E-mail is NOT for Prospecting

In my previous post, Why Would I Buy From You? we discussed that awkward and admittedly terrible prospecting call. You are a salesperson, and that is what we do, make phone calls. We create or get a list of prospects, call them, try to disqualify them, and if all works to plan, prove to them that we can eliminate their pain points.

Before we get too far, I want to define a few items and make sure we are all on the same page. Today our focus is solely on the prospecting call and why you should stop sending emails.

1. Lead Generation - comes from the marketing side of the house and the intent is to create prospects for the sales team. These activities typically include direct mail, email blasts, white papers, AdWords campaigns, etc. These leads must still be qualified!
2. Prospecting - intended to qualify prospects that we wish to turn into a customer. Your goal here is to qualify them then get a sound, clear future with the prospect. 
3. There are many activities that we can employ when prospecting. Such as a referral meeting, cold walk-ins, or networking events. 

Again, our focus today is the prospecting PHONE call and why emails are not for prospecting.

In sales, especially prospecting, we are shooting for a "No" from the prospect. I'll bet a nice chunk of cash that most of you have never heard that before. So, I'll say it again, as a salesperson, it is your job to get a "No" from the prospect.

The problem with a lot of salespeople is that they hate being told "No." For some people, a "No" can shut down their entire day and send them into this spiral of defeat. So, to mitigate that rejection and ensure they get to contact as many people as possible in a day -  the salesperson sends out an email. The email provides a mask or a wall that the salesperson can hide behind. The prospect does not respond to the email that day or even after a few weeks so; the salesperson says "Whew, I sure am I glad I didn't call this prospect because they are not interested!" Question: how the heck did you come to that conclusion?

In sending that email, you did not hear an actual "No" from the prospect. All you heard was silence. That means nothing. I promise you one or more things happened:

1. The prospect immediately deleted your email because yours was the 16th they had gotten before lunch.
2. The prospect did not even see your email because it is lost in the 6289 emails in their inbox. Chances are they will skim through and delete everything that is not from one of their employees or spouses.
3. More and more people are using tools like Sanebox, ibisMail, or custom Google Apps that use smart filtering to immediately send your crappy email to their junk folder, to never be seen again!
4. You get a half "No" from the prospect. How easy is it to open an email and immediately say "No"? You are on a deadline, your boss is breathing down your neck for results, your spouse called 15-minutes ago, your kid has a fever, and the dog just pooped everywhere.

It is easy to give a "No" to your email because most people have bigger fish to fry! Plus, it is much simpler to say "No" to the person behind the mask or wall than it is to say "No" in person or over the phone.

Honestly, I could go on for far longer than either of us have today on why email as a prospecting tool is a waste of your time. Bottom line, Friend, prospecting via email does not work.

One of my favorite aspects of sales is the ability to call on a prospect knowing I have the power to tell them "No." Let's pretend I have this list in front of me of 100 people to call this week. Each of these 100 people fit my ideal customer profile; they are executives, in an industry I am focused on, and are located in the top 2 states in my territory regarding spending. That is a great start and is exciting but, this does not mean that each of these 100 prospects get to be my client! 

Do not find your identity in being a salesperson. Find your identity in the fact that you get to call on these people and help them if they need the help and are ready to buy. If you cannot qualify this prospect as being worth your time or they are not a person that can give you a "Yes" or a "No", fantastic, bye bye!

Pick up the phone, dial the number, and give the prospect the opportunity to do business with you. If they are a quality prospect, great! Set a sound, clear future on the next step and close that deal! If the prospect is not quality, great! Depending on the disqualification, you may need to call them back in 8 months; an e-mail would never have told you that. Pick up the phone and call the next prospect.

Let's sell something today,

Morgon

Why Would I Buy From You?

See that picture? Do yourself a favor and remember this guy every time you go pitch, demo, or "sell" your product. Chances are this prospect is bored because you keep telling him a litany of garbage, such as...

1. We are AWESOME!
2. You don't want to buy from them because we are AWESOME!
3. Our product, the desk beacon 9000, wow, it is unlike any other desk lighting accouterment. It lights up brighter than Jim's down the street, and has a switch on the cord instead of the handle! I mean how ugly are those strings hanging down that you have to pull? Oh, and you know what, it is dipped in a silver polish that is only found in one place in the world...our warehouse! It took us years to develop this proprietary color, just for this lamp. This is a limited time offer, where would you like me to send yours?!

