Sales Coach

it IS crucial to be prepared and do your homework before prospecting, and definitely google in quotes the name of the person you are about to meet.

I also like your point about setting small, achievable goals. Thanks for taking the time to write.

I hope Matt writes a blog because he is right on. If you are physically cold-calling, I would also add, "be organized." Have your materials handy and make sure they are neat and not dog-eared.

Smile.

Be sensitive to the needs of the receptionist or other front-office person. If you caught her at a bad time, come back later. That willingness to bow to her needs may be what separates you from every other salesperson.

1. Do your homework: When making a cold call you want to be as prepared as possible. With today?s technological advances it is easy to do research on anyone. It is as simple as putting the CEO of a company?s name into Google, or looking at their Web site and reading their mission statement. For example, you could Google John Assaraf and find out that he is a member of the board for the Jenna Druck Foundation. Now when you call, you can say ?I understand that John Assaraf is on the board of the Jenna Druck Foundation and I have an idea/program that I would like to talk to him about that is going to help him give more money to that foundation. Do you think I could have some time to talk with him??

2. Set small, obtainable goals: If you are reluctant or apprehensive about making phone calls to an unfamiliar person, set small goals at first until you get the hang of things. For example make a small goal to make one call a day, Monday through Friday. This will help you start to achieve success and build your confidence. Most importantly reward yourself for overcoming your challenges; it can be as simple as yelling ?woo hoo!? after a successful phone call.

3. It?s not about you, it?s about them! It is crucial to know in advance how your product or service is going to help your customer. You need to have your Unique Selling Benefit, Unique Selling Position and your elevator speech ready and know how each applies to your specific customer. You need to show your prospective clients what their benefit is for taking the time to talk to you.

4. Be persistent and enthusiastic: A smile actually causes a physiological change in the tone of your voice because smiling elongates the vocal chords. Your energy and enthusiasm is easily recognizable over the phone, so it?s OK to be excited about your business. Leave an enthusiastic message and don?t just leave it once, leave it three or four times. ?John, I called you last week on Tuesday. I understand how busy you are. I am going to leave you that phone number again in case it got buried.? (Remember to leave the number slowly and repeat it).

5. Be memorable and follow-up: In order to reach a decision maker or your target audience you need to stand out of the crowd. Leaving the same voicemail four times isn?t going to sell your potential client. For example; if you are operating a doggy daycare and are trying to reach more clients, in addition to leaving a voicemail, send potential clients a dog biscuit and tie a note around it and mail it out. This will allow you to stand out.

...

Thanks for that Ultimate Guide to SFA link, Lori. It looks like they've got a lot of tips on how to use a CRM to your best advantage, no matter which one you've got. It will come in handy.

My sister, Joanne, works for a charitable organization called FDP Foundation. It has always had an easy going policy on fair practices among female employees. But it has been a major victory for females everywhere. My sister was the first to research and find two of the four children that the foundation eventually came to grant their monies to for helping them with their plight. The credit was initially given to a colleague of hers in the company newsletter but after numerous talks and backtracking to find out the truth of who was indeed the first to do the research and follow their notes. Joanne was finally given the credit she deserves and the male colleague that was falsely trying to take credit was fired. Kudos to my sister and her decision to make a stand. The ultimate point was that the children got the help they need from the foundation, but I hate to see women overlooked in any situation. I am sure more women at FDP Foundation are empowered for the future against such male poachings.

Laura Parker ...

It's amazing how much a simple "hello" can do when you walk in a store or restaurant. A few friends and I stopped in a small restaurant the other day and the owner was actually there even though he was sitting at one of the tables. He made it a point to rise and greet us and to just be friendly. We had not been in this place before as it has only been open 7 months. However, it was mentioned several times between us while we were together how much we liked the little place. I am sure it had something to do with the friendly atmosphere, so now they will have several returning clients! It makes a difference!

