Finding a sales reps “motivation drain” is a skill every sales manager should sharpen. It is needed when specific sales activity slows or stops. I was working with a client and his motivation and activity to making new appointment calls had stopped. He had excuses and reasons for not calling which in many cases will frustrate a sales manager and lead to a quick “pump them up” or “shake them down”. Rather than do that, invest a little time, build trust, educate and increase motivation by helping your rep find their “motivation drain”.
In order to do this you need to understand the activity chain related to the problem. This is the activity chain that leads to making new appointments for my client.
- Develop a list of people to call for one-on-one appointment meetings you feel good about
- Schedule a time to call for appointments
- Make the calls
- Schedule appointments
To identify the drain, search for the activity they still have motivation for and work on the step just above it. In this case he did not feel motivated about any activity, so we needed to focus on step one, the list.
I asked if he felt 100% comfortable that each person on the list was the type of client he would like to meet with and his answer was no. Every time he looked at the list all he could see were the names he did not want to call. This was the motivation drain.
His assignment was to trim the list down to only people he was motivated to call. His list went from 50 down to 11. He started making calls again and scheduling new appointments. The total amount of time invested in this exercise for me as his manager was 5-10 minutes. He now understands how to find this drain next time. I did not need to pump him up, or chew him out. My job as a manager was to identify the drain, plug it and let him get back to business.
When you have clearly defined sales processes it will make it easier to find and review activity chains. You can then more easily identify motivation drains and help your reps sell more products and services.
Success in sales is founded in good communication. The definition I like to use for communication is, “message sent = message received”.
A simple and powerful tool to help prospects understand your message is an analogy. Yesterday a client sales rep was in a competitive situation, searching for a new way to help a prospect understand his company’s level of expertise. The rep was trying to win the business away from the incumbent competitor who markets many more products and services and is not looked at with the same expertise as my client.
My client specializes in business telephone systems, installation and service and has been doing so for 30 years. The prospect is a floor covering specialist and well known for their expertise. Both the prospect and my client are experts in their field and keep thier product and service offerings narrow. To complete the analogy pieces we needed a business to compare our competition to. We selected a large home improvement retailer.
Once you identify a good comparison, present it in the form of a tasteful and powerful analogy. Here is an example that acknowledges the prospects strength, does not knock the competition and is bold.
“Mr. Prospect, we feel very confident in saying we offer the best product, service and quality in the area. We respect our competitor and they have a good offering. The differences in our companies are very similar to the differences between you and The ABC Home Improvement Center (HIC). HIC sells flooring like you, but based on the diversity of their offerings they cannot dedicate the time and focus required to be the experts you are in your field. There is nothing wrong with HIC, they are just a different way to buy and sell flooring. If you want to work with a company that is like you, an expert, I believe we are the right choice.”
Just because you believe you are the best, does not mean the prospect believes it. One of your jobs as sales people is to “communicate” effectively. Analogies are one tool to help others understand what you understand.
Most salespeople sell at networking events, successful ones build credibility. Here’s how to turn cold contacts into a hot network!
At a networking event I overheard a conversation between a consultant promoting QuickBooks support and a potential prospect. The consultant was using terms like, “In my opinion….”, “what you don’t want to do is……”, and “our system and process can save you money.” He knew I was well versed in marketing so when I asked if he wanted some feedback, he sheepishly said, “sure.”
I mentioned many marketing experts recommend using third party reference instead of personal opinion to make a point. His response was, “I have to demonstrate my expertise so they’ll want to do business with me.” He was telling and selling, the same thing that 95% of the people working the network room were doing. They were all taking turns at making their pitch.
Successful marketers/salespeople understand most people love to talk about themselves and their business, and allow this to work to their advantage. If you utilize a consultative selling approach with those people you meet by clarifying their problems (in this setting the need to promote their business) and creating solutions (introduce them to others that might need their service) you will increase your credibility and demonstrate how you work.
Doug Staneart, CEO of BuildingYourTeam.com states in an article, Increase Your Sphere of Influence, “People do business with and refer people to people they know, like and trust. So your goal during a networking function is not to sell, but to get more people to know you, like you, and trust you.”
If you spend your time getting to know about others and how you might be able to help them it does a few things.
- » It demonstrates your ability to ask interesting questions and listen. Prospective clients like this.
- » Listening with a motive of learning will demonstrate care and builds trust.
- » People like others that listen to them.
- » If you are able to introduce them or refer them to someone, they will know more about you and that you care about them.
- » If you follow up with a card after the event it will demonstrate you are a cut above and you care.
I am also a supporter of leaving cards in the car or bringing in only a few. If they really want your card they will allow you to mail or drop one by. If they are someone you want to build a network with, dropping off a card will give you another quick opportunity to build the relationship.
In the last blog I stated that most sales people don’t inquire enough to understand core business objectives because they are uncomfortable asking business questions or don’t know how. Let me explain what I mean and offer you tips to help.
