ASK for the Sale!

Here is an interesting question: Why is it that we, as salespeople spend so long, invest so much time, energy, preparation, and effort on the phone with the prospective and existing customer during the sales cycle only to let the sale fade away or go to the competition? Why is it that we place so much emphasis and commitment on the process of moving the ball down the field but yet design so very few plays to actually take the ball into the end zone?

We need to realize that whenever we do not actually attempt to create some closure--ask for the business--we literally destroy (or at least taint) all that we have worked for throughout the sales process. We give up the connection and trust that we have built, the relationships that we have developed, the enthusiasm we have created, and the momentum of the process. We simply let the sale wither away and die or get taken over by another more assertive, focused salesperson that was prepared (AND took the leap of faith) to ASK for the business!

Do you feel that you offer such irrefutable evidence of value throughout your sales presentations that the customer will simply give in? Do you feel that your features, advantages, and benefits (FAB points) are so compelling that prospects don’t need to be asked to buy them? Do you feel that you will offend your prospect or customer if you were to actually ask them to buy from you? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need to GET OVER IT! (and possibly consider another career!) Here are a few very key RULES when it comes to closing the sale:
Rule #1—You MUST ask for the business!
Rule #2—You MUST earn the right to ask for the business!
Rule #3—The customer knows why you’re there!
Rule #4—Sometimes the answer is NO! Deal with it!
Rule #5—If you cannot, will not, or do not ask for the business, someone else will!
Ok, so why does it happen? Why do many salespeople have a hesitance to ask for the business?

It is my belief that most salespeople do not ask for the YES
because they are afraid to hear the NO!

Here are some other reasons:
*Little to no belief in their value proposition.
*A lack of confidence or self-worth.
*No connection with the customer, thus low trust.
*The customer is in control-asking all of the questions.
*The salesperson doesn’t feel like they have earned the right yet.
*The salesperson has not discovered any motivators to create urgency.
*No time-lines have been discussed throughout the process.
*There is no defined sales process that the salesperson can follow.

The good news is that ALL of these are within the control of the salesperson---the SMART salesperson.

FACT: It is not the responsibility of the customers to close themselves.
It is the job of the salesperson to get that done! You are not paid to be a professional educator, a professional presenter, a hesitant visitor, or a walking-talking brochure-website. You are paid to move the ball down the field and to score. That's it!!
The web site, the brochures, the advertising, and other marketing pieces often have very little to do with the Call to Action…but you do! Your territory, products, prices, and your competition are what they are and they do not control your success…you do! The prospective customer knows that you are there for a reason--don't forget this. Often, the only thing that stands in the way is you! Are you willing to make the changes necessary to stay in the game? If so, take a look at a few suggestions:

**Learn how to ask better (more focused) questions to pull out true motivations (Pains-Fears-Desires) from the prospect. Get to the WHY behind their answers! Ask questions to gauge the prospects level of interest, understanding, and continued engagement in the process such as “So far, so good?” “Up to this point, what questions do you have?” “Does that make sense?”

**Have a clear purpose for each and every call that you make on the prospect. If you don’t understand what needs to be discovered /uncovered and agreed upon in the sales process, how will the customer? Going on a call without a clearly defined purpose and a clearly prepared Call to Action wastes both your time and the prospect’s.

**Learn to “set the pace” of the sales cycle from the beginning. Be in control by constantly and relentlessly moving the deal forward by calling the shots. Get in the habit of thinking—and asking---“So what’s our next step?”

**Do you homework and be prepared to address any objection or concern that stands in your way when you attempt to close the sale. Write down the most common objections (there are fewer than you think) and practice the best way to clarify, validate, isolate, and address these with your customers. Your confidence in addressing these objections plays a MAJOR role in overcoming customer’s concerns and getting a sale to completion. That confidence is a direct result of your preparation and practice.

**Be prepared to hear NO. The best salespeople would rather hear a no today than hear a maybe forever. And remember, often time a no is only the beginning of the sale.

**Make sure you are dealing with the true decision makers. Never try to create closure with someone that cannot say yes! Anyone can say NO or derail your progress. Make sure you are dealing with “the Juice” before you begin ask for the business.

