current situation, problem or “motive” that might get them to make some type of change in what they’re currently using/buying. Getting this objection would suggest that strategy was clearly not followed.

Looking for the “magic silver bullet,” the sales rep sent me an email asking how I would have handled this and what recommendations I would have for turning the situation into a sale. I suggested, “Apparently you've confused me with Moses!” Maybe he could part the Red Sea, unfortunately I can’t.

Consider for a minute your prospect’s situation. They just changed to a new vendor; went through the time, effort and trouble to make the switch, and believe they’ve made a good decision. Do you really think you have a snowball’s chance in hell to get them to change again? I don’t think so!

Now certainly you might respond with:

    “Thanks for telling me. I’m sure you’re probably happy with the  

     product that you’ve switched to.”

Assuming that they are happy with the change they’ve made, using an assumptive statement keeps you from criticizing their decision. However, if for some reason they’re not, this would be a non-threatening way to get them to identify that.

Interestingly, this would be a perfect opportunity to gain some intelligence on what is important to this account. Maybe the best question to ask at this point would be:

      “I’m curious.  What was it about the product that you were using

        that you didn’t like, and what got you to make this change?”

This would be a perfect opportunity to gain additional insight into what your customer is looking for. Was it a problem with product performance? Was it a problem with vendor performance? Was it driven by the need for lower pricing to reduce cost? Did they make a change to try to get better patient outcomes?

All of these are potential reasons that you want to uncover which could drive you to discussions on other products. Their desire to achieve any of the goals in the questions above is a clear “motive” and reason for change.

Some sales you win… some sales you lose, and some sales you’ve lost before you even start! I think this situation is one of the latter, but with some patience and a good set of questions, you can “turn lemons into lemonade” and get information that will allow you to be more successful with this customer.

Something else we need to consider is why were we not aware of this opportunity in the first place? Here again, you can’t get them all, but are you asking your clients about their regularly-scheduled product reviews? Again, good preemptive account intelligence will limit this objection.

I always appreciate questions from the field, and will provide strategies and tactics that may not get back what you lost, but put you in a better position to win the next round!

 

 

 

Recently read an article in non other than the Harvard Business Review. This normally well respected publication ran an article claiming that "luck" is a measurable factor in the success of a sales person. I've never believed in luck (as a measurable element of sales success) and seriously question the validity of this article. Very disappointing in what is know as a credible publication!