Every day, salespeople commit suicide – or at least, professional suicide. The scenario goes something like this:

Skeptical Customer: “So, why should I buy from you? We’ve been buying from (company X) for years.

Earnest Salesperson (smelling the sale): “But, we have great service!” Or, if Earnest Salesperson decides to put a little extra oomph behind it, “We have the best service in the business!” Earnest Salesperson confidently smiles at Skeptical Customer, knowing that at any moment Skeptical Customer is going to reach for his checkbook. Instead, Skeptical Customer yawns and says, “Yeah, but everybody says that. Why should I buy from you?” And another sale dies before its time.

I see this, too, when I speak.  I often ask attendees why customers should buy from them, and of course the first answer is, “We’ve got great service!”  I yawn.  Then I ask for a show of hands of everyone in the audience who does NOT believe that they provide great service.  No hands go up.

It doesn’t have to be that way, but it is that way more often than salespeople would like to admit. Why do we do this to ourselves? Answer: because, Einstein, you – or your boss – don’t have a better idea. Want the truth? Everybody says they have the best service. When everybody says it, it’s meaningless. And yet there are businesses – lots of ’em – where service is the main differentiator between competitors. There are also buyers – again, lots of ’em – who make service the main criteria in their buying decision. Sales result when salespeople communicate “great service” to a buyer who wants to buy “great service.” Of course, to make that sale, your “great service” proposition has to stand out from the white noise of your competitors promising “great service.” Making your “great service” stand out from your competitors – and making it mean something – is a three step process.

To effectively sell a promise of “great service,” you must do three things: first, you must Define exactly what that great service means to the customer; you must Offer Proof of your specific service; and you must Have Consequences for failure to provide that service. Sound tough? It is – but it isn’t. Some of America’s best companies have been built on this simple philosophy.

First of all, Define your great service. Preferably, you’ll do that by offering something that your competitors don’t. Start out this way: get your key people together. Include salespeople, customer service people, department managers, and anyone else whose primary responsibility is dealing with the customer. Go around the room and ask each person to come up with one specific thing your company does to add value to its product or service offering. Then, next to each thing, write the benefit to the customers. Make this a no B.S. meeting – only list those things you really do consistently, not the things you only do on your best day when all the stars are aligned properly, and the boss is in a good mood.

When you have all the ideas in the room, you have a nice feature-and-benefit list for the sales department. Now, on the board, go over each item and ask which competitors do the same thing. When two or more competitors do it, erase it. It’s good for the salespeople to know, but it’s not your “great service” offering. You should be able to come up with one or more things that make you unique, are specific, and have tangible benefit to the customer. (If not, get to work and figure out something you can do.) You have now defined your service offering.

Next, you must Offer Proof. A good way to do this is with a specific written service policy. A better way to do it is with written references from happy customers who have received quality service from you. Either way, salespeople should carry a “brag book” and be prepared to prove their “great service” promise.

Finally, you need to Have Consequences for not living up to your service promise. The most common form of this is a money-back guarantee, but it doesn’t have to be the only consequence. Other forms of consequences for failure to provide service could include merchandise or merchandise certificates, some sort of gift to the customer (such as a catered lunch for their employees), or other “make good” gesture. The key here is that the consequences need to be part of your written service policy, and they should be presented to the customer as part of the service presentation, rather than decided upon after the fact.

In real life, there are several excellent examples of how this type of service promise can help to build a company. Perhaps the best one is Domino’s Pizza. Now, I can’t think of anyone – including Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan – who would say that Domino’s is the best pizza you can buy. Monaghan’s concept was that, if you called Domino’s for a pizza, you’d have it in 30 minutes or less (thus Defining his “great service” proposition). Domino’s made that service proposition part of its advertising (Offering Proof with their written policy), and gave you the pizza free if it took longer than 30 minutes (the Consequence for failure). This simple promise grew Domino’s from a single college-town pizza joint to one of the largest fast food companies in America. Domino’s was eventually forced to drop this policy due to a couple of lawsuits resulting from overzealous delivery driving, but it’s still rare to get a Domino’s pizza in less than 30 minutes.

Domino’s service promise has been copied in one form or another by restaurants from coast to coast. One common version is where a restaurant usually known for dinner will institute a “timed lunch” offering, where lunch is guaranteed to be served within a certain time from ordering, or it’s free. Another version is the “quick oil change” outlet that guarantees a full oil change and fluid check within 20 minutes, or it’s free. Both service promises are targeted at busy people who don’t have time to linger over small tasks.

