Your most important selling muscle can atrophy and waste away if you don’t use it!

If you read last week’s column, you know that I’m currently laid up with a fractured kneecap.  I’m still getting a lot of work done, but one of my key concerns is muscle atrophy.  Anytime you’re off your feet, it’s easy to let your muscles stiffen and/or lose their strength.  I’ve been doing a lot of research into exercise and working out, and I’ve been working out pretty much everything on my body that isn’t connected to my right knee so that my body doesn’t atrophy and my rehab becomes tougher.

When I was working out yesterday, I started thinking about how selling is a lot like working out (or simply living).  We have certain skills that we use – think of them as “muscles” – and when we don’t use them, they can atrophy.  The sales muscle that, I think, is most susceptible to atrophy is the Prospecting muscle.  Let’s talk about how it can atrophy and how we can keep it active.

Prospecting presents a dilemma for salespeople.  On one hand, salespeople typically view prospecting with a mix of feelings involving fear, dislike, and sometimes out right loathing.  Few salespeople will say that they like to prospect, and fewer still really do. Yet, prospecting may be the most valuable skill you possess, in terms of your value to your employer and in terms of your compensation.

What I mean by “value” is this:  In most cases, the most highly compensated salespeople are those salespeople who can consistently and reliably grow their businesses through the acquisition of new, profitable customers.  Hence, if you want to rise to the top of the selling profession, Prospecting is a “muscle” that you must possess – and exercise often.

It’s also the most easily atrophied muscle.  Remember; most salespeople dislike prospecting.  If there’s a way to avoid or postpone prospecting, salespeople will take it (much like many people will postpone exercise that they dislike).  It’s a human tendency.  And, in my experience, prospecting postponed is prospecting not done, and the longer that you avoid doing something, the less skilled that you become at it.  That’s what I mean by “atrophying the muscle.”

Any fitness trainer will tell you that it’s much easier to stay in shape than to get in shape.  That’s true with prospecting as well.  In my career, the toughest assignments I’ve had have been to take a salesperson who has fallen out of the habit of prospecting and get them back into that habit.  It’s much easier to stay in “shape” to prospect than to “get in shape” to prospect.

The good news is that it’s not that tough to stay in shape.  It’s a matter of discipline.  Much like working out must be a part of your physical routine to succeed, prospecting must be a part of your selling routine to be successful.  Here are five ways to stay in “shape” for prospecting:

1. Make it a routine.  Successful prospectors establish a week-to-week routine of prospecting.  In other words, instead of saying, “I’m going to set my appointments for the week, then I’ll find time to prospect in between,” they establish a routine that says, “My prospecting times are Monday morning from 10 AM to Noon (incidentally, that’s a great time to prospect), Wednesday morning, etc.”  Then prospecting isn’t a decision process; it’s just something you do.
2. Establish targets.  To succeed, it’s important to have objectives other than time.  How many new appointments do you need per week?  How many calls does it take to succeed in getting those appointments?  How many hours do you need to make those calls?  Build your prospecting time around your weekly targets.
3. Use a Quality Database.  Calling out of the phone book is dead.  It’s been dead for 30 years.  There are too many quality databases that allow you to make good phone calls, asking for the actual name of a top manager, to do the “person who” call (“Hi, could I speak to the person who purchases….”).
4. Don’t substitute “research” for real prospecting activity.  Salespeople like to fool themselves that they are ‘prospecting’ when in fact, they are surfing the Net.  Extensive pre-call research does not win you new business.  In fact, in most instances, you actually lose effectiveness in prospecting by doing extensive pre-call research over simply making the calls.  The reason is that somewhere around 2/3 of the calls you make will result in a voice mail or a no-contact; all the research in the world won’t help you succeed on these calls.  Meanwhile, on the calls where you do get a contact, the research is only of marginal help.
5. Social Networking isn’t prospecting.  I know, I know; there are many snake-oil salespeople now that will tell you that social networking is all you need to do.  Nonsense.  There is a place for social networking, but it is not now, nor will it be in the foreseeable future, a mechanism to consistently and reliably bring in new prospects to your business.  Social networking should be considered a secondary activity, prioritized below prospecting, and you should spend at least 3 times as much times prospecting as you do on social networking.

Much like staying in shape, it’s a lot easier to keep the skill/muscle of Prospecting active and vital than it is to restart prospecting.  Follow those tips, and you’ll never have that muscle atrophy.

The Internet is always competing for your customers – but you can beat it.

 Sometimes, when I tell people that I buy things off the Internet, they are insulted.  In fact, sometimes I’m treated like a traitor to the sales profession.  “But Troy,” they say, “Aren’t you the one telling us that the Internet is competing with the sales profession?  And shouldn’t you be supporting the sales profession?”  Yes, I explain, I do tell salespeople that.  However, I’m also a customer and a purchaser of items – and my buying needs and instincts are no different than anyone else’s.

Salespeople constantly complain that the Internet has made price-shopping easier, that it causes people to buy on price and price alone, etc.  Nonsense.  What the Internet has done is to make relationships more critical, and at the same time more fragile, than they ever were.  In fact, I was reminded of a perfect example last week when I sent flowers to my wife.

