About those No's

I wanted to share one other insight from Rory Sheehan, a trainer and sales coach who spoke at last week’s Innovation Forum presented by Enterprise Toronto. (Also see previous post.)

Sheehan had some good advice on dealing with prospects who say “No.”

“A lot of people are going to say ‘No’ to you,” says Sheehan. “Usually, it’s just a knee-jerk reaction; they're saying ‘No’ out of force of habit.”

Never take the “no’s” personally. "It’s not about you or your product,” says Sheehan. These auto-responders don't understand your proposition, and haven't given it much (if any) thought.

It’s just like when you go into a store and a clerk asks if they can help you. You probably say “No, thank you, just looking,” even if you're intending to buy something. It’s a conditioned reflex.

You can't let the “No’s” discourage you, says Sheehan, who reminded his audience of aspiring innovators that when Ross Perot was founding EDS, he endured 87 No’s before he got his first Yes.

It’s all about persistence - and confidence, Sheehan says. No matter how great you think you are (or your product is), “you have to be prepared to get a whole bunch of No’s before you get a Yes.”

Three questions to ask your prospects

I just came back from attending a few morning sessions at Enterprise Toronto’s “Innovation Forum.” I was impressed with speaker Rory Sheehan, a Toronto-based trainer and sales consultant.

His job was simple: teach a bunch of innovators and innovators to think like salespeople. Simple, like swimming up Niagara Falls.

The first thing, says Sheehan, is to forget selling “benefits.” People don't care about benefits, he says: they just want to know whether your product or service will solve their problem.

(I’m not sure I accept this blanket statement, but I certainly agree that you can't start selling benefits until you understand your prospect’s key concerns. Saying that your dual-voltage appliance will work in North America and Europe is pointless if the client has no intention of going to Europe.)

Whether you are selling high-tech solutions or women’s shoes, Sheehan offers this valuable formula: “Ask every prospect three things.”

1. What is most important to you about … (your product or service, or, better still, whatever problem your product is trying to solve)?

2. What part of that answer is most important to you? (Shifting your understanding to a deeper level.)

3. If you get that (whatever it is you say you want), what is it going to do for you? (This relates to prospects’ motivations, and may help them sell themselves on your solution.)

Shannon offers a bonus question – another useful, open-ended question that can help you probe the customer’s problem or objectives: “Have you ever experienced ….?”

If you’re selling shoes, for instance, you might ask if the customer has ever experienced a real high-end luxury brand, or has ever had a problem with too-high heels. Either way, you will learn more about your customer and get more clues on how to solve their problem.

"My name is Rick and I'll be your interrogator today"

Here's the link to today's Financial Post column recounting my experiences at the Dragons' Den auditions.

In this article I give the CBC TV show credit for raising "investor awareness" among Canadian entrepreneurs:"

"Dragons' Den is doing a great job educating Canadian innovators about the cruel realities of markets. This was my second stint as a deputy dragon. I was delighted to see pitches were much stronger than last year. The essential message of capitalism is getting through: To win investors' support, you must know your market and offer a return that more than compensates the risk. Pitchers are talking more about the size of the opportunity, market growth and
return on investment."

Of course, nobody's perfect. I found 5 common errors that should be taken into account by anyone pitching business ideas and opportunities:

* Not clearly stating what you want.
* Putting too much faith in the idea.
* Failing to differentiate your product.
* Not selling yourself.
* Taking too long.

Read the article here.

Where’s your head trash at?

Are you talking yourself out of a sale? If your mind's made up about how a customer is going to behave, even before you've had a chance to talk with them, you may be guilty of listening to your own “head trash.”

That’s the point made by Oakville, Ont., sales trainer Kelley Robertson in one of his recent weekly newsletters. He describes "head trash" as the mental garbage that affects your performance in key interactions – especially sales conversations. “Head trash is a collection of limiting thoughts or ideas that prevent you from taking specific action that will help you generate better results.”

In other words, when you listen to that negative voice in your head, you're beaten before you've even started.

