Today started my wife and daughters spring breaks from school. Like a million other husbands and fathers all across the country today also started me working on my “Honey Do List”.
In my house the list always starts with; 1) CLEAN OUT THE GARAGE. This is a twice a year chore I don’t look forward to but always enjoy the results. As in years past I get my lawn tractor and trailer pulled up to the garage and bring our rolling garbage can next to it. I start at one corner and work my way around the perimeter until everything is either in its place in the garage or in the trailer to be brought to the basement door or my yard barn. As I get everything moved from an area I vacuum the floor and walls to get all the dust and dirt from 6 months buildup out of the garage.
Every time I seem to get more amazed by the amount of dirt that builds up. I live in a subdivision in a city just outside Atlanta, I don’t live on a farm in the middle of a field. How can so much dirt and dust along with the cob webs and dead insects get into my garage in just 6 months?
I then started to think about what I was going to post tonight and as I was working it struck me how similar my garage story is to a sales story.
I am in and out of my garage several times a day and I don’t see the dirt building up. It happens slowly over time and then before I know it I am spending a day or two cleaning up the mess. Isn’t that like many of our customers? We are in and out of the businesses all the time. We don’t see many of the problems building up until we are stuck with a big mess to clean up.
Just like my garage, showing up isn’t cleaning up. Because you are in a customer’s business doesn’t mean that you are seeing the problems. You need to do more than just take orders and tell stories. Ask questions and make sure that the customer is satisfied. If I took a few minutes a week to clean my garage I wouldn’t need to spend hour’s maybe days cleaning it a few times a year.
You need to have your own “Rep Must Do” list, and the number one item needs to be “TALK TO THE CUSTOMER AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE HAPPY”
Lorin
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
A BOOK WORTH READING
I received a copy of a book last week that is now in my top 10 books worth reading. The title of the book is, “ The Real Truth About Success: What The Top 1% Do Differently, Why They Won’t Tell You, And How You Can Do It Anyway!”.
How is that for a gripping title, not to mention it just may win longest title of the year.
The book is written by Garrison Wynn. The link below will take you to the Amazon page where you can get a preview of the book.
Keep in mind, as always, this book is available at most of your local bookstores so shop around.
Lorin
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
RULE NUMBER 6
If you watch N.C.I.S. as much as I do Gibb’s Rule #6 will be very familiar to you; never say you’re sorry, it is a sign of weakness.
In the investigation service this may be true all the time, in sales it is true MOST of the time.
It is very common for a sales rep to tell a customer or prospect that they are sorry when the rep really hasn’t done anything to be sorry for. In this case Gibb’s is right, it is a sign of weakness. It is also an open door for a customer to take advantage of your weakness.
If in fact you have done something wrong, something that caused a problem for the customer or something that would make you look like you have done a sloppy job (like forgetting something you had promised the customer) then telling the customer you are sorry is in order.
I have been with reps that apologize for anything that happens. I’m sorry you are late, I’m sorry it is raining, I’m sorry it gets dark at night, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. WHY?
If you think the customer wants to hear you be submissive I believe you are dead wrong. Think about times when you were dealing with a sales rep. What would you have rather heard, a confident self assured rep that did whatever they could to be of service or a weak submissive rep that acted like a scared little puppy.
As you were writing your check which rep would you have felt better about handing over your money to?
I know which one I would choose. I like a strong confident rep. I want a rep that tells me what I need to hear not what I want to hear. I want a rep that will stand up to me and make sure that I do the right thing. Not rudely, but confidently.
As sales reps, our customers should rely on us to guide them and bring them information, products and services that help their businesses run better. Our customers depend on us not allowing them to do things that will undermine their success. In short, our customers want us to lead them down the right paths. Like any leader, strength and confidence on our part builds trust on the part of the customers.
Like the line from Love Story says, “Love is never having to say you’re sorry”. Like I say, “Sales is only saying you’re sorry when you did something wrong”.
Lorin
In the investigation service this may be true all the time, in sales it is true MOST of the time.
It is very common for a sales rep to tell a customer or prospect that they are sorry when the rep really hasn’t done anything to be sorry for. In this case Gibb’s is right, it is a sign of weakness. It is also an open door for a customer to take advantage of your weakness.
If in fact you have done something wrong, something that caused a problem for the customer or something that would make you look like you have done a sloppy job (like forgetting something you had promised the customer) then telling the customer you are sorry is in order.
I have been with reps that apologize for anything that happens. I’m sorry you are late, I’m sorry it is raining, I’m sorry it gets dark at night, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. WHY?
If you think the customer wants to hear you be submissive I believe you are dead wrong. Think about times when you were dealing with a sales rep. What would you have rather heard, a confident self assured rep that did whatever they could to be of service or a weak submissive rep that acted like a scared little puppy.
As you were writing your check which rep would you have felt better about handing over your money to?
I know which one I would choose. I like a strong confident rep. I want a rep that tells me what I need to hear not what I want to hear. I want a rep that will stand up to me and make sure that I do the right thing. Not rudely, but confidently.
As sales reps, our customers should rely on us to guide them and bring them information, products and services that help their businesses run better. Our customers depend on us not allowing them to do things that will undermine their success. In short, our customers want us to lead them down the right paths. Like any leader, strength and confidence on our part builds trust on the part of the customers.
Like the line from Love Story says, “Love is never having to say you’re sorry”. Like I say, “Sales is only saying you’re sorry when you did something wrong”.
Lorin
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
BUTCHERING THE CASH COW
As much as we all hate to hear it, in today’s market many of our “Cash Cow” customers are calling it quits. It is not only the small independent businesses that can’t make it in this economy closing their doors, it is some very large profitable businesses moving their operations overseas or south of the boarder.
Why they are moving or going out of business isn’t important for this post (although it is very important to each of us) what is important is what we do as sales reps when we hear that one of our profitable accounts that has been a major part of our commission checks over the past years is moving or closing.
A reps reaction to this tells the true story of the professionalism of the rep. I have seen all sorts of reactions. I have seen reps walk out and not go back to the customer, reps start to indiscriminately raise prices, place “false orders” to load the customer up, and many more things that I am not proud to have been done by people in my profession.
Just before the New Year started a close friend of mine from the west coast called me and told me his number 3 account was moving to Brazil by July of 2012. He received a phone call from his main contact letting him know what was happening. He asked me what he should do. I asked him how big the account was to him, he said it was about 20% of his income. He sounded devastated.
He told me that he spends about one full day a week with this customer and he is their number one supplier. I told him that was great news, he didn’t understand. I said first thing you need to do is go by their and find out what their plan is for the move. I said you need to know what they will be doing until July and how that will affect your products and services.
We talked for a few more minutes and I told him to call me when he finds out.
It was about 4 days later that he called me back. He started telling me about what their plans were. He said they would be in full production until the first week of April. Then they would be shutting down one line at a time for the next 2 months until they are shut down completely which will be the first week of June. After the first week of June everyone will be relocated or let go. The engineers and construction people would be coming in to break down everything and move it.
I asked him about the move, did he know if the new location is a new one or if they are already in production there. He said it is being built as we spoke. They expect it to be finished in the next 3 months and in production by the shut down date of the CA plant.
I asked him what his plan was for the account now that he knew what he was up against. He said he was going to keep business as usual for as long as he could and expected there would be no change until the middle of March, and then as the lines close he would lose that portion of the business.
I asked him what other plans he had. He told me none!
I asked if he had discussed their needs for the move, what products would they need of his to get things moved. Would the construction and engineers need anything? Will there be any need for additional products that he isn’t presently selling them. I then asked him if he had gotten any contacts in Brazil so he could keep his products being used. He said he couldn’t sell in Brazil but he knew the agent down there. I said if he could make all the arrangements from here before they move and hand the agent a large account he may be able to broker himself into a small piece of the commissions.
We talked and I helped him put together a plan of action. He had his arsenal ready when we hung up the phone and I felt like he would get busy and do the right things.
The rep called me today; he said the first line had shut down as planned. He received his last order for that line about a week ago. He told me the plan had worked GREAT and that he and the Brazilian agent are splitting the account until the move is complete and he will retain 5% from then on.
I asked him how he was going to make up the 15% loss. He told me he already had. I was a little puzzled so
I asked him how he did it so fast. He told me the main contact person that called him the first time to tell him what was going on wasn’t transferring with the company and had moved to another company in their industry. The contact took the rep and his products with him to his new company. The rep told me that with the new company he has made up the 15% and added another 10% to it.
