Every business has a process. Many times the process operates silently behind the scenes – keeping operations humming – and unbeknownst to the customer. The only times an individual becomes aware of the process is when it breaks down. This comes typically when a customer’s request/complaint/suggestion does not fit into the business process.

Sales has a process too. It is the map for success for the salesperson. It is the beginning, the fallback, and the foundation for a sales organization. Many times most sales people cannot articulate what their sales process is.

“Me, me, me…” – Agent Smith

“… me too!” — Agent Smith, from Matrix: Reloaded

The Typical Sales Process

When the average sales person is pressed to communicate their sales process this is the usual answer:

• Sales lead comes in – or – call list is given to sales rep
• Call lead – or – name on list
• Make presentation and overcome objections
• Close sale

An Unsuccessful Sales Process. Is this yours?

Pretty simple process, eh? Typically all things that are successful in life are easy to communicate, understand and execute. What is wrong with this process is that it does not identify how to qualify, service, consult, and partner with your customer or client. It does not make every sales contact an event that enhances the customer experience and/or strengthen the business relationship. It is a sales process that is about the salesperson and not the customer. In the end it is a process that does not successfully lead to repeat business.

Consumers are statistics. Customers are people — Stanley Marcus

The Successful Sales Process

A successful sales process is a framework that is adjustable to the client/customer’s needs, desires, and will make them (your client) successful. It requires a sales person to truly understand the dynamics involved in the decision making process. The first being that all buying decisions made by customers are made with emotion not logic. The second being that it is the value perceived by the customer that triumphs over the value you feel you are giving.

The successful sales process is an infinite circle of six steps:

Steps One – Research
Whether you are given a lead, call list, or you must hunt for the business you need to know what forces affect your customers’ business, markets, and decisions. Before you even pick up the phone, post a letter, or send an email you need to qualify if they are the right clients for you.

Step Two – Make The Call
This call is about two things – learn who, how, what, when, and where decisions are made from the primary source: your client; and get the appointment for your sales call.

Step Three – Research In-depth
This research builds upon what you have done in step one. It is specific to your sales call that you are going to have with your customer. Here you will learn more about the company, the decision maker, and any other information that will help you exceed their need.

Step Four – Pre-Call Plan
Some salespeople typically like to link this with step three. It is ill advised; because the pre-call plan is narrowing down all the data you have gotten from your research to a specific call. The pre-call plan is where you will practice your presentation, anticipate objections, role-play the sales call, and build a framework in how you want the call to go.

Step Five – The Sales Presentation/Call
This is it… where all the work from steps one through four will give you the edge and help your customer win.

Step Six – Close for Business
Ask your customer what it is you want them to do: sign here, buy ten units, fill out this form, or whatever it is they must do to help you make the sale. If they say “No” well you close for another chance to present how they will win with you.

The Successful Sales Process

The beauty of this process is that it is never ending and it has specific actions that must occur before you move to the next step, but allows you to skip when needed. For instance, let’s say your customer said “No” when you closed. You can move to step three and begin your in-depth research right there in the call. The information you get from your customer can lead you to finding solutions and skip to step five immediately while you are in the sales presentation. If that is not appropriate, you have a starting point and reasons to return.

This sales process, conversely, can be used if you win the sale. Now that you have got your foot in the door you can research for referrals, other departments, and how to better improve your delivery service to your clients.

The great seal of truth is simplicity — Herman Boerhaave

Six Simples Steps

As mentioned above, successful processes are simple to understand, communicate, and execute. So are the six steps of the successful sales process. What makes this process the best is that it is about the customer, the customer, and the customer. It is a sales process that is not about the salesperson at all.

It is amazing what the power of social media can do.

Someone in my LinkedIn network had an update about another software platform called SocialGrow. They used a video from Xtranormal, which has pre-cut computer animated scenes. All you have to do is type in a script, place some camera angles, and… you have a movie! It is even easier than iMovie.

Here is what I cam up with.

In the right marketing hands this can be a very powerful tool!

There is a cost to publishing your video but for a small business it is very minimal i.e. under $100. The downside is that there is a limit in the expressions and you cannot upload your own music or sounds. If you keep your videos short — say under two minutes — then it should not be too much of a problem.

Be on the lookout as I have found a new tool to use!

