Track Selling Times: The Voice of the Sales Profession

Track Selling Times - October, 1999

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Track Selling Times
The Voice of the Sales Profession
Issue No. 119
October 1, 1999
Published by Max Sacks International,
Home of 100% Guaranteed World Class Sales Training, and
Developers of the Track Selling System™.
Author/Editor: Roy Chitwood, President, MSI
Archives of this Newsletter are available at
http://www.maxsacks.com/newsletter.html

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In this issue:
Feature:

" Approach or Qualification: Which Comes First "
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE

Sections:

" Honesty and the Taxman: Tom Brunberg "

" Act, Don't React, by Dan Kallestad "

Focus on the Professional: Niki Bohne
Ask Roy
Survey Newsletter Archives

"Approach or Qualification:
Which Comes First"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE

The first goal in sales is to establish rapport. To do this effectively involves steps one and two of the Track Selling System, Approach and Qualification. Occasionally, salespeople are confused about the order of these two steps and how they and how they should be used to establish rapport.

Some salespeople say Approach must always come first in order to build trust. These individuals will immediately discuss the weather, the stock market or sporting events on every sales call, convinced this helps to establish a bond with the prospect.

On the other hand, there are salespeople who believe the Qualification step should take precedence. These are the individuals who promote the 'straight-to-point,' no-frills approach, feeling it is important to show respect for prospects' time.

Accordingly, they believe that being subjected to unwanted Monday night football analyses or inane chatter about El Nino represents a diversion or distraction from the business at hand. While these sales pros focus solely on sales and business-specific matters, their critics may argue this style is impersonal, with rapport coming slowly or not at all. The question is, 'Who's right?'

Although both are partially correct, neither provides a factual, workable method of selling. Each will sometimes function, but just as frequently fall short.

Why?

Because both call for a canned approach to selling as a substitute for the most important ingredient of rapport building - judgment.

The truth is that you have to be aware of the person in front of you. Some want to discuss nothing but the immediate nuts and bolts of the sale. You must oblige them by steering clear of small talk or predictions about the World Series outcome - at least for the time being.

Similarly, there are many other times when the prospect will only express involvement in a presentation once he/she has become relaxed through skillful building of rapport. Once this is established, the conversation can be swung easily into the Qualification step.

The most crucial point to grasp about the first two steps of the sales process (Approach and Qualification), therefore is that they don't have to be done in a particular order. Rather, the correct sequence is determined by the prospect's frame of mind. If he/she wants to talk brass tacks, don't bring up the presidential candidates. By the same token, if the prospect is stiff and not communicating, by all means establish rapport.

But whichever path you travel at the beginning of the sale, before you move on to Step 3 (Agreement on Need), you have to complete both the Approach and the Qualification.

Perhaps all will become clear to those who dislike 'buttering up' the prospect, when we deal with WHAT to talk about. Instead of a few pat phrases, find out what the PROSPECT wants to talk about and discuss that. Once rapport has been built, move on to Qualification and the sales process will remain intact.

On the other hand, if small talk is spurned by the customer, complete the Qualification step immediately. But don't forget to go back to the Approach and personally create a connection with the prospect. Otherwise, your sale will soon run aground.

Integrity Pays:
"Honesty and the Taxman: Tom Brunberg"

Tom Brunberg is managing shareholder and president of CPA firm Brunberg, Thoresen, Diaby & Associates Ltd. of Minneapolis. He relates this story about a wealthy businessman's encounter with the IRS.

"One of my clients included an airplane among his business expenses, always claiming a substantial amount for travel and entertainment in his annual returns. Possibly as a direct consequence, each year he would be subjected to an audit. When we were verifying his records, we discovered a small mistake with regard to the meal and entertainment expenses - a $50 item that had been marked as $500."

What did you do?

"We determined that it was our error. We then discussed with the client whether we should volunteer the information to the auditor or only admit to it if he stumbled upon it. We both agreed that we should bring the mistake to his attention early in the proceedings."

What was the reasoning behind the decision?

"We've found that it is always better to be both truthful and professional in our business dealings. If you try to cover your tracks, you run the risk of antagonizing the auditor, who has the power to extend the audit for several days. This ends up costing the client a significant amount on professional fees and taxpayer costs. That's why, after a few initial questions, we interrupted the IRS agent, pointed out the error and stated the true facts concerning it."