Lori- Your experiences are all too common and I can certainly share my own but one of the starkest examples I heard was while I was facilitating a training series. At a mall where more than 3,000 people work mall management hired me to create a customer service training program that could be attended by employees from any of the tenants. Using National Retail Federation Standards we started with the importance of greeting a customer as soon as possible after they enter a store. I took advantage of the training location within the mall to have the participants each visit stores where they did not know any employees to see how they were greeted. Only one of the participants reported being greeted when they entered during a quiet morning. Another employee returned to frequently repeat during the rest of the session, "No one said good morning to me at The Disney Store!" ...

This is SO true.
We run 2 businesses from our office.
We love a 3 day wkend er.
You work hard to play hard.

Thanks for writing on something I totally agree on.

Linda
www.attentiontodetailgifts.com
www.letspartnerforresults.com ...

Hi Lori, Mind Mapping is such a great tool and has so many uses in the business world. Enjoyed reading. Keep up the good work.

Lori, thanks for the advice. I have spent numerous hours as well as you trolling through the internet wondering which sites to join and which not to. It can be confusing to say the least!!! This should help many others cut some of that time out! Even if your business is not an internet based business, you still need to have a presence online. With Biznik, Linked In and a few other companies out there, it sure makes it easier. Thanks again!

In my last comment I wrote that inflections can come across wrong on emails and text messages. I have been on both sides of this fiasco; however, I don't think it is true of all. I do agree with Rebecca that sarcastic comments come across loud and clear. I just think when you are emailing you must be a little more careful of how something is worded that you would be in a person to person conversation. It's all in the perception of the reader, and if they are in a bad mood, your email could settle the wrong way with them, so be careful. I try to stay very professional and even read some out loud before sending just to double check. As far as replies to emails, I try to answer my emails within one days time. If I cannot answer them completely, I will at least try to email them quickly to let them know I did receive their question and will be getting back with them soon. I think the little things like that can make a huge difference in how your customer/client views you. Although they know you have more than one client, they need to know you are taking their questions seriously.

Lori- Yes pick up the phone to continue relationships. Don't eliminate someone from your "list" by email and don't forward personal emails. But I have to disagree about the reply recommendation. That would just load up an in-box and add to email ping pong. I would rather reply with a quick BlackBerry message that indicates that you are not sitting at your desk or the right reply. And yes you can hear tone in an email. Negative inappropriate messages come through loud and clear.

I have noticed several clients and Realtors who are now communicating by text messaging. Is this the new email? Once someone sends and receives text messages on a regular basis, you have to stop and realize not to abbreviate on emails and letters. You are right, the inflections in emails and text messages do not come across and something that is meant in a simple way can be misconstrued. I know I have been swamped before and forgot to reply to someone's email until I am falling asleep and remember it! It is a GREAT way of communication, but you can't beat the personalization of a phone call and a cheery voice. Also, anyone who would send an email destroying a possible working relationship should be banned from the internet because they clearly don't realize the impact of what they do!

Lori, wow, you just nailed some of my pet peeves! Thanks for putting it out there. Are you teaching email 101 class yet?

Thanks Lori. I love your to the point blogs. Here is an add-on. My wife and I are looking at real estate in another state. We connected with a Realtor on a trip and she did a fabulous job being a tour guide and getting us familiar with the market. We decided to send her some wine for her trouble. After she received it she sent me the following email. Hey, thanks for the great surprise! Even though you asked the question about wine it was still a surprise. Just this morning I was thinking how I should email you to check in on how things were going and then the package was delivered! Give my thanks to Carolyn too. Hope all is going well. She is a pro and what it told me was she knew she should get in touch but was not going to make a lame call. She was searching to find worth in the call or communication. She found it in wine. Take your time before reaching for the phone and find a good reason to call.

I feel that most of the angst from prospects and the sales aversion we sales people experience is the result of countless calls from the lowly people that are the "1 call Champions" of our profession. These are the people that sell in the lobby, and seem to have no communication skills except thier willingness to beat thier head in the ground on countless calls. Og Mandino is great in the "Greatest Salesman in the World" Another good book is "How to swim with the Sharks and not get eaten," by Harvey MacKay. All about how people like to buy from people they know and like so REMEMBER all the little bytes of information you pick up in your interactions.