As I hung up I realized that my friend had taken his cash cow and butchered it into some delicious steaks. It will never be the same cow, but he now has a new one that is bigger and better than the first.
Never kill your cash cow and leave it behind when you find out it is moving or going out of business. Make the best darn steaks and roasts you can out of it and find another cow to raise.
I will admit this is about a good an ending as there could ever be to a major account leaving. I know that in most cases this will not be the way it happens. I also know that even if the ending isn’t as good as what happened to this rep, you can still get a burger or two out of your cash cows if you make your plan, do your homework, and keep doing the right things until the cow is gone.
Lorin
Why they are moving or going out of business isn’t important for this post (although it is very important to each of us) what is important is what we do as sales reps when we hear that one of our profitable accounts that has been a major part of our commission checks over the past years is moving or closing.
A reps reaction to this tells the true story of the professionalism of the rep. I have seen all sorts of reactions. I have seen reps walk out and not go back to the customer, reps start to indiscriminately raise prices, place “false orders” to load the customer up, and many more things that I am not proud to have been done by people in my profession.
Just before the New Year started a close friend of mine from the west coast called me and told me his number 3 account was moving to Brazil by July of 2012. He received a phone call from his main contact letting him know what was happening. He asked me what he should do. I asked him how big the account was to him, he said it was about 20% of his income. He sounded devastated.
He told me that he spends about one full day a week with this customer and he is their number one supplier. I told him that was great news, he didn’t understand. I said first thing you need to do is go by their and find out what their plan is for the move. I said you need to know what they will be doing until July and how that will affect your products and services.
We talked for a few more minutes and I told him to call me when he finds out.
It was about 4 days later that he called me back. He started telling me about what their plans were. He said they would be in full production until the first week of April. Then they would be shutting down one line at a time for the next 2 months until they are shut down completely which will be the first week of June. After the first week of June everyone will be relocated or let go. The engineers and construction people would be coming in to break down everything and move it.
I asked him about the move, did he know if the new location is a new one or if they are already in production there. He said it is being built as we spoke. They expect it to be finished in the next 3 months and in production by the shut down date of the CA plant.
I asked him what his plan was for the account now that he knew what he was up against. He said he was going to keep business as usual for as long as he could and expected there would be no change until the middle of March, and then as the lines close he would lose that portion of the business.
I asked him what other plans he had. He told me none!
I asked if he had discussed their needs for the move, what products would they need of his to get things moved. Would the construction and engineers need anything? Will there be any need for additional products that he isn’t presently selling them. I then asked him if he had gotten any contacts in Brazil so he could keep his products being used. He said he couldn’t sell in Brazil but he knew the agent down there. I said if he could make all the arrangements from here before they move and hand the agent a large account he may be able to broker himself into a small piece of the commissions.
We talked and I helped him put together a plan of action. He had his arsenal ready when we hung up the phone and I felt like he would get busy and do the right things.
The rep called me today; he said the first line had shut down as planned. He received his last order for that line about a week ago. He told me the plan had worked GREAT and that he and the Brazilian agent are splitting the account until the move is complete and he will retain 5% from then on.
I asked him how he was going to make up the 15% loss. He told me he already had. I was a little puzzled so
I asked him how he did it so fast. He told me the main contact person that called him the first time to tell him what was going on wasn’t transferring with the company and had moved to another company in their industry. The contact took the rep and his products with him to his new company. The rep told me that with the new company he has made up the 15% and added another 10% to it.
As I hung up I realized that my friend had taken his cash cow and butchered it into some delicious steaks. It will never be the same cow, but he now has a new one that is bigger and better than the first.
Never kill your cash cow and leave it behind when you find out it is moving or going out of business. Make the best darn steaks and roasts you can out of it and find another cow to raise.
I will admit this is about a good an ending as there could ever be to a major account leaving. I know that in most cases this will not be the way it happens. I also know that even if the ending isn’t as good as what happened to this rep, you can still get a burger or two out of your cash cows if you make your plan, do your homework, and keep doing the right things until the cow is gone.
Lorin
Monday, March 26, 2012
TAKE A BREAK
Today I want to take a break from the usual sales theme of the blog and pass along a website that my daughter sent me.
The site is: http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp
This is a site set up by Alcoa at their Davenport, IA location. When you get to the Website click on the button on the right side of the screen to start the Eaglecam. What you will see is absolutely amazing. Alcoa has set up a Nature Cam looking directly into an American Bald Eagles nest.
I saw this for the first time the beginning of last week and I have been captivated by it ever since. In the week I have been watching I have watched the 3 “eaglets” hatch and watched the parents performing their parental duties. It is nothing less than fascinating.
Take the time to read about these incredible birds and you will appreciate what you are watching even more. If you have children, send this site to their teachers (my wife and youngest daughter are both teachers and their classes are mesmerized by the Eaglecam).
I am not even going to try and make a sales analogy or relate this to sales in any way. I would rather you log onto the Eaglecam and enjoy nature at its best with the beauty and majesty of our amazing national symbol.
Stop back tomorrow to get another helping of sales and motivation.
Lorin
The site is: http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp
This is a site set up by Alcoa at their Davenport, IA location. When you get to the Website click on the button on the right side of the screen to start the Eaglecam. What you will see is absolutely amazing. Alcoa has set up a Nature Cam looking directly into an American Bald Eagles nest.
I saw this for the first time the beginning of last week and I have been captivated by it ever since. In the week I have been watching I have watched the 3 “eaglets” hatch and watched the parents performing their parental duties. It is nothing less than fascinating.
Take the time to read about these incredible birds and you will appreciate what you are watching even more. If you have children, send this site to their teachers (my wife and youngest daughter are both teachers and their classes are mesmerized by the Eaglecam).
I am not even going to try and make a sales analogy or relate this to sales in any way. I would rather you log onto the Eaglecam and enjoy nature at its best with the beauty and majesty of our amazing national symbol.
Stop back tomorrow to get another helping of sales and motivation.
Lorin
Friday, March 23, 2012
TAKE A STAND
I don’t know if you can remember the old TV show COMBAT. It was very popular back in the 60’s and I am lucky to be able to record episodes on my DVR today. (I need to record them because it comes on at 3 AM weeknights)
I was watching an episode in which the lead in the show, Vic Marrow playing Sergeant Saunders is with a German soldier who wants to surrender but can’t make up his mind if he is more against killing or more an enemy.
I won’t go into the entire episode plot but it comes down to the German being forced into making a decision. He decides to surrender and helps the Sergeant and himself get away.
At the end as Saunders and the German are laying next to each other on cots in the field hospital the German asks Saunders if he thought he was a coward for surrendering. The Sergeant tells him no. He says, you took a stand for something and now you will need to live with it, but at least you took a stand.
I thought about this for a few minutes and started to think about how many reps I know that don’t ever take a stand. Reps that will allow themselves to be manipulated by customers because they are too weak to draw the line and hold their ground.
As reps, I understand that we need to make sales and that our income and jobs depend on this fact. I also know that every company I have talked to over the past several years are becoming more focused on PROFITABILITY of orders as much as getting the orders. A rep that keeps giving in and refuses to take a stand is usually the rep with the least profitable sales.
This is a tight rope that we need to walk several times a day. We as reps need to make sure that we are giving the customer the best value we can while at the same time giving our companies the maximum profits we can. One without the other doesn’t help YOU as the rep. You need to take a stand.
There are times that we need to take the stand with our customers and realize that we have gone as far as we can with price, product, and services. This stand is for us (commissions) and our companies (profits).
However there are other times we need to take the stand with our companies. We are out in the field and know the territory better than anyone else. If our product or service isn’t bringing the value to the customer it should be WE need to give that feedback to our managers and the company. I am not talking about WHINING about the price being too high or the service being less than someone else’s. I am talking about a professional business report to your manager or company with the facts as you know them to be true.
In some cases the company will ignore you, I have seen this happen more than once, don’t get discouraged. Your job is to do the best you possibly can based on what your company expects of you. If you and the company can’t see eye to eye then it is your job to find another opportunity. Don’t ever give anything less than 100% to any company you work for.
I know that this sounds like I am telling you to quit, I am not. I know many reps that are making a lot of money with companies that they disagree with on a daily basis. The fact that they are making the amount of commissions they are tells us they have figured out how to work within the companies guidelines, however screwy they may be. If you are in this boat, keep giving it your best and making the commissions. If the company is hindering you from making a living than you owe it to yourself and the people that depend on you to TAKE A STAND and move on.
