Wednesday 24 September 2014
Friday 27 June 2014
Share The Driving
Many courses will talk about mirroring – mimicking interpersonal, verbal and physical cues during an interaction with another person.
Some sales courses will even use mirroring as a technique to create develop or enhance rapport.
You can see this very easily in face to face encounters….the earliest is smiling at a baby, they (usually) always smile back at you. And most certainly nearly all adults smile when a baby smiles at them!
As sales people, we’re all attuned to interpersonal cues in face to face meetings and, often, on the phone. Body language, tone, actions etc all help complete the communication signal and help confirm (or contradict) what is being said, or tell us the real story.
How does this work for business development?
What happens if you don’t call your best friend for a while? They typically call you to see how you’re doing at some point.
As sales people, we are conditioned to hunt, to be tenacious. We diarise vigorously to follow up intermediaries/future clients on a regular call cycle. We touch base with regularity. We live in the fear (real or otherwise), if we don’t call, our competitors will steal the march on us and form a better relationship. We sometimes do it because we have imposed call cycle requirements. We don’t always do it because it is in the best interests of the relationship, it is done because we think we have to.
Yet, despite the scheduling of call cycles - we’ve all had the experience that, despite how much we ring someone, we make that call that uncovers that X weeks ago they just signed up with X. Why didn’t’ you ring us? You ask. Maybe because your view of the value of the relationship was lop sided.
They may have spoken to someone else less often, but the relationship was more meaningful to them.
Why is this important?
Sometimes patience is a great way to test the relationship. Were you not to call (lean back) would your client/intermediary call you (lean in). Would they fill the void left by you not calling? Would they miss contact with you? Do they care enough to make contact themselves?
It helps show you the value the other party sees in the relationship – where they prioritise it. Is there benefit to both sides of the relationship. Do they care enough about the relationship to call you if you don’t call them?
How often you talk to someone isn’t important (despite this being thrashed in sales courses) – the quality of the interactions is. How meaningful it is matters. How much value you give matters.
‘Sharing the driving’ in a business development relationship is important as, ultimately, it is the clients destination you want to arrive at, not yours.
I Fire You
Every sales person has, or will have, experienced the conversation where a client has told you that they're leaving you for another supplier. They fire you.
We all have clients we don't like dealing with. And, if we don't like dealing with them, it is highly likely we aren't exactly giving them the experience they deserve. Further, if we don't like them, it is naive for us to then assume they like us is it? Not exactly a healthy relationship. In a personal situation - we'd have little to do with that person.
Have you ever considered firing your client?
You possible have considered it but do we ever fire them?
Very seldom. We struggle on through gritted teeth - shuddering when the phone rings and it's them (worse, dodging the call). We continue to deliver mediocre service to them, focusing on our 'loved' clients instead.
At what cost?
Not liking at client affects many things in a business relationship. Because you don't like them, you aren't thinking about them. As a result, you don't seem to encounter or identify ways to improve their situation as readily. You don't act as proactively. You don't go the extra mile (in fact, sometimes just the opposite occurs). You don't prioritise them. You don't cherish their business. You sometimes wish they'd 'go away'. The relationship therefore becomes flawed.
Not liking a client doesn't make them a bad client. Not liking a client doesn't make them an unprofitable client - though, delivering poor service can make it seem this way.
Not liking a client is human. We don't like everyone and, hold on, not everyone likes us. Get used to it.
So what do I do?
We have choices - we can choose whether to like a client or, it we don't, whether to maintain the relationship.
First and most importantly - you need to determine whether the client is one whose business you wish to retain. Park your ego for a moment and ask the simple question - is it just me? Is it your personality? If it is, and you can fix it - fix it. Reset the relationship with them. If you can't fix it, consider moving the relationship to someone who doesn't have your dislike for the client. Someone who will engage differently and give them the service they deserve. Guess what - more often that not, failing to do this is why your clients fire you! Most customers leave you because of issues in service.
Of course, if they are genuinely clients you don't wish to retain, ask why you don't like them if it's not personal? Is it because their and your business are fundamentally divergent? Is it because their and your values aren't aligned? Are you heading in different directions? Are they just too different from your business - your offering doesn't completely satisfy their need or want and there's too much compromise. 'Is the situation recoverable' is what you're trying to understand. If it is, recover it. If not, consider letting them go. Doesn't this sound like a personal relationship? Guess what, basically it's the same.
Have the courageous conversation with your client. Be honest. Guess what - they're thinking it anyway!