What was the result?

"The auditor was so impressed that we would offer such information ethically and trustfully, that he proceeded to go through the basic facts of the return, entirely skipping the airplane log itself. Yet this log had been poured over in past audits by agent after agent. I believe we saved the client eight to 12 hours in professional fees. Interestingly, that was several years back and he's never been audited since."

What conclusions do you draw from this?

"Although it was a relatively minor amount in terms of the client's total expenses, we felt the principle was important. What we didn't realize, though, was just how important such truthfulness was to the auditor. It really served to establish trust between us. After that, he verified a few more facts, saw that everything checked out and decided to pass on the rest."

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Tom Brunberg can be contacted at Tbrunberg@brunberg.net.

World Class Sales Management:
"Act, Don't React, "
by Dan Kallestad
President
KalStamp Industries Inc., Chino, CA.

Running a tool and die and metal stamping operation, I often inherit the hat of resolver of deadline issues with regular customers. Usually, these stem from an oversight on the client's part. Someone dropped the ball in reordering certain parts and, all of a sudden, that company is faced with an emergency. To be effective in these situations, it is essential to act, not react, no matter the provocation.

For example, a series of parts that normally take eight weeks for us to produce might be demanded in three. An executive jumps on it, assumes it is our fault and calls me to demand our commitment to fulfilling that impossible target. The only way to cope is to manage these relationships in a professional manner.

That's why I employ the Track Selling System in these touchy areas, especially the Qualification step. I find that customers often don't understand their own needs, and that I have to assist them in precisely defining them.

First, I ask that they help me to understand the exact problem. Do they need the entire order, just three pieces or an alternative solution that may buy us some time. By progressing in this fashion, I can often resolve the issue and deliver close to the deadline.

However, there are times when it becomes clear that we will have to go above and beyond the call of duty to meet the clients' demands. Again, I diplomatically make it clear that as our suppliers may charge us a premium, they must be willing to meet those extra costs, if required. During these negotiations, I always remain calm and ask open-ended questions

The way I look at it, we are actually securing repeat business by selling our company during these flaps. The Track Selling System is not just for the initial sale. It is an essential ingredient in maintaining client relations and customer service.

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Dan Kallestad can be contacted at Kalstamp@earthlink.net.

Focus on the Professional - Niki Bohne

Niki Bohne is a management consultant at Brown & Company, of Minneapolis, a CPA and management consulting firm. She is a recent graduate of the Track Selling System and is enjoying spectacular results.

"I'd begrudgingly operated in sales for about two years. I suffered from preconceived ideas about being a salesperson - that it was somehow a dirty thing to do. As a result, I was uncomfortable on sales calls and never asked for the sale. Instead, I waited for them to call and say that they'd like to buy."

How effective was this?

"As you can imagine, I didn't close a lot of sales. I was haunted by the old stereotype of the pushy, insincere salesperson. Looking back, I realized that I wasn't really selling, so much as presenting."

What did you learn from the Track Selling System?

"I loved the logical, step-by step approach. And when I had the opportunity to go on sales calls with a Track Selling System veteran, I realized what an effective method it was. The use of transitional phases like, "If we ... can you think of any reason why we shouldn't go ahead?" is incredibly effective."

What about the results?

"I'm now comfortable in a sales scenario and have lost my preconceived ideas about the profession. Amazingly, within five days of the workshop, I beat the sales volume for any annual total over the past five years in my department. Now I willing to become a true sales professional."

Niki Bohne can be contacted at niki@brownandco.com.

Ask Roy

Dennis Davenport from Durham, New Hampshire, asks,

" My boss tells me I have to do everything exactly the way he does when I make sales calls. He always talks about the Red Sox, no matter who he sees. Me? I hate baseball. Yet he insists on me opening with the latest on the Wild Card race. How do I overcome my lack of interest in this sport? My boss thinks it's what's holding me back in sales. "

Roy's Answer:

"You don't have to become a baseball fanatic to achieve success in sales. It may help, especially if you sell to sporting enthusiasts, but it isn't essential. The real secret to breaking the ice is being able to find something the prospect wants to talk about that is also of interest to you. Once both of you get going on a topic of mutual reality or concern, rapport builds quickly. "

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