Friday, February 17, 2012

Power Hour

A longtime friend of mine and sales professional started his career selling securities. There was a lot of phone work involved, it was mostly phone selling and he worked the phones as good as or better than anyone. I originally heard the term “Power Hour” from him. The concept is that everyone in your organization stops what they are doing at the same time and make sales phone calls.

I introduced this concept to my marquee client recently and the results were impressive.

The sales team consists of six Sales Engineers, a Marketing Manager and a Sales Administrator. These groups of sales professionals are young and ambitious. The company hit and exceeded all sales milestones and goals in 2012. So, what does a sales consultant (me) do? Of course, I asked them to do more.

The target of Power Hour were old customers who we haven’t heard from in a while and “Old No’s”. Old no’s are lost deals that purchased from a competitor.

Of course it’s easy to identify old customers who have not been in contact. A very good friend of mine (you know who you are) talks about milking the cows you own (brilliant). By calling and checking in you can see how they are doing and ask if there are any opportunities brewing. It’s an easy call to make and resulted in some new projects to get involved with.

Old no’s are a little bit harder to call. There is some strategic planning required. When you call, there is a chance, a probability, that the vendor of choice has not delivered on promises and the customer might be open to cancelling the project and working with you. They may or may not call you if unhappy, but if you call them it can trigger a dialog and an opening for you to get the sale back. This tactic works once in a while, it has worked for me and will work for you if you give it a try.

Again, the results of power hour for my client were excellent. The first Power Hour resulted in the booking of a $174,000 job. By doing this exercise as a team, it made it easier for everyone. It also was fun. So much fun that they have decided to do two power hours per week.

Do you need some business? If so, call old no’s and inactive customers. You be pleasantly surprised by what you will uncover.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Your New Year's Gift

Your New Year’s Gift

Here we go again. Another year gone as the next year arrives.

Like many others, I use this time to reflect on what happened and what’s about to happen. The New Year provides a clean slate of sorts. We get excited about the possibilities to grow our professional and personal lives.

Things do change. We hope, pray and work for positive change in our lives and for those around us.

I lost a business acquaintance this year. He passed away. I didn’t maintain contact with him for a number of years. He had a very positive effect on me. He was a mentor without the title. He was a living example of how to behave and succeed as a salesman, as a professional and as a trusted associate. His name was Bob. He was of Irish descent which you would figure out immediately upon meeting him.

Bob was the first Manufacturer’s Representative that I ever worked with. I was in my early-20’s selling medical supplies to doctor’s offices. At the time, he was in his mid to late 30’s making him an old guy to me. Bob represented some of the manufacturers on our line card.
He was witty and wise. He had a lot of stories to tell and all were entertaining and most had a lesson weaved in the words he spoke.

His best story, by far, was about his graduation from high school, his graduation party and the gift that his father gave to him.

At some time during the celebration, his dad asked him to get up and go outside to see his graduation present. As they walked to the door his mind raced until he decided that dad got him a car. Once on the porch he saw that there was no car, nothing whatsoever. Where was the present?

Bob’s dad put one arm around his shoulder and stretched the other arm out pointing to the trees, sky moon and clouds. “There it is son. The whole wide world and it’s all yours.” Disappointed? Yes, for a while. As he told me that story, so many years later, that gift had indeed become the greatest a dad could give a child in transition.

So, on this occasion, I would like to share that gift with you. I’ve had the whole wide world for a long, long time. I recognize the value of it and have deeply appreciated the opportunity the world has given me. Take the opportunity given to you by the world we live in and “go for it”. Don’t waste a precious minute while chasing your dream this New Year.

Thank you Bob

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

1, 2, 3 Grow

1, 2, 3 Grow

Building your business in 2012 is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Getting back to basics is the easiest way to meet new customers and generate new revenue.

Six Degrees of Separation

From Wikipedia:
Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer. It was originally set out by Frigyes Karinthy and popularized by a play written by John Guare.

Old Concept is Reborn

The six degrees of separation concept seems to be at the core of the LinkedIn value proposition. LinkedIn has the ability to let us explore and leverage three degrees of separation. It is an awesome tool that empowers us to reach out.

The Old Way

This powerful concept is an updated twist on a very old and easy prospecting method that everyone can practice with or without technology.

Before we had computers, cell phones, websites, blogs and social media top sales producers practiced asking for referrals from customers, associates and friends. A simple question like: “Do you know anyone who might be interested in and benefit from my product or service?” kept savvy salespeople busy with warm leads and drove new business.