A great book about sales by OG Mandino is ?Worlds greatest Salesmen?. But more important it teaches how to be a better person. I am building a new web based business that will change the way business people send letters and marketing literature. The focus of Better Way Mail is to make our customers more successful by getting them noticed and remembered. Making it happen with creative and innovative designs, an efficient manner of operation, and the psychology to anchor your brand in the minds of the customers. Go visit http://hotcookies.net for more information.

Hey Lori, I want to know more because I utilize web based programs with my small business clients currently to raise their level of performance (Sales Junction and One Page Business Plan). I am not up to speed with what Sales 2.0 really is. I read the article by Dave Stein but the light bulb is still not going off. With CRMs I found that applications for big enterprises were much different than small business. I work with small business sales teams. What are the wow factors you see my clients might want to take advantage of?

You made a subtle comment regarding a powerful point in your blog, "Remember, all I am selling is for these contacts to let my prospect get in front of them sometime this week." I have seen many sales people try and make "the sale", instead of selling the appointment when calling. This does not work very well. Check out the blog titled, "Scheduling Appointments is Not Selling Time" at www.salesmanagernow.com/salesblog for more details on this. Thanks for sharing Lori. Rene Zamora / Sales Manager Now LLC ...

Lori, These are great suggestions. I highly recommend spending some "alone" time with yourself and asking yourself these questions: 1. What did I like about the way I performed in 2007? 2. What do I want to do differently in 2008? 3. What obstacles will I need to overcome? 4. What additional resources will I need? Regards, Glenn ...

Thank you for being the mastermind behind this event, Lori. Your creative ideas on bringing people together to drive business is what caused this event to be such a great success. I will be posting the pictures from the event on our site in a few days: http://www.megatrends4megabucks.com.

I think I would have turned away from the Mom and Pop shop that had NO returns. Not that I am an avid "returner", but when you see a sign posted such as that it makes you wonder if there isn't something wrong with their products! If they would realize what a negative connotation that puts on people the minute they walk in, they would probably take it down. If not, then they really don't want my business. Trader Joe's sounds much more inviting.

No can be simply from having too many choices. In my business (mortgage lending), there is much time spent in a waiting mode. When you obtain a new client, they are usually looking for a home, so you are waiting for them to find one. Sometimes when this process is dragging, I will talk with the Realtor only to find out that they have shown them too many homes to choose from. I always tell them to narrow down their clients choices according to what fits them and what they are looking for first before heading out to view so many properties. I have seen that when a client views too many, they get confused and ultimately decide to wait before buying. So, as you said, it is a no, but only for right now. If you can narrow the choices by being informed, you may have better luck. Good luck with AT&T!

Hi Lori, Our business is going well and revenues have been growing by 20 percent over the last three years. We have never had a solid business plan and tools in place to track some critical factors. Your blog said that you could send some free or low-cost plans. Even though we have seen very good growth, I think we need to adjust our business plan and address major changes we see coming in our industry. Thanks, Kevin (kevin@tractorseats.com) ...

I really like your article about focusing on our strength as a sales person,i believe by doing this we maintain a positve attitude even while still working on our area of weakness.

Many people in sales are affraid to Cold call. This is a weakness. If this is an area that you can inprove on your stregnths review www.professional-lists.com tom www.professional-lists.com ...

Lori -- Vanessa is right. I've been using this tactic for years (and years!) and it's paid off handsomely for me. There is just nothing technology-wise that measures up to a handwritten note.

Lori, thank you for your kind words and article about my Times Square ad. I never really considered that I was thinking big at the time. I just remember thinking that I don't have anything to lose by entering and I will just write what I really believe and see what happens. Your positive spin on thinking big is a great reminder to all of us to go for it more often.

Shaun, reiterating back what someone has said IS a great way to show that you have been listening, and that you did understand. Even how we emphasise certain parts of a word can change meaning - you made an important point. Thanks.

Thanks for the reminder Lori! Being clear about exactly what it is that you do is important because it should inform every single other decision you make about your business. For instance, I co-own the web and graphic design company Zigflitz llc , and we've found when a client is crystal clear in expressing what his or her company does and how they're different, the web site project is usually a big success. If not, it's a long project. Thanks again Lori!

When a prospect tells me what they need, I confirm that I heard them right by summing up what they need and reiterating it to them as I understand it. Two people can use the same words and mean totally different things so confirmation can go a long way to avoiding confusion in the future.