Lorin
I was watching an episode in which the lead in the show, Vic Marrow playing Sergeant Saunders is with a German soldier who wants to surrender but can’t make up his mind if he is more against killing or more an enemy.
I won’t go into the entire episode plot but it comes down to the German being forced into making a decision. He decides to surrender and helps the Sergeant and himself get away.
At the end as Saunders and the German are laying next to each other on cots in the field hospital the German asks Saunders if he thought he was a coward for surrendering. The Sergeant tells him no. He says, you took a stand for something and now you will need to live with it, but at least you took a stand.
I thought about this for a few minutes and started to think about how many reps I know that don’t ever take a stand. Reps that will allow themselves to be manipulated by customers because they are too weak to draw the line and hold their ground.
As reps, I understand that we need to make sales and that our income and jobs depend on this fact. I also know that every company I have talked to over the past several years are becoming more focused on PROFITABILITY of orders as much as getting the orders. A rep that keeps giving in and refuses to take a stand is usually the rep with the least profitable sales.
This is a tight rope that we need to walk several times a day. We as reps need to make sure that we are giving the customer the best value we can while at the same time giving our companies the maximum profits we can. One without the other doesn’t help YOU as the rep. You need to take a stand.
There are times that we need to take the stand with our customers and realize that we have gone as far as we can with price, product, and services. This stand is for us (commissions) and our companies (profits).
However there are other times we need to take the stand with our companies. We are out in the field and know the territory better than anyone else. If our product or service isn’t bringing the value to the customer it should be WE need to give that feedback to our managers and the company. I am not talking about WHINING about the price being too high or the service being less than someone else’s. I am talking about a professional business report to your manager or company with the facts as you know them to be true.
In some cases the company will ignore you, I have seen this happen more than once, don’t get discouraged. Your job is to do the best you possibly can based on what your company expects of you. If you and the company can’t see eye to eye then it is your job to find another opportunity. Don’t ever give anything less than 100% to any company you work for.
I know that this sounds like I am telling you to quit, I am not. I know many reps that are making a lot of money with companies that they disagree with on a daily basis. The fact that they are making the amount of commissions they are tells us they have figured out how to work within the companies guidelines, however screwy they may be. If you are in this boat, keep giving it your best and making the commissions. If the company is hindering you from making a living than you owe it to yourself and the people that depend on you to TAKE A STAND and move on.
Lorin
Thursday, March 22, 2012
SALES TO THE LEFT OF ME SALES TO THE RIGHT
I am thinking of a number between 1 and 100, can you tell me what it is? Nope, it isn’t 33, no it’s not 62. No it’s not 12 either. All good guesses but none correct.
If nothing else this exercise should tell you all that you are not mind readers. No one I have ever met, and I am going to go out on a limb and say, no one I will ever meet is a mind reader. And yet I am with reps all the time who think they are.
We have all walked into a prospect or an existing customer and have had someone standing there looking at what we are doing and listening to what we are saying. When this happens reps usually get a little quieter and very hesitant in what they are saying. In most cases this is because not knowing who the person is we don’t want to say anything that could hurt our chance of selling or the buyer’s chance of making profit by buying our product or service.
I understand this and I totally disagree with it. The simple facts are you don’t know who the stranger is and making an assumption that they should not hear what you are saying. I on the other hand make a different assumption, I assume that they are a buyer from another business and that by hearing what I have to say could ask me to stop by their business and make a presentation.
Now, to be honest, I need to admit that your assumption is usually correct. In most cases the person is not supposed to hear what you have to say. However, I have never seen a buyer yet that wouldn’t stop me and move me away from someone in their waiting room or office if they didn’t want that person to hear me.
Why should I make a negative decision about someone? Let the buyer make the decision, and if the buyer doesn’t say anything to me, I will keep going as if the person standing there was an employee and was invited to my presentation.
I have been asked for my business card dozens of times from people standing around me while I did a presentation, and in about 20% of the times I have gotten a phone call asking me to stop by their business or telling me about a friend of theirs business that I should go to. Either way, I have created a lead with no additional effort at all.
Now one caution to my method. I will usually not discuss money. That discussion is one I prefer to have in a more confined place with the buyer. But I will ask them if they want to go to their office or if they want to talk about it there in the open.
This is why I speak louder than most people and why I always try and speak clearly. If someone is listening I want them to hear me.
I have had some managers disagree with me about this method. They ask, what if it is a competitor’s sales rep. My answer is I very rarely say anything in an initial sales presentation that the customer couldn’t get from the web or sales material. If a competitor needs that information, they aren’t a competitor.
Lorin
If nothing else this exercise should tell you all that you are not mind readers. No one I have ever met, and I am going to go out on a limb and say, no one I will ever meet is a mind reader. And yet I am with reps all the time who think they are.
We have all walked into a prospect or an existing customer and have had someone standing there looking at what we are doing and listening to what we are saying. When this happens reps usually get a little quieter and very hesitant in what they are saying. In most cases this is because not knowing who the person is we don’t want to say anything that could hurt our chance of selling or the buyer’s chance of making profit by buying our product or service.
I understand this and I totally disagree with it. The simple facts are you don’t know who the stranger is and making an assumption that they should not hear what you are saying. I on the other hand make a different assumption, I assume that they are a buyer from another business and that by hearing what I have to say could ask me to stop by their business and make a presentation.
Now, to be honest, I need to admit that your assumption is usually correct. In most cases the person is not supposed to hear what you have to say. However, I have never seen a buyer yet that wouldn’t stop me and move me away from someone in their waiting room or office if they didn’t want that person to hear me.
Why should I make a negative decision about someone? Let the buyer make the decision, and if the buyer doesn’t say anything to me, I will keep going as if the person standing there was an employee and was invited to my presentation.
I have been asked for my business card dozens of times from people standing around me while I did a presentation, and in about 20% of the times I have gotten a phone call asking me to stop by their business or telling me about a friend of theirs business that I should go to. Either way, I have created a lead with no additional effort at all.
Now one caution to my method. I will usually not discuss money. That discussion is one I prefer to have in a more confined place with the buyer. But I will ask them if they want to go to their office or if they want to talk about it there in the open.
This is why I speak louder than most people and why I always try and speak clearly. If someone is listening I want them to hear me.
I have had some managers disagree with me about this method. They ask, what if it is a competitor’s sales rep. My answer is I very rarely say anything in an initial sales presentation that the customer couldn’t get from the web or sales material. If a competitor needs that information, they aren’t a competitor.
Lorin
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
TWO PATHS TO A MILLION
“PICK A LEVEL ANY LEVEL” was the title of my post on Monday. I received several e mails from reps that liked the concept and were going to use the plan. Today I received a phone call from a rep that had been in a training class in which I taught the “LEVEL” system, it was a great conversation and I want to pass along what he told me.
We started by talking about how he had rearranged his pipeline so he would have a better mix of prospects. He had followed the plan almost to the letter. He then told me how he had his lists of accounts broken into levels. (His company uses the designations gold, silver, bronze and tin). As he either closes a prospect or loses the opportunity he replaces it with the next prospect on his list. He was very happy with the way the system works for him in this area.
He then added that it seemed to him that because of the system he was working harder than ever and only selling about the same as he was with a minimal increase if any. He told me that he is making more cold calls and setting more appointments then he has ever had to set to write orders and that he was working almost as hard selling the “Bronze” accounts as he used to selling his “Gold” accounts.
It was rather funny to listen to his words because after every sentence he made about working harder and selling smaller orders and taking the time with Bronze accounts he would follow it up with the statement, “I’m not complaining, I am still making money”.
I was relieved to hear him say he was making money, had he told me all this and followed it with, I am NOT making any commissions” I would have been in trouble. So I asked him how his commission rate was being affected, he told me it has gone UP about 3% overall. This made me smile. I then needed to clarify what he had told me so far. I said you are selling as much and maybe a little more than before right? He said yes. I said, you are making more calls and working harder than ever before right? Again, he said yes. I then asked, and you said you are making about 3% higher commissions overall right? He now started to measure his words, there was a short hesitation and he said yes. I then finished with, so what you are telling me is you are working harder and making more right? This time I didn’t get an answer, his silence spoke volumes.
