Hey, Jay here,
I have recently been asked by quite a few people to write some blogs on the new generation sales paradigm that I have alluded to in some of my previous posts. So, here we go….
Part 1.
I thought I’d start by looking at the old paradigm of sales and why it is no longer valid in our brave new (information-rich) world.
The old methodologies - the sales processes that have come and gone through the ’80s and ’90s - including the hard sell approach, the consultative approach, the SPIN approach (to mention a few well known sales methodologies), all presuppose that the sales person must have all the answers and inevitably position the product as a means to an end. Most of these sales approaches use the product (and therefore product knowledge) as leverage in the sales process, often to invite interest and buy-in from the client to the sales conversation itself.
Most ‘good’ sales people that I have met, have been trained (at some stage) to “close” at every opportunity.
Most of the ‘good’ sales people have also admitted to me that they are often at a loss for how to make sense of buyers and what really motivates them to buy. Motivation is only one part of the buying puzzle. As we’ll discover buying is much more complex than just motivation.
We have been told time and time again, by industry training guru’s to become adept at handling and resolving objections and to become product experts, to learn more about our product and industry than anyone else. We have been told that we should “question, understand, identify, empathize and test” in order to prove that the product can overcome the client’s objection(s). (Ziglar on Selling, 1992).
Well here’s the rub! The old paradigm, (the above approach) actually creates most of the issues that it tries to resolve. Sharon Drew Morgan, (a breath of fresh air to the sales industry) was the first to get her head around this concept many years back, and so brought awareness of the gap between our aspirations and behaviour in the sales environment.
Sharon Drew’s concept of objections are a perfect example of this. Morgan says that objections* are created through the process of putting forward a product/solution without helping the client find the context for change.
According to Morgan, the biggest hitch in the old paradigm approach is that as a process it does not help the buyer to make a decision.
As a people coach, I have to agree.
Change is not something that happens easily for us humans because change is actually quite a complex process. We have to go through a contextual or perceptual shift, in order to change the status quo (the current situation).
To sell is to ask the buyer to change their status quo. The buyer firstly needs to understand what has to be considered in for change to occur? They need to to look at the consequences of not changing versus the potential payoffs of changing. They need to consider the impacts of action versus inaction. They need to test and challenge, and be challenged through the process. Does this all sound like mumbo jumbo?
Well another way to look at this is that a buyer will only buy from us once they are motivated to change and have made a decision to change, by identifying why things ought to change, and deciding that it’s time to make that change now.
Here’s a story that may help get a better understanding of what I am talking about.
I was recently in a friend’s car, driving to Sydney from Katoomba (about 2 hours on the freeway) and I noticed that the oil light was lit up on his dashboard, and that he seemed totally oblivious to it. When I enquired about it, my friend, Jason, told me that it meant nothing because it ‘always’ came on and therefore must be faulty. I thought on this for a while and asked “How would you know that it was time to get that fixed?” “Well”, answered Jason, “when the car breaks down, i’ll know something’s really wrong”. We laughed. I then asked about what Jason’s plans for the next few weeks were, only to uncover that he was planning a long distance trip (in the car) with his partner and young baby. Nothing more was said on the subject. The next week I caught a lift across town with Jason and guess what? The car had been serviced and the red light had been fixed.
The paradox is that unless a client can figure out why they are maintaining their current context – that is the structure of the status quo, there is no motivation or appetite for change. If the seller pushes their solution without first facilitating this part of the change process, they only serve to strengthen the buyers resolve to maintain the status quo. Doh!@
Here in Australia, a few years back there was a customer satisfaction survey conducted by Gallup that indicated that the sales process itself was one of the main causes of customer dissatisfaction, staff attrition, increased costs and reduced profits. I witnessed this first hand in the Telecommunications industry (here in Australia) as well.
Every business at some stage must face the reality that the old paradigm sales process is incongruent with current cultural norms, values and principles (many of the same values that they promote as part of their brand) held by most businesses and consumers. They will eventually, through market forces, have to accept that the old way of selling is no longer a successful strategy for market longevity.
So, if this old paradigm sales process has worked in the past, why doesn’t it work today? Has the culture, the mindset and the values of the population really changed that much? And if so, how has that happened?
The answer is yes, in the last 20 odd years we have seen more cultural change than ever before.
This is the result of a combination of factors, including the huge technological advances we have made. The emergence of mobiles, computers, mass-market access to high speed Internet (and therefore data), easy access to low cost travel, globalisation of markets, shifting societal values, etc.
Because of this, buyers are no longer interested in being provided with information that they themselves can research on Google, particularly from a sales person whose primary motivation is in making a sale!
Buyers want, and need, to make their own decisions, and they need to figure out how to do that before they become interested in how our product or solution might fit what they’re looking for.
So where do we start as a sales person? How do we begin the journey of changing the way we approach the buyer?
Selling is actually a process rather than an outcome. It has a structure and a context. It also must be built on rapport and trust. The sales person must create a shared feeling (Morgan calls this the ‘we space’) of trust and integrity, where the client feels comfortable with, and engaged in - the process.
As Morgan says, ‘without rapport there is no buyer. Without a buyer, there is no sale’.
The new generation sales paradigm begins with one overarching frame of mind. That is, the seller does not and cannot possibly understand or know the buyer’s business or personal situation as well as the buyer does. The sales person cannot possibly understand the complexities involved in the buyer’s environment. How could they? Even the buyer usually doesn’t know! If the buyer cannot see how to adjust their environment to accommodate a new solution (representing change), they will resist change itself.
