I was talking today to a salesperson who was commenting about how much things slow down in the summer and how hard it is to get business. As the person was telling me this, I couldn’t help but think how much this person believed what they said and, by doing so, ensured that they would be unsuccessful.
The key to successful selling in the summer months is to realize that people will be harder to reach, so you will need to make many more prospecting calls. To compensate for the number of people on vacation during any given week in the summer, a good rule of thumb is to attempt 15 % more calls in June, July and August, although the exact amount will vary by industry, geography, etc.
Saturday, July 8, 2006
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Sales Training Tip #137: Think M/S/S
There are only three things any salesperson should be spending their time on: Marketing, Selling, and/or Servicing. On a weekly basis, take the time to identify at least two activities you currently do that do not fit into one of these categories. Then, either delegate them to someone else or simply stop doing them.
Tip #136: Friday Selling
On the next Friday that the weather is nice and you see others around you going home early for the weekend, seize the opportunity to push your networking by staying and making more calls, etc. When Monday rolls around, Friday will most likely be forgotten, and you’ll have more contacts to show for your efforts.
Quit Being a Sales-person and Be a Sale-person
Too many sales are lost because of just that—“sales.” Success in selling comes from listening to what the customer is (and may not be) telling us. Unfortunately, we don’t usually listen this closely, and instead we wind up selling multiple solutions to a single problem in the hopes that one of the solutions fits. When this happens, the customer can get overwhelmed and confused, putting the sale in jeopardy.
It starts when marketing comes out with the “greatest” new product or service yet to hit the market. Marketing proclaims this latest development will solve any problem of any customer and continues to layer it on with an assortment of product characteristics. All the while the attentive salesperson is absorbing all of this information and subconsciously looking for ways to apply every last thing marketing has put forth. It’s only natural for the salesperson to begin believing the marketing hype, and right here is where one of the biggest “quiet mistakes” in sales occurs: The salesperson adopts the mindset that their latest product or service will satisfy any and every customer’s any and every need. We call this a “quiet mistake” because the mistake is not made in front of a customer (such as misquoting a price or missing a key date); rather it’s made quietly because it occurs long before the sales call. Such mistakes make it hard to see the consequent loss in sales.
When dealing with a customer, a salesperson must exhibit patience not only to find out the needs of the customer, but also to find out which need in particular is the best match for the salesperson’s offering. Instead of taking the time to validate the needs they hear, salespeople can be tempted to treat all needs as equal, or worse yet, to endorse the universal appeal of their product or service. This failure to narrow your focus is where many sales are lost.
That’s why it is important to think in terms of “sale,” and not “sales.” Top-performing salespeople sell to the customer’s primary need. Average salespeople, on the other hand, sell to numerous needs, and in so doing overwhelm the customer and lose the sale. To avoid being a “sales”person, focus your attention on a chief concern of your customer. This will not only result in a higher closing percentage, but it will also allow you the opportunity to focus your attention on the next chief concern in the future.
It starts when marketing comes out with the “greatest” new product or service yet to hit the market. Marketing proclaims this latest development will solve any problem of any customer and continues to layer it on with an assortment of product characteristics. All the while the attentive salesperson is absorbing all of this information and subconsciously looking for ways to apply every last thing marketing has put forth. It’s only natural for the salesperson to begin believing the marketing hype, and right here is where one of the biggest “quiet mistakes” in sales occurs: The salesperson adopts the mindset that their latest product or service will satisfy any and every customer’s any and every need. We call this a “quiet mistake” because the mistake is not made in front of a customer (such as misquoting a price or missing a key date); rather it’s made quietly because it occurs long before the sales call. Such mistakes make it hard to see the consequent loss in sales.
When dealing with a customer, a salesperson must exhibit patience not only to find out the needs of the customer, but also to find out which need in particular is the best match for the salesperson’s offering. Instead of taking the time to validate the needs they hear, salespeople can be tempted to treat all needs as equal, or worse yet, to endorse the universal appeal of their product or service. This failure to narrow your focus is where many sales are lost.