I continued telling him that there are a lot of ways to make a million dollars, you can sell one account a lot and make a million dollars in commissions, or you can sell a million accounts a little and make one dollar in commissions. I told him he was someplace in between. What was happening is his average order was going down but he was writing more orders at higher commissions.
I then asked him how the rest of the sales force was doing, he told me about half of the reps were down for YTD (year to date) and another 30% were about equal YOY (year over year). I asked about the other reps EARNINGS and he told me that almost every rep was complaining that they were not making the same as they have in the past few years even with the economy being bad.
Before I could start my sermon he said, OK I know what you are going to say and you are right. He said I just needed to vent to someone.
He knows he can always call me to vent like any other rep I have ever trained, but he also knew I wasn’t going to allow a pity party to someone working harder and being rewarded for it.
I am not saying that everyone who uses the “LEVELS” will sell more or make more commissions. I am saying that everyone who uses it will keep their heads above water and be better prepared when the economy turns and things get back to “NORMAL”, whatever normal will look like.
Having a plan and using it is still the best defense against failure. Hard work is no reason to scrap a plan as long as the rewards are there to justify the work.
Lorin
We started by talking about how he had rearranged his pipeline so he would have a better mix of prospects. He had followed the plan almost to the letter. He then told me how he had his lists of accounts broken into levels. (His company uses the designations gold, silver, bronze and tin). As he either closes a prospect or loses the opportunity he replaces it with the next prospect on his list. He was very happy with the way the system works for him in this area.
He then added that it seemed to him that because of the system he was working harder than ever and only selling about the same as he was with a minimal increase if any. He told me that he is making more cold calls and setting more appointments then he has ever had to set to write orders and that he was working almost as hard selling the “Bronze” accounts as he used to selling his “Gold” accounts.
It was rather funny to listen to his words because after every sentence he made about working harder and selling smaller orders and taking the time with Bronze accounts he would follow it up with the statement, “I’m not complaining, I am still making money”.
I was relieved to hear him say he was making money, had he told me all this and followed it with, I am NOT making any commissions” I would have been in trouble. So I asked him how his commission rate was being affected, he told me it has gone UP about 3% overall. This made me smile. I then needed to clarify what he had told me so far. I said you are selling as much and maybe a little more than before right? He said yes. I said, you are making more calls and working harder than ever before right? Again, he said yes. I then asked, and you said you are making about 3% higher commissions overall right? He now started to measure his words, there was a short hesitation and he said yes. I then finished with, so what you are telling me is you are working harder and making more right? This time I didn’t get an answer, his silence spoke volumes.
I continued telling him that there are a lot of ways to make a million dollars, you can sell one account a lot and make a million dollars in commissions, or you can sell a million accounts a little and make one dollar in commissions. I told him he was someplace in between. What was happening is his average order was going down but he was writing more orders at higher commissions.
I then asked him how the rest of the sales force was doing, he told me about half of the reps were down for YTD (year to date) and another 30% were about equal YOY (year over year). I asked about the other reps EARNINGS and he told me that almost every rep was complaining that they were not making the same as they have in the past few years even with the economy being bad.
Before I could start my sermon he said, OK I know what you are going to say and you are right. He said I just needed to vent to someone.
He knows he can always call me to vent like any other rep I have ever trained, but he also knew I wasn’t going to allow a pity party to someone working harder and being rewarded for it.
I am not saying that everyone who uses the “LEVELS” will sell more or make more commissions. I am saying that everyone who uses it will keep their heads above water and be better prepared when the economy turns and things get back to “NORMAL”, whatever normal will look like.
Having a plan and using it is still the best defense against failure. Hard work is no reason to scrap a plan as long as the rewards are there to justify the work.
Lorin
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
I GET AN EARFUL AT LEAST TWICE A DAY
Sales reps all over the world know what it is like to get an earful. I actually look forward to getting an earful first thing in the morning and the last thing in the evening.
Oh, I think we are talking about two different types of earfuls. When most reps hear the term earful they immediately think of being “BLASTED” by the customer for something they did wrong or something that went wrong. The earful I am talking about is healthy, motivational, and helpful. I know it will be good for me because I select it. My earful is listening to motivational or self help tapes or CD’s.
There are so many reasons to start your day out on a high note. The most important reason to me is if you start out on a high note, if you are in a good mood, if you are motivated and happy you will be able to overlook and get past so much of the negatives that we encounter everyday in the sales field.
Let me try and make an analogy for you to explain my reasoning. Picture in your mind a brick wall. You are on one side of the wall and an entire days worth of negatives and objections are on the other side of the wall.
Every time one of the negatives or objections runs towards the wall and hits it one brick is blasted apart. The good news is none of the negatives or objections can get to you until every brick in your wall is gone. Here is the catch, you can’t replace any of the bricks during the day, the only time you can replace your bricks is before work and after work.
How do you suppose you replace bricks? You got it, by reinforcing your attitude and knowledge reading or listening to motivational or self help material. By starting each day and ending each day with some good healthy INPUT you will always keep your wall strong and keep the usual negatives and objections from getting to you in the field.
To some reps it sounds like a lot of effort to take 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening to read or listen to some motivational material. However if you think about what happens when your last brick is blasted away and the feeling you get when each negative statement and every objection becomes a stumbling block the time becomes a small price for the strength you get from reading or listening.
I have been with reps (and I do this myself) who listen to motivational CD’s and tapes all day long in their cars while they drive around, or inside sales reps who listen in their office or cube. I have even been in an office where they played nothing but motivational material over the PA system all day for the employees. This is GREAT, however, it doesn’t replace your bricks. Why you ask (I can hear you asking) because when you are driving or in the office you are not concentrating on what you are listening to. You can’t help hearing it but you are not listening to it.
Your bricks can only be replaced when you are paying 100% attention to the material and able to absorb its meaning and put the information into your arsenal for use in the field.
15 minutes twice a day, less time than most of us spend watching TV. It isn’t a lot of time, it isn’t difficult to FIND the time, it isn’t hard to MAKE the time, but it is hard to TAKE the time out of our day.
So here is a challenge for everyone reading this post, for the next 21 days start and end each day getting an earful. Weekdays and weekends alike, 21 days in a row TAKE the time to read or listen to something positive for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. If during the 21 days you don’t see a change in your attitude, if you don’t see yourself becoming more positive, if you don’t feel that you can handle negatives and objections better then you should go back to doing whatever it is you are doing now with the 30 minutes.
I hope to hear from many of you in 21 days telling me about your changes and how they have helped.
Lorin
Oh, I think we are talking about two different types of earfuls. When most reps hear the term earful they immediately think of being “BLASTED” by the customer for something they did wrong or something that went wrong. The earful I am talking about is healthy, motivational, and helpful. I know it will be good for me because I select it. My earful is listening to motivational or self help tapes or CD’s.
There are so many reasons to start your day out on a high note. The most important reason to me is if you start out on a high note, if you are in a good mood, if you are motivated and happy you will be able to overlook and get past so much of the negatives that we encounter everyday in the sales field.
Let me try and make an analogy for you to explain my reasoning. Picture in your mind a brick wall. You are on one side of the wall and an entire days worth of negatives and objections are on the other side of the wall.
Every time one of the negatives or objections runs towards the wall and hits it one brick is blasted apart. The good news is none of the negatives or objections can get to you until every brick in your wall is gone. Here is the catch, you can’t replace any of the bricks during the day, the only time you can replace your bricks is before work and after work.
How do you suppose you replace bricks? You got it, by reinforcing your attitude and knowledge reading or listening to motivational or self help material. By starting each day and ending each day with some good healthy INPUT you will always keep your wall strong and keep the usual negatives and objections from getting to you in the field.
To some reps it sounds like a lot of effort to take 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening to read or listen to some motivational material. However if you think about what happens when your last brick is blasted away and the feeling you get when each negative statement and every objection becomes a stumbling block the time becomes a small price for the strength you get from reading or listening.
I have been with reps (and I do this myself) who listen to motivational CD’s and tapes all day long in their cars while they drive around, or inside sales reps who listen in their office or cube. I have even been in an office where they played nothing but motivational material over the PA system all day for the employees. This is GREAT, however, it doesn’t replace your bricks. Why you ask (I can hear you asking) because when you are driving or in the office you are not concentrating on what you are listening to. You can’t help hearing it but you are not listening to it.
Your bricks can only be replaced when you are paying 100% attention to the material and able to absorb its meaning and put the information into your arsenal for use in the field.