Let’s put the three-step process to work for a hypothetical business. Whenever I go new car shopping, I’ll always ask the salesperson, “Why should I buy here when there are several other dealers selling the same car?” The salesperson will enthusiastically reply that they have – you guessed it – “great service.” No sale. But what if the car dealer put some meat into the promise? A program could be started where the salesperson could honestly reply, “Because buying a car here gets you extra privileges in our service department. When a car that’s been purchased here is brought in for routine maintenance, we guarantee that the maintenance will be finished within X time, or it’s free, no matter what. With or without an appointment, we put you to the head of the line if you buy your car here. Here’s a copy of our service policy.” Now, there’s a service promise that means something.

Service promises don’t have to be elaborate. If your company gets a lot of phone calls for service or support, how about a promise that the phone will be answered by a real human being who is empowered to help? The cable TV company’s promise that “our person will be there between 8 A.M. and 6 P.M”. doesn’t mean much to me – but the air conditioning repairman’s promise that he’ll be there at 4 P.M “and if you don’t mind, allow me a half hour either way” does. Make it matter to your customers, and it’ll matter to you.

Of course, every business doesn’t necessarily have to have a service promise. Businesses that differentiate from their competition on price (like Wal-Mart), by product (like Apple Computers), or by emotional appeal (like a sports or entertainment business) don’t usually provide service promises – but if yours does, make sure to define it. Your salespeople and your customers will thank you.

It always amazes me when I talk to salespeople about their own stories of dealing with other salespeople as customers.  The stories are fun because salespeople, when they are on the buying side, can spot and recognize heavy handed sales tactics and techniques before they are used.  Not surprisingly, those techniques annoy the salesperson just as much as any other customer.

But here’s the part that really throws me:  After telling me a story of how a sales technique annoyed him when he was the victim, the same salesperson will tell me a story of using that technique on a customer!  When I press the salesperson a bit, asking why he uses the technique if he knows it annoys the customer, I usually get something like, “Oh, that’s just part of selling,” or something like that.  That’s like saying that the Inquisition was just a part of visiting Spain.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

I had my own recent experience in dealing with an obnoxious salesperson.  I decided, about a month ago, to buy a Harley-Davidson.  This decision wasn’t arrived at lightly.  I rode the big touring bikes from every major manufacturer (and there are a lot of them) before deciding on the Harley.  The truth was that the Harley just fit me ergonomically better than any other bike, and that I did have a desire to buy American, which tilted the scales a bit in favor of three brands – Harley, Victory, and Indian.  Since I was buying a used bike, under a certain budget, that locked in the H-D.

I visited a dealership here in Kansas City which will remain nameless to protect the guilty.  When I arrived, I was met by a salesman who was, in fact, a nice guy.  I told him that I was interested in used Road Kings between the years of 2009 and 2011 for technical reasons (I’ll not bore you here with those details, but the salesman did ask and agree with my answers).  They had one.  In dark red metallic, and I love red.  I asked him the price on the bike, and he explained that he didn’t have the price on him, but we could go inside and ask.  So far, so good – back when I was selling cars, I didn’t always have the used car price list on me, either.  We went inside, and that’s when the trouble started.

When we went inside, I was introduced to the sales manager – who shot my salesman a look that said, “Watch me put this guy away.”  Uh-oh.  I asked him the price on the bike, and he asked me if I was going to trade anything (Old sales tactic alert – always answer a question with a question). I said that yes, I would probably trade my Honda Valkyrie.  He said, “That’s quite a move up in bikes (Old sales tactic alert – subtly insult the customer’s trade in to devalue it in their mind).

I told him that I wasn’t sure if I was trading or not but I wanted to know the price on the red Road King.  He then asked me if I planned to pay cash or to finance.  I told him that I didn’t know, but I had the capability to do either.  He then said, “Well, if you’re going to trade, you don’t care about the price, you just care about the difference figure, and if you’re going to finance, you just care about the monthly payment.  What monthly payment are you looking for?”  (Old sales tactic alert – redirect the customer’s attention from pricing.)

By now I was getting frustrated, because I’d asked for the price – twice – and not gotten it.  I said, “Look, let me help you a bit.  I am today’s informed consumer.  That means that I’m smart enough to understand that a payment is a function of the price of your bike, the allowance on my bike, the interest rate, and the term, and I’ll want to know about and address each of those components separately.  The good news for you is that I have a want for that specific bike, and that I have complete ability to pay.  The only thing separating us from a deal is your candor in the conversation.  We start with the price on the bike.”

He said, “Well, but what if I could give you way more for your trade-in than you ever thought you could get?  Then the price wouldn’t be so important, would it?”  (Old sales tactic alert – couch an improbable ‘dream scenario’ for the customer with the old “If I could, would you” phrasing.)

Now I’m mad but I’m giving him one more shot.  I said, “Look, let’s hit reset on this conversation.  We’re going to treat each other like intelligent, rational adults.  I’m going to ask you questions and you’re going to answer them in a straightforward manner, and vice versa.  The question on the floor is, ‘how much is that Road King,’ and if you tell me you don’t know, then you are either stupid, incredibly bad at your job, or dishonest.  Which would you prefer?”