If that’s the case, then sales people can stop kidding themselves and stop wasting energy chasing shadows. All that energy can then be harnessed to facilitate change.
Sales people must become coaches and coach the buyer through the process of change in order to help them understand how to buy.
The consequences of not facilitating change in this way are well known; long drawn out sales cycles; a high number of callbacks, huge time wastage, increased average handling statistics, high-level management intervention, and high associated costs (therefore eroding profits). It impacts on the bottom line, and it can be avoided.
What kind of beliefs do we need to have to be able to accept this new approach? What do we need to adjust?
Who do we need to become to facilitate an ecological interaction that allows for an ongoing customer relationship?
That will be the focus of part of this series.
I hope this helps!
As always, please feel free to leave your comments – all comments are more than welcome!
Jay
* Objections are actually a very useful feedback signal telling us that we are approaching the buyer in a way that’s creating resistance. Objections then become a very useful sales tool in the new paradigm approach.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sales Coaching - Learning to sell by learning how to buy
Hey, Jay here,
Recently one of our new business coaches admitted to me that they were fearful of selling. “It isn’t that I hate selling, it’s just that I don’t really like it” said Sarah. It was a preference. Sarah didn’t see herself as the ’sales type’.
How many sales people do you think really feel like this?
Many of the sales managers and sales people I speak to, admit there are times when they don’t actually like selling. Many say that there are certain sales tasks or aspects to selling that they don’t like.
“I have just the assignment for you then Sarah”, I said.
The assignment was to find a lead generation company (outsourcing or b2b telemarketing) to generate leads for one of our clients, a software developer. I told Sally I wanted ‘the best lead generation company in the Australian marketplace’.
The client’s criteria was this:
Must be professional
Must be able to show ROI (value for money)
Have a good track record in software (our client was a software developer)
Be willing to provide customer referrals
Their people must have experience talking with HR Directors, CEOs and top level execs of top 100 companies
Have a simple approach to their fee structure (no hidden charges)
Be customer centric in their approach (by providing a high level of customer service)
Understand the new developments in sales language (e.g. reframing, presuppositions etc.)
“OK”, said Sarah, “Sounds like a reasonable laundry list - i’ll get to it, but before i do, what does this have to do with learning how to sell?”
Good question - “Just take note of how these guys try to sell to you during the process” I said.
I left the decision on which Lead Generation company we would recommended to our client, up to Sarah. I call that the responsibility model - you’d be surprised how well it works!
3 days later Sarah reported her findings to me (there were questions/brief discussions in between). The discussion went like this:
Sarah: Wow, what an experience that was. It was an exercise in how not to sell…
Jay: Why what happened?
Sarah: Where do I start? Most of the sales people talked at me and only one actually asked what it was I was looking for… One company! Aren’t these guys supposed to be modelling their sales skills at this point?
Jay: Bad start eh? So what’d ya do?
Sarah: I listened to loads of their crap and tried to wade through it - that’s what I did.
Jay: How many companies did you speak to?
Sarah: 12!
Jay: Wow, that’s a lot of conversations, so what’s the upshot?
Sarah: I found 2 companies that come close to matching the criteria, and eliminated one by asking “So, say I gave you the business right now, tell me what we would do next?”
Jay: Oh no!
Sarah: Yep, the response was a long winded diatribe of excuses and responsibility shuffling. And when I asked for references, they said their policy was not to give out client information. What the…..? It was a big ‘bedow’ (Sarah’s a big sale of the century fan) from me.
Jay: So you’ve decided?
Sarah: Yes, I decided on one of the more expensive options because they addressed that majority of our client’s criteria, particularly their experience with execs and hey they specialise in calling for software companies! This guy had the referrals and the language down pat. But the part that won me was that they asked questions that I didn’t have answers to. They challenged me to go and find them (and liase with our client).
Jay: OK, pull togther a brief and we’ll present to our client on Monday. Hey, what else did you learn?
Sarah: I think that I learned how to sell by learning how to buy. I learned that sales is about being curious - about asking questions to help the client understand what they don’t already know, yeah, that’s what I learned!
Jay: Great job Sarah, and where’s the fear of selling gone?
Sarah: I haven’t quite got an answer to that yet - though I will say that my ability to sell is definitely connected to my belief and values systems…
Jay: Huh, how about that!
That’s it, as usual, comments are encouraged; hope this helps!
Jay
Recently one of our new business coaches admitted to me that they were fearful of selling. “It isn’t that I hate selling, it’s just that I don’t really like it” said Sarah. It was a preference. Sarah didn’t see herself as the ’sales type’.
How many sales people do you think really feel like this?
Many of the sales managers and sales people I speak to, admit there are times when they don’t actually like selling. Many say that there are certain sales tasks or aspects to selling that they don’t like.
“I have just the assignment for you then Sarah”, I said.
The assignment was to find a lead generation company (outsourcing or b2b telemarketing) to generate leads for one of our clients, a software developer. I told Sally I wanted ‘the best lead generation company in the Australian marketplace’.
The client’s criteria was this:
Must be professional
Must be able to show ROI (value for money)
Have a good track record in software (our client was a software developer)
Be willing to provide customer referrals
Their people must have experience talking with HR Directors, CEOs and top level execs of top 100 companies
Have a simple approach to their fee structure (no hidden charges)
Be customer centric in their approach (by providing a high level of customer service)
Understand the new developments in sales language (e.g. reframing, presuppositions etc.)
