This year, as in any other year, most salespeople are going to be ‘right on pace’ to make their annual numbers – until December. Then, they’ll sit around bemoaning customers who won’t make buying decisions, who won’t set appointments, and who won’t move a sales process forward, as if this is something new that happens every year. It’s not, and if you don’t want to be that salesperson, you need to act NOW, not then.

There are few things as sure as the “holiday objection.” That objection goes roughly like this: “Sure, Troy, that sounds interesting. Tell you what – call me back after the holidays, will you?” If you’re selling, you’ve heard that objection. There are reasons both legitimate and illegitimate for it, and best of all, there are ways around it. I can’t give you magic words that will automatically make people want to see you, but I can help you win sales in December.

Here’s the secret: You win December sales based on the work you do from January through November. You don’t win them in December. As I noted, there are reasons both legitimate and illegitimate for customers not wanting to see you during the holidays, so let’s take a look at them:

Your prospect is closing out the year. If you’re calling on top management – or worse, the financial department – you’re going to get this objection a lot. It’s real, or it can be. Upper managers are worried about closing out their books in December, and they may not want to make time to see a salesperson at that time. Unless you can demonstrate that seeing you is a higher return on investment than working on the books, you’re probably sunk with this one.

They’re out of money. This one can be figurative or literal. Figuratively, they’ve spent their budget. Literally, their own customers are stretching them out financially (trying to make their own year-end) and they’re cash-poor. If this is the real issue, you might be able to work out some creative payment or shipping terms that work with their financial issues.

Of course, there are illegitimate issues. Or at least, there are issues that salespeople like you and I perceive as illegitimate, and all those issues boil down to this one:

They just don’t feel like seeing salespeople during the holiday season. Sad but true – however, customers will take whatever excuse they can to NOT see salespeople, and since salespeople accept the “holiday objection” so readily, why not use it?

So what can we do about this objection? Sadly, there’s not much we can do right now. There are the usual combinations of sales words we can try:

“So what will change after the holidays?”

”If you’d like to do business after the holidays, why not get together and start now?”

“How about helping me make a sale, and we can both have a Merry Christmas?”

The truth is that these words will sometimes get you in the door. Sometimes. Well, actually, probably not very much unless you’ve already built a foundation. What we know is that we need to build a sales funnel, and we need to communicate value in order for prospects to want to meet with us. In December, both those skills are raised tenfold. Keep in mind that, in addition to the “holiday objection,” the normal reasons that people won’t appoint us still exist.

To win in December, you have to start in January. You start by understanding customers’ decision and buy cycles, and plan your sales efforts. Most salespeople don’t do this – if the customer in front of them won’t help them make this month’s quota or next month’s quota, they aren’t interested. By doing so, they lose sales opportunities. Don’t be that guy (or gal). When a customer or a prospect indicates a potential buy cycle, note it and use it – plan for the long term.

You can also create a reason to buy in December that doesn’t exist in other months. Most people are thinking of cutting price right now, but you don’t have to do that. What if you offered a heightened level of initial service for December purchasers that only cost your time? By doing this, you might be able to pull some sales forward from January (you’re planning your sales ahead, remember?).

Or, if none of the above options are available, you can simply get more aggressive in December. Step up your letter-mailing efforts at the end of November, and bite the bullet and make more calls, more cold calls, more networking, more whatever in December to hit your numbers. Yes, it’s possible.

See, here’s a cold fact. Whatever you’re selling (with the possible exception of beachwear in Minnesota), it’s being purchased in December. That means someone is making the sale. Shouldn’t it be you? Get cracking. If not now, then when?

When I’m driving long distances, I like to listen to audio books. You might think I’d listen to professional improvement audio – and many times I do – but I’ve really gotten into historical novels. I just finished listening to “Killing Lincoln,” by Bill O’Reilly. I have to tell you, the miles between Kansas City and the middle of Nebraska just FLEW by (and not only because I was airing out my Impala SS)!

