Streetfighter Selling

“Remember, when dealing with people, you’re not dealing with
creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.” –Dale Carnegie

If you were a buyer, would you go out on a limb to support a new contractor or supplier?

Bet you didn’t think “yes” right away. These days, that decision-maker who reports to others will need your help in selling you to others.

Here are two tips on helping make it happen:
1) Don’t just sell to one person, but give them whatever they’ll need to ‘sell’ you to the rest of the team….which is best done when you:
2) Make connections with the other decision-makers. When there’s a committee or other group who’ll influence the decision, get an audience with them, face-to-face. The buyer is far more likely to get behind your plan when they see the others supporting it, too.

In a big-ticket, ‘Complex Sale,’; a complete, internal strategy is essential. But, even in day-to-day renewals, too many opportunities are delayed or lost when a plan has to be ‘re-sold’ internally, but without your expertise.

The kick off of the football season means….whooooooa Nellie!…..time for sales meetings filled with football cliches.

They’re memorable…they’re motivating…but they’re, well, cliché.

I’m talking smart here, because I’ve been accused of using them, too!

“Let’s all give 110%!!!”
“You’ve definitely come to play!!!”
“Let’s call a time-out here and get it right!”

I’m talking smart here, because I’ve been accused of using them, too!
They’ve gotten old and, well, kind of cliché. So let’s try to avoid them.

Need something else to fill the void? My suggestion: “punt!”
Dazzle ‘em with some famous quotes instead…and, good luck to your favorite (Green Bay) team!:

“Football combines the two worst things about America: it is violence punctuated by committee meetings.” -George F. Will

“Football is not a game but a religion, a metaphysical island of fundamental truth in a highly verbalized, disguised society, a throwback of 30,000 generations of anthropological time.”. -Arnold Mandell

“I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it.” -Gale Sayers

“Positive thinking is the key to success in business, education, pro football, anything you mention. The mind is your most powerful muscle.” -Ron Jaworski

“The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves.” -Mike Ditka

“If you’re bored with life - you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don’t have enough goals.” –Lou Holtz

“The Green Bay Packers never lost a football game. They just ran out of time.” -Vince Lombardi

What would it be worth to you to add more impact to your presentations? Nothing loud or dramatic. In fact, the best impact is usually subtle….but heavily customer focused.

Too often, we make presentations that put the spotlight on us, and our company. For instance, how much time do you spend writing your proposals? A wise sales manager taught me that the amount of time I invested in preparation should be proportionate to the dollars I was asking for. Makes sense. While there’s nothing wrong with re-using a proposal format (a great time-saver), don’t let a weak, generic proposal lose the sale.

Before proposing your solution, probe for specific needs. If your prospect said “saving money is a priority,” don’t make ‘saving money’ as one of your objectives. It’s just not specific enough. Use due diligence to discover where they could use that extra money. Find out what they believe would change…for the better…once committing to you. Now, your objectives become helping them achieve those goals.

Here are three things to double-check before you make that next ‘big one:’

Your Materials
Are your written materials neat and organized? Doing some additional homework, customizing your presentation, and watching the small details can make a world of difference. Customize it to their needs, including having an “objectives” page that spells out, in detail, which of their goals you’ll helping to achieve. And, whenever possible, use visuals or demonstrations to make key points.

Your Leadership
A prospect should never be handed a proposal to quietly read. The best, and most successful proposals, are interactive. You both have a part. You’re the tour guide through this presentation, and it’s up to you to walk them through the selling points, getting their comments along the way.

Yourself
Did you add a little extra grooming time this morning? Clothes clean and pressed? An extra breath mint in your pocket? Did you “dry run” your presentation? Top pros continue to record themselves, and become keenly aware of speech habits (like repeated use of “you know,” you know?). And always arrive five to ten minutes early for a scheduled appointment. Even if you don’t notice, your prospect will.

Three words: pent up demand
Sure, a stack of cash is a big help, but it reminds us that spending has been way down for nearly a year and the number of goods and services (cars, brakes, washers, dryers, sofas, beds, dressers, cabinets, computers, printers, software, televisions, shoes, generators, tractors, silos, forklifts) that need to be replaced is piling up.

A sales pro friend of mine recently passed this along to me. It’s written by his friend, Chuck Lauer.

Who Do You Want to be Around?
In sales, just about anyone can look great when the economy is doing well, but when things turn badly that’s when you find out who your most talented and solid people are. Today is unlike any other that we have experienced and many sales people who were doing well and making good money now find themselves struggling to simply get by. It has been a rude awakening for many of us. People we used to call on no longer have smiles on their faces because with everyone tightening their belts, they are running scared and afraid of losing their jobs. It’s not a conducive climate to do business in, and, consequently, many so-called top performers are no longer at the top. As a matter of fact, many who seemed to be at the top of their game are buried knee deep in inertia and depression. They simply can’t hack the meanness, the madness and the vilification they have to deal with today.