“OK”, said Sarah, “Sounds like a reasonable laundry list - i’ll get to it, but before i do, what does this have to do with learning how to sell?”
Good question - “Just take note of how these guys try to sell to you during the process” I said.
I left the decision on which Lead Generation company we would recommended to our client, up to Sarah. I call that the responsibility model - you’d be surprised how well it works!
3 days later Sarah reported her findings to me (there were questions/brief discussions in between). The discussion went like this:
Sarah: Wow, what an experience that was. It was an exercise in how not to sell…
Jay: Why what happened?
Sarah: Where do I start? Most of the sales people talked at me and only one actually asked what it was I was looking for… One company! Aren’t these guys supposed to be modelling their sales skills at this point?
Jay: Bad start eh? So what’d ya do?
Sarah: I listened to loads of their crap and tried to wade through it - that’s what I did.
Jay: How many companies did you speak to?
Sarah: 12!
Jay: Wow, that’s a lot of conversations, so what’s the upshot?
Sarah: I found 2 companies that come close to matching the criteria, and eliminated one by asking “So, say I gave you the business right now, tell me what we would do next?”
Jay: Oh no!
Sarah: Yep, the response was a long winded diatribe of excuses and responsibility shuffling. And when I asked for references, they said their policy was not to give out client information. What the…..? It was a big ‘bedow’ (Sarah’s a big sale of the century fan) from me.
Jay: So you’ve decided?
Sarah: Yes, I decided on one of the more expensive options because they addressed that majority of our client’s criteria, particularly their experience with execs and hey they specialise in calling for software companies! This guy had the referrals and the language down pat. But the part that won me was that they asked questions that I didn’t have answers to. They challenged me to go and find them (and liase with our client).
Jay: OK, pull togther a brief and we’ll present to our client on Monday. Hey, what else did you learn?
Sarah: I think that I learned how to sell by learning how to buy. I learned that sales is about being curious - about asking questions to help the client understand what they don’t already know, yeah, that’s what I learned!
Jay: Great job Sarah, and where’s the fear of selling gone?
Sarah: I haven’t quite got an answer to that yet - though I will say that my ability to sell is definitely connected to my belief and values systems…
Jay: Huh, how about that!
That’s it, as usual, comments are encouraged; hope this helps!
Jay
Sales Coaching - How not to sell; a customer centric story
Hey, Jay here.
Recently, I was working with a good client of mine, helping them find a suitable Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) that would help them manage their leads, their contacts and their sales activity.
That should be easy, I thought, there are some clear leaders in this field, with superior products and services. It should just be a matter of matching up my client’s needs with a well known and respected provider.
How wrong was I!
Firstly it was hard to find someone that wanted to listen. A simple thing, taught at most reputable sales training programs - ‘god gave you 2 ears and one mouth’, ’shut up and listen and double your sales’…
Secondly, it was hard to find someone that would call us back!
When they finally did, I set up an online demo with my client and one of the market leaders. I thought, ‘thank god, maybe we can get on with this now’.
How wrong I was!
The following is an edited transcript of that online session (the seller was 10 minutes late):
Seller: “Hi how ya doing, wow it’s been a long week, we had a bit of a do last night with the team - end of month, my apologies i’m a bit hung over”
Client: “No problem, sounds like your team is doing well”
Seller: “Yeah it’s been a big month!” “Ok, if you go to www.gotomeeting.com and type in the following you should be able to see my screen…”
Note: The seller didn’t send that through prior to the session!
Client, 15 mins later: “OK, i’m logged on”
Seller, at about 300 words a minute: “OK, so if you look at the top of the screen you’ll notice a menu list, blah, blah, blah, click on the leads tab and you’ll notice, blah, blah, blah, and then if you go to the menu list you’ll see a blah, blah, blah…”
Client: “Sorry to stop you, but can I ask questions as we go, can we make this session interactive?”
Seller: “Yeah, i’d actually prefer to keep going, because I find that when I do, I end up answering most of your questions as we go, can you write them down, and I can answer any not covered later. Is that OK?”
Client: “Well ah, sure”
Oh, bad move, I know my client and he is NOT happy being shut down like that, but he is too polite to say anything.
Seller: “So, blah, blah blah ginger, blah, blah, blah….”
Client: “I’m sorry, but my screen hasn’t caught up yet and because it is really important to me that I cover all this stuff off, could I ask that you slow down a bit”.
Seller: “Where are you up to?”
Client: “About 3 - 5 screens behind I think, I can’t tell”
Seller: “Well that’s just wierd, I’ve never had this problem before and i’ve done hundreds of presentations like this”. “Jay is your connection OK” - yes it was.
Client: “Yeah, well it’s a bit of a problem for me, could you slow down a bit while I catch up - oh there we go - please continue - but a bit slower”
Seller at 300 words per minute: “OKAY….. where were we, right, blah, blah, blah ginger, blah, blah, blah”
Seller: “So you keepin’ up there Bill, ha, huh…”
Client: “No i’m quite lost, but just continue and Jay can debrief me later”
Seller: “Ok, Jay you with me…. blah, blah, blah ginger, blah, blah, blah”
The call ended with my client responding with one word sentences (which was really different to how he started the conversation) and an agreement to trial the tool for the next month free of charge (a generous offer).
My client didn’t buy. In fact he said he’d rather chew his own arm off, despite the fact that he loved the tool.
So let’s look at where the seller went wrong.
