Assume He’s Earned It

That moment stayed with me all week while vacationing in Maine for a few days last week.

He shuffled slowly, eyes riveted on the beach, his elbow tended by his middle aged daughter as he made his way to a table at the ocean front restaurant.

He looked well into his 80’s or even into his 90’s, and I had a passing thought that maybe this beach was just one of many he’d seen in a lifetime as a civilian and perhaps as a Serviceman.

But it was what the younger gentleman dining alone said that struck me. He broke from eating, stood and pulled out a chair for the elderly man and when the daughter mouthed “Thank you” the single diner said “He’s earned it.”

“He sure has” the daughter beamed.

The lone diner had no idea what this man had done to “earn it” and nor did I. But the point is that there was an assumption that he had.

Giving help this lone diner so simply reminded me, was something not given out of pity or helplessness or ignorance or obligation but rather, out of assumed respect for the person.

That’s a lesson we need to hear more of it seems to me. There are some assumptions we need to change.

I grow worried that in business (and elsewhere in our lives) there’s a “prove to me” perspective too many of us take when meeting or working with people for the first time. That we as sales people and managers and trainers sometimes approach prospects and existing customers, as well as new and veteran employees, as people that need to earn the chance to be “worthy” of our time, our work, our humbleness and our help. That the help we give is a magnanimous gift on our part vs. help being given simply because it has already been earned.

It’s not that the old man in Maine may have served our country or done something great to “earn it”. Who the heck knows what he’s done but the presumption should be more often than not, that we are privileged to help people vs. the other way around.

Assume before calling on this prospect that she isn’t inexperienced just because her business is new but rather that she’s a 20 year business veteran now branching out on her own. Assume that and you’ll do all the research required before you visit or call and be in a far better position to provide real help.
Assume that this new hire class has collective sales experience like no other class before (as in this economy without a doubt they do). Assume that and giving the “What Sales is Really All About” speech might change to real help in the form of a selling workshop fostering discussion about how to sell in a sketchy economy.
Assume that the owner you are talking to also does most of the selling for his company. Assume that and slamming in 4 product pitches or 3 trail closes isn’t the help you’ll give today.

You can add your own new assumptions about each member of your staff or the customers in the territory you just inherited or the leader you now report to. Just make sure the assumptions are that they’ve already “earned it” because chances are they have.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Know Surprise

Surprises are cool. Surprises stick. Surprises set you apart.

You know the value of surprises don’t you? I’ve seen a few cool surprises recently.

When this doctor’s office gets your call that you’ll miss your appt but then sends an employee out to you (and your broken down car) a mile from the office just to keep you company while you wait for a tow truck and then drives you home; that’s a surprise.

When the Tweet comes out with “Here’s a free e-book with 50 ways to build a social network” and the next day, “Here’s 50 ways to be a sales rock star” and this is all good stuff with no strings attached and there is nothing you could even buy from this guy if you wanted to, that’s a surprise.

When Sal, the Nashua, NH furniture sales rep here, sends you a handwritten note a week after a sale stating it was “nice to meet you and Mary and little Billy”, even that’s a surprise.

These surprises happened to real people I know personally just over the last two weeks. Surprises are powerful. Surprises get your attention. How are you surprising your customers?

Here are 5 surprises I bet small businesses would love:

Send a Thanksgiving card to 50 of your best customers. Whether you work for a big company or for yourself, do it on your dime and on your time. Nobody expects Thanksgiving cards in business but be thankful; these customers help you feed your kids.

4 hours after a small business places an order with you, call back and say “I had a minute and wanted to say thank you again for your business today, we really appreciate it”. And then, hang up.

Send training or sales or marketing tips to your clients. They train, they sell, and they market too so they’ll appreciate it even if they only buy widgets from you.

Give your last name right at the start of any interaction and spell it for the client, prospect or dissatisfied customer. You’d be surprised how surprisingly welcome that is for folks and how rarely it really happens.

Connect via video when talking with a client, or arrange for a Saturday or Sunday presentation when the owner is in office and things are a little quieter, or just text everything back and forth cuz’ you know she does not want to take up the business phone line while talking with you.

Some surprises are surprisingly easy to do, others take a little more work but you get the idea; Surprises rock. Surprises differentiate. Surprises grow the business.

