Sales Loudmouth
A Community for Professional Sellers
Sales Loudmouth

Thinking and Communicating Part II

Author's Note:  This is the second in a two part series.  The first post is available here.

Occasionally, my 15-year old son asks me what he needs to learn in high school and college in order to be successful.  Notwithstanding the possibility that he learned everything he needed to in Kindergarten, I tell him that the most successful people I know can do two things better than most:  1) Solve problems and 2) Communicate their ideas.

While the majority of my working career has been spent selling media, I've been observing workers in all kinds of industries and have come to the ...<< MORE >>
Posted by TRohrer1 at 12/23/2008 5:18 PM | Add Comment

Unproductive Behaviors

I crest the hill and am faced with a ribbon of tail lights that stretch into a blurry line of angry red.  A rainy Monday morning commute.  A sigh escapes me and I glance at the clock.  Seven oh five, five minutes after seven.  I always say the time that way to myself - mimicking the radio announcers with whom I spend my mind-numbing hours.

Headlights flash in my side view mirror and I'm startled to see a Honda Accord approaching rapidly from the rear.  Startled because the headlights are in my right mirror and I'm in the right lane - ...<< MORE >>
Posted by TRohrer1 at 12/5/2008 12:15 PM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment

Resist the Bailout

Should we bail out the banking industry?  I don't know.  They tell me that if we don't ,there will be horrible ramifications for the economy. 

Should we bail out the automotive industry?  I don't know.  They tell me that if we don't, unemployment will soar and the trickle down effect on those who depend on the auto industry will cause untold horrors.

Should we bail out the account manager whose business has been decimated by his customer's drastic cutbacks?  No.

John has been a solid account manager for your company for the last eight years.  He doesn't develop a lot of business but ...<< MORE >>
Posted by TRohrer1 at 11/19/2008 7:01 PM | Add Comment

More Short Takes

Here are a few thoughts that need to get out there but don't lend themselves to an article of my usual length:

AGREE FIRST, THEN PERSUADE

Most sellers like to tackle objections head on.  They go to a presentation and make their pitch and are itching for the first objection so they can jump on it, wrestle it to the ground and make it eat dirt.

"Yeah!  Take that objection!  Is that the best you got?  You've got nothing!"

While this is tempting, it is generally not the best approach.  The reason is because people become defensive when confronted.  A defensive person is not a person who is open to the possibilities.  A defensive person is not a person who wants to buy.  A defensive person rises up to meet the confrontation and then looks for an exit.

A seller should always be looking for an opportunity to lower the prospect's defenses.  When an objection is fired in your direction, try to find something about the objection that is reasonable and then ask questions that allow you to overcome the objection.  In media, it might look like this:

Them:  "I really don't like your radio station.  The audience is far too young for my product."

You:  "Many people look at my station's playlist and think that we are too young.  Let me ask you a question:  What is the age range of your typical customer?"

Them:  "Typically, at least 25 years old."

You:  "Would you be interested in seeing a demographic breakdown of my audience?  You might be surprised at the number of people over the age of 25 that love hip-hop."

If you are a sales trainer you might have this conversation:

Them:  "We don't need sales training.  It's too expensive anyway."

You:  "You know, if I had a dollar every time I heard that I wouldn't need to be a sales trainer!  Let me ask you a question:  Are your sellers having a hard time getting return phone calls or e-mails?"

Them:  "Sometimes."

You:  "Other companies tell me that they aren't making quota.  Is your company experiencing similar results?"

A professional seller has heard all the objections or can anticipate all the new ones that prospects are dreaming up.  They handle the objections with grace and humor - not with confrontation or snappy, canned answers that cause the prospect to withdraw.

SPREAD OUT YOUR "I Love You's"

I was reading a story the other day about a famous person who called his wife every single day (and sometimes twice a day) to tell her that he loved her.

While it might be nice to love your wife so much that you want to tell her about it every six hours, the message will begin to dull over time and become insignificant.

The same happens to a seller who makes a presentation and then follows up incessantly with nothing of value to add to the process. 

Both the husband and the seller are expressing their lack of confidence in the relationship and the person of whom they aren't confident is themselves.

So, be confident that you are adding value to the relationship and spread out your "I love you's".

THE ANGRY REPLY

In the media business, there will be times when prospects offer to buy advertising from a media outlet with terms that are ridiculous.