O’Reilly, in the intro, unabashedly says that the book was written “thriller style,” and why not? First of all, dry history narratives are boring. And second, what’s more thrilling than a murder novel (even with one as tragic an ending as this one)? O’Reilly has mastered a skill that’s vital to moving your sales to the next (top) level – storytelling. Good stories can pull a customer into your sales call in the same way that “Killing Lincoln” (and “Killing Patton” on a past trip) pulled me down the road effortlessly. So, what’s the difference between storytelling and conventional selling?

Storytelling is a narrative. Narratives have a beginning and an end. A who, what, where, why, and how. And narratives draw you in and make you part of the story, enjoying it and what comes next. And narratives don’t have to be long. For instance, let’s look at what most people would consider to be a basic ‘company story.’

“This company started in 1994 when the owner decided that he wanted to sell racing parts. Over the last 20 plus years, he kept adding new product lines and decided to carve out a niche in safety products. That’s why we’re the auto racing safety experts nowadays.”

Pretty basic, sticking to the facts, right? A version of this is how most “company stories” are told. Just the facts and nothing but the facts. Now, let’s try this:

“The founder of our company was a lifelong racing enthusiast, and in order to maximize his racing dollar, set himself up as a dealer for a few parts lines. Honestly, it was just so he could buy at a discount, but he sold stuff to some of his buddies, too. It occurred to him that if he did it on a bigger scale, he could support his racing habit, so that’s what he did. Then, about fifteen years ago, a friend of his got hurt very badly because he wasn’t using the right safety equipment. That was the turning point. Our founder started researching racing safety, publishing articles on safety, and decided to specialize in safety products for the oval track racer. That’s where we are right now. When you buy from us, you buy from someone who only does safety products, knows safety, and is passionate about racing safety.”

See the difference? The story had a beginning, a middle (the turning poing – a friend got hurt), and an end (the present). It had the who, what, where (actually, I eliminated that just for the reasons of this article), the why, and the how. And – most importantly – it had the key reason for buying. ANY salesperson working for ANY company can construct a story like this – it just takes a little bit of thought. Here are some stories you should have on hand, ready to give:

Your company’s story: This one seems obvious, but it’s often not. I’m amazed at how many salespeople – and even managers and owners – can’t articulate their company’s story in a way that’s interesting and appealing. Brainstorm your company’s story, and make it exciting and interesting.

Your personal story: I’m really thinking of your professional story here. Your customers want to know you, and why you do what you do. So, tell them! Better than that, tell them in such a way that is interesting and exciting. Something you don’t know about me – I’m a classic “accidental salesperson.” I really (thought I) wanted to be a marketing executive, but before I could do that, I became a salesperson and loved it. A number of years ago, I actually found a position as a marketing VP, did it for a year, hated it because it was so far divorced from the sale, and went back to what I love (sales and sales management). What is it about your career that your customers might find surprising and interesting?

Your key products’ stories: You probably have key product or service lines. Each one of them has, or can have, a story. What is it, and how can you make it interesting?

Your success stories: What have you done to really fix problems or improve the conditions of your customers? These stories can be both interesting and exciting, particularly if your customers are about to face the same problems.

The bottom line is this – you can simply recite facts and figures, show features and benefits, or you can tell compelling stories that draw your customers in. It takes time and practice, but it’s worth it.

If you’ve been paying attention for the last few weeks, you’ve gotten a big lesson in salesmanship from the political arena. What makes the lesson so notable is that, although it’s from the political arena, it’s not from a politician. Yes, I’m talking about Donald Trump. I’ve written about Trump before, but his entry into Presidential politics is intriguing.

The commentators, talking heads, consultants, and spinmeisters from both parties are turning themselves into pretzels trying to justify Trump’s high standing in the polls (as this is written, he nearly has double the polling share of his closest rival). Let’s leave his actual policies and politics aside. As I see it, Trump’s appeal boils down to one single, concise factor:

Trump’s talking straight. His statements aren’t poll-tested, focus-group-measured, consultant-nuanced, and carefully calculated to appeal to as many people as possible without committing the candidate to any statement that could be damaging. That’s the pattern that we’re used to from politicians; however, Trump is just saying what he thinks, answering questions off the top of his head, and putting forth his positions and opinions in such a way that they don’t have to be dissected to figure out what he said. And guess what? His supporters love it.