Last February 14, I started my day the way I always start my Valentine’s Days.  I picked up my phone and called my florist.  I’ve purchased flowers for my wife from this florist for years.  Birthdays, Valentine’s Days, anniversaries, just because…you name it.  It was a great system.  I’d call them, tell them how much I wanted to spend, they had the address and my credit card on file, done and done.   I was a Loyal Customer.  However, last Valentine’s Day, that changed.

When I called, the woman who answered the phone said, in an exasperated tone, “Look, there’s no way we can deliver flowers today!  Our deliveries are full.  You do realize that it’s Valentine’s Day, right?”  I replied that, yes, I was aware of what day it was, hence my call.  I also said that for the previous seven Valentine’s Days, I’d done exactly the same thing.  She said, “Well, I’m sorry but we’re just too busy to add another delivery this year.  Maybe a little planning would be in order for next year.”  I hung up.

Now, I’m sure that the woman felt satisfied after the call that she had admonished a silly man who didn’t handle his Valentine’s Day until the last minute (and as you read this, I’m betting that the men are nodding at what I did, and the women are rolling their eyes).  I wonder if she’d be as satisfied if she knew that I have purchased flowers three times since then – from the Internet?

You see, after that phone call, I logged onto a florists’ website.  It said, “Order by noon for delivery today!”  So, I did.  It wasn’t cheaper than my florist – but the order was accepted.  The computer didn’t give me any attitude.  The flowers were received, and generated the smile that I had hoped for.  As a customer, my needs and desired result were achieved.  And in so doing, I discovered that it’s fairly easy to order on that site – which I’ve done three times since, including last week.
Understand this – your customers will discover the same thing, IF you give them a reason to do so.  However, you can avoid this.  Here are five good ways to preserve your customer relationships:

Understand that every contact with your customer can be your last.  Think of the current sales environment as turning up the heat on every customer contact.  You should have always thought about your competitors hovering over your customer, ready to take them away at a moment’s notice.  Today’s environment simply turns up the intensity.  If you offend or anger your customer on a sales call, your customer can have a new supplier ready to go via their computer before you can leave their parking lot.

Know that everyone who has customer contact needs to be on the same page.  I don’t believe for a moment that the owner of the flower shop would have wanted his customer service person to treat customers in the fashion that the woman treated me; however, he clearly did not communicate to his people how he did want his customers to be treated.  Hence, I had a bad experience – and I’m betting that others have, too.  Companies will spend big bucks training and developing salespeople and service people, and yet they fail to recognize that anyone who has contact with the customer can affect the relationship.  I once saw the top salesperson in a company lose his best account because the customer’s people couldn’t stand dealing with the delivery person – and so they found someone with a more pleasant delivery person.

Make every contact positive.  I’ve spoken a lot about how salespeople must bring value on every call; we can do that by providing ideas, thoughts, knowledge, and expertise to our customers.  Over and above this, however, we should work to make our contacts positive.  Don’t get me wrong; things will happen and customers will get upset.  The professional salesperson can find ways to make these contacts end on a positive.  We can give customers reasons to keep doing business with us, even if things go wrong.

Move the ball forward.  You should be working to advance the relationship, and your cause, on every sales call.  Before each call, establish an objective and ask yourself how you can improve your situation with the buyer on every interaction?  Think “high, wide, and deep;” can you increase your contact base on every sales call?  Can you get testimonials or referrals?  Can you increase your access?  Can you upsell or cross-sell?

Make it easy.  One great way to compete with the Internet is to find ways to make it easy for your customers to buy from you.  Remember – up until Valentine’s Day, that was one of the reasons that I did business with the florist; it was incredibly easy for me to do business.  I gave them one piece of data (how much I wanted to spend), and then I knew I could trust their judgment on what to send.  That sustained a relationship for a long time.

It is possible, even practical, to build strong customer relationships today, even with the ever-present competition from the Internet.  However, to do so, you have to be at least as convenient as the Net to do business with.

For years, I’ve been speaking, training, and writing about how “Comfortable Customers Buy.”  It’s even become a tag line for me.  It’s something that I believe in; when we, as salespeople, put our customers in a comfortable mood, they are much more receptive to messages that help them make a beneficial buying decision.  And yet, until the last six weeks, I never truly appreciated the truth of that statement.

To review, six weeks ago, I fractured my kneecap in a motorcycle accident.  It was painful and a little scary, since I’ve never broken a bone, had surgery, or spent the night in a hospital before – yet I did all those things together in about 20 hours.  My injury happened in Iowa, and when I returned to Kansas City, I consulted with a local orthopedic specialist that I was referred to.  And then…I did something you’re not supposed to do.  I switched orthopedic specialists.  And the reasons why will fully explain why “comfortable customers buy.”  (And uncomfortable ones don’t.)

When I arrived at the first orthopedic specialist, I filled out the volumes of forms, and then was greeted impersonally by a nurse who brought me back to the examination room.  I then discovered that I was to see a Physician’s Assistant, rather than a doctor.  Well, OK, maybe that’s how this goes.  They gave me X-rays, the PA discussed the X-rays with a doctor that I never met, and basically told me that any ideas of rehabilitation would be out of the question until our next appointment three weeks hence.  Sit around until then – that was the prescription.
I was dubious but I decided to stick with them.  As the appointment approached, however, they called me to reschedule the appointment.  Eventually they rescheduled three times, and I told them to forget it.  I found a different firm, and received a completely different experience.

