I'm in the mood to write a story...a Christmas story perhaps (or holiday story for my Jewish friends out there in blog-ville)...it's a story about a struggling salesperson...he's on the edge, struggling, worried, freaking out about the future, etc...when he finds himself on a lonely late-night drive going back to his home in Minneapolis after yet another unsuccessful sales call in Des Moines...on the way back, he's caught in a blinding snow storm and is forced off the main highway and onto a side road...his situation grows more dire when he slides off the road and into a field. 

His car is damaged...his cell phone is dead, he's not dressed for the weather...and the snow and cold are descending quickly...so he trudges toward the light of a small farm house...where he meets an old man who takes him in...the old man listens to his story and proceeds to show him a set of 3 eyeglasses...each with a mystical quality that enable the person that puts them on to see life in entirely new ways...the salesperson is forever changed by what he sees through these glasses and sets himself on a course of great success and personal fulfillment.

Perhaps in reading the story, you too will be changed by seeing what the salesperson sees? 

Stay tuned as I'll be writing it in serial fashion starting next week...get the popcorn and hot-buttered rum ready.

I know I've talked about the ol' "Elevator Speech" at various times over the past few years, but I wanted to revisit it with a bit of a twist.  I'm calling it the "Elevator Shaft Speech" (remember this was MY creation when everyone steals it)...which is just the elevator speech, but in about 1/10th the time...or "Crap...I've been pushed down a shaft and have like 5 seconds to live"--

So let's say we're at a business mixer somewhere and instead of using that nicely prepared, smooth sounding Elevator Speech...someone rolls up on you from behind, taps you on the shoulder, does the awkward glance at your name tag and says...

"So...tell me who you are and what you do"...   And here you've got a mouth full of cheese and a damp hand from holding a sweaty bottle of cold beer...and wham, you suddenly have to answer!

What do you say?  What quickly comes to mind?   This is where you need the Elevator Shaft Speech?   Something you can say off the cuff, quickly, in like 10 seconds that encapsulates all you do for your company and/or humanity?

My suggestion is that you make one right away, and to make it as compelling as possible to the listener.  And the listener may vary depending on the audience, venue, etc.

For instance, let's pretend you are a doctor (here I go with the Doctor thing again...sheesh, I'm like George Costanza always pretending to be an Architect...anyway)  and you are in a mixer full of other doctors...in that case, your Elevator Shaft Speech may be more technical and focused on the type of treatments you provide.  However, if you were in a room full of patients, the Elevator Shaft Speech would probably be about the sicknesses you attack and/or the symptoms you try to identify.

So think about yourself and what you do... chances are you're going to be in more mixers with patients than with other doctors...so your Elevator Shaft Speech should be about how you help people vs the stuff you sell.

Here are some examples to follow:

Radio Ad salesperson -- "I help companies create tons of new revenue"

Insurance salesperson -- "I help people cut costs by about 30%"  

Technology salesperson -- "I attack bugs and viruses all day"

...of course you can then follow with your company name, what you sell, etc...but the opening is designed to just get the other person to quickly "get" what you REALLY do for people.

Got it?  Now give it a try and see if you don't suddenly become the life of the party...well, at least not a wall-flower at every mixer.

GB

One of my favorite ways to step out of the cacophony (word I've been dying to use lately) of 2009 mind noise (information, news, tension, technology...you know what I mean) is to sit down and flip on an old Andy Griffith Show (only the Black and White ones for me thanks).

And I noticed something interesting the other day on a gem I was watching with my daughter Maddy (to a 14 year old it's like us watching the first moving pictures)...anyway, in this one Andy, Goob, and Floyd were sitting around the barber shop just having a conversation for like 20 minutes on one topic...something like the huge oak tree in the town square.  And what was interesting to me was that they were actually looking at each other, talking and listening...and even commenting on what the other person said!! 

One topic?  20 minutes?  In the middle of the day?  Are you freaking kidding me??

Can you imagine that scene in today's world? 

• Andy would have just sent his 3rd tweet of the day before arriving at the shop...he can only stay 5 minutes because he has two conference calls he needs to hop in and out of...
• Floyd would have just signed up for Andy's tweets and probably busting his chops on him not mentioning he was heading to his shop that day ("oooh Andy...I like the tweets you're sending ...yes, yes...but you DIDN'T mention my shop, or my special on flat tops...just $1.00 through Thanksgiving!  But you still have a terrific head of hair...yes, yes")
• Goob would have his laptop going in the corner, bitching about Floyd's crappy wireless source because he's trying to download two new "How do dance to attract hot babes" videos
• And then Opie pops in and says he needs $1,500 to attend a special "tackling camp" in Mount Pilot if he wants to stay on the elite pee-wee football team

We could go on and on with that scenario (and perhaps we should??)...anyway, you get the point. We are so over-wired, over-programmed, over-everythinged to ever really stop and have just one conversation about one thing.

And I really do think it's destroying our ability to properly question and practice deep listening when talking with clients in sales calls.  I really do.

I mean think about yourself in a sales call...don't you have a tendency to do one of these:

• As the client is talking I'm feeling guilty about 5 things I said I would try to do before this meeting, but didn't...
• Or I'm thinking about how quickly I need to get out of here if I have a shot at getting the next 5 things done...
• And as the prospect or client is talking, I'm thinking "how long is this going to take?"  "When am I going to be able to start talking about my solutions...so we can get to a proposal...so I can get my manager off my back...so I can hopefully save my 4th quarter?"
• Or as the client talks we think about the state of the company...the state of the world...the upcoming weekend...the email I just got...the nasty one I have to send...the blog post I need to make...