He responded, “Well, I don’t understand why you’re fixated on the price when the payment is what will matter to you.”  At that point, I handed the salesman his card and told him that he should save it for someone who will use it, because I will never set foot in his dealership again.  And I won’t.  Of course, the last old sales tactic was that the salesman tried to stop me as I was leaving the parking lot.

I honestly don’t understand how salespeople – and sales managers – become so locked into old, crappy, and abusive customer tactics that they can’t mentallly adjust when those tactics are so obviously losing a sale.  I could have had a deal done on that bike in 30 minutes.  Yes, it was frustrating for me.

My story has a happy ending.  I went into an independent dealership called Superstar Cycle Center, found a used, ex-sheriff 2010 Road King in green and white, and did a deal that left both myself and the dealer happy.  That’s the way it should be.  At Superstar, the salesman was straightforward at every step of the process, answered my questions, and even helped me research a couple of specifics on cop bikes that I wanted to know.  Result – I’m a happy rider.

So, what do customers really want from you?  A pleasant buying experience.  Buying things should be fun, and if you take all the fun out of it through hackneyed and far outdated sales tactics, you’re living in a much less successful version of the past.

“Hello, I’m XXXXXX with XXXXXX company.  I do XXXXXXX.  We’re not experts in this field, and I don’t know if anyone is.”  So started an Infomercial that I heard at a recent speed networking event.  (The X’s represent removed data to protect the guilty.)  I don’t know if my jaw really dropped, or if it just felt like it did.  I couldn’t stop wondering how he expected anyone to buy from him, or even be excited about giving him referrals, if his opening comment was on his LACK of expertise in his chosen field.  As it turned out, I didn’t see anyone who was particularly excited.  He spent most of his morning wandering the room by himself.

An old friend of mine used to refer to this as “shyness tripping,” sort of an opposite of ego tripping.  In her mind, “shyness tripping” happened because someone was so afraid of criticism, they decided to readily self-deprecate before anyone else could criticize them.  In one’s personal life, this isn’t the greatest strategy; in business, it’s fatal.  Nobody wants to do business with someone who doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing, and they especially won’t if you admit to it.  I’m sure that the person who delivered this Infomercial mistakenly thought that humility would make him attractive to other business partners.  If you’d like to see what traits really do make you attractive to potential customers and referral partners, read on.

Confidence:  Shyness tripping repels people because they don’t want to be dragged down with you.  Confidence attracts people who believe that your upward mobility can rub off on them, or that you can be a profitable business partner.  About what should you be confident?  Your expertise, for one.  Know your business and your work, and don’t be afraid to communicate it.  For another, your ability to produce positive results with those that surround you.  In any group environment, you can tell those that have “it” and those that don’t.  That “it” is usually confidence.

Success:  At one time, there was an ethic that held that you should downplay or disguise your own success in business, the thought being that “people don’t want to think that you make more money than they do.”  I’m here to tell you that this is the wrong way to go about it.  Portray yourself as the least successful person at a networking event or in a sales call, and it will be a self fulfilling prophecy.  If you can’t produce success and profit for yourself, you can’t do it for anyone else, either.

Professionalism:  Your own personal image matters.  I’m not referring to “attractive” or “unattractive” here; I’m referring to personal dress and grooming habits.  Dress professionally, groom carefully, look up-to-date (no 1970s pompadours or comb-overs, thanks).  And – this is big – DO NOT marinate in cologne.  That scent that you think attracts people has just as much chance of repelling them.

Preparedness:  At networking events, you’ll always see people who didn’t bring enough business cards (even though they have been instructed to bring a certain amount) or who didn’t bother to practice their Infomercial.  Don’t be that guy.  Being on your game at these events means that you are able to make the best use of your speaking time allotted, and that your presentation is clear and impactful.  Look unprepared, and you will not be attractive to business partners.  In a sales call, it’s incredibly common to see people who leave key pieces of information ‘out in the car,’ etc.  Bring what you need to sell.

The difference between “someone others would like to do business with” and “someone others avoid like the plague” isn’t impossible to achieve.  It isn’t even tough. It’s just a matter of being a pro, and showing it.  People feel sorry for underdogs – but they buy from winners because they assume that there’s a very good reason that winners keep winning.  Be one of them.

What if I told you that most sales forces underperform?  And when I say “underperform,” I mean anything from “doesn’t quite achieve its potential” to “complete and utter waste of time and money.”  Maybe your sales force falls on that continuum.  If it does, I can tell you why – it’s the same reason that I’ve seen in every underperforming sales force.  Most salespeople spend most of their time making useless, agenda-free and objective-free calls on people who cannot buy or whose purchase would not be impactful even if they could.  That’s a big issue, isn’t it?

