Chris Allen's Sales Culture

What value Planet Earth?

2009-04-06T18:53:00.058+01:00

Here's a "value" game I play in my sales training course. A terrorist kidnaps your nearest and dearest and sends a ransom demand for $25 for their safe return. Do you pay? I doubt it. It just doesn't sound like a serious threat. The kidnapper must be a practical joker. We all know that human a life is worth more than $25.

Now, if the demand was, "$250,000 by the end of the week or they die!", you'd do anything and everything to get the money to save them; sell your house, body, mother, car...

I've just seen the shocking film "An Inconvenient Truth". According to Al Gore, we are holding our only home to ransome and very soon we will kill Planet Earth. Naturally, with this type of threat, I thought "I'll pay whatever is needed to save the planet", I'll suffer shortages, difficulties, hardships, undergo massive behaviour changes ... whatever it takes to get my only home back.....

...so I visited the official website to find out what price we'll have to for its safe return. Er.......it seems that the only 'price' we have to pay is to turn our heating down and encourage others to be kind to the environment. So that's it? It doesn't make sense. Either the price has to be much higher ($250000 x 6bn?) or the threat is grossly overstated.

If I am to believe that Planet Earth is in mortal danger, tell me that it's worth more than $25 to save.

Whose interests are they serving?

2009-03-31T23:28:00.019+01:00

I used to be believe that western governments had the interests of their people at heart, but 'the war on terror' has steadily eroded that view. The latest media obsession about possible violent demonstrations during the upcoming G20 event for political gasbags has worn it away still further. I wondered, "why this obsession on the threat of violence?" They assume that it is inevitable. Won't all this scare talk drive ordinary folk like me away from demonstrating and encourage thugs to turn up for a bun fight?

In my negotiating techniques course, I teach that to achieve your desired result, focus on what serves your underlying interests.

Let's think - whose interests are served by violent protests? 1] The Media (more and juicy news = £££), 2] the Met Police (injured bobbys present a positive image = £££) and 3] the government (need to curtail freedom of expression = power++)

A good negotiation satisfies everyone's interests but can any policeman, politician or media mogul tell me how talking up possible violent protests serves the interests of us ordinary folk?

Suggestions Mr PM/Home Secretary/Murdoch?

Why big public contracts always go over budget

2007-07-11T22:36:00.000+01:00

Shock horror! Yesterday the London newspapers announced that a government body says that the already huge cost (£10bn?) of the 2012 Olympics is in danger of dramatically increasing further.

Why the big surprise?

Any self respecting salesperson knows that the price of product is far higher if the buyer needs it for a specific date, than if he/she is in no hurry. The closer to the event, the more they'll pay to get the product in time.

Contractors do not agree to everything from the outset because they know that the price of the 'extras' required later will massively increase as the event approaches. I'll bet that, in 2012, 3 months before the start, one of them will announce that the Olympic committee has asked for something that was not in the original agreement and that only a massive effort by them, suitably rewarded, will ensure the success of the event.

Ah, where would the contracting business be without the ambitions of politicians?

Beware your strap-line

2007-06-26T22:30:00.002+01:00

I believe that the purpose of a strap-line is to enhance the possibility of someone buying your products or services.

I was walking through the City this morning and I noticed a van with the name of its business on the side. Whilst I can't remember the name of the company, I did notice it said, "caterers who care".

I thought that, whilst I would remember that strap-line, it wouldn't induce me to consider their services, because it was inviting me to assess its validity. I'd have to first use them before I could assess if the strap-line was true. It sounded like hard work. Anyway, I assumed that all companies cared about doing business.

At the beginning of the 20th century strap-lines such as, "purveyors of fine wines", described exactly what the business provided. Even today there are some companies that still have such strap-lines and, whilst they may seem quaint, at least they don't ask us to make a judgement about whether they care or not.

So, when creating your business strap-line, ask yourself, "does it describe what we do or does it invite people to have an opinion about our business?"

British retailers just don't get it

2007-06-26T22:19:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine recently told me about a fab scheme in which she'd become involved. Its a new loyalty card for small independent retailers, cafes, hairdressers etc.,called a Wedge Card. It offers discounts to cardholders who naturally expect to quickly recoup the cost of the card from the discounts. The aim is to encourage people to buy from local businesses and so counter the cancer of the global chains that are turning our towns monochromatic.

