THE VICTOR WRITES THE HISTORY

I was having breakfast with a sales rep friend of mine a few days ago and we were exchanging leads with one another as we have been doing for many years now. I handed him a business card from a customer of mine who I have just started selling a few months ago.

As I handed him the card he read the name and said, “That #^($@&!, I will never talk to him again, he is an #^%!&(*” I was shocked, not at his language (I have been known to let loose a string of words similar to his) but at the fact that he didn’t like this guy who I have started to become friends with.

This made me think about something that happened to me when I was in school. I was in a history class and the professor started telling the story of the Civil War, from the aspect of the losers (the South). It was actually pretty funny to hear about battles talked about from this aspect. It changed the way you viewed the entire war.

Getting back to my conversation with the rep, I started to smile as he was getting redder and redder in the face thinking about this guy that he didn’t like at all. Here we had the same person, being viewed by two people who do the same thing, and resulting in totally opposite opinions.

This reminded me of a sales meeting I used to conduct. I would start by making a statement like, “You can’t sell a convenience store, they never buy anything” I would then nod my head and ask who agrees with me, every time I would have a group nodding and readily agreeing with me. Before the meeting I would always look at my reps accounts and find a rep that had a BIG convenience store account. After I got most of the reps to agree that you could not sell a convenience store I would then ask that rep their opinion. They would tell everyone about the success they were having selling a convenience store.

I would do the same thing with 2 or 3 other industries and always have the majority of reps saying you couldn’t sell them, and then the rep that was having great success selling them. The end of the meeting was, depending on how well you are personally doing in an industry dictates your opinion of the industry.

The same goes for people. Depending on how much business a person is giving you often indicates how you feel about the person.

So now you should be asking what is the point of this post, simply this, Don’t listen to someone’s opinion about a prospect. You can take it into consideration but make up your own mind. What you may find out is that the bum to another rep may become your best friend and best customer.

Lorin

BACK TO YOUR ROOTS

As I was driving around yesterday I drove past the building that was the home to the company that I credit with making me a Sales Trainer.

The building looks exactly as it did 35 years ago. I could tell that the maintenance has been top notch. The sign on the building was the same and I saw several cars parked in the parking lot. I decided to stop in.

The first face I saw brought back a flood of memories. It was the warehouse production manager. I know that he has been with the company for over 30 years. He was just a kid when he started and now he had grown to be the VP of Manufacturing for the company. With a head full of white hair and a white beard he resembled Santa, and had every bit as big a smile as Santa would.

We sat in his office and talked for about 45 minutes. The entire time I was thinking about everything I had learned working for the company and how the President of the company always motivated me (and everyone else) to do our very best.

I remembered the first day on the job, I thought I was a seasoned sales rep until I met some of the “HUSTLERS” that worked for this company. For the next 12 years I was able to start my own business using their business model and sharpen my skills as a motivational speaker and trainer.

I walked around the building and met a few more people that I hadn’t seen for over 20 years and it was a great time.

As I was leaving I knew that just remembering all the things that brought me to where I am today will make me better TODAY! I have written about getting back to the basics and I have taught back to your basics, I have preached back to your basics, yesterday I lived back to your basics and wow what an experience.

I know that some of you may not be able to go back to your rots of selling, it may be because of distance or other reasons. It doesn’t matter, each of us can take the mental trip back to our roots and remember all the things we have learned (and forgotten or discarded) along the way.

I made a promise to myself as I drove away from the building, I will make it a point to at least drive by, if not stop in, every year. I know that the time spent will be rewarded 10 fold with the basics that I will remember and USE after the visits.

GET BACK TO YOUR ROOTS, GET BACK TO YOUR BASICS!

Lorin

IT NEVER SEEMS TO BE ENOUGH

I had a classic conversation with a sales rep this morning. He called me to vent about what has been happening in his company and what the company has been asking him to do.

For the first minute or so I was following along with him as his rant started to build up a head of steam. It then became a runaway train and as the momentum started to build I knew I just needed to hold on tight and make it through the ride.

They did this, and they want that... they told me to do this and then they wanted me to do something else… they made me say this and then they said that… Are you starting to get the picture of how this conversation was going?

I tried to be a good listener, I AM A GOOD LISTENER, but in this case I will admit it was more ignoring than listening.

