Common Sense Sales

How to Reach More CEOs (and other senior executives)

2014-11-21T18:00:00.000-06:00

I have a good friend who was frustrated at his lack of success when he was cold calling CEOs. It didn’t seem to matter how many calls he made, he just wasn’t having success getting them on the phone. He asked me for some advice, so I was happy to oblige. I shared one idea with him, and within a week he had spoken with more CEOs than all of his colleagues combined.

If you have a product or service that can only be sold to the CEO (like my friend), then this idea can work for you too. It’s so simple that I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t do it.

It’s all about when you call them. CEOs often come to work early and leave late. After I passed along this advice to my friend, he started cold-calling at 7:00am, and ended the day by spending an extra hour in the office and making calls after 5:00pm. Every single one of the CEOs that he reached picked-up their phone when he called before and after hours.

Here’s why: At the close of the business day, the receptionist puts the phone system on night-ring. With night-ring activated there is a very high likelihood that the voice mail system will provide an automated greeting with an option to reach an individual by dialing their first or last name. Punch in the CEO’s name and presto! Your call is connected to his/her desk. No gatekeepers involved!

If the prospect’s phone system doesn’t have a dial-by-name option, save that call for normal business hours.

This advice is effective for reaching CEOs and just about any senior business executive. They are often the first to show up for work and among the last to leave. And, these folks often spend Saturday morning at the office. Try spending a quiet Saturday morning calling CEOs. You might be surprised how many you reach. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

If you like this blog, then be sure to check out my books! You can find out more on the right-hand side of the page. Happy selling!

Set the Tone for a Positive Customer Experience

2013-07-28T17:13:00.001-05:00

Who sets the tone in a customer/prospect meeting? Most often the customer sets the tone - are they mad that your company missed an important deadline? Are they glad to see you so that they can discuss their long term plans with your company? Or maybe they’re somewhere in between. But don’t ever lose sight of the fact that you too can set the tone for the meeting.

Have you ever had an experience when you set up an important meeting, invited your boss or other VIP, only to have the key customer contact no-show? Or how about the time that you planned the meeting perfectly, only to show up and find out that they don’t have Internet access after all - or the projector they had promised isn’t there. Any number of unfortunate things can happen to derail your plans - but you can’t let that change your tone.

Make sure to stay positive and gracious regardless of the curve ball that gets thrown your way. I have witnessed total rep deflation when one of those unforeseen circumstances arises that completely alters the expected outcome of the meeting. I have seen reps get angry, go flat, and just lose interest when something unexpected derails their meeting. That kind of reaction sets a very negative tone for the meeting and unnecessarily tarnishes your brand. Don’t let that happen to you.

Even in those circumstances when the customer sets a negative tone, don’t fall in to the trap of mimicking that behavior. Keep calm and remain positive (and always authentic) regardless of the negative situation.

Find Your "Jimmy"

2013-03-31T09:10:00.003-05:00

Have you ever encountered a situation where you have sold to all of the right people including executive sponsors, decision makers, stakeholders, procurement, and economic buyers - and yet somehow the sale isn’t going through? Or the project is stalled? My boss told me about a situation that he encountered several years ago where he had seemingly gained agreement with everyone necessary to implement his solution and yet week after week nothing happened. He finally did some additional digging and found that a guy named Jimmy was in charge of scheduling projects, and Jimmy didn’t like our company, so he continued to put our project at the bottom of his list.

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Pardon the interruption, but I wanted you to know that my new book, Common Sense Sales, is now available at Amazon.com. You can click HERE to find it. There is more information on the right hand side of the screen regarding it and my first book, Click “Send” and Sell. Be sure to check them out.

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Even though my boss thought that he had every base covered, there was a critical player in the process that he had not encountered. Further digging surfaced that Jimmy loved baseball. After a few tense meetings with Jimmy - and a couple of baseball games later - the project found its way to the top of his project list. Jimmy had not realized the importance of the projects, and he had an incorrect impression about the company. Jimmy, though not a decision maker in the traditional sense, was nonetheless critical to the sales process.

I once encountered a “Jimmy” of my own. An account was ready to move forward with our solution, yet we were being blocked by the contracts group. No matter what we put in front of them, they kicked it back with non-trivial changes to the terms that caused our legal team to nearly start from scratch. It was very frustrating for both companies. In this case our customer’s business user was able to wield her influence in the organization to make our projects a priority and someone told the contracts team to take it easy on us. We eventually got our agreements completed but not until we had missed a few important go-live dates. All of this because “Jimmy” was holding things up unnecessarily. We eventually spent some time with him, and like my boss’ Jimmy, he is now on our side.

Selling to all the right people and getting the appropriate sign-offs is hard enough - uncovering the “Jimmy” in your account can be just as important. Find him and neutralize him or you will find your projects on eternal hold.

It's Not JUST Sales

2013-03-19T17:16:00.003-05:00

More happens in the day of a seller than most people realize. Here is a list of just a few of the non-sales tasks that we are required to perform in a typical day:

Update the pipeline
Submit expense reports
Review contracts, agreements and/or terms and conditions
Attend meetings - lots and lots of meetings
Document our phone calls and emails in our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
Process orders
Provide customer support
Review and update shipping reports
Understand new products and their specifications
Submit special pricing requests
Create proposals and PowerPoint presentations

And the list goes on . . .

At some point in the day we are also expected to prospect, meet with potential customers, manage our existing accounts, and close new business.

Out of all of these activities, which one is most important?

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Pardon the interruption, but I wanted you to know that my new book, Common Sense Sales, is now available at Amazon.com. You can click HERE to find it. There is more information on the right hand side of the screen regarding it and my first book, Click “Send” and Sell. Be sure to check them out.

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Yes, closing new business is your most important activity. Obviously, a lot can be overlooked if you make or exceed your quota. But I’ve seen very good reps get in trouble - and bad trouble - for falling short in the “Other Duties Assigned” category that is made up of the tasks above.

It’s one thing to be a relationship guy/gal and get customers to buy your products and services. But you need to have the whole package - it’s what is expected of you as a professional. Even if you are making your numbers, it will begin to wear people down if you are constantly late with reports or your contract review is shoddy. Somewhere your incomplete and inaccurate expense reports are being reported to someone important. That someone could make your life very difficult!

Sales is all about the numbers - or is it? The obvious indication of your success is your ability to hit your goals. But you need to be good at everything. Don’t let stellar sales results keep you from executing your job as a professional. Your boss and her colleagues can overlook a few minor lapses from you - but major lapses that become an organization’s nightmare won’t be overlooked for long. You may find yourself a top producing rep that’s in big trouble. You don’t need the distraction.

Stay focused on the numbers, but take care of your business. It’s the professional thing to do.

The Most Important Discovery Question?

2013-03-05T19:58:00.001-06:00

You get a call from a customer or prospect indicating an interest in one of your products or services. You swing into action right away and put together the right presentation and/or demonstration. They gather their team, you pull together your resources and you conduct the meeting. Everything seems to be going well. Then they go dark - they won't return a call or email. What happened? They seemed engaged. They asked questions. You and your team brought you A-game. Maybe, just maybe it’s because you didn’t ask the most important question:

What business problem are you trying to solve?