This too could go on and on (and maybe it shouldn't!!).

The point is...we may be losing the ability to practice deep listening...and it may take some real work on our part to silence all of this for small moments of time in order to look someone in the eye, ask a question...and God forbid...listen to their answer!

Now when is Clara going to finish that next batch of pickles (because we all know Aunt Bee's suck!!)

GB

Here is a link to the November newsletter, "Notes from the Ugly Pond"...please go to the web site to register your name to get this each month via email...there are also archived ones in column on left side.

Just click here to launch

Launch Presentation

GB

I love the snow more now than ever and never get tired of these big tree-breaking heavy snows. 

21"last night and this morning...the big resorts got over three feet!  But even better than the snow are the sunshine and mild temps that come right after...

Hope I've convinced you to come to Colorado this coming ski season...and when you do, please look me up, I'm always up for coffee...or dirty martinis!! 

Now back to my snow blower...here's to snow days and hot buttered rum...

GB

I've had several people sign up for my "ezine" monthly newsletter, "Notes from the Ugly Pond (to register go to the main web site, GregBennettSales.com and it's in the upper right hand corner). And while doing so, they've asked about getting access to the archived versions, so I've put a link to them on a page here in the blog

You'll now find the link in the left column of the blog.

I think it's critical for sales organizations to try and remove as much "spin" from the sales process as possible.  My definition of spin would be:

"SPIN:  The use of bull sh*t by a) clients, b) salespeople, c) sales managers, and d) VP's of sales to (in the same order as listed)  a) by clients to get rid of salespeople, b) by salespeople to get sales managers off their back, c) by sales managers to get VP's to focus on someone else, and d) by VP's to keep company owners blind and dumb to what's going on"

In my book, Consultative Closing, I call this spin process the "Mutual Mystification Ladder"...starting at the client and rolling up to the owner of the company.

A great goal for salespeople, sales managers, VP's and owners of companies would be to try and remove the spin in order to get at the reality of the situation; especially in tough economic times.

Our margins of error are small enough already, can we really afford to believe the bs spin from our sellers on prospective "clients" in the pipeline that are probably not real at all?  (because they're being spun (spin, span, spun????)  by the clients as well)

Removing Spin isn't easy...it starts with removing the verbal interpretation of where people may be in the buying process...this happens by identifying action-oriented Mini-Steps...then making the steps  universal within the organization...then putting a percentage of close attached ONLY to mini-steps. 

Then you let the CLIENT show you where he truly is in the process by his action or non-action, and not through false promises to "eventually do something with you guys".

No Spin Zones are where it's at folks...

GB

When training I'll often ask salespeople: "Would you personally would buy your own product?"   After an awkward silence, some people nod their head slowly, suggesting -  "yeah...I guess I might".  Others give me a quizzical look as if they've never even thought of such a question.  And a few give me a shrug that says "probably not".  Unfortunately no one emphatically jumps up and says "Absolutely!"  And i think that's at the core of a lot of our sales problems.

The fact is...most of us wouldn't absolutely, without a doubt buy what we're selling.  Or at least we'd be a bit unsure about it.   And if that's the case, how on earth can we be passionate about selling it to someone else??

I wish everyone that sold a product or service would first be great customers of their own product or service.  Because there is a huge difference in the level of passion and conviction we have when we tell someone about our own personal favorite product vs just reading the features and benefits of some other product.

Just try this experiment...ask someone to tell you about their favorite bar or restaurant...what they like, why they think it's so great, etc.  Then compare what they say and how they say it, with that restaurant's web site or yellow pages ad.  Which description is better?  More lively?  More real?

When we talk our personal favorite we bring it to life with different words, emotions, and our own personal story. The problem is most of us have never been customers of our products, so we have to rely on other people's passion and testimonials.  Which is fine, but it's not quite the same.

If we can't buy our own product (and in many cases it's not realistic, like for instance casket sales, HA!) another thing we can do is to hypothetically buy our own product. Or at least ask the question, "would I buy it?"...and if the answer is "no" or "I'm not sure"...you better seek out your manager or some other seller right away and ask them to "sell me again on my we're the best".

GB

One of my favorite things to do is to wake up in a dream (or better yet a nightmare) and realize that I have nothing to lose.  That it's all an illusion. That I can't get hurt.  I really can't get killed by the monster.  I actually laugh at the monster.   It's SO cool.

Well guess what kids...here is the great secret in life...it's ALL and illusion!  You...me...the nasty client...the rude receptionist...NOTHING really "exists"...it's all a dream.   So there is nothing to fear.   Nothing to worry about...nothing to fret over.  Just wake-up in the dream and realize you're okay.  

So what does this mean?  Well...that you are here by free to sell and succeed without an ounce of fear my young grasshoppers.

At least that's my belief, and I'm stickin' to it.

Wrap your head around this mindset for a day and see if it doesn't change your outlook!!

GB

My buddy Steve Smith with the Minnesota Twins gave me the secret to the Twins scintillating extra-innings "play-in" win last night over Detroit...

"We jumped in the ugly pond,  took 'em to no and closed 'em!"

Nicely done my friend...now go drown the Yanks in that same pond

(Go Rockies by the way)

GB