 Track Selling Times - June, 2000
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Track Selling Times
The Voice of the Sales Profession
Issue No. 127
June 1, 2000
Published by Max Sacks International,
Home of 100% Guaranteed World Class Sales Training
Developers of the Track Selling System™.
Author/Editor: Roy Chitwood, President, MSI
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"Selling Successfully in Long, Multiplex Sales Cycles"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE |
One of the major challenges of a long, multiplex sales cycle is ensuring the forward momentum through the closing.
Face it: big dollars and big risk are on the line for the client and the salesperson.
Due to such factors as highly specific information, multiple decision makers, company mandated procedures, communication between involved departments, to name a few, the sale of your product or service may take months, or even years, to complete.
Fortunately, most companies can predict the length of a typical sales cycle even if it's becoming longer. Ours is often three stages. During the first stage, we separate a prospect from a suspect by determining if there's a genuine need for our service and, if so, who the decision-makers are. During the second stage we conduct a thorough qualification and needs analysis. This could take many actual meetings, especially if there are multiple decision-makers.
For instance, I recently met with a client who has four key players who were impossible to get together at one time. I was not able to meet with them collectively, which meant that it took three physical calls to complete my second call objective. In our third stage, we present our solution. So although I've simplified this to three stages, each with a specific objective, it can take nearly a dozen physical calls to complete the cycle.
This article focuses on three keys to help you take multiplex sales cycles from start to completion.
1. You must set an objective for each call.
This is vital whether your sales cycle is weeks, months, or years. The reason this is so important is twofold.
First, after you complete each objective, you've psychologically made a sale. In your mind you know you've accomplished something despite the sale yet being made. This aids in maintaining your focus and positive attitude, both of which are significant contributors to sales success.
And second is the actual progression of the sales cycle. If you view each objective as a rung in the ladder of the sales cycle, then with each completion you're a step closer to the sale. This allows you to see the next objective even more clearly, making it, and ultimately the sale, easier to accomplish.
2. Never sell the group. Always sell the individuals.
One of the common mistakes salespeople make in extended sales cycles is focussing on selling the group or panel rather than the individual members. This is a mistake because it ignores the psychological order in which people buy. Despite being part a group, each individual makes their own buying decisions in precise psychological order based upon their own buying motives.
It's common in our industry for there to be three specific types of buyers: the User Buyer, Economic Buyer and Technical Buyer. Each makes the decision to buy based upon their own buying motives despite being part of a committee. The User Buyer is typically concerned with how fast and easily our programs will help better serve customers and increase sales. The Economic Buyer is concerned mainly with the price of our services and what return on investment they'll receive. The Technical Buyer may be concerned with how easily our program can train a geographically dispersed sales force and fit into their corporate culture. Regardless of the motive, however, each of these buyers buys emotionally and then justifies the purchase logically, though they'll never admit this. So it's important to always remember this and appeal to their individual buying motives.
3. Always assume that you're in a changing selling environment.
It's critical that you always verify the Agreement on Need statement you reached and/or revisited during your last call and then ask if anything's changed. For example, while selling accounting software you might say, "Donna, several weeks ago we agreed that you were looking for a software package that could handle all payroll and tax functions, be compatible with your individual computers and their operating systems, as well as be easily upgraded. Has anything changed?"
Let me share an experience that show's the importance of this simple yet vital step.
Several years ago, a colleague referred me to the Vice President of a southern California software firm. Our initial meeting was a luncheon in which my objective was to determine if this company was a prospect or a suspect, who the decision-makers were, and to gain a general feel for their challenges.
When I arrived and mentioned my appointment with the Vice President, the receptionist looked astonished. She said that I must be mistaken yet spoke with the Vice President anyway. Shortly thereafter, the Vice President emerged and suggested we go to lunch as planned. After ordering, I revisited the original objectives for the meeting and then asked if anything had changed.
His answer was a shocking "yes."
The reason for the receptionist's astonished expression was that the company had been sold just that morning to the surprise of all. The Vice President was now planning a trip to San Francisco that afternoon to brief the branch offices. This obviously changed the entire objective of the call and underscores the importance of always assuming a changing environment. I abandoned my original objectives and spoke nothing of our company. I simply listened to him empathetically and shared a similar experience I had with an unexpected takeover while an executive in the insurance industry. The irony is that one-year later, when the timing was right for them, this new company became a very lucrative client.
Your success in a long sales cycle will be directly proportional to the quality of the objectives you set for each call, and their subsequent completion. Regardless of whether it's five calls or twenty-five, always consider these three keys to keep the sales cycle progressing. If the forward momentum stops, you likely won't get it started again.
Integrity Pays:
"Total loyalty to your customer"
by Willis Turner, President, Salescrafters,
Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Salescrafters specializes in virtual and real-time sales coaching and contract sales management. Company President, Willis Turner, CSE, has over 20 years experience as a sales professional with start-up companies and national and international corporations. He currently serves as President of Sales & Marketing Executives Association of Vancouver and as Regional Vice-President, Canada, on the Board of Directors for Sales & Marketing Executives International.
Throughout my 20 year career in sales and sales management, my personal integrity and the integrity of my salespeople has been seriously tested many times. On many of these occasions, my people and I could have easily over promised and under delivered to make the sale. Fortunately, we didn't.
I've always encouraged my people to be loyal to the customer, not the sale. During the infancy of my career, it was taught that you should have absolute loyalty to the company over anything and anyone else, customers included. I believe this has changed. While you certainly want to perform at your highest level for your employer, nowadays, skills are transferable and an employee is only with a company on average of 2 - 5 years. Thus it's imperative, especially in sales, to weigh long-term versus short. Yes, you must perform and meet quota. But you must be very wary that you don't jeopardize your relationship with your customer, because this will haunt you indefinitely.
There are two important factors to remember in business that are independent though often compete.
First, the company must get results.
And second, the seller and buyer are looking for a personal win.
The trick is to balance the two.
An excellent example of this occurred while I held a senior-level sales position with an international printing and copying company. A long-time customer was looking for a particular solution that we didn't normally provide. However, we could have cobbled together a satisfactory solution that would have been more expensive and not as good as what a competitor could have provided.
With a quota to meet and both a commission and possible bonus check in the balance, some might have suggested I provide the service. But I held to my integrity and focussed on my absolute belief that I was there to serve the customer to the best of my ability. In this case, this meant referring them to a competing company who specialized in many of the services we offered and regularly targeted the same prospective clients.
As I had hoped, the customer received exactly the service they needed at a very good price. Yet the irony was twofold: Not only did the customer continuing buying from me, but they became even more loyal and began viewing my knowledge and expertise in a consultant capacity rather than as a provider. In their mind, I became a valued counselor who worked for their interests rather than merely as a salesperson interested in a commission check. And second, my referral to a direct competitor created a strategic partnership that proved valuable.
In addition to referring business to one another, it made it that much easier to sell against them because our partnership added significant value to the client. Gone were the days of critiquing the competitor or citing their weaknesses which were our strengths. When in front of a customer who revealed they were considering using our competitor, I could explain our partnership rather than pitting "us against them." This increased business, customer loyalty and, most important, the image of me personally and my company. All of this was realized by simply honoring my integrity and passing up what likely would have been a one-time sale.
World Class Sales Management:
"Five ingredients in recipe for sales success "
by Roy Chitwood, CSP, CSE
President, Max Sacks International
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If you want your salespeople to be in the top ten percent of sales professionals, they don't have to be 100% better prospectors, presenters or closers. If they were to become only 20% better in specific key areas, their sales would take quantum leaps.
Salespeople must build their success by following a blueprint that moves them forward. We call our blueprint the Pyramid of Success. A pyramid exemplifies permanency, a structure that is durable, steady and long lasting. The same is true in building a successful sales career. If it is built like a pyramid, it will last a lifetime.
There are five essential ingredients needed to build a successful sales career. These ingredients follow and are available to anyone with a keen desire to succeed.
Interest. Genuine interest is the solid foundation of a successful sales career. When you're interested, you're excited about your career and you continue to learn. You're current with the most recent trends in your industry and the business world.
If you're genuinely interested, you'll be enthusiastic, hard working, organized, disciplined and always open to new ideas. An interested person tends to be successful in the career of his choice. When salespeople get excited, customers get excited. When customers get excited, they buy.
Attitude. Attitude communicates your opinion of people, business and life in general. There are only two kinds of people in the world: Those who think they can and those who think they can't. The irony is that they're both right. People can change their lives by changing their attitudes.
A negative thinker's career has a downward spiral. You'll find her negative behavior feeding on negative thoughts. There's a story told about a Romanian boy who was buried under a ten-story apartment building following an earthquake. He made medical history by living for eleven days without food or water. When rescuers reached him they were amazed and asked him how he managed to do it.
"I slept most of the time," he told them. "But when I was awake I never doubted for an instant that I would be rescued. Every waking minute of those eleven long days, I was positive that I would come out alive."
Remember positive thoughts produce positive results.
Energy. Energy is more than something physical. It grows from interest and a positive attitude.
Plan on developing your capacity by getting a little better every day. If you could do your job a little better today from yesterday and a little better tomorrow and the next day, can you imagine the impact this will have on your career in one short year?
Method. A method is a precise step-by-step procedure that covers all the points in the selling process and leaves nothing to chance. Method is a game plan for selling your product or service to your prospect.
When selling becomes a procedure, it ceases to be a problem.
Until it becomes a procedure, it will always be a problem.
Combine method with interest, attitude and the energy it creates and you will be on top of the Pyramid of Success. This is the one ingredient missing from most sales training programs. Yet without it your sales skills are like a million-dollar computer with no software. The essential ingredient is method.
Success. Success is the self-satisfaction in the accomplishment of something that is important to you. Success is relative and it means different things to different people. Success is achieving what you feel is important and the self-satisfaction that comes with that achievement. Only when you make clear what success means to you can you pursue it effectively.
Focus on the Professional -
"Dr. Anneli Driessen, Ph.D., CMS, MCC "
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Dr. Anneli Driessen, Ph.D., CMS, MCC, is the President of W.I.N. Inc., Executive Coaching, Counseling and Consulting Services, and has had a successful private counseling practice in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, since 1978, specializing in individual therapy and relationships.
Besides her clinical orientation, Anneli is an active member of Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI) and serves as the local Chapter Host for the International Coach Federation (ICF). She has received her designation as Master Certified Coach (MCC) and has also earned the prestigious international Certification in Marketing and Sales (CMS). Her experience and professional background are unique as a personal and business coach and she is currently coaching Executives and CEOs of large corporations in several countries.
There's been much media coverage recently on personal coaches. What, exactly, is coaching?
Someone once said, "Coaching is like having a personal trainer for your soul." Coaching is a service in a one-to-one relationship between an individual with a professional coach (mentor, consultant) who assists in clarifying, articulating, prioritizing and achieving personal or professional goals. Coaching helps to increase the results the client wants in life, work, spirit and relationships and to overcome obstacles, circumstances and resistance. Coaching IS NOT a substitute for therapy nor is it intended for people with emotional problems. It's about creating results, not dealing with crisis.
Why the recent popularity?
There's no conclusive answer. I've researched a few of the trends in the psychology and therapy field. They've been losing business for 10 years. Why? People perceive they have more readily accessible help. (Just consider the popularity of Oprah and Dr. Laura). Also, therapy has a negative connotation where coaching doesn't. Coaching is rooted in sports and is geared for enhancing specific skills.
Some, like I do, want coaching on very specific areas (dealing with employees, handling a merger, etc.) and the results can be quick and dramatic. Coaching provides a more cost-effective way of maintaining a sense of balance. Most coaching is done primarily on the phone, which makes it very time efficient. With the aid of technology, clients don't have to travel to their coaches' office because the can receive very effective advice via the phone, video conferencing and email.
In your opinion, who would benefit from working with a personal coach? Is it limited only to executives?
I truly believe anyone desiring personal and professional growth and specific results can benefit. Regardless of whether it's personal or career improvements, an effective coach can help. It's important to remember, however, that a coach doesn't fix things but enhances things.
What recommendations do you have for selecting a personal coach?
The most important step you can take is to thoroughly check a coach's credentials. I can't stress this enough.
Anyone can call himself or herself a "coach" and there's an increasing amount of "flakes" trying to cash-in on the recent growth explosion.
The next step is to trust your intuition. The whole basis for the relationship is one of trust. Most credible coaches offer complimentary engagement conversation, which lasts approximately 30 minutes. During this time, you get to know one another and can better determine whether your working together will generate the desired outcome.
Lastly, I recommend that you work with a Master Certified Coach (MCC) who's certified by the International Coach Federation (ICF). The ICF's purpose is to assure the public that officially certified coach's meet or exceed clearly defined standards and competencies. They do this by offering the (MCC) designation. A MCC pledges to operate within the ICF Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, can document at least 200 hours of coaching-specific training, 20 hours of individual mentoring, supply at least 10 client references, document at least 2,500 coaching client hours, and must have passed a written and oral exam, to name several of the requirements.
Book Review - Visionary Selling: How to Get to Top Executives-And How to Sell Them When You're There
by Visionary Selling: How to Get to Top Executives-And How to Sell Them When You're There (Simon & Schuster)
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In Visionary Selling, high performing salesperson and professional sales trainer Barbara Geraghty reveals how the successful salesperson's role has transcended from mere supplier to one of partner and counselor for senior executives. She outlines a selling process for salespeople working with senior management that's based on recognizing management's vision and then aligning with it to increase sales.
Until Geraghty's work, a process for making this happen was hard to find. Top salespeople, however, have used the principle behind it for some time. As she explains, any time a salesperson can add value beyond just the product or service they are providing, their worth and positioning with senior executives rises. The salesperson moves farther from supplier and closer to business ally. This undoubtedly aids in solidifying a long-term partnership that translates into increased sales and referrals.
Where Geraghty really stands out is in her assertion that the best way to make this transformation is to learn to think like a CEO. In addition to making this recommendation, she outlines specific action steps and techniques salespeople can take to become "visionary sellers."
Visionary Selling is an asset to any salesperson's selling aids arsenal.
| Ask Roy
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Melissa Miller of Salt Lake City asks,
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Other than the length, what are the differences between a short and long sales cycle?
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Roy's Answer:
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Although every salesperson may have circumstances unique to her product or service, territory or customers, the basic selling technique is generally the same. The dollars involved may vary dramatically as may the number of decision-makers. But I always urge salespeople not to over complicate things. Honestly, selling is selling is selling. Whether it's jet airplanes or VCR's, you must complete the seven steps of the sales process, address the prospect's five buying decisions and appeal to his dominant buying motives. So, again, the main difference is the length of the sales cycle because selling is selling is selling.
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c/o Max Sacks International
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