You see, I think many Americans have gotten used to politicians who carefully measure and nuance each word in the fashion that I spoke of earlier. But “getting used to it” does not mean “liking it.”

And this leads me to a topic that I revisit every now and then, and that topic is “Sales Words.”

Sales Words are words that salespeople use to try to make the big questions, or the big statements, seem less obtrusive. They do this by attempting to disguise the real meaning of what we’re asking, or what we’re saying. For instance, one of the popular “Sales Words” is using the word “paperwork” instead of “contract” or “agreement.”

The logic is that the customer won’t react in the same way to the word “paperwork” as he will to the word “agreement.” He’ll sign a contract without really realizing that he’s signing a contract. This is one of those concepts that is built around the idea that the customer isn’t nearly as intelligent as we are.

The fact is that customers are smarter to sales tactics these days than they used to be; this is because we (salespeople) have educated them. And when you use a word or phrase that’s carefully calculated to disguise your real meaning, they can spot it a mile away – and they don’t like it. Sales words erect a barrier between you and your customers, and that barrier prevents trust. When you get right down to it, all you have is trust.

This brings me to the worst of all the Sales Words in the world. Really, it’s a combination of words that goes something like this: “Mr. Customer, if we can do what you want at this price, can we earn your business?” “Earn your business” is one of those cheesy, Sales Word-y phrases that customers easily recognize as a cheap sales tactic. Using this one is like throwing cold water on your customer at the moment when they are ready to close a deal.

Like most non-customer-friendly sales tactics, Sales Words have their root in fear. Salespeople are scared to say what they really mean because they think that if they say what they really mean, the customer will run screaming from the room. The truth is the opposite. When you refer to “paperwork” when your customer knows damn well that the piece of paper to be signed is actually an agreement, it forces the customer to reexamine everything you’ve said, looking for other false statements or understatements. While she’s doing that, she’s getting less interested in buying from you. If you think that doesn’t sound like a winning situation, you’re right.

The impact of this situation, whether in politics or sales, is simple: Your customers can simply cut you out of the process. You might think, “You can’t cut politicians out,” but I’d suggest that is exactly what Republican voters are doing at this point in time by selecting a non-politician. In fact, one other candidate polling in the top five is Dr. Ben Carson, who has never held elective office and is also a straight talker. Combining their poll numbers, that means that around 40% of the Republican likely voters are rejecting typical politicians.

Customers can cut salespeople out of the process, too, in many industries. They do this by simply moving their purchasing to the Internet and not dealing with salespeople at all.

The end result is simple: to stay in your customers’ buying process, say what you mean and mean what you say.

It’s been said that “character” is what you do when no one is looking. Personally, I’d define “Selling Character” as how you treat people who can’t buy from you. I was reminded of this just this morning, as I went to an appointment. As is my habit, I walked up to the receptionist and said, “Good morning. I’m Troy Harrison and I have a 9 A.M. appointment with XXXXX.” The receptionist looked at me, smiled, and said, “Now, that’s refreshing!”

I asked what she meant by that, and she said, “Well, you gave me all the information that I needed. I didn’t have to play twenty questions with you.” That’s interesting, isn’t it? As she dialed my contact’s office, discovered that he wasn’t in, and then began to page him over the intercom, my contact walked up. I thanked the receptionist and the sales call began. A lot happened in about 45 seconds, and it’s worth talking about.

Salespeople – and sales trainers – have talked about ways to ‘schmooze the gatekeeper” for decades. Most of those methods make for good water-cooler stories, or they market the sales trainer well….but few of them work better than what I did. Why?

Because I treated her like a person. That’s it. And in doing so, I became memorable (because few people do it) and she was willing to go the extra mile to find my contact (which she was doing when he walked up). And it wasn’t that difficult. All I did was this:

“Good morning.” A common greeting.

“I’m Troy Harrison,” so she knew who I was, and she could tell my contact who was there to see him.

“I have a 9 A.M. appointment with XXXXX.” I let her know who my contact was, that he was expecting me (and it wasn’t a walk in cold call), and that my appointment was at 9 A.M. (since I got there at 8:50, she knew that there was a bit of a time cushion).