That’s why it is important to think in terms of “sale,” and not “sales.” Top-performing salespeople sell to the customer’s primary need. Average salespeople, on the other hand, sell to numerous needs, and in so doing overwhelm the customer and lose the sale. To avoid being a “sales”person, focus your attention on a chief concern of your customer. This will not only result in a higher closing percentage, but it will also allow you the opportunity to focus your attention on the next chief concern in the future.
Selling a Higher Price in a B-B Environment
Even the most sales savvy among us have been there: fighting back the nerves that materialize whenever we are faced with telling a customer about a price increase.
Talking about a price increase never makes for an easy conversation. When discussing a price increase in a business to business environment it’s important to bear in mind that our customer has probably had to have the same discussion with their own customers. A company exists only as long as it earns a profit and a company can only earn a profit long-term if it delivers a quality product or service that is priced right. This means the key to any price increase conversations is to emphasize that such an increase will ensure product quality.
As you begin to prepare your strategy for communicating a price increase, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Does the customer take your product/service and add a standard percentage increase in price when selling to their customers? If this is the case, you can point out that your customer will make more money by taking a standard percentage of a higher amount.
2. What percentage of the customer’s business is your product/service? If the percentage is small, point out that the amount of increase is only a small percentage of their total business. If the percentage is great, then you can emphasize that the price increase is necessary to maintain the level of product quality necessary for them to serve their customers.
3. Has the customer faced any other price increases from other vendors? If so, try to identify what some percentages of the other increases have been. If your price increase falls into the low end, then you can point out how your increase is comparatively lower than many others. If your increase is at the high end, you can explain how your increase is the only one you expect to take; or you may point out that you wouldn’t be surprised to see others coming back to take another round of price increases.
4. How does the customer view you and the products/services you sell? If you have a reputation and record of quality, then you can emphasize that the increase has been carefully thought through and that the increase is only being taken to ensure continuing quality. If you have a spotty record with the customer, then you should stress how the price increase will allow you to begin addressing some of the issues in question by allowing you to increase the overall quality of service the customer has been receiving. Naturally it is important to make sure all comments are backed with a commitment to follow-through.
5. Will the customer raise an issue with the price increase? Be prepared to show documentation of how your costs have increased and how the same increases your company is facing are being dealt with by other companies. (One example is the increasing cost of oil, which has forced any company that uses petroleum in the manufacturing or transportation of goods to most likely increase prices.) When having this discussion, be sure to show empathy for the customer, but remain firm in what you’re saying. If the customer senses any hesitation on your part they will likely try to exploit it in the form of a price concession from you.
Also be prepared to share steps that your company has taken in an attempt to avoid a price increase. This can include ways you’ve already cut costs, or how the price increase is the only way to maintain the quality and service the customer expects.
A final point to emphasize is the time lag between this price increase and the previous increase. Having information available concerning the rate of inflation during that specific time period may also help diffuse the issue of the price increase.
6. Why does the customer buy from you anyway? Knowing the real reason(s) the customer buys from you will allow you to reinforce these points when talking about the price increase. You should also have ready at least two key needs of the customer that your product or service satisfies. Be sure all of your strategic information about the customer is up to date before a price increase is announced.
7. How much business is at risk from the customer? We can sometimes get carried away thinking that if we raise prices we’ll lose the customer, even though this is rarely the case. Think through what steps the customer would have to take to move to another vendor. Many times the work involved in moving is not worth the effort, and thus the business is less at risk than thought.
The following are best practices to employ when executing a price increase:
1. Give the customer lead-time. Provide the customer with enough notice of the lead-time to allow them to make adjustments in their information systems and to exercise at least one more order at the existing price.
2. Do not show favorites. Pricing integrity is always essential, but especially so during a price change. Do not treat particular customers more favorably in pricing during an increase. Different pricing levels are fine as long as they can be logically defended so that a customer who is not receiving the price break can understand and accept the price change.