Great sales start with even greater detailed meticulous planning.  All the homework, research, and effort you put into your pre-call sales plan will lead to great conversations and even larger sales.  The proof of this is in your own experiences and in the habits of the highly successful salespeople in your company.

Putting in the effort to plan for your sales call removes the risk of error, nasty surprises, and wasting of time.  The more you prepare, the easier the sales call is.  In fact it is so easy it is like having a great conversation!

Doctor, bare with me.  You and I are going to be looking at this presentation for the very first time. – Anonymous Salesperson

Failure To Plan Is A Plan To Failure

Yet most salespeople do not do anything in regards to pre-call sales planning.  (Looking up information in your computer before you walk in to a call does not count as pre-call sales planning.  It is more like cramming for a test.)  The excuses as to why not are as numerous as the stars in the sky.  You have:

• I know all there is to know about my customer.  I have been calling on them for years!
• I have so much to do that there is no time!  Besides, I have practiced my presentation numerous times.
• The data is old, wrong, and not applicable to my customer.
• A personal favorite… Hmmm, let me think about it and I’ll look up some information after the call.

Do any of these sounds familiar?  Have you said them yourself before?

You know when a call goes bad because you did not plan at all for it.  Questions sound awkward.  The customer is politely listening but you can see in their eyes they feel sorry for you or even begging that you end the torture.  What was once an hour appointment is done in ten minutes.  You never even get the chance to ask for the business and if you do it is completely inappropriate.

The sales call is so bad, so horrible, that you even consider becoming a hermit.  If you do not have that insight and you cannot understand why you are not making sales… well, what does your pre-call sales plan look like?

Meticulous planning will enable everything a man does to appear spontaneous. – Mark Caine.

9 Steps To Pre-Call Planning

1. Review all the sales notes, previous contracts, previous buying habits, and other information on the customer you are going to call on.
   • If it is a brand new prospect – review who their vendors are, buying habits for same priced items, and how they win business.
2. Review the image of the company you are going to visit by looking at their website, facebook, twitter, blog, and any other information you can find on the internet.
3. If the company is public review their annual report.  This will help you see how profitable they are, what their vision is for the future, and if they have announced any major plans that will effect your business.
   • If you know other vendors that work with your client/customer talk to them.  Find out about payments, length of contract negotiations, and who they turn to in times of trouble.
4. Google who you are meeting with and where.  If they are on LinkedIn, see how removed you are from them and if you can get connected.
5. Compile the information from your research and look for gaps in information.
   • You will turn these gaps into “areas of interest.”
   • Create a hypothesis as to why these gaps in information exist.
6. Write open-ended questions that will test your hypothesis and help you fill in the information gaps.
7. Visualize the sales call:
   • How do you expect it to go?
   • What will you do if you are cut short?
   • What will you do if you are given more time?
   • Where do you expect the customer give you objections?
   • When do you want to close the sale?
8. Create anticipated objections from the information you have gathered.
9. Practice your sales presentation with your questions in front of the mirror, your friends/family, and in the car.

A lot of my time was spent searching, thinking and planning my life. – Ryan White

Time Invested = Big Money

Pre-call sales planning is a time consuming process that reaps huge rewards.  You are likely to spend more time on the pre-call plan than you are on the actual sales call.  That is okay.  It means that you are digging deep to understand more about the needs of your customer.  It means that you are preparing to enter into a deep conversation that will be enlightening and have an impact.

What most salespeople do not like is the fact that proper pre-call sales planning takes time away from other things, like watching TV.  Yes, you have been called out.  The dirty little secret is that you, the salesperson, get paid the big bucks because you do not punch in/out on a set schedule.  Sales can occur at anytime.  Therefore you have to use your downtime to plan, practice, and prepare for success.

Will you use everything that you have planned for?  Most likely not, but you will be prepared.  That preparation equals confidence, which equals being ready for anything.  Having that feeling you will walk into any presentation, sales call, or meeting looking taller, stronger, and calmer than the other people in the room.  Your confidence will rub off on everyone else.   You will feel as ready as ever to take on the world.

The great conversation – the magic – that happens from investing your time into pre-call sales planning will result in larger sales.

How do you plan for sales success? What are some examples of pre-call sales planning failures?

When it comes to sales questions are amazing wonderful tools.  Sadly when it comes to all the practicing, pre-call planning, and preparation that sales professionals do it seems that questions fall by the wayside.  Which is too bad because questions make for great conversations and help the participants of the sales call find winning solutions.