15 minutes twice a day, less time than most of us spend watching TV. It isn’t a lot of time, it isn’t difficult to FIND the time, it isn’t hard to MAKE the time, but it is hard to TAKE the time out of our day.
So here is a challenge for everyone reading this post, for the next 21 days start and end each day getting an earful. Weekdays and weekends alike, 21 days in a row TAKE the time to read or listen to something positive for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. If during the 21 days you don’t see a change in your attitude, if you don’t see yourself becoming more positive, if you don’t feel that you can handle negatives and objections better then you should go back to doing whatever it is you are doing now with the 30 minutes.
I hope to hear from many of you in 21 days telling me about your changes and how they have helped.
Lorin
Monday, March 19, 2012
PICK A LEVEL ANY LEVEL
Every industry I have ever heard of has had customers that fall into different “LEVELS”. Some companies call their best accounts “A” accounts, other companies call them “BLUE CHIP” accounts. I have also heard them called “Gold” accounts, “Diamond” accounts, “Preferred” accounts and many other names. The bottom line is that as the levels drop the designations also seem to drop, for instance the level below “Gold” is usually “Silver” then “Bronze” and “Tin”.
These designations are supposed to signify a lowering in potential of the customers and therefore a lowering in value of the customers.
I want to try my best to set the record straight on this. Although I tend to agree that the top tier of accounts are usually the accounts that have the potential to spend the most, I will also contend that these accounts are the fewest in number and the hardest and longest to close. Along with that these are usually the customers from which you make the least margins on when you do close them.
Every sales rep has their stories about chasing the “ELEPHANTS” and working for extended lengths of time only to come away with nothing. For many years now I have been training reps on prospect selection and what mix of customers they should have in their pipeline.
What I have found is that a majority of reps will pursue a certain type of customer and rarely go after other levels of accounts. Meaning a rep that chases “A” accounts will only go after “A” accounts, a rep that chases “B” accounts will only go after “B” accounts and so on at all levels. This is a poor strategy.
What I have taught reps to do is to have the right mix of accounts in their pipeline at all times. The number of accounts in each level or the percent of accounts at each level will change depending on the rep and industry. The important thing is to make sure you are looking at all levels at all times.
Just like the number of accounts at each level usually increases as you go down in levels, the number of accounts you should have in the pipeline increases as you go down in levels. Let me give you an example. If you are a rep in an industry where you maintain 100 accounts in your pipeline at all time a good mix for you may be 10% “A” accounts, 50% “B” accounts, 30% “C” accounts and 10% “D” accounts.
What makes this a good mix? Easy, the accounts that usually take the longest to close and are the most difficult to close, the “A” accounts are in the mix but not occupying too much of your time. I have seen reps literally go broke waiting for “The Big One” to fall. By limiting the top accounts to 10% you can spend less time with the group but still give each account the necessary time they deserve. With 50% of your prospects “B” accounts you can focus the majority of your time on accounts that are more accessible, easier to close, ad more plentiful. The same thinking goes with “C” accounts, the difference being the potential of the accounts make them less appealing so you have fewer of them.
Every sales call using this method can then be judged against the opportunity of the account. The greater the opportunity the more invested time you should put into the account. Not the account group, the individual account.
As one account in a level closes or drops out you replace the account, always maintaining the proper percent in each level. This may sound like a lot of work to some of you, but the return on your time investment is much greater than the hit and miss process most reps use today.
Not every rep will be able to use this tool. Some of you are locked into calling on a select group of prospects by your company. No problem. If you are a dedicated “A” account rep what you need to do is to break your accounts into levels based on a criteria that will best differentiate your prospects into potential. It may be number of employees if you are selling a service or product that every employee uses. Whatever the criteria is make sure that you dole it out across the board equally to each prospect to maximize the system.
Lorin
These designations are supposed to signify a lowering in potential of the customers and therefore a lowering in value of the customers.
I want to try my best to set the record straight on this. Although I tend to agree that the top tier of accounts are usually the accounts that have the potential to spend the most, I will also contend that these accounts are the fewest in number and the hardest and longest to close. Along with that these are usually the customers from which you make the least margins on when you do close them.
Every sales rep has their stories about chasing the “ELEPHANTS” and working for extended lengths of time only to come away with nothing. For many years now I have been training reps on prospect selection and what mix of customers they should have in their pipeline.
What I have found is that a majority of reps will pursue a certain type of customer and rarely go after other levels of accounts. Meaning a rep that chases “A” accounts will only go after “A” accounts, a rep that chases “B” accounts will only go after “B” accounts and so on at all levels. This is a poor strategy.
What I have taught reps to do is to have the right mix of accounts in their pipeline at all times. The number of accounts in each level or the percent of accounts at each level will change depending on the rep and industry. The important thing is to make sure you are looking at all levels at all times.
Just like the number of accounts at each level usually increases as you go down in levels, the number of accounts you should have in the pipeline increases as you go down in levels. Let me give you an example. If you are a rep in an industry where you maintain 100 accounts in your pipeline at all time a good mix for you may be 10% “A” accounts, 50% “B” accounts, 30% “C” accounts and 10% “D” accounts.
What makes this a good mix? Easy, the accounts that usually take the longest to close and are the most difficult to close, the “A” accounts are in the mix but not occupying too much of your time. I have seen reps literally go broke waiting for “The Big One” to fall. By limiting the top accounts to 10% you can spend less time with the group but still give each account the necessary time they deserve. With 50% of your prospects “B” accounts you can focus the majority of your time on accounts that are more accessible, easier to close, ad more plentiful. The same thinking goes with “C” accounts, the difference being the potential of the accounts make them less appealing so you have fewer of them.
Every sales call using this method can then be judged against the opportunity of the account. The greater the opportunity the more invested time you should put into the account. Not the account group, the individual account.
As one account in a level closes or drops out you replace the account, always maintaining the proper percent in each level. This may sound like a lot of work to some of you, but the return on your time investment is much greater than the hit and miss process most reps use today.
Not every rep will be able to use this tool. Some of you are locked into calling on a select group of prospects by your company. No problem. If you are a dedicated “A” account rep what you need to do is to break your accounts into levels based on a criteria that will best differentiate your prospects into potential. It may be number of employees if you are selling a service or product that every employee uses. Whatever the criteria is make sure that you dole it out across the board equally to each prospect to maximize the system.
Lorin
Friday, March 16, 2012
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK
I am not going to write a typical post tonight, instead I want to invite everyone who visits the Training Buffet, Help Yourself to chime in and comment on the posts that are here now and those that I post in the future.
I know I am always right (I can dream can’t I) but I am sure that every now and again one or more of you may disagree with me. Let me know by posting a comment. For all the intelligent readers that do agree with me comment and tell me how great I am. (This is the only way I can get this kind of press, let me have my fun)
Any blog is only as good as its readers. I know I have great readers so please help the Training Buffet, Help Yourself go viral (or at least bacterial).
Enjoy your weekend and have fun!
Lorin
Thursday, March 15, 2012
PAY IT FORWARD
I am a member of an accountability workshop. This is a group that I meet with every week to discuss what I did the previous week and what I am going to do the upcoming week. The idea of the group is we keep each other accountable for doing what we say we are going to do.
This is a great group because not only do we exchange ideas and network with one another, we also give each other any kind of help we need. If you have a presentation that is due and want to practice it in front of someone you can ask the group and get the audience you are looking for. If you are just overwhelmed and need some help getting organized we are there for each other and most important if we are down and need a pick me up from someone we trust, this is the best place to get it.
Over the past several months the meetings have started to become a little less structured than they used to be. The leader of the group sent out an e mail today restating the rules and making it perfectly clear that this is a group from which you can me asked to leave if you are not willing to follow the rules.
While I was reading the e mail, my thoughts went to a sales rep and how so many times I see reps travel down the same path as the group has gone. They start with all the right habits and structure but over time start to lose the organization and allow their days to get looser and looser until they have lost sight of what is the right way.
Unfortunately so many times when this happens a sales manager needs to get involved and it isn’t usually a friendly or non threatening conversation. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be awesome if reps had the same type of accountability group as I had? I then thought why can’t they?
I suggest that everyone reading this post contact other sales reps in their area and start a JAWS group. (Job Accountability Work Shop). The reps don’t all need to work for the same company, as a matter of fact if you could find reps that work in similar industries but are not in competition with you are one another that would be best for the networking portion.
I know a lot of you belong to lead generating groups, but this is very different. Think of this as more of a support group. A group that have all gone through or are going through the same set of circumstances that have come together for the sole purpose of helping one another.
