The unknown could be your next opportunity
Everything you know now was once unknown to you.
One Moore Thing: It’s human nature to fear the unknown, but innovators and high performers embrace that obscurity. It’s what separates them from the herd.
Are You Giving Customers The 3rd Degree? — #202
September 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
How would you feel after intense questioning?
It used to be that salespeople were trained to walk into anybody’s office or home and give a presentation about why the prospect should choose their product. It didn’t matter if the customer actually needed the product, just that they bought the product. After decades of high-pressure sales tactics with less-than-desirable results, somebody came up with the idea of using questions to determine if the prospect actually needed the product. Sales processes based around asking questions were soon implemented. Brilliant!
Well, not so brilliant… for two reasons:
- Prospects are asked the same questions by everybody that walks into their office. Questions like “what keeps you up at night?” or “who are you currently using for this service?” have been asked literally millions of times in the past twenty years.
- Because salespeople walk in with a list of 15 questions to ask, the prospect feels like they’re being interrogated. There are many salespeople who just spit out the questions in a predetermined order and move to the next question. They either don’t listen to the answer or they don’t integrate the answer into their other questions.
After the salesperson asks their questions, guess what they do? They launch into a presentation about why the prospect should by their product. They use the same presentation that was used forty years ago… except now there’s Powerpoint!
One Moore Thing: Have 3–5 unique questions ready for your prospect, then sit down with them and have an actual conversation. You’ll be surprised at the results.
Do You Have Vision? #201
September 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Success requires vision
You’ve probably never heard of Erik Weihenmayer. He was the first blind person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. He no doubt envisioned himself scaling the mountain hundreds of times, feeling every foothold. Even thought Weihenmayer had no sight, he was able to climb the mountain because he had vision.
Prior to your next customer presentation, visualize yourself in the environment:
- What will you be wearing?
- How will you introduce yourself?
- Where will you sit at the table?
- How hot or cold will the room be?
- How will you sit in your chair?
- What questions will you be asking?
- What are all their potential answers to your questions?
- How will you end the meeting with a positive next step?
By visualizing yourself in a given environment, your brain will believe you have already been in this situation and you’ll be less nervous and more in control of the meeting. The more times you visualize yourself going through the presentation, the better your results will be.
One Moore Thing: If you aren’t happy with your current situation, stop seeing things for what they are and instead envision things as they could be.
Sales Bil of Rights — #200
September 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Follow The Bil of Rights to achieve success
First Amendment: Free Speech
You have the right to free speech… and customers have the right to think you’re an idiot. Quit sounding salesy. Quit reading from a script. It’s okay to script things but memorize it and be agile enough to change what isn’t working. Work on your presentation skills. If you don’t have presentation skills, get them.
Second Amendment: Right To Bare Arms
I said bare arms, not bear arms. You have the right to roll up your sleeves and work hard. Nobody can stop you from working hard… except yourself. More than ever, hard work can set you apart from the crowd. Separate yourself from the competition by exercising your right to bare arms.
Third Amendment: Protection from Quartering
Don’t worry about this quarter. Worry about the long-term.
Fourth Amendment: You Are Not Protected From Unreasonable Search
Everything people say about you on the internet lives forever. Remember that and work hard to be the best you can be. If somebody does say something disparaging, make sure the positives outweigh the negatives at least 100 to 1. By the way, if somebody doesn’t disagree with you that means you’re not taking a stand and don’t have an opinion.
Fifth Amendment: Due Process
Shortcutting your process through dishonest means can ruin your career.
Sixth Amendment: Trial by Jury
The jury is your client list. Make sure you keep them happy, continue to add value, and get referrals. You don’t want to be judged by only one jury member, so continue to expand your market. If a customer says you did something, you must realize their perception is your reality. Convert them to fans by doing whatever it takes. If you can’t convert them to fans, at least make it right. If you don’t make it right, refer to the Fourth Amendment (everything lives forever).
Seventh Amendment: Civil Trial by Jury
If your jury doesn’t believe you, it will cost you. Prove your integrity by always acting ethically and with the customer’s best interest in mind. You may need to put your project on the back-burner so they can focus on a more pressing issue, but if you continue to stay in touch and add value, your project will move to the forefront of their needs.
Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment
No matter how a poorly a client treats you, don’t do the same to them. The universe always maintains a balance and every negative action has consequences. You will be punished to the same extent you doled out punishment. If you believe the treatment was cruel and unusual, take a look at how you handled the situation.
Ninth Amendment: Protection of Rights
Everybody has rights. You have the right to go after any piece of business you desire. The customer has the right to decline your offers. You have the right to continue to try to win their business. Nobody can deny you that right.
Tenth Amendment: Power to the People
Organizations don’t hold power; individuals hold power. Your relationships with people will determine whether or not you do business with them. Gone are the days that people will do business with you solely based on the logo on your business card.
