PURE OPINION

Sales Mechanics

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 21:49:15 -0500

Some experts would have you believe that skills aren't necessary to win sales. Instead, they urge you to only focus on a magical mix of mindset, likability, trust, and confidence to win sales. They tell you to write articles, books and blogs and go speak at the local Rotary Club to become an expert. They tell you to become known and people will come to you. Objections will never come up because you're being sought after.

Believe me - I love their stuff just as much as you do. Much of my "stuff" resembles it. That stuff sounds good and feels good! Keep reading it. I will. Much of it is true.

I've been fortunate enough to serve clients who are absolute "category killers" in their industries and have high-profile CEO's who are considered experts in their fields. Guess what - they still find themselves in competitive situations. They still find themselves with potential clients who stop returning phone calls and emails. They still find themselves losing business.

I've said it 1000 times before, and I'll stand by the fact that your clients need to like, trust, and have confidence in you. And mindset, it's absolutely critical. Should you work on being known? Without a doubt! However, these traits are simply the ante to play in sales.

Even the most likable, trustworthy, and positive person in the world is going to crash and burn if she can't effectively Connect, Get Information, Give Information, Resolve Objections, and Close.

Here are some quick hits you and your team members can implement immediately to make impact on your current opportunities:

1. Have a sales process. List the incremental wins you need to check off your list prior to the client signing on the dotted line. What information do you need at each step from the client? How do you continually check for alignment with the client to make sure they're still on board?

2. Have a specific goal for each sales call that moves you to the next step of your sales process. So many times salespeople walk into sales calls without the next step in mind. What is it you want the client to do at the end of the call? If you don't know, how do you know what information you need from the client? How do you know what kinds of questions to ask? How do you prepare information to present to demonstrate you can help? What are you getting the client to do next? Why even meet if there's no desired forward momentum? Quick note with an overused analogy: forward momentum includes finding out you need to cut bait and fish in a different hole.

3. Foreshadow. At the beginning of the call, after you've built some rapport, summarize the events that led to the call, assumptively foreshadow the purpose, process, and payoff for that specific call, and "trial close" to make sure the potential client is meeting you for the same reason.

4. After Getting and Giving Information, resolve concerns by Acknowledging, Clarifying, Responding, and Confirming that the client is satisfied with your response. Go back to Getting and Giving Information steps if necessary.

5. Finally, "close" for the next step in the sales process. Review the client's objectives, enthusiastically communicate your ability and desire to help, and ask a "yes" or "yes" question to schedule the next call (or ask for the business if that's where you are in the sales process).

The above isn't the whole ball of wax, but it's a good start toward wrapping your arms around running sales calls. Want more examples and detail on the above? Email me at Brian@BrianMacias.com.

They're Watching

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:41:22 -0500

They desperately seek your approval. They’re watching everything you do. They’re listening to every word you say. Not only are they watching and listening – they’re acting on it. They’re doing the things you do. They’re saying the things you say.
Who are “they?” They’re your team members. “They”’ could also be your kids if that’s what you were thinking!
Someone I respect greatly, very simply stated, “People follow their leaders.” Your actions dictate what’s acceptable and what’s expected from your team. Whether you do it consciously or unconsciously, you’re creating your team’s culture. Whether you want to or not, right now, you’re leading by example. Your language becomes their language. Your actions become their actions.
Blow off their emails and phone calls – they’ll do the same with your clients’ emails and phone calls.
Gossip and speak poorly about other team members and clients – they’ll do the same.
Create obstacles for others to get some of your time – they’ll do the same when it comes to their time.
Here’s the good news: the same is true for the good stuff.
Take a vested interest in their success – they’ll do the same for your clients and other team members.
Stay upbeat and positive – they’ll do the same.
Speak highly of your internal and external clients – they’ll do the same.
Seek to understand before seeking to be understood – they’ll do the same.
Make them feel important, appreciated, valued, and liked – they’ll make your clients feel important, appreciated, valued, and liked.
Get it?
The bottom line is a “Do as I say – not as I do” approach may work short-term, but will never work in the long run. You can’t constantly beat on your folks and expect them to hug your clients.
Leading is hard. It’s exhausting. You must be “on” at all times. Boy, I’ve been “off” more times than I like to think about. But, I’ve learned to not be too hard on myself. What we’re talking about here is conditioning. Just as you’re conditioning others, the people you’ve been watching your whole life helped condition you.
Here’s how you begin to fix it:
1. Accept responsibility for your team’s behavior.
2. Identify the specific behaviors you want to change within the team and write them down.
3. Take a good, hard look inside and pinpoint the instances where you’ve exhibited those behaviors. Write them down.
4. Create a pattern interrupt – something to stop the behavior when you catch yourself doing it. This is something meant to change your physiology: clapping your hands, pumping your fist, a chant, etc. Write it down.
5. Insert a replacement habit – the way you expect yourself and others to react. Write it down.
Don’t be too hard on yourself as you work to catch those bad habits and replace them. It took a long time to build those habits. It will take a while to replace them. Lastly, while you need to take responsibility, you can’t blame yourself for the individual behavior of every team member. They’ve had years of prior conditioning before you. However, don’t underestimate your influence in helping them change.