Monday 23 June 2014
Make Each Dart Count
If you haven’t, 9 darts are the minimum number of darts required to clear the 501 points - the starting total. It is the ultimate way to win a leg – and very difficult to achieve. You need to hit two 3 dart maximums of 180 and then a 141 on your final three darts (of which there are 1 of 2 ways to do this) – every dart needs to hit where it was aimed. It is like a 300 in bowling or 147 in snooker.
It doesn’t happen very often – though every dart player first addressing the board has a 9 dart leg in mind. What often happens is a mis-directed dart is thrown which requires them to change their strategy to finish the leg.
Sales isn’t any different – we all meet with clients with the anticipation of a smooth, linear sales process. You start on ‘501’ and aim to get to zero in ‘9 darts’. However, very seldom does it happen this way. Often either the client throws in a curve ball or, sometimes, we derail the sales process ourselves.
Many sales people fret over this – yet it is completely normally. Sure, some sales go to plan – but most don’t. Most require you to reassess out way to get to ‘zero’ – to close out the sales action (whether a minor leg like arranging a meeting or bigger like closing the sale).
Darts is easy in this respect – zero is absolute. There is a math formula to work it out. Sales isn’t. The end differs on each stage and, unfortunately, can move. It requires you to constantly assess the ‘board’ to work out the next best path to your outcome and, sometimes, whether your outcome is actually still desirable.
Here are some things to remember:
- Start with the end goal in mind and have a plan to get there (your ‘9 Dart Finish’) and constantly assess it. Like darts, if you know the end goal in your sales process, adapting to the current situation becomes far easier.
- Whilst the ultimate aim is to win the business, focus on the specific outcome you’re currently engaged in. Don’t try to win the match in a single leg. If you’re ringing to get a meeting – this is your outcome, not closing the sale.
- Don’t panic if you lose one leg (eg don’t get that meeting), reassess and re-approach again when appropriate (ie sales isn’t always successful, we do lose some)
- Even the best players lose a match only to win another day. Some clients will not close out successfully, but it doesn’t mean you’ll never close them. It just means you missed this opportunity. Good clients remain good clients whether they said no or not.
- It’s not about throwing as many darts as possible – it’s about throwing the right dart at the right place. Think about the ‘next best step’ when working with your clients through the sales process. You get to your outcome one dart at a time, make each count and the sales process is easier.
Like Darts, in sales you need to make each activity count – plan it, execute it, review it.
Wednesday 18 June 2014
The Big Question
Sales courses everywhere and over all time espouse the virtues of asking clients open ended rather than closed questions.
It works. If your questions are considered and relevant you undeniably get more information than you would if you asked closed questions.
Why?
It’s like showing your workings in a maths exam – it shows your thinking, not just your answer. Great for a sales person – it provides the ‘why’ behind an answer (if you ask the right question).
Questions and answers are great – many CRM’s are full of great responses to great questions.
Now – consider this – imagine your client gets to ask you one open ended question at the end.
Imagine that question is:
‘What are you going to do with all the information I've just given you?’
The Biggest Hurdle
Prospecting is the skill of identifying and engaging with new business. Whether stone cold calling or seeking introductions and referrals to warm the contact up – it is the pointy end of the sales spectrum. For some sales people it represents all of their role – the pure hunters.
More often though it represents only part of the sales role you undertake. You accumulate customers and relationships over time, which reduce the perceived need to prospect as regularly. Sometimes, you even develop the feeling that you don’t need to do it at all. You have customers and intermediary relationships – they can do it for you. You can ask for referrals. You can wait for business to find you. Prospecting becomes less important to you, so you do less of it. Most people don’t like prospecting for new business, so avoid it.
Suddenly, you need more business as your targets have increased, or your pipeline dries up, or you’ve tapped out your known network or the growth potential of your clients slows or stops. Prospecting rears it’s head again – but it’s hard to know where to start, how to pick it up again.
In my experience, a few things typically happen here. Some will just get on and do it, and do it well. The few. The many will either try it sporadically – be unsuccessfully and quickly slide back to scavenging for business – or they just won’t – they’ll avoid it, look like they’re doing it but won’t.
Why do most fail in this situation?
Most sales people have the skills – if you can sell to an existing client, you can sell to a prospect – so that’s not the issue (if it is, your sales leader has bigger issues than prospecting).
Most sales people can use a phone, speak to people, sell themselves and their business and network – or should be able to
Most sales people can, if they wish to, find lists of potential targets and research them – sure the quality may vary, but they can do it.
However, most people fail in this situation due to not planning. They don’t set time aside on a regular basis to truly focus on prospecting. Most fail because they don’t treat is seriously. Because they hope it is only a short term glitch in their pipeline, they take a short term focus to prospecting. They think the first thing to prospecting is picking up the phone – they don’t plan their strategy.
