Track Selling Times - November 1998
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Track Selling Times
The Voice of the Sales Profession
Issue No. 108
November 1, 1998
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 letter are available at
http://www.maxsacks.com/newsletter.html
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In this issue:
Newsletter
Archives
"Three Ways to Reduce Your Sales Cycle"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE
How much time should elapse between your first meeting with the prospect and
the conclusion of the successful sale? It all depends on the length of the
sales cycle. For some sales, the cycle may take no more than five minutes.
Much of retail, for instance, falls into this category. But in other
selling environments, it can take weeks, months or even years.
The main factors which affect the length of the sales cycle are price,
complexity, and the decision-making process. High-ticket, complex items like
a computer network to a multinational corporation, usually take longer to
sell than a million sacks of potatoes. And if that network sale has to go
through a committee, the sales cycle will prolong even more.
What can you do to prevent these long sales cycles from dragging out
eternally?
1. Selling is Selling is Selling
No matter whether it's a T-shirt in K-mart or a new space shuttle to NASA,
the steps of the Sales Process hold true. Selling is an exact process, and
as such, the principles of the Track Selling System™ apply whether the sales
cycle is short or long.
2. The Sale Within the Sale
In prolonged sales situations, the salesperson lacks the personal
satisfaction or gratification that comes from a fast sale. That's why it's
extremely important to set a very clear-cut objective for each sales call
during a long sales cycle. For example, if you have to set up a meeting
with the decision-making group or with tech people to define needs and
problems, don't try to shortcut their pre-established decision-making
process. Instead, make your goal to set a precise time for the meeting.
Then achieve it and take a win. By breaking down a lengthy sale cycle into
many smaller "sales within the sale," every visit is transformed into a
purposeful action. I've had sales people tell me that by applying just this
principle, they were able to reduce their usual sales cycle by 50 percent or
more - from 18 to 9 months or from 6 to 3 months.
3. Do a Thorough Job of Approach and Qualification
Years ago, I stayed with a prospect for three full days completing the first
two steps of Track Selling, Approach and Qualification. This entailed
visiting various company locations, meeting teams of managers, as well as
making sales calls with their salespeople. By achieving a thorough
understanding of their business, the rest of the cycle took only twenty
minutes. If people trust you and feel you have a firm grasp of their needs,
the sale is 75 percent made.
It also should be noted that in lengthy sales cycles, only the most savvy
salespeople have what it takes to go in, analyze a business, communicate
effectively, put together the right solution to the problem and come out
with an order. That's why those who deal with longer sales cycles receive
compensation commensurate with the size and complexity of the process. But
regardless of the size of the sales cycle, apply Track Selling and you'll
come out a winner.
Integrity Pays:
A Commitment to Quality
Rick Warren is Chairman of Luftig & Warren International, a consulting firm
located in Southfield, MI, specializing in business performance as well as
quality tools and methods. He tells this story on the value of his company's commitment to quality.
"We'd been doing a special project for a Fortune 500 company in a new
division we hadn't worked in before. One of our workers, a person of proven
integrity, told us that the project's sponsor was unhappy with our work.
From our point of view, we'd done a good job. But the sponsor was a man of
high expectations, and we hadn't met his ideals. Instead of challenging him
or being defensive, we immediately wrote him a letter and sent a check for
the entire amount, including travel expenses."
What was the response?
"He called me and joked that he'd never gotten a
refund from a supplier before. He accepted it, said he appreciated our
approach, then discussed what went wrong from his perspective. As a result,
I was able to gain agreement on what he really needed. I gave him some
advice on what he could do to resolve the situation. Although he agreed,
and the advice proved to be correct, I didn't charge him."
Did you hear from him again?
"Yes. Over time, he paid us a lot more money.
But that's not why we did it. What the refund bought was an understanding
that we were a firm of high integrity, genuinely interested in servicing our
customers."
What do you see as the value of integrity in sales?
"Integrity is all you
have. If people don't have confidence that you're going to be straight with
them, they just don't have time for you. Integrity is everything. You can
be the smartest or most technically competent person in the world. But
people have to have confidence and trust in you before they approach you to
do business."
Anything else you'd like to add?
"We also look at the integrity factor
before taking on a customer and before hiring an employee or consultant. In
reality, our customers are actually our partners. We set out to do
everything we can to help their business. If we end up dealing with
low-integrity companies, invariably we lose our energy to serve them.
Further, integrity is the number one characteristic we look at when we hire.
We use a combination of references, interviewing, and intuition. If you
look at our company today, though, most of our staff have been with us a
long period of time. There's nobody here that I wouldn't trust with my last
dollar."