Notice what I didn’t do? I didn’t bring donuts, or flowers, or cookies, or other treats. Those are core to the old ‘schmoozing the gatekeeper’ approach – and many receptionists and secretaries find them demeaning and insincere. How do I know? Because they’ve told me. “Don’t get me wrong, I eat the cookies and I like them,” one told me, “but I’m insulted by the unspoken quid pro quo. It’s like a sleazy guy on a date.”

The truth is that making a positive impression on the so-called “Gatekeepers” isn’t difficult. Respect, consideration, and treating them like people go a long way.

What about on the phone? When it comes to phone calls, I find that there are two types of receptionists – the quick-moving receptionist (dish the call off to the appropriate extension as quickly as possible) and those who do “keep the gate,” and try to be guardians of the manager’s time.

It’s pretty easy to find out which. Making a prospecting call using my Data Driven Prospecting model, you simply call and ask for the appropriate contact – “May I speak with Bob Smith, please?” If the receptionist is the quick-moving type, the next ring will be Bob’s extension.

On the other hand, the receptionist might be a “gatekeeping” type. Here’s the rule for dealing with this type of receptionist: Do not make her pull teeth to get the information she wants! If she asks, “Can I tell him who you’re with,” or “What this is regarding,” or whatever she asks – give her a complete answer.

“Well, I’m Troy Harrison. I’m a sales development expert, and I’m calling because I’ve been doing some research on the company, and I think I can help Bob make a lot of money for the company.” Or, if Bob is someone I met at a speaking engagment, I might say, “I met Bob at the recent XXX conference in Las Vegas, where he attended one of my programs. I’m following up because I might be able to help Bob grow the company.” For the “gatekeeper,” context is important.

It’s tempting to act like you’re on a witness stand, and only answer what’s asked. “And who are you with?” “What is this regarding?” Etc. If you do this, you’ll seem very evasive and your chances of actually talking to the person go down by the second.

Of course, in the real world, the most common gatekeeper is voice mail. We’ll talk about that in an upcoming article.

When I recruit candidates for my clients, the title of this article is one of my favorite interview questions to ask. And it amazes me how many candidates can’t answer it. It’s simple. “What’s your favorite part of selling?” You can answer it, right? So, why can’t so many salespeople?

I think it’s because, for too many salespeople, there isn’t a favorite part of selling. They simply don’t enjoy the process of selling. Or worse, they’ve never given their profession enough thought to analyze what they really enjoy about it – you’d be amazed at how many salespeople like this that there are about you. That said, after asking that question thousands (literally) of times, I’ve come up with some thoughts on what the answers are – and what they say about the person who gives them:

“Prospecting.” Yes, I’ve had this answer, but not often. The truth is that few salespeople are really in love with prospecting. Personally, I’m not either, but it has to be done. This is one of those answers that I was always suspicious of, so I made sure to drill down and ask “Why?” Sometimes the answer fell apart, but when it didn’t, I discovered this: For some salespeople, prospecting is like opening up carefully wrapped presents when you don’t know what’s inside. “The next success,” they say, “Might be on the next phone call.”

“Discovering needs.” I’ve written before about how I think that intellectual curiosity is one of the best traits – if not the best trait – that a salesperson can possess. The intellectually curious salesperson is a good discoverer of needs, because there’s no limit to their thirst for knowledge. This answer also comes from salespeople who like solving problems and improving customers’ conditions.

“Presenting.” One of my own personal coaches, Darren LaCroix, has as his mantra, “Stage time, stage time, stage time,” meaning that the more stage time you get, the better you will be. The “presenting” answer typically comes from those who like stage time. Not a bad trait for a salesperson. This can also come from a desire to use one’s expertise to solve problems, but either way, the “Presenting” salesperson is one who has no problem being the focus of the process from time to time.

“Negotiation.” Here’s another one of those answers that demands drilling down. Few people truly enjoy negotiation, and there are a lot more who say they do than really do. For those who do, this can be a part of the ‘problem solving’ trait, or it can speak to competitiveness.