Get to know surprises well.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

For the Blind, the Deaf and the One in the Back

Lia Oldham and her husband Ben teach theater skills to summer campers in Groton, Massachusetts.

My son attends the 2 week camp and shared that Lia reminded them last week to always perform for the “the blind, the deaf and the one in the back”.

Great advice.

Theater is a good training for much of the presentation work we do in sales, marketing and training. Leaders too have been known to steal a few techniques from the stage to get their messages out well.

I did a fair amount of acting and directing back in the day and some of those stage lessons came roaring back having heard what Lia said about how to perform for your audience. I’ve never been shy about sharing the value of having a theater background if you work in sales, marketing and training. In fact, that experience is great to look for when your hire people in these spaces.

Here are 4 stage techniques that specifically respect performing and presenting for the “blind”, the “deaf” and the “one in the back”.

For The Blind. On the stage, performing for the “blind” recognizes the true value of what is being heard. One stage technique is so important it’s often repeated three times;

Tempo, Tempo, Tempo. Great acting (and great playwriting) result with stage performance sounding much like a song though this play is not a musical. Stage directors obsess with tempo both to keep the play moving but mostly ensuring that the monologues and the dialogues that already have a cadence, a beat and a rhythm built in are executed well to add depth and energy to the story. In business think Zig Zigler: His Content is not the only instrument of his work; his voice is and that man can “sing”. Have a listen here. When you present or train, use these conscious thoughts of tempo to help you.
- Tempo Up: The training or the presentation should peak (often more than once). Use speed and tone build ups. Excitement sells.
- Choruses; find the salient point and begin with it. Repeat it throughout the presentation much like the chorus of a song.
- Sentence structure: Maybe 6 lines of a play or a presentation should for example, start with “You wouldn’t believe…” or “There will come a day..”. It gives that cadence and rhythm to you work that helps the message stick.

For The Deaf. On the stage, it’s about being Visually Deep.

Visually Deep: Makeup on stage accentuates facial features to allow expressions to be seen more easily. Expressions on a face as we know are deep windows to the soul. Props too for an Actor can do the same thing adding depth to a character as props can tell a story without having to be explained; (think a cane, a worn briefcase – you get the idea). In business it may make a lot more sense to use props than a lot of stage makeup (your call on that). Sales Guru Jeff Gitomer is a great prop user. Consider for example instead of talking about or showing an image of a funnel in power point to explain a sales pipeline ( like we’ve all seen) use a real plastic or metal funnel and fill it with ping pong balls. Visual Depth helps those who are more influenced by what they see versus what they hear.

For The One in the Back. On the stage it’s about Playing to the Balconies and Being Authentic.

The “one in the back” in Theater as well as in business can be the disinterested, the forced to attend or the non-believer. Performing for those folks is tougher but no less valuable (especially when you can convert them into believers). Those “in the front” in Theater and in business meetings and presentations often are already engaged, willing and believe so an actor or a presenter needs to remember that too much focus to the front rows may be missing an opportunity to “sell” to the whole audience.

Play to the Balconies. In theater, it is “chest up”, “eyes up” and “look up”. That physical approach brings the “back” in. In Business it is the same. In business do your best to look out and beyond the front rows even calling on folks in the back by name to draw them in.
Being Authentic. As Lia Oldham shared with my son and his theater campers last week, when you work hard at performing for “the blind” and for “the deaf”, those from the back rows still may not see you or hear you that well but by golly, they will believe you.

Till next time,

Grow The Business

Mark

Going Soft

Soft data gets a bad rap.

“I’m not so sure, that report is full of soft data.”

“That Training is soft skills training; I need Training that is going to make a difference”.

I’ve heard those two phrases more times than I care to remember (including hearing myself say them a few times over the years).

The problem with the word “soft” is that in some cases it’s perceived as negative; that “soft” stuff is less important than some of the “harder” stuff.

The longer I look around though, the more I realize I haven’t always thought of that right.

Hard data is great, except when you missed the soft data that is often customer opinion, employee engagement, social media perceptions and the next cable network pundit’s nasty opinion about your brand.
Hard skills like system knowledge, order entry, product knowledge and compliance training are great, except when the soft skills like negotiation skills, engagement skills, sales skills, coaching skills and customer service skills disappear or take such a back seat, that they never get trained.

We are all guilty of trying to make soft data and soft skills “harder” by trying to quantify them; assigning numbers, equations and decimal points to “soft” stuff in an effort to make it more like the hard stuff.

