Customers | A Sales Guy

It’s the Connections

In sales, knowledge is important, knowledge of the products, the customer, the industry and more.

The relationships are important too. The trust we build, the breadth and depth of those we know in the organization, and the partnerships we create help us sell.

Together they are powerful. Without them sales won’t happen. Most sales people get this. They work hard to have the knowledge and build the relationships.

The real action however, is in the connections. The connections between the information and the relationships. It’s the connections between the data and the requests. The connections are where the sale happens.

Everyone has access to the same data. Everyone as access to the same people. It’s the connections that represent a sales persons value. Each sales person draws their own conclusions, creating their own connections between the data and the relationship.

Get good at creating powerful connections, it’s what your customers are looking for.

July 30, 2010 | Filed under: The Chase | View Comments |

It’s the Connections

In sales, knowledge is important, knowledge of the products, the customer, the industry and more.

The relationships are important too. The trust we build, the breadth and depth of those we know in the organization, and the partnerships we create help us sell.

Together they are powerful. Without them sales won’t happen. Most sales people get this. They work hard to have the knowledge and build the relationships.

Get good at creating powerful connections, it’s what your customers are looking for.

July 30, 2010 | Filed under: The Chase | View Comments |

Your Customers are Buried!

Jill Konrath author of the best selling book; Selling to Big Companies has another book coming out called SNAP Selling.

I am honored that Jill has given me the opportunity to read it before it launchs at the end of the month.

Jill is a great story in herself. She started her career at Xerox and rose to great heights before starting her own business. Crushing it, failing and starting all over, crushing it again, Jill brings unique, timely ideas to the proverbiale selling table.

Rather than wait until I finish the book to share my thoughts with this community, I’m going to share them as I go along. There is some good stuff in this book. I didn’t want to wait.

Jill’s premise is simple. The sales world is changing and if you don’t recognize these changes. You’re in trouble.

The most material change observed by Jill is our customers are completely over worked. They are buried.

This is illustrated brilliantly in her first chapter; A Candid Letter from Your Customer.

“Dear Seller

I only have a few minutes, but I understand you’re interested in selling me something. As far as I’m concerned, that’s being pretty self-serving.

The truth is, you have no idea what my life is like. You may think you do, but you don’t–and you need to if you’re going to get my business.

I got to the office early this morning so I could have some uninterrupted time to work on a project–something I cant seem to squeeze into the normal business day.

By 9 a.m. all my good intentions were dashed when my boss asked me to drop everything in order to put together a headcount reduction plan. Revenue slumped last quarter and we need to cut costs.

Then, Engineering informed me that our new product won’t be available for the upcoming tradeshow. Sales will go balistic when they hear this. That’s the last thing I need to have happen.

Get the picture? Welcome to my world of everyday chaos where, hard as I try to make progress, I keep slipping further behind. Right now, I have at least 59 hours of work piled on my desk. I have no ideas when I’ll get it all done.

Did I mention email? I get over 150 each day. Then, add to that at least 30 phone calls from sellers just like you who’d “loved to meet with me.”

In short, I have way too much to do, ever-increasing expectations, impossible deadlines, and constant interruptions from people wanting my attention.

Time is my most prescious commodity and I protect it all costs. I live with the staus quo as long as I can–even if I’m not happy with it. Why? Because change creates more work and eats up my time.

Which gets us back to you. In your well-intentioned but misguided attempts to turn me into a customer, you fail woefully to capture and keep my attention. Let me be blunt. I don’t care about your product, service or solution.

I quickly scan your emails or letters looking for self-promotional talk that glorifies your offering or your company. The minute it jumps out at me, your gone. Zapped from my inbox or tossed in the the trashcan. Say it in your voicemail message and I delete you immediately. Delete, delete, delete.

When you spend and entire meeting blathering about your unique methododogies, great technology and or extraordinary service, my mind wanders to important tasks that need to get done. Sure, I occasionally check for messages. But you would too if you were in my position.

I’m not always like this. Occasiionally a savvy seller captures my attention, entices me to meet, shows me why I should change and then makes it easy for me to work with them.

What are they doing? They’re completely focused on my business and the impact they can have on it. That’s what I care about–not their pitch.

If you focus on helping me achieve my objectives, I’ll listen to you all day long. But you can’t rope me in with the good stuff, then slip back into that trash talk. If so, you’re gonzo.

Make sense? I hope so, because I’m late for a meeting and while I’ve been writing this, the phones been ringing off the hook.

Best regards,

Your Customer”

This letter got my attention. Did it get yours? It should.

Great way to jolt us to pay attention Jill. We’re listening!

Excerpted from SNAP Selling: Speed Up Sales and Win More Business With Today’s Frazzled Customers by Jill Konrath, Portfolio 2010

May 16, 2010 | Filed under: My Reading Quotes | View Comments |

Who’s Business Is It Anyway?

We are entering the final 7 full work weeks until the end of the year. How are you going to finish your year? Are you at quota? If not, what are you going to do?

Do your sales meeting with your manage sound like this: “What are you going to do to make it?”, “What can you bring in from Q1, to get you over the hump?”, “Can you call in a favor?”, “Can you ask the customer to take the order earlier than they wanted?”