Yes, you did everything right, but the problem is you may not have been presenting the right product or solution for the prospect’s business problem. They reached out to you after doing some research, thinking (assuming) that your solution was the right fit. In following through with the demo, you didn’t ensure that the product was a fit because you didn’t ask the question.

What business problem are you trying to solve?

It’s a basic discovery question and should be asked with far more frequency than it is. I have seen countless conference calls and meetings take on a completely different tone when the sales reps asks the question. Suddenly the prospect opens up about what they are really trying to accomplish. Many times your questions lead them to ask you to speak with their boss or an executive team. And you haven’t even demonstrated the product. No, but you have demonstrated something far more important - you have demonstrated that you are interested in their business and in providing the right solution - not necessarily the solution that they think they need.

Don’t take for granted that your prospects or customers know what they need to buy from you. Ask them the question and know for sure.

What is Your Financial IQ?

2013-02-26T18:37:00.002-06:00

All of us understand the industry specific jargon is verbalized on a daily basis among our prospects, customers and colleagues. To those outside our industry it seems like we are speaking Greek. But to those in the know, those buzzwords are well understood. Likewise, there are financial buzzwords that permeate just about every sales organization. It is important that you are familiar with the most common of these and understand their meaning. This article focuses on just three and is intended to be helpful if you have not been exposed to these concepts before. If you are not familiar them, please read and reread this article, then go find more sources of information. Failure to understand these three basic concepts could expose a very low financial IQ and damage your credibility as a seller.

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ROI: Return on Investment. You should be able to demonstrate how an investment in your product and/or service will create a financial return for your customer.

Example: Multiple studies have shown that purchasing our manufacturing software can reduce the number of man-hours required to assemble your product by 20%.

Here is the information needed to determine the ROI:

Cost of software: $125,000

Current Manufacturing Man Hours Required: 1,000

Cost Per Man Hour: $75

Here’s how to calculate the ROI:

Total Cost of Man Hours: $75,000 (1,000 hours *$75 per hour)

20% reduction in Man Hours: 2,000 hours (20% * 1,000 hours)

Total Man Hour Savings: $150,000 (2,000 Man Hours Saved * $75 per hour)

ROI: $25,000 (Reduction in cost of $150,000 minus the price of the software, $125,000)

ROI Stated in Percentage: 20% (ROI of $25,000 divided by the cost of the software, $125,000)

Using ROI to demonstrate the value of your product or service is a great way to differentiate you from the competition. It also helps the customer justify the expense of the acquisition since it will ultimately save their company money.

Gross Profit: The difference between the direct cost of your product or and its sales price.

Example: Your product costs $24 to manufacture (Cost of Goods) and you sell it for $50 (Sale Price). Your Gross Profit is $26. ($50 - $24)

Gross Profit Margin: This is your Gross Profit reflected in percentage terms. Stated another way, what is the percentage of my sale that is profit? In the above example the Gross Profit of $26 could be restated as a Gross Profit Margin of 52% ($26/$50). In other words, 52% of my sale is Gross Profit. To calculate the Gross Profit Margin, divide the Gross Profit by the Sale Price.

Gross profit is an important financial metric for your organization. Your company must maintain a certain gross profit on its sales in order to meet its financial goals. That’s why pricing committees and pricing approvals require signoff from financial management. They need to weigh the advantage of discounting the product against the goal of maintaining strong gross profit margins.

Markup Percent: This is very different than Gross Profit Margin and sellers often get these two terms confused. Markup refers to the percent increase in sale price over the Cost of Goods. Continuing with our example from above, we would say that the Markup is 108% ($26/$24). Markup is calculated by dividing the Gross Profit by the Cost of Goods. Note the stark difference in the two figures - the Gross Profit Margin is 52% while the Markup is over twice that figure. Knowing the difference between these two calculations is an important indicator of your financial IQ.

You don’t need to be a financial professional to be a great seller, but it does help to know your way around key financial terms and their related calculations. These are just a few of the basics that every seller should be familiar with.

Manage Your Emotions

2013-02-04T20:24:00.000-06:00

We sellers are an excitable bunch. We love the thrill of winning, are typically extroverts, and often times demonstrable with our emotions. Personally, I fall in to all three categories. That’s why I have to be extra careful when that one customer - that total pain - presses all my buttons. It can be a challenge for me to keep my emotions in check. Sometimes they get the better of me and I should know better.

Two examples come to mind. In one, I was negotiating a very large transaction with a multi-national bank. My boss and I were on the phone with my key contact and his procurement colleague. Closing this opportunity would have completely changed the relationship between our company and the customer. We would have gone from being a tactical supplier to a strategic partner. And, winning the deal would have made a huge impact in our ability to meet our annual operating budget. Not to mention it would result in a great payday for me. For the bank it meant a major commitment to our technology moving forward, and transforming the way that they were conducting business. The stakes were large for both organizations.

Blog continued below

Here’s an example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a rep. He was frustrated that a prospect had gone dark. After a few great meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?” email right then, during our call. He did and guess what happened? The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls and emails. That’s why I wrote the book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

The book, Click “Send” and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Success is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

The call was going well and many of the terms were being agreed-upon without difficulty. Then the call took a turn for the worse. The customer began to completely mischaracterize our prior discussions. He was using this tactic as a way to get better pricing. It was infuriating! His constant lies were making me look stupid. I was getting more and more upset as the call progressed. As I grew more agitated I was pacing the office, flailing my arms, and signaling to my boss (quietly) where and how they were lying to get their way. I almost stormed out of his office in disgust. At that point he muted his phone and said, “Sam, you are getting way to emotional about this. Settle down. We’ll get this done.” At that point I calmed down and we continued the dialogue to a successful conclusion. My boss knew all along that the customer was simply posturing. He had come to know me and my capabilities and never thought for a moment that the customer was accurately characterizing our prior conversations. And, after another couple of calls, we got the deal done. It was a great transaction for both companies.

That instance made me aware of my tendency to let the customer “get to me”. I have been working on that shortcoming ever since. But just recently it reared its head again. This time the customer called to let me know that he had reneged on our verbal and written agreements and insisted on changing a fundamental pricing arrangement that had been painstakingly negotiated. He was accusing me of backing him in to a corner if I refused to go along with his proposal and threatened to pull all of their business with our company. This was a very large customer and the likelihood of that was very small, but I had to take the threat seriously. He was being a real piece of work, pushing all of my buttons. I was getting more and more upset, especially at a point when he said, “Sam, my name is Michael, not Mike.” After it was clear that we had reached an impasse, I offered to speak with my boss about the situation. The customer agreed. When I spoke with my boss my voice was still shaking, “I’m very upset about a conversation that I just had with the customer. He’s reneging on our year long agreement and accusing me of backing him in to a corner.” My boss shrugged it off and said, “You can’t get upset like that. It does no good.” My mind flashed-back to that conference call with the big bank and I was able to calm down quickly. The boss and I came up with a fair arrangement and I was able to calmly get back on the phone and reach an amicable conclusion with the customer.