A Numbers Game

Selling always was and always will be a game of numbers. More sales calls equal more sales. Calling on warm referred leads increases the odds of success and makes sales activities easier. Would you rather call a total stranger or a friend or associate of your customer or friend? The answer is always the warm referral.

Why We Don’t Ask?

Asking for referral leads is rarely done by the average salesperson. There are some sales jobs that routinely practice asking for referrals. Some even pay the source for a lead that converts to a sale. Here are four examples.

1. Vacuum Cleaner Sales in the Home. Decades ago, a friend of mine gave my name to a vacuum cleaner salesman. All I had to do is see the demonstration and he would earn a $25 referral fee. I let the guy do the demo. My friend got $25 and I purchased a $300 vacuum cleaner. Then I asked 12 of my friends to see the demo. They did and I had myself a free vacuum cleaner.

2. Life Insurance. My first real sales job was selling life insurance. My days were full of prospecting calls and my nights were dedicated to sales visits. It didn’t take long to learn that the top producers didn’t have to work the phones as hard as I did because they had built a customer base, a network of people who knew others and, when asked, would cough up warm referral leads.

3. Auto Sales. For a very short time (90 days), when I was in between things, I sold cars. I wanted the experience, I wanted to see how hard it was and I was in a “figure things out” period of my life. Many of my peers actually paid people who referred car buyers. The finder fees were $25 or $50. This was a great way to bring in sales that is still being used today.

4. Computer Systems to Doctors. In a ten year period, I sold a lot of computer systems to doctors. These systems were used for patient and insurance billing. My best estimate is that I sold 500 or so of these big ticket items in a decade, or one a week for ten years. Not bad. My prime tactic was to give something of value to a doctor who referred a friend. A free printer or a couple of free months of support would usually do the trick. I always had warm referral leads.

Now You Do It

You can solicit warm leads on LinkedIn or with some other social media tool that I don’t know about (as of yet). Better yet, skip the technology and call three of your customers, business associates or friends and ask them for the names and contact information of someone they know that would appreciate what you have to sell. Make sure that you can use their name as the referrals source and reference. That would result in nine (9) people to call, visit and sell.
When you contact the 9, and at some time in your experience with them, ask them the same question. Ask for the names of three people in their world that might want or need your stuff. Now you have 27 new targets. Ask those 27 for three and you have yourself a lot of work to do processing 81 warm referral leads. Can you see how crazy this can get?

Real World Example

I recently gave a Mentee of mine the names of three people that I figured would be highly interested in his offering. He contacted them and they were. I hope that he asks each of these contacts for three warm leads and so on and so on. His life will get much easier and his business will flourish.

Start Today

Six degrees of separation is a great idea and a concept that all salespeople should be aware of and leverage to develop business. Start asking for referrals today and make it routine. You will be rewarded.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Selling Yourself

People buy from people. Customers deal with whom they have the most confidence. If you do a good job of selling yourself they will be most comfortable when considering dealing with you. When putting your information together, it can be about you personally, about your company or a mix of both. Some salespeople have little to talk about. Others have too much. Everyone has something and it’s important to organize your credentials and use it to your advantage.

Education

Your education is a great start in building a case that you are a good person to do business with. If you have a degree in a field related to your business focus, you will establish an advantage. Certifications are also really good when building your profile.

Achievements

Speak about your business accomplishments. If you have solved some major problems for customers, performed at a high level or have done anything else of note, let people know. Results are what customers are paying you for. If you have had successes they can be used as a great tool for getting your prospective customer to accept your proposal.

Awards

Achievements are great. Awards are better. Getting the word out about your accomplishments is very good. When someone else, a third party, recognizes you for your accomplishments it is much better and carries a lot more weight than when coming from you.

References

Reference letters are a terrific sales tool. They are not as powerful as awards, but very close. You don’t usually get these letters of reference unless you solicit them. When you do get them, make sure you have the source’s permission to use them. Also, check in with your happy campers once in a while and make sure they are still happy.

Community Service

There are times when your community service doesn’t matter to a customer. There are other times when your community service can be a difference between making a sales or losing the deal. You don’t have to go overboard, but a track record as a volunteer says a lot to a buyer about your character.

There you have it. Your credentials matter. Selling yourself as a trusted advisor, a good person to deal with is an important part of the sales process and should not be overlooked.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Sales Activity

Sales activity is the key to your success. You must be an expert in the subject matter of your business. You have to learn and develop skills required to find prospective customers, tell your story and secure orders. These factors are the foundation for your success. However, without taking positive action, you will under perform or fail.