The key saying in my group as well as all JAWS groups is, How can I help YOU! We believe in paying it forward and know if we help others we will get the help we need when we need it.
If I can answer any questions about how to start a JAWS group please contact me, I will be more than happy to help you.
Lorin
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
A BAD DAY SELLING IS STILL GOOD
Today I had an extraordinary experience. I was in a meeting with 12 people, none of which were sales reps. It was interesting, there were product managers, purchasing agents, marketing people, even a finance person but not one sales rep or anyone in sales at all.
As we spoke I heard them all talking about “The Office”, at first I thought they were talking about the TV program. As it turns out they were talking about their office and how it was to work there. The picture they painted wasn’t pretty, at least not to me. They talked about their “Cubicles”, the break room, the copy room and one of the marketing people actually was telling us how wonderful the new bathroom was.
I tried not to laugh, but when the bathroom came up I lost it. I was the only person in the group that didn’t work at the company and the only person in sales. I was the outsider. They asked what the office was like where I worked, I couldn’t help myself.
I told them that my office wasn’t the largest office I have ever seen but it was brightly lit with daylight coming in the picture windows. I said the ventilation was awesome and the air was always fresh. I said that the view was fantastic and always changing. I said that the food was terrific and the selection is vast. I told them that the temperature fluctuated quite a bit but the climate control worked well.
At this point I could tell I was laying it on rather thick and I was losing the group so I told them I worked in the field and was in cars most of the time.
They smiled and each one of them made some comment as to how lucky I was. It felt good to have people think I was fortunate to be an outside sales rep.
After the meeting, while I was driving home, I realized that as thick as I laid it on about my “Office Environment” I really did have it better than anyone in a cubicle. That is when it really hit me that a bad day in the field selling is better than a good day stuck in an office. Especially on a beautiful spring like day in Atlanta.
Enjoy what you have and realize how many people can only wish they were us!
Lorin
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
SELF DEFEAT IS THE WORST DEFEAT
Like most men and women in sales, the competition and is one of the things that drives us the hardest and motivates us to do more every day. None of like to be beaten, however most of us appreciate a good hard fought battle and can accept being beaten fairly and squarely by another rep.
There is a time that we hate being beaten, a time that we find it very hard to accept defeat, and a time when we want to give ourselves a swift kick in the… let’s just say rear end.
The time I am talking about is when we defeat ourselves by not doing what we know we should have done. This has happened to almost every one of us at one time or another. We get mentally lazy or in some cases physically lazy. We know we should do something but we get over confident or just sloppy in our work and we don’t do it. We lose not because the competition does something right, but because we do something wrong.
I am guessing you could write a book about how reps have defeated themselves every week. You could make a movie about all the things reps do to undermine their success. You could fill an iPod with the stories of unfulfilled promises made by reps every day.
When these things happen there is no one to blame, no one to point a finger at, and no one to make excuses about. The enemy is the person looking back at you in the mirror and he or she is a formidable opponent.
So what can we do to keep ourselves from shooting ourselves in the foot? THINK! That’s right, THINK before you talk, THINK before you do anything. THINK before you decide not to do something. THINK, THINK again, and then THINK once more. If we will all make an effort to THINK about every action we take or decide not to take during a sales presentation we will stop most of the self defeating actions and words we use.
Thinking doesn’t always assure success, and I am by no means saying that if you THINK you will close every sale. What will happen is you will stop losing sales to your own poor judgment. Customers will need to make good business based decisions. Our competitors will need to step up and sell not just show up and not screw up.
I know that I can stand toe to toe and win against just about any competitor I have ever come up against. The one sales rep that beats me every time is me when I make mistakes.
Lorin
Monday, March 12, 2012
THE SLOWEST SPEED POSSIBLE
Have you ever noticed that bad things come at you like a freight train on a straight track and good things seem to take forever to come?
Today I was talking with a friend of mine and he was venting about this very subject. It seems he is expecting a very big deal to come together, a deal he has been working on for well over a year. He was telling me that for the past 90 days it seems that every time things looked good something would throw the deal off track for closing. He said that almost everything that has been a problem has come out of nowhere and presented itself overnight. He was frustrated and he was starting to lose perspective about the deal.
I could see it in his eyes that he was starting to doubt the deal would ever close and he was starting to feel that all the time he has put into this sale was looking like it would be fruitless. He needed someone to give him hope and to give him perspective. I looked over my right shoulder and didn’t see anyone, I looked over my left shoulder and didn’t see anyone there either. I guess it was going to be me!
I started by asking him how he came across this prospect in the first place. He explained the lead generation process in his office and told me that the prospect came to him through his phone sales staff. I then asked what he has covered over the past 12 months and how tried to get some sort of timeline of the sale.
He told me about the initial calls and how he worked his way up the food chain in the customers business until he was presenting to the management team. He told me about his days working with the team to better understand what they needed and how he could help. I heard about presentations and demonstrations, about his travel to other locations and how he now knows as much about the customers business as most of his employees do.
He interjected several times that he did all this on his own dime his company nor the customer has helped with any expenses. I asked if that was normal for his company, he told me yes. I then told him I wouldn’t expect the prospect to pay unless they had asked for him to do the traveling. He told me they didn’t, it was all his idea.
I then asked him when he first thought he would close the deal. He said that he went to a meeting back in October and that was supposed it. He said that was the first time that things went wrong quickly. I asked what happened. He told me about the contract that he brought with him. It seems that the customer didn’t want to sign a multi-million dollar contract without his legal department looking at it first.
I stood there stunned. I asked him if he really thought that anyone in their right mind would sign a contract that they hadn’t had time to have a lawyer look at. He said it was a standard contract that he has used a hundred times before. I asked were there any times the sale was as large as this one, he said no.
Now I needed to start looking deeper into the sale. I asked him a series of questions;
1) What is the average size of an order for the company
2) What is his average order size
3) What is the usual sales cycle time
He was hesitant to answer because I feel he saw immediately where I was heading. He told me the average order size in the company was about 250K. His average order size was about 195K. The average sale took 7 weeks to close.
I then asked how large this sale was, he told me 1.5MM. He said it will be a company record.
All I did was stare at him. He was finding it hard to look me in the eye. He knew what I was going to say next. He knew that he was just blowing off steam, he knew that I knew that he was being ridiculous.
I told him I thought a few factors were working here. First I told him it was his pride. I asked how many people in the office knew about the potential sale and its size. He said everyone knew. With that I asked if he felt a little silly every time he had a delay and had to explain it to the office. He said yes to that.
I then asked if he had tried to cut any extra deals with his bosses on this sale. He again said yes. He had negotiated an extra 1.75% commission deal.
I then asked if he felt lost working such a large deal with no road map to follow. To this he almost sighed, yes. He said that everything he had done has been trial and error and that no one could give him any guidance.
In the end I told him that because there was no history to look back on and that he was writing history as he went, he couldn’t feel the deal was taking too long. I told him that the first delay with the lawyers should have been expected and would be the next time. I told him that he needed to document every step and every action. He needed to do this for the company and for himself.
I had asked a ton of questions but I had one more, possibly the most important one of all. I asked him what have you been doing while you were working on this sale. I knew I didn’t want to hear the answer, and I was right. He said that he has let his entire pipeline empty and had really not done much over the last 3 months. He said that he was putting so much time into this sale that he couldn’t handle anything else.
He then looked at me and said, “I am a fool”. I told him that he made a big mistake and had put all his eggs into one GIANT basket. I recommended he get back to work and start to get the basics back to his business. I told him to plan on taking his week and splitting it between “THE BIG ONE” and all the rest so he could take some of the pressure off himself.
This is a problem with big sales that we as sales reps often find ourselves in, we stop doing what we know should be done and become a slave to “THE BIG ONE”. This is fine IF we close the big one, if not we are left with nothing.
Never stop doing what you know is right for you and your core business. Never stop doing the things that got you to the opportunity to chase “THE BIG ONE”.
The old saying, “Good things are worth waiting for” is true. Bad things seem to happen quickly, but good things do to if you keep doing what you need to so you can succeed.
Lorin
Friday, March 9, 2012
STICKS AND STONES
I am going to age myself slightly with this post. My wife and youngest daughter are both teachers and I asked them today if any of the kids today still use the saying, “Sticks and Stones can Break Your Bones, but Names Will Never Hurt you”. They both looked at me and said almost in unison, NO. My wife added, if you said the first part to a kid today they wouldn’t be able to finish the saying.
