Posted: June 18, 2012 | Categories: Sales

The price objection….welcome it!

A couple weeks ago, I was having a conversation with an entrepreneur business client.  She had checked around with her competition, and was considering lowering her prices to be more competitive.  We talked about her situation and took a “deeper dive” in to this dilemma.  After doing so, she came to the firm conclusion that lowering her price was not the solution to the problem.  Instead, she decided to focus on selling the added value she had to offer.

A Chevy is cheaper than a Cadillac, and they sell a lot more Chevy’s than Cadillac’s.    Cadillac has an added value that people are willing to pay for.  How do we sell added value?  Let’s break it down:

1. Determine exactly what the prospects want and why they want it.  (http://www.durhamcoach.com/blog/2012/06/06/selling-vs-telling-the-critical-factor/)
2. Know about how your product is unique and be able to communicate this distinction.  Break down your knowledge into facts, features, and how they relate to the needs expressed by the buyer.
3. Be able to create a word picture that can take the prospect forward.

To illustrate, let’s use an example:  Here is the situation:

You are at the point where you are looking to close the sale.  The prospect says they are going to shop around:

Me.:  “That makes sense.  In fact, I like to make sure I shop around myself when considering an important purchase.  As you do your shopping, here are some key features you can keep in mind as you are preparing.

1. This event will be an exclusive.  You people will enjoy personalized treatment
2. We have twice the average number of servers.  You mentioned how important that your guests were responded to promptly
3. Each server receives 6 months training in our special customer service program.  That means you can count on us serving your needs with excellence and professionalism.

(Word picture)

Cheryl, as I understand your situation, you want your wedding to be fun and memorable, and you would like your guests to reflect positively on the whole experience for many years to come. Is that correct?  Let’s imagine it is your wedding day.  Here you are walking in with your new husband.  As you enter….

From this point, we would project a picture that was clear, vivid, and unforgettable.  Here are the fundamentals:

1. Details
2. Present tense
3. Positive

One of my friends describes this part of the sales process as “play the movie”.  We all like good movies, and when a sales professional is able to put us in a nice picture, they touch off our positive emotions, and make us want to move forward.  This process creates added value, and can be very powerful.

Summarizing, the next time you are tempted to lower your price, make sure you have made time to take stock of your qualities.

Posted: June 6, 2012 | Categories: Sales

“There are two reasons people do things…the real one, and the one that sounds good”

–                          John Pierpont Morgan

 To be a top sales producer, we need to be good at learning what people want and whythey want it

 Recently, I was talking with a neighbor about yard work.  Bill, (not his real name) said that he could not understand why I put fertilizer on my 1 ½ acre lawn.  Counting the lawn care service and the $4 gallon gas that my mower uses, we probably spend well over $1000 per year, and that is just for the lawn.  As reflected in the J.P. Morgan quote above, I had two answers to his question.  First, the one that sounds good:  I respect my neighbors, and don’t want to grow weeds that will blow on their yard.  Doesn’t that sound nice?  OK, now for the real reason:  I like hitting golf balls in my back yard, and I love the feel of soft, cushioning grass as I walk along.  I imagine that I am playing on one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world.  Quirky, Huh?  Here’s another story…

A client of mine just spent nearly $2000 for hardwood mulch for his house.  He doesn’t like mulch, and he certainly doesn’t like spending $2000 for a bunch of old, ground up wood.  So what does he like?  As he puts it, “When I drive up to my house after coming home after work, I want to be proud of the way my house looks.  I want to feel good just looking at it”.  Is that feeling worth $2000 to him?  Yes.

Why is this important?  The whole sales process hinges on us finding out that emotionally driving factor that will be most dominant in a person wanting to buy our product or service.   When objections arise, we will always go back to what they said they wanted (like that feeling of driving up the driveway).  When we refer back to this dominant buying motive, we are in a much better position to sell.  If we haven’t uncovered this information, we run the risk of hearing that dreaded phrase, “Let me think about it”

So how do we find the dominant driver?  We ask for it.  What do we need to do before we ask?  Build trust so they are comfortable sharing their silly motive.

I leave you with this thought:  There were over one million drill bits sold last year.  Here is the funny part…there are very few drill bit collectors.  When people buy a bit, they have something they want it to do, and we need to make sure we uncover what that is.

Posted: May 29, 2012 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

Having more free time is great…but…

What if you awoke tomorrow morning to discover you had been given all the money you needed and could do or own anything your heart desired?  In addition, as a bonus, you have been given all the free time you desired.  Does that sound like a nice picture to be in?  Not so fast.  Studies have shown that people who win big in the lottery do not necessarily become the happiest people.  It has also been noted in the book, “The Millionaire Next Door” that 70% of all millionaires did not get their money from inheritance.

Just having what we wish for does not automatically mean we will manage well.  Managing money and time takes skill and  discipline.

