Confidence Breeds Confidence — #213

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Nobody likes a jackass

Nobody likes a jackass

Confidence is crucial. If you don’t believe in yourself, your organization, your product, and your prospect, then your prospect won’t believe in you. The confidence that you emanate will help your clients be confident in their decision to choose you.

People that lack confidence tend to overcompensate by being pushy and a jackass. And, just in case you didn’t already know this, nobody likes a jackass.

One Moore Thing: The only way to have real confidence is to have knowledge: knowledge of your product, knowledge of your client, and (most importantly) knowledge of yourself.

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

Duck, Duck, Goose — #210

February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Don't wait for somebody else to Goose you

Don’t wait for somebody else to Goose you

In elementary school, our teachers would have us play a game called Duck, Duck, Goose. The entire class would sit in a circle cross-legged (back then it was called Indian-style) and one kid would walk around the circle tapping the other kids on the head and say Duck, Duck, Duck, and finally one person was the Goose. If she said Duck when she tapped your head, you didn’t do anything… if she said Goose when she tapped your head, you had to get up as fast as possible, chase her around the outside of the entire circle and catch her before she got back to where you were sitting.

The Ducks in the circle had no clue who you were going to pick even though you had made up your mind before ever engaging with anybody. Before you were ever chosen as the Goose, you knew who you were going to choose when it was your turn to tap the heads of your classmates.

The same thing happens in sales every single day. Because of the plethora of information available at your customer’s fingertips, they have normally researched solutions and made a decision prior to calling any potential vendors. You have two options to separate yourself from the rest of the sales crowd:

  1. Figure out how to provide prospects with the initial information through your website, articles, videos, white papers, etc. This should be educational, informational, and free. It’s called “marketing”.
  2. Find a major point of differentiation between you and your competitors and focus on that point.

One Moore Thing: Quit being so happy when prospects call you… they’ve probably already made a decision by that point. Separating yourself from the Ducks is the only way you will become the Goose.

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

What Do You Do In The Dark? — #209

February 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Keep working, even when nobody is watching

The Super Bowl is the most watched event on TV each year. Over 100 million people tune in to see the spectacle, advertisers pay $4 million dollars for 30 seconds of airtime, and players spend a lifetime of disciplined practice trying to win the game so they can call themselves champions. And last week the power went out in the stadium for 34 minutes.

There was no way to know if the power was going to be out for 2 minutes or 2 days; the cause could have been a blown fuse or a terrorist attack. The players could have speculated about the cause of power outage, ran into the locker room, or sat around talking to each other or the crowd. Instead, the players focused on the only thing they could control… themselves. They started stretching and moving to keep their bodies warm, knowing that the lights could come on at any second and they would have to be prepared to play without excuses. They took the free time to look over plays and compare observations with teammates. While nobody was watching they continued to do do the little things that would make a difference when the lights came on.

What do you do when the lights are out and nobody is watching? Are you sitting on your ass on the couch screaming “Yipee Ki Yay” while watching Die Hard for the 14th time, or are you reading a book on new sales techniques? Are you sitting around with your friends complaining about your job, or are you looking for new business models that may work for your organization?

One Moore Thing: What you do when nobody is watching is what separates the champs from the chumps.

Filed Under: Attitude, Feature Post, Motivation, Sales

Stop Doing That — #208

January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Stop!

In your quest to make resolutions for the new year, you probably have said “I need to do this”, when in reality you probably need to say “I need to stop doing this”.

Need examples?

  • To lose weight, you need to stop eating food that’s bad for you.
  • To get in better shape, you need to stop sitting on the couch.
  • To sell more, you need to stop wasting time on unproductive tasks.
  • To become more organized, you need to stop saving items that you don’t need.
  • To save more money, you need to stop spending money on frivolous things.
  • To have a better relationship with your spouse, you need to stop taking them for granted.

Stopping an action is much easier to do than starting a new action, and it will also help you accomplish your goals much faster.

One Moore Thing: What are you willing to stop doing next year to get what you want?

Filed Under: Attitude, Feature Post, Motivation

Sell Like Santa — Part 1 of 2 — #206

December 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Santa’s #1

We all know the song: He’s making a list, checking it twice. Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming to town… 

(If you’re like me, you can’t even read those words without singing it in your head. Of course, if you’re like me, nobody wants to hear you singing outside of your head.)

According to legend, Santa starts off his sales year by making a list and checking it twice. If it works for one of the most recognizable marketers in the world, it can work for you. Make a list of all your actions and see if those actions are actually bringing in business or just wasting time. According to several bodies of research, the average salesperson spends less than 10% of their time selling, which leaves 90% of their time for other sales-related functions. Simply doubling that number to 20% could double your income.

One Moore Thing: Track all your activities for a week. They should fall roughly into the categories of prospecting, customer meeting, proposal development, closing, and follow up. Those actions should make up 80% of your time with the remaining 20% dedicated to learning and miscellaneous tasks.

Track those actions for a week and you’ll be surprised at how much time you’re wasting and how much money you’re missing out on.

If you’re looking for Part 2 of this post, you can find it here.

Filed Under: Feature Post, Motivation, Sales

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

Filed Under: Attitude, Feature Post, Motivation, Sales

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.

Filed Under: Feature Post, Motivation, Prospecting, Sales

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?

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

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.

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

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.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Feature Post, Sales
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