Activity must be planned, committed to and completed without fail. Persistence is paramount to sustaining a steady flow of revenue.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are alone omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge

As you journey through your business and professional life, you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, your friends and associates to do your best. Giving less than your best effort at all times short changes you and your dreams. Don’t forget, skip or ignore proactive tasks to generate revenue and to move your business and career forward. If you don’t do your best you will regret it later.

One way to insure that you will complete sufficient sales activities is to make a commitment to do certain things at a frequency you can manage. Then, if you keep records of completed activities, you will be able to analyze those activities and determine their effectiveness.
Make a commitment to regular sales activity. Do it now. Follow it faithfully. Be persistent.

I will mail ____ brochure or letters per _________.
I will make _____ phone calls per __________.
I will call on ________ prospects per ___________.
I will attend ________ networking meetings per __________.
I will participate in _________ charity events per _________.
I will send out _________ e-mail newsletters per __________.
I will write ___ blog posting per ________.
I will also do __________ and __________ every ______.

Write it down. Sign it. Keep your commitment in front of you. Keep score with your activity report form. Review it, analyze the results. Be faithful. Be persistent. You will prosper.

That’s more like it. Now make some sales calls.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Sales Conundrum

Small companies and consultants have something in common that is a real and difficult business issue. That is, keeping a sales pipeline full while delivering products and services to existing customers.

We Deliver

Consulting delivers professional fees for the consultant in return for professional services, wisdom, expertise and results. As a consultant, I savor the opportunity to bring my services to a customer in need and to help them solve their problems. There is nothing more satisfying than getting involved with a client and delivering results.

The consultant’s business problem rears its ugly head when the consulting engagement is over and there is no “next” project waiting.

A Predictable Problem

This conundrum is understandable. As much as we try to beat it, more often than not, it is a reality that we are faced with over and over again. Because we don’t have the next engagement lined up the revenue from a successful engagement is consumed during the down time. As much as we try to hustle the next gig, there are revenue gaps and they should and could be avoided.

You Can Fix it

The answer to solving down time and the subsequent frantic rush to the next project is to make a commitment to regular sales or prospecting activities. It doesn’t take much time to send a letter, an e-mail, to make a phone call or to attend a mixer. When we are absorbed by our projects and our customers, we naturally want to keep the billing meter moving. In the big picture, that is wrong thinking.

Bigger Guys Don't Have to Deal With This

If your firm is big enough, you can afford the luxury of employing a Business Development Manager (a more refined title for salespeople). So, this issue is not a problem…that is if you have a productive business developer.

Take Control

My advice is to put aside some time every day or week to meet new friends, establish relationships, tell your story and ask for work. If you can send out a few letters each morning, send some e-mails each week, a newsletter each month, make a few phone calls to prospects and old customers each week and then show up at relevant networking meetings, your new business pipeline will fill with opportunity. Then, when your current engagement ends, there will be other clients waiting for your services.

Why Not An Ongoing Campaign?

Regular marketing campaigning/prospect development just makes sense. No more sales conundrums please.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Why Complicate Things?

I gave my “Sales Advice for Start-ups” presentation to a group of budding Entrepreneurs recently at a local business incubator. I enjoy doing meetings like this. The people who attend are desperate for knowledge. They want to know how to make the bell ring and start earning a living from the business of their passion. Was it all happiness? Not really.

Practical Advice

On a scale of ten, I believe that my material is very close, if not a ten. I have taken a very difficult challenge (selling) and distilled it down and made the key points easy to understand. These ideas, tips, strategies, tools and tactics have served me well over the years. They are the truth.

Bad Grade?

At the end of the evening, my contact at the incubator solicits feedback for the class. Last night she had gone home early, so I had to pass out and collect the forms myself. I would rather not be faced with critique one minute after delivering a presentation, but I had to do it. One thing I didn’t want to do was to read any of the grades, but I did. The very first one had my presentation and material rated a three out of five.

The ordinary grade instantly bothered me. At the bottom of the page the comment was that the presentation and material was too elementary and not challenging enough. I have now mulled that over and have decided that this person got it wrong. He or she didn’t get it.
The reality of selling is that it is a very easy and simple activity when done correctly. It isn’t hard when salespeople or Entrepreneurs (same thing) do the right things and avoid the wrong things. I laid out a road map for success for the class. If one of the participants thought my advice was too simple he or she was right on. My advice is simple and has proven effective over and over again.

Why so Difficult?

My question to this unnamed person would have been “Why do you want to complicate something as simple as engaging in activity based on a fair exchange of value (selling)?”

Reality Check

I looked at a few more reviews before going home. They rated the speaker and material five out of five stars. That was more like it. I guess that I shouldn't be so sensitive.