Look at the picture again. That is your prospect. Wondering how in all things Holy you had the audacity to pitch him a LAMP! How do you know he even needs one? If you are on the phone your prospect cannot wait for you to stop jabbering so they can say goodbye then block all your future calls. Honestly, I hope you are giving this pitch in person so the prospect will shove you out the door.

Let me be clear, I do not have an issue with lamp salespeople or even lamps as desk accessories. Honestly, my IKEA lamps are fantastic! What I have an issue with is my salesperson wasting time, money, energy, paper, and who knows what else to pitch this guy a lamp without qualifying the prospect first. 

Amateur salespeople sell bells and whistles. I've got news for you friends, features do not sell!
STOP SELLING FEATURES!

Qualification of Prospects

I know it feels like micro-management or as if I do not trust them but, my new sales people must show me that they can follow two rules before hitting the ground solo. Otherwise, their time, my time, company money, energy, and patience are going to be thrown down the drain. Prospects will buy for their own reasons, not the salesperson's reasons.

1. You must attempt to invalidate the prospect before they are a valid prospect
2. The prospect must be in a position to tell you Yes or No

One of my mentors taught me a very valuable lesson. As salespeople, we have the power to say "No". Think about that for a second, you, a salesperson, can look your prospect in the eye and say "No". Not every prospect is valid and may not become a customer. 

Think about your purchases thus far in 2016. How many of those were purchased because of pleasure? How many were purchased because something bad would happen or you would feel discomfort if you didn't buy it?

Example
You bought a new boat last weekend simply because it is spring, the water is warming up, you have never owned a boat before and cannot wait to show it to your buddies so, you went out and bought one. Pleasure is in the right now, the impulsive. Sure, that salesperson had a quick sale and didn't have to work hard for the deal but, how often do people call you up begging to buy what you are selling.

Now, let's say you sell boats for a moment. It's spring, a few people are trickling in the dealership, this past winter was a rough one for your commission checks. You started cold-calling every executive in the area, even showing up to their office with sales material, hoping that you could close them on a boat - selling them the "dream." Warm water, cold drinks, easy breezes and the admiration of everyone in the Boat Club. Then proceeded to walk him through every bell and whistle on the boat, plus optional accessories! Spoiler alert - the executive does not buy, he is mad that you wasted his time, and is already the coolest guy he knows!

You just tried to sell someone on pleasure.

But, what if we flipped that around and sold based on pain, or an emotionally compelling reason (ECR)? There are three factors when it comes to pain and eliciting that ECR. 

1. On the surface issues (indicators)
2. Reasons for the surface problems
3. Personal Impact

As a salesperson, you should try to discover the problems or reasons the prospect might have for buying from you. Until you know the three items above, you have no idea if your product or service is a good fit for the prospect.

Example
Salesperson: Mr. Jones, sorry to bother you today, I was just wondering, how do you feel about not having a boat like everyone else on your street?
Mr. Jones: Yes! Wow, it is great that you called today. I was really feeling down about not having a boat.
Salesperson: Oh gosh, I am sure sorry to hear you are feeling that way. Do you mind me asking why you are blue about not having a boat?
Mr. Jones: Well, all my friends have boats and are constantly making fun of me and spending their days happy on the lake while I am at home with my beautiful Wife and cat. It really hurts my feelings!
Salesperson: Wow, Mr. Jones, I am glad I called today. If we do not get you in a boat soon, what do you think will happen?
Mr. Jones: Honestly, I think my Wife might leave me and I know she'll take fluffy with her. I am just sure that I will lose all my friends as well! Can I come by this afternoon and get that boat on your website in blue?

My skillset is clearly not in screenwriting or good examples.

However, I want you to see what we did there. We found the pain indicator for Mr. Jones, the reasons for the pain, and then the personal impact for not buying the boat. This is much more powerful than Mr. Jones buying a boat simply because it is spring and the water is warm. Using this scenario, we may have just sold Mr. Jones a boat in December!

If there is no pain, there is no sale. To add to that, remember that the problem the prospect tells you is never the real problem. Mr. Jones told us he is feeling down about not having a boat. We had to find out why! A lot of salespeople would have immediately jumped on the close, thinking they have a fish on the hook (rookie mistake). 

The more questions you ask the prospect during the validation process, the more pain you will uncover, the causes, and the impact. More pain becomes more of a reason to buy. The prospect may have pain that involves a wide range of emotions that impact now or the future.            