Rick can be contacted at richardewarren@compuserve.com
World Class Sales Management:
The Value of Recognition
By Bob Waldorf, Founder and President of Idea Man, Los Angeles
I have 36 years of experience in the promotional products industry.
Currently we have 13 offices throughout the West. In my industry, most
companies don't train their salespeople at all. They just send them out the
door, hope for the best and accept a high-attrition rate. We do things
differently. First, we train our salespeople very well. We focus on Track
Selling and making sure they have detailed product knowledge. Only when
they really know what they are doing, do we let them go out into the field.
When they are out there it's vital to communicate with them on a regular
basis in order to help them be more successful. But there is a point I wish
to make clear. You can't force salespeople to get up on time or work late.
That's why we try to hire only those with a real need to succeed.
We do, however, emphasize recognition of those who are successful. Our best
sales personnel become company role models. We publish lists of top
salespeople each month, showing gross profit figures. Everyone else seems
to be worried about the competition. We prefer to put our attention on
motivating our salespeople to strive higher.
The best way to do this is via recognition. At the start of the month, we
list sales volume in groups of ten. Each category is given a Greek alphabet
letter, with 'Alpha' being the best. There is tremendous prestige
associated with getting into the top bracket. In my experience, the "cream
of the crop" tend to rise and stay at the highest levels.
Every quarter, we publish gross profit percentage figures to show who is
selling at a level that constitutes success. We also have the Century
Club - for those who sell $100,000 per month. Those achieving this elite
status are presented with a beautiful ship's clock in a mahogany case. Each
time they repeat, they receive commemorate plates.
As a result of this focus on recognition, our typical salesperson sells more
than the average company in our industry. We're not just selling goods,
like most of our competitors do. We sell ideas. We identify our customers objectives and find the right ideas to accomplish them.
Bob Waldorf can be contacted at: bwaldorf@ideaman.com
Focus on the Professional - Ron Holm
Ron Holm is President of Business Application Software Inc. of St. Paul, MN.
He has over a decade of experience as a re-seller of accounting software for
small to mid-sized companies.
"In my early days I wasn't much of a salesperson. I was more of a "techy,"
a computer nerd. Sales made me uncomfortable, and I struggled.
It seemed
that all I accomplished was out-talking the prospects. I didn't find their
needs and felt like I was pressuring people. Whether I failed or succeeded
in a selling situation, I'd walk away without knowing why. As a result, my
company was run of the mill - in the 50th percentile. Looking back, I don't
think we'd have survived if we'd gone on as before."
What happened?
"I took a Track Selling workshop. I learned to listen,
qualify, gain agreement on needs, and close comfortably. Out of 7000
re-sellers that sell the same product, we've risen to the top one third of
one percent."
How did you find out about Track Selling?
"I looked at a number of sales
training vendors. Track Selling seemed to have the best balance of people
skills and sales science. So I decided to try it out. At first we did a
field test on 23 prospects to see how well it worked. One bought from a
competitor, another didn't buy anything, and we sold the other 21. That
convinced me that Track Selling is not only practical - it really works."
How long is your sales cycle and what do you do to shorten it?
"Our sales
cycle is typically between 3 and 6 months, comprising $25,000 for software
and another $25,000 to $50,000 for hardware. Track Selling taught me about
the sale within the sale. But probably the most important factor in an
elongated sales cycle is the Five Buying Decisions.
On the "Sell the
Company" step, for instance, I sell my own company and that of my suppliers,
Sage and MIP. And once I get the first four buying decisions accomplished
(about the salesperson, the company, the product, and the price), I know it's the right time to ask for the sale. It prevents the sales cycle
languishing forever. We also mail materials to the prospect in the interim
to ensure they don't forget about us. Our understanding of the Five Buying
Decisions really puts us in control of the length of the sales cycle."
Ron Holm can be contacted at: ronh@basoftware.com
Ask Roy
Dean Williams from Monrovia, CA,
"I deal in drawn-out sales cycles,
usually having to pull together many of the top people in fast-paced
corporations. The problem is that I can't seem to get them all together at
one time. I set the objective to call a meeting week after week, but
something always comes up and at least one or two of them are missing. This
is adding months onto my sales cycle and driving my boss nuts. What should
I do?"
Roy's Answer:
"I've run across this one before, Dean. What you need to do is
take whom you can get for these meetings. If the CFO and COO are missing,
too bad. Meet with all the rest, achieve their agreement on need, get it in
writing and then nail down the other two. In extreme situations, you may
even have to do it one at a time. Take who's available and move the process
along. But remember to tailor your presentation to the individuals you have
in front of you. It's no good trying to impress the tech guys with what a
great deal it is, or the finance guys with the technical specs.
"
Reader Survey
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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