4 Surprising Things Great Sales People Say |  |
- 4 Surprising Things Great Sales People Say
- Can Attitude Get You Fired? Two Attitudes to Avoid
- 5 Small Business Lessons From Mad Men
- Bubbles Do Burst
- Small Businesses Go Old School
| 4 Surprising Things Great Sales People Say Posted: 19 Apr 2012 01:30 PM PDT A lot of people in the sales business seem to think that there is a standard expectation of what a "good sales person" is supposed to sound like. We've built up this idea that a "good sales person" is supposed to be relentless, energetic, good at building relationships, always eager to close the deal, and unwilling to take "no" for an answer.
Some of these traits are true, while some can be counter-productive if left unchecked. But one surprising lesson I've learned from my years of experience in the appointment setting industry is that some of the best sales people don't act at all like the stereotypical "good sales person." If you want to boost the performance of your sales team, you might want to consider taking a new approach and training your sales people to say some of these surprising things that you wouldn't expect a sales person to say: “I don’t know the answer to that question.” Sales people often pride themselves on knowing all the answers. They want to quickly be able to solve a client's problem and put a prospect's mind at ease. The problem is, if your sales people are too quick to provide "the answer," they are missing opportunities to dive deeper into the prospect's problem and identify the root cause of the prospect's pain. There are often bigger sales to be made through a longer-term consultative approach, rather than simply giving "the answer" upfront. There's usually no single ideal solution, especially for the most lucrative B2B sales opportunities. Instead of claiming to always have the answer, the best sales people know how to say "I don't know…let's talk further about this." That's where you can build deeper sales relationships and uncover bigger sales opportunities. “I'm not going to sell you what you don't need.” The biggest fear of most B2B buyers is that they'll get sold on some solution/system or service that they don't really need. Buyers can't expect to know all the details of what you're selling – that's why they're in the market for the product or service that you sell. The challenge is, some sales people try to upsell a client even when it's not appropriate. Instead of taking a long-term approach that accounts for the client's needs, these sales people try to maximize their immediate commission by selling a bigger package of solutions today. The best sales people are willing to help their customers save money, even if it means making a smaller sale. Great sales people focus on building long-term business relationships, not short-term transactions. “I'm sorry but I can't deliver what you need.” The stereotypical "good sales person" is always agreeable and always wanting to say "yes" to a customer request. Their instincts are good – they want to provide solid customer service – but unfortunately sometimes the best sales people have to say "no." If a sales person can't deliver what the customer needs – whether it's a certain package of solutions, a certain price or a certain delivery date – the sales person needs to notify the customer up front. Great sales people know that it's always better to underpromise and overdeliver – so if a sales person knows that their customers aren't going to be able to get exactly what they've asked for, the sales person needs to let them know. “Please tell me more about your requirements.” Stereotypical sales people are often reluctant to ask too many questions or drag out the requirements-gathering process. Instead they want to shift focus to closing the deal. This is a mistake. The best sales people will invest time upfront in asking questions, getting details, and digging into the underlying problems. By learning more about the requirements, the sales person gets better informed about the client's problem, identify the scope, and recommend better solutions. The best sales people aren't afraid to say no, ask questions and give up short-term revenue in exchange for a longer-term relationship. Don't get dazzled by sales people who seem to have the stereotypical traits of a "good sales person." Instead, hire (and promote) sales people who surprise you. Ultimately, the surprising secrets of great sales people are all about building credibility. If a sales person shows humility (by admitting when he/she doesn't know the answer), builds trust (by not pushing hard for an unnecessary add-on purchase and by not making false promises) and shows sincerity (by asking questions and digging deep to identify the customer's requirements) then customers are more likely to believe that the sales person is looking out for their best interests. Credibility and building trust can have a massive impact on closing sales. If customers trust you, they will reward you with long-term business relationships that are far more valuable than a single transaction.
