Scared of Clowns?

July 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I may understand why some people are scared of clowns…

I always thought a fear of clowns was amusing. Why would anybody be scared of something that looks like a real-life cartoon and whose only mission is to make you laugh? Obviously I’m not scared of clowns… and you might not be scared of clowns… but your prospect may be!

Why does it matter what your potential customers are scared of? Finding out their fears early in the sales process can help you because fear is one of the primary motivators for buyers, especially buyers that don’t own the company. Lower-level buyers don’t want things to go wrong because they have taken a risk and put their reputation on the line by choosing you. If things go wrong, they have to take ownership. Some common fears include:

  • Fear of job loss
  • Fear of change
  • Fear of going over budget
  • Fear of change
  • Fear of hidden surprises
  • Fear of change
  • Fear of a bad reputation
  • Fear of change (see a pattern yet?)
  • Fear of having to cut jobs

That’s why incumbents are so hard to overcome. They may not be doing the best job, but it is a known job. And sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don’t.

If you know what prospects are scared of, your pitch to them can target those items to put them at ease. Or better yet, plant a landmine for your competition. Bring up a problem that they haven’t even thought about, then detail the pain that will cause them, and finally tell them how you are uniquely qualified to eliminate that pain. This will force your competitors to address different problems and keep them off-guard.

One Moore Thing: Using fear as a sales tactic is outdated and will not lead to a lasting relationship, but understanding what your prospect is scared, and more importantly, why they are scared, can help you alleviate their fears.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Feature Post, Motivation, Relationships, Sales

How Much Is Too Much?

June 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In the background, I’m hearing the theme to Jaws

While I was at the dentist this morning, the doctor asked me if I wanted to them to explain what they were doing. I said no and they proceeded to replace an old filling by giving me numbing shots, drilling, scraping, and talking amongst themselves. I was paying attention to the in-room TV and was pretty relaxed, well as relaxed as you can get in a dentist’s chair, and before I knew it they were done.

How many times do sales or service people talk about their “process” in granular detail? Because they’re telling the prospect every step in the engagement, the client has more things to worry about. If they don’t hear confirmation that you ordered the equipment, they freak out that you’re going to miss the installation deadline. If they know there are 147 items in the project plan, it will require too much of their time. The more detail they see, the greater the opportunity for failure.

If you offer enough information to make them nervous, you’ve said too much. Nobody cares if your team works 24 hours a day to make the deadline. The client just wants to know that you’ll make the deadline. Instead, sell on trust, because if the prospect trusts you, they don’t need to know every detail of the process. That’s your job to manage the process, not theirs. You allow them to relax and the next thing they know, you’re done.

One Moore Thing: If you need a good dentist, Valley Dental Spa is fantastic. You can even get a warm neck wrap or paraffin wax dip on your hands… not that I would ever admit to knowing how to spell paraffin… or having my hands softened by wax.

Filed Under: Attitude, Prospecting, Relationships, Sales

I’m Not Here

May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It may be a white lie, but it’s still a lie

The phone ringing in the next office pierces the silence like a crack of thunder. Your assistant answers the call and asks who it is, then pages you to see if you want to take the call. It’s that same customer you’ve talked to three times this week because of a billing dispute. You ask her to tell the caller that you’re not there.

That’s a lie… you are there. You may be busy, but you are there. So how can you justify your anger when you call a customer and you are told they aren’t available? If you use lies, fibs, or half-truths to avoid customers and vendors, it will happen to you in return. That’s how the universe keeps everything in balance.

One Moore Thing: Stop lying to your customers. There may be times you are too busy to take the call, and if that’s the case, tell your assistant that you’re in the middle of something and you’ll call the customer back when that task is done. Then do exactly that.

Filed Under: Attitude, Feature Post, Motivation, Prospecting, Relationships, Sales

Humble Beginnings

May 15, 2012 By 1 Comment

My old bedroom

Everybody has a backstory; we all came from somewhere. And while some of us were born into a family where money wasn’t an issue, most of us had parents that struggled and were forced to decide between their wants and our needs. The greatest thing about the country we live in is that even though you may not have been born into perfect circumstances, you have the opportunity to create the life you want… all you have to do is pursue it.

The thing about humble beginnings… is they’re beginnings.

One Moore Thing: Don’t wait for your boss, your parents, or your teachers to write your life story. Create your own novel… one chapter at a time.

Filed Under: Attitude, Motivation

Insane Courage

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Try it and let me know who happened

I recently watched We Bought a Zoo on DVD and, besides being pleasantly surprised about the entertainment value of the movie, I heard a great quote by Matt Damon’s character: All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage and I promise you something great will come out of it.

I love that quote! How many times have you just brushed away the fear, summoned up the courage, and did something without overthinking the possibility of a negative outcome? I guarantee the result was memorable.

One Moore Thing: Use 20 seconds insane courage to to walk up to a big-time prospect at an event, or to call that upset customer, or to volunteer for something. The consequences will follow… and they’re bound to move you to greatness.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Feature Post, Motivation

Information Is Useless

May 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Information is only useful if acted upon

There are two problems with gathering data: Not taking action on the data or the data being innacurate.

We stockpile information in our heads, journals, and databases. We do this to potentially utilize the data in the future for the benefit of ourselves, our organizations, or for somebody else. If we never do anything with the information we’ve gathered, we have wasted time and brain space when we gathered it in the first place.

Even worse than not using data, is using data that is inaccurate. Was your perception of an individual skewed by your own sour mood? Have you ever spent time persuading an individual who had no authority to make a decision because your information said he was the decision maker?

One Moore Thing: First decide whether or not to save a particular piece of information, then make sure the data is correct so you can maximize it’s value.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Feature Post, Motivation, Sales

Be Real or Be Gone

April 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Let customers know the real you

More than ever, clients have options. They can buy online, down the street, or from their brother-in-law. The one thing they can’t get anywhere else is you… your expertise, your work ethic, and your personality. Don’t cloud your uniqueness by being anything other than yourself.

If you aren’t yourself, customers will see through it and choose to do business elsewhere.

One Moore Thing: Not everybody will be able to work with you, and that’s good. That means you’re not generic, not bland, and not replaceable.

Filed Under: Attitude, Feature Post, Motivation

Getting Started Is The Hardest Thing

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Keep on truckin

When you’re on a road trip and drive through a rest stop or gas station, you’ve probably noticed that most of the semi trucks have their motors running all night. With the rising cost of gas, why would they do that? Because they burn more fuel by starting the diesel engine than by leaving it on for several hours. The same goes for our habits.

When you decide to give up smoking, start exercising, or change your prospecting habits, those first few weeks require you to constantly think about what you’re doing until it becomes a habit. Simply put, it takes more energy to start doing something than it does to continue doing it.

One Moore Thing: According to most evidence, it requires 21 days to form a habit. So if you’re trying to change something in your life, commit to at least a month.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Feature Post, Motivation, Prospecting, Sales

The Case For Crazy

April 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Okay… maybe not THIS crazy

Why should you be crazy? Normal doesn’t stand out in the marketplace.

One Moore Thing: You don’t have to be a total contrarian, but doing things the same as everybody else will never separate you from the competition.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Motivation

Does Your Grandma Know What You Do?

April 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Rock on, Grandma

If she can’t explain it, then your message is overly complex.

One Moore Thing: Even if you offer a dozen different services, condense it into a message that can be communicated in less than 15 seconds. If done properly, people will ask questions that expand the conversation.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Motivation, Prospecting, Relationships, Sales
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