As his rage came to a head he started telling me what he “SHOULD” have said to “them”. He should have stood his ground and told them he wouldn’t do it. He “SHOULD” have just gone and done what he wanted to anyway. He “SHOULD” have quit and found another job.

After about what seemed like a few hours but in reality was about 5 minutes he became silent and asked if I was still there. I assured him I was and joked that it was only because we are friends.

He then made the statement, “IT JUST NEVER SEEMS TO BE ENOUGH FOR THEM”

I asked what wasn’t enough? Not enough time worked, not enough sales calls, not enough sales volume, what wasn’t enough? He said they want him to do more and more!

I asked him if he wanted to do less and less? The phone was silent. He said, “What do you mean?” I answered, isn’t a company supposed to ask their reps to do more and more?

How many of you would want to work for a company that asked you to sell less this year? I can imagine the conversation going like this;

Company: Sales reps, this year we don’t want to sell as much as last year.

Sales reps: WHAT? WHY?

Company: Last year we paid out too much in commissions because you sold so much product, we want to cut the payroll so we are asking each of you to sell 10% less than you did last year.

Sales reps: Won’t that mean we are making 10% less commissions?

Company: Yes, that’s the idea, you sell less, and you make less.

Sales reps: If we do this won’t the company make less profits also?

Company: Yes we will.

OK, you see how stupid this conversation is. A company that doesn’t ask for growth is asking to go out of business. A sales rep that doesn’t want their company to ask more of them is a rep that is going to be out of a job and company very soon.

As I was talking to the rep I asked him if the problem is the company wants more of him or if the company isn’t giving him the tools to do more? He immediately shot back that was it in a nut shell.

Reps, we all want to be successful, we all want to grow, but we all need to right tools to help us grow. If your company isn’t providing the right tools, don’t get negative and cut off your nose to spite your face by not selling, ask for the tools! If they are still not provided, find them for yourselves. There are a million tools available to reps and many are at no cost.

Like so many people today, don’t blame others for the problems you have. Take responsibility and find your own fix. You will be stronger for it and your sales will continue to grow because you know how to fix your own problems.

Lorin

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IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN

Have you ever been with a customer and they ask you questions about your product or service that only the most inside technical people in your company could ever know? (And they might not even know)

The usual response is to try your best to give some kind of answer. It may not be the answer to the question, but at least it is an answer. Now I am not saying just make something up, I am saying the average rep will give a very accurate and correct answer that may not have anything to do with what the customer wanted to know.

This happened to me yesterday. A customer asked me a question about a piece of equipment and I had no idea of the answer. I immediately told the customer I can make one phone call and get him what he needed to know, he said NO!

The customer looked at me and said, “Why should I buy from you, if you don’t know your product?”

This question put me at a fork in the road. I could have chosen to say, “Why would I sell you a product you don’t know about” (JUST KIDDING!) Actually I did have 2 options. Option 1; tell the customer that I am a sales rep NOT an engineer. Option 2; (the one I chose) I simply told the customer that I carry tens of thousands of different products. Each one has its own specs. I try my best to know enough about each product to sell them, but I don’t need to know ever spec because I have a team of people that can give me that information in a few seconds when I need it.

The customer was impressed. He asked me if he had access to the same technical information that I had about the products he would buy from me. I told him he did. He asked me to make the call.

How much do you know about the support behind the sales at your company? How much confidence do you have in the support behind your products in your company? I know a lot of reps that can recite chapter and verse about their products. They have become students of the products and have a lot of technical information about them. I also know that every one of the reps that know this much DON’T KNOW IT ALL!

A smart rep not only knows a lot of information about the products and services they sell, they know where to get the information they don’t know. I don’t know any reps that don’t have their “Go To” people inside their own company or with their vendors so they have access to information as they need it.

You need to build your support network. It is just as important to build relationships within your company as it is to build relationships with your customers, maybe even more important. Get direct phone numbers so you have access, get e mail addresses, GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE YOU WILL DEPEND ON AND MAKE SURE THEY GET TP KNOW YOU!

Having inside as well as outside contacts makes you a much larger force to be reckoned with. Do a survey within your own company. Ask the top reps if they have specific people they call for help. Ask not only about technical information, ask about credit, customer service, inventory, shipping and the list will go on depending on your company.