I’m sure that you have encountered situations with your prospects and customers that made you very upset. No doubt that they have mischaracterized your conversations and reneged on prior agreements. And, I hope that you were able to keep your emotions in check. In either scenario that I described the discussion would have taken a nosedive if I had allowed my emotions to get the best of me. In the latter instance I had enough self awareness to end the call with the customer, sensing that my anger was affecting the way that I was representing me and my company. That self awareness led to some quick coaching to keep me in line. And, both instances resulted in a favorable transaction for both me and my customers.

The next time that you feel yourself getting agitated, make a mental note to keep your emotions in check. When you find yourself getting upset remember to put your ego aside and get the deal done. It will feel much better than blowing your top and losing the deal. That I can absolutely guarantee.

An Experience with a Bad Sales Rep

2012-11-29T18:23:00.004-06:00

I have belonged to the same gym for over five years. It’s very basic and fairly close to home. I’m making a change to my membership so I decided to look around to see what other gyms have to offer. There is a new facility that friends and neighbors have been talking about so I decided to check it out over lunch.

What I saw was very impressive; much more space than my old gym, many more cardio machines, higher ceilings, more weight lifting options, nicer locker room, quieter and just more my style. The only problem with the place was the general manager is also their sales rep.

Blog continued below

Here’s an example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a rep. He was frustrated that a prospect had gone dark. After a few great meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?” email right then, during our call. He did and guess what happened? The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls and emails. That’s why I wrote the book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

The book, Click “Send” and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Success is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

He gave me a tour of the facility and then we sat down in his office to chat. I knew that there would be a sales pitch, so I was relaxed and prepared to discuss the pros and cons of this new facility. It was a bad experience – a very one-sided conversation that did nothing to help me decide whether or not to join the facility. What made the experience unpleasant was that this guy just started talking and wouldn’t stop. And, the discussion was all about him.

Here’s what I learned:

· He grew up a fat Greek kid in an Irish catholic neighborhood and was frequently bullied.
· He has lost 70 lbs since joining this gym.
· He is the number one sales rep nationally.
· He was Mr. Illinois for two years.
· He is a UFC fighter.
· He played high school and college football.
· He has multiple injuries that prevent him from lifting free weights.
· He was promoted to general manager and was given the choice of working in any facility nationally and chose this one.
· He is a certified personal trainer.

· There is much, much more.

Here’s what he learned about me:

· I have been a member of another gym since 2007.
· I work out three to five times per week.
· My wife likes to work out too.
· I travel frequently.

Hopefully you can see how lopsided this conversation was. It was all about him, the seller, and very little time was spent on me, the buyer. Here are some things that I think he should have asked about me:

· What are my fitness goals? Is my current gym helping me to reach those goals?
· What am I looking for in a fitness facility?
· What about my gym do I like? Not like?
· How does this gym compare in proximity to my home? Is it closer than my current gym?
· Does my gym have a national footprint so I can work out on the road?
· What about the clientele in each location? Where do I feel more comfortable working out?
· How do the facilities compare in size? Do I normally have to wait for cardio machines or weights?
· How new is the equipment in my current gym?

With information like this we could have had an interesting discussion and he could have sold me on the advantages of his facility. Instead, at one point in our conversation, I gave him the universal sign for time-out, and said, “Stop, stop, stop. If you say another word I’m walking out.” He finally got the picture. I had to grab a workout and get back to the office, not listen to him yammer on and on about himself and his wonderful gym. He offered me a free workout and I got busy. It was a very nice experience, using brand new equipment with no wait in a very comfortable atmosphere.

He didn’t close the deal with me because after my workout he was busy with another prospective member. He insisted that I stay, even stating , “I can’t let you walk out.” But I was running late and had to get back to the office. I’ll join this gym but it will be in spite of the sales rep, not because of him. Instead of offering me a free workout, showing me a simple price plan, and closing the deal in ten minutes, he’ll get to wait a couple of days while I muster up the patience to go back and deal with this pushy sales rep.

Learn a lesson from my experience. Talk less, ask more, and understand what the prospect is trying to achieve by purchasing something from you. If you walk away from a prospect with them knowing more about you than you know about them, you have gone about it all wrong. Yes, build personal and professional credibility, but understand why the prospect is interested in buying from you. Understand their goals and pain points. Chances are that your product or service can meet their needs and you can make the closing process simple and painless.

10 Reasons Thanksgiving is my Favorite Holiday

2012-11-22T11:40:00.000-06:00

Here are ten reasons why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday:

1. No gift pressure.
2. No religious obligation.
3. Having a cocktail at noon (or before) is perfectly acceptable.
4. Eating all you want as often as you want.
5. Watching football for hours.
6. Napping is encouraged.
7. Two days off of work.
8. You can say "Happy Thanksgiving" without offending anyone.
9. The kids come home.
10. Getting some good use out of the dining room table.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Close a Large Transaction with Small Numbers

2012-09-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered why car dealers talk about low monthly payments? Or why mobile phone companies talk about flat monthly charges? It’s because they want you thinking in terms of the smallest dollar figure associated with the overall relationship while ignoring the lifetime cost of the product or service. This is a very important psychological game and it works well regardless of what you are selling.

Phone companies and car dealers are not alone in this thinking. Just look around at how things are priced based on their lowest dollar unit:

Data - by the kilobyte/gigabyte
Consulting fees - by the hour
Software - by the “seat”
Real estate - by the square foot
Professional search – 1% per thousand of the candidate’s starting salary

The list could go on and on.

When you are working on a large deal it is exciting to think about the revenue impact on the organization – and on your bank account! But it is important that you communicate to the customer in terms of the smallest dollar size that makes sense. Let’s consider the car example again. A monthly payment of $199 for a new car sounds great – thousands of people sign up for this deal on a regular basis. It’s only after the buyer becomes emotionally committed to the transaction that they see the magnitude of their decision in the finance documents. There, in black and white, it is plain for them to see that they are paying many thousands of dollars in interest, ultimately committing to far more than the car is worth in today’s value. But they can afford the monthly payment and so move forward with the transaction. Besides, they have convinced themselves that they are getting a really good deal. After all, it’s only costing them $199 per month.

Blog continued below
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Here’s an example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a rep. He was frustrated that a prospect had gone dark. After a few great meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?” email right then, during our call. He did and guess what happened? The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls and emails. That’s why I wrote the book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

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Leverage that same process with your prospects. Always provide the per-(fill in the blank here) transaction price. And, don’t ever present the full cost of the transaction describing the large dollar volume commitment. Let them figure that out later. Get them excited about the low transaction price and the subsequent emotional commitment to purchase from you. They are smart enough to figure out the math at another time. Don’t do that for them. You are much more likely to win a deal by quoting a $.60 per transaction price than you are by telling them that the total cost for the first year is $325,000. See the difference?

But don’t take my word for it. Turn on the radio or TV and listen to the ads. It won’t take long for you to recognize the efficacy of this kind of pricing strategy.

It's Budget Season - Already!

2012-07-24T18:12:00.002-05:00

If I ask a typical sales rep what time of year it is, I will hear answers like “vacation season” or “summer doldrums”. You may be surprised to hear that this is budget season. Yes, your customers are at the very beginning process of building out their budget plans for 2013. Are you engaged in that process? If not, you should be.