Firstly the seller didn’t ask a single question about what we were using now, and what is was we were looking for (going forward). They didn’t ask about why we were now looking for a CRM solution - about what had recently changed - that meant we now needed to seek one.
They didn’t ask a single question about what was important to us in a CRM (our values), and not a single question about how we would decide (decision criteria) which CRM was right for us. In fact they didn’t ask a single question of us at all, before launching into their presentation.
Secondly, the seller invalidated my client’s needs and made him feel unimportant - “yeah, i’d actually prefer to keep going, because I find”. It was becoming clear that this was all about the seller and not about my client.
Thirdly, the seller totally lost rapport (they had it at the start, so it must have been a real mystery to them as to what happened?) when they ignored my clients request to slow the pace and inadvertently called him “wierd”.
Pacing and basic language control is absolutely core to rapport - that’s NLP 101! As Sharon drew Morgan says, “without rapport, there is no buyer, without a buyer there is no sale.” How true for this seller.
Finally, the seller completely ignored the obvious decision maker (not that she identified him upfront) and alienated him.
I was embarrassed to be there, I was embarrassed to have to discuss it afterwards, with my client.
The seller was a clear market leader, this was a senior account manager. This provider charges double what anyone else charges. And they were absolutely appauling in their sales execution.
That’s how not to sell! That’s how not to make a sale.
We decided to go with a neat little solution from Zoho. The best part is that it’s totally free and we didn’t have to talk with a single sales person - check it out - http://crm.zoho.com
Thanks for reading, hope this helps.
Jay
Recently, I was working with a good client of mine, helping them find a suitable Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) that would help them manage their leads, their contacts and their sales activity.
That should be easy, I thought, there are some clear leaders in this field, with superior products and services. It should just be a matter of matching up my client’s needs with a well known and respected provider.
How wrong was I!
Firstly it was hard to find someone that wanted to listen. A simple thing, taught at most reputable sales training programs - ‘god gave you 2 ears and one mouth’, ’shut up and listen and double your sales’…
Secondly, it was hard to find someone that would call us back!
When they finally did, I set up an online demo with my client and one of the market leaders. I thought, ‘thank god, maybe we can get on with this now’.
How wrong I was!
The following is an edited transcript of that online session (the seller was 10 minutes late):
Seller: “Hi how ya doing, wow it’s been a long week, we had a bit of a do last night with the team - end of month, my apologies i’m a bit hung over”
Client: “No problem, sounds like your team is doing well”
Seller: “Yeah it’s been a big month!” “Ok, if you go to www.gotomeeting.com and type in the following you should be able to see my screen…”
Note: The seller didn’t send that through prior to the session!
Client, 15 mins later: “OK, i’m logged on”
Seller, at about 300 words a minute: “OK, so if you look at the top of the screen you’ll notice a menu list, blah, blah, blah, click on the leads tab and you’ll notice, blah, blah, blah, and then if you go to the menu list you’ll see a blah, blah, blah…”
Client: “Sorry to stop you, but can I ask questions as we go, can we make this session interactive?”
Seller: “Yeah, i’d actually prefer to keep going, because I find that when I do, I end up answering most of your questions as we go, can you write them down, and I can answer any not covered later. Is that OK?”
Client: “Well ah, sure”
Oh, bad move, I know my client and he is NOT happy being shut down like that, but he is too polite to say anything.
Seller: “So, blah, blah blah ginger, blah, blah, blah….”
Client: “I’m sorry, but my screen hasn’t caught up yet and because it is really important to me that I cover all this stuff off, could I ask that you slow down a bit”.
Seller: “Where are you up to?”
Client: “About 3 - 5 screens behind I think, I can’t tell”
Seller: “Well that’s just wierd, I’ve never had this problem before and i’ve done hundreds of presentations like this”. “Jay is your connection OK” - yes it was.
Client: “Yeah, well it’s a bit of a problem for me, could you slow down a bit while I catch up - oh there we go - please continue - but a bit slower”
Seller at 300 words per minute: “OKAY….. where were we, right, blah, blah, blah ginger, blah, blah, blah”
Seller: “So you keepin’ up there Bill, ha, huh…”
Client: “No i’m quite lost, but just continue and Jay can debrief me later”
Seller: “Ok, Jay you with me…. blah, blah, blah ginger, blah, blah, blah”
The call ended with my client responding with one word sentences (which was really different to how he started the conversation) and an agreement to trial the tool for the next month free of charge (a generous offer).
My client didn’t buy. In fact he said he’d rather chew his own arm off, despite the fact that he loved the tool.
So let’s look at where the seller went wrong.
Firstly the seller didn’t ask a single question about what we were using now, and what is was we were looking for (going forward). They didn’t ask about why we were now looking for a CRM solution - about what had recently changed - that meant we now needed to seek one.
They didn’t ask a single question about what was important to us in a CRM (our values), and not a single question about how we would decide (decision criteria) which CRM was right for us. In fact they didn’t ask a single question of us at all, before launching into their presentation.
Secondly, the seller invalidated my client’s needs and made him feel unimportant - “yeah, i’d actually prefer to keep going, because I find”. It was becoming clear that this was all about the seller and not about my client.
Thirdly, the seller totally lost rapport (they had it at the start, so it must have been a real mystery to them as to what happened?) when they ignored my clients request to slow the pace and inadvertently called him “wierd”.
Pacing and basic language control is absolutely core to rapport - that’s NLP 101! As Sharon drew Morgan says, “without rapport, there is no buyer, without a buyer there is no sale.” How true for this seller.
Finally, the seller completely ignored the obvious decision maker (not that she identified him upfront) and alienated him.
I was embarrassed to be there, I was embarrassed to have to discuss it afterwards, with my client.
The seller was a clear market leader, this was a senior account manager. This provider charges double what anyone else charges. And they were absolutely appauling in their sales execution.
That’s how not to sell! That’s how not to make a sale.
We decided to go with a neat little solution from Zoho. The best part is that it’s totally free and we didn’t have to talk with a single sales person - check it out - http://crm.zoho.com
Thanks for reading, hope this helps.
Jay
Sales Coaching - Making online Social Networking work for you
Hey, Jay here,
Open networking is without doubt the future of job recruitment and work recruitment, as well as a great way to distribute valuable money making information and ideas. Open networking is at the very heart of a new generationsales paradigm.
The problem is, that most open networkers have got it wrong!
Most open networkers are ‘out there’ on Linked In, Facebook, My Space etc. pushing their own barrow and ’selling’ themselves to their extended network (hundreds or possibly thousands of people) in the hope that they might jag a good connection.
This is what I call old paradigm sales, which was created back in the early 20th century by Dale Carnegie and has been built upon by many others since. This form of ’soap box’ selling was created* to help people get the knowledge they required to make an informed decision.
Well, life has changed and because of the overwhelming nature of life in the naughties, people will and do resist this type of approach, both in sales and in networking. What’s needed is a new generation sales approach to something as innovative as online social networking.
So networking, what does it mean?
Wikipedia describes a network as any interconnected group or system. More specifically, I define a network as a method of sharing information between multiple systems (ie. human and technological). Networking is the act of sharing ideas, concepts and information of value among a group of like minded people.
The key to successful networking lies in that concept.
The key to successfully leveraging the power of your network is to promote others from your network ahead of yourself.
That sounds simple and a bit weird right? Well it is THAT simple.
While it comes from the concept of karma ‘give and you shall receive of that giving’, that’s not the premise of this strategy.
I’ll give you the reasons why it’s so powerful:
a) It sets you up as an authority - the heart and soul of your network; the spokesperson; the go to person in a given field or area.
b) It allows you to shine that light on others, therefore setting them up as experts. It obviously also helps if they are!
c) It creates a much deeper connection with your network. People are far more likely to recommend you given the opportunity, because you have already recommended them many, many times before.
d) It builds unconscious trust between you and the people in your network that you know, and people you don’t yet know (in your hopefully ever expanding network).
e) At it’s core, this way of networking is about connecting people, and that’s what networking is really all about, isn’t it?
f) Finally all the many hidden surprises that i’m not going to spoil for you. You’ll have to find out for your self!
So, how do I build my network? That’s the topic of another blog to come.
See some of my links for more details in the meantime.
As always, comments welcome and encouraged!
*Soap box selling was created during the times when ships were the ONLY form of mass transportation between countries (like US and Australia) and ports were a hub of ’sales’ activity. Sales people would literally get up on their soap boxes to talk about their goods.
I hope this helps!
As always, please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments.
Thanks, Jay
Open networking is without doubt the future of job recruitment and work recruitment, as well as a great way to distribute valuable money making information and ideas. Open networking is at the very heart of a new generationsales paradigm.
The problem is, that most open networkers have got it wrong!
Most open networkers are ‘out there’ on Linked In, Facebook, My Space etc. pushing their own barrow and ’selling’ themselves to their extended network (hundreds or possibly thousands of people) in the hope that they might jag a good connection.
This is what I call old paradigm sales, which was created back in the early 20th century by Dale Carnegie and has been built upon by many others since. This form of ’soap box’ selling was created* to help people get the knowledge they required to make an informed decision.
Well, life has changed and because of the overwhelming nature of life in the naughties, people will and do resist this type of approach, both in sales and in networking. What’s needed is a new generation sales approach to something as innovative as online social networking.
So networking, what does it mean?
Wikipedia describes a network as any interconnected group or system. More specifically, I define a network as a method of sharing information between multiple systems (ie. human and technological). Networking is the act of sharing ideas, concepts and information of value among a group of like minded people.
The key to successful networking lies in that concept.
The key to successfully leveraging the power of your network is to promote others from your network ahead of yourself.
That sounds simple and a bit weird right? Well it is THAT simple.
While it comes from the concept of karma ‘give and you shall receive of that giving’, that’s not the premise of this strategy.
I’ll give you the reasons why it’s so powerful:
a) It sets you up as an authority - the heart and soul of your network; the spokesperson; the go to person in a given field or area.
b) It allows you to shine that light on others, therefore setting them up as experts. It obviously also helps if they are!
c) It creates a much deeper connection with your network. People are far more likely to recommend you given the opportunity, because you have already recommended them many, many times before.
d) It builds unconscious trust between you and the people in your network that you know, and people you don’t yet know (in your hopefully ever expanding network).
e) At it’s core, this way of networking is about connecting people, and that’s what networking is really all about, isn’t it?
f) Finally all the many hidden surprises that i’m not going to spoil for you. You’ll have to find out for your self!
So, how do I build my network? That’s the topic of another blog to come.
See some of my links for more details in the meantime.
As always, comments welcome and encouraged!
*Soap box selling was created during the times when ships were the ONLY form of mass transportation between countries (like US and Australia) and ports were a hub of ’sales’ activity. Sales people would literally get up on their soap boxes to talk about their goods.
I hope this helps!
As always, please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments.
Thanks, Jay
Lead Generation - Creating sales energy; lead generation systems to take your business to the next level
Hey, Jay here,
This blog is about how small to medium businesses can create successful ‘lead generation systems’ to create more sales from better qualified (ideal) clients, in a more efficient and effective way.
The process of generating new business leads begins with you defining your target market. Whilst that may seem difficult, it is a relatively simple process.
1. Define your target market (designing a customer centric business from scratch):
An organisation (no matter how large or small) must have a defined target market; which can best be described as the identification of the most probable (or ideal) customer, in order to produce the best results for the business; for the purposes of marketing and sales. Your most probable customer – your primary target market - will become the focal point of your sales and marketing strategies. This has been termed as targeted marketing by Michael Gerber, Author of the E-Myth series.
Michael Gerber in his book E-myth Mastery says, “By dedicating your business to the satisfaction of that customer (and their needs), you set the stage for success in the market, financial well-being, and competitive advantage.”
Defining the businesses target market is perhaps the most important strategic task (from a sales and revenue perspective) to be undertaken. It (by definition) determines how your products/solutions will be marketed, packaged and sold (according to the client’s requirements, of course):
A. Set up a product Grid for the businesses products/services that you offer (with the products listed down the left hand side (as below)
Product a
Product b
Service a
etc.
B. List products/services in the order of preference, as defined by your customers buying habits (by what sells best or what brings in the most revenue etc.)
C. List your various customer types on the bottom axis of the grid (eg. consumer, small business, corporate, one off, consistent-purchaser etc.)
D. Complete the sales (services sold) and profit margins (revenue/income) for each segment over the past 12 months (+ other demographics as required)
E. Design primary and secondary target markets from your evaluation of the data
F. Design a demographic model from the evaluated data by identifying the ideal target customer, their size, segment type, their location, the average revenue per deal, the effort to attract and retain them, their desirability (emotional), the ease of execution, their financial status (payment history) etc. These are common business characteristics known as demographics.
The other angle to consider is psychographics (buyer behaviour); looking at when people buy, why they buy (what core issues are being resolved through the purchase) and determining why a customer would buy your services at all, and then over your competitor’s offerings.
2. Define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP):
Your USP is nothing more than a short statement that defines ‘what is unique about your business?’. This must be stated from the customer’s perspective (it must be customer centric). The USP should speak to the unconscious mind of the customer as well as the conscious mind- E.G. Apple Macintosh; ‘Give your child a head start, give them an Apple‘. This statement presupposes the unconscious link to apples (the fruit) and their health giving properties and therefore their VALUE to your children. It is also very simple!
The key to a good USP:
A. Make it short, keep it simple
B. Leave room for imagination
C. Keep it positive
D. Give it impact!
E. Define it as a solution and not a commodity
F. Focus on the customer benefit aspects (put yourself in your customer’s shoes)
G. Be persuasive and innovative
After defining your USP, you then move to defining your businesses ‘core story’ or stadium pitch (Chet Holmes) and the lead generation strategies (both inbound, like a web campaign, and outbound like a calling and mail campaign).
3. Stadium Pitch or Core Story
A stadium pitch is really a core story that informs you of how to focus your marketing activities.
Chet Holmes says that ‘designing a great pitch is also called setting the buying criteria in your favour’. The stadium pitch has to be designed to motivate and influence your targeted buyer. It is therefore often controversial in nature (to help create a unique position) and is driven by your client/issue-based research (see research below) and the USP.
The question to ask yourself at this point is, ‘what information (and supporting data) would set the buying criteria in my favour?’ As Chet Holmes says, data makes your information work harder for you.
Your stadium pitch should be written out and memorised (with passion) by all your sales/client facing people and used in the presentation phase of the sales process.
4. Market-based research:
Market Based research is the data that makes your information work harder for you. The trick with Market Research is to identify a trend or piece of data that supports your Stadium Pitch and USP, and positions you above your competition. It could be trends that show why the market for your services has grown ahead of other similar services etc. The Bureau of Statistics (in your country) is a great source of data, as is Google, Google Analytics, Google trends, Google Knol, various SEO tools - (http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/index.php) and many other similar resources. You can also commission your own client surveys to identify your industry trends, frustrations, needs and key issues.
5. Designing your outbound sales strategy:
Point five is about designing some powerful strategies (the how) to get you in right front of your target market.
Once your target market has been defined, the key to targeting your marketing efforts is to identify the very best buyers in that market. Again, market research here can help guide your marketing efforts. Who is buying the services (that you offer) or requires the services (that you offer) in your defined target market? And why?
Best buyers can also be defined as your ideal clients.
Once defined (you can use a list provider to provide the contact details), these organisations become the ultimate targets for your targeted outbound campaign. Choose 200 - 500 of them (Chet Holmes calls these your ‘dream clients’) and focus all your efforts on getting your message out to these people.
Your marketing message can be in the form of a targeted letter, an email, a blog link (like this one), brochure or advert (etc.) that is sent to your begins to ask and answer questions that these people are asking of themselves (key issues). It could be an invite to attend a forum or breakfast session, or an invite to trial your services at a special rate, etc. It could be tickets to industry speakers at a trade show you are attending…. It could be an invite to attend an evening of experts talking about the services that you yourself offer…
Your marketing must be focused and repetitive (although the key message changes regularly) and designed to capture the interest of those buyers.
Once you have decided on your campaign, and have begun sending your message out, you then follow up with a phone call (no more than 1 week later), newsletters, more white papers etc. highlighting some key issues as well as some solutions (see the ‘how to write a white paper’ link below for more details).