Are your questions focused on your needs or your customers? Is the last 7 weeks of the sales year focused on your business or your customers business?

If your focused on your business and not your customers, it’s probably why your not at quota this year and why you won’t be again next year. Just because it’s the end of the year, doesn’t mean the sale changes. Focus on your customers business, nobody cares about your business, except you and your manager, and neither of you are buying.

November 2, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Sales Process,The Chase | View Comments |

Assume They’re Clueless.

I don’t like it when I’m being sold and the sales person actually thinks I know something. Usually I don’t. I like it when the sales person treats me like I don’t know anything. I get a better sales experience. When I’m buying something new, when the sales person assumes I don’t know much, I get an education. They take the time to ask good questions. They adopt a pace that fits my ability to understand the sale. They emphasize the things most important and blow through those that don’t matter. When I buy I want sales help because I don’t know any better. I’m looking for an expert. I’m looking for an education. I want someone who knows more than me, to help me make a good informed decision.

Assuming I actually know something, about their product, service, competition or the industry makes the experience extremely painful. Accepting that I don’t know anything allows the sale to start at the right place and get to the right end.

Selling is an educational process. Assume they’re clueless. They’ll thank you for it.

October 14, 2009 | Filed under: Sales Process,The Chase,Uncategorized,What I Think! | View Comments |

Don’t Kiss Your Customers Ass

The customer is not always right. Customers are wrong. They don’t always ask for reasonable things. Most of your customers are not invested in your success. Most of your customers look at you as a one way street. What can they get from you?

Just because a customer is upset, frustrated and wanting blood, doesn’t mean you have to jump. You don’t have to kiss your customers ass.

What you do have to do is listen, understand, ask questions and respond.

Respond in a manner that meets the needs of your customer. Respond in a manner meant to resolve an issue fairly and demonstrates commitment and loyalty. Respond to your customers needs. Respond in a way that is consistent with your brand. Respond with confidence.

Don’t kiss your customers ass. Don’t bend to unreasonable demands just to demonstrate they are important to you, because they’re not. Any customer with unreasonable demands is no customer worth having. Customer relationships, are just that relationships and any relationship that relies on unreasonable demands is an unhealthy relationship.

Any shrink will tell you, unhealthy relationships is no relationship at all. It’s never healthy to kiss anyone’s ass, period.

August 19, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Customer Service | View Comments |

It’s What You DON’T Say

My Dad called it; “lying through omission”. It’s when you intentionally leave out information someone needs to make a completely informed decision. It’s many peoples way of skirting an issue without saying they lied. But it is lying.

If you are a software salesperson and you know a new version of your software is coming out in 3 months and if your customer buys today they will have to pay to upgrade in 90 days, leaving that information out is lying through omission.

Your lying if you tell a customer your software is compatible with their accounting system, when it’s NOT compatible with the specific version they have. Your lying if you are selling a home with a view and you know a skyscraper is going up in front of you next year and you don’t disclose it. You’re lying if you promote your rental property as a “beach house” when you can’t access the beach, even it is right out in front. You’re lying anytime you leave out valuable information that can help your customers make an informed decision.

We buy on information. The information provides a vision of what we are purchasing. The vision sets expectations. When you intentionally leave out information the wrong expectations are set and setting the wrong expectations creates frustrated customers.

My family and I recently rented a beach home for our vacation. The ad said kid friendly, yet there were no screens on the windows and my 2 year old fell out the window. They said it was on a beautiful walking causeway, yet we couldn’t access the causeway. They said it was a beautiful California Bungalow. They didn’t say it was an apartment IN a beautiful California Bungalow. They said it was a romantic home, they didn’t say it was sitting directly on a VERY busy street with cars, buses, and emergency vehicles flying up and down it day and night. They said it was 90 yards from the cleanest beach in Venice. They didn’t say to access the cleanest beach in Venice, you would pass by pan handlers, the homeless, smell of Urine in the streets, public drinking, and the aroma of dope in the air. They said it had a view of the ocean. They didn’t say it was from the causeway in front, (that you couldn’t access) and it was only a sliver over a few trees, and buildings. They said it wasn’t a party house and they neighbors respect each other. They didn’t say the neighbors rented their places out and the sound of college kids drinking, smoking dope and playing loud music would go well into the early morning. There was very little about what the ad DID say that wasn’t technically true. It’s what the ad didn’t say that was the problem.

Hiding behind the accuracy of what you said versus owning the reality of the entire situation just makes you a coward. Putting the customer in a position where they have to figure it out for themselves is disingenuous. Good sales people don’t withhold pertinent information. They give an accurate picture of the situation and let their clients and customers make informed decisions.

As marketers and sales people it’s our job to provide all the information. By doing so we are being authentic and genuine and we set the right expectations. The right expectations means satisfied customers. Satisfied customers are repeat customers. Anything else is disingenuous and inauthentic. You may be able to tell yourself you didn’t lie, but you did.

My Dad was right. Lying through omission is no different than any other lie. A lie is a lie!