3. Invoicing integrity. Do not allow your customer to find out about a price increase from your invoice. Any changes in pricing must come from the account executive or a person of high position in the company. Information regarding a price change should only appear on an invoice after every person involved at the customer has been personally notified. (Sufficient time should occur in the price increase timeline to allow at least one invoice to contain a note of the pending increase in price.)
4. Customer service blunders. Make sure each customer service representative and anyone else who comes in contact with the customer is fully aware of when the price increase is going to be communicated. One of the most significant possibilities for customer difficulty during a price increase is the potentially confusing information they hear from different departments. Everyone in customer service needs to be fully briefed on the price increase, the reasoning behind it, and the logistics for implementation. They should also be provided with a FAQ guide to ensure that when customers do ask them about elements of the pricing increase they are able to share accurate information.
5. Believe in the price increase. In order to be paid what we’re worth, we must charge what we’re worth. Although this is not something that can be explicitly communicated to the customer, this general sense is what sets apart the best practice companies and high-performing sales professionals.
6. Open-phone/open-door policy. Any time a price increase is taken, it is important for all senior executives to be willing to take a phone call from a customer or to make phone calls on key customers. Nothing sends a stronger signal to a sales organization than seeing their senior executives on the front-line when dealing with a price increase.
7. Monitor orders pre- and post-price increase. Make sure order patterns are closely monitored for the sales cycle leading up to the price increase and the sales cycle following the price increase. It is important to catch quickly any changes in ordering patterns at the customer level due to any price increase, and monitoring this information in total will not allow you to see customer changes fast enough.
During the 1970s and 1980s, price increases were common and expected. During the past 10 years, however, we’ve all grown used to lower inflation and the overwhelming impact Wal-Mart’s philosophy on pricing has had on nearly every industry. Today price increases are again growing more common and acceptable so long as they are well thought through and not seen as a way to merely increase profits. As an inevitable part of business today, we can’t let ourselves avoid tackling price increases; instead we should seek to use them strategically to increase our selling potential.
Talking about a price increase never makes for an easy conversation. When discussing a price increase in a business to business environment it’s important to bear in mind that our customer has probably had to have the same discussion with their own customers. A company exists only as long as it earns a profit and a company can only earn a profit long-term if it delivers a quality product or service that is priced right. This means the key to any price increase conversations is to emphasize that such an increase will ensure product quality.
As you begin to prepare your strategy for communicating a price increase, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Does the customer take your product/service and add a standard percentage increase in price when selling to their customers? If this is the case, you can point out that your customer will make more money by taking a standard percentage of a higher amount.
2. What percentage of the customer’s business is your product/service? If the percentage is small, point out that the amount of increase is only a small percentage of their total business. If the percentage is great, then you can emphasize that the price increase is necessary to maintain the level of product quality necessary for them to serve their customers.
3. Has the customer faced any other price increases from other vendors? If so, try to identify what some percentages of the other increases have been. If your price increase falls into the low end, then you can point out how your increase is comparatively lower than many others. If your increase is at the high end, you can explain how your increase is the only one you expect to take; or you may point out that you wouldn’t be surprised to see others coming back to take another round of price increases.
4. How does the customer view you and the products/services you sell? If you have a reputation and record of quality, then you can emphasize that the increase has been carefully thought through and that the increase is only being taken to ensure continuing quality. If you have a spotty record with the customer, then you should stress how the price increase will allow you to begin addressing some of the issues in question by allowing you to increase the overall quality of service the customer has been receiving. Naturally it is important to make sure all comments are backed with a commitment to follow-through.
5. Will the customer raise an issue with the price increase? Be prepared to show documentation of how your costs have increased and how the same increases your company is facing are being dealt with by other companies. (One example is the increasing cost of oil, which has forced any company that uses petroleum in the manufacturing or transportation of goods to most likely increase prices.) When having this discussion, be sure to show empathy for the customer, but remain firm in what you’re saying. If the customer senses any hesitation on your part they will likely try to exploit it in the form of a price concession from you.
