Selling to Consumers | Sales Training Blog by Skip Anderson

The Sales Professional: Lieutenants of the Economy

As Labor Day approaches here in the U.S., I want to recognize the herculean contributions of salespeople everywhere to the global economy. 

Yes, I know, the economy continues to be in shambles, and as great as salespeople are, even they aren't able to single-handedly clear the dark cloud of financial darkness that has plagued us for the last few years.

But think where we would be without the recent contributions of salespeople everywhere. Salespeople are the boots on the ground (or boots on the phone) engaging prospects and making business happen. At a time when consumers and businesses alike are cautious at least, and have their purchasing locked down at worst, salespeople are in the field and on their phones contacting prospects, finding prospects, creating relationships, looking for hidden opportunities and helping their prospects and shoppers find a reason to say "YES" to a sales proposal NOW.

The economy hasn't been kind to most salespeople lately. Some have had to take on second or even third jobs as they've seen their commission checks shrivel or their colleagues be dismissed from their employment. Others have had to cut back drastically as they've seen leads have dried up to a mere trickle, if even that. Salespeople have never worked harder and have never been more dedicated. Their contributions to business are monumental, and they should be recognized for it. [A couple years ago I put together an ebook, "27 Can-Do Steps to Sell in Tough Economic Times. You can download it free here.]

So, here's an idea for you to recognize the salespeople within your sphere of social, casual, and business contacts. Maybe you're a sales manager or small business owner or client or customer or the brother, daughter, sister or father of a salesperson. Here's what you do:

Email them a brief note recognizing their contribution to business and to helping keep the economy alive. Include a link to this blog post. You could email something like this:

"Heather, I really appreciate your contributions to our company and want to recognize the vital role salespeople make in our organization. Keep up the great work and know that I am appreciating all you do every day, even if I don't verbalize it to you. This blog post sums up my feelings about salespeople. I thought of you when I read it." 

My final thought:

To all salespeople everywhere, thank you for what you do and the efforts you make and the results you get. Economic times will get better for all of us, and I look forward to seeing how your future contributions are going to help get us there. Selling is an honorable and vital career. You should be proud it is your career, even during tough economic times.

Skip

  

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Why "3 for $99" is Worth Much More than $99 to a Seller

You sell products or services to consumers. Let's say you're offering a widget on sale this week for $33. And you sell some throughout the day or week this widget is on sale. That's good for business.

But what's even better for business is to offer those same widgets at 3 for $99. Of course, this makes sense because a lot of customers will buy three of them, thus increasing your revenue.

But here's the real reason to adopt a "3 for $99" mindset in appropriate nooks and crannies of your business-to-consumer sales operation. You are setting up an opportunity to say this to your prospect or shopper:

"You can do 3 for $99, OR, you can save even more money and get 6 for $198, do you want to do that?

I know this isn't feasible for all B2C segments, but for some, this concept will have an impact on a company's revenue. Assuming that my suggestion is feasible for your particular business, then depending upon the industry and the product or service you are selling, you will find that anywhere from one out of ten prospects to ten out of ten prospects will take you up on your proposal. Just imagine what this could do for your top line!

Here are some potential examples:

> Your a men's clothing retailer so you offer a certain collection of dress shirts at two for $75, but you offer to sell four for $150.

> You're a plumbing and heating contractor and you have a special on toilets sold in the home for (I have no idea what toilets sell for these days, especially when installed, so bear with me) $395 instead of $450, but then you say, "or you can do a second toilet and do both of them for only 790. Some consumers will reason that, as long as you're already there replacing a broken toilet, I might as well go ahead and get a new toilet in the guest bathroom as well."

> You sell dog treats in your pet supply store. A special section of premium treats are $1.49 each, but you post a sign saying "2 for $2.75." When your shopper picks up two and lays them on your counter to purchase them, you say "If you want, you can get 4 for $5.50 and save even more money, do you want to do that?" You're surprised but pleased when the prospect puts eight dog treats on the cash counter.

Of course, the magic isn't in the exact quantity or the exact price in these scenarios, it's the concept. If it makes sense with your product in your industry, you can utilize this selling strategy to easily upsell many of your clients / customers.

How have you used this strategy successfully in your business? Or how do you think it could be used? Please share your thoughts or pass along additional examples of the concept.

  

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Deciding: The Salesperson's Very First Step In Selling

A few minutes ago, I decided to take a break from what I was doing at my desk. I consciously told my body to move my chair back away from my desk, then I told my legs and arms to lift me out of my chair, and then I told my legs to transport me to the restroom.

Notice the word "decided" in the first sentence above. None of us will ever take a break from what we're doing at our desk unless we decide to do it first. The precursor to movement away from a desk is a decision made in our mind. In fact, it has to be made in our mind before we can execute the movement.

Successful selling is no different. 

> We can decide to be successful or we can decide to be unsuccessful (we can also decide to be tentative, to not put in too much effort, to wait and see what happens, etc. - each will bring a different result).

> We can decide to craft an effective presentation or we can decide to wing in (which may feel good to us, but will probably result in less success).

> We can decide to improve our sales closing skills or we can keep doing what we're doing ( in which case we will almost certainly get the same result)s.

> We can decide to become a better manager by improving communications with our staff, or we can blame our staff for not getting it (a sure-fire way to lose your staff, or at least its loyalty).

> We can decide to role-play a challenging part of our sales process or we can wait to see if it comes together over time (I don't want my surgeon seeing if his skills come together over time).

> We can decide to talk to our manager about an issue that concerns us or we can decide to not do that and instead gossip about it to anybody who will listen (thereby reducing the chance that something will be done about the issue).

Life is series of decisions, the results of which will show success or failure or something in between. Becoming either a top-tier salesperson or a short-lived one is also determined by our decisions - many of them - both big and small.

What decisions, big and small, do you need to make today?

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Four Tips to be More Successful at One Call Close selling

In my previous post, I compared one call close selling to "selling to a bucking bronco" (prospects trying to "buck you" off of them). Today we turn our attention to taming said bucking bronco. Please allow me to suggest four tips for more successful One Call Close selling:

1. Have a plan.

Although plans can change or adapt when necessary, it's always better to have a plan to sell successfully in place when doing any kind of selling, but especially to the one-call-close prospect. This plan would be in the form of a well-designed sales script or a detailed and proven step-by-step sales process. One thing that definitely does not work well is what I call "random selling," which is a conversation with the strategy piece missing. Nor does blathering on and on about your product work. If you don't have a plan, get one immediately, and if you need to, enlist the help of someone you trust to create a plan with you.

2. Learn how to handle objections, stalls, and distractions.

If you don't know what to say after a prospect says "Maybe I'll just get your business card and think about it" after you've asked your prospect to buy from you, you can't yet handle prospect objections, stalls, or distractions. But the good news is that you can learn. Start with creating and memorizing the answer to just one common sales objection. Practice it repeatedly for an extended period of time, even after you think you have it down cold. When you're ready to add to your repertoire, digest another answer to a common sales objection. Eventually, you'll develop a lust for your prospects' objections, because they will no longer make you freeze, stammer, or stumble, they'll make you shine and make you sell more.

3. Be friendly, kind, charismatic, genuine, and very, very human.

People dislike plastic, fake people. People hate plastic, fake salespeople. How you sell is a reflection of your values and your beliefs about selling, yourself, and your prospects and customers. These beliefs shine through your eyes, your behaviors and in what you say to your prospects. Let the light of you shine. People love to buy from people they like and enjoy being with (even if their time with the salesperson is only ten or fifteen minutes). If you're a likable person, you've got a leg up on other salespeople, sometimes even though the competitor's salesperson may have more experience or product knowledge. If you're not likable, find a way to become likable in a hurry. Otherwise, I suspect a sales career may not be for you. Likability is important in any sales career.

4. Make sure your time with the prospect creates sales momentum.

A sales interaction with a prospect, no matter how long or short it is, must create sales momentum to maximize the opportunity. Completing one phase of the interaction (even if that one phase is one simple question) should help propel the salesperson/prospect interaction into the second phase, and the second should propel the interaction into the third phase, and so on. The more momentum, the easier it is to complete the sale. Think about cleaning out your garage or cleaning the kitchen. Once you've started the project, you get into it, and you start digging in. Once you're halfway done, you want to get finished. You've just experienced task momentum. Help your sales process experience sales momentum. Momentum allows the sale to happen with far less effort than with no sales momentum.

Now, go tame that bronc.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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The Bucking Bronco of Sales: The One Call Close Prospect

Some of us who sell for a living have merely a single prospect interaction (a meeting or visit to our store or a stop at their front door) to complete a sale with that prospect. The solution for this predicament has been termed the one call close.

I think the prospect in many one call close scenarios is the bucking bronco of the sales prospect world. Even if we've been invited into a prospect's realm (or they've invited themselves into our realm, such as during their visit to our showroom), prospect's love to keep us at a distance, to throw us off track, and to delay a buying decision.

First, let's make sure we're on the same page regarding "one call close" selling. Here are some examples of a sales interaction that could be considered one call close opportunities.

>  You're selling art on a cruise ship. Your prospect will only be in your vicinity for five days. After that, he or she goes away forever.

> You're selling a consumer product in a retail store (pick a product; let's say it's golf clubs). The vast majority of visitors to your store end up not buying, whether it's buying today or next week or next month. Therefore, if you want to maximize your sales opportunities, you need to make the most of the prospect's presence in your store right at the moment they are in front of you.

> You're selling your product door-to-door in the residential market (pick a product; how about a package of discount coupons to the new auto repair shop in your community).

> You're selling custom closets. The prospect's current closet fell down in the middle of the night (it was a cheap product and also installed with insufficient care) and they need it replaced (and improved) right away so they've invited you to their home for a price quote (that doesn't automatically mean they're going to select you to do it, however).

Most of these prospects will become -- in part or in whole -- bucking broncos:

> They may avoid answering some of your questions. They do this by changing the subject, or giving one word answers to questions that would typically require longer answers, or by acting as if they are indifferent. 

> They may answer questions untruthfully, either intentionally or unintentionally. When you inquire about, let's say, their budget for a project, they may either lowball it (in hopes of receiving a greatly discounted price from you) or highball it (in an effort to not look cheap or unable to afford something, even though that may be the real truth).

> They may avoid allowing you to question them at a deeper level. Even though it would probably allow us to help the prospect more, they may not be willing to share information about their driving habits even though we'd like to be able to recommend a vehicle that matches their driving habits. Perhaps they think they're protecting themselves from us (side note: shame on "us" -- sales professionals and sales organizations -- for putting prospective customers in a situation where they feel they need protection from us).

> They may say they're getting other "quotes" or "visiting other stores" even though they've already received those other quotes or already visited the other stores. They often want to shut us down or put us on hold, even though they may still end up purchasing our product.

All bucking broncos buck. But they can be trained and worked with in such a way that they won't buck anymore. And when that happens, it's good for the bronco and it's good for the rider of the bronco. It's also good for the prospect and the sales professional selling to them.

Tame your bucking bronco prospects, and you'll be a better seller.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Get Off the Commerce Freeway Once in a While

Society if full of sellers, all busily pursuing their next sale And that's how it should be.

But not all the time.

Just like worker bees, we get on the commerce freeway, encouraged by our sales managers and our compensation programs and our personal debt to travel faster, and periodically even faster yet. Fast was last year's goal; very fast is this year's goal. Next year we'll be seeking to make sales super fast. In sales, fast is better, and more is even better.