If you wish to develop new business well and you can sell, the first and most important step is setting time aside in your diary every week to focus on it. Having the time away from the routine of your role allows you to focus on the task of prospecting properly. It forces you to address it and action it.
As a sales leader – this is the first thing to check – does you staff have regular time set aside each week/period to grow their book. If not, they just aren’t planning properly.
Most people don't fail at new business acquisition because they don't have the skills, they fail because they aren't preparing to do it properly.
Pot Well
I’ve enjoyed Snooker since I was 14 (a long time) and only just picked my cue back up recently after an extended break. Having recently read a LinkedIn article about Life Lessons From Fishing (http://tinyurl.com/kg4mtnx), I got to thinking about what Snooker can teach us about sales while watching my opponent build an impressive break against me.
Interestingly, there are a number of parallels – so here goes:
Practice There is no shortcut for getting better at snooker. Even with raw potting talent, you need to spend time over your cue, practising. Sales is no different – do you practice your sales techniques? Do you reflect on what is working and what is? Why you succeeded and failed? Do you hone your craft? You can’t get better if you don’t practise, and you certainly can’t if you don’t play.
The Break: In snooker, the table always starts the same. However, after the break, the chances of two tables being the same are infinitesimal and grow smaller with each shot. Similar with sales – once we initiate contact with a new client (the break) – there is next to no guarantees as to what paths the conversations will happen to take there after. Sure, we have some control each time we approach the table, however we have to continually assess and react to the table when it next becomes our turn. As a sales person, it is your acumen and attitude that shape how you perform after the break
Position In snooker, where your cue ball is on the table means everything. It can make a shot incredibly easy, or incredibly difficult. More importantly, it is where the cue ball will be after your shot which is crucial to the flow of the game. In snooker they call this break building – in sales, pipeline management. Sales is no different – you need to visualise the journey and how your next interaction gets you there. Like the snooker player who needs to read the table, their opponents ability to capitalise on mistakes, the angles etc – you as the sales person need to read the position continually, thinking about where you next want the process to go and how to get it there
Pot Well Regardless of how good you are at getting the right position, you need to pot the ball you’re standing over first. Like sales, you need to execute well each time you address the ball. Consistency and focus are important, like snooker, to ensure that you execute well each time. Like a high break in snooker, most B2B sales situations require a string of high quality interactions, not just one. Being great once won’t win you a snooker match, nor many sales.
Cut Your Losses Sometimes there isn’t a pot on – nothing to sink. Or, your opponent is so good that the risk if you miss a risky pot is too high. Sales is no different – sometimes you need to cut your losses and retreat in order to pick up the fight later. Sometimes the timing isn’t right, the competitor is stronger or other factors that mean that in order to stay in the battle, you need to know when to fight and when to retreat.
Patience Snooker can sometimes be a tedious game (for some of you, this describes it). A game full of negative safety play for example. Sales is no different – sometimes the victories are small, sometime non-existent. Some times you even foul and go backwards to have to rebuild. Sometimes you can’t control the situation – like an opponent that goes on to make a big break despite you leaving them safe.
Resilience Snooker is about the top 6 inches. Once you’re on the table, your opponent can’t influence anything you do – physically. Though they can mentally – if you let them. Sales is no different. You will have difficult clients, difficult situations, strong competitors and a plethora of other challenges. They only become difficult if you let them influence how you react to them. You will lose some frames and some matches. You will lose some sales and get some knock-backs. Sometimes you get told no.
Etiquette Snooker is a sport steeped in a rich etiquette. Competitively, it is still played in vests and ties. At club level, you still get your opponents ball out of the pocket. You congratulate them for a great shot. You apologise when you fluke to your advantage. Sales isn’t any different. Dress properly, be courteous, be interested and interesting, don’t malign your competitors – respect them, don’t blame the conditions or your opponent. You’re the expert – act like one.
Fun Snooker is highly social and very good fun. It is easier to play when you’re having fun and not anxious. Sure, some situations are tense like when playing in a competition – but still enjoyable. Sales is no different – doing it because you enjoy it is far more productive than doing it because you’re told to. Find the fun in selling
I enjoy the sport immensely – often to the bewilderment of those that know me. I enjoy because it despite playing against an opponent on the scoreboard, I am playing against myself each time. Sales isn’t much different. I can’t blame my opponent when I miss a shot, or miss position on the next ball. I can’t blame my client if they don’t wish to buy my product/service.
Pot well, each and every time. Sell well, each and every time.
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