Inside Our Head

Sales Results = What you do? + How you do it?

First, let’s look at how you sell relates to the care you show the customer during the sales cycle.  Since customer care is now a commodity, how you do things is no longer a source of differentiation.  That leaves what you do on each sales call, and the planning you put in to each sales call, as the remaining portion of the sales results equation that you can differentiate.

 

What you do during the sales process is comprised of the specific questions you ask, and your ability to get your sales process in sync with the customer’s buying process.  You need to persistently pursue.

I have a book published by Harvard Business Review titled Business Classics: Fifteen Key Concepts for Managerial Success.  The book contains the 15 articles in HBR’s history that have sold the most reprints.  One article, published in 1964, was titled, “What Makes a Good Salesman,” by David Mayer and Herbert Greenberg.  The author’s research found that there are two qualities that make an effective salesperson: ego-drive (or personal ambition) and empathy.  Empathy is your ability to project yourself into the heart and mind of your customer to see things as our customer sees them.

 

And yet, nearly five decades after that article was published, salespeople are seldom selected for or taught empathy.  The predominance of sales training literature is still focused on the steps of the sale, the things that salespeople need to do to sell the customer: prospect, approach, question, qualify, present, handle objections, close, etc. Are we still in the 1950s or what?

In my book, “Getting Into Your Customer’s Head, I describe the “buy-learning” process customers go through when making an organizational buying decision. But don’t for a minute think that your customer is doing a good job of buying.

According to studies referenced in the leadership book, For Your Improvement: A Guide for Development and Coaching, over 90% of the problems that middle managers and above experience are ambiguous – it’s neither clear what the real problem is, nor what the solution ought to be. These are some of the same problems that you are trying to solve by selling your solutions. And the higher up your customer’s organization an executive goes the more ambiguous the issues are. As a salesperson, if you can tap into this lack of customer clarity on the underlying issues causing that problems that you solve, you will significantly improve your odds of winning the sale, because the salesperson who wins is the one who defines the customer’s true problem. Why is it that the most experienced salespeople see the customer’s need before the customer does? Why do salespeople come across as the “expert”, talk too quickly about their solution, and ruin the best chance they have to build mega-credibility at the beginning of the customer’s buying process?  

All experienced salespeople are skilled at communicating care for the customer during the sales cycle.  It is still true that for some (and indeed, far too many) salespeople, customer care is a hypocrisy: they pretend to care about the customers' needs when in fact they do not.  They have become extremely effective at creating the illusion of customer care -- so much so that from the customer's perspective, it is no longer possible to choose one option over another because of the perceived level of care.  Sales people who think they are differentiating themselves by caring about the customer are deluding themselves.

In my seminars, we have an exercise that asks salespeople to consider the next three appointments they have set, and answer the questions, "What is your objective for that sales call?" The answers I received at a recent seminar fell into the following categtories:

• Create a need
• Discuss their marketing objectives
• Overview our capabilities
• Build trust with a new contact
• Identify decision-makers
• Get commitment to buy

Mistake #9 Inconsistent recruiting and selection program.

We have all hire somebody that didn't work out the way we thought they would, so we all know the cost of a bad hiring decision....or do we? What about those candidates that we don't hire? I learned this lesson years ago when I rejected on particular candidate who then continued to pursue a position with our company, was eventually hired by another region manager, and within 12 monthes was ranked in the top 5% of our 1,500-person sales organization. He re-introduced himself at our company's Achiever's Club trip with, "Hi remember me?" OUCH!!

Here are the most common mistakes sales managers make in the recruiting & selection process:

► Fail to try new methods of recruiting to increase applicant flow.
► Fail to identify hiring criteria (must-haves and nice-to-haves).
► Fail to develop targeted questions that uncover whether or not a candidate possesses the success charateristics.
► Fail to expose the applicant to the realities of the job before a hiring decision is made.
► Fail to identify indicators in past behavior that may indicate future success.
► Talk to much during the interview.
► Fail to poll others in the organization for their opinion on the candidate.
► Becoming distracted by daily pressures and short-circuiting the interview process.