With that being said, I want to change the saying to an updated sales focused saying. “STICKS AND STONES CAN BREAK YOUR BONES, BUT NAMES CAN MAKE YOU MONEY”
I went into the field today with a rep that was making follow-up sales calls on some of his biggest prospects. Before we went into the first business I asked what happened the last time he was in there. He told me that the customer had asked him several questions about how the suggested products were going to “fit” in his business. The rep didn’t know enough about the customers business to give him a satisfactory answer and the customer told him no.
As we walked into the business I was looking around and saw several opportunities for the reps products to help the customer. The rep introduced me as his sales trainer and told the customer I was there to observe him. As the rep and customer talked I just stood back and listened. It didn’t take long for the customer to get back to where he was the last time, with the rep not being able to answer a major question. I decided to step in and help the rep so I gave the customer the answer he needed and then shared with him what I observed walking in.
We spent the next 20 minutes talking, I was asking questions and the customer was giving me the information I needed to close the sale. I brought the rep back into the presentation and together we performed a few demos for the customer. It took about 50 minutes, but we walked out with a sizeable order. As we were saying our good byes and leaving, the customer said to the rep, “If you had brought an EXPERT like him with you last time we might have done business then”.
The next few stops were uneventful but on our 6th stop of the day I was once again able to work with the customer and have the rep join me in doing some demos, and getting an order. The customer called me a PRO and thanked me for all my help.
EXPERT and PRO, two names that I was called that helped make the rep sales and consequently made the rep some nice commissions.
The rep asked me why I was able to close sales he couldn’t. He wanted to know how I knew so much about what his customers did. I let him know that first off it didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t learn about businesses and industries in a few days or weeks. It took several years to build the knowledge. I also let him know that I didn’t learn the information only in the field, I studied and read about the businesses and industries to learn as much as I could.
I told the rep that being a so called expert or pro wasn’t difficult, all it took was a little knowledge, a little gift of gab, a little practice, and a lot of time.
I didn’t hear what the rep called me after that last statement, but I have a feeling it might have broken a bone or two!
Lorin
Thursday, March 8, 2012
THE NAME HAS BEEN CHAGED NOT THE MESSAGE
Let’s take a walk down Memory Lane;
The year is 1972, The Dow Industrial closed at 1020 for the year, the average cost of a home was $27,550.00, gas was $.55 (55 cents) a gallon, a pair of Wrangler Jeans cost $12.00 and Zig Ziglar published the book Biscuits Fleas and Pump Handles.
I am sure that most of you didn't know any of the above facts and more than likely even less of you has ever heard of Zig’s book Biscuits Fleas and Pump Handles. Well actually I would guess that most of you know it by its more modern name, "See You At The Top".
The original book was named after several of the more popular stories that Zig told in his speeches by the same name, Biscuits (Getting Caught in the Squat), Fleas (How to Become a Flea Trainer), and Pump Handles (You need to put the Work in to get the Rewards out).
I have read "See You At The Top" dozens of times and every time I read it I walk away not only feeling better, but better armed to face the sales world I live in. The book not only gives me the tools I need to help me keep a good attitude, but it gives me the mental strength to face the adversity of the day and keep smiling.
This morning I was helping a friend of mine and fellow sales rep with his elevator speech. As we spoke I reminded him that I had recommended he read "See You At The Top" several months ago. I asked if he had finished it. He told me that he bought it, and he thinks he had finished the first chapter. I called him a real reading machine and gave him a not so kind verbal kick in the seat of the pants and told him to get busy.
I believe that reading is one of the best ways to learn, grow and change. In past posts I have mentioned the name Charlie “Tremendous” Jones. Charlie was a friend of mine who passed away several years ago (2008). Charlie was a well known motivational speaker, author, and business man. He had a saying which he made famous, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read”
Because of the greats like Zig and Charlie I have become an advocate of reading positive motivational and self help books. This morning I recommended to my friend that he start each day with 15 minutes of reading and end each day the same way. I know that no matter what happens in between, 15 minutes in the morning and evening of positive input will overcome any and all negatives of the day (directly out of See You at the Top).
Here is some good news for those of you that say you don’t like to read, just about every great motivational, positive thinking, self help book is available on CD or is downloadable as an mp3 file to your player or phone. That’s right, Charlie would need to change his saying to “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read or listen to”, and I think he would be OK with that.
Lorin
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
NO ONE CAN BE EVERY ONES ONLY ONE
I was sitting in my local Caribou Coffee store today just enjoying a cup of coffee and reading a new book I will tell you all about when I finish it and couldn’t help overhearing a couple of gentlemen talking at the table next to me. From the conversation they were both sales reps and they must have worked together in the past. It was also very clear that they were working for competitors today and both thought their company was by far the best one to be working for.
It was great to hear these two friends beating each other up over who made the better choice in companies to go to work for and why. Everything from quality to price was discussed. They each bragged about their service and one of my favorite topics their companies training programs. They spoke about company culture and working environment. It was a no holds barred good old fashion head butting contest.
I kept my book open but to tell you the truth I sat there for over 25 minutes and didn’t read a word, I was too busy being entertained by these two reps. Then the one who seemed to be slightly behind in the debate almost made me drop my book. He said to his friend in a voice just one decibel below screaming, “IF WE (meaning his company) WANTED TO WE COULD FORCE EVERY ONE OF OUR COMPETITORS TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS BECAUSE WE COULD TAKE ALL THEIR BUSINESS”
I am shocked that they didn’t hear me snicker to that as I swallowed hard to keep from spewing my coffee.
I have worked for people in the past that had this same attitude about the company. It is almost admirable to think an employee could have that much faith and confidence in an organization that they could believe such a statement. Or is it a shame that an employee doesn’t see the faults a company has therefore isn’t doing anything to help improve the company.
Either way, it is absurd to think any company could be the only one to everyone.
You hear a lot of people complain about having competition, I love competition. Competition keeps everyone on their toes and makes everyone work harder and do better. The competition could be another company or it could be another rep inside your own company.
History shows us in almost every case (there are a few exceptions) when there is only one supplier quality goes down while prices go up. Without a competitor there is no check and balance for the market and without checks and balances bad things start to happen.
I knew the rep at the next table was just beating his chest and doing whatever he could to “one up” his friend, but it was still shocking to hear him take that path and make that statement.
Lorin
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO SAY YES
Is this how your company treats one of its BEST customers? I can’t believe that you guys have stayed in business this long treating good customers this way! I could understand it if I didn’t pay my bills or caused a lot of problems, but I don’t do any of those things! If this how you treat your best customers, I can only imagine how you treat lesser customers!
I stopped because it was getting painful to type all these comments that we all have heard over time about the companies we work for. (Hopefully they are talking about the company not the rep) These comments and about a gazillion more are always made when you try and say NO to a customer.
I will give you a great example, just yesterday I received my wireless phone bill. Last month I upgraded from and iPhone 4G to an iPhone 4GS. I paid $200.00 for the phone and then my carrier charged me an additional $36.00 activation fee. I called the phone carrier and asked to have the charge removed. The CS rep told me she couldn’t do it, so I said, “I have been a customer for over 8 years with 4 phones on my family plan all iPhones with media packages. I pay my bill on time and I think I am a pretty good customer. I am sure if you ask your supervisor he will OK the removal.
The CS rep said she couldn’t do it but she was willing to ask her supervisor as I requested. She was back in about 2 minutes and told me he said OK.
I went from a customer asking for something that I really wasn’t due to a “GOOD” customer just to make my case. Isn’t that the way it goes with your customers? They are a normal customer, not your biggest, not your smallest, they don’t pay early but they don’t pay late either. They don’t ask for much and they get exactly that, not much. Then when you say no to them about something, they immediately become your BEST customer in their own minds!
I have fought this battle many times, I have told a customer no and had them play the “BEST” card. I have stuck to my guns and insisted NO! Only to have them tell me again how GREAT a customer they are. I say NO again, they tell me how long they have been doing business with the company. I say NO again, and they tell me how often they have ignored mistakes and didn’t make a big deal out of things that have gone wrong, and that makes them a good customer.
This back and forth battle could go on for hours, days, weeks, months, it can turn into a never ending point of contention between you and the customer. The bottom line, they are the customer.