I’m often asked (by managers who have the above problem) about doing a program on “time management” for salespeople.  To me, time management is a pretty elementary subject.  Years ago, I took a time management course and in it, we spent significant time discussing the difference between what’s important and what’s urgent – the idea being that we spend too much time doing what is ‘urgent’ versus what is ‘valuable.’  That’s probably true.  But there’s a deeper level that goes far beyond simple “time management” and into “professional discipline.

That issue is “value.”  We, of course, think of “Value” when we’re selling or proposing, but oddly enough, not when we’re building our schedule.  If most people spend more time doing what is urgent than what is important, they spend even less time doing what is VALUABLE.  Can you think of a more ass-backwards way to try to achieve your objectives?

Let’s define our terms.  The three words – Urgent, Important, and Valuable – can mean different things to different people.

“Urgent” means “requiring immediate action or attention.”  “Immediate” might be a bit of an exaggeration, but certainly “urgent” implies a short timeline.

“Important” means “likely to have a profound impact on success, survival, or well-being.”  Something that is “Important” is something that absolutely HAS to be done but could have a flexible timeline.

“Valuable” means “worth a great deal of money.”  In other words – this is what you’re really paid to do.

To put it in context, let’s think of a typical outside B2B salesperson.  This salesperson might have to balance:

An ‘urgent’ duty like making a delivery to a customer who is out of product.

An ‘important’ duty like completing a report to a supervisor.

A ‘valuable’ duty such as making sales calls on a Fred.  (Don’t know what a Fred is?  Read this article.)

Sounds simple and easy to balance, right?  Here’s what happens, though.  Salespeople too often elevate non-urgent tasks to “urgent” status, de-prioritize “important” tasks, and the “valuable” never happens.  How should you deal with this?

• Commit to spending at least 50% of your time on things that are Valuable – i.e. face time with Fred or tasks that facilitate face time and selling to Fred.
• Do what is Important a bit ahead of schedule.
• Delegate Urgent tasks when you can – you’ll be surprised at how often those things can happen without your personal involvement.

Sales Managers face a similar dilemma.  An “urgent” task might be smoothing over the feelings of an upset customer, while an “important” task might be forecasting sales for the C-suite, and “Valuable” tasks would be the time spent coaching and developing salespeople.  Whatever your inputs, the resolution is the same.

• Delegate “Urgent” tasks when you can.
• Do what is “Important” ahead of schedule.
• Spend at least half your time on what is “valuable.”

If you follow this recipe (whether you are a salesperson, sales manager, business owner, or solopreneur), you’ll be amazed at the results you can get.

One question I get asked a lot is, “Troy, is there still a role for direct mail communication in sales?”  My answer is “Yes.”  First, however, I want to make one very important point:  The very best sales letter, brochure, or marketing piece is no substitute for even an adequate face to face sales call.  Written sales communications should be designed to facilitate the sales process, not replace it.

With that in mind, let’s think about our objective for a sales letter (for brevity’s sake, I’ll refer to all written sales communications as letters).  The purpose of a sales letter (or for that matter, any form of sales communication) is to advance the relationship between seller and customer.  Period.  The litmus test for anything you’re about to send out, therefore, should be: Does this advance the relationship in any way?  If it does, you’ve got a good start.  (This is true for letters to prospects, as well – if the letter makes it more likely that a prospect will see you, it has advance the relationship.)  Following are some ways a good sales letter can advance customer relationships:

Educate the customer.  This is perhaps the all-time best way of advancing a customer relationship.  If you can impart some piece of knowledge that helps your customer do a better job of running their own business, you win.  If you’re selling to end users, think about ways to teach your customers how to better use your products and services; more successful implementations reflect on your knowledge and expertise.  If you’re selling wholesale, consider teaching your customers better ways to sell, market, and price your products.  If you sell to a vertical market, consider regular communications that help your customers identify industry trends quickly.  You get the idea.  If you hadn’t already figured it out, “Educating the Customer” is the primary purpose of the HotSheet.

Tell them about new products or services.  Most companies add products and services from time to time, yet many of those same companies forget to tell their customer base about the new products and services.  If you’ve ever had a customer say, “Hey, I didn’t know you did that, too,” you’re probably one of those companies.  Remember – our objective with each customer is to sell them as much of our stuff as possible.  A letter announcing new products helps advance the relationship by letting them know everything you could be doing for them.  Make sure you remember to talk about the BENEFITS of the new products, as well.

“By the way, we also sell:”  This is a close relative of the “new stuff” letter.  If you sell multiple product categories or lines, your first sale usually will not cover the entire length and breadth of your product line.  You still want your customer to know what you do, so after thanking them for their first purchase, send out a letter saying, “You might not be aware, but we can also serve your needs in these ways,” etc.