Also be prepared to share steps that your company has taken in an attempt to avoid a price increase. This can include ways you’ve already cut costs, or how the price increase is the only way to maintain the quality and service the customer expects.
A final point to emphasize is the time lag between this price increase and the previous increase. Having information available concerning the rate of inflation during that specific time period may also help diffuse the issue of the price increase.
6. Why does the customer buy from you anyway? Knowing the real reason(s) the customer buys from you will allow you to reinforce these points when talking about the price increase. You should also have ready at least two key needs of the customer that your product or service satisfies. Be sure all of your strategic information about the customer is up to date before a price increase is announced.
7. How much business is at risk from the customer? We can sometimes get carried away thinking that if we raise prices we’ll lose the customer, even though this is rarely the case. Think through what steps the customer would have to take to move to another vendor. Many times the work involved in moving is not worth the effort, and thus the business is less at risk than thought.
The following are best practices to employ when executing a price increase:
1. Give the customer lead-time. Provide the customer with enough notice of the lead-time to allow them to make adjustments in their information systems and to exercise at least one more order at the existing price.
2. Do not show favorites. Pricing integrity is always essential, but especially so during a price change. Do not treat particular customers more favorably in pricing during an increase. Different pricing levels are fine as long as they can be logically defended so that a customer who is not receiving the price break can understand and accept the price change.
3. Invoicing integrity. Do not allow your customer to find out about a price increase from your invoice. Any changes in pricing must come from the account executive or a person of high position in the company. Information regarding a price change should only appear on an invoice after every person involved at the customer has been personally notified. (Sufficient time should occur in the price increase timeline to allow at least one invoice to contain a note of the pending increase in price.)
4. Customer service blunders. Make sure each customer service representative and anyone else who comes in contact with the customer is fully aware of when the price increase is going to be communicated. One of the most significant possibilities for customer difficulty during a price increase is the potentially confusing information they hear from different departments. Everyone in customer service needs to be fully briefed on the price increase, the reasoning behind it, and the logistics for implementation. They should also be provided with a FAQ guide to ensure that when customers do ask them about elements of the pricing increase they are able to share accurate information.
5. Believe in the price increase. In order to be paid what we’re worth, we must charge what we’re worth. Although this is not something that can be explicitly communicated to the customer, this general sense is what sets apart the best practice companies and high-performing sales professionals.
6. Open-phone/open-door policy. Any time a price increase is taken, it is important for all senior executives to be willing to take a phone call from a customer or to make phone calls on key customers. Nothing sends a stronger signal to a sales organization than seeing their senior executives on the front-line when dealing with a price increase.
7. Monitor orders pre- and post-price increase. Make sure order patterns are closely monitored for the sales cycle leading up to the price increase and the sales cycle following the price increase. It is important to catch quickly any changes in ordering patterns at the customer level due to any price increase, and monitoring this information in total will not allow you to see customer changes fast enough.
During the 1970s and 1980s, price increases were common and expected. During the past 10 years, however, we’ve all grown used to lower inflation and the overwhelming impact Wal-Mart’s philosophy on pricing has had on nearly every industry. Today price increases are again growing more common and acceptable so long as they are well thought through and not seen as a way to merely increase profits. As an inevitable part of business today, we can’t let ourselves avoid tackling price increases; instead we should seek to use them strategically to increase our selling potential.
Good sales people continue to be in demand.
It seems a week doesn’t go by without somebody calling me looking for a sales person. Sales has always been a position everyone thinks they can do and yet few can do well. What is even more amazing is how too many employers, especially those in search of a good sales person want to pay their sales people at the low-end of compensation and on top of that do not want to invest their development. It blows me away when I run into these situations and they’re far more prevalent than you would imagine.