While it is inappropriate to completely disregard these people, it is very appropriate to send something back that details the circumstances under which you will agree to do business.

This very thing happened the other day.  A customer with whom we have done business in the past sent an e-mail saying that he would like to buy this and this and this and he needs us to perform that and that and that and the amount of money he was willing to invest was south of reasonable and maybe south of ridiculous.

We responded with an appreciative note and assured the customer that we, too, would like to do business.  Our terms were very different than his and we outlined them and gave our reasons why our plan was the more correct version.

Back came a fiery e-mail with accusations that we had "gone crazy" and that the customer "was under no circumstances going to do" what we had proposed.

My seller was distraught but I only smiled.

When a prospect or customer cares enough to send you an e-mail letting you know that if it were up to him you would be committed, then you know the customer really, really, really wants to do business with you.

If the response is silence, then you know there will be no business unless you initiate the next contact and are ready to acquiesce.
>


>

>.

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

Posted by TRohrer1 at 11/14/2008 5:44 PM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

Outbound Excellence

Every once in a while I run across something so unique, so powerful that I absolutely must let you know about it.  Such is the case with an upcoming webcast by David Kalstrom of Outbound Excellence.  David's company has patented a system for making B2B calls and he's going to teach it this Friday.  Please see below for all the info.  The picture is static so you'll have to cut and paste the url into your toolbar instead of just clicking it.

This is going to be good so don't miss out!


<< MORE >>
Posted by TRohrer1 at 11/11/2008 7:33 PM | Add Comment

The Fatal Flaw

If I tell you the fatal flaw, will you avoid it?

Of course, you say that you will.

But, I'm not convinced because smokers know that their habit is dangerous to their health and they continue.  Those of us who want to lose weight understand exactly how to do it but we continue to make bad choices that prevent us from reaching our goals.

"Wait a minute", you say.  "Smoking is addictive and eating habits are ingrained from childhood.  Those habits are much harder to break than a simple selling technique."

Hoping that you are right, I will tell you the fatal flaw and offer some suggestions for ridding yourself of it and replacing it with better selling habits.

The fatal flaw of sellers is making a product presentation too early in the selling cycle. 

I'm not saying that you should keep the features and benefits of your product/service a secret - which I've seen sellers do to the utter frustration of the prospect.  No, my point is that sellers are in too much of a hurry to make their pitch and this rush to make a presentation dooms their sale.

Understanding why the fatal flaw dooms your sale is a good first step:

1) Customers don't like to be sold.  And when you are extolling the virtues of your product you are selling.   Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible, is fond of saying, "People don't like to be sold, but they love to buy" and it is the truth.

2) Making a presentation about your product before completely understanding the needs of the prospect might cause you to disqualify yourself.  I've seen this on many occasions.  One that stands out happened when I was working at a radio station in Atlanta that specialized in reaching African-American consumers.  We were very proud of the fact that our station reached the older end of the adult 25-54 demographic and that our listeners were more educated and upscale than our higher ranked competition.  Never mind the fact that we also had thousands and thousands of listeners that didn't fit that higher educated, more upscale model.  We usually ignored that fact in favor of the story that put us in what we thought was a better light.

Well, we had ingrained this story into the sellers to the point where they almost always lead with it.  One day I was out on a call with one of the sellers and almost immediately after welcoming us the prospect asked us to tell him about our station.  My seller launched into a poetic and engaging homily about the virtues of our upscale audience and how that distinction separated us from that more downscale station across town.  When he had finished, we sat expectantly looking at the prospect.  Here is what he said,

"That's too bad because our product appeals to a consumer whose household income is under $50,000.  We're not looking for an upscale audience."

Immediately, my seller started to backtrack and explain that we had plenty of downscale listeners in addition to our upscale but, of course, the damage was done.

3) You run the risk of commoditizing yourself and your product by fitting in to the pre-conceived notion of the prospect.  Prospects don't really expect to be overwhelmed by the professionalism of the sellers that call on them.  You shouldn't be surprised to learn that they view sales reps as a necessary part of the process but not a particularly desireable part of it.  When you walk in the door and start pitching your product, you have met the very low expectations of the prospect and pigeon-holed yourself as just another peddler.  Once you're "just another" your product is also "just another".  And, any of the "just anothers" will do.