Personnel change notifications.  Although it’s not pleasant, turnover in sales and service can’t be helped.  If your outgoing salesperson has a large customer base, it’s probably going to be difficult to call them all (either by phone or face to face) before one calls in asking for Joe, who no longer works for you.  Be proactive and let your customers know who will be taking care of them after the current person’s departure.  Personnel changes tend to induce fear in customers (that their needs won’t be taken care of), so the more proactive and reassuring you can be, the better the relationship.

Of course, the types of written communications you might want to do encompasses much more than I have space for here, but if you give each letter the litmus test discussed above (does it advance the relationship?), you will be far ahead of those companies that send out communications that do nothing for either the sender or receiver.

I knew I’d asked an uncomfortable question.  I can always tell by the way the owner and the sales manager get an embarrassed look on their face, and then close the door.  The question I’d asked was, pointing to the bottom person on a ten person sales force, “Tell me about Ed.  Why are his sales so low?”  Ed was at 50% of quota with a downward trend line.

“Uh, Troy, you’ve got to understand,” the owner said.  “That’s Ol’ Ed.  He’s been with the company for more than twenty years.  He’s sort of an institution here, and he used to be our very best salesperson.  Maybe the best the company has ever had.  He’s just no kid anymore.”  “I love veteran salespeople,” I responded.  “And I understand about getting older.  Does Ed have some physical limitations that prevent him from doing the job to its fullest?”  I already knew the answer to that one; I’d seen Ed walking around the office – nearly skipping at times – as he greeted everyone in the building.  But from there, the conversation got pretty shocking to the business owner.

“No, of course not,” the owner replied.  “But we’re loyal to him and he’s loyal to us.”

“Nonsense,” I told the owner.  “You might be loyal to him but he’s not loyal to you,” I continued, seeing the jaws drop on the other side of the table. “If you’ve read my work, you know that I’m a big fan of the principle of job equity.”  I saw them nodding along.  “Here’s what people don’t understand about job equity.  Job Equity is the principle that, over time, a company and an employee become more valuable to each other, as the employee learns more about the job and performs better, and the company continues to be a stable source of income, rewards, and security.”

“The problem you have,” I continued, “is that you have someone – Ol’ Ed – who SHOULD be one of your top performers based on longevity and experience, but is by far your worst.  That tells me that Ed just doesn’t put effort into the job.  Would you agree?”

Both the owner and the sales manager nodded uncomfortably.

“Moreover, this situation exists because you have let it happen.  Ed didn’t just walk in one day and say, ‘hey, I’m going to half-ass it from here on out,’ did he?”  No, they both responded.  “His performance just declined little by little as he lost customers through attrition or non-attention, and unlike in the past, failed to replace them with new customers, right?”  Again, nodding.  “And you didn’t have the heart to manage the trend when you saw it start, right?”  Now, very uncomfortable nodding.

“The result is that you’ve got your highest-potential territory taken up by someone who will no longer prospect and build his business, and that you’re afraid to manage.  How many millions of dollars do you suppose this has cost you?”  At this point, the sales manager became indignant.

“What would you have me do?” she asked.

“Your job,” I replied.  “Manage Ed.  Let him know that his behavior isn’t acceptable, it is costing the company money, it is an obstacle to your personal achievement and compensation, and that it won’t be tolerated anymore.”  Nods were replaced by jaws dropping.

“FIRE ED?” they said in unison.

“Not necessarily,” I said.  “You have options.  I’d start with a Performance Improvement Plan, giving him a certain period to turn things around.  He knows how to do the job, he’s just not doing it.  You could also consider a reassignment to a less demanding position like Customer Service.  But ultimately, you cannot continue to grow your company with your highest-potential territory not being worked.  And here’s one more thing – by doing this, you actually give Ed RESPECT.  You’re treating him like an accountable human being instead of some weak welfare case.  If Ed is half the salesman I think he is, he’ll understand that, and his pride will get his back up.”

“And if not?” the Sales Manager asked.

“Then Ed isn’t earning his keep.  Whether you keep him on as a welfare case is up to you, of course.  You could reassign him to a very weak territory where his lack of effort won’t matter.  Or you could keep the status quo and know that you’re leaving big bucks on the table every year until he decides to officially retire.”

The client decided to put Ed on a Performance Improvement Plan.  This was six months ago.  Ed is now ranked #4 out of ten salespeople – and climbing.  Whether he makes it back to number one or not, I don’t know, but I’m rooting for him.

Recently, I had the opportunity to present a training program at DocuWorld in Isla de Mallorca, Spain.  It was a great experience, not the least because I learned that selling is essentially the same game the world over.  No part of the program illustrated this more than when we discussed prospecting and cold calling.  (If you’re wondering, I trained the English speaking group – I don’t speak Spanish.)