Comment2 ...

I am still looking for the work that feels like a vacation. Your blog is an inspiration to all. I also am on the path to work passion. Great work Keep blogging! Jason boycheese.blogspot.com ...

It is interesting Lori that some of the simplest practical steps can be so powerful. How many times do we need to remind ourselves to ask to find out the information we need from our customers? Still, we go on wondering why we are in the dark so much about their needs. We don't need to be concerned if they're offended, because the great majority of people don't mind at all talking about what interests them.

I think sellers should use a tool like this as a quick introduction to their company and its product s and services. If I received an e-mail with a link promising a 20 second intro, I would click on it and I think something like this would make a good first impression and make me more inclined to accept a meeting.

I agree with you on what a good store TJ's is. Seeing its size, I was reluctant to shop there thinking that prices would be "specialty" or "health food" prices, but I was surprised to find some reasonably prices items. Like any store, you have to know your comparison prices to know if you are getting a good deal. I also agree that the employees were a clear cut above those at a typical supermarket. They also have interesting ads when they look to hire buyers. They want applicants to tell them what products of theirs they like as part of an application essay. I have not seen any other companies do that.

My comment is about the tools themselves. Make sure you are having to tools work for you and not the other way around. For example, I have seen IM practically cripple a department because the employees cant get anything done because they are now ultra-accessible to everyone in the company. People use IM for things they would never bother to call for or actually walk to someone else's desk.

I liked your line that said, " It may be much wiser to pass on the quick buck in order to build a solid, strong, relationship." That is so true when it comes to purchasing either goods or services. Wouldn't it be better to make less profit several times than more profit once and never see the business again, having to start from scratch with a new prospect? As a buyer, I would rather deal with the same salesperson than have to start over every time too.

Good points that have their roots in educational learning style theory. Sellers should remember these points when making sales presentations and be ready to use a variety of techniques within a single presentation to appeal to the different styles of the different audience members. For kinesthetic, I would use another example, calling it tactile may help people get the point. An example would be the buyer trying a demo version of a software program.

Thanks, keep it up. I have so far enjoyed your write up on how to improve my sells skills and catch more customers and as improve on my communication skills. Best regards Law ...

Thanks, keep it up. I have so far enjoyed your write up on how to improve my sells skills and catch more customers and as improve on my communication skills. Best regards Law ...

It is a good week to start taking stock of how the year is going. Our sales budget is off from where we wanted to be at this time of the years, but it just means that we need to re-evaluate our plans and make appropriate adjustments to our marketing strategy. RJ www.4mysales.com ...

Lori, I agree that buyers pay much more careful attention to sales calls made by referral. The only thing that worried me in this post was the part about the referral fees. While that woudl certaihly increase the likelihood of one person reffering another, don't you think that could taint the obejectivity of the referral. Would/are referral fees disclosed? I think most buyers would look differently upon a referral if they knew it was earning someone a commission. If they found after a business transaction was completed that the referrer earned a fee, they might feel duped. Seems like this is an area that could lead to an ethics discussion.

Lori, You have so many good ideas, we buyers want you on our side of the negotiations table! You are so right about summer - and don't forget mid November - early January too! It's frustrating for the buyers too because we can't get people from our own companies to look at the recommendations, make decisions, attend meetings, etc. Matthew ...

People are in some ways same no matter where they are. Many of us also behave the same way in our country after spending the vacation or before the vacation. It was interesting to know that American people also are not much productive that time. Your suggestion is good. As they are not on holidays they should work more or take another vacation.

I agree that building customer relationships is key to succeeding in sales and practically any type of career. People love to do business with people they like and won't hesitate to make a referral, especially if they've received phenomenal customer service!