At the second firm, I was greeted by a nurse who asked me a few questions about my injury (the first firm had not asked me any questions), and then took me to see a surgeon.  The surgeon examined the X-rays, showed me what they meant, and then asked me questions about my work, my lifestyle, and my upcoming commitments.  With those answers, he prescribed a rehabilitation protocol and gave me a preview of what the next three months would look like (including the admonition to stay off the motorcycle until December).  It was specific, positive, and personalized based on my own answers to him.  To make a long story short, further visits to him and to his referred rehabilitation specialist have been positive and productive.

I’m now a comfortable customer. And I’m buying what the surgeon is selling.  Why?  What he did could suggest some principles of “Comfortable Customers Buy.”

They made me feel at home from the start.  From the beginning, both the nurse and the surgeon made it clear that I was welcome there (even though I’d had surgery elsewhere), and I wasn’t just an afterthought.  I’m now THEIR patient, and they’re glad to have me.  From the first moment that the nurse greeted me, she made me feel right at home.

They communicated authority and expertise.  When I’m worried about my physical condition, I want to see a DOCTOR.  And I saw one.  I was talking to the expert, I knew it, and he knew it.  Doctors can communicate expertise through a white coat – how can you do it?

They asked a lot of questions.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until I can say it no more.  Questions – GOOD questions, not leading questions – show that you care.  How good were the questions?  Well, here are some samples:  “What do you do for a living?  A speaker?  OK, when is your next speaking engagement?  Well, you’ll be able to stand and walk by then with a leg brace; will that be acceptable?  Good.”  The doctor, nurse, and even the X-ray tech made it clear that the experience was about ME, not them.

They told me what the road ahead looked like.  From the moment that I found myself flat on my back on U.S. Highway 71 in Iowa, the scariest part for me was the unknown of the future.  How long would it take for me to come back, to walk normally, to travel, to work, and yes, to ride again?  My surgeon in Iowa gave me some ideas, but he was reluctant to come up with a full plan because my after-care would be done in Kansas City.  The first ortho specialist didn’t do anything to alleviate my fears.  My current doctor was very clear about showing me the game plan – good and bad.

They connected me with other resources that I would need.  Finally, the second doctor connected me with an excellent physical rehab therapist.  He even said, “We have multiple specialists that we can use, but I think this is the best fit for you – you’ll want something a little more aggressive.”

The bottom line is that the second doctor took ownership of my recovery process and showed that he cared.  He took me from a feeling of extreme discomfort to being comfortable.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s not moving as fast as I like – but that’s biology, not his issue.

Here’s my queston to you:  How can you implement the principles above into YOUR sales program?

This week, Let’s take a look at sales hiring, and point out some things that you will see during the hiring process – and why these things should be a knock-out blow to any candidate’s hopes.

  One quick note:  As you are reading these, you will see mistakes and say, “Well, gee, of course you shouldn’t hire this person!  Would anyone?”  Rest assured that, for each mistake, I personally know of more than one person who was hired after making these mistakes.

Mistake Number One:  The Bad Resume’.  You will receive resume’s with misspellings, grammatical errors, and other detail mistakes that indicate a lack of attention to detail on the part of the candidate.  If you see these, don’t make the hire; in fact, don’t interview.  For a sales candidate, the most important sale they will ever make is the “sale” that comes with a hiring offer; if the candidate can’t be detail oriented here, why would they be when dealing with your customers?

Why this is ignored:  This gets ignored because most managers do a resume’ scan (about 15 seconds) to determine suitability for an interview.  That’s fine, but after you scan for interviewable candidates, you should then go back and READ the resume’s in order to look for problems and design interview questions.  Managers that don’t do so will have this one slip by.

Mistake Number Two:  Lateness.  “Geez, sorry I’m late, traffic was tough.”  How many times have you heard that one?  Guess what?  Traffic will be tough getting to your customers, too, and the candidate who can’t show respect for your time is the candidate who won’t respect your customers’ time.  My philosophy is that the interview begins at the appointed time, whether the candidate is there or not – and an interview of one isn’t much of an interview.

Why this is ignored:  Basic human niceness.  We’ve been late to meetings before, so we are inclined to cut some slack.  Don’t.  Remember, this is their most important sales call; if they can’t get it right, they won’t get them right for you, too.

Mistake Number Three:  No Mental Presence.  I received a phone call a few days ago from a candidate who wanted to respond to an ad that I had run as part of my recruiting practice.  He opened by saying, “Hello, this is XXX and I responded to a blind ad for a sales position, and you were the contact.”  Problem – I don’t run blind ads.  My ads say who the company is, what the job is, and what it pays.  I explained this to the candidate, and he stammered that he’d have to find the ad to be sure what job he sought.  I told him not to worry about it, got him to repeat his name (so I’d know which candidate to avoid), and told him I’d give his resume’ appropriate consideration.  Which I did.  If a candidate can’t have his act any more together than this, he’s not a candidate for one of my clients.