Yesterday I received the "Wedge" magasine. As expected, it had articles about new entrants and unusual businesses who'd signed up to the scheme. All very encouraging. But what shocked me was that of the 40 odd featured classified ads, 25 had 'conditions' attached to the discount (e.g. 10% off on products over £50 bought between 10 and 12am on Tuesdays). So, instead of going the extra mile to win us over, these retailers only want our loyalty if we are worth it to them

Loyalty comes from generosity - unconditional generosity.

Sadly, until they get real, these businesses will provide no compelling reason for us to change our shopping habits.

Good grief!

2006-11-07T15:01:00.001Z

My friend's death had a much bigger impact on me than I would have thought. One consequence was the inertia it caused, including writing up this blog. I suspect that it's been a form of self indulgence.

I noticed that when I grieve, my thoughts are all about me not her; how I won't see her again I won't meet her for our bar gossip next month or receive random text jokes from her anymore, she won't be sailing with me next summer.

At first I kidded myself that I was thinking of her. But then I saw I was using her memory to think about myself. To emerge from grief means I must accept it for what it is - a feeling - not for the loss of a person, but a deep sadness of an unfulfilled expectation or idea of what my life might have been had she still been here.

Corporate liars

2006-10-28T10:32:00.000+01:00

Have you noticed how telling lies has become part of corporate speak?
I flew into Heathrow the other day. We arrived on time but we were incarcerated on the plane for a further hour because there was no bus to take us to the terminal. The reason given was "the absence of ground transport is due to...........wait for it.....the high volume of incoming flights"! Hellooo....have I missed something? Since when has the arrival of scheduled flights been a surprise??

It was obviously a balls-up, so why not just admit it and apologise Mr BAA?

No doubt we can expect this winter's train delays to be "due to unforseen stations on the route".

Bah! Humbug!

The departure

2006-04-18T09:35:00.000+01:00

Jane died at noon (GMT) on 14th April 2006.

Just say it.

2006-04-11T16:30:00.000+01:00

I've just visited a very close girlfriend who is dying. She was unconscious, breathing heavily. The hospital staff said that they thought that it would be only a matter of hours.

I sat next to her, not knowing if she could hear anything. I wanted to say stuff based on my Buddhist beliefs, but I was scared to, in case it conflicted with her Christian ones. I caught the absurdity of my reluctance. What does it matter what one believes and says, as long as it comes from the heart!

I kissed her hand and, through my tears, said that I had loved her in our past lives, love her in this one and would love her again in future lives.

Suddenly she opened her eyes. She tried to focus on me for a few seconds but then slipped back.

She'd heard.

We're complete.

Am I your customer or supplier? - it's make your mind up time!

2006-03-22T07:48:00.000Z

Last week I had a shocking conversation with an Estate Agent. As you know from my last post, I'm trying to buy an appartment. With difficulty!

I received a call from a 'negotiator' describing a property I might like to view.
"Great! Let's go and see it tomorrow morning?" I said.
"We don't do viewings in the mornings" she replied.
"That doesn't seem to be a very customer-centric approach" I mused, expecting an explanation as to why mornings were out.
"YOU are NOT my customer!" she said.

Duh?

I explained that in normal businesses we regard the seller as the supplier and the buyer as the customer. But she would have none of it.

No wonder UK estate agents are such rubbish - they can't recognise a customer!

Forget first - It's the last impressions that counts

2006-03-15T11:05:00.000Z

Having watched my bank savings grow at a sub-snail pace over the last couple of years, I decided it was time to become a landlord. I called up a local estate agent (realtor) and asked them to find me some suitable appartments. Within 48 hours they'd sent me details of ~8 properties and the following day (Thursday) the sales guy took my wife and I to view 6 of them. The sales guy was courteous, informative and not at all the pushy type - nice!

During the properties tour we had lots of questions; "what's the potential income from this?.. what are the taxes?... what type of people would rent?.."etc. At the end the sales guy said that he'd call us the next morning (Friday) to answer the outstanding questions - great!

On the way home I said to my wife that I thought he was the best real estate salesperson I'd ever met........

Friday - no call.
Saturday - no call
Monday - he calls!
"Why didn't you call me on Friday as promised?" I asked.
"I was busy" he replied!

I'm viewing with their competitors this week.

They love it! But do they know how to buy it?