Some of you may have heard of Parkinson’s Law.  It says, “Work expands to fill the amount of time available” I remember one time when I was involved in a weekly evening commitment that lasted once a week for 14 weeks.  Towards the end, I was thinking, “That will be neat with I get that extra day back.  There is so much I could get to”

The end of the commitment came, and what did I find myself doing on that newly re-gained evening?  Yes, I decided to just crash and watch television – for the most part, a passive activity.   There were all these hobbies I had thought about starting, and groups that I wanted to join and courses I wanted to take.   All that stayed in the deep freeze.  I fell victim to Parkinson’s Law.

This taught me a lesson:  If I work on my time management skills to free up extra time, I need to have a plan for what I will do with that time.   I enjoy working on my scrapbook, riding bikes, being involved in Church activities, and spending time in our den engaged in quality conversation with my wife.  So you might be saying, “Hey, that is fine for you.  For me, I just want to lie in the hammock” No problem.  If you have taken time to think of what is important to you, and lying in the hammock is at the top of the list, go for it.  The key here is that you activity is intentional, and not by default.  Who knows, you may dream up the world’s next greatest invention while in the hammock, or figure out a way to communicate better with your kids.

Let’s boil it down to five steps:

1. Decide how much time you want to free up.
2. Take inventory of your time.
3. Ask yourself:  What can I combine, eliminate, or delegate?
4. Compute the amount of free time you will free up.
5. Make a plan for how you will improve the quality of your life with that time

Posted: May 21, 2012 | Categories: Management

Last night I was at a social event with some old friends.  My friend Bob started talking about his job and the company he worked for.  He was frustrated. He is the sales manager for a contracting firm.  It is a family company that has now entered their third generation of leadership.  Bob described his situation to me:

Being a contractor, they bid for work.  Like most contractors today, they are finding they must compete against many other bidders rather than just 2 or 3 like before the economic crunch.  Current conditions dictate that they must fight harder for a “bigger piece of a smaller pie” This means smaller profit margins, and with rising fixed costs and pricing pressure, the focus turns to building a more productive team.  To get a more productive team, leadership, teamwork, and communication must be strong.  Bob saw a gap here.  Rather than listen to him complain, I threw it back to him and said, “So what needs to be done?”  In his answer, he “nailed it”. Here are the steps he outlined:

Build a business plan:  They need a business plan…I mean a real business plan that details specific goals and well-crafted strategies that clearly map how to reach your objectives.

Define roles:  There is a lack of clarity and that is creating confusion.  This results in gaps, overlaps, things slipping through the cracks, misinformation, finger-pointing, blame, etc.  Imagine major league baseball if roles were not defined.  You would have people colliding with one another and no one covering for a player who was drawn off base or out of position.

Compensation plan:  Bob did not have a compensation plan.  Strong companies take the time and care to personalize compensation plans that help direct people towards desired goals.

Create team synergy:  Get the whole team involved in problem solving.  Create an environment of idea fluency, problem solving, and positive action.

Summing it up, to keep healthy profit margins, keep your people happy and engaged by:

1.  Building a business plan with clearly defined goals
2. Create a team environment that is open and knows how to solve problems.
3. Build quality compensation plans that are personalized and designed to motivate.

Most important to remember:  Strive to keep your team happy, engaged, and at the lowest possible level of frustration.  When we are frustrated, we are not focused.  When we are focused, we are positioned to be most productive.  When we are productive…up go profits!

Posted: April 27, 2012 | Categories: Leadership

“History has repeatedly been changed by people who had the desire and the ability to transfer their convictions and emotions to their listeners.”

-Dale Carnegie

When I first read the above quote from Dale Carnegie, I began to reflect on numerous examples that validated this statement.  The Gettysburg Address, Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, and FDR’s “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” radio address all took ahold of history and turned the page.

The good news is that the same fundamentals hold true for us.  When we can transfer our thoughts and convictions to a group (public speaking) we are in a position of potential big influence.

This morning I was coaching a client who manages a group of sales managers in the Midwest.  He works for a large company that has undergone major change in the past two years.  Their method of compensation and information management system have been totally changed.  This has caused stress and frustration in the team and Bill (not his real name) was determined to change history and lead his team positively forward toward the numerous opportunities before them.  He was given an opportunity to present to the whole team, and here is how he did it:

Humor:  He used good, healthy, laugh-at-life humor wherever he could and this made his team more relaxed.

Personal example:  He shared his own frustrations he had endured going through all the change, and others were able to relate.

Example to illustrate:  He told a powerful story about someone who had benefited from their product.  This re-ignited the enthusiasm of the team.

Vision:  With enthusiasm and passion, he articulated the vision that lay ahead.  The group liked it.  They were ready to engage.

As a result of his presentation, attitudes changed from skeptical and frustrated to excited and triumphant.  Here is what we can do to generate similar results:

1. Remind ourselves of why we are so excited about our work.
2. Think of examples of stories we can have fun with that will illustrate this excitement.
3. Construct the clear action or thinking we want to leave with the group.
4. Get in front of a group
5. Expect progress

And remember the words of Goethe:  “Be bold…and might forces will come to your aid!”