"A problem well stated is a problem half solved." Charles F. Kettering

With a few variations, 80 percent of the objections sales people hear are:
"It's too expensive." (I can't afford it.)
"It's not in the budget."
"I don't need it."

These objections point to a problem with a single cause: the customer has little appreciation for the value of your offering.

Essentially, the customer is saying the problem your product solves is not serious enough for the price tag. In the buyer's mind, the cost of buying is greater than the value that would be gained by ownership.

Value-type objections like this are bad for the sales process because they indicate the customer just isn't interested. The best sales strategy here is not to "handle" these objections, but to prevent them. Help your customer realize that the "little problems" are really BIG problems. This goes a long way toward preempting value objections altogether.

In the sales cycle, the customer moves from Change, to Discontent. Change triggers Discontent. During the Discontent phase, the customer:

1. Recognizes a problem (or opportunity.)
2. Asks "just how serious is this problem?"
3. Asks "how much will the solution cost?"
4. Finally determines "I need to buy!"

In your role as Doctor during the Discontent stage, your challenge is to uncover more than problems. Many sales people made the mistake of trying to uncover only problems. Problems are rooted in events which have already happened.

Opportunities look to the future. It is so much more effective to look at both problems and opportunities. Doing so enhances the value of your offering and helps preempt value objections, as mentioned before.

When dealing with problems, customers often don't recognize how serious the problem is. It is the consulting sales person who helps them realize the full ramifications of "small" problems.

Remember, studying the Key Success factors in your customer's organization and how they are carried Function-to-Function. This area is ripe for studying the "full ramification" of "small problems."

Most C-Level decision makers are sick of educating sales people about his or her business. This explains why breaking into that level of an organization can be difficult. In order to sell at the C-Level, you have to fully understand the world of the typical CEO, CIO or CFO. Knowing their world involves knowing the business model in which they operate daily. This module will help you understand that model and how that knowledge can help you gain access to the C-Level decision maker.

The business model typically includes the Values, Vision, Strategy, Culture, Challenges and the Competition they face. The business plan takes into account the needs of their Customers.

Each C-Level decision maker operating within the model is evaluated against a series of Critical Success Factors. By understanding what those factors are and directing your efforts to helping the C-Level decision maker achieve them, will go a long way to helping you gain the access you need.

Finances are the only reason a business exists. All too often we aren't familiar enough with the financial aspects of the C-Level decision maker's business. This lack of knowledge limits our ability to address the real issues facing his or her business. In this section we will cover how to review an annual report, website and 10K for the information you will need.

Finally this section will bring it all together by implementing a three-step process for developing an account penetration plan.

Preparing to Sell at the C-Level: Your Customer's Business Model

Values
What the Company Stands For: Integrity; Hiring and Training the Best People; Customer Focus

Vision
The Company's goal for the future.

Strategy
How the Company Will Achieve the Vision: Develop Our Infrastructure; Leverage Alliances; Expand the Product Line; Build Organizational Synergy Between Departments

Culture
How the Company: Evaluates Strategies; Makes Decisions; Considers Risk Taking

Challenges
What is Holding the Company Back: Internal Issues; Marketplace Changes; Economic Conditions; Technology Changes

Competition
The Impact of their Competitor's: Products; Strategies; Alliances; Growth into New Markets

Customer's
The Impact of their Customer's: Buying Habits; Marketplace; Customer's

Critical Success Factors
How the C-Level Decision Makers are Evaluated: Profitability; Growth; Shareholder Value; ROI

Finances
How the Company Keeps Score: Revenue; Cost of Goods; Operating Income; Net Income; Overall Profitability

Information Sources
Where to find valuable information: Website; Annual Report; 10 K Report; Interviews With Sub C-Level Decision Makers

Reading the Annual Report
What to look for in the annual report: Chairman's Letter; Management Discussion of Results

Financial Statements
Important financial statements to review: Income Statement; Balance Sheet; Statement of Changes in Financial Condition

Supporting Information
Other importanct documents to read: Notes to Financial Statements; Auditor's Letter; Other Corporate Info

What the Numbers Mean -- Pulling It All Together

Developing Your Account Penetration Plan
1) Identify the C-Level Target:
Who has the most at stake?
Who can most benefit from your solution?
Who can influence the most Power Brokers?
Who can best relate to your Critical Case Reference?