2006-02-23T15:11:00.000Z

Last week a client asked me to review his salespeople's pipeline using the SIJAC methodology. And on first impressions, it looked fat and healthy, so I asked him why he thought it needed reviewing. "I'm not sure Chris. All the prospects say that they absolutely love the product, however no-one has signed on the dotted line yet. The sales cycle is normally quite long, but it doesn't feel right and I can't put my finger on why" he said.

As we went thru the prospects with each salesperson, it quickly became apparent that his doubts were well-founded. Sure enough, each prospect had received a number of great presentations, had expressed real interest in what the product could do for them and had been left with a sense of "Wow, that one awesome product you guys have!"

But that's all they were left with - a nice warm feeling!

They had no idea how to justify a purchase, how to go about incorporating it, who would need to be involved in the purchasing decision, the short and long term impact on their organisation, and what other resources they may need to ensure success.

"Now go back and teach them how to buy it" I said.

Adding more value

2006-02-09T11:20:00.000Z

In an earlier blog I mentioned how my wife's trip to the vegetable market got me thinking about 'value-added' being adding a positive human interaction to the transaction. Well, last week I had the pleasure of being a receiver of such 'value-added'.

Knowing I was going to Spain for a couple of days I telephoned and booked a car from a rental company I've used the past. Although I'd agreed the price, nevertheless I felt that it was on the high side so I decided to check alternative prices on the web. Sure enough it looked as if I was paying about 25% over the web rates. Hmm, I thought "it better be a fabulous car!"

I arived at Malaga airport at midnight. The rental guy was waiting for me. He treated me like a long lost brother, said I was to his company a 'friend' not a 'client', knew all my driver's details from the last time (3 years ago), handed me the car, told me he'd be waiting for for me on my return and gave me his mobile number in case I had a problem. It could have been all bullshit, but it made me feel great. By the time I was driving away from the airport, I had already decided I'd use them again in the summer.

Here's the thought - next time you say to a prospect that your company provides added value, ask yourself, "how do my customers experience it?"

That fabulous car? I think it was a small non-descript hatchback. Who cares?!

It's all monkey business

2006-01-27T11:20:00.000Z

Last weekend I visited a local buddhist temple and the theme of the monk's talk was 'non attachment'. He illustrated the flaws to our attachment to cherished ideas with a story of how Thai farmers used to catch rogue monkeys.

The farmer would cut a slot in the coconut big enough for the monkey to slip his hand inside. He would then put a firm but juicy mixture of banana, coconut pulp and leaves inside the coconut and tether it to a stake. The monkey would smell the delicious cocktail, find the coconut on the ground, slip his hand inside and grab the mixture. But there was a catch; the monkey's clasped fist wouldn't come back out through the slot!

The monkey had a choice - let go of the goodies, slip his hand out and be free or hang on and get caught. It seems amazing that the monkey would give up his freedom for the thought of instant gratification, but he did just that.

I wondered, which fearful ideas do we cling to and that we refuse to release in order to be free to make those elusive cold calls?

Whose value is it anyway?

2006-01-08T19:51:00.000Z

There's a neat bunch of techy guys who look after the pay per click and search engine optimisation of my 'How to Sell' website (see link on the right). Basically, their job is to make sure that the site appears at the right time and place when people look for short, sharp sales training. Oh, and that it doesn't cost a me fortune (it doesn't).

Despite this not being part of their remit, last week I asked if they could fix it so that my site could stream a short movie without the vistors having to download first. They said they'd see what they could do.

The next day, the movie was up and running. Wow! I was delighted and immediately offered to pay for the work. They said no because they wanted provide good customer service and as it turned out, it was no big deal for them. I agreed not to pay, but why did it make me feel uncomfortable?

I came to this conclusion:- our customers assess and pay for the that value they get from the business relationship. When we accept payment we reinforce that value. If we refuse payment, we risk indicating that we value the relationship less than they do!

The tsunami one year on - don't donate - visit and spend.

2005-12-18T22:56:00.000Z

I've just returned from our annual trip to my wife's family on the paradise island of Sri Lanka. It was sad to see so much of the overwhelming generosity shown towards the country at the time of the tsunami, had been lost or squandered by political bickering and corruption.

Judging by what I saw, every Sri Lankan fisherman could boast a sparkling new fishing boat............but nowhere for his family to live. Thousands still live in tents (commonly known as 'tsunami microwaves' ) or 3m x 2m garden sheds.

The local aid agencies are worn down by fighting unending bureaucratic battles. The only people making a difference are private individuals who get on with doing whatever they need to do regardless of the obstacles. Nike would be proud of them!