But it's important we get off the commerce freeway now and then. We can seek a new perspective, see where we are and verify that where we're headed is the best place to be going. We can all benefit from reading a sales book, taking a sales assessment, attending a seminar, or connecting with others in our industry that we've meant to connect with, but haven't.

That brings us to sales training.

Yes, I have a sales training company, and yes, of course, I want every company to hire us to train their salespeople. But this isn't just self-serving to me or other trainers out there, it's to encourage you to find identify and repair gaps between management's expectations for sales performance and the current skill sets of those doing the sales performing (or lack thereof).

I love to ask clients why they are doing this or why they're doing that. Answers vary widely, but the most popular answers - by far - are either, "That's a good question; I'm not sure why" or "I don't know, we've always done it that way." A fresh pair of eyes can provide a company with often extraordinarily valuable insight about a company's everyday sales operations that can lead to increased revenue production.

Just like in so many areas of human achievement, the difference between being a winner and an also-ran is often very small. But when you implement those small changes, sales can grow and even explode.

Get off the commerce freeway once in a while and get on the on-ramp to the fresh perspective freeway. Stay a while. And visit it every now and then. You'll be amazed and what you'll see if you just allow yourself to look.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Selling: Think Speed Dating (8 Tips for Sales Success)

Your younger sister is single following her breakup with her boyfriend. She calls you one evening and says she's going speed dating. She's asking advice from her older brother or sister (you) for speed dating advice. What do you tell her?

This is not a speed dating blog. It's not even a dating blog. It's a sales blog. So what's up with that?

Speed dating is a simple process but it can have major consequences. It can have many twists and turns. So can selling. Some customers buy in a one-call close environment, wherein there's an element of time involved, just as in speed dating. Prospects are seeking potential solutions to their needs and desires, and so are speed daters.

Seeing that there are similarities between selling and speed dating, please see the seven sales tips below, which are disguised as speed dating tips for your little sister:

1. Be well groomed and appropriately dressed based upon the characteristics of the speed dating group (the prospect) and the venue. Few will be attracted to someone (connect with a salesperson) who is inappropriately dressed or groomed. Dress and groom as appropriate for the people you expect will attend the speed dating event (the sales interaction). I know this makes me sound like an old school dude, but if you're selling to a bunch of burly, tough Harley riders (not that all Harley riders are burly and tough in reality), then you'd better dress and groom yourself in a way that will resonate with those burly tough guys

2. Keep your eye on the clock. You only have so much time with each speed dater (with each prospect). Make sure you plan your conversation (presentation) appropriately for the time available.

3. Ask questions to draw out the other speed dater (the prospect). Asking questions isn't the goal; getting the other speed daters (the prospects) to engage in conversation with you and being comfortable with you is the goal. Nobody wants to spend time with another speed dater (buy from a salesperson) who hasn't engaged them.

4. Don't waste your valuable time by talking all about you (you, your product, or your company), but focus on the other speed dater (the prospect).

5. Use eye contact, facial expression, and body language to help connect with the speed dater (the prospect). If the other person is cautious, then you be cautious, too, but with an inviting subplot. Singles looking for partners (prospects investigating purchasing something) feel most comfortable with people who are similar to them. Be similar, but with an extra dose of charisma, humor, confidence, or something else that will set you apart from all the others in a positive way. Not that you should be disingenuous, but we all have multiple elements of our personalities which we can call upon for use in different situations.

6. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Position yourself in a way that the speed daters (the prospects) will have the best opportunity to be impressed with you, intrigued with you, or even like you. Use your strengths and find work-arounds for your weaknesses. You're not good at humor? Then don't try to be funny. You have the best smile this side of the North Pole? Smile away.

7. Help the speed dater (the prospect) feel important. Everybody on the face of the earth wants to feel important in some way. You don't have to pretend, just treat your speed dater (your prospect) as being truly important.

8. Know your limitations. Don't over-talk, be overly funny, or be overly anything. Be genuine, real, and nice while getting the job done.  Be genuinely interested, respectful and effective. That what speed dating (selling) is all about.

Full disclosure: I don't participate in speed dating and never have and really don't know much about it. The speed dating advice above is based solely upon my middle-aged imagination. Therefore, it should be ignored.

However, you can trust the sales advice.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper. He's a happily married non-speed-dater.

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Sales Success: It's All in Your Head

When I was losing weight, I would sometimes convince myself that my plan to lose weight would allow me to have a couple chocolate truffles here and a few doughnuts there. Intellectually, I know that chocolate truffles and doughnuts are not foods that are known for their nutritional value or for their ability to create weight loss. 

Yet, I somehow convinced myself that "just this once" was okay, even if "just this once" happened several times per week, and even if it didn't include truffles or doughnuts but instead included french fries or pork ribs. Although the weight I was carrying was in my body, it was allowed to stay there (and grow) because of what was in my head. 

As it turns out, I wouldn't lose weight in my body until I took responsibility for what was in my head. Crazy thinking leads to crazy behavior.

Selling can be like that, too. 

We know that there is a path to success in sales. We've learned this path either from others in our company (colleagues, mentors) or from our salespeople parents, or from books we've read, educational seminars we've been to, from our sales manager, or from our experience. Yet, our crazy thinking creeps up on us, and we start to believe we can take shortcuts, yet achieve the same level of success.

So we don't upsell, or make the number of calls we're supposed to make. We don't follow the sales script or follow all the steps as defined in our sales manual. We talk about features but leave out the benefits. We convince ourselves our prospects don't want to hear what we have to say, or won't accept the price increase the company has just announced.

So our crazy sales thinking sabotages our real world sales success. We become our own worst enemy instead of being our own best supporter and cheerleader. We move backward instead of forward.

Your head will tell you...

... whether to greet the next prospect in your store or office with sincere gusto or with dreadful monotony.

... whether you'll be able to sell your widgets at $1150 instead of the old price of $1000.

... whether to practice a sales script until you know it or dismiss it as unnecessary or unimportant.

... whether to work until 5:00 on Friday afternoon or sneak out at 2:00 (haven't you already done that the last seven Fridays?)

... whether to put in the little bit of extra effort to do this or that instead of choosing the easy way.

... whether your prospect is a prospect or isn't a prospect (because it doesn't look like they can't afford your product or service, or they don't look like your typical customer.

... whether you learn or get stale, whether you energize yourself or bore yourself, whether you reach for the stars or don't bother reaching at all.

Sales success: It's all in your head. And whatever is in there will determine how successful you become. 

  

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Salesperson or Hustler?

Almost anybody can sell almost anything, If they lie.

Lying is not a sales technique. it is not a skill. It isn't clever or cool. It doesn't require intelligence or sales ability.

Lying doesn't (or shouldn't) count in selling. It's too easy. Anyone can do it. All you have to do is pick something about your product or service, it's warranty, your company, or yourself and either exaggerate something about it or make something up about it or say the opposite of what's real and true. Who can't do that?

I can't. And hopefully you can't either.

It's not surprising that the general public looks down (either some or a lot) on those of us in the sales profession. The reason they do is because some of us in our profession are not professional. They're liars. They're in it to win it, at virtually any cost. Those without a strong set of personal values or without a conscience are perfect for candidates for this behavior.

I've had the good fortune to work with many professionals in our field. I take pride in the people who have influenced me positively, and I'm thankful I've had an opportunity to influence others. There are many truly good people who earn their living selling.

I've also had the disappointment and even disgust of working with people who lie and feel good about it. One of them, I remember, called selling "a hustle." Some have become very wealthy via their dishonesty.

It's easy to lie about...

... Your product's capabilities;

... Services or items included that really aren't included in the purchase.

... Delivery or installation time frames.

... The future by promising things that cannot be promised or aren't real.

Some salespeople lie all the time. Some lie some of the time. Some lie big lies. Some tell white lies.

Enough is enough. Some salespeople never lie. There's no place for lying in our profession. Those who do it don't deserve to wear the badge of honor that hard working, ethical salespeople deserve to wear. I believe selling is honorable, but only if it's done in an honorable fashion. 

Otherwise, you're just a hustler.

  

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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The Good and Bad of Low Hanging Fruit

As salespeople, we are driven to make sales. Most of us are paid based upon our ability to do so.

So I don't blame a salesperson who pursues the easy sale. Sales to low-hanging fruit are just as valid as the sales we made to customers who required a great deal of work on our part. But sometimes salespeople get in the [bad] habit of merely serving the low-hanging fruit.

I visited retail store that is part of a national chain of computer stores last summer to look for a new laptop. I was in the store for about an hour looking at their selection of products. Nobody approached me during my visit. Most of the sales reps were busy with prospects. But I noticed one salesperson standing off to the side while looking over the mass of people that were in the store looking at computers.

I kept noticing him standing there. He would leave for a while, but would quickly return to his "post," continuing to stand and observe. I was wondering why he wasn't coming over to me to offer assistance (to SELL!).

After thirty minutes of my observations, I finally figured out what was up with this salesperson.

He knew the other salespeople in his department were engaged with shoppers. Rather than jumping in to engage another prospect (like ME!), he would carefully listen and observe the other interactions sales reps were having with shoppers, and he would watch prospects to try to ascertain when they were ready to make a purchase.

When he saw a prospect that had talked to another sales rep, but had been abandoned by that rep to work with another shopper, he would jump on the prospect and offer to help. But he would only do this if he thought the chances were very good that the prospect was ready to consummate the purchase.

This, my friends, was an example of a salesperson going after low-hanging fruit. During my visit, he walked several shoppers to the cashier so they could purchase their laptops and to show the cashier which salesperson to credit for the sale. This guy was brilliant to have come up with this sales strategy.

Oops. Did I write "sales strategy?" I meant "order-taking strategy."

This sales rep wasn't so much a salesperson as he was a retail clerk or order-taker, yet he was going to receive credit (presumably in the form of commission or bonus) for his actions. Maybe he was the top salesperson in the department. Or maybe he was the worst. The one thing I know is that he didn't sell during the hour I was in the store. But he received credit for several sales.

If you wish, call this guy clever, or ingenious, or saavy. Or call him a hack. You decide. Which was he?

Please weigh in with your conclusion. I want to hear what you have to say. Post a comment now!

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Get This Bad Song Out of My Head!

I've had a terrible song in my head this past week. As far as I know, this song only exists in my head. Apparently, it's a tune my subconscious mind created, perhaps out of boredom, or perhaps as a payback to my conscious mind for something bad it did to my subconscious mind at one time.

It's a really bad tune. It's not a song that I've ever heard or ever would want to hear. Yet, I catch myself humming it and thinking about it throughout the day...over and over again, and then I do it again the next day. This song has been consuming my mind this past week.

Clearly, I need psychological help. Or perhaps a psychiatric intervention.

Having a bad song stuck in your head is very similar to the negative self-talk that can help to ruin a salesperson's career. Constant negative thoughts, fear of failure, and persistent doubting takes it's toll on a salesperson's psyche, similar to how it might affect an athlete. Nothing good ever becomes of these harmful thoughts taking over a sales professional's mind. 

Where a salesperson's thoughts go his behaviors will follow. This can work to his advantage or his disadvantage.

Negative thinking requires speedy intervention. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. As silly as it may sound to some, personal affirmations can serve to remove the negativity by replacing it with nurturing, positive nourishment for the salesperson's mind.

