Do You Use Meaningless Words?

Tele-sales consultant Art Sobczak of www.BusinessByPhone.com reminds us that when we are selling, we have just 10 seconds or less to capture a listener's attention, break their preoccupation with what they’re doing, and place them in a positive, receptive frame of mind.

That's why you must never “muddy up your call with wasted words, or meaningless words.”

Here are some of the words and phrases that Sobczak considers overused and essentially meaningless:
* "cost-effective"
* "leading," or "premier," as in, "We're the leading company in this field." According to whom?
* "solution provider" (Who isn't?)
* "I'd like to discuss how we can meet your needs."

Sobczak offers this advice for your next sales call: Use clear terminology to quickly create interest. “Do this by alluding to what you might be able to do for them, and then asking a question.”

Example: “Art, depending on how you're using your existing list of customers, we might have a way to help you get two or three times the amount of repeat business you're doing now. I'd like to ask a few questions to see if it would make sense for us to speak further."

He finishes his article by quoting French essayist Joseph Joubert: "Words, like eyeglasses, blur everything that they do not make more clear."

Confronting Your Dragons

Canadian sales guru Kelley Robertson offers some good advice today to anyone trying to sell to senior business people – and he got the idea from watching TV!

“While watching a television show featuring several very successful business executives, I noticed how direct these individuals were in their communication. No skirting around issues. No hesitation to challenge others. And certainly no fear of asking direct questions.”

Doesn’t this sound like Dragons’ Den to you?

For Robertson, watching this unnamed show reinforced four points that all marketers should consider when selling to senior executives:

1. Ask tough questions. “Most sales people fail to probe deep enough when talking to C-level buyers.”

2. Focus on the big picture. “Shift your thinking to a macro view.”

3. Focus on ROI. “Skip the features and benefits” and focus on the tangible impact your product will have on the customer’s business.

4. Don't take it personally. “Don't be put off by what an executive says or how they say it."

I would add one another point: Know all you can about the individuals you are going to meet. Focus on their personal interests and needs. Some pitchers on Dragons' Den do better when they target just one or two dragons, rather than the whole group. After all, individuals make buying decisions.

You can listen to Robertson’s full article on his podcast here. (It's Episode 50.)
Or sign up for his free "59-Second Tip" e-newsletter here.

In praise of praise

For the last year, I have been coaching some of the principals in a manufacturing business just outside Toronto. Recently we engineered a change in sales management: a junior salesperson who seems to have his act together took over as sales director. (To make room, the incumbent is moving more into marketing.)

This was a bit of a gamble, intended to shake up the sales team. The new director is quite young and new to the business. I was confident he could do the job, but not certain.

Until yesterday, when I met with the new guy for a debrief. I found that he’s structuring more regular meetings with sales staff, setting new targets and devising new incentives. All based on instinct.

So I asked, “What do you think is the key difference in approach between you and your predecessor?”

His answer made me smile. “Where he would harangue and complain, I support them and praise them.”

I think he is going to work out just fine.

Listen and Understand

It’s a point we've made before on this blog and will undoubtedly do so again: make sure you're selling what your customer wants to buy.

In an e-newsletter yesterday, Burlington, Ont. retail-sales specialist Kelley Robertson talks about the importance of listening to your customers and making sure you're focusing on what they want to hear or know – not what you want to tell them.

Sure, you say, that’s Sales 101 – but how often is this essential rule actually followed in day to day sales? Think back to your recent sales conversations (whether you were buying or selling), and ask yourself if they followed the right track – and specifically addressed the target’s needs, not the seller’s.

Kelley talks about a recent sales training program in which participants tried to push their values on a “customer." "The majority of people in attendance felt that it was critical that they completely "educate" their customer about their products or services.”

But most customers don't want or need all the information you think is important, says Kelley. “What they want is a solution to their specific problem.”

Understanding customer needs creates two benefits, Kelley says: they inolve the customer more and take less time. “In many cases, we can reduce the length of our presentations by focusing ONLY on what our customer/prospect wants. Far too often, we talk about aspects of our product or service that have little or no relevance to their particular situation. But, because we think they should know about those aspects, we tell them.”

Bottom line: “It doesn't matter what is important to us. What really counts is what is important to our customer or prospect.”

Checkout Kelley's blog for more useful tips at http://kelleyrobertson.blogspot.com/

Seth Godin on understanding sales people

Marketing whiz Seth Godin offers a great blogpost today on “Nine things marketers ought to know about salespeople.” Most of his points apply equally to bosses, so if you as a business owner are having trouble understanding why your sales people do the things they do, this post could change your life.

Seth’s 9 points, condensed:

1. Selling is hard. Harder than you may ever realize. So, if I seem stressed, cut me some slack.

2. Selling is personal. When I make a promise, I have to keep it.

3. I can't tell you when the sale will close. No one knows, especially the prospect.

4. I love selling great stuff, well marketed. Don't ask me to sell lousy stuff.

5. I'm extremely focused on the reward half of the equation. So don't change the rules in the middle.

6. I have no earthly idea what really works. I'll keep experimenting if you will.

7. Your job is to make it so I never need to make a cold call.

8. Once in a while, I actually learn something in the field. Ask!

9. I know you'd like to get rid of me and just take orders on the web. But that's always going to be the low-hanging fruit. The game-changing sales, at least for now, come from real people interacting with real people.

I would have added one more point: 10. I'm a people person. I don't relate well to processes and reports. Tie me down with forms and procedures and you reduce my abilty to make magic. If you don't believe me, ask your bookkeeper to make a sales call.

Seth’s full post is well worth reading, and contains two extra points not summarized here. (I have to give you some reason to click on Seth’s story.)