“I have a question,” said one person at the back.  “I read an article recently that said that cold call prospecting would be obsolete in five years, as something else would replace it.”  “Did the article say what the ‘something else’ would be?” I asked.  “No,” he replied with a smile.  I didn’t think so.  I’ve been reading that article for 25 years.  And yet, one of the biggest problems in selling that I see is people who are spending most of their time looking for the ‘something’ rather than selling in today’s environment.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’d love to know what that ‘something’ will be.  Heck, I’d like to invent it.  If I did, I’d be writing these articles from a cabana on a beach somewhere.  And I’ve thought a lot about what that ‘something’ could be.  The problem is that, to be effective in replacing cold-call prospecting, the new mechanism would have to offer these characteristics:

1. First, it would have to be controllable and be able to be used proactively by a salesperson who is seeking out new people to sell to. In other words, it would have to be active, and not passive.  This, in a single stroke, eliminates social media – at least as it currently exists. No current social media platform allows targeting of clients and real-time conversation to attempt to establish interest and sell the appointment.
2. Second, it would have to generate predictable results for a given input of time, dollars, or other resources. I have yet to read any survey – or have personal experience, either on my own or with clients – that can tell me how many social media inputs generate a personal appointment.  Even a stat like “number of followers” isn’t predictive of real business conversations; it’s too easy to click a “like” button.  I can’t tell you how many tweets or likes generate an appointment (and neither can anyone else), but I can tell you how many dials a salesperson can make in an hour, I can tell you how many contacts (conversations) should result from those dials, and how many appointments should result from those contacts.  We can all think of “internet celebrities” in our lives who have hundreds, or even thousands, of followers on Facebook who don’t have two nickels to rub together.
3. Finally, it would have to be user-friendly enough to allow even rookie salespeople to be trained properly in it and use it to fill their calendars. This is a huge bugaboo; social media tends to be a moving target, impacted by other users, permissions, and even Google search algorithms that can vastly change the landscape from one moment to the next.  If there’s any certainty in SEO, it’s that what worked last year won’t work this year.

The point is that no such mechanism exists other than teleprospecting – so, if you want to succeed in sales in 2016, teleprospecting should be part of your life. It should be a very good data-driven teleprospecting program with a well-done infomercial approach, but teleprospecting it shall be.

I use this as an example of the “I’m going to get ahead of the curve” phenomenon.  I know that it’s tempting to want to be leading edge and advanced.  I do it too.  But when you’re searching for the NEXT thing, don’t forget to execute the CURRENT thing.  We still have to sell in the current environment.

Well, last week we discussed how to find your “Fred,” your ideal customer.  If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to read it now = and perhaps my blog post following up on some of the questions I received.  This week, as promised, we’re going to talk about how to implement a sales strategy to win your Fred.

I will point out again, although I made it clear in the first article, that it’s still OK to accept non-Fred business IF IT’s PROFITABLE TO DO SO.  Fred selling is all about the pursuit and where you put your energies.  To review a bit, the three characteristics that determine your Fred are:  Demographics, Specific Contact Title or Role, and Attitude.  Now that we’ve got that straight, I’m going to assume that you’ve identified your Fred.  Now let’s put him in the crosshairs.

1. Define your sales process for getting Fred. Here’s where it gets tricky.  Can you create a process to generate inbound Fred leads at the same time that you implement an outbound process?  Are there any specific steps that you need to insert in order to get a Fred’s attention?  One company with whom I’m familiar created a Fred-only inbound sales process.  They created a webinar that was strictly targeted to their Fred, so much so that it would be of little interest to others but high interest to Fred.  Then they built an ad campaign around driving their Freds to the webinar, with a payoff of a consultation call with their Fred that resulted in Fred joining their sales process.  Yep, it worked – but it took a lot of commitment on the part of their entire staff, marketing and sales.
2. Decide how much of your sales force’s time is going to be spent going after Fred. I am a fan of balanced sales – salespeople need regularity in results to stay on an even emotional keel – so the first thing you should do is figure out how you’re going to dedicate your resources to chasing Fred.  Unless you’re really, really lucky, it won’t work out for your salespeople to be spending all of their time selling to Fred – so what is the appropriate mix?  Over the years (unless there are very, very few Freds), I’ve found that a 50/50 mix works nicely.  That means that you can simply take your existing sales activity metrics (you do have those, right?), and split them in half.  Hence, if your salespeople need to perform eight appointments per week, four should be with Freds, etc.
3. Create Rules of Engagement. You need to define how to sell to Fred.  What level of effort are you going to make to get Fred?  What are acceptable parameters (price/profitability/terms) are you going to assign to Fred business?  This should be self-solving, since Freds are your most profitable customers, but you still need to guide the process.  This is also a good time to put some rules and parameters around non-Fred business so your sales force has a level of discipline about what they pursue and what they accept.
4. Train, train, and train some more. Your Freds deserve the best – and that means the best selling effort you can give.  Think of your face time with Fred as your “Lightning Round,” the time that’s the highest potential reward.  How skilled are your salespeople?  Do they have the skills to correctly discover, define needs, success, and results with Fred?  Can they give a world class presentation that will show Fred why you are the only potential source?  In short, are your salespeople equipped for the job?  Training isn’t a one time thing, it’s an ongoing investment.
5. Put your BEST people on Fred. One mistake that I see – particularly on the relationship building and servicing side – is that too many companies allow their weaker players to be in charge of their Fred relationships.  DON’T DO THAT.  If Freds are your key contributors, then your key people need to be in charge of every step in dealing with them.  Think of airline first class service here.  Do you think that airlines put their newest, least experienced and trained flight attendants in First Class?  Not hardly.  They put their very best people up there because they know that First Class passengers are spending the most, the most often.  Take your cue from them.
6. Get EVERYONE on the same page. Everyone in your company needs to know what a Fred is, how you’re going to go after Fred, and how you plan to retain and build relationships with Fred.  That means that Marketing and Sales need to be aligned and on the same page.  It means that Service, Shipping, and other support departments need to be tuned to the idea that you go the extra mile for a Fred, and if Sales says, “this is a Fred,” that no other conversation needs to happen.