Great questions provoke thought.  They make the listener stop and think.  Great questions elicit honest and at times emotional responses.  Great questions help you, the salesperson, reach a deeper understanding of your client.  In return you will gain a respect most salespeople could only dream of through your desire to learn more.

Did you or did you not order the ‘code red?!?’ – Lieutenant Kaffee from A Few Good Men

What Do You Want To Know?

Even a street vendor knows to ask great questions.

First reason why most salespeople do not ask insightful questions is because they do no know what it is that they want to know.  In not knowing they ask fluff questions or the like to “move the conversation along” without giving a thought to their customer.  This is akin to being forced to watch a torturous PowerPoint presentation (as if there is any other kind.)  Their customers’ thoughts, feelings, and interests are secondary to the sales presentation.

It is easy to recognize such poor questions because they sound awkward, mistimed, and forced.

In order to begin to have great questions you have to hypothesize about your customer.  Yes, you are making assumptions but you not going to act on them.  Instead you are going to formulate questions that test your assumptions and either confirm or refute your hypothesis.

You have to know what it is that you wish to understand about your customer.  Then ask it – directly to your customer.  It is always amazing how many salespeople ask questions that are vague and/or require the customer to answer a series of them.   The only result is to make the salesperson look foolish and frustrate the customer.

Successful stellar salespeople do all the necessary preparation to identify what it is they specifically want to know.  They write questions that are clear and direct that will elicit an answer.  They use the answers they receive to provide valuable clear information that will help their customer buy.

All nonsense questions are unanswerable. – C. S. Lewis

5 Steps To Create Great Questions

• Write down what you want to know. During your pre-call planning, as you sift through all your information, write down what you want to know about your customers actions, buying habits, business needs, and desires.
• Come up with a hypothesis to your customer’s actions.
• Write open-ended questions (those that start with Who, What, Where, Why, When, and How) that will give you answers to what you want to know and test your hypothesis.
• Practice asking your questions out loud, if they sound awkward to you and others then you need to revise them.
• Keep a record of the questions you ask that elicit deep responses. Use this record to build better questions and follow-up questions.

Successful people ask better questions, and as result, they get better answers. – Tony Robbins

Never Fear The Answers

Another reason why most salespeople do not ask great questions (or even ask them at all) is that they fear the answer.  That fear goes beyond hearing “No” and enters the realm of losing control of the sales call.  Fear that they will not be able to respond to whatever answer the customer comes back with.  Fear that they will not be of value at all.

That is true test of sales!  Great salespeople never fear the answers.  The love them, embrace them, and recognize that the answers – while possibly taking a sales call to the edge – give the salesperson the information necessary to help the customer.   The answers help turn the sales call into a great conversation and build a foundation of trust in the business relationship.

Never fear the answers because in them you will find valuable feedback that will make your products/services better.  You will learn how your competition is positioning against you.  You will learn novel uses of your products.  You will learn the truth about your customers.

What are some the best questions you have heard or used?

I was once told that when a customer gives you an objection that the selling really begins.  The theory being that there is interest by the customer but they need a reason to buy.  Their objections are there for you to help them justify buying.

Well, I object!

Sorry to cut your head off with that answer.

When a customer asks a question, it is just that… a question.  Sadly many salespeople see it as means to dig deeper and present harder.  You see they have been trained to do a number of steps to overcome the objection and win the sale.  Instead they simply talk past the customer – the one politely listening and nodding – that wishes the torture would just end.  Most times, the sale is never made and another customer is annoyed.

Doubt me?  Be the customer and go engage in a sales conversation.  Ask a question and watch how the salesperson goes through their steps.  You will be amazed about how they never really answer your question.  That is because they are overcoming an objection.

If you are in sales, do you do the same thing?

The way you see people is the way you treat them. – Zig Ziglar

Does It Come In Blue?

So how do you overcome the sales trap of overcoming the “objection”?  Easy, recognize that a question is just a question.  That is a question is a tool used to learn more, to become better informed, and to weigh the pros/cons of a decision.  If you believe a great sales call is a stellar conversation, then you know that questions are an integral part of great conversations.

Imagine you are at a car dealership looking at a brand new car.  You are listening to the salesperson present all the features that this car has.  You ask a question, “Does it come in blue?”  Which answer would you prefer?