Blog continued below
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Here’s an example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a rep. He was frustrated that a prospect had gone dark. After a few great meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?” email right then, during our call. He did and guess what happened? The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls and emails. That’s why I wrote the book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

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If you have an existing customer and are looking to grow your business with them, now is the time to ask them about their 2013 plans. This process will also help you understand just how good your relationship is with your customer based on their level of transparency with you.

I would suggest that you begin the budget dialogue with something like, “We are in the early stages of our 2013 planning and you are one of our important customers. What do your plans include for us in 2013? I’m not asking for specific budget figures, although feel free to share those! I’m more interested in how you plan to grow with us next year. What are your priorities?” Ask something like that then listen closely. If you are dealing with the right kind of people you should get some good answers. You will quickly learn whether or not you are a strategic partner, how much (if any) you can expect to grow with this customer, and by how much.

You should ask the budget question to all of your important customers. The kind if insight that you will gain is invaluable and will help your organization budget for next year.

This time of year, although typically slow, can be incredibly important for next year. Use this time wisely.

Managing Conference Calls

2012-05-14T17:48:00.000-05:00

I have to remind myself that this is a “Common Sense” sales blog, and that sometimes people just don’t use common sense. This article falls under that category – I’m a little surprised that it needs to be written at all. But I keep running in to this problem so here it goes.

When you host a conference call there are a couple of things to keep in mind. When I refer to conference calls, I mean those calls where you send out the 888-number with an access code and expect to have a few customer/prospect attendees along with a few colleagues. These are becoming increasingly common as companies “go virtual” and more and more selling situations are phone and web based.

Blog continued below

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Here’s a very recent example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a rep. He was frustrated that a prospect had gone dark. After a few great meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?” email right then, during our call. He did and guess what happened? The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls and emails. That’s why I wrote the book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

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First, make sure to announce yourself as soon as you beep-in. I was recently on a call where the host arrived and there was about 10-seconds of dead air. That was a very uncomfortable feeling for me, and I’m sure the other attendees. We were sitting there on hold, listening to that aweful music, when we heard the host beep-in and the music stop. Then . . . . nothing. When you arrive as the host, greet the already present guests with a “Good afternoon!” or some other greeting letting them know that you have arrived. Do not allow your presence to be greeted with dead air.

Next, make sure that everyone on the call gets a “Hello, who just joined please?” when they join the call. Do not yammer on and on about your weather conditions while new guests get ignored. Yes, you need to keep the dead air at a minimum, but be prepared to break when you hear an arriving guest. Everyone on the call should be accounted for and as the host that’s your job.

As people arrive, there will be dead air. Don’t let that be the case. It’s easy to strike up a conversation on these calls with something like, “Jim, so where are you calling from today?” That’s always a good conversation starter. Again, be willing to cut the conversation short when others join, but don’t let your guests sit in silence. It is just too uncomfortable.

It’s almost inevitable that late comers will beep-in after you have started the call . That’s to be expected, but you should also find a natural stopping point to say something like, “I think I just heard someone join. Can you please tell us who you are?” Chances are very good that it was someone who was invited to the call, but these numbers aren’t particularly confidential, and you never know who just might want to drop in to hear your discussion. Always ask who just joined to protect you and your customer/prospect. It’s not rude, so don’t be hesitant to ask.

If the call isn’t too large, take time for each side to introduce themselves, their names, role, and what they hope to accomplish on the call. This is another great ice breaker that’s easy to get started. Say something like, “It sounds like we have just about everyone who plans to join. Before we get started, allow me to introduce myself, and I’d like everyone to do the same from our side. Karen, we would also like to hear from your team if that’s okay.” Again ,a simple common courtesy and an extremely important part of your job as a sales rep – you need to know who is on the call, their role, and what they hope to accomplish. What better way to set the overall tone for the call?

That’s about it. Common Sense Selling! Be courteous, keep the dead air to a minimum, greet your callers, and kick off the call with introductions. Those of us that dial-in to your calls will appreciate your approach!

To Demo or Not To Demo?

2012-05-02T17:38:00.004-05:00

It almost seems like a silly question – should I demo our solution or not? But there are certain scenarios when you should consider tapping the brakes when a prospect asks you to demo your product. Here’s an example of when that’s the case.

My rep has a very good customer who buys a significant amount of product from us. And, our vendor manager there is fantastic. She is constantly introducing our capabilities to colleagues within her company and brokering introductions for us. Just recently, a business unit approached her with a problem and she immediately recommended our solution (this is an information-centric product offering). She reached out to my rep and asked if he could schedule a WebEx demo of our solution. This was a very nice development for us.

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No eReader? No problem! Click HEREto download and print the book in any format you want.
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However, I told the rep to hold off on the demo and ask instead for a brief meeting with the business users who had approached our champion with their problem. Why in the world would I recommend something like that? Simple, really. We don’t know anything about the problem that they are trying to solve, and our champion – while she is really great – may not have recommended our best solution to her colleagues. So instead of agreeing to perform a demo, I directed the rep to request a 30-minute call with the customer in order to learn more about their specific situation and whether or not a demo would be appropriate. That suggestion was extremely well received by the customer and they are grateful that he was willing to take the time to understand their needs before performing a demo.

We live in a world of instant gratification and as sellers we are constantly being pushed to close deals today. Delaying a demo for a few days is a bad idea when you are farther along in a sales process. But if you are conducting your first meeting, why in the world would you do a product demo (again, think more of a complex sale here) before you understand your prospects pains and opportunities?

Take the time to listen to your prospect before you ever make a recommendation or demonstrate a potential solution. Chances are you may lengthen the sales process a little bit, but it will very likely increase your odds of winning their business and their trust.

Land and Expand!

2012-04-09T20:27:00.001-05:00

Don’t you just love those situations when the customer wants to buy everything you sell? I conducted a white-board session with a large company that does very little business with us, and by the end of the day they wanted to buy everything! It was a very interactive session and our heads were spinning by the end. What made me nervous about this experience is that we had the exact same reaction from them a year ago and they didn’t buy anything. Sensing we were headed in the same direction I said, “Here’s a solution that you can use immediately, has the biggest bang for the buck, is easiest to implement and that you already have agreements in place for. Let’s start with that one right away.” They agreed.

This problem – selling too much at once – happened in a different scenario many years ago. I was the EVP of Sales for a dot com and was accompanying a rep to a major retailer to close a deal. We were in the executive suite of this Fortune 500 company, and the goal of the meeting was to close a very important piece of business with them. The meeting started off well, but soon digressed as the rep seized every opportunity to introduce new products to the executive. He was engaged and interested so the rep just kept selling. By the end of our appointment the executive had so much to think about that he didn’t commit to anything that day. And, he didn’t buy anything from us over the long run.

That same scenario repeated itself with one of my reps just recently.

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Here’s a very recent example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a rep. He was frustrated that a prospect had gone dark. After a few great meetings he was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?” email right then, during our call. He did and guess what happened. The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls and emails. That’s why I wrote the book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

It is important that you close the deal that’s on the table today before making the customer’s head cramp with all of the other solutions that you can provide them with. My rep refers to it as “Land and Expand”. I think that’s an apt description.