Problem might be that we are just not comfortable or confident with “gray”; and that we want, like the hard skills and hard data, for things to be more easily measurable and more black and white.

But there are few wildly successful sales people whose soft skills are not often the differentiator in customer relationships. And there are fewer superstar entrepreneurs, consultants, customer service reps, managers, teachers & marketers who don’t absolutely rock with soft skills or even in the use of soft data to get the job done.

So maybe, just maybe, the next time someone says to you “You’re going soft”, you should just say “Thank you”.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

You Wouldn’t Think…

You wouldn’t think you’d get farther by doing things that feel weird or counterintuitive to sales, but you will.

You wouldn’t think you’d get farther by asking “Can you help me?” vs. “Can you tell me?” but you will. People like to help people more than they like to serve people.

You wouldn’t think you’d get farther by fumbling your voicemail message than by delivering it perfectly, but you will. People like real imperfect people more than real perfect people.

You wouldn’t think you’d get farther by not trying to close on every call vs. saying “Let me walk away and think about this” but you will. People like people who listen and think more than they like people who just listen and solve.

You wouldn’t think you’d get farther by saying “Thank you for your business” vs. “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” but you will. People more than ever; remember being appreciated rather than the check to see if their wallet was still open.

You wouldn’t think you’d get farther having a catalogue, a brochure or a handwritten letter in your tool belt vs. just landing pages, links and emails, but you will. People like to do more than just surf sometimes; people also like to swim.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

A New Sales Model

Have a new sales model for you. Don’t fall asleep just yet, you should care about this. It’s simple but different. Different is good.

A sales model for our purposes here is the process or the steps you take to make a sale. The process you trust, the process you live by. Sales models are important; they are a roadmap so to speak, of how to do what you want to do, which is of course, to grow the business.

You use sales models all the time. Want to go out on a date with someone? Here is an age old popular model to get that done.

Prepare / Search / Impress / Close

First you go and Prepare (look sharp, take a shower that day (you can do it!) then go Search ( scope out the lounge, the beach, the bake sale – whatever) then Impress ( sound wicked funny/ smart/ nice and get your favorite pick up lines ready like “Excuse me do you have a tissue? I was just listening to Susan Boyle on my IPod“) and finally the Close (“I have a hankering to watch The Notebook again, would you like to join me?”)

Traditional Sales models have been around forever too. A typical sales model is something like:

Rapport /Discovery / Present / Close.

That is to develop a connection, ask good questions, make a product offer and then close the sale. You get it.

I don’t much like the traditional sales models. Not for us. Not for anyone really, but especially not for us.

Here is a new sales model

Time / Trust / Create Need / Discover / Advocate / Close / Support

Looks complicated? It’s not. Don’t worry about the last 4 here (discovery, advocate, close, support), those are traditional and something to detail another day. Just think about the first 3; Time, Trust & Create Need, those are the “New” in this sales model versus traditional ones.

The New Sales Model is front loaded like never before. It needs to be.

The very beginning of any sales process has been underwritten and underplayed for 50 years. Getting attention, earning the right to talk with or market to folks wasn’t like then what it is today. It’s different now; how you really start or really begin is the most important part of the sales process. Do that well, superbly well and the rest of the sales process is easy. That’s why we need to change the traditional model.

Dig up any sales training or sales models from today or yesteryear and you’ll find almost nothing on getting salespeople to see TIME as a critical commodity that must be purchased from the prospect before anything happens.

Search Google and look for all the TRUST training and theory out there for sales forces of the world; you’ll find some for sure, but mostly you’ll find a lot of superficial blather about “building rapport” or “forming relationships”. Used to be a hearty handshake or some smart product knowledge or “my office is down the street” was trust enough to get the sales process started. No more. Nobody’s company has that kind of infallibility anymore. It’s take a lot more and a lot different now to earn the Trust you need today.

Instead of CREATE NEED help, you’ll find a gazillion sales theories and courseware around “finding needs” or “finding pain points”. It’s as if the prospects and customers of the world are walking about “injured”, “lost” or “clueless” about themselves anxiously waiting for a company or sales rep to come in diagnose and prescribe medication to fix the pain. I don’t think so.

Sales Theory in large part is not keeping up with the times. Much else is different in the marketplace than when some of the biggies rolled out their iconic sales models (companies like Wilson Learning, Dale Carnegie, Huthwaite and the like). What’s changed?