Let's sell something today,

Morgon                               

Active Communication - Building Rapport with Prospects and Clients

Remember that awkward phone call you made to a prospect? They answered and immediately you knew that your personalities differ, and you thought "oh crap, this is going to suck." Well, if it has not happened to you, you are lying. Calling on a prospect is tough and communicating effectively with a prospect and even your current customers is paramount. 

So, today let's chat about how communication works, where communication breaks down, and how effective communication will drastically improve your rapport building with prospects and clients. 

I am sure you have noticed this by now, whether you are a current salesperson or a 10-year old, people communicate differently. Everyone has a different method for how they process the world around them and garner assumptions based on their frame of reference (concepts, values, views, etc). To make things more complicated for salespeople, our potential customers tend to do business with people they like and tend to avoid those that piss them off or rub them the wrong way.

Bonding immediately with a prospect and having the ability to build lasting rapport throughout the Sales System will make selling easier. People who like one another, tend to trust one another. Remember, people tend to do business with people that they like! Sadly, most people are inherently selfish; they want to discuss what is important to them and want to make sure that they are heard, and you understand what they are saying.

Communication

For the bonding and rapport to even begin you have to communicate with Active Communication. Interacting with a prospect or customer, so subtly, that they are only aware of feeling familiar with you. When speaking with a prospect, Actively, you will adjust your body language, style of speaking, and cues to mirror those of the prospect. The three elements of communication are verbal, non-verbal, and inflection or tone (quality of sound, pitch, accent). Your non-verbal communication has a more than 50% impact on your prospect. The way that you speak or the style of your speech has a greater impact on the prospect than the actual words you use. For example, you are meeting in person with a Ph.D professor, a subject matter expert, and you are selling them something for their students to use. Your body language (gestures, facial expressions, eye contact), will have a LARGER impact on their impression of you than the fancy, scholarly words you are using, probably incorrectly. Think about this, if you are selling to the same person but, on the phone - your pitch, inflection, and overall demeanor will mean much more than your words. In a nutshell, practice and hone the way you present yourself more than the actual words coming out of your mouth.

Active Communication also involves sharp listening skills. For communication to happen between two people, one person has to say something, and the other has to hear and understand what was said. If there is a breakdown here, it is a lot like talking to my 14-month old son. These listening skills boil down to two different skills:

1. Restating what the speaker has said

2. Paraphrasing

During Active Communication, you are merely confirming or correcting your understanding of what was said. This seems silly but, you would be surprised by how many salespeople do not listen to their prospects and customers and end up looking like an idiot, losing a deal before it even started.

Communication Breakdown - Was it something I said?

When the communication breaks down during a prospecting call, demo, sales pitch, etc...it is YOUR fault. The salesperson is in control of the interaction and anytime you lose the control or start to make the prospect or customer feel uneasy you better be ready to bring them back. If you cannot bring them back to a comfortable state, this is a surefire way to kill any rapport you have built.

Remember that awkward prospecting call earlier? That weird feeling in your stomach when you feel nervous about what is happening? Yea that sucks. Do not let your prospects or customers get to that point. To prevent this from happening preserve their comfort level by making sure you always take the sword; protect their contentment in the situation.

Want some free advice for your next sales call with a prospect? Do not do the following:

1. Rush or pressure the prospect

2. Talk down to the prospect

3. Ask intrusive questions (without softening and permission)

4. Act cocky

5. Speaking in buzzwords or company jargon

These will immediately make the prospect feel uneasy, so then, communication breaks down, and they shut down. Why? Because people buy from those that they trust. The prospect is now losing trust in you because the situation is uncomfortable and you are the cause of it.

We talked about non-verbal communication a bit earlier. Considering that non-verbal communication has an over 50% impact on a prospect over spoken words, I'd venture to say that it is significantly important to your sales success. What about your prospect's non-verbal or verbal responses? Maybe your prospect frowns, looks confused, checks their watch, or sits back in their giant, reclining, cherry leather chair and crosses their arms. You did something wrong, my friend. You did not Actively Communicate, and/or you did not preserve their comfort level.

Active Communication = Bonding and Rapport

You may be thinking, Morgon, I figured I was supposed to talk about the weather, sports, my prospects kid in the spelling bee, an article I saw posted on Forbes about my prospect's organization, etc. Yes, these are all great things to have in your back pocket. However, these will never get to happen if Active Communication is not established from the get go. Plus, how may other salespeople called your prospect today asking "peculiar weather we're having, ain't it?