When selling to a new prospect, or a new division within an existing customer, close the deal on the table and create a near term win for both companies. Leverage that win to sell the next solution and continue to expand the relationship over time. It is unlikely that the prospect will buy a full suite of solutions from you from the very beginning – it is more likely that they won’t buy anything. You’ve got to establish credibility and a relationship in order to sell additional more complex solutions.

So, while it necessary for you to present your full suite of capabilities, forego the temptation to sell them all at once and focus on the one thing that can help your prospect now. Earn the right to sell more and expand the relationship over time. Otherwise you risk selling them nothing at all.

Make Time to be Proactive

2012-04-02T20:34:00.001-05:00

Taking time to be proactive in sales is a must. Yet too often sellers are too busy doing their jobs to prospect, filling the top part of their funnel. With everything that is asked of sellers like maintaining existing accounts, helping with collections, proposal development, travel, and the myriad of other tasks, somehow the job of being proactive tends to get left behind.

Yet nothing may be as important to your success as some quiet time prospecting new accounts, or doing some additional proactive work in your existing book of business. Inbound activity is nice, but rarely is that level of activity enough to make our number. Instead, the organization is relying on you, the seller, to keep the phone lines burning up and making net new appointments to keep the funnel full.

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It happened again last week! I was conducting a pipeline call with a rep. He was frustrated that a prospect had gone dark. After a few great meetings he was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?” email right then, during our call. He did and guess what happened. The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls and emails. That’s why I wrote the book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

So why is making time for proactive work so difficult? It’s an easy answer – we are all being reactive to the immediate needs of our customers and the organization, and very few of us actually likes to prospect. That’s just an honest assessment of the situation. You are probably no different. Of course there are exceptions – many of you spend your days on the road cold-calling prospects. Or, maybe you spend most of your time on the phone calling new companies. But most of you are working an existing book of business and the organization is expecting you to grow that book by bringing on new accounts. If you let email manage your time you are in for a rude awakening.

Making time for proactive work takes effort. I would suggest a couple of simple things that you can do to help you spend time prospecting. First, turn off email or at least turn off that notification of new emails that pops up on your screen every time a new email arrives. There is a setting in MS Outlook that allows you to turn that off. Along with that, mute your computer so you don’t get an audible notification of a new email arrival. It’s just too tempting to check that new email and that inevitably interferes with your proactive time. Email is a great tool, but it is also one of the most distracting of activities that keeps us from being proactive. Turn it off and give yourself a fighting chance.

Second, I would set an appointment on your calendar for proactive time. That way when people view your calendar to make appointments, they’ll see a big, fat block of unavailable time that can’t be scheduled for internal meetings or conference calls. Set that time aside for your proactive work and commit to making some number of calls, appointments, demonstrations, or whatever you do to keep the top part of the funnel full. Make the appointment recurring and commit to a weekly regimen. I once read a great book by a sales trainer who makes ten cold calls every day no matter what. He is the president of the company, a bestselling author, and frequently travels. Yet, no matter what, he makes ten cold calls every day. That’s discipline.

Making time to be proactive can be challenging, but there are ways to create an atmosphere that keeps the distractions at a minimum. Do whatever it takes and spend the time necessary to keep your pipeline full.

Managing Large Customer Meetings - Contact Information

2012-03-26T08:07:00.004-05:00

Recently, one of my reps was in the midst of working through a very important transaction with a large customer. One day we were both surprised to learn that our key contact had resigned from the company. The resignation revealed the fact that we were single-threaded in the account, exposing us to all sorts of risks. We had been on-site several weeks prior with a large audience of important people and neither one of us had their contact information. That’s a rookie mistake that we should have never made. Here’s a very simple solution for avoiding that situation in the future.

When you are presenting to a large group of people and you want to capture everybody’s contact information the first course of action is to grab their business cards. More often than not, the majority of meeting attendees will forget their cards, so here’s what you do as a backup. Come prepared with a simple print-out of an MS Word table that has these headings: name, title, email address and phone number. Ask them to pass around the sheet and fill in the information.

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Would you spend $3.99 to get a big deal un-stuck? Seems like a silly question – who wouldn’t. Well, I have developed a killer email that gets deals unstuck and it works so well that I wrote a book about it. And, I have also included two other emails to help you as well. It’s a short book – 22 pages printed – and it will take you about ten minutes to read. The ideas in the book are simple – almost silly. But you’ll be pleasantly surprised if not shocked with the results.

The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

I have done this for years and just forgot about it. It’s a great tool and makes sure that you capture everyone’s contact information. Only once has a group refused to fill-in the information. That was fine with me; we were responding to an unsolicited RFP and had not been driving the transaction. In my experience, those situations are rare. But in those accounts where you have (and are building) relationships, there’s nothing wrong with asking for attendee contact information. Most often the customer will oblige.

Sometimes individuals in the company will refuse to provide you with their contact information. That’s fine. As long as you have the majority of the participants providing theirs. At least you’ll have a backup plan for if/when your key contact leaves the company. And, you’ll be able to send a personalized follow up email to every attendee at the meeting. You never know what questions or comments you’ll receive back and what golden nuggets of information that you can gather from attendees other than your key contact.

Go in prepared with a simple table that gathers contact information and lessen the possibility of being hamstrung with a single relationship.

How to Follow Up on a Large Number of Leads

2012-03-12T07:29:00.001-05:00

Leads are the lifeblood of sales people. You rarely ever hear a rep complain about too many good leads. You might, however, hear a rep complain about too many leads. (note that the word “good” is missing in that sentence). Companies spend good money on leads and expect them to be acted upon. When there are too many it can be a challenge for a rep to spend quality time on every single one of them while still working with existing deal flow and customers. Here’s a way to follow up and get stellar results.

Let’s say that you get a stack (or a large spreadsheet) of leads from a recent campaign that your company just executed. It could be an email advertising campaign, trade show, or any other activity that resulted in a large (that word depends on t he company and number of reps) number of inbound leads. “Hooray!” you say until you start sifting through the leads and find all kinds of tire-kickers, students, or otherwise unqualified buyers. Deflated, you start sorting through the leads looking for anyone that could potentially buy from you. Sound familiar?

There is a solution to your problem and it’s an email. And, it goes something like this:

TO: Prospect

FROM: Sales Rep

SUBJECT: What is?

Dear Prospect,

Thank you for attending our webinar, “How to Get the Most Out of Your Sales Team”. We hope that you found the information useful.

What is your particular interest in this topic?

Regards,
Sales Rep

That’s it. This email will elicit a 20% response rate – an incredibly high rate for email. There are a myriad of reasons that this email works so well, all explained in my book. And there are samples of other emails that work too.

If you are sitting on a stack of leads and don’t know what to do, take a few minutes to send a “What is?” email and you’ll be pleased with the results. And when you are, check out my book for more incredible email secrets.

The book is available at every major ebook retailer including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

How to Answer "Who is Your Competition?"

2012-03-05T18:14:00.002-06:00

Years ago I was the COO of a technology firm and was responsible for buying a new security system. I didn’t know the security market very well so I did a little research and without much effort had an eager sales rep sitting in front of me within about 48 hours. Among other questions I asked him was, “Who are your chief competitors?” He rattled of three specific companies. After the meeting I set appointments with each of them and ultimately purchased a solution from one of the three that he mentioned.