I saw that donating money to a country does not change lives - spending it amongst the people is what matters. So when I'm next touched by the misfortunes of a community I won't donate, I'll go there, spend and change a life myself.

First get on the pitch

2005-11-13T17:22:00.000Z

Its funny how the same theme will turn up twice in one week.

On Monday I was discussing with a US client the content of a training programme we're doing for him next week. The company has developed higher value services and he wanted his sales people to sell these as well as the standard stuff. He said, "Chris, the salespeople know that they must sell these new services if they are to make their revenue targets. All they need to do is get on the phones. I know that they're just talking about doing it but not getting on with it!"

Later in the week, at our London 'taster session' the sales director of a printing company, asked anxiously; "Does your programme get salespeople, who know that they must contact new propects in order to succeed, to actually get on and do it? I have a sales guy, who has for the last six months promised to drum up new business, but he hasn't yet picked up the telephone!"

I'm not going to bore you with my reply but suffice to say that both frustrations reminded me of that saying, which is so relevant to selling;

Eighty percent of success is showing up.

Woody Allen

Knowing changes nothing

2005-11-04T14:11:00.000Z

For the past few months, a really good friend has been expressing her concern that her consultancy business is not growing fast enough. She openly admits that it is because she's enjoying the freedom of being self-employed and not knuckling down to do the biz. So she's currently running on guilt.

Yesterday evening I attended a free ISMM (Institute of Sales & Marketing Management) training session. I rang my friend earlier in the day to invite her. The speaker, Brian Gibbons, was giving a talk called The Winner's Edge. "It says that attitude, not aptitude is the key criterion for success", I read from the blurb.

"Wow, that's so relevant for me! I know I've the wrong attitude" she said.

"Great!" I said, "then you'll come with me?"

"No, it'll mean having to take the train into London" she replied.

Duh!

Caveat vendor

2005-10-28T22:54:00.000+01:00

Last Wednesday Marie and I went to an artist friend's private view. I hadn't seen her work for a couple of years and, having read the somewhat exhuberant pre show press release, I wasn't inclined to be impressed.

However, when I saw her work I was stunned! The pictures were beautiful and moving. They struck me in a way that completely bypassed my head. Pure emotion. From the wall, thru my eyes, straight to my heart. Bang!

I became so engrossed with one piece that found myself wanting to buy it. The moment I started to consider the possibility, thoughts started to bubble up; "where will we hang it?", "will I get bored with it?", "will friends think I'm being extravagant?" and "what else would I spend the money on?"

I didn't buy.

On the way home I reflected on the huge tension between the positive emotions around the desire to own something you love and the cautionary thinking process of actually buying it.

Seller beware!

Karma keeps you calmer

2005-10-28T18:05:00.000+01:00

One of the great things about being a trainer/coach is that you occasionally get to try out some of the stuff you give out. Recently I have been running a negotiation course. Throughout it I'd talked about the value of a BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement). I stressed you should not to regard it as a 'walkout' position but to think of the action you'd take if you can't get agreement - I tell delegates that it will empower them because they'll think beyond the negotiation. That is the theory anyway......

Recently I found house to buy, so I decided to put my BATNA theory into practice. Mine was that if the seller didn't accept my 'final' offer (much lower than I expected to have to pay), then I would leave my offer on the table and continue to look for another house. The seller could take my offer up any time before I found another. Boy, did it give me confidence!

It'll be no surprise to know that we quickly hit my final offer, so I told them my BATNA. I thought that they'd be offended at this 'derisory' offer and tell me to p*** off, but they said they'd think about it. They did and 3 hours later they accepted. I've never done such a stress free deal in all my life!

As my wife says "Chill out Chris, it's Karma"

The return of the brain-jacker

2005-10-27T01:16:00.000+01:00

It's happened again!

Last Saturday I went on a 'working with epoxy resin' course so that I could do minor repairs to my boat.

Great course - built a wooden toolbox. Its a shame that I don't need one. I can't possible trash it tho' - its part of me! Now I've got to find some tools to put in it - maybe I'll transfer some from the 7 plastic toolboxes currently cluttering up my cellar.

So, armed with my new wooden box glueing skills and a confidence way beyond my competence, I bought about £150 worth of resin and glass fibre - enough to build another Titanic. I justified it on the basis that I could undertake a major a 'refit' to "Spring Fever".