Like I said last week, yes, this is a lot of work.  That’s life.  Excellence isn’t easy, but it is profitable and this is how world class sales forces generate world class performance.  If you want to get past mediocrity or ‘acceptable’ results, Fred is Job One.

I’ve been consulting with business owners, sales managers, and training salespeople for a dozen years now.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember what it was like to have a job working for someone else.  But if there’s anything I’ve discovered in that twelve years, it’s that those business owners, sales managers, and salespeople have an incredibly difficult time with defining their “Fred.”

OK, full disclosure – I don’t remember where I got this expression but I’ve been using it for a long time.  “Fred” is my shorthand name for my ideal target client.  Not a client that I will accept, mind you – but the ideal target for me.  I can ask the toughest questions of my clients and get the straightest answers – but when I ask my clients to define their Fred (and I explain what Fred means), I get weasel words.  Why?  I think it’s because we want to leave ourselves a lot of opportunities to accept non-Fred business (non-ideal business), and that’s where we go wrong.  If you want to succeed in sales, figure out your Fred.  Let’s take a deep dive into this.

Figure out who your BEST customers are.  Notice that I said “Best,” and not “Biggest.”  That’s because the two are not necessarily the same customer.  What attributes do you assign to your best customers?  I’d suggest that measurements like Profit, Growth, and Time/Labor Spent to Service would be big attributes.  A customer that is profitable for you, grows well, and has an acceptable amount of TLS is your ideal client.  Feel free to use your own measurements here, but I’d advise you not to use gross revenue as your measurement – we’ve all seen high volume customers that weren’t profitable, didn’t grow, and required an extraordinary TLS to keep.

Your best customers will have some common elements, whether that be demographics (size/location/industry) or attitudinal and cultural, or some combination of the two.  Start writing them down on paper – you can always revise them.  The key is to make your window fairly narrow – remember, we’re talking about your IDEAL business, not the business you ACCEPT.

Don’t just settle for demographics; remember the WHO.  What I mean by the “WHO” is this:  I might describe my typical client as a business-to-business company from $5 million to $500 million.  That’s a big window.  But then I have to apply the “Who,” as in, “A business to business company, from $5 million to $500 million, WHO has a sales force and intends to use that sales force as a key growth driver.”  The “WHO” defines the attitude and culture.  This works on an individual level, too.

A while back, I challenged a new-car dealer friend of mine to define his Fred.  He said, “Well, Troy, you’re probably my Fred.  You’re mid-40s, you’re successful and have disposable income, and you’re into cars.”  Yep, on the demographics alone, I was his Fred.  But the WHO knocked me out.

I said, “Nonsense.  The newest vehicle I’ve ever owned is a 2004.  Attitudinally, I hate the idea of taking the depreciation of a new car and I don’t like car payments.  My driver right now is a 1996 Impala SS – which I absolutely love.  My wife also doesn’t buy new cars.  Worse, we do most of our own maintenance so you don’t get revenue through the service department, and we have no kids to buy for.”

So I helped him with the WHO:  “Your ideal customer is probably mid-30s to mid-50s, married, likes new cars and trades every 3 years or so, has a family that also drives their own cars, and has no interest in getting dirty working on their own cars, so you get steady income in the service department, right?”  He agreed.  Now he thinks in terms of the WHO.

