Look, Listen, Learn, and Ask for Help

by Art Waskey | Mar 9, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly

A sales rep new to our company attended an intensive training program given by one of our primary vendors. He was very excited about what he had learned and asked, “Why don’t we sell more of their products? Their equipment is outstanding. It should sell itself.”

Vendors take pride in doing a good job of explaining and promoting their products to the people responsible for selling them. This often leads to an abundance of enthusiasm among trainees, however, with newly educated reps envisioning their entire customer base installing that company’s products immediately.

Don’t be “blinded by the light.” When I invited the new rep noted above to join me on a sales call, his single-focused outlook led to oversight. We were visiting one of my established customers – and I let the new rep take the lead. He immediately launched into a diatribe, expounding the benefits of the products on which he had recently been trained. After 5 minutes, the customer began to fidget, so I interrupted and asked if he could show us his company’s plant. That facility was full of the latest equipment we had sold to him, but from a different manufacture than the one the rep was pitching.

When we left the account, the rep apologized. I explained that while product knowledge is important, the sales rookie with the least information often becomes the winning salesman because he knows he has to observe each client carefully in order to find the best solutions for that company’s needs.

Rookies who look, listen, learn, and ask for help are often more successful than seasoned veterans. Let’s spend a moment examining those 4 basic principles:

Look –

Eye contact is essential when you meet new people. It demonstrates active listening and subconsciously it communicates you care.

Listen –

New reps with very little product knowledge tend to ask more questions and listen more closely, allowing the customer to carry the conversation.

Learn –

When you are new at a job, feel free to let those with more experience know that you would like to learn from them. Customers are generally excited to show you through their business and explain what has made them successful. Experienced people recognize their obligation to educate and mentor those who are just starting a career. Many feel duty-bound to give rookies a good start by buying from them.

Ask for Help –

We all like to help others. It gives us a sense of generosity. Most people will bend over backwards to assist someone who has a need.

The young rep in my story went on to become a highly successful professional. He now manages a thriving business.

Stephen Covey writes in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People about a man who had been feverishly sawing down a tree for hours. When a friend suggested he might try sharpening the saw, he replied, “I’m too busy sawing!” Whether you are new in sales or a seasoned veteran, don’t forget to take the time to sharpen your saw by applying these four principles.

Your Five Key Sales Takeaways:

1. After intensive training sessions, you may become over enthusiastic. Be sure to check that energy before meeting your clients.
2. Eye contact is essential when you meet new people.
3. New reps with very little product knowledge tend to listen better because they don’t have anything to share.
4. Ask for help. We all thrive on generosity.
5. Whether you are new in sales or a seasoned veteran, we can all sharpen our saws by the application of “look, listen, learn, and ask questions.”

Social Selling Anyone?

by Art Waskey | Mar 2, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly

I was recently reminded of social media’s critical importance to marketing when asked by Vicara Books, the publisher of my latest book, how many hits I was getting on my website. Vicara explained that if I wanted to be successful in writing, selling books, and public speaking — my current endeavors — I needed to be involved in “social selling.”

What is social selling? In A Sales Rep Guide to Social Selling Success, author Steven MacDonald defines social selling as the use of social media platforms to find and engage new prospects. Throughout the buying process social media can be used to answer questions from potential customers, respond to their comments, or to share content about the item or application for sale. From creating awareness of a product to helping close the deal, social media platforms can be effective tools in the sales process.

I have been active on LinkedIn for a long time but only recently learned how to use this social media platform to boost readership of my books and promote my services as a speaker. By taking a more participatory approach to LinkedIn, I now have over 600 connections and in one week had 72 people view my profile. Through ongoing dialogue messages I am able to be in touch with people without leaving my office. Best of all, people who have heard me speak or have read one of my books, have contacted me though social media to request my weekly and/or monthly feeds, to buy books, and/or to set up a seminar.

My recent experience taught me that social selling does not need to be difficult. It’s just selling in a new, more effective way. I’ve built my career on the premise that selling starts with building relationships. As I see it, now I have a host of new ways to create and improve those connections.