6. Defining your inbound web strategy:
Your inbound web strategy will take time and resources to design and implement. It is often best done well over time. That way, the revenue that the website brings generates can help fund the future expansion and required resources.
Your web strategy begins with a call to action written into the home page and subsequent pages (see how Penny Marshall does that at http://perrymarshall.com/whitepapers/). It also includes the design of some simple white-papers (that are attractive to your target market), links to and from social groups like Face Book, Linked In, etc. as well as lots of activity on blogs such as wordpress, google knol etc. (approximately 2-3 pages long) on topics that will be of ongoing interest to your target market.
This leads us to the obvious question of ‘how do I know what will be of interest to these people?’ The simple answer is to ask them. I suggest you commission an online survey, cold call your target market and ask them 3 quick questions about what they would like to see or know in relation to your services.
Once the white papers have been written, .pdf them and place them in your online (web) library, on your social pages (Linked In) and on your blogs etc. Repetition of key words is critical (it is imperative that you identify the key Google search phrases that your target market are searching for); see SEO Tools for more details (http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/index.php), where you can find out what people are currently Google-ing* and you can use these keywords in your articles. That way, the internet-bots or spiders (webcrawlers) will pick up your articles and display them in the organic search section of the key search engines. This however is only one way of driving inbound traffic. There are also many other ways to do this and you are best off consulting a professional web optimisation company (SEO) to assist you in executing your strategy.
Next you must ensure that your pages are set up so that when someone wants to download a white paper they MUST input their details (name, company, email, phone, position etc.). These details then need to be linked into your customer database for future contact (newsletters, mailers, letters etc.). If you have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, the inbound contacts can then be managed and regulated through that system, which is even better. If not, there are many free online CRM systems that can help (E.G. Zoho - www.zoho.com and Etelos - http://www.etelos.com/).
Other ideas that you can explore are creating Vodcasts (moving picture speak a thousand words), Audiocasts, the design and production of online Services Guides, FAQ documents, online Web Forums and online Conferences (E.G. edna.edu.au, Google conferences etc.), which can be promoted from your site.
7. Other inbound strategies
Other inbound strategies include striking up strategic alliances with other non-competitive organisations that market to your target customer (audience). This extremely powerful when done well and very cost effective (swapping customer data-bases, co marketing etc.). You can also form strategic alliances by identifying non-competitive tools and resources that your customers are searching for and bundle them with your products/services. Many top organisations have been doing this for decades (airlines/car rentals – telcos/electronics companies, food/beverage companies, consultants/survey providers etc.)
Other ideas include sponsoring business award programs, joining your industry’s speaker’s circuit, writing articles for industry publications, joining expert panels etc.
I hope this helps!
Please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments - all are welcome.
Thanks, Jay
This blog is about how small to medium businesses can create successful ‘lead generation systems’ to create more sales from better qualified (ideal) clients, in a more efficient and effective way.
The process of generating new business leads begins with you defining your target market. Whilst that may seem difficult, it is a relatively simple process.
1. Define your target market (designing a customer centric business from scratch):
An organisation (no matter how large or small) must have a defined target market; which can best be described as the identification of the most probable (or ideal) customer, in order to produce the best results for the business; for the purposes of marketing and sales. Your most probable customer – your primary target market - will become the focal point of your sales and marketing strategies. This has been termed as targeted marketing by Michael Gerber, Author of the E-Myth series.
Michael Gerber in his book E-myth Mastery says, “By dedicating your business to the satisfaction of that customer (and their needs), you set the stage for success in the market, financial well-being, and competitive advantage.”
Defining the businesses target market is perhaps the most important strategic task (from a sales and revenue perspective) to be undertaken. It (by definition) determines how your products/solutions will be marketed, packaged and sold (according to the client’s requirements, of course):
A. Set up a product Grid for the businesses products/services that you offer (with the products listed down the left hand side (as below)
Product a
Product b
Service a
etc.
B. List products/services in the order of preference, as defined by your customers buying habits (by what sells best or what brings in the most revenue etc.)
C. List your various customer types on the bottom axis of the grid (eg. consumer, small business, corporate, one off, consistent-purchaser etc.)
D. Complete the sales (services sold) and profit margins (revenue/income) for each segment over the past 12 months (+ other demographics as required)
E. Design primary and secondary target markets from your evaluation of the data
F. Design a demographic model from the evaluated data by identifying the ideal target customer, their size, segment type, their location, the average revenue per deal, the effort to attract and retain them, their desirability (emotional), the ease of execution, their financial status (payment history) etc. These are common business characteristics known as demographics.
The other angle to consider is psychographics (buyer behaviour); looking at when people buy, why they buy (what core issues are being resolved through the purchase) and determining why a customer would buy your services at all, and then over your competitor’s offerings.
2. Define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP):
Your USP is nothing more than a short statement that defines ‘what is unique about your business?’. This must be stated from the customer’s perspective (it must be customer centric). The USP should speak to the unconscious mind of the customer as well as the conscious mind- E.G. Apple Macintosh; ‘Give your child a head start, give them an Apple‘. This statement presupposes the unconscious link to apples (the fruit) and their health giving properties and therefore their VALUE to your children. It is also very simple!
The key to a good USP:
A. Make it short, keep it simple
B. Leave room for imagination
C. Keep it positive
D. Give it impact!
E. Define it as a solution and not a commodity
F. Focus on the customer benefit aspects (put yourself in your customer’s shoes)
G. Be persuasive and innovative
After defining your USP, you then move to defining your businesses ‘core story’ or stadium pitch (Chet Holmes) and the lead generation strategies (both inbound, like a web campaign, and outbound like a calling and mail campaign).