Why this is ignored:  I think there is an overall declining standard for jobseekers, and unfortunately, some hiring managers have bought into the idea that you can’t expect the same preparation and presence of mind as in years past.  Bull.  There are people out there who are quality people at every level of the market, and managers shouldn’t let themselves settle for candidates like the one above.

Mistake Number Four:  Lack of Preparation.  When a sales candidate comes in to interview, he or she should be prepared with a copy of a resume’, as well as having done some rudimentary research on your company.  Showing up empty-handed and empty-headed should be a quick ticket to a 10-minute interview.  Don’t fall for the “too busy to prepare” excuse.  Remember – they are there to sell YOU, the same as you are to sell them.

Why this is ignored:  I find that candidates that show up empty-handed tend to be very conversational in nature, and it’s easy to find yourself drawn off-topic into a conversation that has little to do with their skills and abilities.  In so doing, you forget the fundamentals of hiring.

Mistake Number Five:  Bad Presentation.  When you greet your candidate, you should be evaluating your impression of them in light of your customers’ potential impressions.  Do they look the part (i.e. neatly and professionally dressed)?  Do they have good hygiene and body language?  And – I write this directly after one such interview – do they put off any offensive smells?  Laugh if you like, but when you interview someone who either smells like smoke, liquor, or has marinated in their choice of cologne, remember that your customer will make their own judgments – and they won’t be so kind.

Why this is ignored:  Interviewers tend to put their own first impressions aside, forgetting that their customers will make similar judgments.  Put yourself in the place of your customer; if the person offends merely by being in the office, they won’t make much headway with customers, either.

Overall, good interviewing just involves being detail oriented and reminding yourself of the traits necessary to succeed in your own sales environment. Stay focused, kick out the bad candidates, and you’ll find the one you need.

Let’s follow up on our theme from a couple of weeks ago, regarding how “comfortable customers buy.”

  They do.  What salespeople don’t understand is that many of the things that they do by reflex end up working against them.

Salespeople have a lot of tactics and techniques that turn out to be both time-wasters and contact-breakers.  Many times, when I ask them what they’re doing, they tell me that they’re “trying to make the prospect comfortable.”  That might be true, but usually, the truth is that they are trying to make THEMSELVES comfortable.  If you do some of these things, you might take the time to ask yourself why – and who it is you’re trying to comfort?

“Hi, Mr. Prospect.  How are you today?”  This is the all-time time waster, and is the death of more potentially great sales conversations than any other phrase.  It’s also the most common.  When this is used in a cold-prospecting environment by a salesperson who doesn’t know the prospect, it’s a virtual announcement to the prospect that the caller is a pesky salesperson who is incapable of making the most of his or her time on the phone.  The reaction by the prospect is always the same:  “Uh, fine.  Who is this?” or some variation on the theme.  But what has happened with that simple little phrase is that the prospect, whom you really want to approach your call with an open mind, has now geared up his or her defenses and is prepared to resist.  That’s pretty much the opposite of what you want to happen.  The truth is that “how are you today” is a bridge to a conversation built by a salesperson who is uncomfortable with his or her message, and is stalling before delivering it.  Don’t be that guy (or gal).  Get comfortable with your message, and dump that question.

“Is this a good time for me to call?”  Here’s the truth – when you’re calling a decision maker, it’s hardly ever a great time to call.  Therefore, the best thing you can do is be as respectful as possible of their time by being impactful and communicating value.  But asking that question creates a great opportunity for the prospect to dump you off the phone, never to hear from you again.  Again, this is delivered by salespeople uncomfortable with their own message.  Instead, go ahead and deliver.  If it’s REALLY a bad time, your prospect will tell you.

“Fish on the Wall” selling.  Everybody knows what this is, right?  That’s the salesperson who enters a prospect’s office, sees a fish mounted on the wall, says, “Did you catch that fish?  Hey, I fish too!” and then spends an inordinate amount of time talking about fishing – or whatever personal interest they observe.  It’s not a great practice when the salesperson really IS an enthusiast, but it becomes downright pathetic when the salesperson isn’t.  Example – my favorite sport happens to be auto racing, and it’s not a casual pursuit.  I’ve done everything in it, up to and including owning and driving my own race cars.  When a salesperson enters my office and tries to build fake rapport with an obviously solicitous discussion of racing, it works against his desire to make a sale.  Why?  Because it’s phony.  You didn’t enter that office to talk racing (or fishing, or whatever) – you entered to attempt to make a sale.  Whether you’re working on selling or not, the clock is ticking.

“Just.”  This is a word that salespeople use to take the edge off their communications.  For example, “I was ‘just’ calling to follow up…” etc.  The problem with this is that the word “just” diminishes the importance of whatever follows, by definition.  And if what you’re doing/saying isn’t important to you, why should it be important to the customer?  If selling is important to you, the truth is that you don’t “just” do anything.  You do it.  Eliminate the “just calling” stuff from your communications, and you’ll have more impact.

“I’m seeing if you have any questions.”  This is a great one, usually used after a salesperson has delivered a proposal.  “I’m calling to see if you have any questions about my proposal” really means “I’d like to have the business,” but the salesperson doesn’t have the guts to ask for it.  Guess what – if your prospect has questions, they’re probably smart enough to call you and ask.  So why are you trying to diminish the importance of the act of asking for business?  The truth is that you have fear, and you need to let it go.