From Small Business Trends |
| Can Attitude Get You Fired? Two Attitudes to Avoid Posted: 19 Apr 2012 10:30 AM PDT Is attitude hurting your business? According to a study by Leadership IQ 46% of new hires will fail within the first 18 months but 89% of that failure will happen because of attitude — not skill. When it comes to being employed, the ability to fit the small business culture and communication style is important.
But what about the leadership? The 3-year Leadership IQ study included more than 5,000 participants and focused on employee attitudes. But in the business setting, small business owners ultimately have to answer to THEIR employers: the clients and customers. I can't help but wonder about those small businesses that do things to get themselves "fired." After all, clients can and do move on. Here are 2 quick attitudes to watch out for — attitudes that you and your team may be exhibiting, whether you realize it or not, that could get your small business fired: 1) An Attitude of IrritationYou work to get the client, but you undercharge them and now you're irritated. Or you agree to do work outside of your core skill set and you get the job, but now you're irritated because you have to do extra work in order to make good on your promise. Or you've built a business around something that you're good at but hate doing, and now you're irritated. If you don't do something about this attitude of irritation, it's going to bleed out. And eventually you're going to take it out on your team and/or your client — in small or big ways. Or your team will sense it and start exhibiting the same irritation. At the core, your clients like to work with people who are great at what they do and passionate about it. Do the kind of work that makes it easier for you to be that kind of person. 2) A Cavalier AttitudeIf you and your team lack the proper concern for your client, then there is a problem. This is how clients see it:
And while some unhappy customers and clients leave quickly, others hang around while they passively look for different options. And when they eventually find another option, they're gone. In other words, your clients could be halfway gone and you don’t even know it. Stay ahead of your clients by out-caring them. The key to this is:
With that combination you can be true to yourself and your clients — and that makes for a happier life and business. Cartoon credit: Andertoons (backstory about “being fired” cartoon here) From Small Business Trends |
| 5 Small Business Lessons From Mad Men Posted: 19 Apr 2012 07:30 AM PDT The TV series Mad Men on AMC came to my attention very late, season four had ended. The series piqued my attention when a friend mentioned that it was a series on Madison Avenue and the advertising business in the 1960′s.
It’s definitely is not an educational series, in fact you could write a long list of things to unlearn from watching. I like to take any educational value I can get from content that I consume and as I got caught up on all four seasons of Mad Men on Netflix, I began to see some lessons that would be useful for business owners from the series:
Do you agree with my take ways while watching Mad Men? Or do you feel I should just watch and enjoy the series and not worry about any business lessons that may or may not be derived from it? Retro Couple Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2012 05:00 AM PDT I can't decide if it was more fun to burst the bubbles that I was blowing through one of the bubble wands that I used as a kid or if it was more fun to watch them float high up in the sky, hoping that they wouldn't burst. But, they always did. It's just what bubbles do. Bubbles occasionally burst in business, too.