I work with a Hosted CRM application provider the focuses on the inside sales space (InsideSales.com). Our entire application is build and designed to help sales reps (not telemarketers) effectively sell over the phone. This includes cold calling. I agree with the masses, cold calling is not fun. If done effectively, it can generate effective and somewhat cost effective leads. However, I have found that leads generated by cold calling are on average between 2x to 4x more expensive that a company or sales rep can generate via the web (if also done effectively). This is not the whole story though. An example: We have a customer that uses our system to power dial a list to generate leads. They were able to generate around 1 lead every 1.5 hours. Considering the cost of employees, systems and overhead, they were paying around $100/lead. From the web (using PPC, SEO, and lead providers) they were paying around $20/lead. This seems pretty strait forward, go with the web leads. What?s more, the cold call leads seemed to be less qualified than the web leads. The web leads generated actual buyers. The leads generated from cold calling identifying companies that were at the beginning of the interest cycle. Thus, in the short term the web leads closed better and seemed more effective. However, they saw an unexpected reversal of value in lead sources. Even though the web leads were smaller opportunities and they closed faster and more often. The leads generated from cold calling we very targeted to the industry and size that that worked for this customer. This customer began to close deals greater than the sum of the smaller deals that came from the web. So in the end, cold calling held its own compared to web leads.

It is a great idea for those who want to sell but can't afford the high cost of advertisements. I hope it will be effective and those who have dreams but not means and huge money can fulfill them. Thanks for sharing such ways with us.

Wow - Lori, you did such a great job with that. And what a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing, I will pass this along to my readers.

Lori, I emailed you for advice on where to start as a new salesperson. I imagine you had me in mind as you wrote this - Thank You!

There is nothing more important or simple than the thing you mention about "make it easy for them" in reference to sales. Like you say: "...they want to buy." We do need to "pull" rather than push them and do everything we can to remove the obstacles from getting in their way.

"It's an old expression: "People don't like to be sold, they like to buy.": It is like a cliche but unfortunayely, most people do this mistake. Many times, I have experienced this problem.

I wrote a short piece related to this recently on my presentation skills blog which might be of interest. Basically, my point is that software reflects it's author. That's fine (perhaps!!) for some things but it's absolutely *not* right for presentation software, because it's critical that this reflects the author of the presentation, not the author of the presentation software (if you see what I mean!). Just a thought...... Simon ...

I enjoyed your blog posting today!!! And I'm making my list of tolerations to remove! One is that I need to be more efficient on using my Palm instead of just a plain old calendar! Nettie Hartsock ...

This is going to make some interesting reading and good tips for our organization. For outsourcing voice, chat, email or back-office support, visit the website http://callcenter.ramshyam.com ...

Yes, you are right! But why I didn't get benefit from sending business email to my potential clients?
I deel with a company with promotional items and trade show giveaways in China. All of the items would be sold to North America, Europe and Oceania. And the products have a low price at high quality. I found the buyer from business directories and search engine, then sent a email of introducing my company and the products. Only few buyer replyed me. If they think the email is rubbish? I built a website for my company and place the server in USA, so it's swift for opening. But bypast two months, I get no too much clicks.
Do you give me any ideas?

Jeff
My Mail: sales@openfindgifts.com
Website: www.openfindgifts.com
...

I have faced several times, enterviews with recruiters, and you feel eager and overwellmed which is shown as "nervous state".

spot on. I particularly like this idea: "It came down to three things: authenticity, message, and delivery." It really chimes with some points I was making at a big IT conference this week (ITWORKS 2006) but I simplified it even more: my suggestion was that it's aobut a] being interesting; and b] letting that "interestingness" show. Couldn't be more simple! :) ...

Paperwork seems to multiply faster than rabbits these days. I make a strict habit of handling paper once. After reading I either file it or toss it. If I do toss somehting out that I later need 99% of the time I can download it ...

People do not want to say because they think they are not suitable for making that type of comment. They are not specialists. They are afraid of making the company officials angry.

one of the best people to ask why you did not get the deal is the customer. I have found that the customer will usually tell you what went wrong, or didn't.

I am looking forward to seeing the results.

i'm not a sales expert or sales professional - but the best way i've practiced negotiating is by shopping in year-round bazaars or what we call in our country, 'tiangge.' come to think of it - quite a significant number of people i know have learned this way since almost everyone shop in tiangges where they learn the fine art of haggling and negotiating.

