sales

I want you to know that most people’s initial mistake in making a pitch and a first connection has an easy fix.

The mistake? It’s best if I give an example. Let’s say you approach or call someone who would be a top-notch prospect for what you’re trying to do. You tell them who you are, what you do, and why it’s such a great thing. They shrug at you, or ignore you, or tell you “not interested.”

They turned you down. It makes no sense at first, because if you were like them, trying to get your magic waffles in front of people who worship filling each square full of syrup, you’d jump at this opportunity. Where did things go wrong?

You needed to start a conversation.Read more

For at least the third time in two years, one of my colleagues has proposed to change how we manage a calling list.

We print out a physical paper contact sheet for every prospect or customer. Each time someone has proposed this change it has been from the perspective of a sales team member who makes phone calls. The change? Allow the team direct access to the database to eliminate the paper clutter and speed up data entry.

The problem? No one on the operations side is looking to change things, because their job is to manage the information gathered by the sales team. The sales team is best at getting the information; the operations team is best at creating reports and managing the database using this information.

Not once has a member of the sales team approached the operations team first to ask questions and understand why we print out paper contact sheets.

If you understand the other side first:
- You can see whether or not you can help the other person
- They are more receptive to you because you can show them how you understand them and where you fit inRead more

Think about the last time you splurged a little on something you had no intention of buying. Especially if you looked back afterwards and wished you hadn't done that, even if it was the teeniest tiniest doubt.

What made you do it?

Let me rephrase that: what were you feeling when you made that purchase?

We have a wide range of emotions, and they're far more powerful than our logical minds. Think about your logical decisions for a moment. How many of them were to fill an emotional need?

Trust me, the answer is more than "a few." The answer is "all of them."

Take buying clothing, for example. We need clothing, yet there are so many choices. Why buy a certain pair of jeans? People don't buy jeans because they fit well, it's because of how someone feels wearing a pair of jeans that fit well. Heck, buying jeans in itself is an emotional decision. Maybe you don't want to feel bad after destroying nicer pants so you buy jeans; maybe you like the comfortable feeling which washes over you wearing jeans.Read more

Lydia asked a great question about handing out ice cream cones:

“Now if someone gave me an empty cone, I would assume they were going to offer a way to fill it.
I've heard of the term ‘bait and switch.’ Is this tactic of empty promises still a bait and switch or is it the customer's fault for assuming?”

We’re conditioned to think if we’re given an ice cream cone by someone they have a way of getting ice cream. The person giving us the cone KNOWS this. If they don’t have a way to get you ice cream then it’s a bait and switch. Which freakin’ stinks. Now you’re mad at that person, mad at that company, and will probably go write a blog post about it (or at least tweet your frustration).

Now let’s say they hand you an ice cream cone and they tell you they have some great flavors. You go try a few out and don’t like any of them. Hey, no hard feelings. They just didn’t have what you were looking for. Huge difference.Read more

Have you ever stopped in your tracks when you saw something you just couldn’t believe?

When that happens, the power of the unexpected has crashed down upon your consciousness. You have to stop to register what’s going on. Maybe you’ll keep on like nothing happened; and maybe you’ll check it out a little more if it continues to keep your interest.

This is where most failed marketing positioning gets it wrong.

If you’re talking about the same things everyone else is talking about, you’re part of the background noise. Think about someone poking you in the same spot over and over. It gets your attention, and it’s annoying. It’s not going to help the person poking you get what they want.

Let’s say you like ice cream, and they handed you an empty ice cream cone. Now you’re intrigued. The outlook for getting some ice cream just got a whole lot sunnier.Read more

If there’s one thing I always want my sales team to do, it’s asking the question “Why?” more often.

Heck, I think if we all asked “Why?” more often the world would be a better place.

On a sales call, our goal is to dig around for ways we could help the person on the other end of the phone, and then present these things in a way which creates enough interest for them to talk to a sales rep. No manipulation, no cheap tactics. All we want is a thought-provoking conversation so we can understand the other person better.

What’s the easiest way to get someone else thinking and talking? Ask them why they do what they do.

Asking “Why?” causes someone to think about it for a moment. Sometimes we get a knee-jerk response. We ask “Why?” again, digging deeper, getting more input, letting the other person walk us down the path they’ve traveled so many times. They point out things they take for granted. It’s these things they take for granted we want to hear about: we want to understand why it’s taken for granted.Read more

Has your manager ever started up a conversation on philosophy and how it applies to your job and/or company?

That’s what I did today right before lunch.

I read two short passages from books I have read this year and asked my team to throw out some ideas on how they relate to what we do. What I hoped was for any kind of discussion, and for me to be able to help them put the pieces together. It turned out even better, as everyone contributed something to a great discussion on the art of making a sales call, and how each call was different.

I plan on having one of these conversations every week with the team to see what they think of. It’s a great way to mix sales training and creativity into one session.

What are you doing to get your coworkers and team to think, learn, and grow in their careers and lives? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Have you ever had a salesperson help you find what you’re looking for whether or not they’d get the sale?

It happened to me this morning. My fiancée and I are looking for a place to hold a wedding reception. The coordinator we met with, Marla, from one of the places we looked at over the weekend, the Emerson Inn, called me to ask if we had made any decisions in a courteous way. I told her we loved the place, though we want an evening reception and the Emerson only does afternoons. She asked a few more questions about what we were looking for and offered to send me some suggestions via e-mail. I thanked her and hung up.

Her e-mail hit my inbox about 3 minutes later.Read more

We are interviewing people for a position where I work. Since it’s an inside sales role, we typically look for people who have a natural curiosity, people who enjoy games and mind-teasers. One candidate was telling us about how he loved Monopoly and said something which blew my mind: “4 houses, then a hotel. That’s the key to success.”

It sounds simple, except if you think about it for a moment there is something much deeper in what he said than basic board game strategy. Two main ideas, actually.Read more