Punctuation Free (For a Reason)

Punctuation Free ( For a Reason)

When you look closely, there is no comma, slash, semi-colon, parenthesis or period between the title words “Sales Representative.” And that’s on purpose. You have to do both at the same time.

You have to sell but you have to represent the company simultaneously. It’s not one or the other. You can’t sell for selling sake and set unreal expectations or pound out fishy phone calls or phishy emails because then you are not “representing” the company well. Conversely, you can’t be all Kumbaya and go harvesting customers with super friendly experiences and never broach filling the unmet needs of the customer.

There is no comma, slash, semi-colon, parenthesis or period between the title “Service Representative” either.

You have to give great service but you have to represent the company simultaneously time. It’s not one or the other. If you don’t take ownership (“I don’t know why they did that in shipping..”) or apologize for real (“sorry that happened to you…what’s your account number?” ) you are leaving an awful impression as a Rep of the company. Conversely, your reliance on policy or procedure or terms and conditions do little to evoke the “service” part of a service call.

There is also no comma, slash, semi-colon, parenthesis or period between the titles of “Sales Manager” or “Service Manager” so you best know sales and service at an expert level and likewise need to know how to expertly support your people at the same time.

Punctuation between words has its place – a means often to stop, pause, reposition and separate. But if it ain’t there it ain’t there – that means when the words go together; they belong together.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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7 Things Your Prospect Won’t Tell You

7 Things Your Prospect Won’t Tell You

Whether I, your prized business prospect, is calling you or picking up your phone call, there are things I just won’t tell you.

1) I used to be in sales too. You’d be surprised how many of us decision makers started out, or are still in, sales. And I can still smell a trial close, a rotating yes and min/max close from 50 feet away. Don’t use tricky closes on me.

2) Don’t make me feel stupid even for a second. I know my world very well – not your world and if you make me feel like I’m an idiot presuming I know or like your acronyms, buzzwords and fast talking pitches- I’m gone; I’ll just go to your competitors website and read and email- – that way no one has to talk to me.

3) Tell me what everyone else is doing. I hate to admit this sometimes even to myself but I do want to know what my competitors or even my industry is doing lately and haven’t had any time to dig in. But I’m not about to go ask you — yet I wouldn’t mind hearing it if you wanted to just shout it out. Am I missing out on something or some trend?

4) I know more way more about you than you think. I’ve been to your website; I’ve Googled your reviews. Heck I’ve Googled you and saw you on LinkedIn and Twitter (or didn’t- and what does that mean?) I may have seen a few opinions about your company on Twitter already. So don’t waste my time with the basics about yourself – I got it. I called you because I want something more than the internet can give me.

5) I don’t expect much from you. I just never know if you really work for this company I am calling or am getting called from. Are you a contractor, an outsourced support, brand new employee, who knows? I don’t have high hopes but if you can assure me quickly you know what the heck you are doing then maybe I’ll listen.

6) I’d rather do nothing. Seriously, I hate change. I wish everything I do today would just work better. Change is costly, risky, takes forever it seems and I am busy enough already. I won’t tell you that of course. I’d rather just flat our say no or compare you to someone else or put you off but honestly; doing what I do today is just easier. If you can’t make me do something “different” and get me to get off the dime and essentially hate what I am doing today- then don’t bother.

7) You’re 7^th on the list. I respect you dear supplier but my family, my boss, my colleagues, my customers, my pastor and my pets all come before you my trusted partner. Nothing personal- you can be very valuable to me but everyone else here is getting something for Christmas next year just so’s ya know.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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Horrid Phrases

Horrid Phrases

Don’t know if any of you fly a lot. I kind of do – at least of late. At the airport, there is one phrase gate agents of a certain airline sometimes say ( actually proclaim over the loudspeaker) that just crushes me. It’s horrid. It makes me instantly hang my head in depression. It ruins my flight, my day and my mood immediately.

“Our flight is completely full today..”

I’m not a small man; (thankfully not ready for the seatbelt extension just yet) but Lordy, when you hear that phrase, thinking about getting into and sitting in those seats and aisles built for middle schoolers, is now horrid on a grand scale.

I think there are some other horrid phrases agents of many industries say these days that can give that same kind of instant feel of dread and depression.

“OK, let’s see what they did here..”. Are you kidding me? As soon as your client with a question hears “they”, the horridness kicks in: Oh my, you are not in charge. Oh my, I’m gonna have to talk to someone else. Oh my, I’m talking to an idiot with no authority. Oh my, this place is so big, I’m never going to get the answer.