“Closing.” This is one of the most common answers, and it can be positive or negative. I love closing the sale, too. We all do – there’s nothing like that rush you get when you get a deal locked and loaded. For some salespeople, however, the feeling is more of relief than joy – relief that they made another sale, that they live another day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the result of selling – but what about the enjoyment of the journey? The salesperson who is driven more by relief of making another sale than the enjoyment is typically a mid-career burnout candidate.

What about my favorite part of selling, you ask? Well, nowadays it’s teaching selling and sales management. That’s why I’m putting on my selling and sales management boot camps in Las Vegas in September! But, going back to my selling career, I’ll pull back the curtain. My absolute favorite part of selling is the discovery process – and drilling even deeper, the plant tour. When I was selling industrial supplies, I used to love getting plant tours. Manufacturing, warehousing, cleaning, it didn’t make a difference to me what the plant did. It was an absolute blast for me to see how things were being made and how the company did what it did. Plus, on a plant tour, I could always spot a few needs that the customer didn’t give me through questioning – and it was very rare that I took a tour and didn’t get a sale.

The point is this: While there are seldom wrong answers to that question – the only ones that I counted as wrong were the ones where I felt the candidate was being untruthful – it’s important to me that salespeople know why they do, and enjoy the journey. So what’s your favorite thing about selling? Feel free to email me and tell me. I might use it in a future Navigator.

If you want to hear trite answers at a cocktail party, just ask this question: “What business are you in?” You’ll get all kinds of meaningless answers. “I’m in the insurance business. I’m in the people business. I’m in the copier business.” I think that’s because people are conditioned a certain way. If you ask me, you’ll get this response: “I’m in the Troy Harrison business.” Some of you are thinking, “Sure, Troy, you’re self employed, you are your own business.” True – but if you want to succeed, you’re your own business, too.

Why do we externalize what we do? I think there are many reasons for it. One is that we think others will more easily identify with what we do if we refer to a product or service that we sell. But I think the biggest one is fear. We’re afraid of failure – and if we’re in someone else’s business, we have someone to blame for that failure. I see it all the time: “My industry isn’t doing well.” But if YOU are the business, who do you blame? Yourself and only yourself. That said, there are some very good reasons why you should BE the business, even if you work for someone else.

First of all, thinking about yourself as the business creates a different paradigm – you think about yourself, your career, and your work in an entirely different way. I’ll get to that in a moment. Second, you take complete and total ownership and responsibility for your own results (that’s the scary part). But third – if your business is successful, you never have to worry about your next appointment, your next sale, or even your next job.

First, however, you have to think of yourself differently. Here are the things you MUST have and define if you are the business:

1. What product or service do you sell? While, under this paradigm, the product is YOU, you need to drill down. What is it about you that makes you marketable? In my own instance, some of my marketing qualities include expertise in sales, the ability to teach, ability to capture, entertain, and educate an audience, and devastatingly good looks (at least that’s what I tell myself). What about you? Some of the aspects that would make a salesperson marketable include the ability to acquire and drive new business, great questioning ability, quantifiable relationship growth, etc. But you can’t be all things to all people – what is it about YOU that makes you uniquely marketable, both to your customers and your employers?
2. What is your marketing plan? Now that you’ve defined what it is that makes you marketable, how do you plan to communicate it? You’re reading a big component of my marketing plan. What do you do to constantly build and communicate your value? Do you spend time networking (face to face or online)? Do you publish articles? Do you blog? How do you review your market value with your employer, your customers, and your associates? You should constantly be figuring out how to build market value and visibility for yourself as a professional, as well as an advocate for your employer.
3. What’s your personal growth plan? Too many salespeople leave their personal growth up to chance. If their employer buys them a book, they’ll read it – maybe. If their employer pays for training, they’ll attend. And – if not, not. That’s because they think of themselves as a vessel for their employer’s business, not as a business unto themselves. Constant skill building is essential to survive and prosper in today’s sales training environment. “But my company won’t pay to train me,” they’ll say. Then do it yourself. I’ve been doing public speaking for over 30 years, and selling for over 25 – but I still spend significant time and money each year enhancing my own skill set. Why? Because that makes the product of my business better and better. Continual education and development will do the same for your business.
4. What’s your professional growth plan? I’m differentiating between PERSONAL growth (soft skills) and PROFESSIONAL growth (results). Would it surprise you to learn that I hold myself responsible for a sales quota each month? Or that I have a written business plan that includes my new prospects generated per month? Well, I do. Again, this is something that is more common with self employed than other-employed, but it shouldn’t be. Your boss will probably have a quota – but what is your own personal standard for income growth? Don’t let your boss drive your program – YOU drive your program.