2. Define the Circle of Support

3. Select the Delivery Method

4. Create the Message
Critical Success Factors
Current Strategies

"Progress always involves risk; you can't steal second base and keep your foot on first." Frederick Wilcox

Your prospect now enters the Buy stage of the process, having completed the Need and Learn stages. In the Buy stage the prospect first experiences fear, putting the brakes to the whole deal. Eventually, if you pay your Therapist role correctly, the prospect will move to Commitment.

Some buyers never Fear, and move right to Commitment, so you can celebrate! However, many buyers need your help in resolving their fears so they can make that final commitment.

What makes a buyer Fear? People begin to fear that they will regret their decision. Negative images begin to cloud their thinking. They feel they are taking a risk, and they fear that they may be making a bad decision. Certainly, if you have done your job well in the prior stages of the process, these fears by the prospect are unfounded, driven by emotion, not the facts. Often times the prospect can't even tell you why they are fearful. Perception may not be logical or real, but it can drive your sale into the ground.

As a sales Therapist, you cannot "fix" these fears and concerns through traditional objection-handling techniques. All you can do is help your prospect resolve the concerns themselves. Traditional objection handling does not give prospects the chance to express their emotions. Since these fears of buying are largely emotionally-based, and since emotions must be dealt with by open expression and discussion, your role is to help the prospect express these fears and work through them.

THE THERAPIST'S FOUR STEP TREATMENT PROCESS
Be sensitive and observe
Explore concerns
Empathize with feelings
Discuss alternatives

These are all things actual therapists do in counseling sessions. The therapist does not solve problems. The therapist helps patients solve their own problems.

Quick review: there are Three Levels of Management within the Student role you play during Step 1 of the Buying Process. The three levels of Management are: CEO, Core Level, and the Support Level. If you can reach and do business with the CEO, you will discuss issues of competitiveness, cost cutting and efficiencies, and you will like be holding better margins.

Core Level management is interested in solving problems NOW and maximizing Key Success Factors, those areas which contribute most effectively to the organization's overall ability to succeed function to function. We also discussed the ways to contact Core Level managers and determine which have influence and which have authority without influence. The overall recommendation was to find influential sponsors who will sell your message to the Core managers in various relevant departments.

Now we look at the Support Level of Management, which is the bottom level providing support to the CEO and the Core levels.

Support level reacts to the needs of upper management. It includes areas like purchasing, legal, training and accounting. If you are dealing with a purchasing type in Support you will likely find an emphasis on the most machine for the money and consequently margins begin to shrink. This is the price-driven or "Transactional Sale." Engaging business at this level is a Win-Lose: the purchasing agent is looking for the most machine at the lowest price. He wins. You lose.

To find big problems, which yield big sales with healthy margins, you need to be talking to CEO and Core level managers because these larger problems and longer view issues are their natural habitat.

How to be a Good Student: Change how you think. Forget your product. Imagine you work for the customer. Imagine you are selling for your customer. Walk two miles in his moccasins. This way you begin to focus on his goals and concerns.

If your product helps him expand his business and solves problems, price is no longer the top issue.

For example, a copier rep trying to sell a machine to an owner of an ice cream store. At first the reps pitches features and benefits. Customer could care less about copy quality and speed and so forth.

Then the rep imagined he was selling ice cream for the man. He started asking questions. In the process he learned that the man sold ice cream to local retail outlets, but he wanted to expand and provide specialty desserts to restaurants.

The rep then suggested that the man get the logos of all the restaurants he wanted to work with, and produce customized menus of ice cream products to be sold through each establishment. The man immediately loved the idea, bought the copier at retail and implemented the new marketing plan. The rep had created a solution to enhance the man's business and that solution required the rep's product.

By imagining that you sell for your customer, you will quickly understand your customer's business strategies, and then you will be in a position to identify innovative sales opportunities that achieve value for your customer.