Robertson offers several examples. “In a sales training workshop I conducted for a specialty retailer, several people stated that they didn't bother trying to close any business before 11:00 AM because they "knew" that everyone who came into their store before that time was just comparing their price with another store located close by. A sales person in a manufacturing company told me that her customers would not pay full price for her service because a major competitor sold a similar product for less money.”

Sounds like what my old psych prof called a "self-fulfilling prophecy." You get the results you expect.

To achieve the results you deserve, says Robertson, dump the head trash. “Replace this garbage with possibility thinking. With thoughts of what you CAN do. With positive outcomes. Take out the trash and improve your results.”

Click here to listen to Robertson’s audio version of this tip (and others).
Or visit Robertson Training Group here.

A Holiday Gift For You

Just about everyone you know is taking next week off, right? There’s no point going into the office because no one else will be in theirs. Right?

Umm, no. After Christmas and Boxing Day there are still two days left in the week. If your post-Xmas schedule has not yet been filled by ski days or well-meaning relatives, consider going back to the office and making the most of these opportunity–filled days – when many gatekeepers are out of the office and the people you've been trying to get through to all year are in, working at half-speed, and feeling no pressure.

That’s the message from U.S. sales consultant Art Sobczak, who just sent out a fascinating newsletter. A year ago about this time he published an article urging his readers to do some serious selling between Christmas and New Year’s. And today’s newsletter features the e-mails of thanks he received last year from readers who did just that – with surprising success.

One person writes: “I called a customer whom I had been trying to reach for two months… He didn't want the program I was selling, but thought this other guy might... He said now was a good time that I called because... you guessed it, he had money to spend before the end of the year. He actually told me that!

Another says: “Yesterday (12/27/) I reached a high-level executive at the organization. He spent ten minutes telling me all about the problems they are having and what they are looking for in a solution. Just so happens we have something exactly to meet their needs!”

And another: “The last two weeks of December were our best weeks ever! The team made a decision in their minds that they would use the holidays and end of year as a reason to close up deals instead of a reason to get put off for later. It worked!”

Art also reprints his column from last year, which includes this good advice:

“I've never really understood not calling during the week between Christmas and New Year's. What do these people think? That when they get back to the office on January 2 and start hitting the phones that they'll be the only ones with that idea? No! EVERYONE starts calling the first day back in the office. And that's the day the decision makers are swamped with their own work!”

I couldn't find a copy of this article on his website, so it’s only accessible to those who get his newsletter. But if you send me an e-mail, I would be happy to forward a copy of the e-mail to you, so you can read the complete column, and those success letters.

(Send your request to rick (-at-) rickspence.ca)

Warning: I can not be held responsible for ill feelings created by a) your missing a family party on the 28th; or b) your being moody and morose about having to visit in-laws on the 28th. Nobody ever said entrepreneurship would be easy!

Oh. And, um, Merry Christmas!

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.)

How to really win friends and influence people

What do you think when you see the words? “Please help us serve you better.”

You figure they're asking for something that will mainly help them and not you, right?

That's what I thought today when I got an e-mail from Ottawa sales coach Colleen Francis with that cheesy headline. I only read it because I dec ided not to do whatever it was they wanted me to do.

To my surprise, though, Colleen’s business manager, Casey, had written a very friendly letter explaining how they were upgrading their database. “We currently have 3 databases (UGH!) and we are streamlining them into 1,” wrote Casey. “In order to help us ensure you continue to receive the sales information you want, we would love you to update your profile.”

By using real language (“love”) and a little humour, and by giving us some insight into the human side of their database search, they got me onside.

But then they added the flourish. "Now, you are probably wondering "What's in it for me?" - right? Well - I will tell you. When you update your information I will personally send you a CD! A $79US value for simply filling in 10 little fields.” You could choose a CD on coommunicating through "gatekeepers" and email, or another on “Turning No into Yes.”

”Once you have completed the form please reply to me with your choice of CD and I will pop it in the mail,” writes Casey. “We do hope you will help us with our spring cleaning.”

Congrats to Casey and Colleen for demonstrating how to turn No into Yes - using positive, informal language and appropriate incentives to motivate and engage people. Which could be why their company is called Engage Selling Solutions.

How could you use these techniques in your next communication with members or customers?