However, there are others who are continually in the field working harder than ever. They are seemingly oblivious to the distractions and negativity they run into every day. That’s because this kind of environment we all share is what they crave and love. They are the professionals! They have accepted the challenges of the economy, and the challenges of working harder and smarter than they ever have. They love the business of selling and they don’t sit around and feel sorry for themselves. They know what they have to do and they are doing it. They are making more calls, they are working week-ends and they are doing everything they can to make themselves and their organizations more successful. I want to be around people like that and you should to. Join them and succeed. They are the ones who make it happen because they are winners. Identify them in your organization and learn everything you can from them. They always come out on top.

Be a winner!

Chuck Lauer is a noted healthcare leader and former publisher Modern Healthcare. Read his full bio here.

Q: “My customers are busy and can’t take time to meet face-to-face. They want prices e-mailed. But then….NOTHING HAPPENS! Help! What can I do?”

I get asked that a lot. And it’s a chronic problem. Busy buyers just want quotes, and then make their decisions on their own criteria (which, for the most part, include who they feel the most comfortable buying from).

I don’t like e-mailed quotes. Unless it’s going to a current customer with whom you have an on-going relationship, e-mailed quotes take the selling out of sales.

But, in those cases where you absolutely have no choice, add these two steps and you’ll see those all-important ‘connections’ grow (and get a better closing ratio):

Call Ahead
“I’m about to send that quote and just wanted to confirm one thing.”
Ask a question about one of the specifications, about their timetable, etc. Thank them again for the opportunity, tell them you’ll “follow up shortly,” and let ‘er rip.

Follow Up
Did they say it’ll take a week or two to get an answer? Did they say they’d let you know? Did I say stop there? Especially if this is a new customer, FOLLOW-UP. The key is to have a specific reason for following up…. as you don’t want to sound like a lap dog who says “didja getit…didja getit…didja getit?” (Of course they got it.) Make a strategic call that includes these elements:

“I know it’ll be a week before you make a decision” (set aside THAT debate)
“but I just wanted to make sure we’ve got everything covered.”

This could elicit responses from “I haven’t looked yet” to “looks good.”

Now, reconfirm their next step, thank them for the opportunity. Be sure to fire out a brief thank you letter, too.

Ps…. Personal visits should be proportionate to dollar amounts. Larger, more detailed quotations have “I need face time” written all over them!

It’s been 90+ this week across most of the U. S. Summer’s finally here! (Here in Wisconsin, summer starts when the local weather reporters stop telling us we’re miserable from the wind chill and start telling us we’re miserable from the heat index!)

Summertime.…and there are a lot of things a Streetfighter can do to take advantage of it. One example, if you’ve got local customers, drop off a case of ice cold soft drinks for their staff. No meeting. No pitch. No sell, Just ice cold refreshment. Why? Because it shows you that
a) you care, and
b) you’re thinking of them.
It’s a small thing…. but huge in your customer’s mind.

So stay cool…but keep your sales activity HOT.

One of the hot topics in selling is Social Networking & Marketing. Social networking platforms are numerous and, no doubt, you’re familiar with or even active in one or more…including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or blogging. While it should not take you away from face-to-face calls and follow-up, it CAN be a HUGE asset to building YOUR business, and helping customers build THEIRS so, if you haven’t already, now’s the time to kick start your own social networking system. (And remember the most important part….they’re FREE.)

One example is LinkedIn. Think of LinkedIn as networking on steroids. (Here’s mine, as an example.)

At www.linkedin.com, you pass through a simple sign-up process and you’re ready to start. A simple, step-by-step process walks you through adding your company, website, expertise, experience, specialties, even your picture or avatar. Now, you can link this online resume to co-workers, associates, friends, and business groups. You can stay top-of-mind with current customers who are also linkedin, plus you can be seen by prospective customers who are linked to you through mutual acquaintances. Skilled users can use extra features…like conducting brief online surveys (which can help you take the pulse of your customers while positioning you as an expert).

But don’t go looking for quick results. Social Networking has to be one component in your living, breathing, online networking strategy. The key, of course, is to get started, and it’s OK to start small. Get started, then give it some daily attention. Expand your personal profile or ‘resume’ before you start inviting associates to connect with you. Just using and exploring Linkedin will give you a better understanding of it’s features. Before you know it you’ll be a savvy networker.