So where did this seller go wrong? Is it incorrect to name your competitors? After all, that’s exactly what I asked him. He just gave me an honest and straightforward answer. But it cost him the business. That one question was his deal breaker. How could he have answered it differently? How should you answer that question?

Blog continued below . . . Here’s a killer review of my book and why I think you should buy it today…

How often do you get to sit next the author of a book on a plane ride? Well I did. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Sam Lorimer. Not sure how we got on the subject of "Click, Send and Sell" but we did. And am I glad we did. Out of curiosity I bought Sam's book the next morning and tried out his email strategy. Within 5 minutes of sending the emails I received responses from 2 customers that I have been trying desperately hard to reach. I could not believe it. I was so taken aback I sent Sam and email and shared the story. In all my years of reading business stuff, these are 22 pages of frankly the most powerful sales help I have ever received. For what it’s worth, I sell airplanes to really, really wealthy folks. These people are typically very hard to reach. I'm not sure if its coincidence, but, I don't believe in luck. Thanks for sharing such a simple piece of insight Sam. – Tom E.

I wrote the book because the emails work all the time. I have heard countless stories like Tom’s and I’d like to hear yours too. There’s very little to risk at $3.99 and plenty to gain. If your sales need a shot in the arm, this is just the remedy. It’s available at every major ebook retailer including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

First, don’t answer the question by rattling off a list of companies. Don’t ever, ever do that. Instead, say something like, “There are a number of companies in our space. I’m sure that you have heard of many of them. But none of them do exactly what we do, so it’s really hard to say.” That statement should not be a stretch. Your competitors don’t do exactly what you do. You have additional services, better customer support, more flexible payment terms, more locations, a better distribution system, an ISO 9000 certified facility, safer drivers, more automation, and many other things that differentiate you from your competitors. If you don’t have that short list of key differentiators get one – fast!

I also like another, more straightforward approach like, “We don’t talk about our competitors. If you have specific questions about how our products are different I would love to speak to those.” Very powerful answer. In this instance you are stating it more like company policy. Your prospect should appreciate that.

And, whatever you do, never ever bash your competitors. It’s a low class thing to do and your prospect will not appreciate it one single bit. It speaks poorly of you and your company and may cause them to question your integrity.

Personally, I was being a lazy buyer when I asked the security system rep who his competitors were. I didn’t really know the market. And his answer cost him the business. Maybe your buyer is just being lazy too. Why give your competitor an edge by mentioning their name?

So when you get that age-old question, “So, tell me, who is your competition?” no matter what, no matter how uncomfortable you get, do not ever give a prospect a short-list of your competitors. It could cost you the business.

Try Using the Dry Erase Board Instead of PowerPoint

2012-02-14T16:21:00.006-06:00

There’s something about using the dry erase board during a sales call that makes it more interactive. So much so, that I recently purchased a product called Bamboo Connect so that I could white board presentations via the web. So far it has worked out really well.

Customers and prospects are tired of the PowerPoint pitch. I’ll bet this is how yours flows:

1. Title slide

2. Agenda

3 – 8. About your company. How large you are, how fast you are growing, and of course that slide with all of your customer logos. No doubt without their permission.

9 – 15. Your products and services.

16 – 20. Your proposed solution for the prospect.

21. Your proposed pricing

22. “Questions”, or “Thank you!”, or “Next Steps”.

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No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

This is what I call the show-up-and-throw-up deck. (I reprinted a great article about the overuse of PowerPoint. Click HERE to read the article.) Don’t you think that your customer has seen about ten thousand of these? Can’t you see their body language change as you grind through the deck? And after your presentation, what have you done to truly differentiate yourself as a seller? By the way, if you count your slides, my guess is that you have about two-times more slides than I suggested above.

At one recent meeting the room didn’t have a dry erase board. The prospect quickly grabbed a tripod with the 3M self adhesive flipchart paper and in about an hour the conference room wall was completely covered with my “artwork”. After the meeting I took down the pages and started to throw them in the trash. The customer shouted “No!” and grabbed the sheets from me. That was one meeting that they did not soon forget.

That’s an example of why I like to whiteboard my conversations. There is so much more interaction. You can build the story as you go. My main problem is that I’m left-handed and write like a 2^nd grader. But nobody seems to care. I draw pictures, get excited, and make large gestures with or without the pen. It just makes for much better selling and storytelling.

Any rep can stand in front of a group and give an average, boring PowerPoint pitch. Do you have the confidence to break free from the projector and use the dry erase board? Try it and see what happens. I think you’ll like the outcome. So will your prospect!

Take Ownership of the Sales Process

2012-02-06T19:31:00.001-06:00

I remember going on a sales call and really wowing the prospect. I did a white board presentation and really educated them on how an emerging technology was going to completely change the way that conducted business. The meeting was very interactive and they asked a ton of questions. I was even invited to join a national meeting via video conference and give a brief presentation. In the end, they bought from a competitor. I realized that my job was not to just educate – it was to educate AND sell!

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The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

Don’t let a great, interactive session with a customer go to waste like I did. Use the opportunity to move the sales process along. In the above scenario, I allowed the prospect to dictate next steps. That’s something that I should have done. Now, when I have one of those really great and interactive sessions, I’ll end by suggesting the next steps. I'll take ownership of the situation and recommend a trial or other tangible event that moves the process along. That, or I’ll start sketching out a Mutual Activity Plan. By recommending next steps and taking ownership of the sales process, my close rates have increased and my forecasting accuracy has improved.

Let’s be clear about something. Educating your customer is important – use sales calls to do just that. Any time that you can add value to the conversation by sharing knowledge you should. But, your job is to sell – not just educate. Don’t fall in to the trap that I did years ago. Yes, it’s cool to have knowledge that others are thirsting for; yes it’s cool to wow a prospect with your product or industry knowledge; but no, it is not cool do use all that time, talent and resource to educate them well enough to buy from a competitor.

Own the sales process by recommending next steps and taking a leadership role. Your results will definitely improve.

The Importance of Your Pipeline Report

2012-01-18T08:21:00.002-06:00

Keeping an accurate pipeline report is more important than you might think. Imagine this: you’re watching TV on a Sunday night and check your email. You have one from the VP of Sales that says, “Sam – I have to give a report to our CEO tomorrow morning on our market activity. Is this an accurate representation of your pipeline over 50%?” And below the message is a copy-paste of your pipeline report. How would you answer that question? This actually happened to me. And fortunately, my answer was “Yes”. Not everybody had the same answer.

Your sales management may be harping on you about your pipeline report, always nagging you to keep it current. Or, they may be on your back about utilizing the CRM tool. Whatever the case, they have good reason. And so do you. Your pipeline report is not only a critical component for the organization to make important business decisions; you are also creating your internal brand with your pipeline.

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The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

Like it or not, the organization relies on your pipeline report for very important planning purposes. If you work in a manufacturing organization, your pipeline report might be used to order expensive inventory – or not. What happens when your pipeline report doesn’t accurately reflect your potential sales? Inventory levels are too high or too low. Either way your company suffers financially.