Business objectives are usually tied to performance and profit. Asking a business owner about their performance or profit objectives can be a sensitive subject. It is uncomfortable because most of us are taught not to talk about people’s money and asking a business owner about their company’s performance could be considered personal.
How to increase your comfort level and gain a deeper understanding of the company’s objectives.
Approach the meeting with a partnership perspective: People form partnerships for mutual benefit and gain. A partner brings something to the business table that helps the business grow. It might be a skill, resources, expertise or abilities. Business partners fully understand the business objectives so they can best apply their contribution to build the business. In order for a sales person to become a partner they must:
- » Stop selling (pushing your products) and start learning about their business
- » Understand the value or contribution they bring to the business
- » Be confident and bold in making recommendations that help the business
- » Be willing to back away when they cannot make a contribution to help the business
How to learn more about business objectives?
Ask business questions:
- » What has been a key factor in your success?
- » What are the biggest challenges facing your company today?
- » If there was one impact a new ___________ system could make on your business what might that be? In what ways is your current ___________ system hindering you in reaching performance or profit goals?
- » Are you anticipating this year to be a growth year? What needs to happen this year to reach your goals?
Don’t settle for surface answers: Some people are not used to answering a sales person with core business objectives. Simply ask another question to help them get to the core. Here are some examples.
- » If you were able to track call-turn-around time, how could you use that information to help you achieve your key business objectives?
- » How would three new ___________ help you achieve your short or long term goals?
- » If we provided a system on or below budget, delivered on time and with the features you wanted, in addition to getting a new _____________ what would change in your business operation?
(If you are speaking to managers, tailor your questions toward their department or area of responsibility as well as the business in general)
Increase your comfort level by being partner focused, be bold in understanding core business objectives and then connect your solution to their objectives.
Understanding your prospects business objectives will lead to a partnership relationship.
Most, if not all business buying decisions are tied to a business objective which is usually tied to increasing profit. If your product or service cannot be tied to making the business better in your buyer’s eye it won’t matter if you are offering a time machine at 50% off. So why don’t more sales people take time learning what the business objective is? I believe the answer lies in their discomfort or not understanding how. (Which I will address in the next blog)
I was shadowing a salesperson’s appointment today. The prospect wanted us to show her a reason to be interested. She didn’t have a determined need and was not currently shopping for a new phone system but was willing to learn. The salesperson was good at asking questions about what they liked or disliked about their system but there was not much emotion in her responses. I sensed we needed to learn more about her business so I asked, “What has been a key factor in your 50 year success and how have you competed against the big box stores?” This got her juices flowing about the evil big box stores and she said, “More personalized customer service.”She shared a bit more but the most important factor was “customer service”.
She then went on to explain how she spent some big dollars upgraded store infrastructures. She was excited about her new investment and had shared how it would payoff over time (20 years based on her calculations).
What Just Happened?
We stopped trying to have her tell us what she wanted in a phone system (which she was not sure about) and let her tell us what she wanted in her business (which she was very sure about). Remember all buying decisions are based on meeting business objectives. We also learned she is willing to make investments in the business if they pencil out.
What happens now?
Armed with this knowledge the reps follow-up appointment will be focused on understanding how their current phone system supports customer service and if there are ways a new one can make improvements. He will be allowed to talk to employees or managers because he is now working to support the owner’s business objective. She now hopes he can find a solution.When you learn what is important to your prospect or customer you are no longer selling your product or service, you are finding ways to help them accomplish their business objective. When this happens they become very interested in helping you do that. That is what Service-Minded Selling is all about.
A lesson I learned about fly fishing relates to the sales process of landing a big deal. I was taught my chances of catching a big fish were increased not by the amount of times I presented a fly, but in the quality and timeliness of my presentation.
The other day during a direct sales coaching session the salesperson shared he was having a hard time marketing his service but then went on for five minutes to try and convince me (or him) about all the benefits of the service. I had to stop him and let him know that if he was doing the same with propsects, he was scaring them away.
The advice I recieved about fishing could be applied in his marketing situations. The fishing pro advised me to cast less often so I would not scare the fish away or have them become disinterested in my presentation. When sales people talk, talk, and talk about all the features and benefits of their products and services, they are over casting and losing their prospect interest.
To land the big fish, I was instructed to take my time and study their eating patterns. Kick back and watch as they gently rose up and swallowed their next morsel. If I did not take the time to learn, I would have walked right by the big fish not noticing they were there. Big fish are more subtle and wise. They don’t jump out of the water to catch a small fly, they wait until what they really want and need shows up.
The point is this. If you want to land a bigger deal, take your time. Don’t rush in and expect people to love what you have. Forget about what you have, and learn about what they need and want, practice consultative selling. Learn about how they like to buy and how often they buy. When you have gathered enough knowledge, check and see if you have the right fly in your service box, take aim, and present your best cast in a way that draws them in.