**Have a very, very strong conviction in yourself, your company, your product or service, and the benefits that they provide to your customers such that you feel that NOBODY who truly understands the value of ownership could ever say no! If you don’t have this conviction, get it or get out! Remember, they don’t buy because they are passionate about what you sell….they buy because YOU are passionate about what you sell!

**Fill your pipeline! If every sale lost or won dictates your success or failure for the week, the month, the quarter, or the year, you simply do not have enough action going on. It is amazing how readily you will ask for the business when you don’t live or die by the answer you get in return.

In today’s economy, there is a lot of uncertainty and fear. These two things cause hesitation and lack of action on the part of consumers. It is NOW that a true salesperson must emerge and help the customer make that purchase. Selling is tough if you are focused ONLY on your need to sell. Re-focus your efforts on your personal Attitudes, Skills, and Activities that must be sharpened to HELP THE CUSTOMER BUY! Now get out there and ask for the business!

SHAKE It Up This Year!

There comes a time in every sale professional’s life that they get into cruise control. They simply get into a mode of operation that finds them grinding through the same activities day in and day out. This may be something that they have gotten into consciously or on purpose but more often it is a state at which they have arrived quite by accident.

There are several reasons that one gets into this Comfort Zone. Maybe they are happy where they are. (Or at least that is what they say) Maybe they have too much going on to even think about trying something new. (Or at least that’s what they think--activity rarely is the same as productivity!) Maybe they are coming off a great sales month and have decided to “take a breather” to enjoy their success. (This is a killer! It's also fairly rare today due to the state of the economy.) Perhaps they have fallen into a routine of meeting management’s minimum activity requirements. (“Hey, it's a tough time....I made my calls and filed my reports!”) Perhaps they feel that trying something new will increase their chances of failure and will cause more work for them. Maybe they are too busy taking care of customers in a service role. Maybe they are simply tired, lazy, or misdirected. Maybe they just suck!

Whatever the reason, or excuse, the dreaded Comfort Zone is a dangerous place for a sales professional to be. It is a place where Maintenance is the goal and Growth is the stranger. It is the place where Goals have been forgotten and Dreams have been eroded. This is no place for a growth oriented sales professional to be!

Is a Comfort Zone a bad thing? I guess that depends upon who you are and what it is that you want out of your career and your life. Most people get into the profession of selling based upon entering a profession with an earning potential that is without limitations. The top performers among all sales professionals in the marketplace today are consistently looking for ways to improve and grow their results. And even they can sometimes find themselves in cruise control mode! No good!

What need to happen to SNAP out of this Comfort Zone?

You need to S.H.A.K.E. things up a bit!

Let's break it down:

S-Set or Revisit Your Goals for the Year
Each and every year it is imperative that salespeople take the time to set their goals for the upcoming year. Why? We are in a career that necessitates self discipline, prioritization, and committed action in many areas. Often, there is not a boss breathing down our neck or a time-clock to punch to ensure that we are “staying the course.” Therefore, we must decide what it is that we want to accomplish each year in our business and personal lives. Our goals must be clear and concise rather than wandering and vague. They must be written down and have deadlines (or lifelines-if you prefer) assigned to them.
If you find yourself working within your Comfort Zone, you need to re-visit these goals. You need to remind yourself what it is that you really want/need to accomplish. Often your sales efforts are the means by which you accomplish many of your finaincial goals. And often, accomplishing your financial goals allows you to attain many of your perosnal goals. (Although money doesn't necessarily buy happiness, it certainly helps you get and do things that can make you happy!) There is an ancient Eastern proverb that says something like, “When one is aware of the why, they can deal with almost any of the how.” So, refocus on what you set your sights on this year so that you can get back to the business of working towards the goal instead of just working.

H-Have a Solid Game Plan
Before you go rushing off towards a new (or re-committed to) goal, you must first have a clear plan of what to do—as well as what NOT to do. Think of all of the things that need to occur in order to accomplish the goal. What needs to happen? What needs to happen this month, next month, next quarter, etc. What needs to “go on the back-burner?
Organize your list into a plan by priority and sequence. Understand that there will be obstacles. (What could go wrong?) Understand that every plan will have potential unforeseen roadblocks that will come up. (What might come up?) Try your best to identify as many of them as you can beforehand (pre-call preparation) with a contingency plan to work your way through them or around them. No excuses, no blame! If there is a game plan (a track on which to run) than you have a much better shot at accomplishing what it is that you set out to do.