In sales, as in life, it is sometimes just easier to give in and let the other person (the customer) win even when you are right. It is sometimes easier to just say yes than it is to keep fueling the battle and forming feelings that may never heal.
My carrier said yes to me yesterday. I knew the $36.00 charge was going to be on my bill, the sales rep in the store told me it was. I asked him if he could remove it, he said no, and then said, call customer service when you bill comes, they will try and say no, but if you persist they will remove it. Your customers may not have that information about you (at least I hope they don’t) but none the less, they know.
Don’t just roll over and give in, put up a front, let them think they have you against the ropes, make it appear to hurt a little, but keep in mind, big or small, good or not so good, they are the customer and our incomes depend on them.
Lorin
Monday, March 5, 2012
PICK A DIRECTION AND FLY
I had the pleasure to listen to a great speaker this morning and I wanted to relay the story and message he told.
An experienced retired Navy pilot bought a plane and really enjoyed flying it. On day he decided to fly from his home in Chicago to Atlanta. He set his course but really didn’t do all his homework before he took off for his trip.
As he started to fly into Kentucky the pilot ran right into the middle of a severe thunder storm. His plane was dropping several hundred feet at a time and he would climb back up as fast as he could. The plane was being tossed by the storm and then the pilot realized that his instruments weren’t working. He tried everything he knew only to come to the realization that he had been struck by lightning and it knocked out his instrument panel.
The pilot got on his radio and called to the nearest control tower asking if they could see him on their radar. The control tower answered, “ping your transponder” the pilot simply said, “I just did”. The control tower told him to ping it again. To which he gave the same answer as before, “I just did”.
The pilot was too experienced to lose total control, but in his words, he was starting to get very concerned. He asked the control tower for a suggestion. The control tower told him to “PICK A DIRECTION AND FLY”. He asked what direction, the tower said, “It doesn’t matter, just pick a direction and fly!”
In about 5 minutes the pilot broke out of the clouds and had clear skies ahead of him. He was able to reroute his trip around the storm and fly safely to Atlanta.
Like many of the people listening to the story, I was wondering what this story had to do with anything that I may be associated with.
The speaker then asked a question. “When people get lost and are in trouble, what do they usually do?” He continued, they wander in circles. The circles may be actual circles around a location, or mental circles around a thought or problem. He then asked, “What happens when you walk or mentally go in circles?” His answer was we get deeper and deeper into trouble or more lost than before.
If we were to follow the advice of the control tower like the pilot did, and pick a direction and fly, we would find ourselves someplace other than where we are, which is in trouble. If we commit to a direction and fly, we would come out in a better place and be able to reset our course and get back on the right track to our goals and final destination.
I found the speakers speech to be a very strong and useful message. As sales reps we all, at one time or another, find ourselves lost, in trouble, or wandering in circles. If we were to simply PICK A DIRECTION AND SELL! We would end up in a better place and be back on track to our goals as well.
This story was told to a very diverse group of people, not just sales people. As I listened I knew that although everyone will benefit from hearing this story, the sales reps in the room as well as the sales reps that read this post will especially appreciate and understand how strong this message is for us.
PICK A DIRECTION, ANY DIRECTION, AND SELL!
Lorin
Friday, March 2, 2012
HERO’S ARE HARD TO COME BY
I can remember when I was a child having a long list of people to choose from for my HERO. I had sports figures, Presidents, astronauts, actors and of course my dad to choose from. The hardest thing about finding a HERO figure back then was picking which person it should be, there really were no bad choices.
Today however things have changed a lot! So many sports figures are bad sports, Presidents are being charged with every crime imaginable, the space program has been basically disbanded, actors are in the headlines everyday with their drug problems, divorces, infidelity and crimes that were usually saved for the criminals. The lucky kids still have dear old dad but so many kids today come from broken homes and they don’t have a father figure to look up to.
I know this doesn’t sound much like a sales training post, and I guess it really isn’t so much training as it is sales “FEELING”.
The kids today that don’t have the readily available HERO’S grow up to be the sales reps of the future. As a matter of fact the newest crop of sales reps that I have been training lately all fall into that category. Now you may be asking what having a HERO and being a sales rep have to do with one another. PLENTY!
When you have a HERO you look up to someone and try and emanate that person through your actions. If you have no HERO or if the HERO you do have is someone with questionable morals and ethics then you emanate those traits and your actions as a sales rep become less than honorable.
So I guess the question is who can kids today hold in that highest position of HERO? I have an answer. I know of someone who spent his entire life working to help kids become better. This person taught kids some of the most important life lessons imaginable and kids learned from him. He was able to connect to kids of every race, religion, geographic area, and nationality. He got through to kids of extreme wealth and kids of extreme poverty. He was understood by the highly educated as well as the less educated and loved by just about every parent known to man.
He was a writer, a poet, and an inventor. He is part of some of the most cherished memories of kids from the late 1930’s to present day. He has inspired several movies, television shows and a national champagne celebrated each year on his birthday.
If you haven’t already guessed the HERO I am talking about, my personal HERO is Dr Seuss.
What better HERO figure, what better role model, what better person could a kid fashion themselves after today? As a sales rep who better to follow then a man who was creative, had an extraordinary imagination, knew how to best communicate with his audience, and loved what he did for a living. Dr Seuss was a teacher, each of his 46 children’s books taught a lesson. My favorite book of his is “Green Eggs and Ham”, many of you have seen me use it as a sales meeting. It teaches a child to try new things, it also teaches sales reps the same lesson along with persistence, attitude, and creativity.
His book “The Cat in the Hat” teaches children that they need to take responsibility for their actions and clean up the mess they make. A good lesson for sales reps also. His book “Horton Hatches an Egg” teaches children that when they make a promise they need to do everything they can to keep the promise. EVERY REP SHOULD LEARN THIS LESSON!
I could go down the entire list of Dr Seuss’s books and each one has a lesson for kids that sales reps also need to learn.
The dear Doctor lived from 1904 to 1991, he left his mark on the world and that mark will never be erased. He is a HERO to me, and he is a HERO to teachers and parents all around the world.
If you know a child or a new sales rep that needs a HERO, you can’t go wrong with Dr. Seuss.
Lorin
Thursday, March 1, 2012
JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF “1”
Tuesday afternoon I received a phone call from one of my favorite reps in the entire world. This rep is a SUPER sales rep and just a nice person to know. I thought it was going to be just our usual monthly chit chat call but it turned out to be a lot more.
I could tell as soon as I heard the reps voice that something was on their mind but I decided to let them tell me when they was ready rather than being my usual self and bluntly asking. It didn’t take long, after about 2 minutes of catching up the rep asked me what I thought about vertical market selling.
As soon as I heard the words I knew where this was coming from. This rep has been selling to multiple markets for years and is very successful and knowledgeable about the markets. The company is starting to lead (a nicer word than force) reps into focusing on one market.
The idea of vertical market selling makes a lot of sense. A rep focused on only one market can get to know the market issues and have better value statements as to how their product or service can help solve the issues. By being involved in one industry the rep can become so knowledgeable that they are truly an expert and because of their intimate knowledge they can help their customers in areas that go far beyond their product and service. This consultant role will place the rep in a better position when the customer is in the market for a product like theirs.
The down side of vertical markets is a rep is now as vulnerable to the changes in the market as their customers are. The lack of diversity in the reps customer base doesn’t allow them to shift from one market to another as the economic climate changes. Another down side is the size of market potential a rep has in the vertical. If I sell into several markets in my territory I have the power of the numbers of potential customers to draw on. If I am only selling into one market my potential market is cut into a fraction of the size. Smaller market doesn’t mean smaller sales or less income, I know many reps that only sell in a narrow market that make more money than reps selling to markets ten times the size. The smaller market only means less choices and less room for any mistakes.
I had this discussion with my friend and finally my suggestion was to hold out and remain a generalist for as long as possible. I told the rep that at some point I was sure the company would force their hand and make the rep commit to a market segment, but that could be a decade from now. The rep said that is what they thought I would say, and that they didn’t feel scared about focusing on one market, they just didn’t want to be pushed into it before they were ready. I told them they had the luxury of choice now, but it more than likely wouldn’t last forever.
All sales reps working across many markets need to look at the pros and cons of the vertical market scenario. For some of you it may be a good business choice to make the move now, for others you may want to hold out as long as you can like my friend. Either way, it is always easier to make a change on your time table rather than making it by force.
There is nothing wrong with vertical market selling, but there is nothing wrong with being a generalist either.
Lorin
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