Today I went onboard Spring Fever to scope out the project.......
.
....what was I thinking?? Someone has taken over my brain again!!

I stand a better chance of digging my way thru to Australia with a spoon!

FOR SALE - 12 litres of epoxy resin and 5 acres of glass fibre matting.

Mind servicing

2005-10-17T20:27:00.000+01:00

I have a 15-yr old BMW that despite its age and mileage goes beautifully. I put it down to regular servicing. Although the service is expensive, the oil change, wheel alignment and general lubrication of the moving parts seems to 'release' the car from the gunge and grime of the previous 6 months. And it goes like rocket for a couple of months afterwards.

Recently I've felt that I've not been delivering my stuff as best I can, and have noticed how grumpy I've become about the behaviour of some of my customers. So I booked myself in for a mind service last weekend. Its not the first I've attended, although it was with this organisation.

Boy do these courses work! Now my mind is clear of all the negative thoughts I've been cultivating about myself and is topped up with lots of new ideas and possibilities.

Should last about 2 years I reckon.

Say no

2005-10-07T21:46:00.000+01:00

Today I tried out an 'exercise' I found on the BBC website, for a negotiation course I'm running for a large IT services company.

The consistent theme that came through during the participants interviews prior to the course was, that they were too ready to say 'yes' to their clients' demands. The result was that they were overworked and had a sense that their clients thought that they were a pushover.

This simple exercise is to designed to encourage people to be more assertive in their speaking. Basically you play at saying NO to others.

I set the game up as a quick icebreaker for the beginning of the course, but its effect was astonishing. Admittedly, in the game there are no consequences to saying 'no', but the freedom and energy it released in the participants was amazing.

I continued lecturing for the rest of the day with intellectual and psychological concepts as 'personal power', 'negotiating positioning', 'concessions', BATNA's and 'interests'. I really though that I had my audience enthralled. At the end of the session I asked what insights and new ideas had they got during the day. Without exception they all said.....................yeah you guessed it......................the 5 minute 'no' session.

What's the point in being a genius?!!!

Don't accept assistance from the boss - use it

2005-10-04T02:49:00.000+01:00

Today I wrapped up a sales game that I've been running with a team of sales guys and girls from an information company I work with. Although the team did fantastically well against all the odds, they didn't quite achieve the target to get their big prize (a playawayday for the whole division) but they did get close enough to earn themselves enough cash for a seriously dangerous night out.

During the wrap up I asked each of them what they'd learned from the experience and what they'd do differently next time. One of the guys said that despite many offers, he was disapppointed at the spurious and ineffective offers support from the senior management. I asked him what he'd do diferently next time. He said he'd ask each person individually for their support. I asked "...and then what will you get?"

"Nothing!" came the chorus. Familiar?

The moment reminded me of that British Civil Servant operational mantra "Offer every possible assistance short of actual help".

My coaching to him was was the following; whenever a colleague or boss offers you their 'support' in a sales situation, say thank you, then give him/her a specific task to do by a set date. 50% of the support offers will suddenly evaporate and the remaining 50% will truly transform your sales performance.
You will have also learned the best lesson of management - how to identify the bullsh***ers.

'Value added' - a new definition?

2005-09-22T21:11:00.000+01:00

Last week I was following an email conversation between my son, JC and my colleague Nick, about the consequences of the China's phenomenonal economic rise . I also heard a radio debate on the same topic a couple of days ago.

There seem to be two camps; one saying that the Chinese will commoditise everything, leaving Europe impoverished and the other camp countering with the argument that Europe will simply move up the 'value added' ladder.

Whilst I don't share the doomsayers view, I do have difficulty in believing in the 'value added' argument. After all, it was only 10 years ago that the West claimed that its IT services were 'value added', and look how quickly they were commoditised and went East.

Today, I had a small insight into what the future European 'value added' might look like. My wife returned from shopping raving about how helpful the market stallholder had been in recommending how to prepare, cook and serve green bananas. On top of that she was delighted that he'd been pleased to see, her even though she rarely visits that market.

"Can you image the checkout person at the supermarket welcoming me and advising me on the joys and health benefits of green bananas!" She said. "No chance!"

Green bananas are commodities. If she'd bought them from the supermarket, that's what she would have got - commodities. But by buying from the stallholder she got commodities plus a positive personal experience - value added?.

Maybe we Europeans should start selling cornflakes in boxes with "FREE INSIDE - Human experience"