Hello. Thank you for your kindness to us. Now I can answer your question. We want to develop tourism in the republic of Georgia and also we want to make small workshop to develop textile formation. Now, we can send you some photos to have some ideas about our country out looking of tourism development, here is able to make horse raising tourism as well as mountainous alpinism and other kinds of tourism. Now few words about textile formation. In high mountainous regions today there are some masters of handy crafts who can make various kinds of handy crafts, but because of the poverty and low social conditions they are not able to work at all. We want to form small workshop, where women can make various kinds of handy crafts. As well, it is very important to make marketing branches and participate in exhibitions. To realize the projects in the high mountainous region is one way of making the population to solve the problem of poverty. Thank you for your kindness. Manana Tsiklauri ...

Inadvertently, while mentioning my own schtict and having "tunnel vision" I neglected to mention that I believe this an excellent and very informative blog that is well put together and covers all the bases. I confess I do not know much about Ms. Richardson at this time as this is the first time I have ever hit on this site while surfing, but am very impressed with all the real information that is offered without any of the fluff that is on so many other sites. Thanks for your time. Howard B Rutstein ...

I am a man from china, and i represent the largest manufacturer of cast steel shot, ect.you are welcomed to our web:www.kai-tai.com.cn. fortunately i visit your blog, and here could you kindly introduce me some way to find the list of your country's companys. And you could help us to find an agent of your area. ths for your kindly reading my mail. best regards , yours faithfully, george, tel:+86-543-4262157 ...

JUST STARTED A NEW JOB. COMMERCIAL MARKETS. QUESTIONS TO ASK MY CLIENTS FOR A COMMERCIAL LOAN. ANY INPUT WOULD BE GREATELY APPRECIATED SINCERELY ANTONELLA HAINES ...

If I have a bad sales experience where I let myself down and then feel low - I go flyfishing. We have amazing rivers 10 minutes from work and I just fish and think of all those people sitting in traffic!

website now receiving over 10 million page reviews a day. when things are not going as planned I find even a 20 minutes or 30 minutes in the gym help relieve the stress. I am then able to get back at it with a much better attitude ...

I have a problem in writing my marketing and sals plan. I will really need your assistance regarding this mater ...

Give something free to obtain email list. My business is online based, and the most important thing is my LIST. Nothing more important than that. Use "viral marketing" to advertise my website. It's been working great for me. However, DO NOT measure your success with the number of hits. Hits are HITS (How Idiot Track Success), they're nothing unless people buy something from you. Write a killer sales letter will help, A LOT!

Hi, Lori Thanks for the plug. Stand by the quote and can't believe how easy it is to outprepare the competition. Love this resource you've put together. Chris ...

Couple of thoughts. I agree with these 3 habits in general, but these are so basic, it is hard to believe "sales pros" would be guilty of these to the extent they would be labeled "worst habits". I believe there are much greater issues facing salespeople and causing frustrating performance. On not following up: I really don't see this as the main problem. I believe the issue is much deeper; salespeople often do follow-up, but with very little success. For many, follow-ups amount to "chasing" prospects -- it is frustrating, inefficient, and ineffective. "Chasing" actually causes prospects to "hide" in defense. How do reps get in this chase mode? First, there may not be a mutual fit -- but that should be discovered in the first appointment (not in follow-ups). Highly effective salespeople set expectations for their initial appointments by actually stating they are not there to do anything but gather information to see IF there is MUTUAL fit (this alone will blow most prospects away). They make clear that the purpose of the first call is to understand and not to "convince" your prospects of anything -- even if they state their needs etc. etc.. In fact, many highly effective salespeople NEVER put on their traditional sales cap. They understand that "to sell" creates automatic defense-mechanisms, hinders rapport, and stifles critical needs analysis. They seek to better understand any stated needs and how those relate to the deeper needs related to a prospects organization pain (company's sales are down due to XYZ) Then take it a step further and ask questions better to understand the personal pain related to that issue (if I don't get the sales up I could lose my bonus or job). Ironically, salespeople that practice these and other "methods" build trust/rapport very fast -- typically in the first call (certainly not the 7th or 12th call), and not by being fake and trying to find something in common with the prospect as traditional sales training often teaches. Instead, trust is EARNED by NOT acting like a traditional salesperson. People want to buy -- they do not want to be sold, convinced, or chased. Thus, follow-ups should be based upon a mutually agreed upon objectives. The entire process should be mutual and clear -- agreed upon at the very beginning. This is brief, but I hope it adds some value to anyone struggling with the above.

