Sales Tips Blog by Scott R. Sheaffer

You’re Not Bothering Your Prospects – You’re Boring Them

Scott Sheaffer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:29:50 +0000

The following is a bad habit I’ve observed in hundreds of sales professionals. They get tired of hearing themselves “sell” and think their prospects feel the same way.

All of us bring a unique chemistry to each individual prospect we speak with. Everything about us is new to them. They’ve never heard our message or experienced us before. We’ve never experienced them either.

An Analogy
Remember the schoolteachers who made you feel like you were the only person in the world? Even though they might have taught 10,000 students in their careers, they knew their relationship with you was unlike any other, and treated it as such.

I don’t care if you’re 20 or 100 years old; you still remember the magical quality of those teachers. Sales professionals who master this same ability will create customers who see them as standouts from the hoard of salespeople they see every day.

Why Tired Sales Professionals Do Poorly
When we approach a sales opportunity feeling as if we’re tired of hearing ourselves talk, we create circular reinforcement.

1) The more downtrodden we become with our own message, the less receptive a prospect will be. 2) When we observe the resultant fatigued look on the prospect’s face, we conclude our sales approach must be unappealing. 3) Our motivation is lessened. 4) Go back to step 1 and repeat. This process creates a death spiral of enthusiasm for both the salesperson and the prospect.

Snap Out Of It!
I’m no physics expert (just ask Mrs. Crook, my high school physics teacher, who never liked me). However, I do know that once something is set in motion – e.g. a bored and self-defeating sales attitude – the only way to change its direction is to apply another force.

Shrinks call this an intervention. But you don’t need to go to a shrink to help yourself. Read on for some sales tips that will do the trick.

Sales Tips Rx
Consciously practicing the following habits over an extended period (e.g. 3 months) will freshen how you feel about yourself and how your prospects see you. Most importantly, you’ll sell more too.

1. Slow down. I know you’ve heard your own sales presentation a million times, but the prospects haven’t. Give them the opportunity to absorb and process the valuable information you are sharing.

2. There is no such thing as a generic prospect. After you’ve called on a few hundred prospects they can all look the same. When you see them in this light, they can tell. Just remember how important your favorite teachers made you feel when they treated you as an individual. People you make feel important frequently do one thing – buy from you.

3. It’s in the eyes. If you’re in front of a prospect, you must make constant eye contact. It will greatly enhance communication quality and will let you know what he or she is thinking. Let his or her eyes guide your presentation.

4. Listen. The questions prospects ask are everything. These questions will tell us everything we need to know in order to sell them. Giving prospects all the room they need to speak will move mountains when it comes to revitalizing how your prospects and you perceive your presentation.

Internalizing these habits will energize you and your prospects. Most importantly, you’ll re-learn how important it is to connect with people in the selling process.

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>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—

You Were Born With This Sales Tool – Use It Wisely

Scott Sheaffer — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:57:02 +0000

I had the privilege of speaking with a very successful older sales professional recently. He told me that being a top producer is easier for him today than in years past.

His comment piqued my curiosity. Always looking for sales tips material I asked him, “What have your years of experience taught you that makes you more capable today?”

The Sales Professional’s Most Important Tool
In a perfect example of life imitating art he said, “Just one thing.” I felt like I was listening to Jack Palance, who said a similar line in the movie, City Slickers.

He had my attention. I almost begged, “And that one thing is?”

He replied, “Our tongue.”

The Power Of Spoken Language
He went on to tell me that our tongue is like a rudder on a large ship. Even though the surface area of a ship’s rudder is miniscule compared to the size of the vessel, it has a profound impact on the direction the ship takes.

I asked him to provide more details and he told me the following:

What we say to customers has more impact than anything else we do. Our words are, by far, the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal.

A customer can always detect a lack of sincerity in our voice. It’s better to be quiet than disingenuous.

We have complete control over our tongue muscle. We must never react to a customer’s accusations and rage; we must respond.

It always takes two to tango. Don’t verbally engage with irate customers. Let them vent their anger and then deal with the situation.

Don’t ever try to deceive customers with your words. When we do, there can only be two outcomes; neither is good: 1) They can immediately tell we’re lying, or 2) They’ll find out later they were given bad information.

Look customers in the eyes when speaking to them. Have you ever heard anyone complain about too much eye contact?

Listen. Customers won’t listen to your words if you don’t listen to theirs.

Sales Tips Wrap Up
Are these simple truths? Absolutely. Are they hard to put into practice? Yes. Knowing these realities is the first step in making them part of our daily relationships with our customers.