“Can I have your phone number in case we are disconnected?” It’s 2011! The only disconnections are when someone does it on purpose. Your client or prospect is in the horrid zone immediately: Oh please, you want my number to pester me at dinner or in a middle of a meeting to sell me something with your silly outbound program. Oh please, now I’m in your database and all I had was a darn question. Oh great, they have crappy phone systems with disconnect issues, can’t wait to do business with them.

“Mark”, “Mark” , “Mark” Yeah that’s right, my first name. You say my first name more than twice in a conversation on the phone or face to face and a horrid sickness overcomes me and your customers too: Oh I get it, someone trained you to use ” the customer’s first name” often in your calls- that feels genuine! Oh I get it, you are as slick a sale rep as I’ve ever seen – you make me wanna take a shower. Oh I get it, you think using my first name a lot makes us like family or brothers and I will buy your stuff- lol!

The thing about horrid phrases is the emotions they elicit have staying power. They linger. They stick. They can even leave a lasting impression about you or your company as a brand that is as uncomfortable as seat 28B.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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Up With Update, Updated, Updating

Up With Update. Updated, Updating

I heard about a company a while back that instructs its employees never to say that their computers are running slow. Instead the representatives say “Our systems are updating….” or “We’re in the midst of updating our systems, it will just taking a moment longer…”

Nice touch. Smart too.

We all have system issues at times. And usually yes, there’s some updating going on be it a new release or upgrades or what have you that slows things down.

The point is the caller on the other end of the line is feels less tension, more confidence and more patience when they hear systems or computers are being “updated” rather than being “slow”.

The use the word “update” even in the On Hold process:

“Let me put you on hold to get the most updated information.”

Way better than “Let me put you on hold to find out” or “to figure it out” or some other underwhelming phrase. “Updated” shows how bleeding edge you are keeping up with things and striving for that up-to-the-minute accuracy.

I suspect “update” has other uses in your world. It sounds fresh, smart and on top of things. Heck we live by the word with our smart phones and tablets as an incredibly necessary thing to be on top of those “updates”.

Have a look around. Update your language a bit. Don’t underestimate the value of your customers feeling a bit more comfortable and confident when working with you.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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The Perfect I’m Sorry

The Perfect “I’m Sorry”

I was in awe and actually stunned last week. Like the cool, slow motion, jaw dropping kind of stunned. Really I was.

I had realized right then, while sitting there next to Eric and listening to both he and the upset customer, that I had never ever heard it like that before. And I have heard thousands and thousands of customer service calls over these last 25 years.

Until last Wednesday I don’t think I’ve ever heard those two words said just like that and in that way.

“I’m sorry”.

But alas, here is how he said it! He said “I’m sorry” and then said nothing. Nothing! You know, the dead air kind of nothing, the “you can hear a pin drop” kind of nothingness.

The two words “I’m sorry” weren’t rendered meaningless by adding moronic drivel like “…..that happened” or “…we did that” or ”…this happened to you” or “…we made a mistake” or “ …we won’t do it again” . None of those polluted words were suffixed to the most perfect “I’m sorry” I’ve ever heard.

That’s it. Two words. “I’m sorry”. And then, no more sounds. No clickety clack keyboard sounds of moving on. No blathering, babbling or god forbid – cross selling. Not even a cough. Nothing – just nothing.

Wait was important. Wait for it to sink in is what I realized he was doing. Wait for it to really mean something to the customer.

And then, on the other end of the line, the soft voice of the customer finally, agonizingly and mercifully said “OK”.

Perfect. That’s all Eric needed to hear.

Think about his choice of using those particular words. There is so much personal lasting ownership in the two words “I’m sorry” when they are left the heck alone. There is vulnerability and sincerity in just those two words and in exactly those two words.

I suspect he already knew what I also had just realized sitting next to him. That using an “I apologize” or any variation of that is just not the same when you compare. I’ve heard it a million times and truth be told, it antiseptically washes over people. “I apologize” rings emptily of what you did while “I’m sorry” rings importantly of how you feel.

You (and I) have two words to practice now with the 3^rd part being the perfect silence that follows. I never expected to get taught such a wonderful service lesson on a late Wednesday afternoon from a guy I never met before named Eric who has been on the phones for only 4 precious months. And over the years and maybe even in this blog, I’ve written inaccurately now it seems, about how to apologize and make amends with customers in need. For that I simply say

I’m sorry.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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Angela’s Assist

Angela’s Assist

“What are you buying it for?”

“Oh, that’s wonderful…”

“Let me do that for you…..”

“I think you should grab a couple more…”

“That looks beautiful on you…..”