All of these communications habits have something in common – a salesperson who is uncomfortable with the role and task of selling.  If you’re using them, take a deep look inside yourself and ask why.  You might be startled at what you find out.  There’s nothing unimportant about the act of selling, and you shouldn’t diminish the importance of your job with comments like the above.

In sales, preparation can make the difference between selling, and never having the opportunity to sell.

Full disclosure – I was never a Boy Scout.  However, I do know the Boy Scout motto, and I bet you do, too.  “Be Prepared.”  I’ve always tried to live by that, in my personal and my business situations.  It’s always stood me in good stead, and I’ll go into some of the specifics of how I do that in selling in a little bit.  First, however, I want to tell you about a situation that just arose, and how being prepared helped.

Two weeks ago, I had lunch with an old friend from high school.  We rediscovered each other – as many people do these days – on Facebook.  It was really great to see her, and well worth the hour drive back to Topeka (my hometown) for the afternoon.  As I was leaving the house, I nearly left my briefcase behind – this would, after all, be two old friends reconnecting – but I decided to take it along. I’m glad I did, because what happened after we finished our burgers demanded the briefcase.

We had a great conversation, catching up on the last 20 years or so.  Toward the end of the conversation, we were talking about what I do for a living, when she got a funny look on her face.  I asked her, “What is that look for?”  She replied by saying, “It’s funny.  I was having drinks with a friend yesterday, and my friend was saying that she’d just had to fire two of her salespeople.  She was really upset about it and didn’t know how she would replace them.”  Obviously, I had some ideas about how that could be effected.

To make a long story short, one cell phone call later, I was sitting in front of the owner (my friend’s friend) of a medium sized industrial supply company, and discussing how my recruiting and training programs could help her grow her business.  By the end of the meeting, I was walking out with new business.  This, from a day that I thought would be strictly a personal day.  Had I not had my briefcase, been equipped to handle a business meeting, and had the tools to create an agreement and an invoice, it might not have happened.  “Be Prepared.”
When it comes to being prepared, here are my philosophies:

Always be prepared to have a business meeting, even if none is scheduled.  This was but one example of a personal day that turned into a business day.  I’ve had business meetings while on vacation, while on unrelated business trips, and on weekends.  Unless it’s completely impossible, I never go anywhere without business cards, basic brochures, and blank invoices.  You never know when opportunity will arise.

Always be prepared to take a sales call to its ultimate conclusion.  The “one call close” is the Holy Grail for some salespeople – but, to my amazement, other salespeople avoid it.  Don’t be one of those salespeople.  Take an inventory of what you need to make a sale.  Do you need blank proposals, invoices, service agreements, etc?  Then have them with you when you initiate a sales call – even if you believe whole heartedly that the call will not result in a sale or that it’s too early.  You don’t have to pull out your invoice unless it’s needed, but many, many sales have been lost by the salesperson who said, “Well, I have to go out to my car and get….”  The customer says, “Oh, don’t worry about it – it’s not that big a deal….” And then the opportunity is lost.

This, by the way, is also an excellent argument for carrying a briefcase.  I know that some consultants say that you shouldn’t because it’s “too intimidating” or some such nonsense, but the truth is that customers respect a salesperson who is there to do business, because that means that the customer’s time will be used effectively.

Always be mentally prepared to get into selling mode. When opportunities arise, you may not have time to mentally rehearse a sales call, research, and prepare on your own time.  You may just have to pull the trigger.  That means that you have to own your sales personality.  Know the questions you need to ask, and how to demonstrate results from purchasing from you.  Here’s a hint:  One of the things that I do in my recruiting process is to test the salesperson’s ability to do this via an unplanned phone call.  Salespeople that can’t quickly get into selling mode don’t work for my clients.

If you’re not always prepared to sell, you WILL miss sales.  Without my tools to sell, I might have lost the sale two weeks ago.  Don’t be that guy (or gal).

We’ve always heard the old saying, “When you assume, you make an ass out of YOU and ME.”  Well, it’s true, and I’ve seldom seen a better example of this than last week.

  I was in a situation where I was the customer (actually trade show attendee), and the person in the booth ASSUMED.  He didn’t make an ass out of me, but he definitely made one of himself, and therein lies a lesson.

As a bit of background, I do have a side business interest that coincides with my hobby of old and fast cars.  I have an online business that sells parts and accessories on a dropship basis, and last week was the occasion of the largest automotive aftermarket show in the world.  If you’re guessing that I was having a good time, you’re right – checking out high-end show cars, networking with vendors and suppliers, etc.  My good time was spoiled – temporarily – by a vendor, however, and amazingly enough, it was one that I had thought that I had a great relationship with.