A)   Yes it does! We’ve got one on the lot right now, would you like to test drive it?

B)   How do you feel about the color blue?

C)   Yes.

D)   We’ve got over ten different colors to choose from; blue is one of them.

Is this your sales process?

If you are a standard salesperson than three of those answers will do.  Most of them answer the question as an objection and do not seek to find out more from you.  You might like blue, hate blue, or simply don’t care.  What you do care about – what 99.9% of all customers care about – is being listened to.  Therefore there is only one choice above that is correct.

To answer a customer’s question you first need to understand the thought process behind the question.  So by answering the question with a question you are demonstrating that you are listening and seeking to better understand the needs of your client.  You are using the tools of a great conversation.  The answer your client gives you will determine if it is just a question or some deeper need.

Remember, you only have to succeed the last time. – Brian Tracy

Sales Is Not A Process

Each sales call you have with a client is unique.  You cannot place a process upon it.  Sales calls do not follow an algorithm.  A sales call simply has a beginning, middle, and an end.  What happens in between is different from sales call to sales call.

When you treat sales as a process you might as well be telling your customers that you see it like an automatic phone system.  The ones that ask you to listen to options and make choices.  (Oddly those options are never what you need when you call.)  The same automatic phone systems that follow an algorithm designed to make it difficult for you to actually get in contact with a human being.  I have yet to meet a person who enjoys going through that torture.

If sales calls are not a process then the questions a customer gives you are not objections to be plugged into a flow chart, but a means to engage you, the salesperson, in a conversation.  Your job is to listen and seek to understand what information the customer needs to make an informed decision.  Heaven forbid, you might even have a conversation with your customer!

What are your thoughts on objections vs. questions?

I am guilty as the next person.  I get offended if I walk into a store and no one asks if they can help me.  Yet, if they do, I completely blow them off.  It is as if I am looking forward to telling them that I am “just looking”.  The reality is that I have been trained to respond to a specific set of “sales” behavior and when I don’t get it… well I am just offended by the poor customer service!

Yes I like bad openers.  We all do really because stores get graded poorly if the salesperson does not ask us the bare minimum, “Can I help you?”  That is right… you, me, the person on the train/plane/car lane next to you… we expect bad openers.

That has translated into most sales professionals having contrived uninteresting boorish presentation starters.  These range from the “How would you feel if I told you that you could ____________?” to “Hi, I am here to _____________ about ____________.”  (If this were a Madlibs you could have a great time filling in those blanks!)  None of them reach out and grab your attention.  I believe it comes from two things:

1.)  Fear of being told that the client is “just looking.”

2.)  Some internal desire to transfer the torture of practicing a sales pitch over and over without regards as to who will actually hear it.  (Imagine if you will a salesperson saying to himself, I don’t care how I get into the sales presentation! As long as I do, I am a success!

You do not want to be like this, you want to be different.

Somebody is boring me.  I think it is me. – Dylan Thomas

One Chance To Get It Right

Successful sales people do not just have a presentation, a canned opener, and stock questions.  No, they train themselves to have detailed intense (some could say almost intimate) conversations with their customers.  They start by having an opener that will spark that conversation, realizing that each conversation is a different event and each customer is unique.  How you get to that level is through belief and practice.

To build special insightful conversations that will make your clients want to buy from you, refer to you, and rely upon you then you must make these fundamentals core to your salesmanship:

Belief….

• You must believe that each customer is unique and different.
• You must believe that each contact with a customer can educate you and them.
• You must believe that the interaction you will have may be life altering.
• You must believe that no one can help them like you.

Practice…

• Asking open-ended questions that keep a conversation alive.
• Practice different ways to open a conversation with a complete stranger.
• Smiling.
• Listening.
• Talking professionally for measured impact.

Leave no interaction to chance.

That last part implies that you have only one chance to get it right.  Just like your first impression, not matter what you do afterwards it leaves a lasting mark.  So too should you approach each sales call as if it is the one opportunity to get it right.  When think of a sales conversation as such, you will remove as much randomness as possible.

Stellar salespeople believe in themselves and their clients.  Stellar salespeople practice earnestly with creativity so that their interspersing of product information is natural and not forced.  Stellar salespeople do all the necessary preparation to make sure that chance is removed from the equation.   All of this translates into stellar salespeople having openers that don’t sound like openers, instead they sound like the beginning of a beautiful conversation.