A-Arrive Earlier to the Game
In reading a recent article in INC. Magazine about success traits of some of the nation’s top executives, one of the common things that all of them shared was they got an early start every day. Most of them were up well before 5:00am and “in the chair” before most of their competition. In the game of life, you have very few opportunities to “gather an edge” over the competition. The competition that we are discussing in this article is the Comfort Zone—the competition for your success!So let's set a commitment right now to get your butt out of bed earlier than usual for the next 60 days! If you are normally just getting up at 7:00am, then immediately re-set your alarm clock to “join the 5 o’clock club!” The things that you can accomplish or the way that you can prepare in those “Golden 120” minutes between 5:00am and 7:00am will snap you out of your Comfort Zone and into your Action Zone! Think about all of the things you can accomplish. Sleeping in is for losers....and your competition!

K-Kick up Some New Activity
I am often reminded of an old commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts that highlighted the donut maker waking up every morning, day-in and day-out, with the same phrase, “Time to make the donuts…” Every day, he went about the exact same routine of waking up at the same time and mindlessly getting to work to crank out dozens and dozens of donuts. I witness way too many sales professionals falling into the same trap. They get up each day and mindlessly go through a set of prescribed motions designed to identify, capture and engage new customers while, at the same time taking care of existing customers. The find themselves often times in a rut. (Which has been described as a grave with the ends kicked out!)
It’s time to Kick up some new ACTIVITY. In order to get out of the Comfort Zone rut, we need to take a long hard look (hell, make it a short glance) at the myriad of things that we do each and every day and ask ourselves if each one produces the results desired. IT just takes some THOUGHT. (BTW, that's why so few people do it!) Next, we need to identify 5 NEW activities that we can begin right now that will re-ignite our creative flames, get us out into the limelight (in front of our customers), and shake things up! Ideas: Start and post onece per week to a blog. Send 10 handwritten notes per week. Invite 10 customers that have left back to you through a cool new invitiation. Attend some new networking events. Wite a speech for the local chamber and deliver it. Get creative--do something new. Be bold--get crazy. Why not?


E-Enjoy the Results of Your Work!
When all is said and done; when you have recommitted to your goals for the year, built and taken action on a solid plan to accomplish those goals, gotten into the habit of arriving earlier to the game, and kicked up some new focused activity, the results will be apparent! It is very important to celebrate your re-birth to the land of the committed. Enjoy the fruits of your re-found efforts! Hey, in the end, this is a game. This is a journey. As I said however, it is you who draws the map for the journey. If you know the destination and can lay out a route to get there, you will have a much better shot of changing course when you take the occasional exit off the Comfort Zone freeway.

Visit my website at www.GerryLayo.com for more information and articles on how to Shake It Up as a sales pro!

What if you CAN'T Blame Price?

Just recently, I was doing a presentation for a group of CEOs and key executives in the Northeast. During the period before I began my session, I as meeting a few of the attendees and, like I often do, got into a “confrontational coaching session.”

The attendee was a sales manager for a company that sells a commodity (home heating fuel-oil) to the residential homeowner. He and I were in a conversation which got into the importance of new sales due to the inevitable loss (attrition) of customers each year. He stated that his company brought in about four thousand new customers each year and HAD to because they LOST about four thousand customers each year! Whoa……..! Who can afford to lose four thousand customers a year?

“WHY?” I cried! What in the world could cause thousands of customers to leave every year? He stated that ALL of these customers left due to price. You see, they were the highest price in the market justified, no doubt, by high levels of service.

Each of us has a justification why we lose a customer whenever it happens. In fact, many times, we own or work for a company that chooses to be a higher priced company with a higher priced product in the marketplace. In doing so they/we have made a choice to bring MORE to the table than our competitors—to add more value! We cannot simply MAKE more money, we must do things to EARN that additional margin and thus EARN that raise! Too many times, as I suspect with this company, the additional “service” offered is simply lip-service!

Back to my story: I stopped this young man from going any further and asked him to re-answer my question (“WHY do they leave?”) with a new rule imposed (my favorite rule): He could not that say PRICE is why they left! Although he fought to continue to go back to the PRICING issue, I simply would not let him. I gave into the fact that a certain percentage (cross-industry standards of 3 years ago said 17%) of customers buy or leave based primarily upon price. I figured that left more than 3000 customers—homeowners who, at least once, had said “I trust you and your company and I am willing to take a chance on you” had left for something in addition or other than PRICE!