Sorry to cut this short, but I've got to run now. I'm going to put my earbuds in my ears and rev up my iPod to play some of my favorite music in hopes it will crowd out the really bad song in my head. I'm hoping this works. If it doesn't, I'll be writing my next blog post from my friendly neighborhood psychiatric hospital.

Here's to positive thinking. And good mental health.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Getting Past Superficial Answers to Our Important Sales Questions

I had a great massage a couple weeks ago. The massage therapist, Shantel, did a great job. But in addition to a great massage, she also did something great that also applies to the art of successful selling.

One of the main challenges for massage therapists is deciding how deep / firm / light the pressure should be for any particular client on any particular day. While one customer may say they want a deep tissue massage, when compared to other clients, the actual massage pressure applied to meet this customer's needs is actually quite light. On the other hand, some people want incredibly deep pressure to loosen up their very tight muscles - to the point of pain and bruising.

So gauging the level of pressure to accurately meet the true desires of the client can be challenging for a massage therapist.

But Shantel has discovered an excellent way to get at this information with a high level of accuracy, and her technique is perfectly appropriate for those of us in the sales profession. Here is what she does:

As most therapist do or should do, she asked me several times throughout my ninety minute session a question like this: "How's the pressure?"

To this question, I answered, "fine" or "good." I'm sure many massage clients would respond exactly the same way.

But here's the interesting part. Each time Shantel asked me the "how's the pressure" question, she followed up with a second question.

"Would you like more or less pressure?"

Even though she asked me how the pressure was, and even though I said it was good, I found myself asking Shantel to use deeper pressure, but I did this only after she asked me the second question.

Clients and customers and human beings often give pat answers to our sales questions, sometimes without even truly thinking about the answer they're giving. I'm a fairly assertive fellow, and even I gave a surface answer to Shantel during my massage. But it turns out that I needed Shantel's second question to truly reveal my personal wishes about pressure level in my massage, and some of your customers need that second question, too, if you want to find out the real answers to real issues that could determine if you make the sale or not.

There's something else at work here. Shantel's first question ("how's the pressure") is an open-ended question (who, what, where, when, why, how). I'm a big fan of open-ended questions, especially during a needs and desires investigation with a prospect. They are perfectly suited to getting prospects talking.

But the challenge with open-ended questions is that sometimes they're too open-ended. In these circumstances, a closed question is much better. Shantel's second question was a closed question (meaning, it is a question answered with a yes/no; a multiple-choice question is also a closed question) which is perfect for clarifying information or for asking for an order ("should we go ahead and write it up?"). In this case, she was clarifying the level of pressure that I truly desired during my massage on that particular day, which could determine whether my massage experience was either merely enjoyable, or incredibly awesome!

As salespeople, here's our takeaway from this massage experience:

1. When trying to pinpoint information or get clarification from customers, ask closed questions.

2. Sometimes more or better information appears when we ask a second question of our prospects as a follow-up to a first question. Don't rely on their easy, pat, standard, surface answers. Dig deeper. When we do, we can discover a treasure-trove of information. And in selling, getting accurate information from our prospects is a required nutrient for healthy sales results.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Knowing What to Do vs. Doing It: Successful Selling Requires Knowledge AND Action

As a long time sales manager and corporate sales trainer, and in the last six years as a business consultant and sales trainer for hire, I've worked with thousands of people who either want to improve their sales or whose boss wants them to improve their sales. What I offer is knowledge: how to sell, how to sell more, how to sell more efficiently, how to make more money selling...I'm lucky to have a lot of sales knowledge. And I'm lucky to be able to be paid well for sharing it with others.

I offer this knowledge in my writing, in my webinars and seminars, in my public speaking engagements, and through business consulting and sales coaching.I want salespeople, sales managers, and sales executives to have this knowledge.

So I share this knowledge with my clients and my audiences, and even in this blog. But I can't make people take action on it. Knowledge is one thing, but salespeople who want to excel must take action on that knowledge. Successful selling requires sales behaviors that yield the desired results. When sales knowledge and sales action walk hand-in-hand, success reigns!

Sales actions (behaviors) are determined by both knowledge and self-talk. Once knowledge is present, the salesperson's self-talk can either lift a salesperson to a new level of sales achievement or can act as a limiter of career and income growth.

So to all you salespeople out there: Gain knowledge! Take action!

> Read [books - blogs - articles]

> Listen [podcasts - speeches - manager - sales veterans]

> Participate [webinars - seminars - conferences - classes]

> Observe [other salespeople - yourself -customers] 

> Analyze [others - yourself - behaviors - strategy]

> Seek [mentoring - coaching - help - inspiration]

> Act  [do - move - call - write - do]

> Reach [beyond - farther - deeper]

> Commit [to yourself - to your employer - to your prospects and customers - to your career]

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Retail: Customer Service is Good but Selling is Better

Customer Service. Every consumer looks for it. Every retailer strives to provide it.

But the term is so overused and so under-executed that I have tired of hearing and thinking about it. In my own consumer life, there have been so many missed opportunities by individuals and stores where I have shopped to provide excellent customer service that I'm just about at the point where I want - no, need - to give noogies to every retail salesperson / clerk / customer service representative that I come into contact with. 

[Having said that, here are two recent examples of good customer service which were provided to me:

(1) The woman at the cosmetics counter at my neighborhood Walgreen's (it's often quicker to check out there than at the main cashier check-out) keeps a file of manufacturer's coupons for typical products sold at Walgreen's. I'm talking about Tylenol and toothpaste and Prep H and the like (I regularly buy two of those three items...you'll have to guess which ones). So when I bring a basket full of goodies to buy, she pulls out her little filing system and looks for coupons to give to me so I can use them. I don't believe anybody told her to do this, she simply does it to be of service to her clients.

(2) I stopped at a Holiday store last week. Although I've mostly given up donuts (even though donuts are one of the most desirable foods in existence), last week was it was a real treat to stop in the middle of the day and buy one. The chocolate glaze was sort of drippy and gooey and wet. When I bought the donut, the convenience store clerk brought me a couple wet wipes in anticipation of my need for one after I sat in my car and consumed my little morsel of sugar and fat.]

So customer service is a good thing in retail. But it should be a no-brainer for companies and individuals to take every opportunity to reach out to customers to make their lives more pleasant.

But if customer service is a good thing, selling is an even better thing for a retail business.

Selling is the art and science of getting prospects to voluntarily give you money in exchange for a product or service. Since all retail businesses are in business solely to get money from customers and then provide a good or service in exchange for that money, it puzzles me why more retailers don't have front-line salespeople who can and do sell.

> What if the clerk at Lowe's actually sold a barbecue grill to one out of ten barbecue grill browsers? What would that do for revenue?

> What if every clerk at Office Depot asked every single customer if they needed any printer paper as they checked out, then offered to carry a box out to their car for them?

> What if every clerk at Dick's Sporting Goods sold customers on the benefits of $120 sneakers instead of buying $49 sneakers?

> What if every clerk at the wine shop tripled the number of customers to whom they sell a case of wine instead of a couple of bottles of wine?

> What if the clerk at Home Depot sold an assortment of screws to every customer that bought a new cordless drill/driver?

Consumers want to buy things that make their lives more meaningful, easier, fun, and better. If retailers would just take a moment to figure out how to do a better job of that using PEOPLE to sell goods and services that accomplish these things (not just marketing, promotions, customer loyalty programs, merchandising, fancy displays, but the sales PEOPLE who engage their shoppers and customers), retail would be in a better place today.

Retail customers love good salespeople. They love to buy. They want and need things. When we use sales PEOPLE to sell these things, everybody wins.

-If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment-

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Do Commission Salespeople Hate Commission Salespeople?

I was having a casual chat with a friend this weekend who happens to be a very successful commission salesperson in the business-to-consumer space. I'm not sure how we got on the subject, but she told me that, as a consumer, she avoids dealing with commission salespeople.

When I asked her what she meant, she said she avoids buying from commissioned salespeople because "they don't care about me, they only have their own interests in mind." She went on to say that, in the past, she has even avoided going to stores because they pay their salespeople a commission basis (Circuit City, for instance - R.I.P.).

After discussing this for several minutes, I made this point to Elizabeth:

"But Elizabeth, you're a salesperson and you're paid on a commission basis. Would you buy from you?"

She thought for a moment and then announced that yes, she would buy from herself. When I asked her why this would be okay since she's a commission-paid sales professional, she said "I'm different...I DO care about my customers!"

But then I asked her how she feels about companies that don't pay their salespeople a commission, but have a strict quota that could/would result in a salesperson losing their job if they didn't meet their quota.

"That's bad, too," said Elizabeth. "That's just as bad as paying a commission."

I made this point:

"But all of us in business, whether as an owner of a company, or in management, or working a sales floor, are trying to make a living in business. We're all selling all the time, and if the selling ever stops, the income stops. Why is it bad for a company to share a percentage of their income with their salespeople?"

Elizabeth told me that the people who ring up purchases at the supermarket don't get paid commission, so she trusts them to look out for her best interests, but if those cashiers were paid on commission, she wouldn't trust them."

"So you're okay shopping at a grocery store that doesn't employ commission cashiers, right?"

"Yes," said Elizabeth.

"Because if they were paid commission, they're not trustworthy because they're trying to make money off of you, is that right?" I asked.

"That's exactly right," said Elizabeth.

"Okay, that's okay, you can feel that way if you want. But that same grocery store is trying to make money off of you, isn't it?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"Well, that grocery store that has cashiers who are not paid on commission is a company whose sole purpose of their existence is to make money off of you. And you seem okay shopping at a store whose mission it is to make money off of you, yet you admit you will opt out of shopping at that store if the SALESPEOPLE are paid on commission and who have the mission of making money off of you. Is that correct?" I said.

The discussion went on for some time, but I was, frankly, shocked at the reaction of Elizabeth to others IN HER SAME PROFESSION.

As a business owner, I work on commission. I retain 100% of profits that Selling to Consumers creates. If I sold swimming pools or jewelry or real estate or clothing on commission, I too would receive a portion, perhaps 10% of the revenue created from the purchases of my customers. As the doll-handed character Judice on Saturday Night Live might say, "Is that bad?"

Have we gotten to the point that we're afraid of ourselves? Do commission salespeople hate commissioned salespeople?

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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How's Your [Selling] Eyesight?

  
The tasks of everyday life require good eyesight.

Thankfully, my close-up eyesight is quite good. I can read my morning newspaper, see my breakfast eggs, and clip my toenails without any problem whatsoever (rest assured, I don't do all three at the same time).

But thanks to my nearsightedness, I can't see things in the distance. Road signs, a deer standing in the middle of the highway, and the visual glitz of Las Vegas would all be a mere blur for me if I didn't wear my spectacles.

I've been nearsighted since the seventh grade. My first pair of glasses was a rather geeky affair, a black plastic-rimmed thing (come to think of it, it was almost identical to the pair I have on my head right this minute). I lost those eyeglasses the summer before eighth grade. My father accused me of selling them to get money - I guess I had sales tendencies back then, too - although my dad's assertion was incorrect.

Selling requires good "eyesight," too. Most of us who sell for a living will achieve true success only if we see the current opportunities as well as select the proper path to get to make the long-term possibilities become realities. 

Two Sales Maladies: Sales Farsightedness and Sales Nearsightedness

Malady #1: Sales Farsightedness.