The truth is that everyone – in sales, especially – should consider themselves to be self employed, and a business unto themselves. Try it. If you really embrace this concept, you’ll be more successful.

Of all the topics in sales, few are as talked-about as pricing and negotiation. Yet, with all that talk, few businesspeople are truly happy with the price points they are getting. Why?

The problem is that we’re our own worst enemies. We don’t really understand price, or what happens in a customer’s mind when price is quoted. This is a problem because sales is a sport that’s played inside the customer’s head. And if you can’t even find the arena, the chances are that you’re not going to win the game.

When you find out that the customer has been quoted a lower price than yours, what is your first thought? Perhaps that you have to ‘justify’ your higher price? Maybe you’re right….but not that often. The truth is that when the customer receives multiple quotes, one of which is significantly lower, the low price provider must justify his quality. This flips conventional thinking on its head, but it’s true. The presumption of quality always goes to the higher price.

Think about the last time that you went to buy, say, a suit. You looked at several suits, and the price points might have ranged anywhere from $400 to $1500. Which suits did you presume were of higher quality? The $1500 suit, right? But, let’s suppose you could only afford, or were only willing to buy, a $600 suit. Knowing that the $1500 suit was of the top quality, your mental processes shift. Now what you’re really wanting to know is how much of the $1500 suit’s quality can be found in the $600 suit.

It works the same way with any item. The higher price product or service gets to set the standard of quality in the customer’s mind. From that point forward, the only question is whether the customer’s perception of value for dollar is better with the lowest price product. That means that salespeople who sell higher-priced products should be proud of their price, not defensive. Of course, that’s the opposite of the way most salespeople sell – most salespeople are scared to death of their price.

Words and phrases that salespeople (in any industry) use to try to get business, but end up cutting their own throats:

• “I can save you money on…”
• “I’ll give you the best deal around…”
• “Can I bid on your business?”
• “I want the last shot at the price…”
• “If you find a lower price, call me…”

If you use any of these words or phrases, you are doing nothing more than asking the customer for permission to cut your price! In fact, you are telling them that the price you’ve just given doesn’t mean anything, and if they keep hammering on you, they can get a lower price. Why?

Because we are scared to death of losing the business. All these words and phrases are a defensive strategy. We’re afraid that our competitors will out-sell or out-price us, so we’re going to set up a safety net for us. We won’t lose an order on price, right? Wrong.

When you promise to save your customer money (or other nonsense), you always fulfill your promise. Rarely, however, do you get the business. Salespeople believe that they can “win” business by being cheaper. It’s a lazy way to sell, because all you have to do is make a stroke of a pen. The trouble is that, when you give a customer your “bottom” price, they still end up doing business with the person that they liked the best and who showed them the best offering – whether that was you or not.

In any selling process, there is a moment in time where the customer is ready to buy, and excited to buy. We need to take advantage of that moment in time. Here’s How!

Don’t say stupid stuff. Remember those phrases we talked about earlier? Don’t use ‘em.

Above all, never say the word “bid.” The word “bid” always implies multiple sources, and lowest-price-wins. It also implies delaying the buying decision until all the bids are in. Instead, offer proposals.

Keep it simple. The more whiz-bangs, colored lights, and brass bands you put into your proposal, the more the customer worries about being overpriced.

Standardize your pricing as much as possible. The best is the advertising rate card – “buy more, pay less.”

Make sure to focus on what the customer wants. Another characteristic of “bid” selling is that the salesperson goes right past the earlier parts of selling, and right to the pricing part.

Don’t start with an unrealistic price. When you start out with an artificially high price (such as the new car sticker price), you invite price negotiation. This is when both customer and salesperson are motivated by fear, and it removes all selling momentum.

