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Find what they want and how bad they want it
In sales training we are drilled on asking well-crafted questions that uncover what our prospect wants and why they want it. There is one more thing: How bad do they want it?
About 20 years ago I was talking to an owner and founder of a highly successful graphic arts business. Mike, the owner, had just finished designing a book cover for a very famous athlete. I was there as a consultant to help him advance in his management and delegation skills. His company was growing fast.
I had prepared well for our first meeting, and designed my questions to get to the heart of his primary interest and dominant buying motive. (What he wanted and why he wanted it). Mike said, “When me and my team are meeting with customers, I’ve heard people say afterwards, “Mike, whenever you leave the room, the value of your company cuts in half”. From this conversation I surmised that Mike wanted to change this. I assumed he wanted to build a team that was strong and would sustain that strength even when he wasn’t there.
We started with some training in management and delegation. It wasn’t long before he lost interest. When I interviewed him afterwards, he finally admitted that he liked being indispensable, and didn’t want anyone else to share the stage. In other words, even though he wanted his company to grow, he wasn’t willing to subordinate his ego in favor of building others. He couldn’t let go of what he loved.
Do you want your company to grow? Are you willing to let go of what you love?
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Be slow to hire…quick to fire
A good leader cares about his team. Who would want to work for someone who didn’t care?
I have a good friend who is a caring leader and a successful businessman. I was talking with Jim a couple months ago, and he talked about a challenge he accepted a month before while attending a trade convention. The challenge was this:
“Imagine that someone contacted you, and wanted to buy your business. They made you an offer that was hard to refuse. You quickly realized that you could retire early if you accepted this offer. It was in cash, and you accepted.
After about a year, you received a call from the same person, and things weren’t going well. They were desperate, and wanted you to know if you would be willing to buy the business back for 10 cents on the dollar. You were twitching to get back to work, and you took the offer. Here is the question: Now that you own the business again, who would you hire back? Is there anyone you would not hire back? If so, why is this person still working for you?”
It was a day of reckoning for Jim. He did have a manager that he would not hire back in that scenario. He knew what he had to do. He let him go. The person who has since replaced the dismissed manager is doing very well, and the business is doing much better. Jim, like many I know, said the same thing after he let a sub-performer go: “I wished I had done it sooner”. If he had, it would have saved him a lot of grief and money.
Here is the message: If someone is consistently under-performing, and he or she has been given ample opportunity to improve, it is usually wise to part company. It can actually turn out to be a “win-win” rather than a “lose-lose”
Customer service and moments of truth
I once heard the term “comfort zone” described as the “mental home in which we live.” When we manage our relationships well, we help create a comfortable “mental home” for our prized customer base.
This past week I visited the store where I purchased my cell phone a couple years ago. I had a problem, and they solved it. At the end of the conversation the service agent asked me if I would be interested in moving my cable, Internet, and land line service to them. We compared the plan we had to their plan. We determined that switching to them would save us $20 per month.
My wife and I had the luxury of time, so we we looked at the new proposed plan and reflected on the past two occasions when we needed to talk to the service department of our current vendor. Considering these two conversations, we concluded that the service was outstanding. We were not that confident that switching to the new company would mean better service. Our current phone company has created a “comfort zone” we did not want to leave. We decided to stay with them in spite of the $20 savings.
As I reflect on this situation, I am amazed that we would be open to changing vendors after a relationship of 20 years. I realize it wasn’t the 20 years that created the comfort zone: It was all the contacts or “moments of truth” along the way that were well managed. The lesson is this: With each customer we have moments of truth. It is vital that we find a way to manage these moments. If we don’t, we will weaken the comfort zone, and open up the door to our competition.
The sales process is for everyone
When I began my career, one of my first objectives was to build my skills in professional selling. I enrolled in a 12-week course that broke the sales process into five steps that contained 23 fundamentals. Soon after I began the training, I asked myself, “Why do they just teach the sales process to salespeople? Why not everyone?” What I discovered was that learning the fundamentals of the sales process not only helps our success in selling, it also positively affects our personal lives with friends, children, and partners. Allow me to illustrate by giving a simple overview of the 5 steps of selling:
Step #1: Generate rapport. We begin in a friendly way that results in the prospect viewing us favorably. This enables us to generate a willingness to have a conversation.
Step #2: Show genuine interest. That’s fine that we are a nice person. Our next step is to understand the other person, their situation, and what they need. We do this by asking good questions, listening to the answers, and affirming that we have heard correctly.
Step #3: Present the solution. Now that we know what someone needs and why it is important to them, we can recommend a solution that appeals to their interest.
Step #4: Secure commitment. Once we have agreed on the solution, we ask for their commitment.
Step #5: Act. Now that we are committed, we take action!
OK. Now imagine you needed to have a serious conversation with your teenager. Wouldn’t this process apply? My recommendation: Learn the sales process (but don’t tell them you are not in selling)
Keep the “I” out of the word “Team”
Last week the Wall Street Journal featured an article by Joanne Lublin entitled, “To get ahead, rivals get along.” In the column Ms. Lublin pointed out that 73% of the heads of S&P 500 companies who were selected last year came from within, compared with 69% in 2017. Along with this rise, candidates with exceptional people skills are most desirable. “Employers now prefer to elevate highly collaborative executives.” Here is an example of just how important this quality can be:
Two years ago I was working with a company that had two internal candidates named Jim and Bob. They were applying for the same position. They like, trusted, and respected each other, and were willing to be a good sport about it if they weren’t selected. After one was selected, these two continued to work together and keep their relationship solid. Two years later, the candidate who was passed by was offered a management position at another location. It was just what he wanted. He has since excelled at the position, and has now been given another promotion. Jim and Bob both have a position in the company at a corporate level, and their ability to work together is exceptional. As the classic rule of synergy goes, Jim and Bob together are greater than the sum of the two.
If you are playing in sports, you play to beat the other team. That only makes sense. When it comes to competing with people on your own team, try competing against yourself. Like Bethoven and Shakespeare, strive to compete against yourself and your own record. Your team will be a combination of strengths.