Why the Confusion?

by Art Waskey | Feb 24, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly

One of the sales reps I manage came to me with concerns about a customer who seemed confused about an application. The rep believed he had carefully explained the solution to the client several times, yet the customer remained mystified. Have you been frustrated by a customer’s lack of understanding to a proposed solution?

Here are some of the reasons customers may be missing your message.

1. You’re the expert; he’s not – Put yourself in the customer’s position. You have extensive information on the topic and he may have none. Ask yourself, “If I didn’t know anything about this product or service, what would I need to know first?” Begin your explanation from that vantage point. Put on your teaching hat.
2. He isn’t going to buy from you – Do you have a sense of commitment from your prospect? Sometimes a customer will gather as much information as he can from a sales rep, then buy the product from your competitor or online. Don’t become the unpaid consultant. Before providing valuable information, evaluate why the customer wants to know?
3. He doesn’t trust you – Buying decisions start with trust. The customer may be acting confused because you haven’t established a good relationship with him and thus, the right to ask for an order.
4. He’s not the decision-maker – Perhaps your client is having difficulty convincing the real decision maker. Ask, “Help me understand. When you say you are confused, do you mean that you like the product, but you need to convince someone else of its merits first?” Then offer, “If there is another person involved in this decision I would like to help you explain the solution to him as well.”

In the opening case, the customer contact was not the ultimate decision-maker. An agreement was reached to talk with both persons involved in the deal, and the sale was made.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

by Art Waskey | Feb 18, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly

A big part of a sales reps job is to make sure he or she is up to date on vendor products. Staying current is a must, especially for new items and services, and product knowledge typically comes from attending vendor training sessions. In fact, most vendors require their distributors to maintain a minimum number of training sessions per year.

Vendors take pride in doing a good job of explaining and promoting their products to the people responsible for selling them. We have all come away from training excited about what we have learned and thinking, “Why don’t we sell more of their products? Their equipment or service is outstanding. It should sell itself.”

Manufacturers are skilled at training their staff to embrace their products and services and to pass the merits of each on to you, the sales rep. These well-produced training sessions can lead to an over-abundance of enthusiasm on the part of trainees, who begin to envision their customer base snapping up the product without much effort on their part. Beware of being “blinded by the light.”

Remember, your customer must have a need for the product before you pitch the “should buy.”

Your job is to investigate each customer’s situation by asking questions and to determine the value the customer will derive from the products you are selling. If you present a product solution without following the proper sales process you run the risk of alienating your customer. Don’t let your customer think you are more concerned about selling the vendor’s products than helping him solve his company’s real issues. You’ll know when you’ve pushed a product, as opposed to a solution, by your customer’s lack of enthusiasm for meeting with you going forward.

When Should You Really Leave

by Art Waskey | Feb 11, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly

How many times have you arrived at a prospective account to find that your contact is not in, or is too busy to see you? These scenarios represent time wasted on planning, traveling, and in the waiting room, and lead to counterproductive thoughts like, “Will this be another day of six to eight worthless calls.”

But what if the failed meeting didn’t really signal an end to opportunity? Here are a few ideas to Strategize ways to extend prospective calls for your product or services.

1. Always seek ways to build a relationship with the front office personnel. Engaged them in conversation and ask about their world. Sharing these details will create a relationship and they may become your sales agent.
2. Never assume there is only one decision-maker. When the person you expected to see isn’t available, try to see someone else further down the chain of command. That person may actually be the one who makes decisions on your product or service or they may be able to give you information about problems with their current supplier.
3. Drive around the building and look for the receiving dock. If the door isn’t locked, try to meet the Warehouse Manager. Get to know him or her and they may tell you who uses your products.

Treat each person you meet as if you can make a difference in their life, and yours. The best salespeople I know make contacts while waiting for appointments, between calls (even at the gas station) … wherever they are. To succeed in sales and life, keep your focus on meeting new people.

Aim For Excellence

by Art Waskey | Feb 4, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly