 Track Selling Times - September, 2000
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Track Selling Times
The Voice of the Sales Profession
Issue No.130
September 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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Feature:
"
12 Laws of Selling"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE
Use these 'laws' to better serve your customers and improve your results.
Sections:
World Class Sales Management:
"Retaining Good Salespeople"
by Jean (John) Veillux
Exercise one of the most effective ways to retain good sales people in a highly competitive economy.
Focus on the Professional:
"Tommy Coburn"
Book Review -
1,001 Ways to Keep Customers Coming Back:
by Donna Greiner and Theodore B. Kinni
Ask Roy: Ask Roy Chitwood
A reader asks, "I know customers are hard to win. However, what should you do with a customer who pays his or her bill yet is never satisfied despite the concessions and extra effort you make?"
Survey - Reader Survey
Newsletter Archives
"12 Laws of Selling"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE |
Many of the following laws of selling are known yet rarely abided by. I suggest you consider each and how they apply to you as improving in the use of even one can significantly impact your results.
1. A. The more people talk, the more they like you. I'm sure you've heard colleagues lament, "He's nice but he just talks too darn much." But I doubt you've ever heard the opposite, "Darn, she's nice but just listens too much." Most people, your prospects included, want to be heard and understood before understanding. View this need as a fundamental rule of communication and facilitate it.
B. You only know what your prospect is thinking when he's talking. Keep quiet and listen. True, isn't it? This leads directly to the next law.
2. Great salespeople are great listeners. Notice I didn't write, "Great salespeople are great talkers, entertainers, or personalities." Sure, these attributes help. But effective salespeople are listening 60-80% of the time depending on the complexity of their offering. They accomplish this by becoming highly skilled at asking the right questions at the right times.
3. A professional salesperson makes a sales call for one reason only: to be of service to her customer. If you're making a sales call to meet quota, earn a higher commission, move the 'special of the month', or any other reason not arising from your customers' true needs, it's time to check your integrity. One of the main reasons selling has a negative public perception is because too many salespeople sell for their reasons, not their customers.
4. A qualified prospect has the need, authority, and budget to buy. Ensure the person you're dealing with meets this criterion. If she doesn't, find out who does or you're merely presenting, not selling, which wastes money and time.
5. No one's born a salesperson. Similar to every other profession, highly skilled sales professionals have studied and learned their profession. Much as a doctor, attorney, or accountant isn't 'born', neither is a salesperson. Abandon this myth and learn your trade as research reveals that regardless of age, race, gender or experience, a novice sales person with effective sales training can become as successful as his veteran counterpart.
6. What will it do for me? If the definition of selling could be boiled down to a single sentence or question, this would be mine. Constantly put yourself in your prospects' shoes by asking this question. It will help you focus on their needs and the appropriate corresponding benefits.
7. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Your prospect must believe that you will do everything possible that's in his interest. Without his trust, all the facts, figures, and discounts don't mean anything. Once you gain his trust, however, you become much more than a supplier. You become a trusted counselor and partner not easily replaced in spite of you competitors lower price, supposed faster delivery, etc.
8. People buy emotionally, and justify logically. Contrary to what many salespeople believe, this reality actually works in your favor if you've done a thorough job of helping your prospect buy. It's imperative that you reinforce your prospect's decision to buy with sound reasons why she is. If you allow your prospect to buy a new Imac computer because she likes the cool color, without reinforcing the timesavings, increased productivity and ease of use, you may as well keep the shelf space open for the return.
9. Treat every person like they're the CEO. It's been said the true character of person is revealed in how they treat someone who can do absolutely nothing for him. Nowhere is this truer than in selling. This makes good sense because there's the rare possibility the lowest person will someday become CEO. But more likely you'll encounter many employees who aren't decision-makers but can quickly become part of the decision making process. When reflecting, I can't believe how many deals with my company various sales people have lost by being rude or elitist to my employees. How many have you lost?
10. Set an objective for every call. By objective I'm referring to anything that keeps the sales cycle progressing. This could be making a presentation, sending additional information, scheduling a demo, etc. Once the sales cycle halts, it's unlikely you'll get it moving again.
11. Every prospect makes 5 Buying Decisions in precise psychological order. The decisions are about:
1- You, the salesperson (including your integrity and judgment);
2 - Your company;
3 - Your product/service;
4 - Your price;
5 - The time to buy.
Know these buying decisions and tailor your presentation accordingly.
12. Every prospect buys for one, or more, of 6 Buying Motives. Knowing and appealing to the following Buying Decisions will help motivate your prospect emotionally and logically, moving you closer to a sale.
1- Desire for Gain $;
2 - Fear of Loss $;
3 - Comfort and Convenience;
4 - Security and Protection;
5 - Pride of Ownership;
6 - Emotional Satisfaction.
World Class Sales Management:
"Retaining Good Salespeople
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Jean (John) Veillux is Sales Manager for Select Express, Montreal, Canada, a highly regarded freight forwarding company operating in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Jean has more than 15 years sales and sales management experience.
As a sales manager for more than decade, I know the challenges involved in recruiting new sales people. And with the current talent shortage, this challenge is only heightened. Quality sales people are typically employed and already successful meaning they may not be looking for a change. Those who are, for whatever reason, can literally line-up and pick their future employer.
I liken this scenario to that of current versus prospective customers. Before you look for a single new client, you must ensure you're taking complete care of those you already have. This approach should also be exercised with your sales people lest you lose them to more opportunity elsewhere.
The single most effective action I take with my sales people is to become as interested and dedicated to their professional growth and success as they are. This means sitting down with each to hammer out long and short-term goals, identify areas in which they want to improve, action steps we'll both take to make this improvement happen, and regularly 'checking in' to ensure we're on target. It's amazing the effectiveness this has.
A level of pride and accountability arises like I've yet to see when your sales person realizes you're as emotionally invested in her success as she is. Moreover, she feels valued which dramatically increases her confidence, and consequently, her results. And best of all, because you've worked so hard for her success, her loyalty increases making this the best way I know to retain quality sales people.
Focus on the Professional -
"Tommy Coburn"
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Tommy Coburn works for Text 100 Public Relations, a global high tech public relations firm conducting PR initiatives for some of the biggest players in high-tech including Infospace, Ask Jeeves, Metawave and eCharge.
I formerly worked for Max Sacks International for 3 1/2 years with my last position being Director of Communications. Throughout my tenure I served in various capacities yet much of my efforts were focussed on sales and marketing activities. Specifically, working with clients and prospective clients to fully qualify there needs, establish objectives, and then determine the best course to meet those objectives.
All of this was accomplished by using the 7 steps of the Track Selling System. I had often heard through company executives and long-time clients that to label the Track Selling System solely as an effective sales communication tool was too narrow in scope. Upon joining Text 100 and tapping my experience at Max Sacks International to jump-start my new opportunity, I couldn't have imagined how true this was.
How have you used the Track Selling System in your new role?
Much of PR is similar to selling. Namely, you must find the people to sell (editors, writers, analysts and news gatekeepers), and sell the people you find (generate coverage for you clients through interviews, features, product reviews and article placement). Additionally, the underlying question of selling applies to your clients as well as the audience you're targeting for coverage. The question: "What will it do for me?"
How has is it helped you?
Track Selling truly is a highly effective communication tool. First, it helps me create an objective for every call. Second, it helps me identify the person I need to speak with and then to fully qualify this person. Third, it keeps the PR cycle moving forward toward the ultimate objective: coverage. Fourth, it offers the step-by-step process, which when followed properly, dramatically increases the chances of success. And fifth, and probably most valuable, it provides a post-cycle review checklist. If I fail to meet an objective I can undoubtedly backtrack through the 7 steps and see what went wrong and where. This is a tremendous learning tool as it helps lower the likelihood of repeating the same mistakes.
What's been your biggest learning experience using Track Selling in a new arena?
Obviously, how effective the process is outside of the traditional sales arena. But even more surprisingly, and more importantly, is how much the editors and analysts I'm calling appreciate my using it. I've been told numerous times that this is the first time a person feels a PR person is calling on his behalf to truly be of service. This is a great feeling and is positive for both sides.
Book Review -
1,001 Ways to Keep Customers Coming Back
by Donna Greiner and Theodore B. Kinni (Prima Publishing)
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There's only one reason why companies remain in business: their customers. Vast amounts of time, effort and money go into recruiting news ones yet effective planning for keeping existing customers is often tossed aside.
1,001 Ways to Keep Customers Coming Back is packed with brief, powerful action steps every company can take to keep their most valuable resource. Greiner and Kinni offers examples from companies of every size, many industries and from around the globe with its principles holding true. The authors segment the book into 11 major retention strategies with several standouts including: giving more bang for the buck, standing behind your product, rewarding loyalty and making it convenient to come back.
You and your company have worked hard to gain your customers' business and trust. And it's in your interest to keep it. 1,001 Ways provides common sense methods to do so.
| Ask Roy
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Mike Mahurin of Los Angeles asks:
"
I know customers are hard to win. However, what should you do with a customer who pays his or her bill yet is never satisfied despite the concessions and extra effort you make?
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Roy's Answer:
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This can be problematic because, you're right, paying customers are hard to obtain and not easy to let go. That said, there are those rare occasions when it's better to simply let a client go despite the revenue they provide. If the following conditions exist, you're warranted in terminating the relationship:
1 - You're spending twice as much time interacting with this client than any other of similar size;
2 - You're regularly providing concessions such as rush orders without charge, higher than average price breaks, and/or 'freebies' to sweeten each sale; and
3 - The customer often threatens to switch to a competitor if you don't meet their demands.
If this is similar to the client you're referring to, cut them lose. You're more of a hostage than provider and my guess is this client won't be satisfied with any vendor.
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| Reader Survey
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1. What do you think of Track Selling Times?
2. What else would you like to see included?
3. If you have sales questions for Roy, or know of a salesperson, sales manager or integrity story that should be featured in Track Selling Times, mail it
to:
The Editor, Track Selling Times
c/o Max Sacks International
2442 NW Market Street #409
Seattle
WA 98107
Tel: (206) 706-4119 Fax: (206) 706-5359
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