July 15, 2009 | Filed under: Personal Brand,The Chase,What I Think! | View Comments |

It’s in the Questions

How long can you carry on a conversation without making a statement? Have you ever tried? We almost always start conversations with a question. It’s usually, “What’s up,” or “How are You?” or “What’s going on?” After that, with most people, it goes to statements. We start telling.

Questions give us information. They give us processing fuel. Questions make people feel you care. Questions create control?

How long do you engage before you stop asking questions. How many questions do you ask, before your first statement? At the very least it should be 5. The next time you talk with a customer, engage your spouse or talk to your boss try it. Before you make a single statement ask 5 questions.

Make the questions open ended. Make them about them. Make them engaging. Questions are a powerful tool for building relationships, learning, growing, understanding and sharing.

Teach yourself how to use questions. You’ll become a better listener, a better friend, a better spouse and of course a better a sales person.

The ultimate, a 30 minute conversation only asking questions, without the other person ever noticing. Could you do it?

July 5, 2009 | Filed under: Personal Development,The Chase | View Comments |

It’s Not That You Can’t, It’s You Won’t

Have you ever told a customer you “can’t”? Have you told them you can’t add that product with their order. You can’t do next day shipping. You can’t add a particular feature? You can’t give them an extra week of consulting for free. You can’t upgrade them to first class for free. We tell customers often that we can’t do things, but the reality is we can. Telling customers we can’t is bullshit, because in most cases we can, we just won’t.

Can’t is definitive, it’s absolute, it is incapable of being done. Rarely does a customer ask us to do something that is impossible. So, if it’s possible then; it’s not that we can’t, it’s we won’t.

Can’t is our way of saying we don’t want to do something, with out having to take ownership for the decision. That’s unfortunate, because we need to take ownership. Won’t is not always a bad thing. I won’t work for free and I’ll tell a customer that. What is important is understanding why we won’t do something. Saying won’t forces us to be clear about what it is we are doing. It helps us be clear on why we won’t do somethings and why we will do others.

Saying can’t is rigid and inflexible Saying you won’t is being honest. If you won’t seat me and my friends at your restaurant at 9:00, because you close at 9:00 that’s OK. You have that right. Just don’t tell me you can’t, because it’s not true. You can, you just won’t. And the next time my friends ask me to go to your restaurant, I won’t lie and say I can’t, I’ll be truthful and say; I won’t.

How often do you say; I can’t when you can . . . you just won’t?

June 17, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Customer Service | View Comments |

What I Learned From A Franklin Covey Store Clerk

It was June of 03 and I had just arrived at the hotel. I was unpacking my things and preparing for the trade show. I was excited to be back in Boston. I love Boston. I was beginning to review my schedule for the next day when I noticed my Palm Treo was almost completely out of juice. Normally it can carry a charge for days, so I didn’t bring the charger. It was only going to be a two day trip. In and out. I carried everything in my Palm. My notes, my phone numbers, and most importantly my schedule for the next two days was in that device. I had to charge it.

The next day on the conference floor I asked around. You’d think, someone would have a Palm Treo charger. It’s 2003, Palm was killing it. Clearly not the case at this event. Desperate, I find a Franklin Covey store. I walk in and go directly to the counter. I know what I’m looking for. Behind the counter is the clerk. He greets me with a smile. He has a nice warm and engaging demeanor. I tell him that I need a charger. He asks what kind of Palm I have. I hand him my Treo, he opens the case looks at it and says he has a charger. Yes!

The clerk returns a few minutes later with the charger. He rings me up and asks if I need anything else; nice up sell. I say no, I’m all set. He asks again, but this time specifically asks if would like a new case.

A new case? I have a case, it’s in good condition and he sees that. I say no with a bit of an attitude. The clerk then looks at me and asks why I’m buying a charger. I’m getting a bit irritated with his questions. I have what I came for. I have what I need, so it’s time to close out this transaction. I answer him anyway and explain I left my charger at home and my battery already ran out. He then looks at me and asks a very interesting question.

He asks: “Did your battery run out from being in your briefcase?”

I said; “yes”

He continued; “When you put it in your briefcase or bag, does the Treo case sometimes push down on the buttons leaving them depressed for a longtime, therefore wearing down the battery?”

Surprised, I said; “Yes, that is EXACTLY what happens. It pisses my off.”

The clerk then turned away. Walked over to the wall, just behind the counter and grabbed a case. He laid it in front of me. It was the exact same case I was currently using. Same brand, color, everything. That is, until he opened it. He took the case out of the package and opened it up. Inside were 4 cut outs that mirrored the buttons on the Treo. They were cut out so the buttons could not be depressed when pressure was applied to the case. Apparently, I wasn’t the only person having that problem. No more accelerated battery drainage.

I looked at the clerk. He looked at me. I smiled. I bought the case. I thanked him. He thanked me for my business.

As customers we don’t always know what we want. Sometimes we think we do, but we’re wrong. Not only are we wrong, but we can be pains in the ass about it. Learning to sell to a customer who thinks they have what they need is a rare skill. It takes talent, and finesse.

I learned it from a Franklin Covey Store, sales clerk. Where did you learn it?

June 9, 2009 | Filed under: Customer Service,The Chase | View Comments |