This particular vendor representative works for a company that supplies automotive suspension components. I’ve known him for over a decade (although most of that time was in my former capacity as a freelance motorsports writer – another part time hobby that I’ve had to give up due to time constraints).  I’ve done favors for him; he’s done favors for me.  As the comedian Ron White would say, “We’ve met.”  As I approached the booth, I was a little proud.  I’ve sold over $10,000 of his product in the last year, and considering that the average price point is $20 per item, that’s a lot of merchandise.  However, I hadn’t talked to him since I started this particular business (I buy through a warehouse), so I figured this would be a fun conversation.  I was wrong.
I greeted John, and started to tell him about my business.  As soon as I said “dot-com,” he rolled his eyes and said, “Oh, good grief, you’re one of those Internet guys!”  I was taken aback.

“So,” I said, “You’re complaining that I sold over $10,000 of your stuff this year?”  Now he looked like he wanted to hide under the table.  He realized that I was a vendor – and a quality one – and that he’d just angered a guy who was not only a friend (or at least I thought I was), but someone who was moving his products.

He quickly explained that he, along with most manufacturers, were overrun at shows like this one with people who had Internet sites, didn’t sell much, but wanted to buy his products direct and drop-ship using his inventory.  Most of them really just wanted to buy at a discount for themselves.  I asked him, “So, despite our long relationship, you just assumed that I was one of those guys, without even asking a question or two?”

Again, he looked like he wished that he was pretty much anyplace else.  I could have dropped into sales trainer mode and shown him a couple of quick questions he could ask to qualify prospects and save himself from these situations.  But, to be honest, I didn’t care to.  I was pretty angry and offended.  He tried a couple more times to recover, and he did – at least in his own mind.

He didn’t recover in my mind.  When I got back to my hotel, I made my listings for his product inactive, and uploaded a competitor’s (in the few days since the show, I’ve made some sales of his competitor’s products).  As a result, he’s lost sales – by ASSUMING.

I could spend another 2,000 words on the various ways that salespeople ASSUME things that get them into trouble.  Instead, I’d like to just ask you to apply a simple rule.  There are two words that start exactly the same way; one can get you into trouble and one can make you money.
Instead of ASSUMING, ASK.  A quick question or two can usually give you a framework for a conversation.

Will I re-activate his product listings on my site?  Probably.  They are the standard of the industry in that particular line of business.  However, I’m going to keep the competitive product up as well now; ultimately he’ll lose potential sales if not active sales (I, on the other hand, may gain).  All because he ASSUMED.  As I said, he made an ass out of himself.

As some of you may know, I used to race stock cars.   Racing stock cars is a pretty intense activity – you’re on a track that is somewhere between ¼ and ½ mile in length, you’re trying to control hundreds of horsepower, and you’re among 20 of your best friends (or not).  It’s competitive and it’s mentally absorbing, which I always liked.  In those characteristics, it reminded me of sales.

It reminds me of sales in another way, too.  In both activities, you can have the best-laid game plan in the world – and nearly as soon as you start, your plan can be blown out of the water.  When I started, I’d plan out my entire strategy, even for a short 20-lap race.  The problem was that there were 20 other guys wanting to do the same thing I did, and they weren’t exactly respectful of my strategy.  So, I learned to plan two things:  The start of the race, and my overall objective.  Again, selling works the same way.  Let’s see how.

In racing, the course of the race isn’t under your total control.  It’s heavily influenced by the other drivers on the track.  In selling, the course of the sales call isn’t under your total control, despite what sales trainers have been trying to tell salespeople for decades.  The call is heavily influenced (in reality, it’s controlled) by the customer.

In racing, I could have the greatest plan in the world – what path I’d take into the first turn, who I would follow to the front, and when I’d make my move on that driver.  If the driver made a mistake, suffered mechanical failure, or had another issue early, my entire plan was shot.  In selling, I might have a terrific plan and presentation laid out, but if the customer is interested in something else, my plan is shot.

That’s why it’s important to have an idea, and plan for as many eventualities as we can.  This doesn’t take away the need for a call plan; it does, however, greatly impact what aspects of the call we can plan.  You should have these things in mind before each call:

The opening:  I know, I know, it goes without saying – except it doesn’t.  I still do ride-alongs with client salespeople, and there are a lot of salespeople out there who don’t know how to open a call.  Essentially, the opening (which should take no more than two minutes at most) should recap how we got here and set the stage for the meeting.  If it’s a new prospect or contact, you obviously should introduce yourself.  You should also recap what element of the phone conversation got you in front of the contact (i.e. what was their interest?).  If it’s an ongoing relationship, it’s always good to recap the most recent developments.  Customers forget.  I know, I know, you’re the most memorable person in the world – except that you’re not.  None of us are.

The information you want to get:  Every sales call, even those in an ongoing relationship, should include a discovery portion.  It’s through good questioning that we build and deepen relationships.  Have a basic game plan for questioning – and then be prepared to abandon that plan if the customer wants to go in a different and potentially more productive direction.

The information you want to give:  Sometimes, you’ll have information that must be conveyed regardless of the direction of the rest of the call (for instance, a price increase or a change in shipping policy).  Other times, the information you give will be dictated by the information that you get (i.e. you discover a need that leads you to a solution).  Again, “be prepared” is the motto here.  As you are questioning, you should be listening, discovering needs, and flipping through your mental file box of information that needs to be conveyed to make the sale and help the customer achieve his/her result.