Anita Campbell, Founder of Small Business Trends, recently wrote about Instagram, the photo-sharing application that was purchased by Facebook for $1 billion. In her thought provoking article, she made a point mentioning the fact that The New York Times, (which has been publishing continuously since 1851) has a public stock value less than Instagram's $1 billion price tag. (Amazing!) In response to one of the comments on her post, Anita responded by reminding readers of the fact that Instagram doesn't even have a revenue model yet. And yet, Facebook wrote a huge check for it. What gives? It's been said that, "Pain has no memory," and this transaction could prove to be one of the best examples ever given for that quote. Could we be headed into another dot-com bubble? To refresh your memory, I've included the formal definition of one, for your reading pleasure. From Wikipedia;
Maybe this time it will be an "App" bubble…or maybe even a "Tool" bubble. Only time will tell. Naturally, I started thinking about my industry, and some of the possible "Franchise" bubbles that could be on the horizon, but for reasons that have nothing to do with a "no revenue" model. Take these examples: Example #1: Frozen Yogurt In the 1980's, shops appeared almost everywhere; the big names were Arkansas-based TCBY, and I Can't Believe It's Yogurt, which was purchased by Yogen Fruz in 1996. I remember how "hot" frozen yogurt was back then, because it was around the time my Dad started his franchise consulting business, and TCBY was all he talked about. TCBY remained popular for a few years, but they ran into problems, and ended up being bought by Mrs. Fields Famous Brands. (Mrs. Fields just recently avoided a 2nd bankruptcy filing.) Two dominant brands battled it out in the 80's, and both were bought out. Today, there are more than 20 different frozen yogurt franchise brands competing for prime retail space, and consumer dollars. (FYI; in the past year, I've been contacted by no less than four people who've wanted guidance on turning their one-independent frozen yogurt shops into franchises.) Example #2: Senior Care On the surface, seniors are a strong demographic to target. According to the US Census Bureau, 20 percent of the US population will be 65 and over by the year 2050. (Currently, it's around 13 percent.) Obviously, this is a growing market. Recently, I thumbed through a recent copy of The Franchise Handbook, a 25-year old publication that's delivered to bookstores on a quarterly basis, and counted 35 different Senior Care franchises. While that may sound like a lot of franchises focused on the senior population, you need to realize that those are only the ones that advertised in one particular publication. There are even more. In August of 2010, I wrote that:
In addition to the plethora of franchises that are focused on senior care, there are thousands of independent small businesses that offer the exact same services throughout the country. Those are two segments in franchising that I'm keeping a close eye on. I'm also monitoring trends in fitness franchises, food franchises, (especially burger and pizza operations) and commercial cleaning franchises. So far, all the franchise types that I've mentioned are bringing in revenue, and for the most part, they're adding new units. Here are my questions:
I'd love to hear your opinion.
From Small Business Trends |
| Small Businesses Go Old School Posted: 19 Apr 2012 02:30 AM PDT We see small businesses going back to their roots in a couple of important ways in today’s Small Business Trends roundup. How are changes in the economy and in technology changing your small business strategies? Out of the PastRetro brands get new refit. Call it economic desperation or marketing genius. Some entrepreneurs are reviving old, defunct brands as a way to market new business ventures. What old brand do you think could use new life? WSJ Return of the food truck. In small businesses sometimes strange things pass for innovation. Take deciding to launch a restaurant or a whole chain with a fleet of food trucks in place of brick and mortar locations. Bloomberg Businessweek Tools & ApproachGot business cards? Well, if not, we’re giving some away. Check out our contest in partnership with business card company Moo. Get your company the exposure it needs the old-fashioned way. Small Business Trends Attitude is everything. Forget gloomy economic predictions and depressing statistics. Small business success goes back to a very simple concept. Attitude is everything. A positive attitude and persistence will lead to success. MyCentralJersey.com Retro ResourcesGood old-fashioned small business loans? They may be back in style after all. After talk of new funding options like crowdsourcing, one large bank seems sincere about bringing back the quaint custom of small business lending. NashuaTelegraph.com Back to basics bartering. An organization called The Edible Exchange in Scottsdale, AZ allows small business owners to barter their services for food from local growers. Read more about this new business-to-business food program. Phoenix New Times Blogs Old Fashioned ValuesOld-fashioned business virtues. One small business leader insists tried and true business concepts like the importance of the balance sheet are what most entrepreneurs should master. Business mentors, as well, are a valuable resource. The News Tribune RetroShare returns privacy to conversations. Remember when intimate conversations had with colleagues, business partners, and customers weren’t instantly “shared” with everyone in your network? Here’s a new app you should see. PC World The Customer is Always RightSupporting business the old-fashioned way. The cash mob may be a new concept, but many insist it is still about supporting businesses the old fashioned way, through purchases. Businesses selected are those that give back to the community as well. What do you think? 89.3 KPCC Customers are again in control. Technology has brought business full circle. With customers making purchase decisions in the store by comparing prices digitally, there are still opportunities for businesses that fill a void. Arizona Public Media From Small Business Trends |
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