People with sales farsightedness tend to focus on the future at the expense of the present. They don't understand that revenue needs to be created now. There is an immediacy in sales that some simply don't comprehend.

Imagine if a cell phone company quit focusing on immediacy as it relates to their product development, not to mention their sales. With new technologies sweeping in and changing the mobile technology game every few months, companies that don't focus on the immediacy of getting things done today would get lost in the shuffle. They would soon fall by the wayside - becoming quickly irrelevant - and replaced by faster-paced companies who have figured out how to make new products today and sell them today, too.

Companies want revenue today. They don't want to wait for tomorrow or next week or next year. Salespeople should want the same thing, too. Top sales performers speed up the sales cycle whenever possible. In sales, the closer to today, the better.

Some symptoms of Sales Farsightedness

> Failing to close business now, or soon. Settling for later instead.

> Putting effort into a written proposal, bid, or quote when the prospect hasn't asked for one, or one isn't necessary.

> Scheduling meetings (first time meetings or follow-up meetings) too far in advance.

> Waiting for a prospect to make a decision instead of helping him/her arrive at one.

> Thinking of only the long-term possibilities of a client, account, or prospect at the expense of the opportunities that exist today. 

> Allowing bad sales numbers for this month linger on to the end of the month. Waiting until next month to turn things around.

Malady #2: Sales Nearsightedness

Salespeople with sales nearsightedness always focus on the here and now at the expense of the future. They don't understand that some sales (and prospects) need to be nurtured over a period of time, and real wealth in some sales jobs comes from a long-term approach.

Thinking about the future implications of today's actions is a valuable asset for a salesperson, and indeed, any business person. A future sale is often a destination that cannot be reached without careful planning or strategizing today.

Imagine a mobile communications company who doesn't put sufficient resources into R&D. They will quickly be surpassed by competitors that have invested in product development to give them an edge once the future arrives. Salespeople need to do that, too. Some things simply take effort over a period of time.

Some Symptoms of Sales Nearsightedness

> Not taking careful notes about a client interaction today, and therefore forgetting important details about what happened with a prospect today when you need those details in the future.

> Not planning follow-up phone calls and leaving them to chance instead.

> Not having a long-term plan and working that plan.

> Treating every sales opportunity as a one-call close when that isn't always the case.

> Not investing in sales training, books, sales materials, webinars, or seminars to help sales results in the future.

> Being reactive instead of proactive when it comes to the future.

> Passing up prospects that are likely to offer future opportunities in favor of prospects that only provide a near-term sales opportunity.

> Focusing on the transaction instead of the relationship.

What are other symptoms of sales farsightedness and sales nearsightedness you can think of?

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Emotional Baggage: It's There, You Just Need to Find It

  
Customers need things. Thank goodness for that, because if they didn't, commerce would grind to an abrupt halt, along with salespeople's careers.

Consumers need books, TVs, furniture, education, massage, barbecue grills, security systems, trees, orthodontics, replacement windows, hair replacement, bass boats, facelifts, vacations to Italy, jewelry, and thousands of other products which we, as sales professionals, are always happy to sell to them. But when we focus on only our products, we can lose sight of the emotional foundation of these customers' needs.

And when we do that, we're missing opportunities to understand, to steer prospects in the proper direction, and to sell more.

Consider the homeowner in his sixty-year-old home who calls a window replacement company to provide a price quote for new windows for his home. What does this homeowner need?

New windows.

But what are the emotional foundation needs behind those needed windows?

Well, since shoppers are different, we don't know exactly, but we can imagine several credible scenarios:

> Water is seeping in the home through the window in his son's bedroom, and it's been doing so for twenty years. The water damage, although not yet severe (at least from what is visible without ripping the plaster and siding apart to inspect it), is starting to rear it's increasingly present and ugly head. This prospect has an interest in securing his investment in his home and not letting constant drips of water gradually devalue it.

> A homeowner has invested considerable money in his home since he and his wife purchased it eighteen years ago. They've adding a sunroom, completed several major landscaping projects, added a third garage stall and a storage shed in the backyard, built a fence around the yard, finished the basement, and so on. The one substandard part of the owners' home as one looks it over from the street in front of the house is its outdated and time-worn windows. Although the windows work fine, they don't look fine, and the visual appeal of the home he has painstakingly engineered over the years has a blemish that is looking bigger and more obvious with every passing year.

> Energy use is a concern to another homeowner. As energy costs rise, the homeowner concedes that replacing windows with a more energy efficient product would result in enough savings over the decades that lie ahead to warrant such a project. Saving X number of dollars per year has strong emotional appeal to this homeowner, especially when he looks back on the energy costs he's incurred in the last fifteen years that could have been far less had the windows been replaced fifteen years ago.

And so on.

So how do you reach (I mean really reach) your prospects when you're talking with them about their product needs, whether those needs are related to windows or the product or service you sell?

Immerse yourself in the before, the after, the underneath, and the beyond of your prospect and your product:

> Examine

> Explore

> Ask

> Fish

> Investigate

> Seek to understand

> Look deeper

> Broaden

> Notice

> Focus

> Notice clues

> Dig

> Magnify

> Pick apart

> Analyze

> Clarify

> Listen

> Really listen

> Listen to more than just the words being spoken. 

My wife and I need a new barbecue grill, so we've been having fun shopping for one these last few weeks. But nobody wants a new barbecue grill just to have a barbecue grill. They want a quick way to prepare food, a centerpiece for entertaining, a monument to testosterone and manliness, a place to create the best damned grilled steak in the neighborhood (if not on the planet)!

How's that for emotional baggage?

Now, if salespeople would just quit talking to me about this feature and that feature and talk about ME instead...

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Sales Managers: Don't Settle!

Sales managers:

Need to hire a salesperson?

Don't settle.

> Don't settle on someone you like like but who can't sell.

> Don't settle on someone who can sell that you won't be able to tolerate.

> Don't settle on someone that doesn't meet the criteria you said you needed to have met.

> Don't settle on someone who looks good on paper but looks bad to your prospects and customers.

> Don't settle on someone who has failed repeatedly.

> Don't settle on someone who will mess up your department or team.

> Don't settle on someone who can sell, but will have a huge maintenance cost in your time and energy to manage them and follow behind them to keep putting out the fires they've ignited.

> Don't settle for an individual that has substandard credibility, integrity, or work ethics.

> Don't settle for a fast talker without checking to see if he can talk slowly, too.

> Don't settle for a candidate who is functional as a salesperson, but dysfunctional as an employee.

> Don't settle for someone you find yourself hoping will be at least average.

In what other ways should a sales manager not settle?

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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The Continuing Saga of Michael J. Roman and "His" Blog

I prefer to spend my time writing about sales, marketing, and management for this blog. It's ground zero for my professional interests.

But today I need to write about blogging. To be specific, I want to write about one blogger who apparently continues to steal others' material in a most brazen manner.

  
You may have read my post a week or two ago about one Michael J. Roman. Respected blogger Jonathan Farrington discovered Roman had plagiarized his blog and other bloggers' material and posted it on Roman's blog as Roman's own creations, using the material without permission, without credit, and without a link to the original posts by the original writers of the material. He even had the audacity to place a copyright statement on each of the stolen blog posts saying he reserved all rights to the material. 

A couple dozen sales bloggers outed Roman by posting and tweeting about his twenty or so counts of verified plagiarism. Roman responded by taking his blog down (one of us also had contacted Tumblr, the host of his blog, also which may have initiated the downed site). 

Roman contacted Jonathan Farrington, one of his victims, to offer a mea culpa for his plagiarizing ways:

I am speechless.
 
I cannot apologize enough to you and I am completely embarrassed. It seems that one of my employees who is my “Creative Director” in fact is not as creative as I presumed he was. All this time I was complimenting him on his articles, which in fact were approved by me for publishing. Clearly this comes down to me no inspecting or researching his work more carefully. Basically, I was taking it for face value. We just started this blog a few months ago, and when we did, I was writing my own articles. Shortly thereafter I assigned that task to someone else. Apparently he (and I) found your articles very well written. I however did not know that he was basically stealing your information as well as the information of others.
 
I want you to know that I have completely deleted the blog account until further notice. Additionally, my creative director’s employment will be terminated next week following my informing of his actions to my Human Resources department. Any unethical behavior under my leadership will NOT be tolerated and I appreciate you (and others) bringing this to my attention.
 
I can assure you that there is no way to retrieve the old blog site.
 
I have read your latest blog and would appreciate if you would b so kind as to remove it at once.
 
Again, you have my most sincere apologies for this unacceptable act on my employee’s part, which in turn, is a direct reflection on me.

Best regards,
 
Michael J. Roman

But a day later, Roman started up a series of new posts, the first being a post that featured a very large graphic of a gold seal, along with the headline "Integrity Verified" or something similar. The written post was a guarantee of integrity throughout his new blog.

Jonathan explained the details of this interaction with Roman and what had happened and his reaction to it in one of his blog posts (here).

Fast forward to yesterday:

One of this blog's readers (thanks Tim Parker) commented on my original Michael J. Roman post and notified the blogosphere that he once again found at least two instances of apparent continued plagiarism in Roman's NEW blog articles which he posted since the original plagiarism outing. I checked it out and found that, sure enough, it looked like Roman was right back in the saddle with his very large plagiarizer hat on.

Roman's post titled "Seven Essential Qualities of a Good Leader" was actually a post by Barbara White titled "Seven Qualities of a Good Leader."

Roman's post "Essential Steps to Negotiation" was actually a post by another author titled "15 Negotiation Workshop Rules Every Negotiator Must Know."

Moments ago, I checked Roman's blog and it's down. But whether it stays down is another matter. Or, Roman could just resurface on another web hosting platform or even possibly under another name and continue his plagiarizing ways. 

The entire online community of bloggers, experts, consultants, writers, authors, and speakers across all subject matters and disciplines must join together with readers, consumers, and business people to stop the stealing of intellectual property on the internet and in every form. The internet is an incredibly wonderful tool, but only to the extent that the material that exists out there is accurate and verifiably written by the person who says they've produced it. Those of us who spend a very significant portion of our time creating material with the sole hope of helping others, entertaining readers, or attracting clients (or for any other reason) must be protected. 

I encourage YOU, dear reader, to out plagiarism whenever and wherever you find it. By joining together, we can hope to at least make a dent in plagiarism and limit this despicable act. 

Since his blog is down, at least for now, I encourage you to visit the apparent plagiarizer's main website. Take a good look at the material you see there. Read about his values, like integrity. Visit his "strengths" page and read his long list of "core values" including his "exceptional leadership qualities including honesty". Visit his "Philosophy" page and read about his "3 point ethics analyzer." Visit his "About Me" page, and stop by his "Testimonials," "Affiliations," and "Accolades" pages and then ask yourself one thing.

Is any of it real?

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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You've Got Some Explaining to Do (9 Tips to Explain Things More Clearly)

Part of a salesperson's job is to explain things. You might need to explain how a particular feature of your product works, or why the customer's shipment of the product has been delayed, or why your return policy is what it is.

But some salespeople can be notoriously poor at explaining things well.

A good "explainer" adds value to the prospect or shopper. A poor one bores the prospect or shopper. A proficient explainer adds clarity. A deficient one confuses. A great one builds sales momentum. A bad one kills sales momentum.