Now that you know some of the reasons why the fatal flaw dooms your sale let's figure out how to avoid it.

1) State the purpose for your meeting at the beginning.  Not even the most untrained seller would declare the purpose of the meeting to be:  "For me to make a presentation about my products and services and for you to buy them."  While some of us may be thinking that, all of us would find some better way of putting it.  In media sales, the purpose of meetings with prospects is:  "To understand your marketing objectives so that we can put together a plan to help you achieve them."  Or "To understand what you are trying to achieve through marketing so that we can help you determine if our product can help you with those goals."  Some variation of this occurs in every B2B sale.  (Of course, it happens in B2C sales, too, but the approach is necessarily different.  For more on that type of sale, please spend some time on Skip Anderson's blog.)

When the purpose is stated at the beginning and it includes the necessary step of listening to the prospect, all participants will realize that the prospect must do the speaking before the seller.

2)  Remember your manners.  If a man and a woman are on an elevator, the man waits for the woman to exit before he does.  Even if the woman smiles and gestures for the man to go ahead, one who has learned his manners would say, "Please, I insist," and sweep his arm grandly toward the open door.  When you are calling on a prospect, the polite way to behave is to insist on going second.

3) Do your research but let the prospect be the expert.  One of my favorite ways to start a meeting (after stating the purpose) is to say something like this:  "I've done some research and learned this and this and this about your business.  Can you help me fill in the gaps?"  The days of expecting a prospect to educate us about every aspect of his business are long gone.   But, prospects still want to be the recognized expert on their business and are willing to talk to the right people.  By indicating that you have made an initial effort you gain the necessary credibility to be one of those people.

There are many more tips for avoiding the fatal flaw.  Please add your comments and let us know how you do it!


>

>.

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

Posted by TRohrer1 at 11/8/2008 11:18 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

When to Give Up (Hint: It's Not Never)

Perseverance and determination are critically important talents for a seller.  No one disputes that.  But, the flip side of perseverance is stalking and that of determination is mule-headedness.

The question often isn't whether to give up, it is when. 

I know, I know.  Everyone's favorite theory is "never give up".  Maybe you'll even want me to remember Jim Valvano's speech.  But, despite its undeniable inspiration the speech doesn't apply to sales.

Professional sellers realize very quickly that the amount of time available for prospecting dimishes as they become more successful.  One reason is because some sellers are tasked with securing the initial sale from a prospect and providing continuing service beyond the sale.  The more sales one makes, the more time one spends on the service side of the equation and the less time available for bringing in new business. 

This truth makes it imperative that every seller have a system for choosing prospects.  A qualification process that assures each prospect is worth the time spent trying to turn them into a customer.  In media, the process includes an evaluation of a prospect's revenue potential, access to the prospect's decision makers, product fit and the account manager's desire to commit to the sales process.

Revenue Potential
Can the prospect afford to do business with you?  If being a successful advertiser on your advertising vehicle requires that a customer spend $5,000 per week, you'll need to know if the prospects to whom you are speaking can afford to spend at least $5,000 per week.  There are many ways to figure this out but since it is not the crux of this article, we'll need to tackle it at another time.

Access to Decision Makers
If there is absolutely no way to get in front of the decision  makers, it will hardly matter if the prospect has all the revenue potential in the world.  Let's not confuse the advertising agency with the client in this case.  If you have access to the decision makers at the advertising agency but not the client, then the advertising agency is your real customer and the revenue potential of the account is reduced to the amount of money being allocated to the agency.

Product Fit
Sellers of media must be rigorous in determining whether or not a prospect's product will appeal to the audience they reach.  The temptation to chase all dollars regardless of product fit is a trap that ensnares the negligent and sucks their time.

Desire to Commit
When a seller comes across a prospect with the three characteristics described above they often conclude that they have found a great prospect.  But, the final piece of the puzzle is the seller's willingness to work hard for the prospect's business over the course of time.  While it may seem silly to think that a seller wouldn't be committed to calling on a prospect that satisfies the first three qualifiers, it happens all the time.  Some media sellers don't want to call on car dealers, for example.  Sellers must display a passion for the industry category of the prospect or else the prospect won't feel as if the seller really has his interests in mind.  While there are some sellers who are pretty good at pretending they have an interest in everything under the sun, most don't have a passion for digging deep into every industry and can't fake it, either.