“Oh, I don’t like that one on you so much, not conservative enough…”

“You know what would really make that look sharp…. is a belt..”

“A necklace will really tie it together and show your personality…”

“You may want to grab another blouse with the 50% off promotion and mix and match this.”

“Good luck, I know you’ll get the job”.

Yep. That’s pretty much verbatim what sales associate Angela said to my 23 year daughter 2 weeks ago as we shopped for her first real business suit as she was about to interview for a customer service role in one of the largest investment firms in the world.

It was a memorable almost “wow” service experience as her mother and I watched Angela guide her through the buying process. She wasn’t pushy; she wasn’t hovering as in fact, Angela was helping two other customers at the same time.

It was however, so smart. It started with the right question. Not just “What are you buying?” But, “What are you buying it for?”

The rest of her comments and questions make smart sense. They are honest. They are helpful. They are overtly credible and said with the tone and content that she has “totally been here before”. And it was in the end, not about the suit at all – but about the goal our daughter had in mind – landing that job.

She did land that job. [Today, in fact :)]

And while the business suit Angela helped pick out for our daughter probably wasn’t the reason she got the job, it sure didn’t hurt and better, what a great lesson in customer service Angela gave her to steal from for the interview. It works on a lot of levels.

You can steal shamelessly from Angela too. Read the comments she made and the questions she asked. Think about them. Apply accordingly.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

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PS: If you’d like to see Angela in action, head to the clothing store Ann Taylor at Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, NH. I’m sure she won’t mind that I sent you there. 🙂

We Need More Boring Sales Stories

We Need More Boring Sales Stories

We need more of these. You know the boring Sales stories right?

Your Voicemail lights up. “Hi Mark, I’d like to place a new order”.
Your phone rings: “Hi John, I need to buy a car for my daughter.”
Your door opens: “Any way I can get a pool installed in 2 weeks?”
Your email pings: “Can you be the listing agent for my house?”

You never hear any of these sales stories around the water cooler or at the bar. No war stories there. Boring. Boring. Boring.

Yet these things do happen to great sales reps. You don’t hear about them though because as we’ve established, it’s um, boring – not much to see here.

Except that’s not really true.

You see, in these sales stories, someone else did the selling. Some customer was so moved by the experience with their sales rep, so amazed at the service, the follow up, the treatment, the wisdom and the sheer help, that he/she inspired friends to call, visit or ping this sales rep with their open minds and wallets.

No referral was asked for here – all the selling was done behind the scenes, unknowable to the sales rep. Hard to tell a story in which you have no idea what really happened. A real snoozer.

Best kind of sales though where the customers do the selling for you ain’t it? Bring on the boring! – Zero to close in 30 seconds!

How many of these calls, visits or emails are you getting? How many boring sales stories could you actually tell? Not enough?

Get cracking then – do what you need to do to get your customers to sell for you. Be boring all the way to the bank.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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On Dislodging

On Dislodging

You best be getting better at dislodging the competition. It’s going to get harder out there.

Oh sure it’s fun to sell products/services to small businesses who have never had a website, or any online meeting software, or water/ coffee services, or insurance, or you fill in the blank.

And it’s not just fun, it is darn easier too. Everyone knows that.

Every salesperson ormarketer knows it is a heck of a lot easier to get that small business into some product or service they never had before than to dislodge the competitor and stealmarket share.

I remember us sales people back in the day ( I was one of them), nearly careening into each other as we screeched out of the parking lot upon hearing a new construction site was opening up. Oh to be the first one there to sell the contractors on stuff! So much easier than kicking out the competition.

But you can’t bank on being first anymore – it’s just harder. More competition from not just your local region but from around the world. More competition because that small business prospect is not waiting for your knock or your call but is on the web looking at you and your competition making decisions and placing orders while you are snuggled in your bed unawares.

And soon, very soon – every small business new or old, is going to have things like a website package, online meeting services,POSsoftware, promotional products, outsourced legal support, business cards and more often right at the time of their business launch and just as likely right at the time you decide to give them a ring or a knock on their door. Now you may be lucky and all that business belongs to you, but I’m guessing you’ve got a bigger quota to hit than relying on that pipe dream.