Here are 9 tips to become a better sales explainer:

1. Make sure your explanation is necessary.

If it isn't necessary, or it won't help the sales situation or customer, leave it out. Some salespeople explain things because they love to talk. The only good reason to offer an explanation is because it's necessary.

2. Don't use industry-specific terminology.

Every single industry has specific jargon that should only be used in-house. It's disrespectful to use terminology that the customer may not know. Either explain the jargon, or don't use the jargon. Usually the latter is better.

3. Check for understanding.

Checking in often is vital. If there's any indication whatsoever that your explanation has gone over the head of the prospect, back up and try again.

4. Look for body language and facial expression reactions.

Part of the value of a skillful explanation isn't just to share information, but it's to give the salesperson an opportunity to learn more about the prospect. A great way to do this is to analyze body language and facial expression. Is the prospect liking what you're saying? Or is she not buying it?

5. Verify understanding.

Explanations only have value if the they are comprehendible by the customer. Check for understanding often with appropriate questions such as, "Am I making sense?" or "Would you like me to go over that one time again?"

6. Use visuals.

Some people absorb information most efficiently by receiving it aurally, other through visual means. It often makes sense to present some kind of visual explanation in addition to a spoken explanation to make sure the information is registering in the prospect's mind.

7. Take it step by step.

Make information digestible by breaking it up into small bits. Big gulps of information cause explanation indigestion.

8. Use direct eye contact.

Direct eye contact is an indication to most people that what you're saying is important. Their reaction is, "I'd better pay attention!" Paying attention to an explanation is a good thing. In a face-to-face sales situation, look your prospect in the eye!

9. Speak at a pace appropriate for the particular prospect.

Rattling off a long explanation to a prospect who has a natural propensity for careful and deliberate communication increases the likelihood that the explanation is not going to have the desired effect. Slow down or speed up your speaking to meet the needs of the prospect.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Becoming a Better Manager: Counteract The Rumor Mill

 
As a manager, how do you communicate with your team? Do you have a systematized, reliable process for sharing both large and small segments of information with your employees? Or do you rely on the default communication structure in any organization?

That default communication structure is the rumor mill. In this day of incredible technology, many organizations, departments and teams still rely on the rumor mill to spread information throughout the ranks. The rumor mill runs at lightening speed thanks in part to your employees' use of incredible technology. But it has awful accuracy. And that awful accuracy could be hurting your management efforts.

COUNTERACT THE RUMOR MILL

Managers must counteract the effects of the rumor mill if they're serious about leading their group efficiently and proficiently. The best counteracting can be accomplished by committing to: 

1. Communicate often

In many work groups, the level of communication is high, but the frequency is too low. This often results in a communication-starved group, and when they're starved, the group will find information somewhere (even if it's outdated or inaccurate). The best way to fight information starvation is to give employees what they want: communication.

2. Communicate accurately

Don't tell your team that the executive in charge of your division has desired to create a new position of Director of Social Media Marketing if the executive in charge of your division is only considering creating a new position of Director of Social Media Marketing. Communicating often is only helpful if the information being communicated is accurate.

3. Communicate both "need to know" and "nice to know" bits of information

Some employees in a work group don't care about anything, so #3 won't help them (but then, what will?), but many employees like to know nice to know information just as much as they want to know the vital stuff. So go ahead and tell them that your company's employment ads will now be placed on CareerBuilder instead of Monster, or that the garbage is now being picked up by Ted's Sanitation instead of Waste Management. Employees like to be in the loop.

4. Communicate important information to ALL your team

Great damage can be done by cherry picking who receives certain bits of information, either be cherry picking intentionally or out of lack of discipline. Of course, there will always be times when only certain individuals or certain groups need to know some bits of information, but the general information (like "We're going to be moving our offices down the street to the 731 building") shouldn't be shared with a few people, thereby allowing the rumor mill to disseminate the information to the remaining employees.

Besides, as the game Telephone shows us, by the time the last employee in your group has heard the rumor, you'll be moving your offices not down the street to the 198 building, but to the suburbs on 198th street.

5. Communicate with proper timing.

There's a proper time and place for communicating particular bits of information. Make sure your timing is wise. The time to tell your group that Tina in payroll was let go is the same day or day after she was let go, not three weeks after Tina's employment was terminated (just ask your three employees who have been frantically emailing and leaving voicemail messages for Tina - to no avail - for two weeks). On the other hand, it's equally as damaging to tell your group on Tuesday that Tina has been terminated when Tina's manager wasn't going to terminate her employment until Friday. Ouch.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Shhh...Relish the Silence

Many salespeople fear silence during face-to-face selling situations. If the conversation gets silent for too long, the typical salesperson pummels that divine silence with words, often in the form of gibberish, repeating what has already been said, or inane questions such as "Are there any questions I could answer?"

Unless you sell on the phone and you suspect the silence you're hearing is due to your prospect setting the phone down on the counter (without hanging up) and then going to mow the lawn or run to the market, silence in selling is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, I would argue that silence during a sales interaction should be cherished.

What's going on in the sales relationship during a period of silence? We can only guess, but there is one thing that we know for sure: a prospect who is silent is (thankfully) not telling you to take a hike, or to quit bothering her, or that he's not going to buy from you. A silent prospect is not calling you nasty names and not rejecting you. Are you starting to comprehend the joy of silence?

It's likely that silence from a prospect during a sales interaction means one or more of the following:

> Your prospect simply has a personal preference for some silence during a one-to-one conversation.

> Your prospect is considering your proposal, product, or your company.

> Your prospect is analyzing what you have presented.

> Your prospect is deciding whether to purchase or not, and if not, why not.

I recommend salespeople embrace silence. And I don't just mean after asking for the order. Don't interrupt silence. Leave it up to the prospect to end the silence. Relax. Salespeople don't have to be big talkers all the time. It's usually better to be a big listener instead, especially when silence is present. Don't be in a hurry. Take your time. When silence is present, it's there for a reason. Roll with it. Enjoy it.

Relish the silence.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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The Scourge of the Blogosphere: Plagiarism and Michael J. Roman

The blogosphere is amazing, isn't it? Just think of all the wonderful tidbits of really good information floating about in cyberspace, put there by people who have passion for their field or to offer a helping hand. The amount of information available in the blogosphere is astounding, especially when it comes to information about sales, marketing, management, and business.

Personally, I subscribe to about forty blogs, and I read them every chance I get. As a very active blogger myself, I revel in the idea that people from all corners of the world find value in what I have written.

But there is a dark side to the blogosphere that we all should be aware of. And we need to do what we can to shine a light on this dark underbelly of the internet. Thus, my post today.

Enter one "Michael J. Roman." Mr. Roman may have some excellent qualities, but he appears to be a plagiarizer with a significant body of others' work that he claims to be his own work. According to his LinkedIn Profile, Roman is a Managing Director at Modis, part of the MPS group.

[Update on 7/7/2010:  I see that Mr. Roman has taken down his "Michael J. Roman" profile at LinkedIn, so the link in the previous paragraph won't work. He replaced it with a new LinkedIn profile (with new photo!) under the name of "Mike Roman" - you can view this profile here. ]

My friend Jonathan Farrington, one of the most respected business bloggers on the planet, just discovered that approximately twenty of Jonathan's blog posts have been republished (without his permission) on Michael J. Roman's site, plagiarizer. Each had been published by Roman as if they were his own work. In fact, Roman had the audacity to attach this to each of his stolen posts:

"The moral right of the author, Michael J. Roman, has been asserted. © Copyright 2010. All rights reserved."

Gutsy. Especially for a plagiarizer who lists "integrity" as #4 on his list of "top ten traits for success."

While checking out Roman's blog for any possible appearances of my own writing, I ran across a post by my friend and fellow sales trainer Kelley Robertson called "Boost Your Sales Instantly." The plagiarized version on Roman's site is titled "Instantly Boost Sales." There's no mention of the real author, nor is their a link to his site or the original article.

I love the blogosphere. But we all need to do what we can to rid it from plagiarizers like Michael J. Roman.

Please retweet or repost. Let's get the word out about Mr. Roman. It is my hope that by the time you read this post, the links to Roman's post will be dead, meaning he's taken his site down or at least deleted the stolen posts from his site.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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My Tribute to Dots (And The Act of Connecting Them)

Dots are great. They're little. And round. And dot-like.

I'm talking about the small, roundish mark that we're all familiar with, not the candy or the nickname for the name Dorothy (although those deserve respect, too). Look, here's one now:  .

Cute, isn't it?

But the thing I love most about dots is their potential. Dots can be accumulated to form something bigger and greater and of greater significance. Dots create images on my computer screen and on my printer. And where would i's be without dots? (And don't even get me started on the importance of crossing on your T's).

  
But this post is really about the act of connecting dots, which takes you into an entirely new realm of dot appreciation. And when you add the selling implications of connecting dots, well, you've got an opportunity - nay, a duty - to give dots and the act of connecting them a tribute.

Great salespeople connect the dots between their prospect's needs and the salesperson's ability to fulfill those needs, between a prospects desires and the salesperson's ability to meet those desires.

Dots are what our prospects dream, believe, want, and do. Dots are also what we dream, believe, want, and do. And great salespeople connect them.

They connect the dots between adjacent lives. They connect the prospect's budget with our capabilities, their biases with our favorite products, their distractions with our ability to keep them focused, their reluctance to change with our need to earn a living. When we connect the dots, we connect our shared acquaintances, our shared geographic commonality, our shared beliefs, our shared experiences.

Salespeople who can connect their dots with others' dots help create customer engagement. They have stronger relationships with prospects, customers, managers, other departments, and their network of acquaintances.

Great salespeople connect the dots of opportunity with the dots of action. They connect potential with achievement.

Do you want to be more successful in sales? Get better at connecting dots. 

[Practice connecting the dots here ]

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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When TV Ads Work: The Korean Air Commercial

Perhaps you've seen the Korean Air TV advertisements that have been airing for some time in the U.S. Although I have not yet flown Korean Air, I'm ready to. The message in the advertisements have reached a tipping point with me, and their excellence in flight message has hit home in my psyche. Here's the ad:

So how did I, a consumer and frequent business traveler, reach the point where I am ready to try Korean Air's product? The right message at the right time. After dozens of mediocre experiences in flight, I want some excellence. I need some excellence.

From the first time I saw the Korean Air ads a couple years ago, I took notice. And with repeated viewing, their impact has Here's why:

1. Understated elegance.

In an industry that has become decidedly unelegant almost all the time, the understated elegance of the ad's production attracts attention. Wonderful chill music by Robert Matt, a simple message, and a relaxing vibe sucks the viewer in.

And I want one of those turquoise martini drinks.

The takeaway: In an era of marketing overstatement, be understated instead.

2. It's different.

We might be familiar with seeing ads like this for fragrances or spas, but not for airlines. Watch this Continental Airlines ad. See how it's style contrasts with Korean Air's commercial.

Hear the frantic music? See the high-energy video? While everyone likes to fly on new planes (the key message of the Continental ad), Korean Air makes a statement simply because it's different from typical business-as-usual airline advertisements. No splashy colors (merely predominant muted grays along with splashes of turquoise); no frantic panning and zooming of the image (gentle, dreamy visuals instead); no typical hyper-business voiceover (just a few words spoken in total, and with pleasing and calm speech)...these equal a "pay attention" vibe, and it works.