You can be that way too, if you desire.

Salesmanship is an art; the perfection of its technique requires study and practice. – J. C. Penney

What are some of the worst openers you have experienced?

You ever have a great conversation that changes the way you view things?  You know, the type of conversation that makes you use everything you’ve learned, makes you take a stand, and leaves you feeling refreshed.  Ever have one of those?

Did you know that you could have one of those conversations when it comes to your business?

Yes you can.

Engrossed in conversation

It begins with you believing that every sales call is an opportunity to have a conversation with your customer/client.  You must believe that this sales call will challenge they way you think and provide you with an opportunity to educate the other participant(s).   In order to have a successful conversation you have to believe in yourself, your product/services, and in the best interest of your customer.

You have to believe.

A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet. – Truman Capote

Anatomy of A Great Conversation

Close your eyes.  Think back to any of the great conversations you have had in your life.   What components did they have in common?  How did you feel during them?

I bet as you look back through your conversations you will find that the common components were:

• Having time.
• Asking great challenging questions.
• Opening your personal filters to accept new opinions.
• Allowance for a natural flow – give and take.
• Listening.
• Trust.

Notice what is missing?  Intimate knowledge of the other participant who is part of the conversation.  Granted that most great conversations are with family members and/or friends, there are times when they are held with complete strangers.  When they are held with strangers the same components apply.

A conversation goes sometimes into personal things and that’s nicer. You look to each other and you have a different picture, you get into a relationship. – Maximilian Schell

Practice + Sales Call = Great Conversation

So how do you make a sales call into a great conversation?  Well you must have the same components!  To have those same components you have to practice!

You need to believe in what you are going to ask, say, and demonstrate.  They only way to get this belief is to practice.  Practice your sales call in front of a mirror, practice on your family, and practice on your friends/colleagues.  When you practice with others it should not be a “you speak, they listen” approach, instead it should be in the form of a conversation.  This will help you test your questions, respond to objections that might arise, and… practice listening.

Now, I am sure you a saying to yourself, “Hey! Aren’t conversations supposed to be natural and not staged?  What is up with all this practicing?”  The answer is yes, conversations should occur naturally.  The reason to practice is for you to know when and where you will introduce your product’s benefits for your client.  Through practice you will sound natural when you speak about your product information.

Practicing with your dog counts!

Some of the best comedians present their comedy in a conversational way instead of the old setup and punch line.  As you watch them it seems as if they are bringing up all that funny stuff from the top of their heads.  The secret as to why it comes of so natural… practice.

The same is true in discussing your products/services with your clients.  If you do not practice then you will come off as pushy.  You will not truly listen to your client; instead you will only be waiting for your turn to speak to pitch your product.  In comedy they call that crow barring in a joke.  In sales it is called being obnoxious.  The result is failure either way.

Through your practicing you will be confident in yourself, you will believe, and that will build trust, allow for a flow in the conversation, and help you deactivate your personal filters so that you are open to the needs of your customers.  When you do speak you will present your information naturally as if it is a part of your personal belief system.

A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation. – Mark Twain

Applicable To Any Sales Call

Obviously there will be times when you cannot have a conversation because the other party is just not interested in having one.  You will find that to be the exception though as you will be actively engaging with customers that truly desire to be helped and want a conversation that provides it.

Your goal should be that every sales call is a great conversation no matter if it is in social media, in person, webinar, or over the phone.  It can be done through practice.

Let’s talk about the dirtiest word in business.  You know the word.  It is the most important word that means the lifeblood to any business.  The word is… sales.

Person To Person Sales In The Andes

Why is it dirty?  Without sales there can be no revenue, and without revenue there can be no cash to pay salaries and the bills.  Sales are the most important component of business and it is typically the connection a business has with its customers.  Yet… many people don’t want to be known as a salesperson.

Could it be the polyester suit cheesy smile say anything promise everything close close close personality that most people have about salespeople?  Or is it that people who don’t want to be known as a salesperson are afraid of being told “no”?  Is it beneath them to ask for business?

Whatever the reason is without sales a business does not exist.

“We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.” – Alexis de Tocqueville

How To Overcome Your Sales Fear

You are going to be different than most people.  Whether you work for a large corporation or you are in business for yourself, you are going to embrace sales!  You are going to excel at it!