The next step:  Setting a good next step is neglected in three out of four sales calls.  The salesperson is fat, dumb, and happy from what he/she has ‘achieved,’ and settles for “Okay, I’ll call you in a few weeks.”  Then the salesperson calls, and calls, and calls, and calls, with no response.  Instead, set a definite follow up schedule.  There’s no better time to set the next appointment than when you’re on the current appointment.  I always like to plan three levels – the dream call, the realistic call, and the bare minimum action that the customer will take to continue being a viable customer or prospect.  Preplanning these levels will help keep you from chasing inappropriate business.

As they say, “The best laid plans….”  My favorite race win happened when one of my plans completely went away.  I’d successfully moved from the back of the pack to be running fifth midway through the race, and I was getting ready to start passing the top four cars one by one (or try to).  Suddenly, the top four cars made contact with each other.  Two spun to the inside, and two to the outside, and to me it looked like the Red Sea parting as I drove between them.  I held the lead for the rest of the race.

Likewise, your most enjoyable sales calls may come when your plan is blown up very quickly and you have to think on your feet and make the right things happen off the top of your head.  The moral of the story is this:  Plan, but not too much.  Remembering the four elements above will keep you on track, and the customer will help you fill in the rest of the blanks.

One of the toughest challenges (but perhaps the most enjoyable) is dealing with a competitive situation in selling.  I was reminded of this a couple of days ago when I was the customer in a sales call.  The situation was that I was purchasing a technology offering, and I was comparing a few different products.  Now, I’m not a “techy” person.  I’m not necessarily one who gets into the deep details of technology products; I’m more focused on the result and what it will do for me.

My salesperson handled the situation badly, and made pretty much every mistake a salesperson could make.  His ‘questioning’ consisted of badgering me to tell him what other programs I was comparing, and then once I told him, he spent the rest of the call explaining how his competitors were substandard.  Not surprisingly, this didn’t help me.  Of course, most salespeople know that the first rule of selling against a competitor is “don’t speak ill of your competition,” but few know what to do in the absence of speaking negatively about them.  Let’s talk about what you should be doing – and should NOT.

Don’t say “apples to apples.”  If there’s any phrase that salespeople use CONSTANTLY that raises my hackles, it’s “Well, let’s make sure we’re comparing apples to apples.”  First of all, “apples to apples” is one of those nonsensical, hackneyed phrases that bottom-feeder salespeople use.  The intent is to metaphorically lay out a side by side list of features so that the salesperson can say, “Well, see?  We have flipperwotzen version 6, and they only have version 5!  That’s why you should buy from us!”  The trouble is that the customer might not even use the flipperwotzen.  Yep, my salesperson did this to me.  That’s because he didn’t understand the most basic element of competitive selling.

Start at the end and work backwards.  In selling – and particularly in competitive selling – the most important fact is the result that the customer is seeking.  When comparing two products or services, the only meaningful data is the two offerings’ ability to achieve the customer’s desired result.  Of course, this means that you have to know the result the customer is seeking.  The salesperson I dealt with didn’t.  Why not?  Because he didn’t ask me – and he apparently didn’t listen when I volunteered the information.  He kept referring to capabilities that I wouldn’t use and characteristics that didn’t affect my end-user experience.

Forget the features.  This is a bit repetitive, but it bears repeating.  The product characteristics that are your main bragging points might not be important at all to your customer.  For instance, my salesperson pointed at his competition and said, “Well, they outsource a lot of their solution, and we do everything in-house.”  I was using the free trial of both solutions, and in my end-user experience, the one that was supposedly ‘outsourced’ was much more seamless and user-friendly than his.  If they’d outsourced it, kudos to them; they had outsourced to the right people.

Don’t insult the customer.  Yep, my guy did this.  At one point, he said, “Well, the problem here is that you really don’t know anything about these types of products.  If you did, you’d understand why mine is superior.”  From past experience, you probably know how likely I am to buy from someone who has insulted me.  It didn’t work this time, either.  I’m sure he got a bit frustrated during the call, but his frustration was of his own making.  Had he asked me what I was seeking in the beginning – or listened when I attempted valiantly to explain what I was seeking – he’d have known and been able to adapt his sales approach.

If you must speak about your competitor’s product, know it like the back of your hand.  My salesperson made several claims about his main competitor’s product that were demonstrably false.  I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he just didn’t know; a less charitable customer would say that he was lying.  Either way, it was bad for him.  If you’re going to make claims, you’d better know exactly what you’re talking about, and you’d better be current and correct.  Just because something was true six months ago doesn’t mean that it’s true today.  Once you are incorrect about one thing, your customer will assume that you are incorrect about all things.

Finally, do not get dragged into a price match.  “Matching the price” is one of the worst things any salesperson can do.  The customer’s interest in purchasing two competing products is seldom equal in the customer’s mind.  Hence, the price of those two products does not need to be, and should not be, equal.  Still, the salesperson who hears, “If you’ll match the price, I’ll buy from you” is sorely tempted to do so.  You’re only one question away from getting a (perhaps slightly) higher price.  That question is this:  “Why would you rather buy from me than from them?”  If you’re offered a price match opportunity, that means that you are the preferred seller – so you need to use that.  Whatever the customer’s answer to that question, it has a monetary value, and it’s your job to realize that value.