Can flying really be a sensual experience?

The takeaway: If you want to stand out, be different.

3.It has a simple message.

Airlines haven't been talking much about excellence lately. It's nice to see and hear, especially when a customer probably has visuals of recent airline crashes stored somewhere in their memory. "Excellence in flight" is digestible, it's meaningful, and it resonates with viewers. I don't know if it's true, but the goal of marketing is not accuracy, it's more revenue.

The takeaway: Messages with less are often more effective than messages with more.

Now, would a company in Seoul please hire me for a sales training project or speaking engagement so I can try out Korean Air? I need a little excellence in flight.

And I like kimchi.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Sales Training: Changing Selling Behaviors is Job One

  
Let's say your company sells to consumers, maybe in a retail setting or maybe in the customers' homes, or maybe you find your own leads as in insurance or real estate selling.

Let's look at [your]imaginary company that employs three sales professionals who sell widgets to customers. And, for the sake of this discussion, let's say you provide the same number of leads to all three of these sales representatives by you, their employer:

Sales Representatives "A" "B" and "C" all meet with 65 prospects per month. [Adjust this number of prospects for your real business numbers: if you sell retail, your number will likely be higher; if you sell in customers' homes, your number might be lower, if you sell insurance or real estate you might need to adjust it either way.]

Let's imagine that Sales Rep A sells to 45% of his prospects, and let's say this is the average for your industry. [Adjust this number for the average in your industry]. That's 29.25 prospects each month that he converts to customers.

Let's say Sales Rep B closes sales at a rate below your industry's average, let's say at 31%. Therefore, he sells 20.15 customers each month.

And finally, Sales Representative C closes at a rate higher than your industry's average, let's say at 67%. She sells 45.5% of her prospects.

Summary:

Sales Representative A:

> Closing Rate 45%

> 29.25 Sales per month

Sales Representative B: 

> Closing Rate 31%

> 20.15 Sales per month

Sales Representative C:

> Closing Rate 67%

> 45.5 sales per month

The impact these three individuals have on your business is astounding! Clearly, Sales Representative C is the big winner here. She sells more than twice as many customers as Sales Rep B, and over 50% more than Sales Rep A. What if you could get all three sales representatives to close 67% of their prospects? 

That would result in 136.5 sales per month instead of 94.9. That's an increase of over 45%!

And imagine if this is accomplished with no increase in your marketing budget. Your sales team is simply selling more of the shoppers or prospects that they see on a daily basis. Wouldn't that be terrific?

Now let's add another metric: Average Sale (or "average ticket"). Here's how your sales staff stacks up:

Sales Rep A: $1200 average ticket (the industry average, let's say).

Sales Rep B: $1000 average ticket (obviously, below the industry average).

Sales Rep C: $1400 average ticket (way above the industry average).

Using these numbers, along with the closing percentage as previously discussed, let's calculate the monthly sales revenue generated by each of your three salespeople:

Sales Representative A:

> Closing Rate 45%

> 29.25 Sales per month

> Average sale: $1200

> Monthly sales: $35,100

Sales Representative B: 

> Closing Rate 31%

> 20.15 Sales per month

> Average sale:$1000

> Monthly sales: $20,150

Sales Representative C:

> Closing Rate 67%

> 45.5 sales per month

> Average sale: $1400

> Monthly sales: $63,700.

If we add up the revenue from each of your sales team members, we can see that your small business sells $118,950 per month ($1,427,400 for the year).

But what if Sales Reps A and B were selling at the same admirable rate as Sales Rep C?

Your company's annual revenue would jump to over $2.29 million, an increase of $870,000.

And of course, this doesn't take into account that your Sales Representative C should be able to increase her sales numbers as well.

It's simple, really. When you raise the closing rate of your sales team, along with raising the average amount of each transaction, you can increase sales dramatically.

So, you ask, "how do I do this?"

You change the behaviors of your sales team.

Selling is behavioral. When salespeople do the right behaviors (just like golfers, cabinet-makers, brain surgeons, or pastry chefs), they get right results. Without changes in behavior, salespeople (and presumably, you as a sales manager and your entire organization) place themselves in a reactive state, waiting for the economy to turn around, waiting for some mysterious power in the universe to bless your business and increase sales success.

While sometimes waiting will result in sales improvements, it doesn't strike me as a viable way to run a business.

How do you change your sales team's behaviors? 

1. You educate them.

Sales training must bring about sales learning. And sales learning must lead to changes in sales behavior.

2. You educate them some more.

Successful sales training is a process, not an event. Just as the goalie or the stage actor or the public speaker need constant reminders of how to behave (perform) properly in order to maximize performance, so do salespeople.

3. You coach them.

To successfully change behaviors, sales training just can't occur at a seminar, webinar, or during an online sales training program. They need to be touched repeatedly by someone who can help them analyze and study their sales behaviors. They need someone to suggest, help, inspire, motivate, encourage, teach, and shape each salesperson.

4. You manage them.

To successfully change behaviors, management systems (hiring, performance reviews, compensation, daily operations, priorities, standards, etc.) need to work in concert to change sales behaviors in the organization.

* * * * * * *

Nothing mentioned here is new, or breaking new ground. It's not "Sales 2.0". There's no new sales magic here, no stunning new concepts. It's often said that sales is a "numbers game." But you'll only win the numbers game if you earn the right numbers.

So you want to improve the revenue production of your sales team?

Change their sales behaviors.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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Furniture Sales Training: Customer Engagement Creates More Sales

  
When we engage our customers, we enter a new sphere of opportunity. With engagement, relationships are both quicker to form and deeper. We find it easier to develop two-way trust and understanding. Shoppers are more likely to buy from a sales professional with whom they are engaged than from one with whom they are not engaged.

My wife and I visited a furniture store last weekend. While my wife and I enjoyed our shopping, we had a disappointing experience, both the from the shopper perspective and also from the sales trainer perspective.

Here's a script that shows an approximation of the conversation we had with our furniture salesperson:

* * * * * * *

Salesperson: "Welcome to XYZ furniture gallery."

Skip: "Thanks" (while feeling the cushions on a sofa).

Skip's Wife: "Thank you." (while sitting down in same sofa).

Salesperson: "That's one of my favorite sofas. I just love it."

Skip's Wife: "Oh, okay."

Salesperson: "Do you need a new sofa?"

Skip: "Yes, we need a new sofa. But we're not looking to buy one today, we just happened to notice it as we were walking by."

Skip's Wife: "We do need a sofa but we're not going to buy one today. It's not a priority right now."

Salesperson: "Oh, okay! I don't know if you have been in before, but we're a custom order store. We can custom order any of the sofas you see in our store in any of our fabrics. And we have free design services, I don't know if you knew that or not."

Skip: [pleasantly] "Yes, we've been in before and yes, we did know that."

Skip's Wife: "Okay, great!"

Salesperson: [smiling] "Okay, my name is XXXXXX, just let me know if you have any questions."

Skip's Wife: "Okay, we'll do that."

Skip: "Okay, that sounds good."

* * * * * * *

Did the salesperson identify why we were visiting her store? Did she get us actively involved in the buying/selling process?

This scenario is repeated in thousands of furniture stores and other retail venues each and every day. Sadly, there was little or no attempt to engage the customer. Despite the high cost of getting a prospect into a furniture store (or any store), these opportunities are wasted over and over again at retailing establishments across the land.

What could have this salesperson done differently to engage my wife and I? What would have turned this encounter into an engaging one instead of a typical, bland, uneventful one?

Here are three ways to help your retail salespeople become engagers:

1. Focus on the prospect, not the product.

We sometimes forget that our prospects are real, live human beings with real lives, worries, concerns, joys, priorities, goals, biases, questions, needs, desires, perspectives, etc. If we drill down far enough, we can usually see that prospects are not coming into our stores for our products, they are coming into our stores for their lives. Our products are merely one possible route to make their lives better or more interesting or more healthy or more fun or more fulfilled.

2. Ask important questions.

Questions engage prospects and shoppers at a much higher rate than statements do. Questioning is a skill, and salespeople who possess the skill are worth their weight in gold.The quality and quantity of questions asked of a customer will help determine to what degree the shopper becomes engaged in conversation with us. Every salesperson should receive intensive sales training on the miracle of appropriate questioning.

3. Hold off on statements.

Telling is not selling. It is part of selling, but it is not selling. Yet, many salespeople view their role as that of being a "teller:" Telling about their store, telling about their sale, telling about how they work, telling about financing, telling about features of their product, etc.

To create engagement, we need to consciously hold off on telling early in the encounter in most cases. Unless what we have to say is stunningly interesting to our prospects (and it almost never is), it's probably all stuff they've heard before, and it serves as an anti-engagement tactic rather than a path to engagement.

* * * * *

Put an end to trite retail selling! Enter a new sphere of sales excellence. Engage your prospects!

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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It's Fearless Friday!

It's the last day of April 2010, and I hereby proclaim today a Fearless Friday.

What is Fearless Friday? Well, you'll have to decide for yourself, because that's part of being fearless today. But here's what Fearless Friday could mean:

> Today, you go after finding prospects with renewed energy and with reckless abandon, putting your fears aside. Today, you are not tentative, you are fearless.

> Instead of offering one add-on sale to your customers, you offer a second one. Or, since it's Fearless Friday, you offer a third one.

> You commit to putting your fears, whatever they are, aside for one day in the name of selling more.

> You stand taller today than you usually do. You put your shoulders back a bit. You make yourself feel fearless today.

> You march into your manager's office and say this: "I don't always act like it, but I love my job. And I want to move up in this company. How can we make that happen?"

> You pick up the phone and call the prospect you should have called a week ago or a month ago or a year ago, but "never got around to it." There's an important call you have to make but haven't done it yet. Make it today.

> You quit being tentative in your selling today. Today, you forge a new path of confidence and you assume the sale for once and for all. You don't use tentative language today. You don't dance around difficult issues. Today, on Fearless Friday, you meet them head on. Today, you are the victor over the doubts that have plagued you.

> You finally follow the recommendations of your manager. You've resisted. You've complained. You've made excuses and rationalized why you can't or won't do this or that. Today, you do it. Man up, boys and girls.

> Today, you finally eat a healthy lunch. You've been saying you need to for months. But today, you don't eat at Taco Bell or McDonald's, today you have a salad or a bagel with turkey and some veggies (no mayo, no cream cheese, no sauces). Today you are fearless against your cravings for unhealthy food.

> You look your prospects in the eye today. You notice the color of her eyes. You notice the shape of them. You peer into her eyes with a new sense of purpose and a zest for understanding the person living with those eyes. Eyes are the windows to the soul, as they say, and today, you see souls that have existed all along, but you never took time to look deeply at them.

> Today you don't fidget when a shopper gives you an objection. Today, you stand with both feet planted on the ground. You don't shift your weight left and right. You don't umm and ahh. You speak with confidence and maturity. You are fearless today.

> Today you realize that your fast talking is a defense mechanism you've used to avoid rejection or avoid to discuss sensitive issues. But on Fearless Friday, you slow down. You speak each sentence as if it mattered. No more blah-blah-blah. Today, you matter. And the person you're talking to matters.

> You spend more time with your prospects. You've been cutting them short because you're in a hurry. You've got to do this or got to do that. Today, the prospects matter. You've been cheating them. No more. Not today.