3. Stadium Pitch or Core Story
A stadium pitch is really a core story that informs you of how to focus your marketing activities.
Chet Holmes says that ‘designing a great pitch is also called setting the buying criteria in your favour’. The stadium pitch has to be designed to motivate and influence your targeted buyer. It is therefore often controversial in nature (to help create a unique position) and is driven by your client/issue-based research (see research below) and the USP.
The question to ask yourself at this point is, ‘what information (and supporting data) would set the buying criteria in my favour?’ As Chet Holmes says, data makes your information work harder for you.
Your stadium pitch should be written out and memorised (with passion) by all your sales/client facing people and used in the presentation phase of the sales process.
4. Market-based research:
Market Based research is the data that makes your information work harder for you. The trick with Market Research is to identify a trend or piece of data that supports your Stadium Pitch and USP, and positions you above your competition. It could be trends that show why the market for your services has grown ahead of other similar services etc. The Bureau of Statistics (in your country) is a great source of data, as is Google, Google Analytics, Google trends, Google Knol, various SEO tools - (http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/index.php) and many other similar resources. You can also commission your own client surveys to identify your industry trends, frustrations, needs and key issues.
5. Designing your outbound sales strategy:
Point five is about designing some powerful strategies (the how) to get you in right front of your target market.
Once your target market has been defined, the key to targeting your marketing efforts is to identify the very best buyers in that market. Again, market research here can help guide your marketing efforts. Who is buying the services (that you offer) or requires the services (that you offer) in your defined target market? And why?
Best buyers can also be defined as your ideal clients.
Once defined (you can use a list provider to provide the contact details), these organisations become the ultimate targets for your targeted outbound campaign. Choose 200 - 500 of them (Chet Holmes calls these your ‘dream clients’) and focus all your efforts on getting your message out to these people.
Your marketing message can be in the form of a targeted letter, an email, a blog link (like this one), brochure or advert (etc.) that is sent to your begins to ask and answer questions that these people are asking of themselves (key issues). It could be an invite to attend a forum or breakfast session, or an invite to trial your services at a special rate, etc. It could be tickets to industry speakers at a trade show you are attending…. It could be an invite to attend an evening of experts talking about the services that you yourself offer…
Your marketing must be focused and repetitive (although the key message changes regularly) and designed to capture the interest of those buyers.
Once you have decided on your campaign, and have begun sending your message out, you then follow up with a phone call (no more than 1 week later), newsletters, more white papers etc. highlighting some key issues as well as some solutions (see the ‘how to write a white paper’ link below for more details).
6. Defining your inbound web strategy:
Your inbound web strategy will take time and resources to design and implement. It is often best done well over time. That way, the revenue that the website brings generates can help fund the future expansion and required resources.
Your web strategy begins with a call to action written into the home page and subsequent pages (see how Penny Marshall does that at http://perrymarshall.com/whitepapers/). It also includes the design of some simple white-papers (that are attractive to your target market), links to and from social groups like Face Book, Linked In, etc. as well as lots of activity on blogs such as wordpress, google knol etc. (approximately 2-3 pages long) on topics that will be of ongoing interest to your target market.
This leads us to the obvious question of ‘how do I know what will be of interest to these people?’ The simple answer is to ask them. I suggest you commission an online survey, cold call your target market and ask them 3 quick questions about what they would like to see or know in relation to your services.
Once the white papers have been written, .pdf them and place them in your online (web) library, on your social pages (Linked In) and on your blogs etc. Repetition of key words is critical (it is imperative that you identify the key Google search phrases that your target market are searching for); see SEO Tools for more details (http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/index.php), where you can find out what people are currently Google-ing* and you can use these keywords in your articles. That way, the internet-bots or spiders (webcrawlers) will pick up your articles and display them in the organic search section of the key search engines. This however is only one way of driving inbound traffic. There are also many other ways to do this and you are best off consulting a professional web optimisation company (SEO) to assist you in executing your strategy.
Next you must ensure that your pages are set up so that when someone wants to download a white paper they MUST input their details (name, company, email, phone, position etc.). These details then need to be linked into your customer database for future contact (newsletters, mailers, letters etc.). If you have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, the inbound contacts can then be managed and regulated through that system, which is even better. If not, there are many free online CRM systems that can help (E.G. Zoho - www.zoho.com and Etelos - http://www.etelos.com/).
Other ideas that you can explore are creating Vodcasts (moving picture speak a thousand words), Audiocasts, the design and production of online Services Guides, FAQ documents, online Web Forums and online Conferences (E.G. edna.edu.au, Google conferences etc.), which can be promoted from your site.
7. Other inbound strategies
Other inbound strategies include striking up strategic alliances with other non-competitive organisations that market to your target customer (audience). This extremely powerful when done well and very cost effective (swapping customer data-bases, co marketing etc.). You can also form strategic alliances by identifying non-competitive tools and resources that your customers are searching for and bundle them with your products/services. Many top organisations have been doing this for decades (airlines/car rentals – telcos/electronics companies, food/beverage companies, consultants/survey providers etc.)
Other ideas include sponsoring business award programs, joining your industry’s speaker’s circuit, writing articles for industry publications, joining expert panels etc.
I hope this helps!
Please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments - all are welcome.
Thanks, Jay
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