I will assure you that every top rep has their support team!

THE BIGGER THE FOUNDATION, THE BIGGER THE BUILDING.

Lorin

MAYBE YES BUT MAYBE NO

In a blog I was reading the other day this question was posted, “What can I do to get prospects to say yes more often”?

I read through the string of replies to see what advice and techniques would be displayed.  It was amazing what was written. Everything from drop price to don’t worry the numbers will work themselves out was offered.

There were dozens of replies that were supposed to be from other sales reps and yet not one offered and solid actions the rep could use to increase his closing ratio.

I was going to write a long drawn out post as to all the circumstances that could be the cause of the problem but felt this rep needed a quick simple fix to the problem.

My answer was this, “Stop selling features and benefits of your product and start selling the advantages of ownership”.

My post wasn’t up for more than 5 minutes before I started getting comments back. Within the hour the original poster wrote and asked me what I meant. I wrote that any customer will buy just about any product if and only if they can see how the product will help them.

The word help is the wildcard. For some help could be saving them money, to most money becomes secondary if you can show how the product will help them in other ways. I once closed a sale simply by showing the customer that he would look like a hero to his boss by buying my product even though my product was more expensive than what he was presently using. My product met the environmental standards the company set and he would be the first department to show significant compliance improvements.

I have made sales because the customers employees liked my product and the by supplying them my products it would improve his personal image with his staff. Some customers buy to save time, or make jobs easier. Some buy to reduce inventory. Whatever the reason you need to show the customer “WIIFM” (What’s In It For Me). In many cases the personal reasons far outweigh the business reasons for buying or not buying.

This is a lesson for all of us to keep in mind. A widget can be made of the finest materials in the world and sell for the lowest price in the market, and customers won’t buy it because they don’t see the advantages of the good materials or the cost savings. Don’t just sell features and benefits of the product, sell features and HOW THEY WILL BENEFIT the customer!

Lorin

A SPIN CLASS FOR SALES REPS

When was the last time you went to a circus? It has been years since I went and a few minutes ago I was watching a YouTube video and one of the selections on the page was a circus video. I have no idea why, but I watched it.

It was 12 minutes and 41 seconds of fun, excitement, and fun. About half way through came some of the jugglers. I remember as a kid always being amazed by juggling, I can remember as a teen wanting to be a juggler, I can remember as a young man wanting to simply learn how to juggle, and now I am back where I started and am amazed by juggling.

One of my favorite juggling acts was the plate balancer. You have all seen this, row after row of sticks and the juggler starts a plate spinning on top of each stick and runs around attending to each plate as they start to slow down and wobble. The performer runs from front to back and side to side always getting to the right stick a split second before the plate falls to the ground and shatters.

When I closed YouTube and thought about what I watched, I started thinking about what sales reps do during their careers. First we make cold calls and get a customer base. This is just like what the juggler does when he starts the plates spinning on the sticks. We then grow our accounts, this is the juggler adding more and more plates to the sticks. We then start to service our accounts, this is the juggler running around keeping the plates spinning. As we lose a customer we find another to take its place always keeping our territory maximized, just like the juggler starting a new plate when one falls off a stick.

This juggling act we do is different in many ways also. The juggler in the circus knows how long a plate will stay up by how hard they spin it. They know which plate will be the next one to need attention and the plates are very predictable so the juggler can rehearse hundreds of time allowing him to have a great show with the elements of suspense and talent neatly intertwined. As reps we don’t have the luxury of predictability. We don’t know where the next problem will come from or what the next objection will be. We can rehearse, but there is always an uncertainty about what we will need in our next performance to have a successful show.

We usually have more plates spinning than the juggle could ever think about and we need to control them better than the juggler controls his plates. A customer will only allow themselves to wobble so many time before they will jump off your stick and shatter on the floor of your account base.

As reps we may not have the excitement of the high wire acts, the animals or the peanuts and popped corn that comes with the circus, but we do have the same mess to clean up if we are not careful.

Lorin

EXCUSE DU JOUR

Over the next 8 weeks a lot of work needs to be done. Starting on November 25^th, the natural excuse “I am waiting until after the first of the year” becomes the “EASY” excuse. (And blow off)

Today the “I am waiting until after the elections” is the EXCUSE DU JOUR and we need to put up with that for another 60+days.