>You can automatically receive Sales Tips Blog by Scott R. Sheaffer >by email< or >by RSS<.
>Follow >Scott R. Sheaffer< on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—

The Most Stupid Thing You Can Do To A Customer

Scott Sheaffer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:55:08 +0000

I’m not responsible for my writing today. I’m getting some kind of cold and my wife has me on 23 different decongestants, antihistamines, cough suppressants, etc. My whole day has been an out-of-body experience.

However, drugged up or not, I feel passionate about today’s topic.

Sales Stupid 101
If you want to completely alienate a customer (or prospect) and guarantee they won’t do business with you, do the following: put them on the defensive.

My wife (you know, the one with all the drugs) is an excellent salesperson. She taught me years ago that when people are backed into a corner they come out fighting. This is not exactly how we want to position our customers.

Ways We Put Customers On The Defensive
There are many ways to put customers on the defensive. I’ll list a few of the most popular below. Please understand that customers have a visceral reaction to being put on the defensive (i.e. they get very angry).

1. Threatening To Escalate. I’ve had Tony Robbins’ salespersons do this to me at two different employers. (Should I have mentioned Tony Robbins by name? Those decongestants!) These guys actually called my boss on both occasions to tell him I was making poor decisions regarding sales training (or whatever it is Tony sells) because I wasn’t purchasing their services.

In both cases, my bosses were unimpressed with Tony’s sales strategy. Do you think I’m inclined to ever recommend or use any of Tony Robbins’ services? Doubtful.

On a side note, would someone contact me and explain his teeth? Too much of a good thing really can be too much of a good thing, Tony.

2. Making The Buyer Feel Stupid. This usually occurs in the form of a question. Here are some examples. “Why wouldn’t you want to update to a better system? Are you telling me you don’t think you can get the budget for this before the end of the year? You actually think our competitor’s product is superior to ours? Who is the real decision maker here?”

3. Questions With An Agenda. I had a sales trainer call me recently trying to get me to buy one of his products. I guess he wanted me to write about it in this sales tips blog. Most of his questions were carefully calculated to back me into a corner. By doing so, he thought I would be forced to buy. What an idiot!

My favorite question of his was, “So what is it about your current system that is working well and meeting all of your requirements?” I guess I was supposed to be confused by his brilliance (he isn’t) and say something like, “Nothing really! I need your system and I need it now!”

During our 30-minute conversation I was even calling him out on this technique and – I’m not making this up – he kept on with his agenda laden questions. He was so scripted he couldn’t help himself.

Sales Tips Wrap Up
Finesse is the art of delicacy, subtlety and skill. As sales professionals, we undoubtedly need to ask customers tough questions and sometimes make them a little uncomfortable to move the sales cycle forward.

If we’re smart and want results, we’ll do it with finesse. Never put a customer in a situation where they feel they’ve been backed into a corner. You’ll always lose.

I need some more decongestants.

>You can automatically receive Sales Tips Blog by Scott R. Sheaffer >by email< or >by RSS<.
>Follow >Scott R. Sheaffer< on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—

A Question That Gets Even The Grouchiest Prospect Talking

Scott Sheaffer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:47:45 +0000

Prospects have become so wearisome of cold callers these days that conversations don’t even get off the ground when we call them.

“I’m too busy right now to talk to a salesperson.”

Here’s A Technique That Will Get The Prospect Talking 99% Of The Time
Immediately after the prospect says he or she is too busy to talk, respond with, “I understand, but before we get off the phone, can I ask you just one quick question?” And then you ask your question.

Let’s Dissect Why This Works So Well
Prospects will perceive that you aren’t going to be taking too much of their time and they won’t have to reveal too much information. Minor investment. Minimal commitment. “Just one quick question.”

If you are calm, assured and prepared, the prospect will be put at ease. While you’ll start with a closed-ended question, you might be able to follow-up with one or two additional open-ended questions that will help start a relationship and set the stage for your next interaction.

Research has shown that initial objections from prospects are “throw away” objections. They’re just reacting to an interruption. The objection is not a real objection, but a stated objection.

Sales Tips Wrap Up
The keys to making this really work are:

Do some research on the company before you call. The one question you’re allowed to ask needs to sound like you know something about the company and their industry.

Know when to stop. Don’t overuse this technique. If the prospect seems willing to answer a question, don’t keep pushing for more if the prospect is not receptive.

Be genuinely empathetic with the prospect if you perceive that he or she honestly can’t talk with you at that moment. You can always call back. No need to tarnish a relationship before it begins.

>You can automatically receive Sales Tips Blog by Scott R. Sheaffer >by email< or >by RSS<.
>Follow >Scott R. Sheaffer< on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—