December 2002 Track Selling Times Focus on the Professional
 Focus on the Professional -
"Ken McCrocklin"
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(From March 1999 Track Selling Times)
Ken McCrocklin is president and owner of Alpha Omega Consulting of
Thousands Oaks CA, a marketing and sales company specializing in finding
business for companies that do not have a sales force.
Alpha Omega focuses on software and consulting companies with a lengthy
sales cycle ranging anywhere from $2 million to $60 million. Ken has 25
years of sales experience.
"Let me tell you how I used to sell before Track Selling. I'd sit down
and let people tell me a little of what they wanted. Within minutes, I
assumed I knew what their needs were and proceeded to do all the
talking. Surprisingly, I had some success, though as often as not I'd
run into problems."
What changed when you completed Track Selling?
"Nowadays I might spend one full day or several visits fully understanding
the exact needs of the client. Here's how I work:
I send a letter to someone I don't know, and a week later I call up for
an appointment. My first aim is to get to know the prospect as a
person, so it usually takes two or three visits to really accomplish
this and achieve a firm grasp of the business they're in. By this
point, the only thing I've sold is myself. Once that is accomplished, I
do a presentation based on what they've told me. My closing ratio is
80-85 percent."
How do you get high-level executives to agree to spend time with you?
"For me, sales is part science and part art. Track Selling lays out the
exact mechanics of the sales process, and you really can't function
without it. Within that framework, however, there is tremendous room
for flare and individuality. Let me give you an example. Say your
target executive is receiving 30,000 letters a year. To make mine stand
out, I might enclose a book on leadership and use it to secure a few
minutes with the prospect. Usually, 15 minutes turns into one hour, and
before I leave, I find a reason to come back"
How about people who brush you off?
"Someone once brushed me off seven times over the phone,
so I sent him an expensive brass door knocker, engraved with his name along
with a note saying, 'As I'm knocking on your door, how about you listen to
what I've got to say.'"
"But even with all the flare in the world, if you don't know Track
Selling, you'll run aground. My advice to newcomers and seasoned
professionals alike would be to take a Max Sacks workshop and then work
hard at becoming expert in its application."
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