by Art Waskey | Nov 9, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Stalled conversations
One of my reps was finding it difficult to engage his prospects and build the relationship. Seeking my counsel he explained, “I’m having a hard time getting the conversation started and when I do, the dialogue seems to end too abruptly. I try to get the ball rolling by talking about our latest new products but often find this leads to a bored and disengaged potential customer. How can I sell anything when I can’t even get to know the customer and his needs?”
Let them know you care
The solution to this dilemma is to get to know your client before you pitch the product. As the influential American author, salesman, and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar (ziglar.com) said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Build a business relationship
To demonstrate care, you need to build a lasting relationship. I advise people to work from a framework that enables them to understand their client before they propose any solutions. Following a conversational system, one based on a series of images that help you remember the sequence to use when developing a relationship, helps. Here is system I have found to be effective.
- Name plate – When you meet someone think of a name plate. Start with asking, what is your name? Everyone likes to be remembered personally.
- House –The name plate is attached to a house. Next ask, where do you live?
- Group of people – Within the house there is a group of people. Ask about your prospect’s family or coworkers.
- Man with a glove – Within the group is a man with a work glove on his right hand. This image leads to questions like, where do you work, or where do you go to school, or how do you spend your time?
- Airplane – In the grip of the work glove is an airplane. This reminds you to ask, where do they like to vacation?
- Tennis racket – On the nose cone of the airplane is a propeller fashioned out of a tennis racket. This picture triggers questions about favorite sports, hobbies, and leisure time activities.
Know the decision maker
Working your way through this series of questions yields insight on your potential client’s world and enables you to relate to them on a more meaningful level. My rule of thumb is that before closing a new account, you should know at least 5 things about the decision maker. If you fall short of that number, you have more relationship building to do.
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by Art Waskey | Nov 3, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
The seasoned salesperson knows where he/she is going and how to get there. It’s typical, however, to those new to the profession to feel insecure. In fact, it’s a good sign. Quoting Socrates, “The beginning of wisdom is recognizing the depth of your ignorance.” As a rookie, the young salesperson does not have a great deal of prior experience on which to develop his approach to a sale. Acknowledging this lack of insight is step one in overcoming the obstacle of inexperience.
Preparation and practice
Let’s look at what makes a great professional. An effective public speaker, for example, achieves success by beginning with a well-developed script. He will continually edit and revise his words to sharpen the message. Then, he will spend countless hours rehearsing his speech until he can say it in his sleep. By the time he is behind the podium he has complete confidence in his prepared remarks and no fear of misspeaking. The same pattern of intense preparation and practice is also true of the professional golfer who is able to make the winning putt, or the NBA star sinking his final shot. These professionals have overcome inexperience by developing the kind of confidence that comes from a practiced approach to their game. Their winning strategy is second nature to them and can be mentally played back at the right time and in the right place, like a tape recording.
4 Elements to a Winning Strategy
What does a sales professional need to develop and practice to overcome the obstacle of inexperience? Here are 4 elements that I consider essential to a winning sales strategy.
- Identify the decision maker(s) carefully and early in the sales cycle
- Determine which results will constitute a win for each decision-maker
- Know and use your personal strengths to create a win
- Find people with prior knowledge of the account and enlist their help in obtaining pertinent information
My advice to the new sales rep is to develop a winning strategy and embed it in your psyche. In that way — like the public speaker, the golfer, or basketball player — when the pressure is on you are able to instantly play the right tape.
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by Art Waskey | Oct 27, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Self-esteem can be a bit of a misnomer as it often does not come entirely from within. The process of building self-confidence requires the support and encouragement of others. I was fortunate to have a father who bolstered my ego early on. Our family owned a retail meat business in downtown Baltimore where I worked as a teenager. My father recognized my ability to relate to our customers and told me I would make a successful salesman. His steadfast belief in me led to a long and rewarding career in sales.
Overcoming challenges
The self-confidence that I possess today did not come easily. I had challenges to overcome. A reading disability, dyslexia, had a negative impact on my self-esteem. Fortunately, I was able to compensate for that deficit with a gift for mathematics, a subject in which I excelled in college. I graduated with honors in engineering and was hired by a national welding and gas company. The sales manager there also recognized that I had a salesman’s personality and for the next eight years constantly assured me of my talents.
That manager’s actions built my self-confidence and I moved up the company ranks, receiving six promotions in 12 years. I left the company in 1985 and went to work for a small family business with sales of $5.5 million. When I retired from that company in 2018, our sales were $65 million. Now that’s a self-confidence builder.
Find the good
Today I both write and speak on achieving success in sales. I also host sales and management seminars and recently published my third book ,“The Art of Sales: A Book of Sales Stories” (The Art of Sales books). On the topic of self-esteem, I always remind my audience of the importance of a having a supporter, someone who sees the good in you and will help you build self-confidence. When speaking to a more seasoned group, I stress the importance of helping others to build self-confidence by finding the good in them and supporting them on their path to success.
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by Art Waskey | Oct 13, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Many of the sales managers and reps I advise have commented that working from home during this pandemic has made them more efficient. This has come as a pleasant surprise to companies that previously had only on-site employees. Many companies are now moving to make a higher percent of their work force home-based.