One Moore Thing: America is the greatest country on the face of this earth. Opportunities are literally around every corner, and you have the right to capitalize on those opportunities. Are you doing all you could be doing?
You’re Right
August 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Make sure the customer wins
Now where did that get you?
One Moore Thing: Salespeople are famous for wanting to be right, and by proving they’re right they have to prove somebody else is wrong. Try admitting you were wrong. Nobody wins if the customer feels they lost.
Why Do Customers Lie?
August 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Don’t perpetuate the myth… tell the truth
One of the most frustrating aspects of being in sales is being lied to by prospects or customers. “We’re going to sign with you” or “if you can meet this demand, we will choose your firm” is many times followed by unanswered calls or news that they went with your competitor. Why do customers do this?
Because salespeople have trained them to. Prospects have been told about special offer pricing, competitive offerings, and time-sensitive deals only to have that same salesperson come back to them and offer even better terms. In short, your client has been lied to by people just like you (and maybe even by you).
Obviously you can’t control other salespeople’s actions, but you can control yours. If you tell a client they will get their shipment on Tuesday, make sure it doesn’t arrive Wednesday. If you say this is your best price, make sure it’s your best price. If you are asked about the competition, tell the truth and learn to differentiate yourself from them without lying.
One Moore Thing: If you sell without ethics, you won’t sell for long.
What Drives You? (Hint: It’s Not Money)
August 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Nobody’s driven purely by money
Most people think salespeople are driven by money. Hell, most salespeople say they are driven by money. While it may be a short-term incentive, it won’t motivate you forever. To become an effective seller, you have to dig deep into yourself and determine what really drives you. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I truly believe my product helps my customers?
- Do I make a difference to my clients?
- What do I do with my money that makes me happy (feed my family, give to charities, buy my friends a beer)?
- If I didn’t make commissions, would I still sell this service?
If you can determine why you sell, you can position your sales techniques to capitalize on that. If you sell to make people happy, find people that want to be happier; if you sell to create relationships, find people that want relationships.
One Moore Thing: If you continue to sell for money, you’ll continue to find customers that only care about money… and low prices… and low margins.
Why You Hate Salespeople
July 29, 2012 By 2 Comments
So his sales skills were a bit unorthodox
You’ve been trained to hate salespeople since you you were a kid. If somebody showed up at the door, your mom would make you be quiet and tell you to not move to pretend nobody was home. When you started working, the problem became even more amplified. The boss wouldn’t take calls from salespeople and your peers would piss and moan about your own company’s salespeople.
Production employees are distrustful of salespeople because they feel they make more money (true) and have more freedom (again, true). To keep those employees happy, organizations tend to reinforce those feelings rather than letting the workforce know the hard truths of selling that include long hours, inconsistent pay, and constant pressure to perform. These feelings feed upon themselves and end up making employees and management even more jealous of the sales department. That jealousy creates a divisiveness in the organization that make employees feel justified in being unsupportive of the sales team. They may be slow in responding to requests, blame customer service problems on the salesperson, and intentionally piss off customers that are connected to a certain salesperson.
Instead, organizations should position salespeople as what they are… the hand that feeds the rest of the organization.
One Moore Thing: Employees can’t do their job until something is sold. Conversely, salespeople won’t be able to make a second sale if those employees don’t do their job. We are all dependent on each other and no one person or department is better than another… except finance… they just suck the life out of all of us.
Don Draper Wisdom
July 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Don Draper doles out wisdom with a side of whiskey
Don Draper from Mad Men is the new hero of many salespeople. Partly because he is full of machismo, but mostly because he’s not afraid to tell customers the bold truth… usually because he’s been drinking since 9:00 a.m. Here are some of my favorite Don Draper quotes:
- “Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.”
- “I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.”
- “Just so you know, the people who talk that way think that monkeys can do this. They take all this monkey crap and just stick it in a briefcase completely unaware that their success depends on something more than their shoeshine. YOU are the product. You– FEELING something. That’s what sells. Not them. Not sex. They can’t do what we do, and they hate us for it.”
- “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”
- “They say as soon you have to cut down on your drinking, you have a drinking problem.”
- “You want some respect? Go out there and get it for yourself.”
One Moore Thing: Whenever I’m at an impasse about how to solve a problem, I remember this quote: “Just think about it deeply, then forget it… then an idea will jump up in your face.”
Shhhhh…
July 17, 2012 By 2 Comments
Be quiet for maximum effectiveness
The loudest person in the room garners attention for a few seconds, but the person quietly engaging people attracts people for a lifetime.
One Moore Thing: At your next networking event, stop broadcasting a stale, tired message and instead focus on listening to the people you talk to.