I hope this does not happen at your company.
Recently, I was in a prospect’s office waiting to make a presentation to the vice president of sales. The office was quite busy. I could clearly hear the clatter and chatter of customer service people processing orders and addressing their customers’ issues. I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard one of the customer service people answer an incoming call. It was brief to say the least. The customer service person simply stated the price of the product and that was it! No other details were offered. No pertinent questions were asked. The customer service representative didn’t even ask for a name or phone number. The very brief phone conversation lacked any effort to help the customer buy or to provide a lead for the sales force.
After my successful presentation to the vice president of sales on C-Level selling, I returned to my office. My curiosity and disbelief about what I overhead was driving me crazy. I wondered, was the call I overheard an aberration? So I conducted some unofficial research. I called that company’s customer service team five times to inquire about their products and services. In only one of the five calls was I asked for my name, phone number, and e-mail address. Yet, this is where a prospect’s call can be converted into a sale or a qualified lead for their sales force.
This begs the question: how are your prospects’ calls being handled? Does your entire customer service team understand that every “touch” with a customer or prospect is an opportunity to sell? Do they understand the sales process and their key role in growing business? Are they reminded that they are not “just a customer service person” but a key player in your overall sales strategy? In fact, they need to know they are just as critical to the success of your company as your salespeople!
The customer service team is a fundamental component of any organization. Unfortunately, too many companies treat their customer service team as an afterthought that is not fully utilized to maximize sales potential.
Ask yourself, how does my customer service team perform? You may want to conduct your own “research”. If your findings are similar, we need to talk. Your customer service team should play a strategic role in growing your business.
How Much Elevator Do You Need?
Most sales people can talk forever about their product or service or company or features or whatever. I suspect some of us think if we talk long enough the prospect will buy just to get rid of us! While Sales Concepts is a big advocate of asking more questions and talking less about one’s company, at some point; you do need to talk about what you are selling and your company.
The idea of an elevator pitch has been around for a long time. Simply put, an elevator pitch is the short version of why a prospect should do business with you and your company. The reference to elevator is based on the idea that you typically have the same time as a short elevator ride to grab a prospect’s attention.
That’s where the problem starts. Some of us need the elevator in the world’s tallest building to have enough time to make our pitch. Boiling it down is a lot harder than you think. Brevity alone isn’t enough. Your message must be focused and unique. You must find and then state what makes your company special from your customer’s perspective. Trotting out platitudes or advertising slogans won’t cut it. Everybody has low prices, high quality, friendly personnel, wide selection, etc.
Here’s an exercise to get you started. Write a statement about what makes your company unique. Then cut that in half. Then cut it in half again. Get it down so you can say it in 20 seconds or less. Think of two floors as representing all the elevator time you have.
Here’s the second part of the exercise. Take the name of your company out of the message and substitute your leading competitor’s name. As long as you can put the competition’s name in your message, it’s not unique. Work until only you can say that. Repeat this exercise until you have the unique WHAT and HOW of your business that makes your customer’s business better.
Use the following checklist to create a truly compelling elevator pitch:
- It must be specific and relevant.
- It must be unique and differentiate your company, product, or solution.
- It should cover only one thought or concept. It is a statement, not a paragraph.
- It must be quantifiable. Statements like, “We are the leading supplier of…” do not count.
- It must relate to a single quantifiable benefit that is derived from a unique feature of your company and the service/product it provides.
- There must be a definable benefit to the customer. It should answer the one of the following questions for the customer: “What’s in it for me?” or “As a customer, why should I care?”
Oh, and it’s hard to do this by yourself. Find some colleagues; kick it around; stay with it a long time past when you think you’ve got it. If you’re lucky, you’ll be in the neighborhood. It takes more than one session, but it is worth it.
Are you a Sale Maker or an Order Taker?
Are you responsible for Selling
or Order Taking? An Order Taker waits for “the right time” the prospect is going to consider purchasing your services or products. Proactive sales people believe that what they sell helps their customers. They create a sense of urgency in the mind of the customer to win business now. They politely compel prospects to buy sooner by confirming value established by benefits that are important to the customer.
At Sales Concepts, we have trained thousands of sales people over the past 33 years. We are always amazed at people who when told to call back in six months, will actually wait for six months to call again. Most don’t ask, “Why six months?”
We are saddened to hear a Sales Person react to “send me more information” by sending more information without asking questions. Why not politely ask, “What have I said to cause you to want more information?” “What have I said that interest you?” Why not say, “I’ll be glad to send you information. However, we have a lot of material; I want to make sure I send you information that addresses your needs. Would you allow me about two minutes to ask a couple of questions?”
Below are questions that may be asked if you were selling scientific or lab instruments. These are just examples, but you can adapt these questions to your industry and customer types.
- Would you briefly tell me about your application?
- What is your average throughput per day?
- How long does it take fulfill an order?
- Who actually does the analysis?
- Wwhat does your technician make per hour.
- How are you doing it now?
- Are you pleased with the instrument you are now using? What do you like/dislike about it?
- What would you want to do differently if you could?