Ultimately, the salesperson’s tactics worked against him.  After the call, I decided to do more research, and what I found was that customer reviews and independent reviews showed that his criticisms of the competitor actually applied more to his own product; I signed an agreement for the competitor later that same day.

Competitive selling is tough – but it’s also fun.  The key is not to step on the common land mines, as I’ve explained above.

Into every life, a little rain must fall.  In selling, customer complaints are our rain.

Salespeople hate negativity.  Sometimes, that’s OK; negative messages can be demotivators.  However, sometimes negativity has to happen, such as when customers complain.  The salesperson (or customer service person) who disregards a complaint risks losing a customer.

Something along these lines happened to me recently.  I rarely need a physical office, given the nature of my work; however, for those occasions, I have a membership with an executive suite company that allows me ten days a month; it’s very reasonable and convenient.  They have several locations in Kansas City, so I can even choose where I work.  Sometimes, I use the office for meetings; other times, I use the offices simply when I want to get away from my home office for productivity reasons.  One such day reminded me of the importance of handling a customer complaint appropriately.

In this case, I was the complainer.  I had a day reserved, and I went to my usual office center (I’m nothing if not a man of habit when it comes to these things).  As usual, the receptionists greeted me with a smile and showed me to my office.  For the first time, however, I had trouble connecting to the Internet on their network (both wired and wireless).  I went to the receptionists’ desk and explained the problem.  The receptionist said, “Oh, it’s no big deal.  Sometimes it goes off, but it’ll come right back in for you.”

It did come on – for about ten minutes.  Then it went off again.  As with many of you, e-mail is my lifeline when I’m working in an office.  After about an hour, I went to the receptionist’s desk again, and said, “I’ve been here for an hour, and I’ve only had the Net for ten minutes.  I think there’s a problem.”  The receptionist – whom I hasten to say that I like and had only good experiences prior to this one – said, “Hmmmm….my Internet is working fine.  Did you restart your computer?”  When I responded that I had done this twice, she said, “Gee, I don’t know, Troy.  We haven’t had any complaints today.”  I told her – politely – that in fact, she did have a complaint – me. Then I asked her to call the next closest office center that the company had, and switch my reservation to that one.  In 5 minutes, I was headed to the other complex.

Now, when I need an office, I go to the other complex (where, I should note, the Internet worked perfectly).  And in this episode, there is a lesson on how to handle customer complaints.

Recognize the complaint when it happens.  One of the most remarkable comments that the receptionist made to me is, “We haven’t had any complaints.”  That told me that she didn’t even recognize the fact that what I was telling her (that a core service wasn’t working) was a problem.  When a customer complains, you need to understand that it is a complaint.

Whether it’s important to you, know that it’s important to the customer.  I think, upon reflection, the aspect of my little episode that surprised me the most was that the receptionist didn’t seem to understand that the lack of Internet access was an important issue to me – which is even more amazing in this technologically dependent age.  Think about it.  When a customer complains to you, the issue may seem minor to you – but it’s important to the customer, and you’d better think hard about fixing it.  The blasé attitude really shocked me, especially considering my previous experiences at this location.

Don’t say, “It works for everyone else.”  If you’re looking for a fabulous way to irritate your customer even more, tell him/her that whatever the problem is, nobody else is having it.  This does two things in the customer’s mind.  First, it lets them know that they are not important to you in the grand scheme of things (after all, if “everyone else” is fine, who cares about me?).  Second, it insinuates, without investigation, that the problem is caused by the complaining customer.  When the receptionist says, “Well, it works for me,” I came very close to saying, “Great.  I’ll take your computer for the rest of the day, then.”

Forget the blame. At least the receptionists didn’t do this.  One of the first reactions that many people have, upon hearing about a problem, is to immediately try to fix blame (usually upon anyone but themselves).  Here’s the problem:  Your customer doesn’t care about the blame.  Your customer cares about getting the service experience that they are expecting.  Blaming only wastes time and can irritate the customer.

Fix it.  This is the part that your customer really cares about.  Figure out what the problem is and at least attempt to fix it, or start the process of fixing the problem.  In my situation, my guess is that whatever the fix was, it was outside the domain of the receptionists – but they didn’t even investigate, so I don’t know for sure.  Sometimes, YOU can’t fix it, so what’s important is to involve those who can and let the customer know what’s going on.

Make sure the customer buys into the fix.  It’s not important if YOU think the problem is solved; it’s important that the CUSTOMER thinks that the problem is solved.  In my scenario, we never got to this point, but ultimately you must ask the question, “are you happy?  Did we solve your problem?”

Never leave your customer hanging.  From the time your customer complains until the time the problem is solved (in their eyes), your customer must believe that you are focusing your attention on fixing the problem.  Sometimes, that’s difficult; sometimes you have to depend on others.  Here’s what is critical – never go home without touching base with your customer, even if you don’t have a solution yet.  Remember – your customer needs to feel that your attention is on the problem.

Obviously, in my case, there were really no adverse consequences to anyone.  I simply changed locations, but I didn’t move my business anywhere else. And that’s fine with me; overall, I’m happy.  When your customer complains, you might not be as fortunate if you don’t handle the complaint well.