Nearly every business makes the rolled-up forecast an important part of the financial planning process. How many people can we hire? How many new reps? Or worse, do we need to reduce staff in light of slower sales? Keeping an accurate and up-to-date pipeline helps make these critical decisions.

If you work for a public company the CEO and his/her team are relying on the pipeline report to let investors know what to expect in the coming quarter(s). If your pipeline report is inaccurate it could affect your stock price and your CEO’s credibility on the street.

And your pipeline report is a reflection of your personal brand in several ways. First, is it up to date? Do you have all of your deals in the pipeline report, or are large and important deals missing? If not, it is a poor reflection of your organizational skills. No seller really likes to keep their pipeline report accurate. You are no exception. But it is something that needs to be done, so how you reflect that in an accurate and up to date report is a reflection on how the team can trust you.

Second, are the close dates and close percentages accurate and meaningful? Do you show a large deal about to close with a sales stage of “Discovery”? If so, you either have an incredibly short sales cycle, or the deal is inaccurately portrayed in your pipeline. Fix that. Get real about the dates and the sales stage. This kind of pipeline hygiene is important for your brand and reflects poorly on you of it is inaccurate. Again, important decisions are being made with this information.

Third, is there enough pipeline in your report? Do you have enough sales activity against your plan objectives? This is another reflection of your brand and perhaps the most important. All too often I have seen non-performing reps padding their pipeline reports with nonsense deals. I can ask about three questions and off comes the opportunity. Or, reps keep their “pet” opportunities on the pipeline reports for months or even years. Again, this is an easy to spot sign that you don’t have enough sales activity. Take a good, objective look at your pipeline and compare it against your sales goals. Is there enough? If you’re not sure how to tell, refer to my prior article, “How Much Pipeline is Enough”.

Managing pipeline and your CRM is a pain in the a$$. But the consequences for not keeping them up to date can have dire consequences for your company and you. Spend the time to make things an accurate reflection of you and your activity. You never know when you’ll get an email from an executive on a Sunday night!

Meetings Dos and Don'ts

2012-01-17T18:34:00.002-06:00

I’ve been in a lot of meetings over the last several years. I’ve had the chance to present and be presented-to. I’ve watched dozens of reps in action and been really proud – and really embarrassed. I’ve walked out of meetings a hero and others a heel. There’s not much that I haven’t seen or said.

So, here is a list of Do’s and Don’ts that you should follow when meeting with prospects and customers. I have not consistently done all of the “Dos” and have probably violated all of the “Don’ts”. But you should keep these in mind as you meet with prospects. If you do then you’ll win their hearts more often than you’ll lose them.

In no particular order:

Do: Always start the meeting with a question – or have them state/re-state their problem.

Don’t: Hand out a package at the beginning of the meeting. It’ll give them an excuse to ignore you while you speak.

Do: Have an authentic conversation.

Don’t: Bore them to death with the “show up and throw up” PowerPoint presentation.

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The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

Do: Follow up within 24 hours. This is not like dating. They need to hear from you right away.

Don’t: Set your backpack or briefcase on the conference table. Put it on the floor behind you.

Do: Leave your phone in the car or turn it off. Vibrate won’t cut it. You can still hear it.

Don’t: Interrupt them. Ever.

Do: Use the dry erase board and tell your story.

Don’t: Show up unprepared. Know everything you can about them. Never say, “So, tell me a little about your company.”

Do: Thank them for taking time to meet with you.

Don’t: Be late. If you looks like you will be late, make sure to call them and let them know.

Do: Arrive 10-minutes early.

Don’t: Accept their invitation for coffee. Too easy to spill on you, your materials, or them.

Do: Take notes, but ask them if it’s okay first. Really simply, “Do you mind if I jot down a few notes while we speak?”

Don’t: Yammer on and on about your children.

Do: Keep the meeting on task, respecting their time and yours.

Don’t: Get visibly upset when something goes wrong or a key person misses the meeting.

Do: Go in knowing what they want to talk about. Use the email(s) in my book for this.

Don’t: Ask, “So what are the next steps?”

Do: Suggest next steps.

Don’t: Ever mention your competitors by name if they say, “So, who are your key competitors?” Selling is hard enough without giving them other companies to speak to.

Do: Acknowledge that you have good competitors, but “…nobody does exactly what we do.”

Don’t: Leave yourself stranded if you need Internet access and they don’t have it. Have a Plan-B.

Do: Use humor and be authentic.

Don’t: Assume that they agree with your social and/or political views.

These are just a few. If you have others, please let me know by commenting, or shooting me an email at lorimers@sbcglobal.net.

An Amazing Source for FREE Company Information

2012-01-09T17:17:00.005-06:00

In a prior post I wrote about the importance of creating a territory plan. The idea is to come up with a list of prospects to call on based on researching your prior success and mapping that success in your territory. To read the article click HERE. Now that you have a list of prospects, and hopefully some existing accounts to work, it’s time to create some account plans. If you call on very small accounts and have a high churn rate, this is necessary for your success too. You just won’t have as much data to work with. The specific data that I’m talking about today is for publicly traded companies.

There is a goldmine of free information available that every seller can leverage. It’s online at www.sec.gov. I was taking advantage of this kind of information in my first year out of college well before the Internet. My job was to perform competitive analysis and I spent hours in the public library pulling company filings and creating metrics to help our organization compare itself to our competitors. No more driving to the library now. It’s all online.

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The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

The challenge is that there are dozens of filings and some have more useful information than others. Here is a step-by-step process to find relevant information online:

Go to www.sec.gov

Under “Filings and Forms”, Click on “Search for Company Filings”.

On the next page, click on “Company or fund name, ticker symbol, CIK (Central Index Key), file number, state, country, or SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)

Pick a company to start your research. If you can't come up with one, try "ALL" for Allstate Insurance.

Once you enter the ticker symbol you will be presented with dozens of reports. Only a few of these are relevant for your research and are full of great information.

The first is the 10-Q. The 10-Q is the quarterly report that every public company must submit and it contains important financial and company direction information. Here you will find the most recent income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. You don’t need to have a CPA to understand if sales are down or profits are up. What you are looking for here are trends that indicate how the company is performing. There are also sections that explain the company performance in great detail, who their major customers are, what companies they have acquired, and other major developments that impact their overall performance. There is also some very sophisticated financial disclosure information that some sellers will find important while others won’t. Pick and choose the information that is relevant for your selling situation.

The next is the 10-K. This is the annual report, detailing the financial results for the year. This report contains much of the same information contained in the 10-Q but is based on annual figures where the 10-Q is based on quarterly figures. If you want the most recent information, use the 10-Q. The 10-K is typically more detailed since it covers an entire year.

An important part of the 10-K is how individual divisions within the organization are performing. This is particularly important for the very large companies that are a federation of separate operating organizations. You are likely to have much more success calling on an operating division than you are calling on the company headquarters. Pick the operating division that is more likely to purchase from you, and drill down on their performance. Are they growing? Have the acquired a competitor? What are their key business drivers? Most of this information can be found in the 10-K.