> You take the sales class or read the sales book you've been thinking about. You invest in yourself today. You hire that sales trainer to come into your company and, for once and for all, get your sales peeps selling like you know they can.

> You make that difficult decision today. You know, that one that's been floating around in your mind for all these days or weeks or months. The one that's been screwing up your psyche and holding you back. Maybe it's fear that's holding you back, maybe it's lack of action. Today, the fear is gone. Action is inevitable today.

> You thank that individual that you've thanked so often in your mind while in the shower, while in the car or on the bus on the way to work. You've thought about it for months. Today, you pick up the phone.

> Today you commit to selling excellence for the month of May. You've been cutting corners. You know it and I know it. May is the fifth month of the year two thousand and ten. Make May count. You don't know if there will be a June or a July. All we have is right now. Make now count.

> You will lead today. Not in title, but in actuality. You will tell that negative attitude person in the breakroom to stop it. You've bring positivity to your life and to others today. You will stand up and take a stand today.

> You will fearlessly feel joy today. You've been stressed, distracted, lazy...but today, you feel joy, and others will see it on your face today. And it only happened because you decided to make it so. Your mind and spirit is a beautiful thing today.

> You will prevent a cancellation of an order today. Yes, it's potentially uncomfortable for the customer, and for you, but today, you are going to put your persuasion skills on the line and you will stop a cancellation. No pussy-footing around.

> Today you break beyond the self-imposed barriers of self-doubt. Today, you have self-imposed self-belief.

> Your smile is bigger today. Let it envelope your customers with its sincerity and it's unbridled optimism.

> Today, you shake hands with people like you mean it. You are happy to have an opportunity to interact with customer, with a prospect, with a tire kicker. You hold your handshake just a split second longer than you normally would. And you look the recipient of your handshake directly in the eye while you do it. Smile. Mean it.

> You go visit that person in person who could help you or your business get to the next level. You know who it is. Introduce yourself. Tell him/her what you have in mind. Put yourself out there. Be fearless.

> Today, you embrace failure. And in doing so, you are embracing success. The failures of the past lead to success today.

> Today you don't just present your product or service. Today, you are an orator. You speak with clarity and power. Your impact stuns your prospects today. Your voice is an instrument of success today.

> You get rid of the clutter today. You know, that clutter that's been the wrench in the finally tuned machine that is you? It might be the clutter on your desk, in your drawers, in your locker, in your bag, in your head. Today, the clutter is dealt with - and you have renewed focus because of it.

> You ask for the sale today.

> Today, you work harder. You work smarter. You work more creatively. You don't walk, you leap. Your mind is on steroids. Your actions are purposeful. You are an improved you today.

What's been holding you back? What do you need to be fearless about today on Fearless Friday?

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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What a Difference The Right Person Makes!

This post is about selling, customer service, managing, and relationships. and virtually all relationships.

I regularly visit two dry cleaners.

Dry cleaner #1: The front desk person always has a smile on her face, calls me by name, acts excited to see me, and we chat it up for a couple minutes every time I'm there.

Dry cleaner #2: The front desk person doesn't make eye contact with me, says thank you (but with no emotion behind the statement), and hurries to get me out of there.

Which customer experience is more satisfying?

Of course, dry cleaner #1 provides the experience I want as a consumer. Having the right people with the right behaviors in the front line of your company's work (receptionist, front desk, selling, installing, delivering, etc.) can make or break your customer service ratings.

Take this out of the retail setting. Isn't this the experience you want with supervisors and employees at work? With family members at home? With friends and colleagues and roommates and fellow committee members? Engaging others is a key to not only selling success, but all kinds of relationship success.

Selecting the Right People

> Have your job candidates role play during interviews.

> Ask experiential questions that ask for specific examples of how they handled this situation or that situation previously in their career.

> Ask what their proudest job achievement is. Use testing to hire the right personalities, the right strengths, and the right attitudes.

Getting the Right Behaviors

> Getting the right behaviors is easier when you hire the right people.

> Train your people , and when you're done train them again.

> But before you can train them, you must have complete clarity of your training objectives.

> Make sure managing and training are interlocked, each working toward the same goals.

* * * * * * *

Questions for discussion:

> What can you do differently to be the "right person" for your job?

> If you manage and hire, what do you need to do differently to hire the right people?

> And where are you falling short on training and managing those right people?

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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"I Don't Want to Act Like a Salesperson" (Our Love/Hate Relationship with Selling)

We have a love/hate relationship with our sales careers. At one moment, we are proud of our  accomplishments and celebrate the relationships we have built with our customers, and the next moment we decry the sales profession by saying things like, "I don't want to act like a salesperson."

Why can't we embrace our profession? If we can't embrace it, how do we expect our market to embrace it? We should all want to "act like a salesperson," shouldn't we?

I am proud of my sales ability. I don't take advantage of people, and I don't abuse people, but I do sell, and on occasion, that means working through the moments (usually brief) of prospect or shopper discomfort. These brief periods are inevitable in successful selling, so we should embrace them and understand them, and not jump to the conclusion that we are genetically mutated miscreants who prey on our prospects, eat slime for breakfast, and would sell our grandmother's soul for a sale.

In this article, "If You Want to Sell, Don't Be a Salesperson," author Tom Richards makes some excellent points. But I disagree with his title. We need to begin embracing the concept of "being a salesperson" if we are ever to build the market's respect of our chosen profession.

In his article, Mr. Richards states that "Salespeople are infamous for making others feel bad." 

Really? I work with thousands of salespeople each year, and I dare say I rarely, if ever, have come across a salesperson who strives to make "others feel bad." Is that really part of our definition of what a salesperson is?

If so, it shouldn't be. Top sales professionals know how to engage their prospects. They understand nuance in selling. They have an impeccable sense of timing. They understand human nature and even psychology of the buyer. They skilfully navigate through mixed signals, objections, and changing priorities to arrive at the point the customer willingly agrees to purchase the salesperson's product or service. This is a far cry from "making others feel bad."

In another ridiculous sales article, the author gives us directives for how not to be "perceived as a salesperson." One of his suggestions is to not cold call. Really? Here's a sales authority suggesting not to cold call? Of course, cold calling isn't appropriate for many B2C selling endeavors, but it is for some. And we all know that many B2B sellers have engineered thriving careers using cold calling as its foundation.

He also recommends not selling your products "from a trade show booth." This article is indicative of the bad information that's on the internet.

Look, it's time that we all define selling for what it is: an admirable profession. Those who are stuck in stereotypical definitions of selling based upon mythical characters in movies (highly aggressive, disrespectful, etc.) are doing a disservice to our profession, and the sad thing is that some of those defining selling in these negative ways are themselves salespeople. 

Let's focus on what top salespeople do. And let's be proud of it.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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The Quest for Customer Engagement: Are You Overlooking Opportunities?

Sadly, customer engagement is being ignored in so much of business-to-consumer selling that in many respects we have nowhere to go but up. In many sectors of B2C selling (not to mention marketing and customer retention), customer engagement is virtually nonexistent.

I define customer engagement as the prospect's/shopper's/customer's active involvement in the buying/selling process, as opposed to participating in a passive way, i.e., as an observer.

Customers long to be engaged. They have a desire to be raving fans, to be in relationships with providers of services and goods of all types, to have productive relationships...indeed, customer engagement is a win-win for both the seller and the buyer.

While almost every salesperson, sales manager, marketing executive, and business consultant agrees that customer engagement is a good thing, many sellers don't have their finger on the real pulse of their prospects or customers. This makes it difficult to engage them except in the most shallow way. If we could allow - and encourage - the tendrils of engagement to infiltrate every phase in our selling processes throughout each customer's life cycle from cradle to grave, we will sell more.

We would be served well if we would open ourselves to seek new and better strategies for customer engagement. Sometimes it doesn't even take much. To help get your C.E. creative juices flowing, here are some ideas:

Hotels: Engaging Your Customer

If you work at a front desk of a hotel and, upon a guest's arrival, ask him "From where are you arriving?" that's a good thing. But it's even a better thing if the hotel front desk representative builds upon the guest's answer to that question. What does the front desk associate say if the guest says he's from Portland or Charlotte or Kingston or Brussels or Minneapolis?

When I tell people I'm from Minneapolis, I often get silence in return. True, many who live on the coasts or the southern U.S. view Minnesota as flyover country, and have never been to Minneapolis-St.Paul. But if you want to engage me, you'll talk with me about the Minnesota Twins' new Target Field, or our two great full-time orchestras, or our healthy theater community, or the beautiful lakes in the City of Minneapolis, or hunting and fishing in the northland, or the massive and beautiful Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness bordering Canada. I'd even settle for a mention of the largest shopping mall in the United States, our Mall of America.

"What's one thing I should know about Minneapolis (or St. Paul) that I should know?" would be a great question for a hotel front desk associate to ask me as I'm checking in or out, even if they don't know anything at all about Minnesota. Knowing me, I would provide five or ten things about MSP that I think everyone should know. When the customer opts in the discussion, that's engagement.

After your visit to a Hyatt or Marriott or Hilton hotel in, say, Dallas, how about if your local Hyatt or Marriott or Hilton hotel contacted you in Minneapolis (or wherever you live) and provided you with a special weekend rate for a weekend getaway at a local hotel in your area? That would get you another opportunity to engage with the brand, and it would prevent you from visiting Priceline when you and your spouse do want a weekend getaway in the city. What's more, Priceline puts only one issue on the table (price) and consumers increasingly view Priceline hotels at each level as being mostly generic. Generic is bad for business.

> If you're a landscape contracting company working in the residential market, maybe you should provide training to do-it-yourselfers in the areas of design, paver installation, plantings of green material, etc. This is a non-traditional view of selling landscaping design services, but some people aren't going to spend $20,000 or $50,000 on a backyard redo, while they may spend $550 to have a designer visit the house and give a preliminary sketch and then go to several hours of classroom instruction on how the homeowner can begin to turn the plan into reality.

Engaging this group of customers might even lead to more traditional business as the do-it-yourselfer realizes he has bitten off more than he can chew, but getting them to interact with your designer or lead installer or manager in a classroom setting gets the prospect actively involved, which is worth it's weight in gold.

> Banking does not have the reputation for being a "fun" industry in the mind of the consumer. Money is serious business, but the consumer experience can still be (and I would argue it should be) fun. So how can banks make it fun for consumers?

As long as banking is only about money, it will likely be a staid and dour environment. But when banking sees its opportunity to be about people, the fun can enter the mix, and fun is engaging.

Banks hand out deposit receipts left and right. But why are these slips of paper so boring and non-engaging? Of course, the customer wants and needs all the vital information on their receipt. But couldn't they be colorful? Fun? Advertising or promoting something of civic importance on the back?

What about an invitation to play an online banking game that the bank has developed to engage gamers (a really fun, well-designed, cutting edge game where the player gets to make loan decisions maybe, or catch the counterfeiter)? Gamers aren't only young anymore. They're well into their thirties, if not beyond (a valuable market segment for banks I should think).

What about making your bank cool and brightly colored with stunning contemporary lighting and a huge tile or carpet dollar bill on the floor in the middle of the lobby so little Johnny can jump on George Washington's face or examine the details of the bill (or chase his little sister around it).

I'd play cool music in my bank. I'd serve chocolates to people waiting to speak to a loan officer or give kids a token to play a video game every time they make a deposit or accompany their parents who make a deposit.