Before you begin your embracement of the dirtiest word in business you need to know what sales is not.  Sales is not…

• Being pushy.
• Wearing polyester plaid suits.
• Cheesy smiles.
• Lying about what your product/services can do.
• Being the perfect “pitchman.”
• Always knowing everything.
• Always talking.

If you think that those traits are part of sales, then you have been sadly misinformed or abused by an annoying salesperson.  Now that you know what sales is not, let’s talk about what sales is…

• Listening.
• Asking questions to learn about needs and be better informed.
• Educating customers and clients about options.
• Searching for the right answers to client questions.
• Sincere smiles and thank you’s.
• Honesty and integrity.
• Practicing.

I am betting that you identify with the traits and characteristics of sales just mentioned.  If you do, then you are ready to be an ultimate salesperson.  The next step is for you need to get rid of your fear.

The fear I am talking about is being told “no.”  To avoid that most people adopt a different personality that is not them.  I call it the “Salesperson Secret Identity”.  Why is it a secret, because even their loved ones wouldn’t recognize them.  They come of as stiff, unbending, not listening and when the pressure hits… pushy.  This all comes from the fear of getting shot down.

Don’t be like that!

Conversing about product quality

Instead recognize that sales is a conversation.  At the end of that conversation you are asking the other participant(s) to do something.  Successful conversations have the traits of what makes a successful salesperson as listed above.

You have conversations everyday in your life.  You are asking others to do things for you and in return they are asking you to do things for them.  It is as natural as breathing.

So unless you have a fear of conversing with another person, then there should really be no reason to fear talking to another person about your product/services.  With that “no” is a natural part of any conversation.

Your fear… easily laid to rest.

“Everyone lives by selling something.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Okay, Not That Easy

Well, actually it really is.  Most things in life are simple.  We allow them to become complicated through our fear, procrastination, and ease to distraction.  By doing so we don’t see how simple it is.

This month the Finding Answers Blog is going to help your remove the barriers, distractions, and fears to help you in sales.

So will you do me a favor and give some of the solutions here a try?

How Old School for the 21st Century

Recently I was approached over the phone by a company that wanted me to purchase keyword advertisement for life.  The idea being that my company would have preferred ad placement when someone searches for specific keywords like business coaching, corporate coaching, etc.  That a few grand up front would have a longer ROI than the horror of pay-per-click when one gets the bill from Google. (I learned to quickly control the content portion of ads after my first bill.)  A pretty straightforward proposition from this company, which is using cold calling as a sales technique to get the business.  Great proposition; bad sales approach!

Being a former “sales guy” I am always eager to be sold to.

There are mountains of papers, books, pamphlets, newsletters, and blog posts about how horrible cold calling is.  It sucks.  Cold calling is not the preferred methodology when it comes to sales.  People hate it when they have to do it and when it is done to them.  Yet, at some point in every business, it happens.   So it happened to me.

“Give him money and watch it burn a hole in his pocket.”

Person To Person Sales In The Andes

Being a former “sales guy” I am always eager to be sold to.  I am looking for a reason to part with my cash.  As my father said, “Give him money and watch it burn a hole in his pocket.”  So very true at times.  The real reason I like to be sold to is that I get a chance to learn from someone else.  I get to listen to their probing techniques; I learn how they handle my objections, and how they swoop in for the close. It is a great chance to receive a sales education.

The sales person did not to build a relationship, which is hard to do over the phone, yet they did not even try.

So that is why I was heart-broken when I told this particular sales person my objection to buying their products/services that they just hung upon me.  This sales person did not try to clarify why I objected (price was the biggest issue), nor did they try to find a way to make me a better offer, and the left me felt feeling… inadequate.  That I was not worthy of being a customer, which my money is not “good enough” to be fought for.  The latter really ticks me off.

For this company I was not the ideal customer most likely, yet when they got their target list for their cold calls I fell on it somehow.  The sales person did not to build a relationship, which is hard to do over the phone, yet they did not even try.  There was no effort to understand what it is my business does and how their services could be of value to me.  All of these are fatal flaws of the cold call.

The result for this company has been to insult a person, who may not be an ideal customer, but who is now motivated to blog “negatively” about the experience.

How can your business avoid this fatal mistake?