DEF 14A is the next filing to pay attention to. This is the filing with information on the executive team and the board of directors (BOD). This could be important to you for a couple of reasons. First, an executive from your organization may serve on the other company’s BOD. If that is the case, you may be able to leverage that relationship. Conversely you may be barred from conducting business with the organization due to a conflict of interest issue. More than likely, you can leverage the relationship.

Second, if you are selling at the executive level, you can not only find out about board members, who they are, what they earn, their stock and cash incentive plans, where they went to school, if they serve on other boards and what philanthropic organizations participate in. But you can also find information on executive team members. Here the information is more in-depth than on the company website. This kind of intelligence can be very helpful for you when trying to contact these people and making the right kind of connections with them.

There is a wealth of information available at the SEC website. If you aren’t leveraging this amazing and FREE resource – you should!

The Best of 2011

2012-01-02T16:50:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year to you, and thanks for your readership! I hope that 2011 was a great year for you and that 2012 will be even better.

Many thousands of readers from all over the world stopped by to read my blog last year. Here are the top three articles from 2011 by readership:

#3: The #1 Meeting Mistake I recently ran across a great discussion on LinkedIn that started with the question, “What's the # 1 Meeting Mistake Average Sales People Make? “ I chimed in about the need to prepare well, and of course referenced the chapter in my book that specifically addresses the topic. But there was another response that was so spot-on and so compelling that I asked the author if I could include it in my blog. She was happy to oblige. Here is Eileen Kent’s take on the #1 meeting mistake that average sales people make.

#2: Selling Around/Over Your Contact You have established a great relationship with your customer and have been calling on the same person for a long time. They have been a good and loyal customer. You know that there is more that you can do for them, but your main contact has always stonewalled your requests for meeting with his boss. Now you find out that there may be legitimate threats to the business from a feared competitor. You’ve grown comfortable in your relationship and now find you have zero leverage (or so it seems) to go above him. The boss is pressuring you to “sell higher” in the organization. How do you make that happen? How do you “go around” your contact and get the meeting?

#1: Set More Appointments with Decision Makers A few years ago I was chatting with a very well respected VP of Sales at a software company in Chicago. One of the things he shared with me was that his company had a process for setting appointments that constantly kept their sales reps in front of new prospects. He admitted that he had challenges in other areas of the sales process, but setting appointments was not one of them. They had more appointments than they knew what to do with. He shared his appointment setting process with me and I immediately put it to work with my sales team and the results were amazing. If setting appointments is one of your sales responsibilities and you want to set more, read on.

Many of you found those articles by way of a Google search result. But you may have missed some nuggets in other articles. So, here are my favorite articles from 2011:

The Power of Silence and the Pregnant Pause I had a big scare at the Houston airport last week. But it had nothing to do with travel. I was there with one of my sales reps and he walked up to me with a big grin and said, “I just did a Sam.”

Pick Up the Damn Phone! I love email. I love it so much that I even wrote a book about three go-to emails that have had a dramatic impact on my personal production. The problem is we tend to rely too much on email and over time it has become a crutch.

On Being Authentic I was having dinner with a new sales rep recently and she asked me “What’s the most important thing I need to know in order to be successful in sales?” I wasn’t ready for this question and I had to pause for a minute to think about it. The typical answers raced through my mind; work hard, listen, build good relationships, etc. But this rep was new to selling, having come from the industry, so my answer had to be a really good one. And then it struck me, “Always be authentic.”

And, of course the main driver behind blogging is to support sales of my first book, Click “Send” and Sell. Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results. I’m pleased to report that sales were brisk and that all reviews were very positive. If you haven’t checked out the book, it’s a great tool to have to help your sales in 2012. The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store. If you don’t have an eReader, click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

Look for more common sense articles in 2012!

Building a Territory Plan

2011-12-27T19:45:00.000-06:00

If you find yourself with some extra time at this very slow time of the year, think about what you can do to position yourself going in to the New Year. Take this time to build your plans for next year – independently. Don’t rely on your manager to tell you what needs to be done. Make a plan yourself. A well though-out territory plan will help you build momentum early in the year.

All good plans start by asking three basic questions: Where are we now? Where are we going? How are we going to get there? A territory plan is no different. _____________________________________________________________________________

To answer the first question, “Where are we now?”, take a look at your territory and understand what companies are buying from you - or have bought from you. What kind of companies were they? Retailers? Manufacturers? Service companies? Banks? How large are they? How many employees, locations, or square footage? This kind of work is indispensible when creating a territory plan. Leveraging prior success in specific industries and company sizes can make your work much easier in the coming year.

Next, apply some metrics against the data that you have accumulated. Are there consistencies around them? Maybe you generated 80% of your sales from 20% of your customers. What do those 20% all have in common? Go back to the figures above and do some further digging. Is there a revenue-per-employee number that is consistent across your top customers? Do they export more goods, occupy more or less square footage or treat fewer high-risk patients? Try to find some commonality in the data so that you can hone your upcoming efforts.

Your work here should culminate in understanding who buys from you by industry, location, company size and the like.

Next question, “Where are we going?”. Once you have identified your top few industries or company types, take stock of how many of those same kinds of companies are in your territory. What kind of penetration have you been able to achieve? How many similar companies are still available to call on? Where are they located? Are there clusters? Work to identify them and begin to create a mental map of how you plan to spend your time in the year ahead. If your territory includes large, publicly traded companies, use their filings to determine if there are high growth divisions located in your territory.

Your job now is to create a list of target prospects. This kind of work can be particularly challenging if you call on small to mid-sized companies. Sources for this information will be largely web-based, with Hoovers containing some great summary reports that you can use to start your research. Another source of information is your shoes! Go in to large office buildings and jot down the names of companies on their welcome signage located in the lobby. A sales rep and I once spent an entire day walking in to large office complexes writing down company names and he had enough data to keep him selling for several weeks. Do you keep driving by a building with an unknown company name on the outside? Look them up on the web!

This part of the planning process should yield a list of prospects that will keep you busy in the coming months. And by busy, I mean prospecting and closing business, not just research.

The last question, “How are we going to get there?”. This is a great time to determine what it took to close new business in the prior year. If you use your CRM to log every call, email and such, you have a great repository of information. One study that I conducted after about six months of selling was that it took about eight touches to close a deal. That was helpful information for me as I looked towards building my plan. I also had data on how many touches it took to have a meaningful conversation; how many conversations to set an appointment; how many appointments to get a demo; how many demos to close a sale; and so on.

If you don’t have that level of data, you are bound to have some high level information about what it takes to close business. I would suggest that you take a look at an article that I posted called,”How Much Pipeline is Enough?”. In it you will learn how much pipeline and activity you will need to hit your numbers.

This part of the plan will give you insight in to the number of accounts that you will need to penetrate in order to achieve your sales goals. And, make sure that you have three to five times the number of accounts needed. You won’t hit a sale with every company.

Creating a territory plan can be a daunting task, but it is worth the time. In an earlier blog, I wrote about the best rep I ever worked with (HERE). He spent his entire Thanksgiving weekend planning his territory. That’s commitment.

If you take the time to plan create a territory plan, you’ll have a roadmap for success. Otherwise you’re allowing chance and fate to drive your success. Very risky.