Listen Up! by Brian Macias

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:18:50 -0400

82% of people prefer to talk with great LISTENERS compared to the 18% of people who prefer to talk with great SPEAKERS.

There's so much focus on "active listening skills" in sales training. I'm sure you've been in a situation where someone was using their active listening skills with you: cocking their head to the side, nodding, furrowing their brow, and making verbal noises, like "hmmmm..." etc. Their goal is to show you they're paying attention, they're empathetic, and what you're saying is important. However, if you've been on the other side of "active listening," you may be inclined to agree that "active listening" = "perceived patronizing."

Above all, great listeners don't interrupt. Forget the understanding looks. Forget the nods. Forget the empathetic, understanding grunts. Focus solely on not interrupting and you'll be a better listener than 99% of others.

The below are all forms of interruptions and tips on how to avoid making them:

· Seal your lips - Has anyone ever yelled at you to "keep your mouth shut?" That was probably good advice. Parting your lips alone sends an unspoken signal to the other person that you want to talk. Without saying a word, you've interrupted their train of thought. Focus on keeping your lips together. You won't send signals and it physically keeps you from speaking.

· Stop "me too-ing" - You're no different than your clients. You too want to feel important, appreciated, liked, and valued. Everyone wants these feelings. Remember, interested is always better than interesting. The more interested you are, the more the client will like, trust, and have confidence in you. Fight the urge to pile on to what the client is saying. The only thing you're doing is taking what they're saying and making it about you. It's not about you. It's about them.

· Stop "helping" - Often, we think by supplying an example or a critical point, we're helping the client to drive home what they're saying to us. Don't fool yourself. It's not really about helping the client. It's about you trying to show how smart you are. Stop it. Smart people keep quiet and speak up only when there is something relevant to say.

· Write it down - We often interrupt when there's something we think we'll forget if we don't say it immediately. Write it down, and bring it up later. There's a good chance if you just let them finish their thought, they'll probably address your point anyway. That's good. It's true when they say it.

· Pause - Create a brief silence to verify they're done speaking. It can be as small as one second. Then proceed. Those who start talking immediately show that instead of listening, they were simply waiting their turn to talk.

Lastly, always take notes during the meeting. Once you begin the interviewing portion of your meetings, ask the client if it's OK for you to take notes. If the client says no, you're one of a kind; you've become the first person on earth to experience that. They will say yes. By asking them, what you're saying is:

· What you're telling me is important.

· I'm going to be thinking about you outside of the meeting and will want to reference things from our discussion.

· Sometimes I won't be making direct eye contact with you, but if my pen's moving, I'm paying attention.

If you're comfortable, you can even communicate this to the client!!