Also, bear in mind that your prospect may have a fear of you being just another salesperson that will waste their time, they might be anxious about what to expect, or worse feel that they will be pressured into buying.

If you are Actively Communicating, you will pick up on the verbal and nonverbal cues from your prospect. Additionally, you will keep them comfortable while your rapport and bonding meter goes upward. We are not all perfect, every call, every day. I get it, believe me, I have been there. If things fall apart, this is where you can further separate yourself from the other goobers calling your prospect that day. BE BETTER! Take their discomfort and put it on you...fall on the sword, after all, this is your fault!

Embrace the struggle for a moment and try to understand what is going on. Use phrases like:

1. I need your help.

2. I'm confused.

3. Are you upset?

Then, start to reel in their discomfort by fixing the issues.

1. Take responsibility for being the actual or sensed reason for their discomfort

2. Ask questions as a response to their body language 

3. Restate or paraphrase what the speaker has said that indicate their discomfort

Friends, ensure you are Actively Communicating. People who like one another, tend to trust one another, and people tend to do business with people that they like.

Let's sell something today,

Morgon

The Sales System

When I walk into an organization that is either struggling to generate sales or wanting to take their revenue to the next level, the number one hurdle to their sales success: NO Sales System.

I have sat across from CEO's and VP's of Sales that cannot articulate how they got their current customers, how they get more customers or even what the plan is to keep these customers.

Why do we need a Sales System?

According to Dictionary.com, a system is any formulated, regular, or special method or plan of procedure.

A Sales System is a process in which you progress an opportunity from beginning to end, whether that ending is closing the deal or closing the file. This process allows you to produce consistently, a desired outcome and in turn, you achieve the result without wasting resources - time, energy, money, etc.

There are several things going wrong when salespeople are not closing deals. 

1. The prospect is in control of the entire process
2. This prospect should have been disqualified long ago
3. Not recognizing issues before they become a major blockade in closing the deal

More often than not, it is not solely a matter of the salesperson's "skills". Rather, they are not using a repeatable, scalable, and proven system that will help them be effective and efficient.

From a sales management perspective, if there is not a Sales System in place you cannot effectively and efficiently manage your team. Using the system will allow you as the manager to recognize and then replicate successful behavior and rid your team of "trash" that is getting in the way of increased revenue. Trash = wasted time, money and energy.

Benefits of a Sales System

First, and most importantly, salespeople need to maintain control over the entire sales process. Having control does not mean you are going to bully your prospect into buying! To be in control of the sales process means you have the ability to elicit specific behaviors and actions from beginning to close. You know what actions and steps need to be taken to get the prospect to close quickly. Stay in the system, every time, lather, rinse, repeat! Once your prospect takes control, it becomes a tug-of-war for control, and the sales process becomes too long or worse, you lose a deal.

Speaking of time, wouldn't it be nice to have a system in place so that you can qualify or disqualify an opportunity early in the process? Imagine being able to tell a prospect that they are not a good fit for YOU! Now, you can better spend your time going after the RIGHT customers.

Early on in my career I would get to the point of the client signing on the dotted line, only for something to pop-up and the deal is dead. How frustrating!!! Using a Sales System allowed me to recognize issues quickly, and proactively attack potential issues before they became roadblocks to my commission checks.

A lot of salespeople often want to get promoted. I mean, why wouldn't you? There is an opportunity for bigger checks, attendance at high-level meetings, maybe an office instead of a cubicle, membership to the Country Club; no matter your reason for wanting that promotion, there is a BIG reason you are not getting the promotion. - you are not replicating yourself. Show your boss or your boss's boss that you can create additional successful revenue generators. When you have a Sales System, managers or those that strive to become one can more easily strategize or debrief a sales call with the system that has action steps that are specific and in a common language. 

Sales Managers MUST ALWAYS know where their salespeople are in the sales process. With defined, actionable steps, you can track where they are in the Sales System and have the ability to create better reporting, forecasting, and coach your team more effectively when they get stuck in the process.

What does an effective Sales System look like?

Great question! Obviously, it can look a little different for each organization. The best way to develop a Sales System for your organization is to evaluate your current "process." Write out a description of what that process typically looks like. Sit down with your team and decide - does our system give us one of these four outcomes, and only these four?. If not, it is not an efficient, effective system.

1. Yes
2. No
3. Get a referral
4. Obtain a clear, sound understanding of the future

Let's sell something today,

Morgon