When the customer asks, “how much,” answer them. For some reason, salespeople are scared to death of that question. Don’t be. The more words you use between “how much” and “this much,” the lower the expectations of the customer. That’s because they know you’re scared of your price.

The best, all-time greatest, way to hold your price is: Don’t be afraid to walk away from the deal. If you “have to have this business,” the customer has the advantage. If, on the other hand, you don’t “have to have” the business, you have the advantage.

If you are afraid of your price, your customers will know it, and they will take advantage of it.

I had a really powerful conversation with a friend of mine a few days ago. He’d just left his position of several years, managing a sales force selling to (through) independent distributors both small and medium sized. He’d done a nice job. His division had posted good growth, and he’d been recognized by his company. Yet, when I asked him why he left, he had an answer that amazed me.

“I left because I got frustrated. Only ten percent of the people I was dealing with are even relevant in today’s market, and ninety percent not only aren’t relevant, they don’t want to be.” Wow. That’s a huge statement. Not ‘productive’ or ‘growing,’ but ‘relevant.’ When I pressed him for more details, he explained that entirely too many people in his business are doing business the same way as they did 25 or even 50 years ago, and acting like the changes in the business world haven’t even happened. That, of course, put me in mind of our profession of selling – and made me wonder how relevant many of us are, or will be. But what does “relevant” mean?

Merriam-Webster defines “relevant” as: “Having significant or demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand.” That’s an interesting definition, isn’t it? If “the matter at hand” is the process of your customers accessing the goods and services that they need, and making profitable buying decisions, do you truly “Have significant or demonstrable bearing” on that? For too many salespeople, the answer is “no.” Don’t believe me? Think about the last sale you LOST. Why did you lose it? Give me an answer like “price,” or “perceived benefits,” or something of that nature, and you’ve just said that you were irrelevant in that process. Interesting little word, isn’t it?

What if “the matter at hand” is your company’s growth and profitability? Does the meaning of “relevant” change then? If you have “significant or demonstrable bearing” on your company’s growth and profitability, that means that YOU are a generator of new business, a retainer of current business, and a good developer of current accounts into higher profitability. Does that fit?

Or, going back to my friend – if “the matter at hand” is your place in your industry, are you taking the proper actions to stay current and involved, or are you simply riding the train until the track ends?

“Relevant” is actually a powerful word, isn’t it? One of the things we know is that in this day and age, being relevant means staying current and staying on top of the changes affecting our profession. For instance, I sold industrial supplies in the mid-90s. Back then there was no Internet, and to access the goods and services that they needed, my customers had to buy from me or from a competitive salesperson. I had “significand or demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand” simply by taking customer orders and making sure that their bearings and chains got to them when they needed them.

But what about now? I think about myself in that same job, but in today’s environment – and I know that those same customers could just as easily hop on the computer (or smartphone), plug in the part numbers that they needed on my company’s online ordering system, and the parts they needed would get there without my help at all. Therefore, my offering to take an order would be neither significant nor demonstably bearing on their ability to get their parts.

So, how could I – again, if I were in that job now – be relevant? I’d have to up my game. Instead of worrying about orders, I’d have to focus on providing benefits to my customers by asking lots of questions to keep my customer knowledge current and then keeping them abreast of technological developments, spotting best practices, and finding other ways that they could run their machines more efficiently. That would also keep me relevant to my company because the result would be happier customers, more referrals, a better reputation, more growth within my customer base, and a better platform to acquire new customers.

One of the key battles in today’s quickly changing and Internet driven business environment is just this – to be relevant. If you want to stay relevant, here are five quick steps to doing that.

1. Recognize that what got you here might not get you there. It’s an issue I see all the time – company owners and salespeople are married to ‘the way we’ve always done it,’ even when the ground is eroding around them.
2. Constantly update your knowledge. You should be aware of the resources available to you and your customers, not only through you, but through your competitors. Your customer is constantly updating his knowledge, and if you’re falling behind, he’ll know it before you do.
3. Make good decisions. Not all new technology is good or profitable technology. You have to expose yourself to as many new ideas as possible and then make good decisions about what to implement.
4. Commit to personal and professional growth. This might have been #1. Without a commitment to keep growing, both in terms of numbers and in terms of personal capabilities, you’re basically sticking your fingers in your ears and saying, “La, la, la” to avoid hearing the noise around you.
5. Staying relevant is costly, both in terms of time and treasure, but falling behind is even more costly. The difference is this: When you stay relevant and invest, you know when, where, and what the costs are. When you fall behind, you don’t even know the bill is being racked up until it’s time to pay.