The facts are this, business goes on! Today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year business goes on! There will always be an EXCUSE DU JOUR that we are dealing with. Our job is to find a way to negate the excuse and work with our customers to assure they have what they need when they need it.

So if we know the customer needs our product and service, and the customer knows they need our product or service, then why is it the customer resists and gives us an excuse? The answer is easy, YOU AS THE SALES REP IN MANY CASES HAVEN’T SHOWN THE CUSTOMER THE VALUE OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE!

Today the market demands Value, the customer demands value, and the sales rep is responsible for bring the value to the table. This is a task that most reps do very well during the initial sale. The rep makes a great presentation and the customer see’s the true value of owning the product or service.

VALUE isn’t a sometimes thing! Value is an ALL THE TIME thing. A rep needs to build the value of their product or service every time they contact the customer. Just because they customer saw the value at the onset of the relationship doesn’t mean they continue to see it. Many of you have customers that you have been selling for decades, it may have been 10 or 20 years ago that you last really showed the value of what you sell. The customer has been buying based on your relationship and sooner or later, in today’s market, that relationship will no longer make for a good business decision.

When I say every time, I mean EVERY TIME. It is a no brainer to build value on the initial sale, and most reps will continue to build value when the return for a “SALES CALL”. A good rep will build value at every step of the way. If you send a thank you note build value. If you leave a voice mail, build value. If you send a holiday card, build value.

One of the best examples I have seen was a rep that sent me a birthday card. The card was very simple in appearance and when I opened it there were only a few words. It said:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORIN! THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WILL TRY AND GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR CELEBRATION, YOU KNOW THAT MY ___________ WON’T BE ONE OF THEM. (The product I was buying was in the blank)

Every one of us could make a statement like this about or product or service. Imagine the impact it could have if we did it to not just the occasional customer, but EVERY customer EVERY time we had contact with them.

To use the CREED of the USPS.

NEITHER ELECTIONS NOR HOLIDAYS NOR THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY WILL KEEP ME FROM BUYING (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE) PRODUCTS OR SERVICES!

Lorin

AS ALWAYS, YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME. CLICK ON THE WORD "COMMENT" (IF YOU ARE THE FIRST IT WILL SAY NO COMMENTS) JUST BELOW THE POST AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

EVERYTHING IS NEW BUT NOTHING MUCH HAS CHANGED

I was listening to the radio the other day while driving around and heard an interesting statement made by a sports announcer. She said that although many things have changed during her 24 years of broadcasting, the fundamentals of journalism, who, what, why, when, and where have all remained constant.

When I was in collage I took a journalism course and the 5 “W’s” were taught to me, my 84 year old Mother-In-Law was a journalism major at the University of Georgia and I asked her if the 5 “W’s” were the fundamentals taught to her and she said absolutely.

As I searched for the origins of the 5 “W’s” I could trace them back to the 1^st Century BC. I guess the 5 “W’s” go further back than even my Mother-In-Law.

Like so many fundamentals, the 5 “W’s” have withstood the test of time, like so many of the basics do.

Sales is no different. I have read dozens of articles, written by some of the sales greats, talking about how sales have changed over the past 20 years. Everything from the introduction of the internet to environmental issues have affected sales in some way or another. The rising prices of energy and the breakthroughs in technology have affected sales. The cell phone and GPS systems have affected sales. About anything you can think of have in one way or another affected selling.

But through it all the basics, the fundamentals have remained the same. People still prefer to buy from people they like, the value of your product has to be there and service is what keeps customers happy.

I know that we are living in a world where instant information is available to just about everyone and customers are more informed today than ever before. However all this doesn’t eliminate the fact that the sales rep makes a difference. The sales rep still builds the trust that sales are based on and customers depend on their sales reps to help them through the electronic jungle that many companies have developed.

Building value, building a relationship, building rapport, building trust all lead to BUILDING SALES for any organization.

If you find yourself in the situation of sagging sales figures, try going back to the basics and using the fundamentals you were taught at the start of your career. Like sales, the basics of success haven’t changed, they have just been updated.

Lorin