Individualize your Fred.  OK, so now we’ve got the demographics and the attitude.  We’re still not done, because for all you B2B types, you have defined your Fred in terms of companies.  The problem is that you don’t sell to companies.  You’d look pretty silly making a sales presentation to a brick building.  You sell to PEOPLE.  So, now, who’s your Fred?  Look at your company “Freds.”  Who is your key point of contact within those companies?  Again, I’m betting you’ll find some commonalities.  Remember, your point of entry into a company determines your chances of success at selling to them; where do you need to enter?  Most likely it’s at the top of whatever department buys and uses your products and services.  Don’t just settle for an ideal COMPANY as your Fred, or even a COMPANY with an ATTITUDE (the WHO), define it all the way down to the PERSON or the TITLE.  If you do not define your Fred this far, you will never have success finding more Freds.  PERIOD.

So, now that you’ve defined your Fred, what do you do?  Well, you will…….have to read my article next week, because that’s when I’m going to deal with this.  You have enough work to keep you busy until then, just doing the above exercise.

Of the questions I’m asked in my training programs, one of the easiest to answer is, “Troy, should we have a CRM program?”  My only decision is whether to answer, “Yes,” “Hell, yes,” or “Only if you want to succeed in this century.”  In this day and age, if you don’t have some sort of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, you’re going to lose business, both new and existing, to companies that do.

But the next questions I’m peppered with are, “How should we do it?  What platform should we use?  Etc.”  To be honest, I seldom duck questions, but these questions I find quite duckable.  I beg off, saying that I’m not a tech guy, I’m a sales guy.  That’s true.  But, the sales function is the most important in making a CRM implementation work, so I’m going to break my own rule and give you my recommendations and opinions in this article.

What system should you use?  Whatever is easiest for you to install and implement.  My own preference, going back over 20 years now, is ACT!  I have found it consistently the easiest to buy, install, import data into, and use.  That said, there are other systems.  I have a good relationship with the people at esalestrack.com, and their system appears to be a good one.  If you’re really wanting to get basic, Microsoft offers an add-on to Outlook called “Business Contact Manager,” which can be a very good CRM system if used correctly.  Which brings us to the next point.

What makes CRM successful?  PARTICIPATION and MANAGEMENT.  If you want a CRM system to work successfully, your sales reps have to enter data on every customer contact.  This has to be managed and driven from the top, through sales management.  Further, ideally, everyone who has customer contact should be a participant in the CRM system.  That means customer service, tech support, etc. – anyone who can make an impact on that customer, good or bad, or who can gather data on that customer, should be a participant.

Why would sales reps want CRM?  Isn’t it just Big Brother?  That, dear manager, is where you can make the difference.  CRM can be an invaluable tool for the sales rep IF it is implemented and managed correctly.  CRM is never more valuable than when the sales rep can check his customer’s record right before a sales call and read that service had an interaction with the customer this morning, and what the result was.  CRM can be a launch pad for marketing support activities, as well, that can help the sales rep win more business and build stronger relationships.  If you only use it as an overseer tool, then sure, sales reps are going to rebel.

What technical capabilities should the CRM have?  When I say “techical capabilities,” I’m not talking about features that track data.  I’m talking about the actual interfaces of the program.  To me, there are two keys.  First, your CRM must offer some sort of sync package that allows it to ‘talk to’ your accounting package.  This allows salespeople full visibility to purchases, returns, billing, A/R status, etc.  Second, in this day and age, it must offer smartphone capability, preferably in real time, so that the salesperson can make the aforementioned smartphone check before a call, and enter the data on a smartphone after the call.  Finally, it should also sync with Outlook.  Yes, modern CRM systems have their own email and calendars, but let’s be real – Outlook is the standard that our customers use, and when we send meeting invitations, they’re Outlook invitations.

What should we be tracking?  Again, here’s where management comes into play.  First, understand this – the modern CRM systems are so feature-packed (much of it with features that are meaningless to a quality sales process) that even the best teams will struggle to use up to 40 or 50% of the software’s capabilities.  Don’t worry about maximizing everything on the software or your salespeople will rebel at the burden.  Instead, make sure that you have good field data – meaning the business-card information of each contact within your customer companies, plus meaningful user-defined data.  For instance, if your business works on contracts, you should be tracking contract expiration dates for your prospects and customers.  You should also track competitive data; i.e. who are they buying from and what are they buying?  The list can be long or short, depending on your industry.  Take a package and make it yours with good planning.  Yes, I can help with this.

You should also be tracking each interaction and activity with the customer.  Emails, calls, sales calls, service visits, etc. so that everyone who deals with that customer can have visibility to what everyone else is doing.  Use the Opportunity Management module to manage the proposal process.  Use Sales Statuses to track the movement of customers through the sales/buying process.

Finally, manage the program.  The Sales Manager must be diligent in creating standards for acceptable data, and manage to that.  Run Blank Fields reports to clean up customer data, and use the Opportunity Management tools to help you close sales (won or lost).  Yes, this does add work to everyone in the sales department, but managed well, it doesn’t have to be onerous, and the additional wins you’ll get will be worth it.

Disagree?  I have an open mind.  Email me at troy@troyharrison.com, and tell me your point of view.