 Everybody has gotten smarter; your customers in a couple of clicks can get a lot more info and now need a sales rep to be smarter than them in different places, in more Trusted places.

 It’s harder to be unique. Companies are changing and entering new spaces but consumers still have lots of choices (more than ever) for a provider. It’s like Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink who said essentially that “if given too many choices, then nothing happens”. Create Need my friends.

 Used to be you could be assured your customer “listened” to you, now they are in control. Their Time and attention is precious and they know it- YOU know it. Marketing is changing radically to respect this; Salespeople need to too.

This model is your map to better success. This model needs our attention, our rallying around, our design and planning around.

Old sales models are for old companies and old sales reps in old marketplaces. Don’t believe for a minute we are old. Nope, we’re new, brand new. We have to be.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Want more fodder for thinking about the new model? Take note..

Seth Godin gets totally the “time” piece of the model; so read his book Permission Marketing.
Gitomer and Steven Covey Jr. (the son, not that father) get the “trust” piece fairly well so have a gander at Trust by Gitomer and Speed of Trust by Covey Jr.
Lastly go here http://www.icrinc.com/web/videoportfolio.php Scroll down to Easton Bell Sports who essentially base their sales philosophy on “creating need”. Love it

Forest Quandaries

“If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it really make a sound?”

I get the riddle, I really do. But I honestly don’t care much about the darned tree and if it makes even so much as a peep.

I do have some things in that forest I do care about though. You should too.

If you completely rebrand yourself but there is no one there to notice, does it really make a difference? Think hard about inviting more people into the forest.

If you spend hours learning about a product but no customer ever asks you a question about it, will you ever sell anything? Grab some stump and tell somebody what you know in an interesting way.

If you spend time to get smarter or stronger but never feel a bit stretched or sore, will you ever be either smarter or stronger? Lift some heavier deadwood.

If you want to live in the best tree in the forest but never have a plan to find it, will you ever be so lucky to stumble upon it? Get a knife and carve out a plan.

If you post a blog in the forest and there is no one there to read it, does it really matter? Write something so interesting that people care to hike in once in a while.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mullet Over

Sales and Dating just don’t mix. But when they do, there are lessons to be learned.

Tonight you are super sales guy Rock Ledger. You are single and in a bar. Good Times.

And lucky you, it’s also 80’s night. This feels good. This was your time. This was where the Rock Ledger legend began. So even though you are not much of a dancer, it’s flashback (and Flashdance) fever tonight so you have got it going on!

You Rock Ledger, you super sales man, you did your pre – party research, and prepared well for this 80’s night. And holy leg warmers, you spy someone you think you’d like to talk to. You remember her name is Tiffany.

Excellent. Time to make your move.

A bit sweaty now because you just had to break out some moves to the blaring tune Safety Dance, you are comforted knowing that the rusty Aquanet hairspray you found buried in your dresser drawer (literally from the 80’s you suspect), had enough juice to keep hair securely shaped into that “oh so cool” Mullet. You amble over to Tiffany in your now ill – fitting Members Only jacket and say:

“Well Hello there.”

“Well Hello to you.” She says. She looks at you coyly. She’s curious. You look back. An awkward pause ensues, but you are ready. Conversation is your game.

“I was wondering” you say, (knowing full well how good your John Stamos Full House Mullet looks)…. “Are you happy with growth of your family or are you just looking to keep the family you have?”

“Whaaaat?” She cries.

“No, I ‘m sorry. What I meant was, how happy are you recently with things? Is life going well for you? Are you really happy with your current boyfriend or do you want to be happier?”

“Listen Skippy, I barely know you..”, she says. (And of course you’re thinking that “Skippy” was Michael J Fox’s dorky friend on Family Ties and you definitely do not, look like Skippy)

“Ok I’m really sorry this is not starting off well. All I want to know is why can’t I have a serious conversation with you?”

WHAP!! Your face, ego and hair sprayed Mullet all get whacked at once. Face and ego bruised, the Mullet surrenders too and snaps back from whence it came. Your 80’s night is now over.

Mildly entertaining? Sure. But Rock Ledger’s conversation with Tiffany is not that much different than some of the early conversations we have with our business customers and prospects. Though we are well intentioned, many of us launch into some very deep questions right off the get go.