What really made this hit home with me is a survey I saw which was conducted by Manpower, the employment organization. They surveyed 32,000 employers in 23 countries and the number one position they had trouble filling….sales rep. Wow, now that’s proof beyond anything else I’ve ever seen about the struggles of finding good sales people. What is amazing is how the issue of finding sales reps was higher than what would be perceived as far more technical positions such as engineers, accountants or technicians. Now add to this equation that the competition is not going to go away and the struggle to find quality employees is only going to get tougher. All this means we need to focus even more on the development of sales people and not just entry level training but serious on-going development. When I mention this to employers it’s amazing how some of them will remark how they don’t want to invest in something that can quit on them at anytime. If this is the belief system held by an employer then there are far bigger issues. Any employer who is not willing to invest in a person’s development on-going especially in a field such as sales is an employer not worth working for.
Let’s not think the only person responsible for developing the skills of a sales person is the employer, it’s also the responsibility of the person themselves to continue growing. Here’s where another argument comes up and that is the argument of how sales people do not believe they’re paid what they’re worth and therefore why should they invest in themselves since the company isn’t paying them enough to begin with. If this is the attitude of the sales person then we have a sales person who will never be better than average at best and more importantly a person with this type of attitude will never become a high-performer. Every time I meet with a high-performing sales person it becomes very clear that they have reached this level because they have not just relied on their company to supply training but they have also made an investment into the development.
The question that has to be asked is what is the right level of on-going development a sales person needs to perform at a high level. Unfortunately there is no uniform answer as the solution lies not in the level of time or money spent developing somebody but on the continuous results the sales person is achieving. Here the key is to not assume self-development does not need to occur as long the person is achieving their goals. Just because a person is achieving their goals does not mean they don’t need training. I’ll take the position the best time to train is when things are going good since the person will be more relaxed and open to ideas “vs” being in a panic mode of trying to find short-term solutions. In the end the answer as to how much on-going development is needed for sales people must be answered by the sales person and their employer. However I would be safe to say there is probably less than 5% of all sales people who are receiving the correct amount of training on-going.
What really made this hit home with me is a survey I saw which was conducted by Manpower, the employment organization. They surveyed 32,000 employers in 23 countries and the number one position they had trouble filling….sales rep. Wow, now that’s proof beyond anything else I’ve ever seen about the struggles of finding good sales people. What is amazing is how the issue of finding sales reps was higher than what would be perceived as far more technical positions such as engineers, accountants or technicians. Now add to this equation that the competition is not going to go away and the struggle to find quality employees is only going to get tougher. All this means we need to focus even more on the development of sales people and not just entry level training but serious on-going development. When I mention this to employers it’s amazing how some of them will remark how they don’t want to invest in something that can quit on them at anytime. If this is the belief system held by an employer then there are far bigger issues. Any employer who is not willing to invest in a person’s development on-going especially in a field such as sales is an employer not worth working for.
Let’s not think the only person responsible for developing the skills of a sales person is the employer, it’s also the responsibility of the person themselves to continue growing. Here’s where another argument comes up and that is the argument of how sales people do not believe they’re paid what they’re worth and therefore why should they invest in themselves since the company isn’t paying them enough to begin with. If this is the attitude of the sales person then we have a sales person who will never be better than average at best and more importantly a person with this type of attitude will never become a high-performer. Every time I meet with a high-performing sales person it becomes very clear that they have reached this level because they have not just relied on their company to supply training but they have also made an investment into the development.
The question that has to be asked is what is the right level of on-going development a sales person needs to perform at a high level. Unfortunately there is no uniform answer as the solution lies not in the level of time or money spent developing somebody but on the continuous results the sales person is achieving. Here the key is to not assume self-development does not need to occur as long the person is achieving their goals. Just because a person is achieving their goals does not mean they don’t need training. I’ll take the position the best time to train is when things are going good since the person will be more relaxed and open to ideas “vs” being in a panic mode of trying to find short-term solutions. In the end the answer as to how much on-going development is needed for sales people must be answered by the sales person and their employer. However I would be safe to say there is probably less than 5% of all sales people who are receiving the correct amount of training on-going.
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