But where is the fun in banking now? It's all but absent, but with some creativity and people-oriented employees driving the process, banks could be a community-oriented center that people want to visit.

> You manage a retail store that sells clothing to tweens and teens. What if every Monday night you picked a customer to play their specially-created iPod playlist over the music system for an hour? I know, there would be legal and rights issues, but there are lots of teenagers who would jump at the chance to put together a playlist just for the retail store, and would be enthralled to hear their playlist played at the cool clothing store at the mall. Then, offer ten friends of the iPod owner to come in and receive a discount if they purchase during the iPod hour.

Retail stores are more than POS systems and merchandise; they're opportunities for richer, deeper, broader engagement of their customer base.

What assets do you have that could be used to better engage your prospects and customers? What can you do to supercharge your customer engagement?  What can you start doing differently than the same old same old?

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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What Great Salespeople Do

Great salespeople:

> Excel

> Inspire

> Enjoy

> Ask

> Achieve

> Sell

> Love

> Smile

> Act

> Persuade

> Entertain

> Lead

> Engage

> Learn

> Improve

> Analyze

> Like

> Mimic

> Bond

> Believe

> Laugh

> Understand

> Feel

> Relate

> Listen

> Maximize

> Plan

> Seek

> Thrive

> Create

> Deduce

> Overcome

> Leverage

> Investigate

> Close

> Synthesize

> Reflect

> Celebrate

> Help

> Desire

> Focus

> Work

> Perceive

> Invest

> Initiate

> Thank

> Enlarge

> Know

> Resist

> Nurture

> Assert

> Move

> Envision

> Call

> Respond

> Conclude

> Present

> Compete

> Customize

> Evaluate

> Persist

> Reach

> Coax

> Sole

> Thrive

If you want to be a great salesperson, just do those things!

What's missing from the list? Is there anything on the list that shouldn't be? Comment and let the world know!

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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The Selling to Consumers Love Your Customer Award #6

 
My daughter and I went to Noodles and Company in Eagan, Minnesota, for dinner last week. We placed our order at the register, and as it became time for us to pay for our order, I realized I had left my wallet at home.

Noodles' "Love Your Customer" Action #1:

I announce, "Oops, it looks like I've left my wallet at home. I'll have to cancel my order and quickly run home. I'll be back in a bit to reorder."

The manager replies, "Oh, that's no problem, just call us with your credit card number when you get home."

"That would be great! Thank you very much!" I announce, feeling genuine relief.

"Fantastic customer service," I thought. But then a few minutes later, I was blown away by what the same manager (at least I assume he was the manager) did.

Noodles' "Love Your Customer" Action #2:

As my daughter and I were waiting for our food, the manager approached us.

"Tell you what," he says, "we've taken care of the charge for your dinner tonight. Dinner is on us. Thank you for visiting us!"

"WHAT?" I exclaimed.

"We've taken care of your dinner tonight. There's no charge tonight. Please enjoy your dinner and come see us again," replied the manager.

My daughter and I looked at each other - jaws dropped to the floor - in delight. I felt like I had just won the lottery. 

Delighting your customer is no small task. My family has been delighted with the food and the service at Noodles over the years, but an extra dose of sincere delight always results in instant customer engagement, and elevated customer engagement is always a great thing for a business.

A little goodwill went a long way. Noodles got my daughter fed (the importance of which should not be underestimated whenever my daughter announces she is "starving"), and saved me from myself by allowing me to not have to take time to run home for my wallet and return to the restaurant, thereby allowing me to attend my evening meeting which would have been in jeopardy had the Noodles & Company team not been so kind.

 
[Dish recommendation: I absolutely love Noodles' "Med Salad" with chicken breast or shrimp (left). My other favorite is the "Pasta Fresca" (I substitute the whole grain fettuccine for the penne).]

My advice?

Love your customer. They just may love you back.

Noodles & Company in Eagan, Minnesota is the recipient of the Selling to Consumers' Love Your Customer Award.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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The Carnival of Trust - April 2010 Edition

I've been asked by Charles H. Green of Trust Matters to host the April 2010 edition of The Carnival of Trust. I appreciate the invitation and the opportunity. Thank you Charles, and thanks also to Ian Welsh for his help with the project.

As a sales trainer and management consultant, I believe trust is at the very core of productive sales relationships, whether those relationships are ongoing, long-term relationships (as in the relationship between an insurance agents and her accounts), or very short-term (as in the relationship between a one-call sales sales representative and his prospects).

I've selected eleven articles for the April 2010 Carnival of Trust. There's some fantastic reading here, so let's get going:

1. To Sell is to Serve by Mike Plumstead at The Marketing Corner.

Mike asks by asking a question: "When was the last time you saw a movie praising the sale profession?" Mike suggests that sellers be an honest advocate for both the company that employs them and the customer. What a novel idea!

2. What Do You Sell? A Lesson In Personal Branding by S. Anthony Iannarino on The Sales Blog 

Anthony uses the Tiger Woods situation to discuss personal branding. He talks about the importance of staying true to your brand promise. This is a great read.

3. Marketing Strategy: For God's Sake, Sell Ethically by an "unnamed ex sales guy" on Tony Vi.

The author suggests that, instead of "buyer beware," sellers would be wise to practice "seller beware." He calls for banks and other entities to restructure their selling policies for the sake of long-term sales growth over short-term gains.

4. Profits, Ethics, and Trust by Vineet Nayar at The Harvard Business Review.

Although this post is over one year old, I wanted to include it in this month's Carnival of Trust because Nayar talks about something near and dear to me: "In addition to what a company does, it is equally important to focus on how it does it."

5. The Cultural Commandments: Germany by Richard D. Lewis at Cross Culture

Lewis takes a look at what he calls "Traditional German Culture" and should be helpful for those selling in Germany. He talks about Germans seeing themselves as being direct and honest, which requires directness and honesty from anybody dealing with them.

6. Articulating Value - Trust, Integrity, Commitment and Love in Business at Sales Training Drivers

This is a bold article that dares to suggest that love be a part of selling to customers. I love it!

7. Is it Better to Be Truthful or Interesting? by Ian Brodie at The Selling Professional Services Blog

Ian tells the story of how he disagreed with an online contact about the value (or lack of value) of Twitter as a business generation tool. Read the story, but Ian concludes "It's better to be truthful." And, it helps him sleep at night. Three cheers for sleep!

8. Touch Me by Vaughan Bell at Mind Hacks

I love psychology. And this is an article about a study that looks at the emotional significance of brief physical touches from another human being. In my sales training seminars, I frequently say "We are human beings selling to human beings, so let's be more human." Touch is human.

9. The Habitual Consumer by Steve Martin at Inside Influence Report

Read about the study that gave stale popcorn to cinema customers. Some at less than normal, but some ate just as much stale popcorn as they do when the popcorn is fresh and hot. How does this influence organizational and business leaders seeking to promote change within their organizations? 

10. The World's Greatest Salesperson! by David Brock at the Partners in Excellence Blog

David writes about OgilvyOne's contest to find "The World's Greatest" salesperson. The contest has some individuals upset. There's been a lot of discussion in the sales community about this contest. This contest has promoted conversation about what selling really is and what it isn't. It's a healthy discussion we need to have. Read David's article then add your thoughts to the comments section. The comments are fascinating, too.

And finally, one more. But before the next article, I want to thank everyone for submitting posts to this month's Carnival of Trust. There were many great submissions and I enjoyed reading all of them.

11. Speed, Trust, and the ROI of Relationships by Liz Strauss at the 1to1 Blog

Strauss knows relationships. She's one of the relationship gurus of our time. How do relationships effect a company's bottom line?

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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Have I Been Spammed by a Kindergartner? (How Not to Sell Via Email)

 
Here's an email I received the other day. It illustrates how not to sell via email (and is included here exactly as I received it):

MY NAME IS MARC BATKE I LIVE IN CALGARY ALBERTS CANADA.I WORK WITH ONE OF THE TOP INVESTMENT BANKERS IN THE COUNTRY HIS NAME IS KURT SOOST. WE ARE CREATING A #1 SALES PERSON NETWORK IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES,WE ARE GOING AFTER PEOPLE THAT WANT TO BE MORE PROACTIVE AND PREVENTATIVE ABOUT THEIR HEALTH.IF YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED THEN PLEASE SEND ME A SHORT E-MAIL OR CALL ME TOLL FREE AT 1-(555)555-5555  EXT # 216

This is probably just spam, and not a legitimate sales email. But nonetheless, it offers an opportunity for analysis. And those who know me that it's difficult for me to pass up an opportunity to analyze something.

So, with this in mind, here are the problems with Marc's email from a successful selling point-of-view:

1. It is all in upper case text.

This makes it difficult to read and doesn't follow accepted conventions of email communication or common sense. MOST PEOPLE KNOW UPPER CASE TEXT IN AN EMAIL SETTING IS EQUIVALENT TO SHOUTING IN A CONVERSATIONAL SETTING.

2. The email is all about the sender, not about the recipient.

Marc, if you're going to market via email, don't make the communication about you and the "top investment banker" you work with. As a consumer, I don't care about you or him. And no recipient would. I only care about me. Send an email about me and what you can do for me.

3. Alberta is misspelled.

If you really live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, you should really know how to spell your province. I know how to spell Minnesota, after all. I'm just sayin'...

4. Make it clear what you're offering or selling.

"We are creating a #1 sales person network in different industries" and "we are going after people that want to be more proactive and preventative about their health..."

Huh?

5. Don't "go after people."

Really? You're "going after people?" Gee, sounds great to an email recipient! Where do I sign up? Thanks for "going after" me, Marc! I'm anxious to be associated with someone who "goes after people" via email. That's just what most people want, a salesperson who proudly announces "We're going after people" to his prospects.

6. It's simply too confusing.

So Marc, you're working with an investment banker...okay, I get that.

But you say you're creating a "#1 sales person network." Hmmm...I'm not sure what a "#1 sales person network" is and I'm not sure why an investment banker would be creating one.

And you're creating a #1 sales person network in "different industries." Whoops...you totally lost me there. Why different industries? And you and your investment banker buddy or boss are looking for people who "want to be more proactive about their health?" Why would an investment banker be looking for people who want to be more proactive about their health? This is simply way too confusing.

Do I smell MLM???

You lost me [press delete button].

7. It has a weak call to action.

"If you might be interested" is very weak, especially when it's not clear what I'm supposed to be interested in.

"I need four people in your industry and already have three. If you think you could possibly be the fourth person to join us, call me directly at my office before April 12 at 1 pm Eastern and we'll talk" would be much stronger.

Marc, please mail me $2500 for that advice because I'm "going after" business people who write poor sales emails.

8. It's a generally accepted principle of writing that one places periods at the end of each sentence, and a space after each period.

I count three missed periods, one missed comma, a comma used where a period should have been used, and a bunch of missed spaces after periods.

My third grade daughter knows you put periods after each sentence and a space after each period. Why don't you know this, Marc? In fact, my daughter knew this in second grade. Come to think of it, she knew this in first grade ("grade one" for you, Marc, in Canada).

Hold up. Wait a minute. Hmmm. Marc? Are you a...kindergartner?

Now I get it, Marc! Okay, look, log off of mommy's computer now, and go tell her you've been using her computer to send poorly written spam sales emails.

And tell Mommy the caps lock is on.

NOW GO HAVE A TIME OUT.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.

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