Posted: February 27, 2020 | Categories: Customer service, Sales

The simplest and most accurate description of selling that I have seen is to “create and keep customers”.  That sounds nice.  We just need to be careful we don’t gloss over the second part of this statement…KEEPING CUSTOMERS.  I find that this part is often overlooked.  To keep a customer we need to build a comfort zone around them that is so powerful it cannot be penetrated.

I have a comfort zone story:  In the summer of 1974, I had just moved up to the Chicago area and was looking for a barber.  My current barber was outstanding, but he was in Kansas.  I was forced out of my comfort zone.  So, Mike and I began.  He was a great barber, and I now had a new comfort zone.  He was with me through the times of my life, including the haircut he gave me to look good for my wedding in June, 1978.  We were born the same year, so hi age was perfect.

The years rolled on, and in 1989 I moved to a suburb 40 miles away from Mike’s shop.  That’s OK.  I made the drive each month to get my haircut from Mike.  Then, one day I called for an appointment, and Mike had no openings.  I needed a haircut, and I was forced out of my comfort zone.  I went to another barber locally.  Scott took care of me, and did a good job.  He wasn’t Mike, but then again, Mike wasn’t him.  31 years later, Scott is still my barber.  I never went back to Mike, but I did give him a courtesy call and thanked him for the years of service. This experience taught me a lesson:  Comfort zones are very powerful, and if we don’t create them for our customers, they can easily be snatched away.  Do you have a strategy and specific action plan for keeping your valued customers, or do you take them for granted?  Remember the old dental commercial:  “Customers are like teeth…ignore them and they will go away!”

Posted: January 7, 2020 | Categories: Presentation skills, Sales, Self-Improvement

“You can get anything you want if you help enough other people get what they want”

–  Zig Ziglar

Mr. Ziglar shared his priceless secret.  As much sense as it makes, I still see so many folks trying to be persuasive by talking about what they want.  Sorry to burst your bubble…most people aren’t thinking about what you want:  They are thinking about what they want.

For example, many years ago I was working with a manager on her communication skills with her boss.  She wanted her boss to give her a raise, and when she approached him he wasn’t receptive.  We talked about her strategy, and changed it to a WIFM discussion.  (What’s in it for me?).  She talked in terms of what her boss wanted.  Here is what happened in her own words:

“On Tuesday of this week I met with my boss and asked for my promotion.  This has been a sore point for well over a year now, and this time I tried a different approach.  I laid out figures and talked about what he was interested in, and how I had helped meet some of his main corporate objectives,  Towards the end, he said, “Maybe it’s time we started paying you for the management job you are doing”.  It works! 

Some sales professionals need to learn from Barb.  Instead of saying, “I want to meet with you”, say something like, “I help people achieve more peace of mind with their financial future.  I may be able to do the same for you.  My goal in calling you is to set a time when we can get together, understand your situation and what you are looking to do, and see if we have some common ground.  Would you like to set a time?”

When selling yourself or your ideas, remember to talk in terms of the other person’s interest.  You will have more success!

Posted: November 18, 2019 | Categories: Management, Sales

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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Posted: November 6, 2019 | Categories: Customer service, Sales

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.

Posted: October 4, 2019 | Categories: Customer service, Sales, Self-Improvement

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)