These are merely some examples of questions you can ask. We’re not suggesting you bombard the prospect with questions, but not asking any questions may come across as if you are really not interested. “Oh, you are having a meeting in May? Tell me about your meeting. Do you have an agenda? What is the purpose of the meeting? Where will it be? Who is attending?”
If you are unable to tell your manager about the prospect’s needs, sense of urgency, present problems, etc. then you are probably an Order Taker.
Why not ask “Why did you agree to talk with me?” You’ll be surprised at the answers! Some people call this qualifying. I call this selling. How can you help a prospect if you do not understand their situation and circumstances?
Yes, I know the prospect is usually in a hurry so “sell” them on giving you some time! Selling is not telling – It’s asking questions to create urgency in the prospect’s mind. Good things don’t always happen to those who wait.
“Thanks! Great Presentation!”
“Great Presentation!” These c
ould be the two worst words you can hear after your sales presentation! Another horrible response a presenter might hear after a presentation is “Thank you very much. We don’t see a fit at this time.” Without an inspiring action step, most sales-oriented presentations inform without compelling a proactive response from the prospect(s). Almost anyone can deliver an informative presentation. However, when you bring together an informative presentation that is sales-oriented, you have a powerful combination that will more likely achieve the desired result: a trial, a visit, an ORDER!
Two other critical components to a compelling presentation are its visual appeal and flexibility to accommodate the audience’s interests. The graphics, support materials and content flow must be stimulating. It’s boring to use a PowerPoint presentation with black type on a white background in the default font of Arial. If this describes your presentations, maybe you hear the refrain, “Thanks, we’ll get back to you” more than you would like. There’s no question that a visually attractive presentation commands greater attention, but it also needs to be flexible. Use hyperlinks to navigate to content when your prospect shows interest in a point or asks a question. It’s more important to respond your prospect’s thoughts than following the order of your slides. Visual appeal and flexibility will produce a more proactive response from your prospects. That means you may have to brush up on your PowerPoint skills. Some of the best sales-oriented presentations we have seen did not use PowerPoint at all. If you prepare and practice with your prospect in mind, you can command the attention all by yourself! Gasp! Remember, PowerPoint is there to support you, not replace you.
Here are a few keys to a truly great presentation that generates action and business:
| The Objective | |
| This is the most important part of any presentation. A presentation can’t be compelling without one. | |
| Preparation | |
| Leave nothing to chance, take nothing for granted. | |
| Analyzing Your Audience | |
| Understand and fulfill their expectations. | |
| Content | |
| Build the core of your presentation and be prepared to respond. | |
| The Opening | |
| Grab the attention of your audience and hold it. | |
| Delivery | |
| Compell your audience to want to listen for the rest of your story. | |
| Getting Feedback | |
| Know for certain that you are compelling. | |
| Closing | |
| Finish strong with a call for action. | |
So take a time to review your presentations or those used by your team. Ask an objective individual to give you their assessment. Is the presentation focused on your objective, and the customer’s needs? Does it compel you to take action? If not, re-tool your presentation to include the ideas and points mentioned above. Sometimes it takes an external source to help sharpen the presentation skills of your team. At Sales Concepts, we are your ally when it comes to delivering successful sales-oriented presentations, so that instead of “Great Presentation” you will hear “How soon can we get started?”
The 2% Solution
Selling Value in a “commodity driven” world
What would an additional 2% mean to your sales? If your average sale is $20K, it’s an additional $400. If it’s $1Million, you’ll reap an additional $20K. You can do the math. That might not sound like much, relatively speaking, and that’s exactly what your customers want you to think. Despite what others may say or think, your company is unique because of its capabilities, products, expertise and value. Some may even describe your services and products as a commodity.
Another way to look at the 2 percent is to ask yourself how much you would have to sell to make up the difference. If your profit margin is 15% you would have to sell an additional $2,667 to net another $400 profit. Even more startling is the $20K at 15%, you would have to sell an additional $133,334 to make up that difference.
Two entities have a vested interest in ensuring you think of your products and services as commodities, your customers and your compet
itors. When you think of your products and services as a commodity, the majority of your sales conversations naturally center on price. This causes many salespeople to feel as though they are simply “order takers” having no power or influence. If that were truly the case, many companies would just encourage customers to order online, foregoing the cost of salespeople and their associated salaries and expenses.
While there are always customers who will buy the lowest price regardless of what might be offered in the way of enhanced value, there certainly are enough others who recognize the extraordinary benefits that your company provides. As illustrated above, you must ask yourself: “What would an additional one or two percentage points in revenue do to my bottom line?” One or two percentage points would be a conservative expectation should you re-orient your strategies and tactics by distinguishing your company from the other so-called “commodity” suppliers.
Two key factors in negotiating, power and influence, are both a state of mind. They are perceptions. If you perceive your customer has all the power and influence then they do. If you perceive you have the power and influence, then you do. Remember, you have the power to walk away or choose not to make a deal.
Changing an individual or team’s mental approach to negotiating is not easy to accomplish. Two factors play into the perception of value in the minds of you and your customer. The first is your ability to financially justify the benefits of what you sell to your customers and the second is the ability to defend your price with appropriate negotiating strategies. The two go hand in hand and it is difficult to execute one without the other.
What would an additional 2% or more mean to the bottom line of your company?