Staying relevant is neither easy nor cheap. In fact, it can get really difficult sometimes because you have to swallow your pride. Unless you do, however, your place in the business world might go away without you knowing it.

“Troy, I need to diversify.” It’s one of the most common comments I hear from a client, or even just someone that I’m chatting with. Everyone is looking to grow their business, and one of the most common ways to do it is to think about adding new products, new services, and new markets. I’m not immune, either. I am constantly thinking of new ways to offer value to you (or to other customers).

The trouble is that the road to diversification is paved with potholes – which, I suppose, means that it’s paved by whoever does the street my office is on in Kansas City. Diversification sounds great – limited sales effort, incremental investment, and a big win in revenue. Many times, however, it doesn’t work out that way, and if you want to diversify the right way, there are some things you need to be aware of.

When you start thinking about diversifying, there are a few key questions that you need to ask yourself:

1. Can the new product be sold through your existing relationships? This might be the most important factor in diversifying. Typically, the idea behind diversifying is horizontal integration; the idea that you can sell more products and/or services to existing customers (thus a lower cost of sales). That can work – IF you are selling into your current contacts. On the other hand, if you have to forge new contacts, that lower cost of sales can quickly go away.

   One example that I’ve seen in several cases is companies that sell office supplies and decide to diversify into promotional products. It sounds appealing. Both are incremental sales with a strong recurring revenue potential. The problem was that the sales processes go through two different departments. Office supplies are typically sold to a CFO or Office Manager; promotional products are usually sold through the marketing department – and all their current contacts could provide was an introduction. Some were able to succeed. Most weren’t.

2. What new infrastructure do you need to be able to service the customers? Any time you bring in new products, you need a new infrastructure or part of one. The biggest question is – what level of infrastructure do you need? Some companies – Grainger comes to mind – simply build a business model around moving boxes from one place to another, and what’s in the boxes isn’t overly critical (according to a quote from the president of Grainger that I read years ago). In that environment, the incremental cost of new products is very low.

   For most of us, that isn’t the case. Your company is probably set up with one specific service and delivery model, and the critical question is to understand what modifications will be needed (new personnel, space, processes, equipment) to service the new product. This seems obvious, but you should figure out ahead of time what it’s going to take. More importantly, figure out what pace you can use to add the new resources. You probably don’t need to add everything at first; you can sell ahead of the infrastructure to a certain degree.

3. How does the new product fit with your current sales and service culture? Some sales environments require more hand-holding than others. The key to understand is – how much hand-holding and service is required for the new products? This is one of those issues that seems to have an easy solution but doesn’t. If you have a high service model, your customers are going to expect that model even if you add a low service product. On the other hand, if you have a low service model, your new product had better be a low service product – or you won’t be able to meet customer expectations.
4. What’s the competitive landscape? Again, this seems to be obvious – but based on what I’ve seen in the world, it’s not. If you’re diversifying, are you moving into a stronger or weaker competitive landscape? Sometimes companies have a knack for jumping out of a frying pan into the fire, and walking into a tougher competitive situation.
5. How good is your sales force? I’m putting this last on the list, but it should be one of the first considerations. Sometimes the urge to horizontally integrate is driven by a low performing sales force; the idea is that if the current sales force isn’t good at getting new customers, maybe they can at least sell more stuff to current customers.

   The trouble with this idea is that a sales force that isn’t good at getting new customers usually isn’t that good at executing in other phases of the sales game, as well – so the result is that you free the sales force from trying to get new accounts in favor of focusing on more sales to current customers, and you get neither. Horizontal integration isn’t a solution or a sidestep for a weak sales force.

Diversifying can be a great way to build your business, but you have to have your act together first; it’s not an answer for nonperformance in other parts of your business.