By then, several other attendees of the same session were settling in and starting to pay attention to our dialogue. Some of these attendees were also customers and past customers of this gentleman’s company. They also started challenging him on the “WHY ELSE do they leave?” line of questions. It started to get a little defensive, a little heated, and a LOT interesting! You see, he HAD to listen to some of these people. They were his current and past customers. They were telling him—yelling at him—that they did not choose to come to his company OR leave his company because of PRICE! They told him that they came because of SALES (and thus, due to the promises that were made by sales) and they left because of sales (and thus, due to the promises either made by another company’s sales rep or the promises NOT KEPT by the original company!) What an eye opener for ALL of us!

Let me get to the lesson here: We can look at many ways to improve the IMPACT of your sales approach out there. We can address all of the ATTITUDE, SKILL SETS, and ACTIVITIES of your salespeople. We can turn to prospecting, lead generation, lead pursuit, presentation, negotiation, objection management, closing and follow-up skills. BUT, we need to look at HOW we deliver on what it is that we promise as well. We need to look at HOW we truly differentiate our product and service in the minds of our customers. A personal inventory is the hardest one to take. But it must be done! Do you and your people, through all of your processes and policies, truly stand out and WALK THE TALK of the sales and marketing promise. If not, don’t blame price!

Where are the customer killers in your business? Remember that every time someone chooses to “do business” with you or your company, they receive an experience. Is it always as promised? Is it always as expected? Here are a few ways that your customers and mine try to “do business” with us:

-When they call BEFORE we are officially open….what does THAT sound like?
-When they call 10 minutes after we are officially closed…what does THAT sound like?
-When the phone is answered LIVE…what does THAT sound like?
-When they have a question…how easy is it to get an answer?
-When they have a return…how easy is it to process?
-When they have a problem or a complaint…how easy is it to get the right ears to listen?
-When they want to check on the status of an order…
-When they have a referral….
-When they want to re-order….
-When the driver delivers the order…
-When they want to ADD something to an existing order…..
-When they want to speak to their rep and the rep is not available….
-When they get put on hold……..

Listen to me: It’s is rarely ONLY a price issue. Often times, your service and deliverables are so much like the competitions (in the mind of the customer) that all the customers have to rely upon is what IS different…the competition’s price! If you don’t stand out in their minds, you have to stand out in their wallets.

So……..go back to the office today and ask your team (EVERYONE WHO TOUCHES THE CUSTOMER) the question. “When we lose, why do we lose?” And make sure that you impose the “you can’t say price rule.” Be brutally honest with yourself. By the way, if your digging doesn’t turn up some issues, ask the same question to one of your customers that left.

No More Low-Hanging Fruit...Now you Need to Climb!

"Look around the orchard of opportunity and tell me what you see."

Many of you see no fruit in the tree. Some of you see opportunity disguised as work. While it is true that opportunities are more challenging to identify today and even more challenging to get to, we need to realize two things:

1-The fruit is higher up in the tree--but it is still there!
2-We need to learn (or re-learn) how to climb!

On the ladder to today's sales opportunity, there are THREE rungs on which sales leaders need to place laser FOCUS:

ALL-IN
During a trying selling environment, many salespeople hold a “The grass is always greener” thought process. In other words, the thoughts of self-doubt, marketplace doubt, customer doubt, and “Am I in the right place?” doubt start kicking in and thus, they begin to begin to look around for new opportunity. You cannot blame them; their commissions are down, the customers are buying less, their prospects are in hiding, and very few risks are being taken by their customers. It’s gloomy---it’s dark---it is very challenging.
This type of situation is very dangerous for your company! With uncertainty in the minds of your sales force, nothing happens! It is time to circle the wagons and gain commitment from your team. It is time for a COACH (you) to gauge your team’s level of “buy-in.”
The sport (?) of Texas Hold-Em poker has become very popular today. Many times, tournaments are broadcast on television and online games are being held around the clock and across the globe. My favorite part is when a player is dealt a hand and, based upon his hand—or his strategy—pushes all of his chips (money) into the center of the table and declares that he is “All-In!” This means that he is betting every dollar on this one hand and that he is fully committed to winning it! The beauty of this in my mind is that it leaves no wiggle room—no back door! One hundred percent of his effort and focus is on the next few cards and he has no way out---no option but to see this hand through to the end.
Pull your sales team together NOW and figure out who is “All-In.” It is my belief that we, in the profession of sales, are either All-In or somewhat OUT. The latter of the two options can create major dysfunction in your sales organization and lost opportunity for your company. It is often the “glue” created by the leader giving solid guidance and coaching during this time that is needed most. Decide right now WHAT you need your people doing and HOW! Gain (or Re-Gain) their buy-in to the growth necessary to fight today’s battles. Those who are ALL-IN belong and those who are not………….?