We are quick to ask these deep and frankly quite “personal” (especially when speaking with small to med size businesses) questions that while your customer won’t likely literally “slap” you like Tiffany did, they sure as hell might want to.

Think about what many of us ask after a few moments of introduction or in our first meeting.

“Are you focused on growth or maintaining your customer base?
“How is the economy treating you, are you guys doing OK?”
“Are you happy with your current supplier?
“What’s the biggest challenge you are facing this year?
“I want to understand your needs better, so I have some questions..”

Should we be asking these questions of our customers? Yes we should. But should we take some time to buy the prospect a metaphorical drink or two and build a little trust and value about ourselves or our company first? Prove we care about really helping the prospect first? You bet. Tiffany would have appreciated it.

This doesn’t have to take too long. It can take as little as a first date but more often than not (especially today in this low trust competitive environment), you shouldn’t ask these types of “personal questions” till you’ve had a few dates or you might get whapped. It’s tough, the pressure is on. You need to perform. Rock Ledger wants to close the deals right quick too, but you saw what happened to him.

You can dance if you want to. And I suggest you do. But dance the long dance version please first.

Till next time,

Grow the Business.

Mark

What’s Your Trigger?

Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open Sunday. And a little sharpied red dot on his golf glove had something to do with it.

That little red dot on his hand was what he looked at before each and every shot. That glance, that focus on the red dot helped get him “into the zone” and to “dispel the distractions”. It was and is his trigger.

Triggers, as any sports person knows, are a big deal. They can be a stare, a move, or even a thought but regardless of what they are, it is what they do that matters. And for Louis, that trigger was something that helped him execute in a very tough job under a ton of pressure.

What’s your trigger?

Playing sports, mine was a tap of my left foot before the pitcher began his wind up. My younger brother (a much better player) would slam his bat to the plate at the beginning of each at bat; a trigger that worked for well for him (and as an added plus, intimidated the opposition).

But what’s your trigger at work? We do great things. We need to perform under pressure and just like Louis we’ve got to execute difficult tasks well (often repeatedly) without much room for error.

For some folks it’s a phrase or a word they say to themselves before the presentation starts, before the call comes in, or before they push that door open that says “no solicitors”. For other folks it’s forcing that image of a mentor or a respected boss into your head, or it’s a quick look at your kid’s picture on your desk and the thought of who you are really doing this for.

But more often than not, I’m guessing there isn’t a trigger at all.

More often we just do. We think hard and we work hard for sure, but I doubt many of us consciously while at work have a “trigger” that helps us get “into the zone” or “dispel the distractions”.

I think we should find one. One that helps you instantly lock into that zone. Maybe it’s a head nod with your eyes closed for half a second as you hear the words or see the face that is your trigger. Maybe it’s something you wear on your wrist you can cast a glance at 15 times a day.

I have one. I have a trigger. I’ll admit I’ve gotten away from using as often as I once did but Louis inspired me to bring it back. And yesterday (Monday) was the first day I employed it throughout the day in a quite a while.

Grew the damn business I did.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

These Bags Should Not Fly Free

The airlines have a message for you. Just leave your bags at home or you’re going to feel some pain. And I think they got this one right. Maybe we should start charging for bringing bags to work.

Better still, here are 5 bags Sales and Marketing Leaders should just leave at home.

The bag of Costumes: Too often sales and marketing leaders cover themselves with consultants or brand names to hide inadequacies or lack of confidence. Work hard on finding the right answers, not buying them and then hiding behind them.
The bag of Old Shoes: Sorry, but your experience in closing techniques or dealing with objections is pretty worthless today. It’s the beginning of the sales process that is woefully under focused on today. Leave that 80’s leather at home.
The bag of “Best Employee / Best Practices” Manuals: Problem with this belief is that the best employees of today are often great at Interruption Selling or Interruption Marketing which will be dead in about 5 years. Bury that in the yard.
The bag of Infinite Prospects: The world is smaller now and if you try to bring the bag of dreams that there are thousands or millions of untouched virgin prospects; you’re wrong. Pay your $25 dollars and bring the bag of Investing Differently in Current Customers.
The bag that Won’t Fit: You might be brilliant, you might be the answer. But if you never take a moment to embrace a culture, a department, a division or a team ( even for just a few weeks), before you try and change it, you’ll never quite fit.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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