Determined sellers calling on prospects they have qualified using the system above might be tempted to call on them forever.  But, keep in mind that the qualifying system is based on our perspective as sellers.  The prospects might not agree with our conclusion and might find our advances unwanted or even annoying.  In light of this, there may come a time when a seller should give up on a qualified prospect. 

Experienced and wise sellers will be able to figure this out after having a meaningful conversation with the prospect's decision makers.  They might learn that the prospect doesn't have the necessary revenue potential for the seller's medium because the prospect just doesn't believe in using that medium.  Or, the prospect might not believe that the seller's audience fits the product quite so much as the seller believes it. 

Either way, when the prospect's decision maker has listened to the seller and rejected his medium and/or his advertising vehicle it is almost time to give up.  When the seller has offered multiple arguments in an effort to change the decision maker's mind and is still unable, it is getting closer to the time to give up.  When the decision maker has called the seller's sales manager and suggested that his next call is the local police department, then chances are good it is time to give up.

But, of course, not forever. 

Only for as long as the decision maker is in place.  As soon as the prospect has a new decision maker the process begins anew!.


>

>.

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

Posted by TRohrer1 at 10/20/2008 10:10 PM | Add Comment

Reduce Your Buyer's Risk!

As a buyer of goods and services, I am constantly trying to reduce my risk.  A couple of years ago, when I was shopping for a widescreen TV, I was really concerned abou purchasing something that A) Would work for a while and then break and Would be outdated long before the amount of use justified the cost.  As I shopped, I kept my concerns in mind and worked hard to make sure I minimized my risk.  As a result, I purchased the TV from a retailer that offered a long-term warranty, a reasonable price on a service agreement and employed somone that taught me the ins and outs of digital and HD TV.  The the time we closed the deal, I felt that my risk was minimal.  This was good for my peace of mind but it was really good for the seller of the TV!  If I didn't feel that the risk had been minimized, I wouldn't have been a buyer.

While the customer is always working to minimize his own risk, a savvy seller discovers the buyer’s concerns and actively tries to help him reduce his risks.  Sellers reduce the risks to a buyer in order to increase the buyer’s confidence and sell more.


Most purchases come with an implied benefit that must be met or else the sale is void.  A basketball must bounce, a mattress must support your weight, a refrigerator must keep things cold and a TV must display broadcast signals. 


But, the implied benefit of personal services or intangible products is more difficult to discern.  If I’m not happy with the way the lawn service cut my grass, there is nothing to take back to the store.  The benefit implied by a lawn service is that they will do a professional job of manicuring my lawn.  However, my inference of their service is that I will be satisfied.  The gap between their implication and my inference is the risk I take when I hire them.  It is the “risk gap”. 


The risk gap exists even if the lawn service has expressly stated that it will manicure my lawn in a professional manner and even if I have told them I am happiest when the mulch circles around my trees have a radius of exactly four feet.  This is true because words are interpreted differently by those who say them and those who hear them.  A lawn service that offers a “professionally manicured” lawn may mean something entirely different than what I expect. 


Media sellers have to deal with the risk gap all the time.  Buyers of media have an expectation that something positive will happen to their business because of the media that was purchased.  Foot traffic will increase to a retail store because of the insert in the Sunday paper.  The number of phone calls will go up because of a television commercial or the number of visits to a web page will soar because the right key words were purchased from a search engine.  The risk that none of these things will happen make buying media a scary proposition for most clients. 


As a result, media buyers have put various safeguards in place to reduce their risk. 


One way that media buyers have reduced their risk is to commoditize media by finding a common way of valuing all competitors within a medium.  The circulation of magazines are compared to each other so that ads can be purchased based on cost per thousand reached.  Radio station’s ratings are compared to each other so that ads can be purchased on a cost per rating point basis.  Internet networks are purchased based on cost per thousand or for an even less risky approach – cost per click.  Commoditizing a product to reduce the inherent risk of buying it is commonplace. 


The effect of commoditized pricing is detrimental to media sellers and must be resisted.  When media buyers find a way to compare the price of each supplier within a given medium, they are one step away from effectively setting the price.  If a medium can not remain independent of commoditized prices, its sellers become less valuable.  One can easily see that if the commoditization of price is the only way for a buyer to reduce her risk, sellers of that medium will suffer financially.  So, the question for media sellers is “How do you reduce the risks of buying your media and sell more of it without succumbing to commoditized prices?” 