• Train your sales team to be ready for push back. Objections are part of every sales call.  There are millions of them.  In fact if you do not get an objection it really means that your customer is not listening or you are not selling.  Why?  Objections mean the customer is engaged with what it is the salesperson is presenting.  It means that the customer is looking for a reason of value to purchase the goods and services you are offering.  It means that – shhh, don’t tell anyone the secret of sales – a conversation is taking place (perish the thought!)
• Cleanse your call file. Just because you have a territory, call list, or computer generated targets does not mean that you have the right customers to call on.  You just have the right names that met the criteria used to find these “clients”, that is all.  You have to make sure that they meet your ideal customer that your business wishes to obtain.  If they do then you pre-call plan how to engage in conversation, visualize how the call will go, and what you expect to happen.  You provide the four steps to ideal customer service during the call and afterwards.  This little bit of effort before the call will result in a tremendous amount of success and long-term sales.
• Train your sales staff to be human. Most people will say that they are “not a sales person” or cannot “be pushy” to be in sales.  That is not what sales is about.  Sales is a conversation between two or more representatives from different businesses or between a business and consumers.  That is sales.  Unless you cannot carry a conversation, most people engage in some of sales whenever they ask for something, then you can perform sales.  While much money has been spent testing scripts, phrases, charts, benefit statements, and pretty pictures by the marketing team, it is up to the salesperson to communicate that information.   Please do it as a human! I beg you! We all beg you!  Which means put the script down, be true yourself and have a conversation!
• Avoid cold calling at all costs. It is a horrible way to do business and its long-term effect is negative perception for short-term gain.  If, heaven forbid, you are forced to go this route, then train your staff to research their targets and build business rapport before even thinking about asking for the business.  Or you’ll get blogs like this.

This most likely was not the intended outcome the company that called me wanted.  Yet this is what they get in return when they do not train their sales team effectively.  You get to learn from their mistakes.

What cold calling stories do you know that have left you freezing?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

Customers are the lifeblood of any business.  Without them your business — any business — cannot survive.  Customers validate your business plans, your products, and the value of your services through their purchases.  So it is always baffling to me why some companies perform customer service poorly.  You do not have to be that way as you will deliver ideal customer service.

Here are four secrets you can use to have ideal customer service:

Give Your Customers Smiles

Operate a velvet rope strategy.  You’ve seen them at dance clubs… the rope line.  Most people wait outside while others can simply walk up and get right in.  Depending on your business can you identify who can walk right into your “club”?  Knowing who is right for your products and services is just as important as the location for your business.  You cannot be all things to all people.  If you try to, you and your business becomes nothing for nobody.  So be discerning when identifying your ideal customer and then give them the velvet rope strategy and let them walk right in.

Let them know you care for the effort they have made by celebrating them.

Reward your customers.  Thank them for their business and celebrate the decision your customers have made.  The decision to invest time and money in your products and services is a commitment of finances and emotions for your customers.  Let them know you care for the effort they have made by celebrating them.  A reward can be a frequent customer program where they earn points for purchases, an advisory board where they can participate in the future of products you wish to offer, or doing something for them that is completely unexpected.  These rewards will build customer loyalty and keep them returning.  There is one caveat to this… you have to be sincere in the delivery of the rewards and consistent.  A constant changing of the rules and/or complications in redeeming rewards will build disloyalty.

Your competition, if they are worthy competitors, will be trying to out do you.

Be exceptional in your delivery. Take time to understand how your competition delivers their customer service then make it your mission to do it better all the time.  Never rest on your laurels when it comes to the delivery of ideal customer service.  Your competition, if they are worthy competitors, will be trying to out do you.  Delivering exceptional customer service means that you get to know your customers beyond the point of sale.  You deliver to them items of value that they will appreciate and come at no cost to you or them.  You work with your customers in their best interests.  You do not let policies triumph over common sense.

Like Woody Allen said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”

Treat your customers better than you would treat yourself. Take the golden rule and kick it up a notch.  Place your customers at the center of your organization and treat them to the utmost respect that you can think of… and then more.  You are not being subservient to your customers, instead you are treating them like a guest in your house, the most important guest you have ever had.  Acting this way will gain the respect of your customers and their loyalty when difficult times arise.

There is a lot of lousy customer service out there in the world.  More than can be imagined.  Like Woody Allen said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”  A little effort on your part will set you above and beyond the competition.  Soon you will more customers than you can imagine when you deliver ideal customer service!

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.