Own Your Clients’ Experiences

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:33:29 -0400

Larry: Hello, this is Larry from ABC Bank and I’m calling about your small business account with us. Is this Brian M-M-Mikus…Maxius…?
Brian: This is Brian.
Larry: I’m a small business banker here at ABC Bank and this is a service call to see if things are going smoothly with your account.
Brian: Actually, I’m glad you called. One of the things I love about your bank is that I can do everything online. When I signed up for your business services, the banker told me I’d be able to access both my personal and business banking together online. However, I guess because I’m using my Social Security number for both my personal and business accounts, I’m unable to have both accounts accessible online. Is there anything I can do? Can you help me with that?
Larry: Oh. You’ll have to call our customer service line. Their number is online. They can help you with that.
Brian: Ok. Is there anything you can do to help me?
Larry: Unfortunately, not. They’re a separate department. I’m not able to fix any online issues. So, Brian, what kind of consulting do you do?
Brian: I help companies drive more revenue.
Larry: That sounds interesting. Can you give me an example?
Brian: Sure, Larry. I work to create a coaching culture from the top down by working with leadership, salespeople, and training teams to interact with clients in a way that creates loyalty. I often review calls with salespeople. Take our call for example. If I were reviewing this with you, I’d likely advise you to conference in customer service while you had me on the phone to see if we could fix my problem together. By doing that, you take an ordinary sales call and turn it into an extraordinary client experience for me. Ultimately, you make it far more likely for me to buy from you and become a loyal client.
Larry: That sounds great.
Brian: It is.
Larry: How’s your cash flow?
Brian: Fantastic.
Larry: I was just thinking if you were having any cash flow issues, maybe another one of our products could help.
Brian: I appreciate you thinking about me, Larry. I’m in great shape with cash flow.
Larry: Ok. Let me give you my number and that way you can call me if you need help with anything. Some bankers are hard to reach, but I want you to know I’m here to help. My number is 216…
What can we learn from Larry? Too much to cover here, but let’s go over the lowlights...
Have you ever heard anyone tell you that the sweetest sound to someone’s ears is hearing his or her own name? Not true when your name is being butchered all the time. Now, I’ve accepted that my last name is difficult for anyone who didn’t grow up with it. I actually expect people to mispronounce it. Those of you who have grown accustomed to hearing your names butchered will attest to this: If you want to differentiate yourself and endear yourself to us, say our names correctly.
Larry had a couple choices:
• He could have skipped my last name altogether and used my first name. “Brian” works just fine for me.
• He could have asked me how to pronounce it! Because I already have my money with them, he could have said: Hello, Brian. This is Larry from ABC Bank. I’m calling about your small business account with us. You have a unique last name, and I want to learn how to say it correctly. Before I butcher it, would you mind saying it for me?
I would have loved that and liked him right out of the gate. Alternatively, I immediately perceived him as a low-level telemarketer instead of a savvy banker.
Next, I can appreciate his sales strategy. I’m a current client, and therefore, a warm call in terms of selling more services. However, if you’re going to call under the guise of wanting to “help” me, then be prepared to help me! Larry asked me if everything was going smoothly, and when I told him I needed his help, he made it immediately clear that really wasn’t the purpose of the call. Instead, he directed me somewhere else as if it was a different company I needed to speak with altogether.
The most hilarious part is I even tried to help Larry in an insanely obvious way. I told him exactly what would make this an incredible experience for me. In an almost obnoxious way, I suggested Larry own my experience and conference me in with the customer service people. Did he change his approach? Nope. Instead he asked another stupid question and played all of his cards: I was just thinking if you were having any cash flow issues, maybe another one of our products could help.
What he actually meant was: I was hoping you were in bad shape so I could sell you a high-interest, non-secured loan. This is my 15th sales job and if I don’t sell some products, I’m going to be looking for my 16th sales job.
In the end, it was nice of Larry to offer his number to me in case I ever needed “help.”
Thanks, Larry. I needed your help, but you left me to deal with it on my own. It would have been more honest for him to say, “If you’re interested in spending money with someone who’s provided you no value at all, give me a call. I’m your guy.”
Larry, if you were actually focused on helping me, you would have addressed my problem and created a raving, loyal fan. You might not have sold me anything today, but you would have opened the door to all kinds of possibilities: referrals, future business, or at the very least, kept me from taking all my money somewhere else. Instead, I’m telling your story to hundreds of people as an example of what not to do.
Clients want you to own their experience. If you work for the company, and I’m on the phone with you, you’re responsible. Own your clients’ experiences. Invest in helping. Invest in future business. Invest in making your current clients loyal clients.
Don’t be a Larry. Anyone can deliver incredible experiences. Start today. Take responsibility for every client.

Create Value and Become Known!

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:16:53 -0500

“It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” - Jeffrey Gitomer

Create value and become known by sharing your best practices and advice. Readers want to read your best practices on:

Maintaining a positive attitude
Prospecting
Delivering great client service
Developing rapport
Uncovering clients’ needs
Working with decision makers
Uncovering budgets
Closing
Working through tough objections
Staying top of mind
Differentiation
General advice
And more!

Click on the “Add a Comment” link below and post your best practice. Include your name, title, and email address in your post. Don’t feel uncomfortable about posting your name and email address. Anyone who reads your post and emails you is called a lead.

Through completely subjective judging with no clear guidelines, I’ll select three authors of the posts below to contribute to the next Pure Opinion. Thanks for your ideas and sell well!