I book time every Mon, Wed, & Thur to contact referral parnters - both to ask and give referrals. My business has grown so that now 85% is from referrals or repeat business. The "gross profit" per deal is higher and less time is required to "close". As an added bonus the customer is more satisfied. A win-win for everyone ...

top salesman - have a look at ---
oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com
amazing what you can trade for ...

You only get one chance to make a "first impression", and this sets expectations and standards for the next appointment - if there is one. I have always thought of it as "making sure I get more than one pitch".

Good motivation piece.

I would add a number 4... Know your audience.

I heard this once and think it sums it up: The customer is not always right, but the customer is always the customer. Isn't it strange how many people just don't get it.

Exactly!!!! That's why we wrote the book WORK THE POND! 'cause we couldn't stand all the transactional, hard-sell, infomercial-laden networking out there. We've got a character in our book called Ned (but it could be Nelly) and Ned is A Lotta Networker. You know the type...flinging cards at people, scanning room for people who can help HIM and sending the dreaded 'drive by' email the next day. This kind of behavior is not going to build relationships or a good reputation. We have a different philosophy--it's not all about you, it's discovering what you can do for others. And yes, it takes time. But it works. People say our positive networking way takes all the pressure off--not having to sell yourself anyone. It's just a better way of doing things because people do business with those they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.

My experience with networking indicates that most networkers are either focused on targeting other networkers as customers or on establishing purely utility relationships. The number of networkers who are looking to establish mutually profitable alliances or affiliations based on respect has been so small that it takes years to establish a single permanent alliance.

Hello Lori and Readers,

Thanks for the mention and reference. I hope you all enjoy that post and some others which will give you insight into what takes place "on the other side of the fence."

When I wrote the entry, I wasn't actively thinking of price as meaning VALUE = BENEFITS minus COST, although that is there subconsciously as always. Clearly, the lowest bidder will not win if we don't think that company is capable of fulfilling the needs. (That ties into some of the other points in the Top 7 List.)

It does amaze me when I review bids and find the pricing to be wildly erratic among vendors. I was referring more to cases when I see some bidders quoting prices 50-100% higher than their competition for comparable value.

Please check out this post (link at the end) called Who Needs A Contract that I put up a few weeks ago and read the skit. You'll see that I'm firmly on your side that the true cost and value of an item entails more than the price alone. However, I'll stand by the fact that in today's competitive marketplace, I would never pad pricing in the hopes of negotiating it away later because the initial sticker shock will throw you out of the running before you ever get to that point.

About this going around Purchasing, nobody would really ever do that, right? Haha. You've inspired me to create a new post on that right now!

http://www.purchaserealm.com/2006/02/who_needs_a_contract.html

...

Hi Lori - great article. You hit the nail on the head. One of the keys in keeping customers is showing them you WANT to do business with them. It seems so simple that we shouldn't have to talk about it but, isn't that how life is. I just wish we had a Trader Joe's in the Twin Cities!

Lori, you are so right about those outdated closing techniques. I can't imagine how any of them ever worked in the first place! I don't know if there is a difference in closing deals at a the consumer level as opposed to the corporate purchasing level, but as a Buying Professional, I have actually had to tell people, "I need to remind you that no decisions have been made as to awarding the business," when they tried some of these "techniques." The "secret" to closing the deal at a corporate level is having the best product or service at the best price. The rest of it is best left at sales conferences in the role-play sessions. (It also never hurts to be charming per your post on that.) ...

Lori, I am in B2B sales, which means that my day is spent on the phone calling people. It IS so refreshing to talk to an Administrative Assistant (these are the profesionally trained ones) who have charm and can be professional one the phone. The ones who aren't I call "gatekeepers." They think their job is to keep you from talking to ANYONE. Now, in defense to them and their job, which can be stressful, they are told to make sure no one gets through to certain people. However, there is a certain finesse that they need to use to do this. I am just doing my job when I call for someone. I understand that they may lose their job if I get through (and with the use of the internet, hoovers, company websites and other tactics, I WILL eventually get through) but why do they have to do it with such ATTITUDE. If I was rude to them it would be one thing, but I know that my professionalism needs to be there always. I am giving out my company's name, so I NEED to use professionalism. I wish they would understand that.