ADD VALUE
What is it that your customers are going through today that is posing a challenge in their business? What is it that they value today? What is it that they want to accomplish more than anything in the upcoming 24 months?

Too often, there is a tendency to turn very transaction oriented in an economic downturn. We are too often more concerned with getting something (a deal/a sale) done that we lose focus on getting the right things done! We make concessions, lower prices and hope to hold on---in fact, only adding to our problems through margin erosion. We even train our customers to beat us up for lower prices and unhealthy terms. That is not adding value to your customers---that is only subtracting value for you!
It is now that you need to turn your focus on your customer’s needs. Most times, a customer does not really want to own your product or service. Instead, they want to experience a BENEFIT. So what does your product or service DO FOR your customer and how can you add to that in tough economic times? What is it that you can add to their business that your competition cannot or will not? Figure this out and turn your attention to this VALUE. Take action today!

TRAIN TO GAIN
Two of the things that get dropped from the focus (and budget) are training and marketing---two of the main things that drive new sales and account penetration! Sales Managers at this time typically focus on more activity; “Make more calls, see more people, get out there and fight!” The skill sets of our people need to be re-tooled constantly—especially in more challenging selling environments. Here is a very valuable exercise for you to go through with your team:
Identify the areas in which your salespeople need improvement. Not sure what areas these are? Then I suggest that you need to get out into the sales process with them! IN the meantime, here are a few ideas:
Prospecting/Visibility-If today’s clients are buying less and/or less often, it is imperative that we refocus the efforts of our sales team towards the identification and pursuit of new opportunity. Many of your salespeople have not been focused heavily enough on properly becoming visible. Now is the time to develop and track a New Business Development Plan with your team and schedule time every day to take action on it!
Questioning-The approach that your salespeople take every day with their prospects, customers and clients needs to be very focused. We need to communicate to the customer that we are focused on their issues and challenges---that we are different from our transactional competitors. This occurs with very focused, well prepared, customer focused questions. Think! Prepare! Ask!
Listening-What do you need your customer to admit to you, to share with you so that you might identify opportunity to serve them? What is it that you need to hear from them? Our sales training programs tend to be too focused on what to say and not enough on what we need to hear. Engage in an exercise to teach your salespeople to re-engage with their customers and to LISTEN with the intent to UNDERSTAND! If you are willing to listen to your customers, it can be amazing how clear they can be about how you need to run your business.
Networking-Now is an incredibly opportune time to work with your salespeople on how to effectively generate new leads for your organization through their visibility efforts in networking. I see to many salespeople mistaking the word not-working with networking. Develop a plan to sharpen your people’s networking skills today and begin scheduling specific opportunities to get out there and make the rain!
Referral Generation-The customers that buy from you today represent a substantial opportunity to help you grow your business. If you are turning (or returning) your team’s focus to adding VALUE to the customer as I mentioned above, you will earn the right to ask for VALUE in return. That should come in the form of referrals. Build a referral generation plan today and take immediate action on it!

By returning your focus to climbing the tree to get to the fruit you will re-establish control of your growth again. Take these three steps on the ladder to start your “climbing journey” today. The fruit is up there---you just have to go up and get it! By re-focusing with your salespeople on these three rungs on the ladder (All-In, Add Value, and Training/ReTraining) you can recapture the hearts and minds of your team and arm them with some forgotten weapons to differentiate themselves, and thus your company, in the marketplace.

For more articles and information on training your sales organization, please visit my website a www.GerryLayo.com or call us toll-free at 866-979-Layo(5296)