All is not lost – Here are 5 Keys to Dislodging:

Find The Trigger: When you need to dislodge a competitor or another means in which the client is getting something done, search for that opening -be it a new sales leader or business partner that moves in, a new location that opens up or they just started putting a Twitter logo on their materials. Whatever that trigger is – there is a chance that new blood, new ideas or new budget is involved and your chances of dislodging have just gotten better.
Make is Easy & Fast & Painless to Come to You. Get it all done inside 24 hours; be it the product, the demo or the proof that gets in the clients hands. If you can, offer to cancel the competitor service for the client (like Geico does). Pain to change and pain to switch is as big an enemy of dislodging as anything else.
Remove The Risk; If there is no pain to “try you out” or “run side by side” or “guarantee you will be more satisfied” then you have great shot. Gutsy stuff for sure but what you do with that shot is what really matters. And do the math, compare this CTA ( Cost to Acquire) versus CTA for new business and you’re often surprised it’s cheaper.
Say it/ Script it: “I want you to come to us”, or “We can do better than what you are doing today” are great phrases. I know one group of sales people today who are having success dislodging by saying right up front to customers – ” This year we are committed to an aggressive approach towards competitive packages based on an annual volume.”
Be Incomparable or Comparable ( not anywhere in between) : Sometimes the worst thing you can be is “kind of like the other guy “. Nothing bores like a perceived commodity. Be, and accentuate the difference(s) hard or go straight up head to head ( like Flo’s Progressive insurance company ads do.) If you are decidedly different in one area – that is your lead story. If you are similar across the board to the competition; share that, be an advocate for getting the right solution for the client and beat the competition more often than not on price, service or quality.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

If You Knew, You’d Act Differently

Let’s start this post with Jeopardy like feel except that the answer to the following 6 questions is the same:

What is, “You bet I would!”

If you knew small business prospects are 3 times more likely to act when you give dollar discounts versus percentage (%) discounts, would you handle your offers or pitches differently?
If you knew most small business prospects had already looked at your website before they called you inquiring about pricing, would you handle the call differently?
If you knew most small business prospects initially dislike being interrupted over the phone by sales reps, would you handle your call opening differently?
If you knew most small businesses think you are more credible if you give specific details (like “we are launching a 3 part welcome program to all new customers..”) vs. sharing a customer testimonial, then would you speak or market differently?
If you knew that 3 out 4 small business prospects in Manufacturing, Construction and Healthcare have their interest piqued when you share information specific to their industry ( vs. say just 1 out of 4 Retail prospects care about information specific to their industry), would you plan your contacts, visits and marketing with these types of verticals differently?
If you knew that most small businesses don’t yet realize social media is the new and most sacred “Word of Mouth”, would you talk about, advise, encourage and role model social media differently?

The above are true and just a smattering of real data about real small businesses I culled from the research done by firms like the Enterprise Council on Small Business (ECSB) and other reputable research orgs.

Now you know. Go forward differently.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Show Rooming Is Our Fault

Show Rooming Is Our Fault

Target got all a tither last week firing off letters to their suppliers demanding they either reduce their costs or focus on giving Target more unique and exclusive products to sell in their stores.

Problem is that folks go to Target, look at a product, touch it, hold it, feel it, ask questions about it and then turn around and go online and buy the same thing cheaper from some online company that doesn’t have the costs to bear for the brick and mortar, the labor and all the rest.

They call it Show Rooming and brick and mortar retailers like Target are getting sick of it.

But Target is mad at the wrong people. It’s not the supplier that’s the problem – it’s us.

Maybe it was the way I was brought up or where I’ve worked but there’s something wrong about using one company to learn and see everything about a product and then going out and buying it online ( or anywhere else for that matter.) And it happens a lot.

There’s something wrong with walking into the local hardware store, getting that advice on which paint to use to cover paneling, spending some time at the color wheel and then saying “Thanks man!” while jumping in the car to speed off to the superstore to get the exact same paint a little cheaper.

There’s something wrong when the Veterinarian examines your dog, hands you the product she needs to stay healthy and you put it down sheepishly saying “gee I can’t get that right now” only to go on line, look for the same product and order it there for 3 bucks cheaper.

There’s something wrong with going to a car dealer, working the sales rep for 2 days, getting all the answers, taking that test drive and getting all of it down on paper to then neatly fold it, slip it into your back pocket and then shopping around with all this new knowledge to get better price from some other dealer who sells the same model car.

And it happens to you too.

It’s not real different in sales either when you spend 3 weeks educating a prospect about a solution, prepare a proposal and that prospect takes your proposal and their new education, then turns it over to a competitor and says “Beat that”. That happens, that’s life but that’s Show Rooming a Sales Rep and that ain’t right.

It’s a lot like stealing I think. For too many people it’s not a problem to take insight, or time, or commitment, or ideas only to use them against the very people and places that were so skilled or gracious in giving them to you in the first place by going somewhere else to buy.

That’s called Show Rooming and nope, even though its rampant and even a source of pride for some, I don’t like it one bit.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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