Daryl, great point! This also applies to Adminstrative Assistants (and ANYONE in business). The people you deal with in selling really never know when you may be a customer or business partner of some type. None of us can afford a cavalier attitude and expect the world to be attracted to us.

Am I missing something? I can't find a printer friendly option.

Right-on! I am a home improvement sales pro. Early on, the local manager, who teaches about "ten powerful closes", had me doing it his way for a while -- and it just didn't work. Every "expert-schmexpert" has his/her own little list of so-called "closes", but nobody wants to take into account a troubling little fact: people grow more and more sophisticated every single day! It's an ongoing process. Make just one error and mismatch the prospect and the "close"... look out!

Lori -- I'm sorry to say I missed your call, but your comments are right on target! That's the problem with most sales calls, not prequalifying the prospect. And yes, it's a huge waste of time.

Well said, Lori. We are in similar industries, and I agree that building consistency starts with the fundamentals. Thanks for the insight. ~Jordan ...

Hi Lori: Great to meet you in Vegas! As a sales rep and manager I was exposed to many books regarding selling techniques, however, the one that stands out for me is: HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY by Rick Page Happy Reading everyone!

It has always amazed me that when someone speaks, they can say most anything under the sun - yet they choose to say whatever the words are that they choose at that time. Think of some moments where someone...

Great start, Mike - thanks! Harvey Mackay books are great. I am not familiar with the first book so will check that out.

How about : Secrets From The Lost Art Of Common Sense Marketing by Brad & Alan Antin Just finished, again: Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty by Harvey Mackay ...

Lori: Thanks for your insight today. I will plan to make this a weekly call! Feel free to peruse our sight. We launched our business in October at our largest ophthalmology meeting after aligning ourselves with many vendors in our field. Results have been great and we're now exploring other segments of elective surgical procedures. Again, I look forward to the call next.

Lori -- Great call yesterday. Smart concept. Short, sweet and motivational way to kick off the week. Thank you!

Hi Lori: I was doing a google search because I couldn't remember the name of Mitch and Michael's Traffic School and your website came up - high on the list. Good for you! And good for them. Were you a member of the Product Factory? I did it twice...and what a great experience it was. I quadrupled my list and now I'm scrambling to build programs for these folks. Stop by and say hi at www.cherylmillerville.com Cheryl ...

Can you make a blog entry for each of your telecalls, summarizing the 3 points, and then we can post comments and discuss it in more detail? I thought I heard on the call that you had a forum on your website, but I couldn't find it on scoremoresales.com. If you do have a forum, please post the link here so we can go there.

Here is a fantastic entry on a winning sales formula . Go ahead to read more .

5 down 15 to go. cards mailed phone calls done ...

Great advice Lori! I think demonstrating consistency does a lot for us as sales people subconsciously in the mind of our clients and prospects. If we consistently do what we say, and even things we don't say (like send Christmas cards). Most people will also know that they can expect the same consistency from us when they purchase our product or service. Personally my favorite card to send is a Thanksgiving card. It gives me a very easy opportunity to thank people for their business, referrals, friendship and support. Plus I stand out. How many Thanksgiving cards did you get this year? Happy networking! Scott Ingram www.NetworkInAustin.com ...

Hi Lori, I'm up to 3 small deals and 1 large one (my goal was 2 + 2). I have already sent out our gifts and cards for the year - its funny I never considered that a sales action! The reason I was excited about this "challenge" was that it would get me motivated to take one sales action daily. I haven't done that unfortunately but probably more than I otherwise would have. Your last post about motivation and consistency were right on - that is the real challenge!

Previously posted goal of 20 deals by year end. 5 down 15 to go..32 days left. Since I track my sales on a regular basis the target of 20 deals by year end might have been a bit optimistic but I would rather have a goal that causes me to reach rather then sit back.