There are lots of ways.

Use Qualitative Data
Not too long ago, the president of NBC-TV was quoted declaring the viewers of his network to be of a higher quality than the typical television viewer.  He cited qualitative data that indicated NBC viewers were more likely to be home owners and more likely to have higher incomes.  He was working hard to find an aspect of his product that made it unique.  In effect, he was saying that you can't buy his ratings points for the same price as the other's guys because the people behind the ratings were worth more.  While network TV may have been new to this argument, radio stations and magazines have been familiar with it for some time. 


Qualitative data separates one set of ratings points from another.  As a result, qualitative data reduces the risk of buying one member of a medium at a higher price than another.


Add Value That is Unique to You
Can your magazine produce a seminar that attracts high-net worth investors?  Does your radio station have the best known personality in the market doing endorsements?  Does your TV station have special access to a celebrity who could be convinced to make a special appearance?  Does your newspaper have a bunch of signed books from a popular author sitting in a closet just waiting to be distributed as gifts to valued clients?  Can your website allow a picture of a car to come racing across the page, slide to a stop and have the driver pop out and address the viewer? 


These are all examples of value that you might be able to add to the media buying experience; value that is unique to you and can’t be matched by the competition or commoditized by the customer.  By adding this type of added value, you are reducing the risk associated with buying your media and pointing out the possibility that your competition represents a greater risk. 


Offer Referrals
Nothing reduces the risk for a buyer like a referral.  When my wife and I decided to finish our basement we called the contractor that had been sending us postcards for two years.  We were concerned about inviting a stranger into our home for eight weeks.  We were concerned that the quality of the finished product wouldn’t match the quality of the rest of the house.  Our concerns were allayed by our neighbors who acted as referrals for the contractor.  Not only did they vouch for him in writing but they invited us to visit their homes and see the finished product. 


Media sellers should gather testimonials from satisfied customers and trot them out whenever they ask a new prospect for money.  Referrals from your satisfied customers reduce the risk for your new customers. 


Offer Performance Guarantees
Nothing has hurt traditional media as much as the performance guarantees of new media.  Media buyers desire, no demand, accountability and they are getting it from everyone.  If you promised that an ad would reach 10,000 people and it didn’t, then you need to offer additional advertising to make good the difference.  If your performance guarantee is in writing, your buyers will perceive a dramatic reduction in their risk and buy more from you. 


Execute Flawlessly
Customers appreciate that you are offering them a good deal.  But, it doesn’t matter if you don’t run their advertising as purchased, forget to perform the added value and then get them an inaccurate bill in an untimely manner.  Even though media buyers have tried to commoditize media prices, they are always willing to pay a little bit more to the outfit that executes flawlessly. 

The opposite is true, too.  There is no way that a media buyer will consider investing money with you if the risk that you might execute in a sloppy manner outweighs the cheap deal you’ve put on the table.


>

>.

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

Posted by TRohrer1 at 10/15/2008 10:18 PM | Add Comment

Anticipating Objections

The account manager stood across from my desk and held out his latest written presentation.

"Take a look at this and let me know what you think," he said.

I looked it over.  What I was looking at was a typical presentation.  Nothing too interesting about it and nothing too objectionable, either.  While searching for thoughts to share with the seller, I came up with. . . nothing. 

"It's a baked potato," I replied.

"A baked potato?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean, it's a baked potato," he demanded.

Having noticed his agitation, I decided to avoid the question and ask one of my own.

"Why wouldn't she ...<< MORE >>

Posted by TRohrer1 at 10/12/2008 11:59 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

Obvious Truths

Now I was in a hurry.  The map had appeared pretty straightforward but the walk was longer than I expected and if I didn't kick it up a notch I would be late to my first Philosophy class.  Frankly, I was pretty excited about this class because it was one of the few electives of my Freshman year at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.  The majority of my schedule was filled with requirements - English, Foreign Language, Math, etc.  Philosophy was not required and it sounded interesting so I surely didn't want to be late for day ...<< MORE >>
Posted by TRohrer1 at 9/30/2008 10:39 AM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment
Older Entries
Copyright Sales and Marketing Loudmouth 2008, all rights reserved.