David McGuire of the Forbes Finance Council reported in a July 31, 2020 article, Big Changes Are Coming To Commercial Real Estate Industry In The Wake of The Pandemic, that “Retail space is expected to see a major loss in demand in the coming years, with some expecting negative demand for up to 13 quarters. A large percentage of workers are currently working from home, and many employers expect a great part of their workforce will continue to do so.”
Improved Productivity
What is contributing to the belief that working from home is more efficient than reporting to an office? Stephen Covey in his classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, offers some insight. In his Time Management Matrix, Covey suggests that we should focus on two quadrants for improved productivity. They are: Important and Urgent and Important not Urgent.
Of lesser significance to efficiency are the quadrants he labels: Not Important but Urgent, which includes interruptions, some calls, emails, reports, and meetings, pressing matters, and popular activities; and Not Important not urgent matters, like trivia, busy work, some emails and phone calls, time wasters, and pleasant activities.
Concentrated Work
In an office environment there are more opportunities to be distracted by unimportant work details. The longer we are away from the desk, the more time it takes to get back into what Cal Porter describes in his book Deep Work, as the un-distracted deep thought which is necessary for concentrated work. At the office, trips to the coffee pot, water cooler, or bathroom, where we encounter colleagues along the way, can quickly turn a 15-minute break into one that stretches into a half-hour. If we remain disciplined about avoiding the kitchen sink and laundry, there are far fewer distractions at the home office and more time for deep thought.
More Efficient Work Days
Technology has changed the rules and forms of business socialization and has been a game changer for the stay at home employee. Virtual meetings have become the norm, cutting way down on time spent traveling. The hours that would otherwise been eaten up by a long commute also add productive time to the at-home worker’s day. Increased time for deep thought and fewer distractions in the home office translate into greater productivity and more efficient work days. Welcome home!
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by Art Waskey | Oct 6, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Stay Flexible with your Service Channels
I recently went to the hardware store to purchase some plumbing supplies for a home project. I was delayed in getting the job done and when finished, had extra parts to return. At the store, the clerk asked to see my receipt, and then informed me that I was outside of the 30-day return policy and could not be refunded for the unused parts.
With a recent Amazon purchase, I had an entirely different experience. I ordered a computer camera online, which worked perfectly for a couple of months then failed. I found the digital record of my Amazon purchase and requested a refund. Instructions on how to proceed were immediately sent to my iPhone and computer along with a credit. The email included a QR barcode and directed me to take the camera to the closest UPS store. The attendant there scanned the QR code on my iPhone, took the defective merchandise, boxed it, and returned it to the supplier at no charge to me.
These two transactions illustrate the paradigm shift we are seeing in sales and service. The manufacturers of products you represent now have many alternative channels for distribution. While an independent distributor may not be able to offer the extensive product selection or price of a large online supplier, there are services he can provide locally to remain competitive.
Best Distributor Service Functions
Consider the significance of these local “best in class” distributor functions as they relate to maintaining a preferred channel for your suppliers.
- Warranty and repair – When something doesn’t work and needs to be fixed quickly, I find there is nothing better than a qualified local service center.
- Hands-on training – I’d rather have someone show me then tell me.
- Stocking – When I decide to do a job, I generally want the tools and/or parts necessary right away.
- Showroom – Seeing is believing. I like to try it before I buy it.
- Productivity improvement – My ability to review customer’s operations and make suggestions to improve their efficiency is a great asset to sales.
- Relationship/follow up – There is no better way to maintain trust then through face-to-face relationships. Even on Zoom or with a mask, personal communication is a better way to resolve issues that via the phone or digitally.
Sales Channels are Constantly Improving
Stay focused on how alternative sales channels are constantly improving their service. Be sure your business remains competitive by learning new techniques and deploying the top sales methods and technology available to you.
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by Art Waskey | Sep 29, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Now that I am no longer a Vice President at a well-established welding and gas distributor, I find it interesting to note how some people treat me differently.
After retiring from my position as VP, I began a sales and consulting business. The most successful people I knew from my previous job stayed in touch and tended to be associates who I supported in the past. Some became mentors while others led me to new clients who they believed would benefit from my experience in the distribution business. With this group, my job status did not change the way they interacted with me.
For some, however, “rank” clearly mattered. This group of individuals approached me as an independent businessman differently than when I was a VP. They were more dismissive and less attentive to the relationship we had previously developed.
I tried to determine the characteristics shared by the “treat them all the same” crowd. Here are some of the traits I identified:
- Sympathetic – When you are going through a transition or a hardship, your sympathetic colleagues stay in contact.
- Sensitive – People who live with the axiom, “The way you see them is the way you treat them and the way you treat them is the way they often become,” are generally sensitive and will stand by their friends and associates.
- Selfless – People who are selfless will change their agenda to accommodate someone who needs their assistance.
- Solicit help – Being comfortable asking for help should work both ways in a business relationship and is indicative of someone who will treat you the same regardless of your title.
- Sociable – A sociable person likes people and tends to cast a wide net. They build relationships built on trust, not rank.
- Successful – People who succeed generally have developed a great network of associates by treating others in a fair and honest manner.
Those in my business circle that acted differently once I retired did not have the characteristics outlined above. Can you identify the people in your group who value others for their integrity and not their rank? For help, ask someone like your building’s custodian, who deals with people at all levels all day, or ask your best customer who he knows that treats everyone the same. These are the people you can count on.
Pay attention to how you treat others. Focus on developing the characteristics of the “treat them all the same” group.
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